My #100happydays challenge has been pretty colorful. As I'm posting this, I am in the 90th-something day of this challenge. You can follow me on Instagram for live updates, or you can just come back here to see the recap in various posts.

I'm quite sad that it's coming to a close, but I also know that it doesn't mean that my streak of happiness will end after the 100th day. I'm excited for it to end at the same time, because if I'm being perfectly honest, there are days where I missed because I forgot or because I didn't think of whipping out my phone during those moments. Some days have just too many good moments but I forgot to post them. But it doesn't matter, because my mind has already been programmed to appreciate all the good moments and say a silent thank you to the universe for all good things. :)

As usual, the recap for Days 1-50 here:
DAY 1 – DAY 10
DAY 11 – DAY 20
DAY 21 – DAY 30
DAY 31 – DAY 40
DAY 41 – DAY 50





DAY 51: Drinks with some of Panda's relatives, celebrating a marriage in the family.
DAY 52: Had a photoshoot at The Humble Pie, and the owner Eugene generously gave us some experimental brownies (off the menu) to try. Had some of his awesome banoffee pies after as well.
DAY 53: Had my nails done during the Loceryl event.
DAY 54: Was featured as Nuffnang's blogger of the week on their #NNfeaturefriday. :)
DAY 55: Found some old, unfinished acrylic cupcakes on mini 4" canvases. Need to get back to work!
DAY 56: Found the time or organize and arrange half of my stuff in the closet. Another half's in boxes.
DAY 57: Raya food tasting of the festive specials courtesy of The Majestic Hotel KL.
DAY 58: The first photo taken with my new camera. It's the Canon Powershot-N everyone has been asking me about.
DAY 59: Monthly cleaning of my precious Tiffany & Co goods. Which reminds me, it's also about time for my monthly re-watch of Breakfast At Tiffany's.
DAY 60: Attended a beautiful wedding in Hilton KL. :) Fun times.

I've hit the 50-day mark a long time ago (you'll know if you have me on Instagram), but haven't had the time to update here, because I have so much going on right now. Mostly work, and also some side projects and keeping my blog constantly updated. It's been a crazy month! So glad my birthday month is coming soon! :)

I think this round of happy days here contains a lot of links to things that are either on this blog, or elsewhere. You see a lot of my face as well. Either way, there's always more to each image posted, and I have put in the relevant links for your convenience. As always, if you're on the #100happydays challenge as well, drop me your link in the comment section.

As usual, the recap for Days 1-40 here:
DAY 1 – DAY 10
DAY 11 – DAY 20
DAY 21 – DAY 30
DAY 31 – DAY 40









DAY 41: Compiling and arranging old and new artworks of mine, some are for sale in print form.
DAY 42: Me, in Chris Brown's clothes (not really) for a fashion contest organized during the blogger's walkthrough event by Klang Parade.
DAY 43: Me again, as a watermelon. My boyfriend took another photo of me next to a bigger watermelon.
DAY 44: My royal crown treatment, courtesy of Burt's Bees.
DAY 45: The day I started my TruDtox journey with review and July 2014 giveaway here.
DAY 46: My two baby kitties, loving this shot of them and their big goo-goo eyes.
DAY 47: After dinner in Rakuzen, the chef surprised us with a complimentary, off-the-menu green tea ice-cream dessert that was splendid! :)
DAY 48: A night out with friends, watching The Conjuring at the open-air Starlight Cinema.
DAY 49: Wanted to dye my hair honey blonde again, but it came out green. I was assured that it will turn to brown again in a month. Summer to autumn hair yo'.
DAY 50: Reading what I thought was a good book. This is what I really thought of it.

Ever since starting the #100happydays challenge, life has gone on with it's ups and downs, but with a lot more ups that go much further than the downs. I am truly blessed! Life isn't perfect, but it doesn't have to be. My documentation of the #100happydays challenge is proof that something good happened to me every single day – because there isn't a day where I can find nothing to be grateful for! Everyday is a blessing.

