Massive splurge! (Long post ahead)

OKAY I just made my first ever online purchase on SaSa.com using my supplementary credit card. sasa.com has those sasa stores in KL and it's a really big company based in Hong Kong, selling beauty products.

Don't worry, I did get my mum's approval after reassuring her (over and over) that the payment would be secured. Sasa.com has Verified by Visa and Verisign thing to secure payments.

I was initially reluctant on purchasing things from sasa.com after reading numerous complaints about their customer service. However, I couldn't resist how much cheaper the things sold on the website were compared to the sasa outlets in KL so I gave in to temptation O_O Things will be fine so long as your order isn't messed up and your charges are all ok. I hope nothing goes wrong with customs.

Shipping costs were initially USD 6 but I managed to get free shipping because my order was above USD 75 *yay*. Slowly bumped it all the way up to USD 80.40...>__<

OK here are the items!

#1 Dariya Hair Magic Sheet in PINK (USD2.60)

I think these are made of velcro and they're supposed to hold your hair in place when you're washing your face/ putting on makeup etc. Since it says "Maegami tomeru" I would reckon it's mainly for getting your fringe out of your face. It supposedly doesn't leave creases or "marks" in your hair like when you use bobby pins or clips.

#2 Banana Boat Aloe Vera Lip Balm with Vit. E, SPF 30 (USD 3)

Got this because the lip balms (of similar kind) selling in drugstores like Guardian or Watsons are usually dearer. Don't have a lip balm with SPF so this will be my first. :) (My lips feel a lil' dry now argh *grabs Vaseline*)

#3 Hisamitsu Lifecella Ceramide Essence Mask, 5 pcs (USD 8 but after a 10% discount, USD 7.20) *You get the discount when you purchase 2 different mask types from this brand*

#4 Hisamitsu Lifecella Trehalose Essence Mask, 5 pcs (USD 7.20)Bought two types of the mask. There was another third one that I initially "added to my basket" but upon check out they said it was already sold out (wth?). That other mask with Hyaluronic Acid is really popular and that probably explains why it got sold out in...half a day. O__O
I really enjoy sheet masks like these and this is my first time buying them from Hisamitsu though I've been seeing them in drugstores. I don't buy masks at all I kinda make my own outta cotton pads soaked in toner (lol). Well they were pretty affordable, about RM 5 per mask. Looking forward to having my DIY facials at home xP

#5 Hadalabo Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion, 170ml (USD 11)

I first read about this on cheeserland.com then fourfeetnine.com (2 Malaysian bloggers who are uber cute). This lotion has apparently been so popular in Japan that now, 1 bottle is sold every 4 seconds o_o! Manufactured by Hada Labo (Lit: skin lab), it is a simple formulation of Hyaluronic Acid that locks in a lotta moisture in your skin. Totally free of mineral oils, alcohol, parabens and all that stuff you don't wanna find in your skin. It's used as a toner and you pat it on until it sticks, leaving your skin supple. Can't wait to try it on! Oh and they have it at Watsons but I reckon it's a little more expensive.

#6 Arezia Nail Brush (USD 1.20)- Just a very thin brush to paint designs/colour on my nails.

#7 Hadalabo TamagoHada Daily Face Wash, 130ml (USD 8.30)

Got this because I have none left of my Dr. Weil for Origins Mushroom Cleanser and have been stealing some of my mum's and bro's cleansers for some time now, shhh D: This cleanser has AHA and BHA (Alpha & Beta Hydroxy Acids) in it to exfoliate and cleanse. Oh and it's name's cute too- Tamagohada: Egg skin, so after using it your skin's supposed to have a texture like that of a peeled egg- soft smooth and bouncy. Bollocks, lol. :P

#8 Shiseido Eyelash Curler (USD 10.30)- My current one is a cheap drugstore one that keeps pinching my eyelids. So I looked up eyelash curlers and Shiseido's is apparently racist. Don't get it? Well this Shiseido curler is supposedly better suited to Asian eye shapes. Yeah, Asian. In your face, white people, guai lous! (I kiddd, haha) Well I bought it not because of that though, I just needed a better one. But it's an added plus I guess :P

#9 Dr. Jart+ Rejuvenating Blemish Base, SPF 35 PA++, 50ml (USD 25.80)

It's a Blemish Balm cream or BB cream. There are tonnes of BB cream brands out there and it's hugely popular in Korea and Japan. History of BB creams cut short? Idea came up in Germany, Korean celebs used it to hide post-surgery scars on their faces, Korean companies began manufacturing it and selling it to the public, works as a sunscreen (those with SPF) and foundation with a bunch of other acne/scar healing properties. Some say their skin has improved with continuous use of a BB cream but I won't count on that to work, really. Well I got this because I'm running out of sunscreen and the current one from Origins is pretty pricey so lets see it this is any good. I'll still try to use sunscreen under the BB cream though as they say you shouldn't count on the BB cream to fulfill what sunscreen does.

