Liquipel: Watersafe your Phone

December 25, 2012, 10:14 pm

≫ Next: Careen's 2013 New Year's Resolutions

≪ Previous: Capital FM 88.9's First Anniversary Party: A Girly Affair

Advertorial

Howdy!

Yours truly is extremely excited to share that her phone is right now WATERSAFE! Wanna know what I mean? Read on! :)

Liquipel contacted me and asked if I would like to get my phone Liquipeled. Initially, being the tech noobie that most of you who have been following me would have known by now, I had no idea what Liquipelwas! So I searched up the net, and I found out just how impressive it is.

Liquipel is a revolutionary technology which has won a Silver award at the Edison Award 2012 (honoring innovation and innovators). Liquipel is a process that involves applying a layer of nano-coating to electronic devices, protecting them in the event of accidental exposure to liquids.

The Liquipel coating service isn't limited to only smartphones, but to any other devices that can fit into the patented Liquipel machine, such as tablets, compact cameras, laptops and so on!

Invisible to the human eye (it is 1000x thinner than the human hair!), this nano-sized armour doesn't affect the look, feel & performance of your electronic device.

Upon knowing all these information aboutLiquipel, I immediately said YES to them, and here I was at the Liquipelservice centre just few days ago to get my precious phone watersafe! :)

Went to theLiquipel service centre at Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park. And guess who were there to Liquipeltheir precious phones too? :)

Jane Lau akaChuckei& Nana!

As well as sweetheart, Bell! :)

So first things first, when we arrived, we got our phones checked and see if they're suitable and qualified to be Liquipelled.

The Liquipel personnel inspected our phones to see if they're functioning, as well as to check if the water mark indicator has changed its color (which means it has previously been exposed to water before). Cos if your phone has previously been dropped into water or any other liquid, you can't Liquipelyour phone as it has already been damaged.

Thank God mine was all good to go!

All our phones ready to be Liquipelled!

After we said buhbye to our phones to be sent to the Liquipel machines, we had a little introduction by Joshua as to whatLiquipelis all about and what it does.

So basically, THIS is what happens to our phones! They're being placed into a Liquipel machine, and a special vapour is being pumped into the chamber to cover every part of our electronic device. It takes about 1 hour plus to get it fully Liquipelled :)

We were also shown some demonstrations too!

These are ordinary facial tissue papers that have been treated by Liquipel(placed into the Liquipel machine). And this is what happens to it after it is being treated by Liquipel!

Look! Liquids will not be absorbed by the tissue anymore simply because it has been treated by Liquipel, and is now watersafe! :)

The bits of blue liquid looks absolutely adorable! (off topic)

To see it for ourselves that it wasn't some form of magic liquid that wouldn't be absorbed, we were given a piece of facial tissue paper treated by Liquipel, and another piece which was just ordinary facial tissue paper. We placed both of them into the water, and look at the result! :))

The Liquipelled tissue paper just wouldn't absorb water at all, and was floating atop the water! It really works!

Joshua even gave us his phone for a live demo. A real iPhone 4S swimming in the water, yo!

The phone was still perfectly fine and usable after being in the water for minutes! Can't say the same if the phone wasn't treated by Liquipel!

However, this is just for demonstration purposes. It is strongly NOT recommended that you expose your phones to liquids just for fun, as each time you do so, it becomes less and less effective. Most importantly, DO NOT purposely submerge your liquipelled phones underwater!

You can view this video to see how it really does work even being underwater!

But again, please don't do this for fun okay!

So while waiting for our phones to be fully Liquipelled, we went out for a yummilicious and super filling lunch at Empire, all thanks to Liquipel! So touched that they didn't only care for our phones, but our tummies as well :P Thanks Liquipel! *loved*

L-R: Me, Jacklyn & Patricia from Liquipel, Nana, Bell,&Jane!

Had a great time talking, talking, talking the whole time! :)

When we got back toLiquipel service centre, we were pleased to find our phones now fully protected by Liquipel. They tested the liquids on our phones, and they're now liquid resistant! :)

All of us went home happy people who have now phones which are watersafe! This is great especially for a careless and clumsy big-headed prawn like me -.-

Oh, and I went home and did my little experiment with theLiquipeltreated tissues.

Here we have a tray with filled with water, a piece of Liquipel-treated tissue, and a piece of ordinary tissue.

They both actually look and feel the same. Can't tell the differences at all!

Now look at the effect when both were inserted into the tray of water!

TheLiquipelled tissue just floated around and refused to absorb water :P

Not even after I pressed and forced it in!

Still happily floating around :P

When I took it out, it was still completely DRY. The same happens to our Liquipelled electronic devices! They're watersafe and liquids wouldn't get absorbed by the devices and none of the parts would get damaged :)

LQP Asia Sdn. Bhd. is the first and only company in Malaysia to offer this technology. To give your electronic devices the Liquipeltreatment, simply bring them to the Liquipel service centre at Hicom Glemarie Industrial Park or to any of its partner outlets at Low Yat Plaza, Kepong Jusco, Oscar Wangsa Maju and Oscar Rawang.

Here's the address of the Liquipel Service Centre at Hicom:

LQP Asia Sdn Bhd

1, Jalan Perunding U1/17,

Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park

40510 Shah Alam,

Selangor Darul Ehsan

I think this is a worthwhile investment as you only need to Liquipel your phone ONCE, and you're protected and worry-free :) Plus, it doesn't even cost a bomb!

Price starts from RM189 for smartphones, and RM239 for tablets. You can also Liquipel your cameras and laptops!

BUT, there's a special discount for all my dear readers! You are entitled to a RM39 discount if you mention my name or my blog. It'll make your Liquipel treatment only RM150 ONLY instead of RM189! :) That's a really great deal so make sure you get your phones Liquipelled ASAP! :)

For more info onLiquipel, call 03-55679928,

or visit its official website at www.lqpasia.com.

Also, *like*Liquipel's Facebook pagefor more updates and details on the product :)

Hurry and get your phones treated by Liquipel before it's too late! ;)

love, careen

↧

Careen's 2013 New Year's Resolutions

January 4, 2013, 5:55 am

≫ Next: Celebrity Insurances: Which Body Part Would You Insure?

≪ Previous: Liquipel: Watersafe your Phone

Been MIA from pre-Christmas until now! Sorry for the absence, guys.

Been really busy and caught up with all the year end celebrations. It was Ghosting production, then Christmas, then New Year's Eve!

Now that we're married, celebrations come in double doses! From this year onwards, we have 3 families to take care of and spend time with. Firstly is our 2-member family heheh, and families on my side and Boon's. Gotta make sure that we spend almost equal time with each side, as well as balance our time to spend with friends. And that takes away 99% of our time so don't ask me why we're not having babies. Hahaha just kidding ;)

Well, it's already the 4th day of 2013, and I haven't even got to say this:

HAPPY 2013, EVERYBODY!

Wanna take this opportunity to thank all of you for supporting me in my blogging journey. Friends, fans, readers, family members who always rebuke me for not updating enough heheh, I wanna thank you for it is you who keep me going. I love blogging more and more because I know there are people out there who awaiting my next update all the time :') Thanks everyone.

For that, I pledge my allegiance to this blog, and I pwomise to make time to blog more! I think I've made some improvements so far :P

Am in the midst of compiling all the photos and recall the highlights of 2012.

It will be a longggg blog post so stay tuned for it ;)

In the meantime, since this is the first blog post of 2013, I shall share a little bit on my New Year's Resolutions. I won't share everything that I've purposed in my heart...just some that are less personal and work-related :)

Careen's 2013 New Year's Resolutions:

#1: Finish reading the Bible. For real.

This NYR had been on my NYR list for more than a decade. But it has never been completed :( I'm such a weird person with slight OCD, that I HAVE to always start reading the Bible from Genesis onwards. Cos I want to see how the events flow chronologically to the birth of Christ and after.

But each time I'm halfway, I slack for a while until I forgot where I stopped. And that is when I start all over from Genesis AGAIN. On a more positive note, I think I finished the book of Genesis more than 10 times though :D hahahaha ok not helping.

#2: Learn to cook & bake

Okay, for this one, I'm kinda proud to say that I have started to try my hands at cooking ever since we got married and moved into the new crib. There's always more motivation to cook at a newly renovated kitchen :P

In the past, each time I "learned" to cook from my mum, I'd end up eating and then get distracted by all that was happening outside the kitchen. I just was never interested. Cooking was too just too much work and oil splashing around.

And surprisingly, all the minimal observations that I had all these years from my mum's cooking did help me in my cooking! All the advice and basics that she thought just suddenly appeared in my head the moment I needed them. Of course, there had been numerous phone calls back home to ask for recipe and erm...help :D

BUT, Justin Bieber is right. Never say never hahahha!

I never thought it would say this but, I think I fell in love with cooking. *GASP*

All the heat and oil-splashing don't appear to be such a big issue anymore as I found the joy of cooking my own meals, my own style. It's just liberating to be able to decide what to eat, how much of everything, how salty it tastes (I loveeee savoury foods), etc. And the satisfaction of it all turning out to be alright, decent and edible is just....very nice.

Ooh I tried cooking Sauteed Mushrooms yesterday. It was quite a success I was soooo happy.

It wasn't that difficult afterall!

2 months into married life, and we've cooked about 8 meals together I think. Not bad la :)

Next up, get an oven and start to learn how to bake!

#3: Get back those abs

Everytime I look back at my photos when I was still actively dancing and teaching freestyle/hip hop, I cry on the inside. Gotta get back into motion again! Be it dancing, training, running. Whatever it takes!

I KNOW! :) One way to motivate myself to work it is to plan more island trips where I can flaunt my bikini-worthy abs. Yes, I think that's a brilliant idea. What do you think, husby? :P

#4: Try different hairstyles

It's been 8 years since I last had a short hairstyle. My "short hair" had always been until my chest level and that's the max for me. Always thought that it's easier to get jobs when I have long hair...which is still true, except that I sorta semi-retired from working in events already so, screw it!

Finally took up the courage and made a decision to cut my hair short, short like collarbone length short.

Before cutting my hair.

My hair suddenly very guai and decided to look beautiful, smooth and flowy. Le sigh.

But I still cut anyways. And here is my new look for the year! :)

Been wanting to experiment with this hairstyle since yearsssss ago. I'm so glad I took the risk! It was worth it...I'm loving my new, fresh look :)

Will be trying out more different colors and hairstyles this year and quit being the boring, chicken Jane that I'd always been.

#5: Finish more than 6 books this year

Ahah I know what you're thinking. 6 books a year is not a challenge at all but it is for me!

Did you know how many books I finished last year? None.

Totally didn't have much me-time. No time to finish any books at all :(

So this year, I'll try to...and I shall start small :P

So yeah these are some of my NYRs this year!

I'll be reviewing them every quarterly to see if I'm on track ;)

Happy 2013, again!

Let's start & end strong ;)

love, careen

↧

Celebrity Insurances: Which Body Part Would You Insure?

January 6, 2013, 8:13 pm

≫ Next: VACANCY: Blogger Manager/Assistant Needed!

≪ Previous: Careen's 2013 New Year's Resolutions

It was 5 years ago when I first heard of a ridiculously large sum that Jennifer Lopez had invested just to insure her...rear end. That's right, her bootie!

Apparently, she got her most prominent asset insured for a whooping $27 million in 2007. Just when I thought she was crazy, I searched up the net and found a whole long list of over-the-top celebrity insurances, going as far back as the 1920's!

Here are some of the celebrity insurance that might get us all go, "WOAH".

Let's start with the ones with the least amount insured.

1. Lin Chi-ling

Taiwan's No. 1 model, who is also dubbed, 'Asia's Most Beautiful Legs' fell off from a horse 7 years ago, and suffered fractures and injuries on various parts of her body, including her precious assets (no, not the legs this time)...her breasts.

Since then, Chi-ling realized the importance of protecting her assets, and invested NT $40 million to insure her breasts! That's about $1.4 million in USD. That's quite a huge sum of money, but look who's more generous?

2. America Ferrera

This name might not sound too familiar to everybody, but what about, Ugly Betty? ;)

That's right! Lloyd's of London, a prominent British Insurance Market insured America Ferrera/Ugly Betty's winning smile for $10 million as part of a charity partnership between Ferrera, Aquafresh White Trays, and Smiles for Success.

3. David Beckham

Well....EVERYBODY knows Beckham, and everybody loves him (Ok I know I'm assuming, but he's seriously my crush since I was 10. He's my ex, btw). And guess which body part Becks had insured?

Could it be his smexy face? Or his smexy body?

The answer is...BOTH!

Beckham realized just what a hearthrob and superstar he is, and decided to throw in a small part of his wealth to insure his WHOLE SMEXY BECKHAM SELF for $151 million!

Is that crazy? I think it is. But I sure think it's worth the investment ;)

4. Mariah Carey

And if you think nobody can go further than that? You have obviously forgotten the diva's existence!

Make way for Mariah Carey, people!

Apparently, Mariah Carey has super sexy legs as well!

We're probably to distracted by her other more prominent assets!

In 2006, the diva signed on as the face (and um, legs) of Gillette's "Legs of a Goddess" campaign, and insured her money-making assets for a WHOPPING $1 billion. BILLION.

These, are a pair of legs worth $1 billion. Insane!

This led me to think, what if I had all the money in the world to spend on whatever I want, what would I invest into?

Being the practical and realistic me, I'd first off, buy meself a life insurance. I mean afterall, our health and life are of far more importance than our...legs?

I've heard of some insurance products in the market, and one of them sounded really interesting to me. It's called AmCash Guarantee 21 Plus, which is a 21-year endowment plan that pays a benefit upon death, or if you suffer from total and permanent disability, or upon being diagnosed with one of the 36 critical illnesses. It also guarantees that from the 3rd policy year onward, a survival benefit will be paid every 3 years until the 18th policy year.

I know of some around me who are pretty skeptical about insurances and have probably been in a misunderstanding with their insurance agents before. Because truly, when it comes to investing a huge sum of money, it is a serious affair and ought to be dealt with properly and wisely. But many of these misunderstandings or "cheating" happen because of false hopes and expectations given by insurance agents who aren't too truthful and ethical. This has really caused the word "insurance" to be a huge taboo word for many...especially those who have had bad experiences before.

But really, I think insurance for health and life are worth investing in....especially for sole breadwinners of the family. It is more like a thinking ahead kinda thing...for the people around you especially. In fact, you don't even have to be loaded to buy yourself an insurance policy! There are so many packages out there for different income groups, and anyone can find one that suits them best.

