Nail of the week - 1

I've always thought that painting your nails is the girly thing to do and it's more feminine. So every week I will paint my nails in different colours or maybe try out some tutorial. This is the first time I'm posting this and I will be posting every week. I've painted my nails in a peach colour and thought it was somewhat plain and so I added some flower stickers to complete it.  So here it's how it looks, my end product.

I'll update the picture of the nail polish I've used when I have the time to snap some pictures. Hope everyone will have a peachy week coming :)

What I like about this Fall....

Whenever late September approaches I'm always excited as most American TV series are back on air. This is because there are quite a number of new series introduced by major TV networks which I look forward to this year. After viewing the trailers I usually decide which shows I want to pick up and follow. This year there's more interesting ones than last year in my opinion. Before I continue with which TV series and what I recommend I would also like to state other things that I love during Fall.

The changes in the weather is something I love, even though where I live does not have four seasons in a year there are some changes. When fall is here, it tends to rain more in the evening and leave the air feeling breezy, and it makes sleeping more comfortable. Even the sun comes out later than usual during this time of the year where else, when it is summer the sky is usually bright around 6:45am but now it's about 7-ish that it starts to get bright. Another thing that I love bout Fall is I get to wear long sleeves t-shirt without feeling hot or sweaty, blazer is still somewhat acceptable in an air-conditioned office but not outside on the streets. Wearing skirts with stockings are more comfortable too as it keeps your legs warmer and light sweaters are okay too. One thing that I find ridiculous to wear in the Fall from where I live is wearing boots. Ankle boots are okay but not knee high boots, because it's suppose to keep your feet and legs warm but not in this part of the world. It's just ridiculous when you see people wear knee high boots with shorts walking around in shopping malls. This style doesn't fit this country as it's a tropical country where most of the time it's just hot more than chilly. Another thing that I find acceptable is wearing scarves but it depends on your attire. But still it's a bit weird in this hot country.

Picture taken from Nine West

Picture taken from Nine West

Picture taken from Zara

Picture taken from Zara

So enough about fashion and back to my favourite past time, watching TV series. Firstly, the series that I'm looking forward for a new season is Fringe. Out of those that I watch, this was the only series that kept me on my toes, that made me want the new season badly. The way it ended was at a suspense that none expected and I was looking forward to how the writers will start season 4. Before watching the first episode I did watch some interviews regarding the new season, especially their Comic Con interview. Not much was revealed so I still have high hopes. I have watched 2 episodes and without the presence of a certain character it was not exciting as the season begins with how Agent Lee is brought into the team and introduced to Fringe division. I still look forward to the new season as I have heard that that someone will appear soon (fingers crossed).

Another series that I am really excited is How I Met Your Mother. Because it ended with Ted and Marshall attending their best friend's wedding and I keep anticipating it was Barney's and I was right. The lady whom he is marrying was never revealed. So the start of the season sort of indicated that Barney was thinking whether he picked the right one but then it ended there. Hopefully the season will end with revealing who that person is.

The new series that I've picked up are Ringer, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, The Secret Circle, Up All Night and Terra Nova which all have been aired in the US for quite a few episodes. Coming soon in my list are Grimm, Once Upon a Time and maybe Person of Interest. Just gonna give some summary because I will have post on individual TV series. New Girl, 2 Broke Girls and Up all Night are 30 minute sitcoms. The rest are 1 hour long slots. I will give my personal rating after watching 5-6 episodes but not now as I'm kinda behind in most series currently. But most of it got my attention in the first 2 episodes itself. I'm really loving these series and I hope it will continue to be good to last more than a season.

Cocktails for Three

On the first of every month, the girls will meet up at their favourite bar, have cocktails while sharing gossip and secrets, and so the monthly cocktail club has been born. Candice arrived first at Manhattan bar and remembered it used to be a small quiet secretive place and now it's busy as ever. The first time they step into the bar they were desperate for drinks and the environment didn't matter. Since it was not popular it was a good place to meet up and have their secret chats. Candice herself have worked in The Londoner as a writer for  years. 

Maggie with two weeks time before due finds it annoying when people asks her when is the baby coming. As she gives her coat to the coat-check lady and she was given the look as why would a pregnant woman be in a bar and as expected the questions was ask. She gave her answer and hurried over to where Candice was sitting. She was holding lots of things given to her as it was her last day in office where her maternity leaves starts the next day. Being the editor of The Londoner is a great job, it was a success in career for Maggie.Everyone around her is excited about her giving birth but inside her she feels she is not ready for it and is afraid that she doesn't know what to do at all. Even though people say that motherhood comes naturally but she does not have that feeling at all.

