I promise.. =)

Sorry for not checking in for so long.. Have been a little busy recently, and my emotions have been up and down, resulting in me not really being in the mood for anything, even writing.. So please do bear with me for a while..

xxxxx

Over the weekend, I had the honour of being invited to the launch of the very first fashion festival to be held in Sabah. Starting on the 4th of February 2012 in Suria Sabah, the 6 week showcase of local fashion talent is organized by Jeffie Jeff in conjunction with the Breeze Model Search.

Being the launch and first day of the exhibition, guests were entertained by emcee Iskandar, dancers from the Gema Tari troupe, a singing performance by local singer Angelina Perete and her daughter Estee, and the highlight of the event - a fashion show featuring designs from four relatively new fashion designers, modeled by finalists of the Breeze Model Search.Gema Tari dance troupeSpeech by the organising chairman, the multi-talented Jeffie Jeff!

To start off the show, Nina Elaina Designs presented her collection "Frosted Flowers" to an upbeat tune that had the models skipping and snapping their fingers all down the runway!Sorry for the blinding.. That was the spotlight on stage.. Thought this photo was cute so wanted to upload it anyway.. =)

PopRina's designer Nurul Alam's "Colour Chaos"
Cienna Creation by Clarissa Nena had one of my favourite collections: Borneo WarriorsThe designerJeffie Jeff's Mon Amour collection was stunning, with the models parading slowly to haunting opera music.After the finale, Angelina and Estee Perete serenaded the crowd with their latest song "Butterfly Baby".Then it was time for Olumis Batik to present their collection!One of my favourite dresses from the collection!
The event ended with refreshments provided by Bella Italia and Le Safron, and i got a chance to snap a shot with my dear friend Jeffie before he was whisked away with congratulatory handshakes and hugs! Haha..
Congrats Jeffie, and we await the next fashion event in KK.. Let's make heads turn! =D
xxxxx

When my parents were in KL, they made a trip down to KL by themselves, and came back telling me about all the bears that were in front of Pavilion.

What??

Haha.. I know right. That's what I thought. So I had to go and see for myself. Omg, so pretty! According to their website, United Bears started their first exhibition in Berlin, in 2002. There are around 140 bears, measuring 2m in size, representing countries that are recognised by the United Nations. Each bear is painted by an artist from the representing country.

The Buddy Bears stand together, symbolising the future vision of a peaceful world. Promoting "The Art Of Tolerance", with a motto of "We Must Get To Know Each Other", Buddy Bears travel to different countries around the world every year. In 2008, the exhibition was even held in PyongYang, North Korea. On top of representing different countries, there are four bears who stand on the fringe of the circle:Golden Rule Bear and Global Ethic Bear

The “Golden Rule” is basically "Try to treat everyone the way you would want to be treated". These words are distributed on two bears holding hands like the other bears in the circle, symbolising that nobody can live on his or her own, that other people belong to our lives and that our behaviour towards other people has consequences. There are also 80 translations of these words distributed on the bears, and are arranged in a wild muddle: They intersect but don’t interfere – each translation is readable! That is also part of the “Golden Rule” – not to be afraid of contact but at the same time leave the other person enough room for self-fulfilment and not to be in his or her way.

On the Global Ethic Bear, there are quotes from seven of the world's main religions, saying the exact same thing, just worded differently: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you. This bear understands that the peaceful co-existance of people often breaks down due to conflicts of different religions, and this shouldnt be so, as the good similarities of different religions are many, and should be emphasized more. Einstein Bear - "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."
Respect For All Life

This bear is meant to remind us that respect is not limited to respect towards mankind alone. We must upkeep our moral responsibility, and respect all life. Cruelty towards animals cannot be tolerated, short-sighted selfishness towards nature and our Earth must be stopped.

Cool right? The best part is, United Buddy Bears also helps promote charities and raise funds for various children's charities.. =)

I couldnt take photos of all the bears (there were so many!), and even if I did, I wouldnt be able to post them all on this blog. Instead, I asked a few friends on facebook to pick their favourite countries. These are the ones I will feature, along with some that are dear to me, so I hope you enjoy! Here we go!

