The Pink Stilettos

When Men Are Into Beauty Products...

2012-02-14T00:30:00.003+08:00

My husband has been a weebit conscious with his appearance lately. He has started doing workouts, play sports a couple of times a week, eat healthily (he even requested me to pack healthy homemade food for his lunch every day) and I even caught him admiring himself in front of the mirror, sometimes doing funny expressions and macam-macam gaya that made me go, "OMG, I did not just see that!".

Then just recently, he asked for my "expert" advice on skincare product for men.

"Saya nak kulit cantik macam awak". Awwhhh! Haha.

My mind immediately thought of Clarins Men, and after reading the good reviews on MakeupAlley (he googled for the reviews himself!), we went to Clarins counter at The Gardens the other day.

Good thing I was there with him. Dia rambang mata (which is so unlike him)!

"Whoa...Ab Firming. Macam best."

"Eh, ada deodorant Clarins for men jugak. How much is the deodorant?"

"What's a moisture gel? And do I need a toner?"

"I want a body scrub too".

I told him to get just the basic products for a start - cleanser and moisturizer. Even the sales assistant advised the same thing so we bought those two (and a couple of body care products for myself).

Anyway after only 2 days, my husband said he noticed some improvements on his skin. He's pretty excited about it and told me that he wants to buy Clarins deodorant stick pulak. Erm...What's wrong with drugstore brand again? I use Rexona jer kot. Over tau! ;p

And then he said, "Apa salahnya... Awak ada berpuluh barang muka, saya ada 2 je".

I laughed. He is sooo exaggerating.

Well, except the part where he said he only has two.

"Tak payah la guna deodorant mahal-mahal. Guna yang selalu awak pakai tu je pun ok".

"Saya nak ketiak saya lawa jugak!".

ROTFLOL.

My Sister's Engagement

2012-02-13T15:00:00.005+08:00

My baby sister just got engaged last month! The ceremony was held at Felda Villa and like most engagement ceremonies, it was just a small one - with family, relatives and close friends.

Uhh... I'm actually in a bit of a hurry because my lil one will be up from her nap anytime now so I'll just leave you with some photos from the engagement. Lots and lots of purrrple!

From her to him

Love the deco for the hantarans!

The bride-to-be

The lil niece

I was her pengapit of the day (hence no photos during the ceremony)

The sisters

Ayra made lots of friends...aunty Wani's friends!

Si kenit was too busy hogging my iPhone

Photo time, still hooked to my iPhone

Enough with the iPhone already!

And lastly...

The lovebirds.

Congrats you two!

Man, my sister is getting married soon! I'm so excited! (haha, over).

I ♥ Instagram

2012-02-08T01:00:00.011+08:00

I've been taking a lot of photos on Instagram lately and I think I've become a little bit obsessed with it. It's just the coolest photo sharing app for iPhone and I'm addicted! It's kinda like Twitter where you can follow anyone you like, but instead of a feed of 140 character sentences, you get photo feeds! You can like and comment other people's photos. You can share your Instagram photos on Twitter and Facebook. You can add filters and borders to your photos to give them cool vintage-y looks. It's awesome! There are more than 10 filters and my current faves are Amaro, Earlybird and Valencia.

Here are some of my favorite shots taken using Instagram. Most of the photos I took are objects of my affection of course: my kids and yes, food!

Charlie Brown Tiramisu. Looks cute but tastes horrible!

Sleeping Ayra

Beadings on my new kurung

I'm bored, mom.

Chicken kabobs

Teman mama sidai baju

Black and white. Spots and stripes.

Rainbow cupcake. Looks like a tie-dye effect.

Afternoon nap

Trees, drawn by my 3 year old.

Strawberry-banana-cream cheese french toast in the making.

US 7 woman vs US 4 toddler

The Girl On The Pink Bike.

Pretty pink shutters

Yummy treats from Wondermilk

Waterfall jacket from Dressing Paula

Sparkly shoes

"No Added Sugars" Milk

2012-02-02T13:30:00.000+08:00

When I first found out about how much sugars Ayra had been consuming in her previous growing up milk powder, I was so shocked. I couldn't believe it. According to this sugar calculator, she consumed 7-10 teaspoons of added sugars every day! That is waaaayyy beyond the recommended amount for her age!

I was worried. Too much added sugars is not good, especially for growing children. They are just empty calories that can increase the risk of a lot of health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and other diseases.

I knew I had to do something. I had to change her growing up milk - one that contains no added sugars.

That's when I found out about Anmum Essential. I switched to it immediately!

Just so you know, Anmum Essential is the only growing up milk powder with no added sugars.

You should be aware of claims about the absence of specific types of sugar in a product because there could still be other types of added sugars present. Like for example, if a product claims that it has "no added sucrose" or is "sucrose free", it could still contain other types of added sugars such as corn syrup glucose or glucose syrup solids. So always ALWAYS check the labels and ingredient list and look for products that are labelled as "no added sugars" or "less sugars" or "sugar free". Even the Ministry Of Health says that "no sucrose" doesn't necessarily mean "no added sugars".

I think I've seen a few growing up milks with such claims about their formulations and wonder what they mean.

Growing up milk powders are supposed to be all about superior nutrition for growing children so it's important to use one that has no added sugars. You can watch Professor Davies, who is the Director of Children's Nutrition Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia and Dr. John Monro, Principal Scientist of Institute for Plant and Food Research, New Zealand, talk about added sugars in children's milk in these videos:

1) Do children need added sugars? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZG6WX9YBPo

2) Sugar intake recommendations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBw6rlMiOT4

3) What are added sugars and how to find them in your child's milkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBw6rlMiOT4

4) Definitions of added sugars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1me2SK5QZcY

5) Types and amounts of added sugars in your child's milk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyti7vynTxI

Piece Of Cake Pizza

2012-01-30T15:30:00.008+08:00

In the kitchen...

Ayra: What you cooking, mama?

Me: I'm making pizza.

Ayra: Ooh pizza! Itsa pees a caaake (it's a piece of cake)

Wait a minute, did my 3-year-old just used an idiom? I'm impressed!

I'm pretty sure she didn't mean the pizza is a cake tho, coz she knows the difference between those two. But yeah, she is right. Making pizza is a piece of cake!

My current favorite toppings:

beef salami, mushroom, avocado, arugula, tomatoes.

Sprinkled with cheese and baked for about 8-10 minutes.

Mmm....

Perhaps one day I can get her to help me make a pizza. It's just a piece of cake!

Win a Vespa!

2012-01-24T01:00:00.005+08:00

When I was in uni, my friend's ex-boyfriend used to be a... scooty.

No wait, that doesn'toooppooö' gfh bjjjbhggtrrerrroi sound right. What do you call people who're into scooter stuff? You know, the Vespa scooter thingy.

Ok whatever. Let's just call them scooties (Vespy just sounds odd).

So. My friend's ex-boyfriend's friends were mostly scooties, just like him, and their scooters were the cutest I've ever seen. They were colorful and had a lot of design on them especially the front part. One of the guys even had a pink scooter with hibiscus flower design! It was ridiculously cute. I started to think people who ride scooter/Vespa are somehow cute and interesting.

Heck, even some of Hollywood celebs ride on Vespa scooters (source).

Gwyneth Paltrow

Julia Roberts

Hayden Panettiere

Jonas Brothers

Emma Watson

Jude Law

Jude Law on a Vespa. How cute is that?

I used to picture going to Venice (or anywhere in Europe) and ride on a Vespa around the city with my husband. Yeah, I probably got that from watching Gwen Stefani's Cool music video some time ago (I LOVE that song and the video clip). So romantic. *dreamy sigh*

Anyway.

Do you have a Vespa? Do you want one?

Celcom is having a Talk-A-Thon campaign and wants to reward its customers with a Vespa LX150 a day. The campaign has already started on the 5th of December last year, and will end on the 31st March 2012. You just need to make 3 additional calls in a day on top of your average trend calls based on the previous month, answer simple questions and you could be winning a Vespa LX150!

The Vespa LX150 comes in 6 colors and my choice (if I were to have one) would be the white one. Just like gadgets, I like white vehicles too.

There are 46 winners to-date, and each one of them has already got their Vespa LX150!

But don't worry, there are still 74 more chances for customers to win it each day for the month of January until end of March 2012. So if you want to stand a chance to win a Vespa, start making calls already! Now is Chinese New Year so there's more reasons to make phone calls to your friends. You can check your eligibility and your average trend calls on the previous month by simply dialing *128#. Winners will be randomly selected on a daily basis. Do check out http://www.celcom.com.my/talkathon for more info.

Homemade Quesadillas with Sour Cream and Pico de Gallo

2012-01-20T20:00:00.002+08:00

I never realized how much I love Mexican food until quite recently. I noticed that almost every time when we dine at Chili's, California Pizza Kitchen or TGI Friday, I would order quesadillas, fajitas or anything with tortilla - either for my starter or my main course. Always!

There's something so comforting about melted cheese, veggies (especially bell peppers) and chicken, wrapped in a soft yet crispy, thin, flat bread, topped with sour cream and salsa (or guacamole). It's just SO YUMMY.

The other day, we had our dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and as usual, I ordered their Spicy Chicken Tinga Quesadillas as our starter. They were delicious! So delicious that 2 slices were not enough (shared with my husband). And then my husband suddenly said, "You could make these at home, right? Macam senang je".

OMG. Why haven't I thought of making my own quesadillas before?!

And so the next day, I made quesadillas for dinner. My husband said it tasted just like the one at Chili's (the Southwestern Quesadillas or something)! I didn't use Monterey Jack cheese for the fillings tho; I used Cheddar cheese instead. But it still tastes nice, I promise!

(Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Pico de Gallo (Mexican salsa)

1 tomato, diced

1/2 onion, chopped

Lime juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (or you can use parsley)

1 cili padi, minced (the recipe calls for a jalapeno, but I don't have one)

Salt & pepper

Chicken mixture

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

Salt & pepper

Tortillas (I use wholemeal and garlic tortillas)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Sour cream for topping

Combine all the ingredients for the pico de gallo in a bowl and set aside.

Pico de Gallo

(I know, my onion are not perfectly chopped tapi lantak la. This is not MasterChef ;p)

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken and season with a little salt and pepper. Saute until cooked. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

This is for the chicken mixture

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet and saute the onion and green pepper. Add the garlic and saute until the aroma is strong, then add half of the pico de gallo and the cooked chicken. Stir well and set aside.

Looks yummy already!

In another skillet, heat one tortilla over low heat. Sprinkle with some of the shredded cheese on the tortilla and top with half of the chicken mixture.

Then sprinkle some more shredded cheese over the chicken mixture and top with another tortilla.

When the cheese has started to melt, flip the whole thing and cook on the other side for a couple of minutes. Remove the quesadilla from the skillet.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients - first the tortilla, then cheese, then the chicken mixture, then cheese again and tortilla again. Oh yeahh!

Serve with sour cream and the remaining pico de gallo.

Pretty easy, eh?

I wish I have a quesadilla maker tho. It would be much easier as I don't have to flip it (I'm bad at flipping things!).

Speaking of that, I saw a mini cake pan on Milkadeal the other day. It's kinda like a waffle maker but for cakes. And it's cute too - with various mold shapes.

It's on sale for RM100 but for a limited time only. Check it out here.

Would be perfect for baking with kids, I think!

Maid-less. Again

2012-01-16T10:30:00.005+08:00

We got a new maid, a few days after moving to the new house a couple of months ago.

She was 40, likes kids (she has 9 children!) and knows how to cook. And on top of that, she's the lemah-lembut type and pandai urut (which is a bonus!). Basically, she's what I'm looking for in a maid and I couldn't be more thankful. What I really like about her is how she treated and handled my kids. Dia pandai layan budak. Ayra yang susah nak suka orang pun boleh get along dengan dia.

Unfortunately, we had to send her back. For good.

A few weeks ago, she told me she had difficulty to breathe - 2 nights in a row - and that her chest was painful. We took her to the clinic (went 3 times) and she had her blood pressure and ECG tested. Turned out, she has high blood pressure (170).

Then we were told by the agent that her youngest child (sebaya Ayra), sakit tenat rindu sangat kat mak dia and that we need to send her back (we didn't tell her that at the time). As a mom, I could totally understand the situation but as an employer, I didn't want to send her back! Tapi nak tak nak terpaksa la, takut jadi apa-apa pulak nanti. So saaaaddd! It's hard to get a maid nowadays and it's even harder to get a good one! Like a friend of mine said, good maids are rare species nowadays.

So last Saturday was her last day working with us. She worked with us tak sampai 3 bulan and supposedly tak dapat gaji because according to the agreement, she would only get her salary after 3 months tapi sebab dia baik and kasihan punya pasal, my mom and I gave her some money, clothes and food. Kasihan pulak, balik dengan tangan kosong. She was all teary when we said goodbye at the airport. Oh well. Maybe God has better plans for us.

The agent will find a replacement for us soon and I really really hope the next one will be as good (if not better) as her.

Now excuse me, I have a pile of dishes need to be washed (and a million of other things to do)!

Sale, Sale, Sale EVERYWHERE!

2012-01-13T14:00:00.005+08:00

I shop online more than I shop at the mall. Mana taknya, 24/7 in front of the computer!

BUT! I only shop when there are sales or any promos. I mean, who can resist a cute baby pajama for $5.99, a 50% off gorgeous heels, an extra 20% off your total purchases, additional 30% off sale items, yada yada yada. It's crazy!

Thought of sharing some of my recent online purchases and the current sales and promos (you're welcome!). I still haven't received most of these items tho. Some of the websites don't ship internationally, so I use HopShopGo.com (I've blogged about it here).

Shoes
That gorgeous color-block platform heels are on sale at JessicaSimpsonCollection.com; I just had to get one in another color as well. And now, they are giving additional 30% off on ALL sale items! Gahhhh... Now I'm contemplating whether to get the blue one as well because it's now 80% off!

I bought the yellow wedges and the black shimmery heels from DSW.com by the way. They were having a $20 off $100 order promo and free US shipping. Bargain!

