Before and After Baby - The Perks of Being a Mother

Assalammualaikum wbt,

Hai everyone, how's your Aidilfitri treating you so far? Have you weighed yourself on a scale yet? I am not dare to do so. As I am writing this, we are on the 8th Raya already. How time flies huh? Just felt  like yesterday we were welcoming Ramadhan and celebrated the lost weight benefits from fasting. But now? Haisssh. 

Today I want to write about my life after the baby. Yes, that tiny little creature sure does change my life at almost 360 degree! Internally, mentally and of course the most obvious, physically, duhh. But most of all, the biggest change of all is my ability to love someone this much that I don't have a care on anything else in the world. Sorry if this statement annoys you but that is what I feel right every single second. Below are some of the things that I could think of changing me when it comes to motherhood.

1) Shopping Priority

Yes...I admit that I am a shopaholic, even during my pantang days. Be it online or physical shopping, I definitely am. Before my baby came, my shopping list would be like any other women namely shoes, make-ups, apparels and stuffs. I'd even have monthly portions for those. Even my shower foam has to be from at least The Body Shop. I can't stop myself entering my favourite stores or any other stores that has SALE signage on. Now, I still am a shopaholic but my interest has changed to baby's stuffs. I even signing up myself as membership for stores like Mothercare, Fabulous Mom, Pumpkin Patch and crazily collecting points for discounts and stuffs. I don't mind to cut down my personal expenses which means I have to use Dettol for my shower foam now, as long as my baby gets the best of everything. Such sacrifice, no?

2) No More 8 Hours Straight Sleeping

This definitely so true especially on earlier days where the baby wakes up every 2-3 hours for milk or when the times are worse, they don't sleep at all because of colic, fever etc. My eyes are forever have eyebags. I am the type of person that enjoys and appreciates sleeping. If I ever to choose between sleeping or eating, I would definitely choose to sleep! I have to admit though that I felt restless and suffering from baby blues on my early motherhood days due to lack of sleep. You know, your body is tired from delivering baby and now he/she demanding attention from you every night thus the stress kicking in! My baby also oftenly prefers to sleep during the day over night which is until now hmmph especially when he's changing month. But now he is getting better, he is either sleeping through the night or almost through the night when he sometimes stirred in his sleep. The most obvious is, no more lounging or lazy around on the bed all day. Mommy's duty is forever on! 

3) No More High Heels

I think this change is for a lifetime waaaaaa. I didn't wear heels when I was pregnant and now I do not wear it too because I have to carry a baby..hmmph. But I did sneak to wear not-so-high heels one or two times. Takkan lah pergi wedding nak pakai kasut crocs pula kan? Hahaha. So, whenever there is an event that I don't bring my baby, I will wear them. That is the reason explain why I am now have stopped buying shoe. I am salut to any mother who can wear a sky high heels while holding their babies. Such a good balancing! 

4) Basic Make-Up and Longer Time to Get Dress

Before this, if we were to go out somewhere, I can have my ample time to get dress and ample time to do my make-up. Or, even if it's last minute outing, I can just put on a nice decent shirt and off I go. Now no more on that. I have to get ready even earlier like 2-3 hours before we are going out. After that I have to prepare for my baby's stuffs in a bag and check them countless of time to make sure that I don't leave a thing behind. Sometimes, if we are rushing, I just put on my basic make-up like eye brow liner, eye liner and a lip balm and off we go. Such a rush! In that 2-3 hours time also I have to bathe my baby, dressing him, give him milk and such. There were also times when we were ready to go and he pooped, so, we have to clean him first and secretly pray to God that he didn't pee while changing or everything will be even chaotic! 

5) I.Am.A.Mess

I used to be a very particular person where I had a routine of scrubbing, hair treatment and stuffs when I was single. But now, to have at least a decent bath is a bless! Hahahaha. I am basically a mess now, I have a split end hair, I have an eyebag and I have fats everywhere especially on my tummy! Some even thought that I am pregnant with number 2! Argghh. And oh, don't let me start on cellulites and stretch marks..

