3.

Hello everyone! Another long awaited update for this blog. Time sure flies! Before I know it, the 3-months of internship has ended, I have another 3 months before I finish my final semester....and it's Esmond and my 3rd year anniversary! Three whole years feels like a great achievement to me, and to repeat that age-old cliché, it certainly did not feel at all like three years! Three minutes, more like XD. 

We went out on the April 11th for a meal and a movie; Rio 2 opened on the same day and coincidentally, we went for the first Rio that same day three years ago. 

I'd heard a lot about Plan B and the atmosphere really drew me in. The food was disappointingly so-so; there wasn't as much variety as I'd wish and the sandwich I ordered seemed to be put together in a slapdash way despite its generous portion. The ambiance was lovely though. It was a fun day full of warm chats and recollections.

To the people who know me, I think they can agree that I'm not the most romantic of persons- I tend to get embarrassingly awkward discussing these things. I will say this: it's been an awesome three years- and it can only get better from here :) .

On a side note, I've been busy working on my final project for the final year exhibition looming just 6 weeks away. Will share some progress soon- right now it's just endless cups of coffee and doodlings. 

Happy Saturday, everyone! 

Wallpaper Wednesdays: Preview!

Wallpaper Wednesdays will continue next week, but I am so hyped up I must share a little peek of it today! Over the week long break, I enrolled on a quick class on Skillshare to learn how to create print-ready patterns out of hand drawn sketches. The class was quick and easy to follow; more on that next week, with the lovely new wallpaper, of course! Happy Wednesday!

Seeing The Sights

Hello all! It's been exactly a month since I returned from Global Classroom- time sure flies. The past weeks had me going on full steam trying to catch up with the rest of them. The month of Global Classroom was certainly stressful, but it had its rewards :) . For one thing, my group won overall best out of the four teams. Secondly, though we (Esmond and I) didn't get to visit all the events we wanted to, we still managed to go to several events for London Design Week. And best of all, we met so many wonderful people during our trip; new friends that made us fall in love with London all the more. Not to mention all the wonderful places we visited and the gorgeous weather! 

During the month, I frequently thought some events organized by the university were a bit of a chore, especially when we need to play the 'waiting' game with all the students who just don't ever come on time. And then there was the whole headache of group work. Still, you win some you lose some. And I had members on the team that did their work exceptionally well and made the job a tad easier. 

I'v learnt a lot from the trip, not just from the Global Classroom activities, but from going places and meeting new people and experiencing new things. Also, it may interest you that I walked more in that 5 weeks than I have in (possibly) half a year. But it was part and parcel of the experience; if someone asked me to do it all over again I would. But maybe with a lighter backpack.

My hiatus is over, folks! More updates coming your way! :)

Let's Go To The Zoo!

 Early this year (during the long long semester break), I took a trip to the Melaka zoo with Esmond! The zoo just recently underwent a change of management (it was privatised after having being a government body), but honestly a lot of work still needs to be done. It was a quiet weekday when we went, and coincidentally the Chief Minister was there as well, due to a rather serious case that happened the day before. 

The zoo is the second largest in Malaysia, after the National Zoo. I found it a bit disappointing, though, because there were far more deer species than any other animal on exhibit. We didn't even see the flamingoes or the tigers D8. We did see a few large iguanas roaming the grounds freely, though. Large enough lizards to make us run screaming when they came too close. Haha. 

Here are some snapshots I took of the other animals! Photostyler is great for jazzing up the otherwise afternoon-sun-harsh-shadows.

Happy Monday! :)

Stupendous Stewy Surprise!

I had a sudden longing for hot, savoury stew the other week, and I finally managed to satisfy my craving on Saturday! It was raining all day too; I couldn't help remembering a line from I Capture The Castle: 'stew is so comforting on a rainy day'. It certainly is, I've tried and I know ;).

I followed a recipe from the every lovely Pioneer Woman, her Sunday Night Stew is so simple and quick! I omitted the turnip and mash due to lack of funds for ingredients, but that cheesy mashed potatoes look and sound fantastic. I shall keep it aside for another night :D.

