Posts

Showing posts from July, 2013

The Legacy

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. People all around the world tend to marvel at and adjust to the fact that the Balinese since time immemorial have prepared the young generation for their various religious ceremonies all year round. I mean, look at the following picture of a woman holding his little boy's hand after a ritual prayer of the Galungan & Kuningan Festival. The cute boy was clad in the white traditional outfit and appeared to be very much used to wearing such thing and going to such ceremony. He will grow up just like his ancestors, exposing to and preparing his own children for the same route, the same way of life.  What I find amazing about them is the fact that they breathe their religion exactly the same way they breathe the air. Naturally, it seems. And they are actually at peace with little things that they have. They are very much less complex than most of us or even most of other Indonesians, which is remarkably fantastic in this 21st century.  So much so that they b

Casual Sunday, The Floating Garden & The Awakening

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. It was extremely hot today right up till iftar. With the heat of 36 degree Celcius, my eyes were watery even behind the thick sunglasses. And now as I'm typing this entry, the sound of thunder gives the idea of heavy rain throughout the night. No wonder it was too hot earlier on! Nothing much happened this weekend and I just stayed home lazying around. The only time I got out of the house was at 3pm or something, accompanying someone to his fave blu-ray DVD place. Not that I took anything for myself, though. Better than just sitting at home doing absolutely nothing, right? Anyways, how's your Quran reading going on so far? As for me, I'm sure not gonna be able to finish 30 juzuk on time coz this time around I've been taking my sweet time to ponder upon and savoring the meanings of the beautiful verses page by page.  Having said that, I'm not sure if you guys noticed how the Quran keeps mentioning that the Jannah

The Supposedly Baju Raya

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. It's 18th Ramadhan and I'm officially short of one outfit for Eid-ul-Fitri - by choice, actually. Too tempting to handle, I decided to wear this baby pink peplum kurung to an iftar get-together at the KL Westin, Bukit Bintang last Friday. I bought the vintage cotton fabric at Nilai somewhere in April and sent it to my tailor last month and when I collected it the night before the iftar, my heart sank. I was completely in love, baby! Hence, the breach of promise. Nothing to regret, though. I still have another color of the same fabric, a shocking pink that comes in modern kurung. Oh, please keep your promise this time, Nai..!  There goes about my supposedly baju raya, dearest. Take a good care of yourselves coz I seriously love you, you and you for keep coming back here. Until next entry, Assalamu'alaikum.

Leather Tear Wear Excepted

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. Ah, just ignore the title, such an exaggeration. I just wanna kill my time with a quick post here, so behold!  True to the first word of the title, leather is quite a worthy investment actually. Yeah it will surely carry some kinda slimming effect to your purse, but it's in fact saving you loads of money in future. Like the handbag in the following picture, used to belong to my mom since the year 1991 until 2012 when it was finally inherited by my dear sister. Mom said that she begged to disagree, though, for she was sick of waiting it to at least have a tear wear or anything alike. But the statement was a star witness of my belief, wasn't it? THAT LEATHER IS A WORTHY INVESTMENT. And the shoes of mine as you can see (only one side) above are also living proof, which have been bringing me everywhere since 4 or may be 5 years ago? I've been searching for the replacement since ages but to no avail. Just can't find anything like them,

WW - Finally, Shop for Myself..

Image
- Posted Using Blogger With Lots of Love By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

Fade To Black

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. How are you doing? It's halfway towards the end of Ramadhan, how fast time flies, isn't it? The mosque nearby my house is still full with jama'ah during taraweeh, even though not as packed as the first 7 days. That makes me feel even blessed to be living in such a community, Alhamdulillah. Anyways, last week I attended a wonderful iftar in the Palm Garden Ballroom, Putrajaya, organized by my fellow friends. I got the chance to gather with my friends that are so dear to me right before the iftar until after taraweeh, which we did together.  And when this kind of gathering occurs, Junior is the happiest for he gets to play with his best buddies - his mom's friends' children. The theme of the day was jubah/abaya and apparently most ladies came in black abayas and most guys in white jubahs. But yeah, some didn't dress for the occasion or simply weren't aware of the dress code. I myself wore a black abaya with emerald-diamond details,

