3 Ways to Style Leather Jacket

Assalammualaikum and hello lovelies!

Oh my.. It's been a while! Seriously. I can't believe that my last post was in October. Time been passing real quick right? We're already on third month of 2015. Hello March! and.. Happy Birthday to me :) One year older and 3 years to go to 30's. Hoping for better year ahead and improved Imaan :D Please make a pray for me tau.

Talking about improvement, I believe, as women we shall dress modestly, but that shouldn't be an excuse to look outdated. One way to transformed your look effortlessly is by putting on outerwear. It is an easiest and fastest way to get ready every morning and still looking gorgeous. There are various types of outerwear available in the market. Name it, cardigan, blazer, jacket, kimono, or even a long sleeved shirt could be an outerwear. 

Among the stylish piece of outerwear, invest for a timeless piece which can never go out of style, leather jacket! Some claim that leather jacket is one of the every woman wardrobe staples.  Instead of the usual fabric cardigans, opt for a different trendy appearance by wearing leather jackets.

The truth is, I've been thinking whether I should get myself a leather jacket for ages. I love the effect of manliness it'll give. Are you in the same boat as I am? Dying to try but has no courage to wear one? If so, high 5! 

For that reason, here are Top 3 Ways to Style Leather Jackets, to help you and me get started.

Free Printable : Al-Fatihah (Verse 5)

Hello lovelies. It's October!

Guess what? I have been busy starting my own project, somethingseni. Which is doing great, not much but I'm glad I have started something. So as an apologies token for not updating a lot last month, I just wanna share something I made.

but first, have you ever heard how amazing, mind-blowing facts about al-Fatihah?

You should check out Nouman Ali Khan on his talk about al-Fatihah. I am no expertise to talk on his behalf tau..Please do check ok.

Ultimately important lesson I stumble upon was, the middle ayat, verse number 5. In English:

"You (alone) we worship and You (alone) we ask for help"

Why you should start doing your own biz, now?

Be your own boss, have flexible working time, decide your biz goals, live your dream life...who doesn't love that?

Everyone must have a dream to do something they love, right? I find that it is hectic, living a life that half of it are merely to just 8-5 work. Don't you think?

I used to work at an office that an hour far from my home, daily. Stuck in traffic, spend RM300 on gas and toll, late night working and I really don't have time to myself. I love working there. The problem is the time management. Imagine that.

So, isn't it great to have your own home office?

Here a few motivating quote to help you to take a leap.

Recipe : Ayam Masak Masin / Salted Egg Chicken

At first, it sounded bizarre to me. I saw it in a menu in Tupai-tupai - Ayam Masak Masin and I was like..masin? who would ever wanted a salty dish? Then I ask the waiter calmy la, and he told me that Masin came from the Telur Masin, the red one. He finally assured us to try it as it is their signature dish.

It was delicious!

I can't get enough of it, so making them myself! I have been making this dishes whenever I don't have time to prepare things. Same as my butter prawn recipe, it is just a simple dish, no hassle. Even you lil sister can make this. 

Here's the recipe I've change a bit to suit my ke-malasan. 

Segmen Blogwalking : When I was a Kid by Aina Akmal

This is so awesome. As you may know, there are few posts I wrote about when I was a kid..

When I was a kid : I already in love with Ryan Gosling!
When I was a kid : I was a math genius

I like reminiscing the playfulness, keceriaan, how free I was as a kid. It was so joyful.

Here top 5 things to summarize, a comparison of as a kid and an adult (konon la dewasa kan)

• I don't have to work - no need to worry about money.

10 Creative Ideas to Decorate Cupcakes

Lately, I have been craving for a lot of things. Sushi, cupcakes, apple tart, almond tart, pasty pie, even magi goreng is on my list. Not pregnant people. not. Hopefully this is the sign. Please doa..:D

Out of all the long list, cupcakes are adorable kan? sweet, yummy, smell of vanilla..I can't get them any soon. I opt to make them myself and don't have time for that. so maybe here a list of Top 10 adorable cute cupcakes! to cure my craving..

1.

2.

3.

4.

Faith Friday : Sembah

I'm sure that everyone had gone through this kind of situation. 

"Ah...pakai tudung tapi baju sexy"

"Okay la.. She prays 5 times a day, though she's not covering her aurat "

Conflict sangat and it has wrongly be a norm these days. 

Instead of questioning about other people, we should ask ourselves first - Do you obey Allah? or do you obey Allah in certain times only? Like in masjid, while reciting the Quran or fasting in Ramadan. 

