I’ll Be Away

Hey folks, we’re just mere days away from my akad nikah followed by the wedding reception so I’ll need to take a couple of days off from the blog to concentrate on getting ready & getting pretty. As I type this, my excel worksheet of guests beckons & I have a charcoal mask on, so I’m trying to juggle as much as I can! Hehehe. I’ll probably be away for the whole week followed by a couple more days to recoup & get ready for the second reception (yup, we’re having two!). In the meantime, here’s a behind the scenes look at how Inhae of My Milk Toof fame preps her adorable ickle and Lardee (the book would make an awesome wedding present… *hint*hint*)

Disco Bunny Ears

 
Somehow my best buds managed to pull a surprise dinner for soon-to-be-married-little-ol’ me. Complete with flashing & glowing bunny ears, flowers & balloons, I was totally taken by surprise as I walked into the restaurant & saw a bunch of them grinning ear to ear when they saw my face register shock & disbelief. It took me awhile to let everything sink in & dinner was interrupted every so often with me exclaiming, “OMG, it all makes sense now!” Hehehe. I was so very touched that they went through so much trouble & man, I’m such a sucker for surprises. Big love to Farhan & Mimi for planning the whole thing & to everyone who came, guys & gals. You all made my last weekend of singlehood something to remember.

XOXOXOXOXO

Edible Buttons

These edible peppermint buttons by Andie’s Specialty Sweets Etsy shop are so darn cute! It’s almost a shame to eat them but then again, I said almost. Hehehe. I can never say no to candy, can you?

Brightspot

 
Thanks to a tweet by the awesome ladies of Tongue In Chic, I got to know about Brightspot Market from across the pond in Indonesia. Taken off their website: “Brightspot Market is a unique retail concept that is held several times per year in different locations. The goal of Brightspot is to gather local and international designers, artists and retailers to showcase a range of unique products. We want to support those who are innovative and original by providing them with a chance to present their work to a larger audience.” Much like what Chic Pop is to Malaysians, it looks like Brightspot is an event that is highly anticipated by the fashionably chic folks of Indonesia. I love the set up that allows vendors to go nuts on their displays & I would love to have the opportunity to take part in this… perhaps a trip back to Indonesia for the next market is in order?

Daydreamer

This was the first song I heard Adele sing & the one that made me fall in love with her instantly. Go on, have a listen. You’ll love her gorgeous, spine-tingling voice & haunting lyrics.

P/S: I couldn’t write about Adele without adding another of my faves from her, Crazy For You.

Make It Better

The type nerd in me loves the array of fonts used in this video & the big nerd that I am loves this video for its positive message. Happy Tuesday folks!

Don’t Forget To Be Awesome

The definition of awesome is “inspiring awe or admiration or wonder” & the closer I get to my wedding (it’s less than 2 weeks from today!), the more I need to be reminded to not stress out & everything is going to be just awesome. How do I know this? Well, I’m about to marry my best friend of 10 years (who also happens to be my boyfriend for the last 8 years), surrounded by all my loved ones who, throughout these last couple of months of planning, have been there for us at every step of the way. I'm a lucky girl, I am.

Print by Super Swoon.

Mindy Gledhill

Sometimes we need a little something to pick us up of the doldrums & this little ditty might do just that. I literally went "my oh my oh my!" when I first heard this song by Mindy Gledhill featuring Robbie Connolly. I especially love this line…

rocket high, comets fly
you & I could hitch a ride
and fly away to Neverland
and give our best to Peter Pan

So cute! And oh so dreamy, don't you think?

Socks for Japan

If you’re looking for a way to help the folks of Japan affected by the recent earthquakes & tsunami, here’s a simple thing anyone, even your kids, can do: send them socks!
American author Jason Kelly, who lives in Sano, Japan, is collecting socks for earthquake victims. He writes…

Here’s a way you can help Japan, directly and meaningfully.

Hundreds of my readers in the United States and other parts of the world have asked me how they can help the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Japan on March 11. There are many places to donate money, and that’s a wonderful thing to do, but direct aid is also cherished by victims.

My office location is perfect for managing a direct-aid operation because it’s close enough to the primary damage zone that we can physically get there to help, but far enough away that mail delivery is working. So we quickly set ourselves up to run this operation, called Socks for Japan.
Guidelines:

- Send only new socks. All human beings are comforted by a fresh, clean pair of socks. Other advantages socks offer this operation: their sizes are easy, they don’t break, people need lots of them in disastrous times without running water, people can keep them forever and remember that somebody from far away cared. Please do not send any other items of clothing, food, etc. Just socks, but go ahead and choose nice ones that will brighten somebody’s day.

- Group similar socks in one package. To help our inventory management, put all socks of one type in a single package. For example, “men’s large,” “girls’ medium,” “boys’ small,” “baby girls’,” and so on. Different colors and styles are fine in the same package, but keep the gender and sizes consistent, please. If you include several different groups in a single box, please pack the groups in clear bags with a description enclosed, facing out.

- List package contents on the package. To help our inventory management, write on the outside of the package exactly what’s inside. For example, “ten pairs, men’s medium socks” or “one pair, girl’s small socks” and so on. This will enable us to quickly group inventory for efficient distribution without opening packages.

- Enclose a short care letter. Japanese people treasure letters, especially ones from foreigners. Victims of the 1995 Hanshin quake in Kobe said that care letters were among the most uplifting items they received. If you enclose a care letter, provide a copy of it for each pair of socks you send. This will enable us to hand each recipient of your socks a letter from you. Please keep your letter brief. You can save us time by enclosing a translation of your letter into Japanese, which you can make easily at Google Translate, then copy, paste, and print the result to attach to each copy of your English version. Machine translations are imperfect so be sure to send your English version in case we need to tidy up the Japanese. If you send only English, we’ll translate it to Japanese and include your information that the recipient can use to respond later if they would like. No guarantee on that, of course, and any replies will probably arrive months or possibly more than a year later. We’ll translate replies from Japanese to English.

