For the past year, I have broken three pairs of spectacles. THREE! Talk about clumsy, eh? I actually broke one which I wore for about a couple of weeks on the day I was leaving for Australia. Thanks to some unforeseen circumstances that the flight was delayed, I managed to rush back to the shop, get it fixed within a half hour, and out with a spanking new pair of glasses.

Glasses aren't cheap in Malaysia. There's always the cheap plastic frames for students with plasticky lenses, which, more often than not, looks pretty rubbish. As for the rest, no matter how cheap the frames turned out to be, the sales assistants always try to sell you expensive lenses. I always choose the least fuss, plastic lenses to ensure my glasses to be as light as possible.

Unfortunately, in the end, they always turned up to be pretty expensive. When you start adding in the multicoated film, making your lenses high index, etc, it all adds up. I wouldn't mind me something cheap, like an $ 8 Zenni Optical Rx Eyeglasses though. At least this way, I know I won't have to feel so bad if I do break it again.

Which I'm certain I will. Again. Tsk tsk tsk.

Have you ever wanted to try colored contacts? I have. No kidding. I mean, yeah, when I was in college, I used to secretly poke fun at one of our classmates who wore purple contact lenses (she's Asian, by the way), and claimed that they were her real eye colour! But now, after looking at many pictures of lovely Asian women who wear coloured contact lenses, I'm itching to give it a go.


Today it is easy because you can just order them directly over the internet. Colored contacts have really increased in popularity the last couple of years, you can see a lot of celebrities use them and they are a great resource for changing your apparel drastically for a time.

Before buying the lenses it’s important to know however that the effect of the different lenses varies heavily depending on your own natural color.

For instance a person with dark eyes has to use an opaque contact lens if they want to change the color to blue. While a person with natural blue eyes use a tinted lens which enhances the natural color of the eye.

Another cool thing today is that you can find colored contacts in more unusual colors and not just the “natural” colors.

A great thing about colored contacts is that you can buy contacts both with and without any type of correction so everyone can use them. They also have a special UV protection to shield the eye from UV rays.

Anyways, I'm thinking of grey lenses. Apparently they can make your eyes look haunting. Now that's something I'd love to try. Bewitching eyes ... hmmm ... :p

When I was studying in the UK, I remembered receiving a lot CDs on various online casinos, advertising their casino games like online poker, craps, roulette, etc. These casino CDs offered online and sometimes, offline games, which for the latter, is quite fun.

Some friends of friends of friends (yeah, word travels fast in a small town) tried out one of 'em online casinos from these CDs. I thought it was a bit of fun to play the games offline, but these guys tried it out online. I was shocked to learn that they lost over 500 pounds just on these casinos. In the end, it was due to poor judgment call on the choosing of the right casinos for them.

Sites on online casino reviews which offer the task of filtering through various online casinos enable the players to carefully select the right casino for them, and to play to their experience. Maybe that way, these friends of friends of friends would not have lost so much ;)

*This post is sponsored*

My usual website stumbles brought me to an online fashion boutique which stores a lot of popular American-branded jeans, Tobi. It houses quite a lot of popular brands, such as Harajuku Lovers, Dolce Vita, M Missoni, etc.

A very popular brand which Tobi stores is Seven For All Mankind. I've heard a lot of the Seven For All Mankind (simply referred to as Seven or Seven jeans). It's an instant favourite among Hollywood's elite and ranks as a preferred jean among leading celebrities such as Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Garner and Heidi Klum.


Okay, are those jeans HAWT or what? :p If only I have the ass to fit into these gorgeous babies.

Another brand name to drop would be the Nudie jeans for men. They're called 'the naked truth about denim'. Quite aptly named, for their jeans too, are hot. Their raw denim are universally renowned.



Methinks my man would look good in these Nudie jeans ;)

One of the features of the online boutique is that you can actually speak with a stylist online (live chat) to help you select clothes best for you. This is pretty good in the sense that you will be able to have your own stylist to help you choose styles which are most flattering to your body shape and budget.

Tobi does free shipping to all orders in the continental USA. It is a pity that they do not ship to Malaysia (although they do ship to Singapore). I would so love to get my hands on the Seven jeans :p

I am, by nature, a hoarder. It's in my genes. My grandpa hoarded junk. So do I. So much so that I have so much things in my room just now, that I'm running out of storage space. I have boxes of different colours in my room just to store my books, files, and other knick-knacks. I'm definitely in dire need of better storage solutions. If only I have a garage, a huge store room to store my stuff. This way, I'll be able to declutter my room.

And allow me to get even MORE stuff. Hehe :p


*This is a sponsored post*

Ever thought of owning your very own online store? I have. A friend of mine's selling jewelry made of Swarovski crystals (which I will post on in the near future), and she's looking for an ecommerce software which can help her start up her store. Her very own shopping cart for customers, if you will.


