Happy fasting!

i want one.

"Mamachu! Stop kissing me!"

Amirudin Mahmud Girls.

Had a very big day today, where all the girls in my family went Baju Raya (Raya clothes) shopping. Ramadan starts tomorrow where muslims fast for a month and Hari Raya (Raya Day) is an islamic celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. It usually a two day celebration where we dress in our best traditional Malaysian outfits and visit people's houses, give or receive ang poa (packets of money) and eat until we pass out.

Usually i am big on Raya shopping because i get new clothes, shoes, handbag and etc. But this time...i couldn't care less. It took me less than 5 minutes to decide what colour and style i want - Black/Baju Pahang (Different states in Malaysia have different styles of traditional outfits). I felt a little bad that i picked a morbid colour cause Raya celebrations is supposed to be about happiness, unity and forgiveness. Black is the opposite of that. So i decided to be cliche and match with my parents - Emerald Green. Best part about the day was hanging out with my niece!!! She has grown so much since the last i saw her!!! I was worried she might not recognise me but hey, she has the coolest *Mamachu! she came running to me!!! 

*Bongsu pronounced as bong-sue means youngest in Johor (a state in Malaysia, where my parents are from) slang, but the slang evolved from "sue" to "chu" like choo-choo train. Alani calls me Mamachu because im her youngest "mama" She can easily call me Aunty Kay, but i like to make things harder for her :P

In a month time, you get to see me in my Baju Raya! 

Hung and Hooked

Top: Valleygirl
Sport bra: Target
Boyfriend Jeans: Sports girl
Shoes: Birkenstock 

Goodness, what a welcome home. I forget how hectic KL is! So lovely meeting up with the girls and just catch up over things in person. I met up with them at a burger joint in Hartamas called Buns. There are so many new cafes popping up every where! The coffee culture and boutique restaurants are coming up here in KL. I am pretty excited to check them out! The minute I got home, i dumped my suitcases and went straight to do my hair and pedicure spa. I had some time to kill while waiting for my mom to run a few errands and i somehow ended up in a Birkenstock store and...walked out with a pair of slippers. I need to get a job ASAP.  

Yoga: Headstand

My beloved mother is here, to summon me back to KL. We were supposed to take the 4 pm flight but HAHA we missed it and now waiting for the next flight out at 10 pm. About 4 hours waiting time, surprisingly i am okay with waiting. I get extremely restless when i am at one place for too long. Maybe i am growing up! My mom is keeping herself entertained by taking pictures of me (doing yoga) and uploading them on her Instagram. She takes the most honest photos ever. Pretty much what you see, is what she is seeing. Check out her Instagram here! Its mostly pictures of her food, cats, my niece, her children and me.

One Too Many on Film

Having a ladsy talk with another Michael

Sayang

Excuse my messy kitchen - i lived with 8 people and 4 of them are boys (behind is their kitchen)

Having a chat

I love all the candid shots i forced Nyssa to take of us. Nyssa is my ever loyal photographer, she is the one behind all my yoga photos #nyssaphotography, bless her! I expected the shots to come out centered but it turned out better than i thought. This guy had to be the subject of my photo taking so many times that it got to a point where he knew to just stand or sit in this case and let me do my thing. I was determined to take as many photos of him/us as possible without repetition for memory sake. We aren't going to see each other for a while :( He is on a crazy road trip in across America right now. FaceTime calls, Whatsapp messages and 15 hours time difference are our thing now. 

#DW47 on film

I love light leaks

well, someone obviously...cant take photos. 

Chelsea and her best mates

My beloved room for 6 months - best decision to move to this room

Caught Nyssa off guard

multiple over-exposed 

I have always wanted the Lomo LCA+ camera since i first started taking film pictures, but held back cause it was too expensive, hard to get and etc. Had a good conversation with a friend who has the LCA+, he told me to move on from fisheye camera (check out my lomo blog!) and get LCA+. i thought about it for a couple of days and decided to just get it! i had the means and not getting it was just a bad excuse of me not wanting to get out from my comfort zone! I have many other film camera but i keep going back to fisheye because of its familiarity. Found out i have terrible negotiating skills while ordering this camera, needed help from Don to get a good price for me. It turned out really good because the guy who sold me to me gave me two films and a colour splash flash! Yay to kind people!

I was really excited to start taking pictures that i assumed my film was 36 exposures but instead it was 24 exposures, i accidentally over-stretched the last bit of film and it came out over exposed with multiple exposures. Whatever (beautiful) photos i took will be remembered in memory and in bits of pieces in the shot. This first roll is experimental with light, flash and iso. Forgive the inconsistency of the quality but really i am not sorry because i love how each exposure came out #sorrynotsorry.

My world

Early the year, i wrote about loving globes and world maps but never owning one. I did get off my ass and got myself a globe, which i love! For my birthday, Don hinted he got me something and he wasn't very good at hiding it and sure enough, he surprised me with a world map! He was really cute with it, he got me whiteboard markers to circle places i want to go. Post its - to take notes of things i want to do in the countries and etc. I love it! Such a thoughtful gift

There are a few places i really want to go:

1. Cambodia
2. Hong Kong
3. India
4. Japan
5. France

I have been to Cambodia when i was younger and visited the Angkor Wat, but i was too young to appreciate it. i was more interested in running around the temples with my friends. I have pictures of Angkor Wat in my room back in KL, just to remind myself to go to Cambodia! I really want to go back and learn more about the culture. Hopefully end of this year :D. I hope to cross out this list within the next two years with Don. I am really excited to go on adventures with him, hehe!

Yoga: Crow Pose

Crow pose is one of my favourite poses because it works my upper body muscles and core muscles which i lack of.

I practise this pose all the time and fail miserably. My housemates and i would be sitting down at our living room watching TV, playing Fifa or just talking and i would stop what i am doing and break out a crow pose. Sometimes they would join me, sometimes they make fun of me and sometimes they would entertain me and take my pictures/videos. Today, i managed to lift my tush and balance for more than 10 seconds!!! Practice, practice and practice. I love how yoga teaches me to be patience. Yay to hitting all my yoga milestones!

I did it!

(Excuse the messy background in my picture) 

Yoga/Body Balance is my new found love. A few years ago, i had two bad fall on my tail bone within 6 months. Since then it hasn't been right. I went to see a chiropractor and he said that my hip bone is slanted. After weeks of painful massages and cupping, it got better as in my hips were aligned but shit happens, i got injured playing sports. Minor aches here and there. My hips and back started to get stiff. I didn't realise how stiff i was when i did crossfit. I was so sore from my crossfit classes that i couldn't even stretch and that made me stiff. 

Do I want to know?

Perth has been gloomy the past few days, matching my mood (and appetite!). I have been in a less-happy mood. Like i am not 100% happy but still happy kind of mood. I have the sweetest and funniest housemates. I have lived with many girls over the years, these two girls are the craziest bunch. Hanging out with them, talking about nothing, going on paleo diets that never last, eating chocolates and chia puddings and watching gossip girl makes me happy. 

The less happy part is...

I had to say goodbye to Don over the weekend and trying to concentrate on finishing my paper was kinda hard. Its going to be a some time before we get to see each other again. On cue, Chelsea burst in my room and announced that she is going to the beach to catch the sunset. Half and hour later, we were at Cottesloe Beach taking selfies and freezing ourselves off! 

I love Perth. I love the fact that the beach is just a drive away. The air is clean and fresh. Its laid back and relaxed. Weather is beautiful (except when its gloomy and cold). People here are lovely. Another small (yet big) hurdle to make this place my home. 

The first song

The one thing i hate doing is saying goodbye. Had to say goodbye to one of my closest friend today and it sucked. We said goodbye so unceremoniously. Okay! bye! hug! thats it. :(  I think we did that because we wanted to believe that we will see each other again and this is not goodbye. Its just a short holiday from each other.

I have to say good bye to my new favourite person this coming weekend :'( and a few weeks after, i have to say good bye to friends who live half way around the world from me, that i might not see in a very long time.

Saying good bye really sucks.

xxx

I am at the point where i cant wait to start working, earning and live my life that took (technically "taking" i am still not done yet *sad face*) 8 academic years to prepare me for! Im so done with writing essays, researching and being a student (8 years!!!!). I know i am going to regret this once i start working, i am definitely going to miss student privileges! $2 coffee, cheaper bus fares, cheap airplane tickets, ASOS discounts, concert tickets and etc. I know i mentioned that i was dreading to be an adult, but oh well, its time to grow up. I have been stuck in this limbo for too long.

I think that its good to have a vision of what you want in life and stick to it. Things change and things you least expect to happen will happen along the way, but you have a guide to what you want. I had a five year plan when i was 20 years old and i am very proud to say that i have achieved it. Maybe not everything i penciled down but the core bits like education and finding happiness that has nothing to do with a person, a cat or a thing. Now, that 5 year plan is over, it is natural for me to have another 5 year plan!

and part of my 5 year plan is getting a cat named honey badger :) The next few months is going to change my life upside down in a very scary but in a liberating kind of way. Im looking forward to that. This is for my honey badger cat! 

Stripes and Hibiscus

Had a very eventful Saturday that lead to an uneventful Sunday. Somewhat a balanced weekend! I am starting to live for weekends. i used to take my weekends for granted because it felt like any other day. Hanging out with Don has made me appreciate the weekends more and its reminding me that my "reality" of 9-5 job is coming soon. *sad face* Weekends are going to be precious. 

Sunday morning, we took Don's dog for a walk around the block of his house and Khaira, being easily amused (also i think i was missing my dad who has a green thumb) we basically stopped at every flower and herb plant, we walked by. I like flowers and plants but i don't like the gardening bit. i tried, Dad bought me a Bonsai plant that you only need to water once a week and it died. We were walking along the path and i saw pink hibiscuses. In true Khaira form, i squealed in excitement and pointed out to Don that the Bunga Raya is Malaysia's national flower. He whipped out his phone and took pictures of in the midst of me squealing. You only start appreciating your home when you are far from it.

Outfit:

Dress: Sports girl

Watch: Rip Curl

Glasses: Moscot

I love these shots because you can see my tangled messy curls, my highlights and my ombre! i have come to a realisation that my wardrobe is slowly filling up with stripes. 

Funny smile because i was caught off guard to Don taking pictures. I was really happy with my winged liner that morning, considering i had only 20 minutes to get ready! I am acing at winged liner that felt like forever to master.

Below is my FOTD:

Left to Right: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hours blush in Rouge, Naked Basics by Urban Decay, Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Medium Moyen 25, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel, Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in black, Nivea Lip Care Pure & Natural Milk & Honey, Mac in Bad Girl RiRi.

Loving the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer for my under eyes! it definitely brightens my dark circles, but it wears off after a few hours BUT does not settle in my fine lines. YAY! This is where my YSL Touche Eclat comes in for mid-day touch ups. Such a waste to stop using it, but perfect for touch ups.

Bastiste Dry Shampoo (Review)

I take great pride in taking care of my hair. Its dark, thick, heavy, prone to spilt ends and pretty much high maintenance but i love pampering my hair with hair mask, hair oils and such. I try to go a few days in between washing my hair. Number 1: my hair is really long and its such a burden to wash. Number 2: it gives me time to let the natural oils in my hair build so my hair doesn't dry out.

KL where i live is hot, humid and everything tropical. The minute you step out of the house, you will sweat! Its crazy! Even after a shower, while putting clothes on, you will sweat! I have been a dry shampoo fan for years but it was during my summer break when I was back home, I realised that i needed dry shampoo in my life permanently (if i was going to live in KL). The story is...our water heater broke. My house is over 30 years old, so it was still using the old water system and needed to be re-wired <- i dont know what was the deal! its taking forever to fix and when i mean forever, it is still not fixed!!!!!!!!! im going back in a month, really not looking forward to it!!! This also happened simultaneously when KL was having water shortage, certain suburbs in KL didnt have water for days, including mine! (sorry, still very bitter about the no water, no hot water and uncomfortable hot weather i went through) /bitter rant ends.

I depended on dry shampoo to make my hair look presentable. This thing was a life saver. I finished two big cans within two months. It frustrates me that the Malaysian market does not sell dry shampoo. I particularly liked Bastiste Dry Shampoo because of the smell. My favourite is tropical - it smells heavenly of coconut and vanilla.

How I Use It:

1. After second day hair, i would shake the can vigorously and lightly spray on my hair. I say lightly because there will be white residue which is the powder and it can get every where on your hair if not careful.

2. After that I would gently go through my hair and dust off whatever white residue is left and brush my hair like normal to evenly distribute the powder.

3. Style my hair. Usually in a ponytail or side braid.

It delays shampooing hair but doesn't replace shampoo. Pretty much from this review you can tell, I love this product! It is convenience and easy to use. It doesn't enhance my greasiness, oily or weighted down. I have a small travel size can in my handbag at all time for emergencies. I have to admit that it does make my hair little dull but I dont mind because i know eventually my hair will get washed.

You can get your Bastiste Dry Shampoo 400ml at Priceline for AUD15.95