that colourful thing

how often do we notice a rainbow in the sky? not that often, right? so when we see a rainbow, we tend to get over excited. we tend to look in awe. we tend to slow down our cars (if we're driving) and we tend to point and take a picture of it. by we, i mean me. myself.

this was taken many weeks back, while i was driving on my way home. if i'm not mistaken, this was about 7 something in the evening when it was still bright. told ya i would slow down and take a picture of the rainbow. *sigh* i never get to see a rainbow before because most of the time, if not every time i go back, it was already dark. pffttt. it only lasts for a few minutes though but i am lucky to have seen it and captured it.
anyway, speaking of rainbows, suddenly the images of rainbow cakes came to my mind. grrrr.

don't you just love the colours? i have never tasted a rainbow cake before but i bet it tastes like butter cake, only with colours. but it sure looks fun to eat, right? maybe i should try baking one. but then again, i've also wanted to bake a red velvet cake but that has yet to happen. LOL. i wonder if this rainbow cake idea will materialize in the near future. next weekend is a long weekend due to Deepavali holidays so that may be a good time to try one. i think it's just as simple as baking a butter cake. the only thing needed are lots of colouring and patience since it needs to be baked layer by layer, unless i want to have a marbled effect like this.
this is so much easier but of course the layered ones look prettier. colouring can be easily bought at the supermarket but patience? that is something i am lacking of. i also need a few baking tins if i were to do the layered type. hmmmm...

while i was googling for the images of the rainbow cakes (go ahead and tell me if you are not blinded by the colours), i came across these wedding rainbow cake. aren't they simply gorgeous? now that is not a typical wedding cake all right! it would be so much fun to have a rainbow coloured wedding cake, don't you think? it's definitely something to consider but then it might not suit my theme colour. and who in the world needs 5-7 tiers of cake? i know it won't be cheap too! a 3 tier wedding cake can easily cost RM700 and above, depending on the design. *sigh*
oh well, i better focus on my theme colour then. unless, of course someone wants to sponsor a gorgeous 5 or 7 tier wedding cake for me, i wouldn't mind having one like the above.

ten.ten.ten

the date 10th October 2010, 10/10/10, 10.10.10, 10 Oct. 2010 (or whichever way you put it) was one of the most special date in our calender. as most people would know and assume, a lot of people chose the special date to be their special day especially for engagements and weddings. i was one of the many people who managed to secure the above date to be my engagement day. i knew it was not gonna be easy to book services i.e. catering, make-up, mini dais etc on that date since most are fully booked but alhamdulillah, i managed to secure them all.
oh, the purple shoes was for this purpose by the way. i wouldn't have gone on a massive shoe hunt if it were not for this special day.

my outfit for the day

mini dais

after i was done with make-up and nervously waiting for his family to arrive

this was while waiting for his mother to put the ring on my finger
checkout the purple shoes!

his mother putting the ring on my finger. i am glad i did a manicure the day before, thanks to my bestie.

asking for his mother's blessings

thank you auntie for giving us your blessings

candid shot by my sister

ohhhh i'm a bride-to-be OMG!!

alhamdulillah everything went well. i am now in a new phase of life and i am definitely looking forward to the future. i pray to the Almighty for our eternal bliss and may our journey from this day on be a smooth sailing one. to my readers, i may not know who you are but all i ask for from you is your prayers for me and my fiance's well-being and everlasting happiness.
btw, these pictures are from my sister's and my friend's cameras. i haven't received my official engagement pictures from my photographer yet. more pictures are on my facebook. if you are my friend, you might have seen it.
now that the engagement is over, i shall now start fussing and start preparing for the wedding. heck, i might as well lose some weight while i'm at it too!
better start now than later, right? ;)

the purple shoes

women and shoes are inseparable. i am not so much of a shoe-holic but i love shoes and i love looking at them. i love to try them on in shops. and i love the way they are nicely displayed on the racks. it can make me go crazy. some shoes look so good that they instantly caught my eyes and i get this feeling that says "i just HAVE to have those shoes!" i bet a lot of women out there can relate to this, right? however, buying a pair of shoes is not necessarily an easy task, especially if you have decided that you want a certain colour. you will find every other colour BUT the colour that you want.

