A spoonful of pretty things

Simple DIY Mask for sensitive skin

2013-04-13T22:37:00.001+08:00

My skin has been breaking out nonstop for a few months now, aside from acne, there are acne scars, redness and magnified pores. :(

It's getting better gradually and I'm doing my best to eat clean, drinking more water and just treating my skin like they're the most fragile things on earth. It's so hard to leave home without concealing my acne. I know I'm just rubbing salt on my wound but I feel incredibly self-conscious if I head out without concealing my acne. I do leave home without concealing my acne on good days but those good days are hard to come by, until I gave this super simple DIY homemade mask a go. It instantly reduce the redness of my skin after leaving it on for 15 minutes before rinsing. I am honestly not sure if it will work for everyone, but the fact that both ingredients are natural, I'd say give it a go.

That's really all you need. Just one table spoon of fresh yoghurt, and half a spoon of pure honey and voila!

You could make a bigger portion according to ratio and keep it refrigerated for up to 3 days but I am not a big fan of storing these natural darlings as I think it works best when it is fresh.

The Gap

2013-04-04T21:29:00.002+08:00

This post is a little serious to what I normally blog about, but I need to let it out.

When I say the gap, I am actually talking about the gap year that I have been on right after my pre-u (Grade 12) studies in June 2012. One thing that never fails to baffle me is the amount of people who give me the disbelief look when I say I'm taking a gap year off. What is wrong with Malaysians (or Asians in general) thinking that the faster you complete your undergraduate degree the sooner you'll succeed. I absolutely hate this mentality. Unless I am doing absolutely nothing to be a better person, taking a gap year off means I'm doing things, part time jobs, internships, volunteering, personal development and growth. In short, taking a gap year off means I'm figuring out who I really am or who I want to be before spending my parent's hard-earned money on an undergraduate degree that I might be doing just for the sake of doing it. I'd rather take a gap year off to find out where my passion lies than go straight to uni, get a degree that I'm not even sure why, get a job relating to my degree and potentially hating my job for the rest of my life. If you take a look around Malaysia, 1 out of 1000 (maybe 100000) students take a gap year off after SPM/STPM/Pre-U, most of the time it's the parents that pressures the children to continue their studies immediately and sometimes its the children themselves who are afraid of being left behind when their friends have all moved on to this thing called university that seems oh-so-amazing. Well, my dear, I do think its more rewarding when you take a gap year off to find out who/what you wanna be before enrolling into uni and when you enter uni, you'll be the one ahead with a clear direction in mind.

I'll be blogging about something very personal after this. It's basically why/how I ended up taking a gap year off and also a post to inform everyone my whereabouts. It's a little sad how some friends still say "How's Canada?"

Stay tuned.

bed hair, undone, imperfect but always trying.

Operation Healthy

2013-03-20T15:17:00.000+08:00

It has been quite a long while since I last played tennis. It's not easy to maneuver around to find a good location for tennis nor do I have friends around this area who plays tennis regularly. It's no surprise that I miss tennis but really, unless I find a friend in damansara who's willing to pick me up for tennis, I'll have to leave tennis to weekends when I'm back in Klang.

So I ate really healthily and exercised regularly to get back in shape and for my general health, but just like many others, my operation healthy came to. Long haunt after Chinese New Year. I mean c'mon, pineapple tarts, peanut cookies, oh and dont get me started on em Chinese food! it has been really hard getting back to healthily as I have been eating out almost everyday thanks to my amazing friends who never stopped bringing me to places with food that make my knees go weak. I have enough self control to choose not to hang out with them, but I'm hanging out with them so often now because they are all leaving to different continents soon. :( (when will the brain drain issue in Malaysia stop?) I have to say my willpower is shattered whenever I enter a restaurant. So weak. Oh well.

BUTTTTTTTTTTT, IM GIVING MY HEALTHY LIFESTYLE ANOTHER KICKSTART. I AIN'T GIVING UP.