Hmmm but IF (I said, IF) I were really loaded and could pick a body part to insure (or if someone would like to sponsor me just like Mariah Carey *fat hopes*), I'd pick my best asset which are my pair of eyes. *shy*

Well, I don't have the longest pair of legs or biggest pair of boobs in the world, so give me a break and allow me to admire my eyes can or not!

Some people have asked me if I had done plastic surgery to my eyes before. Well, all I can say is, I'm superbly afraid of surgeries and needles poking through my skin and the pain and the blood and the possibility of it all turning badddd at the end of the day, so yeah I would never do it. If I had the guts to do it, I'd probably go do my nose and boobs first instead of my eyes. So yeah answer is, no.

Some of my blog readers have also asked if I photoshop all my pics that I put on my Facebook, Instagram, and blog. All I can say is, my photoshop skills suck like crap and I don't have all the time in the world to photoshop my eyes in all my photos one by one. In fact, how do I even photoshop my eyes on my iPhone? So yeah, answer is no again :)

It's au naturel so that is why I wanna insure my eyes. If it's fake, there's no need to insure right? :)

How bout you?

If you had all the money in the world, and could pick a body part to insure,

which part would you?

Reply in the comments and let's get talking! ;)

love, careen

↧

VACANCY: Blogger Manager/Assistant Needed!

January 13, 2013, 8:40 pm

≫ Next: The Chronicles of 2012

≪ Previous: Celebrity Insurances: Which Body Part Would You Insure?

This is my most recent camho picture.

These days I look 10 years younger which gives me the license to act 10 years younger too woohooooo :D

Anyway, that's not the point of my post today.

I never actually ever thought that I would one day say this but,

I'm looking for a Personal Blogger Manager/Assistant.

For myself. Yes, Careen Tan. Me. *shy*

Okay I'm not kidding wan okay I'm serious here. This is a FULL TIME position.

Here are some of the details:

Job Scope:

- Managing the blogger's blogging schedules/appointments

- Managing the blogger's advertorial deadlines

- Liaising with clients/blog advertising companies/parties for the blogger

- Work closely with the blogger and be the blogger's good fwen (Best job ever).

Qualifications/Requirements:

- Good command of the English language

- Ability to speak and carry oneself well

- High people's skills (I don't want people to hate me because I have horrible blogger manager who cannot communicate so yeah, this is of high importance!)

- Ability to be both firm and nice to the blogger (especially when reminding her of her advertorial deadline hehehe)

Basically, that's about it!

If you are interested, or if you know anyone who might be,

feel free to just drop me your applications/resumes at my email: careentxy@gmail.com.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me, aight?

Help me spread this around guys! :)

Thankius!

love, careen

↧

The Chronicles of 2012

January 14, 2013, 11:32 pm

≫ Next: Les Misérables: Cosette vs. Eponine Result

≪ Previous: VACANCY: Blogger Manager/Assistant Needed!

One of the reasons why I started blogging almost a decade ago was to record down all the meaningful things that happen in my life, my feelings and thoughts when they happened, and share them with my friends, family, and subsequently, more and more blog readers that have come to follow my postings :)

But as the years went by, life got busier and making time to blog about all these stuff have become tougher! Though I don't get to blog about every single highlight in my life due to busyness, I always find it important to at least have a blog post to summarize the year.

Started doing so only in 2010, which I can proudly say that I made time and took a few days to write The Chronicles of 2010 blog post. Reading back everything makes me realize just how fruitful and blessed my life had been! And as for The Chronicles of 2011......well, let's just say that I backslided cos 2011 was one heck of a year and impossible (okay, not impossible...just very super duper tedious) to recall and record every single happenings. I regret not making the effort to blog about 2011 :(

Anyways, told myself that it can't happen anymore, so here comes my summary post of 2012, or what is known in this blog as The Chronicles of 2012 ;)

2012 was one heck of a year as well. Busy busy busy year. A year of finished chapters and new beginnings. So with the help of Facebook timeline, here are the highlights of 2012 :)

Janurary 2012

A hairible mistake

So the year started with me camhoring.

Hahaha just kidding.

One of the first pictures that I had in Jan 2012. Colored my hair deep brown, close to black which was a terrible mistake! I decided I had enough of always retouching my roots (I have very low tolerance with ugly black roots), so I went ahead with the dark colors against my hair stylists' advice. I was happy for a while until I wanted to color a brighter color and it just wouldn't show anymore.

Lesson learned: Always listen to your hairstylist.

Ok I know this was not a highlight, but I just wanted to advice everybody, you know...

The Painting

Oh, I also bought a painting set after being inspired by Boon's sister, Vern May's paintings.

I was determined to finish it......but....well....

....I will finish it this year! :D

Before that, I need to find out where it went. Hahahahah!

Ok this was also not a highlight but I just thought it's really funny la how my husband knows me so well. He predicted that I wouldn't finish the painting which got me so angry and upset that he had no faith in me at all. Which turned out to be true. Le sigh.

Charity was 一年级

My baby sister, Charity turned 7. Which meant that she was 一年级! First time in her primary one uniform. Felt so proud of her :) She was shy and quiet, but now she's a social butterfly, babeh!

Chinese New Year 2012

It sure was a different CNY. It was different because for the first time EVER, I went to visit my fellow Malacca friends (who live in KL hehe)! I usually just hibernated at my gramma's place watching Astro and snacking away. But this time we made a point to meet! :)

I was also different because it was the last CNY spent with my family. The last CNY that I would countdown together to watch fireworks, watch my gramma walk in and out of the house with her incense for prayers, and collect anypows from my parents on the first day of CNY. I'll still visit my family but just not on the eve and the first day no more.

In fact, it was the last year for me to collect anypows!!! *gasp*

Here's a little artwork I did by piecing all the different nice parts from various old CNY cards together. Leaving my legacy behind in Malacca hahahahaha yea right.

My 3 little sisters who painted their nails on the eve of CNY.

I will really miss them during CNY this year...

Pre-marital Counselling by Pastor Kevin Loo

Here's my then fiance reading notes from the Making Marriage Work book to me. He was specifically reading aloud the part where it says, 'Wives, submit to your husbands'. That's his fav part of the whole book :P

Many people asked why we needed to attend pre-marital counselling sessions. I'd say it was the best decision ever. Just so grateful that our pastor volunteered to walk through the foundations of marriage with all the to-be-married couple of CHCKL in 2012, and give his advice and share his experiences. I enjoyed every single session so much!

Some of my "classmates" :P

We've all "graduated"! :))

My "Short" Hair

Decided to make a change and cut my hair short.

This was considered a huge step of faith for me as I'd always loved my long, long waist-length hair.

But it wasn't enough. Boon says it still looked the same. Everyone agreed with Boon.

So it was a Make A Change: Fail.

February 2012

Leaders Retreat 2012

Attended my first Leaders Retreat ever since I joined CHCKL 6 years ago.

200+ leaders camped at Chefoo, Cameron. It was really fun. So good to see everyone let their hair down and just chill at the chilly hills, lepak til 4am in the cold at the basketball court. See all the guys rub toothpaste on each other running around the compound (just like high school camps). Hahahah I love my church :)

March 2012

Khabar Cinta

The first webisode that I acted in! This was a challenge for me as the filming duration was in December 2011, which coincided with Chromeheart drama production's rehearsals which were every night back then.

We filmed for 8 days if I'm not mistaken...8 full days from morning til evening at Nilai. After the filming, I had to rush back to church for dance rehearsals. It was really tiring, but worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the people I met!

So after a few months, Khabar Cinta webisodes were released in March 2011! :)

Us on the Vochelle chocolate box packaging!

First time seeing myself on a chocolate box...forgive me for being "suaku" :P

The cast of Khabar Cinta.

Please ignore this photo. My fats were at their peak then.

I played a really nice, shy and sweet girl. Which was also a challenge cos I'm not so nice and sweet in real life hahahaha. Give me the b*tch role and I'll rock it.

You can watch all the episodes of Khabar Cinta including the bloopers, BTS and more at Khabar Cinta's Youtube Channel :)

Some snapshots from the webisodes.

My fats were really taking over my body then. Look at my faceeeee. Of all times le sigh.

April 2012

Chromeheart: Revelation

It's always an honor to be a part of CHCKL's drama productions. Every production makes me a more hardworking and disciplined person, actor, dancer. Working with people who are excellent and passionate inspires you to strive to be the same. I have my pastor, Esther and the drama team to thank for molding me into who I am today :)

Boon was around during Chromeheart: Revelation! He's missed many of the drama productions that I'd been involved in over these 6 years. But so glad he could make it! :)

The shows received rave reviews from the media too!

Presenter for Hyundai Elantra Launch

I really enjoyed working with Hyudai. They make sure that all presenters and ambassadors are dressed in the same custom-made uniforms, same heels, same makeup and hairdo! Most brands that I've worked for would just ask us to do everything ourselves.

Worked with some of the best emcees around :)

Sofea, Stephinie Tan and Evie Wong. Jeremy Teo from Red FM too but I don't have the pics with me anymore after I lost my phone :(

Samsara Spa Print Advertisement

Some blur camho photo I took using my 4S front cam. Hahahah!

Did a print ad shoot for Samsara Spa at Swiss Garden, Damai Laut. 3 days 2 nights, 1 and a half days of shoot. Thank God my sis, Gladys accompanied me for the trip. She was a great company :)

Thank God I didn't have to sleep alone...especially after hearing stories from my 2 photographers =/

BTS photos taken by my sis. She's pro at taking behind-the-scenes I tell you!

Never soaked in the water for thatttt long before. Hahahah!

And never knew that "looking relaxed" could be so tough.

The print ads came out after a few months!

Thanks to all my friends and followers who snapped these pics and sent to me! :)

Collaborating with JinnyboyTV- Only in Malaysia

Until now, I still feel so thrilled to have been a part of JinnyboyTV's videos.

To know how they found me to act in their video, read my post here :)

They asked me to be just be myself. So I let my inner sampatness roam free.

It was fun :D

The Only in Malaysia video became the Most Viewed Video on YouTube after like, 1 day.

Insane!

May 2012

JinnyboyTV- Class Clown

Collaborated with JinnyboyTV for the second time in the short- The Class Clown.

Going back to high school, wearing baju kurung and sitting at the low wooden desks sure brought back some memories. There's just this smell of high school that is the same in every school, don't you think? :)

Glad that at 22, I still passed as a 15 year old! :P

Astro Tutor's PMR Gerak Gempur

Hahahaha I know this is a scary-looking pic...hahaha filtered it to resemble some 1950's school girl. Another gig that required me to act like 15-year-old. I take it as a compliment la yeah :P

Hypertune Magazine: May Issue

Featured on Hypertune Magazine's May Issue. Can't believe how skinny I was back then.

Most probably my last car magazine photoshoot.

Time to move on!

Founded and launched: Chiq Fliq

I know I never actually mentioned about Chiq Fliq on this blog before. That is because I wanna properly introduce it after I got my website all up and stuff. But well, might as well say it here! :)

In May 2012, yours truly finally took a step to do what she had always wished to,

and set up her very own blogshop/online boutique called Chiq Fliq :)

This was Chiq Fliq's Facebook page after a few hours of launching.

This is Chiq Fliqnow after 8 months :)

It's been a pretty side business of mine, and I'm guilty for not updating the page as much as I should have! Been so busy that especially during my wedding prep, I didn't even update a single thing!

But now I'm full-time running Chiq Fliq, and actively updating it :) Website is on the way but in the meantime, feel free to drop by the page and have a lookie! :)

Chiq Fliq FB Page: www.facebook.com/ChiqFliq

Chiq Fliq Twitter: twitter.com/ChiqFliqBoutiq

Chiq Fliq Instagram: @chiqfliq

Raub Mission Trip: Visit to the Orang Asli Village

It's not my first time to a mission trip, nor to the orang asli villages. This would probably be my 4th time but different state. I always love going for mission trips because it is a time when you forget about yourself, your phone, your social media accounts, and just focus on meeting the needs of others.

In the 3 days that we were there...we lived simple. Stayed in their bamboo houses without fan, showered with no heater, straight from the streams. Lived amongst the natives, their dogs and chicken and ducks.

We particularly enjoy the trip uphill at the back of a 4WD. Lost count of all the bruises and cuts we got from the bumpy rides and leaves slashing across our faces and hands.

We also prepared meals together with them! They love and welcome guests, and whenever they have visitors, they would throw a feast! And FYI, their cooking and food are really nice! :)

So what we do is that we bring up food supplies, have little fellowship meetings with them just like any other cell group meetings that we have :) Just a time of sharing and praying with them.

This is me wanting to take a picture with the goat but scared at the same time.

So I hid behind my manly man :P

It was also at this trip that I preached in Bahasa for the very first time! For those of you who know me well, my Bahasa is memang koyakz and I can't construct proper sentences. But praise God I had my dad who's super good in BM to translate my entire sermon for me :') Puji Tuhan!

June 2012

Kissed Degree Life GOODBYE!

15th June 2012: Due date of our final assignment.

After we handed up our last assignment of our degree life, and possibly EVER (I really don't miss doing assignments), we quickly gathered and group hugged and jumped and scream because WE HAVE GRADUATED BAYBEH! :)))

The 3 years in Taylor's had been good I would say. Aside from the super expensive course fees, inconsiderate timetables and lack of parking lots, I would say that the past 3 years had been very comfortable for us students.

We had the luxury of popping by Starbucks, Baskin Robbins, Chatime, Zhia's Kitchen, etc just walking distance away from our classrooms at the Commercial Building. Clean toilets, conducive library, sufficient number of computers, Macs, and printers, majority (there will always be sucky lecturers anywhere) of the lecturers who were dedicated. I won't ask for more :)

Plus, in these 3 years, I met some of the most wonderful people that you could call classmates :) They were the ones who would help me put with notes and stuff whenever I miss classes for work. Having to work part-time and study at the same time, I would sometimes have to miss classes, leave early, and that gave me very little time to spend with my classmates. But I'm thankful to have journeyed my degree life with them :)

Internship at Streething

Spent 8 weeks with Streething for my internship. Learned and seen a lot as my boss, Samuel Siew made sure that I get to follow him around for meetings and discussions with clients, and got me involved as much as possible :) Loved the family-ness at Streething.

Emerge KL 2012

While having my internship, I was also given the privilege and responsibility to lead the M.I.N.T cluster in Emerge KL 2012.

