#a day and evening here with drinks and food we prepped ourselves would be beautiful

[naturaldisasterfanfiction]

19.

Staring at my wedding dress, I am fully doubting I will fit into now “I have grown Ja, not going to lie. You need to start sorting this shit out, I am not even going to try it either. Tina, you have the NDA shit sorted right, I just want to get married quietly” Tina nodded her head “I do, I am just here trying to get things together, we will do it eventually but oh my god, we need to like relax and have fun. You’re getting married tomorrow” Tina said in excitement “I know, I am scared now. I feel like I just jumped and didn’t think. People are going to hate me so much, I am not even upset with it being a small thing, I am just shocked to be honest with myself. I am nervous, I just won’t ever find a man like him, I love Chris and now it’s like what the fuck am I waiting for? I don’t care for the big ballroom shit, I just want it small quick and done with, party can happen after” Ja cooed out “and I am super happy for you Robyn, you know like to see you look after you instead of everyone else. I have seen you smile so much more too, I mean not when you’re saying about your back but just generally happy” Ja is so cute “thank you” I said, I won’t get emotional “don’t say thank you to me, more like thank you Robyn. You have let me live your life, you have given me a pedestal to shine my artistry and design work, you allowed me to see you when you were down, your happiness, your family, your love. I am grateful for you Robyn; at one point I would want to marry you because you deserved it. I mean at first I was like not Chris again, not him. Then I am here with you both, you do actually get along but the politics around you and him really fucks you both over so don’t say thank you, you have done enough for others and I totally understand why you have closed doors on this wedding, I do understand and I love you so much” Ja got me emotional now “you made me cry asshole” hugging him, that is so sweet of him.

Ja and Tina left the room, they are trying to sort out my dress and some food for tomorrow. I want it to be cute still, it’s weird but we can try. Chris has gone to get Royalty a dress, I felt sad that she hasn’t got a nice dress and I want her to feel included so Chris has gone shopping again, this is why the home is quiet which is nice to have “alright Mrs Brown” Mel said behind me, I breathed out laughing “girl, I will be Fenty Brown baby, I am not moving my surname for anyone but I will do Fenty Brown because that is actually cute to be honest. I am feeling a little happy but also nervous but happy, like it’s been a long time coming” I smiled to myself “did you always want a big wedding? I am sure I have asked you this before” Mel said “uhh, honest truth. I don’t care for it, when I was younger I wanted my happily ever after but with a wedding, I just didn’t care for it. And right now my happiness is growing in my stomach and my other happiness is out shopping. I am content, I just think once it gets out, people are going to be so shocked. I mean I am excited to say my husband and I like to announce the birth of our daughter and this time it’s about me. I am so excited Mel to do that, when I just put such words in my caption people are going to be shocked, I am here for it Mel” feeling a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders “and I am here for it too, I can’t wait to see the meltdown. I was thinking that maybe the Fenty empire all announce it at the same time, hear me out. So we will prep them on what has happened, we will send the team what to post, like every page as an exclusive picture from the day and will say congratulations to you and Chris. Like the world is already on fire, let’s add to that. Let’s make it spicy, I am here for it. And bitch I am going to be awake and posting all my videos I have been waiting to put up” Mel is so right “wow, I have never thought of that. Oh my god, Mel you are a beautiful woman” Mel busted out laughing “don’t lie to me bitch, but I was thinking” Mel kissed my cheek.

Putting my hand in Dennis’ camera “I look a whole mess, please don’t” I laughed “well I don’t care so here we are, planning for tomorrow” I hate that I look a mess “trying to sort out my life, I am just sorting out tomorrow. And fixing up the detailing” I smiled, Tina rushed over to the table “so we have the paperwork done, the civil marriage will be recognised but religious is a no, it kind of gets a bit too much. So what we think is do the civil marriage here, we have all the paperwork and then you can get the religious one done with a much bigger audience? I am sorry I didn’t mention it but you have been not well for a few days” nodding my head “that is fine Tina, I am happy with the civil marriage to be done. I just want to get married to him” Tina nodded her head “well we have the chef coming tomorrow morning, cake arriving too. We are going to do this home up for you ourselves, we have kind of used Mel’ name for the chef and cake because when they arrive they won’t see any of you, they will be dropping the food off and going. The registrar coming we had to tell him, he signed the NDA too so all is well, so pretty much. We are set, just that it will be a civil marriage but in the eyes of the law you both married, just your mom won’t be pleased because it isn’t religious” I laughed “I knew that, that is why I didn’t mention it to my mom” looking at Dennis “I love you mom, but my decision to not tell a lot of people lays on the fact I don’t need the negativity. My mom is not negative but she will have opinions on a civil marriage and I am happy to marry him that way” hearing the door close and the hallway full of giggles, which means they are back “Monica we love you, don’t be mad” Mel laughed “Because we're going to the chapel and we're gonna get” hearing Chris sing “finish it off then!” Chris spat, I laughed shaking my head “married!” Royalty shouted “I mean how can I not want that” looking behind me “Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married” Chris came from around the corner “oh shit, y’all are all here. I thought Robyn would be alone” Chris laughed at himself, smiling at Chris “you are so corny” Ja said, Chris walked over to me “gee, I really love you” he kissed my forehead “And we're gonna get married” Mel finished off as she got up from the chair, hiding my face laughing “Going to the chapel of love aye, aye aye!” looking up seeing Mel twerking, catching Dennis placing the camera down and rushing over “because we’re going to the chapel and we’re going to get married” they all sang in unison dancing, they got me crying laughing here.

They are all crazy, I am glad they are out of breath “this all your fault” grabbing Chris’ arm “I didn’t expect everyone to join, you enjoy that. Aye Dennis you get that for your little video, I want that on my page” Chris sat down at the table “I honestly enjoyed that, we need to do a karaoke night tonight or something. We do some dope karaoke nights, actually shall we make it super special and do that, like not late night because Robyn has a bedtime but I think we should have some fun” Mel said “why not, but we can only sing old songs” I added “shame you can’t drink but the rest of us can, I hope you got some soppy vows too Christopher. I want some tears in the audience, I want to hear that lisp kicking in” Mel is a troll “whatever, I ain’t got no lisp. So Roro, you going to be my singing partner? Ok how about Team Rihanna and Team Chris, how about men verse the ladies. Jahleel, we need to get some vocals going. How about it?” Chris got a good idea “fine by me, Royalty we will do just fine” I said to her “you can’t show any skin either to get points, you got to keep it PG” side eyeing Chris “I always keep it PG thank you very much” who does he think I am “how you feeling though, like tomorrow we will be married. Are you happy?” Chris questioned, nodding my head “I am nervous but it’s good nerves. We were discussing about the whole reveal thing and discussing tomorrow. It should be straight forward for us” Chris grinned at me “I am the luckiest man alive; I don’t deserve you” nodding my head in agreement “aye!” Chris said laughing which made me laugh “I am joking with you” Chris placed his hand over mine.

“What makes you love Rihanna so much?” Dennis asked Chris “erm, what is this for again?” Chris asked me “it’s question time, this is where we find out if you are worthy of me” I winked “how about if you are worthy of me, don’t play me like that” pulling a face at Chris “I don’t mean it in a way of why you love her, what draws you back to her? I have heard Rihanna say why but you, what makes you say I can’t leave, and why you had to get to this point” Dennis said confirming what he meant “what isn’t there to love about shawty, like even now. I be blushing about her, I get all nervous and shit but knowing Robyn from the start, getting to know her heart, to love her as a person. I mean yes she is beautiful but the bond we hold is deeper than that, when you know your soul mate, you just know. You don’t ever have that feeling again when your heart skips a beat for a person. She is the most amazing woman, selfless to others. I always wanted to marry shawty when my beard was barely connecting, from the jump I wanted her. We were engaged, I don’t know if Robyn wants me to mention it but we had it all, the baby, the engagement, the stardom. Before the politics happened, we had it all, but nobody was going to let that happen. Nobody knows this and if Robyn wants to cut this out she can, but we had it all, and it kills me that nobody let that happen. Our kid would have been in its teens, crazy right? But it was always meant to be, we were always meant to be have a baby and I love her, my first baby mother” Chris’ eyes meant mine, I feel teary eyed now “it is our time, we aren’t the best examples at life. Many will hate us or whatever but it’s a lot people don’t know, that was one of many things that always held that bond there” I said “what happened to this baby” Dennis asked, I didn’t want to answer that “I rather not say” my voice broke, I do feel bad about what I did, this is so raw “sorry” Dennis put the camera away “it’s fine, but we will decide if that should be released but I myself think about that, I still think we would have had it before them” Chris nodded his head.

I honestly just want Dennis to collate a lot of the footage so we can just work through it and keep what we need, also I have Chris sat in one place “I wanted to ask, how would you feel if I didn’t take your last name?” I am joking with him, but I would like to know “why would you want to Brown anyways, Fenty is better” raising an eyebrow “he is lying, don’t say that” I didn’t think he would “see, this is why I know you’re lying” rolling my eyes, he lied “whatever” hitting his arm “like your name finna be so long though Robyn Rihanna Fenty Brown, Robyn Brown is the shortened version, fair enough?” nodding my head “but on a real, I just want to say something because my ADHD is kicking in right now” Chris laughed “like this whole thing, this blog shit is because you all won’t let us live happy. I get what Robyn is doing, she is feeding what she wants, and you all hate me but so what, I am still going to be Robyn’ husband now, so you can just you know. Cry into a pillow now, uhm but I just want to say that I hope from this video that you see Robyn and I are madly in love and you see why, but on a real my butt hurts” I was shocked Chris sat here long enough “I am only doing this for you” Chris pecked my lips, I am happy he tries for me because I do know how stubborn Chris can be with everything.

#Chrianna FF #Chrianna #Chrianna Fanfiction #Fanfiction #Fanfic

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

Six Baudelaires AU, Part Three {AO3} {Masterlist} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Thirty-Three → in which the Baudelaires begin to heal

“Wait.” Friday narrowed her eyes. “Bears don’t live on beaches.” 

“I know!” Klaus laughed. “Shakespeare had no geographical knowledge whatsoever.” 

“Neither do I!” Friday giggled. “I’m the next Shakespeare!” 

Lilac laughed and tossed her a coconut. “Here, Shakespeare, make yourself useful while Klaus infodumps.” 

It had been several days, but the Baudelaires were starting to feel more comfortable in their little corner of the island. They had made their tent much larger, so all six of them could fit without squishing. Friday snuck them enough food that they didn’t quickly grow sick of Sunny’s coconut dishes, and it had rained the night before during a light storm, so they finally had water instead of- thankfully non-fermented- coconut milk. Violet had gathered some materials from the beach, and was working on a water filter, but until then, it was mostly the milk for the time being. 

But the good news was, Friday was, for the first time in what must have been forever, drinking non-fermented milk, whenever she visited, and it was showing. She was laughing and smiling much more, and she was even more curious than she’d been before she started dropping by. She’d been sneaking away more and more with each passing day, listening intently to all of their stories, or paying with Solitude and Babbitt, or helping Sunny with the cooking. 

She’d also managed to sneak them some extra robes, and while the Baudelaires were not fond of them, they also knew they couldn’t stay in one outfit for too long, so every now and again they’d switch into the robes while Lilac and Klaus washed the clothes in the water and then hung them up on a string they tied between two trees. Today was thankfully a ‘clothes day’, and after Klaus spent another few minutes describing the play about the jealous King and lost princess, Friday asked, “Hey, guys?” 

“Ye?” Solitude looked up from the tiny tent she’d set up so Babbitt could have a place to chill by themself. 

“If more clothes or fabric wash up on the beach, can I have a dress?” Friday asked hesitantly. 

“If you want one,” Violet said, sitting beside her and bouncing Sunny on her lap, “We can definitely make you one. Lilac and Nick are very good at sewing.” 

“So am I!” Sunny cheered.  

Friday’s eyes lit up. “Could you teach me?” 

“Of course!” Lilac nodded, beaming. She pushed her braids back, and then said, “How was the storm last night?” 

“Real pretty!” Friday said. “I love thunder!” 

“You know,” Lilac sat in front of her, smiling, “So do I!” 

“It was a bit loud,” Klaus said, waving at Nick as he came out of the trees with a handful of leaves, “But it was nice to get some rain.” 

“Should we go storm-scavenging,” Violet asked, “Or wait until your colony’s finished? We don’t want to cause trouble.” 

“We could go to the Coastal Shelf.” Friday said. “Usually people don’t go until later. If they do, you can just ignore them. Or pretend you’ve kidnapped me or something so they leave you alone.” 

“If we don’t find anything, we’ll at least get some walking in.” Nick said. “Being stuck in one place is a bit frustrating.” 

“I like exploring, I think.” Friday admitted, twirling the spyglass in her hands. “Lilac, Violet said you were going to go to the dangerous side of the island soon. Can I go, too?” 

Lilac glared at Violet, who shrugged. “She asked.” 

“Only if you want to.” Lilac said carefully. “I’ve been walking alright, so we should probably go soon and see if there’s a boat we can use for decision day.” 

“You could probably use the outrigger.” Friday said, very hesitantly, as she stared down at the ground. 

“I doubt Bitchmael would let us.” Nick shrugged. “We kinda yelled at him for a while.” 

“Maybe he’d let us, just to get us the hell out.” Violet suggested. 

“That can be our worst-case scenario, if we don’t find a proper boat.” Lilac said. “But first, let’s go check the beach. Violet, I think I can walk on my own.”

“You should at least have a crutch or something. Maybe a walking stick.” Violet said. “We can probably find some driftwood.” 

“Stop worrying,” Lilac smiled, holding out a palm to help Friday to her feet, and taking the small girl’s hand, “That’s my job as biggest sister.”

Her smile faltered slightly, as she glanced at Nick. Nick then quickly said, “Yeah, Vi, it’s her job. Worry about me and Klaus, we’re going to throw ourselves into the sea.” 

“Don’t do that, we might need you as sharkbait.” Violet said. 

“That’s what Olaf’s for.” Solitude said, holding out her hands for Babbitt to leap onto. 

“Sharkbait!” Sunny agreed. 

“Speaking of sharkbait,” Violet grabbed the knife from their sack of supplies, “We better take this in case he shows up.” 

“Good plan, V.” Klaus said. 

They all stood, and Friday and Lilac moved to the front, where Friday could point the way. As she did, she said, “Why would you need sharkbait?” 

“To catch a shark.” Nick said. “They’re endangered, so we don’t want to kill any, but if we’re desperate for food…” 

“We’ve never eaten shark.” Friday said. “There’s lots of things I’ve never eaten. Sherman says that there’s this thing on the mainland called ‘cake,’ but we don’t have desserts here.” 

“You’d love cake.” Violet said, as Klaus took Sunny, so Violet could be ready to stab at any opportunity. “You seem to like sweet things.” 

“What other sweet things are on land?” Friday asked, jumping over a fallen tree. 

“Chocolate.” Nick said. “And other candy.” 

“Strawberries.” Sunny said. “Jelly.” 

“You.” Violet pocketed her knife and grabbed Friday from behind, causing the girl to burst into laughter. “You’re too sweet and we’re gonna have to eat you!” 

“Nooo!” Friday couldn’t stop laughing, “Vi, put me down!” 

Lilac laughed and pulled her hair back; her ribbon had been too bloodied to use anymore, so she was using her hands until they could find a replacement. It was getting a bit frustrating, but she didn’t want to complain. They were all doing the best they could. 

Friday looked up at Violet as she kicked the air, and she said, “What else is on the mainland?” 

“Tons of inventing materials.” Violet said. 

“Cars and stoves and boilers and other things to fix.” Lilac said. 

“And things to build.” 

“I miss the libraries.” Klaus sighed. “We haven’t had a decent library in a while.” 

“I miss the roof of Prufrock.” Nick said. “It was fun to drop things on people.” 

“I miss Uncle Monty’s snakes.” Solitude sighed, placing Babbitt on her shoulder. 

“Fountain.” Sunny said. 

“The Fowl Fountain?” Nick shivered. “Why the hell would you miss that?”

Sunny shook her head. “Fountain of Finance. In city.” 

The Baudelaires stopped, and stared at her. “You can’t remember that.” Lilac said.

“You weren’t even a year old.” Violet said. 

Sunny shook her head. “I remember.” 

Friday cocked her head, still held by Violet. “What’s the fountain?” 

“The… Fountain of Victorious Finance.” Lilac said. “It was hot and we were waiting for our Mom outside the bank.” 

“And then Sunny started crying, so Father dunked her in the fountain.” Violet said. “And she laughed, so he kept splashing her.” 

“And then we threw off our shoes and socks and jumped in, too.” Nick sighed. 

“And everyone was staring at us.” Klaus laughed. “And Mother came out of the bank, took one look at us, and then ran to join in.” 

“We walked home all wet.” Solitude remembered. 

They glanced at each other, each feeling a cloud of sadness descending upon them. “That sounds beautiful.” Friday said. 

“It was.” Lilac said. 

They paused, and then Violet said, “We’re gonna have to dunk you in a fountain someday, Fri-girl. So you know how great it is.” 

Friday laughed, and Violet spun a little. Lilac smiled and straightened up again, and said, “Which way, Fri?” 

“Jus’ keep goin’ straight.” Friday giggled as Violet swung her around. “We’ll get there in a few minutes- Vi, put me down!” 

“Alright.” Violet said, and then she tossed Friday at Nick, who caught her and spun her again. Friday let out a delighted shriek, as Solitude clapped and Sunny leaned against Klaus, asking him to do the same. 

Nick managed to lift the little girl onto his shoulders, and she wrapped her hands around his neck and flung back. “Sneak attack!” she said, and Nick let out a mock gasp as he fell. He twirled so that Friday landed on his back, and they burst into laughter again. 

“Okay, guys, but we should get to the beach.” Klaus said, smiling as Solitude decided now was a good time to throw herself on top of Nick and Friday to join the pile. 

“Join us!” Nick said, looking up at him. “We’re becoming one with the sand!” 

“No, no, we-” Friday reached over and pulled on Klaus’s leg, dragging him down with them, and Sunny cheered as they hit the ground. 

“Yeet!” Violet shouted, as she threw herself beside her siblings, and after a second, Lilac flopped over, too. 

“You know what?” Friday said, as Sunny pushed Klaus’s head into the sand, and he retaliated by dunking her in almost completely, “You guys are cool.” 

“Oh, are we?” Lilac rolled onto her stomach, smirking. “Then I guess we won’t shove sand in your hair.” 

“No, no, do that!” Friday said. “That sounds like fun!” 

