London Weekend

When I looked at my previous posts, it's quite interesting to see that around this time last year, we went up to London for a show and spent a nice foody weekend up there.

For months, Fely and I have been planning our trip to the Stitch and Knit Show at the Alexandra Palace in London and it finally took place three weeks ago (Yes, I know... I am a bit slow these days)

We (Steve and I) thought that it would be nice to also take the opportunity to spend sometime in London, watch a show and eat some nice food. So we went up to London the day before and Steve's brother kindly arranged and bought us tickets to a show in London, Avenue Q as a belated birthday present for me and it was entertaining, light and quite funny. I wouldn't say that it was of the same standard and quality as The Lion King, but for a two-hour entertainment, they didn't do a bad job. Singing and dancing muppets - can't go wrong with that. After the show, we were treated to a really posh Italian restaurant meal in which I enjoyed a really nice Fresh crab Fedelini and got to taste Steve's Seafood Stew as well.

Because I was having my foot problem, we couldn't walk very much and I felt quite guilty most of the times for wanting to take the easiest form of transport which requires the minimum amount of walking. Worst of all, after the meal I insisted that we took a cab back to Steve's brother's place.

The next day, Fely and I had a scrumptious meal of dim sum at Leicester Square before heading to the show. Due to maintenance work at tube stations, it took us FOREVER just to get to the show but when we finally got there, it was all worth the effort and we were hypnotized and mesmerized by the multitude of gorgeous and wonderful things surrounding us. The only regret we had was that there wasn't enough time to spend together at the show because Steve was waiting to take me home after the show, I didn't really want to let him wait for too long and I had to leave quite early, leaving Fely behind at the show (which thankfully she didn't mind too much because she got to 'play' with a sewing machine).  All in all, a fantastic and wonderful weekend spent in London, watching a show, having lovely food and catching up with my dear, dear friend.

As usual a weekend in London is not complete without some nice pictures to show you. So I'll let these pictures tell you the story.

I got told off after taking this picture as there was NO PHOTOGRAPHY allowed in the theatre (the lady screamed). To be fair, I didn't see a sign and also the show hasn't even started yet !!

 After the show, we went for cocktails and Steve ordered something with passionfruit and it came out in flame.

While waiting for Fely outside the Four Season's restaurant in China Town at 10am, I took this unusually quiet and chaos-free scene of China Town.

 The happy lady.

Looking demure with her Chinese tea trying to pick a dish to order.

Pork puff. Yum...

 Roast pork Cheong Fun.

 Chicken's feet, of course.

 Siu Mai.

 As much as we would have loved to, we didn't stay all day at the dim sum place and we moved on to the show. I didn't take many pictures of the show as you can imagine that the last thing I wanted to be doing was taking pictures and not properly utilizing every minute I had there.

The gorgeous Amy Butler corner.

There you go, hope you've enjoyed looking at a few pictures from my lovely weekend.

My Spanish Getaway...Part II

So in the previous post I told you that I tumbled down the stairs and became half crippled... And Eugene specifically requested for some pictures so I thought it'd be interesting to share some of the pictures I took while I was 'trapped' in the flat. These must be classified as the most unconventional holiday pictures, ever...

The ceiling lamp in the flat, obviously. Taken while waiting for Steve to come home with our mahoosive jacket potato.

The dining area and our very small telly.

 A lizard on the roof of the apartment opposite the balcony. Is it real?

 Testing out the 'Foliage' mode on my camera.

 Waiting for Steve to get home from shopping for groceries.

 Still waiting for Steve...

 View from the balcony...

 Book that Steve was reading...

Tissue...

You must forgive the randomness of this series of pictures... I was trapped in the flat with no immediate prospect of going out and I was getting extremely boredddd and restless....

By the end of the second day being trapped in the flat, I said to myself, enough was enough!! I was getting more and more desperate. That was when I decided to take a couple of Ibuprofen pills and braved it down 4 floors of staircase just so I could get out and have some fresh air. Steve was of course a bit worried about that because imagine if I couldn't make it back up the stairs on my own,  I'll have to piggy-back ride on him upstairs !!! Wouldn't you be scared at the thought of that?

Anyway, it turned out that I made the right decision as it became easier and easier with each step and we also made sure that we had plenty of stops to rest my poor foot.

