Ke Pangkuan Bonda

I was invited to the premiere of the PETRONAS Raya 2014 video last Thursday. Such a sweet video! I'm always looking forward to watch PETRONAS' Raya video! Have you guys seen this year's video? It reminds me of the good old days when I still had a kampung to go back to! 

Tengok gambar ni, teringat video ayam that I took in my kampung on Raya 2011. hehe

The video tells a humble story about the noble values we learn from our parents and the values we pass on to our children through age-old family traditions. Ke Pangkuan Bonda is inspired by the proverb "home is where the heart is"! A seamless journey of a family in welcoming Aidilfitri celebration. Ahhh....I miss my kampung! And my grandmother!

A full-length of this ad is about 2 minutes 40 seconds. I love the village atmosphere in this video! Full of warmth, joy, fun and excitement of the Raya celebration. I also love the timeless classic song Suasana Hari Raya that has a new twist!

Talking about balik kampung, this will be my first year celebrating Eid as a wife! And I'm soooo excited to celebrate it at my husband's kampung in Kedah! He keeps on bragging that Raya in Kedah is soooo fun! haha. I can already imagine that actually, knowing that his family are all so warm, funny and friendly, like a true Kedahan! hehe. I really look forward to meeting his grandmother and the rest of the uncles/aunties and families! Beraya ramai-ramai syiokkk! ;) The only thing that I don't look forward to is......THE TRAFFIC!!! It's gonna be a looooooong ride for us! Oh no... make sure to stock up lotsa coffee in the car!

Anyway, prior to the launch of the web film, PETRONAS also announce their Hari Raya "Coffee Break Campaign" in its effort to raise road safety awareness among motorists during balik kampung exodus. 

So if you're feeling sleepy or tired from driving, take a break, pull over and refresh yourselves with some complimentary coffee and snacks at 39 PETRONAS stations nationwide on 25th & 26th July as well as 1st and 2nd August 

XOXO,

Shazzy.

Shop with Rakuten!

These days with so many online shopping websites, I rarely go out anymore. I'd rather be in my most comfortable pajamas, sit on my bed with a cup of coffee in my hand and browse through shopping websites and click what to buy! I find it so therapeutic that I do it almost everyday now! hehe. Plus, it's 24 hours so I can shop at my own schedule and don't have to drag myself out, driving and stuck in jam, then find parking some more and later walk with pain, deal with crowds and lines some more... when I can just get the same item delivered to my door within days!

My shopping items for this week alone! haha. I bought some baju kurungs/dresses, shoes, chocolates, some accessories, hangers, dish rack, mini washing machine and more baju! heheee. Trust me, you don't wanna see the rest of my July shopping items! Too many things that my husband thinks I have a bit of a problem! LOL. Blame the Raya season! A girl's gotta get her new bedsheets, towels, slippers, shoes, dresses, kitchen utensils, etc, no?! :p

So if I find myself having trouble sleeping, I would browse what things to buy.. things like for household, food stuff, things for my husband, for myself, for my mom, and even for future buys like baby stuff although I'm not pregnant yet! haha. I just find strollers are such interesting items to learn about! So many different designs and colors and technology! Browsing is fun, right girls?! ^__^ For me, online shopping is always fun and relaxing! Just sit at home and wait for the packages to come to me. Ah, I love the internet! God bless whoever invented shopping websites! hehe

Anyway, have you guys done with your Raya shopping yet? Well you should because Raya is less than 2 weeks now! One of the many reasons why I love shopping online is because of the promotional codes and discounts too! Ever heard of an online shopping website called Rakuten? The online shopping mall platform always provide awesome deals with easy buying experience that creates a fun shopping spree!!

Rakuten is the number 1 Online Shopping Mall from Japan that has more than 100,000 of products ranging from Electronics, Fashion, Health & Beauty, Toys, Furniture/Interior stuff, Kitchen items and many more at Rakuten Malaysia. 

Health & Beauty category..



Interior Furnishings..

Food and Beverage and many more!

There are too many items and shops to browse on Rakuten, it's exciting! I had like more than 20 items in my cart in one hour!! All from different stores! hehe. Wanna see? ^__^

Bought some Japanese chocolates from Arigatou shop via Rakuten Malaysia

They arrived within just few days!

^___^

I ordered some scarves hangers too! I love it! It's quite cheap and space-friendly as well! I'm gonna buy more of them!! You can get it here

Choosing scarves is so easy now! 

I also bought another type of hanger, the pole type like the one I showed on my Instagram. You can view here to purchase it!

