You know you can't have everything...

...in life when:

- you earned big bucks and thought you have the dream job everyone wished he/she could have, BUT you have no time to spend it, your family and friends are not around to enjoy your life with, and the love of your life is halfway across the world, or
- you have a good career, not sky rocket high paycheck but comfortable enough, your family and friends are one phone call away, you have the time of your life, BUT that one guy is still 24 hr flight away with 12 hours time difference in between,
- you've got your man next to you, to wake up to his kiss every morning, to cuddle him to sleep every night, BUT your family and friends are not on the other side of the globe, you end up with no career that could make you feel proud of yourself.

You really can NOT have everything you want in life, can you? You just have to find a way to be happy with what you have at this very moment.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm back!

Not that anyone would notice. I've been slacking off for quite a while. But trust me, I have a good reason this time.

I HAD A TWO WEEK VACATION IN MALAYSIA!!!

Ok that came out a little too excited. But i had the most amazing two weeks, despite all the dramas that happened before we flew to Malaysia.

I'll save the whole long story of our trip on the next post. Now, lets just enjoy the pictures of the memorable event happening on March 19, 2011. Our wedding reception :)

Soooo many pretty pictures I wish I can put them all here! I swear I'll have the hardest time choosing pictures for printing. I was over the moon on how perfect the wedding was. Everything was exactly like how I imagined my wedding would be. I had my dream white wedding dress, which I love to death and wish to wear it over and over again, the groom looked dashingly handsome :) , I had all my family members and lovely friends to celebrate with, so many people came up wearing the theme colors (you guys rock!), we had joget lambak and poco2 (highlight of the night) and everyone had a wonderful time. I couldn't ask for more, Alhamdulillah.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my family who's helped tremendously in planning this wedding since it was geographically impossible for me to do it. They know how pain in the ass I can be, and they did the very best job in making my wish comes true. I love you all, mak abah syikin hanim farah baby ammar ainal aisy too much!
Also, thank you to my relatives who worked hard making sure that everything went well according to plan. Also my uncles, aunts and cousins who made time to come to our wedding. I'm truly sorry for not having enough time to thank you individually, but I am forever grateful.
Of course, to kak yah abg pica & rania, kak amal yos & yasmina, kak fura & razik, kak pinat and kak shida who made this day a 1000 times more special. Thank you for the most perfect wedding gift ever! You guys understand me like no other.
To my friends who managed to come, especially those who had to drive all the way from KL, thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking some time off to be part of this special day. I wish I had more time to spend with every single one of you.
Last but definitely not least, to my darling husband... Thank you for keeping up with this bridezilla and giving me everything I want with no question asked. You are a bless and a God's gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I promise to love you forever and may we have the most beautiful marriage. Amin.

Pictures credit to Kak Pinat. Yg laen blom sempat download lg. Seksa ok picasa ni kene download one by one. Kak Yah, sile upload gmbar from your camera cepat!

Oh go to friendsnobs.blogspot.com! They kindly posted my wedding reception on their awesome blog :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Time Off

I need a break from all these wedding planning shits. Sick and tired of browsing one pelamin after another, the wedding favors, the cakes, the makeups, and oh dont let me start on the wedding dress. Nothing against them, all so very pretty. but my wallet cried when I look at the price of everything wedding-related. they are freaking expensive!

Wedding stuff aside, I want to announce that I had successfully cooked 6 Malay dishes for our housewarming last weekend (ok fine, Peiji helped, but I'm the master chef!) We started the day early coz we need to buy the chicken and beef from the Muslim grocery nearby. Mind you we didn't cook much before because Peiji was supposed to replace the original kitchen hood with a much more powerful one that we got in Brooklyn the week before. He thought he could do it himself and took down the old one. Later he realized it was too complicated, and will require his dad to do it. So we lived without the hood for a week = not much cooking, hence no raw meat in the fridge (blame Kak Pinat for this explanation bugs. I just cant help myself!)

Long story short (short ke?), we temporarily used the old one for that day since we were going to cook a lot for the housewarming. To be honest, I was a bit nervous because I haven't cooked in what 3 years maybe (who cooked in Malaysia when you have delicious cheap food outside, and mommy to cook at home?). But everything turned out nicely in the end, and we made it on time! The food were ready exactly as the first guest arrived. Talk about time management! but the host didn't have time to clean herself up after the whole day in the kitchen. bummer!

Here's the proof of my hidden talent, so my future guests won't be scared they're going to starve to death or get food poisoning hehe. But first, the look can be deceiving, but the taste is alright I think (puji diri sendiri)

Seafood tomyam(this one was below the par coz Peiji pandai2 letak tamarind soup base. So the blame is entirely on him!)

Ayam masak merah(I need to suggest this cast iron pot to my mom. Good for slow cook and the food wont get burned)

My most favorite! Sambal ikan bilis. Terus rase nak masak nasi lemak!

