Sabah Holiday

Bobby & I will be away for a good long week, exploring beautiful Sabah. We'll be spending a couple of days at Kota Kinabalu followed by limitless scuba diving at Mabul's Sipadan Water Village. I'm sure to be back with heaps of pictures to bore you but in the meantime, check out this video of Sipadan Water Village & diving at Sipadan. We're so excited!

Pictures via Visit Malaysia & Haanism.

 

 

Checking In

It's been a crazy couple of weeks over at Mimpi Murni land. A couple of event styling jobs, some succulent teapot orders, an impromptu dive trip to Tioman, I finally learned how to knit (thank you Hello Deer!) & a trip to Johor Bahru for the recent Raya Haji. Hope you are all well... I miss this blog!

I’m An Advanced Diver!

OMG, I had the BEST EVER dives over the weekend! Visibility underwater was clear for at least 20 – 30 meters at all the dive sites around Tioman which is almost unheard of & I’m so happy to see that coral bleaching which was so widespread a few months back is now under control. Getting my Advanced certification was surprisingly easy even though I thought I was going to royally screw up Underwater Navigation (I had never held a compass prior to last weekend) & freak out during the Night Dive, but man, it was all a breeze! Of course, it helps that I had such an awesome instructor (also known as my fiancé) & the guys that I did my certification with were so much fun to be around that I felt no pressure whatsoever.

I can’t wait for our next dive trip but that will have to wait till after our wedding in April next year. Till then, I’ll be dreaming of clear blue waters, colorful coral reefs, marine life big & small…

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!

Underwater Fantasy

This picture by Elena Kalis just make me miss scuba diving even more than I already do (which is A LOT!). I can't wait to start again at the end of this month when me & the boyfriend head on out to Tioman Island for a little rest & relaxation.

Check out more of Elena Kalis' wonderful underwater fantasy here.

Via Yellowgoat.

Away

I'll be leaving later today for Tioman Island to do a spot of weekend scuba diving. Haven't been diving in awhile so I hope I won't be too rusty. Lucky me though I'll be excellent company as my boyfriend is a newly certified PADI instructor! I'm so proud of my man :)

So my darlings, please excuse me while I take a few days off. I'll be back by Sunday evening & will attend to your emails & orders by Monday. Be good while I'm away as I'm sure you will.

XOXO

Okinawa Chiraumi Aquarium

My jaw was basically hanging open throughout this gorgeous video by Jon Rawlinson the first time I saw it. In fact, I'm still in awe! I mean, hello? Whale Sharks & Manta Rays all in one tank? If Okinawa Chiraumi Aquarium is the second largest aquarium, I wonder what the largest aquarium is like...

Anyways, in case you're wondering, the track playing is "Please Don't Go" by Barcelona. I know. I found it really soothing too :)

Via Free People Blog.

Soaked

I'm back from my dive trip folks! Tioman rained, rained & RAINED so I got soaked in more ways than one! We managed to get about 4 dives in TOTAL out of the 8 dives that were initially planned... Boohoo. Luckily visibility underwater was quite good despite the downpour. I got to see a Turtle, a Black Tip Shark, schools of Barracuda, some surprisingly docile Trigger Fish (they're notorious for attacking diver's fins while nesting), Eels, Cuttlefish (that doesn't sound very exciting but trust me, they're fascinating) & plenty of beautiful fishes along with some spectacular coral formations. No doubt the rain didn't help but Tioman to me is still pretty awesome for diving. I can't wait for Sipadan though as I'll be going in July for what promises to be the best dive trip ever! Wheee!

Oh, I just realised that my scheduled posts didn't come out as, er, scheduled. Sorry for that. They're up now so do have a looksee. On another note, I've got a few lovely new designs lined up to share with you so stay tuned! Those on the Mimpi Mailing List should expect a little something as soon as I get back into the swing of things.

Once again, thanks again to everyone's patience & understanding. I promise not to run off on holiday anytime soon ;)

I'm Back!

Hi ya lovelies! I'm back from a lovely time at Bali but I think I now need a holiday for my holiday. We kept a pretty packed schedule with early mornings & very, very, VERY late nights... Somehow I managed to squeeze in some quality spa time so I was blissed out anyways. I'll post up some pictures ASAP.

I'm still trying to recover from my Bali trip, catching up with my emails, posting comments people have made during my absence (I moderate as I hate spammers) & filling orders. Oh, and guess what? I'll be off to Tioman Island this weekend for a scuba diving trip! Yup, the dive season just opened & I'm off to revel in it! I'll be gone this Friday evening & will be back on Tuesday to (hopefully) get back into the swing of things. Hope you guys can bear with me.

Anyways, pictures from Bali soon! XOXO

My Wishlist

Here's my relatively short list of what I want for Christmas (or anytime of the year come to think of it):

+ a complete set of dive gear in PINK! I'm such a girl :P
+ I'll settle for a Pink Oxycheq BCD if a complete dive gear is out of the question.
+ a sewing machine
+ a new camera
+ a custom made display table for Mimpi
+ a new set of professional pliers
+ like the rest of the world, I'd like this lap top please!
+ an iPod Touch with custom engraving. Too cute!
+ an all expense paid trip to either Turkey, India, Morocco or Mexico
+ another me so that I can be at two places or do two things at the same time!

What's on your wish list?

Got Air, Will Dive

I just got back from Tioman & already I'm missing it.

Here I Come Fishies

I'm going scuba diving this weekend! Woohooo! Finally get to practice my scuba skills after a 4 month hiatus & I'm so excited! Here's an account of my very first boat dive.

So please note that I'll be away until Tuesday & I will attend to all emails & orders then. I also have a big shop update coming soon so those of you who aren't already on my mailing list, sign up now by sending me an email with the subject header "Add me to the List NOW!"

Have a great holiday weekend ahead of you (I know I'm kinda early but I'm super excited!) & to those of you celebrating, Happy Deepavali!

Dive Right In

Just wanted to share with you a GIF i found on FFFFOUND! Dive right in (pun intended) and check out the site's amazing treasury of images contributed by people from all around the world. It's mostly modern stuff which doesn't usually rock my boat but there are a few vintage and funny ones out there so if you're like me (in love with cute kitsch and vintage designs), you won't be disappointed.

Some Day

*Sigh*

*sigh*

These Cressi Reaction fins and Aqualung Diva LX buoyancy control device are calling my name. But at the combined total of MYR3k, they're gonna have to wait.

*Sigh*

Back To Reality

Sexy Divers, originally uploaded by FaizaL Omar.

Well, I'm back. After working my butt off for 5 days straight at MSF and planning it for almost a year, I took a nice long holiday.

(The picture above was from my scuba diving holiday courtesy of the talented Mr Faizal Omar. Didn't bother to bring my camera or a photographer with me this time around. Hehehe).

Can't wait for my next holiday :P

Hey, did you spot me in the latest KLue magazine?? It's a little paragraph but oh what the heck right?! I'm in it!!! Woohoooo! *Big HUG for Claudia* I'm gonna go run off and scan it right NOW!

Thanks to everyone who wrote in and patiently waited for my response. You guys rock! I am in the midst of answering every one of you and promise to switch on my vacation responder from now on. 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!