i was in a search of a pair of purple shoes, preferably one in soft purple/lavender/lilac or whatever shade you call it as long as it's soft i.e. not the real purple or Barney the Dinosaur purple. my search began way before raya. during the raya sale, i was already on the lookout of THE PURPLE SHOES. but like i said earlier, there are every other colour BUT soft purple. why do they have soft/baby pink shoes, baby blue shoes, fluorescent orange shoes, electric blue shoes (you name it, they have every colour there is in the colour palette) but not soft purple/lavender/lilac shoes? i have also set a certain budget for the shoes. it shall not exceed a certain amount because i know the shoes will be lying in the shoe rack collecting dust. so no high-end, branded or designer shoes for me.

ohhhhh they do have in the colour that i wanted! *sigh of relief*

however, it did not appeal to me. it's a bit too simple and the heels are less than 3 inches tall. bummer. i continued my search from Parkson Grand KLCC to Parkson Grand Pavilion to TANGS in both Pavilion and Empire Shopping Gallery to Subang Parade to Sungai Wang to Isetan to Ampang Park and to God-knows-where else. phew~

i found these two shoes at Parkson Grand, Pavilion. there was a glimpse of hope and a ray of light shone upon me. however, when i tried them on, they are not comfortable (heck, no pretty shoes are comfortable anyway, right?) and they are very hard. i still have time so i thought i'd KIV these shoes. at least i know there are shoes in these colour.

the search continued even after raya.

i almost gave up but i can't. i just HAVE to have a soft purple/lavender/lilac shoes. then i thought, ok, i could do with purple (as in Barney purple) shoes i guess.

this was at Isetan KLCC recently. there was a wide array of shoes that i became crazy. i fell in love with many shoes but i resisted myself from trying other shoes. i've set my mind not to go astray as i am in the search of THE PURPLE SHOES.

i tried on a few purple shoes. some fit me nicely, some doesn't have my size while some was not comfortable. i only tried them on not more than 5 minutes and i can already feel the pain. not a good sign. and they don't come cheap too. there comes a point where i almost go way over my budget. time is not on my side to dilly dally any longer.

then i remembered a shoe shop in Ampang Park (i can't remember the name but it's some chinese name like Syarikat Kasut Yoong or something). yeah, nothing fancy, i know. i'm sure most of you have not heard of it. i've always been in and out of this particular shoe shop without even knowing the name. i only call it Kedai Kasut Neva. wanna know why?

because the brand name of the shoes are NEVA SHOES. what the heck, right? :D all i know is that this shop sells pretty shoes and they have almost, almost every colour you can think of. i kid you not. but of course they don't have a soft purple/lilac/lavender shoes. and then one purple shoes caught my eyes.

TA-DAA!! presenting THE PURPLE SHOES. nothing fancy, right?

they're not that cheap, mind you. for a brand-less shoes and for a simple (yet elegant) looking shoes, they costs RM99.90. and of course that was the last pair in that size. pfffft. i always get the last pair, i don't know why. those shoes look plain so i took the lrt and went to Masjid Jamek and bought myself two little brooches.

each brooch costs RM3. very cheap. i almost bought a bigger brooch but boyfie said that it's a bit too big for the shoes so i settled with this one. i also almost bought the ones with purplish stones but they did not stand out because the colour of the shoes is already in deep purple.

i went home and i simply pinned the brooch onto the shoes and voila! a whole new shoes at only RM105.90. other brands would cost no less than RM150. was i satisfied? definitely. am i happy with my purchase? of course! was it still within my budget? i could get another shoes with the balance of my budget!

so i guess it pays to go on a massive hunt. but of course you must have the time to shop around. it also pays to blog-hop to get ideas from bloggers and from the internet. D-I-Y and you can save a lot! unfortunately i did not take a pic of me wearing those shoes. but they are pretty, yes?

letter from a princess

NOT!!! i really hate it when i receive these kind of emails. no doubt it went straight to my spam folder though sometimes it went to my inbox. i do check my spam folder because some email(s) may have mistakenly gone into the spam folder. the other day i received an email from some 'businessman' in Taipei. once i received from God-knows-where and today, from a so-called Princess. seriously. i am glad that i know all these are scams. often times we read in the newspapers where many people became victims, especially young and naive people. but then again, there are also reports whereby professionals and graduates became victims. sheesh. it is sad to know that there are still people who fell into the trap. the email reads as follows:-

Dear Friend,

Good day and Compliments,

I am writing this letter in confidence believing that if it is the wish of God for you to help me and my family, God almighty will bless and reward you abundantly and you would never regret this.

I am a female student from University of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou [i thought it's a made-up country name but it does exist] I am 23 yrs old. I'd like any person who can be caring, loving and home oriented. I will love to have a long-term relationship with you and to know more about you. I would like to build up a solid foundation with you in time coming if you can be able to help me in this transaction.

