Hi loves! Gosh, the past seven days has been such a busy week for me.

I just realized that it's been exactly a week since I've last blogged. Sorry for the absence!

Anyway, I've just got home from a long weekend of work and holiday in Ipoh.

Yeah it's a public holiday again, one of the best things about living in Malaysia, eh? Public holidays come in abundance haha! This time, it's Nuzul Al-Quran, a religious occasion commemorated by Muslims.

Yes, babyChivas, mommy's home.

Have you been a good boy while I was gone? 

So… let's get on with what made my week this time round. 

Was requested to record a video for someone special for her birthday.

I hope you're not reading this because it'll spoil the surprise, I suppose LOL 

Did my charity work for the week. This time, it's for Pathway 2 Society.

A non-profit effort to reintegrate ex-offenders/ex-convicts/ex-juveniles

into society by giving them a second chance at life. Check them out! 

Had a pretty refreshing dip by the poolside.

Random photo on the way for my training at gym!

Those guns are ready to cry!

Another thing that made my week were smoothies.

Ahhhh yes, fruit and veggie smoothies! Can't live without them 

This week's post-workout meals:

Seven nut muesli with green apples, milk and cinnamon

Organic cellentani with brocolli, garbanzo beans, egg white scramble and flax.

Wholewheat bread with peanut butter, almonds and garbanzo beans!

Organic wholewheat fusili tossed with zucchini, olive oil,carrots and flax.

Oven-baked salmon with diced potatoes, capsicums, egg-white scramble and garden peas

Stir-fried carrots, spinach, aubergine and chicken chunks

Peruvie Peruvian Grilled Chicken @ TTDI

★★★★★

Loved it. It gave me a good bang for my buck. Delicious and cheap!

Full blog feature soon.

My furkid Chivas always steals my cushion. Perhaps I should get him an actual pet bed of his own?

But then again, he sleeps and lounges about practically EVERYWHERE. 

Aku rasa, usahlah membelikannya tempat istirahat sendiri dah.

Oh since my cat seems to be very popular now, I figured you might wanna watch his antics for yourself

Weekends are best for your trusty ol' kicks, no? 

I love my worn-down sneakers, the Chuck Taylor Converse All Star high tops.

Weekend outfit of the day with granny. 

I wish I was a stoic as she is. Her pokerface sends me chills down my spine.

Restoran Fai Kee @ Ipoh

★★★★☆

We had brunch here. A very popular place among the locals for noodles of pork, fish and drunken prawn.

I was overjoyed when I found my favorite Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) machine

tucked away in an arcade in Ipoh Parade called 'Molly Fantasy'.

12 rounds back-to-back came as no surprise. I was sweating buckets and panting rather audibly

up till a point where the people around me probably thought I was down with an incurable disease. Erk. 

The Limestone's Fine Dining Restaurant @ Regal Lodge Hotel

★★☆☆☆

Saturday lunchdate. The place was nothing to shout about. And… really? Fine Dining? Not to me.

Full blog feature soon!

Random video after returning home from a long day.

Jul 25, 2013 | Nighty night!! ❤ by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Packed my gear and dressed professionally the next day for a heavy responsibility of shooting a wedding.

While the thought of holy matrimony has always been the last thing on my mind for the longest time, undertaking this task of shooting a wedding and making sure every memorable moment is recorded made me realize a few things that I've probably never thought of.

Prior to this, I've never really seen weddings in this light nor have I envisioned how beautiful a wedding can be.

Biar benar, begitu indah menyaksikan akad nikah mereka sehingga hampir menitis air mata! 

Stole a quick selfie in the bridal chamber before I began the shoot

at Kinta Riverfront Hotel & Suites, Ipoh

With the stunning couple. Congratulations, Soon and Shirly! 

The very look on the bride and groom's faces, the merriment that filled the wedding reception, the congregration of old friends and long-lost family members coming together to celebrate a wonderful union, the expressions of both young and old, the nostalgia rising from speeches and presentations, the picture-perfect wedding photographs, the grand ballroom, the decorations, the wedding cake… and the whole celebratory shebang. 