I would've enjoyed a tad bit more onions in my stew, and a bit less salt. I should probably use a low-sodium broth the next time. Anyway, that's one food craving settled for now. I've also managed to level up my cooking skills! This has been one of my read-and-dive-into attempts, and I am again reminded of the wondrous beginner's luck I have. Haha.

What about everyone else? What's bubbling in your cooking pot? Hope it's flavorful, nourishing comfort food for your heart and soul :).

Bringing Classic Back : It's All In The Stars!

Hello and happy April! I promised to return after the Puma Social Evolution of Suede Party, and here I am! :D. It was a pretty happening event, by the looks of it. But I am not in any way a socialite so I hadn't a single clue of what to do. I think from most of my posts you have probably reached the conclusion that I am nothing but an introverted worm that likes nothing better than staying in the safety of homes, venturing out only when the urge comes. I can't imagine any better phrase to explain myself in the party than 'rusa masuk kampung'. Which, when translated for the benefit of the non-Malaysian readers, literally means 'a deer walking into a village'. For the first time, I'd like to add. Haha. 

Anyway, I went with lovely friends, so that made the experience ever so much sweeter. I'm glad that despite my deer-ness, I am still blessed with lovely friends to flock about with when I do :D. And to be honest, I think I overcame my initial shyness when I saw how my starry-glowwy-shoes were displayed:

Please don't judge me and my photography skills. I'm not making any excuses for myself.

Here is a closer shot:

If you went 'holy-shit-they-spelled-your-name-wrong' first, then, well. That's not the point. Haha. To be absolutely honest, I did not notice the spelling error until much later, which goes to show you how shocked of a grammar nazi they made of me. MY SHOES WERE IN A BOX! A BLACK BOX WITH BLACKLIGHT! To show off all its absolutely amazing glowy glory!!! It was just as well that the thumping bass was so loud over the speakers, as it drowned out my screams. Haha. I didn't win, but I felt so proud and justified that my design at least got to bask in its full potential, instead of mouldering away in a corner. 

I hope I will soon have more photos to share with everyone, but for now you will have to make do with these. I should've brought Deedee, but she'd have been pretty useless, what with the place being so dark. I'd have to bump the ISO up to noisily ridiculous levels. All in all, I had fun, the free flow of alcohol for VIPs went to my head, and I was glad I didn't bolt at the beginning when I got the collywobbles. Haha. Thank you for reading and have a starry, starry night! :D

It's All In The Stars...

So I entered a competition held by Puma recently, and I was selected to be one of the 30 finalists! 

We had to come up with a design based on 'Future' of the Puma Suede. This is all in conjunction with the 45th anniversary of the Puma Suede shoe! 

This is my design right here. It's based on the starry starry sky :)

All the finalists were given a pair of shoes each to work our final design on. My design being pretty simple, I managed to keep the costs (fairly) low by getting some pretty spiffy 3D fabric paint and glow in the dark paint! That was about all I used, really.

It looks a leeeetle bit boring during the day, but come night time and the black light come on...

:D

The fluorescent orange and glow in the dark really went boo! I am pleased with the outcome. I didn't win, though. But ESMOND DID 8D. His was all spiffy with EL lights and shyt. For a guy he did a pretty darn good job sewing for the first time. Hehe. 

Tune in till next time when I eventually post something about the prize-giving ceremony, on April 5th! Have a blinky Toosday night everybody :D.

Sugar Scrub Spa!

Today's morning activity: Lemon sugar body scrub!

Early this year my sister sent me off on a complimentary 2-hour spa treatment. During the first half, the masseuse used a thick salt scrub to clean off the dead pores from my body. It smelled wonderfully of lavender. Since then I've been wanting to do some DIY spa-treatment, minus the costs ;).

There are plenty of lemon scrub recipes all over the internet, but I really just went ahead with it, not really following any particular one. I used 3 tablespoons of olive oil, juice and zest of a lemon, and brown sugar. I lost count on how much sugar exactly, because I simply added to the mixture until I got the thick paste consistency I wanted. The end result is about a half a jar...or three cups? (it looks a bit like 150ml- and I'm bad with measurements). 