Ashop Commerce provides such a solution. With the software, you can start up your own little store (which can become something big in future, of course). Everything is carried out online; registration of the store, set up, etc. The interface is pretty intuitive; you can see your new orders right away, and you get to view your monthly sales in graphs, right at the front page of your interface. It's a shopping cart software with all the pieces.

A good thing about Ashop Commerce is that it allows you a 10-day free trial, and with that, you do not need to register your credit card. As ecommerce solutions go, I think this one is pretty nifty. It is definitely something I'd look into.

This post was brought to you by Ashop Commerce

When I was in Japan for a year for on-job-training, one of the coolest things which caught my eye (believe me, there were a LOT) were the cars. It's not just that the cars were cheaper than what we can get here in Malaysia, but that they were so full of mouth-watering gadgets and features. For example, GPS units, tiny cameras at the front and back bumpers of cars, and a portable DVD player in almost every car.

I take the bus when traveling about in Japan, and being seated "high up", many a time, I get to peek into the cars. These cars have portable DVD players in the front, AND the back, which is so cool. I've seen talk shows and dramas played on these players while the person's driving. I just hope they aren't too much of a distraction though.

So yeah, I'd love myself a portable 10 inch DVD player in my car someday. Especially during road trips, when the drive is getting a little too dull; a movie would definitely make the time pass more quickly.

This post was brought to you by DigitalFramez.com

Another one of my *ahem* money-making source would be the up-and-coming Smorty. I signed up for Smorty a few months ago, when my beauty blog was but a wee babe, but was unfortunately rejected as it was too new (low ranking, stats ... you get the picture), and did not fulfill the service's requirements. Five months down the road, I dropped them an email, and was very pleased at their prompt reply, telling me that I'm finally approved! Woot!

Smorty is a blog advertising network where advertises get to advertise on blogs. This is the first time I'm using this service, but so far, the site looks promising. I like the simple user interface, which very clutter-free (good colour theme too). Choosing ads isn't difficult; you'll be notified if there are available campaigns for you.

I don't just blog for money, but the money I do get is a real treat for me. I have my eye on the ... *tadah* iPhone. It's going to take a LOT of blog advertising to bag me that cellphone, but I shall remain optimistic about it. Tee hee hee!

*This post was brought to you by Smorty*

When Tim and I got engaged, and started hunting for my engagement ring, it was very important that we selected one which was not only within our budget, but also the best our budget could allow. Different jewelers sell different cut, clarity and colour of diamonds, and they would fall within a price range accordingly.

I was first introduced to the education of diamonds by my aunt, who frequently purchased diamond jewelry. I really appreciated her advice, on telling me the differences between the colours of the diamond, and the clarity (I finally know the differences between VS1, VS2, VSS1 and VSS2).

Before purchasing a diamond, it is important to research and educate yourself about them before hand. Knowledge is not only imperative to making the best purchase decision possible, but also to knowing exactly what you are buying. This is especially true for diamonds, as they are not an inexpensive commodity.

Also consider what the diamond is being purchased for; is it for an engagement ring? Or maybe diamond earrings? Though diamonds are incredibly versatile, and have a plethora of uses, their exact intention can make all the difference. Always remember to do your homework though, and you’re sure to succeed in your diamond-buying goal.

I’m so glad we managed to get one which suited our tastes and budget. And now, I just can’t stop looking at it! As a friend told me, she was simply blinded by the glare. Tee hee hee!

When Stylebell says that they're the premier hair resource, they weren't kidding. You can get practically ANYTHING that has to do with haircare, or hair-styling on that site.


I was pretty interested when Stylebell contacted me to inform my readers about the site (oh, just to be clear, I'm not paid to write this. After checking the site out, I thought it was a great source of haircare and styling products, which, to be honest, I haven't seen before).

Stylebell caters haircare brands like Redken, Bain De Terre, Paul Mitchell, Biolage (I love this one), etc. You can also get hairdryers, flat irons, curling tongs, and many more. I spent quite a long time browsing the site because there's just so much haircare stuff to find.

Here comes the sad part, for us Malaysians, that is - they do not ship internationally. Pity. Still, readers in the US could jolly well benefit from the site - Stylebell does free shipping for orders over $50.

For Beautyholics Anonymous readers in the US, well, you're in luck :p

For any order over $100, you get $10 off, plus free shipping. Just enter code Style10 during checkout.

Okay, I'm going to let you on to a little secret here. In between my casual and free dating periods, I actually (OMG, I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me) signed up in one of 'em free dating sites. And I have to say, that was an eye opener. I started having complete strangers writing to me, and shamefully, I'd have to say, I quite enjoyed the attention. For a little while, at least.