Well, my father died and left me and my junior brother behind. He was a king, [pffftttt!!!] which our town citizens titled him over sixteen years before his death. I was a princess [walauweiiiii] to him and I am the only person who can take care of his wealth now because my junior brother is still young and my mother is not literate enough to know my entire father's wealth [riiigghhhhtttt] He left the sum of USD 7, 350, 000.00 dollars (Seven Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand US Dollars) [some may get blinded by the amount of money offered] in the bank.

This money was annually paid into my late fathers account from Shell petroleum Development Company (spdc) and chevron Oil Company [they use big names to make it look real] operating in our locality for the compensation of youth and community development in our jurisdiction. I don't know how and what I will do to invest this money somewhere in abroad, so that my father's kindred will not take over what belongs to my father and our family, which they were planning to do without my present because I am a female as stated by our culture in the town.

Now, I urgently need your humble assistance to move this money from the bank here to your own bank account, that’s why I felt happy when I saw your contact because I strongly believe that by the grace of God, you will help me invest this money wisely. I am ready to pay 20% of the total amount to you if you help us in this transaction and another 10% interest of Annual after Income to you, for handling this transaction for us, which you will strongly have absolute control over. [it couldn't get any better, could it?]

If you can handle this project sincerely and also willing to assist me in lifting this fund, kindly reach me by reply this mail. Please, note that this transaction is 100% risk free [yeah right!] and I hope to commence the transaction as quick as possible, I will send you my identification card as soon as I hear from you [why not now?]

Yours sincerely,

Princess Fustina Karom [see, told ya i got a letter from a princess]

seriously, when will they stop? i hope i will never read about people becoming victims of such scam ever again because it's just plain stupid and ridiculous. every time i read this kind of email, i become so annoyed and upset. grrrrr!!!

*those in red were highlighted by me and those in green are my comments.

re-selling

i am re-selling two items which i bought from Supermodel's Secret.
i have two types of clip-in bangs made of kanekalon fibre, namely:

• straight clip-in bangs in dark brown; and
• slant clip-in bangs in dark brown

the reason i am re-selling the above is because i have recently dyed my hair brown. the colour may not appear light in pictures but under white lighting and under the sun, the colour is very obvious. therefore, since the hair colour is brown, the clip-in bangs look so contrasting when i put them on. even though they are in dark brown, they appear darker and almost black. therefore, instead of letting them waste, i am now re-selling them at a very affordable price of RM12 per piece, not including shipping charges. if you take both pieces, the price will be RM24 with free shipping charges. note that i will bear the shipping charges if you take both pieces.
i have only used them once and rest assured that both are in good and clean condition.

SUMMARY:

• 1 piece=RM12 NOT INCLUSIVE shipping charges
• 2 pieces=RM24 FREE shipping charges

if you are interested, drop me a comment or email me at izyan_darlina@yahoo.com.

raya hair drama

last Sunday, mum and I went to Ampang Point to collect our baju raya and to do our hair. after trying on the baju, there are some alterations that needed to be done so we went to the salon to get our hair done.

this was before they started to do my hair at 1.50p.m. all was well until suddenly we hear a commotion outside the salon. we saw people running around and shouting "api!! api!!" we were like, wth? then the salon owner told us there was fire so we need to get out of the building pronto. we went down the stairs and had to wait outside the building.

luckily we were at the side of the building because a lot of people were staring, pointing and laughing at us. grrr...

but then again, we don't really blame them because i think we were the only ones with our hair half done and with the plastic cover and all. there was another lady at the salon who did rebonding for her hair but her hair was dry at that time. another lady was doing pedicure. so it's not noticeable, unlike us.

heheheh kesian my mummy. she did highlights and she had aluminium foils on her head. plus, she had a towel on her back. of course people noticed, right?

this was how i looked like standing outside the building. at one point, we asked the salon owner if they can tumpang another salon to finish our hair since we weren't sure how long it'll take us to stand outside. the salon owner told us the same thing happened early this year and they were made to wait outside for a good 2 hours or so. at that point, i thought to myself, "there goes my raya hair".

luckily, about 30 minutes later, we can go in the building again. phew~ when we came up, i noticed that most shops were closed. it's amazing how the staffs managed to close the grille and lock their shops in that situation.

weren't we supposed to just drop and leave everything behind in case of fire? but of course, they should know better. better to lock the shops than risk the shops being robbed, right? but whatever it is, safety should always come first.