Wow. Guess I've never looked at it this way before.

One day, just.. maybe someday, I'll be a beautiful, blushing bride walking down the aisle in my gorgeous white gown, complete with a delicate veil and bridal train cascading behind me.

But it all seems so far away as we speak.

I've not even found my Mr. Right yet (No, I'm not looking for the time being!). Who will I end up spending the rest of my life with? Who will I end up growing old with? Could it be you? I'll never know.  

Walaupun aku tidak mencari pasangan buat masa ini, tidak salah jikalau aku bicara bahawa aku masih menunggu jodoh, kan? 

On another serious note, I've been busy with very important and legal papers this week.

Many were quick to assume when I posted it on my Facebook and Instagram but no, it's not a marriage registration.

Some of you have already accurately guessed but I'll only officially reveal and blog all about it when the time is right.

The end of the long weekend is over and so are the parties.

The long weekend was a perfect respite from the city. But for now, work beckons once again.

WIll be back in office tomorrow!  Have a great seven days ahead, you. 

Much love,

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a weekly series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest, share my personal thoughts, and to briefly highlight my recommendations for to-go and to-eat places!

Some photos were posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & my LIVE Blog. 

Do follow to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around me!

Hi loves!

This week was filled with friends, love and celebrations. Oh and, a lot of food as usual haha!

So let's see… what made my week this time round?

My seven days began at work (where else?) on a Monday. And as we were chilling outside our office porch, my colleague took this candid shot of me.

Deep in conversation with another colleague LOL.

So I suppose this is my serious face when I pay attention to someone talking.

(Actually I don't even remember what we were talking about anymore)

He took another photo, which I had some fun editing.

Tuesday night went great as bestieJoyce asked me out to celebrate my belated birthday!

She was away on my actual birthday, so I guess this makes up for it. I was thrilled 

Dressed up really casually tonight; I didn't feel dressy for some reason.

The birthday dinner at Picknik,Publika was great! Wonderful conversations my loves over great food

Full blog post soon!

The rest of the week was all about my daily grind at gym and post-workout meals as usual:

Lower back and leg day. Hi!

Blueberry proats with banana and almonds

Organic wholewheat fusili tossed in extra virgin olive oil with

chicken mince, baby asparagus, kidney beans and chia seeds! 

 Experimented with something new on Thursday.
Raw honey baked stuffed capsicums with lean, ground beef, minced chicken breast and vegetable fillings! 

I don’t usually praise my own cookbook creations but this was delicious and tastes just like pie!

Will refine my recipe and hopefully post it up ok! 

Lunch with the colleagues at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

No prizes in guessing which is mine! 

When we arrived today, I was almost overcome with shock when there were hardly anyone eating at a restaurant which was, more often than not, always 100% full and even people lining up in long queues!

Then I realized it was Ramadan month where the Muslims fast all day. Right, no wonder. 

The next night, Kon and I decided to storm Jalan Alor for some local streetfood.

Actually, he was craving for hot and spicy clams since our last visit. So we caved in.

Yun Lai Restaurant along the buzzing food haunt in Jalan Alor.

We didn't remember which was the store we patronized on our last visit, so we gave this one a try.

Amongst the hoardes of stores lining the main street, one could easily be spoilt for choice.

Here's what we ordered:

Chicken Satay

Black Pepper Baked Prawns

Barbequed Stingray

Sauteed Asparagus

Hot & Spicy Lala (clams)

Grilled Mushrooms

The food was great! We had an enjoyable evening there, despite the presence of aggressive waitresses trying to solicit customers to dine in their stores. She literally yanked my sleeved in a relatively rough manner towards her store LOL. 

Didn't quite appreciate that.  But the food certainly made up for her lack of mannerism!

Come Saturday, I threw a small birthday party with my closest buddies.

Many thanks to The Pool KL for sponsoring my night and Smirnoff Vodka!  Thank youuuuu so much.

Sorry for the bad quality! It happens when the image is sent directly from Instagram 

We also spent the afterparty in Zouk Club KL. That was one hectic night, alright. 

