Langsir oh Langsir

When I was in primary school, I remember seeing my mum with her sewing machine, sewing curtains for all the windows of our house. The house has many windows because my mum's house is a corner house. It was a common sight as we got close to the month of Ramadan and Syawal.

Now I know buying a curtain is money consuming because I've been spending about RM1,000++ just for 4 pieces of curtains! Imagine if my mum didn't make and sew the curtains herself. She definitely saved a lot by making her own. I do have this wish to make my own but I have misplaced the pedal for the sewing machine and now I don't know where it is. I would like to start a small project such as sewing a cushion cover.

To me, buying a curtain is a daunting task! How much fabric is needed? How do you measure? There are so many choices of fabric with various range of prices! Do you really spend this much on curtains? When buying a custom made, you definitely don't want to be scammed by the shop.

My curtain collection from UK

Aku ada beli ready made curtain untuk bawak balik Msia bila aku nak balik for good in 2004. Ada yang aku tak pakai pun sampai sekarang! Tape langsir UK lain dari kat Malaysia. Tape dia ada tali. Sekarang aku let go dah langsir-langsir tu. Lesson learnt, tak yah la beli langsir dari sana. Simpan duit bawak balik Msia lagi bagus! Haha! Masa tu memang aku tak tau apa-apa pasal langsir tapi tak nak menyesal bila tak beli. Aku nampak cantik and murah (sana kan femes Christmas Sale), aku beli je la. Naive giler!

Aku guna ada beberapa pieces kat rumah sewa Seksyen 7. Pastu bila dah pindah ke rumah sendiri, mesti nak buat baru kan....heh

My 1st set of curtains according to my taste

My first custom made curtains buat dengan Luqkissa Furnishing sbb kedai ni dekat dengan rumah. Dia ada langsir Elyza yang mirip English designs.

Activity CNY 2021

 Tahun ni dapat cuti Khamis and Jumaat for CNY. Sebelum tu mmg pulun abis kerja-kerja opis sebab nak ketenangan sepanjang 4 hari cuti CNY tu.

Hari ni dah hari Sabtu, sekejap je rasa. So what did I do up to today?

Khamis 11 Feb 2021

Aku dah booking siap-siap pukul 11.00 nak gunting rambut kat Honey Spa, Bangi Sentral. Aku dah start rimas sebab rambut dah start gugur. Pastu sekali dengan kutu, jangkit daripada anak-anak agaknya. Tak boleh bayang operasi nyah kut kalo berambut panjang....so aku decide nak potong pendek terus ala-ala Anne Hathaway dalam Le Miserable. 

Pagi sebelum pegi aku goreng keropok dulu dan buat cekodok bilis untuk pairkan dengan kuah kari daging beli kat Mat Kimbon minggu lepas (!!)... Lepas gunting rambut, pegi visit Azizah Hias nak buat curtain baru untuk living room (this one deserve a separate post)

Jumaat 12 Feb 2021

Hari Jumaat dalam kul 930 aku pegi beli breakfast, bahan dapur sket and lastly beli frozen dim sum/wantan kat kedai suami K Fai. Sambil tu nak tanya K Fai pasal posting dia on emas. Aku rasa dah sampai masa aku guna duit aku untuk melabur.

Sampai rumah pukul 11.00 terus masak Nasi Arab, guna set ni. Sebenarnya adik ipar aku yang duduk rumah aku beli dulu. Sekarang dia dah dapat pindah balik Perlis so tak nak membazir, aku guna la. Paket dia siap bagi arang nak bagi bau asap kat nasi, beras dia pun sedap. Cuma cara masak dia guna carrot, bukan tomato ygn pada aku agak leceh sikit sebab nak kena buat air carrot pulak untuk campur dengan nasi. Part tu aku tak ikut, degil ikut cara sendiri! Erk.... 

Alhamdulillah, nasi masak elok atas dapur. Aku tak guna rice cooker sebab nak ikut instruction paket tu. Sekarang aku paham, sukat air macam masak nasi putih. Masak nasi pun macam masak nasi putih. Aku nak tulis sini supaya boleh refer...

1. Beras rendam dulu sekejap pastu toskan.
2. Sukat air boleh guna jari kot (sbb yang masak Nasi Arab tu guna instruction dalam paket tu, lupa pulak nak sukat beras dia banyak mana. Nanti aku test lagi sekali) macam masak nasi putih biasa.
3. Tumis bahan-bahan dulu. Masukkan air and biar hingga mendidih.
4. Pastu baru masukkan nasi. Bila nampak kering, kecilkan api dan tutup periuk supaya nasi masak melalui wap.