Watch to know what Emerge is all about :)

The first few weeks of Emerge were spent building up the cluster identity, committee, cluster spirit, branding, merchandising, and I would say, that season was truly the most stretched I'd ever been. It wasn't easy juggling both the internship and Emerge. Both required me to commit 100%!

Our M.I.N.T cheer ;)

I'm glad I had my wonderful committee and cluster members who would fight together with me til the very end. MINT rawks :)

July 2012

Emcee for iDarts Quad Launch

Interviewing bloggers- Chammaine and Bell.

Hosted the guest interviews of iDarts Quad Launch at Sunway Giza. Met so many familiar faces there! Was glad to have worked with ma bros- Leonard Chua from iDarts and Gordon Ling from Reanimated Studios on this event.

It was also my very first time interviewing someone in Cantonese!

My goodness it was scary! :P

Emerge Launch Pad

July was also when Emerge 2012 kick-started!
Pics from the Emerge Launch Pad :)

My co-cluster leader, Jeremiah Vun with our mascots! :)

My family with the MINT cluster mascots!

Made the 2 minions from scratch with out bare hands within 1 solid week, day to night.

Feel so so proud of the team :)

Throughout the 2 months of Emerge KL, 4 clusters competed in over 60 competitions for the title of Emerge Overall Champion.

We also held out MINT Unite event where I beat my sista, Gladys Tan (read her blog!) FLAT in our arm-wrestling battle :P

Nah, actually it was a tough fight. My muscles were crying :')

We designed and DIY-ed our own cluster tees!

One of the competition videos that we produced :P

I love my MINT family :)

Read more about Emerge in my post HERE.

Pre-wedding Photoshoot

Took a risk and did my own makeup for my pre-wedding shoot. I'm glad it turned out the way I wanted it to be! Waking up at 6am to do my own makeup was worth it afterall :')

My dedicated wedding photographer- Vincent Cheng.

Visit his site atwww.vincentcheng.net. You can read his post about our shoot HERE!

Will be blogging about it in more detail on the wedding blog. In the meantime, watch our pre-wedding slideshow to see our pre-wed shoot photos :)

The photos turned out exactly how we wished. The feel, the look, the moments.

So happy :)

August 2012

My First Run- The Neon Run

For someone who hardly has time to exercise, 7km is a pretty big deal! Thought I couldn't make it but phew! I did it in less than an hour. Hahahaha ok la hor... :P

My running leaders!

Us with Pastor Kevin and Esther, and their son, Eitan at the back :P

The MINT cluster who ran together-gether!

At the end of Emerge KL 2012, the MINT POS (Parade of Schools) cheerleading team came in FIRST for 4 years consecutively! Defending champs once again yo ;)

And the MINT cluster came in as the overall first runner-up! Woots!

September 2012

Fiancé's Birthday

September is a special month because my baby was born on the first day of the month!

He turned...well, closer and closer to the 30's :P But he still behaves like 18 zomgggg.

That's why I love him though :)

Hiruscar Brand Ambassador

It was the first time I represented an acne-prevention skin care as a blogger for a press conference!

Tried it and gave a testimony of the product, and I can safely say that it really does work! Dries up acnes and pimples, and prevent them from leaving permanent scars. Try it!

adidas NEO Ambassadorship

Started to work very closely with my favourite brand- adidas!

Did a few shoots for adidas NEO Global initiatives

Got to bring home all the yummy NEO products and do some OOTD shoots for global!

Attended and covered various adidas events too! This was taken at the adiPure 360 Launch at Pavilion.

Participated in my second run of the year- adidas King of the Road 2012!

Took about 1 hour and a half to finish 10km.

I give myself a pat on the shoulder :')

Gonna run more this year!

The Emcee Duo

Not the first time that we hosted together, but the first time for a wedding reception! Thanks Felicia and James for giving us the opportunity to work together :) It was both a fun and funny experience hahaha.

October 2012

Pre-wedding Video Shoot

Some behind-the-scenes photos from our pre-wed video shoot by our dear friend, Adele Ng :)

Our wonderful cast who volunteered to be our "friends" in the video :)

One head shorter! *gasp*

This is a complicated relationship.Gordon Lingwasn't acting.

He found it hard to accept that (one of his many many many) gay friends will be leaving him :P

The shoot went really smoothly as our dear friend, Gordon from Reanimated Studiosknows how to make us at ease with each other, and capture the moments from there. He's just really nice to work with :)

This was the teaser that he specially made for us. We really didn't expect this! He filmed this while we were fooling around and he made it into a teaser. Hahahaha we were absolutely nonsensical.

This is the final product. *shy*

Engagement Ceremony

Chinese being Chinese there are just some traditions that will follow no matter how modern we have become. Well, as long as it makes our folks happie :)

Read more about our Engagement Ceremony in my post HERE.

My Hen Night

My jimuis asked me what I wanted to do for my hen party. I told them that I'm good with anything except the typical, princessy dolly tea time kinda hen party where everyone just looked pretty and sipped tea. I wanted something fun, exciting, and just go crazayy.

So my wonderful and hamsap jimuis came up a solid plan.

Hearing how they laughed while planning for the night really scared me.

Theme was Black N' Bling.

Thank God Phat Culturehad this piece of black sequinned dress at that time!

They made me choose a set of smexy lingerie for our first night oooooooo.

Pre-partay.

Mid-partay.

The whole night was just trying to stop laughing, trying to think straight, trying to walk straight, trying to stay sane. After that night, I realized just how game all my jimuis were. Hahahaha *reeeeooowww* ;)

Our ROM

On 27th October 2012, we were both legally married. It felt surreal :)

The pastor who registered our marriage.

Both our families :)

Checkitout...all girls! :P

Friends who came to witness and celebrate along with us :)

Thanks for all your love, guys!

Emcee for Casio Exilim Press Conference

Hosted the Casio Exilim Press Conference just 3 days before the wedding!

Many called me crazy as most brides would be resting at home, drinking bird's nest and preparing their hearts for the big day. Well, let's just say that I'm a little bit of a workaholic ;)

I got to interview one of my fav local artistes too! Meet Liyana Fizi :)

Read more about the Press ConferenceHERE!

November 2012

Our Wedding

On the 3rd of November 2012,

I married my first love, my best friend, my confidant.

It was the happiest day for the both of us yet :')

Familiarizing myself with my vows.

The anticipation.

Our church wedding.

Boon said I almost broke his hand the entire day. I didn't realize that I was holding his hands so tightly! Gan jeong and happy and just so surreal that when I walked down the aisle, I just couldn't stop crying til the end of the church wedding ceremony.

How I imagined my dress to be. My little bridal dream came true.

The wedding was beautiful because everyone who mattered made it to celebrate with us. And to know that everyone was there to bless our marriage just deeply touches my heart each time.

Will be blogging a full post about the wedding alone soon! :)

In the meantime, you can watch our same day edits that our photographer and videographer edited on our wedding day itself.

Honeymoon at Bali

It's good to have a husband who travels a lot.
Got to enjoy the Golden Lounge at KLIA and ate to our heart's content before our flight to Bali :D

Trust me, after the wedding, the only things we thought of were FOOOOOOOD! Rotiboy, bubble tea, indomee, big breakfast, nasi kandar...all the food we controlled ourselves from indulging for the last 2 weeks before the big day (we lost self-control before that you see).

The food at the lounge were good too. It was my first time there so I was pretty suaku and I went for 3 rounds :P

We stayed in both Hyatt Bali at Sanur and then moved to Komaneka at Tanggayuda at Ubud.

Oh the haven. The services at Bali as a whole were top notch. Food was good. Facilities were good. We just truly enjoyed the whole honeymoon experience. The money we paid for the villa made us cry a little inside but it was all worth it.

Afterall, you only go for honeymoon once in your life :) Any vacation after that is not honeymoon anymore...it's just not as special and magical. To me la...to me.

This was definitely the highlight of our honeymoon.

Husby planned way ahead for a surprise private villa dinner for me. When we came back to the villa after all the shopping and spa, the whole private poolside was transformed and romantically decorated with candles and flower petals.

There was music playing in the background, champagne, babi guling and bebek bengil (2 of my fav Balinese cuisine) served by our private butler. It was perfect :')

I looked like crap cos we just finished a full body massage at some awesome spa at Ubud. You know how messed up we usually look after massages right....oily and all. So I didn't take many pics of myself but just kept eating and awwww-ing.

Will be blogging about the whole honeymoon trip to Bali soon too!

I know I have many pending posts. Aih paiseh...

My 23rd Birthday

Birthday this year was extra special cos it was my first birthday as a Mrs. *shy*

Husby surprised me by bringing me to my all-time favourite Spanish diner- El Meson! I totally love the food there.

Even the starter was nice.

Chocolate milkshake was nice.

Hahahahahah!

This has got to be my favourite of all!

Platter of Cold Cuts for 2.

Meat + Olives + Melon

Yummy combination!

Appetizer: Spinach + Poached Egg something something.

Super good.

Pork chop...wasn't too good la this one.

Boon's dish was way better!

Seafood glutinous rice something something.

It was a nice, private celebration :)

My family came over to celebrate my birthday with me too!

Our wall mirror came in handy for group photos cos even the photographer can be in the pic ;)

My lovely cell group and subzone gave me a surprise too! Was supposed to have CG that day, but it turned out to be a poolside party where the night ended with everyone drenched and showering at my bathroom :') Hahahaha!

Thanks for making the effort to plan and to make it, guys.

Love you all from the bottom of my heart!

Hahahaha check out Melody's expression! Evangeline too! :P

Truly grateful. It's at occasions like these when you're reminded that you are loved.

December 2012

Emcee for adidas Presents NEO Launch

The adidas NEO Label was officially launched in Malaysia in Dec 2012!

Had the honor to host the launch together with a long lost friend, Brandon Ho! :)

The whole event was just filled with the NEO green, lots of colors and hype!

Ghosting Drama Production

Was one of the characters in the drama production, Ghosting.

Check out our posters shot by Vincent Cheng! :)

This pic is my personal favourite :)

Acted as this aggressive real estate agent who is in the midst of a divorce with his cheating husband. This was truly one drama production that got me on an emotional roller coaster! A few different emotions in one continuous scene.

Through this experience, I learned what dedication and determination really is. Spent a lot of time practising my singing, dancing, memorizing my long script, and practising my emotional acting.

Spent my days and nights thinking and stressing about the production. I think this was the production that I spent most of my time on practice other than Dance, My Love few years back.

Not the most flattering pic but yeah that was how slappable and irritating my character was :P

The epic slap at the marriage counselling scene.

Sorry Ken!!!

Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was special. Not only because it's our first Christmas together as a married couple, but also because this year, we got to spend this meaningful occasion with both our families! It wasn't easy splitting ourselves, but we did it! *inserts muscle emoticon*

The family came over for Christmas Eve din din + countdown!

Theme was Red Reindeers.

Everyone was so cooperative! :)

Gift exchange corner.

The next day, we received gifts from Santa daddy and Santarina mummy!

Boon got a weighing machine and Sung got healthy diet cereals.

My parents are not so good at giving subtle hints :P

Then, we headed on over to the husby's side and prepared for a Christmas cookout!

He cooked!

FOODDDDDD!!!

P/S: I think turkey is overrated.

Tastes like chicken but chicken better. Ok la I'm a huge chicken fan.

Ad: My top was fromChiq Fliq:P

We also managed to spend some time celebrating with the entire subzone! :)

I love our sisters portraits. All thanks to Adele Ng!

The 3 married couples in the subzone.

Love this photo!

I love this crazy bunch! :)

G21 Gangsta Party

It was my dear sister, Gladys' 21s birthday on the 29th of Dec,

and we decided to throw her a huge party!

"Graffiti art" done by the awesome Frieda Choong in the same afternoon! She only took a few hours to do this! Sometimes I wish I were this creative and artsy :')

Look at how game everyone was!

Check out my gangsta parents ahahhaahha!!!

My adidas NEO outfits came in handy for this!

I was all NEO that night. The hoodie Gladys wore was also adidas NEO!

My gangsta family!

Don't mess.

Domestic attack!

We gave her a new iPhone as a gift and I just wanna say a huge thanks to all who contributed. Thanks for making my sister so happy :) *fist bump*

And the year ended with a few of us buddies gathering at my place to watch Bridesmaids, indulge in mango cheesecakes, watch fireworks outside my condo and continue watching Bridesmaids.

We've never been keen on following the crowd to watch fireworks in malls. Always preferred private and peaceful countdown with close buds, so it was a perfect way to end the year :) No pics cos we were just too busy watching the funniest movie ever! Hahahahah Bridesmaids rulezzzz. Must watch.

So that sorta wraps up my entire year! It's been a long post, and I'm sure I would take a long time reading back this post in the future. But I know it's gonna be worth taking days to draft this post :')

All in all, 2012 was a year of closed doors and new beginnings. Finished my studies, and moved on to a new stage in life- marriage, new careers, and many new experiences and opportunities in between! All I can say is that I'm extremely grateful for all that He has given me in 2012. It was my best year yet.

2 weeks into the new year, and it's been great.

Looking forward to a better year ahead in 2013 :)

love, careen

↧

Les Misérables: Cosette vs. Eponine Result

January 17, 2013, 8:47 am

≫ Next: Celebrate a Scentful Christmas!

≪ Previous: The Chronicles of 2012

Girls being girls, we love to question guys who they think is prettier. I don't know about you, but for me, I enjoy knowing what guys find pretty about a girl...which is usually quite different from a girl's perspective. Some girls are like goddess to us girls, but to guys, they're not attractive at all.

For me, the features of a girl's face matter a lot. Girls who have sharp and beautiful features would appear to be prettier to me, while for most guys, they don't see features! They don't KNOW features! They see the entire package. And most of the time, they don't even know why they think the girl's pretty. They just feel that they are, and that's it!

So, after watching Les Miserables, I asked Boon who he felt was pretty- Cosette or Eponine. Without a doubt, he chose Eponine! I initially suspected if it was because Eponine flashed her cleavage throughout the movie, but apparently Boon didn't notice that (hmmm).

Then I asked Patrick the Elephant, he also said Eponine. I was quite surprised cos obviously Cosette is the prettier one! Didn't you all get electrified by her eyes, that first moment when she appeared as the grown-up Cosette??

I was so impressed by her pale beauty and beautiful features. Whereas Eponine appeared to be really just a girl-next-door to me. Nothing really special about her look except that she has SUPER SMALL WAIST! How is that even humanly possible!

