Fashionista's Movie Review: Eat, Pray, Love

I was supposed to be attending Mandarin class when my mum suddenly asked me to drive her to tHe Spring. She said she was going to watch a movie, Eat, Pray, Love. When in the car, I asked her who she was going with, and she said, No One. She was going to watch the movie alone. A-L-O-N-E. I can't let her do that! Not only is it wrong, but she's watching a movie that I have yet to watch. Oh, that simply cannot do. So I decided to skip Mandarin class and watch Julia Roberts in action.

Attraversiamo. Just that one word. That is what the whole movie is all about. How can I not love this movie? I think this movie is what every woman dreams for themselves, a journey into life and life itself. It's a search of who we really are. And I am not saying that all women are lost, but simply it would be great to find yourself and the best thing is, finding yourself in an adventure that you created for yourself. I would certainly love to be on that adventure.

Photo taken from Wikipedia.

So, a bit on the movie. It's a movie about a lady named Elizabeth Gilbert (and if you haven't already noticed 'duh!' Elizabeth Gilbert is also the name of the author). In actual fact, this movie recounts a part of her life, an entertaining autobiography, I must say. It started in Bali. Oh, I love Bali. I went there last year and watching the movie simply made me want to go back to Bali. A Bali medicine man predicted her life and her marriage and that later she would be back to Bali. And that is how the movie starts.

Then, coming back to her present life, she was in a good relationship with the husband but not necessarily happy. I think in a way, Liz is wondering why she isn't happy the way things turn out, even though she had taken an active role in that life of hers.

Anyway, to all of you, I really recommend that you see the movie. For me, I took it another step further by buying the book at the airport (for my trip to Kuala Terengganu, with the hopes that I'll be able to steal a few moments here and there to read the book). It's an absolutely great movie. It's off the charts. I'm sure watching it would reveal certain thing that we wished upon ourselves. And the best part is, it's not wrong to go and discover what you want.

See you at the movies!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Fashionista's Movie Review: Magika

I had the opportunity to watch this movie over the weekend with my BFF (it was her birthday on Saturday and I felt so bad that I didn't celebrate with her on Saturday that I spent the whole day Sunday with her).
This is a movie by KRU productions the KRU brothers (Norman, Yusry, Edry who were once famous as Malaysian's very own rap group), as I didn't know about the movie (don't blame me as the movie promo has yet to reach my eyes and ears) I decided to keep an open mind about the movie and see how it goes.


The movie is basically a compilation of Malaysian's tales (true or otherwise) like Pak Pandir, Bawang Putih Bawang Merah, Mahsuri, Hang Tuah and many other Malaysian stories. The movie started with two siblings arguing and it was later revealed that their mother had recently passed away and they were both coping and grieving over the loss. The brother, Malik ran into the nearby forest after the argument and fell into a well which brought them into the world of Magika. As the day was drawing to an end, the sister, Ayu went in search of Malik and found Malik's belongings next to the well and she went down the well as well.

I am certainly not going to tell you the rest of the story as it would be best that you discover by yourself by going to the nearest cinema. My review? Well, the movie certainly has a very powerful cast with names like Fauziah Ahmad Daud (as the late Mom), Jalalludin Hassan (as the father), Aznil Nawawi (as Pak Pandir), Vanidah Imran (as Mahsuri) and many others. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the leading lady, Diana Danielle and leading man is non other than Malaysian's Mawi (which I am not a fan, however).

Although I was impressed the KRU's CGI (computer generated images) and the scene (for Magika) was certainly set to look very fairytale~ish (at some point it did remind me of Alice in Wonderland of some sort), I do feel that although Diana Danielle makes a good leading lady (I'd say she acts better than Fasha Sandha) but I am not that impressed with Mawi. Blame it on bias but I do feel that the movie would have been better if the hero was other than Mawi.

Overall, I'd rate the movie on a 7 out of 10 for Malaysian movie. It was pretty entertaining, I love the laughs and comedic scene and for a musical it was certainly quite well done.

