Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Incredible Deals on Wheels

We went to Ikea last week. We bought two computer tables, a swivel chair, a study lamp and a few kitchen utensils for our new house... and oh boy, you should have seen how super crammed our sedan was!

The table tops were too big for the boot so we had to put them in the leg area of the back seat. The swivel chair and the kitchen utensils muat-muat saja masuk boot, together with the stroller. I had no choice but to sit in the front seat while my kids sit in the back by themselves. Only a few things and the car was already jam-packed! I could not even recline my seat just a bit because there was no space left.

At times like that, I could only wish how great it would be if we have a car with a bigger boot space and spacious interior. If you're a parent, you know what I mean. Stroller, car seat, baby carrier and diaper bag are all the essential things you have to lug in your car when you have small children no matter when and where you're going. I like how Exora is spacious enough to accommodate all of our stuff during our trip to Janda Baik, a few months ago.




Not only is it spacious and comfortably fits everyone and everything, I think Exora's exterior is pretty stylish too. It's value for money and has efficient petrol consumption. It would make a good family car.




My favorite (and my kids' favorite) feature of all has got to be the built-in DVD player. Traveling long journeys with children is exhausting because they have short attention span and they get bored so easily. Tak payah long journeys, sometimes 30-minute drive pun mula lah meresah, meronta-ronta tak nak duduk diam-diam dalam car seat! But that day when we drove the Exora to Janda Baik, my kids were so well-behaved, watching their favorite DVD and not a single cry during the entire 2-hour journey. It was almost like a miracle!




I don't know if you've heard this, but Proton is currently having Incredible Deals on Wheels promotion where you can enjoy greater festive savings with rebates of up to RM5,000 when you book selected models between 15th November and 31st December 2011 - and Exora is one of them. You can visit your nearest Proton showroom or you can also log on to www.proton-edar.com.my to find out more about the deal. Everybody loves a good deal!

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Monday, November 28, 2011

Give a Galaxy

You know Christmas is around the corner when you see massive sales everywhere - online and offline. Just recently there was Black Friday sale, and then today there's Cyber Monday sale. Bet people are busy getting presents for others and themselves (I managed to grab some awesome deals too during the Black Friday sale!).

Some magazines would come up with a section on something like the perfect Christmas gift ideas. They would list down gifts according to the receiver's interests - the foodie, the fashionista, the techie, the sports fan, etc etc. Even tho I don't celebrate Christmas, I like to read that kind of stuff. It gives me a rough idea of what to give, should I need to give someone a present in the future.

Anyway if you've been racking your brain trying to find a great and practical present for someone special - doesn't matter whether it's for Christmas or birthday or even just-because - may I suggest the Samsung Galaxy S II? Don't be confused with the Galaxy Note tho. The Galaxy S II is the one without the S Pen stylus. The Galaxy Note is... well, the one with the stylus.



Apparently, the Galaxy S II is one of the best-selling and most talked about smartphones in the world! It's powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform and 1.2 GHz dual-core application processor which lets users multitask - browse the Web, reply messages and update their Facebook status at the same time.

One of my favorite features is the video recording. There's a video settings menu where you can set the resolution, white balance, effects, video quality, etc just like a real video camera. I think it's cool that a smartphone can do that! Watch this video of how this guy tries to record a Blockbuster movie using his Galaxy S II.




Watch more videos submitted by Galaxy S II users here.


The Galaxy S II has a 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen size, color gamut and power consumption that gives vibrant displays and excellent viewing experience of your favorite videos, websites and games. It also has a tough exterior and doesn't crash when you drop it. It breaks my heart to watch this video - a drop test between iPhone 4s and Galaxy S II, but I have to say, I'm impressed at how tough the Galaxy S II is!




This vivid, fast and slim smartphone is available at RM1,899. It'd be a great gift for that special someone!

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Only from Celcom

Remember the Sloggi Love World campaign that I (and a bunch of other bloggers) went to, a few months back? It was held in the middle of a forest in Hulu Langat. I wanted to tweet what we did and whatnot (I'm a Twitterholic ;p) but there was no coverage so I had to forget about it. Others were probably facing the same thing too - or so I thought.

But then Ceera took out her phone, snapped a picture of us and then twitpic-ed it on Twitter.
I was like, "Eh, tengah hutan pun dapat coverage ke? You guna line apa??".



She told me she's using Celcom. Terkagum sekejap!