I think one of the nicest things ever is the smell of fresh lemon in the morning :). I've yet to try this, but I've read online that lemons are a natural remedy to whiten skin. Let's see if I turn fair and charming after a few scrubs! :D. Long weekend ahead of me, so it's assignments and fun times. Hope it'll be lemony fun for everyone else as well! 

Clippy Clips!

I suppose one must get used to the idea that whatever you've thought of, there is probably something somewhere on the Internetz that shares a similarity with it. This idea of painting clothespins with nail enamel has been featured on many blogs in the past, but in the one fit of boredom that got me doing it, I really thought I'd hit on something very profound. Oh well, the feeling was nice while it lasted :P, and no prizes are given out or anything, so, yeah. Heehee.

Anyway, yes. I was in a fit of boredom before dinner yesterday, and unearthed old bottles of nail enamel and a box of mini clothespins. So of I went and painted a good number of them. I later used some pretty cool lace stickers on some plain ones (pictured up above). Finished the whole lot off with a coat of clear varnish apiece :).

It's been a cold day today, and yet for all the life in me I can't seem to be productive enough. I must strive to make use of the days of pleasure while they last! Hope everyone had a great Sunday!

Flagship From The Past...

Made a pretty string of buntings yesterday! I messed up the first time; the little triangles whizzed about independently on the line. I did it properly the next time, using vintage-ad inspired wrapping paper. I like looking at the companies and recognizing the names, and looking at where they stand now.

It matches the old girls on the postcards very well, albeit they are a bit monochromatic. Maybe I'll do something more fluorescent next time round :). Have a happy Toosday everybody!

Cork Board : Fish scales float my boat!

Ta-daaaa~!!! Check you out my gorjas corky cork boards :D.

I made only one grave mistake (and maybe a few little ones). I should have cut out each row of fish scales, and not just alternate rows. But what the heck, the end result still makes my heart flutter so it doesn't quite matter :P. 

I like fishy scales! Can't you tell? I will never get over my lost love for a certain pair of fishy shoes, never. My heart still bleeds when it's not fluttering over the nice-ness of my cork boards. 

Anyway, a lot of DIY tutorials I've looked at on customizing cork boards (or just painting repetitive patterns in general) called for stencils and/or templates. There aren't fancy things like stencils and/or templates here in Melaka, and anyway I was doing this with whatever I had on hand. So I stole got this fishy scale design from (shh!!) depositphotos. It didn't really matter if it was slightly pixelated or in black and white.

My cork boards were about A4-sized each, so I printed the designs out on normal A4 papers, then arranged them on the cork boards and taped them up. I then proceeded to cut the scales out with my happy knife, then stapled the makeshift stencil onto the boards and taped up the borders. I then mixed a mint green and pink (I wanted a more coral pink, but it turned out more cherry blossom. Still looked pretty though :D) in my cupcake-tin-palette and got straight to painting.

And when it all dried I decided to add one more last touch...

Gold paint! I dithered over stripes and dots, but in the end I decided I didn't want to overdo it and just went for a mock 'distressed' look. This I achieved by simply dabbing a corner of a dry rag and 'wiping' the gold paint onto the painted scales, removing any excess with another rag. I think the result came out just peachy :).

The edges of the boards were a bit flaky, so I painted some gloss varnish over them and it's worked a treat. Mounting it was easy: foam tape attached to the four corners of each, and aligned to the wall. Perfection!

Haven't quite pinned anything nice up, as I am still appreciating the shiny scales. But soon enough only a hint of sherbet and gold will peek from under the inspiration overload, I'm sure. For now I've just pinned up two postcards, bought from my uncle's antique shop. 

Did you notice just how lovely the glitter pushpins look on the board? Make some for yourself- or for a corky friend today!! :D.

Glittery Push Pins~!

I wanted to clean out my cupcake-tin-palette from the glitter animals, when I took one look at the leftover glitter and thought, 'I should use them for something if I'm too lazy to pour it back into the bottles...'. So I did exactly that.

I got a box of large-headed push pins, and slathered them with Modge Podge then spooned glitter liberally over them. I spread newspaper out on the lawn, then poked the pins through the paper before going over them all with clear lacquer spray. Easy, delightful, and perfect for your daily dose of glitter ;). These are going to look perfect on that cork board of mine, pictures of that coming real soon!

