Weekend Getaway: Port Dickson

Once upon a time, I did not believe in short vacations. Then reality kicked in. Between family, work and other commitments, we just ran out of time! So much to do, so little time!

Last weekend, I posted about packing for the beach. We went to Port Dickson for one night only! We stayed at a homestay in Corus Paradise together with our friends and their 3 year old. Our unit was facing the sea. It was perfect!

That night we had barbeque on the balcony. Yummy.

Early next morning, we went to the beach. Our favorite beach in Port Dickson is in front of the Regency. The water is really shallow, so the little ones get to enjoy the sea as well. When I was little, my parents used to take me and my brother there. Awww good old times. Can’t believe it’s been more than 20 years!

The getaway was short and sweet. Just nice to escape the city for a short while. For now, this is our getaway style. Close to the city, affordable and short. Us parents enjoyed the chill out time, the kids enjoyed each other’s company and everything else!

All’s good.

Packing For The Beach

We’re taking a weekend trip to Port Dickson! So excited! The last time we were at the beach was in Pulau Perhentian last February. Feels like a loooong time ago. I miss the beach!

I’m more excited this time because we’re going with friends. Naila will have a playmate thank goodness.

Staying at home is getting really claustrophobic with the haze and everything. Thankfully nobody got sick, yet. We won’t escape the haze by going to PD.. but it’s just nice to be out and about… at the beach!

On to packing!! Packing is boring really, except for the beach bag!

I’m taking:-

1. A mat: standard jute mat we’ve had for decades

2. Sand play toys: mix of Ikea toys and sand toys

3. Goggles: we got a Speedo toddler goggles for Naila, and same for me & hubs

4. A beach ball: might wanna toss the ball around

5. A float: We’re using Ogival baby float. I bought arm floats for Naila but it’s too big for her.

6. Waterproof camera case: trusty DiCaPac

7. Wet bag: Arena brand, gift from MIL

8. Ikea bag: to dump everything in. The offical beach bag

Did I forget anything? I hope not!

The Active Life of a Toddler

 

What happens if I mix blue and red and brown?

I thought I’d share what me & Naila are up to during the week. Now that I think about it, we actually do the same thing every week! We love to paint. At least I know I do. Naila loves to mix paint until it turns into the color of mud.

Look at me go!

This next activity is Naila’s favorite since she was a few months old. It never gets old for her. On the other hand, every time I find her like this, surrounded by a cloud of tissue, I feel a tear coming on. Do you know how much tissue has been turned into unusable shreds?

If only you knew.

I guess some people never learn to keep things out of a toddler’s grasp (rolls eye at hubs).

Oo oohh mommy is here to take me out of the pool. Better pretend to be busy.

One of the perks of living in an apartment is that you have a swimming pool an elevator ride away! We make it a point to go swimming at least once a week. I do my halfhearted ‘laps’.. meanwhile… Naila cheers me on and try hard not to succumb to the temptations of drinking the pool water!

I want ice-creammm!

The park is a perfect place to let Naila burn away her excess energy. She runs around the park. By the time we get to the car, she’ll be all drowsy. Doesn’t take long for her to doze off into dreamland.

*flips page*

We read one or two books before bedtime and a few more during the day. She’s got her favorite books that she chooses to read over and over again. She’s stopped tearing books to my relief! That’s Naila’s typical weekly activities. On some days that I’m extra pumped up, we’ll do mega projects like cooking together or doing artworks from felt and stuff!

Have a good week ahead everybody <3

Weekend Round-up: Online Shopping

Who doesn’t adore online shopping? Saves time and in most cases, money. Because face it, if you stroll the mall to find pants, you’ll find pants and ten more items. Worst case scenario, you find ten other items minus the pants. Happened to anyone else before?………. Maybe it’s just me =_=

Anyways, a few criteria to the list.

1. Consistent good customer service & good feedback.

2. Active website (meaning, the website refreshes their product frequently and we don’t have to wait until election for updates)

3. Having a proper shopping cart and check-out system. Allows payment via many channels.

That’s it! Now on to the list of the best online shopping in Malaysia.

DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLL

 

NUMERO UNO. the Pop Look.

Okay I know that everyone knows them, but I just have to mention the pop look because they’re too awesome and they NEVER dissappoint.

Buy: chiffon and jersey dresses, accessories & their pants. Recently they came up with a hijab line!

 

 

DOS. Fashion Valet!!!

Love love love. Stalking Malaysian designers collection has never been easier.

Buy: Statement necklaces and one of a kind tops. Keep an eye for festival season like raya etc, eye popping collection.

  

 

TRES. Radiusite!!