I was born in England!When I get back to England, the first place I wanna visit is Stonehenge!

I moved to Malaysia when I was 7 years old!There are still many places I havent seen yet, and one state I'd love to experience is Penang!

My grandparents were from China!I've been to ShenZhen (for a day, lol), but what I'd really love to see is the Terracotta Army in Xi An! =)

I've visited Singapore about 8 times in the past 2 years for work.But havent had the chance to have fun at the Universal Studios yet! =/

I went to Manila, Philipines for an event in 2010I didnt get to go anywhere much, as we were working.. I'd love to go diving in Palawan though! =)

On a holiday to Phuket, ThailandNext destination in Thailand? Koh Samui - diving! =D

A unique trip to Phnom Penh, CambodiaHopefully will get to visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap soon! =)

And another work trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, all in 2011.
Stayed an extra few days to explore Jakarta, but would love to go back to Indonesia to visit the White Crater in Bandung.. =)

When asked for their favourite countries, my facebook friends (thank you!) were diverse in their choices:
Meitzu, a travel blogger from Kota Kinabalu said her country of choice would be Italy.If I had the chance to go to Italy? Rome baby!!

Wingz, who has his own green concepts store chose Bolivia.Now, I'd never thought of visiting Bolivia before this, but a quick google search showed me why it's worthy of being a dream destination: Salar de Uyuni is there! =)

Jia Wei, an event planner in KL said he'd go to Australia.I've got a lot of cousins and friends in Australia, so I'd probably go where they are so they can give me a proper tour! ;p

Oliver wants to go to England and America. Maybe he could go with Amal, who wants to go to Alaska, because, and I quote, "I have never been to a land which is covered in snow all year long and has so little sunshine.. Just can't believe that people live in such conditions and want to know how they do it. Human nature is awesome.. And to see if I can meet some polar bears??? Am I in the wrong country????"The US of A is so big; 50 states! So hard to choose.. If I had to, top of my list would probably be Hawaii to visit Mauna Loa, and New York, just because it's the city of dreams.. =)

Ken Yap, a student and intern at a production company wants to live and work in the USA and would love to visit Croatia, as he's been told it's the most beautiful country in Europe and he also has a Croatian friend there! Makes it easier then! ;p Croatia is another country that wasnt really on my list of places to visit first if I had the chance. Photos of Plitvice Lakes and Rovinj have already changed my mind though. =)

Ijal Amg thinks that Japan has lots of new products, while Azeera's dream destination is Okinawa because of the culture, sakura blooming, and unique shopping experience, like harajuku and shibuya!Japan has long been on my dream holiday list. The culture, Mt. Fiji, all those beautiful temples.. Need I say more? =)

Christ, who also blogs, said he cant make up his mind! Haha.. Paris, France was one of the top choices though. ;pParis, City of Love.. Coincidentally, I just reblogged an amazing photo of the Eiffel Tower at night on my Tumblr. Would love to be there, dining with it in the background.. <3

Zheng Hao from Singapore would love to go to Prague, Czech Republic.The animals on the paws are actually a bull and a bear, to represent the ups and downs of the stock market in Czech.. Unfortunately, my crappy photography skills seem to have cut off the head of the bull.. Oops.. =/

The Prague Castle is way more than intriguing.. ;p

The United Bears exhibition is in front of Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia until the 15th of February 2012. =)

Note: The 3 handsome guys pictured with some of the bears are Oliver, Adrian, and Dennis. No modelling fees were paid for this shoot. ;p

This is a continuation of birthday post 1 - KLCC Skybridge, which you can view here.

