Best friend (read Hidayah) got married (part 1)

This is a late post. But I feel like writing about this today.

When Hidayah said she is going to get married, I had mixed feeling. Thiru and I felt like it was too fast. She barely knew the guy and yet she decided to live the rest of her life with him. Then came that feeling "oh shit now I have to share my best friend with a guy". But anyhow, she did marry him last week and I had been the bestest of friend (I think, haha) that one could ever asked for. I threw her a bridal shower and was there for the henna night, solemnization and reception. I was with Thiru all the while, we were inseparable.

We had a Kate Spade inspired bridal shower on 3rd Nov 2017. I had so much fun planning for the event. Pinterest was my best buddy. Every idea, every DIY stuff that I did was from Pinterest. I am so glad to have a bunch of good friends here in Ipoh who are so sporting that they go along with my idea every time I planned something. The bridal shower was a success.

We rented a house for 1 night, it was called Little Blue House somewhere in Ipoh near Station 18. We ate a lot, played bridal shower games, took thousands of photos and at night we watched a horror movie. I wanted to watch a chick flick or a romantic comedy but nobody had a soft copy of such movie. Wubany our movie supplier only watches horror movie apparently. Need to soften her a bit. So next time we can watch The Notebook or Music&Lyrics. (I love you Wubany! haha)

The lovely cake was made by Haslinda's friend. So pretty, I love it!

Next in line to get hitched

Kisses for the soon-to-be-bride (at that time)

Most photos were taken using HJ's new phone, Samsung Note 8. That phone really takes good photos. From my amateur point of view, the photos were just as good as using a real camera. I'll show you an example. 

This one :

I think I like the photos from Samsung Note 8 so much because it made me look flawless without having to actually put a filter on them. Which girl doesn't like a flawless photo right. Lol!

I'll blog about Hidayah's wedding next time. Till then, see you my blog. Oh and readers too :)

wanirani's potluck birthday party :)

I love September. It is my birthday month!

As I get older, I love birthday party even more.

Last year I had a surprise picnic birthday party that I wanted badly.

This year, I decided to host my own birthday party. Since it is my #lastbirthdayassingle, I want to have a lot of fun with my girlfriends.

So I rented this place called Sembilan.Eleanor. It is a airbnb but I saw on instagram, people hosted a wedding there and some other events as well.

I invited the girls from work. We each had to bring a dish or be in-charged of something. Hence the name potluck birthday party.

Here are some photos of Sembilan.Eleanor. I love the place. It was nicely decorated, large enough to cater all of us and most importantly clean. The owner of the place is a pleasant person and easy to deal with. He even gave me tips on what and where to eat in Ipoh, not knowing that I am living in Ipoh myself. 

Hidayah was in charged of the decorations. She did an excellent job. She got balloons and banner. We even got to wear party hats. 

For months I have been telling everyone that I want the now-trending pandan gula melaka cake. Yammini got me the cake! Love it! It tasted so good. She ordered the cake from her guy friend who is also a doctor. We were all surprised by his talent in baking. He not only can bake, he does pretty cake decorations as well, you know, like the ones we always see on Instagram. 

Eza brought us bihun goreng.

Aisyah brought teh tarik.

Karo brought the sought-after pasta salad.

Wubany brought KFC. 

Kak Zee brought cheesekut.

Knisa baked her famous brownies and brought them over. 

Jove brought some snacks.

Thiru brought some healthy juice and water. 

Tan HJ brought ice creams. 

Everyone was such a sport. Love you all so much. 

I had a good time. I hope everyone else did too.

Thank you Yammini, Tan HJ, Hidayah, Thiru, Knisa, Kak Zee, Eza, Aisyah, Wubany, Jove, Karo and Maya for spending the evening with me. You all made me very happy :)

Ipoh 7 Bridges Run 2017

My first marathon. Ipoh Bridges Run 2017. 30th July 2017. Took part in the 5km fun run. Enough for a beginner right.

The day started dramatically. I joined the run with Tan hj, Yammini, Thiru and a few others from my department. We gathered at Thiru's house at 7.15am. We planned to have nice light breakfast before the run which we thought would start at 8.30am (it said so on the FB page and on the ticket that we got once we registered).