Makeup from Sephora.com

Now these weren't on sale, but they are not available here (I want Stila back please!). Not sure whether they have that Too Faced set tho but the damask makeup bag is too cute, I couldn't resist. Plus, it was only like $16. Aaanddd need I say more why I need to get the Nars Orgasm blush? It's like the best blush ever!

ASOS

I have a love-hate relationship with ASOS. I love their stuff and their FREE worldwide delivery, but I hate that it's taking forever to arrive! Dulu, the latest was in 2 weeks time. But lately, lama sangat. It has been more than a month and I still haven't received my packages! (Anyone else have the same experience?).

But anyway, if you don't mind waiting that long, ASOS is offering extra 10% off the up to 70% sale items - 80% off la jadinya. Just enter SALE10 at checkout and it's only valid until 15th January 2012.

Dresses for my girls

TOO CUTE + SALE = CANNOT RESIST!

I bought all of the above dresses and tops (besides some tights, leggings and pajamas) from Carters.com and currently they are having a promo: additional 20% off for purchases above $40. Oh, except the lilac tulle dress - that one is from gap.com (also on sale). I might purchase some more before the sale ends....

Gymboree

Bought these fairy cutie tops and leggings for my girls. I have always loved Gymboree's bright and colorful range of baby clothing - even the boy's. They make kids look like.... well, kids. Happy, fun, bright colors. Gymboree.com is having semi-annual sale - up to 70% discount and stuff are going as low as $3.99!

StuckOnYou Name Labels

I have a weakness for cutesy-girly stuff (especially now that I have 2 girls). And this is one of them. Just how cute are these name labels from StuckOnYou.com?? Instead of labeling your child's items with a permanent marker (which will wear off sooner or later), use this fancy name labels! They are great for your child's daycare, kindy or school items, and some are waterproof, dishwasher and microwave safe. There are tons of labels available (among other things) - clothing labels, name dots, shoe labels, book labels, etc etc, with hundreds of super cute designs to choose from. Rambang mata aku! Oh, and they ship to Malaysia too.

Cable Ties

Here's another cutesy stuff - brown bear, pink bear and little chicken cable ties. Haha, too cute! These would be handy for me as I have lots of wires and cables all tangled up on my desk, behind the TV and even in the kitchen. Rimas ok. This cable ties comes in a pack of 6 (2 of each design) for only RM15 on Milkadeal.com, with a free nationwide delivery. But this deal is only for a limited time, so hurry if you wanna get it. Hundreds of people already purchased it!

Ayra Goes to Preschool!

2012-01-11T23:00:00.019+08:00

My 3 year old just started preschool at Genius Aulad last week! Well ok, 4 year old la, kalau ikut tahun lahir. But I refused to say she's 4 because... oh c'mon, she just turned 3 last month!

Choosing her preschool was pretty easy for us because we wanted: English medium, Islamic based, somewhere near our house and one that doesn't cost a fortune. Kebetulan Genius Aulad just opened a branch in our area. Hubby registered Ayra for afternoon session and her class starts at 1.30pm until 4.30pm. I wanted morning session tapi dah penuh rasanya. But that's okay.

The first time we took her to her preschool for an induction (which was last 2 weeks), she already loved the place. Sebabnya, ada slide and playhouse!

Ayra (the one in purple) in her classroom, on orientation day.

Perasan tak ada budak baring atas lantai? He was crying!

We came a little early on her orientation day, last Thursday. I packed her bag with extra clothing, diaper, milk packet, water bottle and a slice of wholemeal bread with Nutella, just in case.

Parents were not allowed inside the school after 1.45 pm so my husband and I could only watch her for 15 minutes after her class had started. I think I was more nervous than she was because I was afraid she would not like it. I was worried she would cry and scream at the top of her lungs, refuses to let us go because she's usually shy/scared around adults and had NEVER been left alone without anyone familiar. But I was wrong - totally wrong! She didn't cry at all. In fact, she absolutely love it! I guess our little "technique" worked. We had been telling her about going to school a few months before enrolling her and told her how fun school is and she'll get to meet friends and teachers, do fun things like drawing, coloring, playing, read books etc etc. I even let her watch Barney videos on Youtube that are related to school so that she has some ideas about it (she loves Barney).

Anyway, back from her first day of preschool, I asked her, "How was school? Do you like your new school?". She answered, "YES!" excitedly and talked about coloring, pencils, friends. Then Hubby asked her, how many friends she has and she started counting 1 to 11 (yup, memang ada 11 orang dalam kelas dia). And when Hubby asked what are her friends' names... she answered, "Fahmi". Wah, a boy! ;p (not sure if there really is a Fahmi in her class tho).

Ayra in her preschool uniform

(I've shortened the top and pants a bit. Apparently XS is still too big for my petite girl. Haa!)

This is how happy and excited she is, every day before going to school.

It's exactly the same like when we take her to the playground or Toys R Us!

Dah besar anak aku! *teary eyes*

Jovian Mandagie's New Year Sale High Tea

2012-01-09T14:00:00.003+08:00

I think brides-to-be need to try on as many wedding dresses as they can before making up their minds. Or even when they have made up their minds. I don't think I did that tho, back then when I was a bride-to-be. The only dresses I tried on were the ones that I was going to wear (well duh, of course). I didn't know what I was missing! Not only you get some rough ideas on how different dresses look on you, it's also TOO MUCH fun. That feeling when you slipped on a wedding dress - it's indescribable. Why oh why did I skip that part??

But that's ok.

This mommy of 2 kids got the chance to try on a wedding dress the other day. And not just any dress - a Jovian Mandagie's dress!

Me and my sister, Wani, were invited to Jovian Mandagie's high tea event at his flagship boutique in Bangsar, last Saturday (thanks Zoe Ana!). They are having New Year Sale (until 31st January) for some of his couture and bridal collection.

We oohed and aahed over the bridal collection.

Jovian Mandagie's wedding dress starts at RM10k, but some of the ready-made ones are on sale. If I were a bride-to-be, I think I would have grabbed one!

That is Jack, a Personal Assistant to the CED.

He was so friendly and helpful.

Checking out the couture collection

Wani had her eyes on this gorgeous black and blue couture dress.

"It's so me!". She sure loves her flowers! ;p

I had my eyes on this particular wedding dress.

Let's try it on!

But first, a picture of what I was wearing that day.

Scarf: Hermes (borrowed Wani's)

Blazer: Bought it in Jakarta

Top: Forever21

Necklace: Diva

Ring: Aldo

Jeans: Dorothy Perkins

Heels: Dorothy Perkins

I don't know how, but I managed to squeeze my fats into this modern kurung!

Lovely, isn't it? *dreamy sigh* So elegant. I think it would be suitable for nikah.

Love the rose appliqué and beadings and the scallop details!

Sucking in my tummy. Bet I don't have to, if I wore my Spanx slip-suit!

This dress is obviously not my size, but I don't care. Haha.

Oh, and I love the skirt!

I paraded back and forth in the large dressing room, up and down the mini stage (or whatever you call it), berangan jadi pengantin! ;p Please excuse this mak budak. She didn't get to do this dulu!

I also wore this 7-inch sky-high platform heels with the dress.

But it's so comfy, I promise!

Later, we had makan-makan

And before leaving...

I'll take that dress, Jack!

Kidding!

(That woman at the back, in the grey dress is Jovian's mom, by the way)

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

2012-01-04T23:00:00.000+08:00

Easy Healthy Pizza

2012-01-03T12:00:00.000+08:00

Here's a quick and easy pizza recipe that's yummy and healthy. I made it for dinner last night even tho I was exhausted from all that kain-hunting at Jakel. Usually when we're out during the day, I would be too tired to cook dinner and we would just tapau or eat out. But my husband wants to eat home-cooked meal so I decided to make this express pizza. It's SO easy to make and only takes 15 minutes!

You need wholemeal pita bread, Marinara sauce, toppings of your choice and low fat Mozzarella cheese. We're talking healthy eating here!

I use some cooked chicken, broccoli, mushroom, capsicum, onion and cherry tomatoes for the topping. You can also use baby spinach, avocado, rocket, pineapple - whatever you want just as long as it's healthy.

Spread the Marinara sauce over pita bread

And then I added a dash of oregano

(I like to add oregano in all of my cooking, fyi)

You don't have to, if you don't want.

Arrange the toppings and the low fat Mozzarella cheese.

Bake for about 10 minutes in 180°C oven or until the cheese melts.

Serve!

Shopping for Ayra

2012-01-01T11:30:00.006+08:00

I spent the last day of 2011.... going shopping! (I haven't been to the mall in ages, believe me. Except for grocery shopping but that doesn't count).

I've been eyeing for some of the girls' dresses on Zara website every day for the past 2 weeks, and when I heard that Zara sale has just started, I just had to check it out. My husband and the girls sat at one corner while waiting for me menggila seorang diri for 3 hours at Zara. Tapi tak puas actually.

Most of the dresses only left in big girl sizes but thank God I managed to find some in Ayra's size - 2 dresses and 1 knit leggings.

The black dress has a bright pink faux leather bow and it was the last piece (in Ayra's size, thank God!). The red dress comes with a belt and looks so chic on her. Kasihan Raina tho. There were no dresses in her size. I really wanted to buy this cute polka-dot dress for her but it was too short (size 6-9months, last piece). Oh well.

I also bought a few blouses for myself. One of them is this combined blouse, which I liked it at first, but my husband said it looks like baju taekwondo. And then he said, macam baju chef pulak. Pffft. Now I'm not sure whether I want to wear it or not. Thanks hubs.

Anyways.

Went to Accessorize and they're having sale too (semua la tengah sale)!

Saw this shimmery flats with beaded bows and again, it was the last pair in Ayra's size. Of course I grabbed it right away because I was looking for white-ish shoes for her (and Raina). Rezeki kamu la anak. I remembered how I used to pendam perasaan looking at the girls' shoes at Accessorize when Ayra was smaller (they don't carry baby shoes). Now she can finally wear em! Anddd she also has started to like accessorizing with necklaces and Accessorize has too cute accessories for little girls. I saw this 3-pack silvery beaded necklace which matches the flats perfectly and knew I had to get it for her.

And then Ayra saw the cupcake bag and didn't want to let it go. She didn't even wanna let me pay for it coz she thought I wanted to take it away from her! Kahkahkah. Drama sekejap kat kedai tu.

Bought these pink princessy school bag and water bottle too.

Yup, somebody is going to school soon and she can hardly wait!

Happy new year everyone! :)

Private Session on Sugar

2011-12-29T10:00:00.002+08:00

A few months ago, I was invited for a private session with two international children's nutrition and dietary professionals, along with other mommy bloggers, at Bora Asmara. It's a nice Balinese restaurant with good food and nice ambience - it was actually my first time there!

With the pretty Nuffnang Blog Manager, Thara

We got the chance to meet Professor Davies, Director of Children's Nutrition Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia and Dr. John Monro, Principal Scientist of Institute for Plant and Food Research, New Zealand. They were in Malaysia to present as key note speakers at an independent scientific for a medical symposium for leading Malaysian healthcare professionals, academics and Government officials on added sugars in children's diets.

There are a lot of conflicting messages about what are sugars and what role does sugars play in children's diet, and it can be overwhelming to know what is right and what is not. That was the purpose of this session - Professor Davies and Dr. John Monro were there to help us better understand about added sugars in children's diets and also answer questions that some of us parents had been wanting to ask. My husband and I actually ate at the same table with both of them and I managed to ask Professor Davies something regarding Ayra's eating habit (but I talked more to his wife - or at least I think that was his wife. I'm just more comfortable talking to women ;p).

What I learned from that session is that, it's important for parents to be adequately equipped with information so that we can make informed decisions about the food we feed our children. Parents should always read food and drink labels before buying, and look out for any added sugars in the list. If an added sugar name appears near the top of the ingredient list or there are more than one name listed there, then it's a good indication that the food has high content of added sugars. Don't buy it! Look for one that is labelled as "no added sugars" or "less sugar" or "sugar free" instead!

Trudy & Teddy Holiday Collection

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000+08:00

Do you know how hard it is to find little girls' clothing in purple color? Doesn't matter online or offline. Susah sangat!

There are a lot of pink dresses and skirts and tops and shoes for little girls everywhere, but not purple. At least not that many. I wonder why. Purple is a girly color too, no?

I was excited when I found out Trudy & Teddy's new arrivals for the holiday season has a lot of purples and lilacs. There are a few other colors as well and they are all so cute. I feel like getting each and every dress for my girls!

Here are some of my favorites from the collection.

Love the bow details on the dresses. So sweet!

Of course my girls got a dress each. You should see how excited they were when I dressed them up. Or at least, kakak does (si kenit tak faham apa lagi).

One for kenit, one for kakak

Ayra chose her own accessories (necklace and tiara) to wear with the dress.

Layankan saja, walau tak matching.

Raina, on the other hand, wants my iPhone as her accessory -_-

I like how chic and classic Ayra's black-and-white dress is. And Raina's purple corduroy dress looks sweet with the flower appliqués. But what I like the most about Trudy & Teddy is that their clothing always runs true to size. Ayra, who is 3 years old, wears size 3T while 16-month-old Raina wears size 12-18 months. Just nice! (For other brands, Ayra sometimes wears size 18-24 months. Raina wears size 6-12 months; sometimes 3-6 months pun boleh! It can be tricky to shop for them when they're not around).

Be sure to check out the new arrivals from Trudy & Teddy at your nearest counter, especially if you're looking for Christmas or CNY outfits for your children. Or you can just check out the new collection on their Facebook page.

Tab's New Family Member

2011-12-24T23:15:00.000+08:00

There are so many tablets in the market nowadays. It can be difficult to decide which one to get because there are at least a dozen different models from different manufacturers! Some are big, some are too small, some with just Wi-Fi, some comes with front and rear cameras, some don't... the list goes on. But I'm sure there is one tablet that would fit one's needs and lifestyle.

Samsung has a few models of tablets to choose from and the latest one is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9.

With 9.1" x 6.2" x 0.34" dimension, I think it's the ideal tablet with just the right size. It's not too big to lug around, but not too small that people might mistaken it to be a phone.