No, it's not my hair. I'm donning a Mak Lampir's wig

                                           

6) Change of Wardrobe

After delivering babies, it seems like my body won't be the same anymore. There are fats, fats and fats everywhere!! I can't even fit to some of my old pants and jeans and have to buy new ones. And now I am prefer to wear a stretchable waist for skirts and pants so it can fit despite my increase waist size. Luckily my upper body doesn't change much or else I have to have a new entire wardrobe! And now, any loose blouse and pants are my new best friends. I can wear them over and over again and do not have any care if I just wore them like 2 days ago..

7) No Movies and Karaoke Outing 

It used to be like our weekly routine before but now we have to put them on hold. Maybe when my son is older but that means movie has to be on his selection instead. For now, thank you to Astro PVR and Astro Best and the existence of internet, Mommy and Daddy can download the latest movies and trying hard to find time to watch them at home. Probably when Hanif Aiden is sleeping and with the lowest volume please. 

8) 24/7 Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network 

Did I tell you that I enjoy watching Sophia the First and I memorized the song lyrics from Hi-5? 

9) Home is Better than Shopping Complexes

Just because we do not have to pack whatever stuffs and worried about leaving something important. And because lazying around playing with your baby is the most precious now. Thank you for online shopping. 

10) Surveying the Place 

Now, we have to survey the places we go when we thinking to bring our baby. Is the shopping mall has enough lifts? Are there any nursing rooms? Is the restaurant has smokers? Do they have air-conditioned (because my baby sweats a lot!)? Is the parking too far? Does the place has smooth floor for pushing the stroller? That are the reasons why there were some invitations I have to decline because sometimes it is just not too suitable to bring the baby together. And there are so many times that I can't stand the thought of leaving my baby at home while we went out having fun. Mommy can't help to feel guilty as ever. 

11) Minimal Accessorised 

Now whenever I get dress, I have to think before putting on my necklace, it is gonna hurt my baby if I carry him? Is he going to pull my long earring? Is he going to take-off my T&Co pearl earring and swallow it and then surprised myself when I found it in his poop? So many thoughts! I also have to avoid wearing sequins material and any beaded blouse/dress as they can accidently hurt the baby's skin (and to avoid my baby pick them off). No worries, on the bright side, I can wear them again when my baby is older provided I still can fit those and I am not carrying another baby or else, again it will be delayed. 

Those are all I can think about now. If you have any additional suggestion to add on, please do so in the comments. Above all, as weird as it can be, I don't regret any of it! I love every second spent with my baby and although I am fat, I have literally bad-hair everyday, or even forgotten to trim off eye brow, I don't have any regrets. My baby smiles can make me forget everything in the world and nothing else matters. 

Introducing Solids - First Weaning Menu

Assalammualaikum wbt

Alhamdulillah, Hanif Aiden is 7mos+ now and has a wonderful journey of feeding solid food so far. Mommy loves experimenting but there are times Mommy also running out of ideas and also the times where there are so many ideas that Mommy confused which one to choose. For my baby's weaning journey so far, I only refer to these two books, Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purées and Bountiful Baby Purées by Anni Daulter. 

                                

                                

 Annabel Karmel is like a Guru in baby/toddler food advisor/chef. Even the famous Dr Halina (our Astronout's wife) is referring to her recipes. Alternatively, if you do not have the book, you can go to Annabel Karmel's and look up for recipes there. I love this book because it has details and guide on baby's weaning like food allergence, what to feed and what not to feed, kitchen tips and so many things. It is not that expensive, I got mine retailed at RM55.90 from MPH. It's a good buy. Don't worry, the ingredients are easy to get in Malaysia even for the imported stuffs, you can get it from Jaya Grocer or Cold Storage. 

According to her book, there are signs that your baby is ready for solid:

1) still hungry after a full milk feed

2) demands feed more frequently

3) wakes at night for a feed having previously slept through

However, I don't really following the signs, my benchmark is when Hanif Aiden hits 6 months and to solid we go!

For the first week I'm introducing solid, I made a purée of apples+pear. I mixed the purée with some of my baby's usual milk. Reason being, it will make baby easier to accept new food when he can smells the familiar smell hence the milk. My baby loves it so much! Alhamdulillah, his easy acceptance making Mommy become even more excited to make more and more delicious purées!

        

Then, on second week, I started to give my baby pure carrot purée. Too bad, it was my mistakes that I didn't blend it properly due to my blender faulty (tommee tippee blender urghh). It causes my purée's textures to become coarse. My baby didn't digest them properly and when he poops, I can see them carrot. Hmmph. Sorry Hanif Aiden. 

