10 Must Haves.

Before anything, happy new year guys!

I know it might sound so unlike me to talk about fashion as I am not a fashionista (or any other whatever 'sta's there is out there) but I too, as a woman, have a profound love for fashion, albeit a lil subdued there. 

I have received comments and emails before this from you loyal friends who have been so kind to still pop by, moreover read my almost static, dormant blog, to write a skosh on the things I wear, particularly my outfit to weddings. 

However, I would think outfit to weddings deserves a post on its own but for now, let's just share on the things I have to have (cause I'm not one to impose on anybody) in my closet.

1. Good white shirt. Many of it.

Be it work wear shirt for office or boyfriend shirt for casual. I don't need to explain the reason for this. It's like oxygen, like air. You gotta have this.

2. White baby tee.

But long enough to cover my butt. This is wardrobe staple too and come in handy in so many ways.

3. Denim jeans.

Regardless of the many hues to it, a girl must have a good, sturdy pair of denim jeans. (I prefer skinnies cause skinnies work well for me)

4. Black skinnies.

For obvious reasons cause black is basic. I can wear them with absolutely anything! Printed top, plain top, white shirt (see?), white tee (see, again?), short dresses (not knee length please). 

5. Stripes and Polka Dots.

This, MANY will vouch for me. In ALL colours for me, thank you! Hehe. You should all know that I am a HUGE fan of (horizontal) stripes and dots, I could buy 10 of them and never get bored of it. 

So into it, it is SUPER obvious. Hahaha.

6. Watch.

I never leave home without my watch, except if I am going to the wet market. I have a collection of watches that suit almost every occasion but safe to say, I would love to get myself a rose gold watch, a white one and perhaps a royal blue and a fuchsia one in the future. That's my internal monologue speaking out loud, girls. Hehe.

7. Black tote. 

A girl must have a black tote. Preferably with gold trimmings. This is mad love for me.

8. Colours.

Now, obviously I need some colour to add a twist to outfit. I usually throw a pop of colour into the outfit that I am wearing. Like if I am wearing black and white and it's a casual day out, I'd bring out my fuchsia or orange coloured handbags to match to it. If it was an office affair, I would bring out more earthy colours to the outfit, or perhaps dark blue or burgundy red to add colour.

But my personal rule of thumb for colours is : no more than 3 - 4 colours at one time. Even if it's a colour blocking mode on, it's never more than 3 - 4. Some people carry them well, but I am not a fan. But then again, that's your preference :)

9. Dresses!

How can I forget? Hehe. For me, it's maxi dresses cause I stopped wearing anything that is short (in my humble, personal pursuit of going the muslimah route, soon, soon hehe) Preferably those in basic colours so I can play around with different cardigans and jackets. 

10. Last but never the least, flats.

I am a flats wearer, not much of a heels person though I love looking at them! We'll talk about heels one fine day, shall we? So black and gold flats, beige/nude flats, silver flats, red flats, dark blue flats, fuchsia flats are my essential flats - in whatever forms be it sandals, espadrilles, ballerinas etc. (Oh, I have been eyeing for quite a number from Ezra on Zalora. They have a lot that I like so yeah, they shall become mine some day, real soon hehe)

Just in case you're wondering where I got my pretty red pants from, they're from The Colortree KL which can be found on Instagram.

There you go. My 10 must haves. Forgive me for not posting up photos for each point lest I could do a full swing post, that's cause I don't have enough time to search for them in my many thousand of photos in my phone. But what I have shared are the ones that are more recent, so hope you like it.

I hope to share with you girls (I'm assuming my readers are all girls here haha) on my outfits, traditional and others, to weddings/functions and office wear yea.

Take care lovelies!

Birth Guru.

Remember when I said I was doing the lamaze breathing technique throughout my labour? Yes, I did just that and nothing else. If it wasn't because of the lamaze breathings, I don't think I could sustain as long as I did. Swear in the name of Allah, it helped me A LOT and for that, I have to thank Sherry Bayles, via a video shared by my best friend's sister, on Laugh and Learn on Child Birth by Sherry Bayles. She's the GURU OF CHILD BIRTH, no kidding!

That video taught me the A-Z of pregnancy and labour , with breathing techniques and method of pushing and everything you need to know about medical assistance etc. If you have the money, do purchase the video, especially for those who would like to try for natural birth. I watched this video during my first pregnancy and watched it again this time to refresh my memory.