Happy Sunday everybody! Tis the last Sunday of January so go crazy! :D

Quirky Corks

madiganmade.com

Been mooching about the internet in search of decor ideas for my bedroom. I don't intend to have many ornaments, because I'm going to be away most of the time in uni and dust settles faster than an upset stomach (whatever that meant). I do want a good framed picture or two, and after some thought, a cork board wouldn't be such a bad idea. And maybe one or two little terrariums...and bookends for some books...and maybe a pinball machine with matching jukebox and retro popcorn maker...

Okay, maybe a few of those ideas are a bit too far fetched. But I was pretty serious about the cork board. I am honestly not at all keen with blu-tacking pictures and notes all over the wall (bad experience in my old place). The classic cork board is functional and can actually be a pretty interesting focal point, as many crafters over the net have proven.

I particularly liked the idea of painting cork boards. Some crafters opted for wrapping the boards in scrapbook paper, but I can't imagine how awful it'll look like after several pokes. 

the happy home blog

Look at this! Talk about cute! It looks like a pretty doable equation: 1 exacto knife + 1 piece of cork board + 1 tube of white acrylic = a very adorable cloud cork board! 

seejanework

 This one is pretty interesting, because it's a rectangular board instead of the usual square. It leaves enough wall space underneath for hanging notes and whatnot. This one is supposed to be a weekly planner. I like the little metal name plaques!

pottery barn kids

Right about now I'm imagining an incredible neon colour that takes one's breath away, but first! A pattern! A design! Tune in to next time folks! Who knows what Joanne's next quirk will be? ;D.

Magical Menagerie~!

I've been itching to do some crafty projects for a long time, but assignments and competitions and moving house kept me away from it all. Now that I've settled down a bit more I finally got the chance to go ga-ga over glitter!

I found this wonderful idea of glittering plastic animals awhile ago, and I knew it'd give my new bedroom a good splash of colour. I would have liked to have elephants and giraffes as well, but for some ungodly reason nobody seems to want to play with toy animals anymore. You know, the plastic-rubbery kind that comes in packets and doesn't include any fancy electronic stuff. Just inanimate objects and wild imagination that kept the children of long ago occupied for hours, batteries not included.

 It took me ages to find the right kind and size, and even these ones were a gift from Esmond. In the packet were curious animals: tapirs, pangolins, anteaters, kiwi birds. Not your everyday wildlife, to say the least. Haha.

Glittering the animals was really fun to do, but glitter has a life and mind of its own. I am glad I did the whole project outdoors, despite the heat and the occasional gusts of wind that scattered the glitter about.  The tutorial mentioned putting the animals on tracing paper, but I knew doing that would be fatal with the wind conditions. Instead, I put the animals into a cupcake tin (which is now my palette) and sprinkled glitter all over them. After they dried, I simply used a measuring spoon (1/4 teaspoon!) and scooped the excess glitter over spots that needed touching up :).

I also did an extra step: going over the painted canvasses with clear gloss varnish. I thought it made it look a bit fancier :D. After the animals were thoroughly covered with their new glitter fur/skin, I gave them a quick spray with clear lacquer, which I found did not take away the magic of the sparkly glitter. 

 Sparkly, whimsical, and so much fun! It certainly added contrast to my bedroom. I plan to add lots more when I find more animals to add to my zoo :D.

By the way, to all who have voted for the Chevrolet Airbrush Competition, thank you very very much! Your support is greatly appreciated :)

Fun . Ride . NOW!

This has been put off for awhile, but now I must appeal to the general readers of this 'ere blog: I need HELP! My friends and I do, really. We've participated in the Chevrolet Sonic Inter-College Airbrush Competition, and we need help in voting for our design!

This is how it looks like on the left...

And this is how it looks like on the right!

The theme given to us was FUN RIDE NOW, and the concept is basically the Chevrolet Sonic driving into a piece of broad, yellow cloth. Cute, funky creatures are just trying to hang on or going all over the place because the car is going so fast ; ).

We really believe we deserve the grand prize, and if you feel the same, please drop by and vote! It's five times a day, all day everyday till the end of next week! That means five clicks for Limkokwing University every day! :)

Click here...