Roxanne is a freelancer working for The Londoner and she loves her job. She looks at herself in the mirror and she is proud with how she looks at thirty-two. You could say she has it all but sadly not in the love section where she doesn't have a solid relationship. Roxanne's man is someone's husband which she never reveals to the girls and has to meet him secretly. Sometimes she spend long hours waiting for him to show up as promised but there is always an excuse whether it was work or his family. She loves him very much and can't give up the relationship even though it was wrong. When he is free and spend time with her they always go out of the country where they can to spend long hours together and she cherishes those moment.

Once everyone was at the table they ordered their cocktails and talked to Maggie. Roxanne gave Maggie a tiny blue box, and Maggie was asking whether it's a Tiffany's and it was a silver rattle. Candice gave Maggie a massage voucher and Maggie was really happy because everyone bought gifts for the baby and Candice was the only one who bought one for Maggie herself. Candice thought that she could get some relaxation massage after the baby is born as it was difficult carrying. A waitress came and served their drinks and Candice thought that the girl was familiar and remembered it was Heather Trelawney who was a few years junior from high school. 

Heather couldn't remember who Candice was until she heard her surname Brewin. This name triggered many bad memories as Heather's family was wrecked by Candice's father. It caused her family to be broke and then her parents divorced not long after. As she moves away after a small chat she could not keep her eyes of Candice looking at how great she is and happy at the same time. Thinking that she could have been like that if not for Candice's father.

Candice suddenly went silent after Heather left the table and the girls thought it was odd. Candice spilled out the whole story telling them her father was called Good Time Gordon as he seems like a friendly guy who got along with everyone. It wasn't until her father's funeral that she found out the truth about him. He borrowed money from many people and told them it was for investment. Many people showed up at the funeral and many whispered to each other how much they have lost to him. It was a long list and it was utterly embrassing for the family to only realised at this moment of time. Candice felt ashamed as she has enjoyed life well when she was young, going on holiday trips to getting presents occasionally that were costly. It was all other people's money that she was spending and not her dad's. She find out that the Trelawney's were victims of her father too and felt that meeting Heather means she can finally do something good to help out and also to get rid of the guilt.

As Maggie's husband Giles arrive to pick her up they say their goodbyes and told Maggie that she will be missed as she will be away in their out of town home to get ready. Roxanne was text to meet his man and so she departed too. Candice was about to leave and thought of a great idea to help Heather out, she suggested Heather to come to The Londoner office as there was an opening for assistant editor. She would try to convince Ralph the owner to give Heather an interview.  The next day, Candice went into Ralph's office and told him how great Heather was and so an interview was given. Since Heather was unprepared and Candice expected it she prepared a writing she had and told Heather to use it as example. Ralph was impressed and gave the job immediately to Heather. Heather expressed how happy she was and they went for lunch together where Candice found out that she lives at a dreadful area and invited her to live with her in her home since her roommate has moved out. Disaster was bound to happen as Candice does not realise that Heather knows what her father did to her family and so Heather has a chance to be up to no good.

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickam, is about these three girls who are best friends. It talks about their lifes and how it will cause the friendship to wreck when a girl from Candice's past shows up and triggers a chain of events. In terms of character development I'd say it was well written for a book that has 301 pages with fonts that are fairly large like 12px. To me it's an okay book because it wasn't exciting as it was kinda predictable to me. Having to read about three people at the same time makes the book skip parts quick in a chapter. Usually in Sophie Kinsella's writing it is witty all the time but not this one it was more towards that these things can happen in real life. Woman who are not ready for motherhood, women who are involved in an affair and also women who are kind that is easily taken advantage of. It's not a book that I would read again as the writing style is just simple revolving among those three people. People who are involved with them do not have major roles as the book centers them only. After reading this book, I have some doubts whether I should purchase other Madeleine Wickam's books.

Blood+ 4 - Nankurunaisa

Following Diva the Red shield gang have arrived in New York USA. Diva was to have a concert at the Metropolitan Opera House, as to the reason why they have yet to know. Saya is weakening slowly as her hibernation time is nearing. She feels weak and sleepy most of the time as it crept close to her. She fears that she might not have enough time to fight Diva to save the human world from Chiropteran domination. Between Hagi and Saya she had made him promise her that when the time comes he would end her life. 

