Birthday '12: First Birthday Present Of The Year

Last week, I received my very first birthday present of 2012. Pretty, little, purple, flower-power earrings from Mama. Think I'll wear them on my date with The Husband tonight. (Any reason just to dress up and accessorise, right? =p) Now to scour the wardrobe for wearables in purple... or something like that. :-/

Earrings from Mama for turning 28.

Almost 28

I no longer like birthdays.

There. I said it.

Not cos I'm getting older and getting older always sucks if you're a girl, but simply because birthdays have just lost their celebratory birthday-ness for me over the last few years. Depress-emo, much? Yeah. Some. I wasn't always like this though. 2006 was a good birthday year for me. So was 2008. I partied like a rockstar and felt like a million bucks those two years. =p


But other than that... growing older has just been blah, blah and more blah for me. The ultimate worst birthday of my life was the birthday of 2010. No other birthday can fight. 2011 wasn't all that bad considering The Husband whisked me off to Genting for a couple of days and brought me horseback riding, which I enjoyed. (I have yet to blog about that getaway. Whoops. -_-) But I think in general, it's just been downhill for me and birthdays since I crossed that blasted mid-twenties line.

So, here I am again.

Sitting on the verge

of the 21st of November.

I turn 28 in a few hours. Not a bad age to be at, if you were to ask me at any other time of the year. But not tonight. Cos tonight, I'm really starting to feel that familiar tinge of disappointment and self-pity set in. The kind which ultimately brings with it a tidal wave of emo-ness and depressive-ness that will drown me in sorrow till the 22nd comes around. Sigh.


You know, I wish I was spending my 28th birthday down in KL. Alternatively, I wish my close friends were up here in Penang where I'm at. But mostly, I wish The Husband was with me tonight. Instead, I'm in Penang without any close friends around, and it looks to me like I'm gonna be spending The Crossover alone. Again. How wonderful. Ugh. -_-'''


I think the supremely lousy way I feel tonight is compounded by the fact that I've not gotten a good night's sleep in a long, long time. That, and cos I've not been as mobile as I want to be or am used to being. I hate the fact that I'm unable to drive right now. Cos if I could, I would at least be going somewhere, doing something to cheer myself up. Even watching a movie alone at a mall would suffice at this point.


Back in 2010, I swore I wouldn't let myself feel that pathetically depressed on a birthday ever again. But this year, it looks like I've got no choice but to allow this particular birthday to uneventfully run its course. Heck, I can't even go out for a walk around the block alone to feel better, what with Malaysia being so unsafe and all! ARGH!! I just can't win, can I?

Whatever lah. 3 more hours till midnight.

I've still got time to be a sulky 27-year-old.

Catch you guys on the other side. Ciao.

Tau Sar Pneah, Him Heang, Burmah Road

The ultimate best Tau Sar Pneah (a.k.a Tambun Biscuit) on Penang Island, if you ask me. (Although some may disagree and we could end up debating this for donkey years to come. -_-''') I personally like the salty type that's sold in rolls of five as seen below instead of the one that comes in a box of 16 or 32. (Don't get me wrong through. The box type wan also very ho ciak.)

Have not had it for awhile but suddenly felt like indulging in some this week. Haha. Placed my order through Mee's delivery service in the morning (The Husband refused to stop even though we drove by the store – grrr) and it arrived at my doorstep by nightfall. Tucked into one immediately and thoroughly enjoyed the way the outer crust crumbled as the inner bean paste melted in my mouth.

YUMS! I think Imma go have one more before dinner. =p

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HIM HEANG
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162-A, Jalan Burmah,
10050 Penang.

TEL: +604 228 6129/130

Sentimental

Sometimes, it's not the price tag, or the size, or the type, or the grandness of the situation that matters. It's the value you put to the memory that comes with the item you hold dear that makes all the difference. And sometimes, sentimental journeys are what keep you holding on to whatever it is you have that you treasure – be it a useless ticket stub from a first date, a fond memory from a time past, or a precious family heirloom dusted in nostalgia – instead of considering it all naught and moving on to bigger, better, greater things that come your way.

Soft, Squishy, Shapely

I've never been a fan of refrigerated chocolates. They become too hard and crunchy in the fridge. Instead, I prefer my chocolates to be kept at room temperature so they stay slightly moist and perfectly melted. Like so:

See what I mean? Soft and squishy,
but still able to hold its shape. Perfect!

Oh, and always, always Hazel Nut in Milk Chocolate for me, thank you. Am not a fan of the other nuts (nor fruits that they put into chocolates), and white choc is always too sweet while dark choc is just waaaay too bitter for my tastes. Milk choc, on the other hand, is always juuuuust right. =)

10.11.12

That's me, all excited and ready

for date night with The Husband.

But of course, it wasn't the first picture I took.

I probably ended up with a billion Photobooth shots no thanks to The Husband who just felt like photobombing every single one of my pictures tonight. -_-'''

Gatal wan.

