My Little Friend Bakes Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

Hi everyone. I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I last appeared on the blog. Things are just not going too well after my move to Malaysia, all my stuff are still in a mess, I am so broke, my skin in just in a horrible condition due to the weather, the internet here is so slow that it's so incredibly difficult to upload (or even the load) anything and my computer might be rejecting the move as well because for some reason it keeps hanging (which would be later attributable to the lack of memory I think). 


Please bear with me while I try to get everything in order. I might not reply as quickly to comments and upload as frequently but I will try my best!!! 


For those of you who don't know, I am an absolute internet addict. When I was in Melbourne, the first thing I do when I wake up and last thing I do before I go to bed was to go online. And now that is not really an option anymore due to the speed of the internet (or the lack thereof).. I have to do other things to occupy my time. 


So on a random afternoon, my little friend and I decided to bake some Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti. 

 And you obviously have to dress appropriately for baking. Hence the lace apron and headband while checking the recipe in our notebook.

Winter in Japan Part 4: Food and Snow in Hokkaido

Hi everyone. I am still here *waves*!! So sorry that I disappeared for so long. For those of you who don't already know, I recently moved from Australia to Malaysia and I spent most of my last days in Melbourne packing, cleaning, partying and catching up with friends, hence my temporary disappearance from blogland. 

To be honest I am just happy to make it back here in one piece being so late to the airport coupled with my vastly overweight luggage. 

Most of my things are still in disarray so I thought I shall continue with part 4 of my trip to Japan earlier in the year. You can see part 1 HERE, part 2 HERE and part 3 HERE. 

The first thing that caught my eye in Hokkaido at the airport was the sora-ben (bento/lunch boxes you can find at the airports. The ones in train stations are called eki-ben which are station lunch boxes). Ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin) and crab meat are 3 of my most loved seafood on earth and when I saw one bento that houses all three on a bed of lovely japanese rice, I had to get it!!!

BEST LUNCH BOX EVER. I loved it~~ it was a lunch box but i had it for brekkie.. breakfast box?

We then went to the Ramen street in Sapporo for lunch. It's apparently a very famous attraction in the area!! We randomly picked a restaurant and it was superb.

Proud Mary Brunch

Hi dearies!! Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long. I am currently in the process of moving (countries) and the amount of work that cleaning and packing requires have sucked up every little bit of my time to the point that I don't even get to sleep.


But I took a break from the tedious chores one lovely afternoon and went out to have brunch with a few of my girl friends (I am certainly not a morning person at all and thus more often than not I only have one meal a day at dinner time). But I would set my alarm and wake up early for the amazing coffee and delicious food in lovely little cafes like this one anytime. 


I brought a little friend with me~~

"What should I order??"

"I know I know!! I have decided~~"

DIY Suspender Leggings

Hi everyone!! Today I have a little amateurish DIY project to share with you guys. 


The story goes: I saw this pair of leggings that I really liked on nastygal.com, which looks like THIS. But I didn't have the money to justify spending 70 over dollars on a pair of leggings at the time (because I am always broke and I always have a gazillion and one things that I really want to buy). I always went onto the website to look at it, mentally compose lots of different outfits that I could wear it with and imagining how happy my life would be if I were to have that pair of leggings. 


Until one day.....


I checked the site again and it showed the two words that online window-shopping addict dread most, "SOLD OUT". Do you guys understand that feeling? When you suddenly realize how badly you wanted something only at that moment when you do not have the possibility of getting it anymore, when you have lost it... (ok, it might sound a bit dramatic but oh wells)


At that moment I realized I REALLY REALLY wanted them, so I tried looking everywhere online to see if I can buy it elsewhere. But apparently not many online shops store that brand (it was by an Australia brand called Evil Twin, for those who are curious), and the leggings were already sold out on those that did.


I was ready to give up until I read THIS POST by Lid Off a Daffodil. I was so inspired by her that I decided that if she could make something that seems so difficult and impossible to make, I could perhaps make a pair of leggings myself. And so I did!!! And I really liked how it turned out so I am going to share how I made it on here so that maybe I could inspire someone else like how Lid Off a Daffodil inspired me. 


