Everybody meet Olly the maltichon (maltese + bichon frise)!

Olly is the white one

We brought him home last Saturday. We're suppose to have him for a week, then decide if we want to adopt him but we're already so smitten by him, we have decided to keep him for good.

What do we know about him so far:

• He's roughly about 4 years old (I'll know for sure when I get all the papers)
• A sweet little guy with a spunky side to him
• Loves to cuddle and often ask for a belly rub
• He's vulgar to other dogs; will go up to them to play and then startled them by screaming in their face LOL (we secretly thinks he's got Tourette syndrome)
• He's the dog version of Harry Houdini, the great escapologist. He manages to escape the fence that we set up in the laundry room several times. There's also an extra special hook on his crate to secure the door. Thank god he does not escape from the house
• He loves to eat and eats like a glutton. We are training him not to steal our food but otherwise he's very obedient.
• He enjoys his walk and loves playing fetch (gotta to remind myself to get him a non-squeaky ball; he enjoys squeaking the ball too much, he forgot to bring the ball back to me sometimes)
• He only drinks from his water bowl so I'm trying to teach him to share to make things easier when we travel.

I think that's pretty much what we found out about him in these few days of having him around. Looking forward to create more wonderful memories with this ball of joy.

1. 1/2 cup Milo
2. 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels
3. 1/2 cup boiling water/milk (whichever you prefer)
4. 3/4 cup butter cut into large chunks
5. 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
6. 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (recipe called for half but I opt to put only 1/4 cup or no sugar at all)
7. 5 eggs; separate the egg whites (I opted for 3 whole eggs & 2 egg whites)
8. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
9. 1 packet of Marie biscuits (250g)

1. Roughly break each biscuits into quarters and set aside
2. Line the base and sides of a loaf tin with parchment papers (lightly grease the tin so the paper sticks to it)
3. Beat the egg whites separately until fluffy and lightly beat the egg yolks.
4. Melt chocolate morsels according to the instructions on the packaging.
5. Mix melted chocolate and Milo in a saucepan and slowly add boiling water/milk into the mixture while stirring until it is smooth.
6. Add butter, condensed milk, sugar, egg whites, egg yolks and vanilla into the saucepan
7. Place over moderate heat and cook, stirring all the time until the bottom starts to thicken. Should take about 5-8minutes. 
8. Continue to cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the batter forms a thick custard. Remember to stir constantly.
9. Transfer the batter into a big mixing bowl and add in the biscuits. Mix them together until all the biscuits are coated with the batter.
10. Pour the batter into the loaf tin and press it down to make sure there are no air pockets. 
11. Knock the tin on the counter a few times to settle the batter then smooth the paper extensions over the top to even out the surface. 
12. Let cool to the touch then cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before serving.

I actually used 2 colours but the base one look like my own nail colour in the picture

1. 2 chicken breast
2. 1 teaspoon curry powder
3. 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1 whole egg
7. 1 egg white
8. 1/4 cup low fat drinking coconut milk
9. 1/2 lemon juiced
10. 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I made my own)
11. 3/4 cup dessicated coconut
12. Olive oil to oil the baking sheet

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Cut chicken breasts into strips
3. Combine ingredients 2-5 and rub them all over the chicken strips
4. Combine ingredients 6-9 in a bowl and mix it well (egg mix)
5. Combine ingredients 10 & 11 and mix them together (bread crumb mix)
6. Oil the baking sheet
7. Dip the chicken strips in the egg mix then coat it with the bread crumb mix and lay it on the baking sheet.
8. Repeat step 7 for the rest of the chicken strips
9. Bake the chicken strips in the oven for 30-40minutes or until the chicken strips are golden & crispy

1. 1 large mango peeled and diced
2. 1 avocado diced
3. 1 yellow onion diced
4. 1 big handful cilantro chopped
5. 1/2 pear chopped
6. 1/2 lemon juiced
7. 2 teaspoon honey
8. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Yes, I have a lot of goals but this is one of those that I'm really passionate about. Working on achieving it does not seem like work at all. In fact, I enjoy every minute of it. I've always love playing with it since I was a kid (without my mom's permission for using her stuff of course) but it faded behind school and work. However, it was recently reignited when I started helping out MoofMoof build his/our business. Thus I'm going to work on it while still helping MoofMoof build his business.