So today was a pretty good start, started my day with mommy-baked rye bread, an egg, cherry tomatoes and arugula.

And with all my might, rejected a colleagues offer for a super yummy Asian lunch for some simply grilled salmon bone and salad, made by my sister, Christie. Despite not being able to get me some Asian, lunch was pretty darn good.
Eat your greens!

And I cheated a little for dinner, cause I was so caught up with work I didn't have time to make my smoothie, I had some rocky road bar from Plan B which didn't taste good to be honest. But that's a good thing since I ate only a few piece, I would have engulf the whole thing if it was good.

Aside from eating healthily, I should probably start sleeping earlier too. And obviously that is not happening today......so good night!

Being loud

2013-02-21T00:16:00.004+08:00

Chinese new year really is the time of bright and loud colours and to be honest, I have never been the sort of girl who wears colours that attract unnecessary attention, until we decided to get this gorgeous pink blazer from H&M that was on sales.

I think it turned out pretty nicely, and it was nice to have a breathe if colors to welcome spring.

On a side note, I really do need to get a camera soon as my Canon is officially broken. :(

Spontaneity

2013-02-06T23:26:00.000+08:00

Cooking is very much personal. Christie and I try out recipes often but what we do on a daily basis is just cooking and throwing in whatever we like into the pot. This habit of ours to just randomly create dishes from scratch with whatever we already have in our fridge and with no guidance can often lead to a gastronomic disaster and sometimes the opposite. Okay, I was exaggerating, my definition of disaster meant an edible crinkled tasteless piece of chicken breast.

On days where our mana point for culinary superpowers is sufficient, things like this happens.

A really simple, tasteful creamy mushroom pasta topped with alfafa, chili flakes, dash of lemon juice, salt, pepper and a couple more ingredients that I cannot remember for the love of bacon.

We really need to start making it a habit to write down the recipe. It's easier said than done when it's spontaneous cooking.

Preppy At Long Last

2013-01-31T23:28:00.001+08:00

In my parallel universe, I'm an elite attending a school who's uniform consists of polos and knitted vests.

Strangely, today felt like the day to finally buck up and dressed preppy-ly like I always wanted but never got the guts to. I went through a couple of dresses and nothing seemed to fit my white button down. I never thought this floral dress of mine would go well like this, but I think it looks pretty decent and prep-pable! And I've got to say, I felt great in this outfit today as not only was I playing the role (in my head) of living the fashionble and fast paced life of an elite in Manhattan, the best part was this outfit was really (surprisingly) comfortable even under the heat of Malaysia!

Note to self: be daring.

Chocolate Cravings

2013-01-22T23:42:00.000+08:00

One of the many things Christie is confident about is her not so secret chocolate brownies that never fails to get people requesting for the recipe. There aren't many ingredients required as seen but I guess everything tastes magical when you put your love and heart into it.

SO, believe it or not you only need 6 ingredients for some amazing chocolate goodness.

I apologize for any inconvenience we caused to your diet.

Prabal Gurung ft Target

2013-01-15T13:57:00.000+08:00

I want Target to come in to Malaysia like NOW.

I'm sure you'll feel the same once you go through the lookbook of Prabal Gurung for Target. This collection stole my heart instantly and what makes it even more lovable is that Prabal designed his collection based on the concept of love, whether its finding it or having it, he wants people to feel the love he put into his collections. There's nothing more to look for in a designer when they design out of love.

This collection in particular really gives of the understated yet indelible elegance and glamour which is what I love since I'm not a big fan of over the top diva glam girl.

These are a few of my favourite looks from his collection with Target.

So much gorgeous detailing and attention paid to the structure! I absolutely love how most of the designs in this collection would look great on women who come in many sizes! Thank you Prabal!

Maybe I should just be the one to bring Target to Malaysia.

