Hello!

I am not active on this blog anymore, however, you may find more content from me at cloudpaintings!

See you there! ♡

Bookish Bundle

As some of you may know, I'm a bit of a bookworm. That said, I know a lot of others are, as well. This is why I decided to work with Bookish Bundle, a bookish subscription box full of fun and surprises!

For those of you who don't know, Bookish Bundle is a service that sells boxes with a mystery book, as well as a few goodies inside, following a theme! The theme is different for each box, and there's one box available for purchase every 3 months, for RM75 including postage to West Malaysia!

If you'd like to know more, visit their insta page. I know you bookworms won't regret treating yourselves to this!

Sephora Haul

This year, I found out that I am, in fact, still illegible for the great luxury that is duit raya. Needless to say, I was overjoyed! I honestly thought I'd get the 'you're an adult now', comment, so this was such a pleasant surprise.

As I was put on a book ban, and have thusly left the bookstore empty-handed many times as of late (and surreptitiously sneaking reads from unwrapped books), I decided to spend my moola elsewhere.
Sephora.

I've never spent so much for makeup, as I'm more of a drugstore girl, so this is a first. I've received high-end cosmetic products as gifts, but never thought it actually worth splurging for them myself, until now. Just thought I'd treat myself to a different kind of retail therapy. And boy, am I happy.

I've no idea why some of the products are named so suggestively, but damn, y'all need to chill.

A small poem

A home is not
A building
Or a place
Nor is a home
A property or an address

Home is where your heart belongs
And where you always return
Home is where you always feel loved
Or so they say

And up until now
I know not
Whether it was more foolish
To make a home of four walls and a roof
Or two arms and a heartbeat.

BB1M Haul 2016

It's nearly halfway through the year, and it feels as though it's just been a blink of an eye. All of it.
This is also how I feel about me holding the BRIM vouchers. I quite literally spent my vouchers the very next day after getting a hold of them. Obviously, I am the epitome of self control (ha ha).

I made my way to Bookalicious, and found Leon behind the counter, who helped me pick out some books. By help, I mean making it precisely a billion times harder to make a choice, because all the books I wanted were there!

So anyway, without further ado, my BRIM book haul for 2k16!

The very first thing I did after getting the vouchers was texting the friendly indie bookshop owner and asking him if he still had the book set I'd wanted in stock since I'd last asked for them the previous month. When I came to, he'd told me it was the last one! What luck!

The said magical bookset is no other than The Puffin in Bloom, which is a beautiful set of classics I'd had my eyes on for a while! I've since picked up A Little Princess, and cannot wait to get into these. Could not be happier finally getting them!

I also bought the book I'd been anticipating since last year, when I read Winter! I read it the same day I bought it and I was thoroughly amazed and satisfied! I haven't been this obsessed with a book series since Harry Potter!

 

I also decided to invest in a non-fiction book, as per my promise to my father, who believes in living in the real world (unlike his daughter, who would've preferred having been born a wild she-wolf princess living in a space hovercraft somewhere). I chose this gem, because I thought I'd had enough psychology and self help books; and because let's face it, you can never go wrong with a nice spiritual book!

Taking these books home felt like adopting kittens - not that I'd know from personal experience (yet!) but, I would imagine bringing home furry little bundles of joy is similar to bringing beautifully binded worlds home. I've placed them in their new home, i.e., my bookshelf, and hope that it doesn't look too messy.

Welcome to the family, babies!

Reading Resolutions

Last year, in 2015 (wow, that felt odd to say), I read 155 books, of the 150 I set at the beginning of the year.

This year, I intend to keep the goal at 150, but I wouldn't be too crushed if I don't reach it. It's just something to keep in mind when I suffer from an awful bout of a reading slump.

Another challenge that would be fun to try is the one put up by Popsugar. I'd done the 2015 challenge, and it was thoroughly thrilling to see just how many books I'd read that I could tick off from the list!

I hadn't done too badly, scoring 45 of 50 (The books I haven't read being a banned book, a book I was supposed to read in school but didn't, a classic romance, a play, and a book that came out the year I was born). I do intend to up my game, though. Bring it on!

This year's challenge seems to be a lot more diverse, and even challenging, but I guess that's the idea. Wish me luck, and join in!

What was left of '15

After some reflection; an honest one, 2015 was not all that bad. In fact, some of the times might've been the best I've ever had.

For one, I've had the immense privelage of becoming friends with amazing people! Internship really changes you, I tell ya. 

