me flat boots

today i have managed to burn yet another hole in my pocket - the damage is a pair of Michael Kors black leather and suede knee high flat boots. i have been eyeing this pair since 2 weeks ago while out gallivanting about Dundrum with my dear friend, Mrs R. at the time, my one and only Stuart Weitzman knee high slouchy brownish grey flat boots were almost brand new still. rasa ralat nak beli another pair eventhough i know it will not go to waste coz black is so easy to wear. i tried it on, looked at the price tag and thought -- hmm, 50% discount, menarik menarik. but i put it back thinking i might find something else with nicer price tag and i didn't really need it. i just wanted it. you know, the usual shopaholic mantra. *astaghfirullah al-azim*

left to right: my SW flat boots yg so comfy and berjasa and my brand-spanking-new MK boot.

ceritanya, i mmg dah agak that today i will make this totally unnecessary purchase. sebab? pasal i dah agak2 jer the boots will still be there. because size pun ala2 cinderella. omputeh kan kaki size besar2 belaka. i was meeting my classmate to discuss our assignment today and i managed to drag mr hasben & the kids along. the plan was for them to watch 'Princess & the Frog' movie while i was in discussion. unfortunately my friend arrived later than expected so mr hasben and the kids ended up shopping around after the movie - which was fine by me anyways. oleh kerana my friend sampai lambat, i pun 'terpaksa' lah jalan2 cuci mata hehehe. so i 'ter' masuk kedai kasut Fitzgerald itu yg mmg terkenal dgn selection sepatu2 pereka fesyen terkenal dunia hehehe. anyways, i ended up buying the boots. what do i like about it? its knee high. its black leather and suede. its unusual and has that smart casual look that i want. its comfy. and most importantly, it suits me - i don't do high heels boots, makes me look strange and tak sesuai. oh and don't forget the 50% tag. i am so blessed.

but you are still my favourite boots of all time. for sure.

look. how peghak right? siap tak buang the span hehehe. sayang lah boot baru i kang kemek kena pijak dgn my budak2 kat rumah ni.

after i successfully keluar from Fitzgerald, i berjaya pulak menyelinap masuk Zara and i berjaya merembat sepasang skinny (yg tak berapa skinny sebab i beli size L) untuk digayakan bersama boots MK ku yang brand-spanking-new itu. then i masuk toilet and changed. like, how peghak right? hehehehe

starbucks & mango passionfruit smoothie

hari ni adalah antara hari-hari malas saya. i am off today - that's why. i am one of those people who move along the momentum. the busier i am, the quicker and more effective i will be. the more rest i get, the lazier i become. what's wrong with me? God knows hehehe. i have always been like this. a little bit aberrant, if not worse. if i go to sleep, i'll sleep for hours. but once i am up, i'll be up all day (or in some case, all night long - hehehe).

anyways. so this morning, i woke up to a snow white morning. Dublin snowed all night and this has resulted in me changing my plans for the day. i was supposed to go over my classmate's house at 10am today to discuss our plan for next assignment. unfortunately due to the snow, we had to cancel. i do not fancy driving in icy weather condition - eventhough there is a very good chance the snow would have melted already. i recently had an almost unfortunate incident while driving on my own. phew. bring shivers down my spine. *syukur syukur*

if i can't discuss my assignment, i might as well do something productive. i got up, while munching my favourite kerepek pisang *haa... camane, nak slim konon... cis lah* tidy up the house, packed yesterday's dinner in the tupperwares and masuk dalam fridge, and finally got ready myself. bungkus my lappy in my bag and off i went. my first stop: the bank. i needed to lodge some money for home and i have neglected this for days due pure negligence. fulamak, beratur panjang giler kat bank. itu lah dia, tangguh2 lagi.

