Roze Boomerang.com

The Making of Felt Flower Corsage

2011-12-27T18:47:00.012+08:00

Sketches and References of Flower Corsage

A dear friend of mine has recently wed and she has requested me to make her a few sets of flower corsage for the Jimuis during Jip San Leong (a traditional challenge for the groom to get to the bride). A few important details to acquire when creating corsage;

Colors: Best to limit down to 3 or 4 colors. Keep the colors to minimum.
Flowers type: There are quite a lot of types out there, this is up to you. Peony is the one I am referring to.
Added details: Pearls? Ribbons? Netting? Glitters?
Overral style: Bohemian? Polka 50's? Bright 70's?

Where can you get felts in KL? Look no further, head to Art Friend, Garden's Midvalley. It's RM1.50 per piece, but if you have a membership, then it's another 5%. Yay!

There are a few types of felt. The ones that I bought is called Eco Felt. Apparently its made from acrylic and it cannot be dyed like the normal wool type.

Next, we go to step-by-step tutorial. I got to give credit to iCandy handmade tutorial. You can find out more precise tutorial here.

Print and cut your choices of stencil. You can print the image below and print it on a thicker paper, say 80 gsm and above?

Use a sharpie and trace away!

The rest of the folding process, again, you can refer at iCandy handmade

Neat, huh? I have stitched the flower with beaded bracelet, which is made from copper colored beads wrapped using thin elastic thread. Since its made from rubber, the bracelet can be expanded a little.

Here's the final look. You can also make this as a hairpin, clothing badge...anything!

Fly High, Hitam

2011-11-29T13:25:00.002+08:00

Hitam at her favorite window spot. Taken July last year.

My cat of 16 years passed away last month. Hitam took her last breath just about 15 mins after I reached home after a phone call from my mom. When I got home, I found her lying in her bed, her breath was heavy, blank and dark stare in her eyes...the signs I knew so well from previous experience with a friend's cat who took his last breath right before my eyes.

After the burial, my sis and I sat at the back porch and had a moment of silent. Shortly after that, came a butterfly with a hint of black and white flying across the burial spot.

Hitam is a tortie (with black, white and orange fur), coincidence or plain miracle? :)

Love you, Hitam. Thanks for being a great part of the family and for spicing up our life.

Kiwi Motorhome Adventure

2011-11-10T21:18:00.012+08:00

It's been more than 1 week since I recovered from a quick trip journey with my family of 4 to New Zealand last October. Last year, I managed to get a steal AirAsia flight tickets for RM813 per person (inclusive of tax, meal and luggage). It was cheap, but not cheapest which is at around RM6xx if I were fast enough.

My last overseas travel with my family was 20 years ago! We have no idea what's in store for us when we decided to pumped up the journey, KIWI style - traveling in a motorhome. To sum up how it feels like, it sorta reminds me of The Survivor reality show, haha! But thank god, we've made it!

Here are the summary of our journey destination...compiled using Halftone apps from iPhone.

Day 1: Airport Birches Motel

Our flight arrived at Christchurch airport about 20 minutes early than the expected arrival at 11.55 pm. This motel provides free pickup from airport till 1 am, but we've kinda anticipated that we couldn't settle everything before the last call. So eventually we managed to grab a shuttle van at around 1.15 am. If I'm not mistaken, its about $7 per person. We wished we could pick up the motorhome at this hour, but it is highly recommended to get a proper rest before driving.

Day 2: Lake Tekapo Holiday Park

After the whole process with the motorhome, groceries shopping, we made our way to the famous Lake Tekapo. It was a 3 hour journey technically minus the photo op stops, hehe.

We paid $18 per person ($90 for family of 5) for a powered site. We've chosen the closest camp site to the lake, too bad the pine trees stand on our way. Throughout our journey, we've noticed that most of the private camping sites are not that blessed with kick ass view compared to the DOC sites. I'll explain more on DOC sites further on the next post.

Day 3: Twelve Mile Delta, Glenorchy

We made it here by accident, or rather a serendipitous incident after finding out that Moke Lake couldn't take big camper. After a long winding, wet journey up the hill from Queenstown, we've found this place which happens to be one of the filming location of Lord of the Rings...little that I know. We were quite miserable to find out the gloomy, wet site, only to discover a total OPPOSITE the next day. The view was spectacular, private and we met some friendly locals camping there...and not to forget the warden (aka Tokwan or Yoda) that helped us on our route ahead. Basic facilities here (pit toilet and water) but hey, for $7 per person and the view, this was a steal! FYI, this is a DOC sites.

Day 4: Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel

A local lady selling fish and chips happens to recommend this place, which is not a smart move...not because she didn't eat fish (we were mentioned this when we've asked what's the best fish in the shop) but basically cos this is the worst version of our Day 2 campsite. It's slightly cheaper but we couldn't get any close view of the lake...plus this seems to be a lot of permanent campers here. FYI, Lake Ruataniwha is a man made lake, which explains the lake color. We've got a bit of a discount for $70 ($14 per person), but frankly, it's not worth the money even if it's half the price.

Day 5: Peel Forest, Geraldine

"Geraldine is one of the best place to visit on your way back to Christchurch", said the warden we met at Twelve Mile Delta and blimey, he's right. For starter, we've enjoyed strolling at this quiet and friendly town where the locals smile at you as you passed them. The same goes to the ladies in the information counter who recommend us to camp here at Peel Forest. This is one of a few serviced DOC sites, which means they have extra facilities like kitchen, laundry, powered sites and the best thing of all HOT shower.

The Start of Ramadhan

2011-08-01T18:02:00.005+08:00

Today's 1 of August marks the first day of Ramadhan. For one whole month, Muslims around the world will be fasting during day light hours, which means no eating and drinking until sun down.

I remember back then during my childhood, when most of us will rely on television broadcast to announce the iftar (or known as 'buka puasa'/break of fast) and imsak time. Now with internet, online and mobile apps, life's made easier.

Batoulapps.com has developed a few user friendly apps for iPhone and Mac users. I have tried a few apps available and so far this is the most user friendly and convenient.

1. Guidance (iPhone): This app costs $2.99 in App Store, which might be a drag to those who likes their apps free. Very accurate and easy settings are the main reason why I opted for this.

STEP 1: After installation, please choose the right setting. For Malaysians, we are following 'Egyptian General Authority Survey'. Also, make sure the Madhab/Mazhab is set to Shafie.

STEP 2: Locked in your location. In my case, its Cyberjaya.

STEP 3: Done! You can manually change the prayer's time. In this case, I've changed Maghrib time from 7.27 pm above to 7.30pm.

2. Guidance (Mac): It's FREE! The settings configuration is almost the same.

3. This blog has documented the time for both Iftar and Imsak for 2011 for Malaysia. Remember, Imsak (the time to stop eating before the start of fasting day) usually occurs 10 minutes before Subuh or Fajr. Why 10 minutes before, read here for explanation.

Have a blessed Ramadhan, always keep things in moderation and don't forget to keep it green when buying take out food in bazaar or restaurant. Always bring a shopping bag!

On the road to Sydney - Introduction (Part 1)

2011-07-15T14:37:00.004+08:00

Driving good ol' OZ car, Holden Omega.

It's been 3 months of silence in Roze Boomerang realm. I promise you there are a lot of things to share and let me dust off a not so recent trip I had in late March 2011.

Sayonara Tokyo :(

March was meant to be the month for my Tokyo trip. It was a 'partial' paid trip from a video contest I have won from MAS last year. Unfortunately and fortunately the earthquake incident strike just two weeks before my trip. So with my already tight schedule for the next 1 month, my partner and I have to figure out a NEW route asap.

After a few days of long look at the world map and prices, we have decided to go to Sydney. Since we rarely fly using MAS, we reckon Sydney would be a wise option since AirAsia will not fly here (ever). Anywho, here's the awesome part, we only have 1 and half day to plan and book hotels for 8 day trip to Sydney.

Having been to other Australia destination; Melbourne and Gold Coast, we'd figure that this trip will be around the same format. My rule of thumb of traveling is to do 1/4 of city and 3/4 country side. Here are a few of my to-do list we have made before traveling to Sydney, in this situation we manage to plan this in less than 2 days.

1. Route: I find Austalia's Tourism site to be extremely useful when it comes to nailing some must-go destinations. And if you're like me who likes to escape the city's hustle bustle via cars, you'll love to start your plan using the roadtrip guide.

Complimentary breakfast at Greens of Leura, Blue Mountains

2. Accommodations: Free wifi, affordable, clean, standout and central location are my 5 essentials on choosing the best accommodation. Will also be a plus if your hotel provides complimentary breakfast. After screening the reviews in TripAdvisor, I found two perfect place to stay. 4 days in Big Hostel in Sydney city and 4 days in Greens of Leura. Will explain further on the expenditure in later post.

3. Money: For 8 days stay, we basically exchanged our local money MYR1500 to AUD. The cash will only be used for food, transportation and some miscellaneous things that requires petty cash. The rest like accommodation, we just rely on our trusted plastic friend, Mr Master and Ms Visa ;)

4. Packing: Besides packing the essentials like toothbrushes and lotions, you need to know what's the weather will be like so you can plan your wardrobe accordingly. It rains quite often in Sydney during late March (fall season), but never heavy, just a wee bit of shower. But if you're walking most of the time, best to get a quick dry jacket with hoodie.

That's all for now. Next post: 8 day itinerary for Sydney city and Blue Mountains

Tanpa Belang

2011-05-07T15:43:00.002+08:00

Tanpa Belang (2010)

Here's one of my non-winning prized painting for Maybank Tiger Painting competition. Ahhh, there, there *pat self*. For awhile, I was disappointed that the piece didn't even enter the finals, but on the bright side, this could be a blessing in disguise for the fact that I get to personally keep it.

Just briefly recap what the competition is all about, it's mainly a competition for fellow artists or amateur artists to describe their expression towards the almost extinct Malayan tiger via painting or any 2D form of arts.

The first notion that came to mind when making this was to describe "loss". Though Malayan tiger has not wiped out completely, but in general, people tend to contemplate or only start to appreciate at things or a person that are no longer with us.

So 'Tanpa Belang' was described as a premonition, thus the scary fiery effect, which also meant to describe the fragile characteristics of tigers population. Pak Belang is a very known nickname for one of Malay folk stories.

Belang. 1996 - 2005

But to me, there's another hidden meaning to this. I once have a 'Belang' in my life too. Though he's not a tiger (but a cat), somehow there seems to be some resemblance. He's tough from the outside, but scaredy cat once you got to know him. He died after losing his battle on jaundice for the second time. *sniff*

Enough with the soppy stories, I'm here to share the walkthrough of the painting experience. I like to play with light and dark through colors as you see here...

1 & 2

1. Draw out: I have a few of my initial sketches (in a book) next to me before I moved on to canvas. Excuse me on the 'Hitler' mustache there. My attempt to rub off the correction using eraser on canvas seems in vain and made it worse, haha. But thanks to the opaque magic of acrylic, it all will be concealed easily!

2. Paint the shapes out: I like to use warm tones to line up my work. In this case I went for red and orange.

3 & 4

3. Details taking shape: At this stage, I think I should've messed around with the background instead of just focusing on the subject. Looks like it's almost done right?

4. More strokes and colors: Adding fires and background tones. This time I really start to toy around with strokes and lines...I guess Van Gogh started to possessed me at that present moment, lol!

Almost final stage
Is that Sheer Khan? It's so alive, it's freaks Oren the cat out, lol!

So when's the last time you draw? There are a lot of interesting art events around KL and here's one interesting one called Art Camp KL. If you're into drawing, whether you have the skills or not, then this is the fun event for you. For more details, visit this Facebook page here.

Korean Basic Expressions for First Time Travellers

2011-04-09T09:13:00.013+08:00

Chatting with friendly locals. You'll find most high school kids are more likely to approach foreigners. I somehow feel that they are 'encouraged' to do so, for good practice, I suppose? They're friendly bunch, nevertheless :)

Part of the excitement traveling in foreign country to me is to learn new language. With vast information in the internet, you don't necessary need to enroll a special class when you have YouTube, phrase books or even KBS in Astro (Malaysian TV satellite subscription).

Help is on the way. We found this 'mobile travel info desk' while roaming in Insadong. As the tag indicate, yes, they speak English :)

Also, you just need to know a few essential words. I believe every travelers must learn a bit or two for these situations;

Greeting people and expression (thank you, sorry, excuse me)
Shopping: Asking for a bargain and the price. For price haggling, I'll just use my phone's calculator and show them the numbers that I want to bargain. All numbers are the same after all.
Direction inquiries or using public transportation.
Food language.

So here's some traveler's essential basic expression:

Important phrases	Meaning (English)
Anyeong haseyo	Hello/G'Morning/G' Night/ G'Afternoon
Anyeoung hee geseyo	Goodbye (when you're leaving)
Anyeoung hee gaseyo	Goodbye (when someone is leaving)
Gamsahamida	Thank you
Yeh	Yes
Aniyo	No
Sillyehamida	Excuse Me
Mi-an-hamnida/Me-anneyo	I'm sorry
[insert location] hangeeyo	To....please.
Yul-mah-yeyo	How much please?
Kah-ka juseyo	Please lower the price
No-moo-bee-sah	It's expensive
Mah-tee-tu-yo	Delicious
Yung-guh-hal-jool-ahseyo	Do you speak English?
Chou-nun-hangung-malchal moteyo	I speak a little Korean
Moh lu get-tuyo	I don't understand
Han	One
Doo	Two
[insert location] o-di-ye-so tayo?	Where can I get...?
I-jjok	This way
Jeo-jjok (jo-jok)	That way
Oeruenjjok (o-ren-jok)	Right
Oenjjok (o-wen-jok)	Left

Some first timers (including me) tend to get confused with Japanese and Korean language cos it sounds almost alike. But if there's one apparent difference is that Japanese has five distinctive vowels (a, e, i, o, u) which Korean tend to have more vowels. Similarities? Just like Japanese, the usage of some words in Korean language/Hangul differs from seniority and casualties among friends. Some phrase might sound "rude" to certain audience, so you might want to double check with someone who knows Korean well.

Hide This Korean Phrase Book RM24.90 (ISBN: 9789812685841). More info here

I've had about two weeks of my own "crash course" in Korean and for this I've basically...

Watch YouTube with keywords "Korean" "travel" "phrase" "expression"
Bought a pocket size Korean phrase book. I find this a good guide, but still not enough to explain the sound and pronunciation of phrases
Watched KBS in Astro and try to immitate how Koreans speak. It's FUN!

Now that you know, let's learn Hangul! :D

What's up with Korean BB Cream?

2011-03-20T21:06:00.010+08:00

New shop on the block of Myeongdong, Too Cool for School

January 22, 2011.

It was one heck of a cold winter night in Myeongdong, South Korea. But when you are a girl in one of the world's greatest cosmetic heaven like Seoul, oh my, nothing can stop you. There are like stretches of renown cosmetic brands side by side from Skin Food, The Face Shop, Etude, It's Skin, and even international brands like The Body Shop. These people have good taste, yo!

I was wondering what to buy and I remembered my friend's to buy-list BB Cream. BB Cream is one of the in-thing to get from Korean cosmetics. BB stands for 'Blemish Balm' and not only it does a good job as a foundation, it also claimed to have a healing agent to fade acne scars and is suitable for most skin types including sensitive and acne prone skin.

Saw this before and after image on BB Cream online. Wow, magic! For real huh?