I thought that this was a gender thing, you know....that girls prefer Cosette, the pure and innocent pretty face, while guys prefer Eponine, the tan, selfless soul with a hot bod. So this led me to do a mini survey with my friends and followers on Facebook andInstagram to test if my observation is legit.

So, after compiling all the answers, here's the winner!

EPONINE!!!

To be honest, I was quite surprised as I never thought that Eponine was that pretty. I have always been a fan of Amanda Seyfried, so yeah maybe you can call me a little biased. But I have always been fond with Cosette-like type of beauty.

Out of the many responses on bothFacebookand Instagram, I only managed to collect 65 proper answers.

They rest of the comments included their analysis of the character's features, some tried to conclude the matter for me, while some of the votes were pure trolls...like voting for Javert, Jean Valjean, Fanta and Careen Tan. All of which were really not what my survey was asking for -.-

The initial votes that I got sorta proved my observation right! Majority of the guys would insist on Eponine, and girls would root for Cosette. It was not until a few moments later (especially on my Instagram) where things started to take a turn. More and more girls started to vote for Eponine, and vice versa!

Some of the reasons given for choosing Eponine include:

- She's a great singer, and they loved the song, 'On My Own'

- She's tan

- She has a small waist

- She's just prettier than Cosette who had alien eyes and hands (hahahah my friend rawks for having such observation!)

While some of the reasons for choosing Cosette were:

- She has piercing, electrifying big eyes

- She has a pure and demure look

- She is a pale beauty. Not everyone can carry a pale beauty look

I guess, generally, most people prefer a more down-to-earth and relatable look. So yeah, these are the results that I've gotten last night.

Okay now that we're done with this survey, the next question is...

Fantine vs. Madame Thenardier

Who's prettier?

Hahahahahahhahahahaha!

love, careen

↧

Celebrate a Scentful Christmas!

December 9, 2012, 7:55 pm

≫ Next: Daidomon Japanese BBQ Buffet with Casio TR150

≪ Previous: Les Misérables: Cosette vs. Eponine Result

Advertorial

Christmas to me is a season of love and giving.

When I was younger, Christmas meant receiving and opening gifts on Christmas morning. But as time went by, I slowly began to realize a more beautiful feeling.

No doubt, receiving gifts still brings joy to my heart (especially when the gifts are personalized, or chosen with great care and detail), but I found a greater joy in shopping for gifts for my loved ones, and seeing the joy in their faces when they open up their Christmas pressies!

Christmas shopping is an enjoyable experience, but it could also be a challenge for some of us. The thought of not knowing what to get for who, if the person would actually, honestly like their gifts, which color they prefer, what if they can't fit and so on makes Christmas shopping a little harder sometimes.

Well, to help you make your Christmas shopping experience easier, surveys have shown that many think fragrances are the most thoughtful gifts! I sure do think so...as I received mine from Gucci fragrances, and I really love it! :)

The Gucci Guilty EDT and Purse Spray.

Look at the glamorous Black and Gold packaging!

Daidomon Japanese BBQ Buffet with Casio TR150

January 19, 2013, 9:26 am

≫ Next: My First Darting Experience @ iDarts Quad

≪ Previous: Celebrate a Scentful Christmas!

It's been a long time since I last brought my Casio TR150 out to play!

As usual, the Makeup Mode of TR150 does wonders.

These selcas were taken with Casio TR150: Makeup Mode Level 6

It magically smoothen and whitens my skin, and gives a matte yet dreamy look to the photo!

I also snapped some photos from my balcony and experimented with the HDR Art Mode! Look at the contrast of the photos with and without HDR Art! The last photo taken with HDR Art: Level 3 literally looks like a painting! :)

So the husby and I went on a dinner date yesterday. Knowing that nothing pleases me more than FOOD, my beloved cell group got my a meal for my birthday last year at Daidomon Japanese BBQ Buffet Restaurant! :)

We finally made time to go and indulge a little. My last buffet was super duper long ago as last year was the wedding year, so buffet was a big no-no. Since it's been so long since my last indulgence, I made sure that this time, I had brunch instead of lunch and prepared my tummy to eat all I could *nyehehe* :)))))

We were early so we went to walk a little around Great Eastern Mall in KL. It was my first time there. In fact, I never knew that mall existed til yesterday :')

Went into Toys R Us and I saw thissssssss!

Seeing (original) Hello Kitty merchandises makes me happy! I stood there to stare at this for a long time. The only cat that I love. Other cartoon cats and real life cats annoy me.

Passed by this particular Barbie, and I couldn't help but to find something weird about this doll.

Is it me, or is Barbie's waist getting smaller and smaller? This is getting extreme! The dolls are getting skinnier! It's either that, or Barbie's head is just getting bigger. The entire proportion of Barbie is just out. I hope no kids would aspire to have Barbie's weirdly proportioned body.

After quite a long wait and passing time, we finally got to EAT.

The entrance to the restaurant is pretty small, but the entire restaurant is HUGE! Never thought that they had such a huge space inside!

This is the waiting area, with gigantic menus on the wall.

Quite a decent choice of beverages

Sushi corner

All the cooked and fried stuff that would fill your stomach before you know it.

I still don't understand why anyone would go to a buffet and have sausages, fried noodles, fried rice, etc.. Eat that at home!

Me posing with the fried food that I did not even try.

I was there for serious business okay! Give me all the exotic animals!

Woah now I sound carnivorous.

Ready-made sushi which I also did not try.

Why take ready-made sushi when you can order fresh ones right right right?

They had interesting soup!

I'm a soup lover so I tried everything. The beef soup was okay but it was a little too spicy for me. The miso soup was normal (but you can add as many tofu and seaweeds you want!). The best was the Veg and Tamago (egg) soup! Very nice :)

Husby who did all the BBQ-ing ahahahhaah

I'm a lamb lover, but sadly, their lamb was so-so to me. But their assorted marinated beef was awesome! I think beef is their speciality :)

Ostrich meat! YUMZ.

But beef still beat the rest.

First time BBQ-ing mushrooms and salmon. Hahahah kelam-kabut sial.

The yummy Veg and Egg Soup!

We experimented with the Casio TR150 Panorama mode.

It's pretty cool! But not easy to move steadily. If your hands are shaky you might end up distorting the photo like mine. Check out the poor waiter's head kena potong :')

And also Boon's face looking distorted (below). I'm bad at this.

The service at Daidomon was good too! Their staff could speak very good English, and they loved to ask us to try their ice-creams. Hahahah :')

But after trying, we know why exactly.

Their peanut ice-cream is very special and nice. Must try! :)

It was a really filling and satisfying meal. Thanks E11 cell group for the wonderful birthday gift! Love you all..appreciate the thoughtfulness :)

Til then!

love, careen

↧

My First Darting Experience @ iDarts Quad

January 21, 2013, 8:31 am

≫ Next: Marriage Discoveries: Part One

≪ Previous: Daidomon Japanese BBQ Buffet with Casio TR150

Hello Tuesday!

With just the blink of an eye, we have already entered into the 4th week of the year! It still feels like yesterday that a few of us were hanging out at my place, snacking on mango cheesecake while watching Bridesmaids for the 2013 countdown!

Although life's not as hectic as it was for me now as it was for the past few years, still, I somehow manage to fill my days up with so many stuff. One thing about being jane of all trades is that life throws different opportunities at you sometimes all at the same time!

It's only the 4th week of the year, yet things are already looking really good.

Excited for what's ahead! :)

Another selca captured in Makeup Mode: Level 6 with my Casio TR150 camho camera.

To know more about what Makeup Mode is all about, read my post HERE!

If you're tired of all your grainy selca pics with your smartphone front cameras, the Casio TR150 could really be a breath of fresh air for all camho queens like me. Now, we can all camho in HD! Hahahaha ;)

The Casio TR150 doesn't only function as a camho camera, but it has other features that are really useful as well!

Take for example, the Multi SR Zoom function.

Even when I zoomed to the maximum, the photo still turned out to be clear and defined! :)

Another great feature is the High Speed Night Scene function. It comes in real handy when I want to capture photos in dark places.

Like yesterday, I went to watch the iDarts Tournament at iDarts Quad, Sunway Giza. The place was dim and using my smartphone to capture photos was a bad idea. Thankfully I brought my Casio TR150 along with me (I practically bring it with me everywhere I go actually), and managed to capture our first try on iDarts clearly!

My pro husby darter. I knew he always played darts when he was offshore sometime ago, and said he enjoyed it. But yesterday was the first time I watched him play, and mannnn, he's so good and accurate! So lammmmm ;)

See how dim the lighting was at the location? Yet my Casio TR150 could capture everything clearly. Even my stressed face :')

That was my first time EVER playing darts. Leonard got a pro darter to teach me the basics of darting, such as my stance, posture, aiming with the thumb, how I position the dart in my hand, etc..

Didn't know there were so many do's for darting! It was also nice to see how so many girls could easily beat the guys at it. Gives me hope :')

I had a culture shock too! All the Darts Instructors (D.I.) were so pretty and smokin hot. The best part is that all of them could dart really well! Definitely a plus point for guys to hang out there more often I think ;)

And I really loved the friendly atmosphere at iDarts. Even if you have no clue on how to play darts at all (just like me), don't worry because there will be Darts Instructors (pretty ones at that) ready to teach you from scratch and guide you all the way.

Us with our bros-Leonard Chua&Gordon Ling from Reanimated Studios

We had a fun night. I had a fun night :P

The pic taken with my iPhone. The photo turned out to be so dark that I had to use an app to brighten it to the maximum, which turned out to be super grainy. Ah wells...

Now that I finally got my hands at the game and improved a littleeeeee bit compared to my first few throws, I would really consider doing this as a past time more often from now :)

Hope that your first few weeks of 2013 have been great so far.

Remember to try something new this year! :)

love, careen

↧

Marriage Discoveries: Part One

January 28, 2013, 9:53 pm

≫ Next: Reasons to *heart* Love, Bonito

≪ Previous: My First Darting Experience @ iDarts Quad

Remember my entry about What's in the First Month of Marriage?

Well, time sure flies real fast, as I'm now sitting here sharing about what I've come to learn and discover about being married after 3 months. 3 months in just a few days on Feb 3 :)

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be some marriage/relationship expert sharing my expertise. Just thought of walking my readers through my journey in life, and hopefully through my experience, you'd be able to discover some stuff that could help you in any way at all :) I'll be updating this Marriage Discoveries series from time to time!

So, here are some of the stuff that has happened in 3 months of marriage:

#1: We have gained weight.

This was taken a week before the wedding during our ROM.

This was taken....2 days ago T.T

Boon said he lost 8kgs altogether for the wedding, and gained back 6 after the wedding, before 2012 ended. So technically he lost 2kgs the whole year which he is still very proud of.

As for me, I'd always been around 44-45kg. I'm now a few kgs heavier. For me, I don't gain weight, weight. But I put on flabs and fats that are visible but don't necessarily transfer to weight.

Look at my cheeks and arms. Hmmm.

Reason for our weight gain is none other than us eating without control.

Hahahaha. Quite simple right...

We feel pretty much similar to prisoners being set free after being in captive for a long period of time. Prior to the wedding, we controlled ourselves from our favorite fatty foods which was depressing but we knew we HAD TO. I kept telling myself that the last thing we want is to look back at our wedding pics and slap ourselves wonder why we didn't make any effort to lose weight. Thank God we looked slim enough for the wedding ahhaahah :P

After the wedding, we felt so liberated that we just started to rebel against any forces that tried to stop us from eating and snacking. It's the best feeling ever.

BUT, it has to stop. Especially before CNY because all the aunty uncle will have the time of their lives comparing how slim we were at the wedding and how fat we are now. We shall withhold that pleasure from them so we will make sure we look good for CNY. We shall gain weight again after CNY :P

#2: To never leave

In the past, whenever we have arguments with each other, there are a few things we could do.

If we're on the phone, we could slam the phone, not pick up, not reply messages, etc. If we're arguing in person, we could return to our respective homes and continue fuming/let things cool.

But now, we both live in the same house. There's no phone to slam, no other home to return to.

This is the time that we both have to learn to disagree/argue responsibly. It's time we moved on from childish acts like slamming the phone, and walking away in the middle of an argument. It just can't be done anymore. So what do we do now that all these "tantrum acts" can't be used?

I've learned that no matter what happens, never emotional blackmail by walking away, playing MIA, cry to get sympathy, or even scream at each other. No matter how upset or angry you are, don't say words that hurt, that you might regret. The best thing to do is really to just stay silent until you know what to say.

It's really challenging to stay calm and logical in the midst of a bad argument. Your common sense and natural reflexes tell you to do something dramatic to scare/threaten your partner. But we have both arrived at a stage where there's no turning back, and we've made vows to never leave and to never forsake, and we want to keep those vows.

Walking away will only create more scars in a relationship, that if accumulated could turn into a huge mess. Emotional blackmails like crying and suicide are for the silly, because after so long of being together, do you think your partner wouldn't know it's just yet another act?

These things would numb your partner, and the last thing you want is when he/she doesn't feel a thing when you cry/leave/attempt suicide anymore. That's when you know that the love is no longer present, or rather, buried by all the hurt.

The few days of being in cold war are some of the worst days of my life. Having to live to together, sleep on the same bed, see each other all day, every day, and being treated so differently from the times when there is no argument.

But, I guess it's a part and parcel of marriage, of life. That we ought to love even when it isn't easy. To choose to react the right way, say the right things, and constantly battle with thoughts that could destroy the relationship.

Nobody said keeping our vows was easy. But after we come out of the argument, and realised that we handled everything maturely, it reassures us that we are truly serious about each other, and that we love each other more than wanting to satisfy our own selfish desires.

#3: A good bed is very important

Ending the post with a more light-hearted note. We have come to truly love and appreciate our bed. No, not for those reasons. But purely for the fact that a good bed means good sleep. And sometimes, oversleep. Hahaha.

Before the wedding, we went on a search, high and low for a good and comfortable bed at reasonable prices. We went everywhere, you name it. Ikea, MFOs (Matress Factory Outlets), all the furniture shops along LDP highway, Puchong, etc etc etc.

We lied down on so many beds that it became tiring to go on searching, until one fine day when we were not actually looking, we passed by Getha in 1 Utama, and decided to give it a try.

The moment we entered Getha, there was just this sense of comfort in the outlet. Probably it's the scent of the freshener, the music at the background, or maybe it's just the way they make us feel comfortable. The service there was so good. Their sales assistants were very knowledgeable and they don't try to hard sell at all.

