something new

hello fellow bloggers and readers.

i've something new for you today. a new blog.

its called "justthinklovelythoughts".

do you like it as much as i love it?

let's all move to a new home, http://www.justthinklovelythoughts.blogspot.com/

see you there!

xoxo,
adura sayangness

eat. pray. love.

Last nite was date nite. all about dating. sometimes we miss the fact of dating with our boyfriends or fiance or husbands. we may go out EVERYDAY but it does not mean its always a date, right? Think back. We're sometimes caught up with family, chores, work, staying late for god knows what, friends and just about any other reasons andddd we forget the moments we went thru before. Those days when its all about rainbows and butterflies. Trust me, WE create the spark so just when it's about to dim, try lighting it back. A step might take a loooonnnngggg way. I'm just saying, insyaAllah it will :)

There's practically so many ways to do it. Husbands, you might try putting on the apron, prepare a good dinner (or cheat by takeouts), light some candle, play your fave song, you know all those things you did when you do to impress your loved ones. Okay, maybe its too much to ask for? Whats wrong to ask out you fiance, wife or girlfriends for a great date? Dressup go for dinner and movie perhaps? Something out of the norm you know. Not the ones you do after lectures or work, the normal routine drill.

We, humans, sometimes forget the person we were before. Thats no doubt. When we first met, we made sure all things perfect. Dress to impress. Makeups what not, skarang? Whatever can do, kaann? Why? So we can't be as pretty as Alexa Chung or as sleek as Zac Efron (OMG i cant believe im saying this but he has grown up handsomelyyyyyyyyyyyyy) but at least we tried. TRY! TRY! TRY! tak salah kot kan?

And so last nite we actually went out for a date. Macam dah lame tak kluar dating and put everything else behind us. I chose the movie so it should be EAT PRAY LOVE.

First thing first, if its a Julia Roberts movie, please watch. I just love the way she smiles. It just lightens up a room. She was so great in here with the fact that she had to take up lessons to speak italian and indonesian. Oh yes she said terima kasih alright.

The movie was about a woman named Liz who loved travelling and in search of herself. She left her marriage to soul seek. Left everything behind her; career, family, lost her savings and cash due to her divorce but so determined to search herself in Italy, India and Indonesia.

So she went from Italy to learn a new culture, to learn, love and respect having a family. Believe me its moving enough when all things may crumble but what stays are our family. Family. I remembered a malay saying "air yang dicincang tak akan putus" (I'm really embarassing myself here now, did i get that right?). But really, don't you think it's right? No matter what, i know i'll always have my family. No matter what. Even if i don't see them as often (god knows how i feel about this), talk to them ever so often, even if i suck at time and i always know i've my family to back me up but i love them so much. So very much. Another thing she learnt in Italy was to love life. To enjoy life by doing nothing (if only la kan? Duduk saje tapi money comes rolling, sume pon nak! )

Then she went to India, to learn to be closer to God. Mencari hidayah dan keimanan la tapi she chose to go to India. Liz was not the pious type. Never prayed. Never close to God. Kenape die tak pilih pegi Mekah? Maybe sebab ini cerite omputih la kot kan? Nanti conflict... Boring betul. So in India she tried being closer to God, try to be kusyuk and all la.. Tapi earlier she can't because she had no reason, no faith, with the fact that she could not forgive herself for being married and hurt the person she shouldn't. So she chose to pray for someone else who was a girl she befriended in the ashram. And she learnt to forgive and redha with everything that happened. She learnt from a guy in the Ashram who had a much worst case than hers. Tapi tu la i tak paham, this mat saleh, they can just hop around, you know born Christian pastu tak pasal-pasal nak pegi India la pegi Dalai Lama la, suke hati mak bapak dorang. Faith suke nak bercanggah. (Syukur alhamdulillah i'm not them. Ya Allah, kuatkanlah imanku. Teguhkanlah imanku :)

Then later on, Liz went to Indonesia, Bali to be exact. Before i brag further on, places they went here was rather beautiful and i loved the fact that Liz so called chalet was stunning and Felipe (kekasehati Liz) had such a beautiful house. Sangat cosy. So bali. Liz went to Bali to meet the dukun she met on one of her past holidays to Bali, named Ketut Liyer. Funny kan? I can't stop laughing. Ketut was more of a fortune teller. Here's what contradicted with my believe as well. Liz depended so much on Ketut. Whatever came out his mouth, she'd take it whole heartedly. And so this Yoda like dukun told her so much on her life, money and love life and Liz would listen and live it. He said that life has to be balance, in life and after-life. To love a person too much and to live life the fullest would lose your balance and to pray too much would too. Wow, really? We need to learn and love ourselves before loving others. Something i've heard often.

