2014, I'm back!

Oh yes, I am still well and alive!

It's almost unbelievable how fast time flies. It's already 2014! Say WHUTTT! Whatever happened in 2013, can someone remind me? Actually no, I need a fresh start! HAHA. 

Hmmm, I need a lil breather to think of where to start. 

So, I've been having my summer holidays since November and my 7th semester is about to commence in March. Many asked what I've been up to. Well, obviously being the usual me ; I wouldn't take up any full time job at the moment because I am enjoying the flexibility of being a freelancer *haha*. Plus, my radio job has taken up most of my weekends! So, I usually just hit the gym, read some books, attend castings/auditions/meetings, chill at home mostly really and sorting out my weekly schedule. My first week of January started pretty well though. 

Flew over to Sabah for a week to film a movie. Well, it's not my first time acting but my first involvement in an international production ; which super duper excites me! I was told that the movie will be showing in theaters in Malaysia soon (sometime after CNY I reckon) and I can't wait! My role was very minor, but hey! We all gotta start somewhere :) I will keep you guys posted on that! 

Candy , Emily, Gabs from Hong Kong and Leng Yein! Dream team ;) 

On another note, remember the chinese game show I filmed for a couple of months ago? It's called Splash Fiesta 水舞全城 and its now showing on TV2, every Friday at 6pm! I'm not sure which episode I'm in but be sure to catch it. It's gonna be really funny to watch myself speak Mandarin on national television though, that's a first! If you're wondering what exactly the show is about, well is basically like a Malaysian version of WIPEOUT. Be ready to laugh till your abs hurt ; I remember slipping off a couple of times! :P 

Crystal, from M-Girls (四个女生) & I battling it out! Remember watching her when I was a kid , kinda starstrucked! :P 

It's quite impossible to go in details with everything, so I'm just gonna briefly scan through whatever that my braincells can process at this hour (oh, the consequences of being a major procrastinator). Honestly, so much happened that I really really don't know where to begin! Let's go bit by bit, shall we? Since I recently got back from Singapore for a weekend retreat, let's just get into that! 

I absolutely love travelling, be it doing it the VIP style with all things 5-star or just backpacking to wherever; I'm good to go! I love getting myself immersed into the difference cultures and lifestyles. Sabah was my first time and I absolutely loved it! Plus, being able to work with the crews from China (mostly Shanghai and Beijing) was quite an eye-opening experience for me too! I'm absolutely blessed that one of the many perks of my job ; is being able to travel! No complaints :P 

So, back to Singapore. It was super impromptu. Coincidentally it was a non-working weekend for me, so I immediately agreed to go! Weekend retreat, done right! HEHE. Had so much fun with Nat (yes, Natalia Tangling, formerly known as Natalia Mei if you must ask) HAHA (sorry Nat, I had to :P). The entire trip, we were pretty much stuffed to the brim. I don't remember being hungry AT ALL. From Lei Gardens for dinner the moment we arrived, Wild Honey for brunch the next day, and then Yakiniku Yawaza for the best yakiniku in town (HANDS DOWN!), and of course, the awesome hotel breakfast which I regret not waking up earlier for... (dang it). 

Quick brunch at my favourite cafe in KLIA, Cafe Barbera. 

Our first stop right after we landed was Chijmes. I was absolutely in awe with the beautifully structured buildings ( in the heart of the city! how precious). It once housed a Catholic convent school known as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ), and hence CHIJMES! If you haven't been to this place, you ought to visit at least once. A Singaporean friend of mine made a pretty funny remark though "How can they commercialize this place?! It's making it from holy to sinful leh!". Well, at least they didn't turn it into a nightclub! That'd be worst! Decent cafes and restaurants are still pretty acceptable in my opinion! :) 

The next day, we headed over to Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery for brunch. Holy smokes! Their Eggs Benedict were heavenly. Kinda regretted I didn't order that but my Big Breakfast wasn't too shabby either. Definitely worth trying and I'm most certainly making another visit when I'm in Sg next! It's usually full-house especially during weekends, so it's better for you to make a reservation prior! We had to wait for at least 30mins before getting our table. 

My partner-in-crime for the weekend! Teehee. 

Haha such posers! 

#macamyestapibukan

A lot of skills were needed for this one shot I tell ya! ;P 

Ok, this one was candid. HONEST! 

At Wild Honey @ Mandarin Gallery. 