In the mean time, Mao and Okamura went to LA to investigate the reason for Diva's concert and while they were there their rented apartment exploded and so they head back to New York to report their findings. After revealing a video where Anshel was shot in a restaurant with the gang they can conclude that some people were not happy with Anshel being around and have plotted to kill him but obviously a chevalier would not die so easily. Okamura manage to investigate that this could be related to the US military.

Weeks later the whole gang went to Ohio as Diva has a mini concert at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The secretary of defense and also secretary of the state were present at the place as an experiment were about to happen. Meanwhile Julia was doing a body check for Diva and discovered that she was pregnant with twins inside which was conceive with Riku. She was curious how it was only possible with Saya's chevalier that it is made happen. Anshel has decided to let Julia take care of Diva which gives her the access to her blood and to research on the babies inside of her. Professor Collins who is Julia's mentor was jealous of her and thought that he should be the one who is caring for Diva and with his envious heart he plans to change things. Just as he was about to attack Julia, David came and save the day which resulted in the professor's death and him getting hurt.

The rest of the gang was waiting for something to happen and notice that they were giving away candy bars to spectators of the concert. Mao was in the crowd scouting around while Kai was near the backstage. He was discovered by Anshel and was captured and brought to Diva at her trailer. There Diva said she wanted Kai to be her chevalier and with that he can mate with Saya and make babies. Kai was shocked of the news that Diva was pregnant with Riku's twins and had conflicting feelings in killing Diva. Nathan came in and informed that it is time for Diva to perform and insisted that Kai followed as well.

I have finally finished the final book of the series, I had bought the book since last year and only this year did I come to read it. The story of this book was focused in USA and brought conclusion to everything. I feel that this book lack the action compared to the previous books and it's focused on ending the story for the characters. The Schiff, Diva's chevaliers and everyone had an ending and I was quite satisfied with it. I was satisfied on Saya's part as I had something else in my mind that would have made a great ending. But I do understand why it ended that way instead of how I predicted it to be. Overall this is a good fantasy series from the Japanese because it's quite original and the development of the characters in the story is good without leaving out anyone. I don't think I would read it all over again but would probably enjoy watching the animation more as you can see more of the action coming to life instead of imagining it.

Sleeping Arrangements

Chloe is dying for a holiday with her family so she can bond with her husband Philip. She is also tired of making wedding dresses therefore she needs a break from work. Philip on the other hand is just worrying about his job status, his bank have merged with another company and rumours of restructuring is going to happen where some bank branches will be closed down. Lucky for her, Chloe's wealthy friend Gerard offered to loan her his luxury villa in Spain, it was going to be perfect.

Hugh is not as happy as he think he is, with such a good career he still felt something is missing. His wife Amanda on the other hand is more concerned about the kitchen that is undergoing renovation, whether the colour tiles are correct or not. With Hugh's working hours he barely sees his two daughter, when it's the weekend the children's schedule are filled with activities. They needed a vacation to leave the house that is under renovation and lucky for them, Gerard has lent them his luxury villa in Spain.

Hugh and his family drove to the villa and was worrying during the journey as the roads are narrow and had a lot of dirt at the same time. They will going uphill and worried that they will miss a turning. After driving for more than an hour they have reached their destination and was amazed by the size of the villa. The villa was truly beautiful with nice exterior design and filled with high class furniture. There are four bedrooms, a dining place, big kitchen, a swimming pool and a whole lot of land.

Philip had been driving for 2 and half hours and occasionally stopped for Nat because he got car sick. When they got out of the airport they drove and went in the wrong direction and headed down the coastal road.  So now they are driving up hill into the mountains and still hoping they will reach soon. After passing a town called San Luis according to Gerard's instructions, they felt more calm and soon they arrived at the villa.

Hugh and his family was already in their swim wear and enjoying the pool. His wife was sunbathing and saw that a car arrived in front of the gate. Hugh went to check out what the matter was and soon found out that Chloe's family was loaned to the place at the same weekend. Chloe acted as if she never knew him but in fact they were acquainted in the past, about 15 years ago. They both met at a college party and hooked up after that but Chloe didn't sleep over even after their many nights together. She usually get dress and rushed home quickly. One fine day, Chloe had something to share and she brought Hugh to her home and he was shocked as there was a baby happily playing in the living room and it was Chloe's child. They were only 20 then and now he could see the boy Sam who is sixteen now standing near his mom.