“You asked for it, Fri-girl.” Violet said, and she grabbed a handful of sand and dumped it onto her head. 

Friday laughed and clapped. “You’re so much more fun than the other kids! They keep telling me-” She sat up straighter, and imitated a deep voice. “‘Don’t rock the boat, Friday, we don’t play school here. School is discouraged.’” 

“Well, Prufrock Prep sucked.” Nick said. “But I bet there’s good schools.” 

“Didn’t you go to other schools?” Friday asked. 

Violet shook her head. “We were homeschooled before the fire.” 

“That means our parents taught us, or we taught ourselves.” Klaus said. 

Friday sighed. “I wish my mother would teach me things. All she shows me how to do are my chores for the colony, and how to do my hair. She didn’t want me to learn how to read, and she always gets mad when I ask too many questions.” 

The Baudelaires shared a cautious look. “That sucks.” Solitude said, sitting beside her. “You should learn everything.” 

“Isn’t it dangerous?” Friday asked, glancing over with a frown on her face. “To know everything?” 

Nick shuddered. “Yes.” he said. “There are some things you… you don’t want to learn. But that shouldn’t stop you. It shouldn’t keep you from being curious.” He scooted over to her, and poked her stomach, which caused her to giggle again. “Listen to me, Friday… what’s your last name, sweetie?” 

“Caliban!” 

“Alright. You listen to me, Friday Caliban. You never stop being curious. There’s so much in this world to learn, you hear me?” 

“I hear ya, Nicknack.” Friday smiled. 

“And,” Nick said, “Also promise me you won’t drink that coconut drug shit anymore.” 

Friday grinned. “Keep a secret? I haven’t since I started visiting you, and you gave me actual milk. It tastes better.” 

“Okay, but we just wanna make sure you’re not drowsy and forgetful and in danger.” Klaus said. “We don’t want you getting hurt.” 

“Poppy,” Sunny said, which meant, “And it’s probably not a good idea for a seven-year-old to be high.” 

Friday smiled, and hugged her knees. “Gotcha.” she glanced at Lilac. “And you can promise me a dress?” 

“First chance we get.” Lilac ruffled the girl’s hair fondly. “But first, we have to get to the beach. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find fabric first thing.” 

“I hope so.” Friday beamed. “I hope we find a ton of interesting stuff.” 

“I hope we find books.” Klaus said. 

“Or a boat.” said Solitude, practically. 

“I hope we find Olaf, dead in a ditch.” Violet said. 

“I hope he’s alive so we can stab him.” Nick said. 

“Well,” Lilac stood. “We won’t know until we get there. Friday, you’re still our navigator.” 

“Okee!” Friday leapt to her feet, happy that she was important in this. “Follow me, Baudelaires!” 

#asoue #asoue netflix #asoue movie #a series of unfortunate events #six baudelaires au #six baudelaires official fic #the end #mine #my fanfic

[joeybelle]

The house under the magnetic clouds

Armitage Hux x Reader

To @agentpeggyfreakingcarter

Rating: M 

Warning: Explicit Language, Accidental Nudity, Drinking, First Person POV

Setting: Pre-TFA

Other: Romance, Humour

Wordcount: 8800

Summary: There is this tiny house in a valley, on a small moon covered in tall grasses and surrounded by electromagnetic clouds, where I come to unwind every time life becomes a bit too much to handle. Whenever I'm there, I don't expect company. And definitely not someone with this attitude, walking around like they own the place. I save his life from a burning escape pod, and what do I get in return?

The escape pod pierced through the multicolored clouds, leaving a trail of dust and smoke in its path. It darted through the sky, directionless and out of control, spinning wildly before falling to the ground. I counted the seconds since I saw it hit the ground until the sound reached me, trying to calculate how far away it had crashed. Not that far, by the looks of it.

“Poor fella.” The pit droid shook his head, looking in the distance. “I don’t think they survived.”

“I guess we’re gonna have to see for ourselves,” I said.

“You don’t plan on going there, do you? It could be dangerous.”

“Well maybe someone survived,” I shrugged, and headed towards the tiny house in the valley. “And if they didn’t, there may still be something to salvage. I wanna get there before the fire ruins everything,” I said, and started running. “Hurry up, Dum-E!”

I packed a small bag of first aid supplies, just in case there was someone to rescue, while Dum-E reluctantly prepped the speeder. No matter how much I’d tried in the past to calibrate his personality, he always ended up being either a daredevil or having a higher than normal sense of self preservation. Eventually, I chose the latter, the former always cost me too much in repairs. Also, I was reckless enough for both of us, and having someone to temper me wasn’t such a bad idea.

I could see the smoke from the crash site in the distance so there was no way to get lost as I piloted the speeder. The small moon I was living on was mostly covered in grass so it wouldn’t have been a problem to find it anyway.

There was a sizeable crater where the pod had made contact with the ground, but to my surprise it seemed less damaged than I’d expected. It must’ve had an emergency landing system, but I was pretty sure after passing through the electromagnetic clouds above us, it wouldn’t have worked properly. Nonetheless, it looked far better than I had anticipated.

“Come on, Dum-E!” I yelled at my droid, landing close enough to the crash site that we could easily load any potential survivors into the speeder. “We might have someone to save.”

I didn’t wait for him, but grabbed my protective suit and some tools and stepped outside. The escape pod was a model I hadn’t seen before, all new, shiny materials. The person inside must have been some sort of big shot, maybe royalty even. Hopefully not royalty, I really didn’t need an army at my doorstep, but if they decided to repay me for saving their royal ass, I could really use the credits. Eh, I could dream. No one would find them until the electromagnetic clouds would pass anyway. Besides, I’d still have to save their life before waiting for any sort of reward.

I put on the protection suit, grabbed the multitool and approached the pod. It took me a while to pierce through the many protective layers, but since it was made of such quality materials, I was really happy: there was more of a profit to make when I’d cut it into pieces and sell it. Eventually, I managed to get through. The inside of the pod was filled with smoke and that gave me a new sense of urgency. I was protected by my mask, but whoever was inside wasn’t, so I squeezed through the hole I had made.

I found him pretty quickly, still strapped in the chair but unconscious. I figured he’d inhaled enough smoke so I pulled off my mask and fitted it over his face. Hopefully, he could still be saved. The smoke in the room was thick and it stung my eyes, but I knew I could take it for a few minutes for someone’s sake.

“Dum-E!” I yelled, almost choking, prompting the droid to poke his head though the opening. “Help me drag him out.” I unstrapped him and he nearly fell over me, but with Dum-E’s help I managed to get him outside. I collapsed on the grass next to him and took a few deep breaths, trying to clear my lungs of smoke.

When I finally got my eyes to stop stinging, I took off the mask and looked at him. He really did look like some sort of aristocrat, the type that doesn’t see the light of day much, with his pale skin and flaming red hair. His uniform seemed really high quality and was really nice to the touch. He looked like he was military, something that looked like the First Order insignia etched into his coat sleeve. I’d heard about them, but we’d never crossed paths before. They were bastards as far as I knew, but didn’t really care about the far end of the galaxy, where I spent most of my time, so I didn’t really care about them either. But bastard or not I couldn’t just let him die, now that I had dragged him out of the crashed pod. His life was in my hands and I felt responsible.

As a smuggler living in the Outer Rim I knew a few things about first aid, so it wasn’t that hard to stabilize him. He wasn’t that badly injured anyway. With Dum-E’s help I took him home and settled him in my bed. Something about his fancy clothes made me think I couldn’t just throw him on my tattered, old couch. I had a feeling he’d thank me.

I kept the oxygen mask on, his lungs would be thankful for the help, and placed a wet rag on his forehead. His breathing was laboured and his skin was burning, droplets of sweat forming on his brow. The red hair contrasted beautifully against the paleness of his skin, and I couldn't help running my fingers through it every time I’d change the rag. He was beautiful, I had to admit, even in his unconscious state.

I spent most of the night tending to him. He started talking in his sleep at some point, just gibberish really, but didn’t wake up. He eventually fell into a deep sleep so I dragged a chair next to the bed and wrapped myself into a blanket, just watching over him. After I was certain he wouldn’t die on me I slowly buried my feet under his blanket, leeching off of his warmth, and dozed off.

I woke up to the stranger pushing my feet off the bed.

“That’s rude,” I told him, trying not to lose my balance and fall. “That’s my bed, you know.”

“Who are you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me, his pretty face twisted in a sneer. I didn’t like it.

“The one who saved your life. So, who are you?”

“Where is my blaster?” He completely ignored my question, frantically patting his pockets.

“What blaster? There was no blaster?” I lied. Of course there was a blaster, and of course I’d stashed it somewhere he couldn’t get to. I had saved his life but that didn’t mean he wouldn't wanna repay it with an expertly placed shot between my eyes. On the Outer Rim a lot of people seemed pretty allergic to kindness and by the increasingly annoyed expression on his face, I had a hunch the same was true about the First Order.

“You’re lying,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at my nose.

“What would you need a blaster for anyway?” I tried diverting his attention. “No one’s attacking you here. It’s just me and my droid on this god-forsaken moon. And if I’ve gone through literal fire and smoke to save your life, I nursed you the whole night, why do you think I’d start attacking you now that you’re awake? Try to relax a bit, you’re wounded, you need to rest.”

The scowl on his face became even more pronounced, but I did my best to keep a smile on. I wasn’t going to let him ruin my mood. But something told me he was going to be a very difficult patient. Especially since he was already trying to get out of bed.

“No, don’t,” I said, catching him as he lost his balance and nearly fell from the bed, the little colour he still had in his cheeks draining completely, his eyes losing focus for a second. His hand went to his ribs and he started breathing heavily. “I think you should lay down for now,” I said, pushing him onto the pillows and meeting almost no resistance from him. “You’ve had a pretty rough landing there so don’t think you can recover overnight.”

“I have to get back…” He swallowed his words at the end and grimaced. I held his head and helped him take a sip of water, hoping it would make him feel a little better. I didn’t want to imagine what he was feeling right now.

“Unfortunately you’re stuck on this planet for a while,” I said, once the wave of nausea I assumed had washed over him had lost some intensity, and he was once again glaring menacingly at me. “You fell through a cloud of electromagnetic dust that scrambled your controls. It happens quite often here, it’s one of the particularities of this moon. While it’s out there above us, nothing goes in or out. No ships, no distress messages, no nothing.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault,” I snapped, crossing my arms. His attitude was starting to get to me. “You could have crashed when I was away and you would have died alone and miserable. I’m the only inhabitant, so you know. You should thank me.” He didn’t say anything, and turned his back to me. “Fine, don’t thank me,” I mumbled, getting up. “I’m going to make something to eat, please don't try to get up without my help. I really don’t wanna have to hoist you back in bed. You may not be that heavy but my back hurts.” I heard him huff in reply and I snickered. He was a brat.

I made something quick for me to eat and a nutritious soup for him. I used some of my emergency rations on it, to give it a little kick, but I knew he needed something filling and easy to eat, so this was my best bet. I poured it into a large cup, took my plate and joined him in the bedroom. However, he seemed less than thrilled with the food I presented him. He took the cup and stared at it like he expected something terrible to emerge out of it. He had managed to lift himself up while I was away and now he was propped onto the pillows, looking a little less dead than before.

“What’s this?” he asked, throwing me another glare. If I hadn’t seen him when he was unconscious, I would have thought that was just the way his face was, perpetually stuck in a frown.

“Soup,” I said, shoving food into my own mouth and not paying too much attention to him.

“Soup isn’t supposed to look like something died in it.”

“Hate to break it to you, but most soups have something that’s already dead in them. Unless you like the ones that are made with live animals, but I don’t have the necessary ingredients to make one of those, so this is all you get for now.” I smiled and he didn’t. Safe to say he didn’t really appreciate my humour.

He held the cup between his slender fingers and extended his arm away from himself, dangling the cup above the floor.

“If you drop it,” I let him know between bites, “it’s gonna stay there until you can get up and clean it. It’s gonna start stinking in about a day. So you better think it through.”

He seemed to consider his actions, and for a brief moment I was sure he’d still drop it just to spite me. “Take it away,” he eventually said, and I breathed, relieved.

“You should eat,” I said in a much milder tone, taking the cup from his hand. “I can promise you it tastes better than it looks and you really need some nutrients. I mean, it’s not like you have any stored extra fat you can break down in times of need.” His head turned slowly, and his eyes were shooting daggers at me. I should have taken the hint to stop, but I lacked basic self preservation instincts. “Seriously,” I continued, looking him in the eye, “your coat is heavier than you.”

“I’ll kill you,” he said, and by the look in his eyes I knew he meant it.

“Sure,” I shrugged. “Too bad you can’t get out of bed without fainting. I’ll leave this here for you,” I said, placing the cup on the small table next to the bed, within his reach. “In case you change your mind.”

He glared and promptly turned his back to me, so I knew I should leave him alone. I’d seen his injuries and even though he seemed fine, I knew he was quite battered. I had a feeling that if he hadn’t been this injured he wouldn’t have stayed one second in my home, and once he would feel better he’d bolt out the door. I wasn’t gonna stop him, he didn’t have anywhere to go anyway. But for now, he needed time to rest.

I made myself busy for a couple of hours, still keeping an eye on him from the distance. When I came back he was sound asleep, the cup of soup was empty and there were signs that he had gotten up and tried to rummage through my home before getting back into bed and falling asleep. He had recovered his coat from where I hanged it and I could see a small transmitter clutched in his hand. He was trying to call home. Hopefully he realized that I wasn’t lying to him when I said no signal would go through the curtain of clouds.

I took the coat off the bed and hanged it somewhere where he could see it. It was a really nice coat, black, sleek, high quality material, so I didn't want him to think I was trying to steal it, even though I really didn’t mind owning one. It looked really warm, I thought as I passed my fingers over the material.

I took the transmitter out of his hand and placed it on the table next to the now empty cup so it would still be within his reach if he woke up. No one would be receiving his messages anytime soon, but I figured it would help him understand that I didn’t mean him any harm. After all, I had disarmed him. Which, in hindsight, had been a really good idea, since he seemed at least a little apprehensive. He was military, and everyone knows they’re educated to shoot first, ask questions later. So it was better that I didn’t give him the chance to shoot.

But he didn’t really look like the soldiers I’d sometimes meet. He was much too slender and, as far as I’d seen when I checked for wounds it wasn’t the wiry type of slender that fighters sometimes were. He looked more like someone who had a desk job. His skin was much too light and his blaster too new and unused for him to have any other type of job. But he looked pretentious, so I assumed it was quite a good desk job.

He was really cute right now that he wasn’t sneering anymore. His hair was gorgeous and I really couldn’t stop myself from passing my fingers through it, brushing a few strands from his forehead.

“Stop touching my hair,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.

“Oh,” I gasped, taking my hand back. “Sorry about that, I didn’t know you were awake.” When I didn’t get any reply, I decided to leave him alone and go about with my day. I had a feeling he’d like to sulk in peace for a while.

He was peaceful for the rest of the day, mostly sleeping and sulking like I had anticipated. He didn’t try to run away or ransack my house anymore, probably knowing that he wouldn’t be able to find his blaster. Or maybe waiting for the right moment to start searching again. I didn’t care, as long as he was non-violent that was enough for me.

I spent most of the day doing chores and all the other things I kept putting off, since there was no signal and none of my electronics worked properly so I had to do something to occupy my time. I tended to stay away from my guest, as he seemed a little snappy every time I tried striking up a conversation. We did have to interact from time to time, though, because he wasn’t able to walk to the refresher on his own.

“So what’s your name?” I asked at some point, waiting patiently for him outside the bathroom.

“It’s none of your business,” I heard his muffled voice on the other side of the door. He said it in such an affected tone and I made a conscious effort not to roll my eyes.

“It is my business, you’re in my care, so I’d like to know your name.” I crossed my arms and leaned on the wall waiting for him. I could hear the faucet running, and I fought the urge to tell him not to waste all my water because he’s not paying any bills. But he was a guest, so I had to accept it. He eventually got out, and instantly frowned when he saw me. I guess he somehow expected me to vanish in his absence. “That, if you don’t want me to call you Red for the rest of your stay here.” I continued, offering my shoulder for support and grabbing his waist. “That’s what they’d call you if you ever hung out with me basically anywhere around this area of the Outer Rim.”

“I’d never hang out with you,” he said, in disgusted manner.

“Yeah I bed you wouldn't,” I said, helping him back in the bed. “You don’t look like someone who’d ever step foot in the bars I usually go to. Or that has ever tried Jet Juice in their life. Not that you’d be able to handle it anyway.” He scoffed and I laughed. “So, Red it is then?”

“Just call me General,” he spat.

“General?!” I really couldn’t hold my laughter, making him turn to look at me. “You’ve got to be shitting me, you don’t look like a General. Sergeant, Lieutenant at most! And that only if you have some family pushing you forward,” I laughed.

I could see his face redden with what I assumed was anger or embarrassment, or both, and wondered if I had struck a chord. “Check the insignia on my uniform if you don’t believe me,” he said, with a frown and a really stuck up expression on his face, which only made me want to continue. It wasn’t like I didn’t believe him—although his claim was pretty far-fetched—but his smug face really pissed me off.

“Yeah, sure,” I continued. “I can buy five of those for 10 credits on the black market, whatever army I chose. Some of them are even authentic.”

He looked at me wide eyed for a moment. I had no idea what he was thinking, but then he crossed his arms and turned his back to me. “You wouldn’t be able to recognize an authentic insignia anyway.”

“You may be right about that,” I laughed, and I could hear him snort. “But I know the people wearing them. And you really don’t look like a general.”

I left him alone for the rest of the day, coming into the room only to bring him something to eat and drink and administer medication. He ignored me most of the time and I didn’t try to rile him up anymore. He was recovering after all.

I watched him while he was sleeping once again, just to make sure he wouldn’t die on me. This time I dragged in an armchair, with the help of Dum-E, and was able to sit more comfortably. I fell asleep pretty early, seeing that my patient wasn’t as restless anymore, but he did cough pretty often in his sleep so I woke up every time he did to check on him. It wasn’t so odd after how much smoke he had inhaled, even I could still feel my throat irritated.

When I woke up in the morning, he was already scowling at me.

“Morning Sarge!” I got up the chair and stretched my aching muscles, letting out a satisfied yelp. I would fall asleep pretty often in the pilot’s chair, but that was somehow more comfortable than any chair I had at home. “Ready to face a new day?”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Sorry, but you really have to impress me to promote you to anything higher than that.” I shrugged and I could see him start to get annoyed with my presence.