Some key features of the brand new Tab are:

- Android 3.1 Honeycomb (I noticed Android uses really cute names for their OS. Honeycomb, Gingerbread, umm...what else?)

- 8.9" touch screen display

- 1.5GHz dual-core processor

- 2MP front camera, 3MP rear camera

- Thinner (8.6mm)

- Lighter (453g)

- 16GB internal memory

- Supports Wi-Fi and 3G

You can now get the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 with the best network and the most affordable packages only from Celcom, from as low as RM1,288 (RRP: RM1,699). There's also the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" from as low as RM668 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from as low as RM1,468. Whichever best fits your needs and lifestyle, Celcom has got em all!

Check out www.celcom.com.my/smartphones for information on the entire suite of Samsung Galaxy Tab choices. Jangan rambang mata sudah! ;D

Healthy lifestyle

2011-12-22T17:00:00.000+08:00

My husband and I wanna start eating healthily again after our Jakarta trip (we ate a lot!) like we did a while back . It's like our routine to sit down and discuss our meal plan every week before buying groceries. We would discuss our daily menu, what to eat for lunch and dinner, items to buy - things like that. We want to cut cut down our rice intake and fried food in our diet and also the usage of oil in our cooking because those are the bad stuff!

To be honest, I think cooking healthy meals are the easiest. And I'm not even a good cook! Just marinate the chicken breast with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, thyme or whatever spices and herbs that you like and bake them in the oven for 20 minutes. Then steam some broccoli and carrots. Or if I want something a little bit fancy, I'd make some salad using wild rockets, cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, feta cheese, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It really is so easy!

There are a lot of ways to cook healthily - steaming, boiling, poaching, baking, roasting and grilling. Here are some example of healthy meals that I've made using different cooking methods...

Grilled chicken with Greek salad

Steamed pomfret

Poached halibut with cauliflower and roasted green beans

Baked dory with mushroom lemon sauce

Chicken and mushroom wrap with rockets

Try cutting down oil in your cooking and eat healthier meals. Trust me, you'll feel great! It's ok to indulge once in a while but try to make it a habit to eat healthy meals every day.

When eating out, opt for something healthy from the menu - grilled chicken breast, salmon, cod, salads or wraps. And avoid fast food, please!

Yours truly would usually choose wraps when dining out. I just love wraps!

Mexicana Torilla (grilled chicken with avocado) at Ben's

Vegetarian wrap at Dome

I've learned that successful weight loss isn't just about dieting. It's about ongoing lifestyle that includes long-term changes in daily eating and exercise habits. If you want some health tips on eating habits and healthy living, tune in to 1 Sihat Malaysia on RTM TV2, hosted by Fahrin Ahmad. They will also feature stories from local celebs like Siti Saleha, Chef Zaidah, Ifa Raziah and many more.

You can also find out more about healthy lifestyle at www.gayahidupsihat.my.

Chocolate Chip & Almond Bread Pudding

2011-12-19T23:00:00.001+08:00

A few days before going for our Jakarta trip, I decided to make bread pudding. I had never made bread puddings before, but I remembered it was one of the many desserts my mom always made when I was a kid.

Back then, I didn't really like bread pudding. In fact, I actually thought it was gross. Mom used to keep stale breads and any leftover bread that has passed its expiration date in the fridge and later made bread pudding using those. I thought stale = berkulat, and wondered why in the world can't she just use fresh bread instead!

As I grew older, I learned that "stale" breads that are used to make bread puddings are actually the ones that are just old and dry - not the moldy ones! I can't believe I grew up thinking that bread pudding is made of "roti berkulat"! *slaps forehead*

So anyway, I made bread pudding for the first time. I didn't use stale bread tho (they were still soft and haven't expired) and my version of bread pudding has chocolate chips and almond flakes instead of the usual raisins. And I used whipping cream for the custard. Mmm hmm!

(Recipe adapted from joyofbaking)
You will need:

6-8 slices of bread, cut into bite-sized pieces (you can use any types of bread. I use wholemeal bread)
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
2 cups whipped cream
dash of ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate chips
Almond flakes

Lightly grease a baking dish with butter. Place the bread cubes in the baking dish, and sprinkle with chocolate chips and almond flakes as much as you like.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar on high speed using an electric or hand mixer, until thick. Add in vanilla extract and ground cinnamon and beat; then add melted butter and whipped cream and beat again.

Pour the custard mixture over the bread cubes until they are all covered.

Place the baking dish in a larger roasting pan or tray or whatever you have, to prepare for a water bath. Pour hot water in the roasting pan/tray/whatever (the water should be halfway up the sides of the baking dish actually. My oven tray is too shallow).

Bake for about 1 hour at 150ºC or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I like it best when it's still warm, served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. It's totally a warm decadent dessert!

Youth Code

2011-12-15T10:00:00.001+08:00

When I was younger, I used to think anti-aging products are for women who are 40 and above. I thought you should only use anti-aging products when your skin starts to have wrinkles and such. Little that I know that skin starts to show visible signs of aging at the age of 25!

After knowing this, I started to switch to anti-aging product. Not all of them tho; just the core ones like my essence and moisturizer. Another reason was because I noticed my skin becomes a bit dry after having my second baby, which was last year. It's a sign of aging!

Anyway, you probably know that I'm a bit of a skincare junkie. In fact, I've been one ever since I was a teenager. I just love trying out beauty products, and since I'm quite a "freshman" in the anti-aging department, I'm more than eager to try them now.

At the moment I'm using a few new skincare products, and one of them is L'Oreal Youth Code.

It's a pre-essence, which is to be applied right after toner and before essence. I've recently added this to my skincare regime, so now instead of 5 products (cleanser-toner-essence-eye cream-moisturizer), I use six.

I read that as we age, the natural regenerative process begins to slow down and it replaces old cells, heals wounds, etc more slowly. The Youth Code product uses PRO-GEN Technology formula, which activates a specific gene to help boost skin's recovery power more like it did when it was younger and improves skin's quality. It also amplifies the effect of my anti-aging skincare regime by 5 times, so that is really great. It helps to absorb the benefits of the skincare products I use even more!

My skin before applying any skincare product -

kinda dull with a little bit of redness.

Just like most skincare products, this pre-essence should be used twice a day on a perfectly cleansed skin. I would cleanse and tone first, then apply this pre-essence.

I like that it comes in a slender glass bottle with a dropper

It dispensed just the right amount - not too much, not too little

Dot a little on forehead, cheeks, nose, chin

and gently spread all over face.

After that, continue with your usual essence, moisturizer and whatnot. Sometimes when I'm in a hurry, I just use this pre-essence and skip my essence. I love how it absorbed into my skin almost instantly without leaving any greasy residue and felt silky smooth. Smells nice too! I have only been using it for a week and I noticed that my skin is more hydrated and looks fresher after application.

It claims that after one week, skin begins to look younger, texture is more refined and elastic. Whoaa... Do I *ehem* look younger - early 20s perhaps? ;p (I'm actually nearing the big three-oh. Yikes! I'm getting older).

Oh, that reminds me. Another thing I like about this product of L'Oreal is the name - Youth Code. Youth. My mind instantly thinks of being young, exuberant, happy.

I don't know about you, but when I read the word "anti-aging" on skincare products, I feel.....old. I guess because the word "anti-aging" focuses on aging? Kind of like the law of attraction thingy. The name Youth Code somehow has a more positive vibe to it. Get what I mean? Good.

Now go crack your youth code!

iPhone 4S is finally here!

2011-12-15T04:00:00.002+08:00

I still remember the first time we got our first iPhone. It was iPhone 3G and we went to the launching event at KL Convention Centre. Sanggup beratur for hours! (I've blogged about it here, by the way).

Since then, I was hooked to my iPhone and become even more hooked when I got the iPhone 4.

Then quite recently, Apple launched the newest iPhone 4S. It's the most amazing iPhone yet and it's finally available here!

Celcom will be launching the iPhone 4S tomorrow and if you've been waiting to get your hands on it, be sure not to miss the event!

Details of the event are as follows:

Date: 16 December 2011

Venue: La Bodega at Bangsar Shopping Centre

Time: 12 am on 16th December 2011 (queue starts at 10 pm on 15th December 2011)

There will be lots of activities and exciting prizes to be won so do arrive early!

Below are the plans offered by Celcom, by the way.

In case you cannot make it to the event, you can always get the iPhone 4S from Celcom outlets. Check out this page for the list of outlets.

My current iPhone 4 is still in good condition tho, so I won't be getting the new one. Nor would my husband (at least I think he won't. Kan, Si Com?).

Current love: Color-block shoes

2011-12-12T00:00:00.002+08:00

I'm not a fan of Jessica Simpson, but oh my... Her shoes are SO FAB!

Here are some of her shoes that I'm lusting over at the mo. Love love love the vibrant colors! Hot pink, teal, orange, cobalt blue, green, neon yellow, chili red, purple.

I already bought one pair and now I'm itching to get another pair. Or two. Or three.

Eishh, bad nafsu. Help!

Some of the shoes are on sale. Check it out here. The website doesn't ship to Malaysia tho, but you can always use HopShopGo, or buy through victoriassecret.com (limited styles tho), like I did.

Speaking of shoes, I found this Ferris Wheel Shoe Rack on sale at 31% off at Milkadeal.com.

I think it's a cool way to store your shoes! It comes in 4 colors - pink, white, black and silver, and it can store up to 30 shoes - that's more than what my shoe cabinet can store. Of course I like the pink one!

This deal will end in about 4 days time, so go grab it here while it's still available!

Of sugar and milk

2011-12-08T00:00:00.001+08:00

When Ayra was a baby, I used to be very concerned about her weight. She weighed just "cukup-cukup makan" for babies her age - borderline underweight.

Now at 3 years old, she weighs 12.5 kg. It may still be borderline underweight for her age, but I'm not so concerned with the numbers anymore. I'm more concerned of what she eats. It's easy to just let a child eats anything she wants when she's a picky eater, no?

"Takpe lah dia makan chocolate, at least she eats something".

Uhh no, not to me. It's not ok. Once in awhile tak apa la. I hate it when someone else feeds my kids with chocolates, sweets, candies and other junk food without my permission. Reason bagi sebab kasihan. Kasihan budak tak makan candy, really? Lagi kasihan kalau bagi kot because it's so obvious it only contains added sugars and coloring. Added sugars have no nutritional values. They're only empty calories that do nothing good for the body. Kalau kasihan, jangan bagi.

But what I don't really get is when (some) doctors give candies to their children patients as a treat. Of course I didn't say no to the doctor's face when he handed sweets to Ayra. I let her took them and thank the doctor, then dump the sweets in the dustbin when we're out of the clinic. I told her that sweets and candies are not good for her teeth and body, and she's okay with it sebab tak pernah bagi dia makan so she doesn't know what they taste like. The same goes to birthday party packs and wedding door gifts with candies and sweets.

Now that I know the "hidden" names of added sugars like sucrose, corn syrup solids and glucose syrup solids, I've become more aware of the food choices I made for my kids including milk. However, no sucrose does not mean there is no sugars (I will give you some tips later on how to confirm about the added sugars).

As you already know, Ayra is such a picky eater. Kalau dulu, nak jugak la dia makan 5-6 slices of wholemeal bread a day (that's the only food she likes besides cereal). But now her daily diet consists mainly of milk. Susah sangat nak bagi dia makan. I'm at my wits end trying to get her to eat! It's like she's turning into a baby again. She even woke up in the middle of the night, asking for milk. -_- In fact, she drinks more milk than her baby sis! (Raina, Alhamdulillah senang makan).

Lately, Ayra only eats 3 bites of bread (bites ok, not slices) AND about 8-10 bottles of 7 oz milk a day - imagine that! And because of that, we decided to change her growing up milk powder to the one with no added sugar. At first she didn't really like it because of the tawar taste, but after some time she's okay with it. I just have to make sure the milk she's drinking doesn't contain excessive sugar like the previous growing up milk that we gave her.

It can be tricky to know the exact amount of added sugars in growing up milk powders because they're not mandatorily declared on the label. But you can estimate it. Look for the level of 'carbohydrate per serve' - anything more than 11-12g is added sugars. Senang kan? You can also try tasting your child's milk and see if it's sweet even for you!

We all know carbohydrate contains sugar and that children need carbohydrate in their diets for energy. But only from natural food sources like grains, fruits vegetables and milk that are high in complex carbohydrates. Not from added sugars! Excess added sugars in diet can lead to overweight and obesity in children (and adults). Did you know, in 2010 there are 43 million of preschool children who are overweight and 92 million who are at risk of overweight around the world? MILLION. That's a scary number! I bet the number has increased by now! Who's to blame? Adakah mereka dan keluarga mereka?

Away on holiday

2011-12-06T15:49:00.002+08:00

Jakarta (and Bandung), here we come!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ayra turns 3

2011-12-06T12:00:00.001+08:00

Ayra is 3 years old today. THREE!

I decided to list down her current favorite things and I'm planning to do so from this year onwards for both my girls. I think it would be interesting to see the things that they love as they grow!

Happy birthday, kakak!

All About My 1st Year book

2011-12-05T23:00:00.004+08:00

Being a mother is one of the greatest joys a woman can ever experience. The love a mother has for her children is indescribable. It's a whole new kind of love! Watching my daughters grow from the moment they were born till now that they are 1 and 3 years old is priceless. Babies grow so fast and it makes me want to cherish every minute of it.

It's great that I have a blog where I could share my motherhood experience and important moments of my babies' life... like their first food, first tooth, first haircut, or that time when Raina just discovered her foot, or when Ayra tried on my stilettos, or even the time when she hid stuff in unexpected places! It made me all nostalgic when I read them and brings back wonderful memories. Trust me, when you have a baby, you just want to record everything (or at least, snap pictures) - even the little things!

Having a scrapbook is also a great way to cherish the memories of your baby. You can make it yourself from scratch, or buy ready-made ones like this: All About My 1st Year.

It's a book that let's you record important moments of your baby's first year. This book contains a few sections and you can fill up the details as well as stick on pictures (I've yet to finish them up)!

Other sections include:

- How I got my name

- Celebrating my arrival into the world

- My early days

- Look.. I'm growing - Month 1 to Month 12

- My 1st festive celebration

- My 1st big holiday

- ...and many more!