Here are the instructions on how it's made~~


STEP 1. You need to go out and buy a pair of normal footless leggings, and the key here is the material. You need a pair of leggings that are of cotton (like a thick cotton cloth) type material. If you do not get the right leggings (ie, the kind that are more typical for tights, that varies in opacity?), it is going to fall apart when you cut it.

STEP 2. Put on the leggings and mark the approximate position of where you want to cut-out parts to be (I wanted mine around the middle of my thigh). I used a dressmaking pencil that came with a cheap sewing kit.

pink on pink

Hi everyone ♥


I am back with another makeup look post. I wore this look to a pink party I went to several weeks ago and I really liked how it looked in pictures. But since I did not have any decent photos (nothing blog-worthy really since I only brought my old crappy compact digital camera), I decided to recreate the look for this blog post (yeap.. I do like this look a lot). 

and these are everything you will need... minus my NARS Angelika lipgloss.

Are you ready??

Winter in Japan Part 3: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea

Hi everyone ♥  I am back for the third installment of my Japan trip with this post featuring the happiest place on earth (well.. at least for me it is).


Disneyland and Disneysea 


Even till this day, I am in love with EVERYTHING Disney. I have at least 2 pieces of Disney Merchandise on me at all times, I have quite a healthy collection of Mickey clothing, and 4 out of 5 of my all time favourite movies are from Disney.


So... evidently the Disney Resort part of the trip was the most anticipated itinerary for me, and it was nothing short of amazing!!! We spent two days at the Tokyo Disney Resort and spent a night at the Disney Resort Hotel, which I think was the best hotel that I have stayed in in my entire life!!!

My brother was the designated photographer of the day but I haven't gotten the photos off him till this day (6 months after the trip). So... we will just have to make do with my random photos here and there. I had a not-so-good camera back then.

Gummi Bears

I sometimes find that it is quite fascinating how humans (or maybe it's just me) to attribute so many meanings to objects. I am a serious hoarder because I like the feeling of looking at things that would somehow remind me of someone, something or some time in the past.


These gummi bear rings reminded me of a time when I was really happy, when I had little to worry about, when I thought that I could realize my dreams, when I thought that I could finally be one step closer to doing the things that I want to do...


It's funny how that is only one week ago and things have vastly changed. I only wish that people might actually care about me enough to understand and support me. Is that too much to ask for?

Winter in Japan Part 2: Mount Fuji and Hakone

Part 2 of my very belated post on my trip to Japan earlier in the year. 


My siblings and I haven't been on a trip with my parents in a long time because my parents are generally more interested in slow and well planned out tour groups while my brothers and I prefer to stumble, wander and discover (believe me my parents were not thrilled when we walked for blocks and blocks trying to scout for restaurants to have dinner in... to the point when my daddy said *grumpily* if i don't eat soon I will die). 


So in order to treat them to something that they much prefer to do (and also we went on this tour on our last visit and enjoyed it heaps), we joined a guided tour to Mount Fuji and Hakone. We were picked up from out hotel and were on a bus the whole way... which made my parents rather happy I would say.

I don't exactly remember what these were.. but i think they were the rocks that Mount Fuji spitted out when it was erupting. I have zero knowledge on this so please don't believe what I say. Just google if you are curious....

Winter in Japan (Part 1): Asakusa & Akihabara

This is a long belated post. My family and I went on holiday to Japan in February 2011 but I still hadn't had the chance to upload the photos let alone blog about the trip when the Tohoku earthquake struck on March 11th 2011. At the time, looking at the photos from the trip would make me feel really sad knowing that Japan is suffering so much from the disaster.  


The Japanese people were truly inspiring in so many ways. Their general benevolence, kind-heartedness, strength, community spirit and overall optimism despite the circumstances really touched my heart. 


It has since been months since the disaster but I hope that my humble little blogposts (I am planning to do 5 in this series) would remind everyone that the recovery from the disaster is going to require a lot of time as well as support. The impact on the tourism industry in Japan has been quite profound according to several articles that I have read. I think that visiting the country is an amazing way to show one's support as well as playing a part in aiding the economic recovery of Japan.  

