Family gathering at Teratak Liz Duan

We had great fun last week orgainising a family gathering for both my side and Duan's. We were not able to gather everybody under one roof during the first day of Raya but we managed to do that at our place last week and it was my honour to become the host. It was suggested by my mom and my aunty Ana when we were in JB and I agreed at the very first note, but too bad Aunty Ana was not feeling well and thus not able to join.

Fresh flowers is a must............I adore Lily and the smell..

The food keep on changing...we first thought of having a BBQ tapi macam leceh so we then decided seafood on Friday--lunch and dinner, then Nasi Dagang on saturday mornin--Boy's family and my parents+baby/Mak Usu overnight at my place ..so Friday afternoon, brought them to Kemaman Kopitiam  -- Instagram again---I wore Armani Jeans top from JPO and old tudung from Ariani...know what I even have matching shoes in my shoe rack...kebetulan aje...color matches ..awesome!

and the below spread for the gathering---all was homecook and they include..mee rebus, laksa penang, fettucini cabonara, honey dew sweet and nasi impit...the satay was ordered.

 I dont know if we can call it an open house because a house should be readily open for family kan? so I think family gathering is a more appropriate word to use ...initially I tot of calling some friends and call it "open house" for the day tapi Duan said family dont eat and go-- they mingled, then eat then baring then eat again and we want to bersembang sembang so he said better restrict to only family and he was right as always!

I am so happy to have all of them under my roof and will be glad to play host over and over again.

Sangatlah saya berbesar hati that the lots has drove all the way from KL and also Temerloh to visit us...I feel humbled by the gestures!

The relationship that we have between my family and my in laws, I aways think is rather special because all of them know each other--doesnt stop at me and Duan but extended to my siblings, aunties and uncles from both sides... perhaps..... because we are the first to get married and everybody was so involved back then...even though ours was not without the sensationals issues--ha..ha..ha..-- but I believe we managed to get keredhaan from everbody....amin.

Duan was so fascinated with Ratu..the one standing right in front of him..she communicates well and very smart ...from right ..Nash -Darling's son, Zara--Ann's daughter, Ratu-Bell's and Iana-Boy's.

Iana is 2 weeks younger than Aariz and Zara is about 2 months older than Aariz---dah melompat bagai but abang Aariz still gegar gegar diri...he..he..my special son!

Last but not least ...the mak daras...yg lain entah mana hilang...Darling requested us to post like her but I cant bring myself to do that lah...she's 10 years younger boleh lah...
I wore Ralph Lauren top from JPO ha..ha..ha....baju raya maaaa....heii my pony is actually beaded tau...not like the common sthiches...and old tudung from Ariani...the pants is from akak next door...

So ok that is all for today...take care people and salam syawal!

2012 Raya ke 4 -Liz Duan

Hi there salam syawal lagi...puasa enam tak jugak tetttttttttttttt..
On the forth day of Raya, we travelled back to Kuantan--my home sweet home...Dok relax relax...sembang sembang makan makan posing posing and berangkat lah semua, tehrefore I missed the relatives' houses around JB but yg penting2 dah covered oklah...team lain pulak follow my mom and uncles and aunties..RAya ke 3 Darling sampai from Melaka so Raya 4 dia follow the group. I think kan , nobody can beraya like my mom and the adik beradiks sampai saturday tu dia org beraya sakan lagi...perghhh hebat! My mom is so... gojes kan?? at 57 years old....

Dalam pada nak balik tu...si Afi pulak nak jugak shirt RLX...2nd day tu tak nak beli konon dah banyak sgt, tapi macam kesian pulak so we made our last round check on JPO punya lah...kuh semangat kan?
And we did successfully collect 5 items to get the 30% discount...semangat ko!

Day 5 of hari raya, Duan dah kerja...after 1 month of fasting, I bet the whole of Malaysia misses our favourite breakfast of all time i.e. roti canai...so we did just that on day 5...

Then lunch at our favourite once-a-month or once-for-every-2 months affair...Ronald Mc Donald

And of course TomYam Kung, the very next day

Of course for hari raya, another benda wajib is kuih raya...mine are all "kuih tunjuk"..mostly ordered from my cousin Kak In--aunty Ana's daughter. She does make very delicious cookies.....

