OMG. Remember this?! It honestly feels like it was just so recent that we celebrated Qaini's hen party.



And then, new years came by, many birthdays later..it was already March and it was time to reunite with my best friends again.

How nice it was to witness Qaini step into a whole new chapter. Our stories of the past that we have all shared together made us all come a long way. I'm so proud of her for holding on to hope and love to herself.

Now, she's officially a wife. She's officially Mrs Mariano.

I didn't get to be there to be a part of her solemnization ceremony, but I made it for the 'Berbadak' and Reception ceremonies. I flew to Brunei to make sure I didn't miss out the chance though!!!

There are many ceremonies in a Bruneian Malay wedding. Find out what they are here!

Her 'Berbadak' ceremony took place in her home in Bunut (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam)



The red shade that she donned that night was absolutely stunning! Definitely a Lady in Red!

Then, the next night, it was her reception at Jerudong Polo Club in my old neighborhood where I once called home! It was nice seeing Jerudong! I have lots of memories being in Brunei and I definitely appreciate the bittersweet memories.

Getting veiled! Aw :')

What I wore that night <3 Shout out to Nuriz Creation Boutique in Mara Building!

With my girls- Fadz, Anna and Mirz all matching in dusty pink and also a new friend I made, who is great friends with the bride, Feeqs. Not forgetting, Lil Maesha, with her matching outfit with her Mommy Anna! NGAWW! Too cute for words.

Our shoe game for the reception night.






With Qaini's hubby, Reza's (groom) sister, Emma.

It was wonderful to see friends move into new chapters in life. It was a pleasure to be at Qaini's wedding ceremonies and it was heartwarming to see her parents hug her. Our eyes weren't dry during some touching moments. Aw :')

Congratulations again, Qaini & Reza. May you both have marital bliss till eternity! Amin.

*cough* pop a baby soon! *cough* XD

JK. No pressure though!!

While I was in Brunei, I obviously didn't miss out the chance to chill at my old hang out spots. Had some catching up sessions as well. We went to Gadong, Kiulap, Batu Bersurat and Kiarong to name a few!

And we didn't forget to support Abang Alai Munim's Coffeebean outlets in Centrepoint and Times Square! Great to show love and support to friends!


Met up with friends, old and new, it was so wonderful meeting with the beautiful, Chee, who's friends with Fadz back in Brisbane. Visited her cafe called Ximply Chriz in Kiulap and tried out one of their healthy breakfast sets as well as their clean Granola Parfait!

My little sister from another mother, Yaya, has been one of my realist friends in Brunei. I'm so happy I get to meet her!

Friends in Singapore and Brunei know me by Effa. Everyone else I just met after leaving Brunei knows me as Tiff.

Maman and Anna treated us to a very fancy High Tea Buffet at the famous and luxurious Empire Hotel & Resort in Jerudong! Love love love love love this place and their scones are yommyyy. Om nom nom! They have their popular double clotted cream and jelly!

These are the people I talk to almost every single day! Lol at Maeshaaaaaaa XD

I swear I felt so much LOVE!

I also knew I needed to see Yaya's family in Sungai Akar, who is like my 2nd family, they have been so welcoming to me the moment I arrived in Brunei back in 2003 and became very close to Yaya. Her parents, Uncle Yusof and Auntie Intan, are the sweetest people ever. They are truly the most good hearted people that I've met in my whole entire life! I will always pray and wish them all the happiness and great health in the universe! Love these people!

Her mom made us a sweet lunch spread, it was my FIRST time trying out her cooking and I am very impressed, Auntie!! It was sooooo heartwarming to see familiar faces that also taught so much about life. I feel so grateful.

Then, I also missed out on my flight. Thanks to Uncle Yusof who helped get me back home so I wouldn't miss out on my day back to work!

On this night was the time I missed out on my flight. Yet, these smiling faces never fail to cheer me up on a night I thought would be miserable. Thank you, guys!

Thank you to Uncle Jemat, Auntie Juliana, Anna, Maman and lil Maesha for the hospitality into their home at Lumapas for the first night in Brunei.

Thanks to my BFF that I truly love like a sister, Anna, for welcoming me at the airport. Lol, she tried to take a picture of my reaction to seeing her there, but it was an epic fail cos we were both jumping around excitedly! So the picture came out blurry!


I love this little girl!

Fixing the beads and crystals on Mirz's belt of her outfit for Qaini's reception night.

Anna brought us to my favorite restaurant in Brunei, Nur Wanita, in Kiarong.
(Get to know about her restaurant here)


I don't care when or how, but ALL OF YOU, must visit Nur Wanita and try this out!

The name is in Thai, it's called, Khao Tang Nah Tang! #302 in the menu, people!!! It's Rice Cracker Crisps with Chicken in Sweet & Savory Coconut Milk Sauce.

Then, Anna, set us up a VVIP lunch date at Nur Wanita!

In Brunei, all businesses must be closed for 2 hours or so to pay respects for the Friday prayers to all of the Muslim men, young and old. This is to prevent any distractions so that they can focus on every blessed Fridays that they see important in Islam.

So, we girlies had a good lunch date together alone in peace as the door to Nur Wanita was shut down!

After Fadzies got back from her travels. Mirz and I stayed over at her place in Bandar.




My bad, pictures sometimes do not look sharp because I'm a clumsy girl and I have dropped my phone multple times. Heh XP

I am obsessed with Baby Rara who is Fadz's niece and daughter to Ka Abby.

OMG I COULD JUST BITE HERRRRRRRRRR!

Also, Fadz is known for her badass garage of exotic rides. Her family has every car that every rap music video has ever shown. LOL! So, I didn't miss out the chance to shoot some pictures. I missed out on taking pics of their H3, Lambos and Rovers. They're pretty dope if I could say so myself! -in my best Jay-Z impersonation- XP



We also visited the school where I met allllllll of my best friends!

JIS: Jerudong International School. I swear I don't know what to comment about this school. I might be in trouble and I'm not even a student there anymore. So, I'll keep my thoughts in private. LOLLLL!

I sang hereeeee in the gym hall for school functions!

But they ended up building a whole new Auditorium and I never got the chance to perform here. LOL
(spot Anna, Mirz and Fadz in this picture! XD)

This isn't even a college or university and their auditorium looks like this. Can we say wow?

My first period of attendance was hereeeeee <3 Met some people I still call friends today! Hehe!

Our lockers back in the day didn't look that nice! XD But we had air vents where we could slip in notes and letters. Oooooo! The students now can't do that. Booyah!
Our old hangout spot during breaks and after school! Aw :')

Thank you to Qaini for gifting us friendship bracelets with our initials bought from Enya Bijoux. Click here to find out about Enya and her amazing jewelry creations.


Then, it was time for this bunny to leaveeee back home to chaotic Kuala Lumpur city.

Back to reality and back to work.

It was nice seeing familiar people I grew up with, especially with those I had tons of memories with. It is nice to keep making more memories with them and having them around to share our life experiences together. I hear life stories from them every day. I learn from them and having them around teaches me a lot about every aspect in life.

It was nice to be around families of my friends. It does feel like it has been a while since I felt anything like a real family. Maybe one day I could open up about mine so that everyone can learn from my stories too.

But for now, I am grateful and feeling happy for the moments that I get to have while I still have this time of living. I may not know when I'll ever leave, therefore, I'm making the best out of my every day to not regret anything later.

Sorry, this post is making me emotional and I guess being a girl doesn't help either. Lol!

Thankful to God for the blessings.

xo,
Tiff