While waiting in-line for our table, we took a visit at this mini Art Gallery next door. I've always enjoyed Art but unfortunately, not quite born with the talent of spontaneity when it comes to.. painting/drawing. Plus, I have extremely short attention span ; so I'll probably never be able to complete anything. I still remember those days when I attended Art class, I'll always be the last to finish. Hmm, actually.. I was probably a little perfectionista. That's why! Perhaps its time I dig up my old  work of Art! :P  Should be interesting.  Speaking of Art, the weekend we're in Singapore was already the week they had Art Stage Singapore at Marina Bay Sands. Too bad we didn't have enough time for that! A little bummed, but there's always next time! :) 

Of all the Artwork, this particular sculpture caught my attention. I mean, these sculptures. It's called AIBUDAO, and its a collaboration between Ai Wei Wei & Eric So. Apparently they cost about 200K SGD, 400K SGD and 600K SGD respectively! 

"Chinese activist and artist Ai Weiwei collaborated with Hong Kong-based toy designer Eric So on a series of sculptures for the Singapore Museum of Art and Design’s booth at Art Stage Singapore. The series, titled ‘Aibudao,’ means ‘unlovable’ in Chinese and refers to the artist’s nude studio portrait series." - Brock Cardiner, HIGHSNOBEITY. 

Nat doing her thang! 

And back to our brunch! These pictures do no justice to the food. You really need to go try it for yourself if you haven't already! I've said this before but I'm gonna say it again "I went to heaven and came back.. craving for more!" [Dang it, probably not a good idea to blog at this hour. I'm hungry.. again!] 

THE EGGS BENEDICT ; capslock was necessary! HAHA. 

Later that night, Nat brought me to Fullerton Bay and we had a good stroll by the bay, overlooking Marina Bay Sands! How ROMANTIC! :P The view was absolutely picturesque. I have been to Singapore so many times but Fullerton Bay was a first! We definitely had a good time catching up over fruit punches (we both can pretty much KO with just a glass of wine, so alcohol wasn't a very good idea since we had to cab back to our hotel HAHA). To sum it up, it was a GREAT SATURDAY NIGHT! 

Since it's almost impossible to say NO to good food, the only alternative is to burn it off! And being the usual fitness junkie that we are, we DID make time for gym despite being on vacation! Talk about discipline and determination. Nat was definitely a great motivation because if it weren't for her, I would've probably slept off in the room (after such a long day of walking!). We both had a good 30minutes run on the treadmill and then some circuit exercises after, and of course a gooooood stretch after a great workout! I must admit that I've gained a few pounds over the past couple of months. And I am definitely working my way to eliminate those love handles! Dreading to have my bikini body back! I'm already on the roll, adjusting to my healthy lifestyle again, getting back on track! I'll definitely keep you guys posted on another episode of "FROM FAT TO FIT". It's in the making and coming your way!

Phew, that was quite a long post. Anyway, I will be keeping y'all posted on my fitness progress on my INSTAGRAM (@magdelinewang) and my Facebook Page, MAGDELINE WANG. Feel free to follow me on my journey towards a fitter ME! :) 

It's almost 2am now and I shall head to bed. One of the many reasons why I gained so much weight was the consequent late nights! Not gonna let history repeat itself. So, it's goodnight for now! Cheerio x 

WeChat x Secret Recipe Buy 1 Free 1 Cake Promo

I'm pretty sure Secret Recipe is no stranger to us all. This cafe franchise has been around long enough for us to have at least been to once, if not many. My personal favourite has to be their cake varieties, from Oreocheese cake, blueberries and now my all time favourite Red Velvet is available too! Kudos to keeping in trend with the cake fashion (oh yes, Red Velvet is definite THE CAKE that everyone dreads for). Well, at least I do. I'm a total sucker for red velvet cakes. 

Anyway, in conjunction with Secret Recipe's 16th Anniversary, they are celebrating their long streak of success with some really sweet deals! 

Attended the launch of their promo last Friday with some of my blogger friends. It's been a while since I've been involved in the blogosphere, but it was definitely great to see so many familiar faces, and even more new ones! We were invited to the Secret Recipe branch in Oasis Square, Ara Damansara and I must say, I really liked the ambience. Should definitely check it out if you haven't already. 

I was told that this is their first ever "Buy 1 Free 1" cake deal and needless to say, the red velvet cakes are gonna sell like hot cakes! I still remember when they first introduced the cheese cakes, they literally took the entire IPOH (yes, that's my hometown if you're wondering why I'm inserting a non-relatable town haha) by storm! I would walk over to the closest Secret Recipe, at that time it was located right opposite my school - for the cakes, and the lasagna, every week without fail!  