And so i would tell the whole story, but i think i'd kill the fun and... i think i need to finish my reading on this one since i left it un-read for a long time now. :)

But what i would sum here is we should always EAT, love life, enjoy life, PRAY, kene selalu ingat Dia. kene slalu bermohom kat dia. and LOVE, to cherish the ones we love, spouses, family friends. All these are simple rules BUT it's just unfair to walk out on a marriage just because...

and the award goes to...

with papa love

..noradura binti zubir, yes that's me, as the newly engaged.

maybe its a month too late.

maybe its already stale

SO WHAT?

i've been awarded. i've been appointed as the new bridezilla

YAHOO!

However sad news is, i need to put my engagement pix a PNC in respect of my dearest mother. Tapi maybe its okay to share some of the hantarans and favours and guests pictures? Perhaps she has a plan on this. And maybe it will be for all of you. A video montage on my BIG day? Nakkkk... :) With all my favourite songs in it.Wow! Best sangat.

Oh, have i told you i'm such a lousy bride-to-be? Yes, yes, everyone's telling me that i'm used to attending and organizing a wedding but believe me when it's mine, everything seems everywhere. Nervous kot? Ke syndrome ape ni? Ape pon i tak settle lagi. Theme? I taktau... Even Nad and Elis yang nak kawen mid- to late next year pon dah ade theme and color scheme okay!!! Me? Yang nak kawen insyaAllah in March ni langsung la takde idea, tau tak?

Padan la muke kan? Pegi browse Martha Stewart la ape la sume.Online tengok, magazine beli, thru experiences, friends FB's sume pon check out tapi bile pikir-pikir, i can't even settle with one!? Sigh. I bet Mama will be in rage if she knows this. Kejap nak all white, kejap nak red and gold, kejap nak romantic, kejap nak fresh, kejap nak elegant or glamorous theme. Mati la kan?

*sigh*

"Ya Allah Ya Tuhan ku. Tetapkanlah hati ku, Tetapkan imanku. Mudahkanlah jalan ku ini, Terangilah jalan hamba Mu ini, jauhkanlah kesusahan daripada hamba Mu ini. Sesungguhnya hanya kepadaMu aku bermohon pertolongan Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim"

Semalam, we actually sat and talk on our plans. Wedding plans. Nervous ok. Tipu tak nervous. And i really hope as much as i want my dream wedding, i hope as much as i want my dream marriage, my dream life, i wouldn't want to waste our funds on unnecesary items. Please Adura, do NOT stray. And like i told mr. fiance, i'll try to minimise cost (macam DIY wedding favors, invitations and hantarans) if i could so we could have more for the necessities. Syukur Alhamdillah i have a good team with me, cukuplah dengan mama, my sister and mr fiance. i hope in this early stage (nak early cmane if you have only 6months to plan a wedding?) we would be able to cover as much as we could and hopefully throughout the journey, the rest of the family would join in hand.

Oh, tidak lupa pada bakal mak andam/makeup artistku JUMIE SAMSUDIN. Thank you so much for having faith in me. She actually booked me in her 2011 diary and made me priority. Sangat terharu ok? How can i not be? I love her make-up do on my engagement. Or at least i felt more like a princess. Good enough kan? Hehe. Self-esteem mesti ade okay people, even tho kepale memag tengah serabut stress nak meletop tahap gaban.

Macarons

Believe it or not? i actually publish my crave and craze over macarons on FB hoping there's a place offering the mouth watering bite-sized high caloried dessert. and to my surprise there are a few to name here but i'll specifically mention the one i went at the Empire Gallery, Subang (opposite of Subang Parade).

