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Showing posts from 2012

Dust Management

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Assalamu'alaikum. I don't know others, but I hate dust. Allergic to it. Sinus is one thing, yes. But headaches contributor is another one bigger thing. Owh, yeah that's right.. Dust gives me headaches. Most of the time. Makes me feel inadequate and incompetent to bits. Why? Because it gives this impression of how lousy I am at making my place in order. No, not that really. It's more to shooting right into my eyes, heart and soul.  I can't explain it, but let's just say that I just love to see everything shining at me. Know what I mean? All those perfumes you see above had been stealing loads of my time whenever I cleaned the dressing table. I had to take each one of them down and put them back like almost everyday? Oh My Goodness, Nai...! So enough was enough. I went to the nearest Cosway distributor and redeemed those two multi-purpose racks to save my day. Yeah, Alhamdulillah.. my job has been easier ever since. That's what I call as the 'Dust Manage

Beautifully Caged White Tigers and A Kid's Preference

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Assalamu'alaikum. How are you guys doing? Any of you loves tigers? Well, Junior does. In fact, he's crazy for almost all animals. Tigers in particular. That's why he keeps asking to keep going to the zoo, which I'm so not into. In Phuket FantaSea Theme Park that was exactly what he wanted to go and see. Come shine come rain, he was adamantly determined. Thanks to the disposable rain-coats I had brought along from home, we bid farewell to other visitors who were stranded in the rain. Off to the tigers' haven. No smiles, a'ah. Not until he could get to the tigers.  Then only he could smile... ^_^ Well, much much much better compared to four years ago, when all he did was either crying or making us wanna cry. Then he found nothing interesting in Phuket FantaSea. Now at least he had his preference. White Tigers, apparently.  What a gorgeous showroom a.k.a cage for the controlled species. Kids, that's just the way they really are.

Wordless Wednesday ~ First Time Ever!

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Assalamu'alaikum. With Loads of Love, Nai at Tak Pe Je.

Quad Bike, the Mainland Jet-Ski

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Assalamu'alaikum. Hi there, everybody. How are you doing? It's Christmas tomorrow and a big shout out to my Christian friends who're celebrating it. Hope you guys have a blast! For today, here's a picture of Junior on an ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle). This quad-bike looked tempting to me but my flu didn't compromise at all, so I just sat under an umbrella-ed tree waiting for Junior and his daddy for half an hour or so.  I didn't even know they have all this in Phuket ~ I thought it's all about paradise islands only. But apparently they also have this city tour thingy, one of which is a park with ATV ride, go-kart, shooting and elephant trekking all in one place in a district called  Si Sunthong . Extremely hot, but adventurous to bits. Junior loved the place so much he asked to go again some time. But we said we'd find ATV rides in Malaysia itself soon. Do you love this kinda thing as well? I think it's just like jet-ski, only that it&

Paint Me Surreal

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Assalamu'alaikum. It's a wonderful sunny Sunday here in Kuala Lumpur by far. No sign of rain. Well, not just yet. Our lunch was great, Alhamdulillah. Fresh from the humble kitchen of mine. The menu was simple (Beef Curry - Ikan Pekasam - Mixed Salads - Sambal Belacan). Simple But Heavenly Tasteful.  Thanks to my SIL, who took charge right after I was done making the Beef Curry. Anyhow, I'm not displaying any picture of the menu here. For I was too tired and too hungry to even remember to snap any. Hurmm..  So, here's just a surreal painting of me, thanks to LunaPic Online Photo Editor. There goes nothing from me. Thanks anyhow for reading. Hope your weekend has been a bliss, guys. Until next entry, sayonara. Much Love, Nai at Tak Pe Je. Assalamu'alaikum.

Back To Basic With Blouse and Pants

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Assalamu'alaikum. How are you guys? Hope you are all doing good, Inshaa Allah. In my recent trip to Phuket, I felt like going back to the good old days when I was always dressed in blouse and pants. When I preferred pants to jeans. So I packed several matching blouses and pants together with separate hijabs. Other than advocating the basic ensemble, that had proven to be weight friendly, both to the luggage and the hands holding them. Here's one of them: The hijab was a square one of 60 inches opening. I really had to exercise the ultimate patience while styling it. Wasn't a wise idea it turned out to be.. not suitable for the Phuket hot and dry weather. Loved what I saw, though. ^_^ There goes nothing from me. Thanks for reading. Until next entry, bye for now.  Much Love, Nai at Tak Pe Je. Assalamu'alaikum.