Will be blogging about the night a.s.a.p  promise! x

Just a few things I've pondered about and held for a long time, but only decided to execute now.

When you ask yourself whether or not you are truly happy with the way things are working for you now, what would your answer be?

Are you happy with where you are, what you are doing, how you look, who you are with, and your life in general at this present time? If you're not, or have mixed feelings about your answer, then you probably lack the happiness you have in mind. 

Do something different, for once. Only you can dictate where your life is headed to.

Do something to break free from your current shackles and give yourself the time to re-evaluate.

A re-route. A different path in life. A new direction. 

Sure, you may not be sure if this is really what you want and risk emotional withdrawals but hey, it's only normal. Don't be afraid to embark on something new or shuffle your priorities. It's just the beginning.

Go where you are celebrated; not tolerated!

So if you think you are strong enough to shut your eyes, put your barricades behind you, and dive into the deep for a new adventure, by all means, go for it. I did, with absolutely no regrets.

Much love,

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a weekly series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest and to briefly highlight my recommendations for to-go and to-eat places!

Some photos were posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & my LIVE Blog. 

Do follow to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around me!

Oh hey! It's the month of June already.

If you ask me, this year flew by really swiftly. Before I knew it, we're already almost halfway into the year 2013. 

Where did all the time go?

Hmmm… maybe getting starting my new job made me feel like time had fleeted by so fast.

Cold days at work. When the advertising industry debilitates me whole by the end of the day, all I can do is to curl up with my fave mug of hot chocolate

As keeping busy takes up most of my time, my days aren't as dreary and long as it would probably feel if I were to be jobless or bored at home with absolutely nothing to do. To be honest, I do miss being bored sometimes. 

I could only wish for more hours in my day. 

My life is so fast-paced, especially this year, that I don't even have the time to feel bored anymore! 

Masaku betul2 berlalu dengan laju sangat. Alangkah baiknya jika kita mempunyai lebih masa setiap hari? Katakanlah 30 jam sehari berbanding dengan hanya 24 jam. Lebih banyak kerja yang dapat diselesaikan dalam satu hari dan perkara akan dilakukan secara jauh lebih berkesan, kan?

Ahhh, wishful thinking at best. 

Anyway, this week was relatively mundane with a sprinkle of colour towards the weekend. Okay, recap! 

Daily trainings and awesome post-workout meals.

It was upper body: chest, shoulders, back and arm day

Made organic fusilli pasta bake with honey glazed eggplant, carrots & tomato,

tossed with grapeseed oil, basil and cottage cheese.

Rolled wholegrain oats with soy milk, banana slices and golden kiwi

Organic brown rice with chicken chunks, button mushrooms & flax seeds,

steamed in spring onion, garlic-ginger-onion-herb paste made from scratch! 

Tonight's outfit of the day.

Was invited to Longchamp Paris' Exclusive Preview of their Fall/Winter collection.

Full blog feature soon!

May 29, 2013 | Amazing new release by #Longchamp #Paris! Here are my favorites from their 2013 Fall/Winter collection! ❤ by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Randomly, just randomly, I'm vaguely aware of how my sense of dressing has mellowed so much. Ugh.

Although sexy tops, tight skirts, mini dresses and belly bearing tops still appeal to me, I noticed a paradigm shift in my taste in clothing as of late – probably since the beginning of the year. I have to admit, this "change" scares me a little.

I think this means I'm succumbing to the ravages of time and age. OH NO. 

Aku rase aku sekarang nih dah makin tua.  Jadi, tidak hairanlah apabila aku semakin berpaling kepada cara berpakaian yang lebih klasik ataupun sedikit sebanyak konservatif, jika berbanding dengan fesyen yang biasanya aku dilihat memakai.

Nowadays, classy high-cut tops, demure outfits, long dresses, classic, elegant pieces and the corporate OL (office lady) look strikes my fancy. Umm. really Jess, since when?

What happened to that wild, partygirl look you often portray? 

Date night out in the city. We chose El Cerdo KL Spanish Restaurant, Changkat Bukit Bintang

We had tapas. Gambas Al AjilloCalamares (above) and A La Plancha (below)

Loved its freshness and mild but delightful flavours!

