Greetings from Santorini!

This little island located in the Mediterranean overlooks the Algean sea and has an amazing postcard view from the main town of Fira and Oia. By sunset, the sky turns into an array of colours; Orange, pink, purple, red and yellow. It is just so beautiful. The different coloured lights are turned on as the sun sets and the town comes to life! The cool wind is welcomed as you sit at a cafe sipping your 3.50euros coffee frappé with a million dollar view beneath your feet.
Everything about this place is so surreal and magical!

Here are some tips that we've discovered on the trip to share with you all:
1) Santorini is definitely NOT kids-friendly. We were super relieved when we arrived knowing Z and D were not with us. The main reason is because the main strip in Fira (capital of Santorini) is filled with cars, motorbikes and quadbikes. To top it off, streets are so narrow and you don't have any footpath to walk on so you have to be super vigilant at all times. You have to share the same road as all the other drivers and thousands of holiday makers! Sometimes when a bus comes onto the road, it is literally 5cm away from you! It's pretty stressful for parents especially w prams (all concrete pebble road.. Very hard to push let over trying to go up and downhill). There are also a lot of big stairs made of rocks/concrete for you to climb up and down the island and once again... definitely not ideal for kids or young family. The island caters more for honeymooners, backpackers or family w teenagers.
2) We had tried over 10gyros by day 3 in Santorini and the verdict is.. For the best gyros (pork wrapped w tomatoes/lettuce/chips) it is foud in Obelix in Fira. For the best lamb gyros which the Greeks call it the kebab is found in Tabasco also in Fira (the main 'no cars allowed' strip). For the best Greek food including seafood, head to Nikolas which was recomended by two different locals. Their moussaka (eggplant w beef mince, potato, tomato and cheese bake) is super delicious along w their seafood spaghetti. Their bread and olive oil is superb too! This restaurant is located also in Fira and even though it's located without any view but rather in a small alleyway, there were still heaps of ppl lining up to get in. The restaurant is soooo popular amongst both the locals and tourists and now we know why! It's your traditional Greek food w fans on the ceiling and wooden tables and chairs (nothing modern or fancy about it). The price is also reasonable and undoubtedly it was the best restaurant we've been to in Europe (along w Tapa Tapa in Barcelona).

3)You don't really come to Santorini for their beaches, because it is filled with rocks and pebbles that cuts
your feet when you stand on it and if they have algae on it, u can slip easily when you're walking or swimming in the sea. The beaches are no where as good as Australia or SE Asia! Instead, if we had more $, we would've splurged on at least a 4 star resort (which will cost u min 120euros p.n) with a beautiful view and a swimming pool for is to do nothing except to relax and soak in the serenity. Oia is definitely where I would recommend any couple to stay (instead of Fira which is more a happening town and very noisy similar to Kuta in Bali).

4) if u can find a local supermarket (not like a general store which the Greeks still call a supermarket but rather a supermarket w a conveyor belt) which is generally on the outskirts of tourisy areas, then buy up the bottles of water there!) we had only discovered it on our last day in Santorini and we were shocked to see the prices in a real supermarket was 6 x 1.5L mineral water for 1.69euros!!! U know how much the tourisy so called 'supermarket'/sundry shop is selling water for? Btw 1-1.20euros for a 1.5L only! I felt so ripped off!!! And whilst we were in the local supermarket, you could tell the cashiers didn't want us there as it was literally just the locals that go there! Everything was ridiculously cheap vs in the heart of Fira or Oia town!

5) Bring your own hat and sunblock otherwise it is super expensive to buy it on the island. For example, I found my round blue hat w a ribbon that I had bought in Langkawi for AUD$5. The same thing at the shops was selling for 18euros which is about $25AUD! Rip off!

6) You can not drink the local water... So this means u have to pay for 'water' in restaurants which can cost from $1.5-$4 euros for a 1.5L bottle. So what we did was buy our water from supermarket and order only 1 drink say coke zero which then the waiter will give u 2 cups and then I would pour my own water hidden in my longchamp handbag to drink instead ;) hahaha
7) To get around the island, u can catch the bus which is around 1.60euros one way (doesn't matter the distance). You can also rent quadbikes which are 4WD cross w a motorbike for 30euros per days for a small one or 50euros for a large one. Every local we asked told us they did not recommend the quadbikes as is very dangerous and has seen many accidents. So Mr M being super protective reminded me that we are parents and therefore need to be super cautious so he went to rent a car 4WD Suzuki coupe w the roof off for us to drive around the island. We paid 75euros inc of insurance to rent for a day in Fira main town. If u rent from airport or the Port, it will cost u at least double!

8) Greek ppl are so nice! They probably have the best customer service in Europe! The French has a lot to learn from them! For all of our hotel transfers, they were more than happy to pick us up and drop us off for free! Normally u need min 3 nights stay w them but because I asked several times nicely on email, they gave in and did us a favour (from two different hotels!).

Over all, Santorini is a beautiful place to chill out and unwind especially with their breathtaking views. I wouldn't stay more than 3 days though cos u will start to get bored and take the view for granted ;p Would I go back again? Probably not, because there are just too many beautiful places around the world we just haven't set our feet on...

4 Years.

4 Years ago today, we got married in a beautiful heritage building amongst our family and friends. We exchanged our vows and said 'I do' for life.

3 Years ago today, we just moved back from Singapore ready to become parents to our first born son.

2 Years ago today, we were sipping our wine in Nappa Valley having the time of our lives with our friends in US.

1 Year ago today, we were in the hospital still in disbelief as we welcomed our baby girl into our lives.

Today, as we reflect on our 4 years of marriage, we are sipping our Sangria, eating the best Spanish Tapas in the heart of Barcelona.

Wow. What a journey it has been and will be....

Davina at 12 months!

With another blink of an eye, my little girl turned one! She has been such a blessing in our lives even though she was at times not the most easiest child to look after. Nonetheless, one main thing about her that all of us love is that she has this bright personality that is just so infectious. When she is mad, she will show it. When she is happy, she will give you a big smile until you can't even see her eyes. When she has just quenched her thirst, she would make the noise 'tsk ahhhhh'; When she wants to laugh, she will make this hilarious laughing noise like a sarcastic type of 'hahahaha' but exaggerated. When she wants to be loving, she will put her face against yours and calls you by the name so tenderly (eg. gor gor.. mah mah). When she is tired, she will cry and scream until even the North Pole can hear her. She is everything that makes her .. Davina, our precious little princess!

Here are all of her development:

1) She hates sitting in the car seat with a passion especially when she is very tired. She will scream and shout to get off her seat. That's when Mr M or myself drives like a maniac just to get home to stop her deafening cries.
2) She loves her gor gor to bits. Every morning without fail, she would always go to gor gor's room (we go put her onto his bed) and she would climb up to him, put her face next to his and say in a very sweet and loving voice 'gor gor'... if he's lucky, she would kiss him too. Z would then respond to his mei mei's greeting by saying 'mei mei'. Then they would call each other non-stop. We are blessed that they have more loving moments over arguments & fights.
3) If she's ever in trouble, her saving grace would always be her bah bah. Every morning when she wakes up, first person she calls is her bah bah. And then you would hear her bah bah's footsteps walk quickly to her room to rescue her. After that, she basically wants to be put down and not be in the arms of her bah bah any more. She is very clever and has her dad around her fingers that's for sure!
4) She now sleeps through the night (thank God) and sleeps from around 9pm - 7:30am. She would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night with some moans and groans and we would just need to do a 'sshh' sound to assure her and she would go back to sleep.
5) She is allergic to eggs and raw salmon. Whenever she eats something that she is allergic to, you can see it immediately by the way she reacts to the food when it first goes into her mouth. She acts as if the food was hot and had just burnt her tongue but in actual fact, it's just the beginning of her allergic reaction. Then she would start to scratch either her face or hands. The rashes would appear in less than a minute! She is also prone to getting tonsilitis (which Mr M, Z or myself never got ever!).
6) She loves eating grapes, mandarins, banana, cheese, pancakes, cereal and especially her nei nei which she pronounces as 'neng neng'. So cute!
7) She loves to smear sudo cream all over her every time she sees the tub in front of her (without our knowledge of course). Then we catch her out, she would give us the most cheekiest smile!
8) At 12 months, she can only stand and furniture crawl. She still hates to get up to walk even if it's a few steps aided.

9) She is a real tomboy when it comes to exploring the world around her and getting her own way. She is not scared of pain (in fact all of her immunisation shots/blood tests, she has never ever cried! Her high pain tolerance has definitely come from her mother that's for sure ;) However when it comes to the vacuum cleaner or her fear of falling over (eg. climbing down from the bed or falling down from walking), she becomes a real girl and shows her vulnerable side..
10) She loves to eat and always like to feed herself (using her hands) as opposed to us feeding her.
11) She now weighs 9.905kg at 78cm tall and has a head circumference of 46.5cm.

