Let's Go East (and Back)

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

2016-10-10T14:50:00.001-04:00

Hey All,

So a few weeks back Marie and I dusted off the old passports and ventured down to Cabo for a little getaway. The trip started out as a big Duvall family vacay, but in the end the guys unfortunately weren't able to make it. Not ones to pass up a fun trip, much less one to Mexico, the Duvall gals (x4) decided to head South of the boarder for a much anticipated girls-only adventure.

I wanted to share with you some photos from our trip 1. because we had such an awesome time 2. colder weather is looming here in Chicago and 3. Marie looks so stinkin' cute in a teeny bikini :)

A photo recap below:

The four of us stayed in an awesome house near the resort One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos. The set up was perfect for a busy schedule of going for walks, floating in the pool, tooling around town in our golf cart, eating tostadas, drinking margs and napping (and I'm talking both baby and adult, minus the margs).

Marie hadn't been swimming since her first little vacay back when she was about 2 months old. It took her a little bit to warm up to the water, but she quickly got the hang of it and was loving all things pool time.

Lots of love from her Aunt Ray.

Baby splashes!

This one below - my fave from the whole trip. That little scrunched up nose...xoxox

I include this one below for documentation purposes. Marie's and my room opened up the the pool so following nap time one afternoon we pulled back the curtains and ta-daaaa! What the?! How the!?

Marie has been sitting up on her own for awhile now, but had not yet been able to get herself from back/tummy up to the sitting position on her own until now. She's growing up and developing by the day! (Side note: once she's sitting up, she's reached the point of no return in terms of sleep. Ugh).

Pool time with mom :)

This right here is her go-to pose. Lol

Cheeeeeese...

Be still my heart...

Dressed up in her little Mexican dress and ready to hit the ~~resort restaurant~~ town.

Marie loves her Lainey!

Love these ladies.

This face tho...

Spicy margarita, yes please.

Every morning we hiked to the top of this mountain(?) and were treated to this stunning view.

Marie thought it was absolutely hilarious watching us huff and puff while pushing her up the crazy steep hills.

These two ;)

And back to the pool for some more fun in the sun. Can we go back again soon please?

Marie and I had such a blast on our girls trip. It's not always simple traveling with a baby, but I wouldn't trade these experiences and memories for anything. Thank you so much Lainey and Aunt Ray for making this trip so much fun! We love you!!

XO,

Marie: Baptism and 6 Months

2016-09-27T10:11:00.001-04:00

Hey All,

I wanted to share with you the photos from Marie's baptism weekend. Or 'baptism-apalooza' as we jokingly refer to it. It was an action-packed, fun-filled, three-day celebration befitting only of a first born child. I mean I even hired the always sweet and ever-so-talented Anna Petrow to capture the event for Pete's sake ;)

It feels like we've been going 100 mph since we moved back to the States, but weekends and moments like this make us feel so incredibly happy and grateful to be living closer to our family and friends. A huge thank you to our family members for making the trip to Kansas City all the way from Omaha, DC and Atlanta and an extra special thank you to Marie's loving God Parents, Sean and Elizabeth, for being a part of her life and special day. We love you all so much!

There were three babies getting baptized that Sunday, but Marie hilariously and sweetly stole the show :)

I love this photo below. It's her 'did you guys see that?!' face. Melting heart.

Fun fact: Marie's baptismal gown was purchased by my late maternal grandfather and first worn in 1952. She was the 19th(!) baby to be baptized wearing it. The gown is made out of the most gorgeous lace and silk and is very near and dear to my family. Marie looked like a little angel in it - she knew she looked good that day too ;)

No tears for our little lady.

Moving on to the after party.

My sister and her fam lookin' sharp!

Group family photos.

Love you guys!

Aunt Ray <3

Our little family.

Stage mom status - the day also just so happened to coincide with her 6 month bday.

Love that sweet little face so much.

I'm so glad we have these photos to be able to relive such a fun weekend with those nearest and dearest to us. We love you!

XO,

Photo credit: Anna Petrow 2016

Marie: 3 - 5 Months

2016-09-09T09:37:00.000-04:00

Hey All!

It's been awhile and I owe you guys a lot of photos. In the 3 months since I last posted (oops) a lot has happened. In short, we've re-acclimated to life in the US, moved (x3!), taken lots of fun trips to Kansas City and Omaha and watched our little lady grow and develop like crazy. It was so much fun to look at pics from the past few months. It has only been a short amount of time, but it already feels like a lifetime ago. In a lot ways it truly was another life.

Back to where we left off...

I have so many cute and ridiculous pics of our long voyage home. I took them for equal parts enjoyment, documentation, boredom and the sheer absurdity of it all. And I'm so glad I did. I can't believe how much of a proper BABY she was. No wonder people were so ~~judgemental~~ empathic towards us. Between the crazy emotions, stress and jet lag I barely remember the whole ordeal.

I literally have thousands of pictures on my phone and camera, so here are just a few highlights...

LITTLE BABY!

Teeny seatbelt for takeoff... :)

We hit the ground running back in the US with much anticipated, wonderful trips back home to see our family and friends.

Marie's first weekend in Chicago! (yes, hats and sleeves in June)

Cousin photo shoot. Aren't they the absolute cutest ever.

The sweetest little trio.

4 month portrait (taken at our first Chicago apartment).

Shades on fleek. (Apparently '+3' does not mean +3 months). She still cute tho!

Title: Mom Wears Makeup For First Time in Ever

(Great) Nana on the babysitting duty.

Marie's first 4th of July.

Weekend trip to check out Dad's new office.

Marie does 'The Max' pop-up.

Marie does BBQ festival.

One of my current all-time favorites :)

Bursting heart status.

5 month portrait - taken at our second (temp) Chicago apartment.

Just learning how to sit up on her own here.

She sits!

Marie does fancy dinner out.

Mom and dad go home and promptly research area babysitters.

Marie does Sunday Mass.

Marie does Chicago River boat tour.

Marie transitions from taxi to car and learns what it's like to ride in the backseat by herself.

Marie meets friends.

Marie takes her like 20th flight - thinks she owns the place.

Okay, that's all for now folks! Our sweet Marie is sitting up, rolling around like crazy (she can do an impressive 360 spin on her tummy) and just starting to show signs of wanting to crawl and pull up (she completes the majority of her pulling up practice while in her baby bathtub, oh joy). She's got a seriously impressive reach and will grab at and chew on anything in and out of reach (bye-bye newly planted flower box by the door).

It's practically impossible to document everything with a crazy and ever-changing little girl on our hands, but I'll try better. Besides the simple lack of time and energy, it seems as if she's developing by the minute :).

Between moving into our permanent Chicago place (our first home!), Marie's baptism (aka baptism-a-palooza weekend) and an upcoming trip to Cabo, Mexico, we have lots to be thankful for and look forward to in month 6.

Until next time.

XO,

Marie's 3 Month Pics - A Farewell To Singapore

2016-06-10T10:05:00.004-04:00

Hey All!

We are loving being back in the USA and are very excited to get settled in Chicago. After a very long journey across the Pacific, we spent our first week back visiting family and friends and soaking up all this amazing weather. Marie has already gotten to meet so many wonderful and special people in her life and we can't wait for her to meet the rest of you.

Okay, so truth be told, I don't have the time, or energy, to do a full write up on all the feelings post expat life, but I wanted to share Marie's 3 month pics / our farewell photo shoot we did the weekend before leaving Singapore. It was important to me to have some family photos taken in front of the iconic city skyline to show Marie one day and to commemorate our special time in the little red dot.

Shout out to KC Wong of The Family Man for braving the humidity and a squirmy ~~husband~~ little girl and effortlessly capturing this special time in our lives.

