giveaway!

attention lovelies!
i am inviting you to join this giveaway from tinidewi and get a chance to win cash vouchers to be spent at tenun kapas webstore.

joining is easy, just follow the instruction below.

1. place the giveaway banner in your blog.
2. make a post about this contest inviting your readers to join. make sure to include the link to sponsor's website www.tenunkapas.com... i repeat, www.tenunkapas.com.
3. submit your entries here, at the comment section.

the contest will end on 21st august 2011 (sunday) at 12pm sharp.
and the winners will be chosen using the algorithm technique at www.random.org.

simple right?
for more info about the contest, kindly visit tinidewi's blog.

this might be your chance to win something.
no harm for trying it tho.
good luck!

wordless wednesday: pink freak

consistent is rule #1

let me tell you something.

there's one thing that i wanted to do every year on ramadhan which i've never made it before.
so this ramadhan, insyaAllah.
i know that i'm capable of doing it as long as i stick with the main rule.
the main rule is: CONSISTENT!

it is important to stay consistent as you work towards your goal.
doesn't matter on what type of goal that you are trying to achieve.
it could be your business goals, work-related goals or anything.

lovelies, let's khatam al-quran at least once on this barakah ramadhan.

jom!

stay tuned!

seputeh kapas spa

wordless wednesday: seputeh kapas spa

seputeh kapas spa

cleansing our body & soul

19 july 2011 - 12 days remain till ramadhan 1432h, insyaAllah.

only 12 days left and i still have 1 more day to fast as a payback from the last ramadhan isk.
insyaAllah, this thursday!

i love ramadhan...

...because it's the month of food fiesta.
yeah, i know, i sound so gemok, but that's the reality.
i can't eat and drink during the day, but i tend to overeat during iftar.
come on, i know it's the same case with you guys too.
because there will be so many food selections on the table and they are nothing like normal dinners.
from appetizers, main course meals, desserts till beverages.. complete!
which is not good.
because i am (or we are) not supposed to waste the precious ramadhan, taking so much time preparing the foods and wasting the money on foods excessively.
but that's what happens, well, in general.

i love ramadhan...

...because i will be busy with my raya wears.
what to wear on day 1, day 2, day 3 till day 30.
which color for this and that.
what about the accessories, shoes and everything related.
again, that's not the main point of ramadhan, but i'm just stating the truth.
bazaar here, bazaar there, sales are everywhere, people busy buying their raya wears and whatnot.
so obviously, that's what generally happens during ramadhan, no?

i love ramadhan...

...because it's the time for us to refocus our attention on our God.
we all know that ramadhan is more than just not eating and drinking during the day.
ramadhan is about purifying our soul.
refraining not only from foods and drinks, but also from evil actions, evil thoughts, bad words and bad habits.
making peace with everyone including those who have wronged us.

so lovelies, let's cleanse our body and soul during this year's ramadhan.
do not gossip or talk crap about others.
do not waste time and money on unnecessary things.
do not overeat during iftar.
let us refocus on the worship of God.
let us give more and serve the needy.
let us help the others and make them happy.

because somewhere in the world, your courtesy may be needed.
somewhere in the world, there are these people who struggle to live, affected by the crisis.

happy ramadhan 1432h to all!

spread the love

people nowadays live NEXT to each other not WITH each other - dilan.

so let's spread the LOVE to people around you.
LOVE your families.
LOVE you friends.
LOVE all people you know.
and spread the LOVE everywhere you go.

p/s takde idea nak blog apa lah nii hihi.

wordless wednesday: snorkel!

feeling so close

we both agreed to try to have at least 5 vacations a year.
it doesn't have to be a bank-breaker vacation.
just enough with mini-vacations or weekend getaways where there'll be time for us to spend with each other, away from home.

right after we finished with the wedding, we went to kuching for a so-called honeymoon.
it was just a 3d2n trip, but we had a good time experiencing our first vacation as a married couple.

thereafter, he was kinda busy with his works.
he went for outstations every alternate weeks.
but anyhow, we always try to spend time together.
so our weekends were filled up with activities around kuala lumpur - shopping, watching movies, etc.

after he finished working outside, we decided to go for a short weekend getaway just for him to relax and unwind.
so we decided to go to genting highlands.
it was just a short 2d1n trip but it was fun.

i love the weather over there.
it felt like i am in germany during autumn hihi.
have i told you that i love autumn so much?
more than i love spring and other seasons?
okay so now you know.

back to the topic, we just got back from redang island yesterday for our third vacation together.
and it was much more fun because we went there with our friends.
we had a great time spent on water activities.

but i must say that redang island is rather like perhentian island.
there were a lot of broken coral and we've seen none of turtle at turtle bays.
it is sad to know that the earth is being harmed by human activities.
my personal opinion, for underwater views, kota kinabalu wins.