I would so love to share them all with you but don't think that's possible cause the file's too big.

No longer have to do the 'Hehe's',
Me x

The Birth of Zahir Niyaz - Part Two.

Date: Thursday, 21st November 2013.

It was 630 am when the midwife came to check my temperature, blood pressure, contractions and my dilation. But I prevented her from doing a VE cause I simply don't like it when the midwife does that cause it's a lot more uncomfortable and definitely painful. She tried to coax me out of it, saying that the doctor will tell her off for not doing her "job" but I insisted that I only wanted my gynae to do it. And so she relented.

At 745 am, my "knight in my shining armour" gynae showed up. Boy, I was relieved as hell cause I literally waited for him since 9 pm (10 hours!) He VE-ed me and asked the nurse for the catheter (I think) to break my water bag and whilst he was doing that, I asked,

"Doctor, are you going to induce me?"

"No, I'm not going to induce you. You're 8cm dilated."

"Whattttttt?" (My ONLY reaction to that statement)

"I'm surprised you could withstand the pain, not asking for any medical relief. I don't think epidural is possible (past 5cm) and perhaps the only medical assistance available for you is enthonox (gas). Well done! You're going into labour in an hour or two."

The midwives quickly prepared me for labour and 15 minutes later, I was already in labour room, 8cm dilated. Breathing ridiculously and religiously harder. Every half an hour, the midwife will be checking up on me, trying to "induce" me to use the gas but I refused because the lamaze breathing requires me to breathe out the pain during contractions but the gas requires to the exact opposite - which is to suck it all in, hoping the gas will make me "forget" that I was in pain. Such a fallacy, that gas! To one extent I got so annoyed with the midwife that I sternly said "No" and that was when she stopped. Good god, finally! Of course I didn't spare my husband from the occasional killer stares, finger pointing and threats from me hahaha. Sorry B!

4 hours later, my dilation remained stagnant. At 12pm, I was still at 8cm. My gynae then sent the anaesthetist to get me the epidural (apparently I was told that I might get burnt out from pushing later as I have been tolerating the pain since the night before) but I insisted to proceed WITHOUT the epidural. My internal monologue was saying, "Ah c'mon, it's already 8cm, how long more can this go on cause I just need 2 freaking cm left to dilate? What if the dilation becomes a success and the epidural did not kick in on time?" So yeah, NO was the answer and I kept on breathing. Little did I know that the reason why the anaesthetist came was to prepare me from emergency c-section, if need be.

At about 1pm, the gynae checked on me and informed that he had to do stretching of the cervix. Sound so easy peasy isn't it? I didn't quite understand what that was because the video on Laugh and Learn on Childbirth didn't teach me that. So I was rather clueless of what was going on down there but I just listened to the doctor. I was told to push so the doctor could "dilate" the cervix for me using his fingers. I swear it was NOT not painful at all. The moment that "little procedure" ended, my dilation progressed normally. Then he mentioned that my baby's head was not facing the optimum i.e. not facing down but instead facing to the right, which hence require the baby to be delivered with the assistance of vacuum extraction. Here I am, the layman, thinking that the vacuum will only latch on to the cervix, not knowing that it will be inserted inside! Allahuakbar, the pain, was the worst and most painful thing I have ever experienced! At that juncture, I was pleading in tears, asking my gynae to stop because it was so, so painful. After a few more pushes, I heard the baby's cry. I could only whisper, "Allahuakbar, sakitnya…" as I lost my voice due to intense pushing.

The pain from the labour was throbbing that the whole post birth of stitching, jabbing and what not didn't matter and were painless. All I know is I can already see and hold my son. Praise to Allah SWT, Alhamdulillah, I am a mother of two now. Born at 37 weeks and 2 days, on Thursday, 21st November 2013, 3 weeks earlier from the EDD.

I couldn't have done it without my husband's support through and through. Thank you B for everything, but please next time, if you want to have another baby, do give me an advanced notice. Hahaha.

The Birth of Zahir Niyaz - Part One.

Date: Monday, 18th November 2013.

Diarrhoea. 5 times that day so I decided to give my gynae a visit. Asked the doctor whether I was having a premature sign of labour cause I remember so vividly that diarrhoea was "the" signal that I was going for labour when I was carrying Khaisah. 

Gynae said, "Oh it's just normal diarrhoea that's inducing braxton hicks contractions (re: false contraction). So you shouldn't worry, the diarrhoea should subside by the end of the day. Baby's still not engaged."