It is kinda confusing what our culture has made us, building up walls dividing custom and religion. I've seen people that perform Jumaat prayer, but not daily prayer. They think Jumaat prayer is just a custom/tradition. Same goes with wearing telekung to prayer (covering aurat) but still wearing tight clothes outside of prayer.

Why Wednesday : Cat versus Human

I love this site, catversushuman by Yasmine Surovec. It is so hillarious! It tells stories about her life with cats in comic strip. Who doesn't love comic right?

If you love cats... well, you should love cats! no excuse..haha.. catversushuman is the best site I have ever been. Made my day. I can't stop lol-ing.

Here are my favourite:

I'm totally a cat people.

Day 37 - Favorite TV shows

Firstly, I am a huge fan of tv series. Seriously.

and I think it is bad, very bad. I watch any sort of series. from, adventure, thriller, reality-tv, cooking, horror, crime, drama or even factory production. How it's made is my favourite okay. I am easily fascinated with all the process, seeing series of bottles in line, a machine cutting hundred of biscuits..so funny la rasa.

On top of that, I even re-watched them through net tau. Maybe you can already guess what series do I followed from my previous post such as..

BW : Segment BlogWalking Ogos by Karya Mahirah

Assalammualaikum. Already 7 days of Syawal. Happy Eid to every muslims. :)

Decided to join a BW // Blogwalking segment which is to increase your blog traffic and get to know lots of people. Why not kan? 

Thank you for the sponsor, Karya Mahirah :)

Join the segment jom. 

25 Adorable B Nicknames

Calling someone you love with nicknames shows that you really love them right? Like naming your pets even they didn't even response to it. Sometimes the name sounds silly and not even a word. Still, the sillier it gets, the closest it shows the relationship.

I used to call my husband 'gugu-gaga'..it makes him laugh but question "whyyy.." as it sounds absurd to him.

Well, the truth is...back then he looked like a cute little baby! He used to shave off his facial hairs and not intended to grow any. Let's keep it a secret okay.

Friendly Fashion : Closing

In this time of finding good quality and cheap price of clothes for hari raya, my mind is on friendly fashion website. I can browse at that site for hours without even knowing it. I don't mind buying and wearing used / pre-loved clothes. In fact I'm proud of it. (as well as jimat kan). As stated on my 2012 post about friendly fashion: not just burning your calories. Unfortunately, as you may already knew that friendly fashion was closed down effective from 1 July 2013. It has been a year since then!

Day 10 - Photos that makes you sad

I am so sick with what is happening to humanity these days. You can't just simply go to someone's house and force them to get out from their own home and then claim that its yours. Motif ?

I saw a comment from this awesome Islamic comic, The Muslim Show. I shall share it here as it was beautifully explain :)

DIY : Carrot Favor

If you went to my sister's wedding, you should get this, if you are a children la. At first, we really wanted to give kids healthy favors. Unfortunately, I can't find any healthier and cheaper choice than this yummy super rings. Alasan.

I love its vibrant orange colour (not healthy juga all those food colouring) and it turned out great as a carrot-look-alike too.

We even made a white carrot. Keropok roda as the filling.

It was so simple to make this cute favor. Maybe you don't even need any tutorial. but...I made a tutorial already. So here, Carrot Favor Tutorial! 

Drawing Dreams | MARA Result

The result was out months ago but I don't have the courage to face the music. I failed to get the MARA loan and I have tried to appeal but it didn't work out.

What I've been through was like a massive water ripple effect. Everything, emotionally for instant has been tarnished.

It all started last year. I really wanted to finish my study and decided to take Master of Architecture. Unlike other courses, we are studio-based and technical course need to prepare extra documentation. I was so determined and put my best preparing portfolio, resume, personal statement and university application.

 I managed to get 3 offer letters, unconditional from University of Liverpool and Lincoln University and conditional offer from Liverpool John Moores University. Which I believe not so important to MARA as they didn't ask for offer letter (quote from MARA officer).

Small Home Ideas : IKEA Wishlist

It has been a year and half living in a new rented house, yet most parts of the house are not well decorated. Talking about decoration, first thing that come across is IKEA. Who doesn't love them right?

I love their simplicity and clean design. Minimalist equals to big YES!

I shall start small and here is my inspiration list.

Top on our list. KLIPPAN two-seat sofa price at RM599.

Faith Friday : Al-kahfi

Truthfully, I didn't know about the sunnah of reciting al-kahfi during Friday. During boading school, we recited Yassin every Friday. It's was like a weekly routine and I got used to it.

I hope everyone know about this fact, why we have to recite al-kahfi.