we are planning to go to tioman island after this, maybe next year!
in the near future, we are planning to go to cameron highlands or bukit tinggi or just port dickson or melaka.
there are so many places to go in malaysia, why go overseas?

i always feel so close to him after our vacations.
i'm not sure about him, but i hope that he felt the same way too!

when is the best time to have a baby?

there's no right time of having the first baby after marriage.
it depends on the both husband & wife.
and if it happens, it happens, and we called it rezeki.

if you ask me, i'd say that i want to get pregnant after 1 year.
and so do him, he also wants a year gap after the marriage.
we just completed our 2 months plus, so we still have another less than 10 months gap.

but why?
because we want to build a strong foundation of our relationship before we will be focusing on other affairs.
we decided to first get to know each other better, although we've known for years.
spend a good one year being a married couple, go on a few vacations, learn about each other, and so forth.

i'm not saying that by having a baby too early will block the chance of having a lot of together time.
seriously, there's no issue of being pregnant right after get married.
and we both noticed that i am not so young to postpone having children.
but we just feel that we don't meet the conditions right now - psychologically and physically.

i know that some may have an opinion that "if you want to wait until you are ready to have children, you'll never have them and you will die childless".
wah kejamnya.

just to make it clear, we are not waiting until we are ready.
we just want to have this 1 year and we called this 1 year as our adjustment period.

again, there is no right time.
but getting married is a big life change and so is having a baby.
so we need time to adjust to each one separately.

bottom line, both you and your husband should do what is best for you and what will make you happy.

peace!

wordless wednesday: missing my childhood

what to bring for an island vacation

1) cash
well, it is always important to bring some cash. it will surely be needed for things like boat/ferry or small purchases at the island. most importantly, you have to bring cash because smaller restaurants don't take credit or debit cards. and nope, we are not going to eat at the hotel's restaurants all the time.

2) sunglasses
don't miss out this chance of wearing sunglasses! we can't wear sunglasses like anywhere and anytime. but at the island, sunglasses are a necessity. so take the chance and get stylized! ideally, polarized sunglasses are the best.

3) island hat
same like sunglasses, you can't miss the chance of styling a hat at the island. wearing an island hat at the shopping mall will make you look like a crazy woman. so, there's no better place for an island hat than an island itself!

4) sandals / flip flops
it is hard and such an annoy to walk through the sand with shoes. if not, sand will end up in your shoes and it's completely uncomfortable. so, saldals or flip flops are a must for an island vacation.

5) camera
it will be a great loss for not bringing camera to your island vacation. there will be so many beautiful things to capture, so it's very important to always have the camera with you. and it would be better if you have a camera that can go underwater. and don't forget to bring the battery charger!

6) sun protector
bring sunblock or if not, you will end up looking like a lobster. worse thing worst, too much sunburnt can be hurting. the spf of the sunblock should be higher than ones you normally wear at the mainland because the sunrays are stronger over there. not only for face and body, you also need to protect your lips. you can get lipbalms with sun protector easily from the drugstores. same goes to sunblock for your face and body.

7) casual wears
you don't wear formal wears at the island. even for formal dinners at the hotel, you don't need to get dressed up as if you want to go to an awards ceremony or something. just keep in mind, island wears are casual wears.

8) swim suits
swim suits or water-friendly attires are important, of course, for water activities. and you may need to bring two sets per person as you will always need a dry one to wear, especially if you are going to an island for days.

9) beach bag
it can be a tote bag or a back pack for carrying snacks, water and other necessities.

10) reading material?
no, i don't think i will bring any reading material to the island. i'm not the type who enjoys reading books or novels. and we malaysians are not going to an island to enjoy the sun while reading. we had enough sun throughout our lives. we just need waters! yes, we want to go there to enjoy water activities. so no, do not bring reading material unless you are planning to just sit back and enjoy the sun.

11) snorkeling tools
yes, you can always rent the snorkeling tools. but, if you have your own tools, bring them.

so if you are going to an island by flight, you need to pack light because the flight is not like the normal ones.
the flight is smaller, even the airport is smaller.

and if you are going there by car, you need to pack light because you will need to take boat or ferry to go to the island.
you can't bring too much things on boat.
and you don't want to left your stuff at the mainland surely.

so always remember, pack light!
i'm not reminding anyone, i'm reminding myself because i tend to overpack all the time.
i always bring some extras especially clothes.
it's good actually, but it's not good when you bring to many extras of everything.

aaaaa can't wait!
we are going to redang this weekend, peeps.
and the best thing is, we are going there with my friends!
yeayys.

reviews on makeup artists

as you know or if you notice, i'm a cheapskate here.
but at the same time, i love beautiful things.
so that makes it clear of why i did a lot of DIYs for the wedding.

but i can't DIY my makeup because i don't have enough skills and tools for that.
plus, i don't want to have to worry about my makeup and i think that i deserve to be pampered on my wedding day.
so let's just let the experts do that for us, lovelies.
just sit back while a professional takes care of your makeup.
trust me, you don't want to deal with all the stresses that come with doing your own makeup.