      

Then, I tried on sweet potato+apple. I love the taste because it has the naturally sweet coming from sweet potato and my baby enjoys it too. Unfortunately, it causes my baby a very bad colic!! I only gave him 3 times and that's about it. I gave all the remaining stocks to my 8mos nephew. Luckily he accepts them well. Kalau tak, membazir aje. 

                                   

I also have made purée from papaya. This is the easiest purée ever as it doesn't require cooking. I only have to blend them and freeze! It works wonders on lazy or busy days. Easy peasy lemon squeezy as you only have to remove the seeds, blend and mix with your baby's usual milk. Tak mencabar langsung hahahaha.

                                   

When my baby turns 7mos, Mommy gets even more adventurous. I made a purée of butternut squash mix with pears. It tasted good too! I got my butternut squash from Cold Storage. It costed about RM10+ depending on the weight. Worry not, if you cannot find butternut squash, you can substitute it with pumpkin instead. They tasted just the same. Since the sweet potato tragedy that causes bad colic to my baby, I get a little paranoid but from the advise of friends on Facebook, she says to put a tiny slices of ginger when we boil/steam the pumpkin (or any type of windy ingredients). I also blend them together. Not too much because I am afraid the strong ginger taste might overpower the sweetness of butternut squash. I think it works out fine to my baby. He didn't has any colic consuming this. Alhamdulillah. 

       

       

Last week I just started to introduced him to berries and citrus fruits. It is not advisable to introduce your baby citrus or berries as his first weaning because it can trigger a reaction but rarely cause a true allergy. It only good to introduce them after the first stage of introducing solid. The recipes say to use apple but I think somebody ate the apples I bought week earlier, hence I am replacing it with banana instead. This is I think the best and most delicious purée I've ever made. It tasted like berries yogurt yums. If my baby doesn't like it, I am gonna finish them myself. Hahaha. Boy, he loves it so much that the normal portion is not enough! I'd even gave a portion to my 9mo nephew last Raya and he cried when the purée finished. Alololo...sorry sayang. So Mommies, it is totally recommended! Delicious! The only downside is that, peach is quite pricey here in Malaysia. One piece I bought costed at RM7.90. But, we only give the best to our baby right? :) My MIL even said peaches are like Jambu here in Malaysia easy to get while she was in US for years. Jambu kat sana harga 7 USD kot? 

                                

         

   

As a working mother, I do not have the privileges to make my baby food fresh from kitchen to tummy every day. Need not to worry who's with me because through my reading, frozen food is as good as fresh food as long as we prepare it correctly with the freshest ingredients. Then, we have to cool them first after cooking before freezing. Temperature is vital here. Then, if you have defrost and reheat them and it left unfinished, throw them away. Food that has been reheated cannot be frozen again. I think it's the same goes with frozen ebm and stuff right? I usually make my baby food on weekly basis. So, my MIL who taking care of my baby can just take one portion out and heat them up. 

For heating up, I would just use my Tommee Tippee warmer by putting the storage inside it. And recently I just bought Baby Bullet Steamer for steaming vegetable and reheating the food. I haven't use  it yet thus unable to give any reviews. 

                            

                                        

As for this week's menu, I made potato+carrot+corn for him. It's the first time I use starchy ingredient for my baby. I add extra corn to make the purée sweeter so my baby can easily accept it. He eat them fine, Alhamdulillah for this easy baby. The texture quite thick compared to the other purées I have made probably because of the starchy content of potatoes. 

       

   

As a mother, of course we wanted to give the best for our baby right? To tell the truth, I am enjoying making my baby's food. It give me some kind of happy feeling especially when my baby finishes his meal that I cooked. I think, if there is no one watching, I might shed a tears or two. Hahaha. Such an emotional Mommy! 

                                        

And that is him waiting for his food. Pardon me with the messy background. We are actually in the midst of packing for Raya when this picture was taken. So, those mothers who preparing their own baby's food, kudos to you!! Hope we don't give up to continue giving our baby the best homecooked food. InsyaAllah. 