Then I bought this dish rack for sink for my kitchen (that's not my kitchen though. hehe) from this shop called Glitterstarz Mart

Mini washing machine that I decided to place it in my closet...for a mini laundry day! ;)

This is perfect for my delicate items like lingeries or lace bras and stuff like that..hehe. Sometimes we use it as our laundry hamper! I love that it's portable, lightweight and cheap!! Only RM 179 for a washing machine?! Perfect for a camping trip or living in hostel/dorms! Get yours here!

I love shopping on Rakuten because of their variety of products available to purchase! I find myself always browsing through the kitchen and interior stuff these days! My husband said I have too many clothes and beauty stuff already... Hence I decided to purchase items other than that two departments, so he cannot marah if he sees me buying them! hehee. Like the other day, he was so excited seeing that mini washing machine that I got myself from the website! He said "this is brilliant! At least I can use some of your shopping items now". haha. Hearing that makes me wanna buy this pulak.. 

I'm sure he can use this too for our bed! hehe

Anyway.. last week, a shop called Kelvin Gems from Rakuten site, gave me this beautiful piece of jewelry for me to add into my collection in my jewelry armoire!

A piece of jewelry would always remind me of my wedding! Ahh...the good old days, planning every little details! haha  

So this is the Kelvin Gems Premium Multiway Pendant Made With SWAROVSKI Zirconia in 18K White Gold Plated 925 Sterling Silver Necklace, one of their signature designs. It's really beautiful! I love ittt! 

Made with Swarovski Zirconia. The stone is as brilliant as a diamond that my husband thinks it IS a real diamond! haha

Round pure brilliance cut. Very shiny and very elegant! Great for dinner and parties! How I wish it's longer so I can wear it under my hijab! But hey..pakai kat rumah pun apa salahnya kan? hehe

Four different ways of wearing it!

Rakuten currently is having a Raya SALE event running, in conjunction with the festival to give away lots of cool prizes whereby customers are able to stand a chance and walk away with it!

Less than two more weeks to go! Go on...shop now!

For this limited period of time, Rakuten is giving away RM 30 online shopping credits a.k.a Rakuten Super Points to my blog readers that sign up as a Rakuten member!! So register today! They're also giving away shopping coupon called RaCoupon to all Shazwani Hamid's readers with a coupon code: RAKUSHAZ30. More reasons to shop now!! ;)

Terms & Conditions:

• RaCoupon is valid from 23rd July (00:00) to 3rd August (23:59) only. 
• Total coupon value is RM 30. 
• Minimum purchase of RM 120 required in order to use the coupon. (Does not including shipping fees) 
• Coupon may only be used once per person. 
• Coupon is not returnable or refundable upon order cancellation. 
• Rakuten reserves the right to make the final decision in case of a dispute.

XOXO,
Shazzy.

Places To Buy Your Baju Raya!

Have you gotten your Baju Raya yet girls? I can't believe it's almost Raya now! Sorry for the lack of updates! :( I've been really really tired this Ramadhan. I've used my free time during this month to either sleep, or solat/reciting Quran or watch the latest sad news...or erm...do a little online shopping. heh. You know, cuz I'm not really in the mood to go out for shopping these days. Traffic jam. No parking. Queuing. Walking for hours. So yeah, shopping on the bed will do...cuz I'm lazy like that. haha. Well it's my first time celebrating Raya with my husband in Kedah, so of course I'm excited! Finally, I can wear matchy Baju Kurung and Baju Melayu with my husband for Raya! hehe. Plus...since he couldn't get us to Jakarta and have my dresses made there, he gave me the green light to shop online! Yay! God bless him! hihi ^__^

Anyways, with Hari Raya being just a few days away, you guys too must be as excited! Gearing towards Syawal, I'm sure many of us will be busy cleaning the house, planning our travels and of course finding the right outfit to wear for the first day of Raya, right?

Have you thought on what color and style should you wear this Eid? Whether you’re picking out fabric for your own custom-made design, or picking something off the rack, in case you want to save time and tailoring costs (Read: Me! ^__^), then let me just share with you the six places to shop for the perfect Raya outfit! The last minute shopping rush is ON, girls!