the other day, i've promised to write reviews on my makeup artists, right?
so this is it.

there are two important things for me when choosing the right makeup artists.
1st - the makeups (duh, of course!).
and 2nd - the rates.

being a cheapskate, i don't want to spend a huge amount of money just to pay for my makeup.
well, if you are really capable and you can afford expensive makeups, why not?
but obviously, i am not.

still, i don't want to take risk and settle for an "include-everything package".
you know, there are loads of wedding packages in the market where you just have to pay a sum of money and you'll get everything from foods to makeup to photographer to pelamin and whatnot.

i've booked my makeup artists, months prior to the wedding.
mind you, you have to be really really fast and speedy in this.
or if not, you'll not be getting makeup artist that you always wanted.
it's like a wedding hall, once you have the date, quickly book your wedding venue and the makeup artist.

so babbling no more, aishah.
let's just tell my readers, who are the chosen makeup artists for my wedding.

Munie Ahmad
event: nikah and at-home reception

i knew her since 2004.
yes, that was before she became a makeup artist.
i knew her from a beauty forum which i joined since 2003.
i still remember, she once asked me to come over to her hostel because she wanted to "main-main makeup".
at that time, she was just using maybelline and l'oreal makeups and it was just for fun.

starting from 2006 (if i'm not mistaken), she became more serious and started to blossom as one of the famous and salable freelance makeup artists in malaysia.
so since then, i've marked her to be my makeup artist for my wedding which me myself still don't know when.
i really love her makeup.
you can check out her portfolio here.
well, she's maybe bad in updating her website, but i must say that she's an expert in creating a natural looking makeup.

with munie ahmad, 2008, assisting her in a makeup lesson at mmu cyberjaya

makeup for nikah by munie ahmad

makeup for reception by munie ahmad

tantek an?
ke i perasan lebih? hihi.

Zila Ziman
event: bertandang

well, i think you already know her.
she's like my personal makeup artist hihi.

with zila ziman, 2009

she did my makeup a few times already.
main-main makeup banyak kali, makeup pengapit 2 kali, makeup tunang and now makeup bertandang.
i knew her for years and i think i don't have to come up with our history again and again hihi.

simply, she knows how to make you look pretty and at the same time matching the look with the overall theme.

classic makeup look by zila ziman

by the way, she did makeup my bridesmaids for at-hotel reception too.

makeup for bridesmaids by zila ziman

ohh speaking of her, makeup class by zila ziman is now open for registration!

you don't have to have basics in makeup if you want to join her class.
in fact, you don't have to have the tools (you can use hers!).
visit her website for further info, lovelies.

Kak Liza
event: at-hotel reception

i've booked her months before the wedding.
i was dealing with her directly through phone.
and i've paid the deposit right away to seal the booking.

okay, this is the only makeup artist which i don't know personally.
but she has good reputation and her portfolios are quite convincing.
her price is more expensive than my other makeup artists, she quoted me rm950 for my makeup + to prepare the groom, well, i thought of having the best makeup for at-hotel reception.

but TWO DAYS before the wedding, she called me.
telling me that she can't do my makeup because she had double booked on the same date.
i was like, ohh okay, this is so not cool!

she asked me to switch and have kak saidatulnisa because the other bride cannot afford kak sai, as if i can??
kak sai is more expensive, that's one thing.
the other thing, kak sai got an appointment with the queen in the evening, so she will make me ready at 3pm.
again, to get ready as early as 3pm for an 830pm's occasion is so not cool!

maybe it was my mistake for being less careful.
but i did check with her / remind her about my booking a month before the reception, and everything was okay at that time.

i'm not saying that you can't have her on your wedding.
maybe that was the first and the last time she made that kind of mistake.
or maybe tuhan marah i sebab i nak membazir.
padan muka i kan.

so in that 2 days, i have to find another makeup artist for at-hotel reception.
of course i can't get munie ahmad and zila ziman within that short notice.

i don't have enough time to do extensive research like i always did.
thus, i asked for recommendations from friends.
zila gave me a few names, so did munie.
and finally, i settled with munie's friend, fuzzy.

Fuzzy
event: at-hotel reception

i don't know her personally, but i always saw her with munie & cikli (my other forum's friend) in facebook.
i know that she's in the same industry, but i never checked out her portfolio before.

makeup by fuzzy

overall, i can say that her makeup was quite good except that she can improve on her 'shading' skill.
with her makeup my face looked almost contour-less.
well, contouring is a great way to sculpt your face (if done properly) and can make your face look slimmer than it is, which is very very important for a girl with a big face like me.

anyway, do check out her blog here.

okay lovelies, as i said before, if there's a makeup artist that you are comfortable with and meets all your criteria, book them as early as you can right after you set your wedding date.

because good ones' schedule should be pretty full :)