Shopping For Others

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. I giggled when I saw what Dina Tokio wrote in her Instagram earlier today, about shopping for others - "I love it because it's shopping. I hate it because it's not for me". Something like it, more or less. But when it comes to your kids, it's a different story altogether. You're gonna love it, actually.. Except for the fact that your purse will be slim-slimmer-slimmest. Hhehe. Recently we went downtown to hunt for Junior's new shoes and a few additional pants. Such a darling eventhough he was clearly tired due to fasting day. The shopping was all about him, after all.. As for me, I'm still undecided whether to get a new hijab or not - or which hijab to get, actually.  May be I'm just gonna wear this yellow shawl? Well, let's see.. Or may be tomorrow I'm gonna hunt a few pieces.. It's good to shop for Junior, yes.. But it's gonna be much better to shop for myself. Yep, may

The Perfectly Awesome Imperfect Us

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. It's Monday without any gloom for all of you, I hope. Let's kick off!  So we have shortcomings one way or another. Fret not, rejoice and be glad for every other good thing in our lives. I mean, most of the time we tend to focus on what we don't have rather than what we do have. How about counting our blessings today, tomorrow and the days that follow suit? Because we're worth it, that's why. We owe that much to our own goodselves, so let's be nice and wonderful to us and stop being the worst critics of ourselves. Love the perfectly awesome imperfect us... - Posted Using Blogger With Lots of Love By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

From The Bottom of My Heart

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. Muslims would train their kids to fast during Ramadhan as early as possible. Contrary to what most non-Muslims believe, we are not in any event abusing them but rather preparing them to be steadfast in fasting when they grow up. Like, they are used to the fact that during Ramadhan they are obliged to fast and later on celebrate 'Eid-ul-Fitri once Syawal touches down thereafter.  My son is one of those trainees all over the world, Alhamdulillah. He'll sleep when he's too tired, especially after coming home from school. One day I lie down next to him and slowly woke him up, which he did wake up but ended up falling asleep on my stomach.  Being a hopeless romantic and soft-hearted woman, that brought tears to my eyes.  Well, he used to be inside the stomach warming my womb. And now he was on the stomach warming my heart... - Posted Using Blogger With Lots of Love By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

WW ~ Cute Picture

Image
(Taken from a facebook friend) - Posted Using Blogger With Lots of Love By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

Best Seafood in Kota Kinabalu Night Market

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. It seems that I find it easier to blog about food these days, wonder if anybody noticed. This time I wanna share with you guys my personal fave seafood eatery in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, namely Nadirasa Resipi as you can see in the following picture. Situated in KK Night Market, you've gotta really observe the banner/bunting or else you won't find it - too many stalls there in the Night Market. You're gonna be hypnotized by the freshness of the seafood choices, seriously! And the price is very reasonable or should we say competitive? With the table full of seafood, it would cost you more or less RM250++ (for three persons) including the drinks (depending on what you order, of course). And you would definitely save much more if you don't have such big appetite, so to speak. One thing to note, though. If you have some sort of allergies to seafood, please don't forget to bring along necessary medication so that you can immediately swallow it aft

Anchovies From The Heart (Sahur Franchise)

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. It's about sahur yet again, yes. It was past 2 o'clock in the morning and I couldn't really sleep, so I went to the kitchen to see what's for sahur. I noticed that Bibik had half grilled salmon and made every preparation for some veggies. Knowing my other half, I immediately figured something else to cook - something simple but nice, in other words something that suits a lazy me. The answer was none other than Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis (Anchovies In Chili Paste). Well, not that simple for I had to fry the cute fish first and later make sure it would blend well with the  chili paste. I used the kind of ikan bilis that the Sabahans call the 'Contact-Lense' or those in Pangkor Island call 'The Blue Eyes'. For those who doesn't have a clue of what it actually is, here's a picture for you to view: Anyways, the anchovies in chili paste of mine was the star of the sahur, apparently, eventhough it was far, far chea

