My checklist when I am hijab shopping

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog.

I received a few questions on what I see when I am getting a new hijab or when I go hijab shopping.

A lot of my friends know I can get anal and be very fussy about the hijab I want. Usually my first questions would be these:

1. Is it sheer?
2. What material is it made of?
3. What are the dimensions (for shawls)?
4. Do I need to wear a ninja inner?
5. How simplified can the styling be?
6. Price

Sheer:

I never buy anything sheer since I wore my hijab, unless I am willing to wear double layers to ensure full coverage. I only own one sheer top, but it is white, and I have a cooling white full sleeve inner to go with it so I am okay. So that is very important.

Material:

This is very important to me. I am a cotton person, and I feel safe with cotton anytime any day anywhere. I strike of chiffon (for its sheerness), jersey/spandex (for it usually grabs and reveals the shape of where the cloth lands), satin (for it is usually slippery) and wool (too thick).

Many people around me dislike cotton reciting it is warm, and thick. I beg to differ. Cotton is a material that keeps you warm when cold, and usually is an okay material for me even on a hot day. Maybe because I am petite and hardly sweat or feel warm, I am not sure. 

Dimensions:

For shawls, I now tend to go for something that is at least 2m long and 60cm wide. It is easier for me to gain full coverage with little effort. And it gives me room if I wanna up my style a little and go fancy with folds and such. After wearing big huge wide shawls, I now struggle to gain coverage with my smaller shawls (most of which was my first shawls when I started wearing the hijab). Wearing them now makes me worry and just uncomfortable because I feel like there is not enough coverage. I end up checking constantly, to see if my neck is exposed, if my chest was exposed, so much so I feel tired at the end of day. 

Ninja Inner:

I used to have plenty of ninja inners and have no issues wearing them. I started feeling uncomfortable wearing them after a few sisters and brothers shared their opinions on hijabis wearing ninja inners. Firstly, it pretty much looked like a nun when I have my ninja on with my hoodie top or hoodie hijab. Secondly, I am revealing the shape of my neck and shoulders when I wear a ninja inner and hoodie. With that I stopped wearing one, I gave away most of my ninjas, and kept just one for no reason. Maybe just to remind me.

Another thing about ninja inner is that it is kind of troublesome for me to put on a ninja, then put on my hijab, and some ninja inners are slippery, which makes it a need to me to put on another inner underneath the ninja. It makes my laundry pile up too quickly. So I totally avoid having to go thru the whole hassle of ninja inners. 

Simplicity of Style:

The art of hijab is to keep it simple so we keep the gaze of men away from us. So the simplicity of style in a hijab is important to me. I often ask, would I be attracting eyes to look at my hijab? Is it to much bling? Is the design having too much going on? If any of it says yes, I usually put it down for something simpler. No doubt, I have a few hijabs that is colourful, striking, and well nice.. But those I wore it with a plain jubah, so it gets pretty much toned down. So that is another question I will always ask myself, what clothes am I pairing this hijab with? Will it be too much, or will be get toned down?

This point made me chose De Divas Fashion's Cotton Plain Hoodie. Its simplicity caught my attention left and right. 

Price:

How much is too much? Subjective, ya.. So up to you. What's your budget like?

My big wide shawls can cost between $20-35. And to me, it is money well spent. I am sure you can find something of a cheaper range though. It is just that will all my restriction of checklist, this price seems an okay range.

So ya... that's my checklist, what's yours?

Wassalam,
Jun

Review for De Divas Fashion - Plain Cotton Hoodie

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, reader and followers of this blog.

Once again, another review to write! Alhamdulillah..

I have been watching De Divas Fashion, just waiting for a good time to jump and order their hot pancakes. One of which was what Kak Dila Jazzy is always talking about the hoodie.

I was skeptical at first, worrying about the coverage it can offer, the hassle of wearing one and such like that. You all know how particular I am with my hijab, I always go for super wide and big shawl, with material that is not see-through or too easily torn with frequent use of pinning, not slippery, etc etc.

I have a long check list whenever I wanna get a new hijab, but seeing her donning it, I find it fully covers, than I heard it can transform to a mini telekong, then I saw how easy and nice other people dons them. And so I finally succumb and PMed Kak Dila, asking her the price.

When she told me, I was in disbelief! I was expecting quite a high price so I can ditch the idea and stick to my wide shawls, but it was half the price I pay for most of my big wide shawls. I immediately told her I wanna have two colors. It was out of stock, and I said ok to the Plain Jersey Hoodie (again Jersey isn't my favorite and I usually avoid them). Somehow, I got too busy and caught up and didn't pay for my items on time, after several attempts of reminders.

And then Allah showed me why. The Plain Cotton Hoodie was going to be restocked - that's why! So I quickly told Kak Dila I'm sorry and that I want the plain cotton and drop my Jersey order and quickly paid.

It took just 2 days for it to reach me, I tried it on immediately, and it is sooo super comfortable!

See the inset picture, that is how it looks like when I wear it down as the mini telekung. The convenience of a 2-in-1.

Then I tweaked the way I style it to imitate Kak Dila's style.

The side up brings a bit of style eh.. And look at the massive coverage I get in front! And I get the same coverage at the back too.

The best thing that made me return to buy some more is the fact that it is comfortable and it gives warmth in the office with the aircon blasting my head off. PLUS, it works find as a telekung as well, that leaves me more space in my luggage when I want/need to travel.

And so I now own, a light grey, dusty pink, chocolate and butter. My mom took a Forest Green and she love it! However, due to her big size, she prefer to wear it down, and it doesn't turn into a mini telekung for her, but it is comfortable nonetheless for her. Most instant hijabs, will fall short for her, but because this was really huge, it felt nice on her, she just drapes it around her neck area for that flowy look and pin it at her shoulder with a brooch and it will look perfect!

This definitely wins all my instant hijab, for it is fun to style - the other instant hijabs I have, has got no room to style - as in it has to be worn as is. So this is definite definitely fun to try and give it your own signature way of styling.

Another plus point? It can be at the living room and all you need to do is reach to it, put it over and it covers well for those rush to cover aurah when the door bell rings. It does fine without an inner (doesnt slip off easily), and if I wear it down it covers my hands so it can do even when I am wearing just a tee underneath. So I shall put this as a must-have for Awesome Muslimahs!

With very smooth and understanding liasing with Kak Dila, I shall rate De Divas Fashion an awesome 4/5.

They do have apparels too, so do check them out!

Have fun shopping!

Wassalam,
Jun

Review of C O R M 77000 Cafe/Bistro

Assalammualaikum family, friends, reader and followers of this blog.

We went to husband hometown - AGAIN - last weekend. Partly out of guilt, partly for business, and partly for fun.

Guilty because we always go Muar, his Mok Teh's house, but never visited him Pak Busu house, at the very least his cousin's cafe.

And so... with Mak (my mother-in-law), and Along, we hit hometown again.

For business (I shall just share that separately on my business blog if really necessary)

For fun, because just because. ;)

And so... I had crazy food wants for the past 2 weeks. And one of which was You Tiao, or some people call it Char Kway, and in Msia - CAKOI.

With my dying desire to try and check out my husband's cousin's new found cafe/bistro.. I had to go through their menu - it has only been pictures the past month (and to be honest I was salivating just seeing their Instagram filled with food porn!). I literally jumped at husband saying they do have Char Kway! So happy I couldnt contain to wait till we get there!

And so.. We travelled... From Muar to Jasin... Along drove us as it was at night, and we all know my husband has night blindness, so yeay! Off we go... quite a distance actually.... But I guess good food is always worth the trouble :)

All photo credits to CORM 77000 unless stated otherwise

And we are here! Do click on here to find out where its exact address is and what else it provides. For food porn, check out their instagram @cormisme

And we probably spend the first 15-30minutes walking all around their space to look at art pieces, books (to read while you are there), and some retail theraphy - they have apparels, KHOTTAL's merchandises, among many other stuff there which are everything Indie.

And their space theme is so raw, it feels so warm (the love warm kind!) and you feel like at home in no time at all. For a more private setting, do head straight near the window (to your right after you open the door).

And so, when we finally settled down with everything nice, we figured we should start hitting the menu already...

And so we ordered....

Cakoi (Klasik) : Char Kway or You Tiao (Classic)
- Literally what it says. It comes with sweet spicy sauce. SO YUMMY!!

And it is soooo yummy I didn't even take the picture...
The next time we hit this place we will try the Special one - the chef said, it has beef and sauces between the sliced open Char Kway, yum yum!! Are you salivating already? You sure?

NEXT....

Pasta Bolognese

Thank you nephew Danish for taking the pictures - I was too busy eating.. Haha!

This one is yummy... The sauce is rich... I was never this hungry in any cafe or restaurant ever!!

NEXT....

Tortillas

Again, picture was taken by the nephew, Danish.

I didn't get a bite on this one, but seeing my nephew biting this clean was clear enough that it is beyond delicious. So delicious that lil niece had to order another set to lick clean as well.

NEXT....

Roti Kahwin

Evidence that all I did was eat! 

It is basically toasted bread with one side spread with margarine and the other side spread with kaya. Need I say how awesome it sinks in my mouth... Oh I can eat as many as you buy me... Serious!!

NEXT....

Drinks...

Kopi Aiskrim : Coffee Ice-cream

Thank you Danish once again for all the photo you took! 

This is definite must try for all coffee fanatics.. A level up for something so new they simply tried. Marvellous!

NEXT....

Lemon Mojito

This is Danish's order. 

As refreshing as the name promised!

NEXT....

Mango Smoothie

This is my husband's favorite!

Mango lovers, you ought to have this!

NOW...
Desert...

I had...

Brownies!

This is from their FB, for obvious reasons, I wallop everything clean before I remembered that I need a photo of it!

Everyone else was full to the brim, so lucky me.. eat is all I do..

So.. This place.. it gets 5/5. Fast and friendly service, 5/5. Always room to improve, a little addition every once in awhile will do good, and we will surely come back for more!!!

For all of you.. This is all of us while we were there:

It was cozy, and it really felt like home! YOU all should just head down here... Get the map, and go look for this place

Address of CORM Kafe/Bistro :

 It is above Anakku Boutique. So that is level 2, and no elevator, just stairs. Still, trust me.. it is all WORTH IT!

We will be there sooner than we promised,
Jun

Wassalam

Qurban 2014 at Muar, Johor Bahru

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog.

Yeah, it is almost weekend again, and here I am blogging about last weekend.

I just find this view while we were on our way to his hometown breath-taking.

We took a trip to my husband's hometown in Muar, Johor Bahru as he had participated in this year's Qurban. And so our Mok Teh booked a homestay behind her home.

This homestay was rather overpriced, I feel. Its original price was at RM250 a night, discounted price for Bumi was RM220, and for Mok Teh, a special price of RM200 a night. Isn't it steep? To think that there is no activities planned for us?

Anyways, the husband went to see the whole Qurban process, I didnt go along as I have seen it a few many times and thought I should give way to those who have yet to experience it..

As a first timer, he is excited and I see him post a couple of photos.. And here, I would share with you guys!

 Poor little husband was deprived of food the whole of Sunday. His stomach is sensitive, and he found out he CANNOT take it yesterday's meal (even after heating them up) without admitting himself to the hospital with severe severe case of diarrhea since he was young-ish. So he only had KFC porridge, and some sweet delicacies during the stay on Sunday.

So we decided to head home that same evening. This is us waiting for the time to head home... He was famished, and I was just being annoying. Heh

So we head home, and good news... someone is coming to us... :) Yeah you're right! Baby M is coming to us!

And so on Monday, it being an off-in-lieu by default, we nap our Monday away in style:

Yeah, that's the one we bought for her while we were at Port Dickson, cute right?

And then we decided to get out to join my sister in search for her denim skirt....

See how Baby M bully my sister to carry her.. ;)

Overall our weekend is done for, and we were back to reality.... I wish the weekend is longer...

This weekend, Baby M won't be with us. She has caught the bug.... I hope she gets well soonest!