Phuket Revisited ~ Phang Nga Bay Tour

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Assalamu'alaikum. I'm back in town. Safe and sound. Alhamdulillah. I went to Phuket. Again. From the moment we stepped our feet in the island four years ago, we vowed to come back again. And again. What a heaven on earth. Subhanallah...! Phang Nga Bay ~ Q to get into the narrow cave   This time around Junior knew to appreciate the beautiful scenery unlike before.  Which was a bliss, coz we had the nicest time together. Last time he was all moody due to the hot and extremely dry weather. Can't blame him, though. What do you expect from a four year-old boy, right?   Boat Ride ~ Phang Nga Bay Tour Junior particularly loved the narrow path in the cave, which was very adventurous according to him. We had to lie down flat in the boat while going into the dark cave. The air was so tensed due to the heavy traffic with the boats coming in and out of the cave. There was only ONE entrance, which also served as exit. Phewww! Worth the narrow cave ~ Mangrove Trees awaited u

It's Friday Again, December Almost Bids Farewell..

Assalamu'alaikum. Hi there, dear friends. How have you been doing this week? It's friday again, how fast time passes. Next thing you know, December almost comes to an end. 2012 will become a yester-year. 2013 steps in to succeed the throne. And we all become a year less younger. Scary, don't you think? Anyways, I'm out of town now. Would blog about my location soon.. ^_^ Just to do a quick post and say Hello to those who have been kind enough to keep coming back here. Because you guys really add up to the spice in the blogging space of mine. Appreciate it so very much. Thank you, it's been goooooood all year round with you all. Now I must go, you have a great weekend ahead, ya? Until then, Cheerio...! Much Love, Nai a.k.a Tak Pe Je. Assalamu'alaikum.

KL-Langkawi-Penang-KL ~ A Road Trip

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Assalamu'alaikum. How was your weekend? Hope you guys had a good rest. Mine was spent mostly in the car, literally speaking. We drove from KL after Isya' prayer all the way to Kuala Perlis Jetty, where we took a ferry to Langkawi Island. Our trip was the 8.15 a.m ferry, the tickets we got after 2 hours of queuing. The Jetty was ridiculously full with people. I slept all 60 minutes of the journey to Langkawi Island. Bliss.. We got lucky when we found a landlady whose homestay was still available at such a short notice. D'rumah Warisan Homestay was such a cozy kampung-style place, as it turned out. And we got it for a mere RM140 per night, which was da bomb good, just what we wanted and more. Later I had been told that I could have gotten at least another 10 bucks cheaper had I asked for discount. But come to think of it, I'd rather not. Just because she was an angel, not necessarily that I had to play a devil. What goes around, comes around.. remember?  

Saree Turns Abaya

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Assalamu'alaikum. I sent this soft green saree to my tailor to be made into an abaya. She gave me a weird look for a glance or two, but smiled nonetheless at the third one.  And she said she was pleased when she saw the outcome. So, my response was: "Told ya.." I wore it the first time at my brother's nikah day and the second time yesterday at work.  The detriment was temperature factor. I would never wear it in a hot place. Air-cond friendly, rest assured.  With my practical student Since I love it so much, I'm gonna get another nice saree for another pretty abaya.  May be for Eid. May be for office wear. May be both. Hehehe. That's all, folks. Thanks for reading. Appreciate it so much. Bye for now.  With Love, Nai at Tak Pe Je. Assalamu'alaikum.

