Unexpected

Unexpected death takes you by surprise and makes you rethink everything.Of course it makes you sad and teared up as well.My aunt,passed away on the 26th December,coincidentally,it was my brother's Syafiq's birthday as well.She passed away around 5 am in the morning.It was very unexpected.

She's my mum's eldest sister whom I call mak chak.She went on my family vacation to Cameron Highlands back in April and I always remember that great time we had.Sometimes it's weird but at times,during the 3 day tahlil we had at her house,I feel like she's still around and I can hear her voice but I know it was just nostalgia on my behalf.

It made think about my life.How I should be thankful and grateful of it.Appreciate the people around me more.Get rid of petty things,always make amends and many more.Life is too short.There's so many things I want to do with it.I don't want to waste it away because you never know when it might be your last day.

Below is a picture of a sunflower which I took from my aunt's garden.She love to garden and sunflowers is one of her favorite flower.So now whenever I look at it,I'll remember her.:)

Gossip Girl finale--the end!*Contain spoilers*

Shotgun wedding!

Finally the series has ended.I watched the final episode last night.The series based on the book written by Cecily Von Ziegesar back when I was 15 years old--10 years ago.It would have gone a totally different direction for Blair and Chuck if the series stayed true to the books because Chuck is gay in it haha.

As seasons go by,the reason we stayed glued to the series even after the storyline became boring and so soap opera drama-ish,is because of Blair and Chuck,the friendship between Blair and Serena(fight,friends again,fight,backstab,friends again) and of course for us girls,the beauty looks and the beautiful style--gorgeous clothes,shoes and bags.

The various celebrity and fashion cameos from a true Upper East Side girl--Tinsley Mortimer,to Vera Wang,to Alexa Chung,Lady Gaga,Tim Gunn,Rachel Zoe,Cynthia Rowley,Lou Doillon,Ivanka Trump and her husband,GEORGINA CHAPMAN(capital letters because of Marchesa),Tory Burch and many more.

So,how was the last episode ever of Gossip Girl?For those of you who thought that the ending would be tragic don't worry..finally there's a happy ending after so many dramas.Especially for 'Chair'(chuck+blair)' fans..you won't be disappointed.

Chuck and his mini-me :)

We also found out who's Gossip Girl.Was it shocking?Not really.But then I feel like re-watching all seasons from 1-6 to see the loopholes in it,like how did I miss it?It makes sense because the Gossip 'Girl' is the most observant of the whole cast and is a great writer.

It's a bit bittersweet,because you just want the show to be over because the plot has been getting more ridiculous and they're running out of elaborate stories and you're like..,please for goodness sake let Blair and Chuck end up together.BUT on the other hand,Gossip Girl, like the creator said,is a homage to New York after Sex and The City ended and because the filming was done there and the fashion is just so major...so you'll be missing that.

There was a lot cameo appearances in the final episode--Rachel Bilson and Willa Holland(both The O.C alum which was created also by Josh Schwartz),Kirsten Bell(the voice of Gossip Girl),Katie Cassidy,Jessica Szhor and Mayor Bloomberg(he created 'Gossip Girl day',Jan 26th last year).Jenny and Eric came back for the finale as well.:)

Oh,was it just me or does Uncle Jack Bass looks a bit like a zombie with the way he walks and how gaunt he is now.And yes,Jenny looks like a ghost to me.hahaha

Since I think by now the internet is swarming already with who GG really is..I'll just say this and I'm sure those of you who've been watching GG will know who--Lonely Boy.I like the revelation of who Gossip Girl was because it makes sense,he wrote himself into the Upper East Side.:)

On a girly note,of course I love the beauty looks and the fashion in the finale.Makeup looks that I loved:Blair's lilac eyeshadow at the start of the episode and then her bronze eyeshadow for the wedding.

Beautiful

Her beautiful Elie Saab's wedding dress and her earrings and headband as well.Loved how Chuck's bowtie and tux lapel matches her dress.I wasn't loving Serena's huge wedding dress because it was too shiny gold.

Wedding dress:Elie Saab on Blair
and Georges Chakra on Serena

The dress Blair wore for Serena's wedding was pretty as well.But let's be honest,that was Serena's wedding and it was 5 seasons in planning and why did they decided to do it in Blair & Chuck's house?haha

She looks pretty even in this color.Love the details though.