then after that, i went to that New Look store just opened a few months back. the reason? i really just wanted to cuci mata with no intention to buy anything. plus they have a new Starbucks on the mezzanine floor. i loved going to Borders, previously occupying the New Look space now. when i heard Borders was closing, i swear i cried a little bit. hehehe. padahal maybe i lah orang nya yg buat Borders kena bungkus kedai coz everytime i was there, i just minum kat STarbucks sambil baca mags yg i tak beli pun in the end hehehe. so back to New Look, i had fun browsing. i saw a lot of dresses i'd like to have but totally do not need any.

and now i am sitting on a comfortable stripey green couch in Starbucks. initially reading my assignment descriptor and selecting the project title for my next assignment - but now, blogging away happily while sipping my Mango Passionfruit smoothie - yummm. this is by far the most ordered drink for the year 2008 and 2009 combined. well kalau tak campur air sirap ais i selalu order whenever i am at any mamak's place.

what a pointless entry hehehe.
what's your favourite drink at Starbucks?

hair : curly or straight?

i was born with naturally curly hair - well more like frizzy actually hehehe. i used to hate my hair so much that everyday i wished that i was born with shiny straight hair like some of cousins. all of my sibs have curly/wavy hair. none of us has poker-straight hair. i remember wanting a bang on my forehead, went ahead to cut it myself (i was 11 i think, or maybe 10) and cut it too short! it was a disaster. i cut it the length that i wanted but because my hair is curly, it bounced shorter. benci okay.

one of my younger sisters used to have good hair days and bad hair days. the days bila rambut dia cun, she'd style em nice. the days rambut dia buat hal, dia pakai tudung hehehe. we were still in primary at the time, so it was okay lah. my 2 other sisters happened to be luckier than the 2 of us. their hair aren't poker straight, but not curly either. more wavy than curly. easier to style, i supposed.

anyways, my battle with my unruly hair is legendary. my curls are not tight curls by any means. nothing like an african-origin curls or berketak2. i think if i tend my hair with lots of care, it can be pretty. but i think i have given up on it. until i discovered rebonding hehehe. thankfully rebonding process really suits and actually nourished my hair. the only problem is i can only have it done whenever i am home. i belum discover lagi any salon in Dublin yang offer this service.

funnily enough, my son has his daddy's hair which is actually straight. no curls at all. my daughter inherits my hair hehehe. my poor girl. but thankfully she loves her curls and she gets so much compliments for them. i have to be honest, though, i do use products like conditioner and hair serum to nourish her hair coz otherwise it'll go all dried up and frizzy. Dublin weather is also suitable for her hair. kalau balik KL/PD, cepat aje rambut dia become frizzy.

my curly-haired little girl

another one of her with a flower on her hair

my curly-haired heidi & straight-haired harris

now i have learned to embrace our curls. i do think that girls look so cute with curls. but i still envy those with shiny straight hair. if only. i would love to have a Pob a la Posh Beckham hehehe. but nope, it wouldn't suit me, certainly not my hair. every morning we will wash my daughter's hair, use J&J leave-in conditioner and John Frieda's extra strength hair serum to accentuate the curls and reduce frizz.

i hope one day she will love her hair more than i did mine and never has to resort to rebonding. i wish that she will love herself for who she is and not for the way she looks. i do love her curly hair. i think she looks more like herself with curly hair. i can't imagine my heidi with poker-straight hair.

i don't do long skirts

ah, look at those long skirts -- how cute, how appropriate. i do own a couple of long, flowy skirts but i found myself passing these skirts for something i am more comfortable in. now, that being said, i do remember wearing a long skirt and feeling very comfy in it. so, why don't i wear it more often then...?

frankly, i am not one of those really feminine mom. a feminist, yes i am, but feminine? no. not quite. i am very rarely seen in very feminine clothing (well i think so), certainly not pink outfits and i have a tendency to clad myself in pants and mostly, pants. i love dresses though. and i do feel particularly feminine in dresses. i also feel somewhat feminine in long skirts but i very rarely wear them that i have forgotten much about it. i guess, i do have a certain 'issues' with long skirts or skirts in general. first of all, being a hijabi, short skirt is out of the question. no, i am not one who is trendy enough to pull a short skirt look with a legging. i might consider a mid-length long flowy skirt with a pair of high boots but it has to be with a suitable top.