There are 35 pages altogether and it is priced at RM49.95.

It'd be a great baby shower gift too!

Bedtime Battle

2011-12-04T00:30:00.000+08:00

We were in our bed, about to fall asleep when Raina suddenly climbed out of the bed, went straight to my husband's computer table, climbed on the swivel chair, reached for the mouse and started to jab something on the keyboard.

How old is she again?

Boss kenit

I have a deadline, Ma. DND!

Seconds later, kakak dia pulak join.

It was past midnight, for goodness sake! -_-

Kenit and Kakak, the dynamic duo

This is what I face almost every night. It's either the computer, or they would play together in the cot - bergurau senda, menyanyi, wrestling, etc. It is so challenging to get them to sleep without me turning into a hulk (well, only when I'm PMSing).

My kids are such night owls. Their average sleeping time is around 11-12 midnight - doesn't matter whether they napped during the day or not. The latest so far is 1.30 am.

Just whereee do kids get their energy from? I mean, they hardly eat anything.

Salurkan sikit energy kat mama la!

My Daiso shopping haul

2011-12-01T12:00:00.004+08:00

Can you believe I had never stepped my foot in a Daiso shop before? I've heard of it but never really bothered to check it out until quite recently when someone mentioned how she was "addicted" to Daiso. Oh heck, I didn't even know that it's a 5-ringgit shop! All I know is that it's from Japan.

So anyway, I decided to check out Daiso at Sunway Pyramid for the first time the other day. There are stuff for kitchen, dining, household, home decor, toiletries, stationeries, makeup, accessories, toys, etc and every single thing is RM5! I was so jakun at how cheap everything was and went a little crazy.

I bought...

Apron, laundry bag, pot holder

food containers, kitchen timer, baskets, wire whisk, flat grater

strawberry plate and bowls for my girls

tin holder (for my makeup brushes), hair turban, small makeup bag,

facial trimmers and scissors

some falsies and the glue

(I don't even wear them; saja menggatal beli ;p)

Pink feather duster, pink dustpan and hand broom, pink toothbrush holder

(for my girls' bathroom)

Toy racquets and balls

I hope the qualities are not as cheap tho.

Incredible Deals on Wheels

2011-11-29T10:00:00.000+08:00

We went to Ikea last week. We bought two computer tables, a swivel chair, a study lamp and a few kitchen utensils for our new house... and oh boy, you should have seen how super crammed our sedan was!

The table tops were too big for the boot so we had to put them in the leg area of the back seat. The swivel chair and the kitchen utensils muat-muat saja masuk boot, together with the stroller. I had no choice but to sit in the front seat while my kids sit in the back by themselves. Only a few things and the car was already jam-packed! I could not even recline my seat just a bit because there was no space left.

At times like that, I could only wish how great it would be if we have a car with a bigger boot space and spacious interior. If you're a parent, you know what I mean. Stroller, car seat, baby carrier and diaper bag are all the essential things you have to lug in your car when you have small children no matter when and where you're going. I like how Exora is spacious enough to accommodate all of our stuff during our trip to Janda Baik, a few months ago.

Not only is it spacious and comfortably fits everyone and everything, I think Exora's exterior is pretty stylish too. It's value for money and has efficient petrol consumption. It would make a good family car.

My favorite (and my kids' favorite) feature of all has got to be the built-in DVD player. Traveling long journeys with children is exhausting because they have short attention span and they get bored so easily. Tak payah long journeys, sometimes 30-minute drive pun mula lah meresah, meronta-ronta tak nak duduk diam-diam dalam car seat! But that day when we drove the Exora to Janda Baik, my kids were so well-behaved, watching their favorite DVD and not a single cry during the entire 2-hour journey. It was almost like a miracle!

I don't know if you've heard this, but Proton is currently having Incredible Deals on Wheels promotion where you can enjoy greater festive savings with rebates of up to RM5,000 when you book selected models between 15th November and 31st December 2011 - and Exora is one of them. You can visit your nearest Proton showroom or you can also log on to www.proton-edar.com.my to find out more about the deal. Everybody loves a good deal!

Give a Galaxy

2011-11-28T13:00:00.009+08:00

You know Christmas is around the corner when you see massive sales everywhere - online and offline. Just recently there was Black Friday sale, and then today there's Cyber Monday sale. Bet people are busy getting presents for others and themselves (I managed to grab some awesome deals too during the Black Friday sale!).

Some magazines would come up with a section on something like the perfect Christmas gift ideas. They would list down gifts according to the receiver's interests - the foodie, the fashionista, the techie, the sports fan, etc etc. Even tho I don't celebrate Christmas, I like to read that kind of stuff. It gives me a rough idea of what to give, should I need to give someone a present in the future.

Anyway if you've been racking your brain trying to find a great and practical present for someone special - doesn't matter whether it's for Christmas or birthday or even just-because - may I suggest the Samsung Galaxy S II? Don't be confused with the Galaxy Note tho. The Galaxy S II is the one without the S Pen stylus. The Galaxy Note is... well, the one with the stylus.

Apparently, the Galaxy S II is one of the best-selling and most talked about smartphones in the world! It's powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform and 1.2 GHz dual-core application processor which lets users multitask - browse the Web, reply messages and update their Facebook status at the same time.

One of my favorite features is the video recording. There's a video settings menu where you can set the resolution, white balance, effects, video quality, etc just like a real video camera. I think it's cool that a smartphone can do that! Watch this video of how this guy tries to record a Blockbuster movie using his Galaxy S II.

Watch more videos submitted by Galaxy S II users here.

The Galaxy S II has a 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen size, color gamut and power consumption that gives vibrant displays and excellent viewing experience of your favorite videos, websites and games. It also has a tough exterior and doesn't crash when you drop it. It breaks my heart to watch this video - a drop test between iPhone 4s and Galaxy S II, but I have to say, I'm impressed at how tough the Galaxy S II is!

This vivid, fast and slim smartphone is available at RM1,899. It'd be a great gift for that special someone!

Only from Celcom

2011-11-26T01:00:00.001+08:00

Remember the Sloggi Love World campaign that I (and a bunch of other bloggers) went to, a few months back? It was held in the middle of a forest in Hulu Langat. I wanted to tweet what we did and whatnot (I'm a Twitterholic ;p) but there was no coverage so I had to forget about it. Others were probably facing the same thing too - or so I thought.

But then Ceera took out her phone, snapped a picture of us and then twitpic-ed it on Twitter.

I was like, "Eh, tengah hutan pun dapat coverage ke? You guna line apa??".

She told me she's using Celcom. Terkagum sekejap!

I guess it's true then - Celcom has the widest network coverage anywhere in Malaysia. Indoor, outdoor, on-the-move, dalam hutan dan mungkin juga dalam air. We wanted to switch to Celcom previously but we didn't. We couldn't, because of our contract. Lepas ni kalau nak tukar phone baru, marilah switch to Celcom sekali, wahai suami. Dalam hutan pun dapat coverage!

Speaking of new phone, Celcom had just launched the new Samsung Galaxy Note earlier this month. I've blogged about the cool features and specifications previously, so I'm gonna spare you the details (you can read them here and here) but basically, it gives you the portability of a smartphone and the high performance of a tablet. You can have the best of everything in one nifty gadget!

It's great for anyone who is always on-the-go and can't live without their gadgets because you don't need to lug around your laptop, tablet, phone, camera, MP3 player, etc when you have the Samsung Galaxy Note. Heck, you don't even need to carry a notepad because it lets you take notes easily and conveniently with the S Pen stylus, just like a regular notepad!

The Samsung Galaxy Note is only available for Celcom customers, from as low as RM1,368 with Celcom Exec (retail price is RM2,299 by the way). Refer to this table for the package options:

Not only does Celcom has the widest network coverage, it also offers the best network quality and gives you the richest web and video streaming experience with its stable connection. Apalah guna kalau phone canggih-manggih tapi network macam hampeh kan? I feel like switching to Celcom right away!

Anyway, to find out more about the Samsung Galaxy Note packages with Celcom, you can visit the website at http://www.celcom.com.my/smartphones.

Car Pool

2011-11-25T00:00:00.003+08:00

It was Monday, 5 pm.

My kids refused to nap so I decided to take them for a splash in the pool.

I took out the car pool from the playroom and put it outside, filled it with water and balls. Ayra saw it and said, "Sweeeeeeeminggg sweeeeeemingggg!" while jumping up and down with joy.

You see, the other day when we were shopping at Sunway Pyramid, Ayra saw this Sunway Lagoon water park ad and she wanted to go there. Of course we didn't take her there so she began to scream and cry and lie down on the floor, tunjuk perasaan. Pengsan!

Good thing we have this car pool at home (she didn't know it was a pool; she thought it was just a big toy car).

Here are some pics of them having fun splish splashing in the pool.

Later I had trouble getting them out of the pool. Apparently, 1 hour is not enough!

Happy Birthday, FV!

2011-11-23T13:00:00.003+08:00

Went to FashionValet's 1st anniversary event with my sister and her boyfriend last week.

I almost couldn't make it because it was on a weekday night and my husband was stuck in a massive jam for almost 3 hours (sucks when you can't drive) anddd I had a bad allergic reaction (ok fine, it was just minor but it was still ugly).

But anyway, I made it!

There were...

this fab cake

cupcakes, tartlets and other yummy hors d'oeuvres

beautiful people

fashion show

dress up game

DJ Ben & Phat Fabes as the emcees

....and they also collaborated with Miss Universe Malaysia!

With the lovely Vivy (man, I'm so fat >_<)

It was a pretty cool event and I enjoyed myself. A nice break from my kids! haha.

Anyway, congratulations to the FV team for the lovely event!

MasterChef Malaysia Online Challenge

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000+08:00

When I was little, I love playing masak-masak. My sisters and I would set a stove made of rocks and twigs with our neighbours, and pretended to cook meals. We cooked fish made of hibiscus flowers, twig pasta, soup by mixing sand and water with stones as chicken, leaves and grass as veggies and whatever we could find in our garden. You name it, we've probably cooked it!

Sometimes I even pretended to have my own cooking show and went all "Yer puan-puan, masukkan bahan ini ke dalam periuk" ala-ala Chef Wan gitu. LOL. Childhood memories! :)

Now that I'm all grown up and have my own kitchen, I enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes once in a while (and share them in my blog. Tee hee)! And I LOVE watching cooking shows. I really do. Watching people who are far more experienced than me cooking awesome dishes just inspires me. I think I started to be more interested in cooking and trying new recipes, even food plating, after watching Masterchef. It was one of my favorite cooking shows (and I was so happy when my favorite contestant of Season 1, Whitney Miller, won the competition)!

I also love watching Junior Masterchef. Man, those kids sure know how to cook! They put my cooking to shame. I was really blown away seeing 9 year olds, 10 year olds cook gourmet food. Like, seriously? I only knew how to sapu roti dengan butter and kaya when I was 9! I cannot imagine how very skillful they will be when they're older.

And now there's Masterchef Malaysia. It's pretty much the same like other Masterchef shows - there are mystery box challenge, pressure test, celebrity test challenge, off-site team challenge, etc. I think the show is not bad even tho some of the judges are a bit too serious, IMHO. Despite the "issue" with Chef Riz, he's actually my favorite judge. And he reminded me of my brother-in-law; my husband's brother. Serius sebijik (except my brother-in-law has longer hair and doesn't know how to cook ;p).

Masterchef Malaysia contestants

It's interesting to see that the contestants came from different backgrounds - student, lawyer, housewife, fashion designer, personal trainer, even rubber tapper! Can you believe a rubber tapper could actually cook this Pasta Ayam Gril dengan Krim Mushroom? I was impressed! Even the judges were, too.

My favorite contestants are Zahin and Felix - at least for now la. Felix's Ikan Merah Panggang dengan Guacamole Cili, Nenas dan Limau that he cooked in Ujian Cipta Rasa in episode 3 looks yummy! In fact, most of the contestants' dishes are impressive. Not bad at all. But I wish to see they make more desserts tho. Gourmet desserts or any dessert yang "wow".

Anyway, if you've watched the show, you might wanna join Masterchef Malaysia Online Challenge on Masterchef Malaysia Facebook, which has just started recently.

And the challenge is... playing a game! You just need to memorize the ingredients for a certain recipe and grab them in the kitchen before the time runs out.

It's like playing Veggie Samurai with the ingredients thrown out in the screen, except you only need to click on the right ingredients instead of slicing them. It's quite fun actually!

The best part is, you could actually win cool prizes like iPad, Panasonic IH Cooker, Microwave, iPod Nano Touch, some cash, just to name a few (there's also weekly prizes)! This contest runs from 19th November till 21st December 2011. Go to https://apps.facebook.com/masterchefmy/ to take up the challenge!

You Won't Believe Your Eyes

2011-11-20T01:00:00.009+08:00

A few days ago, I woke up with a rash on my left under-eye. It was hideous.

Dari jauh, I looked like I have a severe dark-reddish circle - like someone just punched me in the eye.

Dari dekat... Well, it looks like this.

The rash became worse 3 days later, and it started to get itchy and dry. And then my right under-eye started to have the rash as well. It was so itchy that I had to scrub it with an exfoliator! I also dabbed on a little Oxy 10 because I didn't know what else to put because it was so itchy! Only then I remembered the balm that I always apply on my kids when they have cuts, rashes, burns, bug bites, etc. I call it the "miracle balm". It's the Angel Baby Bottom Balm and it somehow worked! The itchiness has decreased. But the rashes were still there. I went to see a doctor and was told that it's a minor allergic reaction. Nothing serious but oh well, it's hideous.

The doctor said I have to find out myself what I'm allergic to. I had never been allergic to anything before - food, meds, beauty products, etc - except dust. But this ain't because of dust. (The doctor gave me a med for the rash by the way, altho I was hoping he would give me a cream or something to apply).

I'm pretty sure it's from something that I applied. I've switched to a few new skincare products recently - Soap & Glory eye serum, Sephora scrub and Burt's Bees toner. I don't think it's because of the scrub and toner tho, because I don't apply them around my eye area, so it must be the eye serum. I've tried hundreds of skincare products before and this is the first time I'm allergic to one. It's a lot worse than having a pimple break out (when a product doesn't suit you)!