And after grabbing some food stuff from the supermarket, I managed to make my way slowly up the stairs and from then, our holiday resumed its course and we were out and about every day.

In the next post, I shall share with you a few more pictures we took here and there, during our travels.

My Spanish Getaway...Part I

Pre-Departure
For months leading to the 19th September, Steve and I have been eagerly anticipating our week-long holiday in Malaga, Spain. So on the 18th September, all the bags were packed, passports packed, tickets printed and we set off to the airport early on 19th September, took the 7.50am flight from Bournemouth and arrived in Torremolinos at around noon local time, greeted by the wonderful and hot sunny Spanish weather.

Upon arrival
Because we have been to Torremolinos so many times and knew exactly how to get to the flat, we wasted no time at all in settling into the flat and stocking up on food and drinks, and making the flat nice and cozy for our week there.

However, when we went downstairs to check out the pool, it was to our utter disappointment to discover that the pool was shut. Hoping that it was just being temporarily shut for cleaning, we made a note to check it again the next day, keeping our toes and fingers crossed.

So having nothing to do and keen to follow the Spanish culture, we decided to enjoy a siesta before heading to town for some dinner.

That was when it all happened... I was carrying a box of cookies and a water bottle and as I was making my way down the few flight of stairs to the bedroom, I slipped and fell, BIG TIME, on my bum and IT HURT LIKE HELL. When Steve finally got me onto the bed, I was in floods of tears because of the pain.  After the initial shock and pain died down a little, I stood up to go to the bathroom. That was when I realised that when I fell down, I must have knocked my problematic heel somehow and I could not put my foot down without it hurting like hell. Sharp pains shot up from my right heel straight to my calf every time I attempt to put my foot down and walk. Which meant that I had to hobble on my toes wherever I went and going from the living room to the kitchen was an enormous effort.  Worst of all, the flat was on the 4th floor, with no elevator !!

ALAS!!! What am I going to do?!?! I simply cannot face the prospect of being trapped in the flat for the whole week of my holiday. What about poor Steve? Not only did he have to be at my beck and call, fetching everything I needed, he also had to go shopping on his own and to bring home dinner and lunch for me!! And did I not mention that we have both been looking forward to this holiday for months and months?!?!

Stay tuned and I shall reveal what happened next in Part II as I need to be heading off to dreamland for my much needed sleep to be ready for work tomorrow morning...

Till then...

The changing of seasons and more projects completed

Nine calendar months have snuck past me and I am still in a daze ... It seemed like not long ago we were rejoicing in the unexpected January snow (not all of us) and when I turned around, it's September already. Mind you, from January to September, I did manage to squeeze in events like going home to Malaysia to visit the family; learning to use the sewing machine; celebrated another birthday; a few holidays here and there.... So all in all, quite an eventful nine months.

As much as we are unwilling to accept that Summer is coming to an end, you know that it is happening when you can feel the air getting chillier and you no longer feel comfortable in just your skimpy t-shirt; shorts and flip-flops. Your lips start to feel a bit dry and flaky; and your skin becomes rather dry.

Speaking of dry skin, I have started using the much talked about 'Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter' on my face. I know it sounds absurd but not long ago I read about it on the news and when I was in Waitrose a month ago, I saw it and decided to give it a go. It actually works quite well on my superdry skin, so I have stopped using my dermalogica moisturiser and am only using this. But I suspect I will go back to my dermalogica products quite soon, once I get hold of another tube of my daily moisturiser as I've run out of that product. I like the light, aromatheraphy-smelling moisturiser on my face. But at the moment, for £2.49 per tub, it's doing quite a good job.

I hate using make up and until today, I am guilty of going around puffy and pale-faced, looking like I've just woken up from bed, even at 1 o'clock in the afternoon because I can't even be bothered to put lipsticks on. I have tried, I swear, I have, that is, to maintain a regime of applying make up before coming out. Bea even gave me a crash course on using make up but I just gave up after two days because I cannot be bothered. Too time consuming and, frankly, pointless. But I will give it another go, soon, when I've visited the store and bought myself some proper MAC make-up. I'll let you know. I quite like the Hello Kitty range, so perhaps I will start trying, soon. First, I need to sort out my unruly and quite frankly, almost non-existing eyebrows. That's what irritates me the most.

Anyway, some random pictures to show you what's been happening...