Jovian Mandagie, Rizalman Ibrahim, Rico Rinaldi, Syomir Izwa, Zalia, Melinda Looi, and Nurita Harith are my choices for this season. Not all of these are for Raya though. Some of them are for future occasions like weddings, dinners, events and such. hehe

Number One: Zalora
Ok...to be honest, I had a bad experience buying from them, the first time I made a purchase with Zalora. It was almost quite a nightmare. However the problem has been solved now, and I've had quite a few transactions and purchases from them ever since..And it has been so wonderful! Maybe it was just not my luck the other day. Zalora is quite fun to shop at actually! Their service is really really good, I'm impressed! I ordered at 11 pm, I will get my item at 10 am the next day! How fast! And I even returned some items that I don't like, and I get back my refund credit within a day! Plus, they have A LOT of brands, styles and colors to choose from! I do like Zalora now! hehe (I used to curse them! LOL :p)


Number Two: Fashion Valet
Shopping at Fashion Valet has been lovely too! They stock up a lot of Malaysian/Asian designer lines like Melinda Looi, Nurita Harith, Khoon Hooi, Innai, Yadotsa, Pu3, Alia Bastamam, and many more! But mostly the good ones are always out of stock! tsk. So if you like what you see, don't just put them in your Wish List, you gotta act fast and get them in your cart! I personally like Nurita Harith's and Alia Bastamam collection. If you're looking for an understated elegance, look no further than those two designers! I love Nurita's ever since I wore my lovely Bridal Shower dress she made! This Malaysian designer offers couture, and ready-to-wear collections. Alia Bastamam's Raya 2014 line is pure feminine chic: chiffons and silks in subtle shades that make these pieces instant classics! But my most favourite range from Fashion Valet for Raya, would be the Nora Danish collection simply because they're cheap, and very pretty! ;)


Number Three: Mimpikita 
An intimate boutique in Bangsar Telawi, Mimpikita stocks a range of elegant ready-to-wear baju from their own label. Their beautifully embellished fabrics are perfect for traditional occasions, but the modern cuts and pops of colour give their line a fashion-forward appeal. You can also shop their collections online via Fashion Valet, but the designs are quite limited there. So it's better if you pay a visit to their boutique in Bangsar to have a better view for yourself!

Number Four: Modvier Bangsar

Modvier is a concept store that features young designers like Kree and 14November by Yuna. Expect to see close to thirty brands strategically placed in this hipsterly decorated concept store. Here, the options are plenty! Hijabs, abayas, skirts, baju kurungs and dresses? Modvier has got them covered! Price differs according to the designers and brands, but with RM 40 could get you a nice hijab! 

Number Five: Other Online Stores

If you’re patient and don’t mind not being able to try before you buy something, even if you don't know the brand that much, then you should shop from the comfort of your own home! Forget the hustle and fuss of driving down to crowded malls and just shop your Baju Raya with just a click of a button! Bear in mind though that delivery times vary, so order well in advance of the occasion. There are so many online shops these days. You can get your Baju Raya from Pop Look, Rakuten, Nile, Modish, Kriza and many many more! All of them sells a range of traditional wear to complete your Raya look!


Number Six: Jakel, Gulatis, Harrisons and the like 
If you’re a fabric hunter like my mom, then walking into this kinda place is an absolute joy for you. She could be in Jakel for 4 hours, scoring some fabrics! Well... that's what happened for my wedding last December! haha. Thank God they have a surau there! Otherwise shopping wouldn't be as pleasurable for her! hehe. Anyway, fabric stores like Jakel, Gulatis, Maya, Kamdar, etc in Jalan TAR holds a decent selection of fabric to make your Baju Raya. They offer a hugeeee range of fabrics! From cotton to rayon to silk to lace, and etc, you would definitely find what you like! Some of the shops I mentioned may also have a ready-to-wear collection for a last minute Raya shopping!


Do you know any other places to score some great baju raya at attractive prices? Tell me in the comment section below for the readers to find out and do some last minute purchases! :)


XOXO,
Shazzy.

Free Meal with uMobile Prepaid Top Up!

People say that "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch" in economics, as they say somebody else is paying for the lunch! Oh well, I'd say, not necessarily! - At least, the consumers don't need to pay for the lunch this time! hehee ;p Because in this case, there really is a free meal for you when you reload your mobile prepaid with uMobile!

There’s this Free Meal promotion going on from uMobile from now on until 31st August, 2014! To get this free meal is actually really rather simple! All you need to do is top up your mobile prepaid, and head on to the nearest 7-Eleven shop, and redeem your free meal! With a top up of RM 30 you’ll get a free Revive Isotonic Original 500ml bottled drink. Great for quenching your thirst! ^__^

Just buy the prepaid card...

...and hand it over to the cashier at 7-Eleven to redeem the free meal

Scan..

...and there you have it! Your free meal! 

A set of Mamee Express Cup Curry Flavour and the Revive Isotonic Original 500ml drink!

With a top up of RM 50, you’ll get a Mamee Express Cup Curry Flavour and the Revive Isotonic Original 500ml drink! 

The redemption can be done at all 7-11 outlets in the country from now until 31st of August, 2014 while stock lasts.

So just head over to the 7-Eleven shop, and hand over your used RM 30 or RM 50 reload card to the cashier, and you'll receive your free meal instantly!

By the way, the redemption is not a one-time thing. Which means, each time you reload your uMobile prepaid for RM 30 or RM 50, you'll get the free meal every time! Ahh....Best things in life are free! To find out how to top up and the listing of top up locations, head to https://www.u.com.my/prepaid-packages/top-up-locations

#TheBestFree

XOXO,

Shazzy.

Raya Shopping

When you're not fasting and having period cramps the first week of Ramadhan, the only thing to do other than bed rest is to window-shopping online! hehe. I haven't really been visiting online websites for a year now (because of planning my wedding and stuff). So....lately, I just started visiting some shopping websites again, and I forgot how therapeutic it can be! I spent hours and hours browsing the websites! haha. I hope I won't be as addictive as my sister though. She's such an online shopaholic freak! LOL. She practically buys every week, and window shopping everyday! hahaha. She buys stuff from our local brands/websites, US, UK, Japan, Hong Kong or wherever she feels like buying that day.. I always refer to her if I'm not sure about the shipping stuff or taxes, payment terms and etc. (I rarely buy online. I'm one of those old school girl who likes touching and seeing the stuff first, before I make a purchase). So she's like an online shopper guru to me! hehe. Anyway, so these past one week, I have purchased some Raya stuff for myself. And I notice a lot of blue shades this year. I guess that's our theme for the first few days of Raya..maybe?

My mom was the one who's always in charge of the theme color for the family every Eid. So I guess being married now, I'm in charge of what's me and my husband are gonna wear as a family! Oh, I'm excited! hehe

Shades of Brown, Blue, Yellow and Black

Anyway, this year I don't think I would custom made my Raya dresses like I would last years. This is my first time of buying the ready-to-wear for Raya dresses/baju kurungs to be honest. And I'm just as happy! Well....there are some reasons why I'm not gonna make my dress and just buy the ready-to-wear collection for this Eid. This is because....

• First, I totally forgot to start making the dresses 2-3 months earlier before Ramadhan like everybody else. So ordering dresses to any tailors in KL one month before Eid, would be totally impossible to get a slot! I've tried... It's hopeless! I mean the good ones la.. Even the designers whom I thought can still take my request also couldn't take anymore orders for Raya! Designers are so high in demand for Raya apparently... Sobs. (I even asked my husband to go to Jakarta instead, to make my dresses there since in KL everyone is fully booked. But his schedule won't allow that to happen.. T__T) 

• Secondly, I don't really wear baju kurungs that much. Only abayas or jubah, as we Malaysian called it. So because now that I am married, I think..I want to start having my own little collection of baju kurungs too, instead of always borrowing my mom's! hehe. Last time when I was a bachelorette and living with her, I would be borrowing my mom's baju kurung most of the time, since we are about the same size and I don't really have that many baju kurungs! Lucky me, she's a big time fan of baju kurung. So I have a lot of choices to choose! - She practically wears baju kurung everyday, no kidding! So I always borrow hers if I'm gonna attend weddings or islamic ceremonies or whatever. Hence, for a start now, this Eid I want to start collecting quite a few pieces to call my own, and that means, no more making RM 2k a piece of baju kurung if I wanna make that happen! haha. - Normally I would reserve some money around RM 2 to 4k to make my Raya dresses with some fabulous designers, but of course, I will only get like 1 or 2 pieces (or if I'm lucky, maybe I'd get 3 or 4 dresses, courtesy of dad! ^__^). And the rest of the Hari Raya, like I said, I would be borrowing my mom's. Thus, no need to do so many dresses! haha. But now that I'm starting to have my own collection of baju kurung, I gotta buy the cheap ones and work my way up to having tons of baju kurung like my mom's! hehe. Hence, no more made-to-order dresses and instead, just wear the ready-to-wear ones! After all, I only wear baju kurung occasionally. (My husband said, "I'm so proud of you. You've changed to become more wise in your shopping choices. I likeee". haha. Rrrright)

• Thirdly because... I have spent a lot for my wedding dresses last year. Altogether, I have about 9 dresses for my wedding! I won't state the total amount I have spent here though. It's embarrasing! haha. ;p And I still have yet another 2 dresses that I didn't get to wear for the wedding due to some reasons! Gosh...makes me feel so bad just thinking about it. So...making yet another couture dress would be such a waste of money because I could just shorten the dress' tail or something, and wear them again. (But not for this Raya I guess. No tailor wants to alter my dress in this short period of time! T__T) 