“I want to take a shower,” he said in a commanding voice, and for the first time since I’d met him he gave me the impression that he might actually be someone in charge, not just a spoiled brat.

“Are you always that bossy? Can’t you say ‘please’?” I asked, not letting myself get intimidated. After all I was pretty sure I could win against him in a fistfight. “You don’t have many friends, do you?” I asked, seeing that he wasn’t going to reply. “Just asking because if you give me your address I could send you a card on your birthday, they sell these funny holo-cards that you can keep on your desk and they scream insults at anyone that passes them…”

“I would like a shower… Please!” It wasn’t a plea, more like barking an order, but he still used the word ‘please’ so I decided not to subject him to my ramblings anymore.

“Okay,” I said, passing a hand over my face. “Alright, we’ll be facing some logistic difficulties.”

I wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand for long without fainting and I really didn’t know how he’d react to hot water being poured on his head, seeing that he was still pretty dizzy every time he got up. I was afraid that if I left him alone he’d fall and hit his head. Of course, I could stay with him and make sure he was alright, but something told me he wouldn’t appreciate my concern.

“Are you sure you don’t want breakfast first?” I asked, trying to win myself some time to think.

“No,” he replied, abruptly.

“Then you’ll have to wait.”

I left him and went to the refresher. The only thing I could come up with in this amount of time was placing a stool in the shower so that he could sit on it, and hope for the best. I took out some towels and a change of unisex clothes that looked like they might fit him.

He was pretty compliant as I helped him to the refresher. Sat him on the stool and wanted to help him take off some of his clothes, but he refused, sending me away with a wave of hand.

“Leave everything in a pile on the floor,” I told him before closing the door. “I’ll put them in the washer later.”

I waited for him nearby, just in case he needed me. I tried doing something productive, but in the end I just paced in front of the door. I knew I should have been starting breakfast in the meantime, but what if he’d need my help and I wouldn’t hear it? What if I wasn’t fast enough? So I ended up cleaning his coat while I waited.

It was a really nice coat, something I didn’t get to see that often in this part of the Galaxy, but it was something I assumed a high ranking officer would be wearing. I wasn’t familiar with the insignia. I had heard about the First Order, but they were so far away that they didn’t pose a threat to us yet. And I didn’t care that much either. In the end it didn’t matter who ruled the Galaxy, we’d still be the same misfits we’d always been.

But the coat was nice. It was something I would have bought if I weren’t currently—perpetually—broke. It looked really sleek and polished, even with the tiny holes and traces of ash and dust from dragging him through the crash site. I wondered how he’d look in it. Probably a lot more impressive than he did swaddled in my blankets.

The loud crash made my heart almost project into another dimension. I dropped the coat and bolted through the refresher door. I found him lying on the bathroom floor, covered in foam, clutching his sides.

“Are you alright?” I asked automatically, although I could see perfectly well that he wasn’t. He was still conscious and there was no trace of blood, but his body looked really bruised under all that foam.

“No, I’m not!” he barked and I couldn't blame him.

“Sorry about that. Let me help you up.” I grabbed him and helped him on the stool I was pretty sure he hadn’t used. “Want some help rinsing off? I promise I won’t peak.”

“No! Get out!”

“Alright, have it your way…” I said, roughly half a second before watching him lose balance and almost slip off the stool. Fortunately, my reflexes still worked and I managed to catch him in time. “Or not.” Water and foam seeped through my t-shirt as I was trying to stabilize him, my face pressed to the back of his neck. His head was hung and his breathing laboured. “Right,” I said, stretching for the shower controls, “let’s rinse you and get you out of here.”

A wave of warm water hit us both and I stepped into the shower not very concerned that I was getting all my clothes wet. All I cared was to get him cleaned up and back in bad as fast as possible, before any other accidents could happen. It was my fault that I’d let him fall in the first place. I should have watched him more closely, despite his protests.

And speaking of watching, I did my best trying not to look, I really did. But somehow, looking at something else, my eyes fell onto his nether regions. That was also exactly the moment he chose to lift his head, open his eyes and look at me.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” I said, looking from his groin to his face, “the carpet does matches the drapes.”

I’d said a lot of stupid things in my life, and this wasn’t even in the top ten, but it was still pretty stupid. I blushed furiously as I hurried washing the soap off of him. He didn’t say anything, but I could see he was actively trying to avoid looking in my direction. I turned off the water, grabbed a large towel and covered him in it. He immediately grabbed it and pulled it closer, covering himself.

“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a smaller towel and beginning to dry his hair. “I really didn't mean to. It was a stupid accident and I promise it won't happen again.” He just looked at me, but said nothing. The judgemental look in his eyes was enough anyway.

By the time he was mostly dry he seemed to be feeling a lot better because he was able to dress himself without any help from me. He was still shooting daggers as I turned around to give him a little privacy. And I really didn’t look in the mirror, although I knew I could get a good look. I didn’t wanna seem like a creep.

When I turned around he was already dressed. The clothes fit him somewhat, but he looked more like a lanky tenager than a soldier. The t-shirt was loose and the pants a little short, revealing his ankles. He still seemed a little insecure on his own two feet. His hair stuck in all directions and his face was flushed. I smiled.

“What?” he asked, frantically running his hands through his hair, trying to tame it somehow.

“You’re cute,” I laughed, offering him my shoulder for support.

His eyes widened. “You’re insane!”

“Wow! That’s a weird way to accept a compliment. You don’t get that many compliments, do you?”

“Stop talking.”

“Your wish is my command, Sarge,” I said, mocking his pompous tone. “Let’s get you back to bed before I have to pick you up off my bathroom floor again.”

He seemed a bit reluctant to hold onto my shoulder, but I convinced him to do so anyway. I couldn’t afford to see him topple to the ground once again. He stumbled a couple of times before I noticed he kept looking up.

“Will you please watch your steps?” I said, frustrated.

“Your t-shirt is wet,” he said, pressing his lips together in a tight line.

“Yeah, I’ll change it in a moment, just let me get you back in bed.”

“And see-through.”

“Oh!” I looked down and understood that he had a pretty good view of my boobs every time he looked down. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn, but there was nothing I could do right now so I tried hiding my embarrassment behind a nervous laughter. “What, don’t you have boobs in the military, Sarge?” He snorted and kept looking away from my boobs. “Yeah, I figured that would be the case. But you should be a lady killer with that impressive coat of yours…”

“Please stop,” he pleaded.

I laughed and helped him back in bed, fluffing up the pillows a little so he could sit upright. “There you go, Sarge. I’ll go make some breakfast and I’ll be back in a minute.”

He exhaled loudly and I was sure I’d reached the limit of his patience with my ramblings, so I decided to shut up and leave him alone for a while.

“It’s Hux,” he said before I left the room.

“Pardon?”

“Armitage Hux. My name is Armitage Hux.” He seemed to force himself to say the words and I smiled.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, offering him my own name in exchange. “Can I call you Armie?”

“No! You can call me Hux,” he barked.

“Ok, Hux. I’ll go make breakfast now.”

The next couple of days passed without incident. Well, almost. He was very resilient and seemed to heal faster than I had anticipated. I had to fight him to get some bacta on his bruises—almost literally, since he only yielded after I’d grabbed the fly swatter and threatened to give him a couple more if he didn’t take his shirt off—but other than that he wasn’t being that difficult.

He always ate all of the food I brought him without complaining. After the first day I thought he’d do the same every time, but he slowly and meticulously ate everything. Of course, he never complimented my food—or thanked me for it—but the fact that he was eating without putting up a fight was enough.

However, I had to send Dum-E away after the first couple of days. He didn’t like Hux and made it very clear, so I loaded him with a handful of supplies and sent him to my ship to help the astromech repair the blocked exhaust port and to wait for me there until I’d come for him. His help wasn’t really needed—astromechs usually did a much better job without someone pissing them off—but I needed a reason to get Dum-E off my back without hurting his feelings. He did what he was told, but wasn’t very happy about it.

Hux insisted to try and get out of bed a little every day, and although I knew he was in a lot of pain he never complained. I helped him walk around the house a little bit at a time and he seemed to get stronger every day. He still got a little dizzy everytime he got up too quickly, but I was there to support him until it passed. He also started breathing and sleeping better, so I could sleep on the couch instead of by his side.

His new favourite spot seemed to be outside on the porch, sitting in my rocking chair. He never rocked in it, just sat there, arms crossed, frowning at the scenery, occasionally watching me work in the garden. I didn’t mind his presence, actually I’d grown to quite enjoy it. I’d make him tea as he said he didn’t like coffee. He’d never touch the cookies I’d leave on the table, so I’d end up eating them during my breaks.

“So this is what you do for a living?” he asked once I’d taken a break from gardening and joined him in on the porch.

“What? Gardening?” He nodded. “No, it’s just a hobby. Occasionally I feel like I need a break from people so I come here to be alone.”

“Then what do you do?”

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” I said, biting into a cookie. A glimpse of something—fear maybe—flashed through his eyes. “Odd jobs,” I said, still chewing on the sweet treat. “I used to work in a mining company, I hated them. Then I worked as a cargo pilot, they hated me. Now I just… freelance.”

“Do you have your own ship?”

“No, I walked to this moon.” I snorted. “Of course I do. I saved a lot for it. Had a lot of repairs done too, but now it’s in pretty good shape,” I said with a smile on my face. I was really proud of the trash compactor, as I sometimes lovingly called her.

“I don’t see it. Where is it?” he said, curiously looking around.

“Docked. Somewhere.” I laughed. “I know that look. But I’m not gonna let you steal my ship and crash it. Just look at the sky, no one’s able to pass though that.”

He looked up. I still wasn’t sure he believed me, but I wasn’t gonna sacrifice my ship so that his curiosity would be satisfied. The sky was a combination of pastels and greys, mixing together in wide swirls, almost glimmering where the clouds were thin enough to let some more light come through. Occasionally, a flash of lightning lit the sky. It was insanely beautiful, in my opinion, and that certainly made up for the inconvenience of being grounded for extended periods of time.

But I wasn’t looking at the sky right now, I was looking at him. Ever since he seemed to have gotten used to my presence, he was frowning a lot less. And he was really cute when he relaxed a little. He had such beautiful features, mesmerizing green eyes brought out by the colour of his hair. He looked pretty imposing now that he wasn’t hunched over anymore, dressed again in his freshly cleaned and mended uniform (I actually did a great job with it). With the coat hanging effortlessly on his shoulders, he actually looked like a higher ranking officer. Not that I would have ever told him that, he had an ego problem anyway.

“What?” he asked, turning around to look at me.

“I like your coat,” I only half lied, because I really liked his coat.

“I’d tell you to join the First Order,” he said, looking away. “But I’m sure you’d never be able to climb to my rank anyway,” he said in such an honest voice that it only sounded moderately condescending.

“Well, if you did it I can do it too. I can even take your job if I really want to.” He snorted, and it almost sounded like a laughter. Almost. “But you’re lucky that I don’t like the military, so you’ll be able to keep your job a little longer.” I got up and headed back to my garden.

“But you like gardening,” he said, watching me grab my tools.

“Yeah! I’d rather get my hands dirty with mud than with blood.”

“Sometimes, blood is necessary,” he said, leaning back in the chair. “Change requires sacrifice, sometimes literally.”

“You sound like an idealist,” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe you should try gardening,” I offered, changing the subject. “Helps a lot with meditation and inner turmoil. Might help with that crease between your eyebrows.”

“Not in a million years.” He got up, and walked briskly inside.

“Well you could wash the dishes if you’re going inside. Or set the table,” I yelled after him, knowing full well that he wouldn’t dirty his hands doing any of that.

As days passed and he was getting better, he started spending more and more time with me. He never did anything around the house—something told me that he’d never done any housework by himself—but he followed me around like a shadow. He’d spend hours walking around the garden, listening to me ramble about the plants or listen to funny stories that happened to me or my friends. On rare occasions he’d even smile or snicker at one of my jokes. He seemed to appreciate my flower garden, since he liked to spend time there the most.

He didn’t talk much about himself and seemed quite emotionally constipated. He only fired up when he talked about the First Order, but when he noticed how little I cared, he stopped and never mentioned it again. Instead he started asking me questions: about my childhood, about my family, my friends. He seemed restless whenever the house was too silent so I kept talking and he listened.

“The weather’s changing,” I said one evening, while sitting on the porch. The air was warm and a bit humid, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The static in the air was probably higher than usual. “I think the sky will be clearing soon.”

“How do you know?” he asked, joining me, looking at the dwindling light near the horizon. “It looks the same to me.”

“It’s hard to explain. You start noticing some changes after spending some time here.”

We were both silent for a while, watching the setting sun colour the clouds a fiery orange, just before turning dark. I was a bit sad that he’d have to go, but I knew I couldn’t just ask him to stay a little longer. Besides, I’d have to go to work too. My little house and garden were a great place to unwind, but I wouldn’t be able to survive without working. I sighed and headed inside.

He followed me a couple of minutes later, watching me pull out bottles out of a cupboard.

“I was thinking,” I said, placing a bottle on the kitchen table and fishing for two mismatched shot glasses in another cupboard, “since we’ll both be off this planet soon and something tells me we’ll never see each other again, I was thinking of treating you to a glass of jet juice. You can’t leave without tasting it at least once now, can you?”

“No, thank you,” he said, taking a step back as I was pouring the drink, as if it could bite him though the air.

“Oh, come on, General. You need to learn to unwind a little,” I said with a cheeky smile, pushing the glass towards him. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” I said, taking my own glass and downing it. “Kriff, it’s bad!”

“Why do you drink it then?” He took the glass between his slender fingers and sniffed it, the look of disgust on his face becoming more evident.

“Oh you don’t drink to enjoy it,” I shrugged, refilling my glass. “You drink to get drunk.”

“That’s because you don’t drink the right thing,” he said with a very visible air of superiority. I snorted.

“Sorry, rich boy, but here we can’t afford the fine drinks you’re used to.”

“I’m not rich.”

“Yes, you are. Maybe not now, but I’m pretty sure you grew up rich. You have this air of entitlement that only rich kids have. You walk around like you own the place, you act like you deserve everything. I think you’ve been used to having everything handed to you because you never clean after yourself, you never say thank you for anything, unless it’s sarcastic.” He frowned, but didn’t deny it. “You know, I didn’t have to save your life,” I continued, and he was already avoiding my gaze. “I didn’t have to look after you or give up my bed or share my food with you. But I did it anyway, because I wanted to.”

He still didn’t deny it of try to argue with me, instead looking down at the glass in his hand. “Thanks,” he mumbled and brought the glass to his lips. I could tell the exact moment the drink hit his throat, because I saw his eyes widen in shock, his face take on a crimson shade and eventually he started coughing. At least his heart didn’t stop.

I walked around the table, unable to hold my laughter as he doubled down coughing. “Are you okay?” I asked, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, once he seemed to compose himself a little bit.

“That is absolutely appalling! How can you drink it?”

“You didn’t have to try and down it. I’m used to it, but you will need some practice.”

“Fuck,” he took a deep breath, wiping the sweat on his forehead. “I didn’t expect it to be that strong. And why does it taste that bad?”

“Yeah, this is the good shit,” I said, pouring another round. Hux looked at the bottle with barely concealed fear in his eyes. “Rock brews it on his ship when he’s away. Comes back with a fresh batch every six months or so. It’s always the strong kind, cause that’s how he likes it.”

“It’s horrendous,” he said, but still took his glass. This time he proceeded with a lot more caution, only sipping from the glass. It was entertaining to watch him force himself to drink the liqueur. That level of self-discipline was to be admired. He even made an effort to keep a straight face, but failed miserably. I laughed and downed my glass. “You’re insane,” he whispered, looking at my empty glass.

It only took a couple more glasses for him to actually take the bottle and become the one in charge of refills. He stated loud and clear that it tasted like the depths of hell, but he kept drinking anyway. I was already dancing on my own in the middle of the living room, the sound system blaring some stupid galactic pop music.

“I thought you said electronics don’t work,” he said, looking at me with a slightly unfocused gaze. He was actually taking the alcohol far better than I had expected. Most people who drank Rock’s jet juice for the first time ended up under the table. Or worse. But he seemed to handle it surprisingly well.

“They do, they just don’t get any signal from the outside,” I said, swaying to the music, probably a lot less graciously than I thought I was. “This is just some pre-recorded shit. Come dance with me.”

His usual scoff was back, and in my drunken state I realized I’d missed it. He shook his head and I extended my arm out, inviting him again. “I don’t dance,” he said, pouring himself another drink, this time being a lot more generous with it than I had been.

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

“You’re lying,” I giggled, fumbling with the sound system. “You’re high society, you guys have balls or some shit. You must have at least slow danced once in your entire life.”

“I did not.” He crossed his arms and looked away.

“Well then, there’s always a first time for everything.” I finally managed to find a slow song I was pretty sure we could dance on without stepping on each other’s toes. “Come dance with me,” I said once again, taking a few steps towards him, holding my hand out.

He still had his hands crossed over his chest but his posture wasn’t that rigid anymore. A few hair strands had escaped from his usually slicked back hairstyle and were falling into his eyes, but he didn’t do anything to brush them away. He was looking. Just that, looking, as if he couldn’t really make up his mind what to do. I still kept my hand out and an inviting smile on my face, although I had little hope that he would accept my invitation. So I was really surprised when I felt his hand in mine, my smile widening considerably.

“Only one,” he said, placing a hand on the small of my back and pulling me close.

My heart jumped at the contact. I wasn’t expecting this much intimacy, if anything I had expected him to be a lot more awkward and stiff. But he was swaying next to me like he knew what he was doing, his hand warm in mine, his face so close that I could feel his breath. I allowed my head to rest on his shoulder, melting into his frame. After all, a little vulnerability was allowed from time to time.

The song ended and then another one started, and the promise of only one dance was temporarily forgotten. My head was spinning a little—no doubt the effect of the alcohol in my blood—but I knew dancing could do that to you too. He had rested his cheek on the top of my head and I had my eyes closed, languidly moving in sync with him. And then another song started, and another.

I don’t really remember how my lips found his. It felt like waking up from a dream, or waking inside of a dream because I felt oddly detached from reality. The kiss was slow, needy and selfish, lips mashed together almost painfully. My hands had traveled up, entangling my fingers into the hair on the back of his head. He was pressing me closer to his chest, in an almost desperate gesture. I wasn’t thinking anymore. The only thing I was feeling was him, and his soft lips on mine.

The music changed, pulling us back to reality. He broke the kiss and we pulled apart. It took us a couple of moments to regain composure, me a bit more reluctantly than him. He passed a hand through his hair and looked around nervously. He seemed a little flustered, and I was sure it wasn’t just the alcohol.