- Write your email address on the package. The most efficient way for us to keep in touch with you, and track the status of your package once we receive it, is via your email address. Please write it on the outside of your package so we can communicate with you without opening the package.

Please ship your package to my office:

Jason Kelly
Helping Angels : Socks for Japan
Plaza Kei 101
Wakamatsu-cho 615-6
Sano, Tochigi 327-0846
Japan

Thank you for your support! When your package arrives, we’ll send a note to you at the email address you wrote on it.

Join Helping Angels here for more of where this comes from http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5583718222 and follow the latest international project at Bald Empathy Movement http://www.facebook.com/BaldEmpathyMovement

Stand By Me

I saw this last night & teared up without understanding a word of Japanese! These two dogs are obviously victims of the earthquake & tsunami-struck area of Arahama in Japan. One of the dogs looks very weak & possibly injured, so its more able-bodied buddy stood by it, calling attention to its injured friend when the camera crew approached. Talk about faithful huh? 

According to the news on the world wide web, it seems the injured dog is in a vet’s clinic in the Ibaraki Prefecture & is recovering. The other dog (a hero in my opinion) is in a shelter at the same area. This information was given by Kenn Sakurai, who by the way is doing a great job calling to attention the plight of animals in need of aid in Japan.

Help ARK Save the Animals in Japan

Thanks to a tweet by @nottypooch, I was made aware of ARK which stands for Animal Refuge Kansai. Taken off their site: “ARK is a non-profit, non-governmental private organization with the aim of forming a network of people who love animals, believe in sharing their lives with them, and who work actively to rescue them from suffering.”

Now, you all know about the horrible earthquake & tsunami that hit the Tohoku-Pacific area in northern Japan on the 11th of March that has left tens of thousands of people homeless & in need of aid but did you think about the animals that may have been abandoned or injured?



Right now ARK is getting geared up for a huge influx of animals & needs as much support as possible from you kind-hearted folks so if you are in Japan, do lend them a hand by volunteering or if you can, do send them a donation. "We already have some facilities in place and a team of experienced staff able to deal with traumatised animals. We may have to build emergency shelters as well. The logistics of getting animal from the Tohoku/Sendai area is immense since roads and other transport links have been cut and may take time to restore. Our only means to get animals down to Osaka may be by helicopter, which was one method we used after the Kobe earthquake.”

Here are the account details to make your donations to:

Postal Account
Large Scale Rescue Fund
No. 00970-2-267840

UK Bank Account
Lloyds Bank, St. Helier, Jersey (branch no: 309461)
Account name: Animal Refuge Kansai - ARK, Account no: 1381476

PayPal (through ARK’s homepage)
Please add "for earthquake animals"

P/S: While researching for more news of animal rescue in Japan, I came across The Fabulous Animal Rescue Project which highlights a few animal welfare organisations (it also mentions ARK) in need of aid including the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support (which is a collaboration of 3 No-Kill animal welfare organizations in Japan; HEART-Tokushima, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network), Animal Miracle Foundation & Network & The Search Dog Foundation. Please help these organisations in their worthy cause to help the animals of Japan.

Help Japan

 

Last Thursday my fiancé left for Tioman Island located off the state of Johor, on the South China Sea. He was there for some diving as it’s the start of the dive season here in Peninsular Malaysia. Then on Friday, an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale shook Japan triggering a 30-foot tsunami. I know this is not news anymore but as I saw the massive wave sweep away homes & lives in Japan, 5318 km away, I thought of my fiancé. Silly I know but at that time I swear my blood turned to ice & my heart must’ve landed with a thud on the floor! I held back my panic & tears while talking to him on the phone, making sure he knew to look for high ground & to bring food & fresh water with him.

Now that he’s back home safe & sound without once spotting a wave higher than a meter, I feel so incredibly silly for bring so paranoid but at that time I really felt that you can never be too prepared. I think all that talk about “darah manis” really got to me!

That aside, the devastation that Japan is now faced with is just so heartbreaking. I just made a donation to Groupon Malaysia’s Red Crescent/Red Cross relief fund which will be matched by Groupon. Here are some other ways you can help too. Do help won’t you?

A Window To 1950’s Fashion

Pictures like this from Kate Spade’s Tumblr never fail to inspire me & fall in love with fashion all over again, especially fashion from the 1950's... That's why I decided to go for a 50's theme for my wedding. Wish me luck!

Via Black Eiffel.

Mamzelle Rouge

Totally crushing on this sweet illustration by Mamzelle Rouge. The color combination, the butterflies, the girl & boy… everything is just adorable perfection, how can you not love it too?

Jakarta, Instagrammed

Screen shot of KLM’s inflight info

In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been away. Yes, that would explain the lack of posts & chirping of crickets in the background. I was in Jakarta sorting out a few things for my wedding & man, I’m so glad to be back! Don’t get me wrong, Jakarta was awesome but there’s nowhere like home.

Here are a couple of shots I Instagrammed while I was in Jakarta (look me up under mimpimurni if you’re on Instagram too)…

Card makers at work right at the basement carpark of Pasar Tebet

This is Social House at Grand Indonesia Plaza. You must, must, must visit this really awesome restaurant cum lounge if you’re in the area. The food & drinks are reasonably priced & oh-so-good. The view from the balcony is really gorgeous too. (Thanks for taking us there Farouk!)