So back to reality, as I was walking in the street of Myeongdong, I decided to get myself a BB Cream. Scanning 360, I saw almost ALL of the shops around me that sell BB Cream. BB cream this and that. Then I saw a sign that was written "the Original BB Cream" in front of Hanskin shop. That was the ticking

My Korean 'face set makeup' from Too Cool for School. From left according to use by sequence: Dual primer, dual cover BB Cream, mineral loose powder and cheek/lip cream blush.

The pic on top is before and below is the after look. Even with my acne scars, when it comes to makeup, I prefer using light coverage so the skin can at least breathe on the process of healing. I love the effect of cheek cream blush compared to powder blush for the fact that it appear light and natural.

What's my takes on BB Cream?

Pros:

Coupled with dual primer, my face feels soft and hydrated unlike normal foundation. I can see why most Korean ladies have such radiant and smooth skin.
Great oil control. The oil on my face takes awhile to greased up compared to my Bobbi Brown. I have super oily skin btw.
It feels light on my skin. I have sampled both "Too Cool for School" and "Hanskin" products and both have almost same features. I love Hanskin cos it glides on my face effortlessly even when using my fingers.

Cons:

Well, coming from Koreans, BB Cream usually comes only in ONE basic color. When applied on tawny, yellowish Asian skin like me, it will appear grayish on me especially when you use flash on your picture. Yikes!
Even though it has light texture, the color looks pastey on the skin. Best to apply using makeup sponge to smoothen out the cream.
Not what it appears on the 'before and after' photo above

I love how light and smooth the BB cream feels on me, but after taking a few snapshots of me in flash camera, frankly speaking I don't think I would continue using this. Cons #1 and 2 sez it all.

Collect your Michael Bublé tickets today!

2011-02-28T22:03:00.004+08:00

He's almost here! YAY!

To those who have purchased Michael Bublé tickets for the highly anticipate Crazy Love tour this March 13 can finally collect it at Enrich Service Centre at KL Sentral station today onwards - that if you have chosen to 'self collect' it.

At 4.30pm today, after a long day of work, I was practically panting my way to the counter, handed them a printed proof (they only need the reservation no.) and identification card and finally, they handed me the ~~not so~~ golden ticket. I was jumping up and down, screaming on top of my lungs...mentally. This could probably the most expensive tickets I have ever purchased, but it's worth it!

Watch out Bieber, Michael Bublé's here!

One of his songs in Hollywood: The Deluxe Edition - Hollywood

At last, it's just You and I, and other thousands of Malaysians swarming in the stadium. D'oh! See you there!

P.S: Word has it, Michael will be bringing along his Argentinian bombshell :O

Souled-out in Seoulwise Guesthouse

2011-02-20T10:52:00.001+08:00

Picture taken from the website.

My quick 5 days and 5 nights trip to Seoul, South Korea could never been any smoother if not for my stay in Seoulwise Guesthouse and the owner, the one and only Mr Young. You'll know why as you read further.

I think I've enjoyed being in the moment so much that I forgot to snap a few photos of the facilities. The photos above pretty much tell it as it is :)

Nestled in a quieter side of the hippiest town of Hongik University, Seoulwise Guesthouse is the place to go if you are...

On a budget. It's only 20,000 won (RM54) per person, per night in 4-bed mixed dorm.
Love clean toilets. Yes, this is probably one of the cleanest hostels/motels I've been too.
Enjoy the night life and coffee, which kinda reminds me of Melbourne. If you love Melbourne, you'll love to hang around this area.
Complete facilities for independent travelers. Everything from maps, guide books, free use of desktop PC and if that's not enough, Mr Young will pour every bits of information he has and his altruistic and helpful personality is what the other travelers like about this place. Yes, he speaks good English, which is a gem in South Korea.
Complimentary goodness. Free wi-fi access in every room, free breakfast (cereal, bread with butter and jam, coffee, tea)...he even loan us T-Money card, a prepaid card best use for public transportation and F&B. Just like PASMO to Japanese, Octopus Card to Hongkies and TouchNGo for Malaysians.

With the map given, it is easy to locate the guesthouse, depending on your direction ability and the time of day, haha! It will be quite a tiring walk if you are bringing pull-up luggage or during snowy winter, which I have to experienced.

Two types of Korean rice cakes: Chapssal tteok (left) Tteok gyeongdan (right)

So what else is nearby Seoulwise? Besides the cafes and night clubs, if you ought to grab Korea's best souvenirs of all, it's none other than their local fruits and snacks. You can buy their local strawberries along the pathway near the church to Kosa Mart. They are huge! I managed to buy a few varieties of Tteok (or rice cakes) nearby the Eel Restaurant.

Having said that, this is one superb location because it's one trip away from airport since the new opening of Airport Railroad that brings you directly to Hongik University Station. YAY!

It's 4,100 won (3,600 won for the fare + 500 won deposit) from airport to Hongik University.

Had a great stay here. Fully recommended! :D

Seoul Searching: Introduction

2011-02-06T11:17:00.009+08:00

Gateway to the city

South Korea is one great example of a country that embrace the old and the new. Here you are walking in between the concrete jungle and smack in the middle of the city lies the remains of some ancient fortress gates and majestic mountains. An intriguing juxtaposition!

Dongdaemun Gate

Remembering scars of the past

To experience Korea like the Koreans is to eat like Koreans

Getting to know the friendly locals despite the language barrier

And who could not forget - one of Asia's best shopping destination

That's all for now. Next post: 5 days itinerary of my wintery city tour around Seoul.

And also watch out for the giveaways - awesome goodies from Hanskin (SK famous BB Cream) and Too Cool For School. Follow me on twitter (rozeboomerang) to receive the alert!

Cleaning me Gently with Cetaphil

2011-02-05T10:46:00.007+08:00

With my on and off pimples episodes, I have tried most facial cleanser that has 'acne' or 'for oily skin' written on the bottle. Surely if my face could talk, it would say...

"Ouch! Aaaeeiiiii!!!!! No more fancy schmancy cleansers, please!"

Then as I searched high and lows on what others have used to treat their sensitive, acne prone skin, and I kept bumping on Cetaphil. This product is widely used by dermatologist and it's soap-free and non-comedigenic, which means it won't give you breakouts.

Sounds like magic to my ears, so I got to try this out. I was using The Body Shop Shiso Cleansing Powder, which is gentle for every skin condition, but still feel a little too much for daily use since it has exfoliation agent. Anything gentle and neutral is good for sensitive skin.

If you are at local pharmacies like Guardian or Watson, you will find Cetaphil together with other sensitive skin range products like Eucerin, Organic Aid and Avene.

I remember bumping on another Cetaphil 'Oily Skin Cleanser' it was priced at RM54.90 (10% before discount). I thought it was a bit pricey for my first buy and I want to avoid any 'oily' word since my skin is dehydrated; it's oily, but it's actually dry on the inside.

Finally, I found the 'neutral' version, which is Cetaphil 'Gentle Skin Cleanser' which only costs RM16.90. That's like RM38 cheaper than the oily ones.

Here's my takes on this:

Drop of the clear Cetaphil

Pros:

Easy breezy. It's gentle and it doesn't have any fuming frangrance scent.
You can use it with or without water. I still like mine with water :)
Affordable at RM16.90 for 118 ml and can last about 3 months depending on usage.
Remarkable results. After 3 weeks of wearing Cetaphil, my skin produce less pimples, hydrated and less dry, flaky skin peel on my t-zone. My t-zone can be oily or dry at times.

Click to see the finer details on how to use and the ingredients.

Cons:

It's so light and watery-like. When I first used this, I thought this stuff doesn't clean that much cos it's very blah and doesn't bubble up like most cleanser would do. I thought with the 'sodium lauryl sulfate' (common soap agent), it would bubble up, but it didn't. But it's not all that bad, right?
The scary ingredients like alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and parabens.
....apart from above, I can't think of any.

I would highly recommend this for those with sensitive, oily or dry skin. Don't bother buying the skin specific type, just opt for the gentle one. It's so gentle in my opinion, that it doesn't strip you skin natural oil or dry up your skin.

P.S: Give this a try and let me know how it works for you :)

Meet Lisa Eldridge

2011-01-27T23:45:00.007+08:00

Lisa Eldridge

To those who haven't heard of this amazing lady, she is one of the noted international makeup artist who has also helped developed a few major cosmetic brands like No.7 and Shiseido. Celebs like Cameron Diaz, Liz Hurley, Mischa Barton, Kate Moss, Heidi Klum, Cate Blanchet, Demi Moore and Selma Hayek are seeking her skillful hands to groom them.

And what's more amazing, she now has a blog that pretty much explains 101 makeup tips and trust me, she's no ordinary makeup enthusiast. She's the crème de la crème!

She kinda reminds me Nigella Lawson - her British accent and her looks, ain't it? Watching her videos, I love how she intuitively explain about everything, almost like a mother to daughter sharing trade secrets on beauty.

This is one of her videos that makes me go....what was that!!?? Where have all the pimples go?

Watch this and tell me what you think :) To watch more of her video and tips, go to http://www.lisaeldridge.com/video/

Crazy Love for Michael Buble? He's back in Malaysia!

2011-01-12T00:09:00.007+08:00

Crazy Love!

I know this is a bit of an old news, Michael Buble is coming to Malaysia for the second time for his Crazy Love Tour this March 13 2011 starting at 8.30 PM at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam, Selangor (not Kuala Lumpur). His first show in Malaysia was sometime in 2004 or 2005 where he was quite new and unknown, promoting his self titled album. Too bad I wasn't able to crash for his first show...

...but this time, I will!

When I first got to know the news a few days before Christmas, I reserved the tickets online (http://www.jagtickets.com.my) for me and my friend immediately. Since the ticketing system was done manually (I've to call in the hotline a few times to ask for the status), I've only received the confirmation about 3-4 days later. But I got to applaud the staff for being friendly and helpful during the process :D

Tickets are SO expensive! Ticket range from RM250 to RM1098. With less kaching in my pocket, I could only afford RM435 seat. Even with 10% Enrich member discount from Malaysia Airlines, one ticket costs me RM399.50 for B3 seat (side seating, 2nd row).

Okay, let's just hope for the best this March. This picture above was taken in Aviva Stadium, Dublin for the recent Crazy Love tour. Looks very similar with the Shah Alam's seating. But hey, I got to be honest, this looks very much like a football match!

Here's another photo proof. Yikes!

Taken by a fan in Michael Buble's FB site.

Man, I need telephoto lens to get a closeup of this from where I will be seated. Let's hope for a worthwhile performance :) GO BUBLE!

Check out my Feb 28 Update on MB!

Heads up Head gear Lovers, Buff is HERE!

2011-01-05T00:36:00.012+08:00

A few of my mad hatter collection from santa hats, hippie hat, spider-man's mask, wool hats, caps, wig, bandana, headband, reflective sports headband, miniature hat...

Friends who know me would know that I have a crazy fascination on hats, bandanas, berets, headband and all sorts of head gear stuff. So one fateful day on early 2009, I bumped to this optical shop called Peak Vision in Garden's Midvalley and saw dozens of collection from Buff. I was totally blown away by what these babies can morph to. Balaclava, headband, cap, pirate, hairband, blind chicken (haha!) and heck, it can be a hijab too!

Oh yes...but reality hits me when I saw the price tags...RM89 is the cheapest one. Yikes! I convinced myself that if I have one good reason to buy this, I'll definitely grab it in a heart beat.

Enough said...I finally bought one, which is the Original Buff for RM89. This headgear would make a useful winter accessories for my trip to Seoul this month. There are a few different types of Buff available from Polar buff which has extended fleece on it, UV protected, Nat geo motifs and many more. I'd figure that the original one is more versatile and can be used for hot and cold weather.

Many ways to wear your Buff. Click for zoom in version

So let's start the unpacking moment with me, shall we?

Well, with big price on the tag, they at least made an effort on the packaging :)

Moment of truth...dum dum dum.

...wait for it.

Tada!

[Update] What I've used this for in Seoul:
- Face/nose mask during the cold, windy winter...can be a hanky in disguise too, lol!
- When indoors, I made it to a hairband!
- Sleep mask when on board...a bit tight on my head though.

Enjoy the testimonial video below from the Buff users. Also check out this convincing written review.

Wardrobe Preparation for Wintery Seoul

2010-12-18T16:27:00.013+08:00

Prepping for Winter Sonata!...I think I'm over prepared..

Black puffer down jacket, ONLY brand @F.O.S: RM 169.90
Purple fluffly scarf @Sox World: RM 24.90
Purple with black polka dot micro fleece top@Uniqlo: RM59.90
Black & white stripe acrylic leggings @Forever 21: It costs around RM40-70.
Black tutu skirt: I forgot where I bought this, but it's not more than RM30

To me, traveling and fashion must go together if you want to have memorable photos during your vacation. I learn it the hard way when I was photographed recently with a blah outfit and out of bed look in Hong Kong. My photos turns out to be so bad (to me), I just have to look away.

As of today, I am just one month away to my winter Seoul vacation and I need to be a little more prepared since the temperature there will definitely hit below 0 degrees. My last buy on winter gear was 9 years ago, for Hokkaido. I definitely need something new. I basically need;

Down Jacket
Long John
Hand glove.
Scarf and sweater hat.
Face mask. (To moisture and warm up your nostril and lips)
Lip balm and moisturiser lotion.
Shoes with leather sole
Sunglasses if go Ski resort.

A foldable postcard with useful winter travel guides from Winter Time. Excellent!

So with so much buzz on Uniqlo located at Fahrenheit 88, I just have to find out myself what is it with this Japanese brand that makes people go ga-ga on it.

Tell you the truth, after spending almost an hour in Uniqlo, the price is just so-so to me. Like what a friend told me, Uniqlo is like an expensive Giordano. The price is not that cheap nor it's expensive if you want to compare it to other local winter clothing stores. I end up buying the thermal Heat tech long john which costs me RM59.90, a micro fleece top (in the pic) and a set of slacks for sleep at RM79.90 (not proud of this particular buy).

Here's my 2 cents on Uniqlo:

BUY:
1) Thermal undergarments - heat tech top long sleeve. Bottom pants sold out already: RM59.90
2) Fleece jacket: RM79.90. Still so-so on the price.

DON'T BUY:
1) Down jacket: If you think RM299 is a bargain, then this might be a bargain for you. Otherwise, FOS has more trendy and cheaper option. You can even found GAP stuff here too.
2) Accessories: Wool hats, leg warmers, ear warmers...just plain boring and expensive. Go to Forever 21 or SoxWorld much cheaper and lots of choices.

After Uniqlo, I decided to give Sungei Wang one last try and I found quite a lot of bargain items one would never expect to get for winter gears. At F.O.S (Factory Outlet Store), I found a few interesting down jacket selling as cheap as RM169.90 (below). They also have selections from GAP selling for RM190. Normal down jackets typically costs RM200 and above.

Black!

So how does all the items above would look like on me? While googling on winter wears, I stumble upon this cool website called Couturious and decide to visualize my look by matching it up with my look-alike wardrobe and the result is this! :D

How's this lookin'? Okay, the stripe might look a bit extreme.

For 4 days trip in Seoul, I will only bring two pairs of outfit since Seoul is pretty much the hub of fashion, I might as well buy most of my clothes there anyway.

How do you prepare for winter this time around? Do share it here :)

When Roze Met Burt's Bees

2010-11-23T20:29:00.005+08:00

My pilot self treat that earns me Burt's Bees membership!

