It was really cooling to nap there after lunch while the weather was so hot. The Airbnb can sleep 2-5 people, so my bro and his gf went upstairs, and my parents and i took downstairs.
Maxim bakery, which my mum’s sister has been running for years since i was born. All my kiddy birthday cakes were Mickey and Minnie Mouse ones from there!
Went to whack the koay teow th’ng at Chow Rasta market
And the curry laksa there…. oof so good
Mummy & Daddy!
Went to the Snake Temple
My mum made fun of me trying to buy the cat brollie, “It’s for kids la!!!!”
I bought it anyway.
Mmm chee cheong fun on left.
Char koay teow on right.
We went to visit my babysitters, Uncle and Aunty Lai, who helped raise me while my parents were at work. It was really common in those times for parents to pay elderly couples to babysit cos help/maids weren’t common. This couple ended up being like my second parents.
I used to play up here all the time when i was a child.
It’s where Aunty Lai hung the laundry. There would be a little basket of colourful plastic pegs, dusty white from its plastic wearing out.
I remember watching huge rats the size of a teenage cat running in the backlane below. In the mornings hawkers would wheel their little vans and trucks selling tau foo fa and vegetables.
These were the first flight of stairs i recall experimenting on for most of my early childhood. I fell head first down them and split the inside of my lower lip open, where there still remains a scar today. Oh but i have many scars… and got so many stitches. My poor mum.
Sonia, Nick and i
An old photo of me in their house!
<3 The two women who did their best to make sure i grew up a good person.
More eating in between bouts of visiting!
For dinner we went to the groom’s house where the family hosted a dinner.
Mummy getting a lot of pleasure from that drink; me with Kiew Meh and Ah Kiu from Alor Setar.
I used to explore the diff rooms in their house there, and my Ah Kiu had motorcycle workshop out front
That night i messaged Chelsia and we went to a bar where friends were singing and we had a girls night!
My cousin Jason, his wife, me, bride Ciao Ping, cousin Johnson, Nick and Sonia
My dashing bro Nick and i
Us!
My Ah Kiu from Singapore!
Next day was more hawker food – woohoo!!!
Shamelessly grinning next to confuzzled koay teow uncle. My mum made me do this, “Go stand there! I take picture!”
I used to hate doing that and there are some pix of an uncomfortable kid next to strangers in our family photo albums, cos i was such a shy kid! But now i’m older and shameless.
So many textures and colours to admire in the market!
Cooking toast with charcoal, it always tastes better
Got some gelato from Maxim
My mum lovessssss photography, she’s got countless excellent pictures of birds, insects and plants which we’ve all been trying to get her to post on a blog (she deleted the one i started her -_-) or sort out for a coffee table book (she says she doesn’t know where to start).
If i see something colourful and shimmery or sparkly and it costs less than RM15…. BUY.
I daresay that ever since all women were little girls, they’ve been waiting for magic to come into their lives, though some forget as they get older.
In can be magic in its many forms. And probably, the most powerful of them all, is love.
Everyone knows that i believe in magic (heck, my nickname is fairy) and i definitely believe in the power of love (it’s even tattooed on my hand to remind me of what’s most important in life). The sentence “I believe in magic and love” has also been on my IG profile for some time!
My more pessimistic girlfriends may declare, “Romance is dead!” and I used to play the empathetic friend and agree, but not anymore. I believe that the more you focus on something good, the more good will come of it. I personally know of so many romantic stories and Cinderella moments, like Lucas’ proposal to Helo that i blogged about. That was romance that brought our guy friends to tears (we have photo evidence guys, you can’t say you didn’t cry).
Then what about Ben‘s proposal to Elizabeth? You can read the full story yourself in the Sept 2014 issue of Tatler.
Ok ok i’m just gonna tell you it here in case you missed it, it’s one of my favourite stories: Ben flies Liz to Istanbul over Christmas holidays cos he loves the place so, and plans to take her out on a date there. He presents her with a beautiful gown in their hotel room which he wants her to wear that night but she doesn’t want to cos she wants to save it for a special occasion, they get into a little tiff over it and she wears it in the end. They have a romantic dinner for two on the balcony of the Palace wing of the Kempinski (i love that hotel!) complete with a cellist entertaining them.
After dinner, they take a walk on the hotel grounds where they stumble upon… a gumball machine. Liz LOVES gumball machines and asks Ben for some coins, with which she pops in. Out rolls a gumball which she opens to find… a Harry Winston ring. And then Ben’s on his knees proposing and saying all these things like how much he loves her and wants to grow old with her. Liz is shocked… and says yes.
And then… (because like that’s all not enough right) fireworks explode in the sky across the river from them. And a photographer hidden somewhere in the bushes captures their picture.
I remember telling some guy friends this story and they were roaring with laughter.
“What!? That’s too much! This guy is spoiling the market!”
No guys, YOU are spoiling the market!
I love sharing and listening to stories like this cos it makes me feel fuzzy and gleeful inside knowing it’s HAPPENING out there. I remembered some girl friends storytelling to me in the past about their romantic moments, and went to hound them again for the full stories so i could share them HERE with you so just you know… it’s out there 😉
These interviews were done casually via whatsapp / phone call / email / voice note.
Women, enjoy.
Men, listen and learn. Or read and learn. You know what i mean.
I was spending the summer in Porto and I met Ricardo through Tinder about halfway through. He was smitten with me from the start, I think. He would drop by my building, where Emma and I had our penthouse apartment, with cute little things for me – like a cartoon pin. Unfortunately I didn’t quite feel the same, but we continued to hang out occasionally.
On my last day in Porto before moving to Lisbon, he brought me lunch. Not just any lunch, but one of my favourites – octopus salad from down the road. We ate it on my balcony. It was sunny and hot and therefore on a whim, he decides to take me to the beach. We packed up the car and he drove us to the other side of the river (where the beaches are better). We climbed rocks and played frisbee. He carried me when my bare feet hurt from stepping on pebbles. Then the sun started to set and we laid down on the towel, really close to each other. I couldn’t help but kiss him and so there we were, making out on the sand under the glow of a magnificent sunset and… on the other side, the moon was already visible.
When it got too cold, he took me to one of those ‘scenic viewpoints’ where I could enjoy a view of Porto in the last remaining light of the day whilst listening to the crashing waves. At one point it felt so cheesy that I had to laugh at myself. But whatever; it was truly a beautiful evening – I was in a place so close to my heart, at sunset, on the beach, with a lovely guy who was really fond of me. It was a gift!
We ended the night by sharing an ice cream when we got back to the city.
Aaaandddd thennnnnn as you know… time passed and we went our separate ways, during which he dated other people… and by some chance events led to me staying at his place when I was next in Porto six months later, and then again after I cracked my stupid ribs, we have ended up falling in love with each other O_O
[Oh, how i BURST out laughing at the end of that one! When Yishyene told me she was going skiing on advanced slopes, i worriedly said, “Please don’t kill yourself,” and she ended up fracturing two ribs. I’m glad you’re alive you idiot.]
If I may blow your mind for a second, this is the story of my birthday week one year. I thought it only happened in movies. Well, no. Because it happened to me.
I was told that it was not going to be anything special and was instructed to have lunch at home before getting ready by 1.45pm.
At 1.45pm sharp, I got a text from him: “Outside.”
I walked out to the car that was waiting for me not recognizing the vehicle. I didn’t even know the driver. So I looked at him and asked, “Ye, cari siapa?”
He smiled and asked me to get in. I climbed into the back seat and asked, “Where are we going?” The driver laughed.
I texted the guy:
“Wadeheyyylll?????!!!!! Apa niiiiiiiiii????!!!!”
“This is… Your birthday celebration?”
“This is gilaaaa!!”
The text went on and on in the same context till I got tired of asking.
“Just play along and enjoy it.” So i did.
There I was, in the backseat of the car, in my shorts, T-shirt and beat-up sandals, looking like a runaway, being chauffeured to a destination unknown.
After half an hour, the car pulled up at Impiana Hotel and Spa KLCC. I felt so lost, I had to sit down for a while when I got into the hotel lobby. Then I was instructed to go to the reception and tell them my name. I signed my name and got my key cards to a room which was on the 10th floor. I was in daze. Before I left the reception to walk to the lift, the staff at the counter wished me, “Happy birthday!”