Suatu Sahur: Sayur Pucuk Ubi Masak Lemak

Assalamu'alaikum. Korang sahur apa semalam? Aku malam tadi dalam kul 10.30 dah masuk dapur, selongkar fridge apa yang menarik untuk dimasak. Sekali aku nampak Bibik simpan pucuk ubi kat paling belakang, terus aku keluarkan. Lepas tu aku keluarkan ikan sardin dan ikan kembung. Tunggu punya tunggu, Bibik tak turun-turun lepas naik mandi, aku rasa dia mesti tertidur keletihan. So, tak pe la, aku bergerak je la secara solo. Dulu masa dia belum kerja pun, aku sorang aje kat dapur. Mak aku dah suruh masuk tidur, sebab dia duk mengadu lenguh-lenguh urat.  Ok, kembali kita kepada pucuk ubi tadi. Buat sayur lemak je la yang sedap, kan? Kebetulan adik lelaki aku ada datang dari Rawang, aku mintak tolong dia belah kelapa. Sementara tu, aku rebus ikan sardin untuk ditumbuk dengan lada hitam nanti.  Nak cepat punya pasal, aku kukur la kelapa tu sendiri, kekok jugak lima saat pertama. Oh, ya! Rumah aku takde mesin parut kelapa, yang ada cuma pengukur kelapa old school punya. Sebabnya, aku

Quick Bites & Running Man After Taraweeh

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. Last night after taraweeh we went to have a drink at Pelita (an Indian restaurant) in Wangsa Maju. I took a coconut juice and didn't feel like ordering any other thing. But yeah, I didn't have the heart to see my husband eat by himself so I shared his meals - soup with plain bread and later on, tossei with deep fried squids, of which I didn't snap any picture. Once home, there was this Korean game show called the 'Running Man' on TV so I had a big laugh with my siblings as we always do whenever watching that show. Hillarious! If you guys are into Korean thingy, you might love this game show to bits.  There goes nothing, thanks for reading anyways. Until next entry, see ya! Do take some time to read the Qur'an, ya.. Assalamu'alaikum. - Posted Using Blogger With Lots of Love By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

Iftar & Sahur Blues

Image
It's going to be 3rd Ramadhan in a few minutes. Well, by the time I finally publish this entry, it's already is. And I'm already 'stucked' at a juncture of what to prepare for sahur and iftar. What? I was like, adoiyaaa...! My planned menu for a week is by far not really working, for my husband is having sort of impromptu menu each and every day after iftar. But at least that's somewhat a good news to me coz I won't be preparing something he doesn't feel like eating. Apart from that, Junior also has his own preferences, which aren't quite different from his usual ones - chicken/beef bone soup, chicken/beef curry, deep fried chicken and repeat the chorus till fade, so to speak. Or else, I would wear this look most of the time.. (NOT..!). By next week there will be a few iftar gatherings, which means I can skip planning meals for iftar (only) every now and then. I just hope this Ramadhan wouldn't be the first Ramadhan I'm putting on

The Last Sermon (Khutbah Terakhir)

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. Marhaban Ya Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah, we are still given the golden opportunity to embrace Ramadhan this year. I just wanna share with you the Last Sermon of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for you to cherish. Credits to the google image and facebook share button.  This Last Sermon never fails to bring me tears. Let's strive our hardest to extract our potential best this Ramadhan and every single month that follows suit. Love you all for reading. Until next entry, Assalamu'alaikum. - Posted Using Blogger With Lots of Love By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

Makan-Makan Di Melbourne

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. Rasa macam lama je tak update blog, tapi bila tengok balik tak la lama sangat. Heheh. Okay la, hari ni aku nak cerita sikit pasal makanan halal kat Australia. Kalau entry yang sewaktu dengannya dulu aku cerita pasal steak yang meletup kat Sydney, kali ni meh tengok pasal Mee yang kebaboom kat Melbourne. Restoran yang namanya Noodle Hut ni dimiliki oleh orang Asia dan hidangannya 100% Halal tapi tak sure la pulak pemiliknya Muslim ke tidak. Mula-mula, kita pilih Mee dulu. Ikut suka mak bapak kita la nak pilih yang mana, dengan syarat Mee tu memang ada kat situ, ya tuan-tuan dan puan-puan? Macam jejaka kat bawah ni dia pilih Mee kuning, so Mee kuning la yang penjual tu amik. Masa pilih Mee tu, kita kena pilih isi kandungan Mee tu pulak. Lebih kurang Steamboat jugak la.. ada udang, ketam, daging + sayur. Nak detail kan aku dah ingat-ingat lupa, oopps.. sowey..! Kemudian, kena pilih cara masakan pulak - nak goreng-goreng ke nak kuah-kuah. Haa.. Baru la nak mendong

Extended Family

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. As years go by, there will be some extension to our nuclear families, right? And then there will be those who are related to us by marriage, no longer only by blood. And we learn to love and live together as one big family. Here are two pictures of my extended family taken in the village recently: That's how my late grandpa's (whom I called 'Atok') house looks like from outside, which is very contradict with the way it looks inside. You can see it in the later picture below. Atok built it when I was in secondary school to rent it out and my mom recently made some renovation to the old house to accomodate all of us every now and then we happen to be there. See the contradiction? And each time Junior is around, the second cousins will gather to bring the house down, so to speak - even broke the sofa once. But I don't mind a bit. They ain't heavy, they're my families.

One Turns Into Three Jewels

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. I've got this pearl necklace that I can't really wear as often as I would love to, due to its length. So I sent it to a jewelery shop in Wangsa Maju to have it duly transformed accordingly. Thereafter, I brought home (as you can see in the following picture(s)) three separate jewels : 1) A double layer bracelet, 2) A pair of earrings; and 3) A simple ring.  Now I can have the sentimental valued pearls next to me all the time... Not bad, eh? ^_^  That's all, dearest friends. Thanks for dropping by, love you all for that. Until next entry, Assalamu'alaikum. - Posted With Lots of Love Using Blogger By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

WW ~ Sepasang Kurung Nan Biru

Image
-  Posted With Lots of Love Using Blogger By Nai at Tak Pe Je.

Kisah Umbut Sawit

Image
Assalamu'alaikum. Orang kampung jarang yang tak kenal sayur lemak umbut, kan? Tapi tak semua orang kampung yang tahu macamana nak dapatkan umbut dari proses awal sampai akhir. Minggu lepas kitaorang dapat saksikan proses tu depan mata, terjakun-jakun rasanya. Adik aku gigih amik gambar, penuh keterujaan. Haa.. Kasik potong itu sawit dulu, bukan kecik-kecik anak punya kerja..! Kalau tak dipecahkan ruyung, manakan dapat sagunya. Samalah jugak umbut sawit. Kalau tak dipecahkan batang pokok kelapa sawit tu, manakan dapat umbutnya. Ternyata susah dari pandangan mata, semestinya susah bahu yang menggalas beban kerja itu..! Insaf seketika aku, betapa banyak kerja yang tahap fardu kifayah menyenangkan banyak pihak. Subhanallah.. Dah nampak isinya, kan? Kerja bertukar dari satu tangan ke satu tangan, dalam jemaah gotong-royong orang kampung yang rata-ratanya golongan tua. Yang muda, memerhati.. Besok-besok kan nak jadi tua? Siapa pulak nak teruskan kerja fardu kifayah tu kalau bukan y