My 2015 Review

I have been doing this for 3 years now (since 2012!) and I still think it's one of my favourite post to write so far. I get to reflect back to the past year, list my achievements, count my blessings, and get ready for the next year. Alhamdulillah, this year has been a really great year. I am a very ambitious person, so I do have quite a long list in my new year's resolution. However, not everything...

Train of Thoughts: I Found Happiness in Fried Duck

Today is the last day before my office officially closed for the holidays. We were allowed to leave early but unfortunately work was still holding me back. I already have appointment to tutor my girl for her Arabic reading at 3.30pm and it got pushed back to 5pm because I didn't leave office until 4.50pm. Eventually I arrived super late, like at 5.15pm. Although I was a bit hesitant to come I was...

My First Super Splurge

Apologies if this post may offend anyone. I am not by any means trying to brag, just wanted to share my experience about getting my first high end designer item. APPRECIATING HARD WORK Everyone has their own way of appreciating their hard work. It can be with a vacation, dinner at a fancy restaurant, movie night, or splurging on expensive items. I don't normally celebrate achievements by splurging...

Buttermilk Scones

I've often heard about scones, but I had no idea what it was and how it tastes like. I only knew that it is often served in high teas and you eat it with cream and jam. Fortunately, I had just purchased a "Women's Weekly High Tea" book which featured a recipe for scones. It was easy to follow and not a lot of ingredients involved, so I was able to execute the recipe straight away without any hesitation....

New Series: The Meaning of Life

I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline and found that I had shared this article. The article is about "What is the meaning of life?". It offers two different point of views to life: looking at the big milestones or appreciating the small small things that leads to it. I'm not a philosopher or whatsoever, but I do contemplate a lot about my life like why does this happen to me, why can't I be...

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins! Who doesn't love warm blueberry muffins for breakfast? It's a quick fix for an empty stomach to start the day, and don't forget your favourite cup of tea. This is actually the first time I had made blueberry muffins, so I wanted to ensure that I get it right. The recipe that I used is from the Brown Eyed Baker. By the way, please ignore the watermark :). This post was supposed...

Sydney Local Etsy Market

My craftsy friend the Mrs. Crochet, Citra, asked me if I would like to come to the local Sydney Etsy market. Of course, I would say yes to such invitation because I used to be an Etsy seller (my inactive Etsy store) and I adore unique handmade things a lot! The artisan products at Etsy are just second to none in terms of design and quality compared to the mass produce things that you find...

Quick Kitchen: Oliver Brown-Style Belgian Waffles

Ever since I tried Max Brenner's and Oliver Brown's Belgian waffle, I was constantly craving for it. It tastes sooo sooo sooo good! But the price is a bit heavy on the wallet, around $12-$14 per portion. And then, when I was once shopping at Woolworths, I found a pack of pre-made Belgian waffles. I thought, "Wow, this is convenient! I can make my own at home and all I need to do is reheat the...

Cilok

Rabu minggu lalu setelah mengajar ngaji, seperti biasa, ibunya si Anak pasti membuatkan cemilan. Cemilannya selalu ganti-ganti setiap minggu dan kali ini menunya adalah cilok! Wah, waktu diicip, kenyalnya passs banget, beda dengan ketika aku buat karena cilok yang aku buat terlalu lembek. Aku sebetulnya sudah hampir menyerah membuat cilok, sampai akhirnya si Ibu berhasil bikin cilok yang...

The Last Train to Istanbul

Image source: click here. “Ayse Kulin is a clever writer. She draws the reader into the story of the life and loves of a Turkish family in wartime, and by the time the reader realizes that she has also cranked up the tension with a rescue plot, it is too late to put the book down unfinished. For aficionados of wartime novels, as well as for anyone glued to his or her seat watching the film...

MuslimahBloggers.com

I love reading blogs. In fact, more than watching Youtube. My favourite kind of blog is lifestyle blog because I like to read about the interesting things happening in other people's lives. And also because I have this love-hate relationship with fashion and beauty blog. I surely love reading them, but I'm also positive that my wallet is going to hate me ;). However, I'm quite disappointed that I...

What If You Only Have 7 Months to Live?

