on expensive stuffs

I think handbag designers are a bunch of higly innovative people. Innovative is the word, not creative. I mean.. they don't actually CREATE the handbags... the very first handbag ever created might be a sack or something and people just took it from there and add pockets, handles, slings, accessories, patterns etc.

Handbags are also seen as a status quo nowadays.... Fine, let's buy a zillion dollar handbag today and strut around town feeling good about it. 3 months later, it's out of season and you can find it sold for a fraction of the original price at a factory outlet somewhere. Which made me think, how much is actually the REAL cost of the bags at the first place?

I don't mind paying a lot for a bag that's practical... but sometimes when I want to go for fashion or patterns and then felt happy coz I can get it at a cheaper price, the feeling is dampened a little bit when the guy at the boutique tells you that it was the last season's edition.. hmmmm...

Maybe when I do buy a designer handbag, I'll just buy their classic (albeit boring) and not the seasonal one.
At the meantime, I'll strut around town with a gunny sack. ;)

A List for the New Life

Kalau blog ni dah lama tak berupdate adalah kerana tuannya super busy dengan workload dan kehidupan sosial.
Workload most of the time la...keluar dari opis pun dah nak pukul 7...and after work keluar jumpa kawan-kawan. I really, really wish I can see my other friends yang dah lama giler tak jumpa, but since I'm car-less here, I just sell my soul to the highest bidder...ha ha.

But seriously, banyak giler kerja sekarang ni....really wish I'm in Miri office right now...with all its distraction; kawan-kawan yang ajak mengumpat, ajak curi makanan orang kat 3rd floor, ajak makan custard bun after work...bengong..but I guess I will have to get used to this new chapter of my life, eventually.

tak cukup dengan itu, my 2 bosses asyik menelepon silih berganti asking me to make up my mind and agree with either one of them....adoiii...all I wanna do is just work, ni selang sehari call berkicau kat telinga aku apasal... hidup ini memang harus memilih, I'll make my choice eventually, but right now all I can do is just give diplomatic answers.

Anyway, tadi sempat buat senarai barang-barang yang perlu ada untuk survive my new life:

Kad "Touch n Go"

now I have to go back and forth my three offices, I need it, tak larat setiap kali pun nak beratur beli tiket. Bought one today.

A pair of sturdy, trendy flats:

nanti nak kena jalan turun naik bukit untuk ke stesen LRT, pastu kena berdiri kat dalam LRT, pastu kena jalan ke hulu ke hilir yarabi...so, merana la kalo memanjang pakai kasut tinggi....my solution would be to keep a pair of high heels in the office for whenever I need that "extra inches of confidence", then to get flat shoes/sandals that I can wear with any outfit and for all occasions....no idea what to buy yet, but I think I will know when I see it..

Minyak Wangi

kadang-kadang rasa macam menjadi busuk semula di dalam LRT...saja nak beli satu simpan dalam handbeg to keep me smelling fresh. huhu

Umbrella...ella ella

penting untuk cuaca yang tak menentu and since I'll be walking a lot..nak beli yang rupa cam botol air ni for easy storage

Coffee Mug

I'm not a coffee person, but I'm soooo in love with the coffee at the building's canteen..but since it's not fancy like Starbucks, etc. whenever I ordered it to be taken away, they put it in a paper cup that is not really heat resistance...I ended up scalding myself the other day and now I'm scarred for life. :(

And I will save 40 cents by bringing my own mug.

I-pad

saja mengada nak letak dalam list, sebab nak i-phone, but I know I won't use it anyway sebab skrin tak cukup besar untuk main games, internet or whatnot...laptop sekarang dah 4 tahun dah umur dia... and this is part of the motivation untuk bekerja keras dan bersabar. ;P

Bag

a bag sturdy and strong enough to hold all of the above...pun tak tau nak beli apa...but I would prefer something like this la...not a big fan of monogrammed bags..

hopefully, everything will go well...(Amiin)

tak mampu dah nak shopping, so...

