inspiration for the uninspired

I love reading quotes.
It is really an inspiration for the uninspired person like me.

Feeling like to share these with my blog readers, these are among my favorite quotes in my collection.

“To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” - Robert Muller

“My dear friend, clear your mind of can't.” - Samuel Johnson

“Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life” - Harvey MacKay

“Work like you don't need the money, love like your heart has never been broken, and dance like no one is watching” - Aurora Greenway

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly” - Sam Keen

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” - Winnie the Pooh

“You leave old habits behind by starting out with the thought, 'I release the need for this in my life'.” - Wayne Dyer

“Learn and grow all you can. Serve and befriend all you can. Enrich and inspire all you can.” - William Arthur Ward

All of the above are seriously meaningful for me.
Everytime I feel down or upset or mad with anyone, reading quotes helps a lot to recover myself.

Try it!
Happy weekend, lovelies.

a victorian tea party

last week, i got an invitation for a victorian little tea party organized by shazwani hamid which was happening yesterday.

the party was for her blog's 3rd anniversary & it was really private because she invited only about 20 lucky readers.
so yeay, i was one of them.
prolly because i am the 1st person who commented on this entry --> care for a cuppa?

knowing that the theme was "victorian", frankly, i don't have anything victorian in my wardrobe.
anyway, keys to victorian outfits are ruffles, pleated, laces, black, white, velvet, pearls, feathers, etc.

so i tried searching for a victorian outfit the other day & i found this beautiful black long-sleeved lace dress.
i wanted to pair the dress with a pants or skirt, but i cannot find any nice matching pants/skirt.

but then i remembered that i have this one chiffon top with ruffles at the front.
it's not black or white (it's blue) but i was thinking of "modernizing" the victorian style with something vibrant.
and in order to make it more victorian, i bought a small headpiece with feathers & a victorian-ey chunky ring to complete the style.

cozy place, nice foods & great companions.. we had fun enjoying our tea/coffee with some english scones, pies, sandwiches, chocolate & butter cakes, belgium chocs, cookies, etc.
there was a little game too, lucky draws & best dress award which i won nothing, as usual.
but still, there's still something from queen wani for everyone - each of us got an o.p.i. nail lacquer as a doorgift - thanks wani!
and thanks for organizing a very nice tea party.
for the next party or gathering, please count me in!

so these are the pics from my camera & handphone from the party.

group photo before the event started

another group photo

hannah & ashikin

raisya & nurul

wani's welcome speech

3rd anniversary's blogpost

the queen of that day

a little game

me with zuen

me with lina

not my lucky number + the doorgift

with ayna

with raisya

with raisya in another pose

with sheila

with yati

with lina & nurul

and last but not least..

with queen wani

:)

wordless wednesday: my lucky number?

happy love your body day!

do you know that october 19th is a "love your body day"?
are you aware of the existence of such day?

so it was yesterday & i did wish my twitter followers "happy love your body day" but i forgot to put it here in my blog.
but i guess it's not too late to wish it here, no?

if you realize, the fashion, cosmetics & advertising industries always portrayed unrealistic images of women.
we are bombarded by flawless retouched airbrushed pictures & posters.
so this "love your body day" is actually a campaign to encourage women & girls to embrace themselves & reject the narrow beauty ideals endorsed in the media.

it's all about embracing the real us!
we don't need makeups & cosmetic surgery to look good or to increase our self-esteem & we don't have to change ourselves to fit someone else's idea of beauty.
all we need is to feel comfortable with our body & keep it healthy.

speaking of our body, do you know that our skin is the largest organ of elimination?
and do you have an idea that our skin sheds around five billion dead cells daily?

our skin replaces itself naturally every 14 days, well, for young skin.
as we age, the process becomes slower until at about 40, the renewal cycle is increased to 30 days.
the problem is, if these dead skin cells sit & accumulate on the surface of our skin, they may clog the pores and will make the skin dull & dry.

so what you can do is exfoliate your skin.
and this can be done by the practice of scrubbing your skin consistently.
it is recommended that you scrub your face once or twice a week & so is your body.

you can do the scrubbing at home, but if you wish to pamper yourself at the spa, seputeh kapas spa is now having promotion on the body scrub service!
you can enjoy the body scrub session at only rm30 for our VIPs or rm35 for the non-VIPs.
the promotional price is valid until 30.11.11.
visit the website or the fb page for more information.

happy love your body day, lovelies!

wordless wednesday: TSLON

at least we've place to stay

you saw me sketch my engagement dress & wedding dresses before.

i'm not sure if i've shown you this, but yes, i sketched the table & canopy setting for the wedding too.

i also sketched the pelamin & the floor plan of our wedding room but i forgot where i put those files.

and now i have moved a step ahead, i drafted sketches of the furnishings & floor plan layouts of our future home.

my ayah always said to me that i have so many free time & that's why i can do so many 'things'.. well, things like this.
and also things like going for a weekly hair treatment, weekly facial treatment, almost daily shopping mall visit, movies, etc.

okay, back to the topic, our home design layout.
as you can see, i want my home to be as simple as the sketches above & will try to stick to the modern country look.