i love these skirts -- but to pull it off as a hijabi and risk the 'drowned' look? i am not entirely convinced. but if i am made to wear these skirts, i might wear them with a tank top like so, with a short tailored jacket over and matching scarf. footwear? hmmm. tricky. maybe a simple kitten-heel or ballerina pumps?

i like this look already but i would choose a more matching coloured cardigan. i might also layered a suitable longer length tank top underneath to give the illusion of elongated torso. for footwear -- i think i'll go for a mid-heel strappy sandals.

again, i love this ensemble. i love the colour scheme. this is not casual though. i might wear this to work. but again, a bit too fussy for me, for work i mean. i would love for the skirt to be long and flowy as opposed to straight cut like so.

ah, midnight blue. i love the colour. its dark but not black. love the skirt especially. the top looks more like a jacket of some sort. this is definitely suitable for a function -- and i'd love wear this to a graduation dinner for example. and wear a lovely patterned scarf as well.

now, now. this is my favourite of the bunch, indeed. there is nothing boring about the look. i love the ruffled blouse. i love the skirt : all about it - the print, the cut, the length. however, i probably will not wear the blouse tucked in coz i dont have a flat tummy. not after 2 pregnancies. hehehe.

i would love to do long skirts. i have seen my friends looking lovely in long skirts, even mid-length ones. some paired them with a plain blazer, cardigan and even a leather jacket. they pulled off the look effortlessly. i think the key is being comfortable in what you're wearing and carry the outfits off with confidence. i think i should start wearing long skirts.

what say you?

somebody has to renew his passport

following our unfortunate 'nightmare' at Dublin airport on our way to Dubai beberapa purnama ago, we (as in yours truly & the better half) have developed, what we've called, 'passport phobia'. my other half's and our soon-to-be 5 year-old daughter's passports are expiring soon and we have decided that it is worth the trouble to have a quick weekend trip down to the city of London. we do have another alternative. we could send the passports to Malaysian Embassy Dublin but it will take 3 months for the passports to be renewed. London head office can have them done in a few hours - thanks to a rather rare machine, so i was told.

*google image*

itching to get away, of course yours truly is excited to have this trip. but it won't happen until Easter bank hols weekend in April. we will have to take a couple extra days after the weekend coz i am pretty sure the office will only be opened for emergency cases only. ours isn't urgent. plus, i'd love to do some sightseeing. the last time i had a good stroll in London was when i collected my family back 2003 a few days before my graduation ceremony. itupun only for a few days coz we had to make our way to Dublin. i did go to Bicester Village about 4-5 years ago but fortunately at the time i hadn't developed my shopaholic ways. hehehe. this time? oh. oh. oh. terrible time. i am pokai, broke, you-name-it. sedih sungguh.

kalau ikutkan hati mati ku, macam2 nak ku rembat. tapi memikirkan all the commitments i have right now, it sure doesn't feel right. for the last couple of years, i have been yearning to visit Bicester Village again vowing to bring along a certain amount of dosh and spoil myself rotten. get a couple of bags, maybe or maybe not, depending on whats there on offer. today at dinner, i moaned about the upcoming London trip and how Bicester Village will not be on the itinerary for obvious reason. there is NO WAY i'll go to Bicester Village just to window shop. like, honestly. no. no way.

agaknya, kerana kasihankan cik isteri yang mengada2 ni, he said, "okaylah. maybe we can go. boleh lah kalau nak beli satu bag. but you have to beli sendiri. hehehe." wah. semangat gue. i am thinking of getting either a Jimmy Choo's, Tod's or maybe Dior's. i haven't decided on the exact amount admissible, it will depend on berapa yang i mampu or ada nanti hehehe. OMG. teruk betul lah. i don't even need anymore bags. in actual fact, i am properly broke and am not supposed to be able to afford anything luxurious like that until 2011. i mean, i can't swap my college fee for a bag, can i?