MOTD (Meal of the Day): Simplicity

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KERUTUK DAGING   Salam. Instead of doing Outfit of the Day (OOTD), let's change to Meal of the Day (MOTD). Hehehe. Naaaaah... just kidding. I sometimes tend to snap some pix each time I cook, but most of the time I choose not to. For I normally would be too hungry to do so or too tired. Either that or just can't be bothered. KEMBUNG BAKAR TAWAR Recent weekend I purposely took some pix for this blog.  SALAD CILI POTONG I chose to cook the simplest meal possible. And the fastest that I could. Since my sis-in-law (SIL) had already taken out from the fridge some beef and fish, I made them for a good use. Hence, the Kerutuk Daging and Kembung Bakar Tawar. Just added Salad and Cili Potong,  Voilà   we were ready to eat! Reason being, I had a date. And we watched the latest Bond movie, Skyfall. OMG! I love DANIEL CRAIG even more now. And Adele was smoking hot with the theme song! My simple MOTD gave me a fab day, Alhamdulillah. T

Shila Hamzah, Zheng Fu and Print Turban.

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Salam. I never liked Shila Hamzah until I came across her videos in you.tube playing guitar and doing covers of latest hit songs. I for once fell in love with her. Then she did a marvelous job in the Asian Wave 2012, which sent me shivers right up to the bones. And how pretty she's become in my eyes now that she's beautifully covered as a Muslim lady.  Of all the songs that she sang in the Asian Wave 2012, Zheng Fu by Na Ying really caught my heart. The way Shila performed the song gave me a weird feeling of sadness, regardless of the fact that I didn't understand a word of what she was saying. Recently there's a version of that very performance with English translation. Then again, I believe there's more soul to the song than the translation will be able to illustrate, looking at Shila's interpretation of the same.  My son knows more Mandarin than I do, good for him. I've been finding my own time to have some grasp on the language as well, just not

An Ice Cream Worth Trying

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Salam. Last two weeks I went to Alamanda Putrajaya for a meeting. Since I was quite early and not in a position to do any window shopping, I decided to park myself at The Cream & Fudge Factory . Mainly because the weather was too hot and the ice cream looked too hot a temptation to resist. Yeah, it was worth every dime..  A little bit too sweet for my taste, but delicious nonetheless. When asked, I couldn't recall the price, as usual. Never really stall pricing in my head, a habit I'm still trying to escape from. Ice cream lovers, do check it out. You'd love the wafer, the very least. Rest assured, it melts in your senses..

Batik Day ~ Orange Kurung Loves Purple Hijab

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  Salam. Thursday is the official day for batik attires in Malaysia, especially for government servants. Being in private sector, I'm not subject to such requirement. But last Thursday I felt like wearing my orange Kurung Pahang batik, without really connecting to the batik day in the first place. A plain coincidence it was, actually. Got a few appointments that day, felt this pang of feminine sparks one way or another. Quite contrary to the previous times, I paired the orange batik with two tone purple syria hijab. Color blocking, eh? Kinda loved the outcome. My face was actually reddish that day, after the cinnamon herbs mask and rock salt scrub I wrote about earlier  here . But it didn't show in the picture, too bad. There goes nothing from me, really. Thanks for keep coming back, dear friends.. appreciate it so much. Until next time, Assalamu'alaikum. Much Love, Nai @ TPJ.

Defeated By Cinnamon and Rock Salt

Salam. I've been looking for a spa with resdung  (sinusitis) facial nearby my place. Quite some time already, now that my friend whose place I've been getting treatment at has been closed. Then I decided to try Yoyoy Kamphora Spa in Melawati Square. The candles that they used didn't have much smoke, which was a pleasant in every way. I decided to try the aftermath Herbs Mask, which apparently made from a mixture of cinnamon. Alien to my skin, I felt like crying and my face was burning tremendously, it seemed. What came next did make me cry and shout: Rock Salt Scrub. Oh My God! Never before I felt so hurt while doing facial.  It took me two days not to appear red-faced. That's a detriment for someone with extra sensitive skin like me. It was back to normal on the third day, though. Alhamdulillah. True to what has been told, my face felt much 'lighter' after all the reddening process.  Then again, I do want to repeat my sessions there, actually. Minus the

Julia Roberts, She and Her Smiles...

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It's been a while... and I'm missing this pretty woman, her acting and of course, her smiles...