Love,

Amanda

MMFA Gala Night

2012-12-17T00:53:00.001+08:00

So, my sister, Christie and I were invited by Jaz to the Malaysian Models Festival Award aka MMFA last Tuesday. Jaz was nominated as Best Fashion Photographer of the Year! And he has only been in the fashion photography industry for no longer than 2 years! Even though he was not awarded, it is incredibly impressive for him to be in the run for the title alongside other well known photographer like Bonnie Yap! I can only imagine Jaz going above and beyond in the future.

I hope I pulled of my outfit that was put together on a REALLY short notice as I didn't really had the mood to attend the event. I'm so thankful I attended though! It was a glamorous event and I had the opportunity to meet and speak to some influential individuals from the local fashion and modelling industry so it was really awesome. The ones I met like Dato Jimmy Choo, Amber Chia, Benjamin Toong, Wilson Tan, Leng Yein and many more were incredibly down to earth and humble. Who says you need to be mean to be on top? My respect and admiration for them skyrocketed that night.

Jaz, talented photographer right there.

Leng Yein, who was SUPER NICE, I almost cried.

Wilson, who's not only fabulous but also incredibly humble.

Benjamin, glamorous and down to earth. A combo that will not go wrong.

The talented Dennis Lau and Koujee.

Beautiful Jojo.

Looking forward to attending similar events soon and meeting new people! One of the things that surprised me most from attending events like this is the realization that I actually enjoy meeting new people and I am no longer as awkward as I used to be. Thankful for the change in me. :)

Little People

2012-12-11T15:28:00.003+08:00

I'm not referring to people who are physically petite or small, I'm talking about people with little minds and a narrow, bitter heart. These are the sorts of people who take pride in insulting others, making nasty remarks and comments, saying ridiculous things that only magnifies their stupidity. The worst ones are the little ones who make sarcastic remarks and think they're witty when really, they're just making themselves look bad.

Then we have the little people on cyberspace. They are usually the ones leaving hate comments, creating hate groups, bullying others, mostly indirectly because they have absolutely no guts to do it upfront, and the social media platform is the perfect place for them to hide their true identity. When you go as far as creating an account to do petty mean things around people you are jealous of, it just shows how ugly you are on the inside. No wonder you needed another account, even you are embarrassed of your unsightly heart.

I'm sure we all have come across these people, especially on the web. And I thought I was annoyed and angry at them for being incredibly mean to others, but I realized I just felt sad for them. I know life can really slap you in the face and make you bitter, but to channel that negative vibe to others...I mean how low can you go?

The beautiful Carey Ng was crowned as Miss Universe Malaysia 2013 yesterday. She deserves the crown and maybe the other girls deserve it just as much, but the reality is the people who understands the industry knows she is our deserving Miss Malaysia 2013. When she was announced as the winner on the facebook page, there were the ones who were happy for her....and then there were some who made me feel embarrassed to call myself Malaysian.

Nasty comments like "trlalu cina/oriental","xxx deserves it so much more, she ugly", "x tau judges buta ke?" "cina doll", "msia downgrade teruk" immediately popped up under the comment. And the fans of the other girls, my goodness, you're not just a sore loser, you're a crude sore loser. I'm sure the girl you rooted for deserves is too but just because God has other plans for her don't mean you need to hate on Carey. I don't think the girl you rooted for would want to call her fans sore losers too. I felt even sorrier for the ones who made hateful remarks with terrible english and made no sense at all. Expressing your hatred is already makig you look dumb, and with your command of language, foolish would be an understatement. I felt so sad for the people who made remarks like this, especially the girls who called our deserving miss ugly. You should get a mirror for yourself this Christmas. Even if you are beautiful, you are completely fugly on the inside. People judge, heck, even I do, but keep those filthy thoughts to yourself. What if your one nasty thought made someone end their life?

The countless suicides that happened because of little people scares me. And must it really take death for the little people to reflect on their wrong doings?

I really hope little people will soon learn to let go of all the hatred and bitterness they have in their heart.

Too Many Too Little

2012-12-06T22:59:00.002+08:00

Ah, the long hiatus with no excuses. I really need to be more discipline when it comes to updating this blog. Maybe I should just punish myself with no cake for a month if I fail to update the blog on a weekly basis.