We felt so at home that I could even do this. Hehe

As usual, Boon would be the one talking to them about all the specs and features, materials used, and all the technical stuff, while I'll be the bed-tester because ultimately I'll be the one who decides :D

But, we had a problem. Boon prefers harder beds while I prefer the softest, fluffiest ones that feel like clouds (although I don't know how clouds feel like). So we had to come to a compromise, and thankfully we found one that was agreeable to us both there.

Their beds are simple in design which suits our minimalist style at home. And they cushion the bed frames and everything so there wouldn't be any chance of me knocking onto anything :P

Every purchase of bed comes with 2 free pillows and a bolster (which obviously belongs to me heheheh). We got to pick our own pillows, which we love until today. All of their beds and pillows are made of pure latex. Super solid.

They didn't even bother when I started to camho on bed. Hahaha so hard to leave the bed...one of these days, you should just go try out their beds for fun. It sucks you in like a vacuum.

Without much hesitation, we decided on our bed and scheduled for delivery. It's free delivery and assembling too. All in all, they have really good service.

Back then when my hair was longgggggg.

So for the first time ever, let me present to you the reason we oversleep!

It's so comfortable that the moment I sat on it, my body feels happy. It's those kinda feeling when your skin feels something soft and comfy, and you immediately settle in. Especially so after a long, tiring day. This is also why I find it soooooo hard to get outta bed :P

No complaints at all so far, and if you're looking for a good bed, try Getha. It's not too expensive too if I'm not mistaken...ours was around RM3-4k all in :)

So yeah, these are the 3 things in the 3 months of marriage that I have come to learn and discover.

More to come ;)

love, careen

↧

Reasons to heart Love, Bonito

January 30, 2013, 7:52 pm

≫ Next: sloggi- Declare Your Love!

≪ Previous: Marriage Discoveries: Part One

Confession: I've always loved online shopping.

I won't forget the joy of making my first ever successful shopping transaction online to buy something as small as a belt! When it arrived at my doorstep looking exactly as what I saw on the site, it gave me some confidence to continue shopping online knowing that it's not a con job kinda thing! :P

Till now, I still love shopping online and stalking online fashion stores whenever I'm free. There's just something therapeutic about window shopping online and seeing nice clothes. Even if I don't buy them, I'd still feel happy. Something most guys wouldn't understand...hahahah.

There are some online fashion stores that I often stalk, and Love, Bonito is definitely one them. If you hear their story on how far they have come, you would be as impressed as I am.

Love, Bonito is one of Singapore's biggest online fashion retail, and trust me, just pick any female walking on the streets of Singapore and probably all of them would tell you that they know Love, Bonito!

All of my friends from Singapore, and even those from Malaysia who are currently working there tell me that Love, Bonitois their favourite shopping site. Even some of my friends from JB are regular customers of Love, Bonito too! :)

You can also search Love, Bonito on Instagram- @lovebonito, and search their hastag #lovebonito to see the quick, constant updates of pictures posted by Love, Bonito fans! It's crazy, really!

Love, Bonito was started by 3 beautiful and passionate fashion lovers and bloggers- Vel, Rach and Viola Tan. I think they have great taste in fashion because all of Love, Bonito's clothes are exclusively designed and manufactured by themselves, and I personally love the clothes at Love, Bonito.

Ever since I heard aboutLove, Bonitofrom my friends who had been raving about it to me, I decided to check it out and thereafter, I was hooked! Visitng Love, Bonito's website has always been one of the must-visit sites whenever I think about online shopping. *shy*

And when I found out from Gush AdthatLove, Bonitowill be working together with yours truly by seeding me clothes from their collection, I was overjoyed! I felt so starstruck! :O *even more shy now*

You can totally ask Boon how my reaction was when I first took out the clothes from my Love, Bonito bag. I was literally like, "OMGGGGG", and "Awwwww"-ing at everything!

Let me tell you just why I love the clothes from Love, Bonito.

Reasons to love #1:

Love, Bonito clothes are exclusively designed and manufactured

I know not every girl is like me, but most of the girls that I've met would share this same sentiment with me. I really dislike it whenever I bump into someone with the similar clothes, bags, shoes as me. Especially strangers!

I'm okay if that happens between me and my close friends, but I'm the type of person who prefers to have my own set of clothes and feel special about them. That explains why I hardly buy clothes from the likes of Cotton On, Forever 21, H&M simply because I know it wouldn't be too difficult bumping into someone at the mall wearing the exact same outfit as me.

So when I found out thatLove, Bonito'sdesigns are of their own, that was a real plus point for me. I can now walk on the streets confidently knowing that the chances of someone wearing the exact same outfit as me is very low, as Love, Bonitoalso limits the number of clothes per design ;)

Reasons to love #2:

They have SIZES!

It is VERY rare to find online boutiques that cater to Sizes XS to L for one single design!

I've heard many comments from my peers who are plus-sized that they can't enjoy online shopping like we do, simply because there isn't many online boutiques which caters for the plus-sized. Most sites would only offer free sizes, but not for Love, Bonito.

I'm considered pretty petite in size, so I know how it feels to worry about not being able to fit nicely in the clothes that I buy online. Most of them are a little too long and a little too loose. But for clothes from Love, Bonito, I wear fit nicely in the S size. Which means their XS sizes are meant for ladies with more petite frames than me! Hoorah to all petite and plus-sized females! :)

Reasons to love #3:

Their clothes look exactly like the photos

I know you have been waiting to see the pics, so here's where I show you the lovely clothes I got from Love, Bonito!

One of the most frustrating things about shopping online is when your purchases don't look like what the pictures showed online. It could be a different shade of colour, a different colour altogether (woah that's bad), different material as stated, different details, etc..

But for Love, Bonito, I'm really happy to say that the clothes I got looked exactly like the photos on their website! Take a look :)

Cordelia Dress in Purple

Shop it here- http://www.lovebonito.com/2737-cordelia-dress.html

They also showed a close-up on the details.

Here's me with my new Cordelia Dress! :)

Excuse the slight difference in colour cos I applied filter for this picture on Instagram :D

In real life, it really looked exactly like the photos on their website.

Prior to delivering the clothes to me, Love, Bonito asked for my body measurements to know which size to give me, and to ensure that I would fit into my clothes properly. I really appreciate their excellence and attention to little details like these, because in the end, my dress fits me like a glove :))

COVET Syria Skirt in Cobalt

Shop it here- http://www.lovebonito.com/2740-covet-syria-skirt.html

COVET is their premium line that offers better fabrics and classier designs, yet still affordable!

Just take a look at the details!

If you're a lace lover like me, you would definitely fall for this piece.

Look at how the colour Cobalt outstands the skirt!

Love the colour, love the laces, love the quality, love the fit.

Frankford Dress in Navy Blue

Shop it here- http://www.lovebonito.com/2750-frankford-dress.html

I absolutely love the material of this peplum dress and how it fits me so well! It really showed off my curves in all the right places.

Love how it hugs my body, yet hides all the unnecessary flabs and bumps.

Oh this picture has filter applied from Instagram too, but colour also looks like the pics on the Love, Bonito website! See how it fits! I really love this piece :)

Megan Maxi

Shop it here: http://www.lovebonito.com/2822-megan-maxi.html

As a petite, I usually can't find suitable maxi dresses that I can fit into nicely. But for the Megan Maxi, I can! It fits me just nice and it's not too long for me too :)

My pics were applied with Instagram filters, so the colors look a little different. But the colour of the dress is Fuschia, just like the pictures shown onLove Bonito's website :)

It makes me feel like a Grecian goddess with this piece *shy*

And last but not the least, my favourite one out of the all the gorgeous pieces given to me.

Caitlin Cheongsam Dress

The moment I saw the preview of this dress on Love, Bonito's Facebook Page, I immediately fell in love with it. This piece will be launched real soon, so be the first to catch it by getting updating via Love, Bonito's Facebook Page!

Click on the photo above to go toLove, Bonito's Facebook Page!

I've always loved dresses with lantern bottoms, and the best part is that it is gorgeously matched with a Qipao bodice! Purrrrfect for the upcoming Chinese New Year! :)

Here are some photos of me in it.

Filters have been applied, but the real colour looks exactly like the ones on the website :)

I love how it sorta elongates my legs with the high-waisted waistline of the dress.

Gives the illusion that I'm taller. *peace sign*

It's a traditional meets modern dress, and I adore it.

I want to say a HUGE thank you toLove, Bonitofor seeding me with these fabulous pieces which are coincidentally all my favourite styles and colours. I no longer need to shop for CNY! ;)

Also, a great news to all the ladies! Until end of February, Love, Bonito is giving FREE DELIVERY to all South East Asia countries! This is a really great deal so be sure to act quick and place your orders ASAP! :)

Remember to insert this check-out code for Free Delivery:

FREESHIPASIA

If you haven't already checked out Love, Bonito's website, or *liked* their Facebook page, you can do so to keep yourselves updated with their latest arrivals, promotions and contests, and many more!

Visit Love, Bonito's website: gush.ly/lovebonito2

Love, Bonito's Facebook Page: gush.ly/lovebonitoFB2

Love, Bonito's clothes are always sold out within hours, so if you've fixed your eyes on certain pieces in their online store, be sure to act quickly! ;)

Hope you'll enjoy browsing through Love, Bonito's website as much as I do ;)

Happy shopping, ladies!

love, careen

↧

sloggi- Declare Your Love!

January 31, 2013, 7:10 pm

≫ Next: adidas Neo Runway with Selena Gomez

≪ Previous: Reasons to *heart* Love, Bonito

It's Feb 1, 2013, a month of love and celebrations!

It will surely be an unforgettable month for many of us! :)

To all ma ladies, my blog post today would be about something that would be of interest to you.

Whereas for the guys, just a little heads up that there will be photos full of girls, bras, girls in bras, and basically bra-talk in this post. So if you're interested to learn more about women's intimate wear, you may stay on and learn a thing or two about it ;)

Just about a week ago, I went to "update" my collection of undergarments. Whenever people asks me what brand of undergarments I usually wear, I'll struggle to give a specific answer because I'm the type who always likes to try out new brands on each of my bra-shopping trips.

But, I can give a good review on what different brands have to offer to the ladies.

Some brands offer fancy and sexy designs but lack support and comfort for all-day wear, while some offer simple, basic designs but maximum support and comfort.

For me, my stand on fashion and clothes has always been,

'Comfort over Style'

In my humble opinion, I see no point of wearing a 6-inch killer heels which look extremely sexy, but gives me pain the moment I take my first step (That's why I can hardly settle with a nice pair of heels all the time). And no point wearing super tight skinny jeans which traces every bit of your cellulite, which also gives you a tough time wearing AND removing them.

I'd rather wear my usualloose tees + denim shorts + flipflops and I'll be super happy ;)

And when it comes to intimate wear, I admit to being tempted to get fancy, sexy designs as you know, they say that sexiness exudes from what you wear on the inside. Trueeee....but it defeats the purpose when bras fail to deliver what they primarily should be- comfort and support. But the truth is, whenever I choose what to wear everyday, I'll usually leave the sexy ones to the last option and opt for the more body-loving, comfortable ones.

Nothing's more important to me than comfort and support when it comes to intimate wear because I've experienced wearing misfit ones, and found myself feeling self-conscious if my strap is gonna pop off the buckle, if my front buckle (yeah...fancy bras hahaha) would pop open when I move, etc..

So these days, I would rather spend my money on comfortable and long-lasting quality intimate wears that could last me all-day for a long period of time. And if you're also one who prefers comfortable intimate wears than anything else, I would highly recommend sloggi!

sloggiis one which has the balance of both COMFORT + STYLE. With good quality, sloggi also offers some really cute designs and colours in stores!

This was me lingerie shopping at sloggi, Parkson, 1 Utama.

Many of us are so caught up with the thought of the upcoming Chinese New Year, til forget that Valentine's Day is also around the corner!

Especially for the upcoming Valentine's celebration,

sloggi has newly launched a romantic range called 'My Hearty'.

I've always loved how sloggi bras are body-loving and nice-fitting. They're the ones that you could wear out all day and wouldn't feel bothered by anything! So happy that the ones in the 'My Hearty' collection has such sweet colors too!

Here are some photos from the 'My Hearty' collection!

First off in the 'My Hearty' collection is sloggi's Delicate series.

This super light, soft and comfortable collection comes in sexy colours of red and black. It is fully laced with cute rhinestone accessories for a hint of flirtatiousness and subtle elegance in this season of love.

Oh, it's inner push-up cookie is really special and uniquely shaped to give an extra, effortless push-up effect. You have to go and check it out. It's like no other! I have one of this set and I must say that I'm really pleased with it :)

The next collection in the 'My Hearty' range is none other than the Invisible Sense Bra Series!

This range is awesome for providing a 'second-skin' effect which is made possible by a much thinner and ultra light fabric. Special wrap-knitting structure of sensitive fabric provides comfort, breathability, moisture management and prevents snagging. The side panels are also wider to provide a better fit, coverage and support.

The Invisible Sense Bra is gentle on the skin and also Planet Earth!

The fabric company that synthesizes the eco-care fabric used will donate a percentage of earnings for rainforest protection with each meter of sensitive fabric sold.

I also got myself one of this Invisible Sense Bra Series, and it is super comfortable I kid you not! I strongly believe that every girl should own a reliable t-shirt bra that would fit your body nicely without causing any bumps from the sides or even leave marks under your boobs after you remove your bra.

This collection is specially manufactured to decrease bra marks under your boobs. And also, one of the best things about this collection is that its panties are specially designed to prevent the possibility of having wedgie...you know, getting your underwear stuck in your bootie. The design is so brilliant, you have to go check it out!

In conjunction with Valentine's Day, sloggi is running a 'Declare Your Love to sloggi'contest specially for all of us ladies! :)

It's really simple to participate. Here's how:

Step #1: Snap a photo to Declare Your Love to sloggi

- Give it a caption of not more than 15 words

- Keep your photo entries fun, creative and romantic!

Step #2: Remember to tag @sloggimalaysia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram + Hastag #ilovesloggi

- Share your photo on the above social media platforms with the tags and hastags, and send your entries to to sloggimalaysia@yahoo.com with the subject, 'Declare Your Love to sloggi Contest'

- Include your full name, IC number, mailing address and contact number.

Step #3: *like*sloggi Malaysia's Facebook pageand await the final results of the contest on Valentine's Day! :)

Find out more about the contest details HERE! Contest submission ends on 13th Feb 2013, so be sure to participate quick! :)

Winners of the contest will walk away with the wonderful My Hearty range of products! So don't miss this opportunity to win them home! :)

I've also submitted my entry in hopes to win myself somesloggi- My Heartyproducts, and here is my photo! *shy*

TADDA!!!