Happily Alive

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Salam. People keep asking me what am I so happy about. I'm alive, I said. That's why. So, if there's no other reason for you to be happy, at least don't forget the fact that you're still breathing today. You might lose one eye, be glad there's another one. I remember the moment I lost vision of my left eye and never once that I mourned it. I've always been so glad for the good right eye. Thankful that Allah has given me a pair of eyes, so when one is taken away, there's another one. Thankful that Allah has loaned me eye-sight to begin with. That when He Decided to take away half of the loan, I was embarrass to even complain.    I read a book by Dr. Aaidh Ibn Abdullah al-Qarni, Don't Be Sad a few years ago. Then I knew I was going in the right direction. Especially when he shared about the story of a pious man who had lost one of his fingers but never seemed to notice or mind about it due to his gratitude for other fingers. So I got mysel

All About Chemistry, Honesty & Loyalty

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Salam. We have been through thick and thin occasions together.  All three of us ~ Kak Liza, Kak Ros and I. One is hurt, the other two would feel the pain.   You just can't fake a chemistry. Or honesty. Or loyalty. Each one of them is a gift from Allah swt.  Each one of them is sweet. Pure. Divine. Thank you Allah, for this ukhuwah fillah.

Hot Sunday Wedding

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Salam. How was your weekend? Hope it was enjoyable, really. Mine revolved around family matters, marital affairs to be exact ~ an engagement and a wedding back to back. Here are two pictures I feel like sharing. It was a wonderful down to earth wedding but packed with love and hearts and souls... The bride was so happy, forever smiling ear to ear ever so generously. Well.. obviously having a blast, just like her sister did the previous day on her engagement. I was happy as well, looking at how happy they were. The weather was so bright all day long, which was a blessing to everybody. So bright that I couldn't take my shades off, being a 'vampire' in every possible way. Lots of other guests were seen wearing shades themselves, so much of the heat. I was having flu actually but never mind, managed to survive the ceremony pretty well. How I wish I didn't look that pale without any lipstick on. Quite an awful 'lipstick eater', as always. Then again, no on

And She Got Engaged... A Day Before Her Sister's Wedding

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Salam. I seldom go to engagement ceremonies, next to never, it seems. So today was one of the few moments recorded. An immediate cousin of Junior's dad, she's obviously another looker among the big families. A brainy beautiful young lady. Really love her outfit and make-up. She stayed up till 3 am last night, she said.. finishing up all the necessary things for her engagement day.   The ceremony was simple and straight forward. She's now a bride to be whose wedding is a few more months ahead ~ Just around the corner. She looked very vibrant and happy, which was plain and of course, glad to see. Her mom, whom we call Mak Long was struggling, though... must have been missing the recently passed away husband. Understandable, really.   We will be back to this house again tomorrow. This time is gonna be the cousin's eldest sister's wedding ceremony. Let's call it a pre-wedding and real wedding ceremonies back to be, shall we? I'm sure Mak L

Johan, Ain is still Am's wife.... Not COOL at all..!

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Salam. I'm crazy for Am, yes.. But still I've gotta write this. No offence, but I feel it's about time Malaysian script writers, bloggers or even novelists do some basic research about Syariah laws before coming up with their so-called masterpiece. As of date, let's clear some air in Adam & Hawa - a big-time hit tele-movie @ Astro Mustika HD Channel 134 every 10pm Mondays - Thursdays. Here goes:- 1- Taklik or the written conditions read and signed by a groom after aqad ceremony will only be officially enforceable by a court order . Meaning to say, a wife needs to go to the syariah court to duly endorse any breach of such condition(s) and get a validation from a judge that a talaq has actually occured due to the same. ~ So, even if Am had never sent any monetary maintenance to Ain for the past 8 years, a talaq would never occur unless and until Ain goes to the syariah court to have the matter confirmed and/or resolved. ~ And in some districts (like in Am's and

Latest Pashmina Updates

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Salam. Juz got a few pashmina shawls from Middle-East. Wore one of them to the office yesterday. The material is so silky-soft and I fell in love with it at the first touch. Which was a bliss, the weather being too hot to handle. It rained about 6 in the evening, which explained the extreme heat. Either way, the silky shawl was a darling to me. The tense around a bulk of workloads was apparently too much already. Comfy outfits did help. One way or another. 