At 7.24am, our boss Dr Nandhini called me to ask where we were as the run was starting soon but she did not see us around. I thought she was joking. Took some convincing for me to believe that the run was starting in 6 minutes! *&*^%%**&$&

Apparently the organizer updated on their FB page last night that the flag off time for us was at 7.30am. Did they think we are 24/7 on FB. A lot of people did not know about this.

We skipped breakfast and rushed to the venue. We got there 10 minutes after the flag off time. No breakfast, no warming up. Had to park quite far and walked to the starting point.

I am proud to say that my friends and I completed our first marathon (ok fine ,it was a fun run) in 45 minutes. I ran all the way, didn't even stop at the water station ok (writing this with a smug face, haha).

The common pose. I have no idea why people pretend to bite the medal.

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I'm engaged!

First entry for 2017 is on my engagement, because I want to remember  this day for the rest of my life.

This year I have been so into planners and bullet journal that I have neglected this blog. Sorry blog! I'll try to make it up okay.

Anyway, I got engaged on 9th July 2017 (on Ira's birthday).

Introducing my fiancé, Azhar 

Azhar is from Sabah. He came with his family all the way from Tawau. The family came with the intention to merisik but we got engaged at the same setting since it was more convenient as such. So there was no pelamin or hantaran or fancy outfit. And we didn't invite anyone as well, just a few of my uncles and aunties who lived nearby.

A few friends asked me how did I feel after the engagement. Honestly, I didn't feel much difference. But now I can start planning for the wedding. Yeay to that. I love planning events, especially those that involve pretty things. Secretly I already have a wedding binder (oh yeah I berangan a lot LOL)

I am going to share some photos from the engagement. In case I lost my phone or my laptop crashes, I will have the memory saved in this blog.

One photo with my photographer of the day, dear sister Ana

Hopefully everything planned will run smoothly, Amin. 

Doakan kami!

Goodbye 2016

Today is 31.12.2016, the last day of the year.

Time flies so fast, it feels like it was just yesterday I celebrated the new year.

Since today is the last day of 2016, I sat down for a while and reflected on the year. What had I done or achieved and did I achieve my 2016 resolution.

In 2016, I took up hiking and I enjoyed it. It started off with hiking Bukit Klebang, a small hill in Menglembu, Ipoh. Then my buddies, boyfriend and I hiked up Mount Irau, Cameron Highlands. That was the real deal. It was muddy and tough and exhausting but we made it to the peak and down again. I was so proud and happy. I fell in love with the forest and mountain just as I had fall in love with the deep blue sea. After Irau, we hiked up Bukit Jasar in Cameron Highlands. That was such a memorable hike, took us half a day as we got lost. We ended the hike at a tea plantation. The view was breathtaking. Next year we plan to hike Mount Kinabalu.

Look at the beautiful tea plantation in the background

On top of Bukit Jasar

At the peak of Mount Irau

As for my scuba diving journey, I went for my advanced open water course in January along with my dive buddies Hidayah and Thiru. In March we went diving in Tenggol Island. Luck was not on our side as on that day, the sea was very choppy so our boat could not bring us to the famous, world class dive sites. So I am still not satisfied and I plan to dive in Tenggol again some other time. In May I went diving in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Kota Kinabalu with my boyfriend Azhar. That was fun. It felt so safe diving with Azhar. I knew he would take care of me, so I didn't worry much. In September, Hidayah, Thiru and I joined Bubbles of Hope, a diving trip organized by Project Vacation. I had so much fun. I love meeting new people and getting to know people outside medical field. We have a Whatsapp group and it brought us closer. 

Some of the new people I met during Bubbles of Hope

Perfect shot captured by Azhar. Love this photo so much. 

I tried white water rafting and went caving in August 2016 with colleagues from the hospital. White water rafting was fun but caving was not my thing. 

One of my 2016 resolution was to go back home to Mentakab, Pahang more frequent. I am glad I fulfilled the resolution. I made an effort to take leave and go home every 2 to 3 months. I think my parents and my sister Ati like it very much when I came home. It makes me feel more keen to go home more in future. 

My yellow house in the background

Another very interesting thing that I got my hands on this year is coffee. I appreciate coffee a lot more nowadays. I went for a latte art class in Penang with Hidayah recently. Now I wish I have an espresso machine so I can practice at home. Making latte art is difficult! I now have so much respect for baristas and latte art artists. 