With a sigh of relief, I exited the gynae's clinic. Oh by the way, I was 36 weeks and 6 days on this date. 

Date: Tuesday, 19th November 2013.

Apparently still going to the loo. What the heck, I thought. It's just diarrhoea. Can't be "cleansing of the bowels" yet. I was still working and driving around with a big belly, mind you and today, I was on my 37th week of pregnancy. 

Date: Wednesday, 20th November 2013.

Still getting diarrhoea with stronger contractions. It can't be (cleansing), I thought. That morning at work (yes, I was still working), I felt something was amiss with my body. Body felt achy, legs felt as if they were 10 times heavier, I was getting what I thought as "menstrual cramps" and the numerous visit to the ladies which weren't that far felt so laborious and tiring! So I decided to head back to mom's during lunch to get some rest. Had my lunch, rested a lil while watching tv and for all you know, it was already time to get back to work. 

Tried to get up and descend the stairs but I couldn't. The pain was just so intense! Decided to take the half day off. Slept for 2 hours that noon and when I woke up, the contractions were just getting crazier and crazier. But I was so relaxed I thought it was one of those strong braxton hicks contractions and left my thought at that. Took my shower, waited for my husband to come home from work and Khaisah from the school and had my dinner. 

It was then time to go back to my place but I was immovable. It was so gruelling to move from the dining table to the door. Mom insisted that I stay at her place cause she somehow or rather felt that I was going to deliver real soon but the confident me said, "No lah ma, I'm okay. But to be safe, okay, I'll go back to my place to take my three-quarter packed hospital bag and some other stuff and I'll be back here." Mom agreed. So Hashley and I left, leaving Khaisah at mom's. 

It was on our way back to Setia Alam that I started to time my contractions. It was 5 minutes apart and 5 minutes apart sure is an active sign of labour. Guess what I did? 

I called one of my best girls, Farissa, who's a doctor and confidently asked, "Sha, I'm having 5 minutes apart contractions, you rasa I sempat tak nak go home and take my stuff? Tak beranak kan?" 

Sha said (not verbatimly), "Hey, tak jam ke nak balik Setia Alam? 5 minutes apart contraction is a sign of labour and since this is your second pregnancy, labour maybe cepat. You should be at the hospital!"

Boy was I confident or what! 

HAHA. 

My husband immediately made a u-turn and headed straight to the hospital. He was stuttering (panic la tu hehe) to get the nurse to wheel me to the maternity ward (I was walking step. by. step. by the way haha) The midwife did the CTG scan for 30 minutes - contractions every 3 - 4 minutes) also VE-ed me and found that I was merely 1 cm dilated. She spoke to my gynae and guess what, I was to be admitted. Gynae said he'll meet me in the morning. It was 9 p.m. at that time. 

HAHA.

With no clothes, no hospital bag, nothing, nada. Husband in shorts and tee, I was in a loose tee and maxi skirt. That was it. You know hospitals are crazy cold, what more at night! Called our parents and informed only very close friends that I was admitted. Parents in law came in to accompany me whilst my husband went back home to fetch all the stuff that I had packed. That night, the contractions were just getting more and more intense, I could only rely on the Lamaze breathing technique and my husband's help to massage my back (my gosh, the back pain was a motheerrrrrr …!) Technically, I didn't get proper sleep that night. 

**Okay, I shall continue Part 2 in another post lest I will bore you with this already-lengthy post. Stay tuned, alright :)

Introducing Little Pilot.

It's actually our turn to organise a baby shower for our future little BGFF number 4, baby to Mel and Haikal. Since Haikal works as a pilot, we decided to have a little pilot party - thanks to Didi for the suggestion!

Held at Cafe Barbera, Bangsar on a rainy Sunday evening. In our efforts to be cost effective, we did everything DIY :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friends (and husbands) are such a cool and crazy bunch, aren't they? So semangat pakai costume and siap bawak the luggage bags!

And here's our baby #4 - Mika Kaleel. Masha Allah, so so cute :)

There's Always A First To Everything.

 

 

I am ashamed to say that this was my first crack in practicing my rights as a Malaysian citizen. By right, it ought to have been my second attempt and I don't think it's a case of "never-too-late" to vote thing because elections - general elections only comes once in 5 years. A little advise guys, do register if you're not on it already. Don't just join in the hype without being part of it, you know like "tin kosong". To a better Malaysia, insya Allah.

Allah is Great.

Funny how the whole story lies beneath this picture.

Truth be told, it is an unexpected pregnancy - more like an unplanned pregnancy actually. How I found out was through this situation:

1. I was a week a late;
2. I just had that gut feeling that I might just be pregnant; and
3. I wanted to dye my hair but because of reasons 1 and 2, I told Hashley to get the pregnancy test kits (2 sets, to be specific - expecting moms can't dye hair, in case if you're wondering what's the connection with dyeing hair and being pregnant)

And voila, 

Positive. I knew it that I was pregnant. I took a moment to sink in before I exited the bathroom to break the news to my mom and husband. Fyi, my husband kept on saying that I was delusional, that he thinks I can't be pregnant (go figure why).

As I came out of the toilet, I said, "Ma, I'm pregnant" and I repeated that statement to myself, bewildered by the whole circumstances. And when I told Hashley about it, he said, "You're pregnant?? Kejap kejap..." then went into the toilet. What? Like as if he's the one who's pregnant and finding it rather difficult to digest that thought. Lol.

We were actually on a plan to have a second baby next year cause we thought of getting all the whole moving-into-our-own-place settled first. Little did we know, we already have a bun in the oven, masha Allah. He is indeed, the best of all planners. He gives when He thinks we're ready and I am so grateful for this rezeki, Alhamdulillah.

So there you go, a little update from one of my current beings. This baby is due end of the year, insya Allah. Please pray for us :)

First Stint.

I shall not divulge what it is but I could just say this - that I was involved in a tv commercial stint maaaaany moons ago.

Here's a coupla snapshots taken.

 

With mr forever good looking - Shahrin, donning our matchy matchy bag lol

Fun experience I'd say :)

Change is Only Constant.

Mind you this was in March. By the time I am writing now, my original hair has grown about 3 inches long already. 

But there's nothing wrong in sharing right? After all, I am for a fact, "updating" haha. 

 

Hair treatment coupon purchased via Groupon. Such a steal!

Happy Birthday, Hashbund.

 

 

 

 

It was a solat jemaah and tazkirah birthday for my husband and eldest and closest aunty who share the same birth date. Hence why I was in hijab (from Smashing Scarves) :) Tazkirah was given by Imam Shariff from Mecca, a witty, modern imam I must say. His topic was on the importance of solat and ikhlas in performing it (if I remember them correctly). No nonsense perli-perli like zaman sekarang's ustazs. Always a pleasure to meet him (he's a family friend, in case if you're wondering).

His birthday celebration was followed by a day off of work and a little tea time treat at Dip n Dip at Bangsar. It was our first time (still think Max Brenner wins hands down) and who else but none other than lil missy who was licking her chocolate coated fingers hehe.

 

 

Happy birthday B. May Allah bless you with all great things in life in dunia and thereafter, insya Allah <3

Love always,
Yours truly.

Tourists in Own City.

It was one of those random nights when we decided to take a drive to the city to bring Khaisah view the city lights (although I doubt she can rationalise why she's there). It turns out that me and H were more thrilled with the whole experience, because honestly, it has been ages since I stepped food at Dataran Merdeka and I guess that's cause I don't have a reason to be there kan. 

We only stopped by Dataran Merdeka and coincidentally there was a rehearsal of a concert (can't remember what it was) which was scheduled on the day after so we got free music by Sleeq to entertain us.

 

 

I guess it's important that we make effort to get to know our city/country a lil deeper - especially when you've got relatives, cousins or friends from overseas coming to Malaysia and you realise you actually don't know much about your own country. Quite a shame, innit? 

Having said that, I aim to go to the KLCC tower bridge someday. Let's take one thing at a time, shall we?

Johor Premium Outlet.

On our way back home from JB, we decided to make a "pit stop" to JPO and that so called "pit stop" lasted for 6 hours. Truth be told, it wasn't me who shopped the most. It was my father in law! Lol. We were quite lucky to go when the items for sale were of good selections because apparently we heard there are times when the choices are tad limited and boring.

In a nutshell, my take on JPO would be as follows:

1. Pretty decent selection of stores available, although secretly wishing for more to be opened like Gucci, LV, Longchamp etc lol
2. Discounts were relatively good. Like for some Ferragamo bags, discounts were close to 3k. 
3. Wished they had more choices for restaurants though.
4. And a proper surau (then, I don't know what's the current update now)
5. Perhaps they would like to consider making a covered parking space (it was raining cats and dogs when we arrived!)
6. Think we should bring empty luggage bags. It definitely will help you have a fuss-free shopping experience. Thank god for Khaisah's stroller (as evidenced below). We would have to make several rounds to the car to keep our loot if not for it hehe.

 

 

 
After spending hours and hours there, I only ended up with a bag from Charles and Keith and pants from Padini. How unexceptional but satisfactory for the price that I paid! I am for a fact a bargain hunter (many can vouch this fact hehe). But yeah, overall, a good start for Malaysia to come up with shopping hubs like these. Only thing that was missing is the dry, cold, winter weather with leather jackets and boots, pretending to be in Bicester Village (not that I have been there aaaany way lol). 

The New Face of Johor Bahru.

 

 

 

If you've not been to JB off late, particularly at Jalan Dhoby, please do so. It has "rebranded" itself, so to speak, with new things to explore and more photos to capture. It's a new haven for fashion junkies to vintage collectors or chic hipsters to shop or hang out with friends and families.

So happened I was there for a cousin in law's wedding in February this year and I usually just stay at H's aunt's place and not go out (cause there weren't much to do except go makan at the usual places - It Roo for chicken chop and Tebing for seafood or ikan bakar or balai bomba for ice kacang and kacang pol) but this time around, my perception of JB changed. It now has its appeal. It's becoming the next Jonker St, Malacca albeit in smaller scale, I must say. Do check these places out if you're in that town :)

Moms Would Understand Best.

Need I say more?

Something Old, Something Beautiful.

The only reason why I'm posting this picture on to my blog is because the tiles as shown above deserves to be acknowledged for its beauty. Believe it or not, its age is more than 20 years old. It's actually vintage tiles from the 80s and doubt that we still have the same now (even if we do, it will probably be of much less quality). Thank god my cousin share the same sentiments as I am for if not for her, my uncle would have replaced them with the mediocre modern tiles that we see on our day to day basis.

Save what you can. Trust me, vintage items are exquisite and they're not so cheap anyway. If you do know any vintage stores besides Amcorp Mall's weekend markets, do share them with me. I'm a huge fan :)

First and Hopefully, the Last.

Yesterday, I was pick pocketed at Vincci, KLCC. Swear I didn't realize I was a victim of such crime when it happened. It must have happened so swiftly, that thief surely has an art of stealing and weirdest of all no one noticed that happened too. He/she stole my wallet with a couple of cash, my cards and a diamond ring mom gave to me when I was 16/17 yo. Lucky me I realized the theft at an instant (with a petunjuk from Allah) so I immediately called respective authorities to block my bank cards etc. Was praying hard that Allah would shed some light, true enough, an hour later a good samaritan found my wallet lying on the floor amidst the hustle and bustle of people and goods at the concourse area where the booths are. Found my number on one of the receipts in it, rang me up and held on to the wallet for me. All important docs in tact, just about 300 plus cash and ring got away. Sad and angry too, but so thankful that at least I got my wallet back. And alhamdulillah, was not hurt etc. Sigh. So we should always be careful, in fact, extra careful at shopping malls during festive seasons as the crowd can be too big that these crimes can happen at anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Nauzubillah.

Cute Tees For Sale.

Hi dears,

I'm helping a friend to sell these cute t-shirts. Imported and of good quality. Sizes available are S (32" x 23") and M (34" x 24.5"). Available in many colours and many other animal characters and each is RM40, buy 2 for RM75. If you're interested, do email me at zaznuriah@gmail.com and will forward to you the pics for you to choose from.

This and That Articles.

Here are some articles on motherly things that I read which I intend to share with you. Interesting stuff, I'd say.

1. Diarrhoea and Your Child. 

2. A Key Message.

3. Breast is Best.
 
4. Zespri Kiwi.

TESL 101.

This is quite an interesting read for those who are fond of languages, like me.

I have just learned a new thing today. Inflections, Schwas, etc. Have a read and expand your knowledge :)


Can't help thinking of my girl, Shida as I read the article. Hehe.

Wedded Bliss.

3Cs - no, not "Clarity", "Carat" or "Cut" but the "Commitment", "Communication" and "Consecrate Time" in ensuring your marriage a wedded bliss.

Perhaps you should read this article. I have nothing but in full agreement of what the content is trying to make known.