neglect

i know.

between sewing. cooking. playing with the kids. all all the other housework.

this space has been neglected.

bad.

it doesnt help when the oldest now is addicted to his game and he's  on the pc almost all the time.

but i have been working hard on my new project.

insyaAllah will go full swing in June.

you can start liking the page HERE

thanks :)


love
aisyah samsudin

all the way from Perlis :)

I miss the Northern states. Perlis. Kedah. Penang. The places. The foods especially! So when a friend posted on FB he's taking orders for Pelam Harumanis from Perlis. I immediately ordered 1 box! 

Went to pick it up from my friend last night, so naturally, this morning's breakfast was pelam all the way :)

the best!!

look siapa teman mama breakfast today :)

xoxo

Aisyah Samsudin

testing phase

testing new patterns and prints for AQILheartALYA

black and yellow birdie - size L AIO

baby blue + pink - onesize AI2

pink stripes, size L , AIO 

my favorite blue + green paisley , size L, AIO 

both bottom two are made using cotton knit which is super duper soft to the baby skin.. need to find more cute prints coz i must say i love them so much..

and guess what..i'm going to give this reusable shopping bag/laundry bag as a free gift to the first ____ (undecided yet) buyers :) :) personalized summore!! obviously your kids name not mine ..hehe..because im just cool like that!! hahaha...

excited to wait for the label to arrive.. insyaAllah..soon...

Love, 

Aisyah Samsudin

Diaper Materials - Pros and Cons

found this info here.

this is for my future reference :)

Diaper Materials - Pros and Cons

---

So I'm currently fascinated by different materials and the way they work for diapers. I even compiled a list from what I've heard on threads and read in forums. Do you mamas agreed with this? Please help add/suggest things!

Soaker Materials (aka Absorbent, Liquid Holding Inner Fabrics)

• Microfiber
  PROS: Super Absorbent, Quick Absorption, Cheap
  CONS: Should Not Touch Skin, Synthetic materials may be more susceptible to detergent buildup, skin sensitivities and smells. Can have compression leaking.
• Hemp
  PROS: Super Absorbent, Trim, Natural material
  CONS: Can hold smells/harder to clean, Gets crunchy overtime, can have slower drying time
  TYPES: Fleece, French Terry, Velour (HTF)
• Bamboo
  PROS: Super Absorbent, Quick Absorption, Trim, Natural material, Stays soft
  CONS: Can have slower drying time, can be expensive, less durable than cotton
  TYPES: Fleece (used smooth side out else it pills), French Terry, Velour, Loop Terry
  
• Heavy Weight Cottons (Sherpa, Burley Knit Terry, ??)
  PROS: Good Absorbency, Natural materials, easy to clean/maintain, durable
  CONS: Bulkier
  
• Regular Cottons (Birdseye, Flannel, Terrycloth, ??)
  PROS: Absorbent, Trim, Natural material, easy to clean/maintain, Stays soft, durable
  CONS: Many layers needed, pilling (flannel)

Stay-Dry Materials (aka Non-Absorbent, Pass-thru Inner Fabrics)

• Suedecloth
  PROS: Soft, Like new with wear, Easy to clean solids from
  CONS: Synthetic materials may be more susceptible to detergent buildup, skin sensitivities and smells. No stretch, edges may fray
• Microfleece
  PROS:Soft, Cheap
  CONS: Synthetic materials may be more susceptible to detergent buildup, skin sensitivities and smells. Pills over time, Wears thin.
• Athletic Wicking Material
  PROS:Soft, Cheap
  CONS: Synthetic materials may be more susceptible to detergent buildup, skin sensitivities and smells. Pills over time, Wears thin,
  TYPES: Some brandnames are PowerDry, Under Armour, CoolPlus, DrySkin, etc.
• Velours (Cotton, Bamboo or Hemp)
  PROS: Soft, Natural material
  CONS: Not a true stay-dry, gets crunchy overtime
• Raw Silk
  PROS: Natural properties promote healthy skin
  CONS: Not a true stay-dry, gets crunchy overtime, Relatively rough, wears thin,not often used