Mezquita de Cordoba, My Heart Will Go On

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Salam. No sane Muslims wouldn't feel a sharp pain in the deepest soul when they set foot in the Mezquita  de Cordoba. Now even though still called mezquita for Mosque, it is the largest and the greatest church alive. When Muslims invaded Spain, they purchased a building from the Christians to make a mosque and let them have their existing church for their own use as it had always been beforehand. But when the Islamic Kingdom was defeated, no amount of tolerance shown to the Muslims. Not only the mosque was taken by force, not even a single amount of religious practice was allowed among the Muslims. The only reason Islam still survived until today was the Muslims would inherit the religion to their predecessors  successors by teaching them syahadah secretly at their death beds.  Now Christians are free to say their prayers at the Cathedral but no way a Muslim would be allowed to conduct theirs. Very understandable, in a sense, yeah.. for it used to be a mosque, but not anym

Medina al Zahra, History and Future

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Salam. Things are meant to stay for some reason. Some have been preserved by Allah swt as reminder and evidence of an existence, so that lessons are learned by later generations. That's what history is all about. Medina al Zahra is no exception. It is still there, as a what used to be the earliest modern and civilized city in Spain. Of an Islamic Kingdom in Cordoba. The kingdom fell apart due to disunity among the Muslim tribes and now it serves as a place must-seen in Spain for public at large. But for those who want to learn, open their eyes and minds and hearts, they would dive deeper to the essence of it. Allah must have had His own Agenda, obviously for so many hearts have opened to Islam and said syahadah at the remains of the once upon enormous Islamic city itself. The Holy Qur'an says in Chapter 14 (Ibrahim) verse 19 - 20: Do you not see that Allah created the heavens and earth in Truth? Were He to will, He could take you away and bring new cre

Zipper Blues In Masjid Tuanku Zainal Abidin, Putrajaya

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Salam. This happened quite some time back, about 3 years ago.  We went to Putrajaya for the hot balloon expo, but the organizers couldn't send any balloon up due to the rain. So we went to the nearest mosque, Masjid Tuanku Sultan Zainal Abidin for Asar and Maghrib prayers. I took a shower there before praying. And for some reason unknown to anybody, the zipper of my modern kurung chose to be faulty afterwards. Thank God I brought along my praying clothes to the bathroom. And thank God there was a shop at the mosque lobby that happened to sell outfits for hajj and umrah. I bought a sheer white tunic, which apparently was meant for a guy, but what the heck, so long as it would serve the purpose.. worked just fine with me! So as to make the sheer thingy beautifully hidden to all the public at large, I bought a pashmina shawl together with arms socks. Then I layered the shawl like the above picture, hooked with a spared brooch that happened to be inside my praying clothes bag. And

Bayt al Rihla, A Home All Away From Home

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Salam. Andalucia has been in my heart and soul for time immemorial. When I had the chance to actually be there in person last year, I just couldn't believe it. But I'm not gonna blog about it here, though. Not just yet, coz there was a very fateful event that I'm still trying to recover from. Let us begin with the sweet memories that worth sharing, shall we? Look at the scenery, Masya Allah.. Subhanallah... Alhamdulillah... La ilaha Illa Allah... Allahu Akbar! I almost choked when I set my foot at Bayt al Rihla , especially at the balcony where we were welcome with such a majestic view.     I could spend the whole day just watching the skies, the mountain, the trees... and doing nothing at all. But of course I didn't.. it was a freezing winter, for God's sake..! ^_^ Ever so romantic person, I felt like writing a scene of my long due novel based on the background. Plus, it doesn't take a romantic or genius to actually appreciate such a splendid venue an

One Convo, One Wedding & No GPS

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Yesterday was a packed Saturday for me. Earlier on was my brother's convocation at Sunway Putra Palace Hotel (formerly known as The Legend, KL). The ballroom was filled with lots of Chinese and some Indians and we were among the few Malays around. We were so proud of the grad brother, after such a hard work and difficult route that he had to take to get there. Really glad to see him smile after so many years of pain and suffering. The university management was kind enough to prepare loads of delicious refreshments. Mom said, it was all deserving due to its expensive school fees. Had to agree for once. But then again, still much cheaper compared to the fees in the London Campus. Anyhow, congrats to him for doing a great job there in the University of Greenwich. He graduated with 2nd Class Upper in Degree of Accountancy and would complete his LCCA ACCA soon. No wonder he was all smiles and I was a proud sister... I drove home and my sister volunteered to be at the