Easy-Peasy DIY : Air Plants !

Living in the city, I love trying to bring greenery into my home. Partly because I feel that although Malaysia has tropical lush forests, the city would definitely do better with more trees and greenery. However...I don't think I have a green thumb and the time to plant. Juggling between my architecture work and other activities, gardening isn't really an easy task for me. 

I finally found (hopefully) the perfect plant for busy people who want to create their own mini garden indoors!

AIR PLANTS!

These plants are so unique and interesting that they do not require any soil or daily watering to survive. No fertilizers are required either and they can pretty much live in any environment. 

So I got my air plants during my race at the Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show last Sunday at Far East Agriculture. They sell a wide variety of air plants and some are even in bloom. The lady and her mother were very helpful in teaching me the ways to care for air plants and even gave me a free string (HAHAHA) 

I bought 5 and got 1 for free. I didnt know how exactly I was gonna design their final homes yet so I got a few different species so that I can get a variety of designs. Here, I will show you how I made them. Not only are they easy to make, but the options are endless!

So first of all, these are the stuff that I used in creating 6 new homes : 

6 decorative pots/dishes/pretty much anything you wanted to try (I used bowls from Daiso)

decorative stones

decorative sand

miniature sculpture (optional. I couldnt find any yet. this will just make things more interesting)

wood

bowl for watering

spatula & tweezers to place the decorative sand and stone

Step 1 : Watering

First of all, I dunked the air plants in a bowl of water for about 20-30 minutes. This should be done weekly for the air plants or if you're too busy for that, you can mist them lightly daily.

Step 2 : Setting up

So while the air plants are dunking away in their tub, I set up the items and thought about how I wanted to design the final home for my talandsias. I didnt have a variety of decorative stones as I was on a budget so I got this purple coloured decorative stones from ikea and a packet of decorative sand from Daiso. 

Step 3 : Filling up 

Once the talandsias are out of their tub, I set them up on some paper towels to dry. After that, I arranged the plants in their new homes. The lady told me to make sure the leaves are exposed to the air around it. If not, it'll get too hot and the plant will die. 

And that's it! You can really just put it in anything and anywhere! They give you a variety of options to explore and design at your own free will! Haha but if you're like me and you'd like some inspiration, Pinterest is an awesome place to find  terrarium ideas. Hope you enjoyed this easy-peasy diy. I definitely enjoyed my time creating these mini homes hahaha :P 

Xx,

Sarah 

Cafe Hunting : DC Comics Cafe, Sunway Putra Mall

Hello! Today I will share about my experience at DC comics cafe in Sunway Putra Mall, formerly known as The Mall. I used to go there a few times when I went to my mum's office.

I found out about DC comics cafe through a 9gag post that was shared on FB. I decided to go there with my sister before I had to do my errands. 

Sophia and I arrived at 11.30 am at the mall. It is a small cafe with limited number of tables located next to the DC comics shop. Probably due to the crazy amount of shares on FB, the cafe was full of people and people were lining up outside. It took about 20-30 minutes for us to get a table, thanks to one helpful staff who managed to contain the chaos and had stopped me from turning into the hulk (I know the hulk is from marvel. But u get what I mean). the cashier...wasn't too bright and almost forgot to take my order. Also completely ignoring the fact that I already got a table. Luckily the lady behind me had the decency to ask whether I had ordered or not. 

So I had the "batman vs aquaman Alaskan fish burger " with HA-HA berry milkshake (strawberry+blueberry milkshake) and my sister had the batman pepperoni pizza with Superman peanut butter milkshake.

The wait was definitely worth it! My Alaskan fish burger was delicious and my milkshake was good too. I'm glad we got to eat there and I hope that DC Comics Cafe will expand so more people can come in and enjoy the food. Also...probably work on their seating system...cause there were a few people who tried to cut lines and also "chup tempat" while everyone else was qeueing up. Overall, it's a nice place and would recommend but those who wanna go...please be considerate and line up accordingly. Also! Big thank you to the guy who got our table ready and was very helpful to us. Big props to you! :D

Xx, 

Sarah

Run! Run! Run! Part 2

A few days ago, I blogged about joining a 7km fun run. So last Sunday, I joined the 7km fun run in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur Orchid and Bonsai Show. Im proud to say I completed it in an hour (I Knooooowww you running snobs can run faster, yeah yeah, I'm working on it)