My Hantarans, From Groom to the Bride

Assalammualaikum wbt

Before this I have been writing about my vendors and wedding story and after reading them all, I just realized that I didn't upload the bride's hantarans. Forget about it, yes I am aging. Hahaha. I think most of the brides and grooms these days prefers to buy their own gifts to be put on dulang. Rather than those days where all the gifts are from the courtesy of each party. However, we still follow the rules of sepersalinan that are covered from head to toe namely a dress (or linen to make a dress), shoes, scarfs and some sweets. But to these days, most of the sepersalinan set meaning has been modernized by giving the bride handbags, make ups and accessories. Bukan orang lain, aku lah juga tu hahaha. 

For my hantaran, they were made from my mother in law. She has a gifted hands to decorate hantaran, so of course my husband passed the duty to her. The theme was pink, because I'm sweet like that. Ehemm. 

                                      

As a bride, I always dream of having some piece from Tiffany & Co but of course I can't afford the high end rings. So, I got myself a simple wedding band instead and a paif of pearl earring from Tiffany & Co also. Jadilah, ada rezeki lebih nanti kita beli cincin berlian Chopard eh yang? Ehem..dengar tak? Hahaha.

For handbags, I bought Michael Kors from Kadie's Haven on Facebook. She is actually a cousin of my mother's friend. A trusted personal shopper. i bought this at almost RM1k because these type of design were just released when I bought it. Hmmph. 

For shoes, again, the color is red from the brand Pedro. To tell you a little secret, I haven't wear it yet!! First because it is too high and now, with a baby, I don't think I will ever wear it. Mereput dalam kotak. The reason I bought this color was to match with my Malam Berinai traditional dress. But, my husband is a bit ehem short ehem so I do not want to over height him so I didn't wear it then.

Then, for sweets, I bought biscuits from Harrods, reason being because the tins are cute! I also bought tea leaves set from Bens Publika because again, the tins are cute! Hahaha. I don't even open the tins until now :P

For the perfumes, my sister bought this from Russia. It was Yves Rocher set from Moment De Bonheur range. I love the smellll! By the time she bought this set, they are still not available in Malaysia. Now they do, whenever I am running out of stocks of its shower gel, I am safe. The smells so gooodddd!  Last year I bought a bottle cost RM56 now it is RM60+ pfft! Pakai pun sikit-sikit aje pasal sayang..Hahaha. I love the after-bath smell, it leaves my bathroom smelling flowery good. 

Another set was of course Chocolates! At first I wanted to buy from Patchi but there were too many people using Patchi brands so we used Godiva instead and I didn't regret it at all! Gila sodap eh. I bought two boxes, one was milk chocolate and another one of course my favourite, dark chocolate. Each box costs about RM80, now after GST, I am not sure. I gave away milk chocolate box to my auntie as appreciation for her helping out a lot during my wedding. Then, to supplement the expensive chocolates, I bought Ritter Sport. Yelah, during wedding kan ada budak-budak, takkan lah diorang nak tengok aje hantaran tu kan. Mestilah I wanted to give them something from the hantaran set to make them feel appreciated...or not. Hahaha. Well, at least small gestures count kan? 

I do not why, but I remember when I was still small (until now actually), I always love a moment of opening hantarans. Because they were beautifully decorated and colourful, it always attracts me. Remember dulu-dulu orang buat the coin-shaped chocolates into a ship or a treasure box? After the wedding ends, we always get to taste the chocolates! Even the hantarans are meant for the groom/bride, but it always a courtesy to have a thought to supplement an extra trays of two for the family. Am I right? Who else has the same thought as mine? :) 

Then, for fabrics, I am using the one I bought in Beijing a year before. I haven't sewn it yet, so why not? Bukan orang tahu pun hahaha. And for my prayer mat, it was a gift from my sister which she bought in Instanbul. She bought two in white and black. White for the bride and black for the groom. Jimat duit di situ hahaha. 

For perfume, I bought Mademoiselle by Chanel and also a hair mist from the same brand. The smell is very strong that I don't use it often. Yes, I still have it full until now, I only used like 1/4 on a special occassion hihihi. Nothing can beat my forever favourite Kenzo. I might need to buy the hair mist again soon as I'm almost running out of it. The hair mist is much lighter. 

For my body bath set, I got mine from Loccitaine. I bought it loose then combine them all into a gift set. I think it costed about RM500+. I still have the bar soaps and the perfume. Hehehe. 