Water Proof/Resistant Materials (aka Moisture-Blocking Outer Fabrics)

• PUL (Polyurethane Laminate)
  PROS: Very waterproof, Relatively inexpensive, Many Colors/Prints
  CONS: Not breathable, if made with cotton fabric it may wick
• Waterproof Nylon
  PROS: Very waterproof
  CONS: Relatively expensive, not breathable, should not be dried in the dryer
• Vinyl
  PROS: Cheap, easy to find, very waterproof
  CONS: Not breathable, should not be dried in dryer
• Polyester Fleece
  PROS: Breathable, Comes in many weights (higher = denser), wide price range
  CONS: Synthetic materials may be more susceptible to detergent buildup, skin sensitivities and smells. May look worn down quickly
• Wool
  PROS: Most Breathable, Self-Cleaning (if lanolized), Infrequent washing needed, Doubles as clothing.
  CONS: Expensive, Requires special care/cleaning routine, should not be dried in the dryer
  TYPES: Merino, Alpaca, Angora, Mohair, Llama | Knit, Woven, Interlock, Crocheted

a new chapter

I've been having problems with what I wanted to focus on for a while since I just love to sew everything. Everything is a challenge and there's nothing I dont like or would not try sewing. This became a little bit overwhelming after a while so I've decided to focus on kids stuff - mainly cloth diaper, baby blankets, dresses coz after trying other diff things, I find that this makes me happy the most. also I am most passionate about.

so far I've been collecting materials, testing patterns, figuring out whats the best materials..bla bla bla... so insyaAllah... I'll be launching this soon.

I pray that Allah will give me the patience and strength in this new chapter. amin.


sneak peak

In Shaa Allah



Love,
Aisyah Samsudin

chiffon shawls :)

last weekend, put on some make-up (its been a while!) forced hubs to take pictures.. and TADAAAA.... 

hehehe.. obviously I am no model... but whateveerrrr!!! I'm so relieved siap jugak the shawls... its so hard to sew with 2 kids around.. @___@ there will be another batch coming then after that I'll be focusing on cloth diapers and baby stuff balik.. chiffons are no fun to sew!

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin

Cloth Diaper. they ask, I answer.

So, i've been getting a LOT of questions about cloth diapers. If you would like to know in detail about cloth diapering, like the materials, types, how much u need, accessories, you could read it at this blog, you can get everything in details.. i tried writing a post about it.. I failed miserably. There's too much to explain in one post and it was like panjang menjela..so I couldnt even bother to finish it.. haha.. I'm lazy like that...

but, I am going to answer some questions that I've been asked so frequently, I can even hafal the anwser.

1- Senang tak pakai Cloth Diaper (CD) ni?

Well, if you were to compare dengan pakai Disposable Diaper (DD) , of course pakai CD ni remeh BANYAK, with DD you only need to buy, use and throw. where dengan CD ni, there's a lot of extra steps to be taken like

* after beli you need to pre-wash the CD at least 3 times (wash-hangdry-wash-hangdry-wash-hangdry) to get rid of the natural oil especially those made from organic fibers also for its absorbency. tahap kesabaran harus tinggi coz I believe parents yg CD bila beli CD baru mesti tak sabar nal bagi anak pakai :)

* then when dah start pakai, after poopoo kene sembur buang poopoo, if kecing then kene rinse, then kene gantung and kumpul for atleast paling lama 2 days, sebab 1 day rugi air basuh sikit sgt CD, more than 2 days CD start berbau.. or at least I wash bila dah ade 10 CD :) jimat air..

* of course the obvious extra step where u need to wash and hang and lipat the CD, comes the season where it rains everyday so lagi lambat CD kering .. and you find yourself kehabisan CD sbb semua tgh jemur..huhu

* and..after a certain time using the CD, when it starts to stink faster than usual, or becomes yellow, kene stripwash the CD..kene blaja mcm mana nak stripwash plak

* plus the different detergent u have to buy, a place to stack the CD (ok this is actually the fun part), a place to hang the CD to dry where you need sunlight..bla bla bla

so kesimpulannya... nope, pakai CD is not as easy as ABC... BUT!! once you get the hang of it, selitkan in your daily routine, I swear you will LOVE IT especially when you see your baby with that big bum of colorful fabric :)

and there's the environmental friendly thing.. :)

2- Betul kerrr pakai CD ni boleh jimat $$$$ ??