“I’d better go to sleep,” he said and I pouted.

I really didn’t want him to leave, my head was still spinning and my lips were tingling, wanting to be kissed again, but even in my drunken state I knew it wouldn’t be wise to insist. He was rebuilding his shell just as fast as he was getting his hair in order, and the only thing indicating that he had been kissing mere moments before was the redness of his lips.

I straightened my posture and smiled. “Goodnight, General,” I forced myself to say.

He mumbled ‘goodnight’ and left. I turned off the music and poured myself another glass, before cleaning up. I was still drunk when I eventually went to bed. I stopped for a moment to look at the sleeping figure in my bed. I’d miss him after he’d leave. I really would. I made a mental note to tell him that before he left and crashed on the couch, falling asleep almost instantly.

For the past week, as Hux had healed enough so he could get out of bed on his own, he had been the one to wake me up every morning, at the break of dawn. I had no idea how he could live on such little sleep, but I blamed it on his military upbringing. So I found it a little strange when I woke up unprompted, and the house was filled with the light of day. I figured the hangover was making him oversleep, so I got up to close the blinds.

The sun was shining brightly, and I groaned as my head felt like it wanted to explode into a million pieces. The sun was shining… that meant the cloud blockade was gone. It took me a minute to realize, my brain foggy and slow.

I ran to my bedroom, my head protesting against any sudden movements, nearly tripping onto something on the way. The bed was empty. I looked around the house, but he was nowhere to be seen, my heart sinking with every step I took. I stopped and listened, but everything was silent.

I ran outside, my last hope was to find him in my garden, or at least to catch him before he reached his rescuers. Just to say goodbye. What I didn’t expect was to see was the silhouette of a battlecruiser blocking half the sky, terrifyingly close and menacing.

I stopped dead in my tracks, unable to move. So he hadn’t lied, he was someone really important if they’d sent a star destroyer to pick him up. A ship that would wipe the tiny moon I lived on in mere seconds, erasing any proof that he’d ever been here. And from what I’d heard about them, they were capable of doing just that. I knew enough that I could be considered a liability.

I just stood there in front of my house, where we used to walk together less than a day ago. I was scared. For the first time in a long time, I was scared. I watched with widened eyes as the ship started its engines and entered hyperspace.

It took me a couple of minutes to realize that it was actually gone and I was still alive. He didn’t kill me, although he could have done it with just as little effort as squishing a bug with his shoe. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and went back inside. I needed a strong drink, so I poured myself one. My hangover wouldn’t thank me. I plopped down the couch and covered my eyes.

He left without saying goodbye. I knew he hadn’t tried to wake me up, because even drunk I wasn’t a heavy sleeper. So he actually made an effort to not wake me up as he left. I didn’t get to tell him that I would miss him, and that he could visit anytime he needed a break from whatever life he was leading. That he’d be welcome again in my tiny house.

I got up before I made myself cry and looking around the house my eyes fell on the coat, thrown on the back of the armchair. It was his coat, the same black coat I spent half a day trying to clean and mend. All the military insignia had been carefully removed. I laughed, wondering how long he’d actually spent carefully cutting each one of them off, leaving nothing but the beautiful black fabric. I put it on. Yeah, I loved it. It didn’t fit me quite right, but I could wear it on my shoulders and look badass.

Looking through its pockets I found an emergency transmitter, the same one I’d found him clutch in his hand the first time he woke up, and the same one that had called the First Order to pick him up the moment the clouds had stopped jamming the signal. It was currently turned off, but I was sure that the moment I’d turn it on, it would start transmitting. ‘In case of emergency’, I knew it meant. I smiled and put it back in the coat pocket. This was his way of saying thank you.

A couple of days later, I had picked up a very disgruntled Dum-E along with my ship and I was making the final preparations to leave for another season of working my ass off for little to no pay. I opened my safe box to grab some stuff and I noticed that Hux’s blaster was gone. So he’d found my safe box and he broke into it, recovering his weapon. It was useless for me, since it was fingerprint locked and those wouldn’t sell for much on the black market, but it was nice thinking that he could have killed me anytime he wanted, but didn’t. It was almost romantic.

I laughed and closed the safe, making a mental note to get a better one before I came back again, turned on the security system and left the house, hands in my pockets and a black, First Order general’s coat hanging on my shoulders.

Masterlist

Mobile Masterlist

#hux #armitage hux #general hux #armitage hux x reader #general hux x reader

[sarakuper]

New York, New York

Stop #28, Sept 28-Oct 6

We arrived in Connecticut to meet my dad and Denise, his parter, who graciously offered to keep our truck and trailer on her property while we spent time in NYC. My dad gave us a ride into the upper east side of Manhattan to stay with my mom for the night. She came downstairs with my childhood dog, Rocky, so we could introduce him to Jaxon and get them comfortable with one another. While walking them together up and down the block Mikey and Laura arrived and the 5 of us had dinner together. It been so long since we were all together for something as casual as dinner. It was so nice to all be together! Mikey and Laura slept in Inwood (upper Manhattan) that night at my Aunt Frema’s while me Sean and Jaxon got comfortable at my moms place.

Sunday morning we slept in, ate breakfast together, then my dad picked me Sean and Jaxon up to head to my Bubby’s in Queens for the first night of Rosh Hashana. Aunt Frema was preparing chicken soup and side dishes while also panicking about the caterers who had yet to arrive with the food they ordered for our meal. We helped set the table and get organized, meanwhile everyone else started to arrive. Denise and her son, Mikolo, Michael and Laura, and then Aunt Alane, Uncle Lew, and my cousins Aaron and Jack (who are like brothers to me). We were a total of 14 in my Bubby’s apartment and she couldn’t have been happier to have everyone there, although we missed Shelly who flying back to the states from Israel. By 6:30pm the food had finally arrived only 6 hours later than they originally called for. 

Rosh Hashana was always one of my favorite Jewish holidays growing up. It celebrates the new year and we get to dip apples and challah in honey to represent a sweet year ahead. Not to mention, the main food is always delish! To our surprise, even though we catered this year, everything still tasted home made. There were FOUR types of kuggel, which is not surprising considering this is a Kuper gathering. But seriously, four!? My dad made the classic potato kuggel in addition to the cauliflower, broccoli, and noodle kuggels. There was also chicken soup with matzo balls, chopped liver (which sounds totally gross but is SOO delish), brisket, chicken cutlets, and way more dishes that I couldn’t begin to name. 

I haven’t been with my family for this holiday since I moved to Colorado, and quite honestly it was so great to be together again for a happy occasion. We drank lots of wine, yelled conversationally across the table, and ate until we were stuffed. We could have had a second seating with the amount of food that was left, but again, this is typical for our family. We have major portion control issues! 

As the night came to a close Bubby handed out goodie bags to all the “kids”. She usually bakes for everyone, but with her current health and age she decided it was time to buy the cookies to give out. Everyone left one at a time leaving me, Sean, Jaxon, and Aunt Frema; we all slept at Bubby’s. 

On Monday morning I woke up to join my Bubby and Frema relaxing on the couch. My Bubby has the most comfortable couch in the world and I take a shloof (aka nap) on it almost every time I’m here. So, as per usual, I made myself comfortable with them. 

An hour or so later my Dad arrived to go to shul (aka synagogue) at Young Israel, my Bubby’s local soul. After he gets back we  have a “lighter” Rosh Hashana lunch with the many leftovers from the previous night, but before we that Aunt Frema and I went for a long walk in the neighborhood with Jaxon. My dad got back and we had a late lunch that ended around 4pm. We were so full, and I couldn’t believe that Sean and I were going over to Lew and Alane’s for yet anther Rosh Hashana meal with Alane’s side of the family. We were having ANOTHER massive meal only 2 hours later. I found Sean laying down on the couch in the room we slept in and he stared at me as he said “I… can’t… do this… again” referring to the large amounts of food we’ve eaten in the last 20 hours. Well, we did!

By the time we got to Alane’s, also on the upper east side, Sean and I decided to go very slow. Eventually we were able to eat another full meal of chicken soup with matzah balls, brisket, and lots of side dishes leaving our bellies stuffed once again. Most of the Jewish holidays are like a marathon of eating, and Sean certainly got to experience it first hand. 

We slept in the next morning, still totally full, and hung out with my 13 year old cousins Aaron and Jack who actually look 16. We brought over pizza and then walked to the park to play basketball. I love these boys so much, they are like my brothers! They are also my favorite people to hang out with when I come to NYC. 

Our dinner plans with friends got canceled, and so Sean and I decided to have a night downtown to ourselves. Sean also wanted to stop by Soho Ink, a tattoo shop not far from Chinatown where we planned to eat dinner, and at the last minute decided to get the tattoo right then and there! He has lots of gaps between his current tattoos that he “needs to fill” and so this time he got an axe. It turns out the artist who was available to tattoo him was a finalist on the most recent season of Ink Master, a TV show.

After the tat Sean and I walked through Little Italy and Chinatown to get our “must eat while in NYC” soup dumplings. Usually we eat at Joe Shanghai for soup dumplings, but we wanted to try something new. We headed to Tiny Shanghai and ordered 2 rounds of soup dumplings, cold sesame noodles, scallion pancake with sliced beef, and chicken broccoli with white rice. Overall the food was delish but way less authentic than Joe’s. Since we were in the neighborhood we went to some of my old stomping grounds like Whiskey Tavern and Ryan’s daughter. At both places, to my surprise, someone who worked there when I still lived here still remembered me and welcomed us with free drinks and a good time. It was a fun date night for me and Sean! I kind of got the feeling Sean would like to live here for a little bit, maybe just a year or two. I would never do that again! But, I really do enjoy visiting. 

Wednesday morning was a lazy morning until my mom got out of work early to spend the rest of the day with me, Sean, and Jaxon. We walked around the upper east side en route to a nearby park, but it was so hot walking on the streets we decided to sit in the shade at an outdoor table for coffee and ice cream. The rest of the late afternoon was spent prepping my favorite dish that my mom makes, fried pork cutlets with sweet cabbage and potatoes. Sam came over to join us for dinner before heading out to meet her friends. Theres nothing like a home cooked meal from my mamma <3

Thursday was meant to be spent hiking with Sam somewhere upstate but because of the cold rain we decided to skip it. Instead Sean and I met her downtown and went straight to Joe Shanhai’s for a soup dumpling lunch! Yes, soup dumplings again… we could never eat too many of those. We ordered 5 rounds between 3 of us for a total of 40 dumplings. Sean only had about 8 and the rest were split between Sam and I…. yeah…  :) We continued to walk around downtown heading to the lower west side and got ice-cream at a Japanese style ice-cream spot called Tayaki on the way. Sean and I had a war of throwing shredded coconut at each other. 

^^ This is what the entrance to Joe Shanghai’s looks like ^^

We walked to a place in the west village called Uncommon which had coffee, drinks, and snacks but offered endless games! I immediately thought how much the Elser’s would love it here! We paid for an “all day” pass which was $10 each or $5 if you have a student ID which Sam does. Sitting for almost 2 hours we played Ticket to Ride and Phase 10. Eventually Sam had to leave to head to class and Sean and I went uptown to take care of the puppers at my moms place. Almost immediately we all went back downtown to Uncommon to spend the rest of the night gaming. This time Tomo, Sam’s partner, met us and we started a new game of Phase 10, which really is so similar to Kaluche. For the first time in what feels like forever I won!!!! :) AND I whooped everyones butt. FINALLY! It was killing Sean, which gave me so much joy. He was trying so hard to get everyone to come after me so I would win, but Sam has been reading my posts and while she didn’t help me win, she definitely wasn’t going out of her way to try to make me lose. What a friend! 

Friday morning I had brunch catching up with my friend Sarah, whose getting married just before Thanksgiving! In the evening Sean and I went to Hoboken to go to visit my life long bestie Toni and her husband of 1 year, Ross. They have a lovely apartment and welcomed us with a beautiful Shabbat dinner. After dinner me and Tone spent the rest of the night watching youtube tutorials of how to do the shuffle (dance moves) and were sad by the realization that we don’t have the same dance skills we once did. Ross and Sean were watching sports but were totally amused by our efforts to nail these dance moves. Sweaty and tired, we did not reach our goal, but we did laugh our butts off. After saying goodbye and being sent off with a bunch of goodies we headed back to my mom’s apartment for a short night of sleep; we were waking up at 4:30AM to go on a fishing trip with my pop and two cousins.

4:40AM quickly came and me and Sean got ready for a long morning on a boat. We walked to my cousins place only 15 blocks south where my dad picked us all out to head to Sheepshead Bay. We fished from 7-12pm and had such a blast! After I took a quick nap on the boat I woke up with enough energy to fish and caught 5! At one point I caught 2 at once, and in total only 2 of them were keepers. Sean caught more than 10 fish, 1 being blowfish which was so fun to see!!! My dad and cousins caught a few too, and the ones we kept were filleted on the boat and packaged to take back for my aunt and uncle to cook for dinner. On our way back to the city we stopped for lunch at Roll and Rooster, an old school place thats been around for a long time! On the drive back in me and my cousins all fell asleep in the back seat, and of course Sean snapped a picture. 

The rest of the day was spent napping before one final dinner out with my dad and Denise. Being exhausted from the long day we didn’t stay out long and went to bed shortly after. Both Rocky and Jaxon put us to bed that night. I think they had the best time together! And Jaxon certainly loves his grandma Annette (my mom) because maaaaan did she give him a lot of food and treats!

Sunday morning my dad gave us a ride back to Denise’s house in CT where we packed up our stuff, prepared the trailer, and hit the road to head back to Colorado for Taylor and Ej’s wedding! It will take us 4 days to get back to Colorado, but we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the love and marriage of two of our best friends!!!! 

Thanks for reading fam, love you all! 

[thevioletquinn]

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS // VIOLET X NOAH

Who: Violet Quinn, Noah Fynn, Unnamed Staff What: Noah tricks Violet in to actually celebrating her birthday. Where: A Bowling Place When: Friday 23rd October 2020 Mentions: N/A Trigger Warnings: N/A Word Count: TBA (Ongoing Chatzy)

(Forenote: Laura is a dumbass and forgot to save the start of the chatzy and can no longer access anything before this point. I’ll write up what basically led up to this when I get chance but the basics are that Noah asked Violet if she could pick him up which she begrudgingly did and he surprised her by booking out a bowling alley just for the two of them. At first Violet’s annoyed because she literally hates her birthday)

---

Noah had assumed that Violet wasn't a huge fan of her birthday, having guessed that was probably the reason why she had only told him about the date at the very last minute the year before. Still, Violet was one of the most important people in his life and he just couldn't let the day slip away without doing something to celebrate, even if she was looking at him like she would happily set him on fire right now. "I know that you're annoyed right now but I don't think that I'm the worst. If I was, I would have thrown you a huge surprise party", Noah pointed out, a cheeky grin on his face as he was confident that he would be able to get her to enjoy herself. After all, if she was really angry, she would have stormed out already. "Come on, the bartender has been eagerly awaiting your arrival so that he can start pouring drinks and the cook is on standby so that you can have whatever you want. We've literally got the full run of the place, it's a very private way to celebrate".

Violet remained with her arms folded for a few moments longer, really trying not to let that cheeky grin of his make her break her front. He did have a point though - if he had thrown a huge surprise party, he wouldn't have been seen again. The second he mentioned a bartender, the brunette's eyes flicked to try and find the bar. "Fine, but just so you know I'm staying for the alcohol, not for you." She told him but at the end, there was a small smile looming on her lips as she walked over to him, spinning him around to guide them both in the direction of the bar. Her hands remaining on his shoulders as they walked.

Despite her protests, he could tell that there was a tiny part of her that didn't completely hate what he had planned; yet he knew that she wasn't likely to admit that until she had a lot of alcohol in her system. "Damn, I shouldn't have gone to such an effort then. Next year, I'll just put my credit card behind the bar at Mars Bar and we'll just drink in silence", Noah teased, allowing her to guide him towards the bar. "Considering we're the only customers here tonight, I'm making a rule: we cannot order anything boring to eat or drink. The bartender is going to be bored if we just order beers all night and I bet the cook doesn't want to make some fries and then sit on his ass all night. I'm talking cocktails and literally everything on the food menu, Big Quinn".

"Technically, I didn't want any effort so..." Violet told him and only shifted to his side when they were at the bar. "Hm, okay, that's fair. You're going to make me fat but okay." She joked and started to look over the drinks menu before she noticed something. A slush machine. God, she hadn't had one of those since she was a kid. Her eyes shifted to the bartender and leaned forward slightly. "You want something not boring? I want a mixed slush and I want..." She hummed in contemplation. "... two, possibly three, shots of vodka mixed in with it." Her arms folded like she couldn't be told no and looked to Noah to see if he'd join her on that or not.

"Technically you shouldn't have befriended me, then. I'm not exactly the type of person to let a special occasion slip by without any sort of celebration", Noah pointed out. It just wasn't in his nature -- he loved a good celebration. "I think that's a physical impossibility, Vi. After all, I help you work out very vigorously on a very regular basis", he laughed. He looked at her with an impressed expression on her face when she decided what she wanted to drink; glad that she was starting to get into the spirit of things. "Bartender, can I please have a large mixed slush with three shots of vodka for my beautiful friend here; and a large blue slush with three shots of tequila for myself?"

Violet considered his point. "Fair point. Next year I'm hiding in a foreign country so you can't trick me in to celebrating, you sneaky little shit." She half-joked. There was every chance - if she remembered - that she would just take a holiday around her birthday so she had an excuse not to answer anyone. "Yeah... I might need a couple of work outs tonight in that case." The brunette tried to hide the smirk on her lips. Though a smile soon grew when he decided to join her on her order and turned to look back at the bartender. As much as she still wanted to be grumpy and mad that he'd got her here, there was a good part of her that actually really liked his idea. There was a choice of what she could do next - bowling or head to the arcade - and she weighed up these actions until she had her drink in hand. Surprisingly, Violet hadn't actually been bowling much in her life so she knew she was probably going to fail miserably at it so she figured she'd start there so she could end on beating Noah at arcade games. The girl thanked the bartender for her drink before swirling her straw in the cup to mix the liquor. "Bowling first?" She suggested to Noah.