I first discovered Burt's Bees tucked in the hidden corner of Garden's Midvalley, next to Cold Storage. It was all woody, yellowish and very inviting. I was with my girl friends at that time, and intuitively we have to come in...:D

Oh dear, I've pretty much sampled everything there, and OMG, I just LOVE the yummy, all-natural scent of Burt's. It's like going to a vanilla, honey, milky, banana...food land! The prices are a little bit more expensive than The Body Shop, but not as steep as Origins or Crabtree (I've never bought anything from these two anyway, haha!). I left the shop with nothing, only the sample testers that left me drooling for weeks to come.

Like any girly scrooge out there, I did my research on Burt's. It's a USA company established in the mid 80's, selling beeswax candles and eventually selling natural, earth friendly personal care ingredients that drools millions including me. If you noticed on most of their products, they are really striving for the natural ingredients percentage - most of their products are 100% natural and some are 90-ish%, thumbs up Burt!

So after a few weeks of waiting, I finally ripped open my wallet and did my super quickie shopping here (I was rushing for my dinner). In order to get the membership, I need to spend RM200 above. The awesome thing about the membership is that you'll earn 10% off for your purchase (not inclusive of promotional items). *And even if you're not a member, you'll get 20% off for bringing empty containers from Burt's on every 31st of the month. SUPER!

Here are the reviews. Take note of the * ratings :)

Too bad at that time, they're running out of body butter, so I bought Burt's Honey and Milk Lotion instead. It's quite light for my likings (I like my lotion thick), but I adore the smell. The moisture stays on my body even after 12 hours and it's not sticky on your body, whichis a plus for some people. I've been using this every morning to work - great substitute to my perfume. But unfortunately the smell doesn't last the whole day. Price: RM56.80 ****

My super personal favorite - Burt's Bees Beeswas & Banana Hand Creme. I came back for this again cos it smells like banana taffy candy! The texture is quite thick, almost like lipbalm feel. I used this for my elbows and hands. You can also use it on your knees and feet. And guess what!? It's 100% natural! Price: RM 56.80 ***** (yes! I love this!)

When I bought this, I didn't have the time to sample the lipbalm cos I was rushing for time. I took this primarily cos of my attachment to 'Passion Fruit'. I love passion fruit. The smell however didn't much resembles this fruit, instead it smells very tutti fruit or more like cotton candy bubble gum. The smell still rocks by the way. But the downside of this is that the texture is 'hard' and it doesn't glide easily on your lips. Also, it leaves a little white-ish residue on your lips instead of polishing it. Please sample on this first before buying it. However, they do have an award winning lipbalm, which is not this one. This Burt's Bees Sun Protecting Lipbalm SPF 8 is selling for RM25.80. ***

Last but not least, Burt's Bees Acne Solutions Spot Treatment. This stuff is selling like hot cakes cos it runs out easily in the store. They have two types of serum/oil like acne treatment; one is a blemish sticks and another one is this. The sales person recommend me of using this because it works on existing 'blooming' pimples. Unlike The Body Shop tea tree that only useful for early sign of acne, this works like wonders on my big pimples. My big pimples did shrink overnight, but of course not entirely.

The downside of this...it spills easily!!! It's not really oil based, it dries out from your finger very fast. For any serum or oil application, I always use the back of my hand or fingers before applying it to my face, but this one dries out like water in sahara! So I have to really quickly dab it on my face from my fingers. Hence within two weeks, this small 7.5 ml bottle was half empty. I just have to look at it on the bright side since I can bring the empty bottle back and earn more discount for my next purchase :D

Price: RM 62.80 (which is almost twice the price from TBS Tea Tree Oil) ****

How much does these stuff costs me? The magic number is RM202.20!

I really recommend everyone out there to sample out these stuff first. The price is a little steep but its worth every ringgit because it's made from yummy, natural ingredients, which won't do much damage on your face or skin. My advice, sample the stuff first, go back home and do the research. If you dream about it, then you can buy it :D

My Hong Kong Halloween Weekend

2010-11-07T14:43:00.007+08:00

Halloweeners in Lan Kwai Fong

It was one heck of a Halloweekend, last October. The picture above says it all.

This was my pilot trip to Hong Kong and I came here primarily to visit, shop and spend a nifty Halloween. Before coming here, I've had a few months of shopping diet, meaning that I stop buying nice clothes for almost half a year just to be able to spend money in here. LOL!
My shopping style: Buy things that I need (I have to-buy list), unbelievably affordable and stylish at the same time.

I rarely go for high fashion brands, but if you do, then you will love Hong Kong. It's tax free here and you get stuff here cheaper than any other countries in the world. On my way back in the airport, I saw a lot of tourists carrying shopping bags from Louis Vuitton, H&M, Bvlgari, Juicy Couture, you name it!

Below is how much I spent while I'm in Hong Kong for 3 days and 2 nights:

Hostel at Hop Inn: RM 210 for 2 nights
Flight ticket: RM116 return (seriously yes, it was bought during AirAsia sale!!! :D )
Transportation + Shopping + Food: RM1000 cash = HK$ 2513

TOTAL EXPENDITURE: RM 1326

If you travel here in a group, then of course your expenditure will decreased as you can share accommodation, transportation and even your meals with your travel buddies.

Speaking of transportation and meals, the first thing you need to get in Hong Kong is none other than OCTOPUS CARD! This is basically the awesome and smartest card here that you can use for all things; trains, bus, taxi, 7 eleven, pharmacy (like Watson), cake shop...everything here! It's not like your usual touch n go card. Almost every stores and transportation using this system and you can practically go around the city using this card. Just make sure you have enough value in your card.

Octopus Card in New York Fries restaurant

Where to get Octopus Card or top up value?

1. If you're at the airport, find Airport Express booth and you can purchase the card for HK$150; $50 will be returned as deposit and the remaining $100 is the value of your card.

2. MTR station

3. 7 Eleven store

For next post, I will be telling you all the places I have covered for my quick 3 days trip, shopping items and of course the highlights on Halloween! :D

Dressing well with Trinny and Susannah

2010-10-23T10:29:00.008+08:00

Fashion Guru: Trinny and Susannah

I recently watched this new, unknown British channel in Astro GRA (Granada) 735 and was thrilled to see a show from Trinny and Susannah.

I was first introduced to these duo when they were featured in Oprah. How should I describe them? They're like Simon Cowell of fashion! But they're not just all about throwing critiques like what Fashion Police does, most importantly they teach women how to dress correctly!

They believe that all women are blessed with all shapes and sizes and it's all the matter of wearing the right outfit to compliment them.

I can so relate to this. I remember one time when I wore my loose dress, which I thought wasn't that bad on me (in front of a mirror). Later, I was once shocked to see in my friend's pictures that I look like a stick in the dress from side ways. No way I'm wearing that dress again!

So how can we identify our shapes? T&S have created 10 possible shapes and there are;

Apple
Hour Glass
Pear
Brick
Goblet
Cello
Cornet
Lollipop
Column
Bell

Photos taken from of Mail Online

So what shapes are you? Mine is a Cornet, lol!

Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15

2010-10-19T10:10:00.004+08:00

Finally!

Remember my old post on Bobbi Brown Oil Free Finish? I bought a new one a few months ago and it gave me pimples :(( I wasn't about to give up on Bobbi yet after that incident cos for the fact that my face change from dry to oily skin within a year. So...I decided to give the one for oily skin - Natural Finish Long Lasting.

Did I immediately buy the RM160 foundation? NO. When you buy foundation this expensive, you need research, girl! It's not that hard, just type in the name of the product and you'll be amaze on how many articles and video reviews you can find.

Every months or so, I will be a victim of breakouts and pimples and I am REALLY looking for that one foundation that will at least reduce the shine and won't cause me extra pimples. I live in all-summer country btw. I was googling here and found a product called Bare Minerals, but after a few research, I found it a little impossible to get it here in Malaysia and it's a no-no to buy foundation online. Better to do it in-store so you'll get the right shades for your skin.

There are two awesome features in Bobbi Brown website that I want to share with you.

Star ratings and reviews
Live Chat with an Artist

The user reviews really helped a lot of making decision cos it compiles a lot of useful info and the skin profile of the users.

Last but not least, the live chat function. Bare in mind, the artists follow USA time. Here are their operation time: Monday - Friday 10am - 10pm (EST) Sunday 11am - 7pm (EST)

I was awake at god knows 3 0r 4am in the morning, then I thought, why not have a chat with Bobbi's Artist? For awhile, I thought I was chatting with a bot. Am I?

After a few mins of questions, I received the chat transcript in my email. How cool is that?

This is how my old and new bottle look like together.
They are both 30ml despite the height and width differences. My old bottle (oil free foundation) looks bigger cos the glass base at the bottom does the trick.

The shades between my old and new bottle are totally different. I was using 4.5 (warm natural) for the oil free foundation but with the new, Natural Long Lasting Finish it's 5.5 (warm honey), which 1.5 shades darker.

Before and after difference. (one layer of foundation without powder or concealer)
For office wear, I like to wear my foundation by itself and top it up with my bronzer+blusher. If there's special occasion, I'll bulk it up with powder.

What I love about this particular BB product is that it's so light on my face and smells like lotion (which I totally adore). And no, no pimples this time! Yay!!! If you are looking for a total coverage, then do opt for their concealer, not this. A pro makeup artist once told me that a good makeup does not conceal, but it functions as an enhancer. Thus, foundation works to even up the uneven skin tones, patches, blemishes, etc.

I remember a lot of users gave a few similar feedbacks and one of them is the 'dewy + glowy' effect and trust me, I believe them! I feel that this foundation gives me the extra glow in my face and does reduce the extra oil on my face, but not entirely. I still have a bit of oil, but at the right places - my cheeks and such. And it doesn't dry either.

Left

So here are my summary;

- This is non-comodogenic, means it does not cause whiteheads or blackheads.
- If you want a foundation that gives a natural glow and hey, you-don't-look-like-you're-wearing-makeup, then this is your baby! :D
- Before using the foundation, make sure your face is primed or hydrated for smoother application.

Paint the Malayan Tiger!

2010-10-17T11:20:00.006+08:00

It's pitiful to know that these adorable Malayan tigers is categorized as an endangered sub-species. Fact has it that there are only 500 of them left in Malaysia and Thailand and for human sake, the number could be reducing day by day as we speak.

We humans are lucky. Not only we can think, speak and move mountains, we also kill to live. We kill living things, those who can't speak and defend themselves just for the sake of money, furry fashion and maybe just as 'small' as being able live in a house.

So, what about them? Sure, tigers are wild and dangerous to human society and if you see them walking around your neighborhood, I'm sure most of us would say, "Hey, that tiger could have escaped from zoo or some forest nearby?"

If that tiger can speak in human language, he would say "Hey, you destroy the forests and build your houses there, so where do you reckon I live? I can't be your cat; you could be my dinner. If I happen to roam around your area, chances that I could be shot! So where's my living rights? My lawyers?"

Flash mob from WWF-Malaysia 'Freeze Tiger Trade'
Picture from WWF

While others would gather around, dance to be seen and heard, what would artists like you and me would do to express our concern on this matter?

Maybank is organizing a painting competition for young contemporary artists and painters aged 18-35 years old. All you have to do is submit a 2D artwork of your artistic interpretations of 'Expressions of the Malayan Tiger'.

To download a form and view the terms and condition, save this link or go here or view the page here

What are you waiting for? Grab a sketch pad, canvas, brushes, paints, etc and go wild your thoughts! Let your hearts and mind be seen and felt :)

Oh wait, have I told you that the deadline is by the end of this month, 29 October? :O

P.S: I am hoping for miracle of time to work on this artwork, I really do.

Wedding Cupcake from Cupcake Chic

2010-10-14T22:00:00.008+08:00

September was the craziest, but most exciting month of the year for me (you can see by my lack of blog updates). And part of the excitement was when I get to plan a wedding reception for a very cute couple. The wedding theme was "Midsummer Night's Dream".

For those of you who haven't watched this movie (including yours truly), this is a comedy based from William Shakespeare's play featured ensemble casts like Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart and the list goes on! All the magical and quirky elements of fairies, goddesses, donkey all rolled up into.

Oops, back to the cupcake, after a long search on the best cupcake for this event, I finally found a perfect place to go to - Cupcake Chic. My aim is to have the most classic, simple, good value and tastes good of course! Cupcake Chic happens to fit my budget perfectly. RM 3.60 for 100 pcs of cupcakes and they also provide acrylic tier rental.

My draft sketch for the cupcakes. Yes, it's custom made by request!

Whether you're an artist or not, get a piece of paper or just use any paint program, and sketch out your ideas and see how the shape, colors, textures and decor could compliment one another. You don't want to have a crowded looking cake piece, therefore it's best to find a focal point of attraction in the arrangement.

One of the best way to convey your ideas is to get your reference online or even from a piece of brochures or magazines.

Key in your keywords as specific as you can when looking for reference online. Example: 'yellow white cupcakes butterfly nature'. You'll be surprised to find out a lot of useful photos in the online world. Thank you, online contributors! :D

My steps to ordering Cupcake Chic cupcakes;

E-mail your requirements, date of delivery and etc to order@cupcakechic.com.my
Follow up by calling at 03 7726 9075.
Meet the rep in person, clarify your cupcake designs (how you want it, the color scheme), the flavors, the prices and method of delivery. The flavors will depend on the day of your cupcake collection since the shop has a fixed flavors for everyday. You can view their wedding cupcake photo gallery here.
Collect or have your cupcakes delivered. Extra RM50 will be charged for delivery within Klang Valley.

At first, I was worried that my cupcakes selection will look too boring cos I didn't choose the bright looking colors, but the lady from Cupcake Chic assured me that it's all about the arrangement and decor. And yes, she was right indeed! :D

Add fresh flowers, twinkle lights, bling blings and some green and you're good to go! The key is simplicity. It's best to stick to the theme color of the event and let the decor compliment the cupcakes.

Cupcake Chic has three branches; The Curve, Sunway Pyramid and Pavillion. The customer service is super excellent. Their rep was friendly and attentive to all my requirements. The guests loved the cupcakes. With that I put them in my 5 stars list! :)

GREAT NEWS!
My article was featured in Wedding Guide Asia last December, under How to Choose Your Cupcakes.

Video to Watch: My Skin Care Tips & Routine

2010-09-30T21:19:00.004+08:00

I found this great video tips from GlossGloss that I personally want to share with all of you. Update news: Her video collection has recently been removed. Early this year, I have struggled with really bad breakouts and after a few episodes of product testing, lifestyle change, etc, I came to realization that hygiene also plays a very important part to acne-free life.

Her keypoints are;
1. Keep your mobile clean!
2. Drink a lot of liquids- stay hydrated!
3. Wash your pillow case more often.
4. Don't use products that are too harsh for your skin. Use products to suit your skin type!

Really good advice, especially keeping your mobile phone clean. That is something that everyone use in daily life that we took for granted. After watching this video, I make sure my silicone cover mobile phone clean all the time.

P.S: I love her British accent and she's hot! Reminds me of Catherine Zeta Jones and a bit of Kate Beckinsale, don't you think?

Eco Pasar Malam Shopping!

2010-09-21T11:11:00.006+08:00

After a few unplanned trips to pasar malam (Malaysian wet market that sells food and drinks), I totally feel guilty for 'breeding' more deep pink plastics and styrofoam. These stuff definitely will take hundred of years to biodegrade or if not, would do harm to other living things when it ends up in...god knows where :( I'm sorry Mr Turtle, that's not jelly fish!

