I'll Be Away

From 26 - 29 June, I'll be at the Malaysian Salsa Festival as part of the organising team. Yes, this is what I do for a living besides making fabulous jewelry :)

12 Minutes

At Astro Awani with (l-r) Maryam, Millie, Shahida & Dangsuria.

Yesterday I was on Astro Awani's Wanita Untuk Wanita, a show centered on women's issues and aspirations hosted by Dangsuria Zainurdin. I was there as part of a feature on Bijou Bazaar along with Maryam the founder, Shahida of Button My Buttons and Millie of Devotee to talk about the bazaar and to showcase our work. I really had fun with these 3 very talented ladies and Dangsuria made the 12 minute spot go by so fast that before we knew it, we were done! I didn't even have time to be nervous! Hahaha. I'm still waiting to get a copy of the show and when I do I'll post it up here... if it's not too embarrassing that is!

I still have one more surprise up my sleeve for next month in case you're wondering ;)

Hi There ASTRO Awani Viewers!

Thanks for popping by :)

The blog is looking kinda sparse as I've been working my little fingers down to the bone filling bulk orders. Also, I'm kinda anal and been working on tweaking my blog like forever now but do have a looksee around, and please do check back often as I've loads more goodies to share with you!

Oh and FYI, I'll be at the next Bijou Bazaar in July so swing by my table if you'd like to check out my work in person!

(Psst! Check out my Flickr for more pictures of my handmade jewelry & accessories)

Butterflies in My Stomach

These last couple of months has been craaaazy! First Bali, then India, then selling again at the bazaar, then getting my Scuba license and now.... Well, let's just say I have a couple of things up my sleeve which I will share with you (all 6 of my loyal readers) as the events unfold next week (hopefully) and again by the end of this month (double hopefully). I'm trying to keep the butterflies down but I think a couple are flitting around down there already.

Why the secrecy? I'm a superstitious scaredy cat, that's why! I don't want to jinx myself so I promise I'll share the good news with you as soon as it happens k? Cross my heart :)

Certified

Woohoooo! I am now a PADI certified scuba diver!

My first boat dive at Tioman Island totally blew my mind away. It was almost a spiritual moment when I looked around me and saw this huge but beautiful coral formation before me and sea life teeming EVERYWHERE! Under corals, in anemones, guarding territories, hunting, hiding, playing, resting... all seemingly oblivious to us humans in these strange get ups, hooked up to even weirder contraptions, bobbing along and observing them. I saw so many amazing things that it really felt as if I was exploring a whole other world.

I've never felt more at peace and as serene as I did while scuba diving. Admittedly I had my doubts when the boyfriend suggested that I join the course... You see, I've always had problems "switching off" and the thought of going underwater and only being able to hear my own breathing really freaked me out. Yeah, I'm not a fan of yoga. But once you descend underwater you can't help but be in awe of the beauty surrounding you that all doubts simply melt away.

Thanks to the instructors and divemasters of Orca Blue (Faizal, Jalil, Feroz and Bad) for being extremely patient, helpful and pretty darn entertaining! Thanks to Faizal, I'll never look at another sea cucumber the same way again. Hehehe. Big smooches to the boyfriend for not only getting me the best birthday gift EVER but for organizing everything and wrangling all 11 of us to get our knowledge reviews, exams & pool sessions done on time. My boyfriend rocks!

In summary of this whole experience: my back aches, my ears are still feeling kinda blocked, my tan's uneven, my blisters from my fins are sore but I'm totally addicted to scuba diving. I can't wait for my next dive!

Yipes

How LONG has it been since I last blogged? Too long. Anyhoo, here's what I've been up to:

- It was my birthday on the 22nd of May. Had a lovely dinner with the boyfriend, he got me this very cool MP3 player & I received lots of loving wishes from my friends all over the world. Thanks everyone! You all made turning 27 bearable. Hahahaha :P

- Was very busy running around preparing for a baby shower for my client's gorgeous daughter-in-law (I hope I'll look that good someday when I'm 7 months pregnant). The family is very big in the equestrian circle here in Malaysia so obviously they wanted a horse themed baby shower for the latest addition to the family. You can not believe how hard it is to find anything remotely cute and horse-related in Malaysia! Needless to say, everything had to be custom made by yours truly. Some of the pictures are here.

- Mimpi debuted at Bijou Bazaar! Although I didn't manage to join them on Saturday AND I started pretty late on Sunday PLUS I had to leave earlier than expected (there's a really long story here which I'm not going to bore you with), I had lots of fun meeting all sorts of wonderfully friendly people. The organizers were super nice too. I've had some reserve in the past about joining these independently run bazaars and markets but now I'm all for it! The crowd may not be what I'm used to in Mont Kiara but they're so much more fun and definitely more open to new designs and concepts. Here's hoping my schedule will clear up a bit so that I can join more of these indie craft markets in the future!

- Had my first ever pool session as part of my PADI Open Water Diver course (which is also part of my birthday present from the boyfriend. Thanks baby! You're the best!). I was very nervous right before hitting the water but once I had my matching pink fins and mask on, I was ready to dive in the deep blue ocean even! Well... not quite YET but I am very excited to complete my course with 5 more dives (open water this time) at Tioman Island this weekend. THIS WEEKEND!!! Holy cow.

Wish me luck!