"I can't believe that you would go overseas for a vacation and not invite me. I don't think I did anything to deserve such a cruel and unusual punishment from you", Noah said with a dramatic sigh. He was already mentally planning for how he could still do something to celebrate Violet's birthday next year if she was going to insist on going to such lengths to avoid said celebrations. "I think that can be arranged, although that really all depends on how tonight unfolds. I'm a pretty sore loser so I might not be in the mood later", he joked. "Good choice on the drink front, Vi", he told her once he had taken a sip of his drink, before nodding his head and leading them over to the front desk so that they could get bowling shoes. He ordered shoes for both himself and Violet; and as they were donning them, he looked at her curiously. "Have you bowled before?"

"It's not a punishment to you. I just really hate my birthday and maybe I'll hate it a little less from a foreign poolside with a constant flow of cocktails." Violet told him with a shrug. She rolled her eyes playfully at his joke. "Nice try but I'm not going to just let you win so I get sex, Fynn." She said - playing along with his joke - as she sipped from her drink. The cold feeling slipping down her throat feeling more than refreshing to her. "Thanks. I've not had one of these since I was a kid... minus the vodka obviously." The brunette swirled the straw around and followed him to the front desk to get their shoes. His question made her glance up at him briefly before continuing to tie her shoes. "Once or twice. It depended if a friend's parent was paying for everyone or not. If not, 'oh sorry, got school work to do'." Violet explained as she finished tying her shoes and drank a bit more of her slushie. "So, no, you're not allowed to laugh when I'm not good at something for once."

"I think you would enjoy it a lot more if I happened to be sitting next to you around the side of the pool", Noah was quick to counter. Violet had made the mistake of admitting her date of birth to him and it would now be very hard to stop him from celebrating entirely, although he was willing to dilute the celebrations slightly so that she wasn't too overwhelmed. "That definitely wasn't my intention, I want you to bring your A-game! I'm just warning you that I won't be feeling very sexy if I lose at literally everything tonight", he laughed. "Really? All my slushs had alcohol content, even from a young age", he teased; although he was only half-joking. He and his friends had probably started experimenting by adding alcohol in their early teenage years. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that because bowling is literally one of my favourite activities. If I had known that you had only played once or twice, I would have dragged you to the bowling alley ages ago". Without overthinking it, he leaned over and kissed her cheek; like that would help to alleviate the memory of her childhood. "I can't promise that I won't laugh but I will offer you some insider tips and tricks to help you improve".

"Maybe... I'd enjoy it more if I could push you in to the pool. Ruin that hair of yours that you probably spent way too long prepping for the pool." Violet joked. "I don't believe that for a second. Mainly because you look sexy all the time so how could you not feel sexy?" She complimented but rolled her eyes at the same time. A laugh leaving her thinking he was entirely joking about the slush thing. The brunette did make a mental note of bowling being one of his favourite activities in case she ever needed to pull him out of a bad mood. "Good luck dragging me. Mainly because I know I'm going to be absolutely terrible at this and strangely enough the idea of being worse than some kids around me sounds like hell. Luckily though, we have the whole place to ourselves." Violet explained why she probably would have tried to get out of it prior to today. She did appreciate the kiss on her cheek with a small smile on her lips. She'd gotten used to this action from Noah at this point but if anyone else tried kissing her cheek, she'd probably have backed away. "I can't promise I won't hit your arm for laughing but I definitely want the tips and tricks."

"What is your obsession with ruining my hair? What did it ever do to you?" Noah jokingly challenged. Over the last couple of months, Violet had certainly taken advantage of every opportunity to mess up his hair, despite his protests. "Even people as gorgeous as me don't feel sexy 100% of the time. Personally, I'm not really up for performing when I'm hungover or when my pride has been severely affected by repeated losses", he laughed, aware that she would ridicule him for that. "Even if you suck, I'm pretty confident that you're still going to look cute as hell whilst doing it", he assured her. "If it makes you feel any better, I can put up those bumpers and break out the ramp that they use for kids", he offered, only half-joking. "The first tip that you need to know is that kissing your very attractive bowling companion brings you good luck".

"It annoys you and you're adorable when you're annoyed." Violet answered honestly with a smirk on her lips. "Nah, the hangover one I get. The losses? I don't know, I think that would spur me on to do an even better job." The brunette responded with her view on that matter. She exhaled a laugh at him calling her cute while losing and ended up shrugging. "Okay, I'm not going to suck enough to use a ramp but the bumpers... I might need the bumpers or else I'm going to get gutterball every time." Violet considered the offer seriously before flicking her eyes back to him when he was giving her his first 'pro-tip'. A smile grew with a roll of her eyes and leaned in to give him a way more passionate kiss than he was probably expecting and only pulling back a couple of seconds later. "I need all the luck I can get."

"I'm always adorable, Quinn", Noah insisted. "That's because I'm clearly the sore loser in this relationship. It's not surprising that you'd be able to push through to redeem yourself whilst I'm still sulking in the corner", he laughed. "Bumpers it is". He quickly passed that information to the attendant that was working tonight so that they could set up the bumpers for Violet. He had been expecting Violet to just roll her eyes and dismiss the comment but instead, she rolled her eyes and quickly pulled him into a passionate kiss. He easily kissed her back, grinning at her when she pulled away. "Are you feeling lucky now? Are you ready for your first bowl of the night, birthday girl?"

"I can't argue with that." Violet agreed. "You know I won't be able to stand for you sulking in a corner. I'd probably have to kiss you until you stop pouting." She threatened like it was an actual threat. The girl appreciated how Noah wouldn't judge her for using bumpers. He never had judged her which is something she adored about Noah. Their connection was unconditional from both parties. "Very lucky." Violet told him, smiling brightly up to him. The brunette gave him a look when he called her the birthday girl but settled in to it. "I'm ready." She agreed and took his hand to guide them over to the lane set up for them. Violet initially went to the bowling ball rack to find a ball she could easily carry and use to bowl with.

"If you even tried to argue, I would know that you were lying", Noah was quick to retort. "... I suppose that might be a successful way to stop me from sulking but I don't that it would nurse my ego enough to make me put out", he joked before laughing at his own comment. "If you manage to get a spare or a strike, we'll know that my kisses basically have magic powers", he told her as the two made their way over to the lane. Whilst Violet was selecting her bowling ball, he programmed their names into the system (Fynn and Quinn) before selecting a ball of his own. "Alright, game on. Do you want me to go first so you can try and mimic my impressive moves?"

"I can't argue it but I can say that I'm more adorable." Violet teased back. "I never said you had to put out. I just don't like seeing you sulk or be grumpy. Last time you were grumpy, we had a threesome to get you out of it." She reminded him with a grin. "Oh, Oh! So what you're saying is: if I actually do good, you get all the credit for it?" The brunette questioned with a joking scoff for effect. The names didn't surprise her. They probably called each other by their last names more than their first names at this point. "You're going to be insufferable if I let you go first..." Violet pointed out but a small moment of hesitation later, she took a seat and looked to him. "Well, your name's first. You might as well go first." The girl was very good at pretending like she was good at everything but there was still a side of her that didn't want to show herself up and maybe - as he suggested - if she watched him go first, she might get an idea for the best way for her to play this

"I hate to break it to you but you're absolutely delusional. No one is more adorable than me", Noah retorted. Although Violet was one of the most adorable people that he had met in his life, he refused to admit that to her; knowing that she would never let him live it down. "I wasn't grumpy, I was sad because I had just been dumped... again. That being said, that threesome was a damn good way to cheer me up. You basically became the best wing woman I've ever had that night", he said with a grin, having very fond memories of that night. "I obviously expect 50% of the credit", he laughed, acting like it was a pretty fair request on his part. "Smart choice", he told her before walking up to the lane and taking his first bowl; loudly exclaiming when he knocked down all the pins bar two.

"I'm delusional? You're the one that thinks you're more adorable than a drunk me." Violet argued with a grin. Although she didn't always appreciate her drunken self, there were definitely times that she could be 'adorable'. "I don't see what the difference is. Sad. Grumpy." Her hands motioned like a weighing scale that was balancing out. "Either way, I at least know a trick to get you out of that mood and in to another mood now." The brunette responded with a smirk on her lips. Her eyes rolled at him taking the credit. "You're making me want to do bad just so you have to take credit for me being terrible at this." She retorted, mostly to cover that she might actually be bad at this and can then act like it was all on purpose. Violet took note of how Noah bowled so she could try to mimic it when it was her go. "Aw and here I was expecting you to get a strike on the first try, oh pro-ly one." The girl teased.

"That's not delusion, Quinn. That's a keen sense of self-awareness", Noah retorted, adamant that he was right. That wasn't to say that Violet wasn't also adorable, he was just in the mood to brag about his own achievements. "Do you really not know the difference between sad and grumpy? If so, I'm a little worried about you. That's something that they teach in primary school", he teased. "Something tells me that you're going to keep storing tricks in your mind until you have a full arsenal of strategies that you can use when I'm in those moods". Thankfully, said moods didn't actually happen that often; otherwise Violet would likely find him too draining and exhausting to spend time with. "We both know that my ego won't allow me to take responsibility for that", he laughed. "Easy there, tiger. You get two bowls per goal -- watch me get a spare with my second bowl", he told her. He focused intensely before taking his second bowl, cheering when he achieved just that.

"That's not to say that you aren't adorable... just that I'm more adorable. That's where the delusion is. Maybe we should just agree to disagree?" Violet teased. "Noah, you know I'm not good with emotions at all. Grumpy and sad fall under the same umbrella when it comes to me." She gave him a look as she said this. He knew that emotions weren't her strong suit so he shouldn't be all that surprised that she can't overly tell the difference. "I already have plenty of tricks on how to get you out of those moods. Sex is high on that list. Boosting your ego being another. Sometimes that means both." The brunette considered aloud. "No but I can still blame you and your kiss for making me bad at bowling." Violet countered with a big grin on her face. "But a spare isn't a strike. I'm still so disappointed in you." She exaggerated before laughing as he got the spare he claimed he was going to get. Hopping up from her seat to take her turn, she wandered over to him, stepping close. "You're such a show off, you know that?" The girl told him before giving him a quick peck that she would claim was for good luck if she was questioned before she bowled her ball. She attempted to do as she watched Noah do but somehow still managed to slip the ball out of her hand too early and watched it slowly make it's way down the alley at snail pace. "Erm..." Violet blinked as it knocked down two pins.

"I will agree to disagree on this occasion, purely because it's your birthday and I don't want us to spend the whole night arguing about who is more adorable", Noah conceded. "Do I need to make you a feelings chart to help you distinguish between basic emotions?" he teased, knowing that the comment would elicit some sort of reaction from her. "What would you do if sex or boosting my ego doesn't work?" he asked curiously, wondering what other tricks she had up her sleeve. He was always a little surprised when he remembered how well Violet knew him, mainly because she always made it clear that emotional connections weren't her strong suit. "I think the blame for your lack of bowling skills rests firmly on your lack of experience, not my kiss", he laughed. "Don't you worry, I'll get three strikes before the night is over", he said confidently. He just laughed when she called him a show off and kissed him quickly before stepping up to take her first shot, finding it very sweet that she had stopped protesting about the birthday celebrations and seemed to be enjoying herself. "Okay, silver lining here - it's very impressive that you still knocked down two pins when you didn't actually bowl properly. That was clearly a slip up", he pointed out, trying to bolster her confidence. He quickly made his way over to her and stood behind her, gently taking her arm so that he could properly demonstrate the movement she needed to make. "Try it like that", he encouraged.

"Ah, ah. No using the b-word." Violet reminded him. Her eyes rolled at his teasing. "Don't you dare make me a feelings chart. I don't want to offend you when I throw it away." She told him - though she probably wouldn't do this. The brunette paused for a minute to think. Usually those two options were enough to work. "Alcohol and weed is always a good back up. If all else fails, I might give in and play with your hair - not in a mess it up kinda way - because when you were ill you said it was comforting." The brunette recalled. "... Or I'd just mess it up so you'd focus on that instead of whatever got you down." She joked. He definitely wasn't wrong when he told her that her failure would be through lack of experience but it didn't stop her sticking her tongue out at him. "Yeah yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." The girl waved off his confidence. Violet quietly watched him come over to her and move behind her. She followed his guided motion and nodded slowly after. "Okay. I can give it a try." Violet got her ball back from the rack and copied the movement he showed her, this time the ball goes much smoother and knocking down a few more pins.

"You're acting like I just called you a bitch", Noah laughed. "Would you really throw away something that I worked hard on? What if I made you a deal? You have to display the feelings chart but in return, you can choose something that I have to display on my bedroom wall", he offered. "Those are good strategies, actually. I didn't realise that you paid so much attention to me". Honestly, he was kind of flattered that Violet cared about him enough to commit such strategies to memory, just in case she needed to use them in future. "You'll be eating your words before the night is over", he said confidently. He watched carefully as Violet bowled again, clearly trying her best to implement the technique he had demonstrated. He cheered when she knocked down a few pins, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. "That was much better! You'll be a pro before the night is over".

"You might as well have. You don't want to remind me how you tricked me here, Fynn." She told him, giving him a look but turning it in to a smile after. Violet hummed in contemplation on whether she actually would throw it out but his proposal intrigued her. "Even if I say it has to be one of your own nudes and you'd have to explain to hook ups why you have a picture of your own nude on your wall?" The brunette asked entirely straight faced so he couldn't read if she would actually go that far or not. Maybe a few months back she would just to keep her 'evil' streak alive but nowadays probably not. When Noah pointed out that he didn't realise she paid that much attention to him, she shrugged in initial response. "Yeah, well... you pay me attention all the time so I can return the favour by paying a little attention to you." The girl acting like it really wasn't a big deal. Her eyes rolled at his confidence but a smile pressed on her lips. A squeak of an eep left her as he suddenly cheered and wrapped his arms around her. "If I don't get a strike by the end of the night, I'm blaming my tutor." She teased, leaning up to kiss his lips since he kissed the top of her head.

[heidijeann]

First Stop: Singapore

TLl;DR people...this blog isn’t for you. Instead, check out our photo highlights here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bJHF8QvwteX8NSuU7

Day one in Singapore - has been hot and exhausting, but also beautiful and fragrant (especially in the Hawker Centers!). We landed around 8 am, after a pretty uneventful 17 hour 20 minute flight from SFO to SIN. And don’t you always wish for uneventful travels? It’s really is the perfect adjective but also the best when traveling for so long. Our isle was quiet, with a small, friendly, and quiet woman who was nice every time we asked to get up to use the restroom. We mostly slept, but also watched a bit of TV, putting on Crazy Rich Asians to refresh our memory of the movie and prep for Singapore. We joked throughout our whole stay if we would see or meet anyone like Astrid, or where she would be hanging out. (We didn’t find her.) Then, breakfast was served and taken away, the cabin was being prepared for landing, and we were sitting on the tarmac in Asia! We made it - we were finally here in Asia and all the stress of wrapping up work, saying goodbye to our friends and family, and packing up our whole lives - selling our things, storing our things, moving out and cleaning our apartment...all the stress disappeared and we were finally here, starting out our dream. 134 days to go!

We made our way through customs and baggage claim and found the MRT (Municipal Rapid Transit), getting a 2 day tourist pass that will allow us to explore this small city in a less humid and sticky (and maybe also faster) way. We walked about 15 thousand steps - from our hotel to a couple food centers - the first and second didn’t really catch our eyes so we kept walking. We stumbled into some kind of outdoor shopping center, a lot of stalls with random things for sale - from wallets to fruits to cleansers and beyond. From there, we found a food stall with some yummy looking noodles that we purchased for S$1 (Singapore dollar) which is $.74=1 Singapore dollar. They were delicious, nutritious, and left us hungrier. We circled the joint and ended up getting a small bowl of laksa that was good, but a little spicy for my taste. After the laksa we thought we would head out and continue exploring, so started to make our way back to the hotel in hopes of being able to check in (and shower!). Luckily, by the time we got back, our hotel room was ready and we were able to freshen up before heading to Chinatown’s Maxwell Hawker Center.

The Bencoolen MRT station is about 35 steps outside our hotel, which makes transportation super easy, especially for any destination off the Downtown MRT line, which Chinatown qualifies for. We jumped on and headed towards the Hawker goodness. Emerging from the station, we were greeted with a festive street adorned with lanterns, shopping stalls, and tons of people. We perused the scene as we slowly made our way to the Maxwell Hawker Center to try the world famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. While crossing the street (read: jaywalking), we met a local who asked where we were from/where we were going, and started to chat as we were headed in the same direction. We asked him about Tian Tian and he said he while he loves it, he never goes because the line is always very long and takes about an hour. Hearing this news, hungry, hot and tired Heidi and Brett decided the wait wouldn’t be worth it, so asked what stalls he would recommend. He offered to take us to the eatery, so we followed. When we turned the corner, by some crazy stroke of magic, we found ourselves in front of a line-less Tian Tian and were able to place our order and get our food literally within one minute. It was an incredible streak of luck, and the hype is really worth it - the rice is so flavorful Brett dubbed it the best rice he has ever had. By the time we left the Hawker, the line was forming outside and around the building.

After eating we decided to continue exploring the city by foot, and made our way to the infamous Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Beautiful, iconic, and huge, we felt like we were in Vegas with the millions of restaurants, shops, escalators and signs. We made our way up to the 57th story and took in the views from the top. We checked out the ArtScience Museum and agreed to come back first thing in the morning to avoid the crowd. Then, we found our way back to the MRT station and headed to Little India. Only a couple stations away, we got out and started walking. Where Chinatown was lively with people everywhere selling and buying goods in outdoor stalls, Little India’s vibe was much calmer: streets lined with shops where people could pop in and upstairs if anything caught their fancy. Very few people were shopping in the markets, and there weren’t many people on the street. We came across a S$6 eyebrow threading station, so popped in for a quick touch up, but with not much else going on, we decided to make our way back to the hotel by foot. By this time in the afternoon the sun was no longer directly shining down on us - clouds had rolled in and provided a bit of cover to help make the walking a bit more tolerable. It was about a 30 minute walk, on which we found a vending machine that serves freshly squeezed orange juice for S$2 - something we couldn’t pass up. We watched the oranges get sliced and squeezed directly into a cup, and, once full, were able to remove the cup and drink cold, tart, freshly squeezed juice that absolutely hit the spot. A few doors down, we stumbled across a small dim sum house whose smells captivated our noses, forcing us to indulge in just a few dumplings.