I actually didn't intend to match our clothes this closely, but we went with it ;)

Michael smirk >>

So sunny

Our sweet girl was such a good sport. We were all SO hot and sweaty. This is her, 'okay I'm cooperating, but you're really pressing your luck here lady,' face.

And in true Singapore fashion the heat wave quickly gave way to a full-on monsoon. It was a classic Singapore morning - very fitting for our farewell tour.

Some quick thoughts as we continue to repatriate: everything really is bigger in America! Grocery stores (x1000), kitchen counters, washing machines, cars, people. Fast.Food.Chains.Every.Where. Local commercials haven't grown old yet. ESPN! TARGET! CHIPOTLE! BEER & WINE UNDER $18 A GLASS!

We miss Singapore, but we are loving being home and closer to our family. Marie slept like a champ after a day of soaking up all this good Midwestern fresh air. Ahh feels good to be home...

XO,

[Editors note: I plan to keep up with the blog as we begin to make our life here in Chicago (I need an outlet for my excessive baby photos and photography practice). However, I don't think I'm going to share new posts via my Facebook page anymore. So, if you enjoy 'Keeping Up With The Duvall's', enter your email address in the 'Follow By Email' field on the right hand side of the homepage to receive updates, or check back every so often for new posts. This blog has been great fun for me and I'm so, so, so happy to have done it. Hopefully I will enjoy documenting and sharing our new life in Chicago just as much. Much love to you all.]

Photo credit: The Family Man 2016

Stamp Gals

2016-05-17T11:02:00.001-04:00

Hey all! So last week we had the honor of hosting my mom and sister here in Singapore. They were so kind to come all the way out here to see us (well mostly our sweet Marie ;)), and we were ecstatic to see them.

The week was full of baby snuggles, eating, shopping and overall loving our girl time together. Lots of photos and a recap below.

Good morning! Everyone loves waking up to a smiley baby - especially after traveling for 24+ hours.

Our first fun outing was out to celebrate Mother's Day in style. We were pampered at a fun and filling brunch at the top of The Westin.

Marie even got dressed up for the occasion.

...This is the face you make when you're expecting to be going down for a nice long nap, but instead are forced to put on uncomfortable clothes and go out to eat (I'm talking about Marie here, not Niki, wink). What a good little sport.

My first Mother's Day :)

My girls.

Time to go home before the baby turns into a pumpkin! Cheeeeese!

It was so fun celebrating with my favorite mamas on our special day.

(Baby is in a much happier place now).

It's not a trip to Singapore without ~~sweating~~ shopping on Haji Lane.

...and high tea!

We had the best day feeling fancy at the Fullerton Bay afternoon tea (Marie slept through the entire thing).

Auntie kisses.

And if there's one thing the Stamp gals love more than shopping, it's CHINA TOWN shopping.

So.Much.Stuff.

In between our daily outings we spent a lot of time playing dress up and fawning over the little one.

Nana kisses.

A little BTS action. #mamarazzi

And that's a wrap on our amazing, fun-filled, snuggly, busy week.

I had the absolute best time having my mom and sister out here. It's always so special and fun having our families here in Singapore. We love showing off our city and spending time with the ones we love the most. Thank you for everything! Marie says thanks and she misses you. See you soon!

XO,

PS - Marie's 10 week portrait. I can't believe we're turning the corner towards three months already. Current interests include: eating, napping, going on adventures and gnawing on her little fists.

Langkawi, Malaysia

2016-05-04T09:36:00.003-04:00

Greetings family and friends. I wanted to share with you some (okay, a lot) of photos from our first holiday as a little family of 3!

The past couple weeks we had been going back and forth on weather or not we should attempt to take a little trip since this past Monday was a public holiday here in Singapore. With just a couple days left to plan we decided to pull the trigger and book a trip to the island of Langkawi, just off the West coast of neighboring Malaysia. I mean, how hard can it be to travel with a tiny 10lb human?! ;)

Now in Singapore if there's one thing they like more than on orderly queue, it's catering to those with extra needs. Let's just say we were a sight to see walking through the airport with multiple bags, a small baby, frazzled mom and dad in a massive arm sling still recovering from surgery. Michael and I joked we collectively qualified for like 4 out of the 5 reasons to receive special care.

Long story short, we successfully got packed up, Marie was perfect on her first flight (only 1.25hrs to our destination) and in the end, even though a vacation with a baby is certainly not a vacation, we were so glad we did it. Not only did we have a wonderful time, but as first time parents we were so proud of ourselves for making it through and proving to ourselves we could do it.

Now, onto the photos...

The day before we left we tried on our swim costumes and had a little pep talk to get ready to hit the beach.

(Confession: I mostly included this photo because it's my all-time favorite at the moment. I think Marie looks exactly like Michael here and it makes my heart swell)

Good morning Langkawi! We made it!

Time to hit the breakfast buffet. Let's just say we're not liable to miss breakfast any time soon...

The big kids pool (we never swam in).

Marie's first time in the pool was a little hit and miss. She did okay in the water, but didn't like coming out and being cold much. Overall I would consider it a success.

More relaxing by the pool with regular intervals to eat, sleep and take photos. We didn't do much else. "Vacationing" with babies is hard work - and not in the 'vacationing is hard, haha' kind of way, like it's actually hard. Good thing she's cute! ;)

We did however manage to make it out to dinner both nights (we WILL adult!). This is Marie checking out her first beach sunset in her pjs. Hehe - the struggle of living on the equator.

The next morning we ventured out to dip our toes in the ocean.

As luck would have it, my real camera decided to stop working just as we got to the water. (If you've ever had a camera in a tropical location, you know that a camera sitting inside in the air con all night fogs up like crazy once outside and doesn't work until it adjusts) :(

I still managed to get some cute pics and videos with my iPhone, but the mom guilt was in full force that morning.

Back to our little pool - much better.

Family selfie attempt.

My favorite photo from the trip... bursting heart.

And that's a wrap!

It was certainly a MUCH different experience from our previous adventures, but we are getting used to and loving our new, crazy and exhausting normal.

So long Langkawi!

XO,

P.S. Marie's official 2 month portrait :) We're celebrating by welcoming Nana and Aunt Niki to Singapore tonight! Woo!

Baby Talk: Newborn Photos

2016-04-27T09:19:00.001-04:00

Hey there! So I wanted to share some pictures from Marie's newborn photoshoot. The photographs were taken when she was just a tiny 11 days old (subtext: mom is just 11 days out too ;)).

The photos were taken by Kerry Cheah at Red Bus Photography. I specifically chose Kerry for her 'fly on the wall', documentary style of photography which I absolutely love. I am so pleased with how they turned out and am so thankful to her for capturing such a special, joyous and, frankly, weird and hazy time in our lives.

And for comparison's sake, here's our little girl presently at 8 weeks... time is certainly flying by - luckily she keeps getting cuter and cuter :)

So much love.

XO,

CD + MD + MND

Photo credit: Red Bus Photography 2016

Hakuba & Tokyo, Japan

2016-04-25T09:47:00.001-04:00

Hey All! So I'm only about a month late...but I wanted to share pics from the Duvall men's trip to Japan last month. Michael and I have been to the Tokyo airport en route back to the States more times then we'd like to remember, but unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to venture into the city. Well, the guys cleared their schedules about a year in advance and made the trip to Japan finally happen.

They spent the week splitting their time between skiing in Nagano and eating their way around Tokyo. I was bummed to miss out, but they had a brilliant time on their guys-only holiday.

Michael's been slammed at work so I'm going to take the reigns on the recap here. A sweet and simple summary below...

Happy face! Since the guys were in town for spring skiing, the weather was a little hit and miss. The first day was absolutely horrendous with thick fog and heavy snow making it nearly impossible to see, but they still had a good time - on and off the slopes. They had much, much better skiing conditions the second day.