Petang aku binge Netflix

Sabtu 13 Feb 2021

Hari ni nak kena cat rod langsir yang dah hitam (asal kaler putih). Sebelum tu nak kena pegi Jaya Grocer, teringin nak masak Ramen/ Chinese style noodles sempena CNY...kuang3x. Semalam dah beli dim sum/wantan. Pastu aku nak guna chili oil, sesame seed yang dah ada kat rumah, tak mau membazir.

Then pukul 3.00 nanti ada booking spa pakej kat Honey Spa juga...syok nya!

Other things to do:

• Sort out Lutfi registration_KAFA
• Register OroDesign and Quantummetal

Room makeover: Kids bedroom

Adik ipar aku dah dapat transfer balik Perlis. So dapatla the boys bilik tidur untuk depa. Aku pun excited nak buat makeover. Dah alang-alang tu nak rearrange and match the furnitures, white goes with white, black goes with black. 

The challenge is we have double bed and 2 single beds. Each room is 12 x 10 kaki. Bunyi cam OK tapi rasa 10 kaki tu tak sampai rasanya. Rasa fo that size kalo single bed OK. So jenuh memikir layout yang sesuai...maybe single bed satu nak let go, ganti dengan pullout (kat Shoppe dalam RM200 or less)

Actually bilik tu boleh extend to another 8 kaki lagi (jadi 20 x 10 kaki) tapi tak tahu la bila nak extend.

Biasala, bila nak buat budget, buat la survey harga online. Melalut sampai nak ganti lantai, tingkap and pintu...tak salah kalo nak berangan kan...

Done lot's of surveying on stuff. Kinda tired of  it. So now, just need to start doing!

1st week of Jan 2021

Dah start masuk keje i.e. start tengok email, folders. Sebelum ni tak mau tengok sbb cuti kan... Don't know what to expect with work. Yang I tau, kena cover subordinate May-July nanti sebab dia akan on maternity leave. I'm just looking forward months after that sbb tahu sekarang mmg akan start busy.

Nonetheless, at least sekarang boleh duduk rumah buat kerja. Tapi after a while, I felt like I still need to go to the office...to get the work mood back or else rasa cam malasnya nak buat keje!

Tengok the kids pun sedapppp dok umah tapi sampai bila kan....takkan tak belajar. I wonder how 20th Jan would be like. Mesti liat abis, macam mak dioghang jugak!

Semalam 1st day period so hari ni tak rasa sedap badan sangat. Dahlah semalam hujan dari pagi ke malam..sejukkkk....rasa ala-ala winter Christmas..keh keh...tapi berjaya jugak la vacum rumah semalam.

Actuall hari Rabu 6hb nak pegi buat health screening tapi ni dah period, terpaksa tangguhkan. Jumaat nak pegi Perak sebab ada sepupu nak bernikah...Yeay! Pegi jalan!....

Welcome 2021

 Let's go straight to my 2021 goals....

Yoga wise, I aim to be able to achieve these poses with ease apart from improving my flexibility and hip mobility:

• Crow pose
• Camel
• Pigeon

Spend 30 min on yoga every morning which I've started doing since October 2020

Health wise, reduce my fat % to xx now that I can see the fat contribution to my body shape (thigh and butt). Eat mindfully. Less carbo more veggies and protein. Consume more nutritious food such as eggs, nuts, Omega 3s, celery etc

Maybe I should target to achieve 60kg by end of 2021? (That's around 11kg/12 mths = 1 kg per month)

Work-wise, be more accountable and speak more. Be prepared to cover my subordinate when she's on maternity leave.

Mengaji wise, target khatam Al-Quran 1 kali

Investment/ Money wise? Plan to rent EVO. I've let an agent to handle it since Sept 2020 but notake up yet

Home wise, new curtains and sofa

Relationship wise? Appreciate my mother, kids, extended family more

My collection of handbags

 I love bags that is functional, elegant, stylish, sometimes relaxed instead of structured, or the other way around. Used to aim for an LV bag but not such a big deal anymore. It's you that wear the bag, don't let the bag overshadow you. I don't mean to brag about the bags that I have, they are a modest collection compared to having more expensive ones e.g. Chanel, LV...yea, mostly the European brands.

My 1st favourite bag is one I bought at Asda. I have talked about it here. Below is the collection from 2013 until now.....

All of them...almost

Longchamp

Kate Spade

Coach and one was bought by a friend when she was in Europe

My only Tods

I love my only Tods. Love the colour and shape. But I bought the jute version so it didn't last like leather. This has shown me that even branded ones have stuff that don't last long

My soft pink Coach. I only wear this to weddings

My other favourite. Le Cuir Pliage

The blue Le Cuir Pliage is wearing off at the bottom corners. Yes, I love this bag because I can wear it to weddings and shopping. Love the fact it can be folded and it's made of sheep skin, which is softer than other leather.

