:: special iftar sessions ::

Ramadhan is getting closer to the end. Only a day left before celebrating Syawal and many have left for their hometown since two days ago. I am still in the office though. As usual we will be celebrating the first Eid in Seremban and then travel all the way up North on the second day. Before we all start talking about our Hari Raya celebration, I would like to share about special iftar sessions I had this year and they all happened in the last weekend.

The first session was on Saturday and it was an invitation by Cosmoderm for their Duit Raya contest winners, fans and bloggers at Bukit Jalil Golf Club. The theme was green and yellow so I just wore my yellow maxi dress with mint green cardie to match the requirement. The event was simple and I got the chance to mingle around with new people and meeting other Cosmoderm bloggers like elya shazleen, amoi heaxa and lyda rosli. We all brought home goodie bags which include product samples and also sambal jawa goreng. Will share about sambal jawa goreng next time because it taste really good and big thanks to Nana for inviting us to the event. 

lydarosli - me - elyashazlen - amoiheaxa

On the next day was another memorable iftar and it was a session with my besties. Rabby suggested us to buy Hadramawt buffet iftar from Groupon at only RM30 per person and we did considering the price and the fact that we never dine at any arabian restaurant together. Rynn did not join us this year because she already bought the same coupon with her colleagues, so we shall see you in Raya potluck ya?

Anyway, I want to skip telling about our (confusing) journey but still want to highlight why must Yemeni restaurants named their restaurant Hadramawt and in Jalan Ampang itself there are Hadramawt and Wadi Hadramawt! I know it is a place in Yemen but don't they have any other cities or places to be named of? :-/ Ok since I am in a rush now, I also have to skip telling about our bad parking experience at the restaurant and go straight to the food and fun time we had. Overall rating, the food was not so bad but they are incomparable to Saba and Al-Rawsha (but we may come again for the delicious goat cheese samosa).

As usual, one eating place is never enough for us and we later got our dose of coffee / chocolate at Starbucks in Great Eastern Mall. Ady was very happy because he was able to walk around the mall in freedom. He even took away Nor's 'santa bag', took out her gift and due to that we started the gift exchange session. Giving and receiving gifts is so exciting. This year each of us received a shawl from Nor; and face mist as well as lipstick from Fila. Love each of them and thank you so much girls!

What they got from me:

Dorothy Perkins's skinny belt plus a handmade hair clip for Rabby's daughter

The weekend does not stop there. Monday was a special day because it was my beloved husband's birthday and it called for a celebration. We went out in the afternoon and later I surprised him with an iftar at the highest restaurant in KL city, on top of the KL Tower.

I have went to KL Tower many times for work and events but never with hubby so it was a memorable moment for our small family. The food was scrumptious and the ambience was very relaxing. Ady really enjoyed the food and he was the first one to start and last eating. We think Ady loves buffet because he could taste different kind of food. After eating we then went to KLCC and brought home 5 new tops for Ady. 

So that's it. I have to rush home to pack and prepare because we are going back to Seremban tonight. Let us cherish our last days of Ramadhan and with His blessing, hopefully able to meet the next Ramadhan. Insyaallah.

Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri dan Maaf Zahir Batin to all. 

:: happy birthday papa! ::

Dear Hubby,

If there is a poem to describe my feeling towards you right now, it is no other than lyrics of this song:

Cinta Bersatu

"Di matamu ku berharga
Kau perlakukan aku
Lebih dari mencintai dirimu

Di dekatmu ku merasa
Bahagianya aku
Dapat ruang cintamu

Hanya kamu saja
Yang mampu begitu
Tulus
Mengerti aku

Kau sempurna bagiku
Tak kurang sesuatu
Kau terima apa adaku"
Ku sempurna bagimu
Tak kurang sesuatu
Cinta bersatu

Gayamu
Sifatmu
Cara mencintaiku
Yang membuatku diriku jatuh cinta padamu

Happy Birthday Bee!

Wishing you years full of happiness, great health and success. Love you till the end.

xoxo,

Wifey

:: h&m malaysia opening soon ::

This picture worth a thousand words:

That is no other than David Beckham and he is wearing David Beckham Bodywear for H&M, which you can easily get when the first H&M store opens in Malaysia soon. (By the way, that is one decent photo of him instead of the ones in undies O_o ).

Yes fashionistas, save your $$$ from now because the reknown Sweedish retailer will opens its first flagship store in Lot 10 Kuala Lumpur this coming 22 September 2012.

H&M is known for offering fashion and quality at the best price. When I was in UK last time, I considered their price moderate due to currency conversion but when I visited H&M Malaysia, I was surprised to find they have uploaded their collection together with price tags and they are really affordable! Now they are making me really excited to que in front of the store on the opening date...haha.

By the way, H&M is not only for ladies but also for men as well as kids; and the designs are trendy too. I personally find their designs in similar range as Mango, Zara and Dorothy Perkins but better in terms of price. So far I have been limiting myself to set my eyes on items less than RM100 a piece and I am drooling over these colourful babies:

Really want to have them in my shopping bag but I really have to start saving more fund because there are nice ones waiting for my lil Ady too...

Collared bodysuit, cardie with elbow patch and colourful chinos - what's not to lurve?

One thing I like about H&M site is the fact that it does not only show what is available in the store but also a platform for us to refer on latest trends, quick tips and others. Just have a visit and experience it in your own way or follow them on twitter @hmmalaysia for any news.

I know the brand will be massive in Malaysia, just like other giant retailers and looking at how 'crazy' Malaysians are these days (judgement after looking at pictures of long queues for free scoop of Baskin Robbins yesterday) I can anticipate how the opening day would be. 