Other stuffs, this is a fondant cake, gift from the groom side. No, I didn't have a chance to taste it no.

This is pulut kuning, also a gift from my husband's side. I do not know who made this but it is creative! Jarang dah jumpa these days. It comes with rendang daging also and also, I didn't have a chance to taste it. 

So, there goes my hantarans story. A little tips, I planned my wedding like a year earlier. So, most of the stuffs for my hantaran I bought them early like one tray per month. So, it won't kill you to buy them all at one shot. 

Selamat Hari Raya 2015

Assalammualaikum wbt,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to my readers. Alhamdulillah, masih dipanjangkan umur untuk menyambut Ramadhan dan Hari Raya tahun ini. This year's Raya is wonderful as I got to celebrate it with our baby for the first time! It was fun, yet it's tiring. Every mothers (especially those without maid) would know. For our baju raya, we selected mint green as our theme colour. I got mine from last minute purchase at Zalora website. It's a dress from the brand Zalia. I love the color but it is not really practical to wear it at your kampung because I am not that tall, so kain meleret-leret. Bila bergambar outdoor, habis segala daun-daun kering dan ranting stuck on my dress. With a hot weather, lacey-type dress is not a good idea. Tengahari je terus tukar track suit and t-shirt hahaha. 

                                    

    

This year's Raya, we should've celebrated it at my husband's hometown in Tampin according to initial plan. Unfortunately, my father in law is sick few days before Raya thus we canceled the plan last minute. My MIL has to stay in Puchong and we decided to celebrate Raya at my hometown instead in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan as it is closer journey to Puchong should there is any emergency. It's less than one hour journey lol. 

I was on leave from Wednesday and went back to Lenggeng with my dear son to help out my grandmother with Raya preparation that day. Boy, it was really exhausting. My grandmother, I would say very ambitious. She's already old but she insisted to make kenduri-like dishes. The rendang alone was made from 24kg of meats! How crazy! The menu for first day of Raya were Nasi Minyak, Gulai Kawah, Ayam Masak Merah, Acar Jelatah, Lemang, Ketupat, Rendang, Kuah Kacang and Laksa. No pictures because I was so busy entertaining guests, well more like busy in the kitchen. I had a food coma on that day. Bukan selalu dapat makan macam ni..hahaha. The diet in Ramadhan was totally ruined in 1 day! Phew. Mentang-mentang setan hantu dah terlepas, tu yang terus jadi hantu raya tu! 

This year is quite special to my family as my whole family members were in Lenggeng. This year also was Aida's turn to Raya in Lenggeng. So, we finally got our complete family picture together. Boy, with two babies and an hyper-active toddler, it is nearly impossible to take a decent photo! This is the best we got: see....semua budak kecik tak tengok kamera pun. Takde kerjasama hmmph. 

                    

That afternoon, after Jumaat prayer, we gone back to Puchong and continued eating...again. My MIL cooked sambal jawa gila sedap!! Then, I passed out from 6.00pm until 8.30pm that night! Didn't even meet visiting relatives. Bertuah punya menantu hahaha. Bangun-bangun je tengok banyak sampul raya untuk Hanif Aiden. Alhamdulillah, thank you everyone. Preparing Raya especially with a baby was really taking its toll on me. Did I tell you that my baby refused to sleep from 4am onwards? And he also didn't take his afternoon nap and wanted to be carried all the time! Mommy is pengsan. So, I have to put my ring-sling on and doing work while carrying him. No worries perfect-parent-nazis, I didn't deal with any kitchen works while carrying him. Kang tak pasal kaki dia tercelup dalam kuah rendang lol.

On second day of Raya, we joined my parents to jalan-jalan raya at my father's side relatives in Telok Panglima Garang. Seriously, semalam memang sangat-sangat panas. We only managed to join visiting for 3 houses. Hanif Aiden was so restless because of the hot weather. Even after we changed him, he still crying and cranky. So, we decided to call it a day then. That day I wore modern kurung from Adrianna Yariqa which I purchased from Garderobehaus. I love it, but being a mother, you can forget taking a proper picture or staying pretty with hair down and Chanel N5 smell when your baby has puked milk on my baju. Good job Hanif Aiden. 

                                         

                                         

See......that's what I meant. My hair is forever in a bun this year's Raya. 