This post might prove useful during the fasting month of Ramadhan in Malaysia last August-early Sept, but since pasar malam is a weekly thing here, I very much think that everyone should start saying NO to these eco-enemies;

Deep pink or orange plastic bag
Cheap un-recyclable Styrofoam
Plastic spoon and fork
Plastic cups and straw

I pledged myself that my 2nd week of puasa (fasting), will be a NO plasticky day. That means NO-NO to all of the '4' above. I have a few 'cool' containers of my own, most of them were from take-outs.

The black container inside was from salad takeouts and the one next to it was a huge but lightweight container I received from pizza takeouts in Singapore. I brought the containers back with me in the plane cos I thought it will be very much useful in the future and I was right.

I brought these containers to a restaurant for break of fast take outs. In fasting months, it's hard to get decent seats 30 mins before breaking time, thus its easier for one to take out instead. I would not recommend take outs on normal basis, its better to eat in = less packaging, but if that's not an option, then you need to have it on the go. But do it the right way.

I do admit that one needs to put on some thick skin bringing all the containers to restaurants or wet market, but I got to tell you that you will be highly satisfied and surprised on the amount of plastic or containers you say no to. At the end of the day, you can pat yourself for scoring 10000 points for being eco-tastic! :D

Travel Guide to Ghibli Museum

2010-08-22T14:51:00.002+08:00

Taken at the rooftop garden. This metal giant is HUUUUGE!

If I could point out the best moment during my indie travel in Tokyo, it would be visiting 'Ghibli Museum'. It's truly the best place for artists and anime lovers to date!

Having immersed myself in anime and manga at a very young age, it would kill me not to go to one of Japan's greatest animation museum. Hayao Miyazaki is the leading man behind the great animations from Spirited Away, Totoro and his latest creation, Ponyo. The cartoons often leave me smiling in glee like a 5 year old kid :)

There are a few extra steps needed in order to have a fun, smooth ride to Ghibli.

STEP 1: Getting the tickets
They don't have ticket counter sales at the museum. Thus, you need to buy tickets in advance. Period. It's a very Japanese thing of having to prepare everything in advance, I'd say. If you're living in US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Hong Kong, Taiwan or any other parts of European countries, then you're in a luck as you can purchase tickets at your local JTB travel agencies. But if you're not from any of above, then you better get your tickets at Lawson convenience store when you're in Japan. Go here at Ghibli's Ticketing Information.

This is how a Loppi machine works.

Read this if you are buying tickets in Lawson convenience store
This is quite a funny experience for me. When I stepped in the store, I think I saw a couple of machines, I have no idea which one is the Loppi ticketing machine so I approached the counter dude for it. I mentioned the word 'Ghibli museum', and it took awhile for him to understand.

Then he exclaimed, "aaahhhh Jibuurri!" Aha, okay, so they pronounce it with 'J' instead of 'G'.

If you would like no assistance on purchasing the ticketing machine, please print the walkthrough instructions here. But then again, even with the printed instructions, I was left to wonder when stumbling upon the numerous menu in Loppi. In my opinion, it's best to get a Japanese person to help you out with this in case you mistyped your name in Japanese or worse, having to type the wrong information. It's an advantage to know your full name in Japanese 'Katakana' as they will need that for the registration. To translate your name in katakana, go to Kanjizone.

STEP 2: Travelling from Tokyo to Mitaka
You will need a few rounds of public transportation, depending where you are staying. It took me a good 2 hours for this, so you need to travel early!

From Ueno where I was staying, in summary;

1. A couple round of trains from Ueno to Mitaka
2. Reach Mitaka, find shuttle bus nearby the station
3. Arrive in Ghibli!

I LOVE google maps cos it will calculate everything according to your departure time, journey duration, traveling method (walk/train/bus) and even the cost it takes for you to travel.

The only problem with it is that it will translate the locations in Japanese. Maybe you need a round of Babelfish with that.

Let's say you're in a train station, just look for Mitaka stop. When you arrive in Mitaka, like everything that I will always do, look out for signage. I remember seeing 'Ghibli Museum' sign on top of the ceiling on my way out from the train. From here, you need to head to the shuttle bus stop which is outside the train station. Do ask around on the location of the bus stop.

You will see this yellow thingy smack right in the middle of a pavement. At first, I thought it's just a big pole, but when you look closer, it's actually a standalone ticketing machine.

You need to pay 300 yen return ticket for this. You'll get two tickets each (journey to and back)

Close up of the pasted paper

"Entrance to the Ghibli Museum is strictly by advance purchase of a reserved ticket which specifies the appointed date of the reservation.

Ticket can be purchased only at a designated local agencies outside Japan or at Lawson convenience stores in Japan.

For more details, please contact the Ghibli Museum directly or see our website

http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/ticket/overseas.html"

OMG! Cute bus! I hope they make a Totoro bus soon!

Next is to wait for the bus. It will take a good 10-15 minutes of journey from the bus station to Ghibli Museum. Once you reached the museum, you will be directed to the reception area where they'll give you an Information map and a ticket for movie screening.

The cool negative film movie tickets!

Tap detail. Located in the outdoor cafe areas.

I love every details in Ghibli Museum. The spiral staircase, the English inspired interior, the colorful tiles, that surreal Gaudi-ish feel...Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take photographs or video when they are indoor, but you can do so while you're outdoor. I wish I have the time to sit down and sketch things out. So tips for artists: Bring a sketch book!

Does this couple cats reminds you of Grant Wood's American Gothic painting?

One needs to peel their eyes open as you often bump to some quirky hidden characters all around the compound. Also, the museum has a few movie screenings, so make sure to be alert on that.

With limited budget and time, I managed to get a vanilla ice cream for 380 yen, which is oh-so heavenly nice especially in hot weather.

If you have more time, do spend some time dining in here. When I was there, there was quite a queue for this. But I gotta tell you, its a well worth experience eating here in a green, luscious surrounding of the garden. The museum is located right in the heart of Inokashira park so not only you get one surreal, experience in Ghibli, but you can also get your whole family to enjoy a walk in a quiet, suburban park in Tokyo...away from all the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

Ooh, and don't forget to splurge on Ghibli's souvenir shop

I bought Totoro plush toys and a few small characters keychains for give aways. Expensive, but well worth the price coming from the one and only Ghibli Museum Shop.

Best experience to date! I will very much visit the museum again next year, we'll see :)

I got RM255 return to Seoul, South Korea!

2010-08-04T14:10:00.005+08:00

What's that on the right hand side?

At 12.45am this morning, just like any other busy day, I would log on to my blog to check the amount of traffic for the day.

To my surprise, as I was scanning 360 of my blog, I then suddenly saw Nuffnang ad on AirAsia's new route to Seoul, South Korea promo. I immediately did my usual hunting on the dates and found the perfect date!

The cheapest rate is RM74 per person!

Now comes another tough part, convincing your travel mates for the date and the duration of the stay. Everyone has different schedule and priorities, but if you have had discussion about future travel plans with your mates, then it's all good. Remember you only need their full name (in passport) and date of birth for booking. Not to forget the check in bag. The rest can fill in later and no fees needed for that.

After taxes, food and check in luggage the grand total for 4 adults is RM1348 which equals to RM337 per person. Woohooo!!

Finally we found a great date - end of January next year, just perfect for a quick 4 days winter holiday. Looking forward to South Korea's ice skating and speed skating which happens to be their most popular winter sports. April to May is also the best time to travel there, just in time for spring.

Coincidentally, AirAsia has added one useful note in their Facebook called Bargain Hunter 101 (Survivor's Guide) which summarized well about how I got most of my promo tix from AA.

Useful info taken from their notes:

Plan your trip in advance.
Prepare a few travel plans. If Plan A doesn't work, at least you'll have back-up plans and you'll save the hassle of planning from scratch again.

Have all passengers' details at hand. I.e: Name, Address, D.O.B, passport numbers, etc...

Now that you know, click here to find when is the best time to travel to South Korea.

My two new miracle plants: Pandan and Aloe Vera

2010-07-30T12:26:00.007+08:00

Miracle plants! Gosh, I need to clean up the mess I made in the balcony!

I've been wanting to get Pandan and Aloe Vera for my apartment, and I finally got both of them while having dinner at Taman Warisan, Putrajaya. Luckily a nursery decided to open up an umbrella booth there.

The nursery sells two types of pandan; the cooking type and another one is called Pandan Wangi. After a few online searches, I honestly have no idea what's the difference between these two, but from what I remember, the ones that labeled Pandan Wangi had an obvious smell and the cooking one doesn't. Both plants cost me only RM13. Excellent!

I chose the one for cooking cos I like the natural fragrant aroma from the pandan and its perfect for rice and agar-agar (asian vegetarian jelly).

Next time, I'll get Pandan Wangi for my 3rd plant. I'm guessing the Balinese used this for their prayers. Took the photo during my trip in Bali last year. I kept tripping on these stuff while roaming the street of Ubud :(

Now comes to another of my favorite plant, Aloe Vera or known to locals as Lidah Buaya. My aunt told me lately that she's been using aloe vera to cure her breakouts and her pimple shrink overnight. Also, my friend told me that he uses this whenever he has cuts or injuries.

How to clear Acne and Scarring using Aloe Vera

I found this great YouTube contributor, Natasha from RawRadiantHealth. She has contributed over 274 videos and it's all about remedies and tips for health and beauty. I've tried storing my 'skinny-fied' aloe vera in my container and it has been my day 3. Hmm, it doesn't smell right after 3 days, to be honest, but definitely not to a point where it smells all funky. Perhaps the normal temperature room is not advisable for more than two days storage of aloe vera.

Another video about aloe vera acne remedy from swatchseupbuttercup

The difference between buttercup (I don't know her real name, lol!) and Natasha is that buttercup girl recommends storing the aloe vera in a refrigerator and Natasha opted for normal temp room. So, now that the room temp doesn't do good on my aloe vera, perhaps I might try to the cool box instead.

Is it just me or it feels so itchy when I apply aloe vera on my face. It happens to me before, and I thought I used the wrong method. Hmmm...

That Tikiman Birthday!

2010-07-27T08:01:00.001+08:00

I'm Tikiman, huga huga!

Last June, I've organized a small birthday party for a good friend of mine who goes by the nickname Tikiman who just hit the big 25. I've been wanting to try out a cake from Laily Patisserie, so after a few ideas and inspiration, I managed to give her a rough sketch for her to refer to. I gave her a call two weeks in advance, and when the big day comes, I finally got the big beautiful cake a few hours before the party.

Love the details!
The figurine base are made using plastic dolls. As for the hair, grass skirt and lei are made using royal icing.

View of the whole cake.
I think the water is made from colored gels and the main structure of the cake are mostly fondant. Lovely!

For this custom made cake in fondant covered vanilla with chocolate layers, weighs 1.5kg, it costs me RM200. Quite reasonable for a big cake and enough for at least 15-20 pax.

If you guys are interested of having custom made cakes or cupcakes, you can reach her at cheflaily@yahoo.com or visit her blog and facebook.

A facial mask using Banana, Yogurt and Honey!

2010-07-21T10:30:00.001+08:00

What do you do with overly ripe banana, old yogurt and old honey?

Make it to facial mask!

I had another episode of breakouts again, and as usual, I would google around for some funky ways of facial treatment. So I found this recipe while browsing through the homemade facial remedies and coincidentally I have all these three ingredients in my kitchen and most of them are not so-safe to eat anymore and a few days passed its expiry date.

Let's start!
Just add half a medium size ripe banana (mash it until creamy), 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt and 1 tablespoon of natural honey. That's it!

Voila! A gooey bana-ney-yo facial mask!
Lie back and leave it for 15-20 minutes. I can feel a bit of an itch half way, haha! After that, wash it down with cool water and pat your face dry.

Honey is an excellent antiseptic agent and is great to tighten pores. Whereas Bananas are full of vitamins and together with Yogurt (lactic acid), these would make excellent combo for a smooth and soft skin! Can be used once or twice a week. Try it!

Soap Pak - soap in your wallet

2010-07-19T07:41:00.000+08:00

Soap Pak

A soap you can fit in your wallet?! Really?

Whether it's mamak restaurant or KFC, it's a Malaysian thing to have a sink as most of us are used to eating with our bare hands. Thus, it is important for us to wash our hands before and after eating. Since the H1N1 phase, we got used to the idea of hand sanitizer. But I noticed majority of us have a misconception of hand sanitizer - these people use it as an alternative to soap and water. Hand sanitizer should be used preferably after washing your hands with soap and to function as a germ-free shield. It's not advisable wash your hands with hand sanitizer after eating nasi lemak with your bare hands. It's so wrong right?

Back to Soap Pak!I found this cool product while shopping at Caring Pharmacy, Sunway Pyramid. Saw it at the counter and they're selling it for only RM1.50 a pack of 10 dry-soap sheets. I immediately bought two packs of it - one for me, one for my clean freak friend.

From the main packaging, it is said to contain no SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), non alcohol, made from natural soap, biodegradable and environmentally friendly! Yay! Score!

Check out the texture of the sheet! Groovy!

Time for a test drive. Dripping a few drops of water.

Half eaten by water

Gone!

For a palm size sheet, it produces quite a decent amount of bubbles. I'm not a fan of the smell though. It smells like lotion, which I soon found out to be the fragrance ingredient for this soap. Definitely gonna stock up more for this for my travel.

Delectable Treats by Su launch at Pavilion, KL

2010-07-18T18:13:00.011+08:00

The entrance to heaven-licious treats!

Have you guys been to Delectable by Su in Garden's Midvalley before? If not, perhaps you can visit it's little sister, Delectable Treats in Pavilion, KL. It's next to TGIF restaurant, level 4 (the highest floor in Pavilion, I think).

To those who haven't heard of Delectable by Su, it's a Designer Cake shop started by a talented individual by the name of Su-Yin or Su in short. Besides cakes, this shop sells awesome, sinful desserts and sweet bites.

So last Friday, I was given a chance to visit the launching of Delectable Treats (Thanks Sarah!). I was ecstatic when I receive the invite. I've always been a frequent buyer of 7 Sins dessert and have recommend it to a number of friends. Treats aside, I just adore their customer service - so friendly, they made me come again for more despite the luxury, intimidating decor of the shop. Dress code of the night was 'happy colors' clothing, so I put on my polka dot candy colored dress. But unfortunately, there are only a few of them who stick to code, haha!

7 sins
If you are a fan of chocolate but prefer a moderate amount of sweetness, then by all means, please have a bite of this awesome treats! It's priced at RM12, enough satisfaction to last you for one night or for me, 15 minutes. I have a collection of their signature brown ribbons and plastic cases from my previous purchase. The plastic case is excellent to store small food items like lemon halves or peeled onion.

Guests get to draw two papers, which will be converted to two free Delectable treats.
Wow, they really treat their packaging seriously, which is very sweet of them. I wish they could tone down on the packaging or perhaps create more sustainable type of packaging :)

I love fondant covered cupcakes
I know these might be too sweet for others, but it's no harm of eating this bit by bit...*drool* Comes with flavors from ginger, vanilla macadamia, chocalate ganache and my personal favorite peanut butter chocolate!!!

More treats from the brainchild, Su herself. She made all these wonderful meals for the guests. Thank you so much! And omg, it's just scrumptiously delicious. She still keeps her signature tastes - moist and just nice on the sweetness!

I forgot the name of this cupcake, but inside is a peanut butter chocolate cake covered with vanilla buttercream and the cute, detail fondant design. Would you look at that?

