wordless wednesday: port dickson

we need...

1) a washing machine
2) a dryer
3) a toaster
4) a bottle opener
5) a blender
6) a lesung batu
7) tudung saji

all above are what we still don't have.

if you are interested in swapping your wedding gifts with us, do email me at aishah_ara@yahoo.co.uk.

i have 3 rice cookers, a table fan, a coffee maker, 3 queen fitted sheet sets & a microwave oven to swap.

i got loads of glasses, jugs & tea sets from the wedding, but i've decided to keep them all because they might be useful for some occassions.
but, for some stuff (e.g. coffee maker or microwave oven), i don't think i need it more than one.

so, if let say, you need a rice cooker & you have a blender to let go, do email me.

thanks!

basic kitchen tools

this is my personal checklist & could be your reference too.
it's just a basic list of kitchen tools for cooking & eating.

cooking utensils

1) set of knives & chopping boards.

ikea's SLIPAD knife block with 5 knives, multicolour - RM29

ikea's KLANGFULL knife block with 3 knives - RM11.90

ikea's LEGITIM chopping board, set of 2, green, blue - RM12.90

2) pots, pans & woks - in various sizes.

ikea's STEKA frying pan, dark blue - RM8.50

ikea's ANNONS 5-piece cookware set, stainless steel - RM35

ikea's SNITSIG 7-piece cookware set, stainless steel - RM129

ikea's IDENTISK wok with lid, dark grey, aluminium - RM89

3) spoons & spatulas - tablespoons, teaspoons, slotted spoons, wooden spoons, metal spoons, soup ladle, wooden & metal spatulas.

ikea's MIXA 3-piece kitchen utensil set - RM1.60

ikea's AKUT 3-piece kitchen utensil set, black - RM3

ikea's RUFSIG wok utensils, set of 2, black - RM4.90

ikea's UTMÄRKT soup ladle, grey, black - RM5.90

4) mixing bowls, sieves/strainers & colanders - steel or plastic.

ikea's FLÄCKIG mixing bowl, set of 2, white - RM19.90

ikea's IDEALISK strainer, stainless steel - RM15.90

ikea's IDEALISK colander, stainless steel - RM29

ikea's FLÄCKIG colander, white - RM6.90

5) measuring tools.

ikea's STÄM set of 4 measuring cups, assorted colours - RM3.90

6) mixing utensils - hand held electric mixer & whisk.

ikea's 365+ HJÄLTE balloon whisk, stainless steel, black - RM19

7) miscellaneous - peeler, grater, rolling pin, can & bottle opener, kitchen timer, kitchen shear/scissor, pot stands, etc.

ikea's STÄM peeler, assorted colours - RM3.90

ikea's IDEALISK grater, stainless steel - RM12.90

ikea's MAGASIN rolling pin - RM12.90

ikea's STÄM can opener, assorted colours - RM7.90

ikea's STÄM bottle opener, assorted colours - RM3.90

ikea's STÄM timer, assorted colours - RM7.90

ikea's TROJKA scissors, set of 3, multicolour - RM4.90

ikea's HEAT pot stand, set of 3 - RM5.50

8) food storage & organizing.

ikea's JÄMKA food saver, transparent white, blue, set of 3 - RM4.90

ikea's REDA food saver, set of 5, round transparent white, blue - RM9.90

ikea's PRUTA food saver, set of 17, transparent, green - RM15

ikea's RAJTAN spice jar, glass, aluminium-colour, set of 4 - RM7.50

ikea's BEVARA sealing clip, set of 30, assorted colours, assorted sizes - RM9.90

eating utensils

1) dinnerware - plates, side plates & bowls.

ikea's FÄRGRIK 18-piece service, white, stoneware - RM119

2) serveware - serving plates, serving bowls & trays.

ikea's BJÖRKNA serving plate, black, white - RM8.90

ikea's BJÖRKNA serving bowl, black, white, set of 2 - RM8.90

ikea's SMULA tray, transparent - RM9.90

3) glassware - glasses, jugs.

ikea's REKO glass, clear glass, set of 6 - RM4.90

ikea's VÄNLIG jug, clear glass - RM8.90

4) coffee & tea - mugs, cups & teapots.

ikea's ÄLMHULT mug, beige, stoneware - RM1.50

ikea's DINERA coffee cup and saucer, beige, set of 6 - RM39

ikea's RIKLIG teapot, glass - RM49

5) cutlery - tablespoons, forks, knifes & teaspoons.

ikea's FÖRNUFT 24-piece cutlery set, stainless steel - RM36

6) napkins.

ikea's FANTASTISK paper napkin, red, 50 pieces - RM4.90

7) place mats.

ikea's PANNÅ place mat, purple - RM7.90

wee.. ikea, here we come!

new house.. what to do?

as a muslim, there is a guideline that we have to follow when entering a new house.
i did some readings & summarized what i read.
and i'd like to share it with you girls, with hope that this can be used as a guide & reference.

