Wednesday's Letters

Dear ♥Ashley,

As of tonight, my driving lessons have come to an end for the month of March, and from the looks of it, the whole month of April as well. My next driving lessons for practice before the actual test itself should be in May or June latest...

Which means if all goes well, I should be getting my DRIVING LICENCE soon! And when that happens along with me getting my hands on a car, be it my brother's one (or your dad's one), I will finally be able to fulfil my promise to you of driving you around, all over the place... Then, we can go for star-gazing, suppers, late night movies, late night outings, driving overseas and lots lots more! OMG, soooo exciting!

Fingers crossed to booking my lessons, driving test and finally passing my driving test!

P.S. When the day comes, you will have to be my personal GPS.

Yours truly,

Leslie

Tuesday's Letters

Dear Mr. L♥, I hope you put in a good word for me last Sunday? Eyes got a little teary after having a quiet moment with your Dad. I stared hard at the bible verse engraved on your Dad's niche, recalling memories of my Granddad the whole time. Thankfully for that heavy downpour which made the entire place gloomy, am pretty sure no one including you noticed. I guess I've been missing Granddad for far too long, just like everyone else dear to him. This is probably my weak spot when visiting such places. Nevertheless, it was nice to have finally "met" your Dad.

Yours truly,

Ashley.

Wednesday's Letters

Dear Mr. L♥, last weekend we had two full days together and it. is. GREAT to have you back from that long three weeks of reservist. The time apart consistently reminds us to focus on quality time together more than quantity. And, despite the super lazy Sunday when that horrible sore throat and cold  of mine started, am still glad I had you by my side and playing Dixit with me even though we both clearly know two players is technically impossible. Am certainly excited to spending this coming already-planned-out weekend with you. Hope my cold and cough recovers by Friday?

Yours truly,

Ashley.

Our Trip to IKEA

The time is near... The time is near to make my room undergo some major make-over.

Time to change my 1) bed frame, 2) get a new and bigger study table, as well as a 3) book shelf to keep all my books. And where better to get all these furniture, than my favourite spot at IKEA Tampines.

Hence it was time to grab my most trusted designer and voice-of-opinion - Ashley, along for some shopping action. But before the start of any action, it's always wise to fill up our bellies first with FOOD!

A good meal @ IKEA - Famous Swedish meatballs that seemed to have shrunk since I last saw them. Yummy fried chicken wings, Cheese Baked Saithe (Atlantic Cold Water Fish) with Artichoke Sauce and to end it all, a sweet chocolate with butterscotch cake.

Right! After filling our bellies, it's time to start shopping. We chanced upon two different book shelves; one black-brown in colour with more depth, the other is white in colour with half the depth. I also found my ideal study table, but will have to take more deliberate measurements at home before I can decide whether to get it. Last but not least, two bed frames - the first one which is more expensive with 2 drawers underneath and railings surrounding. I fell in love with it, the moment I laid my eyes upon it. The second one is a much more simpler design at a fraction of the cost. Gosh I just can't make up my mind... 

In the end, I couldn't make up my mind on what to get for my room, without measuring and visualising where I'm gonna place all these new furnitures in the room. Instead, Ashley and I left IKEA with a load of other stuffs, quilt cover and pillow cases, indoor plants, cardboard boxes and folders.

I reckon we will return to IKEA next weekend and buy up the stuffs that I need for my room's make-over...

Wait for me, IKEA~!

Looking forward,
Leslie

A.Jax Lin

A.jax short for Alexander.Jax which means strong/sturdy; the name we called our Leslie's newly purchased DSLR from last week's IT Show, and I had the honor of being the first to play around with the functions.

I think it's really useful that A.jax came along with a User's Guide Book where you can learn from some of the examples and follow the steps shown in the guide book , i.e. a Basic Course on shooting techniques as well as Rules for taking quality shots.

Here are some shots to share from home. Enjoy.

Scene Intelligent Auto (Auto Shooting Mode)

Creative Filters (Toy Camera Effect)

Creative Filters (Miniature Effect)

 Adjusting exposure by brightening/darkening the image:

 Original (0EV, ISO100)

  Creative Filter (Grainy B/W Effect, Standard, 0EV, ISO100)

Creative Filter (Fish-eye Effect, Standard, 0EV, ISO100)

 Creative Filter (Toy Camera Effect, Standard Tone, 0EV, ISO100)

  Creative Filter (Toy Camera Effect, Warm Tone, 0EV, ISO100)

 Original (+2EV, ISO100)

Creative Filter (Grainy B/W Effect, Standard, +2EV, ISO100)

 Creative Filter (Toy Camera Effect, Standard Tone, 0EV, ISO100)

Original (-3EV, ISO100)

Picture: "In God We Trust"

Creative Filters (Miniature Effect)

 Creative Filter (Toy Camera Effect)

Creative Filters (Miniature Effect)

Picture: "Taking Shelter"

Picture: "When Spring Comes"

Picture: "Capturing the Moment"

To capture motion: Frozen

 To capture motion: motion of water flow captured (by slowing down the shutter speed)

It's Wednesday already, have a great week ahead!

Love
Ashley.

Making A List of Oh The Places We Will Go

After running all the errands for the day, we sat down for a refreshing drink of Java Chip and Raspberry Black Current at Starbuck and made a list of some the places we would love to visit before we die in our newly bought A5 spinout notebook from Typo.

So, here goes...

North America:

1. Nevada (Las Vegas)

2. Florida (Miami Beach)

3. New York

4. California (San Diego, San Francisco, LA)

5. Arizona (The Grand Canyon)

6. Caribbean (Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands)

7. Mexico (Puerto Vallarta)

8. Hawaii (Honolulu, Maui)

9. Georgia (Atlanta) 

10. Canada (Upper Fish Lake, Banff National Park, Athabasca Falls, Niagara Falls)

South America:

1. Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

2. Argentina (Semicircular Waterfall at Iguazu National Park, Península Valdés in Patagonia)

3. Venezuela

4. Peru

5. Chile

Africa:

1. South Africa (Cape Town)

2. Mauritius

3. Madagascar

4. Angola

5. Kenya

6. Morocco

7. Egypt

8. Ethiopia

9. Uganda

10. Mali (Timbuktu)

Europe:

1. Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia)

2. France (Paris)

3. Switzerland

4. Italy (Verona, Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence)

5. Austria (Vienna)

6. Germany (Berlin)

7. Netherlands (Amsterdam)

8. Czech Republic (Prague)

9. Hungary (Budapest)

10. Greece (Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Corfu)

11. UK (London, Edinburgh)

Middle East:

1. Turkey (Istanbul)

2. Israel (Jerusalem)

3. United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi)

Asia:

1. China (Shanghai, Tibet)

2. India (Delhi, Agra/Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai)

3. Korea (Seoul, Jeju Island)

4. Japan

5. Hong Kong (Tian Tan Buddha, Victoria Peak)

6. Taiwan

7. Cambodia (Siem Reap)

8. Mongolia

Australia:

1. Great Barrier Reef

2. Lord Howe Island

3. Shark Bay

4. Three Sisters Hanging Rock, at Geater Blue Mountains Area

5. Perth

6. Brisbane

We can be quite ambitious at times but I think this travel list can start somewhere, somewhere closer to home.

Wish us luck!

Love,

Leslie & Ash.