From there, it was a quick walk back to the hotel. We were hot, sweaty, and tired, so thought taking a dip in the pool may give us a new wind. We changed into our suits and headed to the pool - only to find the water so cold that we actually opted for the hot tub. Crazy, I know, but after getting to the hotel room with the freezing artificial air blowing on our bodies, we were actually cold and happy for the hot tub. Plus, we had walked about 15,000 steps after being on a 17.5 hour flight, and the heat was not only healthy for our muscles, but a great excuse to stretch. At this point we had every intention to go out and grab dinner - but by the time we got back to our room and showered, we agreed we were pooped and thought a good night's’ rest would make the world of difference tomorrow. So, we got into bed, turned on the tv, and flipped around to see what Singapore News and TV was all about. Although we were OK staying in for the night, we were hellbent on not going to bed too early - we were aiming to stay up until 8 and it was only about 6 at this point. Starting to get hungry, I googled the closest, easiest, most affordable option, and wound up going downstairs to Baja Fresh and getting a burrito for us to split. I am not ashamed or embarrassed at all, although would have preferred any Mexican joint back home (obviously). We shared it in bed, until we were full, then brushed our teeth, hit the lights, and did some light research on the computer before PTFO.

Day two started earlier for Brett than it did for me. We woke up around 3:00 AM and forced ourselves to try to sleep a bit longer. I was able to (s/o to my favorite app, Calm, which helps me fall asleep and mediate and I cannot say enough great things about. If you want a free trial, LMK), but Brett was not as fortunate as me. So, he rested and I slept until about 6:20 AM, when there was no way I was going to be able to sleep for another second, so we got up and started our morning. And what’s a better to start your morning than going to the pool?! We couldn’t think of one, either, so that’s what we did. It wasn’t that hot yet, so we dipped in the pool and spent the majority of our 20-ish minutes out there in the hot tub. Then, we returned to our room, showered, and headed out to try a traditional Singaporean breakfast: Toast Box. We got Set 1: Kaya Toast with eggs and coffee. The coffee was excellent, and Brett liked the toast and eggs. I am not one for under cooked wet eggs, and I think Asia is all about those, so I have to be honest when I say I didn’t even try the egg. I did try the toast - it was perfectly toasted - some kind of sweet jam with butter and coconut. Interesting - good even, just a bit sweet for my liking. From there we thought we would head to the Merlion Statue to try to get a good picture before too many tourists showed up, but we got lost on the MRT (took the wrong line, rather) and decided to just head to the ArtScience Museum since we were much closer. After signing up for the Sands Reward Membership, we headed to the museum to buy our tickets at the amazing discount of BOGO. I highly recommend taking the 10 minutes to show your passport and get the rewards card - you get 3% cash back at all shops and restaurants in the hotel, plus great benefits and savings and the museums etc. While I signed up, Brett found me an apple, which I ate en route to the museum. We got our tickets and headed into the first exhibit: Future World.

The exhibit was interactive - featuring artworks that combine art and science to bring us inside natural worlds comprised of entirely digital technology. We grew flowers that we could project onto the walls, we planned where to put bridges and transit centers in cities, and would see how our choices affected the digital city; we went down slides, and played with huge balls of lights that made sounds. My favorite of the 6 rooms was the Space room - which used lights, mirrors and music to transport you to what felt like outer space: placing you in the stars of our galaxy. We took some cool pictures here, but mostly just enjoyed the changing light show that corresponded with the sounds coming from every corner of the room. We then headed to the Minimalism exhibit, which was basically a bunch of abstract art that didn’t start any joy for either of us. We stayed long enough to figure out a bomb Dim Sum restaurant to head to, and left the museum in search of lunch.

It was a fast MRT ride - about 2 stops and 2 blocks to the restaurant Swee Choon. It looked closed when we got there - big panels down over the windows - but we quickly learned this was to block the heat and found our way inside. We were careful to make sure our eyes weren’t bigger than our stomachs when ordering, and scarfed down the authentic and delicious food almost as quickly as it arrived. While eating, we looked up directions to Selfie Coffee - this little coffee shop on Hijab Street that prints your selfie on your coffee (or beer, or whatever you order). It was a 15 minute walk past Arab street, so we decided to brave the heat and take a stroll. When we got too hot, we would pop into a shop with AC and pretend to be shopping while really we were just cooling off and looking at all the things for sale. Then, we’d move on. Hijab street was super cute - maybe my favorite neighborhood of Singapore that we saw. Super hipster, with murals and vibrant colors along the walls and plants everywhere. There were tons of shops, cafes, and restaurants, among them Selfie Coffee. We went inside to find a line and that they only accept cash, so decided to pass on the $8 coffee. Instead, we wandered next door to a cute elephant shop, and found ourselves in a conversation with a funny local who was telling us all about where to go, what to eat, and tips to save money. He was so excited for us to be traveling and wouldn’t let us buy anything.

From there, we headed home via the MRT to nap. It was 90 degrees with 80% humidity, and we knew we wanted to return to the Museum to check out the last exhibit before the Gardens by the Bay’s light show. Before snoozing, we decided a final dip in the pool would be lovely and were able to brave the cold water in the hot heat… it felt great! Then, we took a solid hour nap, and headed to the Merlion Statue and to explore the downtown area. It was a 15 minute MRT ride and a 10 minute walk along the waterfront, with beautiful views of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

So, we grabbed an iced coffee from Starbucks and started strolling. We ended up walking to the tourist-infested statue, then around the water past a pop up amusement park and into the Shoppes, and onto the ArtScience Museum. We went back through the Future World exhibit and then checked out the last exhibit - All Possible Paths: Richard Feynman’s Curious Life. It was interesting, I kept thinking how much my mom would love it. After that we headed to the food court for a quick chicken rice and then off to the gardens for the Spectra Light Show. A free, twice-a-night light and music show that was absolutely incredible.

Once the show concluded we, along with hundreds of others, we moved like a herd of cows slowly to the MRT to head to Lau Pa Sat, also known as Telok Ayer Market, which is also casually referred to as “Satay Street”. It’s a historic building located within the Downtown Core area of Singapore, and by day it has some shops, but by night it becomes an outdoor eating oasis. We grabbed a beer and some satay from “The Best 7&8” stall - chicken, beef, and shrimp - and took in the noises, smells and sights while we waited and ate. This all seems innocent, but we quickly learned an important lesson here: don’t order before confirming prices. Our food was paid for and delivered no problem, but the beer was another story. The waitress came to drop off the beer, asking for S$5.5. As I got the money out to pay, Brett refused it - saying there is no way he would pay that much for such a small cup of beer. The waitress didn’t like this, and started arguing with him and ended up pseudo-cursing him, saying something about his mother and future wife and kids. Sitting there, I could only be a little concerned and wonder if the S$5.5 could really be the savior of our future, but, before i could wonder for too long the lady gave up and left us alone. Leaving us with the lesson of asking prices before ordering to avoid confrontations and curses.

Finishing our food, we decided to just head home, as tomorrow would be a long day, and decided to head home and turn in. We hopped on the MRT and noticed for the first time we would be passing Orchard Street, so decided to stay out just a bit longer to check out this famous epicentre of shopping in Singapore. While it was definitely decadent, malls on malls with stores and boutiques and eateries of all kinds...it was also just a lot of shopping. We enjoyed the walk but didn’t really shop too hard, as we are on a budget and things will get a lot cheaper once we get to Thailand. We ended up walking back to the hotel - only about 20 minutes or so - and didn’t really get into anything special: we packed our stuff, set an alarm, and jotted down our spending for the day before hitting the lights and the hay.

6:30 came early, and we must have been excited or jet lagged, because we were up and out of the hotel by 7:04 and en route to the airport. It was an easy MRT ride, and before long we were checked into our flights, baggage dropped off at the counter, and our biggest worries were which Priority Pass Lounge we would check out first. We had 2.5 hours until boarding and we wanted to spend them well. So, we did just that! We ended up preferring the second of the two lounges - a Japanese Restaurant that offered free breakfast - Brett got the traditional Japanese breakfast, consisting of a huge slab of salmon, rice, soup, octopus, and undercooked eggs. I went for the American breakfast and deeply regretted it. I doubt I’ll get used to uncooked eggs and I have a hunch that they love not cooking eggs in Singapore, or maybe even the greater SEA region. After finishing our breakfasts, we had one thing left to do - get some birthday bubbles. We stopped by the duty free shop and got a beautiful bottle of Veuve to pop in Thailand, then went through customs and boarded our flight! Stay tuned for what unfolds next...

Some other interesting callouts about Singapore we forgot to weave into the above:

You can immediately tell how clean the city is. It’s pristine. Well done, Singapore.

The MRT, as mentioned, is the #1 way to get around. The government taxes people who drive a TON of money, which keeps most people out of cars on the street, and encourages them to use the metro or other public transport. Therefore, the government can easily use all MRT stations as a platform to influence and inform their people. We were impressed to see so many videos, ads, posters, etc about what to do in an emergency, how to get help, etc. This can be excellent in informing people on what to do (IE - huge campaign awareness about molestation at the moment, so high visibility and encouragement for women to speak up and seek help if necessary) but also they take every opportunity to remind people of punishments associated with breaking laws, which we thought was a bit gruesome. Definitely an element of fear in the culture, which keeps the city clean and sketch people at minimum. 

Crimes are heavily enforced, and punishments are kinda crazy. Building off the example I shared about their molestation campaign, we did a bit more research as the signs say “You will be fined and caned.” in bold red letters. That’s right, you read it - CANED. So we dug in a little more to learn that only men can be charged with molestation, and, SINGAPORE CANES PEOPLE! How cruel and unusual. If you’re interested in learning more, check out more info on this law - it sure blew our minds.

Singapore is an expensive city, so not the best for two backpackers hoping to stretch our dollars to travel the world for a year. However, it is also a city of amazing food, which is very hard for this little foodie to pass up. Don’t get me wrong - there are definitely ways to easily spend a ton of money on food, but there are amazing options for delicious and cheap eats, if you are willing embrace the street food! (Fun fact: did you know that Singapore is the only place where a street food vendor - yes, someone who sells a dish for S$5 - ⁣has earned a Michelin Star!?) Anyway, the place to eat while minding your wallet are the “hawker centers” - well-known, government monitored for food safety, and are packed with delicious, local and cheap cuisine. The price competition is fierce, so you can eat really well for not much.⁣ Unfortunately, these hawker center may not last too much longer as we know them today. We learned from locals that most of the younger generation has no interest in cooking or learning the art of food. Instead, they want to a different life (office jobs, tech, etc), which parents are supportive of. However, this means these stands, where one recipe has been perfected over decades, may cease to exist.

Holy humidity, this place is HOT HOT HOT!!

For those of you curious, we spent $422 USD including everything (ie - food, transport, hotel, even the Veuve - which was duty free but still $61 USD) while in Singapore! This is obviously above our daily average goal, but when booking the hotel I thought I was using a $200 hotels.com voucher which ended up not working, so we have $200 savings towards hotels elsewhere in our trip. Excluding the hotel and the champagne, we would have spent $145. (We also didn’t need to buy the full passes to the museum - the Future World exhibit would have quenched our thirst and gave us back S$20! But, oh well! If you are interested in more detailed budget info, let me know!

[hannahwayward-blog]

A Long Weekend in Bangalore: Like India, But Not

I arrived in Bangalore on Thursday afternoon, both sad to leave Kolkata and relieved to escape the intense heat. Of course, on the day I left, it finally started to really rain, and my flight was delayed because the runway was flooding as a result of a torrential downpour. Bangalore greeted me sunny and cool, by comparison - it was around 80 degrees when I landed - and Arune picked me up from the airport and drove me back to his house.

I had visited Arune and his family once before, spending a weekend in Bangalore during DukeEngage, but they had since moved to a new apartment that really was more resort than flat. Each room had floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on a sea of palm trees: their home is situated next to a protected forest. White walls and white-tiled floors contrast with the brown wood window frames and the bright green outside. Porches flank the east and west ends of the flat, which is on the third floor of their building, and the weather is so nice that they can leave the glass doors slid open year-round. The entire fourth floor is a terrace, which Arune told me is the most frequented “room” in the house. A rooftop pool, complete with waterfall, sits between two seating areas - one high and in the sun, the other lower and covered with a projector screen and coffee table. The terrace also has a bar and a small kitchen, making it the ideal location for hosting. Needless to say, after five nights in a dingy hotel room and six days sweating my way through Kolkata, this terrace was the closest to heaven I’d ever been, and it was here I spent the largest part of my long weekend in Bangalore.

Thursday evening we sat outside and drank and reminisced, ordering pizza for dinner, and I called it an early night after playing a few games of Trivial Pursuit and Bananagrams. On Friday, Arune and I made a deal that  we would alternate between one cultural outing for one bar, so after getting a haircut (Arune) and a pedicure (me) at UB City Mall, we grabbed lunch and drinks with Arune’s friend Abhimanyu at a Mexican restaurant before walking to our first cultural event. Tasveer is a small, local photography gallery, which had an exhibition in which a fashion photographer had recreated famous paintings. When Abhi and I had had our fill (Arune was done long before we were), we went to a nearby biergarten for a drink. This was the place I’d gotten food poisoning during my last visit, so I steered clear of the food but had one of their in-house brews. At Abhi’s recommendation, we next went to two secondhand bookshops, where I had to keep myself from buying everything (again, thank goodness for my pack). We ended our day out watching the sunset at Ebony, a restaurant on the 13th floor of a building from which I had a great view of the city of Bangalore.

We headed home, stopping quickly at Abhi’s house, which was full of beautiful antiques, and Abhi promised to take me to the antique store while I was in Bangalore. Once back at Arune’s, we ordered (lamb) burgers and hot dogs for dinner, stuffed ourselves, and then headed out to Sly Granny, a local bar, joined by Jess, a Duke senior who’s interning in Bangalore this summer. At Sly Granny, we were joined by many of Arune’s friends, and drank and danced until last call (which came at 1:00!?!) then took Ubers back to Arune’s. A group of 10 or so of us sat on the terrace until 5:00 AM, which is apparently not uncommon, and I slept exceedingly late on Saturday.

On Saturday evening, Arune and his family were hosting the Duke send-off party for the three incoming freshman and five incoming graduate students from Bangalore. We spent the day on the terrace, doing equal parts prepping and vegging. The 40 or so guests began to arrive around 6:00, and we chatted and hosted and wined and dined them until everyone trickled out around 9:00 (which surprised the caterers, who told Arune’s mom they weren’t used to leaving her house before midnight!). After this, Arune’s friends came over and joined us on the terrace, where we once again sat until an ungodly hour of the morning, listening to music and discussing books and doing more drinking and dancing.

I didn’t let myself sleep as late on Sunday, since Arune’s friend Abhi was going to make good on his promise to take me to Balajee’s antique shop. After a breakfast of toast and tea, my preferred combo while in Bangalore, I met up with Abhi and we went down to the shop. It was the first time since arriving in Bangalore that I truly felt like I was in India. Once more, old buildings leaned inward over narrow streets and vendors lined the sidewalks. We spent over an hour in Balajee’s, where I saw armor that had been worn by a German during World War I, a gorgeous beaded handbag from the 1960s, a photograph of Einstein and Nehru, and countless other odds and eccentricities dating from years and centuries back. As Balajee closed up shop to go to the cinema, Abhi and I walked through the busy streets and to the local market. On the way, I bought a coconut and drank fresh coconut water while we made our way through the throngs of people. The market was selling every fresh fruit and vegetable imaginable, with a flower market at its center. We ambled around here before going back to Arune’s, where we ordered biryani and milkshakes and sat in the sunshine that had finally appeared after a rainy morning.

Sunday evening was dedicated to games - we played Bananagrams, Trivial Pursuit, and Cards Against Humanity, then ended the evening with Blackjack on the terrace, joined by some of Arune’s cousins. It was another late night, which is part of what made it so hard to leave on Monday morning. While I was there, Arune and I realized that it had been eight years exactly since we received our freshman year dorm assignments. In London at the beginning of my trip and in Bangalore I was lucky enough to be hosted by friends I made in that dorm, and the weekend before my trip began I spent at the beach with friends from there as well. Arune and I talked a lot about how lucky we all are to have a friend group that’s more like family. After six days in Kolkata mostly alone, it was a welcome change to be around other people, but it was made even better by the fact that it was time spent with one of my first and dearest college friends and his family, who, like him, are aggressively hospitable. I was sad to leave the beautiful weather and their beautiful flat, but saddest to leave the comfort of being in a fun, happy home that reminds me of mine, some thousands of miles across the world. However, I was leaving this family to spend time with my own, and flew from Bangalore to Kochi to spend time with my sister - posts to come!

[instantdeerlover]

5 Minute Romesco Sauce added to Google Docs

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Romesco Sauce! Roasted red peppers, plum tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt, and a squeeze of lemon juice? Put this on everything = food goals achieved.

 SUMMER SAUCE WEEK IS HERE!  CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MASTER LIST OF ALL OUR FAVORITE SAUCES!

Here’s the deal. This beautiful thing I’m showing you is called Romesco Sauce and it is in the business of saving the Summer Meal.

You know, the Summer Meal for the day where you’ve been outside all day or a lot of the day or, to be honest, none of the day (!!!!) which means that now it’s 6pm and you need to get outside ASAP because SUMMER IS AMAZING. It’s the day when the best possible meal would be one that could involve as little time as possible indoors.

Related Terms –> Grills. Sunsets. Margs. Chicken. Brats. Veggies. Sangria. Decks. Potatoes. Burgers. Juicy Lucys (Minnesota represent). Friends. Music. Smores. Bonfires. Help I can’t stop drinking romesco sauce.

 How to Make Romesco Happen

Let’s get this happening up in your life right. now.

Do you have a blender? And do you have a small spatula to preserve every last lick? Awesome – then we are set.

Plop these items in your blender or food processor. Give them a go-round a few times till everything gets nice and friendly with each other:

Roasted red peppers – you can make your own and we’ll all be proud of you! but it’s summer and the whole point here is to NOT spend a ton of time in the kitchen so the rest of us will be over here with our jarred roasted red peppers and we’ll be proud of ourselves, too.

Plum tomatoes – canned is fine but HECK YES it’s summer and HECK YES there are tomatoes growing in your garden and HECK YES you can use them here.

Almonds – they make it more textured and more thickened and generally just satisfying and interesting. which is just how I like my food.

Olive oil – we’re talking creamy-like emulsion here. DREAMS COMING TRUE.

Lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and salt – the makers of good-tasting food.

ANNNNND GO.

 And just like that, you made the ultimate sauce with which you can create hundreds of summer meals. YOU ROCK!

What to Serve with Romesco

Do we even need to talk about what this sauce could be paired with or is your mind already spinning with ideas? (Leave a comment I’m greedy for your ideas  )

Most recently, I had this Romesco Sauce over chicken mozzarella meatballs (but for real) and crispy potatoes which basically makes the BEST combo for meal prep. In case you’re wondering, I made broccoli to go with it which conveniently got charred to a crisp and wasn’t able to join the party. Some things are just not meant to be, amiright?

