Hari Raya 2015 X Mama's 57th

Hari Raya 2015

This year, as I had mentioned countless times, The Mazlans are going green!

We bought the material from Arab Street and gave it to sew in Malaysia. My outfit was just BEAUTIFUL!! The only problem was, it looked pretty unflattering on me because it was not sewn properly.

I asked for a mermaid style and I didn't quite get it. It was supposed to be better fitted and it hung loosely on both sides. The black belt was supposed to be lower and it was supposed to give the effect of a waist belt not a under the bust belt. 

Ouh well. I still wore it because it was SOO BEAUTIFUL! It also thought me a super valuable lesson. I had thought about getting my wedding dress sewn for me to cut cost. Now I have learnt, it's either I buy it and alter or if I want it sewn from scratch, I should go to a real TRUSTED, PROFESSIONAL who is actually really talented with what he/she does. 

I stayed over for 2 days and look at all that has happened!!!

On the eve, I helped packed all the kuehs and made them look ultra cute in their containers and also helped to pack money in the packets.

Mama gave my sisters and I a packet each and when I was like "Can I have the Elsa one?" She went all, "What are you? A child ah?! Want Frozen packets and all..."

Well, I still got it! #FROZEN

My younger sister, Raihan, behaved like a bride by calling two of her friends over from 11am-5pm to help her get ready with hair and make-up. Well, it was worth the wait as she looked stunning. But still!! 6 hours and it wasn't even for prom!!!

My older sister, Fazilah, is a pro and didn't need no minions to help her and she pulled off a real gorgeous look.

Then... there was me. I had a GINORMOUS pimple on my head (as I am blogging, I still have it and I hope it vanishes for good!) all because I had one too many chocolates.. and yup! It couldn't get any better. I just had to get my period or Hari Raya and ended up being in so much pain for like 2-3 hours. 

God bless hot water bags! I really should invest in one. For a girl like me, it'll definitely help me so much!

I didn't have that much time to curl my hair and I did what I could do. Unlike my sisters, I am never a huge fan for KA-BAM kinda make-up. I like simplicity and subtle and more of the natural look.

Anyways, here we go. RAYA PICS on the way!

Papa will be turning 68 this year and Raihan is

the cutest getting him to do muscle arms!

The most amazing woman on earth!

Sisters Before Misters 

My most favorite aunt!

My fav shot of the day! Family Shot!

While Zizi was driving, Rai & I was busy camwhoring at the back of the car!

We only started Jalan Raya at like 6pm and reached the first house at 6.50pm. We stayed till 7.30pm at my aunt's then we went over to Zara's house and stayed all the way till 10.45pm! Well, that was it. First day of Raya!

And all the cousins shot. Well, not all. Just the ones I am closest to.

The Chicks Before Dicks Shot

The Bros Before Hoes Shot

Group shot!

My fav cuzzy shot! Step under the block gangsta shot!

Hehe

Once again, Selamat Hari Raya to everyone that's celebrating.

Eid Mubarak & Maaf Zahir Dan Batin

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Mama's 57th

This year on the 21st of July, the world's most beautiful and amazing woman turned 57. She was none other than my mum. 

I bought her a customized passport holder / case and it was really funny and cute that she thought it was a wallet. Well, my sisters were thinking of going out to eat and Mama wanted some Thai food. She suggested Bali Thai or even Thai Express. 

Fazilah, a.k.a Zizi, my older sister said that we have all been there quite a few times that it just isn't somewhere special anymore. She suggested a cafe. I was not too sure about it but I went with the flow.

We all got driven by Zizi and headed to Upper Thomson. I have never heard of this cafe. It's called Badoque.

It was such a chic and hipster place. The ambiance, music, setting, lighting, decorations all screamed HIPPY!

I didn't mind one bit. It was just so lovely. However, certain things were let me just say a little young and current for my parents to understand. Like the pun on the wall or why they would use a bucket to hold their cutlery or even why they served their drinks in mason jars.

But it's fine, they still enjoyed the experience and the dining. 

I must say, this place is really good and I would recommend a lot of people to dine here. The food is spectacular, the service staff are really friendly and the portion is HUGE!

I could not even finish half my food, my mum packed it back home and since it was her birthday, they even surprised her with a lovely dessert cake and it was really thoughtful and sweet.