See ya at the movies!!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Leavin' the Nest Part II

I had the opportunity to attend a dinner hosted by our Diploma students. It pretty much reminded me of my university days where we would be the ones busy organizing activities, dinners and other festivities just for the fun of it. In a way, I am proud of the organizers, the dinner was very well done, the timing was punctual (well almost, you know how Malaysians are infamous on being late, yours truly being in the same category *ouch*), they invited a speaker from Bank Simpanan Nasional (this was courtesy of Madam Carolin as the speaker is her classmate in her Master's class) and there was also live performances from the students. Certainly job well done if I may say so myself.

Among on the itinerary was a gift presentation to Part 6 students (final semester students who will be graduating soon) and among them were students whom I had taught last semester. Imagine how proud I felt (even though I am not teaching them anymore) knowing the fact that these students have finally made it past their diploma and will soon either be joining the workforce or even continuing their education to degree level.

What I can say is CONGRATULATIONS!!! You've made it this far. You will soon be on a journey to adulthood (if you haven't yet already) and you fill find the your university days are among one of the best memories that you had growing up (if you're like me). You have your whole life ahead of you (just like what I have discovered after graduation) and all the best to all of you =)

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Whazzuppp!!!

Noticed that there's no recent post?

Well.. Have I gone in hiding?

Haha! Apparently NOT! And I am not in anyway connected to Susilawati's case either (although I would have to say that what happened to her is a complete tragedy. No human being deserved to be treated that way, no matter what the circumstances are).

So, what exactly happened to me? Well, to make a long story short, absolutely nothing happened to me. Except if you count the fact that I was and is still am, very unfortunately snowed under a huge pile of work. And to show how huge that pile of work is, I have been snowed under since I started working after I came back from my Eid-ul Fitr holiday until now, which is a couple of weeks now, I must say.

Pitiful, isn't it?

Well, it won't be pitiful for long, I tell you. I'll be leavin' for a business trip to Terengganu next week. I am totally anticipating this as the last time I've been to Terengganu was somewhat more than 10 years ago. I love the state, I simply adore the city for its quiet charm and rustic sense of being. Being in Terengganu makes you feel as if you are at peace; with yourself, with your community and with the world. A feeling that I am absolutely longing for right now.

Til then, cheerio peeps!

P/s: I can't wait to shop for some Terengganu silk, so I'll let you know on whether I'll manage squeeze that in or not next week ya =)

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Being Thankful in a Material World

Living in a material world

And I am a material girl

Or so that's what Madonna would have said in in her Material Girl song. It is (as unfortunate as it sounds) a material world. I was having breakfast at McDonald's many months ago when there came this two girls sitting at the table next to mine. Due to their loud voices, I couldn't help but eavesdrop at their conversation. Apparently the conversation revolved around a certain guy and the car that he was driving. What struck me was how the girls keep on mentioning the car over and over again. It really was obvious that the girl fancied the car more than the guy. A material girl, perhaps? Let we not judge, but let's take something from the conversation. Let's take a lesson.

There is too much emphasis on worldly goods these days. To me it is not how much you make or how much you get that is important, but how much you love and care about a person. And I, for one, am very, very thankful to a whole lot of people who have indeed made my life even more colorful that it could have been.


Let this Eid-ul Fitr be a good starting point for us to show our love and care to those who matters, those whom we sometimes forget, our family, our closest friends, our support systems.


As for me, sometimes I take people for granted especially those who are close to me. Taking them for granted in a sense that I do not really show them the appreciation that they deserve. Well, let me say that to err is human and as human as it is, I hope that I will not repeat the same mistakes twice. If repeat I must then I really, really must make sure that the repetitions are far and few in between.

In the spirit of Eid-ul Fitr, I would also like to ask for forgiveness from those whom in any way (either directly or indirectly) that I have hurt (intentionally or unintentionally). From the bottom of my heart, I am absolutely very, very sorry for whatever I have done to you.