Romesco Sauce plus poached eggs sound pretty amazing, as does grilled chicken slash grilled ANYTHING with a shmear of this over top.

This is the lifesaver of the Summer Meal and I think you’re going to love it because around here we are lovers of all the sauces. Cheers to you and your Romesco Sauce adventures. Go forth and be saucy!

 Common Questions About Romesco Sauce Can I make this without nuts?

Yes, you could sub in sunflower or pumpkin seeds/pepitas. Some classic romesco sauces actually use a piece of crusty bread to thicken the sauce as well, so that’s an option as well if you’re not gluten-free!

Can I roast my own peppers instead of using jarred?

Look at you, fancy! Yes, you can. A jar of roasted red peppers *should* be about two peppers, but feel free to weigh out 12 ounces after roasting.

Can I used canned plum tomatoes instead of fresh?

Yep! Highly recommend those summer-fresh tomatoes though.

 5 Minute Romesco Sauce

★★★★★

4.8 from 17 reviews

Author: Pinch of Yum

 Prep Time: 5 mins

 Cook Time: 2 mins

 Total Time: 7 minutes

 Yield: 2 cups sauce (about 4 servings)

Print Recipe  Pin Recipe Description

Romesco Sauce! Ready in 5 minutes and perfect for serving with grilled chicken, vegetables, crispy potatoes, eggs, and more. Made with roasted red peppers, plum tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, parsley. vegan / vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

4 small plum tomatoes

1 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

2 cloves garlic

juice of half a lemon

Instructions

Pulse everything together in a blender until it’s texturally right for you (I like it right between chunky and smooth – I leave a little texture with the almonds, but it’s mostly a smooth emulsion).

Serve hot or cold with grilled chicken and vegetables, crispy potatoes, eggs… the possibilities are endless.

Equipment

Blender

Buy Now → Notes

The equipment section above contains an affiliate link to a product we use and love!

You can used sliced almonds but since you’ll be able to pack more into a cup, use about 3/4 cup vs. the whole almonds where you would use a full cup. This is a very forgiving recipe. Add or subtract as you like, but the almonds do help thicken the whole thing so don’t omit those!

If you have a nut allergy, try sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds instead.

Category: Sauce

Cuisine: Spanish

Keywords: romesco sauce, easy romesco sauce

 Did you make this recipe?

Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram and hashtag it #pinchofyum

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via Pinch of Yum https://pinchofyum.com/romesco-sauce Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://trello.com/userhuongsen

Created July 14, 2020 at 09:37PM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

[benjamingarden]

Weekending

We have snow!  Again!  It really is beautiful.  We had just about lost all of our previous snow because of the higher than normal temps we've experienced melting it, which left us with mud.  I much prefer the snow.  We woke up Thursday morning to about 3 inches of fresh snow and then we were the recipients of another 5-6 inches on Saturday.

my typical salad

I spent a good portion of Saturday doing some meal prep.  I usually get a bunch of veggies chopped and/or steamed for my salads throughout the week.  I then make up 2 days of full salads and store the rest of the veggies in jars so I can easily make the salads the remainder of the week.  **You can possibly see that I add cold water to the chopped celery and grated carrot.  This helps keep them crunchy and fresh.  **  I also always prep what we'll be eating and drinking on Sunday.  I make cold brew for Jay plus his coffee syrup (organic sugar and water) as well as prep what we'll have for breakfast, make our lunches, and prep Sunday's dinner.  This way, we can easily get ourselves out the door for the farmer's market and then dinner is easy once we're home.  Our Sunday market ended up being cancelled due to the snow today so we are well prepped for a day at home!

I usually also clean all of the eggs on Saturday too.  Thankfully I hadn't started that task before I was told the market would likely be cancelled.  I can find room in the refrigerator for 8-10 dozen eggs for a day, but having them in there all week would have been a real pain.  So, we'll have a lot of eggs to clean next Saturday!  A quick note, in case you're wondering, once you clean the eggs it removed their natural bloom (protectant) so they must then be refrigerated.  They are fine at room temp if that hasn't been removed.

Oliver sleeping soundly, finally!

Grateful - that things are improving with Oliver and Jerkson Jackson.  As noted in the last Weekend post, Oliver is very upset and I still have no idea what happened to push him over the edge, but I believe Jack must have got into Oliver's bed one night and terrorized him.  I'm using (affiliate link) Bach's Rescue Remedy on Jack to try and calm him from constantly targeting Oliver.  (it's ALL THE TIME..... he is either trying to intimidate him by glaring and getting in his face or he's attacking him) It does help, particularly if I remember to give it to him every 4-5 hours,  although it's an uphill battle if I'm being honest.  It's just his personality and who he is.  He LOVES to pick-pick-pick.  Always has.  He's hilarious (when he's not picking), handsome, and a really good cat.  It would be incredibly helpful if he would settle down a bit. Oliver is temporarily on a bit of prescription medication to help him relax.  It got really bad, and the natural alternatives were taking too long to kick in so I reached out to his vet in desperation.  He was just such a mess and wasn't sleeping (or letting me sleep) for longer than an hour at a time.  He couldn't sit still, constantly jumping/jittery, and was just downright uncomfortable and upset.  And when Jack entered the room, oh boy, he would lose it, clinging to my side and crawling up my leg trying to get picked up (not normal for him at all).  But when we would take him out of the house he was fine - his normal self.  So we knew it had to do with Jack.....  He's always been very anxious and high-strung, so unfortunately it's not completely new, just much worse.  But, he is now doing well and we have even had 3 nights of 8 hours sleep!!!

Loving - cloth alternatives to paper towels.  I have no idea what took me so long to realize that I needed to put a stack of cloth towels in the kitchen.  Mind you, we don't use a lot of paper towels, however, they were still an easy go-to because I didn't keep a stack of cloths in the kitchen so it wasn't so convenient.  At the end of summer last year I finally stuck a stack in the kitchen and my-oh-my, we use hardly any paper towels at all!  One thing I did to stop myself from (out of habit) reaching for paper towels was to put the paper towels in the cupboard or across the kitchen, keeping the cloth towels in my main working area.  This way, they were right where I would normally reach to clean up a spill, wash veggies or fruit, etc. Whether you make your own from scraps or buy towels, the key is in making sure you have a small stack so you don't run out before you've done laundry.

Cooking - last night I made 5-Spice Bourbon Chicken for Jay along with rice and cauliflower with cheese sauce. For me it was a grain bowl.  Tonight it's Shephard's Pie.  The ground beef version for Jay (Cottage Pie, I believe?) and the Vegan (mushroom/corn/carrot/lentil) version for moi.  We will have greens & homemade, super easy, no-knead artisan bread on the side (recipe coming this week).  Lunches were salad (me), grilled cheese sandwich (Jay) and a side of homemade roasted tomato soup (both).

Enjoying - so remember how I shared my favorite teas in a previous weekending post?  Well....I've found a NEW ONE!  I believe I've also shared that I stopped drinking coffee a few months ago.  Once I stopped with coffee I found, when trying to drink it again, that I seem to have some sensitivities to caffeine.  So, I've been drinking decaf from time-to-time.  But, that has changed now. Celestial Seasonings Tea makes 2 delicious caffeine-free coffee alternatives.  I'm linking to them (affiliate) on Amazon so you can see, but purchase them at your grocery store, they are likely much cheaper.  At Hannaford I was able to purchase them for $2.79/box (they were around $3.30-3.40/box at Whole Foods and the local health food stores).  The Roastaroma is here (features a light cinnamon/allspice combo)  and the Almond Sunset is here (features almond flavoring).  Both are a combination of chicory root, carob, and barley.  It gives the taste and mouthfeel of coffee and I really am loving them with just a hint of oat milk. Working On - being consistent with one new blog post every Thursday.  I'll try to also write these "weekending" posts every other Sunday.  If I have additional posts or recipes to share, I plan to share those on Tuesdays.  As we come up with and incorporate newer, healthier, recipes into our life I'll try to get them up.   Quite a few of you have emailed requesting more information on a couple of things:  starting our business (a more in-depth look instead of the overview here) and an outline of how we paid off our debt (all but the mortgage) with meal planning.  I am working on both of these plus an add-on to the debt payoff post - a focus on reducing your grocery bill.  I'm thinking about trying to include a month's worth of low cost meal plan ideas/recipes. Reading - I'm finishing up (affiliate links) The Simple Living Guide and have Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less next up in que.   Have you read either?  I would love to hear your thoughts! I'm hoping you've had a lovely weekend as well!

Weekending was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[mykatesingh-blog]

  Ah, summertime. Summertime to us means a bounty of delicious produce and lots of swimming in any body of water we can come across. This year summer is all about my two big kitchen gardens, creating some fun for the boys, and saving money.

It’s also a time of changing my patterns of working too much and learning to slow down, become present, meditate during chores, and allowing my more creative side to flourish.

I’m finding that decorating my home with little odds and ends I’m finding in closets and the garage, and harvesting organic food from the gardens are bringing such satisfaction.

We are cutting cost and I’m giving up my beloved Racquet Club/Health Club membership and it caused some sadness since it gives me and the boys such joy, but then we traveled to the Tahoe Forest Park the other day with friends and swam in clear, clean waters and enjoyed lush forest. I would choose that any day over the gym or public pool. And it was free. Gods beauty…free! Not only that but when we swim in the gym pool outside the boys get sick often because it is a festering pool of bacteria (the doctor’s words, not mine). Something for me to ponder, right?

I’ve been moving shade umbrellas around in the front and back yards, finding and picking up free truckloads of mulch, and learning new recipes. Dishes are being left in the sink, although I do clean up the kitchen, wipe down counters, and sweep, but I fill the sink with soapy water and let the dishes sit for a later hour. We have implemented a movie hour in the afternoon after chores and free play. This is a quiet time when we enjoy the movie or I read and Arjan may do his artwork.

I’m sewing up everything these days. I haven’t attempted the quilt since the first time I couldn’t figure out how to cut out the odd and complicated patterns, but I’m sewing up holes in my decorative pillows, stretch pants and whatever else I can find. I mended two favorite stretch capri pants instead of throwing them out and saved myself around $24 dollars on new ones.

Because I am home, I find free things on Craigslist or I’m offered free items others are decluttering and I can go fetch a truckload during the day. I can’t even begin to list the gifts I’ve dragged home for homesteading and gardening.

Since doing the last big house purge, I’ve created a smaller wardrobe from what survived the overhaul and I’m finding all these great things that were hidden under the junk. I decorated my couch with my great grandmother’s lace table clothe and found hair dye and nail polish from a year ago. I had a beauty spa day and now sport a blond hairdo and purple toenails.

My mornings are busy with chores and writing, cooking and talking with the boys. We play music and there are reading and art. Since summer began Arjan has ordered mass amounts of books from the library, filling his days with reading fun books about mysteries and facts and learning to draw dinosaurs from “how to draw” books. His reading and art skills have flourished. Sam is more into movies and fighting imaginary zombies.

In the afternoons I make a delicious coffee drink with my new milk frother that I can’t get enough of and after a bit of sitting and reading quietly with the boys and a movie, I go on to either cook a super before Bali gets home or work outside harvesting food, more planting, and watering.

Evenings are prepping the stove top percolator for morning brew, washing up the last of the dishes, washing my face (which feels so good after a long day), brushing teeth, and relaxing with our favorite sitcoms while lying in the cozy family bed.

I go to bed tired from a busy day and feeling accomplished. I rise (sometimes still tired) looking forward to a good cup of coffee and a productive morning ahead.

Sometimes when I work in the kitchen I attach small speakers to my chrome book and listen to Louise Hay or Dr. Joe Dispenza on healing our thoughts and minds to have a fuller and happier life. I love learning and working on myself as I go about washing and cleaning my home. I feel better for it afterward.

It isn’t always easy to do long No Spends or to get up to do it all over again with the household work and cooking. Cooking mostly from scratch can be like running a small restaurant.

It is a daily and seasonal thing to constantly find ways to make work simpler, more pleasant and fulfilling so we don’t burn out or find ourselves blue and wilty. That is why it is important to slow down, clear the calendar and just be present in each task. Play with your house, decorate with what you have, purge and scrub. Play with the children, watch afternoon movies for a nice break in the days’ toils. Teach the children chores so they can be helpful, have them clean up after themselves. Learn as many easy meals as possible. Even pancakes can be healthy. We used to make honey wheat pancakes with fresh bananas, nuts, maple syrup, and even flax bran.  Learn new skills to freshen up the job description and challenge yourself.

I watched a YouTube video on how to make a wedding cake and I actually want to try it sometime. I’m going to attempt the quilt again but squares instead of patterns. Canning season will be here soon and that will keep me busy.

Don’t do too much because it never ends and so the thinking that “I’ll bust my bum today and rest tomorrow…” it doesn’t happen. Do the basics and a little extra project a day. An example would be to do the dishes, make the bed, sweep the kitchen and maybe organize the pantry.

Don’t try to be like other homemakers. Be you, find what works for you, find your cleaning style and cooking niche and go for it. Don’t try to reach perfection, it will send you to the loony bin. Do try to find fun and happiness in your work. Embrace it, relax into it, brew coffee, turn up the music, find you in all of it.

          Enjoying my days of cleaning, gardening, and being creative with a reduced budget. Ah, summertime. Summertime to us means a bounty of delicious produce and lots of swimming in any body of water we can come across.

[lotsofdogs]

Things I’m Loving Friday #245

I’ve been looking forward to today all week because Ryder and I are off to Florida this afternoon! My mom and I planned a baby shower for my sister on Saturday and I cannot wait to celebrate her little one.

This will also be Ryder’s first time flying on a plane so please cross your fingers for us for a smooth flight. The first time I flew with Chase we flew by ourselves to Denver when he was six months old so a short flight to Jacksonville feels WAY less intimidating, especially with a younger — and hopefully sleepier — baby in tow. Let’s hope I’m not shooting myself in the foot with that statement!

I’ll be sure to recap Leslie’s baby shower on the blog soon but until then, let’s stick with the usual around here and dive into my weekly Things I’m Loving Friday favorites. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Things I’m Loving Friday

Garage Shoulder Workout

A small miracle happened in our house on Wednesday afternoon. Ryder and Chase napped at the SAME time. It was amazing and fantastic and I took full advantage of TWO HOURS of napping children to do ALL the things. I worked on this blog post, responded to emails, did some laundry, prepped dinner and squeezed in a quick garage workout. Woop! (Oh and before you think things were easy breezy over here all week, let’s just say Wednesday was a bit of an anomaly on the productivity front. Ooph.)

Wednesday’s garage workout was definitely a highlight for me and I focused on strength training my shoulders in a superset format so it would be a fast and efficient workout. I am so excited to get back into semi-regular workouts and cannot wait to share more of them with you guys in the coming weeks and months. I’ve missed my workouts a lot and really enjoy sharing them with you guys here and on Instagram!

Getting a Jump Start on Ryder’s Baby Book

It took me weeks to complete Chase’s baby book when I was in a mad dash to get it done before Christmas one year and I am determined to not let myself get so behind this time. I am hoping that by working on Ryder’s baby book in little segments and setting aside a little bit of time every month, it won’t feel like such a daunting project where I have to sift through hundreds of photos at one time. (I’m using the Hand Painted Baby template through Mixbook for his album.) This may be wishful thinking, but I hope I can stick to this plan and have a wonderful book filled with some of our favorite photos of Ryder when he turns one!

Swapping Out Plastics

I’m sure a bunch of you guys read about the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics related to plastics and children that cautioned against reheating certain types of plastic in the microwave or dishwasher. I’m not sure why I never thought about the dishwasher being an issue but the latest report served as a bit of a scare to me! It also motivated me to go back to hand washing our favorite plastic sippy cups and plates and encouraged me to begin swapping out some of the plastics we use for Chase’s food and drinks in favor of glass or stainless steel options. (FYI, the AAP recommends completely avoiding plastics with recycling codes 3, 6 and 7.)

I ordered four stainless steel tumblers + straws from Amazon (the same ones Tina‘s son loves) and a few more of the stainless steel snack containers we use all the time from EarthHero. (I order the large size of the Sidekick containers and think they’re perfect for carting around freshly sliced fruits and veggies, cereal, nuts and other snacks for our whole family. They’re $7 via EarthHero ��� nearly $8 cheaper than I found them on Amazon.)

And if you guys happen to have any glass or stainless steel kid-friendly water bottle recommendations, I’d love to hear them. I’m in the market for a water bottle for Chase that has a built in straw so he doesn’t have to tip it over to drink it.

Audrey’s Bear Swaddle Blanket

A couple of you noticed the personalized blanket Ryder was wrapped up in on my mom’s chest in a picture of him on the blog a few weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to mention it here ever since! It’s a beautiful and incredibly soft blanket we received from the kind people behind Audrey’s Bear! We’ve been loving our Audrey’s Bear blanket for snuggle time with Ryder but what I love even more is the fact that Audrey’s Bear participates in swaddle4swaddle, a program dedicated to supplying swaddle blankets and “bringing smiles and comfort to NICU babies and their families.” For every swaddle blanket purchased through Audrey’s Bear, they donate a blanket through swaddle4swaddle. I am already planning to buy one of their gorgeous blankets for my sister’s baby once her little boy or girl arrives in September!

Friday Flashbacks

10 Recipes To Make for Your Summer Cookout (With summer winding down, I wanted to share this flashback post just in case you have a fun cookout on the agenda before everyone is all about the fall!)

Total Body Pyramid Workout (Pyramid workouts are some of my favorite workouts to complete because once you finish one level and move onto the next, it feels like a mini victory within the workout.)

Questions of the Day

Tell me about something you’re looking forward to this weekend!

What is one thing that is making you smile this week?