Posing in front of the ski jump from the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

Johnny ready to hit the slopes.

Off the slopes there was a lot of ramen, sake and onsens (hot spring spa - not photoed ;)) to warm their bones.

An apres-ski cafe with the biggest goldens you've ever seen roaming around? Sobbing on my keyboard.

Cheers

The guys stayed in a chalet that was part of the Phoenix Hotel in Hakuba.

Off to Tokyo...

Getting to and from Hakuba from Singapore was quite the adventure of planes, trains and automobiles.

"Enjoy Japanese Vending Machine Culture"

Waiting for the famed bullet train (Shinkansen) back to Tokyo.

Tokyo! The view from the Shangri-La.

What's a night out in Tokyo without a show at the Robot Restaurant (as seen in Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown).

No one's really sure what's going on... but I'm told it was a good time.

The other main highlight of their time in Tokyo was a food tour around the city via Culture Bites Food Tours. The company was started by a friend of a friend of ours here in Singapore.

Now THAT is some fresh fish. You need to check out this video below... (sorry, for some reason I can only see it from my computer and not my iPhone)

I'm told plenty of noodles, fish, sake and good times were had during the tour :)

The boys all agreed the trip was a great time and life-long memories were made along the way. The men were thrilled this trip came together and everyone had such a wonderful time. The Duvall women on the other hand were ecstatic no one was mortally injured while skiing ;)

It's always a brilliant time when our families come all the way out to Asia to visit us. Lots of love...

XO,

CD on behalf of MD

Baby Talk: Girls Only

2016-04-12T09:22:00.003-04:00

Hey All!

Following the Duvall men's visit, I wanted to share a few photos of the Duvall gals holding it down in Singapore, while the guys were off sightseeing and skiing in Japan (recap to come). We were so so so happy and appreciative to have Marie's Laney come all the way out to Singapore to help out and spend time with us :)

While we were missing our respective men, Elaine and I had the best time snuggling the baby, going out for dinner and a (well earned) drink, cooking at home, celebrating Marie's first Easter Sunday and more. [Editors note: this post spans over a three week period] Wow, what a month it's been. A photo recap below...

Marie's first happy hour outside the house! She was perfectly behaved - good news for our future social life.

I purchased these bunny ears months ago with the intention of dressing Marie up on Easter Sunday. I just couldn't help myself. Success!

Although I was a little nervous about the outing, the three of us got all dressed up and headed out the door for church. I knew it was going to be a packed house so we got there 30 min early - in time to snag a prime baby-friendly seat (back row, near the exit).

It didn't end up being necessary as Marie was a perfect angel and slept through the entire service and walk home. Go girl.

Looking a little timid before her big 1 month check up. Besides battling a small case of baby acne, so far she's prefect.

Cheeseeeeee - one whole month.

Lots of sweet and lazy afternoons at home - the best.

Big milestone - Marie gets a passport! Our gal is ready to bust this popsicle stand and take her inaugural journey to the good ole USA.

And in case you ever wonder what goes into the perfect baby photo - I counted and no joke I took 69 photos of Marie in her red, white and blue get up before getting 'the shot' worthy of Instagram (embarrassing).

Dad's back! Here is the proud papa while out to a dim sum brunch. Michael and his work colleagues participated in a 10k run earlier that morning so we all gathered for a feast in celebration.

We're slowly trying on our closet full of clothes and accessories and developing our personal style... ;)

6 weeks today!

Each week seems to go by faster than the last. These last 3 weeks were so special and so much fun having Elaine out here in Singapore. To see someone love your child so much brings tears to the eyes of a tired, overly emotional new mama. So much love...

Thank you so so much for coming out here to be with us. We miss you and can't wait to see you soon!!

Update: Marie at 6 weeks - Likes: being held, going on walks (with her Laney - mom walks too slow), shopping, taxi rides, death staring while not napping, 'standing' whenever she can, starting to like bath time, falling asleep to Paul McCartney Lullabies from the album 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star' on Spotify and dancing around the house to the Jimmy Buffet Live in Las Vegas DVD (gee, I wonder who started these musical trends ;)) Dislikes: being put down, getting her eyes cleaned, her daily 'top and tail' wash and silence.

That's all for now!

XO,

Baby Talk: Gpa D and Uncle John Visit

2016-04-01T11:03:00.001-04:00

Hey all! Checking in with a recap of our family visitors and a hodgepodge of excessive baby photos I've deemed cute enough to share ;) Sorry, am I over doing it?! I just can't help myself.

So, since the arrival of our little girl (one month ago!) we welcomed our first family visitors - Michael's dad and bro. We were beyond thrilled to introduce our Marie to such important people in her life and are so appreciative of them making the trip all the way to Singapore for a visit.

Group selfie! (Marie wasn't quite ready)

Lots of gpa love.

Uncle time :)

One night we were able to sneak out of the house for some KBBQ at our fav place just down the block.

Grandpa D brought along with him a dress gifted by Great Grandpa Lee. The dress was worn by Marie's late Great Grandmother, Mary, when she was just a baby over 80 years ago(!). We of course needed a proper photo shoot with such a sweet and extra special family heirloom.

This one was snapped with my iPhone and is one of my favorite pics of Marie to date :)

During this time we also sadly said goodbye to Mary, who had been helping us out with Marie since she was born. She had so much love for our little girl and will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

3 week pic! I'm getting a little behind on blog posts...

Here she is getting the outside of her ears q-tipped and LOVING it. #pamperedbaby

During the Duvall mens' stay we had plenty of awesome home cooked dinners off the grill and baby snuggles. It was a great few days catching up and sweating it out here in Singapore.

Everyone looking rather skeptical on 'Indian night.'

Okay that's all for now! Next up are some pics of the Duvall men skiing and sight seeing in Japan while the Duvall girls (party of 3!) hold it down here in Singapore. Thank you so much to our wonderful family for making the journey out here and loving on our little girl.

Until next time.

XO,

Baby Talk: Marie's First Weeks

2016-03-14T10:26:00.009-04:00

Warning: this post contains excessive amounts of baby photos

Hi All! Just wanted to check in with a quick photo montage of our life with Miss Marie.* We have successfully survived our first two weeks as a little family of three and while it is admittedly not an easy endeavor, we have been enjoying every single moment with our sweet, sweet gal.

I brought my nice camera with us to the hospital and have been snapping a generous amount of pics on my phone, so here are just a few of my favorites...

All snuggled up at the hospital. The hospital where we delivered - Mount Elizabeth Orchard - was nothing short of amazing. The facilities and nurses were top notch and we were in very, very good hands. They even offer a complimentary limo service to take you home with baby(!)

Her hospital-issued blanket may or may not have been from the Hello Kitty family...

#FirstFamilySelfie

Brown-eyed girl.

My hands look like the cover of that Tina Fey book.

I <3 this pic.

Heart is bursting.

So happy to be home sweet home...

I have tons of cute pics of Michael and the baby - mom is still working on becoming photo ready ;)

Looking extra sweet on dads first day back to work.

Baby yawns are just the sweetest. Here she is in her pram. We've been trying to take a daily walk in the morning. So far she loves getting out of the house, but the issue is if we miss our window of time it becomes way too hot for her (most everyday is in the low 90's / feels like 100 which is not good for such a teeny human).

B-day shout out to Uncle Johnny!

We successfully made the rounds at the doctors last week. Here is our sweet, sweet, ultra amazing Dr. D. who delivered our babe.

Cheeeeeeese!

We also tackled newborn photos - which wore us ALL out.

Michael loves taking her out to explore the balcony and picking her a fresh flower for her hair :)

Things she enjoys at 2 weeks: getting just her left hand out of her swaddle (possibly left-handed like mom?), ripping her mittens off and scratching her face, screaming her head off while on her changing mat, growing the sweetest little rat tail of hair, sleeping a 4hr and 3hr stretch at night, having her hair combed (diva) and being extra cute just for dad.

That's about all for now. We can't wait for our first round of family visitors to arrive at the end of this week! So much love from Singapore.

XO,

CD, MD & MD

*Many people have asked how we came up with the name Marie. Basically we have a few Mary's in our family (both of Michael's grandmothers, my moms middle name, and a few others) and we knew we wanted a French name since 'Duvall' is of French origin, so Marie was an easy choice for us. We only recently decided on her middle name. Noelle is my given middle name that I had recently given up once we got married and I changed my name so it was nice to bring it back into the family :)

Baby Talk: The Nursery

2016-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

In the name of documentation as we continue the countdown to baby, I wanted to share a few pics of baby D's tiny room.

The room actually turned out a lot different than I originally envisioned, a la Pinterest. I wanted something soft, neutral and not overly girly, but with living in an apartment, planning on moving within the year, not being able to paint and rather limited options for baby shopping, we did the best we could. The room itself is fairly small, but it has nice light and is set up well to house both a bed and crib.

So once I got past my unrealistic original vision of creams and whites (which people actually don't sell a lot of), the inspiration basically came from the bold colors of the existing guest bedding that I didn't have the time, energy or need to replace. So there you have it.

THE BEFORE: The room had pretty much looked like this since we moved in back in Sept. Yikes.

THE AFTER: Voilá! A simple, bright and cheery nursery / guest room.

We still have room for visitors in case anyone doesn't mind sleeping with a baby :-P

We're ready for you girl. Well ready in the fact that we at least have space for you...

(FYI, Mee = different types of noodles, Kueh = Singaporean desserts and in fact not the baby's name, as my mother feared ;))

The guitar actually came about because I honestly didn't have space for it anywhere else - and hey, the color matched.

The welcoming committee.

Thanks for taking a tour de baby room with me. We can't wait to plop her in it!

XO,

Sources :

Crib - Shakery Cot via Deer Industries
Rug - from Northern India via Deer Industries
Bedding - AeroSleep
Baskets - Bohemian via Chillax Market
Art work - Naiise and Shh! Art and Design
Mobile - DIY, I found the strings in China Town via Nepal

Chinese New Year: As seen in Singapore

2016-02-17T10:27:00.002-05:00

Hey there!

In the spirit of spending this Chinese New Year in Singapore due to my lack of mobility, I figured I should dust off the ol' camera and venture down to China Town to take in the sights and sounds of the celebration. I present to you just a few pics from the other weekend. Gong Xi Fa Cai and happy year of the monkey!

A photo summary below:

Little monkey faces everywhere.

Giraffe ears? Omg the cuteness.

...and a well-earned Tiger beer for Michael after fighting the massive crowds in the name of photography.

Cheers to a healthy and prosperous new year!

XO,

Baby Talk: The Bump

2016-02-15T08:51:00.002-05:00

As the ~~weeks~~ days until baby D is due to arrive rapidly trickle down, I figured I should get out at least one pregnancy post - if anything for my own memory. I mean, how many more times am I going to be pregnant in SE Asia? (answer, ZERO). So, I present to you some growing bump photos along with my random observations and experiences here in Singapore.

[Disclaimer: I realize some of these selfie-mirror pics are super cliche and kinda ridiculous, but as I type this I've literally never felt worse about my physical appearance, so I'm enjoy looking at photos of myself back when I was skinnier and had access to my full wardrobe. Sue me.]

10 weeks - hello bloat

The bump makes it debut inside a Lulu Lemon dressing room, naturally.

14 weeks - the bump arrives

Why yes we have a photo of The Beatles, purchased from a rougue street vender in NY, in our bathroom. It actually sits right next to a framed pic of the Rat Pack.

15 weeks

17 weeks

Normal clothes are starting to no longer fit...

18 weeks

"Michael, get in the pic with me so I don't look so desperate."

19 weeks

It's official - it's a girl :)

20 weeks

I think the bump looks big here because I ate an entire large bag of Cool Ranch Dorritos on this day.

21 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

31 weeks

Annnd we have reached the stage where we should only be photographed in black and white.

33 weeks

34 weeks - hi puffy fingers

35 weeks

36 weeks

37 weeks

Touching :

It was funny when we went home for the holidays people were gingerly asking if they could touch my stomach and I realized that no one besides Michael, myself and my Dr have touched my stomach in all of my time being pregnant. I have heard stranger-touching is a very common thing back in the States, but in my experience, in Singapore (and possibly Asia in general?) no local would EVER dream of coming up to you and rubbing your belly. My first encounter with stranger danger came at a massive 35 weeks when this tiny little 100 year old British lady gave me a little pat and said to 'take care.' I admit it took me by surprise and was a little weird.

Water :

Asians believe that a pregnant woman should never, ever, ever drink cold water. Something about it being a traumatic shock for the baby or your womb being an incubator, I have no idea. All I know is that living in a tropical jungle and drinking warm water is about the last thing I want. I can't tell you how many times servers will not even ask me, but automatically bring me a nice steamy glass of water to enjoy - mmm no thank you. No joke I think people are judging me harder while watching me consume my ice water than if I were to be sitting there sipping a double bourbon.

Strange things taxi uncles (drivers) have said to me :

I can tell it's a girl because of how broad you are
Have you taken your breakfast / lunch / dinner yet? (x1000)
I really hope it's a boy
A princess! (this applies to anyone and everyone - when you say you're having a girl they reply with, oh a little princess! Without fail)
Have you felt the baby scratching the inside of your uterus yet? (WHAT?!)

Baby brain :

This is a real thing. Just a couple things I have done: made homemade pizzas without any cheese on top, paid for things at a store then walked out without it (multiple times), and for a while there I developed a very random and irrational fear of leaving the house without any pants on.

Food :

Singaporeans are hard to figure out on this front. I ran into a lot of disparities while doing my food writing full time. People think you're an awful person for choosing to drink cold water, but roll their eyes when you turn down sharks fin soup...?

Perks :

Singapore is known to be an extremely strict, rule-following nation, not just in law, but in everyday culture. However, for pregnant ladies they seem to be okay with bending the rules a little. One time a taxi driver actually took me all the way home when I told him I didn't have enough cash to get there - a truly monumental event in Singapore.

Cravings :

I think I've single handedly increased the stock price of San Pellegrino over the past 9 months. My favorite thing to do is to mix the regular water with the a Limonata during 'happy hour.' Or add sliced lemons to the plain flavor. The highlight of my day. Is that sad?
Pop Tarts for sure, although this has tapered off in these final months
Bad for you sugary cereals that I was never allowed to consume when I was a kid (i.e. Reese's Pieces Puffs, Lucky Charms, the list goes on)

Overall :

Overall the experience in Singapore has been great. I have been feeling pretty good throughout this journey and have been extremely blessed with a healthy pregnancy. I love my doctor and the health care system is top notch, but the entire experience has not been without a few cultural quirks that have made me both laugh and cringe over the months.

In general, pregnant women in Singapore are very pampered. Some things I find funny are that people will treat you like a gentle disabled flower and insist you not sit on a chair over 24in off the ground, lift anything over the weight of a piece of paper, or stand up for any amount of time, but they will run you down with their car while you're crossing the street, chain smoke right next to you, or jump the queue and steal your taxi. Sometimes you just have to laugh. Overall it's been great and I think I'll miss the good life in Singapore next time around ;)

We can't wait for our little one to get here! Pretty much any day now!

XO,

The Weekender: Lately

2016-02-01T08:43:00.001-05:00

Hey All! Hope you are surviving the depths of winter back home. Here in Singapore we are enjoying the never-changing 90 degree weather and daily thunder storms as we wrap up rainy season here on the equator. Nothing too exciting to report, but I have collected a random smattering of iPhone photos of the things we have been up to over the last couple of weeks. Only 4 (or less!) more weeks until baby...Eek!

Some major Din Tai Fung cravings have been had and dumplings have been consumed (note the crazy eyes).

A few weeks ago my girlfriends here in Singapore were so incredibly sweet to throw me a surprise baby shower. We had planned on gathering for a 'welcome back to Singapore BBQ' following everyones travels over the holidays, but to my total shock I walked into the sweetest spread for Baby D. (Epic fail on not getting a group pic, btw).

Plain Vanilla - one of the best and only places in Singapore to get good cupcakes. How cute are these little guys?!

Many grilling evenings have taken place - Michael's happy zone. Check out his new KC apron he got for Christmas :)

Non-alcoholic beer - a pregnant woman's best friend for not feeling left out during happy hour.

In addition to my long list of things to do and things to purchase before baby arrives, I've been trying to take some time for myself and indulge my creative side. I've been extra keen to learn some fun new skills before flexible free time becomes a laughable thing of the past (or so I'm told).

A couple weeks ago I took a water color class through Bloesem Shop - an ultra cool, multi-functional creative space that hosts a variety of courses, as well as a small retail space of chic things. I loved every second of it - not a bad turnout for a first timer.

Bump update...

Monthly Champagne Brunch (a Singapore staple), this time to celebrate my friend Kristin's birthday.

Cheers!

Michael and I have also been taking antenatal classes every Saturday in preparation for baby. We made a routine of going to our favorite neighborhood establishment - Boomerang - following class. Michael certainly earned himself a beer or two after all the videos we had to watch ;)

One of my biggest undertakings has been to get our guest room in order. Since we have just 2 bedrooms and won't be here too terribly long with the baby, it is a guest room / nursery space. I vow to make a proper pinterest-worthy nursery once we are in a more long-term location. But for documentation purposes here is the before...

And after! I hope to do a full post on her room in the coming weeks. It's nothing special but it makes my heart happy :)

Hey, hi, hello!

In keeping with my creative education, I took a bouquet arranging class at Floral Magic on Saturday (the same place I made my holiday wreath if you recall).

TA-daaaaaah!

Smile, Michael :)

Date night selfie following church.

And finally we ended this weekend with Michael tending to some ribs for 4+ hours on the grill, a beautiful sunset, and a BBQ dinner with our pal Nate.

Have a wonderful week y'all! Next weekend we will be enjoying a long 4-day weekend here, as Singapore (and a majority of Asia) celebrates Chinese New Year. We are unfortunately grounded and cannot travel, but in the spirit of things here is a look back at the awesome trips we have taken during CNY the past couple of years (Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hoi An, CNY in Singapore).

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

XO,

Christmas Recap 2015

2016-01-20T23:31:00.001-05:00

Better late than never, amiright?

I'm about three weeks behind, but I wanted to get up a holiday recap before time totally gets away from me.

It goes without saying that Michael and I had the BEST time back home for the holidays. We hadn't been back to the States for a full year, so we were extra excited to spend time with our family and friends over the span of two weeks. Our trip included trips between Omaha and KC, lots of good food, snow(!), time with family, late nights with friends, holiday cheer and plenty of love and showering of baby D.

A photo recap below:

Snow!!! (Buddy the Elf voice). We had a surprise, very white Christmas Eve up in Omaha. Toto, we're not in Singapore any more.

My family has made it a tradition to go to the Durham (where Michael and I got married, aww) over the holidays and check out the massive Christmas tree. The downstairs is also a train museum which my nephews love.

Luke loves him some Uncle Michael - it's the sweetest.

Selfie stick time over at my sisters casa.

During my first weekend back, my godmother Lisa and friends Amy and Neely were so very sweet to host a baby shower for our girl. It was wonderful being able to see so many family members and friends from home over cinnamon rolls, mimosas and tiny little baby clothes (side note, wow babies need a lot of stuff). Thank you all for coming - it was perfect!

My Millard West gals - 2 full babies + 3 halves :)

One cannot spend time in NE and without having at least one Runza. (Also Valentino's pizza - not pictured)

...to Grandmothers house we go...

Sending Christmas Eve with my family, we made the pilgrimage out to Yutan, NE for dinner and church at my grandparents. With all of the extended family together for the first time and in a long time, we took the opportunity for a large family photo. How cute are we? :)

The whole Stamp crew of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses and great grand babes.

Michael and I have also made it somewhat of a tradition to hit up Shirley's Diner for some good ole, down home Midwestern diner food. So. Good.

Now, headed south on I-29 to Kansas City...

My first night in KC kicked off with a massive holiday party/30th birthday celebration/baby shower at the Duvall's. It was so fun seeing so many of our friends in one place and starting the holidays off with a bang. KKG love --->

A big shout out to all of our sweet friends and family friends who were so kind to give to our group gift. Baby D will be rolling around Singapore in style in her fancy new stroller ;)

Random dog photo. I love my Jack-in-law.

Family photo on Christmas night. [Excels at self-timer photography]

It's not a trip to KC without a visit to Ponak's. It's the best. Although it's admittedly not as great without the addition of their famous margaritas, it was still just as amazing as I often dream of. Mmmm I'm thinking about it right now...

While in KC I had one more shower with my best college gals - feeling loved.

Love you sistas!

D-awwwww....

Annual holiday dinner with these wonderful people.

Party crasher.

And on our second to last night in the States we headed to Lawrence to watch the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. One cannot visit Lawrence without a compulsory stop at The Wheel. Being 7.5 months pregnant at a bar is a tad embarrassing, but the Wheel is still awesome. (I think I horrified a few college students by accidentally bumping into them with my bump. Ew sorry).

Hawks win!

...and finally after two crazy, action-packed, amazing weeks in KC and Omaha, Michael, myself, baby, my compression tights and a huge bag of Cheez-its were ready for the long haul back to Singapore.

We had such a wonderful time during our trip home. We were reminded just how lucky we are to have such amazing families and friends who love us dearly. We miss you all like crazy.

We are planning on moving back to the States in the fall, so we look forward to the holidays being a little less hectic (and jet lagged) next year. Thank you everyone for all the love, hospitality and effort in making our trip home so insanely fun and memorable.

Much, much love!

XO,

The Weekender: Birthday 3-0

2015-12-09T09:58:00.002-05:00

Greetings all!

Just a quick weekend summary of our activities this past weekend. The highlight of the weekend was most certainly my birthday celebration - the big 3-0! EEK! The day was absolutely perfect, but definitely on the more low key side of things. If you can imagine, being 6 and a half months pregnant doesn't really scream 30th birthday rager ;)

We kicked off the weekend celebrations early with a lovely dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, BoCHINche, on Friday evening. It has become one of our favorite spots with its location just down the block, open fire kitchen and a to die for provaleta chesse dish that will change your life.

Saturday morning I was up early to attend a much anticipated Christmas wreath making class with the lovely and talented We Make Floral Magic. Going to a flower arranging course has been on my wish list for quite some time now, so I thought why not treat myself to some crafty fun on my bday.

Two and a half hours flew by in a blink - I seriously could have stayed there all day it made me so happy. While I was thrilled with the outcome of my wreath and learned some great tips, I still plan on taking a more proper floral course. I feel like it's a good life skill to have, ya know? Classes are not that easy to come by here in Singapore.

Ta-da!

In true birthday fashion, I got to choose the cuisine and location for all of our weekend meals - including a Mexican place down the street that I love and Michael hates. What a good sport ;)

Thanks for the beautiful flowers mom and dad! <3

Come Sunday after candles, cake and presents it was time I pass the torch and attention over to Michael.

For the third year in a row he ran in the Standard Chartered Half Marathon! You may recall that we did the race together the last two years (here and here), but in my current state I am semi-retired from the sport of running so Michael was on his own.

I cheered him on from the sidelines like a very proud wife. Michael did an awesome job considering the heat (90 degrees plus) and the fact he has been insanely busy at work and unable to properly train.

Go, Michael, go!

The rest of the day was spent napping (for some reason I thought I earned a 2+ hr sleep as well), making dinner and recovering from a busy, joyous weekend.

Thanks to my wonderful, sweet husband and everyone for sending me so many birthday cards, texts, calls and notes on my special day. So much love.

We leave for the States in 6 days and I'm no where ready! Tis' the season.

XO,

CD 3.0

Thanksgiving in Singapore

2015-12-02T10:48:00.002-05:00

Greetings y'all!

We had the most wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving here in Singapore last week. We certainly missed our families on what is arguably one of the best holidays of the year, but had a lovely time celebrating with friends in the Little Red Dot.

Kicking things off on the actual Thanksgiving holiday, we hosted Michael's colleagues at our place for a casual American BBQ (we thrive at grilling, not full-blown Thanksgiving cuisine).

We haven't made much use of our upstairs 'fratio', but with the semi-cooler weather that comes with the rainy season, it was the perfect evening to break it in.

Grill-master Duvall :)

I unfortunately didn't get any photos from the gathering after the sun set, but we had a lovely evening eating good food, chatting and enjoying each others company. Humble brag: I like to boast that I am able to successfully host a dinner party without such modern necessities as a car, Costco membership and a dishwasher :-P

The rest of the weekend we were crazy busy bouncing between various activities, lunches and dinners. The highlight however was a proper Thanksgiving meal(!) on Saturday. This is sadly our third Thanksgiving away from home, so we were thrilled at the thought of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.

A huge thanks to our lovely friends and hosts. Do you have any idea how hard it is to put on a classic Thanksgiving spread, complete with a turkey, here in Singapore?! It takes weeks of planning and sourcing and she, and everyone else who brought dishes, absolutely nailed it.

Somehow Michael scored the honor of carving the turkey :)

Lovely group of ladies.

Cheese.

We finished off the weekend by grilling (some more) and relaxing at home. We are definitely needing some extra rest before we head home for the holidays. And let me tell you, I'm really looking forward to some cooler temps. I spent this afternoon sweating in 91 degree heat while shopping for Christmas gifts. Oye.

See y'all soon.

XO,

Weekend in Hong Kong

2015-11-27T10:37:00.005-05:00

Hey all!

Before things spiral out of control in the name of December, I wanted to provide a quick recap of our recent weekend in Hong Kong.

Michael and I both love going to HK. Michael pretty much goes once a month for work, but it had been awhile since my last trip. It's such a crazy, buzzing city full of life and wild sights and sounds. It has a palpable energy not felt here in Singapore - it really reminds us of NYC (except, ya know, super Asian).

The reason for the trip was a wedding of two friends of ours. They had previously gotten married in the Italian Apls, so the event in HK was more of a reception celebration. It was set at the beautiful Sheck O Country Club and the entire event was a beautiful celebration of love and friendship.

A recap below:

We stayed at The Pottinger, the most chic, charming boutique hotel ever. It's located in Central HK, just between Lan Kwai Fung and The Escalators - perfect for shopping, eating and wondering. (Side note: yes, I am carrying a bag full of Jenny Bakery cookies and yes, we waited in line for 35min to get them. I'll be writing a full review soon).

The city was certainly not lacking in the Christmas decorations department. Even many of the downtown skyscrapers were totally covered in lights and decor.

Stop for tacos, oops. The western food in HK is excellent, btw.

A few outtakes for potential Christmas card photos. Michael, go stand over there!

Are we done yet?

A couple pics from the wedding.

After the celebration on Friday night we were invited to an intimate bunch on Saturday morning. We dined at Serge et Le Phoque which was out of this world insanely good. Highly, highly, highly recommend checking it out if you can.

A stroll through the Wan Chai market after bunch.

One final dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Posto Pubblico and that was a wrap on a lovely, exhausting, whirlwind weekend in HK.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving back home! I know we certainly have so much to be thankful for. We celebrated the holiday a bit with a casual BBQ at our place with Michael's office and we're headed to a proper feast on Saturday (no days off to celebrate here in Singapore!)

Only 2.5 more weeks until we are back Stateside! I hear the weather will be turning just in time for our arrival ;)

XO,

Babymoon: Koh Samui, Thailand

2015-11-16T21:27:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! Don't think I forgot about you. All is well here in Singapore. The haze has finally lifted and things are progressing well with Baby D. Time is flying by like crazy, as it always does this time of year.

The other weekend Michael and I took a much anticipated trip to the beautiful, sleepy island of Koh Samui, Thailand. With various obligations and plans from now until we return from our Christmas travels in the New Year (and I am no longer allowed to fly) we took advantage of one of our last free weekends and planned a little island get away - I suppose this trip qualified as our official 'babymoon.'

Urban Dictionary defines a 'babymoon' as the following: Supplement to the honeymoon and baby shower. Mandatory vacation for both parents before the live birth of a child. Maybe a weekend, maybe a week. Requires the male end of conception to pay for all expenses out of his pocket. Travel, lodging, preferably at a seaside hotel, and gifts (to the mother to be, not the baby,) are an absolute necessity. Eases away the stress and woe of pregnancy. LOL

A photo recap below:

This was our second trip to the island. We traveled to Samui back in May with the Duvall gals and loved it so much we decided to return. The flight is super short and the island has a much more laid back vibe than other places in Thailand we've visited.

We stayed at the lovely Sixth Senses. We were even given a room upgrade because we were visiting during the low season. Woo!

Michael most certainly enjoyed himself... :)

We pretty much spent the majority of our time hopping between our pool villa and the main pool, listening to tunes and playing the guitar, napping and hanging at the resort bar for cocktail/mocktail hour and a game of scrabble or jenga before dinner. Life is good.

Outside of all that relaxing we did manage to head into town for a beautiful, local dinner on the beach.

The popular Fisherman's Village is the perfect spot for strolling, light shopping and some fresh local cuisine. We treated ourselves to the best mango sticky rice of all time from a small cart on the street. There's nothing better.

More snaps from around the pool. Michael was such a good sport - the wrath of taking unflattering photos of a pregnant woman in a swimsuit is no joke ;-)

MUAH!

Having had a very successful journey into Fisherman's Village, we decided to venture out again to nearby Chaweng Beach. Spring breakers take note, this is where you want to be in Koh Samui! Tired pregnant ladies? Not so much. We took a long walk on the beach and had some laughs, but quickly scurried back to the sanctuary of our resort. Wow, are we getting old or what.

Thanks again for the magical stay, Koh Samui. I have very found memories, photographs and about 85 mosquito bites to remember you by.

Coming up: a quick weekend and wedding in Hong Kong, the big 3-0 and just a handful of short weeks before we journey home for the holidays!

So much love.

XO,

Reflections: 2 YEARS

2015-10-13T10:19:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it has been 2 full years already since we (well, more accurately, I - Michael has a few weeks on me) landed in Singapore?! True story guys. It's actually been a little longer than two years, but between moving apartments and my other writing commitments, it has taken me longer than I wanted to post this.

Life is funny in the way that things can simultaniously feel like they were a lifetime ago and just a minute ago - and these past two years have been just that. So, loyal LGE followers, I present to you a year in review of some of our favorite photos and trips, as well as a few thoughts and tid-bits.