Happinutts
I bought this for RM 12, and something about this nuts that makes me want to gobble more and more. Must be the caramel coating! Yum!

The dream maker, Su.
I love meeting inspiring, go-getters individuals like Su. She has a blog that documents her journey from a construction management student to being a culinary entrepreneur. A bold career shift, if you ask me. Kudos to her :)

Though small and a wee bit cramped, it was such a delightful-licious event. I was practically saving the peanut butter cupcake for the next day cos I just want to savor the gooey taste of the peanut butter cupcake. Yummmm!

How to order quickie Domino's Pizza using Express Card?

2010-07-16T10:09:00.001+08:00

Domino's Express Card

I spoke to a lot of friends about using the Domino's Express Card or known as the buy 1 free 1 privilege card. When I asked them on how do they made their orders, most of them would tell me that they would go to the store and wait for 15 minutes.

Little do they know you can actually skip the 15 mins wait by just phoning in advance. Here's my quick tips on speedy and seamless Domino's call :D

A bachelorette guide to survive. Haha!

Step 1: Decide which flavor, crust and size you want. The new Express Card now accept Regular, Large or Xtra Large Pizza at standard menu prize. Eg: You can get two regular pizzas for RM23.80. You can either scavenge through Domino's latest pamphlet for the pizza details or just go to the local website at http://www.dominos.com.my/menu.html

Step 2: Pick up the phone and call 1300-888-333 (Malaysia's hotline)
Step 3: Wait and speak to the operator.

Example:
Me: Hello, I'm calling from the number....[your phone number you have used for previous order]
Operator: Ok, your name is [Roze Boomerang] and your address is [Cyberjaya]. What would your order be?
Me: I would like to order for a pick-up at Cyberjaya branch using my Express Card.
Operator: Ok, I will need your Express card number. [This is optional, sometimes they will ask this or if you can't remember your number, you can 'try' to refer to your previous order. But again, some operator is quite strict on this procedure, so to save the time and trouble, just give him the damn number].
Me: My card number is EX ------- (7 digit number)
Operator: Ok [verifying]. And what will your first pizza be?
Me: I would like to have a regular Spicy Sambal, classic hand tossed, minus the onions and replace that with extra anchovies. [Tips: If you choose to minus a topping, you can actually have it replaced with new topping or ingredients]. And second pizza would be a regular Beef Pepperoni, thin crust. That's all.
Operator: Ok, let me repeat that....your order is....bla bla bla. And you would like to collect the pizza at this location [eg. Shah Alam branch section 9). The time now is 9.00pm and your pizza will be ready at 9.15pm. Should your order be late, you'll receive a free regular pizza voucher. Thank you for calling Domino's, have a nice day!
Me: You're welcome, you too.

I'm always on the road when I do this, so I'll call 15-20 mins earlier and by the time I reach the store, I don't need to wait. Bon apetit! :D

What a tawny Asian girl should have - Bobbi Brown Oil Free Even Finish Foundation SPF 15

2010-07-13T09:04:00.003+08:00

My favorite all natural foundation - Bobbi Brown's Oil-Free Even Finish Foundation

I'm yellow!

"Have you ever seen a photo of you with your face fairer than your neck all because you're using the wrong foundation shade? I know I do!"

I picked up foundation during my mid years in university. I've always hated using foundation or pressed powder cos it always ended up too bright on me. I have a tawny, olive skin (yellowish brown) and most cosmetics I found in local stores rarely suit my skin color as they have limited pallet of colors and most of them gives a 'glowy' effect especially taken with flash cameras.

Not until I was introduced to Bobbi Brown. I managed to get my first foundation using the paycheck from my internship. It's a little pricey (RM 130 for 30ml) but it lasted me for the whole year. Erm, to be honest, I'm still using my almost-3-year-old foundation, which is not advisable since you should only keep it for 1 year max. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

Earlier I bought Honey (5), but a year later, the sales assistant told me that my skin suits Warm Natural (4.5), which is a shade lighter.

Difference between the two colors.

Blended tones...so Honey or Warm Natural?

Bare in mind, liquid foundation suits those with normal to dry skin, which is a bummer for me cos my skin from dry skin, has now becoming oilier starting this year.

I guess I need to convert to this Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation.
Darn, anyone wants to trade this with my liquid foundation? :D

Here's my next review on Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation for oily skin.

My old cassette tapes...

2010-07-12T10:17:00.003+08:00

Recently I had a little spring cleaning in my old bedroom and I stumble upon my price possessions - my music cassette tapes! Let's face it folks, this has now becoming a 'super ancient' technology and our kids won't even know how to pop in this baby just like some of us who can't even operate the vinyl records.

My cassette collection with my signature on it, lol!

I remember one of my first cassettes, it was The Beatles 20 Greatest Hits. My mom bought it for me for RM16.90, which at that time (1996), was very un-affordable for an 11 year old kid like me. Back then when everyone was so obsessed with dancing boybands and divas, I was lost in the monochrome world, gaga-ing over Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley and Micky Dolenz. LOL! These guys are older than my dad for heaven's sake!

Back to The Beatles, I remember how much I used to toy around with my stereo player that has Left and Right channel speakers. And since Please Please Me and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band were remastered (from Mono to Stereo), you can basically mute one of the channels and sing along with either the tunes or just the vocal itself e.g. "When I'm Sixty Four". Some Beatlemania (Beatles fans) like the original, crisp and bold Mono version and some prefers the 'stereo' surround sound.

Oh dear, if only I've the money to purchase this gorgeous apple. It's actually a USB drive loaded with 14 stereo titles, as well as all of the re-mastered CDs’ visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes. OMG! It's abot US$300. Yikes! Money 'can' buy me love :(

The new, edible lipstick >> The Body Shop Delipscious

2010-07-08T19:16:00.013+08:00

I was super excited when The Body Shop announced this new lipstick a few months ago in the USA's website. And finally, in last June, they have released Delipscious sheer lip color in Malaysia's market. The lipbalm will be out sometime this month. Yay!

Available in West Malaysia for RM45 (2g). The container is made from 100% recyclable materials. Score for the environment! YAY!

What's the awesome thing about this? It's EDIBLE! It's made from 100% food-grade ingredients, so if you happen to be a lip licker like me, now you don't have to think twice about digesting some foreign, chemical ingredients. Everything from blueberries, pomegranate seed oil, community trade coconut oil and cocoa butter are in this small 2g lipstick.

Hand test-ing the shades. It's very moist unlike the normal lip color from The Body Shop. So moisturizing, you don't need a lip balm for a base!

I like Toffee on my lips, what do you think?

Delipscious Sheer Toffee 02
Pros
Love the even application. Normally, I have to double coat nude color lipstick with a darker shade cos of my darker lip pigment (like most South East Asian), but with this, a swipe or two will do. Is it just me or this particular shade smells like cotton candy!

Cons
Judging from the soft texture, I probably finish off this lipstick within 2-3 months, depending how often you use this lipsticks.

Delipscious Sheer Elderberry 05
Pros
For a moist texture, this particular color tends to be quite long lasting even after an eating session. And this comes with a different smell...like, chocolate!

Cons
Unlike Toffee, Elderberry looks a lil bit uneven on my lips. I guess sheer lipstick just don't work that well for darker red-ish shades. This happens to my other darker lip shade too. Solution? I like to mix darker color with nude.

Toffee + Elderberry = Toffelberry! A whole new shade!

Olivia, The Body Shop blogger. Check out The Body Shop Youtube channel here

Before Glee, there was Sister Act...

2010-07-07T18:05:00.004+08:00

Religion aside, if you're a fan of Glee and musical choir, you'll love Sister Act 1 & 2 starring the funny lady, Whoopi Goldberg. They used to play this movie on TV years back. You'll be surprised to see a few familiar faces in this movie from Lauryn Hill and Jennifer Love Hewitt. I like how the kids in this show actually have a few sessions of practice and imperfections unlike Glee where it's all straight from studio recording quality.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Oh Happy Days

Young Lauryn Hill singing

Clean & Clear Oil Control Film - Grapefruit scent!

2010-07-04T01:32:00.005+08:00

My new Pink Grapefruit scented blotter and the normal blue version

Today, I went to Watson's pharmacy cos I was running out of blotter, and with my frequent oily skin, I constantly use about 2-3 ply of film per day. Here's my previous post on facial blotter. I was relieved to see my usual blue Clean & Clear film in the rack, but before I could grab it, I saw an identical packaging, written below it - PINK GRAPEFRUIT...what!? It was a 'Limited Edition' together with the blue version, which I'm not sure what scent it was (for the blue one) cos it's nothing written there. It costs RM9.90 which a RM1 more expensive than the old one (50+10 sheets). When I asked the sales person on what's the difference, she pointed out the 'won't clog pores' tagline. Hmmm...

Made in Japan!

Afterwards, I showed the blotter to my sis, and she squealed when I showed it to her. She used to buy this years back. It was limited edition cos it was 'Made in Japan'. Ahhh, that explains...

Comparison between the old and the new limited edition grapefruit scented blotter.
My sis still keeps the old packaging, lol!

How does it smells like? Grapefruit of course!

The smell reminds me of air freshener, but hey, it won't clog pores right? I'm definitely gonna stock this baby up before it runs out. The film really absorbs the oil well and for some reason, the after effect looks like as though I had put a powder on my face.

Introducing NEW PAGE! - Roze's Facial Skin Care Routine

2010-07-01T18:12:00.009+08:00

I know a lot of readers would like to know my progress on Dr Ting's (Jalan Imbi) or the end result of using The Body Shop products and also some quirky tips I have used during my acne recovery. I've compiled the specific products I've used and why. Also listed down a few tips on living with less acne...one day at a time :D

Click at the right side of the blog to read more or click here.

To read more on the popular acne related posts;

Ice Facial for a Hot day

2010-06-28T09:30:00.010+08:00

Homemade ice facial made from Vitamin E oil and Green Tea

It's a hot day Sunday today and nothing's better than to have your own ice facial during a weather like this! It's good to soothe down the pimples (especially the red ones) and minimizing pore size.

I love making homemade treatment and remedies. You can pretty much make use of your kitchen ingredients without forking more money for facial treatments. And best of all, you don't need to worry about having a freak allergic reaction cos these stuff are made from natural ingredients.

Credit to Michelle Phan for the inspiring tutorial.

All you need for this awesome ice facials are. Ingredients are based on 1 tray of ice facials;

Green tea bag
4-5 tablets of Vitamin E
Toothpick (depending on the ice tray)
Ice cube tray

Soak the green tea bag in water (not too hot, not too cold) for about 1 minute. Next, prick the vitamin E tablet with one of the toothpicks and squeeze in the goodness in the green tea. In the video, Ms Phan kinda skipped the step when she emptied out the green tea content. So for this, you have to rip open the tea bags to get the tea leaves residue. Then pour everything in the tray and transfer the tray in the freezer for about 1 hour plus, depending how cool it gets. After that, slowly poke the toothpicks in the ice. And cool it again for a good 3-4 hours.

Tada!
Some sticks got a bit distorted cos I poke the ice too soon. But hey, it's cool!

Oooh, icey!

Results: For a sec, it took a bit to get used to at the electrifying icy sensation of the ice, but after that I feel so heavenly refreshed, especially in the hot weather. Get a towel with you cos the ice will melt. My face feels so clean and smooth from the 'ice glide'. So nice that I just rinse my face with water. Definitely gonna be my weekly thing now! Yeaaahhh!

Some say this is good to heal the scars, which can be true cos there is Vitamin E in the content. OMG! I'm so loving this!

My other ridiculous post on food facial treatment - Coffee mask

Recycling prob solved with Ikea's DIMPA!

2010-06-24T19:37:00.006+08:00

Been having problems on storing my recycling junks.
This is how my front porch used to look like. Even though the recycling items are clean, I was worried that these could be a breeding ground for spiders and even territory marks for cats to urinate. I'm talking from experience by the way, hehe. Somehow tom cats just love plastics.

Not until I found a few awesome recycling storage items in the Ikea's new booklet (storage).
They even have a compost bin. Cool!

So, I give DIMPA waste sorting bag with stand a try for RM46.
As much as I hate buying more stuff for the sake of recycling,
I really need to make my house as organized and neat as possible.

Packaging look.

You can customize the label (white paper provided).
I added a few drawing for easy read ;) Recycling can also be a fun activity to do with your kids and little ones. I would make sure that most recycling items are rinsed and clean.

Instead of wrapping the recycling materials with more plastics, now I can just carry the whole bag to the local recycling centre (pic: at Putrajaya recycling centre). How neat is that?!

Shape Night Run '10

2010-06-19T14:02:00.007+08:00

Fancy another night race chapter for the year? Join me for the Shape Night Run '10 this July 31 and just run for your life! :D As much as I wanna lure you with all the amazing goodies they're giving away, I rather sell the ideas of joining for the sake of self challenge and a great excuse to be healthy. Why not? :)

I met a lot of inspiring people during my previous night race. So inspiring that I've decided to expand more chapters of running to my mundane 3 months routine. If 12.3km is a bit too much for you, come join for 5km Fun Run!

See you there! Click here to register (make sure you are registered to hooHAA. If not, do register for free)

Meet my stray cat friends :)

2010-06-16T10:12:00.013+08:00

A kitten my college mate and I photographed for an assignment. Isn't he adorable? I found him around my hostel compound. Look at him smiling.

I am a cat person. Whenever I'm outside, walking on the street or simply driving around the town, the moment I spotted stray cats or even dogs, it breaks my heart to know that these animals have to starve, beg and pretty much survive in this concrete, cruel human society.

I don't know if it's my ability to hear cats moaning for quick meal or merely just my empathy hormones when it comes to stray cats. Of course, part of it cos I have three (now two) cats of my own, both were stray cats.

Hitam is one of my family cats.
We found her and her siblings in our garage studio back in 1997. She's one wise and brave cat. Once saved the family from cobra a few years ago.
She's now 14 years old.

Belang is Hitam's litter brother.
He's all 'tough' exteriorly, but deep inside gentle and lovable cat.
We have the best 9 years with him until he gave up on Jaundice disease in 2005 :(

Oren is our latest addition to the family.
He'a rescue cat. Brought him back home in 2007 when I found his arm in a 'human-made' cast back in my apartment compound. His left arm was not treatable due to nerve fracture.
His super friendly characteristic made me believe that he's part British Shorthair.

Raja is a friend's cat that I adore.
Smart, caring and one brave man-cat, thus the name Raja (means King in Malay) He lived til his 3rd year of life and died of FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis)

Meet Stewpitt
She's one street wise cat but can be a bitch sometimes when you're not careful. Got a lot of scratches from her, yet I still feed her. Why, Stewpitt why?

Here, Kat Kat!
Kat Kat's a momma cat who gave three sets of litter (or more) from what I've observed.
I fed her on fortnight basis during her preggers time. Though street wise, she is one friendly and adorable female cats I've met.

Do you have any gut-warming stray cat stories you like to share? Do share 'em here :)

Hairband - A T-zone Zapper

2010-06-13T11:54:00.002+08:00

Betty Suarez's fringe alert! ACKKK!!

I often wonder why my fringes or bangs always get greasy at the end of the day. Yes, I do wash my face twice a day but still back to square one - greasy hair! Because of that, my t-zone is forever producing new pimples on weekly basis. Doesn't make sense cos my hair is generally dry and only that front side (the fringes) get oily at the end of the day? How so???

