GRATITUDE

Here’s a random list of the things I’ve absolutely loved this year. 

1.  Jo Malone’s English Pear & Freesia Cologne

I received this as a gift about a month ago and I am OBSESSED. This has quickly inched up to my favourite item of 2017. 

Jo Malone’s website describes the scent as “The essence of autumn. The sensuous freshness of just-ripe pears is wrapped in a bouquet of white freesias, and mellowed by amber, patchouli and woods. Luscious and golden” 

It smells like a dream to me. Its a combination of fresh, fruity and floral ( essentially everything I look for in perfumes/colognes) wrapped into one. 

Besides the amazingness of the actual product, I was very pleased with the service. The sales assistant was absolutely lovely. 

If you’re in need of a new cologne I’d highly highly recommend Jo Malone’s colognes.

2. Pilot’s Mechanical Pencil + Pens

Daily essentials for me in school. I’m very fussy when it comes to stationery and these were right up my street.

Pilot is one of my all-time favourite stationery brands because of its many product options. Their mechanical pencils are amazing ( very easy and comfortable to use), their super grip pens are smooth and they last a reasonable amount of time  too; and their poplol coloured pens are wonderful to use.

If you’re in need of some stationeries, try out Pilot! I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like.

3.  Moleskine Notebook

This was also a gift. I write my diary entries/thoughts here. I think this is one of my favourites because it really helps me de-stress from everything. 

It’s comfortable to write in ‘cause I don’t know if its just me, but I somehow find certain notebooks uncomfortable to write in. 

This particular notebook has a large writing space, so you really can’t go wrong with it. It has acid free paper too! So your thoughts and words can be preserved forevermore. 

Baseline is, I absolute enjoyed writing in this notebook. 

4. Marks and Spencer’s Pyjamas

< photo taken from Mark’s & Spencer’s Website >

These pyjamas feel like I’m constantly being cocooned with blankets. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any pictures of my jammies because they were unavailable so I resulted to finding pictures of the pyjamas that looked similar to the ones I have.

These pyjamas are the top ranks in my Jammies Department because of how soft and comfy they are, seriously. And guess what? The pyjama bottoms have pockets, they couldn't get better honestly. 

Although they’re a little on the pricey side, I think these pyjamas deserve a try.

5. Nylon Shorts

I literally sigh in relief when I come home and change into these. They’re absolutely amazing. I think my mom gave me these and I just... fell in love. 

They’re comfortable and cool on the skin. 

I can’t tell you enough how many times I look forward to wearing these. Heck, I’m even wearing nylon shorts right now. 

6. Comfortable Pants

I’m unsure of the official name of these pants so I’ll just call them Comfy Pants. I’ve basically lived in these. They’re comfortable, fun and they’re fuss free. 

These pants are perfect for chill-out days. Whether you’re lounging around the house, grocery shopping or you just want to be comfy. 

There are so many patterns and colours to choose from as well. Join the Comfy Pants Club! 

7. Nike Free Run RN Flyknit

I got these for myself a few months back. I decided to get these because I wanted to start exercising so I figured these would be a good start. 

They’re equipped for running and rightfully so. They’re very comfortable to walk and run in, its unbelievable. I think they’re the most comfortable pair of shoes I currently own.

I think these are a great pair of shoes to have because its kind of universal. You could use these for exercising but also for going out, same same but different and just right.

8. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Choc chip cookies have been my snack saviour for late night studying. They’re gooey and yummy and just perfect. 

They’re about as big as a palm so you can space out the amount of cookies without feeling.. cookie-less because of the size.

Paired with a glass of cold milk? Simply scrumptious.  I think I’m gonna get some for myself now. 

9. Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate Sachets

I discovered this from my brother, who at that time was obsessed with the sachets. Trusting his judgement, I decided to try one myself and I absolutely loved  it ( still do ).

Almost every night, you’d find me clasping my hands around a mug with hot coco doing my school work. I was absolutely hooked with this after my obsession with tea dwindled. 

Its straightforward and easy to work with, you just open the sachet and spill the contents into a mug, pour some hot water then stir and ta-da! I usually add a splash of milk in mine for extra creaminess.

If you’re travelling or you just want to drink something that’s easy to work with, this is definitely up your alley. 

10. Mugs

I have an unhealthy obsession with mugs. It all started when I got obsessed with tea. Fortunately for me, my local supermarket sold a variety of mugs... and I basically got carried away.

