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Friday, March 30, 2018

My 45th Birthday, 29 March 2018

On my special day today, I did what makes me happy most ~ retail therapy!  Even if it means a short 1.5 hours at the mall.

I left the house with Drama Queen and the mil at 10:30 a.m., bearing in mind that I only had a max of 1.5 hours to shop including having lunch at the mall as I had to drop Drama Queen in school before 12:30 noon. She has a dance practice with her friends for a dance competition audition.

I don't know about you but shopping or window shopping is therapeutic for me.  Don’t laugh retail therapy off.  According to a research, 52 percent of people used retail therapy to improve a sour mood. Buying a new item or going to a thrift store can help with mild depression.  If it works for you, you should not feel guilty. Do it, enjoy it and don't overdo it and that's just what I do. I buy stuff that makes me happy but I don't overdo it or splurge. 😊

Lunch was at Pho Vietz again. We love the food here. It's delish and most importantly, the price is very reasonable considering that it's at a shopping mall. But I didn't really enjoy my meal this time as I was swallowing down my food hurriedly with Drama Queen rushing me off with her constant reminder of "mum, hurry, I'm going to be late!"  😠 🤬 I ended up choking on the beef noodles soup and felt like I had something stuck in my throat for the next couple of hours.

Dinner was at Taste And Memories, a Chinese restaurant that serves MSG-free home-cooked type of dishes.

We had steamed tofu with otak-otak; braised yam with pork belly, sauteed vegetables:


Pork lard claypot rice, pork knuckles black vinegar:




Assam fish with vegetables. This is everyone's favorite dish, albeit it's too spicy for me to handle.




Braised kampung chicken with ginger and sesame seed oil and sauteed bitter gourd with canned black bean fish:


Just when we were about to leave the restaurant, hubs surprised me with a birthday cake from one of his favorite cafes, Front Room.   It's a Black Forest cake and the owner brought the cake over to the restaurant. I'm never a fan of Black Forest cake though I grew up eating it at almost every birthday celebration at home as my dad loves it.  I was disappointed that my favorite pandan gula Melaka cake wasn't available and he had to settle for Black Forest. But just one mouthful of the cake and my whole perspective on Black Forest cake changed. My liking towards Black Forest cake was taken to a whole new level!  But that's only for Black Forest cake from Front Room Cafe and no other.

Check out this cute little boy eyeing the cake. After cake cutting, I brought two pieces of cake over to the next table and asked the little boy's mum if he could eat the cake. But the parents turned down the offer politely and thanked me. And the little boy went bawling away as he had no cake to eat 😁








The hubs has been too tied up with work that he hadn't gotten the time to get me a present. But I am not letting him off the hook.  We're going to the shopping mall again on Saturday night to get my gift!


Reasons To Wear Hair Extensions

I am pretty sure most of us have that one horror story of going into a hair appointment and asking for a little trim off the ends and bangs, and coming out with a brand new hair style or even an un-asked for pixie cut. I hear ye! I've been there. Post hair-cut, I'd spent hours standing in front of the mirror and staring at an almost unrecognizable me, cussing away and corroded with regret.  Those times, I vowed never to cut my hair again at that salon.

how to hide a bad haircut

If this 'nightmare' happens to you again, there is a solution that you can turn to for a temporary fix ~ by way of hair extensions.

The good thing about hair extensions is that it can easily fix this problem that many of us painfully go through. Clip in hair extensions will not hinder hair growth so it’s the best alternative to rocking longer locks while waiting for your real hair to grow out.

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Hair extensions instantly make any hair style more beautiful and interesting. With the additional length, volume, and even pop of color to your hair, you can easily make any simple braid, bun, or ponytail more voluminous and intricate.

Another great way to use clip in human hair extensions is to use them as accessories in your hair. For example, you can braid a 3-clip weft to create a braid headband or clip on a few wefts to add that length and volume you've been dreaming about. The options are just endless.

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I have three wedding dinners to attend this year and I am thinking of doing up something fresh and sassy for my hair with clip in hair extension.  I know just where to get the best clip in hair extensions online.  Where do you get yours?

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Finding Your Inner Beauty And Happiness At Summer & Peach!

