Showing posts with label Charity Bake Sale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charity Bake Sale. Show all posts

Friday, November 15, 2013

The Pre-Wedding Preparations (Part 2)

After part 1 of the pre-wedding preparations, here comes part 2!

Yang ini will cover some of the stuff that happened on the last weekend before the wedding.

25 October 2013 (Friday)
Final Fitting at SY Boutique (Tailor) with Ishq By Nora Zee

We had our final fitting at the tailor itself (which is SY Boutique) lepas kerja because Kak Nora wanted our outfits to fit really well and it's better when the tailors measure the baju against us directly instead of referring to pre-taken measurements aje... and I think I quite like the auntie tailors at this boutique! 

Yang buat bonus: their workmanship pun good good jugak so I might consider sending kain to tailor to them besides Manja. No pictures from this trip to SY Boutique because we looked really masai lepas kerja hahahahaha

26 October 2013 (Saturday)
Purchase of Norethisterone

First order of the day was to visit my regular doctor to purchase Norethisterone! (You can read up about this pill here, here, here, here and here... or you know, you could always Google it up yourself.) Serious adult stuff going on there, y'all.

I actually forgot all about wanting to do this until about 2 weeks before the wedding, and the only reason I remembered was because an angry pimple popped out on my forehead... so gua panic ah geng, sebab dah dapat tanda.

So I re-read Ili of Eleventh October's entry which mentioned the topic (here) because I remembered ex-BTBs commenting on that entry about the existence of a "pill that helps to stop menstrual period temporarily". Asked around after re-reading that entry before taking the plunge because I really didn't want to risk getting my monthly friend during the wedding and honeymoon. 


Disclaimer di sini! As with most medications and approved drugs in the market, this may cause different effects and reactions for different people, so it is always always always best to consult your own GP as to whether you can take this in the first place and how, if you plan to do so!

For my personal experience, I didn't experience any other side effects except for bouts of giddiness, I didn't get any allergic reactions and the pill worked its magic perfectly. And my monthly friend really did make its appearance about 2 days after I stopped the dosage eh.

But I really must stress on this point - as with most medications and approved drugs in the market, it is not healthy to take such pills on a regular basis, unless otherwise prescribed. I only wanted to take this for my wedding and honeymoon (imagine the discomfort throughout the day kalau period tengah heavy duty during the wedding and honeymoon yikes). Might take this again when I plan to go on a long holiday trip in the future, but other than that I'll let my cycle run naturally, which is really the best thing to do for my body and its system.

26 October 2013 (Saturday)
Charity Bake Sale at Penny University


So yes, anyway! After getting that little adult business out of the way, I hopped down to Penny University! And why??? Remember me blogging about the charity bake sale which was to happen one week before my wedding???

Decided to spend my last weekend as a single girl grabbing and gobbling down some omnomnom bakes by Minah Crocker and Dimpled Chicks at the bake sale which was also co-planned/organized with The Tudung Traveller!


Me with the three lovely ladies behind the charity bake sale :D

You can read more about what happened at The Alternative Food Blog - which, by the way, is the blog to read if you're constantly looking for halal as well vegetarian cafes and F&B establishments all around Singapore! You can also follow their latest finds on Instagram here. Had the privilege to meet the dynamic duo behind the blog as well but totes forgot to take a picture together after the kekecohan! Apadah.

Had to reschedule my facial appointment with Spa Jelita to the following day just so I could have the time to drop by the bake sale but it was no biggie - what's a rescheduled facial appointment if I get to contribute to a good cause and get a box of sweet treats while I'm at it, right?! I mean, what bridal diet?

Plus I wanted to bring some sweet treats to our inaugural visit to #shamsyah's new home anyway (more on this later) so it was ala ala kill two birds with one stone lah gitu (Asal kill birds with stones eh??? As far as I know birds kalau kena campak dengan batu dorang terus terbang away seh hur hur)

26 October 2013 (Saturday)
Waxing Appointment at Fabulous Aesthetics 

But there was one appointment that I didn't have to reschedule because it was to happen after I left the bake sale - which was my waxing appointment!

It was my 1st experience of such nature and naturally I was apprehensive and uncertain jugak! Must really thank Bride Barista for layaning my Whatsapp messages, because she is, like, the BTB guru of waxing, y'all! Hur hur hur. In fact, the reason why I booked my waxing appointment with Fabulous Aesthetics instead of other established shops like Strip or Pink Parlour (which I initially considered) is because she recommended it hehe. Thank you sayang!