    

I just wanted to highlight on few points on adab menziarah during Raya. It gives me some points to write after reading Kak Diana Ishak blog. When we are in our hometown and visit our relatives' houses, some of them are old and rumah kampung. Imagine they have to prepare the dishes and serve it, please at least, wash your own plates even when they say just leave it alone. What worse, I even saw there some houses serve using paper plates, so by common sense, after you've used it, please lah buang dalam tong sampah atau kalau tak jumpa tong sampah, teruk sangat pun letak lah dekat sink orang tu. Ni boleh pula letak dekat coffee table depan tv orang tu! Dah lah tuan rumah susah payah hidangkan makanan, lepas kau melantak bagai nak rak, boleh pulak buat macam tu. Kalau gitu lah pesen nya, tahun depan tak datang pun takpe. Seriously, I think that is the most basic rules kot when visiting people houses, despite even the house has bibik pun. I think that's effing rude. Kadang-kadang tu aku rasa berbalik kepada niat juga. Kalau niat kau nak menziarah, rasanya minum air sirap kosong sahaja pun rasa dah kenyang. Tapi kalau niat nak melantak mengharapkan tuan rumah hidang berbagai, telan kambing golek 10 ekor pun belum tentu kenyang tembolok tu! Lain lah kalau kat bandar where most houses using catering service which after eating there'll be server to clean up your dirty plates. 

Plus, if it's rumah kampung and orang kampung, please be considerate if the furnitures or facilities is not up to your standard. No need to put your geli-geleman face on. Mana tahu orang tu dah sehabis upaya cantikkan rumah dia, kemaskan rumah then you guys buat muka macam tu. Please, jaga hati sikit. Bukan kena bayar pun. Dah lah tak menghulur, lepas tu buat perangai pulak. Macam lah kau tu kononnya standard melangit bagai. Hidangkan sambal belacan, bergegar juga iman kan?kan? As human, jagalah adab and courtesy tu. Tak jatuh nya standard pun kalau tolong tuan rumah. Lagi orang hormat ada lah. 

I am pretty much seconded what Chef Wan has said on his Instagram about helping each other out at your hometown house. Regardless kau tu balik setahun sekali atau sepuluh tahun sekali pun, at least, give some hands! Agak-agak dah ada orang memasak, please wash the dishes. Agak-agak all the dishes are clean, you still do not know what to do, grab a broom, bawa-bawa lah sapu laman ke apa. Anything, any chores. Some and from what I have read in the comments, dah lah tak membantu, terbongkang lagi ada. Oh lupa, they did help, helping eating Raya dishes. Hmmph. I thought it just happen within my family, but after reading all the comments on Facebook and Instagram, it pretty much happen to every house! Where are all courtesy has gone seriously? 

                                  

There goes my Raya story and some highlights that I have been experienced Raya after Raya with a little improvement that it become worsen by years. On the third Raya, we just stayed at home doing nothing and just now, we just got back from Mahbub, Bangsar to get our dose of Beriani Ayam Madu. Yumss. Been craving for it sejak dari bulan puasa hari tu. Belanja gambar sikit, 

                                  

Hope everyone have a blast Raya! Still a month to go. Bengang bengang jugak, raya tetap raya. Again, selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin. Kalau terkasar bahasa, I am purposely being sarcastic. Ha..sentap?   Hope I made my point. Hahaha :P

                            

      

                                 

                                          

                                 

        

Butter Prawn Basah

This Ramadhan month, is the month where we love to cook something new, testing new recipes and prepare something extra special for family and loved ones. Well, this dish is not so special, biasa sahaja but I'd like to share the recipe here.

Bahan Perap Udang

1kg udang - buang kepala dan gunting tengah

Serbuk kunyit

Serbuk rempah kari

Serbuk lada hitam

Tepung jagung

Minyak bijan

Garam 

Gula

1) Bersihkan udang dan toskan.

2) Campur semua bahan perap dan perap udang selama setengah jam.

                           

3) Panaskan minyak dan goreng udang sehingga garing. Tak perlu goreng lama sangat, udang cepat masak. Ketepikan.

