Have not had any good sleep since I arrived in Seattle a year ago. I'm cursed to sleep like an ancient Chinese peasant. I turn and toss and wake up with backaches whenever I sleep on a soft bed. MoofMoof's bed is what most would call soft and comfortable. However it's not my block of bed. I end up feeling lethargic every day.

To solve that, we both pull out our sleeping bags one night. Slept through the whole night wrapped in warm fleece blankets. Voila, I woke up feeling fresher than ever. Unfortunately, MoofMoof looked like a zombie (one with a terrible backache) the whole day. Obviously, hard and firm is not for him. Thus, we've been sleeping separately for the past 1 week. Me on the floor with my sleeping bag and fleece blanket, him on the bed with our awesome quilt. We are miserable!

Is there a bed out there that is soft on one side and firm on the other? If anyone knows such a bed existed, let me know. Or if you know of any good idea to solve our problem, let me know too.

At least for now, I don't have to wake up feeling like I need to go back to bed in 2 hours.

Decided to try my hands on stage makeup. This is my first one so let me know what you think. Any feedback, good or bad is very much appreciated.



Here are the stuff that I use to achieve the look:

Concealer : Artistry Essentials Concealer (medium)
Foundation : Artistry Essentials Mineral Foundation (medium)
Eyebrow : Darkest colour from Artistry Essentials Colour Quad (medium)
Eyeshadow : BH Cosmetics 120 colour palatte (4 colours - shimmering yellow gold, shimmering bright orange, blood red & shimmering white)
Eyeliner : Revlon liquid eyeliner (black)
Mascara : Artistry Total Mascara (black)
Blusher : Esprit pink blusher (can't remember the name) + Maybelline's bronzer in medium
Lip Liner : Artistry Lip Define (nuance)
Lip Colour : Artistry Iconic Elegance Trend Colour Collection - Inspired (dark berry)

My friend just sent me this link to a report from CNN of a woman who has 22 husbands and possibly a 23rd if No.22 decides to leave O.o RAWR!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/15/malaysia.old.bride/index.html?iref=hpmostpop

Went shopping yesterday with my little sister to cheer her up and to exchange a broken necklace. We walked pass a kid whom I assume is about 13-14 years old. Guess he's just weird or his hormone is running wild. He looked at us funny and said "Hi there!". I looked back and give him a 5 second look, MEAN one. He got scared and we continue walking.

Today, as I was walking out of the house with my little sister, again a kid in a passing school bus shouted, "Hey babe. Wassup? Do you like that?". Because he's such a little kid, my little sister started cracking up. I thought it was funny and laughed too but I also flicked at him. Muahahaha...yes, I'm mean like that, especially to perveted little boys. I think they deserve it because don't try to hit on me when your DICK aren't even fully grown yet. Mess with girls your own age RAWR!

Finally received the Artistry Essentials Makeup Kit in medium that I redeemed from my Ribbon Choices Gift Card. It came in a brown box, carefully wrapped in multiple air pillow bags. I tried the kit immediately and I've been wearing it for almost the whole day now :D

The box that it came in

An instruction book on basic makeup techniques

A makeup bag to store the makeup kit


Concealer : The smooth texture allows for a smooth application. Does not look flaky even after hours of having it on. This has to be my current absolute favourite concealer. I even use it as my eye primer.

Foundation : This self-adjusting 100% mineral foundation is very fine and light and it creates a sheer, natural finish. Self-adjusting means you can wear it from light to full coverage depending on your application method. I will blog about the 5 different application methods on another post.

Colour quad : The colour quad comes with 3 eye colour (light, medium, dark) and 1 blusher. Gotta love this quad! Texture-wise they are very fine, smooth, glide & blend very well. Thus no excess colour dropping under my eyes (very important!). Eye colours are not shimmery but they have a little shine to them and they complement my skin tone very well. Blusher is a little bit more shiny than the eye colour to give your cheeks that healthy glow. I have to say it's very long lasting. It still looks fresh on my face even after I've been wearing it for the whole day.

Mascara : It's a black mascara and it gives a beautiful even coat for the lashes. However I still prefer my other Artistry Total Mascara (in black) that gives me a smoother application and allows me to customize the length and volume of my lashes (best of all it comes off like a rubber gloves with warm water/eye makeup remover)

Lip gloss : At first glance, I thought the colour is a little too dark but it appears very natural after I put it on. It is very smooth and not overly shimmery. Most importantly it is not scented as I can't stand scented lip gloss because they ruin the flavour of my drinks & food. Similar with any other lip gloss, re-application is necessary from time to time.

Face brush : It is soft but not as soft as my big fluffy face brush by Eco-tools. The bristles feels very similar to a Kabuki brush so it'll be perfect if you want a medium coverage. As for today, I used my big fluffy face brush because I usually go for a light coverage as my everyday look.

Eyeliner brush : The brush is soft but dense enough to provide a smooth & steady application for eyeliner. But for my look today, I used my Sonia Kashuk smudge brush instead (No reason why. Just because I can :p). I will try it out next time and I'll make an update here if I'm not too lazy.

Oooh that's a long haul for a first one. What can I say, I tend to sway to the extreme side. Before I end, here's a before and after picture of me:


Clean, moisturized face

My everyday look using the Artistry Essential Makeup Kit
(if I have the time, I might do a breakdown of this look some time)

Makeup do wonders to a person's look eh?

Ate Jack In The Box and now I feel guilty and I have a sudden craving for dancing. Other than swimming, running and pilates, I used to dance to maintain my weight. Though I'm no master at dancing, I've been doing it since I was 5 from funny chicken dance to bhangra dance to chacha to chinese fan dance to joget to Grease and to weird hip hop routine that we created ourselves, I had a lot of fun doing it.

After I graduated from university, the only times I dance were in the club. Sometimes I wish I'm back in school dancing away with my girls not having to worry about anything at all. Hmm...this calls for an action. My next goal shall be to take up a dancing class but what dance should I pick though? Latin? HipHop? Jazz? Dang it, I wanna learn it all!

Alright, nuff of blabbering! Time to blast some BEP and shake my booty! Uh woo Uh woo!

This post is written for those who has no daily facial regime and is going to have a facial done at a spa or do it at home on their own for the first time. Here are the things you MAY experience from a facial:

Redness
Why? : The exfoliation process removes all dead skin cell revealing new fresh skin.

Sensitivity
Why? : Some skin might be sensitive towards certain contents in the products for example alpha hydroxy acid which is a pretty strong natural agent that your skin might react to. Also some people's skin are sensitive to constant touch and also scrubs which might leave your skin feeling a little sore.

Breakouts
Why? : Improper or inconsistent skin care regime may lead to an increased of clogged pores and even if they remain dormant, excess oil and bacterias are still present. Thus the impurities that are pulled out during the facial might come out in the form of acne. This will continue to happen for a number of following facials until the impurities are completely cleared depending on how badly your pores are clogged.

Those 3 are the major possible post-facial symptoms, so do not panic and do not worry because it is perfectly natural and normal.

Reminder: If you're planning to do a facial to look your best for a big day/night/event/occasion, plan to do your facials 4 or 5 days before the big day to avoid looking like a swollen peach :p

To celebrate the Bulan Puasa or the Ramadhan Month (well I don't actually celebrate it because I'm not muslim but any occasions that has good food is my celebration. Muhibah kan?), I've decided to make Onde-Onde or Buah Melaka which is one of my favourite delicacies sold at the Pasar Ramadhan (Ramadhan Market).

Onde-Onde is a soft, chewy green glutinous rice balls coated with coconut shavings and when you pop it in your mouth, a generous amount of melted palm sugar come oozing out of it. Nyum! It's delicious and MoofMoof gobble down most of it.


Don't you just love looking at the green fuzzy balls? Trust me, you'll love it more in your mouth.

So if you're looking for something different to serve during tea time, this may just be what you're looking for:

Ingredients:

• 250 g Glutinous Rice Flour
• 200 ml Pandan Juice (screwpine leaves) [substitute: 1 teaspoon of essence of coconut mixed with 1 or 2 drops of green food coloring + 200 ml water]
• 150 g Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar), finely chopped [substitute: gula jawa]
• 100 g Grated Coconut [substitute: unsweetened desiccated coconut or dried coconut flakes]
• A Pinch Of Sea Salt

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with Pandan juice and knead lightly to form a smooth dough. Cover the dough and set aside for about 15 minutes.
• Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and steam for about 2 - 3 minutes and let it cool completely.
• Pinch a small piece of dough (about 15 g each) and flatten lightly. Fill the center of the dough with palm sugar. Roll them in your palm to form a smooth ball.
• Cook the glutinous rice balls in the boiling water. When the rice balls float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water.
• Coat the rice balls with grated coconut and serve immediately.

Easy eh? Have fun trying it out!