This is my expression of love to sloggi this Valentine's Day!

The reason I used post-it notes is because I personally am a huge fan of post-its, and I would normally use them sparingly as each piece of post-it is precious to me.

Plus, post-its make great wall arts! Created this in less than 10 mins! This shows that you don't need to take up a lot of time to join this contest. Think out of the box, and you may be the lucky winner this Valentine's Day! ;)

For more information on sloggi and theDeclare Your Love to sloggi contest, head on over to:

sloggi Malaysia's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/sloggiMalaysia

sloggi Malaysia's Twitter account: http://twitter.com/sloggimalaysia

sloggi Malaysia's Instagram account: instagram.com/sloggimalaysia

Remember to participate quick, and check out the wonderful My Hearty collection ;)

love, careen

↧

adidas Neo Runway with Selena Gomez

February 3, 2013, 10:13 pm

≫ Next: SPEND SOME this Chinese New Year

≪ Previous: sloggi- Declare Your Love!

This post is to do a little bit of explanation on why yours truly isn't going to be in New York City for the adidas Neo Runway with Selena Gomez.

For those of you who didn't know, both Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez had been appointed to be the new ambassadors and style icons for the adidas Neo Label. And Selena will be showcasing some of Neo's collections during the New York Fashion Week on the 6th of Feb, 2013.

A few bloggers had been selected to attend the event and to meet Selena Gomez in person, and one of my dear blogger friends will be representing adidas Malaysia for the event. I don't want to mention names because that is not the point of my post today, but if you have to find out, just Google it.

Many people expected me to also be there for the event as I'm the official adidas Neo ambassador representing Malaysia, but unfortunately, I'm not. So here's the point of my post today, to explain once and for all and to clear the air off any misunderstandings and misconceptions about the entire matter, to also stop all the speculations and to prevent anyone from coming to their own conclusions and spreading rumours.

So yours truly had a long chat with the brand about this, and from our conversation, here are the factors as to why I'm not attending the event.

First off, one of the reasons is that the coordinators of the event at the global level requested for someone young, and single. Probably just like Selena herself. Well, I'm young (and 2 years younger than the blogger who is representing Malaysia). However, you and I (and everybody else) know that I just got married 3 months ago to the love of my life, and therefore, am no longer single. I have no qualms revealing about my relationship status, as one of the principles that I hold on to as an individual/blogger is to be as honest and real as I can to the people around me/my blog readers as well.

Besides, even before the adidas Neo blogger competition ended in 2011, the management was well-aware that I would be married by the end of last year, and they're totally chill about it and even happy on my behalf. Yet, despite being very clear about this, they still crowned me the winner, and even offered me help for my wedding and assured me that nothing is going to affect the ambassadorship.

adidas Malaysia has been a true sweetheart, and has been really supportive. But I guess there are just different criteria for different events and coordinators, which is out of our control.

Secondly, I was told that the coordinators preferred the fashion sense of the blogger who's representing Malaysia. That is, also, something that I cannot do anything about. Everyone has a different sense of style, and my fashion style and identity is something that I cannot change overnight, and would not anyway. I too, love the fashion sense of my fellow blogger friend. She's a famous fashion blogger, and well-known for her edgy dressing styles. However, as much as I love her style, it doesn't necessarily mean that I would wear them. Everyone is just different.

And last but not the least, I was also told that the global coordinators preferred a representative from Malaysia who is of a specific ethnicity. That is, definitely, something that no one can change or do anything about.

So yes, there you have it. Some honesty and transparency on my part.

I could have come up with a lame reason saying that I'm not able to attend the event due to the last minute notice which clashes with my schedules, but I chose not to because I don't see the point of concealing the real reasons. I have no problem with everyone knowing the truth behind this matter. And now that it is out there, to all who have been wondering, asking and talking about it, you may now focus on other matters such as Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's reunion. Yes, apparently they're now back together ;)

Also, very important. Please don't get me wrong or take this the wrong way. I'm not writing this to bring anybody down or create a stir in any way. Just felt that it is good for both myself and the brand to clear the air about this instead of letting speculations turn into rumours.

And FYI, the blogger who is representing Malaysia to NYC for this event is one of my very own dear blogger friends whom I've known for quite a while. She's a real sweetheart, and I'm excited on her behalf as I can imagine the excitement of going to NYC (one of my dream destinations) and attending New York Fashion Week + meeting Selena Gomez and prolly other celebs in the house. It is a dream come true for many, and I'm just genuinely happy on her behalf.

Again, the point of my post is not about WHO, but WHY. It could very well be another blogger who is being sent, and the very same post that you're reading will also be up.

If you asked me whether I feel a little disappointed about how it all turned out, I wouldn't act all big-hearted and tell you no. However, I have come to accept the fact that there are just criteria and requirements from different people for different things, and I'm cool with it. To those who are wondering, yours truly is still on an ambassadorship with adidas Malaysia, and will be working with them for many upcoming projects. It's been a real cool journey with the brand, and am looking forward to more collabs to come :)

On a separate note, notice the change in my blog?

Besides the new header photo that I've uploaded in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year, notice my new blog URL!

I have FINALLY picked up my lazy a*s and bought meself a new domain after the longest time. Now I don't have to worry if anyone is going to buy that domain anymore cos it's now mineeeeee :D

To all who have been pestering me to get my own domain name, you must be very proud of me after so long :P

I'm still using the Blogger platform as of now cos I'm needing a little guidance from GushAdto move to Wordpress. ThanksGushAd for offering a helping hand and a little compassion to this tech-noob who knows nuts about HTML, CSS, and all the complicated terms. With their help, you would be seeing a new blog design very soon! :)

It's only been activated yesterday, and I've been unashamedly and excitedly typing my new blog link whenever I'm free, and see my blog pop up. Hahahaha a very wuliao and suaku blogger you have here.

Okay, that's all from me!

love, careen

www.careentan.com

↧

SPEND SOME this Chinese New Year

February 6, 2013, 1:46 am

≫ Next: Paramore Live Concert Ticket Giveaway

≪ Previous: adidas Neo Runway with Selena Gomez

Chinese. New. Year.

In the past, whenever I heard of these 3 words, what comes to mind would have been the massive packing (we usually return back to hometown for about a week), the journey to Malacca with my family in the car, the pit stops at the R&R where my daddy would buy fruits for us to 'cool' ourselves in the hot Chinese New Year weather, decorating my gramma's house with angpow packets and others artsy fish deco that my mum would make, wearing new clothes, bakua and pineapple tarts, multiple family dinners with the extended family, receiving angpows, playing cards with the gramma, and all the annual CNY fun stuff.

Although Chinese New Year seemed to be the same every year, the difference is that we grow older by the year, and as we grow, our perception and feelings towards CNY changes.

When I was much younger, CNY only meant 1) ANGPOWS!!!, 2) Eating all the wrong foods.

And then it meant 1) Angpows, 2) Eating selected wrong foods, 3) Looking forward to Boon paying a visit to my gramma and family in Malacca on the 3rd day of CNY.

That was the drill for the past 3-4 years. But this year, everything is going to change. EVERYTHING.

I would no longer travel back to Malacca together with my family. I now have a new family (Boon and myself hahaha sounds so cute right), and this family would travel to visit our extended families (my family and Boon's family and extended families) throughout the CNY season together. Speaking of travelling, we have LOTS of travelling to do starting this year. *phew*

While I'm excited to be able to travel EVERYWHERE with my husby, and do everything as a couple including giving angpows hahaha, I still feel sentimental about leaving my old CNY practices behind, and stepping into new ones starting this year.

I don't know whether it is because I've grown as an individual, or it is because I'm now married, my perception about CNY has changed tremendously. This time around, I'm no longer the kid who looks forward to receiving angpows and eating all the foods that I could, instead, the meaning of CNY has totally become so different.

It is now about reuniting with the loved ones, spending time together,

and making everybody happy in this festive season.

Since the Chinese New Year is approaching, I figured it'd be good to share some of the stuff that I feel about personally.

Story:

Just 2 days ago, Boon and I were doing our FIRST EVER CNY shopping at the new Giant in USJ 1 (see...now we go to places where all the uncles aunties shop. hahahaha). We bought all the snacks, cookies, and food stuff we need to bring along when we go for visitations, for our guests, and stuff like that, and while we were about to leave the place, we saw an elderly granny who could possibly be in her late 70's carrying 2 big packets of milo refills, an umbrella and some other stuff that she bought with one hand, while holding onto the escalator rail stabilizing herself with another.

I saw that and signalled to Boon if we should lend a hand to her. We stood there for a good 5 secs to think if it would be a good idea. For all we know, out of a good intention, people might mistake us as being abductors, and the granny's family members could be upset with us. But we went ahead after that good 5 secs and offered help to carry her stuff because it simply looked too heavy for a granny like her. To our surprise, instead of looking afraid and doubtful, she looked up, smiled from her heart and kept asking slowly in her very cute, high-pitched granny voice in Mandarin, "You both are helping me? Really? Wah so good you both are willing to help me...".

She looked like a typical cute granny with a head full of white, permed hair who had trouble walking. When we offered to help carry her stuff to her car (we actually meant her children's car), to our surprise, there was NO car. She walked all the way from her house at USJ 1 to Giant, which took her a good 30 mins of slow walk. Alone. At 9.30pm. In USJ, one of the prime crime areas. Apparently she does this almost daily, walking alone to Mydin and Giant, and sometimes taking a cab to Carrefour alone.

While waiting for Boon to get the car, we stood at the entrance and chatted for a bit. She was so old that I had trouble understanding her speech...it was so muffled :') When I asked if she was staying with her children, she opened up to me and told me that she was, and that they had 3 cars at home, but no one would drive her around.

That really broke my heart. I told myself that whatever happens, I would never let this happen to my parents.

We brought her back home safe and sound, where her husband who was also elderly and skinny opened the doors and had a huge silly grin on his face the moment he saw that his wife was safely home. The granny quickly explained to her husband that Boon and I offered to fetch her home in Hokkien, and he kept saying thanks (very super muffled hahaha), and even invited us into the house for some tea (which we didn't la). Afterwhich, they waved goodbye to us with all smiles, and that was it.

That encounter made me realize so many things. I immediately gave my gramma a call, chatted with her, and told her when I'll be back for CNY. We become so caught up with own lives that we so easily forget our folks who are doing the same old stuff at home- wake up, eat, watch tv, nap, all while enduring the pain of their illnesses.

Chinese New Year is the time that these folks of ours look forward to the most, because that is when all of their kids and grandkids would be back home to see them, eat together with them, and be with them even for just a few days.

I've always loved CNY advertisements like these with strong messages behind to remind us the true meaning of Chinese New Year. Watch and share if you haven't already. No matter how simple these ads could be, they never failed to press my emotional button and bring tears to my eyes. Just imagine if that same thing happens to you when you age.

This CNY, let's show love to our loved ones by spending some.

#1: Spend some money.

I've always been a strong believer that

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving".

For those of us who are eligible to give angpows *wallet cries*, let's give our best to our folks and loved ones.

As for those who are still studying, perhaps you could buy some health stuff like chicken essence for your folks this CNY. It doesn't have to be huge hampers or expensive things. A little gesture goes a long way. Though they may nag or even lecture you for "wasting" money, you know that deep in their hearts, they're touched and actually feel loved by your littlest gestures, and they will remember that you care.

#2: Spend some time.

I admit that I'm guilty of that in the past. Whenever we were done with our family meals, I would immediately leave the dining table to check my phone, FB, Twitter, and continue with my games on the laptop (it used to be Bejeweled at one point).

You can learn from my mistakes and not do the same. Spend a longer time at the dining table, talk and fellowship for as long as you can. Help out with the dishes after meals. Make a point to get to know your distant relatives a little more. Listen to your folks' stories and rants (even if you have heard them a million times before).

Afterall, we won't be spending forever with them, only those few days during the CNY season. Make the best out of all the time you have with them, and for a few days, just put your families FIRST above all else.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sound like some experienced lecturer teaching you how to be a good kid. But I am actually being reminded of all these myself as I speak/type/write/youknowwhatimean.

This CNY indeed, will be different for me, whether I like it or not.

But I want to make it special. And I want to make a point.

love, careen

↧

Paramore Live Concert Ticket Giveaway

February 13, 2013, 8:12 pm

≫ Next: Announcement: Paramore Concert Tickets Giveaway Winners

≪ Previous: SPEND SOME this Chinese New Year

Helloooowww people! Gong Hei Fatt Choi!!!

How did you spend your Chinese New Year holidays? :)

For those of you who celebrated, I hope you had a great reunion with your families and pampared your tummy a little in this festive season. We'll work off those fats later ;) For those of you who didn't celebrate, well, I hope you enjoyed the serenity on the city roads, and the availability of parking lots in malls ;)

After being MIA for exactly a week due to Chinese New Year, I'm back with a great news! ;)

You can call this a Chinese New Year or even a Valentine's Day gift, because as the title of my blog said it all, I'll be giving away2 pairs of tickets to Paramore's concert which is happening on February 17, which is this coming Sunday! Just a few days away!

If you want to know how to participate in the ticket giveaway, details will be right up at the later part of this post.

As I'll only be giving away 2 pairs of tickets to 2 lucky winners, for the rest of you who really, really do not want to risk missing Paramore's concert this coming Sunday, you can still purchase the concert tickets HERE (Click to purchase).

You can also find out more details and information about the concert at

Livescape's Facebook Page- www.facebook.com/Livescape.

Here's Paramore's latest single, 'Now'.

I totally love Hayley's look in this video!

Here are some of the songs that they're popularly known for!

And of course, who could forget The Only Exception?

My favourite of all.

Now, for those of you who are interested to participate in my Paramore concert's ticket giveaway, here are the details:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEP #1:

RETWEET this tweet that I have posted HERE with your Twitter account.

Wanna win a pair of tickets to Paramore's concert this Sunday? Find out how simple it can get at careentan.com ;)
— Careen Tan (@Careen) February 14, 2013

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEP #2:

SHARE THIS POST from my Facebook Page on your timeline with the caption:

"I want to win a pair of tickets to Paramore's concert from www.careentan.com because _____________________________________________________."

The 2 participants who have completed the above steps and with the most

CREATIVE + ENTHUSIASTIC captions

will walk away with a pair of tickets each to Paramore's concert this Sunday! It's that simple ;)

*Please make sure that your privacy setting is set to public in order for me to view your submissions through the 'shares' of the post. Also, tag my Facebook Page (@Careen Tan) in your caption for me to be better notified of your submission.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terms of the Giveaway:

- Contest submission ends at 11.59pm, February 15, 2013 (Friday).