                           

Bahan Kuah butter

125g butter (separuh daripada sebuku butter tu)

Segenggam cili padi (hiris halus)

3 urat daun kari

3 ulas bawang putih

1 tin susu cair

1 sudu tepung jagung dibancuh dengan air

Garam

Gula

       

1) Panaskan butter, tumis bawang putih, cili padi dan daun kari sehingga agak garing.

       

2) Masukkan satu tin susu cair dan perasakan dengan gula dan garam. Kacau sehingga gaul sebati.

         

3) Masukkan bancuhan tepung jagung dan kacau lagi sehingga agak pekat.

4) Setelah pekat, masukkan udang yang telah digoreng tadi, gaul rata dan sedia dihidang. 

        

   
The taste is almost the same as the one in Gold Chilli. Almost. Yang penting, kuah nya menjilat jari okeyyy. Happy Berbuka semua! 

My Make-Ups Choices

Assalammualaikum,

Today I would like to share about make-ups. Well, every girl gotta know at least a bit about make-up right? At least for your husband's eyes ;) mind you, this post more on sharing the stuffs I used rather than a make-up application education. 

I am not an expert in make-up stuffs, I too, still in try and error phase but I thought I would like to share my own personal favourite brand choices and how I apply them. Of course, before anything, I would apply a toner and moisturizer on my face first. My favourite brand for years is The Body Shop, from the Vitamin E range. 

                       

1) Foundation

This is the most basic in any make-up. I use Stila brand for 2 years now. Before this, I used brand from MAC but I didn't quite like it because I found it too thick for me. After applying them, my face would become too 'heavy' and I felt like my skin cannot breathe. It also harder to wash them off and sometimes, one or two pimples would come out after I used them. It become even worse if I'm sweating. Rasanya, untuk heavy use atau jangka masa panjang macam untuk jadi pengantin, sesuai lah kot. I love Stila because it is light and 'airy'. I just need a few dabs to apply on my face. It also not so sticky and my skin feels lighter, maybe because it doesn't block my skin from breathing. Last year the price was RM130+, recently I bought it already costed RM155! Psst...to tell you a secret, sometimes I am too lazy to apply foundation, I often skip it and straight away dab baby powder instead. Jimat sikit hahaha.

                  

2) Compact Powder

Then, the next step I would apply compact powder. For compact powder, I use from Benefit brand. I love all Benefit's packaging, they are so cute! To tell the truth, I don't really fancy using compact powder. I prefer using normal baby powder since forever. Yes, that is the truth! The reason I buy a compact is because of its size, I can bring it everywhere. The reason I love Benefit is because instead of using a sponge, the packaging also contained a brush which I prefer to use so I can apply the powder very lightly. That explains the reason why this hasn't finish yet. I don't use compact powder on daily usage. 

                   

3) Eye Shadow

I also put foundation on my eyes as I read the tips it could make the eye shadows stick there longer.  I have various brands of eye shadows. I use eye shadows everyday for work and special events. My current and favourite brand that I use now is from Urban Decay. I also have some from MAC but after I had been introduced to Urban Decay, there is no turning back! I love Urban Decay because the colors are bright even on the first apply and most important, the color is maintained on your eyes longer. Unlike other brands, during the evening, the color starts to running out leaving an oily skin around your eyes. It gets even worse when we are sweating. I bought this Urban Decay series of Naked 2, Wizard of Oz and some other loose colors. Man, they're expensive fuhh. Oh, and I have Stila in natural color to wear as a base. When applying eye shadow, I would use two colors, one is for the theme of the day or as a main, and another one is for the darker side, or as a tone to enhance the main color. Do you get what I mean? Hahaha. For example, if I wanted to use pink as my main color, I would blend it with dark brown to enhance the main color. I prefer to use my finger to apply instead of brush because the color would be easily applied and gets evenly better. It's quite difficult to use brush because I have to dip the brush on eye shadow palletes many times to get the color stick on my eyelids. my skin color is suitable to wear 'earth' or natural color and that explains why my Naked 2 is berlubang-lubang because I choose them everytime. 

         

4) Eye Liner

I have tried several brands for eye liners, liquids, pencils and crayons. From expensive types like Inglot, MAC and Stila but my forever choice would be Maybelline! Yes, Maybelline. I love their crayon-type of eye liner forever since. Although I have tried other brands that much more expensive than this, it still cannot beat Maybelline. I find it easier to apply and control. Oh yes, I am not so good with liquid or pencil eye liner. My favourite color would be brown and black. Brown for a little natural concept and black for much more dramatic effect. Hahaha..konon.