For the last couple of weeks I have heard several people telling me to watch a Youtube video about a brother who was diagnosed with cancer and had only 7 months to live. This brother considered the cancer as a gift from Allah because Allah had given him the chance to change. For a long time I have wondered why people say we should be thankful for our imaan and why Islam is a 'nikmat'. The answer...

Silky Almond Pudding

Yesterday, we had guests coming. I was hosting the female Islamic study circle on Saturday. I had planned to cook Soto Betawi and also make pudding for dessert. Those are the easiest food to make because you only need to dunk all of the ingredients in the pot and stir. I had limited time to prepare and make everything because I had just started cooking at 12pm, whereas the me study circle starts...

Bapak's Day

I give up. I've been trying to write this in Bahasa, but my words turned out very dangdut. So, here goes the English version. I didn't realise that 12 November is National Father's Day in Indonesia, around two months after Australia's one. No wonder today I found so many social media posts about fathers - someone's father or husbands who are already a father. Although this post may arrive late,...

Corn Dogs

I was transferring my  pictures from my camera when I found pretty pictures of corn dogs that I had made for the first time. I have never really tried corn dog until this year when I spotted halal "Pluto Pup" (they call it) at a Gozleme booth in Flemington. If you have never tried corn dog, it is basically frankfurt sausage wrapped in bread dough and fried. Then top it off with a drizzle...

Quick Kitchen: Hearty Anchovy Porridge

I made up this recipe when I was having toothache. My wisdom tooth was trying to erupt from the gum. It hurts so badly that I wanted to cry and I was unable to do anything just to cope with the pain. I was hungry, obviously. I wanted something warm and fulfilling, yet simple to make. My only option is porridge, but I've never made porridge other than bubur ayam where you have to cook the...

Because I'm Proud of My Identity

Blog ini memang dari awal sengaja ingin dibuat dwi bahasa, suka-suka penulisnya lagi kepingin pakai bahasa apa :). Dan kali ini sepertinya lebih mudah mengutarakan cerita ini dengan bahasa Indonesia. So, here we go... Identitasku sebagai seorang Muslim selalu aku bawa kemana-kemana. Orang akan mudah mengenali bahwa aku adalah seorang wanita Muslim. Ya, jilbabku yang selalu dengan indahnya...

My First Ever Interview

On Saturday morning, I was checking my office email for some reason (don't follow this!). I found an email from my colleague who is currently handling one of the initiative that was formerly mine. The initiative was employee profile, where an associate gets nominated by their managers to be interviewed. The result of the interview would then be published in company's Yammer group. I scanned through...

30-day Minimalism Challenge - Day 1

Today I tackled challenge #23 Go bare-faced pretty easily. Until very recently when I figured out the correct way to apply make up, I used to never wear any make up at all. So, I have been bare-faced a lot in the past. Yesterday I was feeling like I was about to get sick as my throat has been sending the signal from the morning. I took Codral tablets to minimise the symptoms so it wouldn't...

4 Reasons Why I Keep My Wardrobe Minimal

MINIMALISM noun | min·i·mal·ism | \ˈmi-nə-mə-ˌli-zəm\ A style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity I have just found Joojoo Azad's blog recently about minimalism (minimalist wardrobe). I (sort of) jumped into the "minimalism" wagon several months ago after I realised my closet is getting too full. When I moved to...

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

I know by now that this product has been reviewed million times by beauty gurus, it is a cult favourite, and it is also one of Kiehl's 10 best selling products. But I just wanted to add in my two cents, because who knows if anyone out there would still benefit from my review :). HOW I DISCOVERED THIS PRODUCT Asking for free sample of a product was never in my dictionary (clueless!). I wanted...

My Hajj Miracle Story

I consider myself very lucky because I was able to go for hajj when I was still in my 20's and without my parents financial aid. Me and husband had the opportunity to practice hajj in 2014. In that year, Arafah day fell on a Friday, which is considered the best day of the week. A lot of people asked me "what miracles did you encounter?" when I had just returned from hajj. I got confused because...

Melbourne Trip - Pt.2

YARRA RIVER WALKS We initially planned to go for the Yarra river walks in the afternoon of our first day in Melbourne. Unfortunately due to exhaustion, we ended up sleeping the whole afternoon. But since I was afraid that we wouldn't have any more time the next day, we then decided to go for the river walk at night. What do I think? I love it! I think it was a good decision to take the walk at night...