Roll On: 2018 Favorite Self Care Thingy (Part One)

Dec 21, 2018



I never thought I'd actually do these kinds of posts and not to mention - I'm actually excited. Since I got my own money now and starting to want to care for myself better, I've been trying some new things and this has been fun. So, I want to share 10 things that I'm definitely going to keep having it in 2019 which might be a good thing for your self-care too.


from left to right

1. Face Scrub by Good Virtues Co.

I learned that Good Virtues Co. products are organic and use lots of nature stuff. I can't recall the exact term for this stuff but basically, the product would not contain harsh chemicals. So, I've been using few of their products since my dry skin and brittles hair will worsen if I used normal products. This face scrub in particular - is so good. My skin feels refreshed, well scrubbed (is this even a thing?) and still feels supple afterward which is not like my previous experience with a face scrub. They usually left my skin feel tight like my-face-have-been-scrubbed-too-much-than-i-would-like-it kind of tight. Not to mention it is super affordable and the packaging is just too beautiful.


2. Konjac sponge

Did you have that feeling like your hand is not doing enough work to clean your face cause I did. I try using face brush - the manual one and the automatic one. The manual one's bristles are too soft while the automatic one is just such a big hassle. My sister told me about this konjac sponge and I think you can only get this at Daiso. It is sponge-like but firm like a beauty blender. However, the surface is just a little bit harsh to give you that brushing sensation. It is great. Totally loving it.



3. Palmer's Lip Balm - Cocoa Butter Formula

Since eating isotretinoin is giving me a bad case of dry lips, I take note to always bring my lip balm everywhere. Moisturize your lips throughout your daily endeavors fellas! I tried this one with hyaluronic acid that works wonders on chapped lips but I can't find it the other day and chose this instead. It work just as well and the best part is that it smells like chocolate! Since being confuse on what lip balm to buy is a hassle, I made a mental note to just get this one. If it ever finishes. 


4. Lucido-L Argan Rich Hair Treatment Cream

I was looking for something like a hair conditioner but I don't have to wash it. Apparently, I was looking for hair cream. I tried using hair conditioner and hair mask for my brittle hair but it just feels too harsh on my hair. Not to mention how it worsen my hair loss is with the washing but the effect is temporary. I found this at Guardian and it is around RM20 only (it even have argan oil!). You only need about 1cm of the product and it works so well. Even my sister was complimenting that my hair looks better. It does feel soft and most importantly, less brittle. 



5. Botaneco Garden - Organic Argan and Virgin Olive Oil Nourishing Hand Cream

My dry hand is the worst. Did you know that wearing lots of lotion will only worsen your dry skin? Yes, it does. If your dry hand is mild, a lotion is great, but if you are like me, lotion only does so little. But then I can't be smothering petroleum jelly and go about life now can't I? Thank god I find this thing. Hand cream is a bit thicker than lotion thus the effect last longer but this one got argan oil and virgin oil. Oil is good as it helps to retain the moisture which makes this work even better. The smell is so good too.


(to be continued because it is my bedtime)
If you're here for the bloglist - scroll down until you see a very cute Korean guy with bunny teeth. or you can just read everything. I could be your thing?

I'm like spiritually awoke each time I remember I bought the domain but I bought this last Tuesday and only gets to write about it today. Am I not spiritually awoke enough?




I'm so bored right now like I think I finally understand the very core essence of  "bored to death". You see, I have finished my PRP right? So now, I have the chance to spend my time off. Newsflash everybody, working as a pharmacist in government hospital means shift works but we don't get paid, we just get time-off. Go be a doctor if you want money. They got paid a lot for the extra shift but the life is super busy and exhausted though.

Anyway, so here I am, free as the birds fly without nothing to do. Well, you can only read so much and writes so much until it gets damn boring. I do reading and writing as hobbies for god sake. FYI, I'm thinking of going to the stationary store and buy some watercolor cause those seem fun. Also, go check my Instagram because I just started doing analysis on "100 Love Poems You Should Read Before You Die" which basically a noob (me) trying to understand classical (i guess) poems.

Back to the most important matter. 