Especially for those hippie people (partly me hehe), GO TO BADOQUE! My only advise would be 2 people to 1 main dish as the serving is really huge that's why its pretty pricey, like $28. But if you split between 2 people, it'll be $14.

Well that's all, some more pictures before I conclude this blog post.

While waiting to be picked up...

The Menu

Polaroids on the wall

Aaaaahhh bucket!

My drink for the night was Iced Chocolate. Who knew they would serve it with a scoop of ice cream?! So it was both my drink and dessert. DELICIOUS!

I ordered carbonara pasta which had black pepper sausages and beef strips inside and although I couldn't finish it, it was simply DELICIOUS!

Badoque! A must go food place! No regrets, this I promise you.

Till next time,

xoxo

Farhana Mazlan

Marriages vs Weddings

I shall start with my view on marriages and weddings. These 2 are two different things.

A marriage is a long term relationship between two individuals. A wedding, on the other hand, is the ceremony of getting married.

There is nothing more bubbly, positive and brimming with possibility than a bride. There is something so exciting about being engaged to married--something surreal. During an engagement there is this alternate universe that seems to exist, uprooting the realities of marriage that lay ahead for the couple.

But let’s be plain: there is a huge difference between a wedding and a marriage.

Weddings are fun and full of celebration; indeed there is much to celebrate when two people are joining their lives together. But in the planning, and all that goes into the wedding’s festivities, there is a measure of realism that is lost. So many couples-and women especially, I believe are guilty of this--go into the whole thinking that they want to be “married” but they don’t think beyond the altar.

Thinking beyond the altar can become very overwhelming... which may account for some of this phenomenon. Of course we would rather think about where we are taking our honeymoon than the demands that might be made of us once we are legally and emotionally bound to someone through the institution of marriage. But to put it bluntly, that is just not good enough.

It’s not good enough to leave it to chance and plan a wedding without thinking about what lies ahead. What will you do the day your husband or wife shocks the hell out of you with a behavior you never saw coming? What will happen when you find yourself in uncharted territory.... how will you settle differences that are huge, glaring and unexpected? Make no mistake about it: people change over time, be it for better or worse.

The biggest thing and the most trying obstacle in my estimation is the national obsession over weddings. Some people want desperately, for many years, to be a bride. They would want the PERFECT cake, the flowers, the dress--the music. They would want the experience of saying I got married, and I wanted to call my boyfriend “husband.” They would say "I knew I was in love, and so I thought to myself that I must want marriage, too." And it becomes harder and harder as you watch others marry.

Marriages, though, are not about flowers and expensive entrees; they aren’t about matching dresses, large cakes, and guest lists. A marriage is about hard work and compromise... I know, it sounds so very cliche. It’s what you hear about from countless couples, this compromise and hard work. And it sort of makes it sound  a little unpleasant, doesn’t it?

Indeed, marriage can sometimes be quite unpleasant. There are trying times in any relationship, and relationships, too, have a way of taking on a life of their own. But on the flip side of that, it can also be the most fulfilling and beautiful thing ever. Nothing in a marriage, as those married can attest to, is quite black or white; it’s all in shades of grey.

I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to go into a marriage with eyes wide open...especially when you’ve got diamonds shining so brightly, blocking the great vision you normally have. When you decided to get married, you better know what you're in for. You should know who your fiancee and soon to be husband is and is not--you should wait even of it takes years before we decided to commit for life. Time may truly be the best and most steadfast determination of your ability to make it in a marriage.

If you can stand the test of time, then you may be ready for marriage. Even after being together for years, some couples will get a shocking revelation that they weren't prepared for after they say "I do" to each other. You should be armed with convictions and knowledge of who you married, and that would allowed the both of you to roll with the punches and weather storms together. You'll be able to grow stronger in your marriage with each bump in the road you encounter, but as you age, you may even see that other couples haven’t fared as well as you have.

There is a reason why they always say "Marry your best friend". You know them inside out and you love them unconditionally and best friends won't just leave one another after a fight. They patch things up and their relationship only gets more stronger.

Haha go find your best friend out there. If you have one, go marry him / her.

Hehehe kidding. 