So I've googled and asked around, and most of them advised that fringe is one of the contributors to t-zone. So, okay...I took their advice (in March '10), and put up my hair whenever I'm home, and groom my fringe down again when I'm out (during busy days, I can be out for more than 12 hours a day). Results: There is still a few zits coming on weekly basis. Yarrgghhh!!!

It took me two weeks and I practically gave up cos it made no difference on my forehead.

Early June. Feeling optimistic, I had another go again with the hairband strategy to eliminate my exhausted, moon-looking forehead. This time, I've decided to wear headband for two week straight! Guess what? My forehead seems to be free of new pimples, amazing!

A few hairband inspirations.

Where to shop for cute hairband?
Depending on your budget, you can hunt for these cuties from Sinma, Forever 21 to the super expensive Evita Peroni!

Got t-zone? Try putting up your hair for more than 2 weeks straight and see the difference! If hairband's not for you, then opt for hair clips or pins! :)

Crying my way to Gold Coast with AirAsia X

2010-06-05T08:44:00.002+08:00

Whoa..some war looking actions out from the window seat. Now what if there's nothing interesting to stare at?

It can be really frustrating and exhausting being stuck in a long haul flight. How long can one actually sleep if it's more than 8 hours flight in a reclining seat. There are several times of my long journey that seems very smooth and best spent cos I was too busy doing something. If I could recall my best moments flying were during these two incident;

Talking to interesting stranger
Met an interesting Aussie lady on the way from KL to Melbourne in AirAsia X too. We chatted for hours talking about yoga, cats and also her amazing journey as a sailor. By the time we stopped talking, there's only about less than 1-2 hours away to destination.

And the second one which I'll be telling you in this post, is the joy of AirAsia X In Flight Entertainment. No, I'm not paid for saying this. Haha! Seriously this is a heaven in disguise! I know for RM30, one can buy about 2-3 meals during the flight, but when you have a mini size entertainment system that allows you to chat with fellow passengers, watch movies that you didn't get to watch before, and listen to the new or old music that you never get to purchased, ...your flight trip could never been this fun :)

BBQ Chicken - Ughh...I'm not enjoying this for some reason.

Before I describe the joy, allow me to elaborate more on the pain. The food. OMG! I don't think I'll ever bother getting the pre-booked meal because truth is, you never know what it may get at the end. And somehow there are bound to be other meals that you like that's not in the booking info. I haven't experienced a prison life, but if there is such thing as prison food, it might taste like this :p The food gets very indigestible every time I spooned it over my mouth.

Okay, let's move on to the good part.

I've finally get to watch Hachiko!!! My friend who's a dog owner/lover was watching this movie too and just like me, we were crying the whole time watching the movie! I even finished up half of a toilet paper with my tears and mucus *eww*.

The old Hachiko still waiting for his master. This is one of the saddest, mucus flowing moment!!! Sorry, for the pre-spoiler :D

My favorite album from Elton John! OMG! They have it here.

Oooh, chatting with fellow passengers! How cool is that? I find that the touch screen less precise and hard to type. But oh well, it's good than nothing :)

By default, your ID will be your seat number. You can even customize it to a more cooler name and create your own group! Awesome!

My awesome playlist :D

If your AirAsia X flight doesn't come with a screen in front of your seat, you can always request for it, and they'll give you an external screen set.

What you got to lose for only RM30?

My Top 10 Chick Flick

2010-05-29T10:59:00.006+08:00

Everyone needs a cry or two sometimes. As we grow up, work and life gets the best of you and sucked out pretty much every dose of emotions you have. No? Maybe it's just me.

One way for a good cry is to watch chick flick. Leave your boyfriend or spouse somewhere, anywhere and grab yourself a movie! Chick flick is primarily made ONLY for women, though it doesn't hurt to bring women-alike along, haha. Come to think of it, if your spouse needs any sort of "punishment", get him to watch these genre of movie. Hahaha!

Last night my girlfriend and I were having a movie marathon. One of the movies that we watched was A Letter for Juliet. I wouldn't say that this is the best among all, but I think this is one feel-good movie to watch with your girlfriends along with nice popcorn and dessert. Oooh, kleenex included! Not gonna give out much spoilers or description on this since this just hits the theater lately.

In conjunction of the movie above, I here to present to you my top 10 favorite chick flick of all time. These are the list of movies that I've cried to and pretty much gave me a lot of goosebumps and butterflies...

Serendipity - Put a coy, soft spoken British girl and a wise cracking, witty New Yorker and BOOM, you'll get Serendipity. There is something about John Cusack that makes an excellent candidate for a male chick flick. Probably his funny and charismatic personality that makes me melt like butter. Winter, hot chocolate and New York - what a delicious way to find love. And I got to applaud the soothing numbers of the movie's soundtrack.

While You Were Sleeping - I love watching any movies with Sandra Bullock in it. One of my all time favorite and I named the title after my comic novel. Note to Malaysian: Do you guys remember the Fair & Lovely commercial where a guy met this receptionist girl and he didn't noticed her cos she's erm, dark and dull? I think that scene was taken from this movie.

The Notebook - This movie is based from a novel written by the hopeless romantic Nicholas Spark. I think this guy (Mr Spark) is like a lady trapped in a man's body. He wrote the most heart wrenching stories including Message in a Bottle. I wonder if he's a romantic guy in real life?

My Sassy Girl - Unlike the movie above that was an adaptation of a book, this movie is an Americanize version of a Korean comedy romance. I love the element of surprise in the movie, the surrealistic shots and definitely the romance. Love it!

Only You - The romantic side of the Iron Man. This is one movie that made me to ga-ga on Robert Downey Jr. Robbie was still young and fresh this time! And they could not find any location better than the lovely Venice. *drool* I think Marisa Tomei is cute, but her 80's short hair really does look masculine much like the leading man. LOL!

A Walk to Remember - I never thought Mandy Moore was a good actor until I watched this nine years ago. I used to watched this in my college dorm, at night, with the light off and just bawl over this. Bad boy meets innocent and tacky girl - what is there not to love?

Kate & Leopold - Nothing could go wrong when you have the two most adorable duo like Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. Hugh Jackman plays in a romantic comedy? Who knew? The story of a modern, career woman and a fine, dashing gentlemen from the past!

P.S. I Love You - Two most toughest actors Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank show their soft side in this romantic comedy. I thought that this movie is a bit anti-climax, but it's enough to shed tears of any women whose watching this.

Breakfast at Tiffany's - The classic never dies in this old movie played by the most stunning, Audrey Hepburn and the blue eyed gorgeous, George Peppard. The song "Moon River" was made particularly for this movie. My favorite moment,

Paul: I love you.

Holly: So what.

Paul: So what? So plenty! I love you, you belong to me!

Holly: No. People don't belong to people.

Paul: Of course they do!

Holly: I'll never let anybody put me in a cage.

Paul: I don't want to put you in a cage, I want to love you!

13 Going on 30 - This movie doesn't really digs you in to the soppy side, very much like a tidbits of everything. Like a Neapolitan ice cream! Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo made a good pair in this movie. I can't really pin point what makes Mark Ruffalo such a good candidate for this genre. His blurry signature personality? The way he talk/mumble? Also look out for him in "Just Like Heaven" along with the incredible Reese Witherspoon.

That's it? So...chick flick anyone?

3-Day Sale Mania for Love Your Body™ The Body Shop

2010-05-20T20:31:00.008+08:00

It's that time of the year again!!! The Body Shop BIG sale!

Members only sale will be from 21-23 May 2010

My previous experience on The Body Shop sale was unforgettable! If you're shopping at a prime area like I did in MidValley, it could get very crowded, but FUN! I can imagine it would be like the Confession of a Shopaholic scene. Haha!

Here are my list of to-buy stuff;

Shea Body Butter: This is a must for me! I bought this every month and more reason to stock two of this baby at once!
Vitamin C SPF 15 Moisturiser: My friend advised me to get a sunscreen product since I deal a lot with computer work and the screen ray can be harmful for long term. I dunno, I've tried looking for answers on this but can't seem to get a bulls eye on this. But hey, no harm of getting that extra protection. I've been wanting to try out vitamin C range, I think this will be a good buy! It's rated higher than the Skin Boost. A lot of reviewers compliment on the yummy smell. Must try!
Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser and Tea Tree Toner: Well, usually I like to mix my products according to my target needs, but since I am so in love with Tea Tree range, I have decided to complete my tea tree set. I have been using the tea tree mask, the oil treatment and the moisturiser (both day and night) along with my Shiso (eye serum) and Aloe in addition to my skin care regime.
Brow & Lash Gel: I am still waiting for their new mascara to come out the store, meanwhile, I've been wanting to have this for a long time. Some make up enhancer that doesn't stain my eye after a long day of work and something that can 'groom' my bushy brow neatly. This is it :)
Lip Scuff & Lip Color: Every 6 months, I like to 'pamper' myself with new lipstick color. I have erm, a thick lips so I use lipstick instead of lip gloss. I always opt for either Bobbi Brown or The Body Shop since they have a lot of nude-ish, natural color lipstick that I love and the color last longer with my 'lip licking' habit. On a lot of occasion, I like to mix lip color, hehe! Will explain more on this soon.

Counting hours to SHOPPING TIME!

UPDATE: FRIDAY MAY 22nd

Went in between lunch and meeting. At The Body Shop, Alamanda, Putrajaya.
The staff were just putting out the super discounted items, mostly from body gel, some old edition white musk perfume and gift sets.

Guess how much all these cost?

RM202.20 for 6 items!!!
Was a bit disappointed that the body butter was only up for 5% (plus 10% member discount). But hey, it's good enough!

As for the items the remaining items I haven't bought like the eyelash gel and the lipscuff, I guess it's not so urgent enough. I am very tempted to get the Vitamin C Skin Boost. This is something worth buying this weekend, y'all!

I rarely seen these tea tree items like Tea Tree Handwash and Tea Tree Facial exfoliator. These were all on 50% discount (plus extra 10% for members). So is the concealer stick!Yay!

Shopping smart in Queensland!

2010-05-20T12:41:00.015+08:00

New stuff I bought throughout my trip in Queensland and Byron Bay

Okay, I believe that when you shop during your travels, the rule of thumb of shopping is always...

"Buy things that you can't get here (where you live)."

For that, girls are expert when it comes to shopping. We may shop a lot (can be impulsive shopper sometimes), but we know what's worth it and what needs to forgo.

Here are the places and things I bought while traveling in Queensland, Australia and when I head down to Byron Bay, New South Wales.

I saw this colorful flower power tour bus heading to Nimbin a hippie town. Pick me!

Byron Bay: Bought the white t-shirts, one for me and one for my dad. The men tshirt costs about $5 and mine's a bit expensive, I think it's about $7 or $10 maybe cos it's sleeveless.
Reason I bought this cos I think it's cool to have the name Byron Bay instead of just Australia. Byron Bay = surf people = cool!

Cotton On (Pacific Fair Mall, Harbourtown, Surfer's Paradise): This is quite like a F.O.S/Vincci/Ruby equivalent, where the stuff here are dirt cheap, but can also be a so-so quality. A local friend advised me to go to Harbourtown for more discounted price instead of the hotspots like Surfer's Paradise. I honestly think that Surfer's Paradise is bigger and has more choices. But hey, up to you ;). I bought the yellow sunnies, the metallic blue handbag and pink mini handbag and each only costs $5 = RM15. My guy friends bought a LOT of their tshirts cos it's SUPER comfortable and light, which is amazing for the weather during the day. * Don't buy the shoes there especially the ballet flats. It's so hard to walk on and NOT worth buying at all, unless you want an instant blister.

MovieWorld: I bought the Superman cape for $10! Didn't bother buying the tshirts and keychains cos there's already DC shop in Malaysia. Right? Right?

Panting my way to Pacific Fair Mall

Pacific Fair: This is where the locals shop and hang out. It has a feel of Jusco and a decent mall, with food courts and local designer labels. The mall only 15 mins walk from my motel. But walking with hot weather during the day can be a bit of a bummer.

Harbourtown: If you're into branded items and want to get that bargain price items, then maybe this is the place to go. But I dunno, I went to the Nike shop and couldn't find a nice, affordable price like you get here. I bought the yellow ballet flats at a local store (forgot the name) for $10 and OMG, it's so awesome. TIPS buying ballet flats, ALWAYS opt for one size bigger, extra room for you when you walk. I bought two pairs of Ruby's during my travel in Melbourne and I ended up giving it away to my sister cos it gets tighter when you walk.

Eumandi Market, Eumandi: OHHHHH! Paradise! Local goods are ALWAYS the best when you go shopping, and what better way to splurge on things that are fresh and made locally by the passionate locals! :D I've also sampled a lot of food here from flavored macadamias (love Morrocon), ginger beer, fresh passion fruit, everything!

I bought one set of handmade soap of 6 for $7, wooden coaster (looks like chopped log) for $6, children illustration book from local artist (gift for my mother) for $15, mirror badge for $4 (got bargain from $6)...

Australian Nougat Company: Just 15 mins away from my Noosa motel, lies a hidden gem with Nougats and lots of it! Nougats are made fresh in this small factory and flavors from Cranberry and Almonds are to die for. If your teeth can handle it...

Go nuts on Macadamia Nut Factory!

Macadamia Nut and Chocolate Factory is located at southeast Queensland and 1 and 55 mins away from Queensland. If you love macadamias and want a bargain, this is the place to go. You can even sample the nuts here as well as witness chocolate in the making. 1 kg for $19.95

Now that you know, let's shop!

Nature trip: Tamborine Mountain to Springbrook!

2010-05-09T10:59:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Great Australian Roadtrip site, I got to know some of the must go's and must do's around Australia. It recommends you a few routes to go and what to do there. To view my sample itinerary to around Queensland and NSW, click here.

One of the days in Gold Coast, we have decided to do a one-day nature trip from Tamborine Mountain to Springbrook. My advise, please start the day very early - wake up at 5am (if you're staying around Gold Coast area) and leave by 6am.

To-bring for quick nature trip:

Hoodie jacket (for cold, windy night). If you don't have hoodie jacket, bring hat to keep your ears warm.
Food and water (picnic at Springbrook)
Torchlight. I brought my headlight from Energizer event, very convenient :D
Good rubbery shoes or boots (with socks)
Maps and/or GPS
Small backpack
Blanket
Long pants

1. Tamborine Mountain
Journey from Gold Coast: 1:01 hour drive
A reminisce of Cameron Highlands with attractions from vineyard and wine tasting, nature walk, Gallery walk (great food place and "tourist" shopping spot). We reached this place at noon. My advise, reach here early in the morning. So you can have time to cover the next destination like Springbrook, which is a must go than Tamborine Mountain. I personally recommend visitors to go to Gallery Cafe, at Gallery Walk for breakfast. The scones there are simply divine! In my opinion, the souvenirs here are not worth buying, but I bought a cute cat sign that I totally love. If you're a fan of fairies, then there are plenty of stuff for you to buy here, although I don't see the relation between Fairies and Tamborine.

Some pathways in Skywalk leads to ground paths such as this. I'd fun though.

Then there was Skywalk. It's an elevated walkway where you can view nature 3o m up in the air. Admission costs $18.50. Uhh, I seriously skip cos I hardly found anything worth mentioning. More of a 'meh' to me. Maybe cos I'm used to the rainforest here in Malaysia. If you want to see real nature, then I suggest going for those nature trails that doesn't require any admission.