I guess it's true then - Celcom has the widest network coverage anywhere in Malaysia. Indoor, outdoor, on-the-move, dalam hutan dan mungkin juga dalam air. We wanted to switch to Celcom previously but we didn't. We couldn't, because of our contract. Lepas ni kalau nak tukar phone baru, marilah switch to Celcom sekali, wahai suami. Dalam hutan pun dapat coverage!

Speaking of new phone, Celcom had just launched the new Samsung Galaxy Note earlier this month. I've blogged about the cool features and specifications previously, so I'm gonna spare you the details (you can read them here and here) but basically, it gives you the portability of a smartphone and the high performance of a tablet. You can have the best of everything in one nifty gadget!


It's great for anyone who is always on-the-go and can't live without their gadgets because you don't need to lug around your laptop, tablet, phone, camera, MP3 player, etc when you have the Samsung Galaxy Note. Heck, you don't even need to carry a notepad because it lets you take notes easily and conveniently with the S Pen stylus, just like a regular notepad!

The Samsung Galaxy Note is only available for Celcom customers, from as low as RM1,368 with Celcom Exec (retail price is RM2,299 by the way). Refer to this table for the package options:



Not only does Celcom has the widest network coverage, it also offers the best network quality and gives you the richest web and video streaming experience with its stable connection. Apalah guna kalau phone canggih-manggih tapi network macam hampeh kan? I feel like switching to Celcom right away!

Anyway, to find out more about the Samsung Galaxy Note packages with Celcom, you can visit the website at http://www.celcom.com.my/smartphones.

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Car Pool

It was Monday, 5 pm.

My kids refused to nap so I decided to take them for a splash in the pool.

I took out the car pool from the playroom and put it outside, filled it with water and balls. Ayra saw it and said, "Sweeeeeeeminggg sweeeeeemingggg!" while jumping up and down with joy.

You see, the other day when we were shopping at Sunway Pyramid, Ayra saw this Sunway Lagoon water park ad and she wanted to go there. Of course we didn't take her there so she began to scream and cry and lie down on the floor, tunjuk perasaan. Pengsan!

Good thing we have this car pool at home (she didn't know it was a pool; she thought it was just a big toy car).

Here are some pics of them having fun splish splashing in the pool.












Later I had trouble getting them out of the pool. Apparently, 1 hour is not enough!

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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Birthday, FV!

Went to FashionValet's 1st anniversary event with my sister and her boyfriend last week.



I almost couldn't make it because it was on a weekday night and my husband was stuck in a massive jam for almost 3 hours (sucks when you can't drive) anddd I had a bad allergic reaction (ok fine, it was just minor but it was still ugly).

But anyway, I made it!



There were...

this fab cake


cupcakes, tartlets and other yummy hors d'oeuvres


beautiful people

fashion show


dress up game


DJ Ben & Phat Fabes as the emcees


....and they also collaborated with Miss Universe Malaysia!


With the lovely Vivy (man, I'm so fat >_<)


It was a pretty cool event and I enjoyed myself. A nice break from my kids! haha.



Anyway, congratulations to the FV team for the lovely event!

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Monday, November 21, 2011

MasterChef Malaysia Online Challenge

When I was little, I love playing masak-masak. My sisters and I would set a stove made of rocks and twigs with our neighbours, and pretended to cook meals. We cooked fish made of hibiscus flowers, twig pasta, soup by mixing sand and water with stones as chicken, leaves and grass as veggies and whatever we could find in our garden. You name it, we've probably cooked it!

Sometimes I even pretended to have my own cooking show and went all "Yer puan-puan, masukkan bahan ini ke dalam periuk" ala-ala Chef Wan gitu. LOL. Childhood memories! :)

Now that I'm all grown up and have my own kitchen, I enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes once in a while (and share them in my blog. Tee hee)! And I LOVE watching cooking shows. I really do. Watching people who are far more experienced than me cooking awesome dishes just inspires me. I think I started to be more interested in cooking and trying new recipes, even food plating, after watching Masterchef. It was one of my favorite cooking shows (and I was so happy when my favorite contestant of Season 1, Whitney Miller, won the competition)!

I also love watching Junior Masterchef. Man, those kids sure know how to cook! They put my cooking to shame. I was really blown away seeing 9 year olds, 10 year olds cook gourmet food. Like, seriously? I only knew how to sapu roti dengan butter and kaya when I was 9! I cannot imagine how very skillful they will be when they're older.