Sigh. To buy hijab in your pajamas. Couldn’t get better.

Buy: Many types of tudung at affordable prices. Casual & dressy. Also inner hijab.

 

CUATRO. Azorias

Sophistication is their middle name.

Buy: Preppy clothing for work or play. Check out especially their blouses. Theirs are very well made.

 

 

Er. NUMBER FIVE. Alhumaira Contemporary

So many designs to choose from! So colorful!

Buy: Muslimah wear including scarves and tops

 

So there you have it. I love online shopping but sometimes you can’t really trust certain websites. Dodgy selling and all. These are okay!

Check back next week for another 5 top online shopping websites!

Disclaimer: Credits for photos goes to respective websites and does not belong to me. Clicking on the pics will take you to their shopping sites.

Weekend Round Up #2

Hiyya everyone!

1. Who says books are expensive? Especially when there’s a discount bookstore in town!



2. Be inspired to wear scarf like Diana Amir. Or at least, something like it.

3. A hidden gem on my hiking wishlist – Chilling Waterfall

4. Must watch movie – The Five Year Engagement – I know title sounds non-ideal, but the movie is so sweet!

5. OMG how gorgeous is this scarf!!!!!



6. Another on the wish list – Fossil satchel



7. Trying to get into the habit of drinking a lot of water

8. Marshella adornment necklaces are soo pretty. Goes really well with traditional wear.

Me & hubs are just chilling this weekend. We're changing house tiles and the whole house is in a mess.
Can't wait to get it done!

Happy weekend!

Weekend Round-Up

1. What better way to expand our cooking skills than with Buttemilk Pancakes!

2. Gorgeous Top knots to try at home if you’re a hijabi/ out if you’re not.



3. My favorite Jovian Mandagie piece from his Raya collection! This one too.

4. Wish we had this in Malaysia – Neutrogena Moisture Shine Gloss


5. Marriage is not for the faint-hearted. Definitely.

6. If you love thrillers and zombies, this book is for you.

7. Ramadan is not over yet! Find out secrets to easily memorize the Quran.

8. Buy someone a getaway gift!!! I had wished that someone would give me a getaway gift during my wedding. But probably too much to hope, no?

9. I could have died and gone to satchel heaven.

10. Happy weekend, and happy last 8 days of Ramadan!!

Take care guys!

What Are You Willing To Pay For Yourself?

Hi, happy weekend peeps!

I just thought to share something that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. In 2009, I bought a long t-shirt from Giordano for RM99. I’m still wearing the shirt till today.

I once bought a handbag for RM35 which lasted me 5 months tops. It wasn’t nice to the touch and the quality wasn’t anything to die for. In the end, I only ended up using the bag a few times.

So the question is, how much are the stuff that you buy actually worth?

It isn’t always about the price. You can buy a book that costs RM150, but gain unlimited knowledge from it. You may buy a t-shirt that costs RM10, but begin to have loose threads after the second wash and totally unravel after the tenth wash.

Value of an item is really subjective. Sometimes I hear people saying, I can’t afford to buy organic food or they simply can’t be bothered. Which is really sad, because organic food might actually prolong your life for 5 years (God willing). And keep you healthy for that 5 years. Who wouldn’t want health in old age?

I’ve always liked the idea of value buying. Price should come second, if the value of the item is justified. I mean, come on, what is a couple hundred ringgit if the item lasts you 10 years, for example?

There’s just way too many people who are money-centric these days. Why should you attached yourself to money so much instead of looking beyond it to see the value of what is it that you’re buying? Why say a RM150 bracelet is too expensive when it’s made out of Swarovski crystals and silver and probably last you 5 years? Instead of, let’s say, RM15 that would break in 5 months and doesn’t look as nice. That is, if you’re looking for a bracelet.

Someone I know last time asked, why do you love to buy expensive handbags? (Relative to others) Answer is, I don’t love to buy expensive handbags.

I’m very rough with my things, and I lead an active lifestyle which requires me to open and close my handbags many times a day (ok Lol it’s true). And I go from markets to offices to malls. And also to travel. I’ve got 3 handbags tops and I use them till their crushed. Usually that takes around 3-4 years each. That translates to about RM3 per month value!

How to calculate value? A basic calculation is:

Price of item / no. of months item is use = value

So next time, really think about what is it that you want. Is it worth your money? Do you wanna have it replaced after 1 month? Are you really saving money like you think you are or are you just fooling yourself into thinking that you are?

Happy value spending & happy weekend!

Newfound Love

Before I was married, the weekends seem to expand to fit in a lot of activities. Being brought up in a huge extended family, 14 aunts and uncles, 20+ girl cousins, there’s bound to be something on during the weekend. If not, my parents would always have some plans, if not, I would make them with my brothers, and more often, I made plans with the girl friends.