Moments before my first experience!


Tubs of hot, hot wax! I actually thought the shade for the red coloured one looked very pretty glistening in the light and reminded me of raspberry sauce whereas the golden coloured one looks like honey wtf

I feel that the only downside about Fabulous Aesthetics is the fact that they only have 3 outlets in Singapore. Meh. But the service turned out pretty okay and truthfully kan, I'd rather go to an established name recommended by someone who dah lau chao with these things (hehe) rather than anyhow chop a promotion deal off Groupon or Deal.com with a salon whose reputation and credentials are questionable, just because it's cheap seh.

Sure, you can Google for reviews before purchasing off deal sites but I don't know lah, I'd rather hear from someone that I can put a face, a name and some form of credibility to, and not just random reviews on the world wide web yang tak tau mana asalnye and tak pasti kesahihannye when it comes to such... sensitive things. Heh. But that's just me lah, you know.

Anyway. I won't blog publicly in detail about my experience but I can tell you right now - without having to set my entry to 'private with password' and then shamelessly haggle for 'likes' or 'shares' on social media before I share the experience with you lol - that the experience is really not as bad as it sounds!

In fact, I loved the experience so much that... I actually signed up for a package with Fabulous Aesthetics in the end hahahahaha. If you want to know more because you're planning to do for it yourself then feel free to email me directly so I can share my experience privately and comfortably okay! (Although my reply might come a liiiiittle late than usual, because I still have a backlog of emails to reply to wtf, maybe I should employ someone to be an admin person EH ILI can pay you to be my admin not hehehehehe)

It wasn't as intimidating or torturous as I thought it'd be lor - but that might be because I'm ~pretty~ comfortable with me, myself and my body, I can be quite confident when put in such a... errrrr, "precarious" situation haha AND I have a high threshold for pain.

(I have many weaknesses of course, which includes anything to do with DIY and mathematics (urgh mathematics) but if I had to list my strengths, it'd be everything I just listed hur hur hur. Unfortunately ini macam punya strengths tak boleh pakai eh during job interviews hahahahaha)

In fact, when my bridesmaids and akak Bride Barista asked me whether I found the process painful and how I fared during and after the waxing session, my reply is basically encapsulated in this fabulous GIF:


HAHAHAHAHAHA GOT SEE ANYONE MORE EKSYEN NOT?! 

Hahaha okay lah okay lah maybe I was lucky to get a nice consultant who did the job well - ask for Eunice to do the waxing for you if you're going to the Bugis outlet! In fact, if anyone wants to bump one session off my package ($41 per session, I think, usual price is about $60+) and want to ajak me as teman, I'd gladly do so if you can align with my next appointment :D

26 October 2013 (Saturday)
Bridal Room Setup By Bonito By Bob

So after the waxing appointment, I rushed home because the team from Bonito By Bob was coming over my place to store their barang barang and do the necessary drilling works! Process took about an hour or so, if I remember correctly, and they didn't need me to duduk macam bongok tengok dorang buat kerja so I left them to do their work while I temankan my mother tengok Hindustan hahaha (Not a fan of hindustan because they are too auta for me but I can take their autaness in small doses once in a blue moon ah hahaha)

How my bedroom looked like after the necessary drilling and props are stored:


Had small tingles up my spine when I saw my room all tidied and packed up like this, because I then knew that the special day was coming faster than I can say "Selamat Pengantin Baru! Semoga kekal ke an-" EH EH CIK BEDAH the day dah sampai pun?! *auta*

After Bonito By Bob left (proper review will come in a separate entry!), I had a quick nap before washing up to go to #shamsyah's new home for our final meeting with our orang orang kuat!


26 October 2013 (Saturday)
Final Run-Through with Orang Orang Kuat

This one is another kill two birds with one stone sort of situation - kitaorang memang nak meet our orang orang kuat to discuss and finalize the wedding details and at the same time, memang nak sebok sebok tengok Sham and Aisyah's new home. So ape lagi, sambil menyelam minum air lah kan. 

(Although I can never quite understand why anyone would want to selam dalam laut or sungei and then minum the air.......... unless you tengah selam dalam air bandung or iced milo ah, which then begs the question as to why you tengah selam dalam air bandung or iced milo in the first place..........)

Copies of the wedding itinerary for our bridal party to refer to!


I've had quite a number of people asking me for sample itinerary for their own weddings but I'll only upload mine for reference in a later entry. Sorry gaize! Still need time to edit and delete the crucial names and contact numbers away from my actual one. (But seems like sample wedding itinerary for Malay weddings is really hot in demand eh?!)

