A Barbie Doll Cake

As a little girl, I always wanted a Barbie doll cake....

I never had one.
So when my family planned to have a buka puasa for close family friends, I ordered a Barbie doll cake wearing one of my favourite items of clothing, a kebaya.

No detail was overlooked. Barbie even had flowers in her hair!


Some of my family friends said, "aiyoh, Sasha, it looks like you lah!" when they saw it...


Yes, I've heard that kind of statement many times before...

One Aunty even said, "I didn't know you wanted one! Why didn't you tell me, I would have made one for you!"

The whole 'skirt' part was really yummy chocolate fudge cake... I ordered it so of course I wasn't ordering anything other than chocolate cake.

And once all of us started eating her 'skirt', one of my aunties was so thoughtful as to cover her up with a napkin to maintain the poor darling's modesty and pride.


now my sister wants one too....

more animal pics from South Africa

These are some more of the really big cats that I saw while in South Africa...


I think they are all so beautiful...


They make my cats at home look like tiny rats!


And this is a little cat I saw while out at Mossel Bay who I think just lives under a tree..


I couldn't help but say hello...


At least this cat I felt like I could pat it without the risk of being torn apart!

SHAPE magazine cover - October issue

This was an interesting photo shoot because half way through, the studio suddenly had a power outage which brought all activity in the whole office block to a complete standstill for over 2 hours.

You never know how things will go.

Everyone on the team for the shoot waited it out and carried on again once power was back.

And the result is as you see above... :)

Style with Sasha on www.gua.com.my

Hi everyone!

Finally I can share this with you and I am so excited about it..

Media Prima has just set up a lifetyle web site full of all kinds of online entertainment eg dramas, information, gossip...

And they approached me to be their fashion writer!

As you can imagine, I am very happy for this opportunity.

I'm not going anywhere here, I will stil continue to write on this site. Plenty more stories I haven't done yet.

All of my fashion based postings will now be on that site.

To see it, go to www.gua.com.my , click on lifestyle, then click on blogs, then you will find 'style with sasha'. Click on that and you will find my page!

My posting there at the moment is about shopping in South Africa.

Do stop by, leave comments...

But most of all, thank you so much for your support!

update from london...

firstly,thank you so much to everyone who has left me comments on where to go in London.. I REALLY appreciate it...

I have already been to the V&A musuem once and I have already bought a ticket to the Golden Age of Couture exhibition. I am so looking forward to it! It starts this Saturday. I've already bought the book too and started reading it so that I know and appreciate what I will see at the exhibition..

I have found some items from local unknown designers which are very unique. I will be sharing all of this with you soon...

til then, take care everyone...

by the way, my feet are so sore from walking so much!

exchange rates....

i hate the current exchange rate....

£1 = approximately RM 7....


WHAT??!!!!


Sigh....

readers in London...

To my readers in London,

Please email me at sasha_a_b@yahoo.com or leave comments as to some fabulous places to shop.

I know the usual places eg Harrods, Selfridges....

If you happen to know a huge store, the size of Harrod's where they sell Valentino Gowns, Dolce Gabbana suits, Christian Louboutin heels for 20 pounds each, tell me where it is!!!!

I know..... I'm dreaming...

Seriously, let me know, great places to shop for example designer warehouses, small lesser known boutiques...

I'll be waiting!

Don't forget, the pound is very strong compared to the ringgit, so stuff has to be cheap!

Thank you so much...

Penguins in South Africa

Aren't this little guys just so cute!


I couldn't touch or get close to these penguins, but I really enjoyed just watching them walk....



It reminds me of little children...


Not quite balanced on their feet but determined to keep moving anyway.....

Beauty Secrets from the East episode 13 - self indulgence

Beauty Secrets from the East
Episode 13
Self Indulgence
Monday 10th September
7.30 pm

This the last episode of Beauty Secrets from the East Season 3.....

So this is the last competition....


Question is - What are the 4 countries I visit in this episode?

Email me all your details and answers to sasha_a_b@yahoo.com

The prize this week is a 200 ml Secret Garden set from the Mediterranean range.

All the best!

Another year has passed...

Thank you God, for another year....

Another chance to make things better....

KL LIFESTYLE magazine - September issue

This month, I make an appearance with KL LIFESTYLE magazine..

I think it's so ironic how this shoot was actually taken at the aiport where I went down onto the ground area with aeroplanes all around me.. considering how much time I have spent travelling and at airports in my life...

And this photo is not superimposed.. here is proof with behind the scene photos...


This photo shoot was the longest photo shoot I've ever done.. It took almost 8 hours, from start to finish. and we had to be very careful.. I couldn't get too close to the planes cause I could get sucked in by the engines...

Call time at the airport was 6 am... first hair and make up, then we shot near the runway and various places around the airport...


It was fun and everyone in the team worked really hard to get this shot....


When I showed this to some colleagues at work, they said I look like 'travel style barbie' doll....

Maybe I should just start getting used to being called some kind of Barbie doll...

And the red shoes I'm wearing are from my personal collection.... :)

Special thanks to Naz to sending me behind the scene photos...