2. Springbrook National Park
Journey from Tamborine Mountain: 1:15 hour drive
I wish I could reach here earlier to explore Natural Bridge. But were very lucky enough to made it to the Glow Worms tour! The one in the Tamborine Mountain is located in a man-made cave, so go figure. This is the real thing!

It feels like we were in a mad scientist lab where you see specimen of preserve insects and arachnids in jars. Awesome! You rock, Garry!

The tour was conducted by Garry Maguire, the man who first discovered the glow worms habitat in the park itself. Unlike the tour in our firefly reserve in Kuala Selangor, this feels very much like a classroom presentation. He spent more than 15-2o mins explaining about the whole walkthrough history of glow worms to the associations of the stars in the sky.

The research centre is located up in a hill and if you reach there at night, you not only see thousands of stars, you can even see the milky way! Just a little warning, this tour is not made for those who are scared of the dark. After explaining the 101 of glow worms, we walked to a room where they kept the luminous mushroom! Again, luck is on our side, we get to see the last mushroom of the season (was expected to end on March). I glows fairly bright in the dark, you can even read a book with it!

Picture taken from the website. Photography is not permitted at this area.

Next, we walked 200 m on a concrete pathways. We brought torchlight which was not advisable and there are already ground light (in low light) located along the pathways. Then at last, deep in 5-10m vertical rock, we were surrounded by starry glow worms, in pitch darkness. It was AWESOME!!! Truly a real life avatar moment here!

It pretty much made on my number 1 best spot to go in Queensland. Words can't describe how magical it was to experience the nature and just being there. For nature lovers or even casual travelers, this is a sight and experience not to be missed!

If you're interested to go for the tour, you can find more info here.

My favorite Glee song moments...

2010-05-06T10:00:00.001+08:00

I have actually quite a few favorites from Glee season 1, apart from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", and to me, most of them are either from the early 90's or older...

Just to name a few...here they are. Enjoy!

I'll Stand By You: Finn
Mood: Jiwang! Or when I'm drooling on Cory Monteith
Why this song?: I know Fin tends to get a bit nasally sometimes, but I just can't stop looping this song over and over :). Plus, beneath that naivety is one caring and romantic guy.

Endless Love: Rachel and Mr Schue
Mood: Romantic duet
Why this song?: Classic! I think most cover songs that sells in Glee are the cheesiest, oldies songs. They made it work!

On My Own: Rachel
Mood: When you feel lonely and pathetic, especially the part on "On my own pretending he's beside me".
Why this song?: The lyrics and the reason above sez it all. It's nice to feel sorry for yourself sometimes, hehehe.

You're Having My Baby: Fin
Mood: When my maternal mood kicks in. Hahahahaha! I don't know where this comes from, but I would like my future husband to sing this to me. No...really? *questioning self*
Why this song?: Can't you just see how romantic (and cheesy) he gets singing this in front of Quinn's parents and Quinn.

Smile: Mercedes
Mood: Sad and in a lift-up spirit mood. Also to remember Michael Jackson.
Why this song?: You can hear the softer side of Mercedes, as she always trying to hit the high 'diva' notes.

So what's your favorite song in Glee season 1 and why? :)

The Body Shop gift ideas for Mother's Day

2010-05-05T11:18:00.015+08:00

The Body Shop gift ideas for Mother's Day, brought to you by Roze Boomerang.com.

Clockwise from left to right:

Pressed Face Powder: My mom's favorite! She bought this every 6 months. The only powder she likes that stick to her face. She's a teacher by the way!
Africa Spa Rich Body Balm: She bought this a few years ago. I've tried using some and OMG! The texture is so smooth and fine - not too watery like lotion and not too thick like body butter.
Wellbeing Starter Kit - Total Energy: I got this for last year's sale. For mom's who love Balinese spa and Mustika Ratu's jamu smell, then your mom will love this!
Lavender Home Fragrance: Good for relaxing. Buy a burner with that too :)
Wise Woman Starter Kit: Purchased this for my mom's birthday for RM99. My mom's in love with the toner!
Nutriganics™ Skin Smoothing Kit: Compared to Wise Woman (regenerating), this one is more on the 'refreshing' side.
Almond Oil Heavenly Hands: Mani service without leaving your home.
White Gardenia Eau de Toilette: Musky smell scent and also nice looking bottle.
Aloe Protective Restoring Mask: One of Vogue's list of recommendations. I have the Aloe toner, my personal favorite cos its very gentle esp. for sensitive skin. Most masks need to be refreshing (not too oily, not too dry). This is just perfect!
Vitamin C Skin Reviver (Boost): Best seller for The Body Shop! Most online reviews gave a thumbs up on this!
Lightening Touch: For dark spot on skin. Moms will love it! One of the best seller in USA
Quill Brush: My personal favorite. I own one for almost more than 3 years now. Never switched to others. It's used for most hair spa salon and not only it massaged the scalp, but its good way to distribute hair natural oils.

Wishing all mothers a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Cooking with what you have...

2010-05-01T19:52:00.007+08:00

I watched BBC's Click this afternoon and as usual, they will introduce a few awesome sites available and one site that caught my eye was Supercook.com.

Three year old, dusty book

This site is what I've been looking for. Three years ago, my mom bought me a recipe book since that's the first time I moved in to my apartment. Hehe, a bachelorette guide to cooking. It has quite a few interesting recipes, but here's the problem - the ingredients!

I have...
Ginger + Chicken + Milk + Onion + Apple = ???

Let's say you bought a whole ingredients for one meal. And then, having to cook only for 1 or 2 person, you tend to get leftovers and you pretty much have two choices;

Use it for the same meal. Get the remaining ingredients and cook it. If you're a busy person, the food might go bad and bye-bye food.
Re-invent new recipe on your own. The downside for that, it might taste 'wrong' since you're at a experimental mode. Oooh, pasta + apple...I wonder how it will taste like :P

Once you get to the site, just type in all the ingredients you have. I pretty much have most of the ingredients I need for spaghetti bolognese, but it's interesting to see other choices you can cook with it.

Great site for those who wants to save and cook at home. My resolution for the Earth Day this year is to cook at home at least 3 days a week. Let's cut costs on takeouts, carbon emission from fuel, eat healthy and challenge yourself into making simple to scrumptious meals.

Let's cook! For my next post (coming soon), I will share you my dad's spaghetti recipe, inspired during his years in Italy.

A 2-in-1 Earth Day Celebration

2010-04-30T14:40:00.003+08:00

Two great events happening last Saturday.

In the afternoon, there was The Body Shop's Makeup Competition 2010 and then after a few minutes of a breather, I head to Voices in the Forest, a concert held in Kota Damansara Forest Reserve in the evening.

It was in The Body Shop Malaysia's facebook wall that I got to know the event. I immediately emailed my best friend and she's all game. This would be our second time participating The Body Shop event. Here's a sneak peek of the past event;

Aug 2008 - The Body Shop's Stop Violence Against Women campaign in KLCC

For the 3rd year, The Body Shop has held it's national makeup competition exclusively for their staff (beauty consultant). These talents were chosen from branches throughout West Malaysia and this is the chance for the them to showcase their skills and creativity using the Spring makeup collection. The Body Shop's members (Love Your Body) and also Facebookers were invited to witness this spectacular event and we even play judge cos we get to vote who wins. Yay!

As I stepped in to the all-black PJLA theatre with a generous amount of goodies from The Body Shop, I feel like being in a miniature fashion week event, seriously! The black, chic room was furnished in spring-like decor, with green leaves and flowers all around.

Not to forget, The Body Shop's signature inspiring prints

The stage: One long runway, with rows of tables, bar stool and the spring collection cosmetics from The Body Shop.

Free makeover for customers

Let the show begin!

20 minutes of show time. Unlike fashion week, the judges and judges-alike (us!) get to jump on the stage and witness the magic in close-up view.

Magic tools of trade: The Body Shop Spring Collection and its makeup accessories

Variety styles of makeup from fresh, chic to mod. I gave these three my platinum vote :D

Our judge sheet. Platinum (1st), Gold (2nd) and Silver (3rd)

A rated R comedy session with Joanne Kam Poh Poh, hehe.

Mothers, aunties, sisters, best friends, all of them have had been pampered, served and entertained for this lovely afternoon. Had a good chat with Molly Fong, the GM of Body Shop. Quoting some of her words,

"Make up is not all about putting on mask or concealing blemishes or flaws...it's also good way to boost self confidence and feeling beautiful from inside out. And the reason why we have it here in PJLA is first of all, it's a non-for-profit organization - purely community theater (which I think is synonymous to TBS's effort) and having the show right here on a theater stage depicts the competition as part of an artistry performance."

We left the place not only empty handed (with goodies), but also a stomach filled with light Mexican meal. Who could ask for more? :D To those who missed this event, fret not, there's always next year.

After the show, thinking that I'd be going back home, I received a phone call from my friend, inviting me to go for a small concert called Voices in the Forest by Kota Damansara community. Since the event is to commemorate the recent Earth Day and it's just less than 15 minutes away, I thought it's hard not to miss it.

Invitees are advised to bring their own stuff from water bottle, food container, reusable bags and even mat. My friend brought a tikar (straw mat) and spread it the middle of the soggy ground. I was a bit unlucky (as always) and end up sitting on a wet spot. But nah, nothing could spoil the peaceful feeling listening to live musical performance at night, next to the nature. Lovely!

Vocal performance by Nicole-Ann Thomas with backup vocals by Zalina Lee, Janet Lee, Ida Azmi and Aaron Khaled.

My favorite performance of the night was by the young, talented Tree Theatre Group. Wish I'm young enough to join them :). Thumbs up to Jes Ebrahim. You're one awesome singer!

One of their performances during Earth Day 2009 using 'Wayang Kulit' (shadow puppets).

Their '5 saving acts' everyone should follow: Save fuel, save water, save electricity...hmm..I forgot another two, but it has something to do with trees and recycling (I have low attention span). Haha!

Flora and fauna

Last but not least, the green man himself, Zainal Abidin. They saved the star performance for last. He sang a few numbers including his famous 'Hijau' song and the Malay soundtrack for Disney's Tarzan.

Special Saturday it was :)

Teach Your Children Eco Lifestyle

2010-04-25T13:49:00.006+08:00

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Bring a 'to-buy list' (write it on used paper or simply type in your mobile phone's note) and conduct a little treasure hunt and get your kids to help you to shop for 'hidden treasure' (groceries)

I strongly believe that it is very important to teach the children on ways to save the environment by nurturing simple habits to their daily lifestyle. In the end, it is them who will continue living in this planet and then the legacy continues.

The Eco Kids book: Great gifts for the little ones :)

Just a few days before the Earth Hour, I got to know that a friend of mine, Sarah Joan Mokhtar has illustrated a series of children's book featuring The Eco Kids (Eco Girl and Eco Boy) written by Fay Khoo and Asha Gill. I bought one of the three series for only RM10 at MPH's Bangsar Village and part of the RM1 will be donated to Unicef foundation, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know I bought it right.

I love the colorful and comical illustration of the book. The Eco Kids somehow reminds me of Wonderpets *the theme song starts to chime in my head now*. Umm, I know I might get a poke on the head for commenting this, but I found it a bit misleading to fact that paper bag is better than plastic bag. The answer is NEITHER. Though paper is biodegradable, it takes a whopping carbon footprint to produce it *chop, print, gas-out* and plastic is just almost as bad as paper - they may cheap to produce, but they are hard to get rid of!

To read more on Paper or Plastic, I've compiled a few good articles to read;

Paper or plastic — what’s the greener choice?
Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic, Right?
Not Easy Being Green: Four Environmental Decisions We've Made for You

Let's do it for the Kids :)

Gonna end my article with this lovely cover from Crosby Stills & Nash sung by my favorite trio, Hanson. It's called "Teach Your Children".

Destination #1: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

2010-04-22T13:56:00.020+08:00

My hair! My hair!

To combine my trip review in Queensland and Earth Day this year, allow me to share you my magical experience in Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Wherever I travel, I will always make sure that I get a glimpse of the wildlife. There are SO many animal places to visit when you're in Queensland. I was torn between Steve Irwin's Australia zoo, Currumbin Wildlife or the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Admission price comparison;
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary: A$ 44 (walk-in price) or A$ 39.60 ( online)
Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo: A$ 57
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary: A$ 30

It's not cheap to go to any of these places (if you convert AUD to RM, haha), so after a few reviews and consideration, we have decided to give Currumbin a try. It's only 20 minutes from our motel in Mermaid Beach and about 10-15 mins away from Coolangatta airport.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary proudly hails the tagline 'Get Closer', which really describes what they do - bringing the gap closer between animals and visitors without any bars or fence, although some actually are confined for protection ie. crocodiles, nocturnal critters, insects, etc.

I would advise visitors to check the show times schedule before going to the zoo. I went there after lunch, enough time for me to visit the Koala Talk at 1.40pm. Rather than reading the info sign and observing, you get interactive explanation from the crew. Very insightful indeed!

Yummy...eucalyptus! Malaysian have monkeys, Aussie have cuddly koalas!

The Barking/Winking Owl *woof wink*

Next, is the highlight of the day which I highly advised visitors to go - Free Flight Bird Show. They showcased big, stunning birds and pretty much choreographed the birds to fly pass the audience, which is oh-so-awesome!

Save the birds, save the world :) That's what I could sum up from this presentation. The show was not only an eye candy performance, the MC has also explained a lot of insightful info of how important it is to protect these endangered birds.

Who knew Air Asia is one of the main sponsors for this sanctuary. I brought my flight receipt in order to get some 'discounts' but the reception told us it only applies for Air Asia staff.

This big lizard was out in the open and walking around at this one area of the sanctuary. I get to pet its tail before the crew told us that it bites. Yikes!

You can pet and feed the kangaroos here! These furballs are so tame and laidback. Look at them lazying around.

Had a good laugh when my friend gets to perform Aboriginal dance!

Lucky us, they have 2 sessions of Lorikeet Feeding; one in the morning (8 - 9.30am) and one in the evening (4 - 5pm). Psst, psst! This feeding is held before the sanctuary entrance, so you don't really need to have an admission ticket to participate in this event.

With small amount of donation (you can donate any amount of $), the crew provided us with a steel plate and milk. It took me about 10 minutes of wait to get the bird to come to my plate of milk. I have to basically scoop one bird from nearby 'beggar' (cos that's how we look like).

You're most likely to be pooped on if you're walking around this area. If you're lucky, you might receive the 'clear' poop, otherwise, you'll get something that looks like passion fruit seeds. LOL!

I don't think this photo could describe the after effect of feeding the lorikeets. If it weren't for my 15 years of experience with cats, I would be crying or jerk halfway while feeding the birds. Haha! Man...I really tanned myself being here, judging by the shades of my hands!

All in all, it was a fantastic experience coming here! It was definitely a worthwhile visit and I love seeing the passion and the love that the crew has put in to this sanctuary.

P.S: Turns out to be lorikeets can be found everywhere throughout Queensland. I saw a bunch of them in a park somewhere in Noosa.

My 10-day travel itinerary in Queensland and NSW

2010-04-21T07:24:00.008+08:00

My travel buddies and I (with the cam)

Hi everyone! Roze Boomerang's finally swooshing back safely in Malaysia. I've had a great blast exploring Queensland and some parts of NSW for 10 days along with three of my friends.