- The 2 winners will be picked based on the completion of tasks, and their captions by yours truly.

- Winners will be announced here on this blog by 12.30pm on February 16, 2013 (Saturday).

- Winners are required to send me their contact numbers via Facebook message to my Facebook Page.

- Winners will need to collect the tickets from me around Aman Suria, PJ area on February 16, 2013 afternoon. (Time and location to be specified and disclosed only to the winners).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There you have it, guys!

Have fun, and all the best to all of you who will be participating in the ticket giveaway! ;)

Hear from you guys real soon!

love, careen

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Careen
FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/Careenpage

↧

Announcement: Paramore Concert Tickets Giveaway Winners

February 15, 2013, 7:38 pm

≫ Next: 9th Valentine's; 9 Reasons

≪ Previous: Paramore Live Concert Ticket Giveaway

Hello weekenders!

So as promised, 2 participants from my Paramore Concert Ticket Giveawaywill be walking away with a pair of tickets each for Paramore's concert happening this Sunday- tomorrow!

The requirements are to RT one of my tweets about Paramore's concert tickets giveaway, as well as to share Paramore's photo on my Facebook page with the most

CREATIVE + ENTHUSIASTIC captions.

It sure wasn't easy picking 2 out of so many good entries! But the two of the most creative ones stood out from the rest, and I've got to say that with the thoughts put into it, they do deserve the tickets!

Without further ado, let's unveil the 2 winners of the Paramore concert tickets giveaway contest!

Guys, say a HUGE CONGRATULATION to...

Winners:

1. Jolene Lew

2. Jordan Teo

I personally feel that they're entries are really creative and enthusiastic. Plus, it takes a real Paramore fan to construct a sentence using their song lyrics! ;)

So congrats Jolene Lew and Jordan Teo! You both have earned yourselves a pair of tickets to Paramore Live concert TOMORROW! :)

Now, all you gotta do is to share this blog poston your Twitter and Facebook timeline, to announce that you're the proud winner of these concert tickets! Also, do remember to Facebook message me your contact numbers. We'll be in touch from there on how you can retrieve your concert tickets and such ;)

To the rest of the participants, I wanna THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your effort and participation! It really wasn't easy for me to pick just 2 winners! There will be more giveaways from this blog so stay tuned, aight? :)

If you haven't gotten your tickets to Paramore's concert happening on Feb 17, 2013 which is tomorrow, head on over to THIS LINK to grab your concert tickets quick!!! You can also visitLivescape Asia's Facebook Pageto know more about the concert's details.

That's all from me guys!

Have loads of crazy fun at the concert guys! ;)

\m/

love, careen

↧

9th Valentine's; 9 Reasons

February 18, 2013, 10:16 pm

≫ Next: #careforfitness: adizero F50 Runner 3 Review

≪ Previous: Announcement: Paramore Concert Tickets Giveaway Winners

Feb 14. Valentine's Day.

There's always this debate on whether Valentine's Day is worth celebrating. Every. Single. Year.

It's a day where you see on your timeline tweets and Facebook statuses that are filled with Vday wishes and outward expressions of love to their partners, and also a day where some express their indifference to the occasion.

Some believe that Valentine's Day is too mainstream, that it's commercialised so that people could take advantage of this day to make money out of hopeless romantics and fools in love.

Some also say everyday is supposed to be as lovey-dovey and romantic as Valentine's Day, thus, there's no need to celebrate on Feb 14; while some believe that Valentine's Day is just another silly excuse to show and shower love, another day to appreciate, another day to express, another day to celebrate love.

I, the hopeless romantic, belong to the latter group who believes that Valentine's Day is really just another silly excuse to show and feel (extra) loved, another excuse to make memories, another excuse to spend the whole day with each other (if you can), another excuse to just, fall in love again :)

I'm glad that my partner isn't some hipster wannabe who feels that Valentine's Day is too mainstream, or a kill-joy who refuses to celebrate this occasion with me. In fact, over the years, he's always taken the effort to make Valentine's Day an extra special day for me.

It's our 9th year celebrating Valentine's Day together as a couple, but our 1st year celebrating as a married couple. So it was a totally different experience.

The moment I woke up on Valentine's Day, I saw him lying next to me, staring at me with a silly smile, and wished me a Happy Valentine's Day. He knew that I always want to doll up my best for him, especially on occasions like these, so he gave me all the time that I needed to get myself ready for our date while he caught up with his HIMYM and Big Bang Theory.

I took a long time to get ready that day, and because of that and the fact that I woke up extra late (he let me sleep in cos that's like the best gift ever), we had our breakfast + lunch at 4pm :/ But, he didn't complain. Not only that, he even gave me time to camho and to take #ootd shots for me :')

Fresh makeup and hairdo, so must camho.

It's Valentine's Day, so must camho.

The husby got me 2 gifts for Valentine's this year!

He brought me shopping the day before, and identified the pair of heels and the bag that I wanted. When we headed for lunch that same day, he told me to get a seat first while he goes to pee. He went to pee for about 15 mins and that's the longest record ever (he usually takes less than a min I'm not kidding), but I thought he poo-ed too so I didn't really suspect anything.

After a good 15 mins, he ran back all panting and sweaty, and handed me two bags of these lovelies :') After all these years, he is still this sweet guy who never fails to make me melt with his little gestures.

Dress from Chiq Fliq, btw ;)

Ok back to the #ootd shots. If you're a girl or a bf/husband who helps your gf/wife to take #ootd shots, you would know that 2 #ootd shots did not mean only 2 shoot attempts. It meant at least 30-40 attempts, and only the best of the best are uploaded online :P

By the time I got these 2 shots that I felt satisfied with, it was already 3.30pm and these 2 dungus still hadn't eaten anything yet. He was freaking hungry but was still patiently taking #ootd shots of me :')

He planned to bring me for The Red Beanbag at Publika cos he knows I love big breakfasts (though we really weren't sure if they serve breakfast all-day), but when we went there, they had closed their kitchen to prep for dinner. So we decided to settle with Ben's.

We had their Oreo milkshake which was heavenly.

I love Oreos and I sorta expected it to have bigger pieces of Oreos in it, but it was so super fine that there was nothing to munch! It was really good, nonetheless. A must-try.

We were both hungry like mad so we ordered with no self-control!

I had this Lamb Shank Pie with Chicken Pesto thingy as a side. It was not too bad. I'm a huge eater, yet it was still too big a portion for me! This can only mean that it is really HUGE.

Boon is a burger person. So it was beef cheeseburger for him!

It was not too bad :)

Burger looks small, but the patties were HUGE!

There were other interesting milkshake options on the menu. The husby knew that I'd been eyeing on the Nutella milkshake, so he ordered for us to take-away. It was good! But felt a little too thick and sweet after a few sips. Oreo's still way better ;)

Feeling stuffed, we decided to take a walk at a not-so-typical Valentine's Day venue- Ikea. We ended up buying some pillows and household items for the crib. Hahaha boring leh?

Before we got married, we used to take strolls in Ikea only to come home empty handed (or sometimes with things like Ikea's curry puffs) because well, our respective houses were already fully-furnished. Plus, it was our parents' place so we can't just come home with extra furniture just like that!

We had always discussed about how to deco our house in the future, and I had always looked forward to the day that we could just walk out of Ikea with furniture and items for a home we call our own. And now, we can. And I love that idea :)

By the time we were done with Ikea, it was 8.30pm. Still feeling stuffed, we decided to go somewhere for desserts and coffee (chocolate for me). Thought of Bangsar/Mont Kiara, but decided not to compete for parking with other love birds in town, so we went to another not-so-typical Valentine's Day spot- Artisan at TTDI.

For the first time ever, ladies and gents, Artisan had space! In fact, it was empty!

We were so excited cos usually we would need to sit outside or take away cos that place is crazy tiny (and popular too).

It was a great decision cos we were like the only customers.

It was peaceful and quiet. And we loved it.

Thumbs up for their Cheesecake.

RM10 per piece, but absolutely worth every cent.

Shortly after we took this shot, both our phones died. So the only thing we could do was to behave like a real couple and talk. Face to face. Looking into each other's eyes. It was nice :)

We went home, and the date continues.

All I can say is, it was a really memorable Valentine's day :)

So since this is a Valentine's post, I shall take this opportunity to do a little PDA.

This is the 9th year of celebrating Valentine's together as a couple,

so here are 9 out of a billion things I love about Ng Boon Hock.

#1:

How you always hold the lift and door for me,

and still open the car door for me until today.

#2:

How you so naturally grab my bag/shopping bags/anything that I carry, heavy or not outta my hands simply because you just want to help me with them to ease my burden.

#3:

How you gently wake me up every morning and ask me this same question, "Baby, can you drive me to work?", although you know I most certainly will (and that I have no choice :P).

#4:

How you always make me laugh with your silliness, and how you are just as sampat as me. Same wavelength of humour is a crucial ingredient to a happy relationship.

#5:

How you are this self-disciplined, neat, tidy, punctual, hygienic mild OCD who would call waking up at 9am on a Saturday morning 'late'. You are unbelievable but I really like that about you.

#6:

How although you are a mild case of OCD, yet you don't (always) expect me to be like you, and still tolerate my piggy behaviours and let me sleep until 11.30am on Saturdays ;)

#7:

How you always ask me to sleep in the car when we travel long distance despite that fact that you're extremely sleepy and need a companion to keep you awake while driving. But of course 90% of the time I stay up to keep you company, but the thought of you asking me to sleep is already sweet enough.

#8:

How you are my biggest fan who always tries to be one of the first to read my blog posts, who always RTs my tweets, likes my stuff on Facebook and Instagram without a single shadow of doubt (I never once requested for him to read my blog and like my stuff, just to clarify hehe). You have been doing that so consistently since years ago when I first started out, and I just wanna appreciate you for being ever so supportive. You're the reason why I can go even further than this.

#9:

How you are so honest, sincere, upright, humorous, full of crap, sweet, sensitive, gentleman, faithful, hardworking, disciplined, accommodative, protective, manly, macho, handsome, selfless, supportive, encouraging, and just, so super nice to everybody around you, whether they're lovable or not. You're just an amazing person, and I would not be able to understand if there's even a single human being who wouldn't like you. That person must have issues.

I count myself super blessed to have you as my husband.

You're the best husbygator in the world. Love you :)

- this marks the end of the geli-ness of this post-

love, careen

↧

#careforfitness: adizero F50 Runner 3 Review

February 27, 2013, 3:16 am

≫ Next: Lil Updates

≪ Previous: 9th Valentine's; 9 Reasons

Chinese New Year is now officially over! And that means no more excuses for snacking and slacking, and it's high time I get serious about my fitness.

Been so complacent ever since the wedding was over. Switched to rebel mode right after the big day and started to indulge in every single thing that my mind clearly knew I wasn't supposed to. Rotiboy la (my favvvvv), fast food la, cheesy stuff la, milk tea la, chicken wing la, eating supper like a baus la...etc etc. Sadly, most of the time the tummy overpowers the mind *guilty*

I knew all along that ever since the wedding, I had been slowly but surely putting on some weight. The thing about me is that I don't gain weight easily and when I do, I don't gain a lot too. BUT, my body becomes meaty EASILY! *cries*

Places like my arms (easiest spot to become fat and hardest to tackle), my tummy (not much of a concern cos can suck in hahahahaha. at least I CAN do something about it right), and my face (this one, unless I cover my face with my hair and maybe wear a mask, I really can't do much about it).

My destiny-defining moment came when one fine day, I struggled for a good 30mins to find something from my wardrobe that could make me look less meaty. And I couldn't. My skinny jeans didn't look skinny on me, and in the end, I had to wear some loose top tucked into a flair skirt with some leggings to look decent. That's when reality slapped me in the face and I decided that I HAVE to do something about my fitness.

Okay, I know some of you must be itching to give me a tight slap for saying that I'm fat. I know for a fact that I don't belong in the fat category, neither do I belong in the slim category too. What an identity crisis! I then created a category for myself called, the 'flabby' category. And yes, I belong there. I'm the president. I'm flabby T.T

If you didn't know, I actually have a pretty high expectation and standard which I set for myself. It's just inborn and I've been a mild perfectionist towards myself since I was little. And to compare the me now with the me 3-4 years ago when I was still actively teaching and dancing hip hop, it's just damn saddening.

I used to have no issues doing full splits, crazy stretches, crunches, abs exercises, etc, and I used to be lean. Now, my flexibility and stamina is at an all time low, and I miss my body and flexibility back then.

Anyway, enough of pity partying. Reason why I shared my pathetic life story with you (woah) is because I want to be accountable to my readers. I've started to work out in the past 2 weeks starting with just once a week first (it's so hard to find time sobsss), and I will push myself more in the coming sessions.

So I've decided that each time I work out, I'll update about it on my Instagram/Twitter/FB. And if you don't see any updates of my work out, I give you the liberty to scream at my face and do a Jillian Michael's (The Biggest Loser hawt lady coach remember?) on me. I've even created a hastag of #careforfitness for myself and my followers to keep track with my progress so that I cannot slack off. Determined righttttt :P

Ok now, some pictures/evidences of me working out :P

This was pre-work out. Still looking all clean and neat.

Wore my all-time favorite gym shoes- the adiPure 360.

It's super light and flexible made specifically for the gym.

You can read more about adiPure 360 at my post HERE.

Sports attire: adidas Stella McCartney

This was taken after my 1.7km run on the threadmill and some other work out. Not so clean and neat anymore. All sweaty and hair cannot make it so only captured the body ahhahhaahah!

My work-out buddy! Good and motivating to have a work-out buddy. Unless of course if your work-out buddy disturbs you and tries to make you laugh all the time *hmph*

Nah, see my hair really cannot make it.

And just 2 days ago, I finally took out my adizero F50 Runner 3 for a run after it's been given to me for more than a month :/

The adizero F50 Runner 3 features the lightest advanced technologies such as the SPRINTFRAME platform. It replaces the conventional (more heavyweight) shoes construction while maintaining important performance characteristics such as comfort and stability, and allowing for optimum forefoot propulsion.

Fully integrated in the SPRINTFRAME platform is the TORSION SYSTEM which allows independent movement of the fore- and rearfoot.

Inspired by the dynamic 3-Stripes execution and seamless upper design of the F50 football boot which is worn on the field by adidas football ambassadors such as Lionel Messi, the F50 Runner 3 also features FORMOTION technology which adjusts to every runner's individual style and assists the runner's take-off with every stride.

The shoe also offers full forefoot adiPRENE+ which propels the forefoot for an improved toe-off.

Some of the fastest athletes in the world such as Yohan Blake (100m World Champion), David Rudisha (Olympic 800m gold medalist and world record holder) and Patrick Makau (marathon world record holder) trust the adizero range in their competitions!

The adizero F50 Runner 3 is retailing at the price of RM420 for both men and women, and are available in Suria KLCC, Pavillion, The Gardens, Empire Subang and Paradigm Mall. If you're an avid runner, you might wanna try them out one of these days! :)

For more info, go to www.adidas.com/running ;)

It was my first time running with this pair, and it was also the first time EVER that I managed to run 3km continuously, non-stop! It was really easy to run with this pair as it's really lightweight.

Managed to burn 236 cal. Not knowing how much that actually meant, I googled it up and found that 236 cal is equivalent to ONLY 5 pieces of Gyoza (chinese dumplings).

Like, ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I thought I burnt off a whole plate of maggi goreng or something T.T

So yeah...those are my 2 work-out sessions thus far. Only 2, and I can already feel the difference in my body. I now feel that my muscles are tighter, I'm less flabby, and I feel more energetic as a whole. To motivate myself further, I'm following some fitness Instagram accounts to trigger my desire to be fit hahahahha :P

Ok that's all for today.

love, careen

#careforfitness

↧

Lil Updates

March 5, 2013, 8:20 pm

≫ Next: Bangkok: Our Accommodation- Shama Sukhumvit Serviced Apartments

≪ Previous: #careforfitness: adizero F50 Runner 3 Review

Hey guys! :)

Sorry for the lack of updates for the past week! Actually, there was no update at all hahaha...prolly just my Instagram/Twitter/Facebook widgets at the side :P

More work and projects started to come in after Chinese New Year, and also yours truly fell sick too so been staying at home sticking tissues into my nostrils the whole time. So, nothing too glamorous to blog about :P

I truly miss this space even after just 1 week. I remember the times when I would update only like, once a month. Baddddd blogger whom I promised to get rid of. So I guess I am showing some improvements, eh? ;)

This post is all about little updates here and there. You would have probably known from following my Instagram/Twitter/Facebook as I update very often about my whereabouts and happenings. But nothing beats blogging where I can express myself in more than just 140 characters ;)

Anyways, am leaving for Bangkok in less than 24 hours and I'm stoked!!! From the way I sound, I think you can tell that I'm a newbie/first-timer. Hahahah. Seems like almost everybody around me has been to BKK! Some of them even go there every quarter of the year, and I can't wait to find out why it is so addictive myself. I'm very positive that I'll love BKK because there's really nothing to dislike about shopping, food, night life and massages right?

The best part is that I'll be going with a bunch of really, really close friends whom I feel absolutely comfortable with. From my experience, it really can be a kill joy if you travel with people who are fussy and want things to only go their way. No matter how beautiful the place is, as long as you're not with the right company, you wouldn't be able to fully enjoy because they'll just make life difficult for everybody.

How this trip came into place was pretty random too. Was yumcha-ing with my wedding photographer Vincent, wedding coordinator Li-hsia and Pat the Elephant and the husby one fine night at Brussels in November last year. That midnight itself was AirAsia's cheap tickets promo. While at that, we jokingly started to plan trips to BKK, Taiwan, London, Japan, etc etc which gave the guys quite a heart attack especially when we just returned from our honeymoon in Bali at the time hehe.

Who knew that within just a few hours, we confirmed the destination, days, and who we'll be going with. Went home, and all of us were busy booking tickets to BKK. Within a few hours, everything was confirmed! :)

Waited for a good 3 months plus for this trip. Busy with our daily lives and tadddaaaa, we're going tomorrow before dawn!

The girls are very determined to make this trip worthwhile and fruitful, so we're making sure than we plan well so that we wouldn't waste any time wandering around/getting lost in BKK. Been doing lots of research by reading reviews, blogs, and asking friends on my social media platforms.

Super touching when everybody was so willing to share whatever they know. Some even typed out a whole essay at the comments about precisely where to go, when to go, and even which mall to change money with the best rates! :O Some even private messaged me a whole list of things to do, and my ex-boss Sam emailed me a super long and detailed list. Through all these, I feel really loved and just super uber touched :')

The gang entrusted me with the responsibility of planning the itinerary. I feel like a blind leading the blind la hahahah! This is why this blog post is short (well, kinda) as I still haven't come up with the itinerary yet :')

Before I go, here's another update!

I CHOPPED OFF MY HAIR AGAIN!

It's been 3 months since my last haircut on the first day of the year. Though I really liked the length and all, I felt it lacked shape and style. So decided to get a bob haircut that I've always wanted to try, and went to my trusted hair saloon, Cut! Studio for a haircut.

Lex, my hairstylist for almost 5 years now did a great job as usual. Took him more than an hour to perfect this haircut, and I really love it :)

So far only one picture of my new hair as I've been busy sticking tissues into my nostrils. Haven't been fit for picture so yeah, no pictures of my new hair.

Hoping to fully recover before my BKK trip tomorrow.

Will update all about it when I come home! ;)

P/S: Anywhere to shop/eat/party/massage in BKK that I must know?? Please share by leaving comments below! Thanks guys! :)

love, careen

↧

Bangkok: Our Accommodation- Shama Sukhumvit Serviced Apartments

March 13, 2013, 3:17 am

≫ Next: Things I learned from emceeing

≪ Previous: Lil Updates

SAWADEEKA!!! I'M HOME!!! :)

Visited the land of cheap-cheap from Mar 7-11. We thought that 5D4N would have been more than enough but boy, were we so so wrong! There's so much to see, visit, eat, and shop in Bangkok, and 5D4N was really not enough, especially for a first-timer like me. It's okay, this gives me more reasons to visit Bangkok again and again and again and again :D

There are so many stuff to share about my Bangkok trip, especially on WHAT TO EAT. The food there are so good and affordable there's no reason not to be hungry in Bangkok, really. Will be separating the trip into a few different blog posts. We shall start with our accommodation in BKK first :)

This was not in BKK, of course. Hahaha our flight was at 7am, so while waiting in LCCT, the only decent place to have a good breakkie was Old Town.

Boon (and his food) &

Pat the Elephant (he's the manager of My Elephant Thai Restaurant, btw)

Qer Xin and I.

Please excuse my no make-up face. It was too early!

The only thing I wanted was to continue sleeping!

Our view from the plane before taking off.

Sunny day to start our journey with!

Fell asleep the moment I boarded the plane. Only had an hour's sleep the night before due to my cousie, Felicia's birthday surprise. So all of us were really zombified to the max. hehe

BUT, we were all woken up halfway by a random announcement by the air stewardess. She announced that there's a special occasion today in Air Asia, and that they're celebrating love or something something la. Was half-awake so the only time my mind could register anything was when a guy started to speak in Mandarin over the mic.

It was a flight proposal! The guy expressed his love and reasons why he couldn't live without his gf, and proceeded to pop the question- to which the girl said yes, and everyone in the plane clapped including us who were half-asleep.

It was quite romantic la...but awkward at the same time cos everyone in the plane couldn't see what was happening (unless you stand up shamelessly like the angmoh auntie in blonde and black hair who blocked everybody). After the whole proposal, the only thing we could do was clap cos we couldn't walk around or do anything else besides errr, clapping. There was nothing much for the couple to celebrate with too except taking pictures after she said yes. After that, everyone went back to sleep. So....hmm quite awkward la hahaha.

Anyway, after about 2-3 hours, we arrived at Bangkok!

Their airport wasn't as nice as ours. Apparently there's a newer one so maybe that's nicer. But trust me, throughout the whole trip, I really feel that there are many things which are much better in Bangkok compared to KL. I'll explain just why soon.

Fellowship of the bags.

We came back with wayyyy more than this. Hahahahaha!

We arranged for a van pick-up service by our serviced apartment. BUT, we couldn't find the driver any where in the airport at all. After a while, we decided to just get a cab back to our serviced apartment.

To our surprise, it is actually NOT expensive at all if you take a cab that goes by meter. The 6 of us took 2 cabs, and it costs wayyyyy less than the van pick-up service provided by the serviced apartment. I forgot how much the taxi cost, but it's just way cheaper la. Just remember that before you board any cab, make sure make sure double confirm that they use the meter. Else they'll rip us poor tourists off.

And look! It's so cute how all the taxi drivers line up for their turn :))

Their taxis are all nice cars, btw. Comfy and clean...unlike....nvm.

Selfie!

Hehehe did my makeup in the plane cos my half awake/half asleep face CMI (cannot make it).

Their Touch&Go/Smart Tag is called Easy Pass!

It's a little expensive, but the great thing about the toll house is that you can be sure that when you go through the toll, you will avoid the crazy Bangkok traffic. Unlike in KL, highway/toll all same same. Still jam like crazy.

Bangkok is really strong in their advertising. Billboards and adverts everywhere! And I really enjoy their ads as they're more creative, random and daring. Malaysia has too many rules that restrict the creativity of our advertising industry. No wonder so many Malaysians from the advertising industry move to Bangkok!

One thing we noticed is that the Thais have utmost respect for their king. His photos are all over Bangkok! On billboards, buildings, in shop lots, malls, airports. Everywhere! Which is amazing :) I don't even know how our sultan looks like now cos we keep changing.

Some nice building along the highway.

After about 45 mins or so, we arrived at Shama Sukhumvit Serviced Apartment! :)

The very friendly guard :) Their service is top notch.

Though we've seen how the place looks like from pictures on their website (which looked really clean and nice), we still kept our fingers crossed knowing that pictures could be deceiving.

But when we arrived there, the more we explored the place, the more promising it seemed!

Very decent for the price we paid :)

This is the driveway.

The entrance.

The reception.

The lobby/lounge which was equipped with fast free wifi.

The lobby was nicely air-conditioned and smelt like lemongrass which was awesome, especially if you return after a long day :))

Upon arrival, we were asked to sit and rest while the staff handled our bags. Shortly after, we were served with a nice cuppa lemongrass (my favvv), some flowers and cold hand towel which smelt like lemongrass. *hearts*

The official website didn't state that there would be free wifi in our unit, but there was so it was an added bonus for us!

This was our home for the 5 days in Bangkok.

Spacious living area equipped with an L-couch, TV, dining table.

Fully equipped kitchen

While the girls were busy checking out bedrooms and bathrooms (high importance!), the guys were busy logging onto the wifi. hahah

Boon the husby, my wedding photog Vincentcheng.net, and Pat the Elephant.

The view from our unit.

Nothing fancy...no beach view/mountains and greeneries. But just downstairs was a very happening street full of bars, pubs, and ladyboys activities. Hahahaha interesting...also, 7eleven and some mart was just behind the apartment too! Convenient :)

We were really impressed with the kitchen actually. More equipped than my house for goodness sake! There's a fully functional Electrolux washing machine, microwave, oven, toaster, kettle, cooking stove, refrigerator.

Dustbin. hahaha

Various types of glasses, plates, bowls, etc.

Various types of utensils

If you happen to have the itch to bake :P

There's even a 'household appliance guide' for dummies. #win

Various types of woks and pots. #win

Ample supply of chilled drinking water.

I loveeee their Chang glass water bottles! :)

Thirsty tenants. Heheh

Now on to the rooms!

This is the master bedroom.

Spacious enough to put all our bags and shopping bags :P

Bathroom in the master bedroom.

Pretty huge. Very clean.

TV in the master bedroom which we didn't even switch on.

The side room

Public bathroom.

This is the tub which we used to soak our tired, swollen, achy feet into almost every night :P

It's therapeutic T.T

Now, on to the hotel buffet breakfast! For the price we paid, we really didn't expect a huge breakfast. But turns out it was not too bad. Not lavish, but good enough for us to get started in the day.

Eggs station and Juices station

Choices of fried eggs, omelettes, and scrambled eggs.

Fresh juices! Orange (or rather, tangerine) was the best! They sell tangerine juices everywhere on the streets. Make sure you try when you're there. It's got some miraculous body-chilling power on a hot day.

Chicken wings were nice!

Loved the pancakes and croissants.

Very small breakfast area. But very cosy and clean.

That's most important!

Their soups were very very nice. I personally loved them!

Our breakkies.

Husby and I :)

This was our infinity pool on the 18th floor!

Nice eh? BUT, sigh we didn't have time to enjoy the pool. at all. :(

The pool closes at 10pm BKK time, and we usually start our day at 10am and return only after 10.30pm (sometimes way later). So, no chance of enjoying the pool. It must have been real nice though :(

I guess by now you must be wondering how much the accommodation cost! Well, it was about RM140 per night per person.

Reason why we opted for serviced apartments instead of hotels was because we wanted a place that we could all hang out together which hotel rooms couldn't provide. Serviced apartments are the best for a big group. We had plenty of space all to ourselves, and could hang out to watch TV, drink, play games, etc together in the living area.

But do take note of this:

We thought that all 6 of us could bunk into a 2-bedroom apartment cos well, it's really spacious and we could really make do with that. But when we checked in, the management didn't allow us to stay in a 2-bedroom (caters for 4 ppl only), and asked us to pay extra for the 2 beds.

Apparently it was stated clearly on the website but we weren't aware, so we did some friendly negotiations and the management was kind enough to let us this time around. They even provided us 2 complimentary extra beds! :) But they stated clearly that they would only let us this time around. Can't expect the same in the next trips :P

Overall, the management was just really kind, staff were warm and polite, facilities new and clean, room service was awesome!

Speaking of room service, one of the days we forgot to lock our safe (which had valuables in it). The cleaning staff reported to the management, and they wrote us a letter saying that we didn't lock our safe, and that they have immediately changed the passcode after finding out. Turns out, we didn't lose any of our stuff at all! They're just amazing :)

All in all, I would highly recommend Shama Sukhumvit to those who are planning to visit Bangkok in the near future. Aside from the good service, facilities and reasonable price, it is also strategically located at quite a central location. It's walking distance to Phloen Chit and Nana BTS station, which is also nearby Siam (where all the major malls are located), Asoke (Terminal 21 mall), and also Platinum Mall and Pratunam Market :)

You can check out their official website at www.shama.com,

or read reviews on Tripadvisor! :)

Will be blogging about where we went, what we ate,

and how we got to those places in my next posts. BRB ;)

love, careen

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