2011 Emmys

Despite my (pathetic) attempts to watch less mindless TV, I can't help myself. I MUST tune in every week for a dose of acerbic, vulgar, but infinitely hilarious Fashion Police! Joan Rivers, I love you!

Anyway they really outdid themselves in the episode covering this year's Emmys, especially the ending :)

Anyway, there were a few of the things about this year's fashion at the Emmys that caught my attention.

This is the first time I am acquainted with Lena Heady and I am smitten. Her getup is a perfect example of how one can cover up almost everything but still look drop dead sexy (AK the hot-blooded male will never understand this haha) and ooze class. Note to self: Copy this look!


Apparently she plays the despised (and may I add, ULTIMATE evil, heartless, cruel b*tch!) blonde Cersei Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones, the TV rendition of the first of the Song of Ice and Fire series of books that I happen to love. The show has apparently garnered some rave reviews. Although after watching the preview online I don't think the series will live up to my imagination, very much like the entire Harry Potter franchise. Two minutes of watching the preview and I already have so many complaints. Why is Catelyn Tully so old and haggard?? Why is Bran so old? Jon Snow should be leaner and meaner, with darker eyes and hair. And a white-skinned Khal Drogo??? Are you kidding me??? Although having said all that, I must check out Lena as a blonde green-eyed medieval beauty.

This is why I love to blog, one can digress and shoot off into all tangents at will :)

Fashion, we were talking about fashion.



Am not sure whether I like Gwyneth Paltrow in this Lanvin number. I have a love/hate relationship with Gwyneth, I want to be her and sing at the Grammys *blush* wearing fabulous color block Louboutins and publish a beautiful cookbook where I'm pictured wearing floaty white dresses, setting up my rustic yet elegant table, firing up my pizza oven, and smooching my kids.

This of course also means that I hate her, haha. I also love (almost) all the outfits she models on Goop.com. But the Lanvin to me is just a horrible transmogrification of a saree. Slightly vulgar too, but not in a witty Joan Rivers way. Pity, she's normally so sleek and classy but this just looks hoochie. I expect this from Kim Kardashian or even Rihanna. Gwyneth should just continue to age gracefully and go back to sleek sheath dresses and uber chic suits.

OK, it's this year's Emmys we were talking about. Ahh. Again, Claire Danes is one of my best dressed in Oscar de la Renta.

I absolutely love this graphic sequinned dress. Where can I get a cheap copy??



Speaking of cheap, Katie Holmes. Meh. Boring, boring, boring. Moving on.

Zoey Deeschanel, who apparently is one of today's hottest trendsetters:

Well, well. Why would you wear an 80's prom dress to the Emmys?? Why would you wear an 80's prom dress anywhere??? Also what's with the beehive?? Maybe she's paying homage to the late Amy Winehouse, but seriously no one but Amy could pull it off.

Melissa McCarthy:

My first thought was: Barney the dinosaur. OK that was politically incorrect, and downright mean. I'm sure she's witty and talented and all but you can't wear purple and expect me to not think of Barney.

Oh, and this is something else that caught my attention. Not the dress though. I didn't make much of this black Elie Saab that Evan Rachel Wood had on, but I'm totally digging her super cool hairdo



Altogether sleek, modern-slash-50's feminine with the razor shaved back and 50's like front. One day, when they invent a cream that will chisel my face and lift my saggy neck I will try this style. Admiring only for now.

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Well who doesn't love those now-ubiquitous Famous Amos cookies? That was what I thought when I decided to brave using my rather small, single-tier oven to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Now, while with a normal built in oven one could maybe bake those in two or three batches, but with my beloved microwave convection unit I probably needed around six or seven rounds to complete the batch. You know - make the cookie dough (straightforward, and with Martha guiding how you go wrong?), dollop onto the first tray, pop into oven, wait for first batch to bake while working on the second. Repeat a few too many times.

Was it worth it? I'll say. Better than Amos, thanks to better quality chocolate (I used Lindt 70%), real butter and vanilla extract. AK ate so many of these the day I baked them that I actually feared he was going to give himself a sore throat.

Since a single batch made more than I dared keep in the house unsupervised, I decided to pack them into a pretty glass jar - they made a perfect buah tangan when we visited our old neighbour's place over Hari Raya.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar and didn't pack it as instructed, I found the cookies sufficiently sweet like this)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, plus 1 egg white
12 oz semisweet chocolate chunks (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375 deg C. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. In a bowl either standalone or of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (I used my handheld mixer), beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. I took about ten minutes to do this, Martha says it'll be done in three.

Add the vanilla, whole egg and white. Beat on low speed until combined, scraping down the sides, about one minute. Add flour mixture in two batches, mix until just combined. Mix in chocolate.

Drop the dough in tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

Bedtime Boo

It's been a cold, rainy day.

