Twelve more days

[Countdown to year 12: 12 days]

(eew) 

School is starting so soon, and it's pretty tragic really. 

Jarryd and I have agreed that we made a terrible choice to attend this school. 

That being said, it is our final year. 

So in another 302 days, I would be finished with high school (the soul-sucking hole of darkness). 

I think everyone would agree that TV programmes of the American high school life have tricked many of us into believing that high school is actually 'fun'. 

Okay, maybe not 'fun', but tolerable. 

WELL, IT ISN'T. 

How I wish I could turn back time to reevaluate my choices and enter a decent high school. 

I've attended 2 high schools: 

- An all girls private high school

- The school that shall not be named (in case Ms.'love bite' reads this post and screws me over) 

I was foolish and immature when deciding that these schools were my 'best options'. 

Lara you idiot. 

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Anyway.

Because I'll be flying off to Melbourne next week, mum and I went to do some shopping. 

Here's a peek at the things I got: 

I absolutely love theBodyShop.

If you walk into my bathroom and check out my body products, you'll realise that everything is Cocoa Butter scented. I'm obsessed. 

This Beautifying Oil is great because it doesn't leave me all oily and greasy after I use it - it absorbs instantly into my skin, so I'm not left walking around my room in my undies reluctant to make contact with anything around me. 

OH MY GAWD THE HONEY OAT MASK. I LOVE IT. 

It smells 'delicious'. I swear I was so tempted to eat it. 

It has this really interesting texture which I find so fascinating to touch. 

Actually, it feels like really dry muesli, literally. 

Mum said she could see instant results after I used it (I couldn't). Always trust the Mum. 

I have been obsessed with Daiso since I came home last month.

I mean, who doesn't love a Japanese RM5 store?  

I got these pink cotton swabs from there. 

Does this happen to any of you? - You're at the counter paying for something at Watsons/Guardian and they whip out a catalogue of products that are cheaper because you've spent more than RM20 and they keep persuading you to get something off the catalogue, and you decide that you actually DO 'need' something from that catalogue (when you really don't) and you end up buying it. 

That's how I ended up with this Bio-essense spring water. Mum has been raving about it so I might as well give it a try. 

Dark green TopShop skirt. 

One thing I've learn't when shopping at TopShop - WAIT FOR A SALE. 

Dammit. 

I spent heaps during my trip home last October when shopping at TopShop, and guess what? Most of the clothes I bought were on sale a few weeks back and everything was like half-priced. 

*slaps myself* 

THESE (above) ARE THE BEST WIPES EVER. 

So many people have been asking me where I bought these wipes - Watsons. 

How adorable are they? 

They come in really small packs.

And the wipes smell amazing (especially the pink one).

MY NEW BOOTS (from Roxy). 

It was love at first sight. 

The inside of the boots are really pretty too! 

... A shoe pocket. For like magic beans or something. 

I've been looking for boots like these for ages (quality ones) so I'm extremely satisfied that I finally own a pair. 

By purchasing the boots, I received a RM40 gift voucher so I decided to get this little purse to store all my coins. Australian coins are really heavy and for some reason I've been finding $2 coins everywhere. 

It also had a chain so I decided to hang my new house key - for my new place in Hidden Valley! 

(I'm super excited that daddy's moving over to Melbourne) 

I know, i'm in desperate need of a manicure. My nails look revolting. 

I might have a stationary addiction according to my mum.

I spend about 45 minutes walking up and down the pen isles in Popular carefully choosing my pens. 

Everyone in school uses the Zebra Mildlighters but it's impossible to find them here in Penang.

So.

When I came across the essenti highlighters (above), the feeling that I was overcome by is probably similar to that of when a Belieber meets Justin. 

I WAS ABOUT TO DIE OF JOY.

(I apologize to the people who were stunned by my sudden squeal of excitement in the store)

I really like these highlighters because the colours are pastel and not the intense-blinding-neon colours. 

Subtle highlighters for a subtle girl like me. The perfect match. 

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This isn't a recent purchase but it was my Christmas present from mum. 

I asked for an exercise ball. 

It serves many purposes to me, except helping me exercise. 

I spend time in my room bouncing on it, it's my favourite pastime. 

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We had family guest over last weekend.

Mum and I brought them cycling around Georgetown, being all touristy.

Hello. Spot the sling bag all tied up under my boob - I'm paranoid about snatch thieves. 

I am now a 'babi panggang' - all sunburnt. 

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Some time last week I decided to tie my hair up in a bun to sleep. 

I was super happy with the outcome (below).

Sadly, I fail all the other times I try to do it again. 

Stubborn hair. 

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Here's a picture of Tommy, my uncle's cat in Holland. 