Korean beef short ribs

Stir fried shrimp (this is Peiji's menu. xsempat amik gambar org dah terkam)

Beef lasagna (I know I know this seems out of place, but I haven't had lasagna in so long, and craving for it. Plus, it's a Malay style with serbuk kari and chilli and all)

No picture of the host because both looks like they haven't showered in a week! And no pictures of the guests because everyone's busy eating while I took a shower boleh? ;) We had a good turnout that day. Spent the rest of the evening watching The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Good time :) Oh, Rozy's American husband, Dany approved of my lasagna! Yeay! And they brought us this gift. Dany took the picture himself when they were travelling around the world last time, and he framed it himself. Such a sweet and personal gift, in my opinion. I love it! As you can see, we hanged it right away :)

Ok need to get ready for big dinner tonight. It's Chinese New Year's eve. Cant believe I'm celebrating this now. Would be nice to get some ang pow, buttttt we're married, so no angpow :(

I shall leave you with my powerful range hood that was successfully installed by Doduo (not the pokemon, but Peiji's dad!) Like finally!!

Check out my useless spices yo!Have no idea how to use 90% of them!

Toodles chickas!

i'm coming home!

That's right, people! We're heading back to Malaysia in March for 2 weeks. Yay! And what's even better is, we only spend $500 for 2 returned ticket JFK-KUL. Thanks to the 100K points that Peiji had in his British Airways credit card. Isn't he awesome? ;)

And InsyaAllah we're going to have a reception on March 19 in Melaka. I'm in the midst of planning for the day all the way here in US. Thank God for internet and my awesome friends back in Malaysia! They've got really great ideas and websites for me to do my research. And definitely thanks to my parents who'd help planning as well. God knows what a pain to have a super fussy daughter like me. ok I better save my Thank You speech on the reception day itself.

So, lets see what I've been juggling so far. The upcoming interview for kad hijau (have yet to gather all the documents, I've only printed photos so far *shiver*), browsing for available job opening and sending resumes to countless websites, planning the reception (so far, only photographer done, a gazillion more to do list to go), planning for upcoming honeymoon (kononnye laaaa), being the domestic housewife that I've never imagined myself to be (i.e. cooking, cleaning, doing laundry pfftt). I know I'm super awesome at multitasking *blow nails*

Anyway, I get to see all my friends on that day, cause I don't know when is the next time I'll ever get to see them and hang out *sobs*

Till then gorgeous! XOXOXO!!

Finally!

Peiji and I have finally moved in and settled down in our new home. Pheww! It's a hard work, man! From carrying the stuff up to the apartment, to all the tedious DIY stuff (this stupid shoe closet has a million pieces and only 1 page of instruction! I wanna kill the people who came out with it). We moved in last weekend, but some of the furniture didn't arrived yet. We ordered the bedroom set on Sunday but it was finally ready yesterday so Peiji rented a U-haul and picked it up. Guess which set we get!

tadaaaaa!!!

Remember my previous post asking your opinion on which set should I get for our bedroom? Well, I know a lot of people love the other one. It does look more modern. And definitely has more closet space compared to this white one. We went to the warehouse to view the set actually, but the place looked so sketchy (and they got bad review online), so we decided to not risk it. Instead, we got this one! Isn't it lovely? Oh, my favorite part of this set has got to be this:

Floor to ceiling mirror!!!

Ok fine, not that high till it can touch the ceiling. But what else would you call it? Anyway, I've always wanted this in my room! A little pricey for a mirror, but I know a way to get Peiji to agree to buy it ;) it's perfect for camwhore since no one takes my pictures anymore. Love love love. Now we need to get curtain/blind for the room. I feel like my privacy is violated with nothing covering the windows.

Apart from that, we're pretty much settled. Only need to buy little stuff here and there to complete the house. All big furnitures are done thank God! I've suffered from back pain now from carrying all those big heavy furniture. I deserve a back massage every night! oh oh we forgot to buy the most important thing for an Asian family. A rice cooker!!! don't ask me what I've been eating for the past one week. Peiji said he's waiting for a good deal for a rice cooker. Someone please tell him that his lady is one hungry hyppo who can't NOT eat rice on daily basis, therefore the need to wait for the deal is unjustifiable.

ok enough rambling. I want to go take a nap on the new bed ;)

Here's some pictures of the part that have been furnished for my family to see, especially my mom who worries that I'd be too lazy to clean up the house.

Love the stools! We actually eat here more than at the dining table.

Not exactly how I envisioned my living room to be, but this will do for now. No budget for my dream sectional sofa. Anyone wants to donate 3k?