It was a disaster as they weren't enough bedrooms since Amanda hired a nanny along named Jenna and there was a room allocated for her. In the end Jenna had no choice but to move out and sleep on the couch. Everyone was unhappy because they thought they could enjoy time with their family and suddenly strangers arrived. How will things end and will Chloe and Hugh's secret be found out?

Sleeping Arrangements by Sophie Kinsella writing as Madeleine Wickham. This book was fairly thin as the font size were kinda big with only 304 pages. This book was okay for me as the only thing I look forward to is finding out why it's so bad for Chloe and Hugh to meet. Other than that, the story did climax but it's not the type where you'll be surprised because as you read on you could take a guess and get it right. That's how it was for me, the character developments were okay since it's just a thin book, where by midway you know what type of person they are. It's not like other Sophie Kinsella books that it's really funny. I think most people who read her Madeleine Wickham books are just like me, fans of her Shopaholic works. These stories is a bit too common not like her current writing which is more funny, cheeky and exciting. I won't pick up this book to read it again for sure.

Fiorucci shoes

I've always wanted a pair of Fiorucci shoes, the design of the shoes are mostly targeted towards a younger look. This brand is from Italy but now it's internationally famous and they have been around for more than four decades. So here I quote a card that was in the box "The Fiorucci look - or rather that humorous, free, seductive and individual "life-style mix" has since been loved by young people, sought by stars and personalities, but also affordable by many". I totally agreed to what was written but affordability really depends on the person who is buying. Normally the shoes cost RM 200 above and it's kinda expensive for mid range working class people.

Today I was lucky, my mother and I was walking in Parkson's Pavilion and the sales is still on going. This pair of shoes had 50% discount which resulted the price of the shoes at RM 124.50. It was a good deal for me as it's cheap and it's good quality leather. I can still smell the leather strongly and I love it. The colour of the shoe is kinda striking as it's teal in colour and I normally go for black shoes to match clothes easier. Since it's a nice pair I think I'll have no problem wearing it with jeans so plain coloured dresses.It's really comfy and the heel is not too high so it'll be comfortable for walking around places. Pictures below:

The 12 hour Atrium Marathon Buffet

When it comes to food I have to admit that I'm picky. There's so many types of food that I love, food that I loathe and food that I'm okay with. One thing that I love the most is my dad's western cooking, it tastes absolutely delicious. I've been to many western restaurants there's none that can beat the taste and love from my dad. I can say now that I manage to reproduce his Spaghetti Bolognese taste's after observing him cook so many years. So back to the topic, going to a buffet is not so beneficial for a picky person as me but it's still fun as I can eat the things I like in bigger quantity. Not so long ago, my friends saw a good deal on a website and bought coupons to the buffet mentioned in my title.

Last Sunday my friends made the booking and we went to try this buffet which last 12 hours. Obviously eating for 12 hours straight is impossible therefore participants are allowed to go in and out of the place within the 12 hours. There were a variety of food and Penang food was one of the themes of the week. For a 4 star hotel, the food was just average, not really extraordinary. We dined from 11ish till 2 pm and went to watch Transformers in Sunway TGV which greatly disappointed me as the seats were really uncomfortable. My legs were on the verge of getting cramps as there weren't any space to stretch even the tiniest bit. This is definitely the worse cinema experience I have in my entire life. After the movie we went back to eat again till about 7ish and took a short mall in the mall then continued eating until 10ish. The dishes served for dinner are slightly different whereby the shell foods (oysters and mussels) were presented. Overall it was an okay meal, because of the coupon we paid RM 55 only without any tax. In the end, the thing I enjoyed was the company of friends more than the meal. Below are some pictures I took of the food served:

 My album with more pictures:Food marathon

Just Like Heaven

Marcus was an only child and was raise in solitude since his mother has passed away when he was four. His father Lord Chatteris had never thought of finding another wife and so he invested in his son. He was tutored at home with the best tutors.By twelve he could read Latin and Greek, excel in shooting and fencing,  write lengthy products and sums without wasting a drop of ink. Like every Holroyd boy he went to Eton college as it was time to get the next step in education. It was a happy moment for Marcus as he did not have any friends at all. He was not allowed to play with other children as his father fear of bad influence like running wild in the fields. Marcus had no idea how to interact with the other boys in school. 