...Or here....


....Or even here!


Thank you for your support! :)

Meant For Each Other

A few months ago, Esmond and I helped a good buddy out by being 'actors' to a short video clip assignment of his. It was a pretty interesting experience! I must say, it felt a bit odd at first, especially when we hit the day off with an argument scene and Esmond and I were far from angry. You can (and will) notice scenes of us with twitching lips, as if we were going to burst out laughing in the next frame.

Meant For Each Other from Abdul Shakir on Vimeo.

The day of the shoot was very nice weather, with a bit of cool showers in the early afternoon and clear evening. There wasn't much of a sunset, though, which was a shame because Shakir (the good buddy, producer, primary cameraman and director) was hoping for brilliant back-lighting. 

Despite all the little hiccups, I think it was enjoyable and the video came out fab! Check it out, and try not to squirm at all the cutesy 'romantic' scenes. I know I did ;) .

Check out the rest of Shakir's videos! He is a man of varied talents, and his animations and timelapse video is particularly interesting! Have a happy Saturday everybody! 

Revenge is Everything

 Dishonored

To all who have not played this game, fear not, there are no spoilers in here. Just generalities you will probably find elsewhere.

Anyway, I don't quite agree on the whole 'Revenge is Everything' motto of the game, but as I progressed through the game I thought, hell, with a life like this anyone would go rambo on revenge. Lol. And, yes. I've played Dishonored! I really only played it because I wanted to see if my tortured, overly-exploited slave of a laptop could withstand the game. It could have probably been a lot prettier, but I'm not a fussy gamer. I've completed games on full-speed lag. What I saw on my screen for Dishonored was considered pretty darn good. Of course, veterans and purists would scream 'hoshit you're killing the game what are you doing stahp look at it staaahp', but if you don't like it, go max out your settings on your badass machines while I totter happily away at mine. Not that there was any lag, but, you get what I mean.

pcgamer

So, Dishonored is basically a game where you play as Corvo Attano, man with greasy hair that you don't really see through most of the game because you're far too busy being him. You've just been framed for murdering the Empress and kidnapping the heir of a rat-plagued, corrupt-filled city, the world is against you, and you are armed with some swanky weapons and mystical powers given to you by some random floating man that just wants to watch the world burn. 

And, as casually as I'd summarized the whole game, it was good gameplay. I've only ever played Skyrim for five minutes. But in that five minutes I hacked at a few guards and ate things and collected things that were not mine. The awesome news is that I could do all that in Dishonored as well, with the even bigger plus that I could go all stealth and climb shyt, like in Assassin's Creed. And I could see through walls, which was like Splinter Cell. If ever you had a wish that you could have the best of all the games mentioned above and you haven't played Dishonored, well, hallelujah :D.

 Dishonored

It was a gloriously dark game, with so much things to do, so many people to kill, and (apparently) so many different paths to choose from. I believe I took the 'Revenge is Everything' motto a twee bit too seriously, because I chose the darkest of everything, and even opted for a 'if it ain't still, I kill' mindset. The result was dark lashing rain and gloomy skies and everything else to make the already emo game a whole lot rattier (pun wholely intended). I shall play the game again, and when I do I will probably do something more Buddha-zen. Lol.

The game was mostly dark, eerie, and, if you have a tendency to maneuver awkwardly like I do (and waltz into rooms without checking them out beforehand), you're probably going to have minor heart attacks every once in awhile. The atmosphere certainly has a way of drawing you into the whole world, and when you leave it you still have an unsettled, haunting feeling about you. Or maybe it's just me and I'm too darn emotional.  

I am not ashamed to say that I played the game on Easy mode. Because there is a first for everything and Dishonored is actually the first first-person game I've ever completed and enjoyed. The hours spent playing Minecraft has done wonders to my nausea-tolerance and motion-sickness! :D. 

Overall. the game was awesome, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I wasn't *too* distracted with it (despite me playing it during the peak of my busy-ness). And it certainly answered my question: my exploited house-elf of a laptop will not entirely fuck up the game so that I will take revenge on all the world.

Assassin's Creed 3, I'm coming for thee. 