But ever since I got married and moved out, it became quite a challenge to fill it up. Plus, everyone from the family seems to think that they don’t have to invite us to gatherings anymore. My mom didn’t call us to join bacaan quran at Wan’s grave. Hint: I still wanna join every barbeque, luncheons, soirees, holiday, whatever.

In the beginning, yes we needed the privacy, only because there was so much to get used to. Visiting husband’s family, setting up the house, buying stuff for the kitchen, juggling housework/work role. I think we got the rhythm about right when I quit my real estate job in March. (To be honest, I miss it soo much)

Anyways, one day:
Me: Let’s watch a movie tonight
Husband: What movie?
Me: What to expect when you’re expecting
Husband: We can download that from P**
Me: Ok fine. So what do we do this weekend? Omg lets go to flea market in Jaya 1
Husband: We need to save.
Me: Go Singapore!!!
Husband: Need to save. Why don’t we walk at FRIM?
Me: Huh?

Aaand Eureka! We found our answer to a cheap, thrilling, not to mention healthy way to spend the weekend!

Jungle trekking. Hiking. Whatever you call it. Lalala.

Not that I don’t love outdoor sports, you know I do. I just never liked hiking that much. Wet branches, mosquitoes, leeches, and you never know whats lurking on the tree branches. I'm slowly getting used to it.

This week we climbed Bukit Tabur. Will write about it soon!

Ciao!

Weekend Getaway: Terengganu

Before attempting to do a weekend getaway to Terengganu aka 2 days only holiday, please get enough sleep because you definitely won’t sleep in Terengganu!!



I fell in love with Terengganu mainland. Couple of years ago, I went to one of its island but didn’t get to enjoy their coastline. By the way, Terengganu coastline is soo long and the drive from Kemaman towards Kuala Terengganu is just DIVINE and scenic.

So I was complaining that there’s no highway and stuff but the scenery pretty much makes up for the small road.

The main reason for going to Terengganu was to celebrate my close friend, Amalina’s wedding! I’m so happy for them. Everybody deserves to marry the person they WANT.





We slept at Intan Beach Resort right by the beach. (obvious much –.-)Nothing much to say about it. Clean, good air conditioning. Only peeve was the smelly water. I don’t know.. it smells like.. rust? But for RM89, rust water is worth it. Kidding ok. But you have to admit that it’s easy on your pockets.



The following day, we tried the popular Mak Yah’s keropok lekor and we were disappointed. I remember coming here a couple of years ago and packing hundreds of keropok lekor to bring home. Now what’s left of the divine taste is “abysmal” (Any Joey Tribbiani fans here?).



We were hungry so we ate a lot anyway. We added a second serving. For breakfast. We rule.



Then we found out about this place--Keropok Lekor Btb 2209. This is better than Mak Yah keropok lekor. Waaay better. For keropok lekor rebus, you’d have to phone in and order a few days in advance or suffer the wait of 1-2 hours.



Then we went to Pasar Payang which has lots of batiks, songkets, and other wonderful things that’s cheap (relatively to KL). Please “bersopan santun menggunakan tangga”. Aduhai everyone went down with fans and kain batik, jalan kepit kepit. In my head.



Tortoise eggs!



Along the way back, we stopped at Rantau Abang. If it wasn’t for the hot sun, both of us would be in the water swimming instead of taking this picture.




So that’s it for our short trip! Love ya Terengganu. We’ll be back. Astalavista baby.

The Apprentice & Nightmares

Weekend Love!

Hi everybody, next time I’ll try not to be so boring. Because now I’m bored. So I put boring stuff. How do you get over boringness. I’m becoming one of those people who can’t live when there’s no work! As in, you know, working! I used to enjoy smelling roses but now I can’t! Hanging out feels like wasting time, and I itch to poke somebody or do some action!

What’s the matter with me??! I blame the apprentice! You’re fired!

This coming week will be my last week working; there’s just so many exciting things happening. I can’t even sleep properly at night and I get nightmares about kitchen utensils! Can you imagine how tiring that is? Then at work, the boss will be like, you look like you didn’t get enough sleep. In my head I’m like, yes if my eyebags aren’t obvious enough.

I always get myself excited and jittery by watching adrenaline rush movies at 10pm which isn’t probably a good idea. I’ll watch at 9!

Speaking of adrenaline rush, I’ve been stopping myself from shopping; hence not going anywhere near the mall for three months. Instead of saving more money, I discovered a more efficient way to shop! I just discovered how awesome online shopping is in Malaysia nowadays.