So I was a tad bit late and missed the warm up session. Mum sent me and I entered from the entrance near the Bukit Aman Police HQ. I thought it was nearby when I walked in. Oh...how wrong was I...ahahahah

So I was greeted with rows of Bonsai plants. These were the ones for the show competition. I walked on thinking that it was close by. Kept walking and was greeted at another entrance by a lady who gave me a sticker (I lost the sticker halfway through my run -_-). In front of me was a dad and his little daughter and they were also walking to the venue. After about walking for 10 minutes, we finally reached the main area and my 7km race was already starting. I said my goodbyes to the man and his child and quickly ran to the starting point. 

After about 1 minute standing there, the race horn was sounded off signalling our start. The hordes of people in the front were rushing to get out of the hot and sweaty surrounding and those who were aiming to win ran off straight away. I knew all I wanted to achieve that day was to complete and finish faster than my previous fun run last year. 

To be frank, I didnt really train as diligently as how I did last race. I did run a few km but nothing compared to last year's race. I think if I did train like how I did back then, I'd be able to run faster and complete in a much shorter time. But I stayed at my usual pace and completed it eventually. 

I am proud to say I completed it! and another 7km in my pocket! Im looking for more races to go for now that I have 'recovered' so I can train, hopefully as diligent as last year. I will however not deny that I have been kindda a lazy bum when it comes to exercising and I continuously blame my unfinished thesis for not having time to exercise...but hopefully after I send it today for binding...I shouldnt have anymore excuses and can finally enjoy the last few weeks of my semester holiday in peace. 

Oh! and I forgot to mention, at the KLOBS there were vendors that sold orchids, bonsais and various air plants and plant related stuff. And...because I know that I dont have a green thumb...I bought 5 free 1 air plants!

Now...if these guys die too...I seriously dont know what to say about my lack of gardening skills....

Thats all for now!

Xx,

Sarah

Sarah's Travel Diary : Lombok, Indonesia

taken at sengigi beach (rumah hantu)

Hi! A few days ago I went for a very short trip to the beautiful island of Lombok, Indonesia. I was supposed to be there from the 9th till the 12th however due to family issues, I was forced to cut it short to only 2 days. So I was in Lombok from 10th till the 11th but that was enough to make me fall in love with Lombok :D 

10th August 2015 : Kuala Lumpur > Lombok

My flight was at 3.30 pm but due to delay we only pushed off from KLIA 2 at 4pm. It was a slightly bumpy journey but because I was so tired from the night before, I slept pretty much almost the whole 3 hour journey. 

We had nasi lemak on board the air plane which was okay...nothing beats homemade nasi lemak though

About 45 minutes before we landed, the sun was setting and it was absolutely beautiful being up there in the sky. I looked out of the window and saw the peak of the famous Mt Rinjani and it was just breathtaking. 

Due to the short trip, I wasn't able to climb Mt Rinjani. Definitely on my bucket list next tim I travel to Lombok. 

So we finally arrived Lombok at about 7-ish pm. The airport was a small one and it was pretty crowded. People were constantly cutting the line and was rather annoying but overall the officers there were very kind to us and helped us not get pushed by the crowd. We got out and we met Evan who was a student at Mataram University. He drove us to our, Lombok Raya hotel. The journey took about 1 hour so to anyone who plans on staying there, be sure to keep that in mind. The road to the airport was under construction so Evan had to drive carefully. Finally we arrived our hotel at about 8.30 pm. 

The rest of the night was spent with a massage (mum did...I didnt have time) which costs us 420,000 rupiah (+ 21% tax! and malaysian's complain about the 6%!). After the massage, mum and I were famished and we had dinner in the hotel since it was already 11pm and we were both too tired to go out to town that night. That night we had : pecil kangkung (water spinach, bean sprouts, ground nuts and sambal), Ayam tumis (chicken cooked in something *im not sure sorry*) and sup buntut (oxtail soup) with white rice and soda gembira (happy soda : sirap bandung with soda) and coke milk (milk + coke)

The portions were really small so mum ended up ordering bebek goreng taliwang (deep fried duck). They served the duck with salt and lime. The duck was deep fried without any spices so you have to squeeze the lime and sprinkle some salt to it. I dont like duck...so it wasn't the best meal that I had. Other than that, the other dishes were spectacular! 