Haaa...here's the thing, a newborn needs atleast 30-40 pieces of CD stashed, an older baby about 20-30 CD, depending on your washing cycle... so IF you stick to that amount, sure, mmg jimat...BUT if you are like me, jenis tak boleh tahan diri tgk CD yg comel2.. and asek nak beli CD baru every other day, NOPE.. tak berapa nak jimat sebenarnya coz CDs are expensive!!!....haha..but in my defense, I'm still collecting CDs for Alya, she has less than 20 now, sometimes when its raining, CD die tak cukup, so, it still ok for me to buy more CDs..kan kan kan....

3- Why ade CD yg mahal, ade yang murah, which one you prefer??

actually its more about preferences, and your own budget,

*ade yang economical CD (mostly China brand) prices range from rm15-29/piece

*local brands are mostly middle range priced from rm29-59

*imported brands are more expensive from rm50-100++

 if handmade plak..

*local (very few that make them) mostly range dari rm70-100++ coz the material are very hard to find, mostly kene import, ok semua kene import! and they are not cheap!!

*dr US (mostly yg handmade dr US) harga around rm70-200 - mostly is the postage..skrg ni makin mahal shipping from US

i did buy economical CD first, sbb dengan alasan nak jimat kan, but after a while I changed to imported brands like simplex, itti bitti, grovia, eli monster.. mainly because of the material and cutting, I find that material yg economical CD ni stinks pretty fast and the cutting does not fit very well, habis merah2 peha alya... so I was like takpelaa spend sket asalkan Alya pakai selesa kan..plus performance performance..!! does not leak, does not stink, does not stain easily and boleh pakai lama...we call it ROI :)

Alya in her red Itti Bitti, 

Alya's collection of her Itti Bitti..

you can get ready stock of Itti Bitti here 

but now, I'm slowly making my own CD for alya coz like I said, quality CDs are super duper expensive! hehe :) buying the materials are not that much cheap, but at least ade laa jimat sikit :)

my 1st attempt

I made this after drooling over a super talented momma yg buat ni kat US, it was selling for rm190!! crazy!! tak tahan try buat sendiri..oklaa :)

alya modeling mom's creation :)

*people are asking if I'm taking orders, insyaAllah soon..tengah kumpul material, not easy to get in malaysia, semua kene order + import*

4 - Ape yang bestnya pakai CD ni?

Sebab die COMELLLLL!!! hahahhaa...seriously, I can go all, its environmental friendly and safe for your kids bla bla bla.. but seriously it is, you know how many chemicals are used to produce a DD? too many!! they are still studying the effect it has on a human body.. also they still dont know how long it takes to dispose a DD .. you can read about it here .. I dont wanna scare people..haha..

but I love CD because they are cute on alya..I mean, you have to have a good reason to dress up ur kid right..like going out or kenduri...but with CD, you need no reason...you can put on cute diapers on her everyday!! :) heee ~~

5- Boleh explain tak types of CD? 

too much to explain.. sila baca disini 

hehe..ngelat tak???

6- What kind of CD do you recommend for a newborn?

Prefold and covers of course!!

because a newborn needs 30-40 CD coz in average a newborn needs to change every 2 hours or so, that makes like 10-12 CD per day.. the thing is newborn ni takdelaa kencing bnyk mana pun, so by using prefolds and covers ni, u can easily just change the prefold and use back the cover as long as tak kotor kene poopoo or anything, so you would probably need like 10-15 covers and 30-40 prefolds, covers cost from rm30-60/piece , and prefolds cost rm13-25/piece, depending on material, I super love hemp, coz it absorbs more than cotton, but for newborns cottons are good enough :)

7- when do I start buying/stashing CD?

I started on my last month of pregnancy, wrong move! start early, like on your 5-6th month, coz CD are expensive, and you need a lot, so, buy sikit2 so that tak terasa sangat nak kene beli sekali gus... I mean, mr hubs wont be too happy if he spends rm1k on CD in a single buy kan... and normally husbands are not so supportive when it comes to CD :) so sikit sikit is the key! for sure!

Ok laa, itu jer for now, baby dah bangun...if you have anything to ask, just buzz me on FB or email me :)

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin

freedom of speech?

sometimes when I'm really bored. I blog-walk. I love to read what people write about their lives. especially those with kids. it gives me ideas what to do with my kids. for the present or even for the future - thank god for pinterest since I'm so forgetful these days.

anyways, once in a while, I stumble across some negative writings/post .. like people writing about ketidakpuahatian towards a certain individual in their lives.. intentionally or not.. I frown.. I get it, its your own personal blog. some say "this is my personal space..you dont like it..butt out.."

the thing about blogging or the internet mostly is that it is public. for everyone to see and read. you want to write something bad about someone. write it in your own diary - offline! where no one can read it, no one can talk bad or make bad assumptions about the person you're talking about.. 

some also defend themselves and say something like that its not wrong and mumble the word freedom of speech.

of course, if theres any truth to the story, legally, its not wrong.

but I believe, growing up, we were taught not to intentionally hurt people's feeling, right.. and for a muslim, its sinful. intentionally writing something to hurt someone. you have issues, work it out with the other person.. if you write bad things, other people will talk, then other people will dislike the person. kira mcm menghasut jugak laa kan.. thats like double triple your sin already... 

but well, we are human. we make mistakes. a reminder to myself also.. lets all spread love and not hate, yes?

gambar tiada kene mengena dengan post. :)

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin

short family vacay

hubs been working like crazy a lot lately. coming back at 5am. not sleeping. so I forced him to take leave and bought a voucher from Streetdeal.my for a 1 night stay at Gold Coast Morib Resort plus 2 tickets to the waterpark. it was actually my uni friend, Elyn who asked us to join them, they bought the voucher a few month back, and since the deal was still on (and still is! check it out here) I said why not. Hubs really needs some family time, and it would be fun to go with friends anyways :)

it was said that the journey to Morib from KL would only take an hour, but it was more like 2 hours for us + sesat lagi.. the kids both slept throughout the journey since both of them slept at 2 am the night before (I know! kids nowdays huh?!!) so it was a tantrum free journey for us.. :) alhamdulillah..

when we arrived, it was already 1.30 pm, checkin time was at 3pm, so we decided to have lunch and wait till we checked in and solat first before we went in the waterpark. 

the food at the cafe, are priced as a normal hotel would price their food (nothing below rm15) but the food were surprisingly good and in a huge portion, so if you decide to have lunch there, you could share a plate of mee goreng with your partner no problem :)

due to the huge crowd (even on a sunday) the checking in took longer than we expected. the system was kinda weird too, you check-in at the reception counter, but you have to collect your keys at another area, which was ridiculous coz they had to find our names manually... but well..whatever..

then we went to the waterpark and spent like 30 minutes there coz turns out my kids both not a huge fan of water or maybe waterparks, im not sure... aqil took one ride on the water slide and called it quits, alya cried the moment i put her in the water (she could have been sleepy also hence the crying) .. i convinced aqil to go in the water, but he end-up almost drowning (he slipped while he was in the water, and panicked and could not get up) it happened in a split second and lucky hubs realized, and quickly grabbed him... he cried and cried and cried and of course after that he was totally scared of going back in..

so we ended up playing - flying the kite at the beach.. 

or more like - ba was playing, 

mama and alya were looking

and aqil was posing @____@ anak sape ntah...

the next day, we tried another round at the waterpark.. but before that...

had some mother-daughter time in the jazuki 

(kerana ba and abg aqil tak bangun tdo lagi)

a buffet breakfast was included in the package deal. the food were good.. and variety.. go early tho..

alya was so bored. she slept!

 @________@

he stayed far away from the pool...

friends. as you can see. aqil stayed away from the pool. did get him to change into his swimwear but no way into the pool :(

then it was time to go home..

it was his birthday that day, but since we already had cake 2 days before, so no cake for the birthday boy.. kesian.. maybe tunggu Tok Wan Zek balik eh sayang..

If your kids love the water, this is an OK place to go.. but dont go on weekends...crowded, and the place is kinda small, and there's also a private Jacuzzi in every room so you could also get some romantic time with your partner when the kids are asleep.. its a win win situation here :)

If you buy through Streetdeal.my its only rm168 for 1 night stay and 2 adult tickets valid for the 2 days stay :) thats really cheap kan? the deal is on till December 2013 so u have plenty of time to plan your trip.. :)

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin

Cheshire Oak and Manchester City

UK/Paris trip take 3.

(read previous post here and here)

after the damage we did in Bicester Village (see here) , you think we would have at least insaf a bit and put shopping on a hold for atleast a day or two. you thought wrong, the next day, we went straight to Cheshire Oak, well it was a 3-4 hours drive from Cardiff to Ellesmere Port so we did get a good rest before we started our next shopping spree.. :)

Actually we went to our hotel first - stayed in Holiday Inn Ellesmere Port (highly recommended!!) .. solat and whatnot before we went to Cheshire Oak, which was just only 5 minutes drive from the hotel.

Cheshire Oak is another Outlet paradise, where I actually prefer more than Bicester Village coz there's a lot more choices and brands in Cheshire Oak, given the place is like triple the size of Bicester Village (maybe bigger!) .. check out the brands here... I swear if it wasnt because we had another 8 days in the UK, i would have spent all my money there! we didnt get to go in every store coz of the limited time we had there, but I did manage to go to the ones that I aimed earlier, like Warehouse, Coast, L'Occatine, Clarks, Marks&Spencer, Mama&Papa, Fossil, Ted Baker apentahlagilupalaaplakkk..

the clarks store there was much more bigger and with a lot more choices, went to Warehouse and bought a top for only 10 pounds!! theres no way we could get that price in Malaysia kan.. got a few tshirts for bff Ayim, also a Ted Baker messenger bag for only 35 pounds!

1st day there, we only had 3 hours to shop.. mmg tak cukup masa...btw the place is a quarter million squarefeet!! giloss!!

the only picture of us shopping! was trying our best to go in every store (which was impossible)

both stuffed animals from Mama&Papa, i think 6 pounds each? got 2 pairs of Clarks shoes for hubs (20pounds each!), a pair each for the kids :) puas hati :)

the next day we got up really early and went to Cheshire Oak (again!).. this time we had more time :) and..

this is what happen when u have more time.... @___@

next stop was the Mark & Spencer Cheshire Oak Eco-Store . its the largest M&S in the world! like seriously! its huge!! besar LCCT kot.. 2 stories..if you're into M&S punya barang i think you'll go crazy.. plus it was having christmas sales so lagi laaa kan... I think we spent 2 hours + in the store because we still had a long journey ahead of us that day.. no pictures in the store coz we were busy going uhhh--ahhh...at the stuff and prices!

Our next destination was Durham which was another 4 hours journey from Ellesmere Port, but we made a pit stop at ManchesterCity Stadium coz hey..dah lalu..haruslaa singgah kan.. :) it was already 1550 when we arrived, so we only managed to take a few pictures before the sun went down

Im not even an MU fan but I still went crazy buying the stuff there..  

:)

then we had nasi arab for dinner at a place nearby, it was the most delicious nasi arab ever!!! i dont remember the name, if i could find the picture of the food I will update this post later.. till then... toodlesss~~

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin

so I turned 29 last month

"one more year till I hit the 3 series"

honestly, that was the only thing I was thinking about on my birthday. No joke! I never thought about it before and never knew it was going to be a big deal. I mean, everyone is going to grow up and add years to their age right? no biggie.. but the more I thought about going to be 30, the more depressed I became. I was not in a good mood.

seriously! and this is only my 29th birthday. I dont know what mental state I will be in when the actual 30th birthday comes. I hope I dont do something stupid. Like go fake my ID or something. lol!

So what did I do on my birthday? Since I was depressed (inside. I have a good poker face you know) and the only thing that girls do that make them happy (for a while) is SHOPPING!

sent the kids to my cousin. and I went to Sunway Pyramid to shop for new clothes. Which made me even more depressed when I could fit size M anymore..ok laa...kinda exaggerating here. I could fit M but since my new years resolution is to wear more loose clothing. M is out of the picture. but I did bought that Forever 21 top in M..hmm..cutting kot..

I also had..

Zanmai Sushi!!!!

This is my absolute favorite!! like nothing can beat Zanmai Sushi, whenever hubs and I want to indulge ourselves with expensive food. this is our go-to place! 

and here's the story how I end up getting to eat free Sushi on my birthday

there I was, queuing up to dine at Zanmai Sunway, and I realized, I was the only person alone, everyone else were with a friend, or a group of friends. really didnt help with my depression at the time, so I sms-ed my good friend Ayim (also a good friend of my hubs) who worked nearby asked him if he had gone out for lunch already.. I told him where I was, and being the great friend that he is, he came to my rescue and blanjer me sushi for my birthday..!! Ayim, if you're reading this!! thanks!! :) I would say I love you but thats gonna be kinda weird coz we dont say that stuff to each other despite how close we are. haha..

later that night when I reached home. was staying at moms that week (cant remember why~ well I always am there pun) , mom and dad surprised me with a cake!!! yesss!! I am 29, married with 2 kids still mommy and daddy bought me a cake! gosh! I have the best parents I tell you!

the next day, hubs blanjer me sushi Zanmai (again! I know!) also we went for karaoke just the 2 of us :) I've been wanting to go karaoke since I was pregnant with Alya, but didnt get the chance..so this time I wanted to sing puas2..

but he ended conquering the mic! haihhh!! no laa..joke joke... (marah die satgi hahaha)

despite being depressed about the age and all, I am still thankful. Thankful that Allah has given me 29 wonderful years. Thankful for the family I grew up in. Thankful for the husband I am blessed with. Thankful for the two children who are now my heart and soul. Thankful for all the rezeki Allah has given me. Thankful for the hardship Allah put me through to make me a better person.

Also thankful for the brain and the beautiful skin.. hey I'm not kidding... everyone is blessed with different things, good hair, great body even though these people eat like there is no tomorrow!, good health and wealth, and for me, great skin :) I didnt really ever had any acne problem. and I dont even really need to have a good beauty routine or buy any expensive facial wash or whatnot, I could go to the store and buy any brand and it will suit me, heck, I can use a cheap body soap bar and still alhamdulillah my skin is OK... and tell you what, I have never done a facial. EVER. 

this is not be bragging about my skin. this is me just giving facts and being grateful for being blessed with good skin.. I have other issues you know, bad-dry-frizzy hair, a yo-yo weight problem, no butt! but whatever. lets celebrate the good we have :)

out with a date with hubs- keeping the makeup to a minimum coz hubs dont like me in those heavy makeup.. i think this was like compact powder, eyeliner, mascara and lip balm only.

but having said that, having good skin or not still you can never be able to fight the law of gravity... or the law of aging.. I may not have obvious wrinkles yet, but hey there are still there..and I do feel like my skin is not as bouncy as before...if you know what I mean.. so I guess, the time has come to at least try put some effort to care about the skin right.. I was not about to go for the night cream, masque, peeling anything like that, just something simple, like a serum..so I got this

La Praise Vitalift Serum

and even though it has only been a while since I used it, I can feel the difference... I would do a before and after shot but I dont think you can really see it coz of the not so obvious skin problem..i think for my case, its more like a feel kind of thing, which is perfectly fine for me :) 

Its water based, and very light, it absorbs pretty quick and you can really feel the difference after using it, like the feeling you get after wearing a mask, but you dont wear masque everyday right?! there's just no time for that! this one is easy peasy, twice a day (i wear it just once tho-i am that lazy!) after washing your face.. and ur done!