IT IS AFIFAHADDNAN.COM (I'm so tempted to say bitches but I'm just so well mannered and now am so proud with my self-control)

so now, please spend two seconds of your life and looks and look at the address tab to just appreciate that it is afifahaddnan.com

Actually, a lecturer of mine oppose the idea of getting the domain because I rarely update which is like "Whatever imma an independent girl (sangat takda kena mengena) and I'll do what I want" but then I got self-conscious like "Prof are you actually reading this? I STILL IN LOVE WITH BTS BTW"

he hates k-pop

speaking of k-pop, I'm going to write all about my in-depth analysis on k-pop. someday.

Image result for jungkook hot andcute gif
i'm sorry if you expect more

Now, getting to the second most important matter for the day - my BLOGLIST

If you guys read my blog, you'll notice that I have a bloglist which dedicates to list Malaysian blogger. Actually, it was more on dedicating to blog list those with a true passion to write original content. Back when blogging got hyped in Malaysia, bloggers only rewrite thing which is just so weird. Everyone can Google those and I know it gives you traffic but why? So at that time, blog walking isn't much of an excitement. However, I learned to realize that now, more and more Malaysian bloggers are writing more quality content which makes it exciting to do this bloglist. But the project took so much time (ie stalking more blogs) and now I'm coming up with a new strategy to expand this database (we're using big words now, keep up). 

We are playing tags (this is not an excuse to play tags because I miss another storm of tags)



It's easy, just post this banner and tell three things that screams passionate blogger to you. Then tag two other bloggers for the tag. This is just to get the words spreads. If the said blogger is interested to be listed, just make sure the tag pass on and comment something here. Idk, Hi or something? You can just comment a dot and I'll put your blog in the bloglist.

I hope this gets attention and not end up with me looking sad.

I guess I'll start. Well. Passionate blogger for me means - 

1. he/she care to make the post/blog aesthetically pleasing as according to the blog theme. 
2. have some topic or niche instead of just posting daily rambling.
3. actually loves writing (we can read through the words if the person enjoys writing or not).

Actually, all my faves have been listed in the bloglist so, I'm just tagging this to spread words.

These are some passionate bloggers 

The charming and cute Fatina
The smart and sweet Eyqa
The most aesthetically pleasing thing Rasya
The most supportive and loving Mrs Pip
The ambitious and talented Lya Amie

and now I runs out of adjectives.







So, the title is either genius or simply frustratingly confusing.

In welcoming my after PRP life and the revival of Crack Culture - we are living healthier!

I love to cook. However, cooking for one is such a big hassle and it is just not the kind of hassle I need during PRP. Now that I have finished my PRP, we can put more effort into cooking.

Most importantly cooking and eating healthier.

So, my big problem with eating is that

1. I tend to eat more rice
2. I snack a lot. Like a lot, lot

Living stressfully have also been very conducive to make me eat more. 

Now, I'm not doing this to lose weight but I'm doing this because I want to re-program my eating pattern. What I'm doing is that I got this new project where I planned my grocery shopping to last for a few days (most ideally to last a week) and try to cook simple-no-rice meals. I'm doing only lunches at the moment because I'm afraid I'll get bored easily and then turn back to eat like I used too. 

It has happened before guys so we are taking this slowly.

Before we start to talk about what to cook - we have to get the technicalities prepared first. You will at least need a (1) stove (if you don't have one, maybe try to invest on those portables ones). A (2) non-stick pan, medium sized is more than good. Since we are cooking for one, you don't really need ladle and stuff. Spoons will work (I only use spoon since the portion is small). A (3) knife (a medium-sized and sturdy knife, not that cute thin ones). (4) Chopping board is also important. I know some might get that thrifty idea to just cut stuff on a table but please get one. A small one is good enough.


Related image
i'm having such a big problem at how seokjin loves to cook and looks so comfortable in the kitchen.
this screams relationship material for god sake!

Now, let's talk groceries!

Firstly I bought two pieces of chickens breast. If you know groceries, you know how a chicken is sold according to parts. I chose chicken breast since it has the least fat plus easier to work with. Keeping a tray of eggs is good too. Actually, I should have bought one piece of chicken breast and a medium sized mackerel tuna. I got bored rather quickly with the chicken breast and mackerel tuna is the only fish I like to eat not fresh. 

I have a weird palate. 
I can't eat a not-freshly caught fish. 
I swear I'm not being picky.
I'm just programmed this way.