And now there's Masterchef Malaysia. It's pretty much the same like other Masterchef shows - there are mystery box challenge, pressure test, celebrity test challenge, off-site team challenge, etc. I think the show is not bad even tho some of the judges are a bit too serious, IMHO. Despite the "issue" with Chef Riz, he's actually my favorite judge. And he reminded me of my brother-in-law; my husband's brother. Serius sebijik (except my brother-in-law has longer hair and doesn't know how to cook ;p).


Masterchef Malaysia contestants


It's interesting to see that the contestants came from different backgrounds - student, lawyer, housewife, fashion designer, personal trainer, even rubber tapper! Can you believe a rubber tapper could actually cook this Pasta Ayam Gril dengan Krim Mushroom? I was impressed! Even the judges were, too.




My favorite contestants are Zahin and Felix - at least for now la. Felix's Ikan Merah Panggang dengan Guacamole Cili, Nenas dan Limau that he cooked in Ujian Cipta Rasa in episode 3 looks yummy! In fact, most of the contestants' dishes are impressive. Not bad at all. But I wish to see they make more desserts tho. Gourmet desserts or any dessert yang "wow".

Anyway, if you've watched the show, you might wanna join Masterchef Malaysia Online Challenge on Masterchef Malaysia Facebook, which has just started recently.




And the challenge is... playing a game! You just need to memorize the ingredients for a certain recipe and grab them in the kitchen before the time runs out.



It's like playing Veggie Samurai with the ingredients thrown out in the screen, except you only need to click on the right ingredients instead of slicing them. It's quite fun actually!



The best part is, you could actually win cool prizes like iPad, Panasonic IH Cooker, Microwave, iPod Nano Touch, some cash, just to name a few (there's also weekly prizes)! This contest runs from 19th November till 21st December 2011. Go to https://apps.facebook.com/masterchefmy/ to take up the challenge!

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

You Won't Believe Your Eyes

A few days ago, I woke up with a rash on my left under-eye. It was hideous.
Dari jauh, I looked like I have a severe dark-reddish circle - like someone just punched me in the eye.

Dari dekat... Well, it looks like this.




The rash became worse 3 days later, and it started to get itchy and dry. And then my right under-eye started to have the rash as well. It was so itchy that I had to scrub it with an exfoliator! I also dabbed on a little Oxy 10 because I didn't know what else to put because it was so itchy! Only then I remembered the balm that I always apply on my kids when they have cuts, rashes, burns, bug bites, etc. I call it the "miracle balm". It's the Angel Baby Bottom Balm and it somehow worked! The itchiness has decreased. But the rashes were still there. I went to see a doctor and was told that it's a minor allergic reaction. Nothing serious but oh well, it's hideous.

The doctor said I have to find out myself what I'm allergic to. I had never been allergic to anything before - food, meds, beauty products, etc - except dust. But this ain't because of dust. (The doctor gave me a med for the rash by the way, altho I was hoping he would give me a cream or something to apply).

I'm pretty sure it's from something that I applied. I've switched to a few new skincare products recently - Soap & Glory eye serum, Sephora scrub and Burt's Bees toner. I don't think it's because of the scrub and toner tho, because I don't apply them around my eye area, so it must be the eye serum. I've tried hundreds of skincare products before and this is the first time I'm allergic to one. It's a lot worse than having a pimple break out (when a product doesn't suit you)!


"You Won't Believe Your Eyes".
I sure don't! Pfft.


How long does an allergic rash usually last anyway? It has been exactly a week now and the rashes are still there but it's not as red as before. Anddd I'm not sure whether it's okay to wear eye cream or not because my under-eyes are so dry and I think I'm starting to get wrinkles!

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Ayra singing B-I-N-G-O






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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Note

My husband is a notepad collector. He has like 20 palm-sized notepads and it seemed like it's still not enough. Pantang pergi bookstore, mesti akan beli satu.

You see, my husband likes to carry around a notepad in his pocket when he's out and about. Sometimes when he's at the mall temankan I shopping or at the restaurant while waiting for our food to arrive or even when he's in the middle of talking/doing something, he would suddenly take out his notepad and jot something down. It's like he suddenly have this idea bubbling up in his head that he needs to write it down no matter what.

He started doing this way before we were even married and I find that so cute! Macam budak sekolah yang rajin. Heheh. I asked him, why don't he just list down his ideas (or whatever it is) in his phone and save it there because it would be easier, but he said it feels different and more satisfying when you actually write it down with a pen. Right.