★★★★★

May 30, 2013 | #Night outs! #Dinner in the #city. Drinks by the #bar ❤ by imthejessicat on Keek.com

We also met up with some friends for a bit of Wednesday night partying 

One person is missing from the picture! I guess I'll have to photoshop bestiePam's head in LOL

Bumped into an old friend, Anu, from Penang!

We were squash players back in high school

Excuse my vanity. I don't usually have the time to doll up 

Take two.

I have a new addition to my arsenal of gadgets now. Say hello to my new sexy white thing.

The SAMSUNG Galaxy Camera 

Fancy some cat pictures for the start of the week?

What you are about to see is my furkid, Chivas, in compromising positions

The weekends finally loomed closer; about time it did!

Friday night saw me packing my bags and heading up to Ipoh to spend some time with the family for the weekend.

We had a sumptous family feast. Japanese dinner at

Zento Sushi @ Festival Walk which left us full to the brim and beyond satisfied.

★★★★★

Full blog feature/review coming soon!

Being away for the weekend didn't deter me from carrying out my routines.

Here's a makeshift circuit I did at the porch of my home.

Oh, this Ipoh trip marked my first time boarding the Electric Train Service (ETS) from KL Sentral Railway Station.

I came to a conclusion that I didn't want to drive two hours to Ipoh and another two hours back. I just can't be bothered, really.

The train ride was incredibly smooth and gave me a pleasant experience!

It was punctual – arriving on the dot!

The carriages/coaches were clean, spacious, comfortable and had on-board entertainment (hurray for Mr. Bean!) to boot.

Instead of spending a taxing two hours squinting into the distance when I drive at night and speeding (being me, admittedly) down the highway at 140km/h, all I had to do was to get to the railway station, board the train, pop up my laptop and do my work or leisure for the entire two hours.

Arriving with zero stress.

Sounds like a much better option, no doubt! 

Thumbs up to Malaysian public transportation! 

Architecture-wise, I was pretty impressed by how the railway station looked.

Fringing the railway tracks were high-rise horseshoe and orgee arches plastered in white. It had this British heritage look and feel to it.

You know the concept of crisp-looking whitewashed buildings of moorish designs, pairs of columned porches, symmetrical windows flanking the main, arched entrances?

Yeah the whole train station boasted that entire notion; and I loved it.

It felt as though I was stepping out of the Hogwarts Express train into London's King's Cross railway station.

Before I got too carried away in my reverie, I stopped myself from running into the wall in hopes of traversing into a secret, hidden platform to Hogwarts HAHAHA.

I'm deluded like that.

On our way to the Ipoh Railway Station

Jun 2, 2013 | Whilst on our way to the #Ipoh railway station to head back to #KL #city! by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Farewell, Ipoh Railway Station. I'll be back!

The sunset on the way back was breathtaking

This photo does no justice to the deep vermillion, purple and crimson hues that illuminated the evening sky

Theboyf and I decided to pig out and grab some Mexican cuisine for dinner upon arriving KL.

Actually, it was his idea. We were starving by the time we arrived the city.

Chilis Grill & Bar Restaurant, Bangsar Shopping Centre

★★★★★

The Chicken Club Tacos were superb! 

Wrapped inside the tacos were grilled mesquite chicken breast, ancho-chile ranch dressing, diced tomatoes, mixed cheeses and lettuce served with chopped beef bacon and black beans.

Eating it left me wanting more. It came so juicy, the chicken was tender and it was a perfect burst of Tex-Mex flavour with every bite.

We also tried their new starter, the Spinach Queso.

Those tostada chips were warm and crisp, to be dipped into a spinach-cheese dip and house-made salsa. Just heavenly! 

So that's a wrap! Here's to hoping your weekend was just as eventful as mine. 

Have a good seven days ahead 

I'm going to leave you with a song that's been stuck in my head for as long as ever. Sharing is caring 

Much love,

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a weekly series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest and to briefly highlight my recommendations for to-go and to-eat places!

Some photos were posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & my Mini LIVE Blog

Do follow to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around me!