Cheat Work Thursday

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Yes, I'm about to blog about "owning less things", and you're about to roll your eyes with "Oh, here we go, another person announcing how she recently found a light , or fell into a fad, and how it changed her life." You're most probably right. _____ I am not rich (yet), so owning less things is not that hard to do*. But this has become a growing interest of mine: having a small and effective wardrobe, stripping away clothing items that haven't been worn for a long time, and let's admit it, will probably never be worn again no matter how hard I try to convince myself otherwise. (Example: five-year-old top last worn four years ago that I still keep because "I'm just waiting for the right time to wear it again. Plus, it's so preeety!") do not make me happy (anymore). are not really needed / don't have much function / are excess / you know, part of the preparation in cas...

I finally checked H&M out. Now I know why I was not that eager and took six months to do that. (Don't throw things at me please, but) the shop is overrated. After four episodes of season 4, Glee started to annoy me (again!). The Rachel / Kurt / NY parts are not so bad (now I so want to be a dancer and go to dance classes in Rachel's and Cassandra July's outfits, and have those legs and abs too), but the McKinley parts feel sooo old. Who still hangs out at their school after graduation? Ugh. Survivor, on the other hand, is still one of my favourites. It still makes me nervous and giddy. I could talk about it every day and have a blog entirely for it (because my opinion is so important). Because most movies don't reach me at normal speed, I finally saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and accidentally saw The Iron Lady, and I love them both. The Iron Lady was not what I expected. I thought I wouldn't like it. I thought it was going to be long and slow and ol...

When I said I'm gradually building my wardrobe with pants , I didn't mean I'm getting tons of those either. For the past one or two years, I've come to love the idea of a simpler life. And mine includes having a smaller wardrobe. Smaller, not uglier . So if printed on a placard, it would read, "Look my best and have a smaller wardrobe." See, a perfect balance of vanity and seemingly noble philosophy. There was a short period before that when I was more about "not wasting any more money on things that don't add value." But soon after, I felt that I could  do this for more than just money. I was not convinced I'd go with it for long, though. Yes, I feel lighter. I got rid and gave away a lot of my stuff and clothes and started to only buy things that I need / will use / make me happy, but I thought this must be a phase. I must be just temporarily bored. Because do I really want a smaller wardrobe? (Please also note that the needs of a l...

Besides my love for procrastination, I also watch SAG for the dresses. Between Globes, SAG and Oscars, I usually love Globes the most; the scripts are funnier, the dresses are more adventurous, and I usually love the results more. Dresses at the Oscars are more elaborate but often safer. And by the time it's the Oscars, the results have turned pretty predictable. One of my favourite SAG dresses was Kate Winslet's blue Narciso Rodriguez in 2009, and this year it's Anne Hathaway's black Giambattista Valli, which is one of E!'s Fashion Police's picks for the worst dress nominees 🥳. (I realize somewhere in the world people are discussing things like literacy rate and global warming. And Steven Spielberg does not know me.) For a reason, I'm going to have a bit of free time in the next one week. The plan is I'm going to use it to do useful things and take my time with it. (I also have two resumes to make for two sisters. And probably work e-mails to d...

Probably you don't have to wail or be forced out of your favourite clothes. Or you don't have to wait for a certain age either. There's a 10% chance that this is just a phase rather than permanent, but the number of knee-length work skirts that I have now is only three, and casual dresses two. Maybe not my last, but I'm gradually having my wardrobe made around pants, and not because I'm forced to. Just like when I stopped going out in shorts or sleeveless tops several years ago. When you want to, change is easy. (I'm not sure yet if the last sentence is a general statement or an affirmation that I'll profusely chant, because from the website, I think MANGO is currently having a sale. And to be honest, my lungs expand at the sight of Giuliana Rancic's E! and Rachel Zane's Suits wardrobe.)

Yes, I'll do more, after all these shows and movies. (Photo by Olena Sergienko on Unsplash , altered) I haven't seen any of the movies from this year's award season yet, though I knew I wanted Argo to win for Drama. This was before I heard about Zero Dark Thirty. Now I want both of them to win. According to the internet, and the world apparently, Best Actor will go to Daniel Day-Lewis. But it will be nice* if Joaquin Phoenix wins instead (*miracle). Come on Golden Globes, surprise us. Sigh. I wish I got to see these movies before the Monday's show so I can vote (in my head) for my favourites. (Seriously, how do I get my opinion counted, HFPA? Text voting?) The Musical and Comedy category has the best titles, by the way: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Silver Linings Playbook. I probably want to see them all, but from the trailer alone, I want to see that Marigold Hotel first, please. I think Homeland is going to win again for TV. But ...

