Monday 27 April 2015

Onboard The NEW Lufthansa Premium Economy Class

Hellooooo!! So... ARE YOU READY?? Because I'm gonna take you (yes, YOU!) along with me for this 1 month trip to Europe!! I was very excited even before reaching Frankfurt because it's my first time onboard Lufthansa's new Premium Economy Class! It's a new travel experience between Business Class & Economy Class on long-haul flights where you can expect to enjoy more personal space, more service and more extras!
Picture Perfect!
My babyboy~~~
Thank you love for coming!!
(1) 2x23kg Free Baggage
In Premium Economy Class, you can check in a second baggage at no extra cost! I totally needed that since I'm away for a month so it's really great news!
Oh yesss~ :D
Soo excited!
(2) Welcome Drink
Shortly after settling down, we were each served a cup of orange juice~ Talking about the little things that count! :)
To our shared experience. To a great trip! Cheers~
(3) New Seats
Our seats were so much wider and we were able to comfortably lean back with a greater distance from the passengers to the front, which certainly made our sleep so much better :)
(4) Travel Accessories
Travel accessories pack were provided including a moist towel, socks, sleep mask (which really helped me in my sleep), earplugs and toothbrush!
(5) All About Food
The menu is definitely one of the many things that I was looking forward to lol!
My eyes literally lit up when I saw Smoked Salmon!! *droools*
Are you ready for dinner?
Honestly, the food was really good, especially...
...THIS BOWL OF GOODNESS! Super yummy~~
Second cheers to an amazing trip!
Nothing beats having a good breakfast which was served an hour plus before alighting! :)
Hello Frankfurt!!
Thank you Lufthansa for making my 13-hours flight so comfortable! There are many other amenities offered under the Premium Economy Class such as USB ports and personal power outlets that charge really fast, more storage space, footrest etc where you can check out here

Anyways, time really flies and it's already my Day 4 here at Paris! There are so many amazing photos that I can't wait to share so I figured out that it'd be more ideal to do a day-to-day post because I also don't want to flood one post with never-ending photos! I will make time to blog so do check back often for new posts ok! I'm going to start preparing for the picnic later... right infront of the Eiffel Tower! OMG I can't wait to watch it sparkle at the hour! It's gonna be soo beautiful~ 

With love,
Shirley

Friday 17 April 2015

Choosing The Right Travel Pass For Your Europe Trip - Eurail Select Pass / Swiss Travel Pass

Hello! Just a recap, next Friday I'll land myself in Paris (OMG!) and I'm also visiting Switzerland, Vienna, Prague and Frankfurt for a month! I believe most of us know that a huge part of the costs involved when you're in Europe will be on transportation, especially when you're visiting different countries! In this post, I will be sharing with you all the train passes which I've purchased and its costs that best fits my itinerary. After A LOT of research & hair-pulling moments, my brother and I decided to go with the Eurail Select Pass
The 4 countries I've selected for this Select Pass will be France, Switzerland, Austria & Germany. LUCKILY I'M STILL A YOUTH (25 years old woohoo)! If not, the cost of an Adult Pass is DOUBLE that of a Youth Pass leh! I chose the first category, $271euros = SGD$426.75 per pax.

Note: As the Select Pass only covers 4 countries, I will be purchasing a separate train ticket for Vienna-Prague journey since these 2 places are nearer to each other. A 2-way return trip costs around $40-60euros (~SGD$100) 
Some of my trains requires mandatory seat reservations, so I paid SGD$119.08 per pax (covering 4 seat reservations as seen below).
What I'm most impressed with Eurail is their efficiency in mailing me my Eurail Pass and reservation tickets!! SUPER EFFICIENT & TRUSTABLE SERVICE! 