On his first day, his father's valet dropped him and saw many boys running around and he said they were like a pack of savages. There was this boy, Daniel Smythe-Smith who knew how to get along with other children, confident, and easy smile. Daniel was a born leader and he was assigned to the bed next to Marcus and they became the best of friends.  Often during holidays it was farther to travel home to Cambridgeshire for Marcus and thus Daniel invited him to his home at Whipple Hill. Daniel's youngest sister (Honoria) had always follow him around as his sister Charlotte who was eleven wanted nothing to do with Honoria and thus wanted to play with the two of them. It was cute of her to follow but annoying to the boys. It was like this all the time and Marcus enjoyed his stay there. He was invited there many a times when there were small holidays and he felt like family there until spring of 1821.

Three years has passed, Honoria was soaking wet for suddenly the rain fell. She was trying to meet up with her cousins and friends which were at the opposite store but heavy rain came and took refuge. Her cousins and she came to Cambridgeshire to do shopping and get ready for the new season, at the same time to scout potential husbands. There were many young fellow there as Cambridge university was located nearby. Honoria was feeling all down and sad not to forget wet thought she would stuck for a long time and missing out on the fun. Suddenly, a carriage pulled to a stop in front of her and it was Marcus. He offered her a ride in the rain and also refuge which was kind of him. She was hesitant because over the years she felt that he was glowering at her all the time like he didn't approve of something she did. Seeing him bring backs childhood memories and she recalled that they both loved sweets and cakes.  He sent her back to where she was staying which was with the Royles and also his neighbour.

Honoria and her cousins were staying at Cecily Royles' family home where they manage to get a professor to tutor them after his usual class in Cambridge university. Cecily was quite interested in getting Marcus as a husband because he is wealthy and handsome, a man with high status. And so Cecily came up with a good idea which was to hold a weekend tea party at their country house and invite some eligible bachelors to it. Her mother was so excited and Marcus was invited but Honoria wrote a letter to Marcus to turn down the invitation.

Marcus thought the letter was funny and wrote back to decline the invitation but his real plan was to take a walk in the woods nearby and drop by the party for a while to keep an eye on Honoria. He had to do it because before Daniel fled the country he promised Daniel to take care of his sister and to make sure that she would marry the right person. Over the years Marcus occasionally showed up in London to investigate and scare Honoria's suitors as many were not qualified enough. Marcus was going to drop by to investigate who she was interested this year.

Honoria had a plan to capture her target which was Mr. George Bridgerton. She was digging a fake mole hole and to fake as a damsel in distress. While she was digging, Marcus was watching from far and laughing at her scheme that he easily see through. He laughed too loud which alerted Honoria and she shooed him away. She heard some noise and pretended to fall and yelled for help and in a few attempts which had no effect. She was disappointed so she left and accidentally fell and Marcus tried to save her and in the end landed on top of her. It was an awkward moment but he felt like kissing her but it failed as he twisted his feet because of the fake mole hole. Honoria tried to help Marcus up and he wanted to walk back but it was 3 miles away. She had no choice but to run back for help and things went worse when it started to rain. Honoria rushed to write a letter to his valet to pick him as he insisted.  The next day, Honoria woke up and then insisted to go visit Marcus to check on his condition. Cecily decided to follow with her and Marcus showed that he was not in a bad condition which made Honoria felt slightly better.

Few days later Honoria went back to London to prepare for the season and suddenly received a letter from Marcus's servant claiming that his condition was really bad and indicated that he is near death.  After reading that letter Honoria felt bad and worried as she was the one who caused him to be in that condition. She urged her mother to travel to his home as he has no family to care for him. Her mother got ready within 45 minutes and off they go traveling down to Fensmore. When they reached it was quite late at night and Honoria banged at the door and was answered by the butler. The butler was relieved that they came to help and she was lead by the butler to meet with his oldest maid. Both of them went to check on his condition and it was bad. Honoria was determined to help him heal and stayed by his side.  Marcus was glad to have her by his side but his condition wasn't improving, what was Honoria to do?

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn is one historical fiction that got me hook real bad. I really love reading this book as this is my first time reading from this writer and I did not know what to expect. The book presented its story from Honoria's and Marcus's own point of view and how they felt. It wasn't straight to the point like how you can see what will happen in the story. How the character progressed was also at a good pace so from start till end, every chapter it was interesting.  It is obvious that they will end up together but how it happened you'll have to read it.  There are some vocabulary that was tough for me as for the timeline it is in, the words used are more proper and formal. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it was not too long or too short. I'm looking forward to reading more of Julia Quinn's works.