Growing up in a traditional Malaysian-Chinese family, Christmas is just another public holiday for me. Since I met Mr.S, Christmas has taken on another meaning - it is a time for family and friends to take some time out of work, get-together, feast and exchange gifts. While I've always dreamt of a white Christmas, I can bet you nothing beats an Aussie Christmas: the warm sunshine on your skin, sumptuous barbecue and a few bevvies (beer, wine, soda, anything goes!) just makes it so much easier to feel that your weird Uncle Bill might be turning a new leaf. No bulky Christmas jumper here, but T-shirt, shorts and pretty summer dresses.

Of course, getting to watch the clock ticks over the Christmas just made this year extra special. We have never been big on surprise gifts, but this year we decided to go out and get each other a gift within $50. So it was a very exciting Christmas eve for me, wondering what he would've gotten me as a Christmas gift...and boy did he know me well: A Pandora charm to add to the bracelet my parents gifted me.

However, all the bracelet charms in the world cannot beat the feeling of receiving a new laptop. Yes, after much deliberation (6+ months to be exact) I finally replaced my 4.5 year-old Macbook Pro with the latest top-of-the-line Macbook Air! The Boxing Day discount, the $200 gift card I received as a work bonus plus Mr.S' generous contribution as a birthday and Valentines Day gift made for a very affordable Macbook. In fact, I am blogging from it right this moment - Love the crisp screen resolution and lightning fast speed! Finally, no more getting static shock while charging my laptop.