Sydney, AUS - Nov 2014

Things we're loving :

Waiheke Island, NZ - Nov 2014

Our home. As I just mentioned we recently moved into a new apartment. It's a big undertaking getting the new space feeling like home (even though it's just across the street from our old place), but we are loving all the outdoor space and open kitchen. We have grilled out almost every evening, making Michael very, very happy.

Bintan, Indonesia - Dec 2014

Friends. We finally feel like we are building a great group of friends out here. There are so many cool and interesting people in Singapore and we are lucky to be building such a neat network of people.

Hanoi, Vietnam - Feb 2015

Healthcare. Especially with a baby on the way, we are so lucky to have such convenient, high quality healthcare available here. There are a lot of little things in Singapore that are mind-bogglingly difficult (i.e. ordering delivery food, making dinner reservations and grocery shopping), but the big things like doctors visits, taxes, government documents and air travel are shockingly easy. It's a strange, strange world out here sometimes.

China Beach, Vietnam - Feb 2015

Things we miss :

Hoi An, Vietnam - Feb 2015

Family & Friends. Obvi. This year we were so lucky to have hosted both of our families out here in Singapore. It made the 365 days without a trip home much more bearable. The Duvall + Fitz crew, the Duvall girls, my sister, and my parents all made the long journey over to see us and we loved every second. Oh, and a special guest appearance by the O'Dennys as well.

Beijing, China - March 2015

Fall. I know, I know, white girls love fall, but it's such a wonderful time in the Midwest. In KC especially, the weather is changing, it's peak BBQ season and the Chiefs, Royals and Kansas Basketball are all three magically colliding during this enchanting time. FOMO.

Beijing, China - March 2015

Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell, Chipotle and Taco Bell.

Beijing, China - March 2015

Local things we say :

Singapore - March 2015

Keen, faulty, actually and basically (said in Singapore accent ;), 'how are ya going?', pax, dodgy and alight are some of this years additions.

Singapore - March 2015

Goals for the year :

Bali, Indonesia - March 2015

Make the most of it! With time flying by at such a rapid rate we want to be sure to live in the moment and make the most of our time out here. I'm sure it will be over before we know it. #NoRegrets

Tea Trails, Sri Lanka - April 2015

Travel. Trips we still want to take include Japan and a more extended journey throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Tea Trails, Sri Lanka - April 2015

Expand our circle. We hope to continue to branch out and expand our circle. Plus, I need some mommy friends :)

The Maldives - April 2015

Accomplishments :

The Maldives - April 2015

This year I not only changed jobs, but career paths in general. It wasn't always easy and it took many months, but with the love and support of my wonderful husband, family and friends, some very influential books, great photography instructors and a few publications that gave me a chance, I am so happy to finally be doing something I love. We shall see where my current writing endeavor leads me.

Singapore - May 2015

Michael continues to thrive at the office, so he would likely say his biggest personal accomplishment this year is seeing the Rolling Stones live in concert not once, but twice during the same tour :-P

Koh Samui, Thailand - May 2015

Favorite Destination :

Margaret River, AUS - July 2015

We have been so blessed to have been on many wonderful adventures these past couple years, but our time in the Tea Trails of Sri Lanka has been our favorite spot to date. Our time in Margaret River comes in at a very close second. If you ever find yourself on this side of the world, those are the two places, thus far, that have made my heart, soul, stomach and camera the most happy.

Margaret River, AUS - July 2015

Favorite Experience :

Margaret River, AUS - July 2015

Our favorite day this past year was likely our motorcycle side-car journey in Beijing. The cold fresh air, cruising the Chinese countryside and sharing a bottle a wine at the top of the Great Wall was a day I will never forget.

Margaret River, AUS - July 2015

What's next?

Singapore - Aug 2015

Making room for baby! In what will surely be the biggest change in our life, we are thrilled to be welcoming our first child here in Singapore. It will be a crazy, wonderful time and we cannot wait. We are already half way there :)

Singapore SG 50 Celebration - Aug 2015

At this time we are looking to make a move back to the States sometime in the summer/fall of 2016 - soon! Just as we are finally getting settled and comfortable amiright. The exact timing and destination of our next move is not yet set, but we are hoping to be as close to our families as possible while still aligning with Michael's career path.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Aug 2015

Questions :

Angkor Wat, Cambodia - Aug 2015

What ever happened to the laser beam sounding cross walks I wrote about back in week one? I swear I haven't heard one since. What's the point of sweeping the sidewalk so often? Will there ever be a cure for geckos inside the house? What does ERP, AYE, ECP, CTC and the million other street acronyms stand for? Why are the light switches on the outside of the bathroom? Will I ever be brave enough to try durian? Who wants to franchise a Singapore Chipotle with me? Who decided that in Singapore the term 'getting high' actually means getting drunk?!

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Aug 2015

In Summary :

Little India, Singapore - Sept 2015

Overall, even with so many big changes, this past year has felt more like cruise control as compared to the roller coaster of life as a first year expat. More and more often we have days where we stop in our tracks and make note of how much we love Singapore and the life we have built out here. It's not always easy, and there are many days that make you want to pull your hair out, but we are so thankful and happy to be living this life and enjoying this experience.

Singapore - Baby Bump back at 17 weeks

Thanks y'all for all your love and support. We love and miss you all every day. Cheers to the next year and many wonderful adventures to come! Lots and lots of love.

XO,

The Weekender: Formula 1

2015-09-23T02:31:00.003-04:00

Hey guys! Hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for fall. It is fall back in the States right? My only taste of the changing seasons comes from the 12hr delayed football games we get a glimpse of on the weekends.

The highlight of our weekend here was checking out the Singapore GP Formula 1 race. If you recall, we attended the event last year and were keen to check it out again. There are only a few times a year when Singapore really puts on a show and everyone comes out to have a good time. A quick recap below:

Being the F1 neophytes we are, we opted for the walk about tickets - meaning we just strolled the area with friends and watched the race from a variety of viewing platforms enjoying the food, beverage and entertainment. We actually attended the preliminary event on Saturday so it wasn't as completely nuts as the Sunday night finals.

Mike D, super fan :-P

Gearing up for Maroon 5 in the Padang (I may or may not have become a born-again Adam Levine fan by the end of the night).

Just like animals, animals, like animals-maaaaaaals. PS - it. was. so. hot. that. night. Sweaty Adam.

Another fun year at the races.

Sunday afternoon was spent brunching at Open Farm Community - an amazing new farm to table concept in Singapore - and furniture shopping in nearby Dempsey. We had a very productive, very old married couple afternoon.

I highly recommend checking out OFC. Good food, good atmosphere. YUM.

I only include this random photo because I thought it was hilarious. Never in my life have I seen a scarecrow construction worker.

That's all for the weekend folks!

Additionally, here are a couple quick life updates to share:

1. We are moving apartments next week. Our lease is coming to an end (it's been 2 years already!) and we had the opportunity to sub-lease from some friends of ours who are relocating back to the States. We have been obsessed with the building for as long as we can remember so we are totally stoked. The return of the fratio!

2. We went to the doctor this week to find out the gender of Baby Duvall but he/she was not in the mood to cooperate. Either way, the baby is healthy, growing, moving around like crazy and has some seriously long legs :) The wait continues...

3. I am about a decade late to the party, but I am in deep to One Tree Hill. If anyone wants to talk about the Season 2 Haley/Nathan saga, please email me.

Okay, take care y'all. Love and miss.

XO,

The Weekender

2015-09-14T23:51:00.004-04:00

Howdy all! Checking in with a quick recap of our weekend. We didn't do anything particularly exciting, but I promised my family I would keep up with the recaps of regular life here in Singapore :)

We kicked off the weekend with a stroll around the Arab quarter and a leisurely dinner at The Beast, Singapore's resident Southern cuisine establishment. Talk about a strange anomaly.