And this ends my Hari Raya break...finally back at my home sweet home...I really do enjoy the break.....but home is where the heart is...

Farewell dinner untuk Haslina

sob sob sob ...my bestie is leaving this Sunday ...Haslina and her family akan berangkat ke Melbourne petang Ahad nie ..dia akan memulakan PhD nya kat sana ..am sad coz she was the first friend I have when i moved back to Malaysia nearly 7 years ago ...dari zaman single mingle to zaman dia dah jadi bini orang and then jadi mak orang ..but, kehidupan memang macam tu lah ....sometimes we meet new people, and sometime kiter berpisah huhuhuhu sedihhhhh ooooo

so last night we went for a dinner kat our fav spot ....just geng2 kami ajer ....Bemen, Chris, Dr M, Kiky and Tijot ...having fun together one last time sebelum dia berangkat jauh ...

dah abis makan baru ingat nak bergambar ...so, takde gambar food pun!

Iris dah cranky ..it was over her bedtime

and yang surprise nya, Kiky and Tijot datang bawak kek ...hahahaha no wonder dorang sampai lambat ....so, after the huge dinner yang mana semua sendat perut, we had some cakes as well ....

kek tu fungsi sekali as my advance birthday cake ...so ada le upacara nyanyi and tiup candle ...imagine, in the middle of top spot area hahahaha ....takpe orang tak kenal muka2 kami nie ....

happenning kan? hahahaha  ...

and yang nie lawak. dah trend sekarang kan, pantang food datang jer semua sua camera hahahaha ....same thing last night, kek keluar jer terus berkelip2 flash from camera :-)

all in all, a great night ....pas nie ntah biler lagi akan cukup korum macam nie lagi ...by the time Haslina balik nanti, bemen and the rest tu mungkin sedang buat their phds ...and our dear mentor tu akan retire ...it wont be the same ...but we'll see ...apa2 pun, am wishing my dearest friend, Haslina, all the very best in her studies Down Under ...you can do it Moi! We have learn from the best (am sure he would be grinning if he happens to read this lol) ...

2012 Hari Raya ke 3 -Liz Duan

Raya ke tiga...berbalik ke baju kurung nak beraya rumah sedara okays. My baju kurung is cotton from Bandung..di hadiahkan oleh Qay Qay , Duan's PA..bought during her honeymooning. I told her, excatly the kind of colour i would choose on my own...motives nya sama baju raya last year and another black and white baju kurung I wore to her wedding which i bought in 2010. The Tudung is from internet..Afi actually chose the color..pandai dia....kita suka sangat!My boys wear all white on that 3rd raya.

PAgi tu to my uncle's house in Ulu Tiram. My atok is from here...I was raised here in Ulu Tiram jugak but not at this house, tapi selang 2 lorong... Kalau my mom tak consistently came and faced my grandparents to bring me to KL for schooling, I would have my first education in Sekolah Keb Ulu Tiram...and Nor Amalina could be second after me lah for that title she is holding ha..ha..ha..
Kelas ko Maria!

Tahun ni konvoi nya agak besar because semua adik beradik my mom ada , yg rare tu ialah Pak Ngah and Pak Long tapi short sorang i.e. Aunty Sidah yang d bomb.

Then lepas kenyang perut , cabut lari ke Kota Tinggi...Felda Sungai Mas...rumah wajib, belongs to Tok Su who is my atok adik bongsu i.e. Pak Su and Mak Su for my mom dan adik beradik nya.

 Instagram lagi...cantek kan? mmg suka ..tengok my  Aariz is wearing kemeja okays...dengan his unique expression...sepet aje matanya tu!

Alhamdulillah...janji ditepati...jalan Kota Tinggi dah highway...setelah sekian lama nya....everyyear akak dok cursing the govt for not being sensitive the importance of jalan Kota-JB....syukur syukur, now siap ada jambatan ni ko...jangan salah ingat Penang aje ada...lintas sungai Kota Tinggi pun d bomb...Tapi katanya toll agak mahal...tak perasan tapi teh local could feel the bite lah dok ulang alik Kota to JB kan.

Tok Su kelas tudung layered jugak..

By the way, I got this tudung from Ann...nak lah sangat dia kita pakai layered cam dia...everytime dia dok recommend tapi I just think it doesnt fit me lah ..geram sgt tu yg dia beli kan agaknya. So so lah tak lah berapa suka..it is instagram which make me looks good in it ha..ha..ha.

Anyway terima kasih daun keladi Cik Ann!

 Gossip di bawah pokok...

Panas sangat Mat Aariz dah jadi anak tarzan...
Afi semua lah dok puji macam hot stuff sangat dia tu..ha..ha..Dulu kan boboyot even last year raya pun still quite boboyot ..so semua girls sekarang gather around him aje..ha..ha..Got to remind him, semua tu pangkat makcik not cousins...Afi kata mummy macam macam ha..ha..ha..

Johor Premium Outlet on 2nd Raya

Petang raya kita dah kat Johor...tanah tumpah nya dareh ku...
Raya kedua...agenda nya Singapura...however since last year, kita tak follow dah my mom beraya ke Singapore...leceh lah...my mom jenis beraya non stop from one house to another ...akak ni malas lah sikit...
But I should have followed actually...sebab dah aimed nak gi Harry Porter exhibition tapi boleh kelupa pulak bila raya tu...haiyoo...tapi anotehr reason selain dari kemalasan  beraya tu ialah sebab Aariz tak de passport lagi.

I am now on Instagram as well...the above picture is the outcome from Intagram. I like the features..it has several options which can do wonders to your picture..blurrish lah gelap lah terang lah...cantik aje lah nampak dlm instagram ni.!
By the way, my top is Marks and Spencer from Orchard Road--I bought that with my aunty ana..dia pulak reminded me ..ingat jugak lagi...akak lupa dah...Tudung is from Ariani in Shah Alam.

Jadi since my mom and uncle masuk Singapore, we took the opportunity to JPO..ha..ha..seronok lah ..barang cheapy cheap...tinggal kalau orang ramai sangat tu mmg potong sikit lah...Orang shopping before raya ...kita shopping on raya itself.

 we reached the place early so tenang aje berjalan!

 In that Armani boutique, I felt in love with a Gorgio Armani top with original price of RM3500++..after discount is about RM500--but I bought Armani Jeans top which cost me less than RM200..berbelanja  pun biar berhemah...for that RM500, i would opt for Burberry top ...banyak nya yg aku suka weeiii...nannti akak kumpul duit for raya haji ehhh...Burberry kids and men pun cantik cantik dah terbayang2 di mata ha..ha..ha..

You guys should have noticed yg kita orang tak turun KL pun sepanjang Ramadhan so mmg tak beli anything for hari raya except some internet shopping for my tudung and baju Aariz. Jadi bershopping lah kami...tak lah sakan sgt...kira oklah tu!
JPO awesome....tapi Guess, GAP and some jenama entah apa tak berapa best lah....tak berapa kemas kedai nya and barang agak out dated....kena pilih kedai...the rest semua best..loads of discounts....given ample time to membelek, full wallet and/or empty credit card!!
Bagus punya tips kan? No wonder lah my friends yg shopaholics including my brother Bell and wifey kata shopping sampai tak cukup boot.

My boys pun sama sebok nya...I was glad that they didnt make any fuss for not shopping before raya...boys kan cam tak kisah sgt baju baru ke apa...they did ask once and I told them nanti beli kat KL or JPO aje..and they agreed.  Actually mummy yg payah shopping sebab semua nak mummy tengok they do the fitting and approve the colour ...sib baik boys ..they only have shirt, t shirt and trousers...kalau pompuan pengsan nak tengok fashion..skirt aje nak flair ke kembang ke kuncup ke short ke panjang ke mini ke micro ke..mahu sehari semalam tak cukup...ha..ha..ha..Anyway...I am glad the boys and ayahanda nya  trust my eyes!