tapi tak mengapa. tak dapat pun tak apa. mari lah berangan bersama saya hehehe! orang nak pergi London nak renew passport, bukan nak bershopping ok. ish. another sets of agenda will include jalan2 to the following London attractions:

• London Eye
• National History Museum
• London Aquarium
• London Dungeon
• Madame Tussaud's
• Trafalgar Square
• Buckingham Palace
• Big Ben
• Tower Bridge
• Bicester Village (eh, kena masuk itinerary jugak hahaha)
• Malaysian Embassy (haa, ini yang paling important ni!)

esok jugak i kena beli tabung piggy hehehe. mari lah menabung.

one of the best presents ever

setelah penat berkerja berminggu2 after returning from my cuti2 France, i managed to see my BFF on a half day, accompanied by our respective kids. she hasn't seen me since December and how nice of her to even think about getting me a bday present. hahaha she got me a Tweezerman!!

our last outing to Harvey Nics, i nearly got one for myself but changed my mind coz i thought it was a tad too expensive for a tweezer, no matter how good it is. i still have my one from yonkers ago and because i only use the tweezer once a week to kemaskan my unruly eyebrows, i wasn't that willing to spend 30 euros on it. and i was SO happy when BFF said she is getting me tweezerman -- hehehe so tak malu okay! so she said i could pick whichever one i like, including the swarovski-encrusted one LOL liberachi betul hehehe. but then she changed her mind when she realised the liberachi tweezerman will cost her 100 euros!!!! mahal giler apa ke hal?

so i had to pilih between the petite tweezerman or the patterned tweezerman. the petite version is slightly smaller than the patterned one and it comes in petite point and petite slant tweezers. i decided on the two petites because i like the idea of getting 2 tweezers hehehe. ntahpapentah. tapi the size is perfect okay. senang giler nak pakai. totally recommend the tweezers -- but don't buy it. get somebody to gift it for you hehehe. *cheapskate mode is on*

Petite Tweeze® Set

Set features our famous Slant® and Point® tweezers in a smaller size. Each has our signature, perfectly aligned hand-filed tips. Matched with a fashionable leather case, this miniature set is perfect for purse and travel. A great gift idea, get them in one or all three colored fashion cases.

Tips & Tricks

Use the Slant for expert brow shaping. Tweeze in the direction of hair growth, plucking one hair at a time to avoid breakage. For ingrowns, cleanse skin and disinfect tip of Point tweezer with alcohol or peroxide. After any work under the skin, clean area again with disinfectant.

*copy & paste from tweezerman official website*

tweezerman bling2 style

oh how cute -- tweezerman petite bunga2 style

tweezerman safari style

so, itu lah antara hadiah yang paling berguna yg i pernah dapat. kalau nak beli mmg tak lah kot sebab mahal and rasa agak kerterlaluan. tapi bila dah ada memang best. wah bertambah kemas lah keningku hehehe

put on your travel boots

wah, since i have been back from France, kepala i tak habis2 fikir holiday, holiday and holiday. truth be told, it's not like we can afford to be on holidays all the time. for life to be sustained the way it is, we have to generate money. we have to work. hehehe. so, nope, can't have holidays ALL the time. in fact can't even have holidays every month. hmm, let's see. kalau every month ada bank holiday monday mungkin boleh. but even so, flight tix tend to be more expensive during public holidays - so are the accommodations. i guess holiday at home and movie marathon pun okay, kan?

but anyways -- back to what has been in my head -- i can't stop thinking (or talking) about holidays. i have been on the flights website to search for nice holiday destinations numerous times already over the last 2 weeks. i am itching to go for another skiing hols but that prolly have to wait until at least Dec 2010. my better half has been wanting to go to a number of places : especially Morocco and Turkey. now, i have to confess that geography was NEVER my strong point. my husband on the other hand KNOWS his world map so well that he could possibly locate countries on the map with his eyes closed. he also LOVES travelling and has been trying to convert me eversince we got married. like any other hot-blooded shopaholic, i would rather spend my money on stuff than holidays. 'beli barang nampak, pergi holidays duit habis tak nampak!' thats what i used to say all the time whenever he insisted that we should go somewhere nice.

