A Long December

Assalamu'alaikum. Happy Saturday!

Finally, I'm back after almost 5 months of not updating any to this Public Diary of mine. Why? Simply because I wasn't in the mood for writing. But why?? Because I am actually PREGNANT since the last Ramadhan and it's almost 20 weeks now. Alhamdulillah and do pray for me and my baby, okay? Oooh, I love December. Please stay longer! ;)

The first trimester wasn't really bad as I didn't experience any morning sickness (no vomiting, etc except for the nausea feeling once in a while, lost of appetite and gosh, I love my bed a lot! *Tehee*). And as I'm entering the second phase, I feel more energetic than before. Thank God, I'm capable to cook and doing other house chores again, swim a lot, shopping, blablabla (and yeah not to forget blogging! :p).

Well I really hope that I could share more on pregnancy stuff here? It's my first experience... of course there are lot of things to be talked about! Sharing is caring :D

❤ Week 9-10: My baby bump ❤

Week 18-19: Experience my baby kick more often & obviously
I couldn't hide my baby bump anymore! Hehe.....
Just the first batch of my maternity wear. There's more to come, I guess?
So Mr. Hubby, what do you say? ;p
#Vmum

Okay, hopefully I can still wear my jeans until deliver!
#maternityflexibelt

Covering aurah doesn't mean that we have to restrict our favorite activities.
Can't wait for our babymoon this month... I smell beaches! AUMMM
#muslimahswimwear#theexpatriateswifescollection

P.s. My hubby will be coming home today! Wishing all of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 in advance!!!

Slowing Down

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Assalamu'alaikum to the Muslims & hi to my non-muslim readers!!!

Sorry for the delay as my hubby has safely arrived home last week! YAY. *Just to let you know this* since I did mention in one of my posts last time that I would definitely need to slowdown on my blogging activities when my Mr. is around.. heheh. Furthermore, it's RAMADHAN. The suitable month to train as well as to improve ourselves in order to become a better Muslim (well I guess the same goes to all Muslims out there...). Therefore, it would be greatly appreciated if you could just BEAR with me, ok! Ahahha. *Honestly I'm really looking forward to continue with my so-called pilgrimage journal but unfortunately not for this entry. Not at the moment (hmm looks like it!). But that'll be coming soon. In Shaa Allah...*

So happy fasting to all my Muslim readers. Happy Qiyam al-Layl (remaining awake at night for voluntary prayers) too! May we all be granted with the blessings of the "Night of a Thousand Months"... the LAYLATUL QADR :)

P.s. Here's one of my latest outfits from aRLENE.my. Looove my new top peplace! ;)

Outfit:
Scarf: Pashmina
PICKS-TOP long peplace gold with black inner: aRLENE
Jeans: Unbranded (my all-time favorite! :p)
Heels: COACH

Pilgrimage Journal 2013: MAKKAH (Part 1)

Assalamu'alaikum. Good day olls.

Alhamdulillah it's already the 4th day of Ramadhan and gosh, it's such a beautiful rainy Saturday here again in KL.. me voilà! I know that I had promised in one of my earlier posts titled, June 12 to update an entry on my recent Umrah trip in May. Well I guess you could tell from my title above how excited I am to share that wonderful 12days-journey-of-a-lifetime experience with all of you now. Hope you'll enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing and looking forward to reread it in the future! Heheh...

[Note: I prefer to spell Makkah instead of Mecca and Madinah instead of Medina]

Day 1 (May 19, 2013): Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) - King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Our flight to Jeddah was scheduled at 3PM and we were asked by our agent to be at the airport by 12noon. Anyway, we headed off to KLIA as early as 8:30AM as we were vewy punctual plus over excited! :p

My mmuaah mmuaah baby sister, Princess Nia
Hello? She wasn't crying 'coz I was leaving, ok! She was actually sleepy -,-