I spent Saturday helping my sister shop. We took 11 hours and went to four malls. I rarely go shopping on weekends. It was a good sisters-bonding time but standing in long queues, pushing getting pushed by the crowd and touching shoulders with the commoners, ugh... _____ Every time I bump into a shopper lugging four Gucci and ten MANGO shopping bags, wearing a 300-year-old cutoff denim shorts with half of midriff spilling out, I cry a little inside. No, I'm not saying she can't wear that. I have no right to deny her the happiness she felt by wearing the shorts. Especially when clearly extra effort has been made to create that look (to cut those jeans). I'm just thinking how I could rock all her MANGOs better (looking at the cutoff jeans, I'm veeery sure of this), sell all her Guccis (I don't need them), then buy and rock some more MANGOs. (Unless... there are more cutoff shorts in those bags! *shudders*)

Baju kurung -- moden, pesak or kebaya -- is an expensive social responsibility: paid at a ridiculous amount, worn once, then would be practically useless for the rest of the year. Nice tops, on the other hand, can be bought for just RM50 and worn tens of times. So this came to me recently. From now on, I'm going to make (and find fabric for) baju kurung moden that can be turned into a dress or top after I wear them to whatever event. Most of mine are in dark colours or plain or stripes anyway. Why didn't I think of this earlier? I wouldn't be whining so much about baju kurung prices then.

What is it about red carpet dresses that we love so much? It's an illogical interest. A small* part of my brain questions my reason every time I watch these parades, wide-eyed waiting for the dresses and the whole look to pop up on my TV and giving opinions in my head about them. (*The rest reminds me to watch the next ones, or at least scan the pictures on the internet, and repeat the whole process.) Red carpet events are advertisements, and thinking about it, who doesn't want to watch a two-hour-long commercial? Dresses that I like this year: - January Jones', black, Zac Posen, Emmys. - Michelle Williams', orange, Louis Vuitton, Oscars. I just wish the top back of the dress was not made of a different material, though. - Sofia Vergara's, blue, Vera Wang, Golden Globes. This is a bit toned-down compared to her usual red carpet look. How to walk in it, I'll never know. - Victoria Beckham's, from her own line, Oscar after parties (plus the one tha...

I am a dresses girl. (Or woman? Lady? At what age again should we stop referring ourselves as a 'girl'?) My favourites are usually the short/cap sleeves, knee-length, pencil-cut, with pretty and minimal details, and definition at the waist. From time to time, I'd think about dressing years in advance. Living in Malaysia, as a Malay, I realize it probably means I'll have to let go of my dresses eventually. I used to think, haha, this should be interesting. I'm mostly not used to conforming to other people's expectations. How am I going to handle that when the time comes? Will I wail? OMG I have to move out of the country! I started to look around and study why some 30 or 40-year-olds can still carry a certain style off, and some cannot. Is it because of their background? Their body shape? The way they carry themselves? This is still an ongoing discussion. Kate Middleton is in Asia this week. I love her Singapore Raoul dress. The fashion world says people...

Bargain hunting was Gene 's and my favourite sport in uni. When I started working, I visited Sg Wang etc less and less. I don't hate them. I've just lost the touch braving the crowd. Plus, I wanted to look for better quality clothes too. About one year ago, I discovered two new places to shop for clothes, which had you introduced them to me a few years earlier, I might have had a hard time believing I could find anything that I like there. I expected the prices to be ok, but I didn't think they'd have anything... pretty ? So the two places are AEON and _____! Yes. _____. That place you buy fish. The catch is you can't expect to find 10 pieces of clothing items that you like in one visit. Sometimes you may not find anything at all, but I like my finds so far to a point that I didn't want to blog it. I didn't want people to rush there and push the price up! Then I realized, three people reading the blog don't rush... One drawback, though, c...

I don't know about others, but when I say, "Pointed shoes are not painful at all," I lie. And I have small feet! Aren't pointed shoes kinder to small feet? Ok maybe it's because I took a pair of half size smaller as they no longer had my size (but it's usually ok with other shoes...?) Luckily, I'm a very determined person.

"I demand a good day." *waves magic wand*

Good things, this week: One long, peaceful breakfast of delicious waffle + ice cream + strawberry sauce and coffee last Friday in an empty restaurant. A bottle of skin therapy oil that smells very nice. This pair of polka-dot flat shoes. My sister came to visit, and we spent an evening stuffing our faces with cili fish and a jar of cili asam sauce at Ampang Home Town Yong Tow Foo. Having my new favourite dessert, lompat tikam, for the second time (also in six months). Got it from the same stall that first introduced me to this bowl of magic. I cannot imagine this not being the best lompat tikam in the entire KL. This white shirt with light brown detailing. An almost empty clothes store at 10 in the morning. Admiring a line of Career Barbies at a hypermarket -- from the architect Barbie to the vet to the teacher. Totally a normal thing for a grown-up to do. A good work meeting on Wednesday, hopefully one which will create many more. Balancing work numbers without ha...

