I attended the Singapore Blog Awards 2014 Ceremony at Scape last Saturday as a nominee for the Best Fashion Blog category and to my utter amazement, I won! I really wasn’t expecting to win this year as time wasn’t on my side and I was too preoccupied with several ongoing commitments to rally for votes, so this truly came as a surprise. A very pleasant surprise too, if I may add. To say that it was surreal would be a huge understatement.
Words alone can’t express how grateful I am to everyone for your continued support towards this humble space of mine, especially those of you who voted for me everyday. You know who you are.
I would also like to thank my hubby, JW, for taking all my OOTD photographs. He may be behind the scenes most of the time, but he has always played a critical role in the development of my blog, be it in terms of photography or even just providing a sounding board for new ideas, so in many ways, this award belongs to him too! Given that fitness is increasingly becoming an integral part of my life (in addition to fashion), JW, who is a fitness enthusiast and rockclimbing addict, will also be assuming a more active role on my blog by providing fitness tips on a regular basis. Do keep your eyes peeled for more updates from him!
It was an honour to receive the award from Ms Sim Ann, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Communications and Information, who also happens to be my ex-classmate. We both took a translation and interpretation course many years back and it has been some time since we last met. Fate works in mysterious ways, and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with her. Coincidentally, we were both in feminine lace outfits too.
The night before the awards ceremony, my blogger friend, Grace, who is fond of interviewing people from all walks of life, threw me a question.
If you know you did better than the winner, but yet you were not chosen as the winner, how do you deal with the outcome? How do you deal with failure?
Perhaps I could start off with my definition of success. Happiness is my definition of success in life. I enjoy writing and my blog is purely borne out of a desire to share my passion for fashion, beauty and travel. Writing, styling and photography form the root of my happiness as they allow my creative juices to flow and make me feel alive.
It is absolutely gratifying to be able to do what I like and to know that there are people out there who read my blog and appreciate what I do. At the end of the day, the outcome of the competition does not affect my happiness level, although I cannot deny that being recognized for my efforts is definitely a bonus, and for that, I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.
Many thanks to my dear friend Rafidah who gamely joined me for the awards ceremony too. I was very touched by her spontaneity as most of my friends (and even JW) prefer not to attend events.
It was a great opportunity for us to catch up as well given that she had just returned from a stint in Dubai. It is always a pleasure to have Rafidah around. Her positive energy is so infectious and she is always very encouraging.
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| Rafidah & I |
There weren’t many familiar faces (to me at least) at this year’s awards, hence it was pretty comforting to see Smith, who was aptly dressed as a fluffy unicorn, in accordance to the derby/horse theme. Needless to say, he completely stole the limelight at the event. Congrats to him too for winning Best Lifestyle Blog!
That’s my bag, by the way. 😉 Wasn’t it a perfect match for his outfit?
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| Smith & I |
I also made some new friends that day, one of whom was Shirley(first runner-up, Best Cooking Blog) who makes bento sets that look so jaw droppingly beautiful, they are literally works of art. You really have to check out her work on her blog. She is amazing! We have been chatting on instagram for a while and I was so glad I finally got to meet her in person!
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| Shirley and I |
I had a lunch gathering with my university mates after the ceremony and the lovely girls told me that I was mentioned in the news. If you are interested to find out more, here are two media articles for your reference. I have included the links as well, so all you have to do is click on the images below:
Thank you once again! More pictures of my outfit will be up this Friday!
Wow!! amazing event <333333
http://anna-and-klaudia.blogspot.com/
Congrats on your win Regina!
And totally understand how you feel towards your hubby quietly supporting you behind the scenes. I feel the same way with my hubby too 🙂
Ai @ Sakura Haruka