Breakfast with our loved ones

Since we entered Makkah first instead of Madinah, hence, the guys would need to get ready with their ihram garments (two-piece garment of white cotton cloths). They could wear them either at the airport or in flight. As for my hubby, he wore his ihram garment at the airport since it is more convenient to do so. We came in a large group this time and the group was later being divided into 3 subgroups. There were about 40 people in each group. And my family (me, hubby, his mom & his sister) was put under group #2 with the young and talented Ustaz Muhibbudin as our mutawwif (tour guide). *Wink*

My tag

I had actually performed my first Umrah back in 1996 but that was when I was still in primary school! Hence, the feeling was completely different compared to this time.. I mean visiting there as an adult. Honestly I was very nervous and so excited that I wasn't able to sleep all the way! Huhuhu.

Reading the step-by-step Umrah guide again and again...
Unlike my usual trip, I couldn't believe that I didn't sleep at all!

An in-flight announcement was made about 30 minutes BEFORE we passed the miqat makani point (a stated place for assuming ihram). Our miqat point was Qarn-ul-Manazil since we entered from Malaysia.

Finally arrived in Jeddah at about 6PM (local time)

It was such a very long queue when we arrived at the airport. We only managed to settle everything at about 7:30PM and we were later taken to the Holy City of Makkah by bus. Well the journey from Jeddah to Makkah took us nearly about 1.5 hours (if I'm not mistaken). Our hotel called the "Hera Hotel" was located about 600 meters from Masjidil Haram (believe me that it wasn't actually that far! :p). Once we arrived at the hotel, hubby and mom followed the rest to Masjidil Haram to complete their Umrah and only came back after performing their Subuh (dawn) prayers there... hmm whereas my sister-in-law and I had to stay at the hotel (in ihram!) due to the women so-called monthly cycle thingy excuse! T_T

Day 2 (May 20, 2013): Leisure activities

So everyone was FLAT! Therefore, we were advised to have enough rest before the next Umrah. Alhamdulillah, I managed to complete my Umrah on the second day (accompanied by my beloved hubby). So the two of us went to Masjidil Haram at night (well Mr. Hubby acting as my mutawwif! HEHE). Anyway, I was speechless upon seeing Ka'abah for REAL.. in front of my eyes again after 17 years!! ALLAH KABEER!

The Grand Mosque. Captured this view after performing our Subuh prayers. SubhanAllah!

After the 1st Umrah. Just love being there!
Celebrating the fact that a woman's life is indeed easier without make-up,
fancy dress or even parfum. And the best part is having realized that
neither you nor anyone actually cares about it! Hehehee...

Aite fellas, until now. In Shaa Allah will continue with the rest of the journey in my upcoming posts. And that will be very soon. So do come back for more interesting stories and adventures, ok! Happy weekend. Ma'assalamah.


Nikita xo

Ahlan wa Sahlan ya Ramadhan!

Assalamu'alaikum my dear Muslim brothers & sisters!

Ramadhan is loading!!! Hence, I would like to wish all of you HAVE A BLESSED MONTH OF RAMADHAN 2013M/1434H. *So we'll officially start our fasting month tomorrow!* :)))

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When the month of Ramadhan begins, the gates of the Heaven are opened and the gates of Hellfire are closed, and the devils are chained”. (Source: Sahih Bukhari 1800)

Marhaban ya Ramadhan Kareem
Credit to hdwallpapercorner.com

Credit to ISLAMICPOSTERS.ORG | CO.UK

One of the two essential elements of fasting: INTENTION!!!