My next post will be on the various styles I loved on Gossip Girl throughout all of the seasons.Though I've gotta be honest,some of the pictures were hard to find..:(

Review:The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

The boyfriend have been waiting to watch the movie for a long time.He actually read the book years back.But I didn't so I didn't really know what it was about.I am a fan of LOTR and have watched the trilogy and read the books,and even practice how to write in elvish language hahahaha Yes,I'm a nerd :D

Razin have been showing me the production videos of The Hobbit,the sets,the people behind it and everything else.Basically Peter Jackson and his crew have created sort of like their own state in New Zealand to produce The Hobbit trilogy.Apparently this movie took 3 or was it 8 years to make?Actually Razin said the book can be sum up in one movie but I guess for profitable reasons,they split it into three parts.

When the movie came out,the boyfriend was frantically clicking on TGV's website because he wanted to watch it in IMAX 3D(which is recommended for this movie,see the poster).But it took TGV I think a day or 2 to release the IMAX 3D tickets to be bought online.

He basically checked every few minutes and when he was busy,I checked it for him and lo and behold,when the IMAX 3D tickets was available,I called him up and he snap up 6 tickets!I went to watch the movie with him,his sisters,dad and brother in law yesterday.

So how was it?I have to say that I loved it and I actually want to watch it again.:p

Having watched all of LOTR movies at the cinema,watching The Hobbit in IMAX 3D was great.I wasn't dizzy at all and some of the scenes looked like they came alive.During some of the pivotal scenes that were a bit nerve wrecking,it seemed so realistic that I was reacting to it by moving from left to right hahahaha

The action scene in this movie was,as the boyfriend put it,more than what was shown in LOTR.The part woth the head rolling down was a bit squirmish.I love the friendship between all of the dwarves and also how Bilbo had to come out of his comfort zone and go on an adventure.Basically this movie is about the 13 dwarves,going on an adventure with Gandalf and Bilbo to reclaim their home--The Lonely Mountain/Erebor from Smaug the dragon.

The soundtrack is just fantastic.I love the song sung by the dwarves which is written in the book.That was a sad moment because it was revealed why Thorin(pic above),the leader of the dwarves is a bad ass.There was a few moments in the movie whereby I felt like crying.The boyfriend did as well.haha.This movie is much much less darker than LOTR.Keep in mind that this book has be called a kids book--Razin said this is true.

I won't reveal much but I have to say it was pretty awesome of a movie.Of course there was a few scenes that was probably could be left out and we discussed that maybe they had to stretch the movie out a bit.And yeah,Radagast the Brown is a bit kookie and that growth on the right side of his face was a bit disturbing.And ooh,Gollum scene with Bilbo was great especially the riddles part.He looked so realistic.

Anyway,below is the review by Jeremy Jahn who is awesome because he watch so many movies,even Disney ones or lame ones because he's unbiased and is Razin's favorite reviewer and mine as well.Watch his vid for a more thorough explanation.:)

 

Disclaimer/Penjelasan and then..happy things!

Susah betul kalau orang suka buat kesimpulan sendiri.People like to judge others and make assumptions.I like to read and cook/bake.The recent trip to Big Bad Wolf whereby I bought a few books/cookbooks,have gotten me the comment above.The said person thought I bought a book on wine when in actual fact it's a cookbook containing recipes from various cookbooks,edited by Food&Wine magazine.

If you would have actually googled the title of the book,you would have known that it's not a book about wines.I have never in my entire life,drank alcohol/wine or cook using it.You can call me "bangang" for not covering my head that's fine because I know I'm not.:) Thank you for taking your time,to sift through my blog and pictures and then come up with your witty and insightful comment.

Let's move on to happier things shall we!

Below are three pictures of me and Razin(the boyfriend) with his niece,the ever so cute and precious baby Qarla,to wipe out the negativity that is the comment above :p

This picture above was taken when Razin& I went to his eldest sister's house to visit little Qarla who was down with the flu and bringing the books I bought for her at Big Bad Wolf which her mother asked for.Qarla's nose was runny but she was in such good spirits and she's always a happy baby!:)

The picture above shows how Qarla loves having her picture taken using the front camera of my iPhone 4s.

Went to KL for a little bit of shopping and catching up with Aimi.She bought this bling2 shoes.haha.Our shopping trip was for me to find a new bag and wallet/purse.But instead,I ended up with 2 bags,2 dresses,a chiffon cardigan,a belt and the one I've been waiting to arrive here from the States for months--Revlon Just Bitten!:)

Loving the colours above!A few things from my buys with Aimi :)

I love the bright color of this lipstain and how it looks like crayon.haha

Found out that Bake With Yen headquarters is 15 mins away from my office at Bandar Sunway..been there twice this week to get my baking supplies.:)

One of my favorite baking cookbook is The Hummingbird Bakery which I bought at Kinokuniya.I have tried quite a number of the recipes with success.Recently I baked their double chocolate cookies which had melted chocolate and chocolate chunks in it.Very decadent and delicious!Pictures of the chocolate and cookies are above and below.

I have also been trying my hands on fondant and practicing how to use them because I got an engagement cupcake order.I managed to mix different colors of fondant and achieved the color below.Can't wait to do more things with it.:)

On my next blogpost I'll blog about the movie The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey which I watched on Imax 3D yesterday with the boyfriend and his family members because his dad treated all of us to it.Have a great Sunday!

 

Food porn

As somebody who likes to bake,cook and eat..scratch that,I even loveee watching cooking shows--Top Chef,Masterchef,Iron Chef,Hell's Kitchen..I have them all!I even have an array of cookbooks as well and food related books..haha Occasionally I buy Flavors magazine..sometimes the content is boring though---(see I tend to sidetrack at times -_-),it's a given that I take pictures of food..A LOT!

Below are the pictures of food that I have eaten with my family,boyfriend and friends.Also foods that I have baked/cooked.:) I hope you're not reading this on an empty stomach ;)

Musang King!

I have never tried Musang King durian before though I've heard about it and didn't particularly understood the fuss until I tasted it.My parents bought it 2-3 weeks back.It was so good.The best durian I've tasted.Now I get why it's expensive.Very worth the money.Now,no other durian can compare to it..just like how other guys pale in comparison to my Razin.:P

I love mangosteens

If durian is the King of Fruits then mangosteen is his Queen.I can eat buckets and buckets of mangosteens without getting any stomach pain whatsoever.I just love it!!!

Mama's favorite chocolates

Bought mama her favorite Hawaiian Host chocolates because she's an awesome mum and I got paid a few weeks back hahaha.She's a supreme chocolate lover.This is one of her fave next to Cote D'Or.

So good!

I was intrigued by the packaging of Sun Chips which I saw at my fave supermarket(next to Tesco) Jaya Grocer Warehouse and it looked good!The packaging didn't lie!Even my boyfriend who has super high taste in food,loves it..it was good and healthy as well.:D

Favorite juice at the moment

I saw The Berry Company being shown on Instyle magazine a few months back and was happy that they're finally available here at Jaya Grocer Warehouse.It is so yummy.They're natural fruit juices.I saw them at Cold Storage as well but they were selling these small juice pack for rm3.95 if I wasn't mistaken while Jaya Grocer sold it for only rm2.65!Price comparison is very important :)

Love this app though they spelled roti canai wrongly haha

I'm trying to eat better but sometimes it's hard because I'm one of those people that loves to eat good food.So a few weeks back,I found out about this Meal Snap app whereby you take a picture of the food you're eating and it'll calculate the calories for you.

The app is pretty accurate!It even manage to identify nasi berlauk(refer pic above).It's shocking to see the calories in some foods so it does makes me more aware of what I put into my mouth.

Lunch at Mohd Chan Abdullah

Had lunch with my colleague Winnie at Mohd Chan Abdullah a few days back..Their wantan noodles is very good.And their dimsum too.Though the service is a bit slow and I ate there another time during the weekend with my friend Adela,and the same thing happened again--our drinks came after our food.-_-

 Beehoon sup daging--spicy and gooodddd

My colleagues and I love having lunch at this Malay restaurant in Bandar Sunway,because it has an array of dishes but one day I didn't feel like eating rice so I choose the beef beehoon soup.So good!!Added a dash more of cili padi and it was spicily good.

Half&half for both pizzas

Was craving Domino's for dinner and I was hanging out with the boyfriend so he suggested we ordered half and half on both pizzas--you know the rm28 for 2 regular pizza's coupon?I love that Domino's gives those chili flakes because it's spicy.The pizza on the right is a mix of Classic Chicken and Tuna Temptation(our fave pizza!),the left is a mix of Extravaganza and Pepperoni.

Fave kind of lunch

Give me a plate of rice with fresh veges and a crispy fish and I'm sold.Above is one of my favorite lunch which I rarely say no to.haha

Crispy popiah

I love popiah.If the traditional one,I love Popia S.Ali,a fave of me and my mum for years.Above is Sisters Crispy Popiah which is the modern version and my fave as well.So good!Unfortunately it's not sold in Shah Alam so I only get to eat it once in awhile if I happen to drop by to Sunway Pyramid which is near my office.

XXL crispy chicken and sweet potato plum fries

I've heard about Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks from my friends about a year ago but never had the chance to taste the food.But last Tuesday I managed to do so when I was out with Aimi,since it was a public holiday for those who was working in Selangor.I love it!

The XXL crispy chicken stayed true to its name because the portion was huge.Couldn't finish it and tapau it for the boyfriend since I'll be visiting him after.I love the sweet potato plum fries..very crispy and addictive

Sushi King and durian ice cream

Had lunch with colleagues at Sushi King one day and they were surprised that the green tea was free.Because they are used eating at sushi places whereby you have to pay for the green tea.haha.Had durian ice cream which my colleague Winnie recommended.It was good!Smooth and thick.yummmmm

Baked/Cooked

If you see at the top left of this blog,is the link for my baking blog.And orders has been trickling in.

Made thick chocolate ganache--cream+dark chocolate=decadence

Whenever I bake cakes,there'll be some batter leftover so I'll make mini cupcakes for the family.Made a new batch of ganache because I ran out of it frosting a cake order.My mum loves a cake that is frosted.Who doesn't?Okay,maybe there are people who doesn't like that.haha

Chocolate strawberries

Made chocolate strawberries to decorate a chocolate cake that was ordered by my friend.

Chocolate chip cookies!

Baked chocolate chip cookies for my colleagues because they wanted to taste them.Now my boss is ordering them from me.hehe And the directors as well.:D My boyfriend and his 2 brothers commented on how good they tasted.Or as the boyfriend said "This is crazy good(sedap gilaaaa--haha)".Must use the same ingredients again to ensure quality control.

Because I've noticed that sometimes even if you follow a recipe to a T,if you use different brand of ingredients,the result will be different.So,always use the best ingredients you can find.

A lot of the things I've baked recently

Clockwise from right:A super chocolaty chocolate cake order,a big Hokkaido cake which I put butter cream frosting on top which my boyfriend's brother in law ordered,lasagnas ordered by my friend Ain&Ayumi and lastly a red velvet cake with strawberries all over it ordered also by my friend Ain.:)

Hokkaido cupcakes and red velvet cake in the making.

I baked Hokkaido cupcakes for a girl who ordered it from me.Hokkaido cupcakes is very light and fluffy..the fluffiest cake I bake because meringue is folded into the batter.

Breakfast!

Wanted guacamole for breakfast so I made some and ate it with tortillas.The bag that I bought(from previous weekend post) was huge so there's still some leftovers.Had it with soy milk.

Victoria sandwich

I made homemade strawberry jam and used it for a victoria sandwich recipe.I love the cake as it was fluffy and the tart strawberry jam goes perfect well with the buttery cake.Thus,I'm selling it on my baking blog.

Phew..now that's a lot of food pics!:)

Big Bad Wolf 2012

We're here!

Last Saturday I went to Big Bad Wolf with Adela and we had a great time.We arrived there around 4-ish on Saturday.Initially I was a bit apprehensive to go because I heard at night the queue was so long.They opened for 63 hours straight since Friday when they first opened.BUT,to our surprise,it wasn't congested.

We managed to find a parking,though we were a bit lost inside the mall trying to find the connecting bridge to get to the convention center..bwahaha.And paying for the books wasn't a problem as well.There was only 2 people in front of us in the queue.

So many books!

Though each of us carried a tote bag each for the books,it wasn't sufficient.And although they had many empty boxes for customers to carry their books around,it was heavy as we found so many books we wanted.They said there are close to 3 millions books there and I think that's pretty accurate.It took a long time for us to look at all the books..close to 4 hours but I don't think we even managed to see all of it!haha.

Luckily,we found an empty trolley lying around,for customer service purposes.So we put two of our big boxes on it.hahaha.

Happy girls!That's 'our' trolley haha

I went to Big Bad Wolf last year--post HERE and I have to say they did a much better job this year.They venue was convenient,there was massage chairs,it was next to a mall..so we could grab a meal before or after buying books.

Sorting the books

So happy that I found Enid Blyton's!!

I was estatic when I found Enid Blyton's books especially The Faraway Tree series..I still have a few Enid Blyton's books but not the Faraway Tree series.I remembered watching the cartoon version on tv as well.

They sold it in box set for rm40 but I only wanted two of the books as some of the stories weren't as appealing to me,I remembered reading them years back.

Wani and her basket :P

Both me & Adela saw our friends there.haha I met Wani,a friend of my TESL junior Nashrah & also my boyfriend's little sister's friend.She came well prepared with her purple basket!

What I bought..wish I could have bought more.
Musn't be greedy!:P

I managed to sort of adhere to my budget.I spend rm70 on 8 books.What a steal!Though it took a lot of editing on my end.haha I wanted a lot more but truth be told,there are some books I bought from last year's sale that I haven't finish reading yet..I think.hahaha..Also I have a lot of e-books on the iPad(easier to carry around but I still love a real books as well).

I will refrain from going there again..because it'll end on the 23rd of Dec.