Our Precious Princess is 1!

To our dearest Davina,

Today is a huge milestone for you! It's been 365 days since you birthed into the world with your deafening cries coupled with your feisty little character. You are a very strong willed girl and mummy and daddy have no doubt that you will go very far in life.

You are loved and cherished by us all especially your big bro who loves to smitten you with his kisses each morning. Your Ah Mah & Poh Poh are always infected by your contagious smiles and coos. Your Yea Yea and Gong Gong loves to give you cuddles.

You have been the answer to your mummy and daddy's prayers and we know, our precious daughter, that like David was God's beloved, so too are you His beloved. You will grow up to be a woman that chases after His heart. You will write love songs to the maker of your every being and dance before His throne in joy and tribulation.

We are very honoured to be chosen as your parents and can not wait to see you blossom in the many more years to come...

From Paris with Love, your mah mah and bah bah xoxo 

Travels to date

It's been just over a week since we left home for our big Trip just the two of us.

Here are some highlights to date:
1) eating our hearts out in SG and re-living those moments when we were in SG
2) seeing the grandeur of all the buildings and landmarks in London and not to mention finally seeing Cam after more than a year! She is still the same person except w a funny Aussie accent mixed w a tinch of British accent :)
3) Brussels- was ok. A metropolitan city good for shopping and that's it. The Belgian chocs and waffles were such a disappointment. The waffles are extremely soft and sweet vs HK style of crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The chocs don't have much cocoa in them. Mainly all milk.
4) Bruges- is our fav town. Such a pretty medieval city with so much history too. We loved walking around the town to find all the picturesque views at every turn.
5) Paris- this would be my second time here and Mr M's 1st. We realized the baguettes didn't taste as good as the past. It's lost that French bakery taste each time u bite into it. But it's still good. One observation about Parisians are that they are very arrogant and not as compassionate ppl as the Aussies. The customer service in particularly is pretty bad. They won't go out of their way to help you.
Also I was appalled when I witnessed two pregnant ladies on the train and not one person got off their butts to offer them a seat... Not even for a small child or the elderlies too..and here I was complaining about SG! At least SG would offer seats to the elderlies.
We also found that Paris is overrated (except for the Eiffel tower by night). A lot of homeless ppl on the streets. People generally don't dress well given that they are the fashion capital of the world. French food is pretty weird. They are famous for this beef dish called 'tartare' which is like raw beef mince all mashed up together. Their foeigras is pretty sickening too after eating it. It's basically liver pate. But their escargots are really good along w their pork, chickens and duck dishes. Also they really love their ham (which are really tasty compared to Australia)and cheese and eggs. They are a typical staple for the French. Another staple is their wines. They love their wines and even drink it for breakfast. They also love to sit in the cafes looking at cars drive past them. Not sure what all the fuss is about but it's just weird seeing chairs all lined up facing the road in every restaurant.

So far, we've done a lot of shopping usually from Zara which is extremely cheap here in Europe. I've also bought all these longchamp bags from the outlet just outside of Paris. I'm not sure how we will make it home w/o being overweight!

BIGGEST Braun Shavers Sale in Australia!

In celebration of Braun's 90th Anniversary Sale (Yes Braun is older than all of our parents!) and for the first time ever in history, we are having a 50% off all Braun Premium shavers sale all over Australia.

The 50% off will apply on our Series 7 Men's Shavers (top of the range kind've like BMW) as well as Series 5 Men's Shavers throughout the month of August. These shavers are 100% made and assembled in Germany and has a 2 Years Warranty unlike some of our competitors. The top of the range Series 790cc was $549 and is now $274.50 and the lowest Series 5 range used to be $335, now $168!

So in preparation for Father's Day here in Oz, make sure you hop into any Shaver Shop, Myer, selected Harvey Norman, Retravision & Good Guys stores to grab yourself a bargain!

For all your wives out there who are sick of seeing cut hairs lying all over the sink, this is your chance to buy the Series 7 Clean and Renew range (cc) which is basically a cradle that you put the shavers in. The cradle will not only charge the shaver, disinfect all the germs on the foil but it will also (most importantly) wash away all the cut hairs and store it in the cradle ready your man's next use. This means you will never ever see any 'hairy' sink again...Can someone please shout Hallelujah?!

Click here for more info on the Series 7 & 5 range. Enjoy!

p/s like the Point of Sale that I helped design? :)