Credit to doaayatdanzikir.wordpress.com

The Ramadhan 2013M/1434H Schedule...
P.s. Only for Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya & Selangor

Imsak & Iftar 2013M/1434H
Kuala Lumpur & Putrajaya, Malaysia

Imsak & Iftar 2013M/1434H
Selangor, Malaysia (Page 1)

Imsak & Iftar 2013M/1434H
Selangor, Malaysia (Page 2)

Marshmallows for Breakfast

Assalamu'alaikum people! Just keep calm and ❤ Monday, ok!! (:

It's quite rainy here at my place. So how was your weekend? Hopefully you ended up your week with something awesome. Anyway, so did I. My Saturday was lovely; I started off the day with an early morning breakfast at my favorite kopitiam (coffee shop) of course!, spent hours reading novel there and doing some photography later on. Hmm and my Sunday was not bad too. I had my window shopping for clothes and also bought some groceries at the nearest supermarket (now that the blessed month of Ramadhan is coming most probably in less than 24 hours, guys! ALHAMDULILLAH).

Saturday Love on-the-GO

Outfit:
Scarf: Pashmina
Long knit cardigan: Forever 21
Leggings: UNIQLO
Pumps: Payless ShoeSource
Bag: Unbranded (bought this in Madinah @ only SR10..! HEHE)

I'm a #1 coffee & tea lover, baby... tehee! And OldTown White Coffee (Ampang Waterfront outlet) is my regular spot as it is located nearby my house (less than 15 minutes drive). Well you can find their outlets almost everywhere in Malaysia but bare in mind that not all of them have or actually apply for the HALAL cert, ok! Therefore, what I like about this outlet is that it is certified HALAL by JAKIM as well as operates as a Grade-A premise :)

OldTown White Coffee Ampang Waterfront
Their hazelnut white coffee & white milk tea are my regular fav!!

Marshmallows for Breakfast is actually a title of the fourth novel written by Dorothy Koomson. Well before we got married, my hubby and I used to buy lots and lots of books for our future home (with a dream to have a mini library of our own one day! LOL). *Now that the so-called simple mini library is still in progress..* And apparently I found this novel (which we bought somewhere in January 2008 before we got engaged!) while I did my housekeeping last Friday. So I decided to read it ASAP before I keep on forgetting about its existence again and again... ahahha. Anyway, we both share a love for books. GOOD books ;)))

Living in my oblivion. Spent hours at the kopitiam reading this novel!
Eventually, I had the "OldTown Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun" instead
of having marshmallows for breakfast :p

Well just a short summary of the novel. Basically it's about a single and attractive black lady, Kendra who rents a room from a white guy named Kyle, who is a separated father of two. His kids, six-year-old Summer and Jaxon (they're twins!) later adopt Kendra as their new mother mainly because she lets them eat marshmallows for breakfast. *Haha that's kind of cute!* Kendra later on becomes part of their lives even though she's actually hiding a painful secret, which she swore she wouldn't tell anyone or ever think about it for the rest of her life!! Well as time goes by, Kendra and Kyle eventually find themselves fancy each other. Unfortunately as everything is going on well with them, the twins apparently are taken away by their mother.. hmm too bad. Anyway, I was a bit confused with Kendra-Kyle relationship status. Sometimes they act as if they are lovers but sometimes they're not more than just best friends. *Well I don't really believe that a man and a woman can actually be best friends, do you?* But overall I can say that this novel is totally enjoyable and quite funny. Love the title though I don't really like marshmallows (unless if they're dipped with chocolate!). And worry not as the story ends with a happy ending... *Wink* Aite, gotta go now. Until next time.

P.s. Can't wait for the Ramadhan announcement!

Dear July

Instagram photo credit to #ammatgrimlock

Wash Ur Gossips

Assalamu'alaikum. Holla!

Wutta great Saturday night, huh! So where did you have your dinner today? Well I hope it was lovely! Just wondering since I'm actually in a mood to blog about a really COOL & CATCHY place to hang out this time (plus good food, of course!!). Perhaps this will be great if you want something a little different :)))

Well if you happen to be in Shah Alam, there's a Muslim café called Wash Ur Gossips that I would highly recommend you to check out. Located at Section 15, this LAUNDROMAT café (with its sky blue signboard depicting a cup in a laundry machine) surely deserves a review! As far as I'm concerned, it's the FIRST-ever and the only laundromat concept café in Malaysia so far... heeee. Aite, what's so awesome about this place besides the rare concept, its unique name and cool tagline? Definitely the FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!!!

Wash Ur Gossips offers a wide variety of dishes (both Western & Asian fare) and gosh, they're all at affordable prices! Well I've been there twice with my family and we were completely satisfied with the food as well as its cozy ambience (not to forget the warm welcome received from the owner, Uncle Danny Hamdan and his family!). By the way, I'm not very sure about the price of their coin-operated self-service laundry but I heard that it is very affordable too. Perhaps you should check out their FB account for more info? [CLICK HERE] So tomorrow is Sunday..! I bet it's a "laundry day" for most of us. How about killing two birds with one stone then? DO YOUR LAUNDRY & SATISFY YOUR STOMACH as your laundry gets done! Sounds good, isn't it? *Ooopsie, totally forgot that the café operates everyday BUT Sunday!!! SORRRRRRRY* Any other cool places that you can think of maybe? Feel free to share them here!

P.s. All photos taken using my iPhone and they weren't edited. Only a few were uploaded anyway :)

Every dirty laundry has a story... So true :p

Cute concept!

A must try "Seafood Chowder Soup"
#Nikitasrecommendation

Succulent "in-house STEAK"

Sexylicious "Banana Pillows"!!! #Nikitasrecommendation
I just started practicing good eating habits but sadly to find
myself already craving for this 'guilty pleasure' treat :(

The laundromat room

Eh..? Besides latest magazines and free Wi-Fi service available at the outlet,
looks like they also have these to offer ;)

Good Vibes Festival

Hey hey hey peeps!!

It's going to be a 'not so long entry?' this eve. Well I just would like to update on my upcoming activities... walaah! Hmm I guess some of you already know about this but perhaps some may not? And to those who just got to know about it and wish to grab the early bird tickets... I'm so SORRY for the late post! Huhuuuu.

Good news to all music lovers out there (especially those who were big fans of alternative rock and Britpop somewhere in early 90s), Future Sound Asia is organizing a festival called the "Good Vibes Festival" this coming August 17 at the Sepang International Kart Circuit and guess what?! THE SMASHING PUMPKINS & ASH will be there... LIVE IN MALAYSIA, guys!!! Besides that, international bands like Modest Mouse (love this band too!) and Japandroids also will be there together with our local bands; PESAWAT, Monoloque, Kyoto Protocol, Pitahati, etc and other bands from the Southeast Asia (as far as I'm concerned). And it is said that the festival also features ART, FOOD and FASHION attractions to create the complete festival experience. I mean how cool is that..?!? Woaaa seriously can't wait for it, baby! B)

The famous American alternative rock band,
Smashing Pumpkins
Source: fridaetv.com

The Britpop band from the Northern Ireland, ASH
Source: townfulloflosers.com

The awesome Malaysian band, PESAWAT
Source: the-wknd.com

[Just a little highlight about the local band, PESAWAT here... I really like these guys! They were kind enough to make it on our wedding and that was 4 years back!! They played 2 songs last time, "Mirage" and unfortunately I couldn't recall what was the other song... hehehee. And I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the ex-members of a local band once called THE ROCKETTS for also attending our reception (two of them are actually my Mr.'s friends) and wutta surprise that they actually composed a new song especially for our big day! SO SWEET. *Wish they'll read this someday..* They were all awesome and we were so unfortunate for not being able to take photos together with the lads last time! *Honestly it wasn't that easy to be at the bride & groom position... :p* Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this official music video by PESAWAT performing "Mirage". Love it!]