On the eve of the eve of my birthday today, I received a beautiful birthday gift couriered to me.  I'll bet you'll be green with envy just by looking at them.  They are all MINE 😁 👙

These luxurious bra accessories are something that I have been hunting around for a while to pair with some of my skimpy dresses and tops *ahem* and I found them at Summer And Peach, a Malaysian online store selling high quality bralettes and bra accessories imported from the US and various European countries.

Every item is wrapped and packaged aesthetically, which makes you feel like a woman of class, deserving only the best inner beauty.



This light and invisible seamless Magic Nubra that doesn't weigh your boobs down is half the weight of a normal nubra! Made from highly adhesive natural ingredient, the Magic Nubra is more secure and gentle on your delicate skin. This innovative Magic Nubra is specially designed with 3D cutting that provides great coverage and push up effect. Now you can have a Nubra you'll actually love!



Plus, this baby comes in an elegant black shiny shell casing for easy storage. And the shell casing can even be doubled up as a dainty dinner bag!







Sugarlace nippies, jelly nippies and stick-on paddings are the life saviors of every woman who owns bare back and off shouldered dresses or tops and unpadded swimsuits.  They are also a dream come true for those who don't like to wear bras.  All you have to do is to stick these nippies or padding onto your boops, slip on your barest back dress or halter neck top and you're good to go.  These intimate accessories are an ultimate must-have staple in every woman's wardrobe!

The color and design of the jelly nippies look so much like real teats that for a moment, you won't even notice that you have a jelly stuck to your twins 😄




Another lingerie staple in the wardrobe of every woman of child-bearing age is menstrual leak-proof panty.  Say goodbye to leaks and hello to PMS Leakproof Panties from Summer And Peach! This soft and breathable everyday panty has a water-resistant lining all the way to the waistline to prevent any unexpected leakage. Excellent for days with menstrual cycle, heavy flow, postpartum bleeding or urinary incontinence.








The PMS Starter Kit from Summer And Peach comprises of a complete set of intimate items that a woman needs at different times of the month:

- 1 x PMS Leakproof Basic Panties 3-Packs (Choose your size)
- 1 x Beboldz 1-Month Premium Sanitary Pads
- 1 x Beboldz Premium Panty Liners
- 1 x Happy Tummy Warm Pouch (I love the baby pink pouch!) to relieve period pains and mid-cycle pains.









I am such a happy camper today.  I know someone will be happy to share some of these stuff with me too. I can't wait to show her these precious!

So girls, do check out Summer And Peach. They offer free shipping on orders above RM150 and also a one-time free exchange. You can also follow them on their Facebook and Instagram.


Couldn't agree more that a comfortable, sexy and pretty bralette is a girl's bff.  I am already in a good mood just by looking at the bralettes at Summer And Peach! Now my hands are starting to get itchy to shop.  I'm sure you will too!




Monday, March 26, 2018

Our Sunday, 25 March 2018

We had breakkie of sandwiches with a choice of the following fillings on Sunday before church: tuna onion mayo, mashed egg avo and half boiled eggs.

This is my keto breakkie, sans bread and carbs ~ one half boiled egg with tuna onion mayo and cucumber:



This is Cass'  ~ mashed egg + mashed avo with herbs cream cheese and tuna onion mayo on a slice of multigrain bread. She ate TWO of these. TWO!!  On top of half a mango, half a nectarine and a glass of raw honey. She can eat like a piranha!


Check out the perfect avocado ~ it's from Mexico and is slightly cheaper than New Zealand ones  at only RM5 each but they taste just as creamy.  Dole avocados from Phillipines are pretty good too and are selling at RM5 each at our neighborhood supermarket. As I can source for affordable avocados from Mexico and Phillipines, we've been eating a lot of them the past one week. Bliss!

Lunch after church was with the hubs, mil and Cass at Lex Deux Garcons (LDG) @ Faber Towers (the hubs' favorite cafe).  Alycia and Drama Queen were at their weekly bible study class.

Sirloin steak for the hubs:




Classic chicken chop with portobello sauce for Cass and me; pasta for the mil


Super fluffy and pillowy pancakes for everyone and scones for the super hungry man who had skipped his breakfast to work.