Shrimpy September Swallows

 This is one of the rare moments when I can really do nothing but sit, chew, and thank the gods for letting me come into this delicious world.

Today's lunch came straight out of my imagination (and whatever ingredients I happened to have, which isn't much, really). It is a spicy shrimp and bacon pasta! It's very orange, yes, but due to aforementioned circumstances, I don't actually have anything greeny to add in. Hence it is a lovely analogous palette of bright oranges, translucent pinks and blushing coral. And it's deliciously spicy!!!! ^O^. I can't begin to tell you how delicious this is. Perhaps to people who don't like spicy food, this will be something of a rocket bomb to the tongue. Perhaps the reason why I am sniffing right now is a mixture of the dish being oh-so-good and oh-so-spicy.

I didn't use any premade sauce, even though I do have some. But I relied on the salty bacon and juicy tomatoes to provide the liquids. And I helped it a bit by adding Tabasco. Bwahahaha.

I once watched Man Vs. Food and Mike was munching on something meaty and saying 'I don't ever want this mouthful to end'. That pretty much sums up all there is to know about this meal :D.

The bacon provides the right amount of saltiness, and the garlic and onion slivers give the fresh shrimp a lovely boost. You could most definitely make this yourself! It's so easy, and the bacon could be substituted with sausages or chicken ham if you want something halal. But the outcome will definitely be mouth-watering. 

Hope your lunch is as delicious as mine! Cheers to good food everybody! \ ^O^ /

Braidy Bunch

Hello Saturday! It's been pretty dull all day today. It's been dull for ages now, since I've been just holing up in front of the computer for countless weekends now. Can't even remember when I last went down into the city for window shopping. There is that one other reason I want to get down to the city centre, but that's a reason I shall further digress into in another post.

I got so bored I braided my hair over and over all day today. I started in the morning, trying to learn how to do a basic braid (which I managed after trying for half an hour). I continued practicing with little  sections, then one big fat one at the back that didn't quite turn out so well. It's so funny how just early this year I was deliriously happy over having no-fuss, relaxed hair. So easy to maintain! No faffing about with hair irons and pins and hair dryers. But now that my hair's growing out and returning to its wavy locks, the one thing I want to do right now is get the straight bottom to be wavy too so I don't look like a retard. I'm really trying to refrain myself from just attacking the bottom with a pair of scissors.

Though I think it grows a lot faster than most people's, I guess my hair is not quite long enough for the fanstastical hairstyles I see all over the net, even the simple ones. Have to keep waiting but it just feels slower now that I'm watching it and wishing it to grow faster. And what with it being thick, coarse and frizzy, taming my hair is one of my daily strifes. 

Because I don't want to leave this post as a wall of text, and because I don't want to go a-googling for a picture of a pointless potato, here is a picture of my two messy braids. Aren't I adorable? =P.

Happy Saturday night, everybody!

Redeeming Malaysia

Dear family and friends, 

It's that time of the year when we celebrate the birth of a great nation! We may not be blessed with an amazing government, but what we have is a nation teeming with diverse cultures and traditions, and yet in our hearts we are united.

Something is different today, though. Today, a couple of video enthusiasts are battling on the front line of the Canon Legria video competition, desperate to represent their nation, to prove that Malaysia has something to show the design and film industry. 

In one week, this ambitious men have attempted to prove themselves worthy by filming, acting, video-editing and music-composing. This video entry is completely, 100% original. 

Redemption

Do you think they deserve to win? I don't know, you'll have to watch the video and decide for yourself. But I know, I firmly believe that they do deserve to represent Malaysia. These are high words, but you may watch and see for yourself. In fact, go ahead and watch the other videos that are catching up to this one on votes. Go ahead, make a comparison. The answer will be clear to you.

Voting may just be a tad fussy: you have to register your email, and once verified, you have to log in before you can vote. But the entire process takes less than 5 minutes, probably just as much time for you to scroll down your facebook timeline and refresh for updates. 

If you like what you see, please, vote and share to your friends. Do this for glory to Malaysia! Let's all have one more thing to be proud of, for you to proudly declare, 'That is my country, and I am Malaysian!' :D

That said, happy Merdeka and happy Friday everybody :).

Click here to register, log-in and vote!