The top right mug is the most recent, gifted to me, its for juice and cold liquids. The one beside it was my first mug purchase and is commonly used for hot chocolate. The one below was a “ why the heck not” purchase from Universal Studios Singapore ( for milk)  and on its left was a “ I need this’ purchase used for tea.

See? I’m a mug freak

Jokes aside though, I absolute love mugs. Maybe too much.

11. Rawa Restaurant

< photo taken from Google >

This has been a longtime favourite of mine, but I’ve never really talked about it much. Its a steamboat restaurant situated in Johor Bahru.

This restaurant is a collection of fond memories, I’ve been to this restaurant so many times with my family as I grew up.

Besides my fondness for it, I also adore the food. It has a great variety of food. 

When I think of Rawa, I think of  fuzzy golden memories and good food.

12. Yamesushi

The most recent discovery. I was travelling and I came across this sushi place. Before that point in time, I wasn’t the hugest fan of sushi. I’d be okay with eating it but it just wouldn’t be my first choice if I was in a Japanese Restaurant. 

This changed when I had Yamesushi’s sushi. Holy wasabi, their sushi is good. I haven’t the slightest idea what are the names of the sushi I ate but honestly, I’m sure they’re all good. 

Their service is also really good, the staff is very friendly and welcoming. 

If you’re in Terminal Bersepadu Selatan and you’re hungry, try some sushi from Yamesushi. 

I had so much fun compiling this list and taking pictures of the items I could get ahold of. I hope you try some of these and find them as lovely if not more,like I did.

See you soon ♡

You're always on my mind, oh there'll come a day Day where we can fly, reach the glory haze High up in the sun and a brighter sky

There is no greater love In all the world, it's true No greater love Than what I feel for you

Yeap, Banana Walnut Bread. God knows how much I love this stuff. 

Besides the fact that it is damn delicious ( and healthy too! ) it means a lot to me in terms of how it’s been there for me during stressful times after school. My dad would buy a few of these and I’d gobble them up before we come home. 

I saw this fact online, whereby watching familiar movies is good for you because it reminds you of simpler times. I guess Banana Walnut Bread does that for me. It calms me down with its deliciousness.

It’s quite memorable as well. On some days, I’d look forward to eating them just because. 

It’s quite a dense banana bread, it’s enough to fill you up and its perfect for breakfast. A pretty sufficient snack pre and post workout if you ask me. 

If you love banana bread or snacking in general, do try these. I swear, they’re the best I’ve ever tasted.

I promise with you The butterflies in my stomach are active They're dancin'

I feel like it’s been forever since I posted a book review. Here are a few of my favourite Wattpad books. For those of you who don’t know what Wattpad is, it’s essentially a platform where writers all over the globe can write and post their stories for free. If you sign up, you can either write your own stories, read them or both! You can connect  with your writers or your readers through dms or comments. It’s a great place to support up and coming writers as well as receive feedback. 

1. Blackout by @bateaux

Blackout is basically about Alina, or Allie ( her nickname ) waking up and discovering she has amnesia caused by a car crash. She soon discovers things don’t really add up, and nobody seems to be telling her the whole truth. 

This book is absolutely gripping and addictive. It’s very realistic. I absolutely adore Allie. If you love the mystery genre, I think you’ll like this book because it’s a good balance of “ I did not see that coming” and “ ahhh I knew it”. Send me your theories if you decide to read this, I’d love to hear them.

2. High School Hit List by @autheras

One of the best teen fiction works in Wattpad, honestly. HSHL is about Chloe Whittaker who plans to join the elite group in her High School to destroy them - hence the hit list because of what they’ve done to her best friend, things get interesting when she starts to fall for someone she intends to take down. 

The writing is absolutely descriptive and easy to read. The plot is well paced as well. I really rooted for Chloe, I understood her motives as I progressed into the story. If you love teen fiction, you should give this a try because it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat with its twists and turns. 

3. The Heartbroken Heartbreaker by @SamMadison

I’ve read THH multiple times and definitely cried more than once. This book is about Kyla Evans, who fake dates the person her ex-boyfriend hates the most - Seth Everett as a form of revenge. It’s a take on the classic fake dating trope. Believe me when I say, it’s an amazing take on that particular trope.

Mostly because of the writing, its absolutely beautiful . It’s sort of a slow-burn romance ( my favourite type ). The romance isn’t cliche, the main characters are swoon worthy and witty. THH has broken my heart so many times but I’m like - genuinely okay with that fact. 

There’s nothing not to like, honestly.