Anyways, just a quick run through about my life since I last blogged. So, I have been working in Groupon Malaysia for the past 2 months now and my internship will end in December. I am truly thankful that my first internship is in Groupon. The people here, the office culture, the Xbox, the parties, I really doubt I'll be able to experience this sort of working culture anywhere else. I AM ALSO PROUD TO SAY I AM NOW AWARE OF A LOT OF GOOD FOOD IN DAMANSARA/PJ, thanks to my colleagues who are hungry 24/7. I love them. The best part about being here in Groupon is the opportunity to learn. I have always heard throughout my life that interns get the most garbage to do as companies would exploit them or all they are allowed to do is make coffee, or plain old filing, but my superiors are amazingly skilled and super nice. They even assigned me to be one of the project managers of the fundraising initiative that managed to raise over RM140,000. I'm so glad I got the chance to help out the communities involved through such a huge medium. The lousy part of this Groupon journey is that I am starting to get really emotionally attached to the people here. One of the things that I fear of has always been being attached to people who I will only be with temporary. and in less than 30 days, I'll have to leave and move on. Again.

Ah, well. Life.

Aside from that I have been planning and meeting up with some friends for a community project called the Before I Die project, I've been wanting to carry out this project since September but my spirits were so broken back then I only truly starting putting pieces together recently. Anyone of you interested in working on this project that will be based in KL/PJ, do contact me via facebook and we'll see if we can work things out. :)

Went on a family vacation in Guilin, China as well. Other than the yummy, dirt cheap food and the incredibly picturesque scenery, nothing exciting.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I AM NOW LIVING IN DAMANSARA. HELLZZ YEAAAA. Not that I hate Klang, but really Klang is so insanely boring, there's nothing to do there but eat. So any of you who are in PJ, do call me up!

I'll now let instagram do the talking

baked and fundraised for charity/ good times to keep me going in the office

with Nadine whom I aspire to be like / Crystallll

moving on / baked for charity again

postcard from a good friend whom I miss dearly / just shots

ni hao from China / doesn't it remind you of the Shire?

quote of the month / what I do in Groupon

Groupon's Annual Dinner which was an absolute blast / ootd to work

fresh flowers makes me happy / so does chocolate cake

That's all for tonight!

back to working on scholarships for the night. :)

Seafood Marinara

2012-10-11T23:26:00.002+08:00

Any day is a good day for pasta. A plate of glorious, sinful pasta. Christie and I are constantly trying to shed off the extra chubs we have around our arms and thighs, and we try our best to make our meals healthier every time by using fresh meat, fresh herbs and what not. But pasta....how do you make pasta healthier, without cutting back on its taste, well you can, but we just couldn't seem to leave out some crucial ingredients like cheese...........lots and lots of cheese.

Here is our seemingly healthier version of the seafood marinara.

In a war zone

2012-10-07T22:59:00.002+08:00

The armies were on the loose on the runway this time around. I have a love-hate relationship with the Fall/Winter 2012 military-inspired apparels. Be it structured trench coats or military cuts, as much as I love the structured look as a whole, I'm not sure I'm that into the masculine silhouette, but I absolutely adore military colours, military buttons and those gorgeous laced up boots.

Here is a military-inspired look I came up for fun after going through pictures from the fall/winter runway shows, excuse my being late, I have been pretty busy with work!

Oasis maxi dress, 295 MYR / Military jacket, 110 MYR / High heels, 175 MYR / Satchel bag, 62 MYR / Gold jewelry, 30 MYR / ASOS , 54 MYR / Triangle ring, 23 MYR

I definitely prefer a more feminine look thats why I chose a pretty, simple military green dress and I spiced it up with edgy military inspired accessories. Who says you can't rule the world wearing a pretty dress. As I mentioned, I absolutely love combat boots and I chose the satchel because its both functional and fashionable. I am also currently obsessed with oxblood red, it makes everything look fabulous.