                 

    

5) Eye Brow liner

For eye brow liner also I have used several brands like The Body Shop, MAC, Inglot and Stila but now, my ultimate favourite would the from the brand Make Up Forever. The color looks naturally to my eye brow. I usually would choose dark brown, not black. Black would make my face looks matured and fierce. Muka aku dah cukup sombong, thank you. To master the art of applying eye brow liner takes ages. Even now, I am still practising. I am lucky enough to draw both equally the same which is not happen too frequent. They would come out one is thicker than the other, sometimes I drew it a little too long, and there were times I drew it out of my eye brow area. If the differences are too obvious, I would scrub them off with make up remover and draw it again LOL. To draw, I have found the best method from Facebook that is to start by drawing a frame of your liner brow and then just filling it with the pencil. I prefer pencil because I'm comfortable with that. I saw that using brush and eye-brow pallete gives a better effect and I'd like to try that someday. 

                

6) Mascara

To tell you the truth, I am not an expert in applying mascara. One is because I have a short eye-lashes and also because I just simply do not know how to apply it in a correct way! My brand of choice would be MAC and forever will be. I used Inglot before but I didn't quite like it. Then, recently I bought from Stila but it seems like I have to buy from MAC again. I love MAC mascara because it is soft and easy to use. You can see the effect even after the first apply. Before applying mascara, I will use an eye-lash curler first. I got this from The Body Shop. From the basic make-up class that I went few years back, the trainer taught me to use eye-lash curler in 3 steps. One, when you are looking down, two, when you're looking straight and three, when you're looking up. Then, you apply a mascara. Until today, I still do not know how to apply it correctly. Some say to apply in zig-zag motion, and others to apply using the tip of the brush and work it towards the end. For me, I just apply it normally starting from my middle lashes using the middle part of the brush. I am currently using brand from Stila but I think I might change it to MAC back soon. Psst, I still do not know how to apply mascara on lower lashes! Hahaha.

                  

7)  Blusher

I'd like to try several brands of blusher as for me, blusher is the safest tool and easiest to use. There are several brands like The Body Shop, MAC, Benefits, Inglot (I was loyal to this brand before) and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Currently I am using Marc by Marc Jacobs. So far I quite like it. It is easy to apply. Since my skin is a bit tanned, I always chose a dark rose colour. Im trying to avoid any light pink or glittery blusher as I always tend to look even darker with those colors. 

                    

8) Lipstick

I have so many lipsticks but now I am currently holding to these 3 brands and colors. To be truth, I never really finished a lipstick. Before applying lipsticks, I always apply a lip balm. Before this I am using Vitamin E lip balm from The Body Shop for 3 years and now I am currently using a lip balm from the brand Loccitaine. I have tried so many brands like MAC, Benefits, Stila, Inglot, Marc by Marc Jacobs..yada yada but so far my ultimate brand would be Inglot and Smashbox. To be frank, I do not like a glossy-type of lipstick because it would make my skin darker. I love matte type. I love Inglot because they have a very nice color that suits with my skin and stays longer. I'd even gave one to my mother (by forced!) because she likes it too. Hmmph. 

                    

                    

For make-up storage, few years ago I got myself a storage box from Sephora. I love it soo muchh! Before this I used make-up bag which is not so convenient for me because they are small and I have to dig and search for the whole bag if I need something. It is so not practical for daily usage. I only use my make-up bag if I required to travel and packed light. 

        

                          

I really love my make-up box and it is the best investment so far. I bought this at RM80+, I do not know how much it cost now. Guess it is much more expensive. This box has 3 different story/compartment. For the first/top compartment I put all the pencil-like-shaped make ups like eye liners, eye-brow liners and stuffs. For middle compartment, I stored my blusher, compact powders and its brushes. While for the bottom compartment is where I placed all my eye-shadow palletes. If I am not mistaken, Sephora has many sizes of these types of boxes, you can check them out.

To end this entry, this is the picture of my face at 6pm. I applied my make-up this morning at 7am. The eye-shadow is still there right? Lipstick is no more because I wiped them off when I had my lunch earlier. 

                       

Till then, bye!