<< SWITZERLAND >>
Transportation in Switzerland is slightly different because of all that mountains and lakes as compared to countries such as Paris/Vienna/Prague which operates by its metro system like Singapore. There are various passes that you can choose from, depending on how many days you plan to stay. I'd be staying there for 8 days 7 nights covering Interlaken, Montreux (1 day trip), Bern (1 day trip), Lucerne (1 day trip) & Zurich. So after doing all that calculation & literally getting my brain fried (seriously it was that tough), I decided to go for the Swiss Travel Pass!
This is the pricing from www.swisstravelsystem.com, BUT don't get turn off by the price first! I actually purchased my Swiss Travel Pass from Rail Europe Singapore which is much more cheaper (refer to image below)!
For the advantages of the Swiss Travel Pass especially the unlimited travel, it is very worth it and all I need to set aside now is just the money for food in Switzerland! Anyways, after booking via Rail Europe, you'll receive an email confirmation. Once the order is being processed, they will send you another email with your Swiss Travel Pass attached. The pass is a 'Print @ Home' e-ticket which is pretty convenient! You can print as many as you want too, just in case!

I've done most of my research via useful (life-saving) websites such as Rick Steves, Eurail.com, TripAdvisor and other forums that pop up during google search. If you are a budget traveler like me, I would definitely advice you to dedicate some time doing all the necessary calculations before you purchase any train passes. No Pain, No Gain!! It's really not easy at all but IT'S ALL WORTH IT! :D

With love,
Shirley

Monday 13 April 2015

I DREAMT THAT I'M PREGNANT!

Hihi! Hope everyone had a great weekend~ Today is 13 April, which means in 10 days' time I'd be at the airport waiting to board my flight to Europe!! OMG I've been talking about it for months and can't believe it's really happening soon!! :D Recently, I was very busy planning for an upcoming business idea that will be launched in June! I'm very excited and extremely thankful for the support and help given by my close friends! I've also come to realize that having a great idea is one thing; having the network and support to build on that idea is another! That's why I'm really so grateful and looking forward to have a great launch! *fingers crossed* I'll definitely share more about it in another post before the launch so to those who are currently reading this, it'd be great to have your support too! Stay tuned!! Hint: I'm very sure it's something you'll want or simply don't mind having! My only aim is to make your wish come true ;)

By the way, I woke up in a shock that I'm.. yes, pregnant. I remembered that I was at NgeeAnn (I've no idea for what) but my "baby" is probably 5-6 months old already.. But the problem is, I DON'T KNOW WHO THE FATHER IS!! OMG wth right hahaha! I woke up and faster text Shux about this. It really felt damn scary please :/ But to my surprise, she gave me the most pleasant reply "Dreaming about pregnancy = new beginnings I think"~ Awww! She told me to google about it and so I did...

What do dreams about being pregnant mean?
"At its core, this dream is about creativity," Mead says. "Women literally create new life out of their bodies. If you dream of being pregnant, you are likely craving time to be creative, or 'dreaming up' a new and exciting creative project that will come into existence down the line. This could be as small as a home-based renovation project or a large-scale artistic work."


What can I learn about myself from dreaming about being pregnant?
"Pregnancy dreams are often multi-layered and speak about something inside -- represented by the fetus -- that has not yet been acknowledged or presented to the world," Mead says. "I find that people who have disowned goals and desires often dream of pregnancies. For example, someone who might have wanted to act, but chose the safe path of being a lawyer, may be plagued with pregnancy dreams until he or she takes steps to at least connect with that earlier passion." (More on the article here)

After reading the article, what's most surprising is the fact that it's VERY applicable and true for my current situation right now! True or not, we'd never know but I certainly choose to believe it! Luckily Shux told me this, if not it's really quite scary to dream that I'm pregnant hahaha. Okay I need to get back to my itinerary planning! Till later ;)

With love,
Shirley

Sunday 12 April 2015

Love At First Smell - Dior Addict Eau De Toilette

~ Love At First Smell ~

That instant when both of you connected and the world immediately become a better place to be; 
That feeling when you're so deeply in love and just can't wait to be together all day and night; 
That moment when you finally decided that nothing else is better than what's before you;

That's exactly how I felt when I laid my eyes nose on...
 Dior Addict Eau De Toilette!! <3!!