Aite, back to the topic! They've started selling out tickets for the early birds at MYR128 (starting from June 17 - 23), pre-sale tickets at MYR158 (June 24 - August 16), door sale tickets at MYR188 (on the day itself!) and VIP tickets at MYR258 (June 24 - August 16). Well I got to know about this info from my Mr. earlier (who is really into Smashing Pumpkins and Ash..!). Just imagine how annoyingly he was... texting and SKYPEing me all the way just to make sure that his pathetic wife managed to get those early bird tickets! *Duh..* Anyway, you can buy the tickets either online via myticket.my or at any authorized outlets as mentioned in their website. Simply visit www.goodvibesfest.com for more event information and highlights, ok? I hope this info helps! So see you there, maybe? Toodles ^3^

Nikita's catch-of-the-week:
2 early bird tickets to attend the Good Vibes Festival with her annoying Mr.!

Segmen: Mari Tambah Kenalan Blogger by Mr. K

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Tarikh akhir: 30 Jun 2013


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June 12

Assalamu'aleykum wbt. Peace to everybody~!

It's been a while... I know! It has been exactly a month since my last article.. HEHE. Well I was actually taking my own sweet time for another 2 weeks++ after we came back from our Umrah end of last month :) So how's everyone? I miss you guys!! Hopefully things are going well with your life right now. Stop worrying too much and please be happy as always, ok? *Wink* Me?? Alhamdulillah, never feel better than this! ;))

Well I guess most of you probably think that I'm going to write about my recent pilgrimage, right? Honestly I'm really excited to blog about it but unfortunately not for this entry. But In Shaa Allah that'll be very soon, I promise! Will keep you guys updated so worry not! Anyway, I've quite a number of big events happening this June (even for the first 2 weeks!) and feel like sharing ALL of them here... hehehe.

JUNE 12 - My wedding anniversary. Our SOLEMNIZATION (the Muslims called it "Nikah") was held during this date and it was after Isha'. Alhamdulillah for this year is the 4th year of us living together as hubby and wifey.. tehee! Such wonderful years for the two of us. I've actually planned (a crazy one!) for our anniversary this year but unfortunately since the past 2 years, we never had a chance to celebrate our anniversary together (gosh, blame it to my hubby's company!!). Hmm I'd seriously think his company has this kind of conspiracy. They're just being jealous and it was so obvious that they purposely booked his flight ticket (for the recent trip) just a day before our anniversary! So what do you say about this? Hence, looks like I was indirectly 'forced' to postpone my so-called plan to next year huh... what the @%#$?!? MuaHAHAHAHAhahaha..... huuuuuuu *!psycho and heartbroken!* T_T

Whatever it is, I feel really blessed and grateful for Allah SWT has chosen him as my other half. And I said this truly right from the heart. Anyway, here are just some of the pictures taken on JUNE 13, 2009 (during the reception on my family side @ the Grand BlueWave Hotel, Shah Alam) just a day after our solemnization. Well we had 3 ceremonies altogether; the solemnization, reception on my family side (a fusion English wedding concept) and reception on my hubby's side (a traditional Malay wedding concept). My apology for not uploading my pictures in full as I was still not wearing hijab at that time.. huhhu. ENJOY VIEWING!! Ma'assalamah.

Feels like yesterday...
The lovely wedding logo designed by our friend, Idan

SYAHRIR NURDIN - His label has becoming very famous
among the Malaysian celebrities nowadays. *Am so proud!!!*

❤ My customized wedding dress designed by SYAHRIR NURDIN ❤
Thank God, it still fits me well even until today! 

The "Bunga Telur" (designed by my Mom)

Equipment for the "Merenjis" session

The "Pelamin" designed by my Mom's friend, Brother Sham

Yummylicious menu for the guests..!

Among the doorgifts c/w lucky charms

More doorgifts please...

Thanks so much to those who managed to make it on our big day, 4 years back XD

The stage where we performed ;)

My 12-year old baby brother (at that time!) & my cousin's daughter..
Well June 13 also happened to be his birthday so we have double celebrations on that day :)
I sincerely would like to thank my beloved parents and siblings, all my family members, my in-laws and our friends for all their hard work in order to make our wedding a success T_T
WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

My good looking, awesome yet very humble fashion designers...
SYAHRIR NURDIN (left) & FIRDAUS

"O Allah, bless this marriage til Jannah"