Okay dah, back to our last meeting with our orang orang kuat before the wedding! Kita telah ambik chance to turn it into a homemade steamboat dinner gathering heh heh heh NOM NOM NOM




The girls fussing around in the kitchen! (Gender stereotype much?!) Tapi orang rumah feeling malu that night so she kept her face away in all of the pictures taken that night lolololol


We ambik kesempatan to get some tips for home renovation and interior design from Pak Sham and Puan Aisyah that night as well! Super in love with their white and tiffany-coloured guestroom and they can haz a walk-in wardrobe!!! 

Would love to share picturesss but since it's not my rumah sendiri takkan aku nak pandai pandai ye. You all pun tau kan, sepandai pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya tak masuk Olympics jugak kan. (Takde link ah actually hahahahaha)

If it was about my own house, tadi pagi dah announce pun kat front page of Berita Harian, nyah! Hahahahaha. Oh oh oh, I also have a picture of Nadai collapsed on the floor of their walk-in wardrobe which is sungguh buruk lolololol but not sharing that as well because... well, it is buruk, you know. LOL.


Our speech givers Ahmad and Nadai comparing their speeches after dinner. 

Suruh hantar drafts for vetting kat aku, tak nak.



Discussion was long and intense, and thank God for technology because kita sampai hook up laptop to TV and flash the itinerary on the TV monitor for everyone's easy reference lah eh hehehe.

And remember I mentioned about our orang orang kuat groaning about our initial snoozefest of a march-in song and we had to change to another kind? I really wanted to see if a regular march-in is possible with a fast tempo song so I made everyone practise walking down a few times to our eventual march-in song, which is Mozella's Love Is Endless. So yes, we had 10 adults walking down over and over again. In front of #shamsyah's toilet. At 2 freaking am. 

Hahahahaha eh, eh, but seriously, puas hati ah geng, at least bila kita practise I could see that the song could work for the march-in and I was more than happy to make the change. Hurray! 


And yes this is the TV which we used to flash the... ummmmm, wedding itinerary presentation haha. And that wall at the back, ladies and gentlemen, is the feature wall which pasangan suami isteri Sham and Aisyah painstakingly built up themselves okay!!!!!!! :O Very semangat, and very cool eh korang.

Don't think Saliheen and I will do anything like that for our own feature wall for our new home though since kita laki bini are such lazy asses when it comes to DIY stuff.......... 

(Sorry for the sudden turn to home decor topic, you must understand that my mind is now tuned to home renovations and interior decor since the wedding is over and done, and the next major project we have as a married couple is our first home together! Hehe mega excitez)

Okay sampai di sini aje kali ini, part 3 akan datang shortly!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

bake sale with a heart

Finally fixed all my facial, spa and massage, waxing, threading and hair appointments for this Saturday and I am so, so psyched to start feeling like I am truly going to be a bride!!! :D

But before I go for my appointments, guess where I'll be going this Saturday morning????? 

At this charity bake sale held by a trio of amazing girls at Penny University!!!!!


Date: 

 26th October 2013 (Saturday)
 
Time: 

11.00am to 2.00pm

Venue: 

Penny University 

Organizers: 
  1. The Tudung Traveller, who can be found blogging here and instagramming here.
  2. Minah Crocker, a self-taught baker who blogs here and instagrams here.
  3. Dimpled Chicks, a professionally-trained baker who can found on instagram here.
 Beneficiaries:

ALL proceeds from the bake sale will go to three pre-identified children homes in Batam, Indonesia that the organizers and volunteers will be visiting on 16 November 2013. It will be a day trip (from 8.00am to 8.00pm) and the group will be spending time at two children homes + dropping off donations at one other home. 

A portion of the money collected from the bake sale and ongoing donation drive will be used to buy food items (such as rice, eggs, instant noodles) and daily necessities (such as toothpaste, body soap, shampoo) to be given to the homes, and the rest will be given as cash form.

If you wish to know more about the children homes that will benefit from this charity bake sale, you can read the blog entry posted by The Tudung Traveller here as well as more information on the charity bake sale here. If you wish to take one step further and volunteer for the trip as well, you can read the blog entry provided earlier, complete the form here or email Atikah Amalina (the super lovely blogger behind The Tudung Traveller who was the one who first started visting children homes in Batam, Indonesia as part of a charitable cause) at atikahamalina@gmail.com if you're interested to donate money or food items instead!