- be grateful for the blessing, for gratitude is one of the noblest of attitudes.
if a person is grateful to his Creator, He will preserve His blessing to him & complete it & increase it.

- say "bismillah.." & "assalamualaikum" when entering the house.
not only for a new house, this must be done everytime we enter the house.
and remember to always start your day with remembrance of Allah, may He be glorified.

- when entering the house, we must have intention to seek refuge from Allah & to worship to Allah.
among the ways in which you may seek protection for your new house from the evil eye and destructive envy is to say: "u’eedhuka bi kalimaat-Allaah il-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (i seek refuge for you in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and poisonous reptile, and from every envious evil eye)".

- the Sunnah encourages reading al-Baqarah when entering a new house.
it was narrated (by Muslim) from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "do not make your houses into graves, for the shaytaan flees from a house in which surat al-Baqarah is recited".

- Azan on every corner or room in the house.
this is done also to protect the house from the evil eye and destructive envy.

- always read Quran verses, Yassin & ayatul Kursi.
insyaAllah, our family, our home & houses surrounding our home are protected from syaitan.

- perform solat sunat hajat seeking refuge from Allah.
always believe that He listens & we as his servants must maintain spiritual contact with Him.
and pray, as Allah's always listening to our prayer.

- holding a kenduri kesyukuran, for holding a feast after acquiring property is favored.

- last but not least, we have to always put trust on Allah (tawakkal).
among the ways is to say: "bismillahi walajnaa wa bismillahi kharajnaa wa-alallaahi rabbina tawak-kalnaa (in the name of Allah, we entered the house, the name of Allah we leave the house, and to Him we have submitted/surrendered)"

and Allah knows best.

mizzayna.blogspot.com

there's this sweet girl who i met months back at a victorian themed tea party.
from the first impression, honestly, she looked very much friendly and approachable.
i think she really knows how to "smile with her eyes".
very warm & inviting - her smile put anyone at ease.

her name is ayna.

her blog is one of many blogs that i follow - sugary, spicy & everything nice!

i think she's a very erm what we call it.. is it committed?
okay, i think she's a very committed blogger.
nothing like mine, her blog is something worth reading.
she's so rajin to put reviews on products & attending events.
compared to my blog which is more to syok sendiri stories, you can get new knowledge from hers.

okay let me be honest..
i'm writing this entry about her blog because she's giving away a brand new laura mercier tinted moisturizer spf 20 in nude worth rm159 to her lucky blog reader.
yeayers!

it's not that i was lying when i told you that she has sweet smile, she's very friendly, nice & all - she really is!
but i'm taking advantage of this perfect time, to praise her & win something LOL :P

all i have to do to be in the running to win the tinted moisturizer is just to promote her blog's giveaway at either my blog, facebook or twitter.
it's so easy, i don't want to miss this chance of winning something!

anyway, you can also check out her blog's giveaway here --> CLICK HERE!
and you have until 12am, 25th december 2011 to participate.

ayna & i

p/s ohh ayna, i hope i can be the winner!
i just love wearing tinted moisturizer or bb cream or anything light to my skin.
my skin's full of flaws, i can't go out with completely bare skin.
somemore, i need to protect it from uv lights for long term benefit.
but i don't really fancy foundations, because i prefer to look flawless yet natural, i hope you get what i meant.
so this is SO what i need.
and i know it's so good, so i don't want to miss this out.

the bandung experience

early this month, my darling, my inlaws & i went to bandung for a company trip.
it was just a short trip, like, really short - 3d2n only.
hurmm or was it 2d2n? because our flight to bandung departed at 530pm (2 hours delay), so in principle, the first day shouldn't be counted, no?

okay, whatever..

anyway, we arrived in bandung at 630pm (bandung time).
it was already dark, so we headed straight to the hotel.
initial plan was to have a short city tour before we check in to the hotel (we should have reached much earlier without the delay, remember?).

so yeah, to the hotel it was.
i was really tired because i wasn't medically fit at that time.

we stayed at the golden flower hotel.
you know what, i should be going there again & STAYING at this hotel AGAIN.

the hotel is super nice & is conveniently located (it's just a walking distance to pasar baru).
we stayed at the penthouse, with 3 rooms, spacious living & dining area & a kitchen.
seriously, i'm in love with the bed, it's really big & comfortable.
combined with luxurious linens, i wish i can spend more time at the hotel LOL.
they provide free internet (via ethernet cable) in the room & wireless internet at the lobby.
hmm what else.. there's an lcd flat tv with 52 channels.
and ohh.. there's a jacuzzi! i used the jacuzzi twice! so jakun, i know.

the picture that i put on the previous entry, doesn't do it justice.
so let's take some pictures from the website.

okay, enough with the hotel, moving ahead to the real bandung experience.

after checked in to the hotel, we got ourselves ready for a company dinner.
we had sunda cuisines for the dinner.
and that's it for the so called first day, just dinner.. hmm just dinner.

the next day, after having breakfast at the hotel, we went for a little sight seeing.
yeah where else.. to the tangkuban parahu it was.
that was my 2nd time going to tangkuban parahu.
seriously, i don't understand why ppl need to go there.
sorry but honestly, i didn't really appreciate seeing volcanic lava & not to mention the 3 hours (back & forth) spent on the road.
but i was on a company trip, remember?
so i went there.. had a little sight seeing.. smelled the smelly sulfur.. took some photos.. did a little souvenir shopping & yeay! back to the city.

on our way back to the city centre, we dropped by at a restaurant for a lunch.
and we had sunda cuisines.. again.

after that, we went to visit factory outlets!
i love this part, but i hate the fact that we only had 2 hours for this.
hmm, 2 hours? seriously?
the last time i was in bandung, i didn't have the chance to go to every outlet.
but this time, it was even worse.
we only managed to cover 3 outlets at 1 area (jalan dago).
3 outlets.. T_T 1 area T__T
hmm it's okay, later i'll make sure i'll go to bandung again, no sight seeing, just purely shopping!

and then we had our dinner, but this time it was different.
we had chinese style seafoods for dinner & it was yummy.
after dinner, we went for a short shopping mall visit - paris van java.

the next day is the last day T_T & we only had a few hours for pasar baru.
our flight back home was supposed to be at 5pm, but then it was retime to 330pm.
hmm not delay but the flight had been brought earlier.. T_T
so yeah, we managed to spend about 2 hours only at pasar baru.

lastly, we checked out the hotel.
and we had our lunch on our way to the airport - nasi padang.

overall, i must say that that was kind of a rushing trip, i couldn't breath properly.
and worse thing worst, we got back home with a virus with us.

hmm ohh well, just as predicted.

wordless wednesday: golden flower?

facebook.com/seputehkapas

we are in the mood of giving away (by we, i mean, seputeh kapas spa).
we are giving away rm10 voucher for every treatment worth more than rm50 spent at our spa.

that's just sweeeettt, no?

10 is definitely not a small number.
rm10 discount or voucher can be considered a lot.

the promo is still on until the very last day of 2011.
and after that we will be taking 2 days off on the 1st & 2nd january.
so you still have, like, 10 days before the promo ends.

this is such a grab that is NOT to be missed!

p/s - 'like' us on facebook for updates on current promotion.

thepoplook.com

shopping is one of my hobbies & also kind of a therapy for me.
when i feel sad or down about something, one of many ways to make me feel much better is - shopping!
and i think it really works.

buying things can somehow lifts my spirit.
it doesn't matter whether i'm buying for myself or for others.
and it doesn't matter whether i'm really buying or just imagining it!
imagining = window shopping / reading catalogue / online shops browsing.

my current favorite online fashion shop is thepoplook.com.
and these are my little poplook collection to date (from top-left: polka chiffon maxi dress in deep pink, ophelia maxi dress in fuschia, kimono cardigan in black, slinky pleat romper in mustard, ophelia maxi dress in dark green, polka chiffon maxi dress in pink & juliet romper in teal).

frankly, i have a love-hate relationship with thepoplook.com.
why would i say that?
is because i'm loving almost all of their collections, but i hate myself for not having much $$$ to buy all.

for example, i really want this one particular dress that they uploaded today, like, really.. really..

shirt maxi dress

isn't it beautiful?
but this month, i have spent too much on new tops / dresses / pants / skirts.
more shopping will turn me broke (true story).
so i guess, this time i'll have to pass.

let's see if i can really hold myself from buying...