Latte art class - steaming milk 

My very own cup of latte with a crooked heart, lol

In January, I listed what I want to be/do and sticked it on my mirror. I believe that by reading it over and over again, I will subconsciously work towards that. Here is my list -

Well, lets see.. 

1. Be humble, be kind -- I can't be judging myself on this right, lol

2. Be patient -- I nailed this definitely. At work, even when housemen and nurses annoyed the crap out of me, I didn't scold them as much as I would have previously

3. Smile a lot - Checked. I smile to strangers. But weirdly I find it hard to smile at the hospital, to hospital staffs especially. They all seem so cold and arrogant. 

4. Read more -- I failed this badly *sigh*

5. Try new things. Travel -- Checked. 

6. Save money -- Checked. This is for travelling and wedding. Going to work on this more next year.

7. Eat healthy, exercise more --  It is very hard to eat healthy. I am renting a room, need to share the kitchen with the landlord but I am not comfortable to do so. In the end, I eat outside almost everyday. As for exercise, I tried to make it as a habit. I love jogging in the park but now since it is rainy season, I don't get to do so. Sometimes I exercise in my room, but it does take a lot of effort to do so (oh boy there I go giving excuses again. LOL)

I'm going to continue doing all this for 2017 and strive harder to achieve them. I want to try something new next year, thinking about joining Pilates class or maybe Yoga. 

I wonder how has 2016 been for other people. I would love to read about it. 

See you again in 2017~~

what is in your travel bag?

2016 almost came to an end. It is December. Oh how time flies.

I travelled quite a lot this year. Mostly to Kota Kinabalu, went there 3 times this year.

January - AOW course in Kota Kinabalu
March - Kuantan for Syazni's wedding and Diving in Tenggol Island
May - Solo trip to Kota Kinabalu
July - Mentakab for a week of hari raya holiday
September - Bubble of Hope in Tioman Island
October - @Butang trip here so we went to Penang, Cameron Highlands and Kuala Lumpur
November - Kota Kinabalu for Corie's (Hidayah's friend) wedding
December - Adan's wedding in Port Dickson and Penang for latte art class

In between those, I went to Penang a few times but I can't really remember the date. I also travelled back to my home town in Mentakab, Pahang every now and then.

One thing I learn from all those travelling is that it is very convenient to have a handbag/a small tote/backpack that I can carry around daily that contains all my essentials. Currently I am in love with sling bags and backpacks so I use that most of the time.

This is my favorite bag at the moment, small anello sling back in wine red. Despite the small size, I can actually put a lot of things inside. It also has a small handle and the long strap is detachable. 

The photos of my bag with the cats were taken during my recent trip to Kota Kinabalu. I visited a cat cafe "The Purrfect Place" in Inanam. For some reason that I couldn't figure out, the cats loved my bag.

I often wonder what people carry around in their bag when they go travel. I read a lot of blogs to find out and to get some ideas that may be useful for me. 

So here are the things in my carry-around-everyday bag : 

1. Small purse - Perfect for my small sling bag

2. Hand sanitizer - An australian brand. organic hand sanitizer that smells good and not drying for the skin

3. Young essential peppermint essential oil - Good for headache, neck pain, nausea, dizziness

4. Sephora mineral powder in compact - Light coverage. I use it for touch up also

5. Lipstick - This one is from Etude House, a korean brand. I like the packaging because it is pink and cute

6. Pocket tissue

7. Wet wipes - Very useful for wiping hands, table top, a dirty bench ect

8. Earphones - Long flight or bus trip gets pretty boring and sometimes they are rude people who talk loudly as if they own the place. So i stuff this earphones on and entertain myself with music

9. Pen - Always handy to have one. Sometimes I need to fill up a form/card prior to custom check at an airport 

10. Handphone - This is the most important thing in my bag (after my purse). Everything is in here - flights booking, tickets, hotel reservation number, important contact number, trip itinerary and everything else that will get me crippled without them. This is also my source of entertainment

11. Hand lotion - I have very dry hands maybe because I wash/sanitise them frequently. So this one from Watson, mango and papaya hand cream smells great and moisturise well.

12. Sunglasses - Malaysia is a hot country and the sun shines brightly everyday, this is a must

13. Power bank and charging cable - I keep my cable in an old sunglasses casing to prevent it from bending or get tangled up in the bag

Now it is rainy season in Malaysia, so I have included a small folded umbrella into my bag as well. 

What do you all carry around when you go travel? I would love to know.