One time when we were at a restaurant and he left his notepad in the car, he took a piece of tissue that was on the table and wrote down some notes on it! That's how much he needs his notes!

But the thing about writing in notepads or papers is that, you tend to misplace them and it's kinda hard to organize. The pockets of my husband's jeans are filled with folded notes and crumpled papers that looked like rubbish. I cannot imagine what the inside of his handbag would look like if men wear handbags like women do!

This is so like my husband.
He has an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, but he still carries a notepad!


When I heard of Galaxy Note, immediately my mind thought of my husband. For someone who can't live without a notepad, I think the Galaxy Note would be perfect! It comes with a stylus, known as the S Pen and apparently, it is the most advanced pen input technology that features an array of functions including pressure sensitivity, preciseness, speed and more.






It has S-Memo that lets you record all forms of ideas instantly and freely including handwritten text, typed text, drawings, pictures and even voice recordings. It's like writing/drawing on a paper without a paper. How cool is that?




This picture is hand drawn on the Galaxy Note, using the S Pen.
It looks like it's drawn using a real pen, isn't it? Amazing.


There's also S Planner which lets you manage your complicated schedules in an easy and intuitive way. You can write your schedules instead of typing it just like a traditional organizer, but it's way better because existing appointments and whatnot can be easily shifted around using the S Pen.





Here's the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Note:

Network
  • HSPA+ up to 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100
  • 4G LTE
  • EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900

Processor
  • 1.4 GHz Dual Core Processor

Display
  • 5.3" WXGA (1280 x 800) screen
  • HD Super AMOLED













Platform
  • Android 2.3(Gingerbread)

Camera
  • Main(Rear): 8 MP with LED Flash/Front: 2 MP
  • Action Shot, Beauty, Panorama Shot, Smile Shot

Video
  • 1080p Full HD video recording & playback
  • Recording: 1080p@24~30fps/Playback: 1080p@30fps
  • Codec: MPEG4/ H.263/ H.264/ DivX, Xvid, WMV, VC-1

Audio
  • Codec: MP3, AAc, AMR, WMA, WAV, FLAC, OGG
  • Music player with SoundAlive
  • 3.5mm Ear Jack, Stereo FM Radio with RDS

Multi Input
  • Full touch + S Pen (Advanced smart pen)














Connectivity
  • Bluetooth technology v 3.0 + HS
  • USB 2.0 HOST
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct

Sensor
  • Accelerometer, Digital compass, Proximity, Barometer, Light

Memory
  • 16GB Internal memory + microSD (up to 32GB)

Size
  • 146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65 mm, 178g














Battery
  • Standard battery, Li-on 2,500 mAh

The Samsung Galaxy Note is priced at RM2,299 but you can get it at a cheaper price when you purchase with a contract plan from one of the telcos.

I heard the white version will be coming to Malaysia soon! *looks at my husband with hopeful eyes*

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Color-blocked Eyes

You probably know how unadventurous I am when it comes to makeup. Yes, I love playing around with colors and experimenting with different makeup looks, but that's only when I'm at home. I don't dare go out with bold eyeshadows and neon lips that just scream, "Hey people, look at me!".

I'm shy like that. ;p

I usually prefer to wear natural, "safe" colors.
Brown, taupe, chocolate, beige.

But the other day, the day that I wore my black-and-white polka dot Zara top with a splash of lemon - a bright yellow scarf with matching shoes - I braved myself to wear yellow eyeshadow (I got it from Topshop recently, at half the price).



You can't really see my eye makeup in the photo, can you?
Here's a closer look.



Yellow and pink! Who would have thought of wearing those two colors together!
It's the craziest color combo (for eyeshadows) that I have ever worn! A bit messy but I kinda like it. It's like color-blocking. It would be even crazier if I used a brighter shade of pink, like neon pink maybe. Walla.


Anyway here's a list of products that I used on my eyes for this look:



Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Flax
Works like a primer to help intensifies eyeshadow colors. I just dab it a little on my lids using the applicator and blend using my finger. It has a nice pearly effect and you can even wear it alone for a bright, wide-awake eyes.

Topshop Eyeshadow Duo in Oopsy Daisy
I applied the yellow color on my entire eyelid using Too Faced small brush, and then the pink color using Too Faced angled brush to create a subtle 'V' shape on the outer corner of my eyes and also for the crease.

Soap & Glory Arch De Triumph
This pencil has 2 tips - one is highlighter (light pink), another one is brow shaper (taupe). I used the highlighter to highlight my brow bone by drawing 2-3 short lines just underneath my eyebrows and blend it using my finger. Love!