After a nice warm bath, a good rub down with two towels (Boo Boo owns more towels than we do) and a do-over with the hair dryer, it's time to snuggle up with Mummy on the bed.

Love these moments.




Goodnight everyone.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Gracefully

What does it mean when...

- you start dressing in loose Indian tunics (Salwar Khameez tops to be exact), billowy oversized tops and granny blouses with pussybow collars?

- when you accept the fact that you can't rock any shoe higher than a measly two inches?

- when what you REALLY want is a pair of buttery suede Tods loafers, preferably in baby blue?

- when your beloved, who seldom has a bad thing to say about how you look and has been with you through your fat, offshore (when you cut your own hair, hardly owned any real/ presentable workwear) starts genuinely worrying about you looking older than him?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Reunion

For once, I am looking forward to a weekend in Miri. Well, I always look forward to weekends actually.

But now I will be snuggling up with two very excellent companions.

Babies, you left me hanging for a VERY VERY long time.

Yes, you, Ken Follett, I got your Pillars of the Earth at a London bookstore and you never left me in peace, even managing to distract me from the pleasures of a business class flight from London to KL. You then left me at World Without End, and I was miserable for a long time looking for a similar fix.

And as for YOU, Mr. George R. R. Martin, we go back much further, don't we? You reeled me in with A Song of Ice and Fire the day I innocently wandered into the bookstore near my university and somehow you called out to me amongst dozens of others more gaudily clad than you. You made me spend my precious government study loan money and then had me sacrifice my studies/sleep/every waking moment I could spare on you. You then had the audacity to killed my hero and left me seriously depressed (I know I say this often, but I mean it this time) - I cried, I sobbed, I tried to think of a dozen different ways of how it could have panned out. I even introduced my brothers to you, and you disappointed them as well. NOW, after 8 years (and no one else measuring up) you call out to me again.

Boys, it's good to have you (both) back.




You'd better not let me down this time.

Amrita Singh!

Just when I thought I was done with shopping, Reebonz comes and undoes all my good will.


Amrita Singh jewellery. I am a sucker for the gorgeous earrings. I can't carry off large, elaborate necklaces, but earrings - the bigger, the better. My cheap trick for formal dinners - black dress, glam earrings that AK says should be used for target practice. The man obviously has no idea what he is talking about.


And the prices! If they're too high, I'd just close the window and move on with my life. Now that I can afford them (curse you Reebonz), I keep re-visiting the website. How can you say no to these?





Maharani Earrings, going for RM150 or something



Aishwarya Earrings

Rewarding Resolutions

A couple months ago I made a few mid-year resolutions. I am excellent at making resolutions, not so good at the rest :) Anyway, this time I actually have some updates, specifically on my resolution to exercise more:-

1) I have NOT gone for more than one body combat class other than the one I forced myself to before cousin's wedding (it was an emergency). But I have been exercising diligently on my trusty elliptical. Thanks to Astro PVR and Desperate Housewives S7, this has been relatively painless. I just have to do the following - switch on aircon and wait for room to cool. Meanwhile, ready the water bottle. Move sofa to back of living room so I can workout directly under the fan. Drag elliptical from store area (luckily it comes with wheels specifically for moving around) to place where sofa stood. Flip on DH on Astro. Pedal. Not exactly no sweat :)

2) Weight training is another matter. I bought a pair of 6-pound weights (aren't they cute?) and have been doing bicep curls, backward-tricep lifts (I just invented that) and lunges with them. PLUS crunches and butt lifts on the exercise ball. Finally using the ball regularly after buying it in 2004. I lost the hand pump that came with the ball, and stupidly went knocking in fitness shops looking for a replacement, where I promptly got laughed off and sent to my neighbourhood bicycle shop. Sheesh. Now my body aches in places I didn't know existed for days after my workouts, and I don't know if I started too heavy (I mean - six pounds - am I that lousy???)

3) I have discovered another outlet for keeping myself on the move - house cleaning. No joke. The sudden in absentia of our regular maid service has forced me to suck it up and clean the house myself. Two hours of sweeping, wiping, vacuumming and mopping IS a bloody workout. You squat reaching for those spots underneath the TV shelf, you stretch, you walk to the bathroom/sink and back, you move that heavy bucket of soap water around, you squeeze the damned mop, and then put some strength into that mopping! Use those upper arms!

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing, but I somehow managed to create an entire self-restriction/reward system for myself out of all these attempts to stay fit.