Hari Raya 2012--Liz Duan

Salam syawal semua...busy sgt lately afer the one week break for hari raya..senget sengget bahu buat kerja. Now people busy closing, mine got to wait after closing so ada free sikit sikit yg I isytihar sendiri..bosan aje kan? It is bosan..lupa kan bab kerja lah..
2012 Raya has been awesome and splendid to me this far...So back to Raya pertama..we were in Pekan as I mentioned earlier. In the early years (of marriage) pagi raya tu jiwa meronta ronta nak balik Johor cecepat..I guess normal feelings lah..got nothing to do with my family in laws.. every single souls in my family in law have been kind to me from day one..am not writing this because Duan reads this blog...but sincerely from my heart and I wont ask for more!
After years of the routine and after aged kan...ha..ha..ha..I am ok..bukan tahun ni lah dah few years back, after makan...sembahyang...visited 3-4 houses of close relatives in Pekan about 2pm we drove slowly down to Johor..even my sentence sound very tenang kan?

Ok theme of the year. Purple-- not my  favourite colour , but we chose it because back in 2010 (last trip to Bandung), we bought kain baju melayu purple for Duan--terbekenan pulak pulple tu, so in the spirit tak nak membazir --kita kata purple is the theme for 2012.

We managed to find the same tone for the boys--it looks like purple-ish grey for me-tapi fendi kata purple lah tu ha..ha..ha..! Mine is a trengganu hand chanting batik bought from a friend..tak lah berapa suka but i need purple so i grabbed at first glance --- I actually foreseen that Gulati's would not be in our agenda as we are approaching ramadhan so beli aje lah.Size songkok utk Aariz habis--we bought him a black kupiah dia tak nak pakai...the boys used to have one tapi after Adib, i handed down to my SIL ..dia kata dah jahanam ..so nanti lah cari new one or Aariz...Aariz is another one with a big head, kita rasa!

Food as usual lah...conti aje...nasi dagang, laksa pahang, nasi minyak and ketupat and rendang...emm itu aje kot..Sedap kan hari raya, makan aje kerja nya...

 US with Pekan team...2 keluarga tak de..celebrated with in laws dulu. Akak ceria aje ..macam buat iklan Darlie kan?

 Ni a bigger picture with the cousins and anak sedara...all from house next door...family to kakak of my mother in law.

Ni my side on pagi raya..they were telecasted live for Malaysia Hari Ini...right before Sri Perdana if I am not wrong. Kebetulan kan...Boy, Bell, Ann and My uncle Chumat semua wearing purple..so wedding Anne nanti boleh lah buat purple as a theme...nak kena sound my mom cepat sikit tu ha..ha..ha..

Jalan Beraya

On Merdeka day...kami ke Selayang beraya ke rumah Jijah dan Apai...kawan Fid masa kat HLA. Kami ke sana berkonvoi 3 kereta. Janji konon kol 10.30am...tapi jumpa kat check point dah nak tengahari. LOL. X kisah la kan...asalkan dapat beraya bersama sama. Solat Jumaat kat Masjid Rawang kot...kat hujung dunia...jalan punya la jammed pastu kena menapak jauh.

Lepas dah balik from Solat Jumaat...posing posing dulu before mintak diri untuk ke next house.

Kalau dah banyak sangat camera...tu la jadinya...mama reen dok pandang camera lain. Ha ha ha.

From selayang masuk duke terus ke Ukays Perdana untuk drop EJ kat rumah kawan dia. Dia nak ke Open House rumah kawan dia...so tak join kami ke rumah Aan. Gempak open house Aan...food macam macam ada.

Lepas from Sentul rumah Asmahan tu aku drop Fid and Zara kat rumah. I went to fetch Ej pastu beli Satay sebab member sekolah datang from JB. This is Raha...our classmate masa kat STPD. Adik dia duduk kat Cheras...dah lama dok ajak dia singgah ke Keramat baru tahun ni dia dapat singgah.

Malamnya pulak kami menerima kehadiran ramai tetamu...Zamreen...Nuarlin dan Hadie sefamily. Tapi hidang kueh mueh aje sebab memasing kata dah kekenyangan. Penuh jadual untuk sehari. Seronok.