kudos to myself for not shopping for almost 2 weeks now....huhu...apa taknye, bulan 9 dah belanja besar untuk hari raya, bulan 10 hari tu every weekend travel tak hengat, and this month pulak dah janji dengan my parents nak kongsi buat korban and I'm also going to India just before hari gaji.....aduii, perit kot nak travel hujung² bulan ni....tapi apa boleh buat, tiket pun dah beli and we already spent a lot of money on the India visa...untuk pengetahuan korang, India visa ni mahal and agak tak berbaloila bagi aku....it will cost you RM168 per (tourist) visa and it only lasts for 6 months (during which you can only enter India for 2 times)... compare to US visa which costs ~RM400 for 10 years and the hassle-free Australia visa (boleh apply online je) which costs ~RM60....aku tak tau pasal benda ni semua masa beli tiket AirAsiaX ke Delhi hari tu....kalaulah ku tahu memang aku akan berfikir 2 kali la...tapi, dah beli tiket punya pasal, pergi je la kan....

so, since I have to be on a strict budget, I tried to limit my time in the shopping mall...so far, so good la....even kat KL aritu pun, after work and dinner, saya akan terus balik bilik instead of merayau-rayau di KLCC, kalau nak balik lambat pun sebab tengok movie je. Kat Miri lagila senang, since malas giler nak drive ke Bintang Plaza, in the occasions where friends pick me up and we did go to Bintang, I left my ATM and credit cards at home....even all the discount cards pun aku tak bawak so that kalau masuk Popular Book Store adalah alasan untuk tak membeli sebab kad diskaun tertinggal di rumah, rugi kalau beli sekarang.

kalau gi shopping pun, biasanya it's gonna be books, shoes, clothes and skincare/makeup la....makeup memang tak luak sangat coz I don't really use much, and luckily my skincare products masih belum habis lagi, so no need to replenish (pheww), clothes boleh lagi resist temptation sebab leceh nak try bla bla bla....but my weakness kalau gi mall adalah books and shoes...so sekarang ni saya 'shopping' (pinjam) buku from Zuma je...since she likes to buy books and some of her collection are of a different genre than mine...yeay! lots of chic lits for me to read!

pasal shoes pulak, sekarang ni takde selera sangat nak membeli kasut....since I injured my back a few times already, have to be really selective in the types of footwear that I buy....well, in the events where I feel I can't live without a certain cute pair of shoes, I will still buy it and wear it once in a while....but most of the time now, these are what I wear:

my CROCsy love affair:

Mary-Jane in red: this is the very first Crocs that I bought in mid 2008...tapak dia dah haus sikit but otherwise still in good condition...dah lama tak pakai though..

Rx Silver Fox Medical in Burgundy/Cotton Candy: one of my most favorite shoes, only sold at selected Crocs outlet, this one I ordered directly from Pinang Medical Supplies, one of their outlets is in Sunway Pyramid, sangat selesa kasut ini..

Malindi in turqoise: a friend of mine had these in egg yolk yellow, and I wanted one too, but I got this colour instead, nice for jalan² di hujung minggu

Lily in Gold/Chocolate: this pair of flats is simple and demure....boleh pakai ngan jeans, slacks or baju kurung...pergi ofis pun boleh. perfect for those days that you want to take a break from heels and wedges

Rio in Black: the latest addition in my Crocs collection. Since I can't bring my whole shoe rack to KL, so this is now my official KL working shoes...it's super light and comfy...paling penting it gives me the extra 3 inches of confidence (nampak tinggi dan kurus sikit hehe)...I also like the yellow colour one...sweet.

ini pulak what's in my current wishlist:

Crocs Sassari in black: this is for my mum....kat Kuching cari the black colour tak jumpa, kat KL size pulak takde...even kat gambar ni pun takde..so tunggu dulu lah ye...

Crocs Melbourne: cantik kan? not sure if it's already available in our market or not.....but I think this can be the next addition....but it's the least priority at the moment of course!

Well, some of you might say that I can get an imitation Crocs for a fraction of the price that I paid....but I think it's only applicable for those with dainty feet yang kecik tirus tu....or yang tak berjalan sangat....kaki gabak kuat berjalan macam yours truly ni memang kena beli yang ori...I found that the original Crocs will expand as you wear it longer, making it more comfortable for you, but after you put it back on the shelve it will retain back its shape...where else the imitation one bila pakai lama-lama akan mencengkam kaki....because the material used is stiff and kaki kita pulak mengembang mengikut keadaan dan suhu..downside/upside dia is since Crocs ni tahan lama, berjanggutla ko nak menunggu before you justify yourself a new pair of shoes.