I hope more ladies out there will rock the military look and show em boys who runs the world!

Going Korean

2012-10-01T23:19:00.002+08:00

I think it was a Wednesday evening when we were watching our favourite ~~educational~~ channel (more commonly known as the channel for gluttons) when this korean cook off was happening and their competing dish was none other than Kimchi Jjigae aka Spicy Kimchi Stew with Pork. Since then we were craving for it. Wait. On second thought, craving seems like an understatement. We literally started prowling in and outside of our fridge and the unicorns were dancing when Christie found ingredients she could use to brew a pot of Kimchi Jjigae.

I expected it to take a long time since its stewing, but I think we were gobbling everything down after about 2 hours. That's not too long, if you have something really good to distract you, like leftover bacon, or tim tams.

Without further ado, here's Christie's version of the Spicy Kimchi Jjigae.

Ingredients

Asian Mushrooms

Pork

Korean Chili Paste (Go Chu Jjang)

Chilli powder

Red Chili

Green Chili

Cabbage

Onions

Garlic

Pepper

Salt

Cast of Characters

You are welcome.

Memorable Moments

2012-09-30T14:23:00.001+08:00

Life....is unpredictable. And that is not a bad thing, but sometimes it can make you feel completely, utterly hopeless. That being said, there is no point to dwell and drown in hopelessness for a longer period than the time taken for you to finish a plate of warm, moist chocolate cake. Happiness is essentially a choice, one chooses to be happy, or chooses otherwise. It really is simple as that. It is hard to look at the bright side at times and it is even harder to appreciate what we have especially when we are stuck right in the middle of reality. But where does one find the strength to choose to be happy when one is physically and mentally drained? I don't know. I mean really, who knows? Some find strength in prayers, some find it in their partners, some find it in giving and some (ME!) find it from watching the Ellen show.

September has truly been a rough month for me, I would even call is a month of shattered hopes and dreams, but that isn't going to stop me from dreaming, loving and appreciating the moments in my life.

This photo post is dedicated to my memorable moments of September à la instagram.

This quote I came across in Singapore when I needed it most / This batch of chocolatey chocolate chip cookies that was gooey on the inside / the H&M VIP launch that was all about fun and shopping / adorable poodle at the bazaar in desa park city / rekindling childhood memories at this mooncake festival family dinner at Aunt Jenn's place / this pair of earrings that reminded me of an old friend

H&M VIP Grand Launch

2012-09-21T10:55:00.000+08:00

We were invited to the H&M grand opening in Lot 10 last night thanks to our ever awesome Aunt Jenn! It was a fabulous event filled with glamour and good music. To top it off everything was on a 20% discount. We have always been avid lovers of H&M, now that it has finally arrived in KL, we have one more reason to love it.

H&M heart KL!

Part of our haul of the day

Sorry for the lousy quality for some of the pictures, we somehow managed to forget our camera after prepping ourselves. Mehhh I reckon we need a new point-and-shoot camera anyways. Overall, it was a really great night sipping away Moet champagne while going on a shopping spree. We're absolutely even more in love with H&M now.

HQ Pictures credits to: Cheryl Chan Photography

What to wear? (Smart Casual)

2012-09-19T18:22:00.000+08:00

I don't know about others though I'm pretty sure every girls feel the same in the morning, but I always have a problem not knowing what to put on for the day, and certainly even more so for an occasion. So, here's the thing, I have a couple of job interviews for intern positions in the next two weeks, and most of the dress codes for the interviews are smart casual. To be honest, I have no idea what to wear as I never fully understood the term "smart casual". Mehhh. I never truly cared however I am now obliged to take the extra step to ask around and research. So this basically sums up what (I think) smart casual means.

Smart casual = dressier than your typical everyday outfit but a little undone compared to business wear.

I'd like to think of it as a balance between both everyday and business wear. A summer dress and a simple blazer, a dressy top with dress pants/slacks, no cleavage, not too much skin, proper skirt/dress length and I think you're good to go. I am certainly no fashionista but I enjoy putting pieces of apparels together so here are some smart casual outfits in mind.