I just smiled. Really, I had no words.
When I got into my room, there was a bouquet of a dozen roses on the bed. And when I was just about to collapse from all this madness, the phone rang, “Hello Ms. Faridah. I just want to inform you that there is a spa session for you…”
“Wait. What…??!!”
“Spa session. It’s already been planned. So, at 3 o’clock please come down to Swasana Spa at Level 4”
“Ok.”
Then there was a knock on the door and when I opened it, it was room service singing Happy Birthday to me whilst bearing a bottle of bubbly. I just sat there stoned, trying to take everything in and asked myself what did I possibly do to deserve all this?
“#LIKEABOSS”
“Gila! #QUEENOFTHEWORLD ok!”
“Is everything ok?”
“Everything’s perfect.”
“The spa, don’t rush. They’ll wait for you. The queen is entitled to be late.”
At 3.10pm I went down to Swasana Spa and gave them my name.
“Hello Ms. Faridah. Happy birthday to you.”
I was directed to the lounge where I was served cold traditional Balinese juice before being shown different massage oils and scrubs. I chose the one that smelt the sweetest.
I was shown to my private room, where my therapist introduced herself and she scrubbed me for I-don’t-know-how-long. Then I had to shower. Then I was told to get into the Jacuzzi. Then, I had to ask for a cold shower because I can’t stand being in hot water for that long. Then, it was this out-of-the-world 90-min massage followed by a facial. At the end of the session, she showed me to the relaxation area where they served me ginger tea.
I sat there, feeling all awesome and thankful. I even got a birthday card from the spa.
Guess what time I walked out of the spa? 7pm. It was a 4-hour spa session.
When I got back into my room, A pink birthday cake was waiting for me on the table.
I was asked to get ready for dinner, which was at Las Vacas, which i’d been craving for a week and finally, got to satisfy my craving.
I don’t how many times I’d thanked him for the experience and his reply was: “I think you deserve it.”
We basically bought a house together, and this was on inspection day when we were handed the key (i was on full-on inspection mode with my notepad and everything). We walked into our new home and were slowly examining it from the lift lobby right until the first bathroom… and i didn’t now why he was harassing me to rush into the living room.
I was like, “Seriously baby… we need to do this properly because we’re inspecting the apartment and we need to pick up on all the defects” and what not, and then i smelled this stench and went, “You know, i think we need to get the cleaners in to clean this apartment.”
Finally when i walked into the living room, i looked up and i saw that the whole place had been covered with vases and vases of white roses andddd obviously that was where the smell was coming from, and obviously… i’m not a fan of flowers, am i?!
I was a bit stunned, ‘cos i did not expect it. (He had everyone in the whole building from the security guards, to the person that escorted us into the lift in on it. Everyone knew about his proposal so it was kinda embarrassing when i left the condo.)
I turned around and he was on bended knee, telling me that all the white roses symbolizes every day that we’ve been together, so it’s equivalent to nearly four years of roses..? And that he wanted my hand in marriage bla bla bla [LOL Yiu Lin!] I was more in shock but obviously said YES and proceeded to call our parents.
So that was the proposal, that was romantic by his standards, but i was more impressed that he managed to keep this under wraps so well. The ring that he got for the engagement was designed almost eight months prior by himself with the whole jewellery team, so that was quite impressive i have to say – that he managed to sneak it all under my nose and got a lot of our friends involved in the planning without my knowing!
Thanuja– Host, Model, Emcee, Animal Activist & Advocate, Miss World Malaysia 2010
It was the time Julia Morley was in town for the Miss World Malaysia gala dinner pageant and we were celebrating her coming down. I was in my gown and going home late at night but dashed to the airport to say bye to him. We usually fetch each other to the airport when we’re going somewhere, but this time i had to work and be at the event so i couldn’t… but i still wanted to say bye.
I didn’t have enough rest and got into a big bad car accident on the way home. My car hit the divider and i was in shock. Just complete shock, it was a really bad accident… and the first person i called was him. I was still near KLIA then, and he was already on the tarmac on the way to the plane when it happened.