[Read More ...] https://www.pbfingers.com/things-im-loving-friday-245/

#health #fitness

[stagesofabreakup]

Stages of a Breakup: Week 46

1. Wake up around 1:00pm

2. Immediately eat leftover pancakes

3. Talk

4. Make a plan to hang out with the now non-crush friend bro on Sunday

5. Watch some episodes of a YouTube drag talk show called, “Unnhhh”

6. Do a photo shoot with Nate!!!!!!!

7. He suggests you open the refrigerator and take the pictures in there

8. You guys do

9. It’s phenomenal

10. You feel special and goodish in your body

11. Order Chinese food

12. Edit pictures

13. Get food

14. EAT

15. Watch But I’m A Cheerleader for the first time

16. It’s incredible

17. Drink so much whiskey

18. Upload two of the photos you and Nate took

19. They get over a hundred likes in the first hour

20. Feel pretty and like you accomplished something

21. Watch 2 episodes of Ru Paul’s drag race

22. Split up the Chinese leftovers

23. Go home

24. Try to watch the end of XXX

25. Eat half a sandwich out of the trash and 3 bags of fruit snacks

26. More whiskey

27. Feel a little sick

28. Take a shower, wash your hair

29. Try to throw up

30. Can’t

31. Lay down

32. Stress about what time you’ll get up tomorrow cause it’s already 4:32am and there’s a lot you have to do

33. Wake up fine

34. See you have a facebook message from this guy you messaged like a week ago trying to reconnect you haven’t spoken with in literal years, he says he never checks facebook, to text him instead

35. Text him

36. Don’t hear back

37. Read a lot of posts about sexual assault between the Aziz Ansari thing and the theatre you did improv at in New Orleans which is in the midst of a scandal

38. Upload another picture of yourself from the photoshoot with Nate

39. Go to the gym

40. Buy three gel nail polishes for 6 dollars from a man on the street

41. Post about it in a beauty group

42. Get met with a BEAUTY CONSPIRACY THEORY about people who reproduce packaging and formula to sell for less and give you diseases

43. Feel so annoyed!!!!

44. Do three mics

45. Eat two free pizzas and two paid for beers

46. See Molly

47. Talk about the theatre/sexual assault thing in New Orleans

48. Have 1 ok set 2 bad ones

49. Find some abandoned books on a recycling bin

50. Take four of them

51. Including “Dry” by Augusten Burroughs that you read and loved in high school

52. Start re-reading it on the train home

53. Remember it is about an alcoholic living in NYC

54. Time for some self-examination baby!!!!

55. Get home

56. Keep reading

57. Binge eat

58. Drink a little

59. Sleep

60. Wake up with a lot of plans

61. Slowly abandon them all

62. Have a lost day

63. Talk to your dad and Grandma on the phone

64. Don’t leave the house once

65. Slowly get your period

66. But you have an IUD so you never fully get it there’s just a little brown blood hovering around

67. Eat like 15 packs of fruit snacks feverishly

68. Spend all day reading about the sexual assault situation unfolding in your old improv theatre in New Orleans

69. Feel ----------!!!!!!!!!!!!

70. Write a long post

71. Resign yourself to being inside

72. Eat too many chicken nuggets and mac and cheese and some leftover Chinese and a peanut butter and nutella sandwich and three IPA beers which you don’t even really like

73. Talk to one of your best friends from high school on the phone

74. Make a plan to talk to your friend Mary-Devon tomorrow morning on the phone for the first time since she got engaged and you miss her a lot

75. Feel better

76. Watch the new Katt Williams special

77. Love it

78. Write a review

79. Read your ex-boyfriend’s interview with him

80. Look at who shared it

81. One of them is a person who wrote, “My boyfriend does cool stuff”

82. Whoops you found his new girlfriend

83. Feel your stomach drop outside of your body

84. It’s 4:30 in the morning you can’t even call someone to walk you through these emotions

85. Look at her facebook

86. She is hot and thin and has tattoos

87. Her name is Chandler

88. Ugh

89. She’s a chef

90. Ugh

91. She has a chest piece and you remember him telling you he thought a chest piece would look really sexy on you

92. UGH

93. Some of her cover photos are bell hooks quotes

94. Lololol good luck with that!

95. Ugh you try to get out of there

96. She is pretty and thin and that makes you feel

97. Like human garbage

98. You have started your period today and you have a pimple on your chin and your body’s been off and on sweating all day so you’re slippery and gross some places and your hair is that of a fifth grade boy who likes fish sandwiches

99. Write a little in your journal about it

100. Write a snarky tweet you will probably regret

101. Thank Jesus in Heaven above you didn’t text him back so you can feel like you have one ounce of power in this hell of a situation you’re going to encounter in a few short weeks

102. On her profile she made their relationship facebook official but it’s not on his profile

103. Ugh

104. Wonder if his dog likes her

105. Think about them doing all the things you guys did plus more because she likes to cook and is probably outdoorsy or something

106. Wonder if you’re allowed to be mean to her because she’s thin

107. Feel relieved you’re going to talk to Mary-Devon tomorrow who’s met her and will know some things

108. Prep yourself to cry

109. Try not to think about losing a bunch of weight in the next month

110. Health

111. Body positivity

112. Hate this girl and your ex-boyfriend

113. Hope she’s lame and dumb and he’ll never love her the way he loved you

114. Doubt yourself

115. Feel inadequate

116. Remember you have a wonderful and engaging book

117. Also that it’s 5:14am now

118. Decide to leave the computer

119. But not this hell!!!!

120. Ugh

121. Wake up

122. You’re ok and alive!

123. Do laundry!

124. Talk on the phone with your friend Mary-Devon

125. It feels good

126. She tells you that girl is weird

127. And that your bodies aren’t that different

128. Feel roughly 80 times better

129. Laugh with her a lot

130. Catch up on some New Orleans comedy gossip

131. Get dressed

132. Go to work

133. Make some $$$

134. Call like 4 different people on the walk to the train because you want to talk to someone, get no one

135. Home tired

136. Gabe calls back!

137. Talk to your friend Gabe on the phone

138. Decide not to eat because it’s 12:30am

139. Go to sleep!!!!

140. Wake up naturally at like 10:30am!!!!!!!

141. Text with your friends Rachel & Molly about the new gf

142. Feel incredibly comforted after an extensive talk with Rachel about clothes being an extension of ourselves that we control

143. Take out ALL the recycling in your apartment that has been building up for weeks and is a huge pile

144. Find an entire Alaskan salmon and beef filet RAW/ROTTING that was in the bottom of your roommate’s Blue Apron that she never unpacked/found

145. Go to the gym

146. Feel good working out

147. See that there’s a Rainbow across the street from your train stop

148. Head in!

149. Gather a bunch of items to try, realize there’s no dressing room

150. This is your Russian Roulette

151. Buy four pieces WITHOUT TRYING THEM ON

152. Get home

153. Take a shower

154. Finish watch XXX and eat a TUB of salad

155. Try on all the clothes

156. Decide to keep 2, think about the other 2

157. Agree to make a tour poster for someone for money!!!!!

158. You’re worried about getting it done in time, and also the quality, but very excited as well!!!!!

159. Go to work in new leggings

160. Make 85 dollars, meet some beautiful foreign gays

161. Realize you haven’t lived until a beautiful gay man whispers in your ear, “Did my husband tip you?”

162. Pack a lot of free food in cups

163. Ride the train home

164. Your feet hurt so much from standing

165. Cancel escorting at an abortion clinic so you can go to the Women’s March tomorrow with your friend Ariel

166. Be so excited!

167. Prepare yourself for 6 hours of sleep

168. Wake up feeling exhausted but excited

169. Stare into your phone for a solid 15 minutes before being able to physically move

170. Eat weird bean sandwiches you took from work last night for breakfast

171. And some carrots

172. Get dressed

173. Bring your work stuff with you

174. Have one of the most terrible train rides of your time here so far-nothing crazy happened you just felt really claustrophobic and people kept sneezing without covering their noses & someone was wearing a very intense perfume

175. Finally get out of the train

176. Meet Ariel!!!!!!!

177. She gives you feminist pins to wear!!!!!

178. Run into another friend on the train

179. Go to the Women’s March!

180. March for a little

181. Stand for a little

182. See a girl whose boyfriend is a Trump supporter…….get outta here!!!!!

183. Try to march

184. Get thwarted by the police 2 different times

185. Sneak into the Museum of Natural History with your friend Ariel to go to the bathroom

186. Stay

187. Explore in there for a while

188. Leave

189. Rejoin for like another hour

190. Take a stroll through Central Park

191. Get Mexican food!

192. Hang and talk

193. Go to the gym

194. Go to work

195. Do a three hour party

196. Get good tips

197. Have fun!

198. Lose your voice

199. Go home

200. Write a long status about the women’s march at 2:30 in the morning that probably won’t get any likes

201. Text this guy you kind of have a crush on but he is seeing someone else but is taking you out to dinner to apologize for leading you on/misunderstanding/friendship?

202. Feel wayyyy better about this whole thing/seeing your ex-bf/him having a gf

203. Feel honestly grateful to him bc maybe if he hadn’t hurt you so much you wouldn’t have left New Orleans/gotten to New York

204. Be excited for your single life!!!!!!!!!!!

205. Wake up at 10 something

206. Go back to sleep until 1:00

207. Stay in bed

208. Eat cake for breakfast and macaroni and cheese from the trash and leftover Chinese food

209. Have trouble motivating

210. Do bed stuff

211. Go to the gym

212. Return a blue velvet dress to Rainbow across the street

213. Work out but it’s hard

214. Stall there for a long time

215. Go back to Rainbow

216. Get really excited about buying sexy clothes for Mardi Gras

217. Spend 84 dollars

218. Have the female cashier look at what you’re buying and say, “For you?” and when you confirm she says, “It’s not gonna fit it’s too small”

219. Feel awash with too many negative emotions to separate and name

220. Feel robbed of the joy you’ve had about your body for the past three days

221. Swallow some tiny tears

222. Put one thing back

223. Still get the rest

224. Walk home in sadness

225. It’s alright

226. Eat in a way that if drawn in cartoon would look like a sugar tornado

227. Drink a spiked seltzer & 1 beer

228. Text your friend good luck who’s opening for Rory Scovel

229. Finally start at 9:30pm on this poster project you have put off all day

230. Put on Love Actually to watch while you draw

231. The Lord of the Rings

232. Finish somewhere during Lord of the Rings

233. It’s not perfect but it’s ok and you can hopefully clean it up tomorrow on the computer when you scan it in at the library

234. Feel ok

235. Stalk your ex-boyfriend and his new gf on fb a little

236. Feel still ok but less so? But still ok

237. She’s 26 and that’s truly insane because you’re 28 and he’s 37 and you felt like THAT was a big age difference but hey

238. Take a shower which you DESPERATELY need

239. Mentally decide to try on clothes afterwards, also sleep which is key

[rosepeniel]

DAY 2 : JUMEIRAH BEACH + ATLANTIS, THE PALM: AQUAVENTURE + DUBAI MARINA WALK + DHOW CRUISE

We spent our second day engaging entirely on an “aqua-venture”, from beaches, to water parks and cruising along the ocean of Dubai. Since the city is also situated on the Arabian Peninsula towards the southern part of the Persian Gulf, it proves that Dubai is more than just sun and sand. The Arabian Gulf is a beautiful part of the world, and like what other tropical countries usually have, it boasts its emerald sea and natural white beaches, only that many hotels and other buildings have been built on the seaside which have resulted in much of the beach being off limits to the general public. Nevertheless, the summer air and the extremely hot weather in Dubai, makes beaches and water parks an amazing way to cool off—something different from just being in an air-conditioned building.

JUMEIRAH BEACH AND BURJ AL ARAB

We started our day with a morning stroll at Jumeirah Public Beach. The sun was already up and scorching hot. Moreover, the travel from our hotel to this place was quite lengthy. But upon seeing the emerald sea and hearing the relaxing sound of the waves rustling against the shore, my distress instantly turned into amusement. The stunning and world renowned seven star hotel, Burj Al Arab, can also be seen from a distance. This iconic view of the Burj makes the beach a popular spot among tourists to have “the photo” with the famous hotel. As much as we’d like to plunge into the cold water of the sea, we decided to just have a little dip and take pictures of the beach and the view of the Burj Al Arab from behind, since we still would need to travel to Atlantis, and apparently, getting wet is a bad idea.

The stunning seven star hotel on my backround.

ATLANTIS, THE PALM: AQUAVENTURE

From the public beach, we took a taxi to get to the Palm Monorail station, which would lead us to our next destination – Atlantis, The Palm Aquaventure Waterpark. Though this is not as cheap to travel on the Monorail as other forms of Dubai public transport (as it is not run by the RTA and is privately owned) I consider it the most economical way to travel to the Atlantis Hotel (costs only 15 AED back and forth). In addition, it is a very good vantage point to witness the spectacular view of the artificial islands in Palm Jumeirah. Not only it is famous being the man-made landmark island in Dubai, but it is also well known for its concentration of luxury hotels and resorts.

Alongside with the Burj Al Arab, one of the most popular hotels the emirates had to offer is the Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. Aside from the name itself, the exterior appearance and interior designs and furniture would make you easily discern that the luxury hotel was themed after the myth of Atlantis, and that, this five star hotel is just as luxurious as the Burj. But what makes it more interesting was the idea of why it was named after Atlantis. Apparently, divers had found ruins several years ago indicating that there was some form of never before seen civilization in this area of the Arabian Gulf. People could not determine whether the ruins were from underwater structures, as in the ruins of the mythical kingdom of Atlantis, or perhaps just sunken buildings washed from the land. And the fact that none of these ruins were Arabic in nature raised quite a bit of speculation. Anyway, this piece of information makes the whole concept of this hotel a lot more fitting, doesn’t it?

So then, upon arriving, we took a quick stroll around the hotel, and we saw quite a few luxurious restaurants and shopping centers selling various brands of clothes. At first glance, you wouldn’t really be able to distinguish it from a shopping mall. Of course we just couldn’t let our time pass without snapping few pictures at some eye-catchy corners of the hotel. Contrary to what you would probably think, we didn’t check in the hotel (we’re not as rich as you might think we are 😄 ). We were just after the most sought-after part of the resort, the Atlantis Aquaventure, which is tagged as the best water park in Dubai.  The name itself, as derived from the combination of the words “aquatic” and “adventure”, would surely give you a rough idea of what you need to expect once you step into this place: adrenaline pumping and thrilling water slides. However, an unfortunate event started our day in the Aquaventure: My friend and I lost each other in the water park. She probably just couldn’t contain her excitement and was such in a rush to dip into the water or try out the slides while I was painstakingly roaming around the park desperately hoping I could still find her along the way, or even maybe just bump at her somewhere. It took me half an hour of roving around before I finally gave up the search, decided to grab a lifebuoy, and plunged in the nearest starting point of the river ride. I couldn’t just let the fun of aqua-venture slip away, right?

 The waterways of the river ride are interconnected with each other which circulate around the water park and lead to several entry pools. The generated massive waves were my favorite! If you want to try the water slides however, you could start anywhere from the two major towers of the water park: The Poseidon Tower and the Neptune tower. One of my favorites was the water slide leading to a tunnel which is actually inside a big aquarium. It’s quite surreal and exhilarating since you would find yourself surrounded by sharks, sting-rays and different kinds of fish. It was past 1600H and I was trying out the tube slides in the Neptune tower, when I finally happened to stumble upon my long lost friend :D (I was already figuring out how to get home by myself during that time, LOL 😄 ) I breathed a big sigh of relief. Good thing we found each other, otherwise I couldn’t have recorded some of my aqua-venture moments.

Panoramic view of the Aquaventure Waterpark and the Atlantis Hotel  from the top of the Neptune Tower. 

My biggest regret about our trip here is that, I didn’t get to fully explore the Aquaventure since we haven’t had enough time (the park closes at 1800H) and I wasn’t able to try out the terrifyingly exciting body slides such as the leap of faith and Poseidon’s Revenge, since my fear and hesitation immediately got on my way. But overall, it was a surge of fun and a lot of electric excitement in the air!

 DUBAI MARINA WALK & DHOW CRUISE

Exhausted from our long day at the water park, we decided to cap it off with a relaxing cruise along Dubai Marina, in traditional Arabian Dhow. Riding a wooden dhow was definitely on my Dubai trip bucket list. While I was making our travel itinerary, I did a little research online and learned that dhows used to be the main modes of sea transport back in the ancient times. Upon discovery of black gold however, professions of natives changed drastically and the dhows lost its purpose since then. In the present, dhows are now offered as a tourist activity, though some are still used for transportation of goods and you can usually see them in Dubai Creek.

It was around 1900H when we arrived at Dubai Marina Walk where most of the ticket booths for Dinner Dhow Cruise are situated. The Walk was a long beachfront paved walkway with numerous restaurants, outlets and tall buildings on the other side. It seems like it would take us a whole day to walk around the entire area, but nevertheless, I can say it’s a very suitable place to either have a stroll or jog along with friends or family.

Dubai Marina Walkway.

Skyscrapers and The Cayan Tower-- twisting 90 degrees.

We were supposedly trying to look for a cruise with dinner buffet, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to catch up with the first trip (at 7PM). Moreover, dinner dhow sails along Dubai Marina for a duration of two hours and we were honestly too hungry to wait for the next one :D So we decided to just eat at the nearby restaurant and take the regular dhows (without dinner or live shows) which is much cheaper (60 AED) than those with dinner buffet (160 AED). At least we were able to save a great deal of time and money. Besides, the fact that we had a lot of restaurants to choose from would mean we could pick a wide variety of foods based on our own preferences. It was funny how my friend and I actually had a little dispute over food, so she ended up voluntarily paying the entire meal. Thanks Aireen  😄

At Salsa Mexican Restaurant.

After having a scrumptious pasta and pizza for dinner, we prepped ourselves up for our most awaited sail. We were then escorted to the dock area. The general structure of the wooden dhow was very traditional in nature. There were no tables and chairs, instead, they made use of big cushions which seem like sacks of grains, and you can comfortably lean on it during the cruise. As what I have mentioned earlier, they don’t offer dinner buffet, but good thing, they provide free drinks. There isn’t too much passengers as well, (approximately 10 pax) which is rather favorable for us. 😄

The cityscape, Dubai Marina.

The cruise along Dubai Marina was definitely a worthy experience and we were very satisfied and happy that we decided to choose it over the old creek (our original plan was to go for Dubai creek dhow cruise). The sights and views were incredibly stunning. We could see the dazzling city lights and the enthralling skyline from afar. The still waters were beautifully reflecting the tall skyscrapers on the shoreline. Additionally, the sail trail is much longer, compared with the Creek and there is so much to see on either side. The entire ambiance creates strong romantic vibes-- which is why it is strongly recommended for couples. We could actually see some pairs cruising along with us, but we couldn’t care less. It was rather a moment of relaxation for us after a long tiring day. The cool, damp sea breeze made me even drowsier during the 1 hour long cruise. We just couldn’t handle too much of our exhaustion that we even resumed our slumber inside the train on our way back to our hotel. Nonetheless, it was a day incredibly well spent!

#jumeirabeach #atlantisthepalm #atlantisaquaventure #dubaimarina #dhow cruise dubai #cityscape #mydubai #dubai #uae #travel #travelblog