#10 Johnson & Johnson Clean and Clear Grapefruit Oil Blotters, 2 x 50 pc packs (USD 1.90 each)

Got 2 packs and I don't think they have this in Malaysia. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've only seen the regular unscented ones that are blue and oh-so-uncute. I read up on this and it has a strong grapefruit scent that's very, very...pleasant and it's pink. Scent doesn't do anything harmful to the skin, no complaints so far- good. A few pats and I'll be smelling like a grapefruit in no time. :D

Yep! That wraps it up. These will be arriving in 20 days time or even sooner, I hope. Pray that my parcel of goodies doesn't get lost/stolen/damaged and hopefully the transaction went through smoothly and that nothing bad will come up.

It takes mighty fine guts to make your first online purchase, I'll have you know. >__< Sasa.com don't fail me nao.

Yaki Udon

Made this the other day. It is by far one of my yummiest noodle dishes...it makes me so proud *tears* Everyone who tried it said it was goooood. :D

I don't follow the common yaki udon recipes found in Japanese cooking but I use a lot of Japanese seasonings. One of my favourites is by far MIRIN.

Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine for cooking that contains about 40-50% sugar. It is used in MANY traditional Japanese dishes...like...A LOT. Even if your dish ain't Japanese but you want it to be, just add...MIRIN! :P

So in the above pic is the exact bottle of mirin (Mizkan Honteri Mirin) that I use and mine's almost empty now. To be honest, I didn't know why I bought it at first but I figured I'd have some use for it later as I like experimenting with Japanese dishes. You know me, I tend to go crazy when shopping at Jusco's Japanese food section. Whenever I'm at the Japanese food aisles, I just HAVE to buy something, haha.

Anyway, here's a list of ingredients for the stir-fried udon:

- A pack of udon (serving for 1)

- Sliced cabbage

- A square block of firm tofu, cut into smaller squares

- 1 Egg

- 1-2 tablespoons of Mirin (start with 1 then adjust according to preference)

- 2 tablespoons of Tsuyu*

* Tsuyu is a Japanese sauce/ soup base made from soy beans. It is similar to soy sauce but not as condensed. A blend of tsuyu, mirin and water usually makes for dipping sauces for Tenpura and Zaru Soba (cold soba).

- 2 teaspoons of Thai/ Vietnamese fish sauce

- 1 teaspoon of thick, dark soy sauce (The really black gooey sauce)

- A few drops of sesame oil (optional)

- Aonori seaweed (topping)

- Katsuo bushi (Bonito flakes)

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet/ pan, add half a tablespoon of oil (it's up to you how much oil you think would suffice, I use non-stick pans so I don't use oil- yay!)

2. Add tofu pieces and allow to brown slightly. After about 5 mins, add cabbage and allow to cook slightly.

3. Add Tsuyu and udon noodles and allow to simmer slightly.

4. Add Mirin and fish sauce and stir around until everything is evenly coated in sauce.

5. Once noodles are tender, make a circle in the pan to expose the middle, with noodles around the sides (looks like a donut). Add egg.

6. The white should start to cook immediately, break yolk with spatula and let it run. Then scramble the egg after 10-15 secs.

7. Mix egg with noodles and stir around until everything's "dry".

8. Top noodles by sprinkling Aonori and Katsuobushi. Serve and makan, bon apetite, tabete. :D

Aonori

Katsuobushi

Well that's one of my original recipes sooo, start cooking and enjoy! <3

Happy Birthday, Peggle Darling

This is Peggle. He's a Red Eared Slider Turtle. He turned 1 this month and he's SO adorable. I hatched him myself a year ago. Out of about 17 eggs, only 2 hatched. The other baby died after a couple of days because it was a "premature" hatchling.

I've had Peggle's mum, Stuart (since I was 11) and Peggle's dad, Sandy (initially my bro's turtle but he's bad with pets- he was like 7 yrs old and already killed (brutally murdered *cough*, I kid) one turtle so I figured it was best if I looked after Sandy) in the same tank back in my old house and they sorta mated and Stuart laid eggs one day...MANY eggs. Took 'em and incubated them and waited patiently for 80 days. :)

Note: I named the mum Stuart because I didn't know much about this species of turtle back then and I thought it was a boy turtle, haha. Sandy, I thought was female because he started growing a longer tail and claws. In the freshwater turtle world, males generally have longer tails and claws than females that they use during the mating process. Durrr...