So, as for myself, time strict budget macam ni, baik takyah beli apa-apa. :)

excuse my lack of updates..

saya sangat busy raya ni...sangat busy sampai lupa nak bergambar....tahun ni saya rajin menolong ibu di dapur....masak 2 dish...rendang daging and udang sambal lagi u.....so, takde idea nak update apa ok....

baju raya buat kat my usual tailor in Brunei....sangat selesa dipakai....dan nampak kemas dan kurusss....hahaha, penting itu...

baju yang ditempah di Miri dua minggu sebelum raya hari tu....the dress yang dia buat I suka...tapi baju ni kurengg...tak berapa selesa, and nampak gemsss....of course, tudung ekspress itu turut menyumbang kepada kebulatan...tapi baju fesyen macam zuma dia buat cantik dan nampak kurrrssss....

ok, itu je nak update....

of my sis' wedding and being a clown

Just a few short notes:

1. Am so happy that the wedding is finally over. Mom & Dad had been preparing for it for months now and everything went relatively smoothly.

2. Had little sleep over the last few days. Finally can sleep some more since I will be on leave until Tuesday.

3. Even though I can sleep now, but I still woke up at 3am....partly because I have the whole big room to myself (Zue, ko tau kan bilik aku tu besar mana) and partly because I need to 'berak'.

4. The dress that I made for the wedding is a bit too big....dah suruh my tailor alter, but because of the limited time, didn't manage to do it properly.

5. I had to wake up early and send my sister to the bridal saloon for makeup, so I decided to had my makeup there as well.....I ended up looking like a clown. Muka aku ni dahla merah, diletaknya blusher pink.....aghhhh kat mana ko belajar mekap mak andam oii......I wanted to wash off as I came to the house....but the khatam qur'an already about to start and guests started to come and I had to run errands, etc...seriously tak sempat....dahlah gincu kaler pink magenta letak kat bibir aku in full glossiness.... aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! after aku dah lap-lap pun...I still look like a fool. But it didn't stop me from enjoying the day though....it's my sister's day after all, it's not about me...I need to take a break from being a diva after all......

but of course, that doesn't stop me from thinking I look horrible in the pictures.....benci benci benci....here's some snippets...the ones where I wore the peach scarf, is when I do my own face (which is nothing much), but I think it looks much better than the clown that I was made into.

OK. I finished downloading my personal frustration. Will blog about the wedding later, on a much happier note, after I got over the shock and humiliation of looking at my photos. The fact that I didn't have the time to go shopping for a new scarf for my dress didn't help either. OK. End of post. Layan the pics.

me and mom during the akad...usually I cried during my friends' akad....but not this time, even though after that looking at mom's emotion made me shed a tear or two

Profile Kecantikan (tiru blog Anis)

My friend Anis did this in her blog, so I pun nak tiru dia la....hehehehehe <3 <3

Face: oily/combination/sensitive/acne-prone skin (aku letak close up lubang hidung ku di sini sekali)

Main problems: zits, zits, zits and dry cheeks

Skincare:

Cleanser: Skin Food Black Sugar Foaming Cleanser, Skin Food Aloe Vera Face Wash (I’ve been using Skin Food products for more than a year now and I love it!)

Eye makeup remover: Simple Eye Make-Up Remover, Loreal Gentle Make Up Remover

Scrub: I have been advised not to use scrub but to use other methods of exfoliation (i.e mask).

Toner: Skin Food Parsley & Mandarin Toner

Serum / Essence: Skin Food Parsley & Mandarin Essence, Skin Food Peach Sake Pore Minimising Essence

Moisturizer: Skin Food Peach Sake Moisturizer, Skin Food Parsley & Mandarin Moisturizer (I used to skip this before, since I hate the feel of moisturizer with my oily skin....but Skin Food moisturizers agree well with me!)

Eyes: Skin Food Snow Tea Eye Serum (just started using this few months ago sebab terasa diri dah tua, but this Snow Tea range is more for youth skin, sepatutnya kalau umur dah lebih 25 kena guna the Salmon range for eyecare).

Masks: Skin Food Sheet Masks pelbagai perisa (my favorite is Herb Salad, Sea Vegetable, Potiron Au Lait and White Chocolate), Skin Food Papaya Yogurt wash-off Mask, Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Mask (this is also a quick remedy for tired eyes and chapped lips), Dermalogica Anti-Bac Mask.

Treatment: Facial sebulan sekali kat Dermalogica untuk membuang noda degil di wajah. (with muka kertas pasir macam aku ni, I need some professional help).

*The Skin Food Tea Tree Range & Parsley and Mandarin Range are great for problem/acne-prone skin. Another best-selling product from Skin Food is also their tinted BB cream (sunblock, tapi I tak pakai this one, coz tak main panas sangat, sekali sekala gelap apa salahnya).

For more information: www.skinfood.sg

Makeup:

Face: Miyami Compact Powder from Cosway in Light shade (murah je dan aku pakai hari-hari pergi office sebab sangat best! Thanks Farina sebab cakap pasal bedak ni in her blog), Averine Smooth Silk Liquid Foundation in Natural, Averine Loose Powder in Natural, Stage Loose Powder in Natural

Blusher : Pipi saya memang dah agak pink (thanks to years of dealing with teenage pimples), so memang tak pakai blusher. But I have a light pink one I bought from Stage.

Eye-colours: neutral earthy base with dark colours on the outer corner. (I have those from Stage and Maybelline).

Eye-Liner : Stage eye-liner in black. Easy to apply and remove.

Mascara: For biasa-biasa use, the telescopic mascara from L'oreal.....for volume, Hypnose from Lancome (dapat free, adik saya kasi).... kalau rajin, kepitla dulu bulu mata sebelum apply mascara.

Lip colours: Stage – Red hue; Catherine (Zeta-Jones), Pinkish hue; Cameron (Diaz), Maybelline Lip Smooth in 04Raspberry (been using it since 2003), Bioglo Cherry Pink Lip Cream from Cosway (sangat bagus)

For more products overview: www.stage-cosmetics.com

Currently hunting for: A good bronzer (sebab nak cuba try test buat shading²... diorang cakap Body Shop punya ok...)

Can’t live without: The three essentials – cleanser, toner, moisturizer. (Kalau tak mandi takpe, asal muka aku mandi). So, to those who wants to share their beauty regime, sila kan lah ye....

P/S: I'm currently trying to learn some make-up tips & tricks coz my sister asked me to beautify her during her 'majlis bertandang'....adoiyaiiii.....


Stage at Bintang Miri is having some offer that is so hard to miss!!

tak sabar rasanya nak menginjak umur 30

hahahaha....some people might think I'm out of my mind by reading that subject....but, no worries...I'm still me....takde tanda-tanda buang tebiat, dan insyaAllah umur saya mungkin akan mencecah 97 walaupun starting from age 89 I will be bedridden / limited mobility / disabled, etc (that's another different story, which I rather not dwell on)....

so, why I wanna be 30?

- I've been embracing my age lately, by putting my full birthday (date, month, year) on my Facebook profile...
- by that time, I don't need to pay anymore for the short term invesments that I made when I was 25....that will leave some RMxxxx at my disposal
- hopefully, I'll get to reap some benefits as well
- I have a feeling that 30 is a good age for me to start a business.
- by then, I might have slowed down and in a healthy stable relationship. (yeay!)
- if I continue taking care of myself...I might look 20. That will mean I look 10 years younger than my real age....(kalau sekarang orang cakap aku umur 20, baru 7 tahun je bezanya....hahahaha...takde kes).
- I might get promoted and would be earning much more than I am now.
- I would have a little munchkin to play with....tak kesahla anak buah ke anak sendiri kan...
- more mature, wiser and refined me...at the moment, I'm still a work in progress.
- more smiling lines will appear.....as a prove of how much I've smiled and laughed!!
- will be renewing my passport in 2012, a month after I turn 30 ....new adventures and beyond!!!

bestnya jadi 30!!!!!

excited itu teruja

First weekend in Miri setelah sekian lama went really well...

- went out with friends on Friday nite and discovered that Pizza Hut ada pizza yg sangat sedap
- pegi breakfast kat SM setelah few months teringin nak makan kat sana but always bangun lambat atau takde teman (kali ni tekad drive sorang-sorang menempuh hujan ribut...thanks Encik F sebab sanggup berhujan untuk datang)
- catch up with my ex-housemate dan baby yang sangat adorable
- roaming aimlessly with Miss E - a thing that we haven't done for quite a while
- finish one whole book (which is not compilation of short stories/facts/anecdotes) - gonna write the book review later
- watched a DVD that I bought a few months ago
- get a much needed facial supaya muka saya berseri-seri sikit time reunion nanti
- hunting for the reunion dress for the whole day (we don't have the luxury of having a lot of choices in Miri) - thanks to Nono and Nuna for the support and critiques...I must have tried almost 20 different dresses and parade it in front of them...dah lama tak keluar window shopping sampai sakit kaki, kan?

so.......since I've bought the dress, these are the few things that still need to be crossed out:

1. knee-length boots sebab betis bunting nagaku ini sangat tak sesuai pakai legging sahaja

2. kalau tak nak pakai boots tu, then maybe pantyhose and wear it with a 4" gladiator sandals yang aritu nampak kat Bintang (RM lagi)

3. clip-on earrings yang tak nampak macam clip-on earrings....takutla nak tindik telinga

4. bangles yang bling-bling

5. rantai / choker - just in case kalau ternampak yg lagi menarik than the ones I already have

6. bling-bling scarf - the one that I have now agak licin ....takut tertanggal pulak

7. sesuatu to make my tummy flatter - hik hik

8. a black turtle neck shirt

9. kastenet  ;P

kalau ada sesiapa nak taja atau nak kasi pinjam, you are most welcome...

invitation card arrived today! very the girlish with pink ribbons and diamonds on a silver bling-bling card....hehehehe....excited nak jumpa budak-budak perempuan hingusan yang sekolah kat Jalan Kolam Ayer tu dulu....

what a day!

we set out for Brunei around 10.20 am after exchanging currencies in e-mart. we thought the haze around permyjaya/senadin/miri town is bad...little that we know it gets worse as we go towards the border...

it's like driving through a tragic movie where disaster had strike....except for the fact that people in the car were a bit too cheerful and excited singing to the hits from the 80's...

happily posing with red fire engine....

one of the volunteers giving us the thumbs up (maybe for surviving the disastrous ride)

the view from the comfy car....it was drizzling and hazing outside...

at the Sungai Tujuh border, one of the custom officers pointed out that one of the tyres is flat, we decided to pump air at the nearest Shell station, however once we get there, we found out there's a tear on the tyre itself and air is wheezing out of it...so, we decided to drive as slow as possible to kuala belait where we can get new tyre...unfortunately, the situation worsened and we are forced to stop in the middle of a bend...

we needed a manual to figure out (first of all), how to get the spare tyre out of its place....THAT took us almost 30 minutes...

the flat tyre...

up-close...

the driver positioning the jack...

"sikit lagi...sikit lagi!!!" we cheered on....which did not help much, judging by the look on his face...

this is what we call teamwork...in total we got the deed done in 52 mins!

the manual reader....

so...how many engineers does it take to change a flat tyre?

THREE - one to read the manual, one to photograph the whole process (that person is yours truly), one to actually change the tyre and one geologist which did as much work as the 3rd engineer.

after that, we couldn't wait until we reach Gadong to get lunch...we had it in KB since there is also a tyre shop there....I only remembered to take the photo after we finished our meal...

Then, off we go to Madang, for the soft launching of Ikmal's CROCS shop.

Ikmal's sis took some pictures of us in the shop, however I didn't remember to take any...

I only managed to take a snapshot of Ikmal in front of his shop as we're leaving... each of us got something from the shop...even Anura was initiated to his first pair of crete canvas Crocs...

I got myself a turqoise Malindi and a Mardi Gras jibbits...

Then, we're off to the Mall in Gadong..

for some retail therapy....that white snake skin patterned heels from Charles & Keith look like a Jimmy Choo's... the only difference is the latter costs 4000 pounds and this one is 47 Bruneian Dollars...unfortunately, this is the last pair and a size bigger for me... :(

then, we watched GI Joe...one of the main agenda of this trip...I so wish that Miri's cineplex is going to be upgraded soon...thumbs up for this movie!

reached Miri about 9.50 pm and had dinner at Muara 2. ZZzzzzZZzzz

P/S: walaupun penat, tetapi kami rasa gembira