#1 - Classic Smart Casual

Jigsaw wool dress, 240 MYR / River Island black jacket, 220 MYR / Wolford stocking, 160 MYR / ALDO flat platform shoes, 215 MYR / Big Buddha , 275 MYR / Marc by Marc Jacobs marc jacobs jewelry, 190 MYR / Comptoir Des Cotonniers longs jewelry, 245 MYR

My main element here was to keep it simple and classic with a touch of fun with the bird stud earrings and boho-ish charm long necklace. The essential piece that made is "smart" is definitely the black blazer. I think every lady should have a properly fitted classic blazer in their wardrobe, throw it on to any outfit and you'll instantly look like you put some effort into your outfit without trying to hard.

#2 - Smart Denim

Rare London metallic shirt, 49 MYR / Slim fit blazer, 140 MYR / H&M low jeans, 49 MYR / Bamboo heels, 61 MYR / Oasis mini tote bag, 150 MYR / TarinaTarantino flower stud earrings, 52 MYR / Cruciani , 35 MYR

Don't be afraid to go all colourful, you can certainly add in a splash of colours yet keeping it smart. I chose a bright pink top and orange tote bag, but I balanced it out with a pair of sexy black heels. To top it off, the gorgeous white blazer just makes everything look put together and professional. I could head to the mall or a date right after my interview and all I'll need to do is leave my blazer in the car.

#3 - Sweet and Smart

H&M flare dress, 99 MYR / Striped tight, 55 MYR / H&M high heel pumps, 74 MYR / Dorothy Perkins , 150 MYR / Tarina Tarantino post earrings, 135 MYR / BCBG Max Azria , 115 MYR

Another simple outfit that could potentially look dull and boring, but I played it up with red accessories for that eye-catching pop of colours. If your dress is above the knees, I recommend wearing tights or stocking to avoid looking too improper, otherwise you can choose to exclude them.

I really like the third set as I am almost always wearing a dress. Putting all these outfits together certainly helped me narrow down my choice of outfits for my interviews in the next 2 weeks. I truly believe in the term "dress for success" and that the first impression is the most important thing. I hope this will help and inspire you put to put together an outfit for any smart casual event! Wish me luck for my interviews! :)

What do you think?
Did you like this post? Which outfit is your favorite or least favorite? Are you inspired? Remember to leave your comments, suggestion and tell us what you think!

Who doesn't like pies?

2012-09-18T22:34:00.003+08:00

If there is one thing that heals a broken heart or weary soul, it is good food, and my goodness, this tomato and basil savoury pie that Christie baked made me put all my worries and heartache aside while I gobbled it up, like a ~~monster~~ lady, of course.

Christie adapted this dish from this site

Ingredients
1 homemade or prepared pie crust

3 cups assorted heirloom tomatoes - sliced

1 small /medium eggplant, thinly sliced & salted

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt & pepper

handful of fresh basil - torn

The cast of characters (well part of it)

Missing characters: pie crust, basil leaves.

Fresh eggplants. Yum.

Drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil

Before entering the heat chamber (oven)

Look at this baby.

A slice of heaven.

I apologize if I made you hungry and cranky from this post, but I just had to. You know we love you. If it makes you feel any better I'm just as hungry as you probably are now. Go ahead and give this recipe a try. It is absolutely worth it.

It's a new day

2012-08-27T17:51:00.001+08:00

Hello! Welcome to a spoonful of pretty things! It's a new day everyday, and its mid-autumn today, not that we experience autumn here in Malaysia, but autumn is such a beautiful season so we thought, what a great time to start a new blog dedicated to all things pretty in our lives and as our journal. We truly believe at some point in our lives, all we need is a spoonful of simple, pretty things to keep us going. And we are sharing it here, and hopefully, our spoonful of pretty things will give you hope, even if it's just a pinch of hope.