- No cooking or baking unless the house is clean
- Ditto for watching Top Chef
- No hot chocolate before bedtime either
- Desperate Housewives and 24 must only be watched either from atop the elliptical or the exercise ball or mat

Rewards
Other than getting it on in the kitchen:-

- The aforementioned hot chocolate (warm up milk in microwave, add cocoa and sugar, sip slowly on bed, legs tucked cosily under the comforter - air conditioner on of course)
- Giving myself a mani/pedi (too lazy to drive myself to town for one, easier at home)
- My new favourite way to pamper myself - after a workout, a bath with H20+ Sea Salt scrub. A two-in-one salt scrub and skin oil (almond to be exact). Smells like the ocean, leaves my skin like silk, and makes my bathroom smell like a spa. Since it's so expensive this neck of the woods, I only allow myself to use this after exercising. Am seriously tempted to get the body butter of the same series, but will enjoy my Boots loot first. Oops. Digressed.

So far, the system seems to be working like a charm, although I have to say that our upcoming European trip is another great motivator to exercise.

Now, if only I could think of something that will get me to wake up early enough to do sun salutations in the morning.

Change of Heart

A couple of months back, I took part in something called a Shadow Coaching program, where a young chicko like myself was assigned to someone in really high management. In my case it was our Asia-Pacific VP, a well-respected industry figure who worked for the likes of Shlumberger and was awarded some honorary Masters for achieveing so much in her field, as a woman nonetheless.

I was supposed to "shadow" her to meetings and discussions, observe how she interacted with others, and generally feedback to her on stuff like how I thought she could improve her interactions, etc. It was supposed to 1) "Expose" someone my age and (read: low) seniority to the upper echelons of the company and soak in how a giant multi-national bla bla company should be run, and 2) give someone like her a chance to get some feedback from a fresh pair of eyes (yeah I know, raw deal for her). It was a great opportunity for me to see and be seen in a company where "visibility" is everything.

So I went along with the program, observing her give feedback to my boss's boss's boss, chair meetings with the heads of the company's China, Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia operations, watched her juggle financial numbers and asset inegrity issues. She even offered to take me to accompany her to the Singapore office to see how she handled her bosses. I also got a glimpse of her schedule, packed with Yoga classes, business trips to China and Singapore, as well as toga parties and trips to Paris, where she has her own apartment.

I learnt one thing in particular.

I don't want to be her.

I don't want to be a corporate monkey anymore.

There was a time when I was super ambitious, make no mistake. I went where the boys went, did what they did (as much as possible) and made sure I worked twice as hard as everyone else. Sleepless nights, onshore days spent in the office, taking on as much work as I could so that I learnt twice as fast as everyone else, or so I hoped.

I have come to realise one thing. OK, several things:-

1) It's a myth that one, a woman especially, can balance work and family. If you can, then, like another boss I know, you have zero time for yourself. This lady, good as she is at doing what she does work-wise, rushes home everyday to her kids, hardly goes on vacations, and has zero knowledge on the outside world because when she's not working, every waking moment she has is spent on her kids. No time for herself, and I don't even mean vacations or anything. No time even for watching/reading the news! What life is this? And CEOs/managers have to socialise all the time. Whether it's golfing with your Joint Venture partners, having some company dinner, cutting the ribbon at some charity event on the weekend, there's always something. I mean, it's alright if you love what you do. What if you don't? But make no mistake, in the beginning of your career you spend the hours learning and working, at the apex of your career you spend your extra hours schmoozing and pretending that that idiot's point of view is the best you ever heard. I have spent countless hours in company dinners wedged to my seat, laughing hollowly at my bosses' tales of when they were young and "hands-on." Hours of my life I will never get back.

2) No matter how hard I work, the damned government takes its cut. A corporate job is the worst when it comes to tax cuts, purely because most government policies are designed to favour the small business owners. There's a whole (excellent) theory behind that - businesses consume more, and they create jobs. And governments like that. The closest to job creation corporate monkeys will come to will be for Indonesian maids.

3) Many a time, it's not how good you get, it's who you know. And I have proven to be pretty lousy at the game. Sad but true. I'll have you know that I am working on this, but to tell the truth I kinda hate it :( I mean, I have had a job where I met new people every week and loved it, so by no means am I a recluse or shy. It's just that I get very bad at shmoozing for the sake of shmoozing itself, or worse, for myself and not for getting something done.

4) The trouble with the gigantic, beauracratic company like the one I work in is that work/achievement does not always correlate with reward. I know I sound bitter, and I would be a liar if I were to say I'm not. But there is a reason the Dilbert cartoons are so successful - this is common.

5) There is no UNLIMITED earning potential when you earn a salary. 'Nuff said.

What I want is FREEDOM, TIME and MONEY. Time to pursue my real interests, to go on vacations with or without my kids, time to spend with my parents. Money to do all these things. Freedom to do what I really want to do, to focus on OUR bottom line, not some else's.

Don't get me wrong. I acknowledge that there is no such thing as having all three without hard work, perseverance and the lot if you're not born into it, or did not marry it haha :)

But at the very least, I now know what I don't want.