Today, I'm going to talk about another one of 'em free online dating sites I happened to chance upon. JustSayHi seems to have quite a good thing going on there. And the good thing about the site is that it's free. A lot of other free dating sites charge a fee, which does not guarantee a match. Something you don't have to pay for, and if you don't happen to find a love match, well, there are always friendships to be made.

As with all free dating sites, I'd highly recommend caution with whomever you happen to strike a conversation with. Be careful with whom you talk to, never give out personal details, and all that. Keep it clean. Having said all, it's all good fun. And who knows, you might actually meet your Prince Charming. Or Princess.

This post is brought to you by JustSayHi

I am about the clumsiest person you can find. When I was young, I scrapped my knees countless times, fallen off the mango tree in my house, trip on sidewalks, etc. So much so that mum had to keep an updated first aid kit in the medicine cabinet for my clumsy antics.

Now that I'm much older, it still doesn't stop. I've lost count of the number of times I twisted my ankle (just by walking! I know blame it on my weak ankle :p). And my first aid kit's so outdated (most of the "potions and lotions", as I like to call it, have gone past their expiry date!), it really is time I get a new one, and keep it well-stocked (that's very important), when any of the supplies have depleted.

Shopping.com has quite a good selection of first aid kits, and individual supplies (xeroform petrolatum gauze dressing, how cool is that? :p). A plus point about the site is that it allows you to make comparison of prices of the same product, sold at different stores. The same product can cost from $3 to $39! I wish we have that sort of facilities here in Malaysia. A definite time-saver, I'd have to say.

There's been a lot of hoo-hah about blog marketing going on, and tadah, I've jumped onto the bandwagon as well.

I've heard of PayPerPost a long time ago (I actually signed up my personal blog for it, but in the end I never did go for it, as I wanted to keep it ad-free), but never did get on with the program until now. I thought, hey, it's about time, eh?

I actually submitted this site to PPP a month ago, but for some reason, it kept getting rejected. It was only a few weeks later that I realised, man, it totally slipped my mind that their mandatory 90 days weren't up yet *slap forehead*.

Anyways, I do hope I get some good opportunities there (I've seen a few). Still, I shall have to remind myself to be really patient as my blog's still very new, and my PR's still very low. No worries, I have faith in my site, as I love writing about my passion, and if I don't get paid all that much, that's not even a problem; my readers will always come first.

Hmm, what shall I do with my earnings? I don't have anything in mind just yet, but you never know, an extra bit of pocket money never hurts. I definitely need the extra to feed my beauty habit. Plus, it'd be good for me next year, when I love to Melbourne for good and will most likely be jobless for a few months. Definitely need the bit of moolah then.

So if you haven't signed up for it, what are you waiting for? Like I said, an extra bit of pocket money is always a good thing. Especially when there's always that bag (or shoes, or makeup, or skincare product, or ... man, our list of WANTS is never going to end, is it?) that you've always been wanting to get.

Gosh I'm in need of a diet. You know what they say, bride-to-bes would be totally swamped with so much to do, and what with the stress and all, you'd think I'd be losing weight fast. But noooo, the calories are simply piling on, and really, I seemed to be gaining weight more and more as the date approaches! *gasp in horror*

So I've been scouring diet books, and the internet, for some sort of calorie counter, so that I can really watch what I eat. I mean, heck, the greasy char koay teows and nasi lemaks just ain't cutting it. One plate of 'em oily stuff, and there ya go, a day's need of calories down the drain in just the ONE meal.

Anyways, I'm really glad I found a free calorie counter on the Internet, which suits my needs. Definitely helps me make better food choices, which I sorely fail in. You can even start a food diary, which is great. Believe it or not, I actually HAVE a food diary too, which lasted all of, oh, 2 months? :p

In my line of work, there is much liaison with our counterparts and customers. It isn't easy having to keep up with their requirements and requests via email, as a lot gets lost in the translation. Thus, we have video conferencing meetings every month, to facilitate things.

There was one particular video conferencing meeting which I found particularly funny. Most of the time, it would be our counterparts who'd be dialing in to our number. So there we were, waiting for the call. Once connected, they saw us, and started the meeting immediately. They went on and on, yakkity yak; what they didn't realise was, their microphone wasn't switched on! They were so engrossed in their figures, their documents, etc, that they didn't even realise that we have not said our greetings, nor did they even look up to see our flailing arms to indicate that we couldn't hear them. It was an amusing sight indeed.

My man and I do our very own lil' video conferencing ourselves. But for that ... well, let's just say, it's very private. And I mean VERY private *wink wink*.

StrawberryNET's August Specials are out!

I just bought Kanebo's Inner Balance Moisture Polish Essence for RM137, and Stila's Rouge Pot Cheek Mousse for RM35 today. Received an email from them that they've just been dispatched. Woohoo, should get 'em in about 4 days. Can't wait!

I'm very interested in the Kanebo essence I bought. Anyways, I'll review both of them once I try 'em on.