Its main ingredients are stem cells from fruits and plants (I'm not big on scientific names, but if you want to know you could drop me an email and i'll tell you) and the serum is suppose to make ur skin more bouncy and tight, helps inactive skin cells to activate again, balance ur skin PH, make ur skin youthful.. all those things that a serum are suppose to do laa senang citer...

and for a price of RM108, I think its affordable.. I mean serum are usually expensive kan (jeling mom punya estee lauder) .. and the most important thing that it works! I think you can read a lot of great testimonials out there about this serum... but if you are anyhow interested with the product you can just drop me an email at escallonia08@yahoo.com or watssap me at 0132221175.. and i'll assist you the best way I can :)

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin  

Everyone said Bicester Village is a must

Our next itinerary after Paris was the UK Tour. Pelik eh? normally people will go for Europe tour but Mom wanted to show us the place where we grew up, where atif was born, where I went to school hence, the UK tour. It was a 5 days tour up north of the UK. We went to Oxford, Cardiff, Chester/Cheshire Oak, Manchester and Durham. but I will write it in a few posts if not I dont think there'll be enough space..

So first stop, Oxford. Oxford is just one hour drive from London. we kinda reached Oxford pretty late coz of the drama we had with the car rental (which I will write about later) so we didnt get to do nothing much that night coz all the shops closed early in winter pun.

In Oxford we stayed in a cozy BnB called the Adam Guess House. The rooms were quite small, but the breakfast was gooddd...or maybe because it was our first english breakfast during the trip, I guess I registered it in my head as SEDAPNYA. lol!

the room interior

the breakfast - come to think about it ~ biasa jer laa.. haha

after breakfast we went straight to Bicester Village coz everyone say klu pergi UK we must go to this place.. untuk ape lagi kan...shoppingg.... I would say the place is just slightly bigger from JPO, but the brands are more interesting then JPO .. there's Prada, Mulberry, Tods, Celine, Burberry, Gucci, DVF, YSL, Dior, Fendi if you're looking for some high brand.. or the normal Clarks, Pandora, Cath Kidsons, Ralph Lauren, Ted Baker... ok there's no way I can list all the brands here, you can check it out youself here if you're planning to go..

The prices? Cheap! not dirt cheap like you can go buy 10 prada bags, but its like maybe 40% less than malaysia? I didnt really go to every butique and check the prices but lebih kurang laa..I saw one Prada wallet which I know retails RM1800 in Malaysia, for only 180pound.. which is like RM900 jer after convert..thank god it wasnt in the color I liked.. huh

So I know when anyone talks about shopping place..they want pictures! but coz we were so busy shopping (or more like window shopping for me) we didnt really took that many pictures..but here are the ones we took..

]

syiqin was mostly my babysitter for the day :)

2 floors - super packed! I guess because it was Christmas sales kan. Prices? Ok laa.. less than 100 for a shirt?

Erin also helped babysit when the momma so busy looking at things

ok here's the story of this kid at Bicester village. Aqil was passed from one to another. like if I was holding Alya, someone else would help with Aqil, and when I pass Alya to Atif or mom, Aqil would be with me, but I dont know how, at one time when he should be with me, I was so confident he was with Atif (Erin and Syiqin were in Cath Kidson) but when I met atif, Aqil was not with him... I kinda went frantic for a bit... looking for him..and guess what... mom found him sitting on a chair... ALONE!! he saw my mom and said.. " tok wan zek, mama mana?" 

OMG!! I feel like I wanted to kick myself in the butt for being so reckless.. but lesson learned... after that, thruout the trip, I always made sure who he is with before I take my eyes off him and go looking at anything....

Cath Kidsons window display

We actually planned to only spend 2 hours in Bicester because our next destination was 3 hours away and sunset was really early during winter at 4pm but how can you spend 2 hours when we wanted to go in every single shop!! we end up spending 4 hours there.. I only bought Clarks for the kids tho coz I was saving my money for the next outlet shopping in Cheshire Oak.

btw, Clarks there is pretty cheap..I got a 7pound shoes for Alya and 12pound for Aqil there...puas hati :) you have to go to Bicester if you go to London, I think you can take the train or taxi there from London :) Or just rent a car :)

till the next post.. bye!

** you can read about our Paris trip HERE

Love,

Aisyah Samsudin