I got this suggestion from a few friends and i actually dragged (a term in which is unfair since he drove the car) him to get a taste of Whisk's macarons. Believe me it is not easy for me to persuade this guy of mine. I had to google and search for more info to 'buy' him into getting these delicacies. Plus, we have not been to the Empire and it's been awhile since we shopped (wait, does hunting t Jalan TAR considered shopping? i hope not :)

Once at Empire, i saw a small cafe which reminded me of those shops i'd get a hot choc in London/Dublin. The ambience were cosy i felt like having the red velvet cake perhaps with a cup of chamomile tea with honey? But be reminded people it's fasting month. So satan, you can actually go to HELL! haha.

There's not much cakes and stuff's here but its a great place to hang out with your girlfriends, catch up with old mates, tea dates with loved ones and even a dessert day with ur young-lings. Price wise? Perfect! I bet it's the most cheapest macarons in KL apart from making it yourself. Ranging at rm18 per 10 pieces.

Oh and did i mention the owner, Aunty Nina is as warm as the hot choc she makes. A great person i met and i really felt comfortable chatting with her. More like a mother-like aunty to me. She even proposed on having her famous red velvet cake for my wedding? Wow! i like RED! I guess that's all for this entry since i'm practically drooling here. Please, please try macarons @ Whisk.

Happy macaron-ing people.

Love,adura

give me simplicity

i might sound a little angry, but i'm not denying the fact so here goes.

despite the busy-ness i'm supposed to be facing since it is the last week before the month of Ramadhan, i'm still clueless on what will happen for the engagement. Really. I've called and met and contacted everyone possible to make it happen, pulled all the strings available and i'm now left aimless of what's going on.

why? practically since everything planned for seems to change on a day-to-day basis. i'm getting tired and upset about it really. and as much as i'm concerned, all i need is just the gesture of "bertunang". so why bother organise a whole fiasco, right?

if i wanted to make it simple, i might as well call upon my immediate family and his, and that' s about all. No need for caterers or photographers or favors, or canopies and flowers and matching color-coded attires, dais and all things such. Not some planned event with a whole bunch of family members in matching attires, me on the mini dais with blossoming roses and lilies or whatever other beautiful flowers you can name, canopies lined in the garden with delicious food at the buffet line. What's important is the point when his mother passes on a ring as a resemblance of the engagement ceremony, right?

*sigh*

It's practically bothering me since these last few days which really annoys me. If it's too much i'm asking of, really, i want something simple. Something really simple yet memorable.

in new york..

concrete jungles where dreams are made of

there's nothing you can't do....

pardon my singing but i hereby welcome the arrival of my parents who went to houston, texas and the big apple (without the whole entourage). they were very excited i bet! which remind me of my holiday to london-paris-dublin-york that was practically one of the most exciting getaways given the fact i survived going on alone (yes i did meet up with friends here and there whom i'm grateful til today) and the recent trip which is yet to be confidential. that topped all holidays i've ever been to.

as for mama and papa, i think they were having such jolly time. they went on tour, shopping, walked for blocks, broadway, went to the fashion district, stayed at 7th avenue, what's there not to love? obviously they brought home tonnes of goodies and 1 thing i loved most was the car plate with writings of "princess"!!! PRINCESS!! i knew this came from mama herself. Die pantang tengok anything with the word princess, she'll definitely get it for me. last she got me was also for my car, the tag with " princess inside". how sweet kan?! i bet she still sees me as her lil princess. Goodness, i'm getting teary eyed now.

while mama was jetlagged, papa was excited with his trip. telling me how it went, what he did and the Bolivion baskers he's bragging about. Papa even bought their CD. So they should be good. Papa is not the typical dad who listens to their songs, he's updated and watch American Idol. He hearts Katy Perry's "if we ever meet again", crazy about all of Lady Gaga's hits, says he'll get the VIP seats if Shakira ever lands in Malaysia, u know all those and i'm so proud to say he's my becoming 60 year old dad! Who blames him for knowing his music??

well, everyone got their portion of goodies. i got myself great items which occurred to me that it had been so long since i last shopped!