Welcome to Malaysia, H&M~!  

:: duit raya winners ::

I was busy since yesterday so this is going to be a quick one. Just got list of duit raya winners for Pertandingan Rebut Duit Raya Cosmoderm so BIG CONGRATS goes to:

Grand Prize Winner:

Nornazzatul Azreen bte Zolkhifli

(RM1000 and shawl worth RM45 from www.elyashazleen.com)

 

First Runner Up Winner:

Rokiah bte Mohd Kassim  

(RM700 and shawl worth RM45 from www.elyashazleen.com)

 

Second Runner Up Winner:

Ariesya Nadhira bte Roslane  

(RM500 and shawl worth RM45 from www.elyashazleen.com)

Big round of applause also goes to the consolation prize winners:

1. Ainil Syamin bte Adnan
2. Nur Izzati Minal
3. Nurin Jazlina
4. Nurul ‘Aisha Samjis
5. Nurunnadia bte Abdullah
6. Rafidah bte Rosman
7. Siti Maryam bte Zakaria
8. Suhaila bte Ahmad
9. Tengku Murniza bte Tengku Omar
10. Rizal bin Ahmad

(Cosmoderm products worth of RM100 and RM25 shawl from www.elyashazleen.com)

Lucky them!

Anyway, here is another interesting offer from Cosmoderm for you to enjoy and participate.

Let's join their beauty clinic, ladies. Just click the banner for more info :-)

:: perfect sunscreen winner ::

First and foremost thanks to all you lovelies who have participated in the Ramadhan giveaway. The contest ended last night so let me just announce the winner straight away. I don't want to procrastinate because if possible I want the item to reach the winner before Hari Raya so she could wear it on the special day.

First, here is the list of people who have participated according to time and date comments were posted:

1. naquiyahamalin@yahoo.com
2. jaja_sweet1990@yahoo.com
3. zandria.alisa@yahoo.com
4. nadirah.aqilah@yahoo.com
5. Rar_smkps@yahoo.com
6. chenta_planetz@yahoo.com
7. ieka.arif93@yahoo.com
8. yekti.nyfandi@gmail.com
9. yazrou_menanam@yahoo.com
10. ana_khaidhir@yahoo.com

I have informed that the winner will be selected randomly and therefore I shall ask my virtual assistance - the Random Number Generator to select the lucky winner. I shall do it once and paste the print screen here. No worries ya, I won't cheat (lagipun menipu kan berdosa :-D) so here goes...

*bismillahirahmanirrahim*

...and the winner is...

Congratulations Leesa! (zandria.alisa@yahoo.com)

Once again, thank you to all readers for your support. Insyaallah, I'm planning to have another giveaway next month so please watch this space ya.   

:: peter pan collar necklace ::

I like collecting and wearing accessories but the pretty ones always come with hefty price tags. Maybe other people would not see it expensive though but to me, spending more than RM30 for a piece of necklace is already considered as a splurge. One thing about fashion accessory is you could not wear it too often. Most of the time we have to match it with our outfits or ocassions and that is one reason why I don't like spending so much on a piece of 'art' that stays in the wardrobe longer than be seen. Let also not forget about the trends that come and go. From retro to rock chic to tribal to you-name-it-all... haiyaa how to cope and that is one HUGE reason why I like making DIY accessories.

We have seen peter pan collar during childhood especially on gowns and cotton smocking dresses. They are cute aren't they and I am glad that the adults can also wear them too nowadays in a form of necklace. I personally think peter pan collar reflects femininity and able to transform an outfit from boring to something. It is easier when it comes in a form of necklace because we can just match and wow any suitable outfit that we want to. I have to admit that peter pan collar necklace is among the easiest handmade necklace I have done so far and I am sharing my experience with you here.

Thanks to the internet and also creative individuals out there, finding a peter pan collar template is OSE aka. Oh So Easy. Got a template from kristyneale.typepad (thanks for sharing!) as a start and printed two shapes on an A4 paper. The shapes were cut accordingly and attached to felt cloth with needles. The next process was easy because I just need to cut the felt according to the shapes and the latter step was decorating it. The shapes were then attached with ribbons and ta-daa.....

...introducing...

 my pinky pearly peter pan collar necklace

Pink + Pearls = Perfect Pair

The entire process could be done in an hour actually but for a mother-with-a-toddler like me, it took me longer because I could only stick the pearls during leisure time. Started the night earlier and managed to complete it just after sahur yesterday. I was happy so I did not wait long and immediately wore it to the office.

All pink.....

  

...with pinky, pearly & glittery Diva bracelets plus charm bracelet watch from Guess.

Just like Aerosmith's song - pink is definitely my obsession.

*keywords: DIY peter pan necklace, how to make peter pan collar necklace, handmade necklace

:: ramadhan giveaway ::

Last week I have shared about this wonderful product I am currently using, which is the Perfect Sunscreen by Cosmoderm - read what I wrote about it here.

In conjunction with this holy month Ramadhan, I decided to have a small giveaway for my blog readers and at the same time allow those who are interested to win a bottle of the Perfect Sunscreen worth RM29.90 because sharing is caring.     

There is one new Perfect Sunscreen to be won in Natural Pink tone as above and the rule is very simple. Just Write "I want to win Perfect Sunscreen" in the comment area below with your email address and I shall then select the lucky winner by random. 

Drop your comments now until 11:59 pm Sunday, 5th August 2012.

Good Luck!

p/s: don't forget to participate in Pertandingan Rebut Duit Raya by Cosmoderm to win up to RM1,000 cash - please click here for more details