Cheerio!


xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Fashionista's Review: Iftar at Riverside Majestic

This will most probably be my last review on Ramadhan buffets. The fasting month is coming to an end. We'll be celebrating Eid-ul Fitr this Friday and I don't think I have the time to go to buffets (they're notoriously time consuming) as I have committed myself to baking. Don't worry, I'll add photos and recipes of my biscuits, cakes and other desserts in my other blog, Kitchen Antics: http://fareinyrecipes.blogspot.com/. Mind you, I'm no chef, so you'll most probably find that my recipes are simple (as they are easier to make/bake/cook compared to complicated recipes, don't you think?)

The chefs busy at work

Had an opportunity to dine here yesterday. Usually I am not a fan of Riverside Majestic's buffet. I've been to the buffet over the past years and usually the food will consist of normal buffet selection which is available at most hotels. So, there's nothing to entice me to Riverside.

Seafood platter. Definitely my kind of food.

However, this year, they featured almost all of my favorite food which kinda makes up for the lack of quantity. If you're looking for the numbers this is not the place to eat. The number of selection is by far the least among all the hotels that I've gone so far. The price is similar to other hotels in Kuching, they charge RM79 ++ per person, plus taxes and such, this would amount to RM90 per person.

Fresh meat, chicken and seafood for steamboat. Pick and choose and they'll cook it for you!

What did I like about the buffet? The best part was it served almost all my favorite dishes like sushi, oysters, mussels, butter prawn and such so therefore, my review is certainly biased towards favoring this buffet line. However, if you favor quantity, I would have to say, this might not be to your liking, the number of choices are certainly limited so you might be disappointed with the quantity. But I would have to commend the buffet provided by this hotel as I really loved the fact that they served fresh seafood. I could tell that other patrons loved the seafood as well cause I could see that the oysters and mussels are out within minutes. But they quickly refilled the buffet which is a plus plus to me.

Whenever I have buffet, I must have soup. And Sup Tulang is one of my favorites!

My verdict? Do go! It's nice to be pampered once in a while. If you're like me, you'll be pampered every week! Well, it's really up to you. You might want to rest and take a breather and one of the best ways is by letting people cook for you.

My unsplit banana to end up my meal *yummy*

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Of Weddings and Divorces

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend my cousin's wedding. This is certainly a unique occasion as most Muslims do not prefer to get married during fasting month (I'm not saying that we don't but, most would prefer to wait until the fasting month is over and resume their marital plans). This could be due to the fact that the fasting month is regarded as a holy month and it is usually spent for fasting (duh!) and prayers. It is a time for us to repent and reflect on what we have done throughout the past year and try to gain as much blessings as we can from Allah.

So, back to the topic at hand. The main reason why my cousin decided to get married during this month is merely due to practical reasons. He's in the food and beverage (F&B) line and therefore could only afford to be off during Eid-ul Fitr (as for most of the other times his business would be packed with catering orders and whatnot. Due to that, the best time that he could easily get away for a honeymoon (with his newly-wedded wife) is during Eid-ul Fitr. To me, this was an opportunity for me to again practice my photography skills as taking wedding photos are certainly not easy. You cannot control your subject (like in the studio) and your photo quality is subjected to harsh lighting (or the lack of lighting) and you might also have to improvise a little on your composition and shots. So, these are the photos...

My cousin. I must say he does look dashing in his wedding attire.

The bride. Pretty, ain't she?

Salaam after the wedding. The bride bows her head in acknowledgement of respect to her husband.

Signing their wedding contract.

Oh yeah, you must be wondering 'bout the divorce part, right? Well, as much as we loved attending the wedding, knowing that two hearts are now bound in holy matrimony, we also received bad news. Another cousin just announced that he is getting divorced (right after the wedding, mind you). Which is sad, really. You get married with hopes that that will be your one true love until the end of time and for some, it does not happen that way. Well, whatever it is, it really is up to him and his decision. I just hope that some day he will find that perfect someone, not perfect in every way, but fits perfectly to him *amin*.

I kinda like this photo. Do you think I've improved my photography skills?

To the newlyweds, I wish you all the best in your future journey together. May you be blessed with lots of happiness, health and wealth and may Allah bless you with many children that will fill your life with laughter and joy *amin*

The newlyweds posing after their wedding solemnization

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo