Surprise for Duchess (and Me)

Gelle’s birthday is next week, and since our friend Caloy was coming to Singapore and we were meeting him the Sunday before that, I decided to come up with a surprise for her in his hotel room, our meeting place. I bought a cake from Awfully Chocolate and had them write “Happy Birthday Duchess” on it. Duchess is our nickname for her (though she is terribly shy about that haha). Then I set it up with presents from me and our other friends. I had asked Caloy if he could do me the favor of bringing presents for Gelle from our Manila-based friends Chi and Ngangi, which he did. I was in such a frenzy arranging everything because the moment I arrived, Gelle called to say that she was downstairs and needed my help as she didn’t have enough cash to pay the cab driver. So Caloy had to be the one to rescue her so I could quickly set things up. She and Caloy entered the room just as I was lighting the candles on the cake. Perfect timing!

Gelle’s surprise: Awfully Chocolate cake, necklace, earrings, watch and coasters

Gelle teared up a bit upon opening the gifts, which she all loved. Yay! 🙂

But she wasn’t the only one who ended up in tears that day. I was incredibly surprised to find that my dear friends Chi and Ngangi and Caloy also had presents for me even though it was not my birthday. I really don’t know why! I was so touched that I ended up looking like this (LOL):