Lunch at LDG was superb as always.  Dinner was takeout murtabak and roti pisang for Alycia who had a sudden craving for roti pisang!

Since Saturday, Drama Queen has been working on a paper mache volcano for her school's Library Week project. She's a librarian.  The entire living room has been turned into a makeshift workshop for her. Everyone in the house has to bear with the mess and dirt and forgo TV just because she has monopilized the entire floor in front of the TV and couch! 



The paper volcano is only 70% completed.  This morning she skipped Math tuition to work on the project. We have another day or two to bear with the clutter and dust from the papers and cut styrofoam . I have been sweeping and moping the floor till my back broke this morning, I kid you not!  I could barely bend my back and had to stick Salonpas pain relief patch.

What I dislike most about school projects is the parents have to bear the full cost of all the materials. This project may seem  inexpensive but my total cost amounts to almost RM200 from styrofoam to acrylic paints, papers, duct tape, celo tape, two gigantic bottles of glue, plastic wrappers, dry ice, et al.... including the cost of her skipping one Math class!


Thursday, March 22, 2018

Thursday, 22 March 2018 ~ Day Out At The Mall With Drama Queen

Today I took a Grab taxi to Mid Valley Megamall with Drama Queen ~ just the two of us. She had a date with her school mates at the mall for a movie and to play at the arcade. Alycia and the mil were not interested to follow as the both of them had just gone to Mid Valley a few days ago.  Cass was supposed to follow us but this rascal hadn't finish her school and tuition homework and I was enraged. I had warned her that if any of her homework wasn't completed, she would stay home. And I mean what I say!

We took Grab taxi as we had left the house after 12 noon ~ at this time of the day plus it's the school holidays, finding a place to park will be like finding a needle in a haystack.  Once, we left the car park mall after I circled the entire car park for half and hour and couldn't  get a place to park. What a waste of my precious time and money as I had to pay for the parking too.

While Drama Queen and her friends had McD and watched movie, I had a full dose of retail therapy!  Bought myself another Airism bra singlet from Uniqlo. I now have an almost full collection of  Airism bra singlets in my closet with almost all the colors in all the designs!!  Just love wearing Airism singlets ~ they are airy, dries super quickly after wash and the best part is I don't have to wear a separate bra!! 💓

Then had my lunner at Pho Vietz while waiting for Drama Queen.  I ordered a bowl of slice beef and meat ball noodles, which was very yummy.  Price is reasonable too.  I ordered 2 Viet baguette with grilled pork for take-away for those at home, which was also very delish. 







If you are a fan of Vietnamese food, do check out Pho Vietz. The food is delish and reasonably priced.

The only bummer today was I discovered that the left side sandals that I was wearing was almost going to fall apart. Thank God I saw the tear while we were in the taxi. The moment we alighted from the taxi, I headed straight to Padini Concept Store and got myself a new pair of sandals 😆

Have I told you that on the third day of CNY this year, the exact same hex happened to me while I was shopping in Ipoh? The sole of my Sembonia sandals (I had only worn this pair of sandals three times) was yanked off while I was in the mall.  I stumbled to the shoes department and got myself a new pair of sandals before I continued shopping.  Jinx? How could this happen to me twice in less than 2 months?!  😅





Tuesday, March 20, 2018

K88 Food Court @ Old Klang Road, KL

On Saturday,  the hubs suggested steamboat for dinner, but I wasn't keen as we had just eaten fish balls and noodles for lunch and I didn't want to eat something similar again for dinner. I suggested having hawkers' food at K88 Food Court.




What I really wanted to eat from the K88 Food Court was Ngoh Jie's Apom. I had blogged about this Apom earlier this year after the hubs chanced upon this apom stall while looking for porridge. Since then, I have been hoping to drop by the stall myself to satiate my cravings again.







This time, I chowed down 5 pieces of apom!



What I really like about K88 Food Court is that it is really huge and very complete.  There are 52 stalls within the food court and you can choose to dig into your food indoor or outdoor.  Eating at K88 somewhat reminds me of eating at Gurney Drive and Northam Cafe in Penang.  I can get the best of Penang hawkers' food at K88 from assam laksa to seafood, char koay teow and even my apom!  I don't have to make a trip to Penang just to satiate my craving for Apom Guan.

From where we were seated, which was outdoor, the view of some high rise apartments and the ambience at the food court are pretty similar to that of Gurney Drive and Northam Cafe.



The foodie hubs as usual, with eyes bigger than his stomach over ordered the food.   We had Hong Kong chee cheong fun, grilled stingray, some Egyptian cuisine, roti nan, satay, curry laksa, snow white chicken + bean sprouts, baked spaghetti, fried lala, fried Oh Chien (oyster omelette), salt baked crabs, prawn noodles, Shawerma, lime and sour plum juice and apple juice (which comes in a giant mug).

Alycia and Drama Queen ordered kebab with pasta from a stall run by some Egyptians (on the right):


Ipoh ngar choi kai and Shawerma.  The Shawerma wrap is  also from the Egyptian stall.  We had a hard time asking for an empty plate from the Egyptian family as they don't understand English!




Fried lala and roti nan.  The roti nan was surprisingly good ~ very soft, fresh and pillowy. Would be perfect if more dhall was given.  As there was too much food, we had to doggy bag some of the roti nan back.  The mil and the girls had it for dinner the next day, after a few minutes of reheating in the toaster oven.


Satay (which I didn't even have the space in my tummy to try!) and baked spaghetti ordered by Alycia.



Curry laksa and Oh Chien (oyster omelette).


Of all the food that we tried, my favorite has to be the oyster omelette and apom. I like it that the egg is fried in a flat pan, resulting in a paper thin and crispy fried egg omelette. In fact the omelette comes in a big piece, very much like an oyster egg cracker.  The oysters are juicy and fresh too.

Ordering of drinks are computerized with a print out of your order stuck onto the glass.




Many of the stall owners at K88 are from the recently closed down Ming Tien Food Court @ Taman Megah and Subang Jaya food court. They chose K88 as it is big.

For those wishing to have the best of Malaysian hawkers' food, K88 is the place to go to BUT be prepared for the traffic jam getting into the food court. K88 is located next to FGA Church.  Your next worry is finding a place to park. The hubs took over 20 minutes just to get a spot to park.

The next time we are at K88 again, I am going to try the Fuchow red wine noodles, porridge and the famous Rawang steamed fish and steamed egg.   It's 11:15 p.m. now and talking so much about food is making my tummy growl!  I better leave the computer now, forget about my rumbling tummy and just get right into slumberland now.  Nite nite everyone!



Cat Eye Glasses For The Stylo Girls!

As the mercury starts ticking upward and the rays start growing stronger, our attention is steadily turning toward sunglasses. I don't know about you but I am not a sunglasses person. I find I can't see my view clearly if I have something blocking my eyes. Funnily, when I was younger, I could never leave the house without a pair of sunglasses.  Lately the sun has been blazing at its strongest and I find that I really need to get myself a pair of sunglasses for the protection of my eyes.  It's 'summer' over here where the sun is merciless.   I always think I look insanely cool with a pair of dark cat eyeglass 😎  It doubles up as my head band too 😊

Less expensive than most handbags, shoes, and clothes, sunglasses are an accessory you can wear every single day without raising an eyebrow.  Whether you are staring at a drawer packed full of sunglasses and wondering which pair to wear today, or are considering investing in something new this season, I'd like to suggest the classic cat eye frames.

The retro cat eye black frame is a great choice for women working in the business environment as they give you a smart and mysterious look that is bound to emphasize your professionalism.



Let me share with you a place where you can get cool cat eye glasses with cool discounts. Zeelool.com offers a wide range of high-fashion and high-end eyewear at affordable prices. Whether you are a student, a fashionista, a dad or a mum, you are sure to find your ideal eye glasses at Zeelool.com.

Zeelool.com is currently having a 20% discount off your purchase of 2 pairs or more of eye glasses.  Additionally, for your FIRST ORDER, you get a $3 OFF your purchase. Just key in discount code : NEW3 during checkout.

There's a look within that's sure to touch just the right chord with you, whether you like something subtle and understated or prefer things big and bold. Scroll through Zeelool.com and I'm sure you'll find your perfect pair.



Monday, March 19, 2018

'Exotic' Triple-Layer Drink

If Drama Queen and I ever open a cafe, this 3-layer exotic drink will definitely make its way into the  Beverage Menu!

