Polka Dot Baby Shower

A little baby shower I decorated earlier this month for my good, good friend. The theme agreed on was light blue with polka dots so I went for sweet & simple & stuck to white flowers like imported Roses, Baby's Breath & Ping Pong Mums which I think lends well to the polka dot theme. I highly recommend Marmalade for your next event by the way. Not only is the pre-existing decor lovely, the food is yummy & the staff are super helpful. More pictures of the event over at the Mimpi Murni Facebook page. Have a look see!

Raya iPhoneography

Hello folks! How was your nice, long Raya break? The photo above was just something I whipped up in between courses of lemang & rendang on the 1st day of Raya thanks to a nifty little app, Phoster. It's USD1.99 if I'm not mistaken but well worth it, especially if you like to play around with graphic design & want something simple on your iPhone or iPad to create posters, announcements or just to jazz up your pictures with some text.

Anyhoots, the hubby & I spent the first day of Raya quietly stuffing ourselves silly at his parents' place here in KL & giving ourselves major tummy problems. We keep falling into the same trap year after year, I'm afraid. After a month of fasting & abstaining from rich, fatty food, all the good work is undone in a course of a single day. Don't get me wrong, I love Hari Raya but I wish I could exercise some self-restraint when faced with lemang & rendang which are my favourites (including my father's ketupat daun palas with nuts. Yums!). It's futile & even to this day, I'm suffering the consequences. Yup, it's not pretty but do I learn? Never! Hah.

Here are some pictures I took over the Raya week with my iPhone. Do look me up on Instagram (@mimpimurni) if you'd like to see more.


The picture above is me at my in-laws' in my Siobhan baju kurung by the talented Nurita Harith. I'm not usually one to cam whore, but I love my classically elegant baju so much I just had to (at least I'm not pulling a duck face, ok!). Ladies, if you ever want an impeccably made baju with top-notch service, I urge you to set an appointment with Nurita & her assistant, Ian. I only had one fitting with them & my baju fit me so well, I was ecstatic. Yes, the prices are a little on the high side, but do what I did: save up. It was well worth it.


This is what happens when adults get a hold of some sparklers. The "boys" were attempting cheerleading moves & I think I split my stomach open from laughing. I wish I took a clearer picture but I do have a video that I'm saving for the right moment *wink*wink*




We also spent a few days at Redang island for some R&R plus being avid divers, a little diving of course. I brought along my travel hammock & planted myself in front of our chalet at Redang Mutiara Beach Resort in between dives with Seamonkey Dive Centre. Now, the resort itself is not much to shout about but there are only 2 resorts in this particular stretch of beach (the other being Amanagappa which we love but couldn't get a room) plus it has one of the only two proper jetties in Redang. Needless to say, the beach is not overcrowded like at Long Beach (where most visitors to Redang will end up in), it's quiet & clean and most importantly for divers, getting on & off the dive boat is easy thanks to the jetty. Also, if you are a diver, you'll want to dive with Seamonkey at some point. They are one of the few consistently good dive centres in Malaysia & they usually have some pretty awesome deals & packages. If you're thinking of diving, do check out their HQ at PJ Palm Centre, next to Shah Village, PJ.



And just for good measure, here's a cute kitty demonstrating various yoga moves in its sleep. So, that was my break, how was yours?

Selamat Hari Raya

May all your ketupat & rendang dreams come true this Hari Raya folks! I'd also like to take this opportunity to say sorry if I’ve ever hurt, upset or angered any of you, my dear readers, friends & family members. Hope everyone has a great break! 

P/S: I have some freebie prints available for you to download at the Mimpi Murni FB page, including the little design above. You're free to use it however you like for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Knock yourselves out folks (& "like" my page while you're at it k? Thank yoooou)!

Olympics Withdrawal

Goodbye, 17 days of amazing sporting feats. Thanks for all those goose-pimple inducing moments when I got to witness sport history being made not to mention awesome strength, determination, artistry & unity. Thank you also for showing us that even the Spice Girls can preserver (hah!). 

Despite being right smack in the middle of a recession, London put up on heck of a show. Kudos, London! You are, as always, one cool dame. 

Never Stop Making

I love this talk Jake Nickell (the founder of Threadless) gave at the TedxBoulder conference. He talked about "making cool things together with friends" & to just never stop making. As someone who is mostly self-taught just like Nickell, I can relate to everything he talks about & I urge you to have a listen or read it here. I really hope this will help inspire more people to just try making something, & if you're already making things, try something new because it doesn't have to be perfect but it's the process of learning how to do something on your own that's invaluable. Nickell makes many more great points that made me want to go "YEAAAAH!" while nodding my head furiously so do take a few minutes k? You can thank me later.

Olympic Prints

Here are my picks for awesome prints commemorating the London Olympics. Love them all & if I didn't already have a ton of prints waiting to be framed & hung, I would get myself a copy (my favorite is at the bottom) in a heartbeat. 

2012 London Olympics by Andrew Maunders & inspired by the 1948 London Olympic games poster. Get it here.
 

17 Days of Summer by Jordan Cheung. There are no official Olympics branding elements but you'd be pretty daft not to know. More of Jordan's work here.
 

East End Prints: London Olympics by Dieter Braun. This one is by far my favorite. You can get it here. 

Olympic Torch Cupcakes

My obsession with the Olympic Games continues folks & lookie what I found! A recipe of how to make these Olympic Torch Cupcakes! Now, can someone make these for me, please & thank you.

Via Stasty, via CRAFT. 

Freebie: Olympic Cards

I'm so glad I'm not the only Olympic nut out there. Erica of Crash Notes created these cards & has kindly shared them on her blog so head on over there to download them. 

Olympics For Kids

Here's a list of some fun Olympic activities & DIY projects for your kids. I think it's nice to get the little ones excited about the Olympics. My mama helped me set up an obstacle course of various Olympic games in our living room when I was a kid & that was heaps of fun!