"You Won't Believe Your Eyes".

I sure don't! Pfft.

How long does an allergic rash usually last anyway? It has been exactly a week now and the rashes are still there but it's not as red as before. Anddd I'm not sure whether it's okay to wear eye cream or not because my under-eyes are so dry and I think I'm starting to get wrinkles!

Ayra singing B-I-N-G-O

2011-11-18T16:55:00.002+08:00

The Note

2011-11-16T14:30:00.007+08:00

My husband is a notepad collector. He has like 20 palm-sized notepads and it seemed like it's still not enough. Pantang pergi bookstore, mesti akan beli satu.

You see, my husband likes to carry around a notepad in his pocket when he's out and about. Sometimes when he's at the mall temankan I shopping or at the restaurant while waiting for our food to arrive or even when he's in the middle of talking/doing something, he would suddenly take out his notepad and jot something down. It's like he suddenly have this idea bubbling up in his head that he needs to write it down no matter what.

He started doing this way before we were even married and I find that so cute! Macam budak sekolah yang rajin. Heheh. I asked him, why don't he just list down his ideas (or whatever it is) in his phone and save it there because it would be easier, but he said it feels different and more satisfying when you actually write it down with a pen. Right.

One time when we were at a restaurant and he left his notepad in the car, he took a piece of tissue that was on the table and wrote down some notes on it! That's how much he needs his notes!

But the thing about writing in notepads or papers is that, you tend to misplace them and it's kinda hard to organize. The pockets of my husband's jeans are filled with folded notes and crumpled papers that looked like rubbish. I cannot imagine what the inside of his handbag would look like if men wear handbags like women do!

This is so like my husband.

He has an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, but he still carries a notepad!

When I heard of Galaxy Note, immediately my mind thought of my husband. For someone who can't live without a notepad, I think the Galaxy Note would be perfect! It comes with a stylus, known as the S Pen and apparently, it is the most advanced pen input technology that features an array of functions including pressure sensitivity, preciseness, speed and more.

It has S-Memo that lets you record all forms of ideas instantly and freely including handwritten text, typed text, drawings, pictures and even voice recordings. It's like writing/drawing on a paper without a paper. How cool is that?

This picture is hand drawn on the Galaxy Note, using the S Pen.

It looks like it's drawn using a real pen, isn't it? Amazing.

(Image source)

There's also S Planner which lets you manage your complicated schedules in an easy and intuitive way. You can write your schedules instead of typing it just like a traditional organizer, but it's way better because existing appointments and whatnot can be easily shifted around using the S Pen.

Here's the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Note:
Network

HSPA+ up to 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100
4G LTE
EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900

Processor

1.4 GHz Dual Core Processor

Display

5.3" WXGA (1280 x 800) screen
HD Super AMOLED

Platform

Android 2.3(Gingerbread)

Camera

Main(Rear): 8 MP with LED Flash/Front: 2 MP
Action Shot, Beauty, Panorama Shot, Smile Shot

Video

1080p Full HD video recording & playback
Recording: 1080p@24~30fps/Playback: 1080p@30fps
Codec: MPEG4/ H.263/ H.264/ DivX, Xvid, WMV, VC-1

Audio

Codec: MP3, AAc, AMR, WMA, WAV, FLAC, OGG
Music player with SoundAlive
3.5mm Ear Jack, Stereo FM Radio with RDS

Multi Input

Full touch + S Pen (Advanced smart pen)

Connectivity

Bluetooth technology v 3.0 + HS
USB 2.0 HOST
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct

Sensor

Accelerometer, Digital compass, Proximity, Barometer, Light

Memory

16GB Internal memory + microSD (up to 32GB)

Size

146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65 mm, 178g

Battery

Standard battery, Li-on 2,500 mAh

The Samsung Galaxy Note is priced at RM2,299 but you can get it at a cheaper price when you purchase with a contract plan from one of the telcos.

I heard the white version will be coming to Malaysia soon! *looks at my husband with hopeful eyes*

Color-blocked Eyes

2011-11-15T02:00:00.003+08:00

You probably know how unadventurous I am when it comes to makeup. Yes, I love playing around with colors and experimenting with different makeup looks, but that's only when I'm at home. I don't dare go out with bold eyeshadows and neon lips that just scream, "Hey people, look at me!".

I'm shy like that. ;p

I usually prefer to wear natural, "safe" colors.

Brown, taupe, chocolate, beige.

But the other day, the day that I wore my black-and-white polka dot Zara top with a splash of lemon - a bright yellow scarf with matching shoes - I braved myself to wear yellow eyeshadow (I got it from Topshop recently, at half the price).

You can't really see my eye makeup in the photo, can you?

Here's a closer look.

Yellow and pink! Who would have thought of wearing those two colors together!

It's the craziest color combo (for eyeshadows) that I have ever worn! A bit messy but I kinda like it. It's like color-blocking. It would be even crazier if I used a brighter shade of pink, like neon pink maybe. Walla.

Anyway here's a list of products that I used on my eyes for this look:

Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Flax

Works like a primer to help intensifies eyeshadow colors. I just dab it a little on my lids using the applicator and blend using my finger. It has a nice pearly effect and you can even wear it alone for a bright, wide-awake eyes.

Topshop Eyeshadow Duo in Oopsy Daisy

I applied the yellow color on my entire eyelid using Too Faced small brush, and then the pink color using Too Faced angled brush to create a subtle 'V' shape on the outer corner of my eyes and also for the crease.

Soap & Glory Arch De Triumph

This pencil has 2 tips - one is highlighter (light pink), another one is brow shaper (taupe). I used the highlighter to highlight my brow bone by drawing 2-3 short lines just underneath my eyebrows and blend it using my finger. Love!

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink

My favorite type of eyeliner. And yes, it lasts all day without smudging! I applied this using Sephora angled eyeliner brush #15.

Maybelline Crayon Liner in Black

I like to use pencil eyeliner for my lower lash line. Apply just halfway along the bottom lash line and smudge using the Sephora angled eyeliner brush for a softer look.

Maybelline Hyper Curl Volum' Express Mascara in Very Black

One of my favorite mascaras by Maybelline. Apply a few coats to get thick, volumized lashes. But since this is a waterproof mascara, I only use it during that time of the month because it is crazy hard to remove it (only with cleansing oil)!

When my husband saw me all yellow and sunshiny, he gave me a surprised look and said, "Whoaa kuningnya!!".

Thank God no one else stopped and stared at me like the way he did!

Shila Amzah sang a song for me!

2011-11-13T16:30:00.004+08:00

My husband went to Anugerah Skrin with his friends last week (one of his friends' company sponsored the event) and they got a chance to meet and mingle with a few celebs at the after-party.

They met Siti Saleha (God, she's pretty!), Juliana Evans, Neelofa, Scha Al-Yahya, Awal Ashaari, etc etc. My husband said they were all nice and friendly (except for "someone" whose name I shall not reveal here) but the most sporting of all was Shila Amzah! She was just about to have her meal when my husband and his friends approached her and jokingly requested a song. Hubby's friend managed to record a video of her impromptu singing altho the video got cut off at 0:03 (his friend tertekan stop button. Pfft). She was actually saying, "This is for Iza, Ayra, Raina and Muaz".

Sorry for the low quality video. But her voice is just amazing, kan?! Honestly if I just listen to her singing without looking at the video, I would have thought omputih yang nyanyi. I don't know if she would ever read this but thanks Shila! You have such an amazing voice and my husband couln't stop complimenting you ;p And congrats for the AIM award that you won last night!

It's a phone. It's a tablet. It's Galaxy Note!

2011-11-11T10:00:00.002+08:00

I used to have a PDA. It was O2 XDA II, given by my dad for my 21st birthday. It was the coolest gadget I've ever had at that time. One of the things I loved most was that, it came with a stylus. I thought it was cool to jot down notes on a gadget instead of a notepad.

I don't think I have ever seen any smartphone or tablet with stylus nowadays. That is, until I came across Samsung Galaxy Note.

The Galaxy Note is like all-in-one device - it's got smartphone's 24/7 portability, tablet's large display (5.3" HD super AMOLED), note pad's free idea capturing and other mobile device's core benefits like camera and games. It's a pretty neat device and it's created to minimize the need to switch to other devices while on the go.

I must say, the highlight of the Galaxy Note is the stylus, or as Samsung calls it, the S pen. You can easily sketch drawings and write notes in the Digital Memo and the text recognition software recognizes your handwriting to redigitize into regular text format which can save you the trouble of rein-putting!

With 1.4 GHz dual core processor, the Galaxy Note is great for multitasking. You can download a movie, read emails and run apps in the background and yet your phone is still responsive. Awesome!

The size is just nice for reading or watching a video and it is more portable than a tablet. It's so slim and sleek, it could easily fit in your pocket!

I found a few unboxing videos of the Galaxy Note. This one is in English:

And this is the BM version:

There's nothing quite like the thrill of unboxing a new piece of gadget, even if you're not really a gadget freak! You can view more unboxing videos here, here and here too.

The Galaxy Note is now available in Malaysia and it is launching at Pavilion (near Esprit) on the 11th November 2011, which is today! The first 100 buyers will get a Galaxy Note cover with Swarovski crystals so if you love to accessorize your gadget, you might not want to miss this! You can also ask for a complimentary Galaxy Note Leather Flip Cover with your purchase at any Samsung Elite Partner Stores, Celcom and Digi outlets (only for the first 9,999 customers).

Kelab Bunga Dua

2011-11-09T11:00:00.001+08:00

....is what my dad calls us! LOL.

Here's why:

These satin rosebud corsages are handmade and it comes in every color of the rainbow. So pretty! It's a great way to accessorize - pin it up on your scarves, cardigans, jackets, dresses or clip it on your hair or even purses!

Of course you don't have to wear 2 corsages at a time. Kelab Bunga Satu pun boleh, like what I wore in the picture below ;p

My sister is currently opening pre-orders for these flower corsages. You can check out her blog at www.shazwanihamid.com for more details and pictures.

How to remove crayon scribbles from wall

2011-11-08T13:00:00.007+08:00

So we've moved out of the condo a few weekends ago.

Man, moving house is EXTREMELY exhausting. I have trouble packing up for a week's holiday, so imagine having to pack ALL of our belongings! It felt like it would take forever to finish everything.

There were a lot of sorting, packing, disposing and of course, cleaning. It was hard work! You can't just leave the house you moved out from macam kapal karam, can you? Especially if it's a rented house. And there was one thing that my husband and I were most worried about.

Our little Picasso's artwork.

Yes, the crayon scribbles on the walls (and doors)! Especially the one in the living room.

It's like a mural or something. Cantik sangat kan? ;p

I tried wiping with a damp cloth but it only worked on washable crayons. Same goes to baby wipes. I had to scrub real hard to get the stains off. Lap 30 saat dah lenguh macam buat pumping 100 kali.

I also tried using an all purpose cleaner and it was the same. Apparently, an "all purpose cleaner" does not include crayon stains.

We googled and found a few ways on how to remove crayon scribbles from walls. Some of the recommendations include toothpaste, hair spray, shaving cream and even mayonnaise. Interesting. But I didn't try any of them tho. I don't know... I just prefer to use toothpaste for my teeth, hair spray for hair, shaving cream for erm bulu and mayonnaise for my sandwiches, thank you very much. Can't imagine a mayonnaise-covered wall. Eeek.

We tried using Turpentine instead.

The smell is SO horrible that I felt like I could die right away after inhaling it. Well, turpentine is hazardous and its vapor can damage the lungs and respiratory system when inhaled but it removes crayon stains from the wall easily! I actually enjoyed the process - it was like removing makeup!

Halfway done

To remove crayon stains with turpentine, all you need is a glove, a damp cloth and a mask or anything to cover your nose from inhaling it. Just dab some turpentine on the damp cloth and scrub into stain. Since turpentine is a solvent, it will evaporate and the horrible smell will eventually disappear. Just make sure the area is well-ventilated (open all the windows). And also, make sure your kids are not around when you're handling with turpentine.

All done. What a relief!

Ada jugak la tinggal kesan crayon sikit-sikit but the owner didn't mind. Thank God for unfussy owner!

Shopping at Sephora

2011-11-02T10:00:00.005+08:00

It was around 9.00 pm.

My husband, my sister-in-law, my kids and I had just left the Homedec exhibition and went to KLCC to have dinner. We were on our way heading to the carpark later after that, when I suddenly saw something. I gasped.

There, right in front of me was SEPHORA!

Believe it or not, I had never been to Sephora in KL ever since its opening and I had totally forgotten about this one in KLCC. The only Sephora I've been to is in Paris, which was like 5 eons ago and for only like 10 minutes (you know dads! "Nak beli makeup apa lagi, cukup lah tu". Pfft ;p). So imagine my excitedness!

I begged my husband. He looked at his watch.

"Pleaseee...", I said. "15 minit pun jadi la".

He gave me the green light and I quickly went to the nearest shelf.

Weee! Soap & Glory. All pink and pretty!

A sales assistant approached, greeted me and handed me a basket.

I wasted no time to fill it up.

Wow that's a cute name for an eye cream.

Breakfast Scrub? That sounds yummy.

17 ringgit, are you kidding me? It would be a waste not to buy!

Mmm...this smells nice. Oh this one, too.

I was like a kid in a candy store. Everything looks cute and pretty and smells nice. It's like heaven. A heaven for beauty junkies.

I sorta went nuts. Suddenly it seemed like I ran out of everything.

Foot cream, hand cream, body mist, body scrub....

I looked at my watch. 15 minutes had passed.

Cepatnya. I'm not done yet!

I looked around, searching for my husband.... and there he was with his iPhone in his hand, recording a video of Raina who was walking around, checking out the store and other people's shoes. Good, I thought. That would distract him for a bit. Now I need to find myself a lipstick.

I carried on with my mission, then went to the cashier and walked out of Sephora with my goodies and a big smile on my face. There's nothing like shopping for new makeup and beauty stuff!