I also met two bookish little things that broadened my knowledge and joy of bibliophilia! One of them, Raihan-san, introduced me to a group of cool cats, and from there, we were one big, diverse family, whom I've known for nearly a year! #mybbm

I also went on vacation again (as some of you MYBBMs went on a field trip), to a quaint hotel in Johor that doubled as a waterpark and beach resort. Since the slides were more for the wee ones, I busied myself by inconspicuously (or so I claim) picking flowers, taking polaroid shots, and collecting shells and acorns.

Clearly, I am the least nerdy person you know (not nearly true, I know, shhhh).

 Also, as for where I left off from the previous post, I did have fun meeting Lang Leav! It was such a humbling, terrific experience, getting to meet the sweet person from which such beautiful and striking words came.

My friend and I waited in line, and were the second group in line, so we got to meet her within the first few minutes (thankfully!). Don't ask us how early we had to stand there to be one of the first people in line. It was painfully awkward.

In any case, it was well worth it. Lang Leav took questions; which included where she got inspiration from, and which of her poems she herself loved most. Then, she read a few of her poems, as per request of the audience.

I did manage to take a polaroid with her, and also a quick picture from Siti's phone. Fortunately and unfortunately, it came out blurry. Also, Leav closed her eyes, which I find adds to her quirkiness somehow. I also got two signatures from her, which is, to me, almost as cool as having Robert Downey Junior's (I said almost).

The penultimate November day

Since tomorrow is the last day of November, I thought that it'd be a good time to compare my TBR list to what I actually read. This month, I decided to be considerably more loose, and only selected 3 books to read this month that were predetermined, while the rest could be selected and read on a whim.

Ha.

What I was supposed to read:

• Winter
• Half Wild
• City of Bones

What I actually read:

• The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
• Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
• #88 Love Life: 88 Thoughts On Love and Life - Diana Rikasari ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
• Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
• Finding Audrey - Sophie Kinsella (buddy read with Nars) ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
• The other books listed in preceding post

Basically, I read everything BUT what I was meant to. 

(Insert "Watch out, we got a badass here" ironically)

After this, I won't be sticking to any regimens or plans, because evidently, I suck at them in the long-run. 

*Miley Cyrus' Can't Be Tamed plays in the distance*

On a completely non-bookish note, I also loved November for being a month wherein I was movie-marathoning like a madwoman. Saturday Midnight Skype Movie rituals contributed to that, granted, but trips to the cinema also became a favourite pastime of mine this month (or ever since the end of my practical internship). My favourite was probably The Good Dinosaur!

On a completely bookish note, I treated myself to a delight, in light of author Lang Leav's tour to Malaysia. 

Hopefully, the month is going to end off spectacularly to welcome the last month of the year.

Hi November !

So it's getting to be almost two weeks of November already - wow, like, chill, do you need a speeding ticket, Earth? - and, all I have to say for myself is that I've finally finished my hardbound, and am as free as Dobby, basically.

In honour of that, I thought I would indulge in immersing myself with things I enjoy; i.e., TV show binging, movie marathoning, book read-alongs, room decorating, and painting whatever the heck that looks even remotely like a smooth surface.

I've also started writing for NaNoWriMo with a couple of buds, so that's something that I'm pretty stoked about as well!

I didn't have many books in my reading plan this month, so most of it is basically just picked on a whim. While I was on holiday, I picked up and finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Can You Keep a Secret? in the space of 4 days. Which is a new record for me, considering the fact that I am a sleep-loving sloth.

November favourites

On the whole, however, I think I read quite a few books I didn't quite like as much as I would've expected to.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan:  ♥ ♥ 

Can You Keep a Secret? - Sophie Kinsella:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories - Edgar Allan Poe: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Animal Farm - George Orwell: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Why Not Me? - Mindy Kaling:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Bossypants - Tina Fey:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories - Charlotte Perkins Gilman: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The Tinder Box and Other Stories - Hans Chirstian Anderson: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I also read a number of picture books, because why the hell not?:

A Perfectly Messed Up Story - Patrick McDonell:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

There's a Wocket in My Pocket! - Dr Seuss:  ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Marvin K Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! - Dr Seuss:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Inside Out - Walt Disney Company:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Red: A Crayon's Story - Michael Hall: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The Day the Crayons Came Home - Drew Daywalt:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I was in the children's section in the amazing Kinokuniya store, as one often finds oneself when one is just a little melancholy (or is that just me?), and I found that though the books were targeted for a much younger audience, the heart and the humour of them can be appreciated by even the oldest people, if they were as brilliant as Dr Seuss.

What I've been up to while I listen to some interesting audiobooks (such as Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari, and The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket; both of which I have yet to finish!) is finally completing a double page of my colouring book. If you haven't heard of the new therapeutic adult colouring book craze, I don't know what to tell ya. It's completely relaxing.

Medium: water-soluble colour pencils, and watercolour paint

I'm currently juggling about 6 books as of now, and have put another 2 on hold. The reason why I can't read one book at a time like a complete sane person is, is because I have a super short attention span, and I am really eratic, and have specific moods. Like one moment I'll feel like reading an easy-going YA book, and the next, I'm craving a Stephen King book. You never know. I mean, I never know.

Hopefully, I'll be able to complete my 2015 Reading Challenge, which is to read 150 books this year. As of right now, I've read 137. 

Wish me luck!

October Shenanigans

So I'd say this month's quite a lucky month for me. I got a lot done, and had a lot of time to express creativity in outlets, as well as getting some gorgeous seaside vacation time in.

I squeezed in some major reading time, and I'm glad to have been able to stick to my reading plan. I even read some extra random ones, just because.

1. Very Good Lives - J K Rowling                                            ✯✯✯✯✯
2. Fantastic Mistakes / Make Good Art - Neil Gaiman                ✯✯✯✯
3. The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan                                          ✯✯✯✯✯
4. A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas                       ✯✯✯✯
5. Library of Souls - Ransom Riggs                                        ✯✯✯✯✯
6. A Little Something Different - Sandy Hall                            ✯✯✯✯
7. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion                                    ✯✯✯✯✯
8. The Battle of The Labyrinth - Rick Riordan                           ✯✯✯✯✯
9. Royal Wedding - Meg Cabot                                              ✯✯✯✯✯
10. Who Could It Be At This Hour? - Lemony Snickett                 ✯✯✯
11. The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan                                       ✯✯✯✯✯
12. The Demigod Files - Rick Riordan                                         ✯✯✯✯✯

I only have a rough sketch of what the November reading plan is like, but I think I'm going to allow more liberality this time.

October TBR

Here rolls another month, hopefully with so much fun in store! I have so much to look forward for this month, including the bittersweet end to my internship for college credit, and the celebrations that come with that freedom. I can guarrantee a few (if not, more) tears, and saying goodbye to the naughtiest albeit sweetest children; but all in all, I'll be glad to be free of my (unpaid) running of odd jobs.

Anyway, in honour of a new month, I thought I'd make a monthly To-Be-Read list, instead of choosing randomly like I always do; just to see if I'd stick with it.

This month, I'm planning to do a read-along with my bud Nicole (hi), and we'll be continuing our  marathon of the Percy Jackson series. I'm also currently reading two other fantasy books; A Court of Thorns and Roses, and The Diviners (which I totally got left in the dust for, due to being so slow - soz Nars).

The rest of my TBR, I think, will be as follows:

• A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
• Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
• The Rosie Project by Graeme C. Simsion

You'll notice these are all romcom-type books, and y'know, I think it'd be refreshing to have some lil' fluffy, cutesy light reads in change of the fantasy streak I've been doing.

In other news, I'd gotten the new, highly anticipated (by me) book, Library of Souls, for RM 4, from MPH. I'm so happy, oh my goodness. I also baked some cupcakes to go with a late evening read, because I'm cool like that. (Taytay Swift would be so proud okay, shut up.)

Wise words don't stop the bleeding

It's been exactly a week since I'd been depraved of the presence of my favourite furry-footed friend, and I have to say, it's been difficult. I've had him since I was 14 years old, and it's incredibly hard losing one of the only things that stayed with you; literally through thick and thin, just so suddenly. It feels like losing a piece of home, or a connection to your childhood.

Though they say he's in a better place now, and that I'm lucky to have had that many years with him, it still pains me to think about him. Every time there's a noise in the kitchen, or under the table, I'd always instinctively bend down to pet him, until realization hits me that he won't be there.

I don't wish to linger too much, as words could never, ever articulate the ardent fondness that I'd had for Fluffy. On the 9th of September, 2015, he was lost to us, but never forgotten.

Answering Tumblr Questions

So, having a tumblr, I wanted to answer some of the questions here, because I like to keep my tumblr feed neat. I thought this would be fun to do, since I haven't been up to anything crafty much that I could post up, so here goes:

1. How tall are you? 5′6, the last time I checked. Taller with heels on (ha ha)

2. What Colour and style is your hair? Black and curly. Ain't nothin' worse than combing mu hurrr.

3. What color are your eyes? Brown

4. Do you were glasses/contacts? Glasses at home, contacts everywhere else. 

5. Do you wear braces? Sadly, yes. I'm pretty sure they would've been an effective medieval form of torture.

6. What is your fashion style? Idk, grandma meets lazy teenager, I guess?

7. What is your name? I'd pretty much be down with whatever you wanna call me. Most go for 'Mia', but commonly I'm 'Mars', or 'Meow' if we're tight. 'Ugh' if we're super tight.

8. When where you born? 25th July

9. How old are you? 19

10. Where do you live now? I currently reside in Malaysia

11. Do you have siblings? Yeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh

12. What college do you go to? Bruh 

                                             Personal much

13. What kind of student are you? The worrywart. I'm that annoying person that calls you for a study                                                    group to finish work that was assigned to us like, three days ago.

14. Do you even like school? Mehh, I'm indifferently neutral. 

                                          Except about 8 am classes. Those are the bane of my life.

15. What are your favorite school subjects? Art, Psychology, Biology and English.

16. What are your favorite shows? HA HA 

                                                 Please consult the gigantic files detailing the many shows I watch                                                      instead of having an actual life. (The Big Bang Theory,                                                                   Supernatural, Gravity Falls, Pretty Little Liars are my go-tos) (RIP                                                   cancelled shows)

17. What are your favorite movies? The Avengers, Up, Tangled, Captain America, The Amazing                                                             Spiderman, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, any movie                                                     with Adam Sandler, basically.

18. What are your favorite books? *deep breaths* 

Series:

• Harry Potter
• The Lunar Chronicles
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
• A Series of Unfortunate Events
• Princess Diaries
• Dear Dumb Diary

Stand-alones:

• Hyperbole and a Half
• The Sleeper and The Spindle
• The Ocean at the End of The Lane
• Anything by Rainbow Rowell basically
• The Little Prince
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Notebook
• The Night Circus
• More Than This

19. What is your favorite pastime? The Internet, obvs. Also, reading, writing, singing and eating.

20. Do you have any regrets? Yeah. 40-50% of my life basically

21. What is your dream job? I don't have one. But probably a successful author even JK Rowling                                                  would've been proud of.

22. Would you like to get married one day and where? Idk, a garden? DIsneyland? 

23. Would you like to have kids one day? Uhh...yeah? Wait, NO PLURALS OK

24. What type of a girl are you? I'm not really sure what this means, but I'm going to go with female.                                                  I'm female.

25. Do you like shopping? HELLLSSSS YAAAAAAAAAAH

26. What countries have you visited so far? 

• Australia
• Indonesia
• Singapore
• Japan
• Netherlands
• France
• Oman
• Qatar
• Dubai
• Switzerland

27. What is the scariest nightmare you ever had? I have recurring nightmares about running away from                                                                          something/someone through a dark alley. That, and                                                                            demonic clowns.

28. Any special talents? I could probably touch my nose using my tongue if I really tried. But I'm lazy,                                       so

29. What is your favourite material possession you love most? My hardcover copy of The Sleeper                                                                                                  and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman and                                                                                              Chris Ridell

30. What are you wearing? An oversized sweater and tights.

31. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Man, that's trippy. And super depressing. Shoo, question,                                                                shoo!

32. How do you see yourself passing away? Haha, that's funny because once my friend said, "God, I                                                                   can see it now; 'Cause of death: Too shy to call 911'". The                                                               way I've imagined it is somewhat more vague, but                                                                             inevitably ending with me saying, "oops".

33. Are you athletic? Sure! Let's ask the arm flab how well I do!

34. Who is your celebrity crush? This is hard to say, since it's basically just every male actor above 35,                                                but my BAE since like, middle school has always been Adam Sandler                                                  (heart eyes, mf!)

35. Your favourite music artist(s)? Taylor Swift, Drake, Coldplay and All Time Low are my relentless                                                     faves. I'd probably buy a trash can with their names on it.

36. What is your favourite childhood TV show? Bananas in Pajamas haha

37. What are you like irl? I'm just about the most awkward piece of [poo emoji] 

38. What is your favourite food? Yo if it's edible, I'd probably eat it it.

39. What are your thoughts on elves? HAHA WHAT THE FISH 

                                                     I dunno? That they should be freed? FREE THE HOUSE                                                                 ELVES~

40. What are the things that keep you alive? Ahh, the three F's. Friends, family and food lol