11th August 2015 : Sengigi Beach, Malimbu, Gili Trawangan, Home.

Mum and I woke up at about 6.30 am the next day and went down for breakfast. Lombok has the same time zone as Malaysia however the sun rises much earlier compared to Malaysia. So when we woke up it was already bright outside. 

After breakfast (I only had chicken porridge), I waited for my guide, Putri and Pak Nadir, who brought me around Lombok. Total cost including lunch was 600,000 rupiah. 

The first place we visited briefly was Sengigi Beach. There were many beach resorts there and it is a popular tourist area because of the serene white beaches, turquoise sea and cool ocean breeze. It was absolutely stunning to see. Putri took me to "Rumah Hantu" (the haunted house by the cliff) further up from Sengigi Beach. I literally thought it was a haunted house and being the scaredy cat that I am, was almost about to tell Putri that I didnt want to go to the haunted house. HAHA! I'm glad that I did! 

The story was that the house was built without permission from the local authorities and was built on a cliff to near to the ocean. Due to safety concerns, the project was abandoned and now is a favourite look out spot to check out the view of Sengigi Beach.

The view was stunning and it was really amazing to view. We stayed there for about 10 minutes (I was in a rush to view as many scenic spots as possible as I had to catch the 7pm flight the same day!) and moved on to Malimbu. 

Like the haunted house, Malimbu was also a beautiful place to take pictures of the island and to view the area. According to Putri, Malimbu gets crowded with people after 3pm as most people go there to view the sunset. From Malimbu, you can see the 3 smaller islands that are a definite tourist spot : Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno.

After talking to Pak Nadir, I decided to go to Gili Trawangan. (I did the mistake of not reading up on Lombok before I left so I was quite disappointed with myself during the trip)

So at about 11 am I made it to the Jetty to take the boat to Gili Trawangan. Again, I should've read up before hand -_- I took a private speed boat to Gili Trawangan which costs 900,000 rupiah to and fro Gili Trawangan. Pak Nadir advised me to take the speed boat because it will be faster and I can decide when I want to leave. I didnt mind though it did bother me when heading back from the Gili Trawangan a random lady decided without asking me to go on the boat with me. So that bothered me abit. But overall, it was still considered affordable for me to take the speed boat and I dont regret it. I did regret not bringing enough money and had to change my Malaysian ringgit to rupiah. Also, heads up, if you have a guide with you, dont expect them to pay any part eventhough they are with you. You pay for pretty much every transport you take. hahaha, it was different from what I was used to but didnt think much about it. However I did overhear some other foreigners that were complaining about that. 

Ok so, the boat ride to Gili Trawangan took about 7-10 minutes. Waiting for the boat to arrive took the same amount of time. Overall I had to wait about 20 minutes to catch the speed boat. The owner of the speed boat company, Ali was very nice and friendly and chatted with me while I was waiting for the boat. Eventually Putri and I got on the boat and we made our move to the beautiful Gili Trawangan 

I was greeted with a lovely view of the island which its crystal clear blue sea and white sandy beaches. It was really beautiful there. The best part about Gili Trawangan is that there are no motored vehicles so the only way to commute around the city is either by walking, cycling or taking the Cidomo (small horse carriage). I mostly walked and took the Cidomo (because I don't trust myself cycling hahahah) Depending on the distance (like a taxi but with no meter....) the price can range from 50,000 to 100,000 rupiah. I went to the famous ocean swing and it cost 75,000 rupiah. 

on the way back I worried I didnt have enough for the boat ride back so I decided to walk abit. It was hot but we got to take pictures and enjoyed the view around.

But eventually it got too hot for us to walk so we called for a cidomo to get back to the main jetty area.

The ride back to the main area cost 50,000 rupiah. It was bumpy but very interesting ride. After we arrived at the main jetty area, we walked to the turtle conservation centre. There were 3 pools filled with tiny baby turtles of 3 different sizes. I was quite surprised by how open the centre was where you can literally just touch the turtle. But dont do that as you'd be fined or be in a lot of trouble. 