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink
My favorite type of eyeliner. And yes, it lasts all day without smudging! I applied this using Sephora angled eyeliner brush #15.

Maybelline Crayon Liner in Black
I like to use pencil eyeliner for my lower lash line. Apply just halfway along the bottom lash line and smudge using the Sephora angled eyeliner brush for a softer look.

Maybelline Hyper Curl Volum' Express Mascara in Very Black
One of my favorite mascaras by Maybelline. Apply a few coats to get thick, volumized lashes. But since this is a waterproof mascara, I only use it during that time of the month because it is crazy hard to remove it (only with cleansing oil)!




When my husband saw me all yellow and sunshiny, he gave me a surprised look and said, "Whoaa kuningnya!!".

Thank God no one else stopped and stared at me like the way he did!

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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Shila Amzah sang a song for me!

My husband went to Anugerah Skrin with his friends last week (one of his friends' company sponsored the event) and they got a chance to meet and mingle with a few celebs at the after-party.

They met Siti Saleha (God, she's pretty!), Juliana Evans, Neelofa, Scha Al-Yahya, Awal Ashaari, etc etc. My husband said they were all nice and friendly (except for "someone" whose name I shall not reveal here) but the most sporting of all was Shila Amzah! She was just about to have her meal when my husband and his friends approached her and jokingly requested a song. Hubby's friend managed to record a video of her impromptu singing altho the video got cut off at 0:03 (his friend tertekan stop button. Pfft). She was actually saying, "This is for Iza, Ayra, Raina and Muaz".



Sorry for the low quality video. But her voice is just amazing, kan?! Honestly if I just listen to her singing without looking at the video, I would have thought omputih yang nyanyi. I don't know if she would ever read this but thanks Shila! You have such an amazing voice and my husband couln't stop complimenting you ;p And congrats for the AIM award that you won last night!

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Friday, November 11, 2011

It's a phone. It's a tablet. It's Galaxy Note!

I used to have a PDA. It was O2 XDA II, given by my dad for my 21st birthday. It was the coolest gadget I've ever had at that time. One of the things I loved most was that, it came with a stylus. I thought it was cool to jot down notes on a gadget instead of a notepad.

I don't think I have ever seen any smartphone or tablet with stylus nowadays. That is, until I came across Samsung Galaxy Note.



The Galaxy Note is like all-in-one device - it's got smartphone's 24/7 portability, tablet's large display (5.3" HD super AMOLED), note pad's free idea capturing and other mobile device's core benefits like camera and games. It's a pretty neat device and it's created to minimize the need to switch to other devices while on the go.

I must say, the highlight of the Galaxy Note is the stylus, or as Samsung calls it, the S pen. You can easily sketch drawings and write notes in the Digital Memo and the text recognition software recognizes your handwriting to redigitize into regular text format which can save you the trouble of rein-putting!





With 1.4 GHz dual core processor, the Galaxy Note is great for multitasking. You can download a movie, read emails and run apps in the background and yet your phone is still responsive. Awesome!

The size is just nice for reading or watching a video and it is more portable than a tablet. It's so slim and sleek, it could easily fit in your pocket!





I found a few unboxing videos of the Galaxy Note. This one is in English:





And this is the BM version:



There's nothing quite like the thrill of unboxing a new piece of gadget, even if you're not really a gadget freak! You can view more unboxing videos here, here and here too.


The Galaxy Note is now available in Malaysia and it is launching at Pavilion (near Esprit) on the 11th November 2011, which is today! The first 100 buyers will get a Galaxy Note cover with Swarovski crystals so if you love to accessorize your gadget, you might not want to miss this! You can also ask for a complimentary Galaxy Note Leather Flip Cover with your purchase at any Samsung Elite Partner Stores, Celcom and Digi outlets (only for the first 9,999 customers).

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Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Kelab Bunga Dua

....is what my dad calls us! LOL.

Here's why:




These satin rosebud corsages are handmade and it comes in every color of the rainbow. So pretty! It's a great way to accessorize - pin it up on your scarves, cardigans, jackets, dresses or clip it on your hair or even purses!




Of course you don't have to wear 2 corsages at a time. Kelab Bunga Satu pun boleh, like what I wore in the picture below ;p


My sister is currently opening pre-orders for these flower corsages. You can check out her blog at www.shazwanihamid.com for more details and pictures.

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