• Lastly because.....there are SO many beautiful pieces of the ready-to-wear collection in the market now that you wouldn't want to miss!!! I love most of Jovian Mandagie's design. Simple yet very classy! Very much my taste! And most importantly, VERY affordable! Me likey! ;)

Hmm...Looking at my collection, I think I'm lacking of the color green and pink/purple lar. Should I be looking for more dresses? haha. How many baju kurung do you girls actually buy/make for Raya?? Two? Four? Eight? Ten, maybe? hehe. Do share! And let me know what websites to visit for Eid stuff! I would love to browse! 

....and maybe buy! LOL ;p

XOXO,

Shazzy.

The Dipped Row Special Raya Sale!

Have you guys bought your Raya purchases yet? Dresses, abayas, baju kurungs, shoes, bags, etc? As of the third day of Ramadhan, I only have 2 dresses for now..hehe. Let's hope in the next 27 days before Eid, I won't be window shopping that much, or else the number of my dresses might probably increase every other day! LOL. ;p

Anyway, I received an email a couple of days ago from Dipped Row - an online jewelry brand, that they're having a special Raya sale! You'd get 15% off on all orders above RM 100! How exciting is that! Looking at their head-turning collection, I already imagine what baju to pair the necklaces that I got my eyes on with! 

By the way Dipped Row was founded by three childhood friends, Karina, Azura and Lina, who are self-confessed jewellery addicts. Every piece in the collection is personally curated to showcase a glimmer of their different personalities and style. Their collection features distinctive yet versatile jeweleries, from simple dainty bracelets to head-turning statement necklaces that would surely complement and elevate any ensemble. Necklaces and earrings are embellished with crystal clusters, floral patterns and brightly colored resin stones, while the bracelets are swathed in exotic stingray, phyton and ostrich leather! Every piece is drool-worthy! 

Let me just show you a glimpse of what kind of items do the brand carries! - You would want to see more! Look!

Very beautiful pieces, no?!

I love the starfish bangle. Unfortunately they're sold out! :(

Love this Glitter Bug clutch!

How I wish I can display my jewelry collection like this in my wardrobe!

Can you imagine..having rows and rows of sparkly colorful necklaces right in front of me?! 

*drools*

Anyway, these are the pictures that I got from the Dipped Row Party that I was invited to, a couple of months ago. I remembered how exciting it was, seeing lotsa cool jewelries on the display table! It's like seeing frosted candies! There were a lot of pretty necklaces and bangles for us to try that day... and we even get to bring home some too, apart from the goodie bag that each of us got from Bobbi Brown and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf drinks! :)

So happy to get my hands on them first! ;)

Really? 

Well my man once gave me a mother of pearl earrings when he was in Bangkok last 2 years. But I couldn't wear it because I don't have any piercings! LOL 

I love this clutch!!! So chic and edgy!

Nope, these are not earrings! These are sugar cookies! 

Now these are the real frosted candies/cupcakes! They were real yummyyyy!

By the way, one of the coolest thing we did that day was to customize our own jewelry!

We were given the opportunity to choose any piece of Dipped Row diamond necklace that was laid on the table, and give it a little makeover by painting it with nail polish! - How awesome is that? I have never thought of doing that before! 

Now that I've done this, I might start painting and coloring my other necklaces that I have at home as well!

I love this idea! It's brilliant!

I chose to paint my necklace in blue and yellow since I don't have any yellow necklaces in my collection..

I thought mine was just...average

But I was wrong! 

I was one of the winners for the contest! Yay! More Dipped Row items for me! hehe. 

The two winners! Yeay I'm one of the them!

Thank you ladies for inviting me! I had a lot of fun that day!! One of the best events I attended this year! 

So...With Hari Raya approaching, I would like to share with you about the Hari Raya sale by Dipped Row. They are offering 15% discount on all orders above RM100 from 27th June to 31st July 2014. So go ahead and check them out! Dipped Row collection are available online at www.dippedrow.com. They are affordably-priced, between RM30 – RM400 and they offer fast delivery throughout Malaysia, as well as a few selected international countries.

Shop their statement diamond necklaces now! 

(And maybe...you can paint it with your fave color too, like we did! hehe)

Their head-turning pieces includes encrusted necklaces, statement earrings, jewelled bracelets and dazzling rings. This collection is sure to make your Hari Raya a truly irresistible one! Happy shopping you guys!


XOXO,
Shazzy.