Most of the turtles were sleeping and were just floating around. Some were swimming vigorously at the edge of the tanks. they were really cute eventhough they were just...there. hahaha after that Putri and I continued walking on till we reached the end before we turned back and headed back to the jetty. After that we got on the speedboat and headed back to the main island (this was the part where that lady went on my boat). After that, Pak Nadir drove to Monkey Forest in search of monkeys and fish satay. The journey was long and we went through winding roads which made Putri sick a few times. The forest road was very similar to Malaysia's roads and there were a few monkeys hanging out by the road eating and just chilling around. We didnt get to try the fish satay as it was closed and we proceeded to have lunch at Taliwang. 

Here I had a traditional Sasak cuisine which was really delicious. I had ayam goreng Taliwang (deep fried chicken in spicy sambal), deep fried fish with sambal, pecil kangkung (water spinach, bean sprouts, spicy coconut shavings and sambal), cabbage and black bean soup, tempe and tofu with white rice and Es Teh (Iced Tea) to wash it all down. It was a wonderful meal with just the right amount of spiciness to it. After lunch, it was time for me to go back to the hotel and pack my things.

I met up with my mum and we did some last minute souvenir shopping and headed to the airport. 

I love Lombok, the people are so friendly and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had spent more time there to experience more of its beauty and to climb up Mt Rinjani. Definitely recommend it for everyone to go there and experience its beauty! 

Thats all for now! 

Xx,

Sarah

p.s: Can you guess where I'll be going to next ? hint : will be visiting an ancient monumen ;D 

Run Run Run!

OK so the last 2 blog posts were a little bit closer to home. I guess I've been going through some emotional rollercoaster thing and its not fun to read. I know I know. 

SO! I've decided to take up my monthly challenge I started of last year. And this year, I am going to join the KL Orkid & Bonsai Run this 15 August 2015!

Its in 2 weeks and because I'm only eligible to run for only 2 events, I opted for the 7 km Women Open. So as always, I'm gonna be using the Nike running app to help me train for it and hopefully I have fun and get through it !

I find that the Nike running app does help give me motivation to run and exercise. Especially when you get feedback on your runs by professional athletes. Well, the recordings of their voice that is. hahaha but I do find it encouraging and it makes me WANT to run...so I can get praises from voice recordings. Its weird but it works. HAHA.

So, since this race is in 2 weeks, I used the coach feature on the app where it'll help customise the routine.(to be perfectly honest, I dont always follow the schedule and end up dropping out of the programme...-__-) however, this time since the race IS in 2 weeks, I'm gonna do my best to train for it. The last thing I need is to die of exhaustion.

I also checked my current weight and body fat + water percentage....and yes....I have gained weight.

Xx,

Sarah

What its like being with someone who doesn't want to be with you.

or thats what I think he meant, atleast.

Love, is just one completely confusing entity. Its something that you hate going through yet something that you crave so much. Love is complicated yet so simple at the same time. Something so ridiculously painful yet so sweet and beautiful. 

ok so you get the picture, right? I'm going through some crazy emotional roller coaster  shit that...well...only I feel. 

You find this person thats just the greatest thing that has ever happened to you. Literally the best person in the world. and you connect with each other in a whole different level and in ways you've never experienced before. you just feel like this person is so important to you and you know that your life wouldn't feel the same without them in it.

Your doppleganger. Your soulmate. Your partner in crime. 

How did this person suddenly becomes the single most important thing in your world? and you'd do anything to keep them around. This person makes you bad but makes you good too. This person can and will destroy you. But this person can also rebuild you. Its just ridiculous. and confusing.

But at the same time you know that you wont be with the person. because he/she chooses to be on their own and not tied down to anything. You know whatever connection you have with this person is not gonna lead you to anything that will be 50 years down the line. You know that they choose not to commit. To anything. 

Question is, then why are you still with them? Are you looking to hopefully change their view of that and commit? Are you too afraid to let go and start over? Are you worried no one better or nearly as good enough will ever come your way?

All these questions plague me every time someone questions what the hell is going on in my 'love life' and honestly, I don't know. I don't know what I'm waiting for. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know if I even know what the heck is going on. 

damn, feelings suck.