i guess my husband's prayers have been answered. i think i dah terkena demam berjalan from my better half. it's not that i don't like going places. i do. really. but the stress of packing, checking in, food, getting lost, spending money etc got to me sometimes. for our honeymoon, we just went to Genting Highland for 2 nights and i didn't even mind. well, it did help the fact that we stayed in the honeymoon suit but looking back, we should have gone to Bali or at least to Sabah or Sarawak. well. that was me 7 years ago. since we've been together, holidays are more like bonding-session. he will show off his navigation skills and i will then try my best to not nag so much when he gets us lost -- hehehe! so far we have been to the UK together, UAE, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, France, Czech Republic and of course Malaysia.

if it is up to my husband, we' prolly be 20x around the world, already hehehe. but it was up to me. i was so into my work - and so was he - but i was the one who can't always get away and when i am on a week off i just want to stay home and curl up on my sofa watching movies. B.O.R.I.N.G. i know. so i am pleasantly surprised that i am opening up to holidays and more holidays. i have been thinking about the places that i'd like to go and here goes :

Bahamas

Bali

Bora Bora Island

Canary Islands

Datai, Langkawi

Egypt

Mykonos

New York

Nice

Pangkor Laut1

Pangkor Laut2

Pangkor Laut3

Pangkor Laut4

Rome

San Francisco

Turkey

Venice

banyak lah pulak tempat2 yg i nak pergi ni. even if we can afford going for a destination a year, it will take us 14 years to complete my holiday-wishlist. but, hey, no harm dreaming for it, right? i mean, mana lah tahu murah rezeki, ada orang sponsor holiday ke, menang competition ke, last minute package deal ke... right?

how about you ladies out there? have any of you been to any of the places i SO want to go as above? if so, would you mind recommending the place(s)? i have listed the holiday destinations in alphabetical order but perhaps some of you ladies may have strong suggestions as to where we should go first...? or feel free to share your dream or favourite holiday destination(s)!

p.s. all pics are googled.

a number of very merry thoughts

i found myself with no particular obsession these last two months - which is rather bizarre. i usually would have items of the week/month that i drool over and dream of somewhat compulsively. i was at the mall yesterday but NOTHING caught my eyes. now, that being said -- i think i know the reason behind my recent lack of retail addiction.

as of next Tuesday i will be starting a 12-week professional diploma course in Criminal & Forensic Psychology. it has to be privately funded, hence no money to spend unnecessarily. my initial intention was to do two courses at a time, another being a Diploma in Addiction Studies. however unfortunately the two classes run on the same day, at the same 3-hour slot. i am SO looking fwd to start this forensic course. i am planning to go back to full-time psych job in July and 6-month experience in Forensic Psychiatry wouldn't harm me, i don't think. lately i am more preoccupied with work, academic and future-planning kinda stuff. i find myself thinking more and more about going back into the rat race. i love having time off and being able to work at my own pace -- just the way i am now -- but i want to go back. i think 12-month break is just about enough for me.

even though my lust for everything retail is somewhat lack-lustre these days, i can still spot some number of items that i think would look nice in my closet or collection hehehe. now, bearing in mind that i do not need any of these items. i just feel like having a lust-list. i honestly don't think that i will get any of these. my significant other is already giving me a look yesterday when i jokingly mentioned getting a few unnecessary stuff. he said, " kan skang ni time recession - we should save money rather than spend them. " i know he is right. i know. so i'll feed my lust for everything retail by doing up a list a promised ~ oh btw, not in any particular order.

1. a simple diamond band
2. a pair of freshwater pearl earrings
3. knee-high leather tall fly boots London either in tan or black
4. a new Chanel sunnies
5. a long Chanel wallet or continental purse
6. that red Chanel Cells Tote medium

owh. kan best kalau duit grow on trees....? but money also don't buy happiness. can stuff buy you happiness? anybody care to debate? any 2 cents, ladies?