like elly kakyu, kak tini and adik would mock me... S.A.V.E! (which means i should be saving for my wedding)

*sigh*

see you soon with more updates

Love, the queen

taking the weekend off

ni yang lawak ni. baru start planning, pening punye pasal, siap rase nak demam, mr. mystery/kekasehati dengan super baiknye fly back to penang. kononnye nak ease the pain away. so lets see what he did.

friday night after picking him up at the airport (after an hour delay) we headed back home, sebab nak bagi die makan assam pedas ikan pari yang dimasak kan? but after that there was no plans so practically everyone wanted to hit the sack early. tapi kekasehati pulak in the "friday nite" mood, so die ajak lah kami adik beradik pergi melepak at papparich, egate. (Yes! pappa rich have reached the shores of penang island). we didn't lepak for long as we're all tired and adam bruised his legs after kene kejar anjing time main basikal.

mr mystery and i agreed that kids nowadays are exposed to more indoor games. less exposure for other activities like football or whatever sorts have made these kids fragile and totally miss their childhood. when we were kids, we used to play football, badminton and we even cycled together. but that were those days before all this playstation and wii and computer games came in. now, its all about who has the latest gadgets!?! i'm trying to imagine, what'll happen to our next gen if they lack physical activities.

*sigh*

and so, back in track again, its saturday and eventually there's loads of things to settle. i practically had alist ofthings to do with me and i wanted to make use of his presence in penang since i prefer consulting him in anything and takde lah terkial-kial buat n pening kepala sorang2 kan? i had to attend a relatives wedding at tabung haji. truth is, i've no idea who they were but all i know is they're related to mama and thankfully, my aunty nor would be going with me. after that, i plan to search for items. he on the other hand wanted to date. yes, a date. breakfast and movies and jalan2, you know. alhamdulillah, it all went into place. initially i thought it was impossible to get all things done in a day but we managed to do the important ones today and the others on sunday. syukur sangat.

so after the wedding, we headed back home and to Azzahra for some consultations on an event. We later headed to Esplanade for the Bon Odori Festival. Mr mystery hesistated earlier on but we had this rm60 coupon given by his father so its best not to disappoint the old man right? However, once he was there, i think he had a great time. Yeay! He played the yoyo game and got me 6 of it. then we went around searching for things to buy to finish the coupons. And we did! there was a stall selling of all quirky souvenir items which had me going crazy. i somehow imagined being in Japan buying all these souvenirs but then again reality striked and i'm still in the land of malaysia. sigh. perhaps a holiday? 2 games of japanese yoyo, 2 sets of chopsticks, 2 small bags a shopper bag, 2 fish and chips and drinks with a damage of a good rm60.

it was almost 7 when we left esplanade and slowly moved towards batu feringghi. i cant seem to remember when was our last trip but batu feringghi here i come. it was practically the longest walk ever. we walked the whole stretch! after an ice-cream, a new set of fairylights and a new selendang for me and his mom, we decided to go home. but then i'm so hungry. really hungry.

i guess it wasn't so late to stop by gurney drive to get something to eat. ROJAK ROJAK! goodness, he was hilarious. i was there for a mere hour and he entertained us. Yes, i did use the word entertain. every single living creature in Malaysia could have seen his act and i bet it's entertaining.

There you go. a reward for all my headaches and whatevernots. padahal it could be an alasan for him to come back and be with me during the weekends. its just plain boring without him.

ohh to kekasehati...
thank you so much. sesungguhnya saya sangat sayang kamuuuu!

press START

press start to what?

start for all sorts of planning. initially it all started when his mother slipped the beautiful cincin merisik. Funny but true, neither me nor his mother or the people around us knew which finger to put (left or right,doh, memang la saye tau jari manis takkan jari hantu kot kan?). She tried on the right but mase beli tu tried and tested on the left one so tersekat pulakk.... Terpaksa la his mother tuka pulak ke jari tangan kanan.