This past weekend was actually a long weekend due to polling day on Friday, but we both worked from home all day. In Singapore, polling day is a holiday and it's absolutely mandatory for all citizens to vote. The only exceptions are something like if you are in jail or giving birth.

The US should really give everyone the day off of work to vote, or at least if you can prove you voted. Can you imagine all the amazing election parties?! How do we make this happen?

At The Beast you will find a full bourbon bar, chicken and waffles and live music - a recipe for a good ole' fried, American time.

Saturday afternoon Michael was off to a basketball game while I was off tasting a new local cafe for my writing gig - rough life I know.

In local news, we have been battling some serious haze the last few days. The PSI level has reached 250, which is pretty darn bad. We are lucky here in Singapore to typically not have to worry about air pollution, but about this time every year 'the haze' rolls in from neighboring Indonesia due to crop burning, making for a not-so-pleasant couple of weeks.

Cheesy baby bump mirror pic. 16 weeks today :)

Sunday the full day was spent brunching and watching rugby with some mates and later relaxing at home with a pizza and some Homeland. (Don't worry we haven't converted to rugby fans, we still spent all Sunday morning, beginning in the early hours, watching Saturday night college football).

All in all it was a fun, social, busy weekend. Now, if only the haze would get better instead of worse, I can exercise outside and open the doors and windows again.

This can't be good for you...

Cheers to a great week everyone. Michael and I both have busy weeks coming up, but we are looking forward to checking out Formula 1 this coming weekend. It should be a good time!

XO,

Oh Baby!

2015-08-30T10:31:00.002-04:00

Hey loyal LGE followers, I wanted to share some exciting news out of Asia...

...we're having a baby!

Michael and I, and our families, are beyond thrilled. We can't wait to begin this new chapter in our little lives. It's really starting to settle in with each passing day. We don't know what parenthood will bring, but we know that we are ecstatic for the adventure to begin.

Answers to some burning FAQ's you may have:

The baby will be born here in Singapore! Crazy, I know.

Our doctor and the healthcare system here is amazing, really world class. It seems like I have an appointment every other week, so we have gotten to see the baby a lot, which is really fun :)

We are most definitely finding out the gender ASAP. Hopefully in about a month. My current feeling and googling of old wives tales is strongly leaning towards girl at the moment.

Our baby will be a regular, United States citizen. I am not entirely sure if duel-citizenship is even an option. If so, there is not a lot of upside as far as we can tell - it requires a lot of paper work, mandatory armed services if it's a boy, and only recognized until the ago of 21. God bless America, y'all.

After doing some research online, it appears that our child, born aboard, is in fact eligible to run for President one day. It's funny how many people have asked about this ;)

We are still planning on traveling home for the holidays! So far the doctor has given us the a-okay. We will be back in the states from December 15th - 31st and can't wait to see everyone.

The due date is the end of February 2016. Leap year to be exact!

Our future: right now we are earmarking a move back to the States at the end of next summer - which will be about the 3 year mark in Singapore - our plan all along. We are unsure where we will land once back, that mostly depends on Michael's work. Anywhere in the US is a whole lot closer than Singapore! We are thrilled at the thought of living closer to our friends and family, especially with our newest addition.

Everyone is very, very excited and (finally) feeling great :)

Lots of love!

XO,

MD, CD & BD (Baby D)

Siem Reap, Cambodia

2015-08-25T00:06:00.001-04:00

Howdy guys! Sorry for the serious delay on the Siem Reap recap. I just started my internship writing for Seth Lui (check out my work here and also on Yahoo News Singapore) and I have been extra busy eating my way around Bangkok the last few days.

Getting back to it...

During my parents recent trip out to Asia, the four of us were thrilled to take a short side trip to Siem Reap. Michael and I haven't had the chance to travel to Cambodia yet, so we were extra excited to check out a location with my parents none of us had ever been. A recap below:

Our three days in Cambodia, for the most part, were spent touring the city and ancient temples with our amazing tour guide Sun Same. I highly, highly recommend giving him a call if you ever find yourself in Siem Reap. Another helpful tip - during our trip we stayed at the most beautiful, charming hotel in the perfect centralized location - The Belmond d'Angkor. Check it out fo-sho.

Sunscreen, check. Bug spray, check. Let's do this Siem Reap!

Quick roadside breakfast anyone?

One of the many stops on our tour was to Tonle Sap Lake - the largest lake in SE Asia - to check out the floating fishing villages. The ride out there is not for the faint of heart. It's about a 40min drive on this extremely unforgiving "road" that takes you out to the middle of nowhere in the extreme heat.

Skinny cows everywhere.

Once we got there we really in the thick of it. This is not your standard tourist trap, this was the real deal.

Fishermen, nets and boats at every turn.

Sun found us an eager boat captain and we were off {but first...}.

The floating villages were truely amazing to see up close. It's incredible how many people live on and support themselves from the river with truly so little. I have so many photos of little kids playing in the water and fishermen fully submerged in the dark, murky waters tending to their nets, however, nearly everyone was naked so I couldn't find a good pic to use :)

Cheese!

The excursion has mixed reviews online, but if you are into photography and want a truly eye-opening and local Cambodian experience, I recommend checking it out. Just make sure you bring plenty of water and don't have a fear of dirty water and/or rickety old boats.

After a full day of popping all over Siem Reap, we were early to bed and early to rise in order to make it to Angkor Wat to catch the sunrise - a must see event. Our guide Sun was also a supreme photographer. Do you know how hard it is to get a shot with no one else in it?

Angkor Wat on the internet...

...Angkor Wat in real life (and this is only the 5:00am crowd).

Angkor Wat was build in the 12th century and is now a world famous UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to my internet research, it was also just named the the world's best tourist attraction by Lonely Planet. Hey-yo!

The place is massive and as impressive as I imagined it would be. I highly suggest touring the site early in the day and with a proper guide because there is so much history to learn and the huge crowds can be unbearable. There is a story and reason behind every tiny detail.

Dwahhh...

Group shot.

After breakfast and a power nap back at the hotel (wake up call is 4:30am to catch the sunrise) we headed off to Ta Prohm Temple aka the Thomb Raider temple. People get really excited knowing Angelina Jolie road a motorcycle through here.

The temple has been nearly entirely overtaken by the forces of nature. They are trying desperately to preserve it, but the fact that it is so overgrown is a major part of its appeal. Seeing it firsthand, it's hard to know just how much longer it will last.

Our last stop on our tour of temples (fun fact: there are actually more than 1000! temples in Siem Reap) was to Bayon - my personal favorite of the three we visited.

I. am. so. sweaty. (Covered knees and shoulders are required, although you sadly see far too many people breaking that, and many other rules).

The temple is comprised of hundreds of faces, each of them different.

Bayon lies at the center of what was once the most well known and last capital of the Khmer Empire. Each of the four walls is less than two miles long creating a walled, 'Great City'. Angkor Thom was also once home to over a million people. How, I have no idea.

While we weren't temple hopping, we spent plenty of time eating, drinking and shopping in town on the famed Pub Street. (Not pictured: we had the best meal at Cuisine Wat Demnak - the food is uniquely assembled, sourced from all local ingredients and set in the cutest tucked away wooden house).

Humble brag: my bargaining skills have gone from non-existent to almost passable in the last couple of years.

Overall, the four of us had the best time in Siem Reap. It was truly an amazing, historic city, home to some of the most kind and humble people I've ever met. I feel so lucky to have shared this memorable experience with my loving family and husband.

Thanks again mom and dad for making the looooong journey out to Asia and helping us create so many amazing, unique memories. Definitely a trip for the ages.

I can't believe this time was here and gone so fast. It already feels like so long ago :( I wish these special times and experiences with our family lasted longer. Really feeling the love on this one... Until our next adventure...

XO,