4. James & Lyla by @unsinkableships

Besides, THH J&L has also given me a heartbreak. This book has a very interesting format in which the story is narrated by Lyla who writes to someone who means the most to her - the person who also broke her heart through a series of letters. 

Lyla has a very special place in my Wattpad heart, the same with Allie & Chloe because of how much I relate to her. I love the plot of this story and the character development. 

If you love the romance genre, you might greatly enjoy this because of how realistic this book is.

5. Noah and Leigh by @colourlessness

If you’re more in to easy & sweet plots, this might be for you. Noah & Leigh are two strangers who connect through a series of notes in a library they both go to. 

I finished this book in two sittings only within a few hours.If you want a quick read or you want to read but have limited time - this book is perfect. 

I love how light this book is and how its just.. positive.

6. 7:23 AM by @bateaux

Last but certainly not least, I absolutely adore 7:23 AM, its adorable. This book is basically about Talia who receives anonymous messages at an ungodly hour - hence the title and connects with the sender. 

As I’ve said before, I adore this book because its just cute. The characters are lovely, there’s good representation. If you like sweet stories, you’ll love 7:23AM. 

And that’s a wrap! I hope you decide to try out these books. I absolutely enjoyed writing up this post. I hope you’re enjoying 12DG so far.

Betapa bahagianya hatiku saat Ku duduk berdua denganmu Berjalan bersamamu Menarilah denganku

To be very honest, I never felt like I had a “golden childhood”, you know, like those fuzzy memories you have and like to reminisces about. I guess I never had that because most of my family members were at least 5 years older than me. My cousins were all in their teen years, so I didn’t really have anyone to play and connect with. 

My closest cousin was a boy, so he naturally didn’t want to play Barbie with me.  Because of this, I’ve always wanted to be older. I wanted to be a teen because I felt like I would fit in, I would understand the jokes and I could watch the PG-13 movies with them. 

So throughout my childhood, I never really many child-related things. I used to just hangout with adults and.. yeah. I do have a few memories I love and actually remember. They’re a bit.. mashed up but I hope they’re okay.

1. Cousin Time On My Mom’s Side

Back in the day, we used to spend so much time together. The family trips overseas, Hari Raya and not to mention Birthday Bashes. One memory I particularly remember was us playing Marco Polo in my uncle’s pool. I couldn’t swim back then so I used floats. We bought so many packets of curly fries from AnW, we also had a a football-themed birthday party.

2. Cousin Time On My Dad’s Side

This memory isn’t as fuzzy as the others as it happened not so long ago. My aunt has a huge property up in the mountains. My cousins and I used to get a lot of outdoor play time. We used to run around everywhere, telling each other scary stories and all. We used to pick flowers (much to my aunt’s dismay haha).

That’s all for now, I think I’ll do my favourite teen memories soon, we’ll see. I hope you enjoyed this rather short and choppy HIS. 

This is a list of the things I want to be grateful for next year. As always, I hope you enjoy this post. ♡

Remember me For I will soon be gone Remember me And let the love we have live on

As of now, I’ve been a student for about 8 years and I think I’ve evolved a lot these past few years, a lot during my last year of primary when I had my UPSR. I’m far from being a genius but here are some things I’ve learnt along the way and would like to share with you.♡ 

1. Quality Over Quantity

When I was in Standard 6 and was in my UPSR year, I was struggling to find my studying “groove” and resolved to ask others or do research on the best way to study ( how many hours, how frequent etc )

Some of my friends studied more than 3 hours straight everyday and it honestly baffled me back then as I studied less hours and less frequently.

It took me a fair bit of time to realise that its not how much you learn/revise in a day but it’s how much you understand in a day. Person A can study up to 5 chapters and not understand any of it whilst Person B can study a chapter and fully understand.  Don’t fret about how many hours you study in a day, or how many subjects. The most important, is how comfortable you are with your groove and how much you understand/ digest what you’ve revised.

2. The Reward System

A recent discovery of mine and I think of this, as my best discovery. 

Basically, every time I finish a task ( homework, revising etc ) I’ll reward myself according to what I’ve achieved.

For example, if I manage to study 3 chapters in a day I’ll give myself some chocolate.  If lets say, you get really good results then maybe the cute dress you’ve been eyeing? 

I think this works for everyone as you can customise your own reward system. Mine’s food hehe. 

3. Motto

Sounds slightly weird but trust me on this.