Then came the berita that majlis pertunangan, insyaAllah akan berlangsung raya kedua. RAYA KEDUA?????? alahai, time2 tu jugak la dipilih mama sayangku. it might be my last raya as anak dara, time raya kedua la pulak nak tunang. Jiwa memberontak cos perasaan nak kutip duit raye tu sebenarnye ade lagi. tapi takde la ditunjukkan sangat. cover ayu sket la kan?

tapi raya kedua ni ada ke...
orang nak cater?
orang nak pasang canopy?
orang nak buat pelamin?
orang nak buat semua laaaa...

*SIGH*

so pagi tadi dalam demam tak demam ni, lepas hantar adik2 skolah, lepas pegi pasar beli barang (nak masak assam pedas ikan pari sebab kekasehati nak datang) singgah la skejap dekat rumah mama zizah. Mama zizah is one of the caterers that i've no complaints. sedap gile! especially kalau nak order makanan ala2 kampung ni. sedap gile weih..... plus raya kedua, mesti orang tak expect lemang ketupat kan? orang nak makan yang best2. super yummy! tapi kan mama zizah plak nak KIV cos raya kedua. WHY mama WHY? Knape la mamaku sayang pilih tarikh 11sept tu? raya kedua tu kan , possible tapi susah sikit?

Kepala pun dah naik pening pikir, tadi hal caterer ni hal pelamin pulak. Mini pelamin yang mama idamkan sangat utk her first wedding. Sigh. Ada ke? Bila nak yang cantek2 mcm Que Ariffin tu, die pulak quote sampai rm6k (include delivery KL-Penang, sebab nak public holiday sume siap) so cmane ni? nak buat sendiri, pandai ke bertukang berandam bagai cik dura?

*SIGH*

1. pelamin
2. hantaran
3. caterer
4. canopy
5. baju

mampukah aku????

and so he proposed..

yes. a proposal. a proper proposal. so classic yet so dreamy.

sunset by the beach. candlelit table. it was unplanned yet it was the most romantic moment of my life.

at the particular moment i was speechless. "macam ni ke rasenye kne propose?" honestly, i didn't know how to react. nak senyum ke nak ketawa ke nak lompat ke nak nanges pon ade. semua pun ada. but all i could utter was i love you.

i think that summed up everything.

do.will do. doing. done

My father once told me , do what you love doing. don't do something you're forced to do.

Well, to think of it, its sometimes true. But can we ignore the feeling that sometimes something we love might not be considerate to others. Might not bring us good and all things such.

I can't say i dont love my job. i do. a lot. despite the hectic days it brings bad headaches to me, still i'll manage to go thru with a frown and a smile. However recently, i got a few job offers. Government job offers. My parents practically jumped off their seat. Good news to their ears. However, to me its not much of a good news.

Its the same amount of job.
Same pay and same working hours.
Different environment, people, and place
Less time for other things like my wedding and online boutique
Less holidays and getaways
and worst thing of all i'll have to be in the office at least at 8am.

*sigh*

How can all this be good news?

But then again, i'm trying. I need a platform (capital,too) to start a bigger thing.

A bigger shop perhaps to store all my dresses and shoes for sale. I'd do all these wedding stuffs here as well. The brick and mortar shop with crazy-beautiful ambience and details. Don't u love it?

A cafe overlooking a swimming pool (beach better) with gorgeous and well maintained garden. The kinda of cafe you'd like to spend hours and hours in it, savour delicious food and sipping fruit cocktails, the ones with a little umbrella and lemon wedge on it. When its breezy and beautiful, you'll just long to jump into the pool for a dip.

How great is it to really dream big?

He once said to me. If u dream, dream big. If u wish, wish hard. One day u'll get what u've dreamt and wished for.

How cool is that?

taking a second

it has been a good while since i was gone, busy with god knows. but apart from that a lot has happened and evolved and developed.

what a fast moving world we all live in? sometimes i wish we could all take a long pause and breathe in slowly. try sitting at a cafe and watch people on the move, rushing. i've seen it and been one of those people on the go. it's as if the older the planet is, the faster it moves. well, that's life in general.

so,what have i done for the last (almost) 2 months?

*thinking*

moving around. travelling. and again on the go.

*sigh*

let me take a breather and reminisce of happenings, good and bad. just hang on a bit.

song of the moment

Au Revoir 2009

Bonjour 2010