And oh did I share? She has got the bug's teeth! Yeah! And two more of each side is following suit, so maybe that's what trigger the bug...

Until I blog again...
Jun

Wassalam.

We went to the Baby Market!

Assalammualaikum family, friends, followers and readers of this blog!

So... as mentioned yesterday, we attended SINGAPORE's No.1 BIGGEST Baby Fair 2014 - the Baby Market at Expo Hall 4 (2nd-5th Oct 2014)!

I was excited. I listed in my head to look for a good hip carrier and check out the Yoomi Bottle. I met up Baby M's Mama over there. And I think I'd probably get myself lost inside the fair without her. It was THAT huge!! And I see stars - literally. I turn and see "STARbuys", "BUY 1 GET 1 FREE", "BUY 2 GET 1 FREE", like at almost all the booths!

Strange enough, that I am buying without my own baby anywhere near yet. And double strange when I kept to what I listed, well close enough! The extra things we bought were hair clips and some plush toys customized with Baby M's face on it. LOL!

I bought the intended Hip Carrier at just $49.90! My husband tried it with 2yr old Sami, and I tried it on Baby M. It was indeed really comfortable! Weight off my shoulders, I don't need to bend my back to help support the baby, I just need to hand around baby to support her really. It snugs me with a wide belt so the weight is really almost non-existent! And i walked away after paying for my item, and didnt realise I still had the tester/sample on me. I walked quite a distance and was wondering why Baby M is so light, and touched her butt, only to be obstructed - THEN i realised, hey! I have the sample on me still! So i walked back and asked if it is a free gift. LOL. The staff just laughed along, It is THAT good you see! You don't even feel like there is anything extra there helping you with the weight. Awesome stuff!

Yoomi was just next to it, my eyes was fixed at it. But we needed to move and look at other stuff. With Baby M's Mama mentioning she would return, I felt okay not to grab it then.

And so today, I decided to grab Yoomi at its launch prices - JUST HAD TO!

So this is what the promo is at the booth, get the 8oz bottle + warmer + pod + FREE 5oz bottle at just $49.90! Retail price is almost $100!! Half price lei! And warmer + pod on its own is $34.90 launch price. I am guessing it would be double the cost at normal retail price. Worth it la! Buy and keep until I finally get my own baby la.. I would probably only use the warmers when I am out travelling out of Singapore - or if I know it would be hard to get hot water or something.

And if it is really good and if we do have intentions to go for longer stays, then perhaps then, I would get 5 more warmers or even more!

I was made to compare the Yoomi with Iloma. And I still find Yoomi better. Only because Iloma takes 4 mins to warm up and that the warmer or rather they call it the refill thingy is a one time use only. So I would have to buy darn a lot for a trip. Compared to say 5 warmers and just recharge it for the next day kindda usage. PLUS Yoomi only takes a minute to warm the milk - awesome for super cranky babies. :)

And the fuss about warmer having issues was really probably because they didnt read properly. You need to shake after the initial charge to make sure it really charges. And just reboil/remicrowave if it didnt. Oh wells.

I am still betting on Yoomi, alright.

Oh! We are going up north again tomorrow for husband's Qurban! Back to his hometown with all his extended family..... What shall I wear, the new abaya... or the old ones? Hmmmmm....

Until I blog again,
Wassalam

The First Vacation with Parents

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, followers and readers of this blog. :)

It is almost, ALMOST, weekend again.. And if you had followed me closely, you'd know how badly I wanted to bring my parents for a vacation they so deserved after all that hassle of raising me.

We never really had a chance to go for a vacation before mainly because of our financial situation - we were never well to do, we usually only had enough. Secondly was about time - my dad being a sole bread winner, a day of leave would potentially mean a chance in losing his job, we were schooling bla bla bla. Thirdly, my parents are selfless - they always put us first, whatever we need/want comes first, so to them, they never needed a vacation.

Well, I wouldnt say my parents had never travelled, they have. Just not a proper vacation. It is always visiting relatives, or travelling in such tight timelines, and it was not relaxing - I think.

So, when the opportunity comes, I quickly planned one and just simply tell them to block the weekend and pack up. They were thrilled - having heard them call their friends and some relatives saying they are going for a holiday fully sponsored for. I smile, maybe out of pride, maybe because I know they needed this more than anyone else in the world.

So the day came, my parents got ready the moment I said ok, time to get ready. We waited for my BFF, and so we left the house at about 10am on Saturday. We took a lot of pit stops, to eat, to rest, to eat, toilet breaks, and what not, so we arrived at the hotel at 4pm. That is a long long ride, alright.

We booked Grand Lexis mainly for the private pool - which in the end, we only dipped twice or thrice - damn it is freezing cold! LOL!

The Private Pool - Daytime!

The Private Pool - Nighttime!

We didnt really plan where to go, or what to do while we were there. So it was really free and easy on us. Get ready and out when we feel hungry. Don't know where to head down to, so just drive along and stop when we see a potentially good dinner place.

We planned to go for some sight seeing the next day. And so we did. We visited the Ostrich Farm!

I, for one, do not know what to expect except to see some Ostriches. I bought food to feed the animals - okay.. So not only Ostrich okay... They said the one I bought is to feed all animals except the Camel and the Donkey. So, okay... they will be Camel and Donkey!

As we entered, we walked through with a friendly staff, he led us to the sheep. Mbeeeekkkkk... We fed them, ticklish, but awesome. They even mbeeekk at us as we walk away like as if they are saying Bye.

Next... Now.... Ostrich! We fed them, ok we tried! It was scary when they look at you in the eye!

He said, just stretch your hand straight with the food.

Can you see how scared my BFF looked from here?

My dad wins la, the braviest but scares you the most when he turns and says "Pain la!"

And yes the staff with straw hat there couldnt help but to laugh at us.. I straightened my hand, closed my eyes and say "ooooo you ostrich you......"

Haha.. And no.. we were all not injured, we still walk in one piece. :)

Next... My favorite!

DONKEY!

Meet my husband's best friend, DONKEY. 

And then we did this - unknowingly.. Cute isnt it?! Tilt to the right to the right! Haha..

And then we walked and found this CAMEL...

I tell you, this Camel is so the "action". It just couldnt be bothered with us, just sat there nonchalantly. Then I said, "Maybe I should touch you.."
And he had to turn to look at me in disagreement. And so I shrieked a little, "Okay, I wont touch you"
And he turned back straight ahead and move on with its life. Oh you Camel you....

Then another staff came to welcome us and lead us to this:

Mr Iguana and my BFF - she was hesitant and refused to take a pic wth it initially. But she braved herself! 

And my heroic dad! He told Mr Iguana "Thank you! Don't be naughty"

Then we proceed on, fed some ducks, chickens before we walked out all sticky and famished!

We drove right into some place to grab lunch.

Can you tell how hungry I was then?

We head home, supposingly to go to the Army Museum after a dip in the pool and possibly a short nap. And well.. guess what... We all dip in the pool much.. And then we nap till evening! Museum closed already. Oh wells.. And with that.. our 2 days at Port Dickson had went by...

We went to grab our dinner... To that I think our trip to Port Dickson was actually mainly to just eat! We literally, came here, rest, eat, sleep, eat, dip in pool, sleep, eat... That is really what we did..

And so yeah.. with a full stomach, we said we would play some pool. And we probably did that in our dreams. Oh did I tell you we went Karaok-ing on our first day after dinner? Well yeah, and we walked from our hotel. BFF just had to sing her favourite Rindu Serindu Rindunya by Spoon la kan.. So we just went ahead, and I... Well I like those screaming songs so ya.. Haha.. Kasihnya Laila la! Hehehe.

So we slept, woke up.. and it was time to say goodbye...

And like the beautiful sunset felt serene, so did my heart.....

Oh Port Dickson, Grand Lexis.. we will surely come again... We missed your already...

And of course la, throughout the trip I kept close touch with Baby M's Mama. Miss her too much! I happily babysit her the moment I reach home, as I was on leave the following day.

And today... Today we are going to the Expo for the Baby Fair! See you all there ok?

Xoxo,
Baby M's Mak

Wassalam