Happy Birthday to me!

End of 2016
It's 23rd of December...again.
Funny a birthday is... It's kind of annual thing.
A wonderful year has passed.
I am now officially 27.
What an age!

This birthday is kinda special to me
because it is my first time celebrating it at home
with my two December nieces.
They were born while I was in the UK.
I am so glad that I am home to celebrate this special occasion!

Last year (My 2015 Birthday), I got myself a room makeover.
and spent like GBP200 for that purpose.
A birthday gift for myself is always the best!!!

So...

What did I get for myself this birthday?
.
.
.

I got myself another room makeover!!!
but this this time, I redecorated my room at my hometown.
I mean, my parents' house to be precise.
I love it!!!

**the curtain was made a few months later...please see this post.

Most of the display items in this room were bought
in the UK because they are cheaper over there
and I shipped them to Malaysia.
The service I always use is Shipping2Malaysia.com 
The price is reasonable and the company is owned by
Edaran Express International Ltd.
I have used their excellent service so many times.
Although it takes about 2 months to arrive,
the boxes will arrive safely at your doorstep. All the time.
You can refer to the official website for the price list.

Bye now!

See my birthday last year here during winter.



Drying my lavender

Previously, I talked about my visit to Hitchin Lavender.
I took home a great bunch of lavender flowers in my brown bag.




To prevent my lavender flowers from rotting, I had to let them dry.
I left them under the sun every day from morning to late afternoon,
presumably they could dry faster.
I did it for a couple of days, until they completely dried.
Thanks to the past hot summer week....
which made this drying process faster.


Well, lucky me, they really did dry.
I have some flowers which are still attached to the stalks
and some are without stalks as I removed them.
I gave quite a few bunches to my friends.
They were so happy.


Surprisingly the lavender smell is still there.
I've never thought the smell would remain the same
as much as it was when I first picked these flowers.

I am so glad!


Shakespeare Star Wars


I didn't that this kind of book ever exists....haha.
Interesting!
I encountered this when I visited the birthplace of Shakespeare,
Stratford-upon-avon.

I went there purposely to watch Cymbeline,
one of Shakespeare's famous noble work.
I will talk about it next time.
bye.

Marimo World #8: Extra Large Marimo - unboxing

This is my extra large marimo which I purchased online long ago.
The size is approximately 10 cm (diameter).


This is how I first got it, in this parcel.




I had to clean it...thoroughly, to remove dirt and sand.


I cut the excess...including black spots.

I put it into my marimo tank....together with its new friends!
It was floating for a couple of days. That's normal.


Then it sank to the bottom of the tank.

Bye now!

                        **See more related posts:
                                --- Buying marimos/moss balls online.
                               --- LARGE size marimos/moss balls
                                --- MEDIUM size marimos/moss balls 
                                --- SMALL size marimos/moss balls
                                --- EXTRA SMALL size marimos/moss balls

My UK House Tour 2016

Not much, but it is home.
My room is exactly the first as you enter the house.
You can see I shield my window glass with
some UV protector.


This is the living room.


This is the storage room. I made it empty when I first moved in.


It is the look of a common student house here.
The rent per person is £286.00 monthly (for each bedroom).
I share this house with two other girls.
Actually, I just moved here (July intake)
and I didn't do so much decorating
as I did to my previous bedroom (A & B) in the old house
because I don't plan to rent this place long.
Enough for a couple of months, I think.



The backyard.
I cleaned it to make a space for clothes drying area.
This is the best I could do. It was much worse before,
with overgrown grass and crawling plants everywhere.
I said 'crawling plants'!!! Literally!!
weird....

I can't do much to clear the bush.
It's very dangerous.
It's summer....so sleeping animals are awakened!


It is a one-year-contract house, but we can always move out
anytime we want as long as we can find a new tenant.
The agency will charge us GBP100.00
for the documentation, that's all.

Liverpool FC Anfield Stadium


It was raining heavily when I was there.
Funny.
I don't know a thing about football!
I tagged along while I accompanying my cousin to see this place.

As I was saying, the rain didn't stop me from taking pictures.
People would assume I must be a hardcore fan of Liverpool F.C.

While protecting my camera from getting wet,
I captured as many pictures as I could.
Not to mention 'while wiping the camera lens' too!





I didn't buy anything but a fridge magnet.





It is so easy to get here (Anfield).
I took a bus (No. 26) at the City Center,
precisely at Liverpool ONE bus station
and it only cost about GBP4.00++ return.
As I can remember, the Liverpool ONE bus station
 is exactly in front of John Lewis.
John Lewis is not far from the famous Albert Dock.
So it is very easy to spot on.

I walked from Liverpool Lime Street Train Station
to Liverpool ONE bus station
and it took about 45 minutes because I spent so much time on
taking pictures.
It should only take about 10-15 minutes actually! haha

The bus stopped exactly in front of the main entrance.
To get back to the City Center, I took bus No.27,
across the road.
Both Bus No. 26 and 27 take us to Liverpool F.C. Anfield Stadium
and back to the City Center.

You can refer to the official website for further details: here

Vintage Ottoman Storage Box Bench

Oh, I love shabby chic and vintage!!!


I bought this ottoman bench in February 2015
through eBay for only £45.00
It was sold by a friendly old man who just live nearby.
What a coincidence!
The item was to be self-collected but I requested him to send the item
to my house with a little extra charge (£5.00) for his gas (car fuel).
I told him that I am a student and I don't have a car
to pick up the item.
So he came to my house to send the item
on the same day....
with his wife, a charming lady.
I paid him in cash and he left with a smile!
It's a great pleasure to have a business with him.


I use it to hide some random stuff....like blankets and everything.



It works like a sofa too...
whenever my friends come into my room.

By the way, I bought those three cute pillows at
a carboot sale for only 50p.
Ridiculously cheap!!!


Pandora bracelet

I bought one a few months ago online from an authorised dealer.
It would be much cheaper to do so.
I could save about £10.00.
The real retail price is about £55.00.



As you can see below, I give you some pictures
from one of the Pandora branches in the Midlands, UK.
This store is not far from my house.
So I always drop by to see if they have sales.






Based on the price, I think it would be cheaper if
we buy these Pandora bracelets in Malaysia.
You could get a barrel clasp bracelet for only RM289.00, sometimes.
You can refer to Pandora Malaysia official website
for further details.
There is also Pandora Malaysia facebook page which  you can refer to.

But I don't regret buying this bracelet here.
because I didn't buy any of its charms yet.
Well, I did buy one actually.
It's a  pendant, not really a charm.
I think I will collect charms in Malaysia instead,
definitely not here.
Because they are much cheaper there!
It only costs about RM130.00 each (the simplest charm)
but you have to pay at least £30.00 (RM180.00) each here in the UK.

At the first glace, the difference is not that huge....
between Pandora UK price and Pandora Malaysia price.
It's only RM50.00 difference each, minimum.
Well, I am talking about buying the bracelet, only!
BUT
It will become huge when you buy a lot more charms in the future.
Then you will count the total difference you have wasted...haha.

So yeah. That's it for today.