Actually, if we got more choices here, I would just buy tuna blocks. It's much more fulfilling and can be cooked easily but still tasted good. Plus, if I actually got the time to go to the wet market, I would have bought squids too.




Now come the fun part, vegetables! Since I'm not eating rice, vegetables are needed to make me feel full. The trick is to have different kinds of vegetables. At least one leafy ones  (the lettuce) and one crunchy one (the capsicum). For this time, I also got myself mushrooms and tomatoes. It is a good choice due to the structure and thus the variability of taste which is important so that I'll not get bored easily. The sweet potato is also important because I still need some sort of carbohydrate and plus, it tasted good too! But these are actually more than I need for a week. The broccoli and half of the capsicum gone bad actually. I also bought a small loaf of Gardenia's wholemeal bread.




Now comes the important part - getting that good flavor. First of all, you have to buy onions. At least buy a few cloves of garlic and a handful of onions. Next are those fellas in the pictures above. I know I'll need to at least stir-fry the vegetables and maybe grill the chicken. These four ingredients (plum sauce, oyster sauce, roughly grinded black peppers and dried rosemary leaves) are good enough to marinate your chicken and to be made into a simple sauce. Saute some onions and put oyster sauce is good enough to stir-fry vegetables. These will last you more than a month actually.

So what did i cook?

Image result for jin gif eating


I don't want to spend a lot of time cooking so it must be simple menus but at the same time, it needs to have good flavors and some sort of variety. Mind you, I have a very simple palate, so if you guys need stronger flavors, I can suggest some things but it may or may not meet your satisfaction. Plus, the use of more colors (different vegetables) will work wonder to make foods look more appetizing.

1. Fried noodles



Onions, chicken, mushrooms and some oyster sauce. I put oyster sauce instead because I don't one to use the instant noodles seasoning. This is an experiment of some sort. So the vegetables and chicken gives out flavor to the noodle too. I don't want to use the seasoning because I want to buy the instant noodles only, not the ones with seasoning and stuff. this way I can choose healthier noodles. But if this is too bland for you, try adding some chili paste and some soy sauce. You can try buying actual noodle but this is once a week plan so dried noodles is my best choice. there are plenty of choice, just looks for the ones with lesser calories






2. A simple stir-fry


Just stir fry some vegetables and to make it more fulfilling - add some carbs and proteins. I used scrambled eggs but eggs tasted so bland, I should use chicken instead. I put some crouton-ish into this too. I simply did some oil-less fry of one slice of wholemeal bread and cuts it into smaller pieces. You can try to put potatoes instead but I decided it was too much work. For the flavoring, I put oyster sauce and black pepper. This is a very simple dish so I'm not quite sure what you can do more to make it more appetizing.


3. Proteins and funs with vegetables




I also did a mix of things and plate it this way. Since the ikan tongkol is fried and thus is flavorful enough, I just toss some freash lettuce and cherry tomatoes. The sweet potato slices were fried with no oil. I thought I cut the sweet potatoes too thin but these end up being so filling.



The chicken was supposed to be made into a sandwich since I keep some of my grilled chicken for that purpose but I didn't feel like eating a sandwich and made this instead. Then green leaves are actually spinach. A friend of mine gave it to me. I did a quick fry of the spinach and the tomatoes with plum sauce. Totally loving it.


Kinda a grilled chicken but I did on my nonstick pan. I just turn it into slow heat and put the lid on. I marinated it overnight first with some black pepper, dried thyme, oyster sauce, and plum sauce. I also put some onions which are actually optional. I just wanted more taste with the use of onions. When I finished cooking the chicken, I use the same pan and fry the mushrooms and sweet potatoes. I add some more oyster sauce and plum sauce so that I have a bit of sauce to go with the chicken.

4. Sandwich
wholemeal bread just give better taste profile and I did way too much filling~
I fry the ingredient a bit while cooking the chicken (I didn't make the grilled chicken yet) because I don't feel like wanting to eat everything so fresh. 


I still cook but I didn't actually go for one-week grocery shopping since I currently keep on taking few days off from work. I have lots of time off to be used so I didn't need to buy much groceries to cook for one week. I still cook though. If I got enough menus, I'll write another post. And probably takes a good landscape sized photo instead.