Off Diving. Again!

Mimpi Murni will be closed from tomorrow till Monday (30 Sept – 4 Oct) as I’m off to Tioman to take my Advanced Open Water Dive license. Wish me luck as I will be doing navigation, deep diving, night diving, fish identification & peak performance buoyancy.

I. Can’t. Wait!

Emilie Friday

I wish I knew how to do calligraphy because I just love how classy yet whimsical it looks & I especially love Emilie Friday’s delightful calligraphy work. Dig those flourishes ladies!
 

DIY Tote Bag Makeover

I’m sure most of you, like myself, have loads of fabric tote bags from grocery stores, boutiques & other retailers with sometimes unsightly logos & sayings. Well, here’s an ingenious way to cover up them up while sassing up your totes: just add a fabric pocket that’s both functional & stylish! Here’s how you do it.

You’ve Got To Be Kind To Yourself

Just a little reminder to take it a little easy. This week has been nuts, so all I can say now is TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday)! Have a great weekend ahead dear hearts. XOXO

Image by Kim Smith, via Creature Comforts.

The Animal Print Shop

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a real soft spot for animals. Having said that, I don’t think you need to be an animal lover to appreciate Sharon Montrose’s work with photographing animals in The Animal Print Shop. I especially love the baby deer above & as I type this, it’s on its way to me thanks to the lovely & obliging Jenny from TAPS! Sooooo excited. I also love all her other prints & below are a few of my other favorites.

Rosie & Me

Love this music video by Brazilian band Rosie & Me. So clap-happy fun & filled with bright colors, you can’t help but smile when you watch this. Go on, click it & instantly brighten your day!

Via Black*Eiffel.

Planning for 2011

I know it’s kinda early to be thinking about 2011 but I thought I’d get a jump start by purchasing this sweet fabric calendar by Lisa Rupp. I just love the design as you know hot air balloons are of special significance to my fiancé & I. Have you bought anything special for 2011 yet? Or am I the lone (slightly wacky) early bird here?

A Pet Cloud

 



I would love to have a cloud as a pet. I imagine it must be really convenient to have your own personal shade or rain when you need to water your plants. The images are taken by Michael Casker.

Happy Malaysia Day!

Waaaah! Another public holiday for our rather "festive" Malaysian calendar. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. In fact, I think it's wonderful that we're commemorating the establishment of the Malaysian federation which is when Sabah, Sarawak & Singapore joined forces with Malaya (Singapore later opted out of Malaysia but that's a whole other story)... and hey, an extra public holiday never hurts!

I'm going to try to form my own little coalition today by merging my vintage charm & cabochon collection with all of my other various jewelry bits & pieces. Initially I was going to segregate the parts according to size & color but in the spirit of 1Malaysia, I thought I'd mix it all up like one big, colorful happy family.... Kidding (sorry for the lame joke hehehe)! Mixing my huge collection would be my own private version of hell as I'm sure you can imagine.

Anyways, Happy Malaysia Day folks :)

For The Love

I just have to share this with you my lovelies. It doesn’t matter what faith you follow, if you have an open mind & an equally open heart you’re gonna love this poem by the critically acclaimed award winning writer & performer Boonaa Mohammed. (Thank you Ruzian, for sharing this)

Marcel The Shell

Hello lovelies! How was your Raya break? My first day of Raya was pretty subdued yet busy with a small family gathering that I hosted for the very first time. I’ve thrown many gatherings & parties with friends before but never for family so I was pretty excited & truth be told, a little nervous. I needn’t be as my family’s lovely & very helpful. I kept it very simple but would’ve gone all out except it was a little too soon after my grandmother’s passing… it just didn’t feel right somehow.

Anyways, I found this little video over the weekend & I’ve been dying to share it with you guys. The voice just slays me.

Salam Aidilfitri

To all my fellow Muslim readers, Selamat Hari Raya (a little early but better late than never). To everyone else, have a great break! In the spirit of repentance & forgiveness, I’d like to take this opportunity to say sorry if I’ve ever hurt, upset or angered you my dear readers, supporters and/or customers. It was not my intent to do so & if my actions spoke otherwise, I am truly sorry & hope you will be able to forgive little ol’ me.

In other news, I’m going to take a few days off starting today to finish up with my Raya prep & for Raya itself of course. I might check in this blog every now & then to say hi but you can always reach me by email if you have a question regarding my jewelry or blog or even if you just want to say ‘hey ya!’

So. Go nuts on the cookies & treats, kumpul duit Raya banyak-banyak (or give out duit Raya banyak-banyak) & stay safe while on the road k? I’ll see you guys in a couple of days or perhaps sooner. Till then, all my love.

Cloud Dreaming

Can you spot the lioness in the first picture & an elephant in the second? If you’re a cloud dreamer have a look at this delightful site. I’ll leave you with a lovely little Winnie the Pooh quote that’s just perfect for cloud dreaming…

How sweet to be a cloud
Floating in the blue!
Every little cloud
Always sings aloud.

How sweet to be a cloud
Floating in the Blue!
It makes him very proud
To be a little cloud.

The Story Of Cosmetics

 

About a year or so ago I switched to using cosmetics, body care & home cleaning products that are, by order of importance according to my personal beliefs, 1) not animal tested, 2) paraben free & 3) carcinogenic & toxin free.

I found it very hard (not to mention expensive) to find alternatives to my daily beauty regimen & home cleaning products, and I have to admit that I'm still on the lookout for certain things (like mascaras & concealers) plus a lot of the products I use might be animal cruelty free and/or paraben free but contains mysterious chemicals that may be carcinogenic! I can tell you straight off that the experience was & sometimes continues to be very exasperating but in the end with a little perseverance, some research & A LOT of legwork I'm happy to report that I'm managing quite well. Whether or not this switch has improved my life/health is hard to say but my conscience is happy. Ok ok, enough ranting already!

Perhaps someday I'll share with you the list of stuff that I use but today I hope you'll have a look at the video above which “examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. Produced with Free Range Studios and hosted by Annie Leonard, the seven-minute film by The Story of Stuff Project reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. The film concludes with a call for viewers to support legislation aimed at ensuring the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.”

You can click on over here for more info.

P/S: The video was brought to my attentions thanks to Karen who tweeted about the video yesterday!

Handcrafted Party

I just recently discovered this gem of a blog Ruffles & Lace & although the blog writer has decided to end her blogging career (say it isn’t so) she still maintains an awesome treasury of her DIY projects online. One of her projects that I just love from the roots of my hair right down to my toes is this Handcrafted Party she threw for her adorable daughter, complete with handmade party hats, boutonnieres & various other decorative items. Can you say, wow?

Via The City Cradle.