 The view of Widemouth Bay

This picture was taken during our latest weekend away in Cornwall and the whole weekend was spent appreciating how beautiful the Cornish coast was. We enjoyed driving along the tiny and narrow coastal roads with tall hedges on both sides, while admiring the breath-taking views of the sea whenever we get chance to have glimpses of it. When we do get chance to stop and appreciate the beauty, the Canon compact camera that we have just isn't quite cut out to do the job of capturing how beautiful the surroundings were. I guess that's one of the reasons that has prompted me to want to get myself a camera which has slightly more options than a compact digital camera can offer, for the sole purpose of being able to capture pictures with a bit more depth. I have no idea about shutter speed, or ISO or macro but I am sure once I get hold of the camera, the learning will come with using it. So it's all very exciting.

 Another completed project, Michelle's Bag

I call it Michelle's Bag because it was made for a friend's birthday and you guessed right, her name's Michelle. From the outside, it might look like an ordinary tote bag but close up, you'll see that each flower is individually stitched to give it a sort of '3D' effect. It was an enjoyable project to do and hopefully she'll be able to make some good use of it.

Mind you, I was saying to Fely after three flowers, it was quite hardwork stitching free-motion and maneuvering the fabric to get the stitches around each flower to look tidy. Quite straining on the eyes and back but was definitely another satisfying project to do.

Made some cushion covers yesterday and I must say I'm quite pleased with how they have turned out. Steve chose the green fabric, flower motif with green background on one side and I matched it with a stripey deck-chair, seasiddey kind of fabric on the other side. 

I already have another project or two in mind, just need to find time to do them. It's all go, go, go !! 

Another birthday...

I was reading some of my older posts that I wrote last year this time, and realised that I have been a bit of a slacker in terms of updating my blog entries this month (or the last, and the one before that). I have therefore 'forced' myself to write something... actually I have got lots to share of my activities of late but have not found time and motivation to do so...

I recently celebrated another birthday (I know, where did the time go?!) and it was a lovely, lovely birthday with me being spoilt rotten the entire day, and I had a wonderful birthday, despite the fact that I was so full of cold and most of the things I ate tasted of nothing.

The day started with a lovely cake made by Steve -- a Red Velvet Chocolate Cake decorated with Milky Buttons which I lovee.... ignore the 'smudges' on the cake because I had to digitally blank out the pet name that he calls me by, which he had put on the cake ...

My lovely, lovely bf also made me my favourite breakfast, with an added 'kick' to it -- French Toast made with Thick Farm House Bread, sprinkled with icing sugar and garnished with Caramelised Banana on the side... did I hear you go, ummmmmmm..... it was YUMMY indeed.

While I was having breakfast I got to open some presents and this year, Steve made me a very special birthday present that nearly, very nearly brought tears to my eyes...

He had compiled all the various pictures we took during our holidays in the 5 years we've been together (6 according to me and 5 according to him, DON'T ASK !) and made it into an album with funny captions and it was so beautiful.

Apart from that he also got me bits and pieces for my sewing hobby and this I found particularly cute and interesting...

What do you think it is? It's actually a tape measure !! Haha and I had to be shown how to use it. You pull the bee's tail and the tape comes out from there and press the bee's stomach and the tape retracts itself... I had a real good laugh playing with it. What you see in the background also Season 1 and 2 of 'Arrested Development', which I've been telling him about. I used to enjoy watching them when I was back in Miri. So now that he's got me the DVD box sets we can watch them together. There were also other bits and pieces that he'd got me and a nice, warm winter jacket from his dad.

Now what's interesting this year, is that I've also received some lovely presents from my non-blood-related 'sisters' in the UK -- Bea and Fely, which made my birthday this year extra, extra special :)

 A pair of lovely earrings lovingly handmade by Bea...

 

A musical pendant with a velvety ribbon that makes a lovely necklace..

This is my favourite !! A beautifully made bracelet in my favourite colours and the picture really doesn't do it much justice because it is simply gorgeous. Bea has set up her own online shop on Coriandr and check out her other stuff too !!

From Fely in Eastbourne, I received a beautiful selection of fat-quarters in pastel colours, and I have already thought of so many things I can make out of them !!

Don't you just love the colours? It's great to have a sewing buddy!!

When I got into the work the next day, there were more presents waiting for me !! Some of my lovely colleagues have got me a goodie bag of birthday presents, and there was a lovely  mirror, and a set of body butter and shower gel and a really nice tin for teabags and the best thing of all, there were milky bar chocolates in the tin !! How cool is that?!

This is the mirror that my DSC has got me from the Russell Cotes Musuem in Bournemouth.

And up till last night, I was still opening late presents from friends --  more milky bar chocolate and the millennium trilogy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which I shall enjoy this long weekend when I'm away in Cornwall (another birthday treat from the bf)!!!

All in all, another fabulous birthday to remember ...

A brave attempt -- Making an oilcloth bag

I was browsing through some Cath Kidston bags online quite some time ago and decided that I quite like to have a bag that looks like this but in red. But I was really quite reluctant to spend £55 on a bag because I just can't justify it to myself. So when I learnt that I could get oilcloth fabric in pretty designs (which was what this bag is made out of), I suddenly had this brilliant (or naive) idea -- 'hey I can make myself one of these bags!'. Hence, began the journey of buying and collecting the various bits and pieces to try and make a Cath Kidston Wannabe.

I started looking online for a suitable pattern that I could use to make a similar looking bag but tried as hard as I may, do you think I could find anything?! NONE. There was nothing on the Internet that really took my fancy and most of the designs were boring and uninspiring. So I decided that I would draw my own pattern, based on how the bag is constructed.

I even constructed a 'mock' bag out of thick glossy papers from old posters just to make sure that my pattern was going to work and that it would turn into a bag eventually.
I got everything cut and ready and was about to start when I realised that I haven't got enough webbing for the handles. So I had to order more webbing before I could do anything. Then when I finally got the webbing, I realised that I haven't got a pair of magnetic clasps for the front pocket, so yet again the project was put onhold. So it was a week later that I could start stitching everything together. Of course, with oilcloth, it was important not to make any mistakes because once the needle penetrates the fabric, there is nothing you can do to change it because it will leave a mark. So I had to be so careful in planning and stitching the pieces, and to work out which part of the bag to make first so that everything can be reached and stitched.

Slowly the bag was constructed bit by bit, starting with lining the inside with interfacing to make it thicker and then the front pocket, the handles, the zip....

I even made sure the handle was properly done and stitched with a leather strip over it.

Half a bag constructed...

Attaching the lining of the bag. By this time I have cursed more than a trooper and have been pricked by pins a million times!! The lining looks quite nice, kan?

Lining done and the bag was turned the right side out.

There you go. A Cath Kidston Wannabe.

Hung from the exercise bike.

I don't even know what the label says but I just like it...

As usual, it was a valuable learning experience making this bag. It wasn't too difficult, just tedious. But I can tell you that I won't be rushing to make another one soon!!

Oh in case you are wondering why I have chosen such a dull colour... the story goes like this... I found some bargain oilcloth and thought I'll use it as practice first, before I make a proper oilcloth bag with this piece of oilcloth that I got online, which was more expensive and nicer.

But, I like I said, I don't think I'll be making another oilcloth bag quite so soon yet. I need to let my skin heal from the pin injuries ....

On Life and Marriage

Tonight I had a lesson in life.

A few of us from work went out for pizza and it was a good laugh because it was a big group of us and there was a cacophony of laughter and hooting and jeering and clapping and shouting across one end of the table to the other. 

However, amongst all the chaos there were also whispered and hushed outpourings of emotions and feelings about life.  

When you are stuck in a loveless and meaningless marriage, what do you do? How do you find happiness?

When you have two young children to think about and no family support, do you have the courage to walk away and start afresh?

Sometimes, when you learn about other people's problems in life, apart from feeling sorry for them, it also puts your own life into perspective. Suddenly, you appreciate that although sometimes you can't have what you want, at least you have a happy life. 

I think marriage is a tricky thing. I have never been married so I am not qualified to say a lot about it. But what I do learn from talking to people and reading about others' lives is that people who are in a happy marriage, are very lucky people indeed.

When a marriage has failed, does it mean that the two people who originally fell in love and got married, do not love each other anymore?

When a marriage has failed, does it mean that the two people did not try hard enough to make it work?

8 out of 10 ten times, failed marriages always end rather horribly. Why is that?

Like I said, it is a tricky thing and I can bet you nobody will have the right answer to that. 

It is only my random but meaningful pondering for tonight.

If you are in a happy marriage, I am truly happy for you. Love and cherish your other half, always.