A few months back I gave my wardrobe a thorough inspection, and with a heavy heart I set a pile of clothes aside. (I often do that, but this time it was extra thorough.) The clothes were still good and pretty, but I'd worn them enough times, they were going to befriend a new owner. This is rarely an easy process. In my head I kept putting them back into my cupboard, apologizing for even thinking about letting them go. Then the other side of my brain would go, "Don't be ridiculous, find a real friend," so I took them back out. After about two days, I was finally ready. I ironed them properly and gave them a good hug. We even had a few quiet moments alone saying goodbye. Then I called my sister to pick them up. In the middle of giving her the important introduction to The Brown Pleated Skirt, she got up and opened my cupboard widely. "Awww... thank you. Let me have a look what else is going to be mine in a few months' time." The way my eyes squint ...

Most people separate their laundry into whites and other colours. I separate mine into blacks and other colours: all the cheerful grey, white, brown and blue. So I usually dress like a normal person, unless I'm hungry at one in the morning. Then I'd sometimes look like I'm in my PJs walking into a 7-Eleven at one in the morning. But this year I bought a *gasp* yellow baju raya! Major-sun-bright yellow, with bright pink shoes that surprised my mother, and I have to post the picture here... that I'd probably delete by tomorrow morning because I'm paranoid about posting personal pictures. I not so secretly call baju raya a 'social obligation'. If it's up to me, I can wear one kebaya for five rayas because you can almost be sure that raya and, occasionally, weddings are the only times I'd wear them. In other words, I can't remember when was the last time I felt excited about raya. To me, raya means my mother's cooking, seeing all my fam...

Let's talk about the recent Golden Globes. First, the all important dresses. My favourites are Anne Hathaway's (brown, Armani Privé) and Halle Berry's (black, Nina Ricci). E!'s Fashion Police, which thought-provoking discussion I follow every week, loves Anne Hathaway's dress too, but chooses the latter as one of their Worst Dress nominees. True, it's short and sheer and may not work on many women, but it works on Halle Berry. She's wearing her best accessory -- her body! Unconventional dresses can be polarizing. Or, you know, now you have some idea if I should help to dress you. Ricky Gervais. I know he was mean, and I rarely find jokes at other people's expense funny, but I thought Gervais was funny at the Globes. I mean, we expect... we want him to be mean, right? And yes, the awards too. I would love for these people and movies to win: - James Franco for 127 Hours. I love James Franco since Milk and Pineapple Express. I have watched the ...

"Mortals, you are so about to fulfill my every demand." *waves magic wand*

I'd shop, then go home and spend the following hours mixing and matching my new acquisition with the existing pieces in my wardrobe, parading them in front of the mirror and all. Just one of my many outstanding habits. Especially if it is a steal rather than a splurge, I'd then start to think, "What an awesome shopper I am. I should write a blog (a separate one than this one), specializing in smart shopping. I'll share my findings and help the whole of KL get the best deals in town. My readers (plural) and I will have a super fun time exploring new shops and ways to mix and match. For example, we'll find a piece of black pencil skirt from a totally unknown shop and find at least 76 different ways to style it! Maybe I'll have a regular feature called 'Dress Like Victoria Beckham for RM200 And Less!' and major stylists will catch my posts, instantly adore my stylings, and they will call me to advise for their campaigns..." Mmmthen... the words ...

I've just (re-)read a couple pages of The Secret. So like a true The Secret convert (it's not difficult to spot us, we have a bright light hovering over our heads), I'm writing down my gratitude list. Plus, I just saw a '100 Things I Am Grateful For' in one of my favourite blogs' archives, so, of course, I should post one too. Naturally, some on my list are inspired by hers. And since I'm hungry right now, half of it may or may not be about food: 1) My reliable, comfortable enough, tiny car. 2) My comfortable enough bed and firm mattress. 3) My bookcases near the window. My favourite spot to take pictures for the blog. It has the best lighting. 4) Flat sandals. 5) My family. (Ok, this list is not in order. I think.) 6) ... which comes my mother's cooking. 7) Twilight books. I now read and watch vampire books and movies. 8) TV. The best tool to help you conserve calories. 9) 10) Raw vegetables. They are yumm...