So what is this wonderful goal that makes me go all musical and lalala? Makeup! I'm aspiring to become a makeup artist so I've been volunteering to do makeup for friends and people who needs makeup services. Last week was my first time doing makeup for people whom I don't know. It was exciting. The girls were a joy to work with and I had so much fun working with them. I'm very happy and satisfied with the results even though it may not be compared to the works of professionals yet. All in all it was a very rewarding experience. Here's what I did to Becky & Joanne for their homecoming:

Name of project : Threading Mania
Objective : To thin out and shape the eyebrow
Model : Tomo
Result :

Guess which is before and which is after? right or left? It's pretty obvious right? If you can't guess it right, I would suggest for you to get your eyes checked.

We went to the pumpkin patch & the corn maze for the first time today at the Craven Farm. I gotta say I never thought that going to a farm full of pumpkins and corns could be so much fun.

To get our money's worth from the corn maze, we decided to take on the Wild Hare Route (the harder one, obviously) relative to the Bunny Route, thinking it would be a peace of cake. Boy, were we wrong! We were going round and round in the corn maze, from one loop to another. It was crazy! However, we eventually made it out alive after HOURS of being stuck in the maze. Note to self - don't ever underestimate the corn mazes again.

We then move on to pumpkin hunting. It felt like playing the Harvest Moon game in real life. How awesome is that, huh? I got to push the wheelbarrow, walked in the patch and marvelled over the farm that is full of adorable pumpkins. Don't ask me why, but I've always thought that pumpkins are adorable, big or small.


We were having so much fun finding that perfect pumpkin for Halloween until we realized that we dropped our camera, my tiny Canon SD780is. We spent the next 45 minutes walking back and forth in the pumpkin patch looking for that tiny black camera telling myself the whole time that we'll definitely find it. Finally, we asked the lady at the cashier if there was a Lost and Found, and she looked but there was no camera. We went back to the pumpkin patch for another round of searching. No luck. Just when things seemed bleak, we held on to the positive thought more and more, and we went back to the Lost and Found booth again, and surely enough someone had found the camera and had returned it. To the one who found it and to the lady at the booth, we thank you very much and may you and your family always be blessed and we wish you many happy returns. It is delightful to know that in our world of decreasing morals and values, there are still good samaritans out there.

Ahhh...what a day! So much fun and so many wonderful things to be discovered. Thanks to our lovely friends for inviting us.

The air is cool and the trees are turning golden yellow caressed by the gentle breeze. The grounds are covered with a sheet of gold. Ahhh...what a pretty sight. Yes, it's the time of the year, yet again. Fall is here, marking the time to shed our leaves and start anew. Which also mean, time to bring in some fresh new additions into the wardrobe. Fall has got to be one of my favourite season. It's not too hot, yet not too cold. It gives you so much flexibility when it comes to fashion. You can either layer it up or thin it down.

I was suppose to shop for a waterproof snow boots as winter was predicted to be colder and more snowy than last year. However, my vanity gets the better of me. I ended up getting these:

You can always trust me to choose looks over practicality. What can I say, I'm vain like that.

Imma Bee...Imma Bee...Fan! I'm an official convert of Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. True that Artistry Lip Conditioner (ALC) works well but it's not as nourishing and long lasting as Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm (BBBLB). And yes, I'm a distributor for Artistry's products and saying that BBBLB is better than ALC may seem like a bad choice but hey I'm a consumer and an individual just like everyone else. Certain stuff works for me and certain stuff don't work quite as well.

Artistry does have a huge range of high quality products but I'm always aware that everyone has their own preferences. Thus I always tell my clients to try, try, try and see if they like it. If it works for them, great! They are happy with their product and I made a profit but if they don't, no harms done and they get their money back. I always thank them for giving me and my products a chance. My clients' satisfaction is my top priority.

Anyway let's get back to BBBLB. For those of you who have been using the regular lip balm and have seen no result, you might wanna give BBBLB a shot. It's 100% natural and most importantly it does not contain petroleum base ingredients. Petroleum base ingredients can actually irritate certain people and make their lips dryer. I've been looking for a lip balm that works for me for my entire life and I've gotta say BBBLB has to be the one. I've been using it for almost 3 days now and my lips has been soft, supple and moist ever since. I'm in love! It contains peppermint oil too. Every time you breath in with your mouth, there's a tingly cool feeling to it :D.

I hope this review will come in handy for those of you who are still searching for that perfect balm.

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!