After a long morning, we left KL to go back to Selangor. After marveling at our country's amazing architecture and view from above, it was time to get a little feel of the fun other countries have during winter - Ice skating! =DLook, green gloves! All bundled up, but it wasnt cold at all.. Zzzzz.. At least it was a little bit of protection when I hit the ice! ;p

I was really worried I'd spend the whole time on my bum before we went in to the rink, but honestly, it was easier than I thought! Especially considering I'm usually such a klutz.. ;p I only fell twice, though one was a whole fall-on-your-butt-and-slide-past-three-people-on-your-back kinda fall.. Haha.. THAT was fun tho, other than the fact I was all soggy after that.. ;p

Gliding across the ice was so much fun, but I seriously doubt I'm the next figure skater to watch.. Hahaha.. I wouldnt mind going again though.. It's only about RM14 per person on weekdays, and you can be on the ice all day til 8pm if you want to! =D Next time I'll definitely go earlier to get my money's worth.. You have to purchase gloves if you dont have your own too, for RM8..
I suggest you wear jeans and a jacket even though it's not cold, as accidents do happen.. Also, be careful how you fall, as minor accidents with skates and bare arms do happen, it happened within the 2 hours I was there so.. *wince* Looks painful.. Try not to go sprawling across the ice as you fall, there's actually an instruction on their website that says your hands should never touch the ice. Luckily we were all safe, though I did have a bruise on the back of my ankle from the boots.. They're really hard, to protect your ankles when you fall I guess..

We left when they closed at 8pm, reluctantly, may I add. ;p Too bad we couldnt take many photos, as no cameras are allowed on the ice.. There is a photographer there to take photos of you if you want, but just a warning, they're very expensive.. RM40 for a 4R print if I'm not mistaken.. =/
Ooh ooh, and before I forget to tell you: DONT go on weekends or public holidays or school holidays.. I've seen the rink during these periods, and the amount of people on the ice is scuurrry..!!

We didnt have a fancy dinner that night, just had Esquire Kitchen, cz we were saving our money for Saturday, when we went down to Bukit Bintang to have...Omg, this is SO so so yummy! =D They definitely do have the best steak in town.. And so many choices too! Lol.. Now I'm hungry again.. Hmm..

Anyhoo. We reached quite early, because of the GAC let down (read about it here), around 6pm. I also wasnt in the mood to change, so please excuse the ugliness. I was all ready to get dirty and sweaty in the big rubber balls but obviously that didnt happen, sigh.
Gee, that sentence sounds so wrong. =/ Lol.. I digress.
Anyway, it was a good job we arrived early because by 7pm it was jam-packed, with a queue up front! After pouring over the menu and changing our minds numerous times, we finally decided on our orders:Adrian: Fillet Steak Flambee Au Brandy

According to the menu, this is grilled fillet steak garnished with white mushroom gravy sauce and flambee with brandy, served with french fries and vegetables. And flambee they did! Unfortunately I'm a slow poke, and wasnt expecting it, so I didnt get a photo of the little bonfire that was lit up on the spot in this waiter's hands! *regret* Here's a photo of him flipping the meat to get it covered in the burning brandy though:Oliver's choice doesnt sound so fancy, but it was still seriously yummy:Obviously he couldnt wait to tuck in to this Tenderloin Sizzling Steak:
A tender fillet steak on a sizzling hot plate , topped with gravy and garlic butter, served with french fries and a bowl of salad.

Theirs were really nice, but I still think that I made the best choice:Neptune Taurus Delight - A combination of tenderloin fillet steak and tiger prawns topped with gravy and served on a sizzling hot plate with french fries, corn on cob, and a bowl of salad.

Let's just say the salad went nearly untouched, but I'm sure that doesnt surprise those of you who have eaten with me or Oli before.. ;p The warm rolls that were served, that's a different story altogether! I LOVE warm bread, and so does Oli:Yep. He crazy.

For drinks, Adrian had a huge mug of watermelon juice, while Oli had orange juice, and I had a fruit punch. Price-wise, I wouldnt say it was cheap, but for steak that good, and the portion size? It definitely cant be classified as expensive.. For each steak it was between RM41.90 - RM44.90, and we were all way too full when we finished.. ;pWhat did I tell ya? YUMMY! =D

And that was it! The most wonderful 2 days of the year (so far -hey, it is only January! ;p)! Now we've got Oli's birthday to look forward to - 9th Feb, you better live up to expectations!

xxxxx