My husband on the other hand, was playing peek-a-boo (or so it seemed) with my girls. Bless him!

I didn't manage to check out other brands tho. Too Faced, Urban Decay, Bare Escentuals, etc etc. Hopefully next time. And hopefully I could spend hours in there. 15 minutes is definitely NOT enough!

Samsung Galaxy S II

2011-10-31T12:00:00.005+08:00

Most touchscreen smartphones look somewhat the same at a glance - large screen with only one (or two) button. So when I saw my brother-in-law's phone for the first time, I thought he was using an iPhone just like the rest of us. I looked again and noticed the screen. It's slightly larger than mine. Turns out, he's actually using Samsung Galaxy S. I took it, belek-belek a little and thought, "Not bad".

And then he began talking about the newer version: Samsung Galaxy S II.

Apparently, it has a larger screen than the previous one - 4.3" Super Amoled Plus (whatever that is, but that is so large)! Although it is larger, the new technology uses less space and consumes 18% less energy than the previous display, and it's one of the thinnest, longest lasting smartphone to date. The large screen would be easier to play games or watch videos or even for reading, like this guy here, who uses it to read his lecture notes.

There's also Photo Editor too (not sure whether it's an app that you have to download or if it's included in the camera feature or something). You can crop, add special effects, adjust the brightness, contrast, etc of your photo, just like Photoshop. For someone who likes to take photos and share it with others on Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc, this would be useful.

My favorite feature has got to be the Voice Solution. It's like iPhone 4S' Siri and it enables you to actually talk and command your phone to do major functions like calling, messaging, scheduling and launching apps without you having to do it manually. It's like having a personal assistant! SO cool!

I wonder if it could shop for me.

"Search asos.com. Buy Bow Blouse With Spot Print, size UK10".

That would be even more cool! Ngeh ngeh ;p

How would you use the Voice Solution feature?

Check out http://www.samsung.com/my/lovegalaxysll to see other features, shared by Samsung Galaxy S II users.

Jom Ganyang Aedes!

2011-10-28T10:00:00.000+08:00

Ayra used to get so many mosquito bites on her arms and legs a while back. She didn't get those mosquito bites at home tho; it usually happened when we went to the parks or anyone's house that's surrounded with lots of trees and bushes. I'm not talking about 2-3 mosquito bites; I'm talking 12-13 bites at a time (yes, I actually counted them)!

I wish I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Those damn mosquitoes were having feasts on my little girl! GRRR.

Some of the mosquito bites on her leg

(picture was taken a few months ago)

My poor girl. It was heart-wrenching and very upsetting seeing her scratching her arms and legs vigorously (sometimes she even cried because of the itchiness), which then turned into nasty scars. People probably thought she was being abused! Sometimes sampai muka dan telinga pun kena. Kesian sangat!

It wasn't just the scratching and scarring that worried me, but I feared dengue as well. I remembered my mom pernah pesan dulu, do not take dengue fever lightly because it's deadly! But Alhamdulillah, those mosquitoes that bit Ayra were normal mosquitoes - not the deadly ones. But that doesn't mean I can just ignore them. In fact, we must all be aware of this issue, whether or not you have kids because dengue affects not only babies and children, but also adults.

Last year alone, the dengue death cases in Malaysia had doubled over the past 10 years. It's scary! Who would've thought such a tiny creature can actually "kill" you? Nauzubillah.

Image googled

Dengue virus is transmitted to humans through Aedes mosquito bites. The virus is not contagious tho and it can't be spread directly from person to person. It's a person-to-Aedes mosquito-to-another person pathway. Some of the symptoms of dengue include high-grade fever, severe headache, severe joint and muscle pain, pain when moving the eyes, skin rash and bleeding from the nose, gums and under the skin. If your child especially, is down with a fever and hasn't recovered after 2-3 days, terus bawa pergi jumpa doctor please. Sometimes we tend to take things lightly and think that it's just a normal fever, lepas makan ubat nanti baik la, bla bla bla... But what if it's not? What if it's something serious? Menyesal tak sudah nanti (this is a reminder to myself too). It's better to be safe than sorry.

There are precautions that we can take to prevent mosquito bites, as well as their breeding grounds, such as:

1) Using mosquito repellent. There are mosquito repellents for babies as well so use that for them. I've been making it a routine to apply this on my children especially when we're going out and now Ayra doesn't get mosquito bites as many as she did previously. Pay extra attention to ears, necks and ankles as well.

2) Store water in containers with lids. Do not store water in open containers because Aedes mosquitoes breed in clean water. In fact, always empty stagnant water from pails, trash cans, flower pots and old tires because those could serve as mosquito breeding sites.

3) Use mosquito nets at home, especially for your baby.

4) Limit exposure to mosquitoes by staying indoors 2 hours after sunrise and before sunset. I always make sure that I close all windows by 6pm because Aedes mosquitoes are daytime biter and they usually "attack" around sunrise and sunset.

When it comes to preventing dengue, it's everyone's responsibility and preventative measure must start from home. To make it worse, there is currently no vaccine for dengue so the best thing we can do is to prevent it. Prevention is (always) better than cure. There's no doubt about that!

You can find out more about dengue at http://www.gayahidupsihat.my.

What my girls were up to

2011-10-24T15:47:00.002+08:00

I was busy sorting out some stuff in our room when Ayra came inside, pointed at her forehead and said, "See? Makeup!". And then she ran off to the other room.

OMG.

I left her with some papers and coloring set in the other room earlier to keep herself busy while I do a little bit of unpacking. Ini kerja dia!

This is not makeup la kakak!

Went to their room and was shocked again. Not only did she color herself, she colored her baby sis as well!

Very pretty, girls. Very pretty. -_-

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cheesecake In A Ramekin

2011-10-20T22:00:00.002+08:00

I have never made cheesecakes in my whole life, even tho it's my husband's favorite. Bukan susah pun kan, but I don't know why I haven't tried making one. That is, until a few nights ago. Don't know if it can count as cheesecake because this recipe by Nigella Lawson is SUPER easy and quick to make. But the name is still cheesecake so yea, I finally made a cheesecake! ;p

This recipe doesn't require baking, so don't worry if you're not a baking queen. Trust me when I said it's super easy. And it's heavenly too! My husband keeps on asking if there's anymore left (I made those 3 nights ago).

Oh by the way, the name is actually Cheesecake In A Glass, but I used ramekins instead because I don't have those fancy glasses, hence the name.

You need:

200 g fresh strawberries

1 tsp superfine sugar

1/2 cup shortbread cookies

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbsps icing sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cut the strawberries into small dice. Put them in a bowl, sprinkle with superfine sugar and stir a little. Cover the bowl with a clingfilm and leave the berries to macerate.

Put the shortbread cookies into a ziplock bag.

Oh, funny thing about the cookies. I texted my husband to buy shortbread cookies and he thought it was a type of bread. He said he couldn't find one. I said no, it's cookies, not bread, so he searched again at the supermarket and bought.... panda.

Panda shortbread cookies! Haha.

Hentam saja lah.

So anyway, put the cookies in a ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin (I don't have one so I just bashed with my fist!) until you have a bag of sandy crumbs.

Next, whisk cream cheese and icing sugar in a bowl. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla, then whisk again gently. It's almost ready now.

Divide the cookie crumbs equally and put at the bottom of each ramekin (or glass).

Spoon a few dollops of cream cheese mixture, covering the layer of cookies.

And finally, top with the diced strawberries.

Looks pretty, no? I think it'd be perfect for dinner parties. I could already imagine serving this as a dessert for my housewarming party or something.

YUM!

Clearance Sales

2011-10-19T10:17:00.004+08:00

My house is in such a BIG mess. There are boxes and plastic bags and luggages everywhere... coz we're moving out soon, insyaallah (yay)!

I have a few stuff that I MUST let go, mostly my clothes...

Yes, I'm selling all of those. Hurry, check out Shopper's Sanctuary (don't forget to check out Older Posts as well).

Baby girl shoes coming right up!

The Ultimate Man Utd Experience

2011-10-17T13:30:00.000+08:00

My husband is a HEE-UGE fan of football.

At first it kinda annoyed me a bit, especially when he screamed "GOAAALLLL!!!!!" at the top of his lungs while punching his fists up in the air. If I have a heart attack, I could die instantly. -_-

But now I'm used to it. He understands that I love shopping and I try to understand his love for football. He allows me to shop until the mall closes while he babysits the girls at home, and I let him watch football games at the stadium with his kekasih gelap, ijaicool. See? We're compromising.

But seriously girls, if you wanna see your man being emotional, sit with him when he watches a football game. One minute he would cheer happily (sometimes even clapping his hands), the next minute he would bark at the players. Oi, passing la bola tu! Apa benda main macam ni! OUT!!! Suddenly he's the football coach, coaching from in front of the TV (as if the players could hear him). It's hilarious, I'm telling you! And when their favorite team lost the game, guys can get so upset as if someone had died! Haha. Oops... I mean, sorry.

Anyway, my husband's favorite football team is the world's number one football club. Manchester United! Well if I had to pick a football team, I would also choose Manchester United because it's my husband's favorite team, and also because the handsome David Beckham was a former player! :D

That photo was taken by my husband when he went to watch Manchester United's game in Bukit Jalil. I'm not sure when tho - probably a couple of years ago?

When I first heard that Manchester United was coming to Malaysia, I was like, "Wow. They're coming here to play football? Really?".

But I was even more wow-ed when I heard about "The Ultimate Man Utd Experience" contest. Malaysian Man Utd's fans will have the opportunity to watch their live matches at Old Trafford in the UK for FREE! Apparently, Mister Potato has become the Official Global Snack Partner of Manchester.

It's such an honor for the company to be associated with an iconic, global brand like Man Utd. And in conjunction with that, Mister Potato had just came up with new packaging on their products, featuring Man Utd's players (like Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Park Ji-Sung, etc) and also a few new range of chips.

New Mister Potato Crisps flavor: Fiery Hot & Spicy

The new range: Mexican Wave Chips

The Mexican Wave Chips comes in 4 flavors: Mexicana Cheese, Ole! Hot & Spicy, Viva Seaweed and BBQ Fiesta, but I only managed to try 3 of them. My favorite is the cheese one because I just love cheeeeese! In fact, I'm actually munching on them as I'm typing this.

Can't stop munching. Help!

So anyway, there will be 2 winners monthly who will be able to experience "The Ultimate Man Utd Experience" contest. They will each get a VIP ticket, return air tickets, accommodation, Old Trafford Stadium tour, visit Manchester United museum and best of all... a possible chance to meet and greet Man Utd players (subject on players' availability) and a visit to their dressing room! Kipas-susah-nak-mati (die-hard fans) pasti akan jadi gila, especially girls. I can already imagine them, leaving fan-love notes on their favorite players' lockers!

If you would like to try your luck to win "The Ultimate Man Utd Experience" contest, you just need to buy any Mister Potato Man Utd edition products and get the SMS code card that's inside the pack, like this:

Answer the question that's on the back of the pack (really simple question!) in BM and follow the instructions prompted. Then submit your entries either via SMS or online (FREE) at www.mister-potato.com. I prefer submission via online because it's free and easy. So hurry, go grab Mister Potato contest pack and join the contest now! Good luck!

Biggest Book Sale in the World

2011-10-17T11:00:00.005+08:00

Went to this, yesterday morning.

Yup, the Big Bad Wolf book sale!

To be honest, I've never heard of BBW before (except in Little Red Riding Hood).... until last week, when a few friends mentioned it on Twitter. They were having massive MASSIVE sale on books and everyone was raving about it - it's basically a heaven for book lovers and being one myself, I didn't wanna miss it!

We only managed to go there on the very last day, which was yesterday. We arrived at 10.30am and it was already packed with people.

The first thing I saw when I entered the hall was this!

Shopaholic books for RM8 each weh!!! I just have to get 'em (even tho I've read them). In fact, all novels were only RM8 each. Crazy, right??! But since it was the last day, most of the good books are sold out. Banyak buku yang tak pernah dengar (to me, at least). If only we went there few days earlier....

I didn't get to browse the books betul-betul tho - what with the crowd and my kids and my bags. Challenging betul! And I couldn't find the books I wanted - parenting, children and desserts books especially. Like I said, there were a lot of unfamiliar ones. But I saw so many books by Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver and I thought to myself, I'll take it later. Nak browse lain dulu. What I was thinking??! Of course the books were all gone by the time I went there the second time. Bahhh! Menyesal! >_<

I couldn't help glancing over at other people's loots while browsing the books. Saw some interesting books and I wondered how and where did they find those books. Aku round 2 kali tak jumpa pun! Anyway, people were carrying boxes, trolleys...some even brought luggage! I only brought my Envirosax shopping bags. There were still room for more books actually but I couldn't tahan anymore - the kids were cranky, the crowd was getting larger and my shoulders macam nak patah from all that carrying.

Can you imagine how I carried all those in the crowd of people -

my handbag and pink shopping bag on one shoulder, orange shopping bag on the other shoulder, while carrying Raina in front. I think I carried 20kg altogether!

Seronok dapat bebas dari kesesakan!

So here are my haul:

Books for me (lots of chick lits)

And for my girls (seriously, tak banyak children books yang tinggal)

All 16 books for only RM122. It's totally a steal if you ask me! Despite not being able to get the books that I really wanted, I'm still very happy with my purchase! I will surely come again next year (kalau ada. Mestilah ada lagi kan?).

The Secret Life of Nora

2011-10-12T09:00:00.002+08:00

Went to watch The Secret Life of Nora at Istana Budaya last Saturday. I haven't watched any movies, live shows and whatnots for months I think (that's pretty normal when you have kids) so I jumped at the chance when I was given complimentary tickets to watch this one!

Went there with my sister, Wani

This is only my second time watching musical theatre (I'm not really the artsy type) but I really enjoyed this one. The Secret Life of Nora is set in a glitzy and glamorous 1960's Malaya and it features star-studded casts including Tiara Jacquelina, Aznil Hj Nawawi, Adibah Noor, Tony Eusoff and Broadway heartthrob, Ryan Silverman (he played as Raoul in The Phantom of The Opera).