I take full credit on the shining floor! I actually mopped it every single day since we moved in, apart from unpacking, doing dishes and laundry, and arranging everything. Very domestic and very unlike me. Xpercaye, tanye Peiji. My mom said, kat Malaysia bolehla nak manja2 ade parents, ade adik beradik tolong basuhkan baju (babyyyy i miss you!!!), kat perantauan kenal lah jadi independent *sniff* so true!

Btw, Kak Pinat bangge x sy ikut jejak langkah akak? ;)

Till then, gorgeous! Sloppy white bedroom set kisses! xxx

rambling at its best

MIA for a bit coz I've been under the radar for the past week. I was in bed 90% of the day and could barely walk. Went to see doctors and had a couple of tests done. Basically the most excruciating pain I've ever had to endure. And no, I don't intend to elaborate furhter. Anyway, I started feeling a bit better since yesterday, so that's good. And thank God for him who has been taking care of me the entire time. I have no idea what I'd do without you, love :)

On a happier note, do you guys know that January is a birthday month for 3 of very important people in my life. Jan 6 was my beloved mom's birthday, Jan 8 was this hot mommy's, and Jan 10 was the new mommy, Azura's day. The funniest thing is, I've never get to celebrate any of these days with them for the past I dont know, 7 years. There's 4 years in college in 2004-2008, then I went to India for work in 2009, went to US in 2010, and finally migrated in 2011. Have a LOT to make up to them! I dont even know when I will get to celebrate with them ever. But I believe they had a good time, especially Azura who just received the best present for this year's birthday, her adorable baby Rose Azzahrra :) Congratulation darling! I'm so very proud of you. Also, I had a video conference with Kak Yah and friends. We are the high tech people yo! Had fun watching so many people came to her place to surprise the birthday girl. But the sad part is, Rania has slowly forgotten about me :( Next thing I know, she wouldn't remember Auntie Aien anymore *sobs*

stealing picture from Kak Pinat's facebook ;p

Another update. I'm moving in to the new place this Sunday!!! Sooo freaking excited! We had the closing on Thursday and got the keys. Signed our lives away to mortgage, man. Oh wait, Peiji signed the loan. I signed the title only. So technically I own the house but he's paying for it haha. Don't worry baby, I promise I won't run away with the house lol. Now all we need to do is go back to the parents' to get our stuff and drive back to the new home :) Also, we need to go to Brooklyn to get the bedroom set and a couple of other furniture. Can't wait to be an interior designer for our little nest and start decorating! And, definitely use the kitchen! oh please let me make full use of the kitchen! I have a long list of recipes I want to try on, and a bunch of desserts I want to make. Will report back if it's really happening ok. Don't hold your breathe though ;)

Another exciting thing is my interview is going to be on the first Monday in February! ok before everyone gets excited and thinks that I'm getting a new job, no darling. Not a job interview (although I very much wish it is) but the kad hijau interview. A bit nervous, but insyaAllah everything will go smoothly and I can get the card and buy ticket back to Malaysia soon!!!!! (ok fine, look for a job too pffftt). Everyone keep your finger crossed ok.

Till the next post, gorgeous people! Toodles!

Hello 2011!

It's officially 2011! Just got back from Rozy's place for a small gathering to celebrate the new year. She cooked delicious nasi lemak with sambal ikan bilis and kari ayam along with wanton. And Kak Aida brought along sambal kacang. We finished off with Rozy's homemade chocolate pie (super yummy im gonna get the recipe from her!) and flan. Too much good food, I'm telling ya! A good way to end 2010 and welcome 2011 :) We did the countdown in front of the TV along with millions of people in Times Square. Also got to watch fireworks from the apartment. All in all, it was a good night. And I had my first kiss for 2011 with my husband :) Alhamdulillah...
And of course, I've come up with new year resolutions. Got a bit confused with resolutions and wishes, so I'm going to throw them all in.

- to lose weight. FO REAL! You know this one is coming so might as well get it out of the way.
- to freaking get a job! And finally blow my nails and flip my hair in front of those people who have been looking down on me.
- to have my intimate wedding in Malaysia, the one I will remember for the rest of my life.
- to be less materialistic and brand concious. I reckon no handbag for 2011, well except maybe for that Mulberry Alexa just because I feel like changing my style a lil bit (oh well this one might be as hard to accomplish as the first)
- to be more grateful with everything that I have in this world and less whiny. Basically, less headache for the husband (I'm still not very used to calling him husband hehe)
- to travel more. I have a list of places I want to go this year. Lets make it happen!
- to block all thr negativity and focus only on the positive side of everything.
- to be happy and content with whatever i do, career or personal wise.
- to be a better person in every single aspect, Insya Allah.

Lets begin 2011 with our best foot forward and keep praying that it will be blessed with prosperity and happiness. Amiinn.

And oh, I do hope to make full use of my kitchen. Cant wait!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone