weekend, we <3 you

weekend weekend
weekend weekend

How was your weekend? If you got the chance to spend it with your mama I hope you gave her a big hug and a kiss.

We saw some live music, enjoyed dinner and drinks with friends, and spent Sunday exploring one of the many malls left to check off the list. Needless to say, I already can’t wait to go back. There’s a pretty good Mexican restaurant and the warm architecture makes it a really pleasant place to be. With a roof garden to top it off (not very mall-like at all!) and they’ve got me. No major shopping was done but I did pick up a set of pebble candles that I’m now completely obsessed with. It’s the little things …

 

weekend, we <3 you

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Hi guys, how was your weekend? Ours was the kind that “home” is made of. We spent time with friends, went out on the town, relished in lazy lounging, and simply enjoyed the slow pace that comes with Saturday and Sunday.

In just a few days we’ll be marking our one year anniversary of living in KL (say whaaa?) and just like our time in London, this place has really become home. I don’t think I’ll ever feel the same way about living here permanently as I did in London (apples and oranges, I tell ya) but I do love what we’ve been able to make for ourselves so far. On Wednesday I’ll be sharing a little KL anniversary round up where I’ll spill my loves and dislikes about living here. It’s not all fun and palm trees sometimes but it has been amazing.

And with this anniversary, I was reminded that my sidebar photo was two years old and in dire need of an update. I honestly couldn’t find a decent “profile” photo that didn’t involve me wearing a hat and/or sunglasses so this one from Cartagena will have to do for now!

weekend, we <3 you

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Hey guys, how was your weekend? I’ve been trying to balance working on the computer and resting my eyes since I got LASIK done several weeks ago. I guess my sensitivity is taking longer to clear up :/. So, in efforts to get away from the screen we spent a lot of time out and about in KL enjoying new-to-us cafes and shops. I was thrilled to find a vintage furniture shop since I’ve been aching for the thrill of the hunt lately. We didn’t leave with anything but just getting the heart flutter of excitement was plenty for the day. God I miss flea markets and vintage shops! For now, I’m just happy that we continue to find new nuggets of things and places to enjoy until one day we may be back somewhere where I can get my treasure hunting fix.

ditching the fork

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Hi guys, how was your weekend? We had a good mix of fun and taking care of business on the home front. The main event was dining in the dark with some new friends. Have you ever done it before? It was our first time and we loved it.

Before entering the blacked out room we had to surrender our phones and watches (anything that could glow). We were then guided by our server, who is blind, to our seats. Plate by plate, our food was brought out with each item having different textures and smells. I quickly abandoned my utensils and just ate with my hands. It was like I couldn’t get passed sticking my fork around and then seeing what went into my mouth – I needed to feel what I was about to eat since I couldn’t see it! I ate a lot faster than I thought I would. I had hypothesized that I’d eat slower because of my other heightened senses but nope, I was on a mission to taste and explore and for some reason it all happened really fast. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have anything or anyone to look at in between bites but it was definitely interesting be so incognito while sitting and chatting with a table of eight. Anyone could be doing anything and no one would know the difference! There were a few couples so we did joke about playing footsie beneath the table and not really knowing who’s foot it was.

Post dinner we had a few drinks at The Establishment and enjoyed the new vibrant scene emerging on Jalan Mesui with it’s recent openings of unique bars and restaurants. KL nightlife definitely just got more exciting and that makes me really happy :)

 

stay-cation, we <3 you

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Hi guys, how was your weekend?

We had a great little getaway … down the street. Literally, we could see our apartment from our hotel room!

Have you ever done a stay-cation? This was our first one and we loved it. One bag for the both of us, a five minute cab ride door to door, and plenty of time to enjoy the hotel without having to be anywhere else – it was the easiest trip ever.

We stayed at the new Grand Hyatt here in KL, a place that we’ve grown very fond of. We find ourselves dining at one of their restaurants at least once per week (the Malaysian restaurant, JP Teres, is ridiculously good and affordable) and we’re big fans of the spa.  The only thing left to try was staying there as hotel guests so we figured, why not! The service there has always been great and the photos of the rooms looked really inviting.

And also, a main motivation to go for it was a deep desire to make up for our experience at the Sofitel Santa Clara in Cartagena, Colombia. That place was so overrated. Between the underwhelming rooms and the lackluster customer service, the value was simply not on par with what we paid for it (and I felt awful that our friends also stayed there with us). I’ll give them the nice big pool but otherwise we’ve never been so disappointed. Please don’t ever waste your money there.

Perhaps we’re spoiled now by South East Asian hospitality but regardless, we were left feeling like we needed to have a good experience elsewhere ASAP. Thank god that the Grand Hyatt delivered because otherwise I would have been shattered. I’m seriously so in love with that hotel that it’s creepy! I guess that sort of thing is bound to happen when you live in a city-center like KLCC where most services and dining options are either in a shopping mall, a business/residential tower, or in a hotel. When in Rome right? In this case, when in KL – home of the cheapest 5-star hotels in the world.

Where have you stay-cationed before? Or, Where would you want to go and what would you do in your city?

 

weekend we <3 you

Hi guys, how was your weekend? We’ve been total homebodies since we got back so this weekend Joe made some awesome brownies and applesauce from scratch and we attempted to be artists. Emphasis on “attempted”.

There’s a huge empty wall in our living room so we put our, eeerrr…painting skills, to canvas and well…let’s just say that the photo above is the most you’re going to see from this DIY! I don’t know what happened but the results weren’t what we were hoping for. I think I just really hate the colors I ended up with and Joe’s canvas looks like a third grade project. Totally cute if our kid had made it and we put it on the fridge but as our primary wall art? It’s just not doing it for us. We’ll definitely re-paint them as well as keep our eyes peeled for art done by other people. Like the kind good enough to be in galleries and stuff.

A better DIY moment, however, was receiving my copy of Couch Magazine, all the way from Germany. They included me in their “DIY/Creative blogs to read” list – how awesome is that?! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen my name in a glossy…maybe now I can say “I’m big in Germany” ;)

weekend, we <3 you

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Hi guys, how was your weekend? In short, ours was all about eating, boozing, and R&R. We discovered a new bar, The Establishment, and checked out an event they had with local musicians and DJs (hosted by creative collective, The Deer Society). It was so great to find a spot with a scene like this. I knew that KL had to be more than just shopping centers…just had to dig a little (okay, a lot). After the party, we crossed the street for some yummy Roti Cani and as we sat there and watched the warm rain I felt so very much at home. Between finding a Syrian baklava bakery, meeting up with some new friends via Instagram, and hanging out at a great new spot, I fully realized how much I’ve fallen in love with KL and Malaysia. It took a while but this weekend really sealed the deal for the warm and fuzzy feelings I’ve been having these past few months. So so happy and grateful to be here.

weekend, we <3 you

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Hi guys, how was your weekend? We had lunch at the new Mexican restaurant in town, La Mexicana, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It was authentic in every way from the food to the decor…so much so that I did a little happy dance as soon as I took a bite of the pork tacos! I know it’s crazy to want/expect authentic anything that isn’t Asian but it sure is awesome that there are expats doing a great job of bringing bits of their own culture to KL.

To burn off our Mexican food binge, we decided to check out the nearby walking trails of Bukit Nanas, an eco reserve park in the center of the city. We were all set with our hats, comfy walking clothes, and water bottles but when we got to the entrance we were greeted by a locked gate and a notice of the park’s closure for construction. Wah wah. By that point it was too late for a plan b involving a relaxing hike so we opted for the next best thing: cold beers. Never a bad alternative on a warm day and certainly perfect for a leisurely Sunday out.

Cheers to a good week ahead!

weekend, we <3 you

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Hi guys, how was your weekend? We started ours with no plans but with a last minute Monday AM flight out of Singapore for Joe, we decided to make a quick trip out of it. We spent most of our time walking around Chinatown, eating dinner and trying new-to-us Chinese desserts (where has snow-ice been my entire life?!). It was interesting to see how Singapore does Christmas, too. The main shopping district, Orchard Road, was exploding with decorations sponsored by Visa and other big brands and companies. Are Christmas decorations sponsored in the States? I can’t recall but it definitely felt more tacky than festive. Blatant commercialism of Christmas aside, I love that city. It’s so easy to enjoy, even if for 24 hours. The sunflower garden deck at the airport doesn’t hurt it either.

weekend, we <3 you

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Hi guys, how was your weekend? Overall ours was good but I didn’t get to the Christmas crafting I had planned since shopping for supplies was a huge disappointment. I definitely miss places like Michael’s, Joanne’s, Staples, Target, The Container Store…you name it. Even just looking for tapered candles for our new vintage holders proved to be an impossible mission. You have it real easy, America. Real easy.

On the bright side…

- I used what bits of Christmas we had from London and created a mock-fireplace with the help of this awesome video.

- I found berries at our florist and paired them next to a giant local leaf (mixing traditional and tropical :)

- We ate brunch at a restaurant that serves real bacon. Non-Halal places (at least those serving western food) are very rare in KL so the meal was a really nice treat.

Did any of you start decorating for Christmas this weekend?

holiday we <3 you

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Hi guys, how are you? It feels like I’ve been away for so long! We loved our holiday in Australia and for the first time in our travels, I really felt like a local rather than a tourist. Maybe it’s because I was born there or because Melbourne and Sydney each have familiar qualities from London and LA that I love (like pubs and good mexican food to name a few). Or maybe it had everything to do with forgoing a traditional hotel and booking local rooms in vibrant neighborhoods like Fitzroy and Darlinghurst via Airbnb. Whatever the reason, it was awesome. Melbourne was just the artsy and indie fix that I needed since it’s so hard to come by in KL, and Sydney was sort of like a walk down memory lane through my parents’ stories of the places and things that were once a part of our everyday lives. Joe and I found ourselves talking about what it would take to move there, what we’d do for work, what neighborhoods we’d live in; we do that a lot with the cities we like but this time it felt more plausible. The only downside is that Australia is SO far from everywhere else in the world so we’d have to be pretty sure that our travel bugs had more than fully been satisfied. That’s a tough call to make at this point but with my citizenship there it sure is nice to have the option. Thanks for that, mom and dad ;)

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