This is a super refreshing drink composed of 5 ingredients:
1. Water
2. Korean fruit vinegar
3. Sunquick tropical cordial
4. Organic blue / butterfly pea + lemongrass tea
5. Ice cubes



This is actually Drama Queen's school Science experiment holiday homework. The students are instructed by their Science teacher to make a drink composed of three colors. It can be any drink as long as it's made up of 3 different colors (no Milo and Teh Tarik though as these two are already mentioned in the text book). And ice-cubes must be added into the drink.

Drama Queen chose Sunquick for the yellow, Korean fruit vinegar for the red and blue pea lemongrass tea for the blue color.

This little fun experiment shows that the ice cubes slow down the three colors from integrating with each other. With the ice cubes, the 3 types of drinks are layered, as shown in the picture above.

And the result is a very pretty sun set colored drink ~ yellow, orange, garnet, wine and purplish blue. OMG, I am so in love with the colors and taste of this drink! It's slightly sourish, fizzy (from the vinegar) and slightly sweet. And the ice cubes give it a very refreshing boost. Just perfect on a hot day.

Take a closer look!  The blue color from the blue pea flower looks electrifying and magical in this concoction. Set, we're going to include this triple layer stacked drink in our beverage menu if our plan of opening a health cafe materializes! 💪😆



Sunday, March 18, 2018

Sunday At District 21 @ IOI Mall, Putrajaya

Cass attended her classmate's birthday party held at District 21 @ Putrajaya today. It's our first time at District 21.

District 21 is a first of its kind, apocalypse themed Adventure Park. This action park is located in a 70,000 sq.ft, indoor premise with a 55ft air-conditioned atrium, within IOI City Mall, Putrajaya.



Before the  adventure began, we were treated to lunch at Marrybrown's Fried Chicken.








The birthday girl baked her own cake!



After a heavy meal of fried chicken, fried fish fingers, fried fish nuggets, potato curlies, cake and sundae (BURPS!!), the kids adjourned to District 21 to have their agility, stamina, phobia and strength challenged.

The girls putting on socks and gloves before their adventure starts:




The first obstacle that the girls tackled was the Maze:



An eagle's eyes view of how the Maze looks like:




My cili padi inching her way up and down the Maze:



Next, they tackled  the Ninja Warrior course.  The course looks easy to tackle but it's not.

Cass with the birthday girl (in pink):



Then they went up the Tubby Ride. The slope is about 1-storey high and very steep. Participants climb up to the top of the slope, sit inside an inner tube and the staff push them down the slope. I was as nervous as a cat when it was Cass' turn to be pushed down the slope.  All sorts of morbid thoughts kept playing in my mind. Visions of my 14-year old school mate free falling down from a 2-storey high flying fox fun game kept repeating in my head. Miraculously, she survived with only a broken wrist. The inner tube could flip over and the participant could be thrown out of the tube and roll all the way down the slope! There's no safety belt whatsoever (how can that be?!). This cili padi repeated this stunt many times, putting me in nervous tics.



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Tubby Ride


They went up the giant maze again. This bunch of girls are extraordinary ~ SO gutsy, strong and energetic!




And then to the giant trampoline (similar to Jump Street):




Thank God the kids' weight are all below 45kg and didn't qualify to do the Roller Glider, a death defying stunt (I don't trust the safety measures there) which I will never allow my girls to do.  District 21 has the world's first indoor roller glider.  Cass and her friends are all dare devils who wanted to try everything there, including the Roller Glider and Free Fall.





Me with my cuzzie Suzan (center) and the birthday girl's mum.



Dressed in shorts and sports shoes, my job as usual, at birthday parties held in an action park is to lug 2 bags and water bottle, chase after and supervise a bunch of fearless, tireless and rambunctious girls and of course paparazzi-ing.  It's tough job. Tough life as a mummy maid!

After 3 hours 'on duty', I had my lunner at a Chinese eatery:












It's funny how I never ever feel tired even with 10 hours of shopping with non-stop walking in the mall but when I have to supervise and chase after a bunch of tireless, chatty, sarcastic and rambunctious kids, I am already burnt out after an hour!  Does anyone feel this way too? 😏