I hope to be able to visit Japan again soon as it is definitely one of my favourite places in the world. 


Without further ado, let's get started~~


Day 1. We landed in the wee hours in the morning and we couldn't check in to the hotel yet. So we left our luggage in the hotel and went to Asakusa to visit the temple. 

The entrance into the Asakusa area. I loved browsing at all the amazing shops there. There was always something cute to be discovered; let it be snacks, retro toys, traditional sweets, cute souvenirs and etc. The shopaholic in me went a little crazy.

Sangria and Tapas ♥

Tuesday nights have somewhat become my movie night of choice. Firstly, it's cheapo tickets day at Hoyts cinema (well, I suppose it's really not a massive saving but it still makes me feel good: which is what really matters anyways). Secondly, I just think that it is a mid-week indulgence away from my typical drunk/hungover weekend. Plus there usually isn't anything going on on tuesdays so watching a movie is a chillax-something-to-do for me.

The movie of the day was Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D. To be honest this is my second time watching it. I like it but it is definitely not one of those ever-so-bloody-awesome-i-have-to-see-it-again-asap movies. The only reason that I want to see it again was because I liked the movie the first time round but I was too hungover to concentrate most of the time (on a saturday -.-). Plus I have a thing for cartoon/animation~~~ 

After the movie, my friend and I went to dinner at Movida Aqui. Movida (the original one) seems to be very popular... fully booked on a Tuesday, plus they now have 3 or 4 restaurants (The Masterchef effect??). 

REVIEW: Movida Aqui is nice and cozy, located in a quieter part of the city. I like the atmosphere of the restaurant a lot because it's not one of those pretentious restaurants with itsy bitsy portions of food. I also don't feel like I have to dress prim and proper, sit upright and  not make any noise (Don't get me wrong... I do really enjoy fine dining because I love good food, but most of the time I feel so tense and out of place that I prefer more casual restaurants like this one). Service was okay, I think there was only one or two waiters overlooking the seating area, so can't blame them I suppose. The food was a bit slow, but the waiter did apologize for the delay. Food was pretty good and a pleasant dining experience overall. 

3.5 stars out of 5.

THE FOOD

We ordered a jug of Sangria~~ Maybe it's not the best idea considering it's a tuesday and my friend has class at 8am the next day. 

But this tastes amazing. I normally am not too fond of the slightly strong kick (you know, that punch at the end of the sip) of red wine. THIS.. tastes like juice. The girly side of me loves silent killer drinks like this one: just enough to make me get a little giggly but nothing that is going to burn a whole in my stomach and make me pull a face after drinking it.

They do have an extensive wine list but I am absolutely clueless when it comes to wine so no point trying. I highly recommend the sangria though. Loves it~~

The place that feels more like home than home

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be" Lao Tzu

Letting go is something that I am never good at doing, but I am slowly preparing myself for it. The past 6 over years of my life in Australia have been nothing but amazing, because it allowed me to be myself more than I ever could if I were to stay in Malaysia my whole life. I never would have done the things I did and I never would have met the people I met if I decided to stay home 6 years ago. 

I suppose if I really wanted to stay here, I would have been able to find a way. I would have submitted my TR application and tried really hard to look for a job.. But ultimately I did not do it. 

The decision to leave Malaysia 6 years ago was right, and when I have to make the same decision 6 years later, I chose to leave once again. I guess I need to stumble down a new path, chance upon new possibilities and see a different side of the world before I could be sure of what I want and who I want to be. 

Wish me luck. xoxo

Twiggy's doe eyes

I can't believe it's been 7 months since I last updated my blog. I am such a horrible blog sloth but I just haven't much to blog about since I haven't developed some of the films on my lomo cameras or my fujifilm. And since I don't have a scanner I can't post my polaroids either (which has been my camera of choice lately). 

But I am determined to not let my blog die so I have decided to do a makeup look and camwhore instead. 

I have been wanting to use some of the new lashes I got and these Shu Uemura partial lashes are just absolutely stunning to create the innocent doe eyes that is made famous by the legendary supermodel Twiggy in the 1960's. My lighting is crappy so I practically look orange and since I am a novice in photoshop I really can't do much about it (I tried!!!!).