this was the final product. i merely dyed my hair brown. i did not trim or cut or style my hair as i just had it cut last month so the hair is still short. the colour may not look that obvious in the picture though. trust me, the colour is much lighter in real life.

you know how going to the salon and getting your hair done can really make you feel good and pretty, right? i was feeling just that thus the vain pic. pantang nampak cermin! there are many more vain pics but i don't want you to puke and batal your puasa so i shall leave it at that. LOL.

i don't know how big or how serious the fire was and the extent of the damage but they said that the fire occurred at the food court, which is at the top floor. luckily all is well and life and business resume as usual the rest of the day. it was indeed an exciting experience that i get to share with my mummy. definitely a Ramadhan to remember.

to end this post, i would like to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims around the world Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir & Batin. please forgive me for all my wrongdoings, please forgive me if i have hurt your feelings in one way or another. have a happy Raya with your family and loved ones and may you be blessed always. stay safe wherever you are, have fun eating and don't worry too much about the calories or else you won't be able to enjoy yourself. just eat in moderation, if you can. if not, you can always hit the gym later. ;) life is too short to fret over small things anyway. also, stay safe wherever you are and to those who will be having a very long holiday, i hate to say this but i envy you. tsk~

traffic madness

traffic jam is caused by nothing but these:

stopping in a yellow box.

i don't care if you drive a 3series BMW or a kancil or a motorbike. you are bound by traffic rules, like it or not.

another blatant disregard of the law.

cutting queue is another thing.

if everyone else can queue, why can't you? bukan kau sorang je nak balik rumah berbuka!!!

merdeka project

the initial plan was to go to the hair salon with mum to do some damages to the wallet changes to the hair i.e. colour and/or highlight. however the kitchen has run out of food stock, major food stock. the last time we went to the supermarket was the 3rd day of puasa and today is already the 3rd week so most stuffs have finished. i hope i still have time to do my hair before raya.
anyway, what is raya without raya cookies, right? as much as we know that we don't really eat the cookies, raya is not complete without them. be it store-bought or pre-ordered from friends and the like. i feel like something is missing if i don't have at least one home-made cookies on the table. it may not look as pretty as the store-bought ones, it may not look as fancy and colourful or perfect but it's the satisfaction and the feeling i get when i tell people that i made the cookies myself. it gives me a sense of pride. most people would be more interested to try the home-made ones as compared to the store-bought ones.
my must have cookies come every raya is chocolate chip cookies. it is really easy to make and the ingredients are very minimal. the recipes can be found everywhere on the internet, in newspapers, magazines etc. it's just a matter of trial and error. i do have a recipe that i've tried and tested before but like i said, it's a trial and error process. so this year i decided to try another recipe. there are not that much difference anyway but some recipes seem more reliable than the other.

chocolate chip cookies in the making.

the recipe said to put hazelnuts but there's none in the supermarket so i substituted it with almond nibs instead.

mix 'em all up.

roll them into small balls, about the same size each.

i may not have the most advanced cake mixer or the most hi-tech oven (all along i've been using our more than 10-years old 4-dimension microwave oven) but alhamdulillah so far my cakes and cookies turned out well (except for minor burns here and there due to the uneven heat). i only have two baking trays so i used this stainless steel tray (as in dulang bubuh gelas segala) as the baking tray. it's all about improvising. mind you, a proper non-stick baking tray is not really that cheap. so as long as it can go in the oven, what the heck!

first, i made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my sis & bil in UK. one batch can fill about 1 plastic jar so there's not much left for home. since i am in the mood to bake, i made another batch, from scratch, all over again. i've run out of almond nibs so the second batch was without almond.

the house smells like Famous Amos. alhamdulillah the cookies turned out well. phew~ baking can be unpredictable sometimes. i've packed one jar to be sent to sis & bil. my bil loves my chocolate chip cookies so much that they 'fight' who gets to eat more. knowing that gives me a sense of satisfaction & happiness that i can't describe. you know that your effort is worth it when people appreciate your cookies.
i hope the cookies will reach them on time for raya and i hope it will reach them in good condition.
btw a friend on facebook wanted to order my chocolate chip cookies. i am excited and nervous because i've never sold my cookies to anyone before. how much should i sell them for? what if it didn't turn out well? what if it's not crunchy enough? will it be tasty enough? if you ask me, of course i would say that it tastes better than Famous Amos haha. hey, cut me some slack, will ya? who else to sing praises if not my own self? LOL. ohhhh when am i going to bake the cookies? will i be able to make it by this weekend? oh-oh!

on a different note, SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA MALAYSIA!