anyway for the guest area, that master fabric 2+3-seater sofa is the newly bought sofa & that 2-seater fabric sofa is the old re-upholstered sofa.
for the ornaments, i will use whatever flowers & pot/vase that i have from the wedding leftovers.
for the carpet, i will bring over my current purple carpet from my room at mom's house (boleh tak mama?).
and no, i don't have the coffee table, side table, decorative pillows & throws yet.

for the dining area, i will use the old dining table set & will get somebody to repaint it tomorrow insyaAllah.
i don't have the carpet yet, but i just decided that i won't put that carpet under the dining table set because it's going to be tedious for me to clean up the scattered foods.
same case for the ornament, i will just use anything that i already have.
need to buy the chair cushions, but since they are not that important, i will buy it later on.
ohh i need to buy 4 more placemats since the other day i went to ikea i just bought 2 of them (haha, yeah sounds stingy i know, but i thought it's going to be only two of us in the house?).

hmm i don't really like my TV area since there'll be nothing new for that area.
old sofa & old TV cabinet.
and that's why i don't have motivation to sketch the layout for that area, yet.
i actually have so many ideas in my head but i can't get it translated into reality since we don't have much money.
everything is now so expensive.
but it's okay, at least we have place to stay, right?

so, i'm being grateful & accepting everything that i have.
i have a super nice & loving husband, a great set of parents & siblings, a true friends.. what else do i need?
thank you, Allah :)

the muslim woman & her own self

aww i love this 2nd chapter of "the ideal muslimah".
the chapter explains about how to become an ideal muslimah by striking a balance between external appearance & internal nature.
and it's all about achieving balance between our BODY, MIND & SOUL.
the 2nd chapter is fun to read & lighter than the previous.

so what i've got from the reading, in order to balance out body, mind & soul, true muslimah practices the followings:
for her BODY
-true muslimah eats & drinks moderately
-true muslimah exercises regularly
-true muslimah takes care of her health
-true muslimah concerns about the cleanliness of her body & clothes
-true muslimah takes care of her mouth & teeth
-true muslimah takes care of her hair
-true muslimah concerns about her good appearance without going to extremes or making a wanton display of herself
-true muslimah presents a pleasing appearance to her husband, children, mahram relatives & other muslim women
-true muslimah does not go to extremes of beautification or make a wanton display of herself
for her MIND
-true muslimah takes care of her mind by persuing knowledge
-true muslimah is not superstitious
-true muslimah never stops reading & studying
for her SOUL
-true muslimah performs acts of worship regularly & purifies her soul
-true muslimah keeps company with righteous people & joins religious gatherings
-true muslimah frequently repeats du`a's & supplications described in Hadith

may Allah guide us in our journey to become true muslimahs.
till the next chapter, lovelies.
xoxo :)

more items are up for rent

check out "items for rent" tab at the top of this page (below the header) or click here to view the full list of wedding items to be rented.
i have put in more items to the list.

these flowers in an english pot.

and this 2-tier cake stand.

well, if you are interested.. i think you know what to do!

wordless wednesday: new additions to the family

wordless wednesday: change of plan

the muslim woman & her Rabb

alhamdulillah, i've finished with the 1st chapter of "the ideal muslimah".
i can say that the article is presented in a light & easy-to-understand form.

basically, the chapter tells about the attitude of the true muslimah towards her Lord.
where generally the true muslimah should have deep faith in Allah s.w.t., willingly submits to His will & decree, worships Him sincerely, obeying all of His commands & heeding all of His prohibitions.
true muslimah is proud of her muslim identity, constantly strives to support the religion & understands what it means to be a true servant of Allah s.w.t.

some of the attitude of the true muslimah mentioned in the article:
-true muslimah regularly prays five times a day
-true muslimah may attend the jama`ah prayer in the mosque
-true muslimah attends Eid prayers
-true muslimah prays Sunnah & Nafil prayers
-true muslimah performs her prayers properly
-true muslimah pays zakat on her wealth
-true muslimah fasts during the day & prays at night in Ramadhan
-true muslimah observes Nafil/Sunnah fasts
-true muslimah goes on Hajj to the sacred house of Allah s.w.t.
-true muslimah goes for Umrah
-true muslimah is obedient to the commands of Allah s.w.t.
-true muslimah does not sit alone with a "stranger"
-true muslimah wears correct hijab
-true muslimah avoids mixing freely with men
-true muslimah does not shake hands with a non-mahram men
-true muslimah does not travel except with a mahram
-true muslimah accepts the will & decree of Allah s.w.t.
-true muslimah turns to Allah s.w.t. in repentance
-true muslimah feels a sense of responsibility for the members of her family
-true muslimah's main concern is the pleasure of Allah s.w.t.
-true muslimah understands the true meaning of being a servant of Allah s.w.t.
-true muslimah works to support the religion of Allah s.w.t.
-true muslimah is distinguished by her islamic character & true religion
-true muslimah's loyalty is to Allah s.w.t alone
-true muslimah enjoins what is good & forbids what is evil

well, this is just the summary of what i've read.
full explanation & details can be found in the article.

till then! :)