And this is a nice little 'birthday present' in my birthday month....

(KL LIFESTYLE is sold at major bookstores, also available at all major hotels, KLIA and Malaysian Airports, selected malls, restaurants, popular cafes and coffee chains, hair salons, leisure and entertainment outlets in Kuala Lumpur)

Up close with cheetahs and tiger cubs in South Africa

Regular readers, will know that I love animals...

So when I had the chance to get up close and personal with these beautiful animals, I felt so blessed....

Before I went into their enclosed area, I was given a briefing...

1 - only go down on one knee so you can stand up quickly
2 - kneel behind them or slightly to the side.. never in front
3 - only pat the top of their head and back... never their face, tail or stomach



I was a bit nervous because I have the greatest respect for wild animals and their killer instincts and I knew that one wrong move that made them feel threatened in anyway and I could be ripped to shreds....

So I went in, and spent some time with them....

It was one of the most amazing experiences ever!



At one point the one that was with me got bored and walked off... because my time with them wasn't up yet, the trainer picked up a rope with a ball on the end and started spinning it around...

I watched their faces...

They became very curious...

The ball on rope kept spinning...

And in the next second, they were up and running and in front of me!


So suddenly I had 4 cheetahs in front of me! In the blink of an eye! Well, when they can move from zero to 80 kilometres per hour in 3 seconds, I was so glad I wasn't the ball, one of they prey or standing in front of them as they sprinted to the ball on rope!

Next I visited the baby cheetahs!

There were two of them and they were SO NAUGHTY! They could barely sit still for 2 seconds and I'm lucky to get this photo....



They were so cute!!!!

And last, I visited the tiger cubs...


They were also so naughty!

Running around and playing with their toys...


At one point, suddenly the tiger cub jumped onto my leg.... It's only two months old and I looked at it's paws and though it didn't knock me over from jumping onto me, I could still feel it's compacted power and understood how powerful these animals can be..... Though it wasn't trying to hurt me at all and was only playing, the trainer immediately growled and tapped it on the nose to know that it shouldn't do that.. They don't know how strong they are... And I wouldn't want the claws in those paws digging into me!


I'm sure you're curious as to what their fur feels like...

I expected it to feel like Skitso, Joberg or Tippex's fur (my cats at home)...

Maybe thick but still kind of soft.. they are after all, described as really big cats...

The best way I can describe their fur is it's like touching dry, over bleached hair....

And the little cheetahs and tiger cubs were sooooooooooo cute .... running around and playing with each other.....They reminded me so much of my cats.. the way they play.. but I knew I could never touch their stomach... anyone who has a cat knows that when you start touching their stomach, it's an invitation to play and they will start biting and clawing your hands...

Not a good idea with these guys!


My greatest respect and salute goes to all of the trainers and worker at this Cango Wildlife Ranch who work tirelessly to ensure these beautiful, stunning creatures are not driven to extinction....

And now my cats look like mice because they are so small compared to the cheetahs and tigers!

Special thanks to SHELL who invited me to join their group of winners from their Made to Move Competition ...

More photos and stories to come from South Africa!

Have a great weekend everyone.. I know I will be... It's my birthday!

Winners announced!

with Wan Aishah, seventh generation descendant of Langkawi's legendary Mahsuri

Congratulations to Syarul Izam Sarifudin! Winner of this week's Beauty Secrets contest....

Your prize in on the way...


Thank you again everyone for trying...

Next Monday, 10th of September is the last episode of Beauty Secrets from the East (sob!) so the last chance at winning a Secret Garden set....

Media Prima Screenings 2008....

Earlier today was the Media Prima Screenings 2008.... A big fun affair where Media Prima showcases it's plans and programs for next year....

But I want to write about the hilarious and fantastic Daphne Iking....


Firstly, she is a fabulous looking pregnant woman.. She hasn't lost an inch of her style....I always fear that when people find out they're pregnant they become all serious and not fun anymore...

She's just as funny as ever and we had a good time laughing our heads off as we touched up our make up and hair for the event.... Some of the things she said, I cannot write here... :)

And here is a photo of her on stage during the event...


She doesn't even look pregnant even though she's 6 months!

I feel like strangling her for looking so good, but then I figure she's a good person to have around so that if I'm ever pregnant, I'll ask for her clothes and advice..

And knowing Daphne, she will be more than happy to talk....

All the best to you Daphne! You'll be a crazy mum, but still fantastic....

While waiting for the event to start, I decided to get my hair trimmed.... Just a little to get rid of the annoying dry frizzy ends.... I really hate cutting or trimming my hair at the moment cause I still haven't achieved my target of mermaid/ waist length hair.. But I really had to...


At the event, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza also sang...


I have no idea what she sang cause I wasn't listening...

I was too busy looking at her top/ blouse... which I absolutely love!

I really want a big sleeved blouse like this because I love how it's just a dramatised white shirt, but I haven't found a perfect one yet...


But I'm keeping my eyes open....

And I'm just adding this photo of cartoon characters who made an appearance at the event for fun...