(This post is coming to an end) 

Amelia will be staying over some time this week and we've got exciting plans for our blogs.

So check in on Sunday to see what cheeky things we're gonna get up to! 

xoxo

Best of 2012

Since Amelia did a post recapping the whole of 2012, I thought I'd do something similar.

So. 

Here's the best memories of 2012 in pictures.

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Chinese New Year [Family photo shoot]

My 姨妈, 小姨, 小舅 and 干爸 came back with their families and we stayed a couple of nights at Park Royal to celebrate. 

All the nephews and nieces with the favourite uncle - My God father

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I flew back to Melbourne via Singapore Airlines Business Class. It made it to the best memory list because it was the only time i've ever flown Business Class. I delayed telling daddy my return dates so most flights were booked, and this was the only way for me to get back in time. Cheeky me.

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The first time I went to Curran's house (land, actually).

I was out of my comfort zone, but it was an 'experience'.

JimJam & Al. Such strange animals, alpacas....

One of the first pictures we took together and he sketched it up.  We had won the cutest couple in Year11! 

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My seventeenth birthday.

My brother and Andreas flew down to Melbourne to celebrate with me. Daddy got us the Tower Suite! (It took a lot of begging and a lot of 'test-acing') 

Of course Sonia (my mke) came along  for the weekend getaway. We saw a Bentley, hence the O-face. 

Yes, you can't see anything but look at Sonia in the hotel slippers! She was so excited she started opening/using everything she touched!

My birthday crew - Baz, Sonia, ME, Curran. 

We had dinner at Rockpool. This has become a tradition for my birthday celebrations in Melbourne. 

I sometimes make believe that I'm a unicorn. 

Sonia has graduated and is currently back in Tanzania. Baz has changed schools. 

What am I going to do without these 2 wonderful people in my daily life? 

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 * My boyfriend in Malaysia. *

This was definitely the best memory of 2012. 

Nandos! - His first trip to Gurney Plaza. 

That's us! 

JUSTIN BIEBER @ MTV WORLD STAGE 2012. 

Amelia and I went to MTV World Stage but Curran refused to join us so he stayed home. I will never be attending a concert without allocated seating EVER again. I nearly suffocated and died. 

Ignore the ugly face. 

We met daddy in Singapore and stayed at Marina Bay Sands. We got VIP passes at Universal Studios and we had a blast. I forced Curran to get on the roller coasters. He thanked me afterwards. 

Curran was in Malaysia for about 3 weeks. He did everything local style and picked up the 'lah' slang (but he doesn't know how to put it into context). 

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WHO IS SONIA?
I've mentioned her a few times in this post already.

Sonia is was my 2011 and 2012 roommate in boarding. We are the same age but she graduated a year earlier than me. She is infused with African roots and is the most gorgeous/adorable/funny/hardworking girl ever.

I call her my MKE (pronounced as 'mm-kay'), which means wife in Swahili.

Without her I wouldn't have survived 2012.

Once or twice a term we would head to Chadstone to do some shopping, where we would meet her brother Bill.
We rarely ever spent time in Melbourne city, we were chaddy-obsesed.

Our attire in the picture above is what we wear when we're out of uniform. And I can guarantee you that 9 out of 10 times you see us we are in that outfit exactly - leggings, a hoodie and Vans.

Nakupenda. 

 This picture (above) was taken on the day Sonia finished her final art exam. She was really happy and it was wonderful so see her let go of such a heavy weight from her shoulders. It was one of those special days where even though nothing BIG happened but you just feel so joyful and light-hearted.

Not the best picture, but the only one I had with Eric. 

Eric is the 2012 school genius. Because of Sonia, I spent a lot of time in the art room with all the year12 art students so I got to know them fairly well. Eric and Zoe are absolute darlings and they never fail to make me laugh when i'm around them. School is going to be oh so very lonely without them! I wish them best of luck with university and may their university life be better than their high school one. 

The memories I made with Sonia through all the time I spent with her last year, are and will be memories that I will hold on to forever. 

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Annual trip to Europe (Holland & Germany).

My Oma wasn't feeling very well so we made a 2 week trip to visit her during my half-semester break. I SKIPPED CAMP (muahahahahahaaha)!

Mussels. Oh my gawd. Mussels. 

We ate mussels almost everyday. 

YUMM YUMM YUMM. 

We made a day trip to Muiden. It was so beautiful there - the houses, the boats!

(what) 

If you know me, you would know that I never take a proper picture without pulling a silly face beforehand. 

So, enjoy this ridiculous picture of me pulling a face. 

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Christmas time in KL with Amelia! 

Any time spent with Amelia is time well spent. 

I enjoy every single second I spend with this friend of mine. 

Isn't she beautiful? 