There are 4 trials that can be learned from al-kahfi and Subhanallah, solution on how do we survive can be found in surah al-kahfi too. 

source

Day 24 - Don't take this for granted

Have you watched the video? I feel so sad to realize how badly technology has been affecting us. We spend too much time everyday looking down at our phone. It's kind of depressing to see it affecting not just grown-ups but kids. I mean, do we have to keep kids quiet by giving them those devices? There is a lot of ways to keep them entertained and quiet, right?

Born in late 80's, I am so grateful that I had a chance to play outside, enjoy the sun, climbing trees and got hurt and I don't care. Compared to kids nowadays, they always inside playing games, online. Some got addicted to it and just don't care what happened around them.

Disconnected. Which explain my current life. Oh well, talking about it..now I am writing virtually. Using the net. 

The thing is, I had lost my samsung galaxy note last two months due to mainboard failure. In order to replace the mainboard it will cost me a fortune. RM300-450++. So my smartphone are not smart anymore. Dead. haha...

So now, I am lucky as my previous phone nokiaE72 is still functioning. Wait, it is consider as smartphone as I can still whatsapp and email.:D On positive side, it doesn't need charging frequently - the battery can last up to a week and making me less dependent on the phone. On the other hand however, I kind of missing my note :( Frankly, breaking up with your loyal companion is hard.

• Common problems, lost all phone numbers that aren't attached to the sim phone book. Sorry people if I don't have your number. Besides, I also lost important dates such as birthday.

• My E72 has no apps that could distract me all day long. No more games, candy crush, guess the emoji. I only has solitaire and block cascade installed, which is factory default setting.  Not to forget, instagram, facebook or twittter. I have to log in on computer to access social media and for sure I am malas to do so. I don't know if I should be happy or sad about this. 

• In addittion to the apps, I lost count of my period calculation. I was counting from the apps and never ever note it down on paper. Talking about too dependent on technology. I should have wrote it somewhere or ask my husband to remember it for me. I also forgot how many days left to ganti puasa :(

• I shall mention my dead note special function. It lets you taking notes easily, making to-do list, stylus pen, s planner, 8mp camera, huge screen and the list goes on. It a lie if I didn't think of getting those shiny-new-launched-golden note 3. Always a dream. 2k ++ seems out of my monetary budget at the moment.

• Lastly but most important, I don't have the access to Al-Quran 24/7. I really missed it though. Really. It was convenient apps ever. I can just read it anywhere with just one click away. I love the translation, I love that we can scroll down and do search findings on surah. Bookmarking important ayat and access it instantly. Also I can learn proper recitation of ayat. I am so sad. This is the best part of having smartphone :( I am shame to admit that it is hard for me to bring the book of Al-Quran anywhere I go. Let not discuss the excuses. I shall start to do so though.

Can you live without your smartphone? 

and kids, that's "How I Met Your Mother"

Just watched it and I am so SAD right now. It is just that I haven't thought an hour could feel like years. It was fast, packed with lots of big moments, kind of rushed a bit. well, what can you expect, it was the last episode. There was a lot of things going on there and all I can say.. what a Legendary Ending!

I really like the ending though. It was simple and sweet kan..*tears welling up* I know that some of the fans went outrage and mad over the ending and keep saying what a waste of nine years. Well, the beginning nor the ending should matter the most right? What I mean is the process for all of it. You got to know all 5 characters plus the mother in the last season. Not to forget every life lessons that we have learned. I think that should overcome all the negative comments.

Already missing HIMYM. It feels like all of them are real and out there somewhere. No more updates on their life. I'm so in need of those "high infinity!" Let it echoes. Maybe re-watched all of their episodes.

via 

and this is my favourite scene of all. Nine years to know how exactly they met and it was so sweet. She's so beautiful. Ok. Sorry for the spoiler, if you haven't watched it.You should have watched them!

via

p/s: I love the twist at the end. So unexpected.  Everyone should move on. Letting  someone / something go is hard, somehow they really show that it is possible. 

Drawing Dreams | MARA Interview Tips

Assalammualaikum

The interview starts today and some of us still don't have the exact date. MARA only stated 1-3 April for the interview and I'm already nervous. So, to curb my anxiety problems, trust Allah and get prepared is the right solution.  Googled some of tips from various blogs; afterschool, mygabus, sophie (interview uitm), I would like to share what I found.

So, basically MARA stated these on their site and please prepare all the required documents. Put it in order will lessen your kelam-kabut if ask to find any.

Compare to last year and year before (2013 and 2012), base from my friends solely, there was no interviews for postgraduate. However, some said that they had a group and individual interviews since 2009 for MARA scholarship/loan. I can't verify if it was for postgraduate or undergraduate. More or less we shall be prepared la kan.