The story is about how Nora, a popular but protected prima donna, becomes a spy and involved in a mission to help uncover an evil operation with the help from a suave British secret agent, Roger Foss. Here are some photos of the scenes, taken from The Secret Life of Nora Facebook page.

This is the scene where Betty (played by Stephanie Van Driesen) sings Kau Yang Menulis

in Nora's dressing room. Her voice reminded me of Disney Princess!

One of my fave characters is Aznil.

He's just hilarious! (he always is, isn't he?)

The sexy dance

Girls performing aerial choreography. Hebat!

Tiara Jacquelina has a powerful voice and I never knew she could sing really well! And Aznil... Haha, he's the funniest! He's the bad guy in this story but a cute bad guy. You see, he has a lisp problem and he cannot pronounce the letter 'R' correctly so it sounded like 'W'. Nora jadi "Nowa". Russia jadi "Wassia", Raub jadi "Waub" and so on. Sumpah comel gila, macam budak kecik pelat! The audience were laughing out loud sebab tak tahan kelakar comel! I actually enjoyed every minute of this play - the beautiful sets and costumes, the melodious songs, the dancing, the graceful aerial choreography, everything - and so does my sister. In fact, she's planning to watch it again for the second time!

It was a 2.5-hour show (with a 20-minute break in between) by the way. We managed to snap some pics after the show...

No, I wasn't poking my nose ;p

Ryan Silverman is sooo handsome! I saw him later after the show just outside the hall (he changed into a simple t-shirt) but I was too shy to ask for a phota. Damn! (plus, he was with a lady - his gf or wife maybe?).

There were a few The Secret Life of Nora goodies on sale too, such as notebooks, t-shirts, posters, sunglasses...

My sister couldn't resist trying on some of the sunnies

And posed in front of the booth ;p

I was being interviewed about the show.

As usual, I was quite nervous. Man, I hate being nervous!

Met a few of our readers too

We were waiting for the photo and autograph session with the casts but there were none.

Snap pic dengan ni pun jadi la.

The Secret Life of Nora is actually the first bilingual musical in Malaysia and it is staged at Istana Budaya from 29th September - 16th October 2011. There'll be 3 additional shows on the 20th October till 22nd October 2011 at 8.30pm (no matinee shows). Tickets can be purchased at Istana Budaya Box Office or online at airasiaredtix.com. Go watch it, I recommend it!

My Little Model

2011-10-10T21:00:00.004+08:00

I love dressing up my girls. Especially Ayra. She just started to like dressing up and posing in front of the camera (but the camerawoman has to be me and only me), so it makes it even more fun! Heck, she even chose her own shoes even when I wasn't planning to dress her up top-to-toe - but what's dressing up without shoes, right? Layankan saja.

I came up with a few different styles by mixing and matching these cute pieces with whatever that were in Ayra's wardrobe. I love the outcomes!

Pandai tak Ayra posing? I love Parisian Chic, Fun Retro and Pretty in Pink especially. She posed on her own, believe it or not!

Anyway, I have a few of these pieces up for grabs at my blogshop - Shopper's Sanctuary. They may not be branded wears but the qualities are really good. They're uber cute at wallet-friendly prices that you just can't resist! :)

Hot Chocolate Treat

2011-10-07T02:00:00.000+08:00

I've been having this mad craving for chocolates lately. I feel like I couldn't function well if I don't eat or drink anything chocolatey. It was driving me nuts!

The last time I remembered having this sort of craving was during PMS, which I haven't had for months. Then I checked my Period Diary.... and sure enough, I was PMS-ing. Or so I thought.

Then a week went by. No "visit" from Miss P.

I panicked a little.

Could I be....

No... I don't think so.

It has been 2 weeks now (15 days to be exact), yet still nothing. No red flag. But I'm not as panicked as I was before. My hormones must have gone haywire. It's normal for breastfeeding moms, right?

But I'm still craving for chocolates. And every day, I must have at least one mug of homemade hot chocolate. It's easy to make and tastes just like Starbucks'. I'm addicted!

Full cream milk

Semisweet chocolate (or you can use unsweetened cocoa powder)

Pinch of cinnamon

Whipped cream

Heat milk and chopped semisweet chocolate in a small saucepan, over low heat (add sugar if you're using unsweetened cocoa powder). Add a pinch of cinnamon. Whisk until it boils a little.

Pour the hot chocolate into a cup or a mug. Top it with whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder, if you want.

Enjoy it.

It's rich, it's chocolatey, it's divineee!

My girls playing masak-masak

2011-10-04T11:00:00.009+08:00

Went to IKEA last weekend. Hubby took the girls to the toys section while I went browsing at the kitchen section. He managed to record this video of them playing masak-masak. Si kenit tu pun reti main! Hehe.

I just love seeing little girls playing together (not that I don't like seeing boys main-main, but they can be a little ganas sometimes. Mak takut! LOL. I guess when I have boys nanti, I'll get used to it).

Anyway just look at the mini kitchen. The mini me would love to have this! In fact, I think I would join my girls main-main if we have this at home ;p

I also went gaga over their mini cookware set, baking set, coffee/tea set...
They look exactly like the real IKEA stuff, except smaller in size. TOO CUTE.

We all know how kids always prefer the real stuff over toys, right? IKEA people are genius!

Nantilah, dah pindah rumah besar sikit boleh la beli kot....

Maybelline Mystery Maven makeup look

2011-09-30T22:50:00.027+08:00

Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how I recreated the Mystery Maven look, inspired by the runway looks of the New York Fashion Week.

STEP 1: Start with a clean, moisturized face. (I know, so pale right!)

STEP 2: Squeeze out a pearl size amount of Maybelline B.B Cream onto the back of your hand. Dot this onto your forehead, cheeks, chin and nose, and gently blend it using your fingers. This B.B Cream is an 8-in-1 skin transformer that helps to brighten, even, moisturize, smooth and protect skin (it contains SPF 26).

STEP 3: Conceal dark circles. I use AngelFit Perfect Concealer in Natural Beige and I love how it instantly hides my dark circles as well as brightens up my eyes! Using the applicator, I apply a few dots underneath my eye area and then dab it gently with my ring finger.

STEP 4: For this Mystery Maven look, I use Maybelline Diamond Glow eye shadow in Fresh Green. Using the foam applicator, apply the lightest green shade on the entire eye lid. Then apply the medium green shade on the hallow of your eyes, just below the brow bone.

STEP 5: I also mixed the green colors with a little bit of blue eye shadows, using Maybelline Hyper Diamonds in BU-1 shade. Apply the darkest blue shade on the outer corner of your eyes with the small foam applicator and create a 'V' shape. Stroke it inward until the middle part of your lid and blend. I also line my lower lash line using the same darkest blue shade. Then using my finger, I apply the white shade on my brow bone for highlight.

STEP 5: To line my eyes, I use Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner. So far it's my favorite liquid eyeliner! It's so thin and fine which makes lining your eyes a breeze. Start with a thin line, then gradually thicken the line and wing it out to create a sexy cat eye. For my lower waterline, I use Maybelline Crayon Liner and I lined it until just about 3/4 of my eyes. Then smudge it using the small eyeshadow foam applicator.

STEP 6: For long, luscious lashes, I use Maybelline Hyper Curl Volum' Express mascara in Very Black. I have always loved mascaras from Maybelline, and this is one of them! Tilt your head backward just a little and wiggle the brush in a zig zag motion as you coat your lashes. This will give thicker and curlier lashes. Don't forget your lower lashes as well!

Step 7: Almost done! Apply this Luminous Cheek Blush in Creamy Cinnamon by Maybelline on the apple of your cheeks for that rosy glow.

STEP 8: Finish off the Mystery Maven look with a red lipstick. I'm using Maybelline Color Sensational in Summer Sunset, which as you can see, is so bloody red! It's actually my very first time wearing a bright red lipstick! To ensure a smooth application, I dab Maybelline Clear Smooth Powder on the area along my lips, using a sponge. Done!

Here's the end result:

Ta-daa!

You know what, it's actually a lot easier to cam-whore using my iPhone 4, so here you go....

Do I look "mysterious"? ;p

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, as much as I enjoyed doing it! :)

Lost World of Tambun

2011-09-28T00:00:00.005+08:00

What's the longest you have ever been stuck in a traffic jam?

Me... 7 hours - during our journey back to KL from Kedah (masa Raya).

Can you believe, we were stuck for 7 hours in the car, from Alor Setar to Ipoh? Ipoh saja tau, tak sampai KL lagi. Pinggang, pungkok ceq semua sakit! I cannot imagine those yang balik Kelantan/Terengganu by car (how many hours is it again?). Our journey from KL to Kedah went smoothly tho - 4 hours.

Kami bertolak pulang at 3.30 pm; pukul 10 malam tak sampai Ipoh lagi. There were massive jams and the cars were moving 40 km/h the fastest (I assume all other cars were the same). By that time, the kids and I were already restless and bored and cranky so we decided to spend the night at a hotel in Ipoh. (My parents-in-law continued their journey, by the way and they reached KL at 5 am! o_O).

The next day, we decided to go jalan-jalan around Ipoh city before heading to KL when we saw a signboard: Lost World Of Tambun. Hubby followed the signboard and said, "Nak tengok jer, best ke tak". Right. So we went to have a look... and ended up spending the rest of the day there!

Children below the height of 90cm get free entrance to the park so hubby only had to pay for the two of us.

Went to the souvenir shop to get some stuff. The girls on the other hand,

selamba took the toys from the shelf and played in the fitting room.

Bought this sunblock lotion.

Smells nice, and I love that it comes in a spray bottle!

Hubby and Ayra spent the first hour splish-splashing at the water park

Can you see the scars on Raina's face?

That was from the bunga api incident

(the scars are gone now, Alhamdulillah)

I didn't know there were other attractions beside the water park at the Lost World of Tambun. There are amusement park, petting zoo, tin valley, tiger valley and hot springs & spa. The main reason why we suddenly decided to go here was actually because of the petting zoo. We had never brought our kids to a zoo before so when I found out there was a petting zoo, I immediately said, "Let's go!". I think it's way more fun than normal zoo because you get to see, touch and feed the animals. Kids love that, don't they?

You can buy these foodies to feed the animals

The animals' houses (or huts or whatever they're called) are just so cute. Macam pondok mainan for kids!

Rabbits

Guinea pigs

Ayra almost nak panjat masuk!

Adorable racoons!

They're probably the only creatures that look cute with dark circles!

Longkang Fishing is rather interesting.

They provide fishing nets and pails...

...and you can actually catch the fish!

Tapi sila lepaskan balik ikan-ikan itu dalam kolam yer.

I forgot whose house is this

Sugar glider

The cutest house of all. It's almost like a doll house!

And it belongs to this hamster.

Comel sangat la buaian kau ni...

On the way to see some goats

Ayra tak takut langsung!

(I was afraid of goats! Ok, I was more geli than afraid la)

I was surprised that goats smell like err... goats! I mean, the live ones and the cooked ones smell the same. They don't smell that bad, except for their poop (duh, of course).

Mom, I want a pet goat for my birthday, pretty please!

This baby goat is the cutest. She's only 8 months!

There were a lot of other animals including cats, birds, porcupines, hedgehogs, prairie dogs (which sorta looked like chipmunks), horse, deers, turtles, chicken, ducks, snakes, etc. It was really interesting and we spent the longest here!

See that vertical rock formation that looks like a pencil in between those two mountains?

That's the Needle of Tambun.

The next attraction that we went to was the amusement park. Didn't ride the rides tho, except for the merry-go-round.

But we played some games! Was trying so hard to win one of the teddy bears, just for fun. Hubby and I wanted to play until we won something!

First we played this one. Must toss the coin inside one of the circles.

Tak menang (my coin jatuh terbabas atas lantai!).

Next we tried the ring toss bottle.

Tak menang jugak. Boo.

Then we played this duck fishing game.

It seems easy, but you will only win the prize if you manage to get a duck with a number underneath it. Each duck is either numbered as 1 (for small-sized teddy), 2 (medium-sized teddy), 3 (big-sized teddy) or nothing (no teddy).

Guess what? I managed to get a duck with a 2 underneath it! I won a teddy, woooh! Had never felt so excited winning a teddy bear before! ;p

Ayra dah boring. Dia nak sambung mandi.

We were having so much fun that we forgot to have our lunch. Pukul 5 baru makan. Food was not bad. Mee goreng mamak dia sedap. Even my picky eater liked it!

At around 6.30pm, we continued our journey to KL and arrived home at 10pm. The road was clear, thank God. What supposed to be a long, boring journey turned out to be fun in the end. If it wasn't for the massive traffic jams, I don't think we would be having this much fun, enjoying a day out with the kids! :)

Sleeping arrangements

2011-09-24T23:00:00.008+08:00

Raina had been sleeping well through the night, in her cot, every night ever since she was about 2 weeks old. It was blissful. I never had sleepless night.

At around 9 months, she started waking up 2-3 times at night, either crying to be fed or she just wants to sleep on the bed with the rest of us. Menangis sedih-sedih macam kena abandoned. Of course I had no choice but to sandwich her in the middle. Can you imagine all four of us on a queen-sized bed?? My husband, Ayra, Raina, me. Now I know how sardines feel. No space to move around... just laying there on one side. Static.

But I love waking up to the sight of this.

Melts my heart.... but my back and neck could not stand it. I always always woke up lenguh-lenguh dan sakit satu badan. That's when I realized we had to do something. We had to rearrange our sleeping positions. Sampai bila nak tidur berempat atas katil. Cannot!

And then I came up with a solution. Well it's not the best solution (the girls still sleep with us) but it's way better. Raina sleeps on the bed, in between my husband and I. Ayra on the other hand, sleeps in the cot which we place just next to our bed, right beside me. It's a win-win situation. They still get to sleep beside their beloved mommy, and I don't have to be a sardine anymore.

I hope one day (when Raina hits 2 years old maybe), they can sleep together in their own room. I already have room ideas for my girls, inspired by IKEA. Those colorful mini furniture is just so darn cute!