In collaboration with WeChat, this deal entitles the user/diner to buy 1 cake and redeem another cake (similarly priced) for free. Go download your WeChat if you haven't already! With deals like these, no reason not to join the bandwagon.

Here's how you do it.

1) Once you've downloaded the WeChat app, you'll need to create your ID. Once you're done with that, search for "SecretRecipeMY"

2) Follow them!

3) You will see this visual on their WeChat account - that's the ongoing deal.

4) Click on "Redeem Now" if you're ready for your cake galore ;) 

 5) Well, if you're sure.. click "YES"! and you'll be given an e-voucher. The visuals are easy to follow and as soon as you've followed them on WeChat, you'll figure out what to do. Hope this helped! x

The deal is only valid from 16th Nov until 30th Nov 2013 so, waste no time! Go download your WeChat app and head on over to the nearest Secret Recipe outlet. 

For more information, 

check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SecretRecipeMsia

If you have instagram, do hashtag #WeChatxSecretRecipe 

McDonald’s Begins Fairy Tale Adventure With Hello Kitty

Lo' and behold!

The Hello Kitty Craze is making a comeback! 

I'm pretty sure Hello Kitty is of no stranger to anyone of us. Hello Kitty ( ハローキティpronounced as Haro Kiti in Japanese ) is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. Hello Kitty is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat wit ha red bow and the character's first appearance on an item, was a vinyl coin purse, first introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976. Needless to say, Hello Kitty goes wayyy back in time. Definitely 'older' than most of us, or at least anyone who would be reading this post ;) 

Good news to all Hello Kitty fanatics! ( I noticed a few on my Facebook timeline already *wink)

Relive popular fairytales from your childhood with McDonald’s Hello Kitty Fairy Tale Series featuring the iconic plush Japanese white bobtail cat! In April, McDonald’s brought back Hello Kitty after a seven year absence with the McDONALDLAND series, and come 7^th November Hello Kitty fans are in for another treat! With five exclusive limited edition plush toys to collect, the McDonald’s Hello Kitty Fairy Tale Series is poised to excite collectors of all things cute and lovable with their arrival in Malaysia.

This time around Hello Kitty is set to entertain you and your friends by taking on the guise of characters from five popular fairy tales around the world: 

*make sure you mark these dates on your calendar! 

7^th – 13^th Nov         : The Ugly Duckling story by Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark

14^th – 20^th Nov       : The Frog Prince story by the Brothers Grimm. Germany

21^st – 27^th Nov       : The Wizard of Oz story by L. Frank Baum, United States

28^th Nov – 4^th Dec  : Little Red Riding Hood story by Charles Perraut. France

5^th Dec – 11^th Dec   : Singing Bone story by the Brothers Grimm, Germany

Each design, which comes in a special collector’s storybook-themed box, will be launched every week beginning from 7th November 2013, Thursday.

“At McDonald’s we are constantly attuned to what our customers want - providing the best value and dining experience for Malaysians in a way that is unique to us. The popularity of the McDONALDLAND designs earlier this year proves that Hello Kitty has always been popular – generations of Malaysians have been entertained by the Japanese bobtail cat,” said Stephen Chew, Managing Director of McDonald’s Malaysia.

 “Fans of Hello Kitty in Malaysia, the wait is finally over. For the next five weeks beginning 7th November, you have five good reasons to enjoy a great, wholesome dining experience with your family, friends and a limited edition Hello Kitty plushy at an affordable price of RM9.95, only at McDonald's,” he added.

The Ugly Duckling

Little Red Riding Hood 

Singing Bone

The Ugly Duckling 

The Wizard of Oz 

‘How do I get ‘em all?’

These exclusive official Sanrio Hello Kitty plushies are only available for a limited time and in limited quantities and are exclusive to McDonald’s. Each of the McDonald’s Hello Kitty Fairy Tale plushies are available for only RM9.95 with the purchase of any McValue Meal.

Purchasing Mechanics

• The McDonald’s Hello Kitty Fairy Tales Series promotion is available at Front Counter, Drive-Thru, McDelivery 1300-13-1300 and Web Ordering Service.

Availability of McDonald’s Hello Kitty Fairy Tales Series Promotion

• Toy designs will be available starting Thursday, 7 November 2013 from 12.00 midnight onwards for 24-hour McDonald’s restaurants.
• For the rest of our restaurants, the toys will be available at the start of its business hour on Thursday, 7 November 2013.
• The Hello Kitty Fairy Tales Series plush toys are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST.

I sure can't wait to get my hands on these Hello Kitty Tale Adventure collection! My personal favourite would definitely be The Wizard of Oz story by L. Frank Baum from the United States! Too cute to handle. 

Well, what else are you waiting for? Head over to your nearest McDonald's branch and get hold of these gems while stocks last! Only available for a limited time only ;) 

Comeback.

11.51pm, monday night with my never-ending responsibilities (wait, 'never-ending'? that's an understatement). The XX [Night Time] playing on repeat. Don't quite remember the last time I actually spent time with you my friend. Last post was on Bella's exhibition; everything seemed so perfect then. Well, almost perfect. Time passes by like a blazing storm; the next thing you know, it's gone. Far from gone. Hence, my hiatus. I've been spending so much time on myself. Yes, MYSELF. Self-discovery and lots of self-loving. Haven't done that for a while; a long while. So far so good. 

I am quite swamped with my trail of thoughts at the moment; I'll try to break it down, baby steps.

Life can be so brutal sometimes. Yes, I said brutal ; can be worse. Say like.. merciless, ruthless, heartless, remorseless, I don't wanna go on. The excruciating pain seems to be making a come back everytime I think about it. Drop that. You know, someone once told me "the one you want may not be the one you need"; but then, think again. Why would you want something you don't need? I need you, hence I want you, hence .. forget it. 

This isn't be best state of mind to be writing; no writer's block tonight but I just felt like it. Like, a part of me has long gone and I'm just trying to search for it. And if you're wondering, yup I'm still searching. Sucha hard to get lil brat. Darn it. 

[photo above] are my sentiments exactly. speaking what my mind can't figure out.

I torn between.. going on, rambling about things that will come to no end and stopping, here. Right here. And you know what, I'll just stop right here. Nope, this ain't going nowhere. 

Not the kind of blog entry you would probably expect from the usual me. I'll definitely be back for a (less) rambling post. Promise. 

Back to The XX. Here's some if you're keen too ;) x

Papillon 2013 | An exhibition by Isabella Tan

I meant to do this much earlier but so much has been happening on my side. Pretty insane I must say. Anyhewww, life goes on and it's an inevitable cycle that we all go through. That aside, the ultimate objective of this post isn't about me but a very dear friend/sister of mine who's organizing her very first photography exhibition - 'PAPILLON', which means butterfly in French. 

"A butterfly is a symbol of metamorphism and transformation. Its an idea of growth and emergence on beauty into the World". 

I will keep this really short and straight to the point. Just need to make sure we get the message across. Simple - do support her and show her some love by just attending the exhibition! That would mean the world to her, your presence :) This girl has worked so hard and has definitely come a long way. I've worked with her and I must say, she's one of the most professional and detail-oriented photographer I've seen. Despite her young and tender ( tender? haha! :P ) age, I can safely say .. she knows what she's doing. I mean, let's admit it .. she's definitely one of the many elite photographers to date. I'll let her photography speak for itself alright? x 

Here are a few of my favorites from our collaborations and some of her recent work that I found really impressive. There will be a lot more new artworks displayed during the exhibition, so do feel free to pop by! I was told that Dato Jimmy Choo himself will also be paying a visit tomorrow. So, more reasons to come by, no? ;) x 

This would be her very first photography exhibition, and probably the last one in Malaysia before she departs for New York to further her studies. I am beyond happy and excited! I guess everyone who knows Bella personally .. would know how much this means for her, and how much effort she has put in to make this happen. To put up an exhibition this huge, single-handedly? That's definitely not something a typical 19 year old would/could do. Two thumbs up for you hun! xx 

This exhibition records her growth as a young artist and the development of her creativity since 2011. She shares her behind the scenes work, never seen before images and what inspires her to become who she is today. I am glad that I am a part of this exhibition and I really hope the world/everybody else could see how I see Bella ; so much potential, so much talent .. and ( I'm sorry, I'm lost of words). I'll sum it up in 5 words? SHE'S A BALL OF JOY, if that even makes sense? Haha. 

Come join us at Papillon at Whitebox in MAP, Publika, Solaris Dutamas from 6th August to 8th August 2013. Admission is free and her work will be up for sale. 

Her conceptual pieces are really worth buying. You should really see it for yourself. But hey, I shan't keep you guys any longer. The anticipation awaits. Come and see the world through Bella's eyes. It's gonna be quite a ride ;) 

For more information, log onto: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xbellanotte.photography

Website   : http://www.xbellanotte.4ormat.com/