LOL okk~ that was a bit of an exaggeration but it's really like 99% true!! Hahaha I really fell in love with the scent after one of those visits at Sephora and since then, I just can't stop thinking about it. But I didn't buy it because it's over my budget so every time I visit Sephora, I would just spray a little on the scent strips (and abit on my wrist) and just hope that the scent will stay with me for as long as possible lol~ If I'm not wrong, Sephora is selling the perfume at around $120+ for 50ml and $180+ for 100ml. 
Photo credits: http://www.bellachique.be/2014/06/dior-addict-eau-de-toilette/ 

As quoted from www.dior.com"The Sicilian Mandarin top note unleashes a joyful, charming scent with fruity citrus tones, tangy and full. White flowers, Jasmine Sambac and Tunisian Neroli blend together over a sensual and subtle woody base of Sandalwood Essence with a hint of Vanilla. The sophisticated freshness of a woody floral: decidedly feminine, it sparkles with a fresh and sensual elegance."

Frankly speaking, I only own 2 perfumes -- one is the Japanese Cherry Blossom EDT from Body Shop; the other one is Anna Sui (a gift from my friend many years back)~ Good news is, I finally own this Dior Addict EDT and I'm so over the moon!! :D I bought it from a seller from Carousell though, who imports from the US and claims that it's 100% authentic. Of course before I purchased it, I tried googling different websites to see how to differentiate between a fake and real Christian Dior perfume. It's not easy but there are certain things like printings on the bottle caps etc, that can help differentiate (I've lost the links already but you can just google if you want)~ 

Anyways, I managed to slightly negotiate and got the 100ml for only $88 (originally $98)! That's literally a $100 difference as compared to Sephora! OMG right~ I self-collected the perfume (brand new in wrapper) from the seller and keeping in mind what I've researched about, the perfume seems to be authentic~ Ok honestly, I don't think I can be completely sure that it's really 100% authentic even though the seller, Sylvie, assured that it is. BUT WHATEVER IT IS, my Dior Addict EDT really smells heavenly and for that price, I'm really happy with my new buy! Sylvie also sells other perfumes and if you're interested, here's her Carousell profile --> https://carousell.com/sylvie/followers/

With love,
Shirley

Tuesday 7 April 2015

MY NEW NAME PART 2: Bank & Telco Records Update

http://therealsingapore.com/content/ocbc-charged-my-mum-30-fee-deposit-cash-her-own-bank-account

Hello :) So if you've read my previous blogpost on "MY NEW NAME & IDENTITY", you'd know that I've recently changed my name and gotten my new IC and Passport! So the next step is to update my new name for the banks and telco records. I am currently holding a OCBC Frank Debit Card and POSB GO Card. I read online that I would need to fill up some forms when I'm there etc BUT turns out that there was nothing I needed to do! The staff were really efficient and helpful, so the whole procedure was a breeze!

What To Bring:
- Deed poll (just in case) and new IC
- Your current cards

What To Do:
- Sit there and appreciate them for their help to do up everything! :)

I almost forgot to update my name for Singtel but luckily I passed by the store and got reminded! Basically, they only needed my IC and everything was done in less than 10min :) That's about it! Short and sweet, hassle-free ;) Till later!

With love,
Shirley

Sunday 5 April 2015

Restaurant-hop: Skinny Pizza

I'm sure we all have days where we just can't wait for the day to end because the only thing we are looking forward to is a catch up with friends over a good dinner~ Am I right?? And it can never go wrong with pizza, or rather, Skinny Pizza! It's been a while since I had Skinny Pizza and it was pretty interesting to try out a different flavour this time round - Chicken Satay! My friends and I enjoyed it which I feel it's worth a shot if you haven't try yet! :)
< Chicken Satay, $23 >
< English Breakfast, $24 > (my all-time favourite!)
The Truffle Fries ($9) tasted especially nice that day; maybe I was too hungry hahaha.

SKINNY PIZZA OUTLETS
- Westgate
- House (8D Dempsey Road)
- Plaza Singapura
- Raffles City
- 100AM (Tanjong Pagar)

You can also check out their menu first at www.skinnypizza.com.sg before making your way down! It's always a good idea to know in advance what you would like to eat, so that you really have something to look forward to! :D 

With love,
Shirley