Speaking of IKEA, have you joined the Celcom XPAX Talk-a-thon? There are RM5,000 shopping vouchers to be won and you can spend them all either at IKEA, Topshop, Forever 21, Parkson, i-Study (Apple authorized reseller) and many more! You just need to make 3 additional calls above your daily average calls. You can also join if you're a Celcom Broadband or Instanet users. Find out more at http://www.xpax.com.my/talkathon/.

From Catwalk to Sidewalk

2011-09-23T10:45:00.008+08:00

While it's true that I am more comfortable wearing little makeup and nothing too dramatic on my face, I do admit playing around with colors is uber fun! You get to experiment with different looks - sexy, bold, sweet, fresh, exotic, etc etc. It's amazing how a little color could change your entire appearance, giving you more confidence and making you feel and look more beautiful. Makeup is like.... magic!

The other day I got the chance to attend Maybelline Workshop for bloggers at L'Oreal Academy Bangsar. It was actually my second time attending a makeup workshop (I usually learn makeup techniques from beauty magazines and online video tutorials). I have always loved Maybelline's mascaras (you can read my review here) but never tried their other products. I was surprised to find out that Maybelline is actually the #1 makeup brand in the world and they were the official makeup sponsor for the recent New York Fashion Week!

We learned how to get runway looks and translate them

into wearable, chic looks in this workshop.

Celeberity makeup artist showing the makeup techniques

Amber Chia was there too. She gave us some tips on how to pose in front of the camera.

I was awestruck seeing her effortless poses!

Managed to snap a pic with her.

Gosh, look at those eyebags of mine! >_<

And then it was time to do our makeup. The makeup artist showed how to achieve 4 different runway looks - G.I Jane, Sexy Starlet, Party Princess and Mystery Maven. We had to choose one look and do our own makeup, based on what we learned earlier. And we were only given 30 minutes!

Before - bare-faced

Maybelline makeup that were provided

Girls at "work"

I decided to go with the G.I Jane look.

It's all about outstanding eyes in military khaki greens and lots of eyeliner!

I am in love with this Hyper Sharp Liner.

It's an ultra-fine liquid eyeliner and is SO easy to apply

(that's coming from someone who used to think liquid eyeliner is the hardest to apply!)

The end result - my version of G.I Jane.

Usually the darkest shade is applied on the outer corners of the eyes to create a V shape, but for this G.I Jane look, the darkest shade is applied on the inner corners of the eyes. It's something different!

Close-up

With Kak Jemah (she did Sexy Starlet look) and Ceera (Party Princess look)

Nuffie Thara!

Later at the end of the workshop, we were told that we could take whatever products that we used earlier. I was like whattttt??!! Some were still new and unopened! Apa lagi, semua orang berebut-rebut and just grabbed whatever we can!

My makeup haul

(Managed to grab the Hyper Sharp Liner that I've been eyeing on. Yay!)

We were also given Maybelline's new lip balms, called Baby Lips. Just look at how super cute is the packaging. And OMG I'm in love with it! Not sure if it's already available in the market but you really gotta try it! It's so moisturizing and smells yummy. And have I mentioned, CUTE??

After trying out Maybelline's products, I now have 3 new favorites (besides the Magnum Volum' Express mascara). They are the Hyper Sharp Liner, Baby Lips and Angel Fit Perfect Concealer. Major love!

Anyway, Maybelline is having a contest for us bloggers who attended the workshop. We need to recreate any of the 4 looks and take step-by-step pictures or video of how we do it - kind of like a makeup tutorial. I haven't decided which look to choose... Should I do the G.I Jane again or something else? Or any of you want to request any of the looks - Sexy Starlet (shiny and metallic eyes), Party Princess (sweet, subtle pink and girlish accents) or Mystery Maven (dramatic turquoise eyes with red lips).

Let me know if you would like to request a look! Maybe I could come up with something ;D

Bag Cleaning

2011-09-19T09:00:00.004+08:00

I noticed the bags that I have my eyes on are mostly white and neutral colors.

Like these beauties...

Louis Vuitton

Kate Spade

Gucci and Dior

But the thing about light-colored bags is that they stain so easily! Especially white. I have 4 white bags and 2 of them are so dirty as a result of being worn to death (they are a lot dirtier than in the picture actually).

My poor bags. The Mini Lin Speedy lagi la. The material is canvas and it has become yellowish and there are brownish stains at the corners of the bag. Macam kepam jer. How do you clean your stained bags? I dare not clean the bags myself because I'm afraid of ruining them (have never tried leather cleaners for bags either), so I'm sending them away for a professional bag cleaning at Atelier. Saw the deal on Milkadeal some time ago and I bought 2 for both my bags. They are in a serious need of cleaning!

The deal has ended tho (sorry lupa nak share), but I saw a similar one, also on Milkadeal - Cleaning of any kind of handbag by Spinn Laundrette Services for only RM58. There are some before-and-after pictures and they look promising.

This is the first time I'm sending my bags for cleaning. I hope they turn out alright!

Kerna Ku Sayang Kamu

2011-09-18T16:30:00.007+08:00

I've been layan-ing this song these past few days. It's the very first song that my then-boyfriend, now-husband dedicated to me when we were dating. The wordings are so sweet, it melted my heart! Well, it still melts my heart every time I listen to it :)

One of the sweetest things he has ever done was when he arranged for a bouquet of pink roses to be delivered to me when he was still in the States. Imagine my surprise! Masa tu baru sebulan kenal. Sumpah cair gila. Berhari la duk belek peluk cium bunga-bunga tu. Hahah.

We were actually in a long-distance relationship for 2 years and we only met for the first time after about 9 months. Yes, long distance relationship CAN work! We kept in touch with each other through emails, YM, Friendster, even postcards (when either one of us went on holiday). Oh and of course, phone calls. Lots and lots of phone calls. He called me every single day and the longest we've been on the telephone, talking to each other was 13 hours - can you imagine? Heh. We were like on a talkathon or something. Well, he did most of the talking (biasa la, lelaki di awal relationship harus banyak cakap; perempuan malu-malu ;p).

I just love reminiscing about the time we first met. Brings back sweet memories *jiwang mode*. Here's hoping for more :)

On a side note...

If you're a Celcom Xpax user, remember to join the TALK-A-THON by simply making 3 additional calls a day above your daily average. You could be one of the lucky winners to win RM5,000 shopping vouchers! Free shopping weh!

Log on to www.xpax.com.my/talkathon for more info.

Ballerina Princess

2011-09-17T23:30:00.006+08:00

3-year-old sure has a ~~ridiculous~~ ~~bizarre~~ interesting sense of style.

I mean, just look at this.

Tutu skirt, tiara, socks, upside down sunnies and my lilac loofah glove,
worn with her pajama.

Ayra thinks this look is princessy. She's currently obsessed with anything princess and ballerina (ever since watching Angelina Ballerina on Disney Junior). She just love to twirl in her tutu skirt and demand to wear one every day at home. Like, seriously, EVERY DAY. Layankan saja.

Tidur pun nak pakai tutu skirt.

Whoever gave this Princess Lego set for Ayra's 1st birthday,
thank you so much! She LOVES it!

I know exactly what theme to choose for her 3rd birthday, which is end of this year (if we're planning to throw her a party lah). Speaking of which, I still haven't decided when and where to celebrate Raina's 1st birthday party. Yikes! Buat kecil-kecil jer laa kan...

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Saw this deal on Milkadeal and I just have to share it with you guys - 3 (yes, THREE) iPhone 3G/3Gs casings (breathe type protective shield) for only RM59! There are 8 cute colors to choose from - pink, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, black, royal blue and powder blue. Boleh tukar-tukar matching dengan baju.

If the deal was for iPhone 4, dah lama aku beli (bought this handmade leather vest in black for my husband's iPhone by the way).

In love with SK-II

2011-09-16T10:00:00.003+08:00

I think I'm a skincare junkie. I love trying out different skincare products. Usually before deciding to purchase a new product, I will do a little bit of research (gotta love the internet!) and read online reviews by other users. Some brands offer online skin consultation on their websites to prescribe the right products for your skin by asking a few questions. I find that somewhat helpful because there are so many products to choose from and it can be overwhelming sometimes. Having someone else to advice you on which product to suit your skin's needs would be a great help, wouldn't it?

That's what the SK-II skin consultation was all about, besides getting to know more about your skin. I went for the skin consultation at SK-II counter in Isetan, The Gardens with my sister the other day. (Invited my friends as well but since it was on a weekday, none could make it)

That was actually my second time having skin consultation at SK-II. But this time around, they analyzed whether my skin has the 5 dimensions that makes skin crystal clear. The 5 dimensions are Texture Refinement, Firmness Power, Wrinkle Resilience, Spots Control and Radiance Enhancement. Here's what the 5 dimensions are all about:

Texture Refinement - finer texture, more moisture, less oiliness, less visible pores.
Firmness Power - more energized, firmer contour/curves, more lifting impression on eye & mouth corners, less visible nasolabial fold (laugh lines).
Wrinkle Resilience - less fine lines, less dynamic line with expression, less static lines/wrinkles, less connected lines.
Spots Control - less brown spots, lighter brown patches, better tone evenness, reverse stubborn spots.
Radiance Enhancement - more translucency, more radiance, more glow from within, less yellowish & dullness.

As usual, the beauty consultant scanned a few areas of my skin...

Moments later, out came the result. I only have 2 dimensions of a crystal clear skin - Texture Refinement with 70% and Spots Control with 83%! The rest were average la - in the 60% range.

And here are the products recommended for my skin's needs:
Facial Treatment Essence, Cellumination Essence and Skin Signature.

Testing some of SK-II products on my hand

I managed to try these products that day.

The beauty consultant was really helpful. She explained each and every product that was tested on me, and gave some useful tips including the correct ways to apply the products. I also made her list down the prices for all SK-II products for my reference. Senang nak kira budget nanti! ;p

The white jar in the above pic is Facial Treatment Gentle Cleansing Gel which helps to remove (light) makeup. I love the gel texture! If I'm not mistaken, it suits combination to dry skin. The Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil is for removing heavier makeup. I feel like giving one of these a try one day! (that is, when my current makeup remover is finished).

Research shows, it's better to apply beauty lotion with a cotton pad
rather than using your hands because it applies more evenly.
If you have dry hands, all the moisture goodness will be absorbed
into your hands instead of your skin.

My sister at the other part of the counter, having her skin analyzed.
It was her first time having skin consultation at SK-II and she thinks it was helpful too!

We were given this 7-day SK-II Pitera Miracle Kit, which as you can see, includes Facial Treatment Gentle Cleanser, Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, Facial Treatment Essence (Miracle Water) and 1 piece of Facial Treatment Mask. These are the most basic and essential SK-II products.

I have been wanting to try SK-II mask for ages! Tapi bila dah dapat, sayang nak guna. Hee! The mask is equivalent to 30ml of the Treatment Essence. It is so concentrated and enriched with Pitera which deeply hydrates the skin. I've tried the other 3 products and my favorite of all is the Gentle Cleanser! Seriously, it's one of the best cleansers I've ever used. I even tweeted about it some days ago.

I was told by the beauty consultant that they have changed the formulation which is gentler to skin (previously it was Facial Treatment Cleanser). I could totally feel and see the difference right away. My skin felt soft and clean right after cleansing - no tightness at all. And I love the thick and creamy texture which foams up nicely. I now spend a few extra minutes in front of the mirror, admiring my freshly cleansed skin! ;p I can foresee myself purchasing the full size pretty soon!

Anyway, one of the products that I was a little bit skeptical when the beauty consultant explained to me was the Facial Treatment Clear Lotion (toner). She said that SK-II doesn't have facial scrub and that the Facial Treatment Clear Lotion helps to remove dead skin cells so you don't really need to scrub. I was like, "oh okay" but I wasn't really convinced. I mean, it's totally normal for beauty consultants to say so many wonderful things about all of their products because that's how they attract customers to purchase, no?

But oh me, oh my.
Little that I know it was going to be one of my favorite products!

You know how rough your skin feels, especially around your nose area if you haven't scrubbed your face in weeks? Macam berkerak, if you know what I mean. Kadang-kadang nampak hidung macam berbulu putih (white heads I guess?). I was VERY surprised of how soft and smooth my skin felt, especially the skin around my nose, after just 5 days! No more "kerak"! The beauty consultant was right. Seriously, my skin felt like it had just been scrubbed (which I haven't - in weeks, if not months). I never knew a toner could do that! *loves* Definitely a great product, especially for those who are ~~lazy~~ busy that you can't be bothered/always forgetting to scrub (like me).

Some of the reviewers in Makeupalley.com even said the same thing (highlighted in yellow):

Anyway... 7 days have passed and I couldn't be happier with my skin! I'm in love with SK-II now. I really am. I'm slowly switching to SK-II products. The price is rather steep but ahh... it's a good investment. After a week of using the trial kit and loving the result, I decided to purchase SK-II Skin Signature Cream (moisturizer). Apparently, it's another of their best seller besides the Facial Treatment Essence. Of course the reviews on Makeupalley.com helped a lot! I just knew I had to get it after reading that two men - aged 35 and 56 - have poreless, bright and smooth skin after using it!

I also bought the the 75ml Facial Treatment Essence which comes with a trial size toner and 1 piece of mask (yay, I have 2 masks now!). Or also known as the Pitera Essence Set (retails RM199).

The Facial Treatment Essence will help to improve the 5 dimensions of crystal clear skin. It is proven that the "Miracle Water" makes your skin feels more elastic, reduces the appearance of fine lines, makes your skin look translucent, reduces hyperpigmentation, brightens skin tone and removes dull skin skin.

Got a sample of Cellumination Deep Surge,
which helps to balance skin tone from within.

If you're thinking of trying out SK-II product, you too can come down to their counters for a free skin consultation. You can find the list of SK-II counters in Malaysia and their phone numbers on this page. I would recommend purchasing the trial kit for first-timers!

Now that I'm an SK-II user, I am even more confident to bare my skin now. Just little or sometimes no makeup when I'm out and about. Let's be kind to our skin and use less makeup, ladies! And remember the pledge to bare your skin for a day! You can check out who else have been baring their skin (besides yours truly) here: https://www.sk-ii.com.my/en/products/in-the-spotlight.aspx.