But that’s another story. Take care everybody.

p/s: Lugging around an slr is a pain. I’m ganna repair my compact camera asap! Miss those little silver boxy things.

Laid Back Sunday

I found beautiful trinkets online.

This is old, but Disney characters are always fun to look at.

Must Read Books:

1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
2. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
3. Currently reading: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (so far so good)

Must watch movies:

1. The Next Three Days (2010)
2. Gone with the Wind (1938)
3. The Fantastic Mr Fox (2010)

Till then!

Specialization is For Insects

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

I’ve posted the quote above before, but I don’t remember when was it. This quote must be one of my favorites of all time because it speaks about the condition we are in. I’ve always envied people who multitask elegantly, juggling every single role like an expert performer.

I think it’s a natural thing for us to wanna do so many things at a time. But because our responsibilities push us to work on very specific things, we miss out on others.

I didn’t write much last week, it was such a hectic week and to top it all off, we had the Chinese New Year one week holiday before that, so the I’m not quite up to gear 5 yet.

Tomorrow I’m helping out a friend with a photography job, my first one, mind you. I don’t plan to do freelance anytime, considering I’m not that good of a photographer myself but when someone pays you to do something, you’ll have to do your best.

Have fun and enjoy your weekend.

On a very cheerful note, a blogger friend, Sabrina is getting married soon!

What I’m Saying Is…

When I go shopping, I will try to arrive at the moment that they open the doors and go home in the afternoon. Reason is, one, you get to beat the crowd. Two, you don’t have to pray in the mall.

I’ve long had this dislike about praying in the mall. Not only is the surau usually ill-kept but you can never pray in peace. I really don’t understand why some people make suraus their hang out place aka mamak stall no. 2.

Obviously, I don’t know what’s going on in the guy’s area and I’m not finger pointing but 100% of everytime I get into suraus, you’ll get an aura that you have just stepped into a happening eating place.

Do you really have to share beauty tips in the surau? Do you really have to tell everyone in the surau that your friend’s stepsister’s fiance is a bi***? Or compare the clothes you bought? Or do you have to take up so much space in the little box of a surau when you can’t even pray?

For goodness sake, it’s a praying room so please respect everybody who wants some peace to p-r-a-y.

I might have done it in the past when I was young and stupid but I realized that what I was doing was so annoying!

Please people, be considerate and others will be considerate to you! This is Hitz.fm community message and together with the Hitz crew, we care about you!

p/s: This weekend is more of a tough love and I know Hitz.fm would never cover this topic. Har har.

Chill To These =)

One, Taylor Swift is singing something other than fairytales which is ‘fresh’ to me. Second, besides her voice, the tunic she’s wearing is super nice.

I don’t like to play videos on blogs, I don’t expect anyone to, but I promise all the songs here are so soothing, you’d wanna add them to your ‘chill out’ playlist.

Enjoy, and happy weekend peeps =)

Taylor Swift’s Back to December Live

John Mayer’s Half of My Heart (feat. Ms Taylor Swift)

Michael Buble’s Georgia

And last but not least, the song I can’t get out of my head as of now:

Bruno Mars’s Grenade Live

xoxo

Gender Equality in the 1920s

Happy weekend everybody!!!

Masjid Putrajaya is THE Place To Be

Of all mosques in Klang Valley, you should try praying at the Putrajaya mosque. The imam reads beautifully like a lullaby, air-conditioned (top of the list!), with fine & intricately carved (pasted?) walls. You know you’ve found the ideal mosque when the environment inside just makes you wanna pray and live there!

Like my dad said, ‘the place makes it easier to be khusyuk’.

The environment reminds me of UTP mosque. Miss that mosque. You have no idea what I used that mosque for. Besides praying of course. UTP is a very hot place, no? The afternoons were especially killer. Me and some course mates used to study there. We’d take our books, head to 2nd floor and unwind our scarves. Then in between breaks we played leg wrestling. Don’t ask what weirdo activity that is.

Still Putrajaya mosque, not UTP mosque. Sorry for diverting from topic! There was this one incident where I went to the mosque a second time. At the time I was wearing a long bit-clingy top and jeans and was told to put on a robe going in. I was like hell no! What you think I am? A mosque tourist? What more the robe handed to me was bright pink and reminded me of barbie swan princess. I wore my telekung and case closed. Later I saw two girls walking in the mosque wearing the pink robes, looking like Queen Amidala meets Barbie. More power to them.

Gohgeous simply gohgeous. By the way the malls are getting crazier with mega/raya/warehouse sales--- I say do focus shopping and go get the best deal out there because a good buy makes you feel good but bad ones make you feel like poop.

Hope everyone had a swell weekend…