I know that I am 19. I want to live my life to the fullest and be all #YOLO. At the same time, I can't help but plan for my future and anticipate and really look forward to it. 

I got my spark back. Nono not romance spark but motivation spark. I had my random convos with Asswipe and I went on for like a full hour about life, my future, what I wanted to do, ambitions, passions, career and so on. 

I decided I was finally going to start on it. My wedding planning. Not exactly my wedding but my ideas for weddings. The scrapbook I bought last year that has been waiting to be filled with pictures, words, ideas, clipping can finally be done.

I have yet to put anything in like drawings or even pictures but I spent an entire day just writing and listing ideas for weddings. I actually finally did it. Used Google, certain magazines, wedding story books and I wrote down what will be required during a wedding and trust me you'll be surprised by how many things will have to be taken into consideration.

Although mine is more targeted for a Christian wedding, weddings still need similar items such as a wedding dress, the flower / bouquet, the theme, table runners, door gifts and so on.

I will find time one of these days and collate and compile my notes and hopefully start on my scrapbook. Dresses can be inspiration from so many people like Elie Saab (I STILL WANNA OWN ONE OF HIS DRESSES ONE DAY!), Vera Wang, Hayden Williams illustrations and so on.

Along the way, I was doing some thought for my own wedding. hehe what can I do? I am so in love with weddings and the whole concept and creativity of it. I am definitely going to invest time in planning my own wedding as I write many wedding ideas for my future wedding company (fingers kept crossed). 

Preparations can wait because I am still 19 after all!

I do have a whole lotta plans for the future but I am going to take it one step at a time. 

I still want to get married on a beach. Starting to consider places but of course my dear future husband will have a say in it. After reading The Wedding Diaries, I realized that brides can turn into Godzilla while planning their wedding and things turn into "MY MY MY!!!" I wouldn't want for that.

I have yet to find the ideal venue as in which beach and also the price. This also needs to be done in time to come.



DO NOT JUDGE ME but I am planning to start saving up, like have a wedding funds box before I turn 21. To be putting in money monthly whether it is something as little as $10 or as much as $100. It honestly depends on my financial status for that month. I just do not want to burden my family too much for money for the wedding and rather have them there and helping out with little things and simply their presence themselves.

Yup, I should stop rambling about my wedding because that would be taking years for it to happen.
HAHA! See! This is what you get when you're so into weddings and want to build a future and career on it. You get so engrossed and passionate about it when planning and even think about it when it will happen in years to come!

I probably will be this kind of a weirdo wife who will do these mushy things. I find it really sweet and I think appreciating someone for their efforts, spoiling them from time to time is really important. Also, I am a HUGE FAN of doing DIY stuff. Not building things. I struggle with that.. but as in handmade items like cards.

Oh yea, super small details of weddings is crucial such as the type of nails you want to get done and even your preferred hairstyle.

I came across these 2 pictures below and I wanted to share it with y'all. Who knew nails would omit personality?! And the hairstyles are GORGEOUS! Especially for you ladies with long hair.

I have a month more of school. After which a week of exams. Following this I have another week of so called "holidays". Basically, it is for me to mentally, physically and emotionally prepare myself for internship. I still have yet to get my company.

God! I hope it is a good one with nice people and very well paying and hopefully in the wedding or at the very least, the events industry. If it is not, so be it. I'll give it my all during these 6 months and hopefully will find a job while I am interning so that after my internship, I'll have a company to work with straightaway.

I can't wait for my internship to be honest. But... I am still nervous. Suddenly it's no more student studying life, I'll be thrown into the adult world and working life and life goes on from there and there won't be turning back. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I am looking forward and will face it with a positve attitude, a big smile and welcome life's ups and downs, good and bad, blessings and lessons, rewards and challenges all with open arms for a warm embrace.

I am going to end this post with one of the cutest creatures on earth. Nope! Not puppies or kittens..BABIES!

Since I am talking about weddings and all, I just HAVE to post pictures of this cute babies.

One day, I want to have my own kids, my very own family that I'll cherish.

Be prepared for cuteness overload!

Well, that is all I have for now.

God bless RP for having the final exams in my favor! Yup! I just got my schedule and I couldn't be happier. Thank you for this final gift before I head for internship.

Till next time

xoxo

Farhana Mazlan