It’s essential you set up goals/ work ethics/ rules for yourself that you follow and practise everyday.  Start small and slow and watch it become a habitual thing, wait a little longer and it’ll become behaviour.

My motto : Do it now, so you can become lazy afterwards.

4. Kindness, Respect and Truth

When learning, I think being kind, respectful and truthful is very important (among other values as well). 

Kindness : Everyone’s facing their own set of trouble when learning, I’ve learnt to be kind,always. People do notice, people do care.

Respectfulness : I feel like certain parties in the school community are under appreciated ( the cleaners, lunch lady etc ) I realised that they contribute to our education as well. The cleaners make sure we learn in a conducive environment and the lunch lady provides food ( prevents me from getting hangry ) and teachers? They’re awesome! Think of it as magic, they give us magic and we use it to make our daily lives better & brighter. Your voice can help those who don’t have their own, your voice can inspire and heal. Your voice can.

Honesty : Cheating/Copying off someone’s work is a definite no-no. I learned that it’s okay if I feel like my work isn’t good enough. The fact that it’s mine and I put in hard work and dedication will always be good enough. 

5. Sharing is Caring

A common phrase, always heard and said.

As a student, the most reassuring thing is to be in the same position/situation as your classmates, to be all in this together (High School Musical pun intended )

I’ve always appreciated when a classmate helps me with a question I have absolutely no clue about. 

If you see your classmate staring blankly at their paper/book, chances are, they really haven’t any idea of what they’re supposed to do so go ahead and ask if they need help. 

6. Time Is Of The Essence

Time to me, is very mischievous. It just disappears. Especially when you want it to slow down. 

I think this was the hardest lesson I had to endure because of how consuming it was to my conscious. I would ask myself, “ Is this worth it? Beneficial?” Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn’t. I wanted to use my time wisely but I also wanted to have fun. In the past, I would almost always pick the former instead of the latter.

But sometimes, I would regret it. I wished I gave myself more time to relax. 

So here’s what I’ll say : Prioritise what you have to, but keep the fun. Use time as best as you possibly can. Push yourself, but give yourself time to unwind. 

7. Focus

I swear by this one. Very useful in class. 

So, whenever you’re learning, pay very close attention. Avoid anything that might distract you from focusing. 

This is probably my No 1 tip of all time, because when you focus - like really focus. It’s like the information just goes in your brain effortlessly, and with that comes the most satisfactory feeling : understanding what you’re learning.

So how do you focus? As for me, I like to limit my distractions.

I usually do this by preparing the essentials. Put your essentials on the table before the lesson starts. When the lesson starts, you’ll have everything at arm’s length to use. 

Textbook? Check Notebook? Check Stationeries? Check Water bottle? Check

Basically, think of the things that usually distract you from learning and think of how you can limit it. 

8. Consistency

This one’s from my dad. He used to always tell me how important it is. 

Essentially, he’d always advise me to study/revise everyday. No matter rain or shine. It’ll wire your brain to keep you going, he would say. 

It’s sort of like muscle memory, where you repeat something, an action for example and your brain’s just like “ ahhh okay yeah I know this”. 

In the beginning, holy cheese was it hard. Especially on those days where I just wanted to take lots and lots of naps. But it’s very beneficial, especially in the long-run. 

My advice, is to probably start small & slow and as time goes by, add up your speed. Let your brain warm up to it. For example, you can tell yourself to study one subject every day for a week. Then two the next week. Customise it however you want.

9.  Comparison

This was very hard for me to fight off, especially during exam season. I would compare my marks or placing with everyone else’s and get really frustrated with myself.

Here’s what I learned : Everyone wants to receive the best results. It does hurt, especially when you really did try your best. But hey, everyone goes through different journeys. Some journeys are longer, more painful. Don’t compare yourself with anyone. The only comparison you should make is with your past self. Look at how much you’ve grown! I bet you’re awesome-er :) 

Think of how far you’ve come. Keep going. You CAN and you WILL. 

10. Steps Ahead

Last but certainly not least, try to be ahead. For example, you’re currently finishing topic 3 in class. After revising, try pre-reading topic 4!

I find this really helpful, especially when my teacher starts teaching new topics, my brain kinda goes “ ohhh!” and it’s much easier for me to connect the dots. If you have lots of time, you can pre-read the whole chapter and do some exercises. If you don’t have much time, you can pre-read a few subtopics. 

Basically, do as much as you can when you can. 

This is probably one of my favourite How-To so far, I hope this somehow helps.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams, Just go ahead, let your hair down.

Oh, you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow