happy 6 years bubie!

isn't it funny how as quick we are to make plans that we lose sight of them? when i say 'we' i mean 'me' of course. as we were driving back from our anniversary getaway - i felt really inspired to blog, not just about this little escape but every other vacation we've had! i could feel the words radiating out of my fingers (like magic light beams). ah well ... it's friday now - and the weekend beckons - about high time i made good on my word, ah ... but life has been so hectic ... ;)

well, as everybody who's friends with us on fb would know (to quote loh tzuanne), kianming and i celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this past sunday! it was also chap goh meh (15th day/final day of lunar new year) and the chinese lovers' day - so it was 'doubly' romantic.

and 'lucky' too (6=luck). and very lucky were we - as the trip would have been partly ruined if we'd gotten the flat tire on the way to pilot mountain instead of on saturday evening as we were heading out to meet dave and holly. not sure what caused the puncture exactly ... i guess it had probably just worn out with age. so yes, very lucky indeed that all that happened on saturday, instead of sunday - which would have been somewhat logistically problematic. well, we got AAA to change the flat to the spare and arrived at cuppa Joes in time to not answer trivia questions on american folk music. i wish i'd taken a picture of the spare because it's not a full sized tire like what i'm used to - but cute and small, and only meant to be a temporary fix. 

the story continues with us getting a rental car for the trip - as we didn't want to waste precious time getting the tire replaced on sunday morning (are the car workshops even open on sunday?), not to mention that our honda has seen fairer days and so we thought it best to let her rest in the airport parking garage - and then off we were for our getaway to pilot mountain in a blue chevy cobalt (seen in some of the photos.)


i'd heard about pilot knob inn several years ago and it immediately came to mind when we were discussing what to do on our anniversary. it's about 1.5hrs drive from durham, which is perfect for a short escape. we'd also been to pilot mountain state park back in fall so i knew there'd be some good hiking/running nearby. the only teeny catch was that we'd have to drive to winston salem to have a decent meal, it being sunday and pilot mountain not exactly hotbed of sophisticated dining. i decided instead to pack a picnic to have in front of the fireplace since the b&b would provide a huge breakfast and we didn't want to have two big meals in a row ...


what we grazed on: strawberries, grapes, figs, marinated olives, gouda, gruyere, some kind of sheep cheese, biscotti, crackers, really good rye bread, french onion soup in mugs, and for dessert, chocolates and the piece de resistance toasted marshmallows. mmmm... the wine i got was - a pinot noir rosé frizzanté - which i think was perfect for the occasion - not only because it tasted great but also because the concept of rosé, whereby the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, like two distinct individuals joined together in marriage. ok - i invented all that. hehe. but according to the wine notes, this wine was first created by a couple for their wedding so that must've figured as part of their inspiration. and frizzanté - what's a celebration without bubblies? ;)


i'm going to take a back seat now and let the pictures tell the rest of the story. but just wanted to add that before arriving at our anniversary digs, we'd engaged in some strenuous trail running along the corridor of pilot mountain state park, a rolling bridle trail - 6miles felt more like 10mile honestly. it was truly humbling - i am not as fit as i thought. but we were rewarded with a luxurious soak in a jacuzzi in a restored tobacco barn cabin that is over 100 years old. it was totally worth scrambling up those steep hills, skirting around and more than once stepping on horse poop ...:P


isn't life is at times like trail running?


i feel truly blessed to be married to the best bubie in the world. and i thank God for all that we've been through together and look forward to all that is to come. xoxoxo

myzoooooopics

waiting for my raisin bread to rise. this is the first 'rise'. i shall have to 'de-gas' it at the end of this hour and then allow it to rise another hour before i can put it in the oven to bake. hehe. don't u love the word 'de-gas'? it's my first attempt at raisin bread - cross fingers that the recipe works. :D

i went to the zoo this weekend! it was a gloriously warm day. not tropical warm but good enough for the african animals to come out and play. the kid in me loooves seeing animals. esp. the BIG ones. i was probably more excited about the animals than emilia - who seemed unimpressed on the whole. ...

my favorite were the graceful giraffes - it was almost like a scene out of jurassic park as the group walked towards us. think long necks. :)

felt sorry for the gorilla though. he seemed such a sad lonesome thing in his extensive 'forest glade' home. there are supposed to be 2 female gorilla playmates but they were nowhere in sight. perhaps they haven't arrived yet, and he's waiting for them. well, hope he doesn't have to wait much longer!

waiting is difficult to do, especially when it's for those things that weigh heavily on our hearts. we spend so much time waiting in this life. and really, there's no way out of it. because such things are beyond our control. perhaps then, one of the best gifts to ask for in prayer is patience. and with it, a friend (or even better, friends!) to wait with you

because it makes waiting so much more bearable
hmm ... too bad i didn't go to the bear exhibit ;)

Psa. 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

p.s. raisin bread turned out perfect. nom nom! the whole house smells luverly right now. wish i could bottle up the yummy smell and save it for those times when i need a 'pick me up'. :) 

respite from politics: a daytrip to winston-salem

there is election fever in the house! yes - the US primaries ... go OBAMA! but more importantly for us, the 12th general elections in malaysia. aren't we such a young country!!!?

as i write this, the nominations for the GE are rolling in. okm's monitoring the elections all the way from this side of the world. (the wonders of internet!) (search straits times (s'pore), nst and malaysiakini for pre-election analyses by okm)

we just got back from watching 'definitely, maybe'. it is DEFINITELY worth watching. lot's of good reasons. little miss sunshine abigail breslin, ryan reynolds, isla fisher, rachel weisz ... for starters. incidently, the movie is set to the background of the clinton administration - from the time of the '91 democratic primaries to his impeachment trial and so forth ...

yep, it's not easy to escape from Politics.

but we did manage to get away for a couple of hours to winston-salem. this 'little' town is where 2 world famous brands were founded and have their company headquarters - the tobacco company behind camel and salem brand cigarettes AND the 'more' politically correct krispy kreme donuts :D

welcome to salem 'high' country!

our first stop, the site of the original donut shop
- 259 South Stratford Road

after stuffing down a couple of donuts,
we cross the bridge to the 18th century

living history in old salem

spring is in the air!

we found a neat little place for lunch in the art district of the winston-salem called 6th&vine. here's a very unprofessional clip of our lunches ... can someone please recommend a good video editing software please?? i forgot to speak while filming but let me say now that the food was super rico, muy delicioso!!!!! we also shared the sweet sake salad as an appetizer which was YUm.

ciao winston-salem!

Weekend at Cape Fear

Not sure how the name came about - but it's actually a really pleasant little spot on the NC coast. Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill were both filmed at Wilmington and the various other locations around Cape Fear. It wasn't difficult to see why. Wilmington has tons of small town charm. And if your house is next to Cape Fear River or one of the sounds running between the main land and the barrier islands - you could row your boat to your best friend's house, just like Dawson.

There are 3 beaches here - and being kiasu - we visited all 3: Carolina, Wrightsville, and Kure Beach. I liked Wrightsville best because it had a nice village feel. The beach is on the eastern edge of a long strip of an island that is dotted with beach houses along it's spine. You could probably walk from the north to south in an hour. (which we lazy bums did not) :P

Enuf writing. Picture time!

Historic Wilmington

the battleship