Cheers to my 'OMG YUMMY FOOD, SH*T I'M GONNE BE FAT' face!

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That's it for my best memories of 2012. 

It wasn't a very good year, but I couldn't deny all the wonderful things that did happen.

To end this post, here's a picture of the cat I picked up from the roadside when walking back from school. 

 

Check out Amelia's blog: http://meliajyin.blogspot.com

xoxo

A trip out of Solitary-Land

Here's something for all of you - I actually have an awfully uneventful life. 

BUT. 

This weekend I finally pulled myself out of the solitary-state and caught up with some friends. 

Jxhia turned 18 yesterday (12/1/13). Her and I go WAY back (to 2006).

It has been a tradition that us girls go out for a birthday dinner so this year we had Indian at Kashmir then adjourned to Winter Warmers at Paragon.  

I really hope that she enjoyed herself.

She's still the funniest girl I know and I wish her all the best at college this year. 

♥

JieXhia, ME, Amelia, Gini

(CHITZ *coughs*)

Typical us - I'm on the phone, Jxhia is SMILING and Gini is playing with her hair. These are actions you'll never fail to catch us doing.

They're wonderful girls. 

 As I said in my previous post, I recently got my P's. I'm probably the least confident driver in the whole of Malaysia at this moment and on our way out from Paragon, we had a bit of a 'reversing problem', which has left me a little bit TERRIFIED (just a little). I'm still recovering from this incident.

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Amelia stayed the night. I had agreed to be the narrator for her school project - a documentary on horror films. 

She said to make my eyes stand out...

From this experience, I learnt: 

1. I have a speech impediment.  

2. I cannot pursue a career in acting. 

3. Barking dogs make filming impossible. 

Some time this week I will have to go to a chapel and a graveyard to finish my scenes up. 

(Ignore my spastic face) Shooting the last scene. Spot the fuzzy mic cover which Amelia refers to as a 'cat's tail'.

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We're silly together.

Yes, he is registered as 老公 in my phone. Please don't judge. 

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And, I went for another birthday dinner with Gini and Jxhia, but this time as a part of her boyfriend's plan to surprise her. 

And here is how I looked. (my room is a mess) 

Here's another picture of a cat to end this post.

IT'S TAIL! (I hope you don't mind I used your picture)

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. 

xoxo

And......
It's already been a week since my first post and I have yet to come up with a proper idea for this one. I mentioned in the previous post that I'd be blogging mostly about fashion and what's not. But because I'm in the holiday zone, I rarely dress up decent enough to make an entire post on it.

 I think I'll add a bit of my personal life into this blog, if not this blog will have a super short life span.

On the bright side, the award season is around the corner and I'll be sparing blog posts to comment on the fashion hits and misses of the season. I remember the first time I watched the Golden Globe Awards on E! - 2009. I was 14. I was in my sweaty school uniform watching all these celebrities flaunt their gorgeous dresses on the red carpet. It was Eva Longoria's stunning red Reem Acra dress that left an imprint in my mind, seeing as it's the only dress I could remember from that night.

She radiates 'confidence' and that makes me jealous. Confidence is key to making one look exceptionally beautiful. 

Oh! Wait, I lied. I remember Kate Winslet and her dress from that night. It was Yves Saint Laurent. I went through a phase where I was addicted to Titanic. I couldn't stop singing it's theme song even, "My Heart Will Go On" (my neighbour knocked on our door telling my mum I was a bit loud, how very embarrassing). Anyway, yes, crazy Titanic phase = me remembering Kate's dress from the 2009 GGs.

Now. Why did I just ramble on about the Golden Globes that happened 2 years ago? It was the only award show I've ever watched (ha ha ha) and I just thought I'd make myself seem knowledgeable in this area (which I'm actually not) to SHOW OFF.

Something more 'current': I'm a bit late, but i'm finally going through the printed pattern legging phase! (clap clap clap).

That's me in Amelia's car in my regular sitting position. If you didn't know, I'm an escape performer from Cirque De Soleil, where I stole the leggings from. 

(I'm just eccentric by nature.)

Hmm, anything more interesting to tell the world Lara?

1. I got my P license so I can legally drive around by myself. Unfortunately I have a slight disability when it comes to parking (my brother says it's because i'm a girl). You can't 'go out' without being able to park so..... the license has no perks for me just yet.

2. I've started going to the gym, and I even got a personal trainer to make my life miserable  get me fit!

3. I've already broken one of my new year resolutions. I mean, it's actually impossible for me to not have McDonalds on a regular basis back here in Malaysia.


To end this awfully messy post, here's a picture of a cat named Shadow, who is on the top of my 'if-I-was-a-cat-i'd-date-him' list.

xoxo

Old friendships rekindled are the best.