He threw his bags and passport down, missed his flight and ran to me.
He literally ran and walked, ran and walked, cos there were no cabs, it was 2 in the morning! It was about 10 kilometres… I was terrified cos it was pitch dark and I was alone, and when i saw this tall figure coming towards me, i got scared it was some robber! When he reached the car, he puked from all that running!
When the tow truck came, it towed both of us in the car back to the airport so he could get his passport and stuff, and i felt so bad cos he had to run back into the airport cos the two truck couldn’t go up.
Oh i have another story, about watching a movie but i’m not sure if you’d find it romantic.
The boyfriend and i wanted to go watch a movie and it was something we both really wanted to see, so we went despite my not feeling too well. My fever went up really high while in the cinema and my eyes became bloodshot. I got some hot milo but my fever didn’t go down, and i was shivering and didn’t stop.
My boyfriend was like, “Okayyy you need panadol.” So he left me in the cinema to find me aspirin, there was no pharmacy in the shopping complex, he took the car out and went away to 7-Eleven, and came back with it; which i thought was really sweet and romantic.
The little things mean a lot to me, i thought it was really sweet of him! I think i was 22 then, and i’m still with the same boyfriend!
Ok it’s back to me now… Joyce. It’s Joyce here.
Just making sure cos that was a lot of stories!
It doesn’t matter whether it’s taking someone out on a date, treating them elaborately for a day, saving a woman in distress, or planning a proposal. What matters to a woman, is the effort!
The running theme in all these stories is not how romantic the man makes it out to be (cos the woman i.e. in Yiu Lin’s case might not see it as romantic) BUT what a woman finds romantic, is the great lengths a man goes to take.
It is not something you can hide nor fake, as true love and magic shines brightly in its own form and a girl will always know in her heart whether it’s the right feeling for her.
To further spread magic and love, here’s a little gift that will go out to some of you this beautiful week:
I’ve been waiting for this for MONTHS.
A live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, “Cinderella” brings to life the timeless images from Disney’s 1950 animated masterpiece as fully-realized characters in a visually-dazzling spectacle for a whole new generation.
Directed by Academy Award® nominee Kenneth Branagh (Thor, Hamlet) and starring two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, Elizabeth), Lily James (Downton Abbey), Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) and Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech, Alice in Wonderland), Cinderella is produced by Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Elysium), Allison Shearmur (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1) and David Barron (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) with Tim Lewis (Edge of Tomorrow) serving as executive producer. The screenplay is by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass).
They all sound like components for a magical movie already!
WIN: 10 Pairs of Invites to the Grand Premiere of Disney’s Cinderella!
To Enter:
For guys,
If you’d like to score brownie points and surprise her with a dressy movie date night, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.
Just write in to me and tell me the most romantic thing you’ve done, or PLAN to do for her (please add in a note which it is so i know not to blog about it and spoil your future surprise!). It can be a sentence, or a paragraph, up to you.
For ladies,
I’d like you to tell me your most romantic Cinderella moment that has happened, or you wish/envision to happen to you. I thrive on these stories, and would love to read your thoughts!
If you’d rather your man do the work, why don’t you send him the link to this blogpost and ask him to enter the contest on your behalf? Let him do the romancing 😉
Send all entries to joyce@kinkybluefairy.com entitled “My Cinderella Moment” Please include your phone number Contest ends 12am Monday 9th March 2015 Winners will be contacted via phone and email on Monday morning
“Eye-popping colors. Experimentation. Painted effects. The new Furla collection for Spring/Summer 2015 plays with fashion, art and graphics; melding the worlds with a dynamic appeal, understated elegance and upbeat energy.
Inspired by the Neo-Pop artistic movement, a post-modern interpretation of Pop Art, the new styles vibrate with lively primary colours counterpointed by gentler shades, often combined with chromatic gusto to form daring colour-block effects.
From sun up to nightfall, the collection channels a relaxed yet modern elegance anchored on impeccable Made in Italy craftsmanship, prized materials and an ever-evolving creativity.”
It was so refreshing to see how Furla displayed their bags ala art pieces in an exhibition.
