Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 in review...

hasn't it been a whizzbang of a year!? im still pinching myself in disbelief that im writing this again.. seriously, where has this year gone? i guess they're right... good times does go by faster! here are some of a few of our favorite moments from this year...

we kickstarted our year with the entire family in tow! on hindsight we had too many sleepy people squished into too small an apartment... and all we did was make silliness out of trash, and crowded around the laptops watching silly you-tubes but it was one of the happiest new years i've had. we also officially made musashi an allender! we also hopped onto an overnight flight and celebrated our friends wedding in india! we were sooo tired but bursting with love.


kinda like this!

we were more settled into japanese living this year and found little things we loved about tokyo. i had a bit more chance to work on my sewing and made matching new year jammies for the family! im so proud that daniel worked on his photography this year & turned our guest room into a super creative photo studio which gave us a tonne of super cute muu-pictures


march was an uneventful month for japan with the huge earthquake and the uncertainties that followed. we were extremely fortunate to be safe and greatly humbled by the reminder. it made clear to us what the important things in life were. it takes a big thing like this to sit up and rethink life a little. its a little cheesy, i know. but i really appreciated the wake up call. on the upside, we did get to spend some time enjoying country life with our family in nagoya.


shortly after the quake, we spent a quiet easter and our family flew in to tokyo in support of our decision to stay put. it was a tiny gesture but it meant the world to us. we enjoyed the beautiful cherry blossom season with a few too many picnics, beautiful pictures (here and here) and also found out that we're such pushover parents! who knew such a teeny-tiny dog would be the boss of the house...?


living in japan just gets more and more interesting by the day and we squeezed in a few weekend trips here and there. i started refashioning some vintage pieces, sewing more and musashi got a whole bunch of new things! we also rode on the coat tails of a business trip and spent a few lovely days in vietnam, where i OD-ed on my favorite food of the year and indulged in massages every day.


in july, i had my first craft party with these wonderful kids. the husband still can't get over how many things we have in common! (with andrea that is...) i also made a dress for janice's little girlie & musashi a sushi! epic cuteness!! :) but poor fluffy thing suffered from a little bit of heatwave in tokyo.


 if the husband had to pick his favorite moment in the year, it would be our honeymoon in hawaii..


im secretly glad he thought so! 

it was relaxing and peaceful and beautiful and everything you could dream of in a honeymoon. we also got to catch up with our brothers! we agreed that we'd honeymoon every year of our lives! just the two of us. i like that idea very much. in fact, we loved it so much we tried to introduce the concept of beach to our dog when we got home -  swimming puppybear fail.


over obon weekend, we also climbed mount fuji on a whim. glad we did it. would never do it again. watch fireworks from our windows again - hell yeah! :)



i love how this year, some of my bloggie friends turned into real-life friends. in the meantime, muu also made a few pals & sent a bunch of doggie treats to them. in our day trips, we also found the outlet malls in japan! (i know it sounds silly but we were excited. when i found out about costco, i nearly peed in my pants) 

its so much fun with muu around cos we celebrated everything as his first! like his first midautumn festival, his first visit from auntie judy & his first time around the yamanote on a bike! it was a whole year of firsts. he reminds us to celebrate the small things in life. looking back, they were actually the big things! :)


this year is also the year of lovely afternoons with jen. as my mother-in-law says "always up to some mischief"! im thankful i've got a silly little friend to run around town adventuring with.


in the fall, we also squeezed in a mini getaway to naoshima, osaka & nara with musashi in tow. he got nipped in the butt which was the funniest thing ever! we also flew down under to catch up with family, a wedding and learn how to watercolor! that was when daniel also broke his personal best in the melbourne marathon!


yayy! honey!! :)



we then came home to a lovely heap of parties and celebrations (read more here, here and here). and was completely spoilt by friends with amazing culinary talents!! dining has never been the same ever since. (and now im convinced i don't even need to try! i'll just work on being a better friend to them!) and of course, our little one celebrated his eighth birthday!
and we rounded the year off with another beautiful wedding, crazy catch-ups and a yummy trip back to singapore! and celebrated christmas with daniel's parents in tokyo, more yumminess and a tonne of loving.



what a goofy family shot! muu is completely primed and prepped while we were in our jammies!! but i love it. and more than ever, i loved sharing my year with you guys. im always grateful that my blog has turned into this little happy space in life where i store my favorite memories, wonderful friends and thoughts!! so thank you again for reading, commenting & loving us!


this year has turned out exactly how i thought it would - more fabulous than the last. but daniel just announced that next year will be "our year"! and if you know daniel, he is always right! 2012 will be one of changes and challenges. but i trust it will also be another year filled with love, rainbows, doggie cuddles and bursting with joy. i truly can't wait for it to begin!! 

so from our little home to yours, 
happy new year, darlings!
may the next year be better than the last! 

xx,
the allenders

11 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! Glad to meet you via blogger this year! Hope to continue our frindship in 2012!

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  2. Happy 2012 hon and more puffs for muu, a big fat pay rise for D and may your wish come true ;) xoxoxo muaks! See you in TWO!

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  3. Such lovely memories! Happy New Year to you and family again! :)

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  4. hi there! i stumbled upon your new blog through LJ... just want to say, your dog's totally adorable! despite the age [6 or 7years?], it still looks like a pup...

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  5. @OksanaB

    happy new year!! its so sweet to always hear from you!! :) *bloggy hugs*

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  6. @Andrea

    yes to all!!! :) seriously can't wait! we have not enough meals!! :)

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  7. @Esther

    same to you! :) i can't wait to "meet" your bub!!! :)

    xx

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  8. @angela

    thanks angela! he does have a babyface! i hope i age gracefully like him! :) happy new year to you and yours!!! :)

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  9. @kennytricia

    thanks honey! :) you're definitely a big part of our year!

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  10. happy 2012 m'dear! have more adventures this year!

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