While I'm putting things away, cleaning the house full of trash, maps and souvenirs, allow me to share my draft itineraries/schedule for all of you who wants or will to go to Queensland in the future. It's packed with sightseeing list, must-go places and moderate activities for fellow travelers who wants a bit of everything from nature, foodies, thrill and culture. I didn't get to do exactly 100% from this draft, but I managed to cover at least 70% of this. Btw, we've rented a car (Holden Cruze to be exact) and got a Nokia powered Garmin GPS to aid us around, which proven to be very useful.

10 days Travel Itinerary for Queensland and New South Wales

Feel free to hit the comment button below and ask away some of the head scratching questions regarding traveling around Gold Coast. I can't give much answers or tips as good as the locals, but I can definitely (try to) help you all on behalf of Malaysian travelers traveling to Queensland.

Will update more stuff on details. Till then, g'day mate!

Roadtripping update from Noosa

2010-04-17T14:19:00.001+08:00

Petting kangaroos at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Sorry folks, I've been absent from Roze Boomerang these couple of days. I'm on my 8th day of my roadtrip in Northeastern section of Australia - Queensland and also some parts in NSW. Thought I could send but by bit of updates from the motel in Gold Coast but the wi-fi connection there was terribly slow and intermittent.

Lovin' the motel I'm staying now. It's clean, huge, value for money, everything!

I am now in the beautiful and serene, Noosa, which is 1 and a half hour away from Brisbane. Currently staying at Noosa Sun Motel for 3 nights, it's pretty much my 1st day so far, considering we arrived here late in the evening yesterday...and it was raining.

Unlike the sandy Gold Coast, Noosa is very much on the river side. I love cruising around the suburb areas and sample the food at the weekend market. Such rustic and authentic feeling being here.

All faried up at Tamborine Mountain

Will update more when I get back! Need to cover as many places as possible before it gets dark. Everything is dead here after 9pm, unlike Malaysia. Hehe.

The Body Shop Moisture White ™ Shiso

2010-04-09T11:30:00.017+08:00

The Body Shop Moisture White ™ Shiso set (minus foundation and SPF cream)

I am indeed a noob when it comes to whitening. Before this, I pretty much taboo-ed myself from using these sorta ‘enhancer’ until I noticed how my sister’s skin start to look much clearer than her usual t-zone (just like me) and dull skin. Her skin is not that bright and white as I thought a whitening could do; it was more clear and radiant…

Then I look at myself in the mirror. I see a scorched girl, still ‘fresh’ from the sun. I was at Port Dickson beach for one of my work assignments a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to the sun, my skin is now 3-4 shades darker now. *groan*. Coincidently, a month ago, I was told by an aesthetician that I have a few mild dark spots on my cheekbones. What?! I thought that I was too young to suffer from pigmentation problem. Apparently not.

I hit the keyboard and did my research. Little did I know that I found a lot of useful question. Have you ever wondered why most whitening products come from Japan?

“How come the Japanese are so obsessed with whitening, even if they’re born with fair skin?”

First and foremost, it’s a culture thing. Geisha is beautiful for its porcelain white skin. Secondly, if you’re too fair, you are most likely to be vulnerable to pigmentation. Thus, the brown spots, freckles, etc. If not the sun, it may be hereditary (in the genes).

Most people would perceive whitening as 'bleaching' in general. But did you know that some whitening has its advantage to combat...

Dark/brown/sun spots
Freckles
Uneven skin tone
Dark circle under eyes
Dull skin

Shiso leaf or known as Japanese Basil

Back to my pile of 'gold', The Body Shop has introduced a new and improved line of their whitening range called Moisture White ™ Shiso. Unlike the old range of Moisture White, this range contains important whitening ingredients from Shiso leaf extract (Japanese basil), vitamin C, aloe vera and liquorice. I’ve always wanted to sample TBS’s vitamin C stuff, but this is way better since it has an all in one ingredient a skin needs.

Shiso: Rich in minerals and vitamins, has anti-inflammatory properties. Shiso is so popular in

Japan

that they made a Pepsi Shiso in summer of 2009. Shiso is definitely the new green tea!

Vitamin C: Key ingredient for a brighter, radiant skin.

Aloe vera: Soothing and cooling ingredient.

Liquorice: Valuable ingredient to lighten skin discolorations and also protect against sunburn and skin cancer.

So far it's been about two brighter week of using this product. I

Moisture White ™ Shiso Cleansing Powder
Step #1: Cleanse

This is one interesting stuff. Normally, a facial cleanser would be in a form of gel or foam, but powder? Only a dash of powder is needed for cleansing. To dilute the powder, I trickled some drops of water and massage it on my face. I like how soapy and smooth (cos of the powder ingredients) it gets when I apply it on my face. It is VERY mild and refreshing on my oily and sensitive skin. Btw, it's suitable for ALL skin types. For the first time, facial cleansing has never been this fun! Btw, the cleanser also comes with foam type.

Instructions: Massage Moisture White ™ Shiso Cleansing Powder gently in to your face and your neck with fingerips in an outward circular motion.

Definitely land in my personal products fav from Shiso! I am still using this every morning cos I find it very hydrating for my dehydrated, oily face. *update: Oct 2010

Price: RM75

Moisture White ™ Shiso Moisturising Essence I
Step #2: Toner

Unlike the Essence II (for normal to dry), this toner suits Normal to oily skin which is perfect me. Whenever I got out of shower, my face will get dry and this toner immediately hydrates my face. Just to re-type what's written in the bottle, this product,

"Refreshes, hydrates and helps control excess oil, leaving skin soft, smooth and supple."

Instructions: Dampen a piece of cotton wool with Moisture White ™ Shiso Moisturising Essence I (or II) and wipe it gently upwards and outwards without dragging your skin.

If you have used The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner, you will definitely love this. I am using this together with my Tea Tree moisturizer *update: Oct 2010

Price: RM85

Two different serums; one for eye and one for the face

Moisture White ™ Shiso Eye Serum (on the left)
Step #3: Serum

This is my #1 fairy god mother at the moment. I wear glasses most of the time especially when I work and for these obvious reasons, I seem to developed some dark circles under the eyes. I bet this is going to be the #1 most wanted product here since modern women these days tend to develop this problem from work and erm...facebook! Since it's a serum, it's very light on my face.

Instructions: Dab a few dots of Moisture White ™ Shiso Eye Serum around the upper and lower contours of the eye and gently pat it using your fourth finger.

Most valuable item for me! Bright eyes, here I come!

Price: RM79

Moisture White ™ Shiso Whitening Serum (on the right)
Step #3: Serum

This is the 'powerhouse' amongst all. This serum provides whitening and hydrating action for up to 12 hours! And it fights the excessive melanin (skin color) to help achieve that translucent and even-toned complexion. If you want to try out Shiso and have limited budget, perhaps you can grab this baby first! 70% of women (60 women in Japan) who tested this saw a more even-toned complexion after 4 weeks!

Like the eye serum, this whitening serum feels very light, almost water-like. It suits all skin type and doesn't feel icky on my already oily face. I just dab the serum all over my face, except for the eye areas.

Price: RM109

Moisture White ™ Shiso Whitening Moisture Milk
Step #4: Moisturize (day)

After the serum, your skin still need to moisturize. Besides moisturizing the skin, Moisture White ™ Shiso Whitening Moisture Milk also function to brighten and protect the skin during the day.

To those who wants a brightening effect, this is the answer. Those with oily face like me, just apply this lightly to your face. I find this a bit heavy on my already existing oily face.

Price: RM95

Moisture White ™ Shiso Whitening Moisture Milk
Step #4: Moisturize (night)

This treatment cream works wonders as it help to fight hyperpigmentation (unusual darkening of the skin) while you sleep. If you've been out in the sun too long like me, this could be the miracle stuff you. Just like target perfector, this also works to eliminate brown spots and freckles.

The cream is a little heavy on my face, so what I do I use this on 60% of my face and the rest of it, I'm using The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night on my t-zone and my pimple and blemish areas.

Price: RM119

Moisture White ™ Shiso Concentrated Target perfector
Step #5: Enhancer

If you have some target areas ie. dark spots, freckles, around your face, then this is the stuff for you. Don’t get it confused by using it under the eyes, cos it looks exactly the same especially with the roller-ball applicator. Think of this as an eraser or a manual photoshop tool! Or something that Lindsay Lohan would use! I like how the roller cools down as I glide it on the treated areas. Suits all skin types and those with dark spots and freckles (on small areas).

Price: RM89

OVERALL CONCLUSION

Pros:

Cleanser is gentle to all type of skin, including sensitive skin
Made from incredible organic ingredients; Shiso, Aloe, Vitamin C and liquorice.
No peeling effect, nice scent.

Cons:

A bit pricey than normal commercial whitening like Oil of Olay
The moisturizers and serum can be a bit heavy for those with oily skin
Slow and gradual improvement

I still have to wait at least another week to justify the results on my skin. But one changes I can really see is the complexion of my face. It does treat my 'sun burn' face much more faster. YAY! If you have purchased any of this product, you will need 4 weeks to see the results.

If I were to choose my favorite items in Moisture White ™ Shiso (according to my skin suitability and necessity) it would be...

Moisture White ™ Shiso Cleansing Powder
Moisture White ™ Shiso Moisturising Essence I
Moisture White ™ Shiso Eye Serum

UPDATED result (May 9, 2010)
Moisture White ™ Shiso Eye Serum

No makeup (except the eyeliner on the before photo).

Date taken:
- Before: Jan 15, 2010
- After: May 9, 2010

Note: No digital enhancement.

Results: [RIGHT] The shade of the lower eye area has lighten up compared to the before photo. Even though the two photos were taken on different exposure, the difference can be seen especially at the lower lashes areas.

** Most whitening products will typically cause peeling (eg. Nutrimatics: My mom and my aunt used this and boy, do they skin peel like onion). It's been more than 1 month of using this and my skin has gradually turn smoother, radiant and brighter. I love for the fact that The Body Shop is using natural ingredients, so its very delicate on my skin. And yes, no peeling!

Ballet & Yoga

2010-04-06T08:00:00.008+08:00

A documentary made using Canon 5D Mark II.

Yeap, it's from an expensive DSLR! Wedding videographer in Malaysia has been widely using this for their work. What makes it so "eye candy" is the lens ability to focus manually and the stunning clarity of the picture, thus creating the cinematic look. Amazing, eh?

Ballet has been in my to-learn list for quite awhile. There's something about Ballet that intrigues me - the fluid movement, the 'fairies-like' music, that mysterious Ballerina's expression. Is she happy or just putting on a mask?

Funny thing, the two person that 'influenced' me learn Ballet are renown impressionist, Edgar Degas and the singer, Josh Groban.

Inspiration # 1 - The Star Dancer on Stage by Edgar Degas

The sketch that was inspired by Josh Groban's, So She Dances. Behold the "The praying mantis ballerina". Hahahah!

The song that made me go dancey! Inspiration # 2

Per Te from Josh Groban. Also another awesome dance in this number.

So, anyone knows a good Ballet beginner class for adults around Klang Valley? :D

Are you Schick enough for me?

2010-04-01T12:01:00.007+08:00

Apart from the medal, each runners in Energizer Night Race was rewarded with a goodie bag from the sponsors. I was all "ooohhhs and ahhhhss" when I saw a big, shiny green lady shaver from Schick inside. I'm not much of a shaver person since shaving makes my skin itch afterwards and worse...ingrown hair!

But hey, who wants this baby goes to waste? Look at it! It looks like it has some sorta magical power! The power to make sasquatches and yeti all clean and hairless! Haha!

No need for Shave Gel, Soap or Body Wash?
I was intrigued when I saw this. All I have to do is just wet my skin and the razor.

No scissors required. All I gotto do is just press the packaging and et voila! Open sesame!

This is FUN! They somehow make un-packaging moment enjoyable with all the guide stickers. This is way better than my usual birthday presents!

WHAT IS THAT???
Is that a SOAP attached on the RAZOR?
Laaa....no wonder no need shaving gel or what sortever!

Never mind lah, what to do. Hey, it also comes with a sucker hanger and a refill. EXTRA lovely! Very thoughtful and generous of them! YAY for Schick!

Extra soapy + razor head refill. Sensitive care summore! :D
The shaver handle has a rubbery grip and it's very light.

Now, let's go to the bathroom and test drive this baby!

Snip snapping ends here for now, haha!

So, I stepped in the shower and make sure all my body are wet. Better, just go ahead and shower lah. Just like manicure theory, its advisable to moisten up the skin (cuticles) so there will be less friction when you shave. For me, I pat a bit of the sugary scrub and make sure my skin is smooth and extra moist.

A wet Schick and a wet me, it's a razor of truth!

I'd say it was kinda weird, but rather funny and enjoyable to see how the razor performed an all in one with the soaping and razoring at the same time. The soap contains aloe vera so it does smells a li'l medicated to me, but still nice. The downside of it is that it's hard to pull out the hair in between cos the soap part gets in the way. I've tried poking out the hair using my finger, but don't do that! PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!!! Just run it down with water. Good thing they have two 'eject' button to un-attach the razor head.

Hmm...post-shaving moment. I'd say it was a little better than the normal shave. Still a bit prickly, but yet softer, hairless feeling. I'm scratching my leg as I write now, not sure if that's the after effect.

I was looking around my room for a shave relief and I found this from my beach gear. Banana Boat's Aloe Vera Gel! Seems like a perfect match for an after shave. It can be used to soothe minor burns, skin irritations, dry, rough and sunburned skin. It does have a slight aloe-icky feel to it, but hey, it feels good!

Love: The rubbery grip, lightweight, the extra stuff (re-fills and the hanger). Schick made this razor a personal thing from the un-packaging to the shaving time.
Downer: The soap position around the razor, which makes it harder to pull out the hair in between.
Boome-rating: 7.5 out of 10

Update (Apr 6): Just like a grass, the hair grows back again....gosh. Maybe I should go for waxing after all...

Singing to the Sesame Street

2010-03-30T16:53:00.009+08:00

My "I never grow up" shirt

My mom used to tell me when I was as young as 3 years old, I would wake up early in the morning (without disturbing my parents) and watch Sesame Street. The opening song "Sunny dayyy, sweeping out clouds awaaayyy.." would cheer any kids or kids alike...up until now.

My favorite characters? Gosh too many of them. When I feel silly and willy, it's Ernie. When I wanna be chatty and curious, I'll look up to Big Bird, when I feel like singing, Kermit's my man and when I feel hungry and longing for cookies....well, you know who, right?

Just want to share you some starry, singing moments on the sunny Sesame Street. Enjoy!

James Blunt singing Triangle: You're Beautiful

Piano lady, Norah Jones singing Don't Know Why feat. Elmo and the letter Y. This is my favorite.

OMG! Old skool Backstreet Boys boybanding with Elmo

The laundry, Jason Mraz and his guitar

Adam Sandler doing what he likes to do, making up songs!

You started to realize how old is Sesame Street when you see a younger Julie Andrews singing with my green man, Kermit.

This post is brought to you by the letter 'R' for Roze and 'B' for 'Bing bang you hit me like a Boomerang'!

Roze Boomerang.com

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Gonna end my article with this lovely cover from Crosby Stills & Nash sung by my favorite trio, Hanson. It's called "Teach Your Children".

Destination #1: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

My 10-day travel itinerary in Queensland and NSW

Roadtripping update from Noosa

The Body Shop Moisture White ™ Shiso

Ballet & Yoga

Are you Schick enough for me?

Singing to the Sesame Street

Paper or plastic — what’s the greener choice?
Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic, Right?
Not Easy Being Green: Four Environmental Decisions We've Made for You

Let's do it for the Kids :)