I’m wearing laced top and structured skorts from Love Bonito
Melly (my ex-contributor from Tongue in Chic, and now working for Furla!), me, Zoe from Tongue in Chic, and Celeste from Clive / Juice.
I had a worrying start to the week where i fell really ill and was in bed for a total of 24 hours for all of Sunday and some of Monday. Then i got completely better and WAS SO THANKFUL cos i don’t know how i would have got all the work i needed to get done, DONE.
And Tuesday, starting midnight, was a very interesting but amazing day.
I had to go through my blog’s categories for hours cos we’re working on cleaning up the whole platform
(and who’s so smart to rework the blog, rush a client’s campaign, and organise a 300-pax event ALL in the same week? Me -_- My poor team… sorry guys. You are so best la.)
Back to the blog categories – so i had to read all these old posts to decide where to slot them, and didn’t expect having to read through a whole bunch of emotional posts that i wrote regarding deaths and past relationships. Oh, there were grand posts too, that made me laugh and marvel. But what an emotionally intense activity that was. All the way till 5:30am.
When i slept, i had this insane dream. Vivid, bright, detailed, long.
It was so impactful to me i wrote it down the moment i woke up.
Just seconds after, the apartment management called me asking how long the renovation was going to go on for cos the neighbours were complaining (cos we’re ripping out the floors, i’m sorry, i’m gonna have to buy all my new neighbours cookies and give them out or something).
There was someone in my dream i felt like messaging cos it felt like the right thing to do,
and just when i was typing it out, they called asking for lunch.
Synchronicity still astounds me. I’d been starving since 3am so i went, and shared something i didn’t think i would that left me shaken. Went home, meditated to calm myself down cos i couldn’t stop vibrating. I mean, i was literally just shaking non stop. I don’t know what the hell is going on sometimes. (ok fine i know but anyways) I then meditated love over these precious stones i’d found in my old room in my parents’ house and took them home with me. I’d already cleansed them and put them in the morning sun time and again, and today… felt like the right day to do it.
I just went deep into nothingness and thought about love. I don’t really ask for anything nowadays, and just go into nothingness. It’s not something i MEAN to do, it just kinda happened and felt right and i kept on doing it when i felt the need to. Then it was time to work. It was so intense my eyes hurt some times and i had to stop to rest them, or maybe my brain, or maybe both.
Went for the KBF yee sang dinner at Mei by Fat Spoon, and it was such a great dinner! Jane happened to have brought her camera, and there were 8 of us there – me, Baby, Jane (photog), Joe (designer), Phillip (our programmer), Kuman (designer), Rengee (PR), Adrian (intern). I didn’t give them an ang pow, but let each of them choose a stone from the bunch i meditated on earlier that day. I didn’t even think i was going to do that, just spotted them on my way out and felt like doing it so i grabbed them and some ang pow packets for them to take them home in. I took Frozen and Airbnb ang pow packets. Only 3 people chose the Frozen ones hmm.
I feel like i’m leaving the best parts out… i’m just describing my day.
Okay what made my day so awesome was that i was in such a full range of strong emotions today – love, fear, shock, exhilaration, happiness, shyness, disbelief, etc. At one point Baby and i were screaming and hugging in the middle of Hartamas like crazy people. Can i just add that i love the people at Text100? 🙂
OK it’s 4am and i need to get on a deadline. I calculated that since i woke up at 11am today, i can last till about 8am if i have to. Gotta run BYE!
My blog turns 11 years old! Crazy right… if you told me when i first started i’d be blogging for more than 10 years, i’d be like, “Hmm yeah sureee.” Maybe the best things happen when you don’t force a plan into action, and instead let the Universe take control and allow yourself into the flow.
To honour all you readers that made blogging a possible dream for me, we’ll be giving away fun and functional birthday presents to YOU for the next 11 days! Just follow instagram.com/kinkybluefairy and regram the pictures we’re releasing daily! You can upload as many pictures as you want on IG/FB till 15th March 2015!
Performing will be Reza Salleh, Chelsia Ng, Esmond Sees, DJs Patricia K, Irama, Indiego & Co., and Twinkies!
Thanks to Pioneer for lending us a CDJ 😉 <3
