London – Escape to Aurora Lane

Good morning

I have been home four days since my month-long stay in the States. The grey sky and the mercurial British weather welcomed me back. These are my constants here and I am grateful for it. When I walked out from the airport, I found myself smiling as the cold raindrops made dark patterns on my faded blue shirt that says Baltimore. Rain on a sunny day, I missed it. I am indeed home.

When I got home that day, I did not realize how tired I was until I saw my bed and I just literally fell on to it and the next thing I knew it was dark and I have missed a dozen phone call from friends asking how my trip was.

For the past weeks, I found myself paying attention more to my routines so I can savour and enjoy the almost ritualistic nature of the act. When I prepared my EnergyFizz of the day, I listened to the crisp sound the sachet made as I tore it open, the splashing sound as the water filled the glass and the fizzy sound the EnergyFizz made as it hit the water. I love my drinks elaborate so I put the mixed drink in the blender, threw in a handful of berries and voila! A drink so good it’s like drinking summer right in my kitchen.

Life happens and often times, I’m rushing around to get things done that I don’t get to enjoy the simple act of pampering myself. So today, I deliberately slowed down when washing my face and enjoyed the smooth and cool feel of the cleanser as I lathered it on my skin, the luxurious feel of the soft towel as it absorbed the excess water, and I imagined my skin invigorated and becoming wrinkle-free as I wiped the DermResults Daily Radiance Peel Pads with 2% Caviar Lime across my face (me actually holding the container and reading the label). Before applying all the creams, I made sure to apply the cooling mask (fresh from the fridge!) then I relaxed back on my bed with the spa music playing in the background. When fifteen minutes was over, I spritzed some toning mist on my face, applied collagen serum, then some eye cream to reduce the puffiness, fine lines and dark circles from sleepless nights and finally the moisturising cream with sun protect factor.

It’s nice to hit pause once in a while so we can breathe. Some moments in our lives can be too overwhelming when we don’t take our time to process it. Pause. Breathe. Feel.

Nature has a very gentle way of soothing a melancholic heart.

A beautiful Easter day

After so many cold gloomy days, I woke up to sunlight pouring inside my bedroom, bathing me in warm yellow light. It was so cozy I stayed cocooned beneath the duvet for a good couple of hours before I could make myself get out of bed. These past few days we were treated to a totally unpredictable weather (not that it was anything new)–but it snowed, in April! And weather forecast says snow on the weekend. We are probably looking at five days of summer this year. So waking up to a beautiful day with streaming sunshine and deep blue sky was a luxury. I felt really happy and my heart was imbued with gratefulness.

I leaped out the bed and run in the living room. As expected, sunlight was spilling in the room from the picture window and the flowers sitting on the table nearby seemed more vibrant. A perfect morning indeed and I basked in the sunshine while enjoying a bowl of granola. It was so invigorating. A while later, my sister and I decided to spend the day outside (like the rest of the masked populace) and drove to Coombe Hill which was about 15 minutes away from our flat. The small parking space and the whole length of street were packed with cars but surprisingly, the place was not too crowded. We meandered along small footpaths to avoid other people until we reached the peak of the hill. The light breeze blowing was chilly but as long as we were seated on a patch of sunlight it was bearable. The sky was so blue not a speck of cloud in sight. Occasionally, birds could be seen silently gliding in the air.

It was peaceful.

Happy holidays

This has been a crazy year for everyone. So much anxiety, fear, doubt…a lot of missing the people we love but can’t visit and less touching and hugging the ones we miss. But I guess this has made us more appreciative of the time we spend with the people who matter most to us. It also made us treasure those little things we usually take for granted because we didn’t realize how precious they were. 2020 is probably the worst year for some or most of us. Even so, I’m still grateful for it has its moments. May we all find happiness, love and treasures to keep. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.❤️