And now, back to the charity bake sale - here are some pictures of the bakes previously done by the two awesome bakers who I mentioned will be baking for the bake sale earlier, because only pictures can demonstrate how talented these bakers are!!!!! Plus pictures are awesome and helps you see and know how something looks or looked like - I mean, why else would pengantins-to-be pay thousands of dollars to get their wedding photographed, right??? 

Like I said, pictures are awesome. Especially so when they are of maha pretty bakes like these:








 


(This is one of my absolute favourites!!! Why did this whimsical awesomeness not exist for orders when I organized a Katy Perry's California Girls themed birthday party for my girlfriend Faezah ni!!!!! I only had Coffee Bean's Candy Heaven cake as an option seh. Meh.)




(Source: Minah Crocker's Blog and Instagram)

She also bakes cakes with surprise chocolates and candies centre!!! I don't know if this is its actual name but I actually call it the pinata cake heh heh and I've blogged about wanting a pinata cake and pinata cookies in my entries here and here!!!!! MINAH CROCKER WILL YOU DO MY WEDDING PINATA CAKE FOR ME PLZ





(Source: Dimpled Chicks)

LAWA GILA KAN KORANG.

How freaking amazing are these bakes, guys?!?!?! Sorry lah if I sound very the jakun, but for a girl who cannot bake to save her life, beautiful checkered cakes, rainbow cakes with a heart in the centre, perfectly frosted and sprinkled cupcakes will always cause such great awe and admiration. So pardon me lah kan if these amazing creations are enough to blow me away. Heh.

By the way, not joking when I said I cannot even get my instant mix muffins right on previous occasions - here's hard solid... (or in this case, limp and sloppy lolz) proof from a 2010 failed attempt at baking banana nut muffins. From a freaking instant mix.  

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

That's right - I cannot even get my instant freaking mix muffins right, you gaize.


RIP, BANANA NUT MUFFINS.

Sorry future husband, no yummy bakes for you from your little undomesticated future wife here :P

Anyway, needless to say, I never touched another instant muffin mix ever again after that. Or any other baking ingredients and tools whatsoever, for that matter. I very the trauma yang melanda, menikam nikam jiwa, you know?!  

I'll be really honest and say I have no idea how the cakes and cupcakes and pastries and tarts by these bakers will taste like by the way, since I've never tasted them myself - but that is exactly why I want to be there at the charity bake sale lah. I've had enough of lusting after the pretty creations by these bakers through Instagram only!!! So enough. About damn time I tried them myself, selagi chance masih ada!!! As far as I know, these bakers don't take orders (yet) so this is one of the rare chances we'll get to taste their bakes.

Oh, and in case you want to know what to expect at the bake sale, Minah Crocker will be bringing American-style bakes such as her cupcakes with special centers and her specialties include cheese cakelets and cakes whereas Dimpled Chicks will showcase her classy french pastries which include tarts and crème brûlées at the charity bake sale. A good mix of happy, fun cakes and classy, sophisticated pastries to please every kind of tastebud! Even if you have degil tastebuds and nothing is to your fancy, well, it is for a good cause after all right? Borong for your family and friends who have less degil tastebuds lah, what else! 

You know, initially my appointments clashed with the bake sale tau - I was planning to start my last Saturday before I become someone's wife (!!!!!) early so I can leisurely make my way home in time for Bonito By Bob to arrive and store all his props and materials for my bridal room setup. But this charity bake sale is too hard to resist and there is no way I can pass up such a fun little event for such a good cause. I might have other commitments that hinder me from going on the trip but that doesn't mean I can't contribute in a way I know how - which is to spend on pretty bakes, kan? :p

Which is why I've rescheduled all of my appointments this Saturday in such a way that I can have my breakfast at Penny University (they have yummy breakfast and yummy coffee, by the way), spend some good money on the bake sale before running along for my first appointment of the day. And since I'll probably be around until about 12pm, please come and say hi if you see me there - heck, if you want to talk about wedding planning or share share about weddings in general, I'll be happy to sit down and have a chat over a cupcake... or three? Hehehe. 

By the way, if you're fretting over your bridal diet and using it as an excuse for not making time for the charity bake sale - don't. Make this Saturday an exception. You can lose whatever calories you gain from the cakes and pastries with a gym session or a quick run around your neighbourhood. Anyway, what's a few extra calories (that you can burn away) if you can help improve and touch the lives of less fortunate children, right?

You can also read The Alternative Food Blog which covers an interview with the three organizers.