Anyway, this is the first time I'm getting dressed up for a night out with him in a long time (the last was during our first anniversary earlier this year), and this will possibly be the last time in a long time that The Husband and I will be able to go on a one-on-one romantic date together so... it's going to be a night to be cherished indeed! =D


p/s: Please excuse the wet hair, by the way. It's just waaay too hot in Penang to do any blow drying. And, well, I just couldn't be bothered with contact lenses right now so... glasses it is!

Developed A Sweet Tooth

I've never really been the girl with a sweet tooth. If I got to take my pick of either option, it would definitely be savoury over sweet. Without a doubt; without a second thought. Because of that, I've always been your typical share-a-cake, no-dessert-thank-you, kurang-manis kinda girl.

Until now.

*blink blink*

I'm mean, sure, I still drink kurang manis. And I think I still prefer savoury snacks over sweet ones. But I definitely no longer shun sweet treats the way I used to. In fact, chocolates, cookies and cakes have suddenly become very attractive to me over the last couple of months. @_@ So much so that I have to constantly and consciously hold back and pull the reins on my new-found love for all things sweet and sugary to ensure that I don't become obese or get diabetes or something. :-/

Having said that, meet my latest sweet indulgence:

 Arnott's Tim Tam Fingers.

 Only the Australian-made ones for me, thank you.

"Made In Australia. Exporting To The World."

Discovered it along the aisles of Cold Storage, Gurney Plaza and made an impulse purchase the same day I bought my latest Aesop products. Came home, stuffed my face with it and instantly fell in love. And that's coming from the girl who only less-than-moderately enjoyed chocolates and NEVER liked Tim Tams. @_@ What is happening to me??? :-/ But seriously lah. If you looked at it also you would wonder how I could have resisted Tim Tam's chocolaty charms all this while.

How to resist, I ask you?? So... eat only lah! YUMSSSS!!!

Buy More, Pay Less

So you know how I've been on an Aesop addiction lately, right? And you know how I've slowly been trying out their products by tucking into my not-so-secret-anymore stash of samples, right? Well, I finally decided on which range I was comfortable with and which product I specifically wanted to BUY. (HAH! Not so cheapskate after all, right??? *lansi face*)


Of the two cleansers I tried and didn't mind, I liked the Fabulous Face Cleanser less. It didn't foam enough for me. The Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser, on the other hand, foamed sufficiently and smelled really good so it got an easy win in my books with two thumbs up.

 The cleanser I didn't like as much.

So... Ladies and gentlemen,

meet two of my latest purchases

– Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser and

Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum.

Ok, ok. To be honest with you, I only went to the Aesop counter with the intention to purchase the facial cleanser cos it's my birthday month and, as an Elite Cardholder, I would get RM50 for the first RM100 I spend at Parkson this month. =p Haha. What?? Dun judge me la. I'm being a smart shopper.

 Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser (200ml), sold at RM185.

BUT while I was at Aesop, I saw a notice that offered an RM50 Aesop voucher for every RM350 spent via credit card. How could I pass that up?? My cleanser already costs RM185. Just need to buy another product I get RM50 extra already, you know! So... I started trying some of the items in their Parsley Seed range and impulse purchased their anti-oxidant serum, too. =p

 Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum (100ml), sold at RM200. 

I also considered their eye serum but that was almost RM300 for a much, much smaller bottle. Only 50ml, I think. My brain immediately said not worth it and my Penangite pocket was just to kiam to cough out the dough so the thought of purchasing it didn't fly although I really liked what I tried. Haha.


Plus, RM350 minus RM185 only comes up to RM165. I might as well top up RM200 (closer to RM165) instead of almost RM300 (almost double the RM165 amount), right? More worth it ma. Then IF I eventually purchase the eye serum, I can use that bigger amount to make the most of another promo or voucher later on. #foresight =p


But come, come, my friends. Let's go into the details of how much I spent... and how much I got in return. (Love the latter part of that sentence big time. =p)

Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser: RM185
+ Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum: RM200
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TOTAL COST (at RSP): RM385
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i.e. Only RM35 over the RM350 minimum amount needed for the RM50 Aesop Voucher. 


Birthday Credit from Parkson's Elite Card for first RM100 spent in November: RM50
+ Aesop Voucher for RM350 spent in a single receipt: RM50
+ RM10 Parkson Vouchers for every RM100 spent: RM10 x 3 = RM30
+ 5% cash-back in Elite Points: RM19.25
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TOTAL VOUCHERS/CREDIT RECEIVED: RM149.25
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RM10 Parkson Vouchers x 3, RM50 Aesop Voucher
and my Parkson Elite Card.

Total Cost (at RSP) for all purchases: RM385
– Total Voucher/ Credit Received for RM385 spent: RM149.25
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= RM235.75
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That's a total of 38.77% savings okayyy. Almost 40%!!
I'm so proud of myself. Super worth it, right??? =D

*beams*

 

Now I just hope I don't mess things up and that my hard work and calculation doesn't go floating down the drain someday. Like, literally. Why? Cos Aesop's Parsley Seed products come in glass bottles (to avoid contamination and/or any reaction with the usual plastic bottles) and... well, we all know how clumsy I can get, and how accident-prone I can be, right? :-/

My Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser & Anti-Oxidant Serum

in their respective glass bottles.


*gulp*