Briefly, the group session was like this:

“Calon perlu mendaftar di kaunter pendaftaran berdasarkan panel yang diberi. Jika tidak silap saya, ada 12 panel kesemuanya. Setiap panel mengandungi 8 calon dan 3 penemuduga. Calon akan diberi tugasan dan perlu membahagikan masing-masing kepada 2 atau 3 kumpulan. Temuduga keseluruhannya mengambil masa 1 jam. 40 minit akan diberi kepada calon untuk berbincang dan membuat perbentangan sesama sendiri. Penemuduga tidak mengambil bahagian dan sekadar memerhati sahaja. Setelah perbincangan dan perbentangan selesai, penemuduga akan bertanya tentang tugasan dan tentang ahli kumpulan yang lain (contohya ahli mana yang patut dilantik menjadi ketua ataupun jika ada peniru di kalangan mereka.) Setiap seorang calon akan ditanya satu soalan. Setelah itu, penemuduga akan bertanya tentang kursus yang diambil oleh calon. Sesi ini bersifat terbuka dan sesiapa sahaja dibenarkan menjawab soalan. “ 

(via: afterschool)

and more detailed example; rephrase from yaya,

• Calon diminta duduk ikut turutan dari no 1 - 7 (meja mesyuarat), atas meja ada 1 task. 
• Task: ada 8 orang di dalam hot air balloon : yb. dato seri najib tun abdul razak (Prime minister), rozita che wan (acteress), dr. fadzhillah kamsah (motivator), khairul fahmi che mat (goalkeeper), tony fernandes (bisnes leader), yb dato ibrahim bin mohamad (ketua pengarah MARA), zety (gabenor bank negara) and islamic minister. 
• Select one character and discuss , debate, tolerate and defend our chosen character, kenapa character kita must be save from the hot air ballon.
• kita kena menonjol sikit. cari peluang untuk bercakap.  group saya, okaylah semua dapat bercakap, (except dua org, sampai interviewer tu tegur kenapa tak bercakap )
• at the end of the discussion, select only 4 characters to be save.  kitorang sepakat memilih: prime minister, ketua pengarah MARA, gabenor bank negara and islamic minister. 
• then, habis discussion (40 minit) kitorang boleh tanya apa2 soalan kepada interviewers. ( 3 interviewers - 2 org lelaki, sorang perempuan).
• apa lagi, peluang ni saya guna untuk bertanya tentang pinjaman ni.

I  can relate this to my previous interview in 2005, for Petronas scholarship. Basically there was 2 sessions, group and individual. First it started with group. Each group will be given a topic, my group topic was deforestation. You have to pick from a box randomly, a method to curb the problems. I got campaign as a method to halt deforestation. Others got authority rules, recyling, etc. From that you have to discuss among yourself to pick the right order for a solution. 

I believe the interviewers just wanted to know how will you work in a team, personal skills, contribution in a group, some sort mcmtu I think. Now I am even worried. Nowadays, we are as postgraduates, they will expect more as we have grown this far right.

Some Basic Rules

1. be early - an hour before lg bagus, in case sesat jalan or no parking
2. well-dressed - baju kurung with no more than 3 colours tau. serabut nanti. 
3. knock the door and give salam - show respect to the interviewers
4. sit still, smile - body language is important 

Common Interviews Questions

1. Please introduce yourself
2. Why do you choose to pursue study in  _______(the cost : architecture/medicine/...)
3. Who is your favourite architect? Favourite building? (those applying architecture)
4. Why oversea universities and not local universities?
5. Instead of JPA, why do you choose MARA?
6. How will you contribute to MARA in future time?
7. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

- On introducing yourself, please don't be boring. Help the interviewer to remember you by giving some unique things about yourself. For instant, your hobbies or interest. This will grab their attention and help them to know you better. 

- Why do you choose architecture, please don't answer it because of "passion". Too many of us will give the same answer. I believe you should be detail and relate it to what you have learned. For example, relate it to your ambition, strength, challenges, hopes..or maybe environmental issue, current issue, pollution. 

- In terms of question on predicting future, I suppose the answer is somehow to know how commit yourself towards the study/industry. Convince the interviewer on how determine yourself to become successful in what you have chosen.  

Extra Tips
- keep update with current issue, in case they ask for opinion.
- do a research to know a bit about MARA.
- keep calm while answering the question.
- don't talk too fast or too slow that you can't be heard.
- be confidence
- don't forget to doa and tawakkal. Allah will ease everything, InsyaAllah.

Wish you all the best! Good luck. :D