I try not to buy more bags and make do with what I have. But I couldn't resist to have a classic black Kate Spade quilted bag, bought during MCO for RM499 (I pledged not to buy more than RM500)

Update on master bedroom makeover and reflection

 Alhamdulillah, the custom made bed I ordered from Astana Jati finally delivered to me in Sept. It was the size and height that I wished for... I was so thankful to Allah because there could be a risk that they didn't make as I described...but Alhamdulillah! It didn't look exactly like Ashley's and the material may not be as quality as I thought but due to the grand presence of the bed, I just didn't have any complain! 

I didn't have an exact budget for the bedroom. I used to settle with what I know e.g get a custom-made curtains and a proper side table. Get a carpet to complete the look but....I have a different approach this time. Save your money for the future, don't go lavish now and there are cheaper alternatives such as Shopee, Lazada and shops like Mr DIY, Romantika, Kaison etc.

One of the reason I want to get a bed is because I bought a nice duvet set last year but it would not look nice without a bed! And this year is our 20th anniversary so it's a good reason to get one. Below is roughly the costs of the makeover:

1. New AKEMI duvet set RM300++ (bought last year)
2. New kayu jati bedframe Astana Jati = RM2,300
3. New Jotun paint RM141++
4. New plain ROMANTIKA curtain RM68 x 2 sets = RM136
5. Round ROMANTIKA mirror RM75
6. New drawer knobs RM4.95 x 8 units + delivery  =  RM44.80

Kalo tak masuk duvet and bedframe = RM396.80

Kalo masuk duvet and bedframe = RM2,996.80

Curtains: SSF curtain could cost RM100+ for a set, so I bought a bargain there. Will try Kaison's (if they have plains) because they have wider set per piece. Custom made curtain would depend on the materials, probably may costs RM300 and above

Mirror: The round shape is perfect and at RM75, I just have to get it. You can't expect much from the price. It has flimsy cardboard at the back compared to SSF's but hey, it will do for the time being. Previous plan was to buy from SSF as well which definitely costs RM200 and above.

Picture during the day

This was taken around 7.00 pm, right after I bought the curtain.

The current theme is plain grey and white. I love how it turns out as the brown furniture complete the look (or the other way around). I'm planning to get another duvet and curtain set as a 2nd theme which should include some colour and patterns. Choice of colous either muted pink, dark blue or turquoise. For the duvet, my wishlist is to get a hotel like material...crisp and comfy. I'm willing to spend RM500 on it but must make sure to get an authentic set.

I will have to survey more on the curtains....

Next buy: side table, side lamp (optional), phone charger

Need to buy a side table. A simple one as the space left is quite narrow, big enough to put a charger, a side table lamp or a vase. Light enough for easy cleaning ya...

Power point is only on one side of the bed. So I need to plan and add more points for phone charger and the lamp on the other side of the bed. Planning to get an extension and hang it on the wall behind the bedhead....

The reflection

Since then, I always reflect on my life after my prayers as I look across and see the bed. 

After 20 years of marriage, what's the reason behind getting the bed now instead of 20 years ago? Well, actually 16 years, minus the 4 years in the UK.... Was I not care about our relationship? Ya la, bedroom is a sacred place for husband and wife...How could I live without a bed for 11 years? (we moved here in 2007, we bought a new mattress without a bed in 2009) We've been sleeping with the kids since then and only now with the new bed we get to have the room all to ourselves. By now having the bed, did it affect my relationship with my husband? Is there any improvement in our relationship due to the new bed?

I may not be the person who I thought I was. I like home decorating but why my house doesn't look like the pics in Pinterest? Do I overthinking stuff and don't put things into action? Is it because of budget constraints? I'm willing to save up and buy furniture RM1,000 and above which to some, are expensive. I love shopping at IKEA and get my furniture there...but sometimes the double function furniture I bought were not used to the fullest e.g my extendable dining table and the single chair bed. And still, my house doesn't look nice as others.

I should stop complaining about not having this and that because at least now I get to have the bed that I wanted. Some people only sleep on the floor berlapikkan kotak.....Always be thankful and trust the process. Allah SWT knows better. Stuff is just stuff...get them if you want. When you start comparing with others, you will start not appreciating what you have. Never lose sight that our life is temporary. What's more important is your deeds towards Allah SWT and others. I'm not sure whether all these thoughts came because of the bed or it was just me maturing since I'm now 45 years old! Kuang3x

For the past years, I think I got things more because they were cheap/on offer especially clothes. More about this in another post.

This was taken today, just to show the mirror is now up on top of drawer