Courtesy of BKK and KL

So our week-long holiday comes to an end. We had a great time catching up with friends, eating great food and shopping till our feet hurt. And I spent a glorious 3 days in Bangkok with my gal pal Lisa (we've known each other since kindergarten)

So tomorrow we go back to work, and on the bright side of things, get to pick up our dearest BooBoo.

I've decided to celebrate my recent purchases :) - what, you didn't think Boots stuff were the only things I brought back after a week in Bangkok AND KL??

So here's the damage:-

1) Accesories galore from Bangkok. I've haven't parted with the ring with the black stone since the day I got it. Swarovski crystal teardrops which I plan to wear with my black and white evening dress for a friend's wedding this coming December. Studs for everyday - simple square crystal studs (that Lisa helpfully said brightened up my face when I tried them on) and starfish shapes.





2) New collection of striped tops from Zara (in organic cotton no less) and Uniqlo - the fashion world and my beloved Lisa can colour-block all they want, but I can't get enough of stripes. Oh, and one cotton button-neck top in Navy from Uniqlo - because it was on offer, and was oh-so-soft.

3) Two pairs of pants from a BKK night market. A happy coincidence (and mean to be), as our cab was stuck in traffic for almost two hours and it got too late to catch the Siam Niramit show (which by the way, is a MUST SEE for anyone visiting the City of Angels. Why it isn't more famous, I cannot understand. Lisa then promptly decided to detour to the nearby night market instead, where I turned my nose up at almost everything, until we met a lady selling only pants at her stall. She refused to sell me the ones which she felt might not fit (there was no trying). I ended up with not only these two very different pairs of pants (one slim and tapered, the other flared). I even returned the next day for more but she didn't have any that I wanted in my size. The tapered pants are beautifully made, fit me like a dream and are super comfy. And did I meantion that I paid RM25 for them??

4) Hair ties (I'm always losing them and believe it or not, can't find suitable ones in Miri), plus spares to boot.

5) This supercool pussy-bow top from Seed, which looks like super prim and granny-like polka-dotted blouse from afar. Take a closer look - they're actually skulls! So Alexander McQueen, and probably the closest I'll get to owning a piece of his design.

6) Handmade leather sandals from Bangkok in Hermes-like orange, plus a leather bracelet in the same colour.

7) More kitchen stuff!

- New oven mitts to replace the ones I burnt and stained beyond recognition

- Pasta container (finally!)

(Both are from Aino Living in Desa Parkcity, they're also in Empire Subang)

- New Vietnamese Coffee maker from BKK

- Japanese cast-iron teapot, and tea infusers (one for us and one for dad)

- New non-stick roasting tray with its own rack.

8) FOOOOODDDDDD....!

- Tapau-ed macadamia caramel cake - almost every bakery/deli in Siam Paragon was hawking a version of this. Savoured the whole thing by myself early one morning while waiting for Mr. Sleepyhead to wake up. I MUST find a recipe for this!

- Ginger tea and ground ginger, the former for those tummyaches and PMS days, the latter for cooking and baking

- One of each type of Thai chilli paste

- Blue Elephant loose-leaf jasmine green tea

- My favourite M & S Ginger biscuits

- Thai wild honey from the Siam Paragon health food section

Mah fuhture maison

The great thing about renting In the earlier stages of your career is that you tend to know exactly what you want (and what you don't) when the time comes for you to take the plunge and BUY your own place. In honor of that, and also as a reminder to myself (and also because I can't resist), I've composed a little list of needs and wants of my future home:

1) South or north facing. Our current rental unfortunately has the main living room wall facing west, which means that except for those days when it rains, the air conditioner has to be switched on in the evenings.

2) Lots of natural light. No porch extensions or teeny windows.

3) High ceilings. I can't stand those tiny low one-storey terraces, and I'd take out any false/plaster ceilings.

4) Ditto for unnecessary partitioning. I'd really love an open-concept home where the living room flows into the dining, a breakfast counter then the kitchen. AK feels like this might be a waste of air conditioning, but I think we won't need it if we meet criteria #1.

5) A large dining area/space for entertaining. I want a space that can fit a table that seats eight.

6) In terms of location, a leafy, quiet neighborhood away from main roads, schools, commercial areas (i.e. Shophouses) and places of worship. Preferably with gnarly old trees and a nearby park. I don't care for places like Bandar Utama and Mutiara Damansara for precisely this reason - the houses are new and the amenities are great but there are hardly any trees around, which is a great shame. Desa Parkcity is a bit out of our reach, but the older suburbs of Subang Jaya, USJ, TTDI, etc. are great for this reason.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iP

Loot from Boots

Bangkok love. And I do believe that we were fated to meet - they were having a 2 for 1 sale (!) that, if not for the fact that I was carrying too much stuff already and my arms felt like they were falling off me, I could have taken a much bigger advantage of. Especially love their Soap and Glory series - baby-like scents, lotions and butters that sink into the skin, the tongue-in-cheek usage instructions.