Some of you may have noticed, my blog has become much livelier with a beautiful balance between events, product reviews, my personal posts/views, health and fitness and some nice sprinkling of fashion posts which I had enjoyed doing! Call me crazy, but things have gotten much sweeter ever since I started the challenge. Some people also commented that I have A LOT of cats in my #100happydays (like does that even count? Does it count as cheating?) but in my defense, it's all about what makes me happy right? And my cats do, so cats it is. :)

If you are starting one too, leave me your link, I would love to read all about your experience.

As always, live updates of the challenge is on my Instagram (and also Facebook, but that's for friends only) and the recap for the following days are right here on my blog, feel free to have a look.

DAY 1 – DAY 10
DAY 11 – DAY 20
DAY 21 – DAY 30







DAY 31: Reading a delightful book about (you guessed it) cats! A hardcover bargain from a book fair.
DAY 32: Received my early birthday present from my sister, the Noir Tease from Victoria Secret I always wanted.
DAY 33: Received my golden brush from Sonia Kashuk, all the way from the USA!
DAY 34: My boyfriend bought me the G-Shock with world-time function which I have been wanting. ♥ So much love for this guy!
DAY 35: Had a nice and quiet night with the kittens. They're really getting big and naughty!
DAY 36: Loving my new H&M fringe bag, and also the nice felt & leather document holder I received.
DAY 37: My Modbox arrived in time for me to review all its contents. :)
DAY 38: Had a very lively gathering with my colleagues; drinking beers, Baileys and Auchentoshan from the UK.
DAY 39: Attended the preview of H&M's Autumn/Winter collection, with some sweet goodies to take home with me.
DAY 40: For World Flowers' Day, Piaget sends a handsome rep to give us ladies bouquets of flowers. :)

I am currently past my one month duration of the #100happydays challenge. Live updates on my Instagram account, please feel free to follow. (p/s I got some of the days mixed up on my IG, because I'm just bad with numbers...)

If you don't know what the #100happydays challenge is about, please read about it here and view my Day 1-10. For Days 11-20, you can view them in my second post.


Having already gone through at least 30 days of the challenge, I can honestly say that my days are actually much better as I look forward to each day, and searching for the best moment out of it. Before the challenge, I was pretty much content with life, having practiced gratitude daily – which I talked of its importance before in this post. After starting the challenge though, my contented life felt like a hundred times better. Before this, it felt like all I had was the rising sun, and now I feel like the sun had already risen – bright, shining and warm.

"Everything happens for a reason."

Of course, I still had shitty days where work didn't go so well, or I had an argument with a loved one, and a scary experience where my car's radiator nearly got busted. At the end of each day, the #100happydays challenge allows me to take stock of the day and find that silver lining in what seemed to be an awful day. Once you find that little sliver of silver (tongue twister!), things don't seem that bad after all. In fact, it felt like the things that happened were a blessing in disguise.







DAY 21: One of my kittens are learning how to attack shoes, but it's a lesson in progress.
DAY 22: Made burritos with my other half and having Baileys for game night with friends. ♥
DAY 23: Mommy cat with all her babies, like little black stick-cat figures, during playtime. :)
DAY 24: Received my coveted pair of Stylenanda shoes in the mail (finally!).
DAY 25: Made a porcelain-inspired nail art. Not very good at details but proud enough.
DAY 26: Received new name cards for my blog, and a nice leather-bound pen from Ulysses Nardin.
DAY 27: Attended the Men's Health cover guy reveal party with the two best people I know.
DAY 28: Met up with my college bestie who's another Michelle, after over a year. :)
DAY 29: Had a round of gin rummy with friends (but we forgot to get some gin to sip on!).
DAY 30: Did my own hair for a relative's wedding. I can always count on Percy & Reed to hold it!

Who doesn't use Instagram nowadays? It appeals to everyone, young or old – no matter where you're from and no matter what your job is. The best part is, you don't have to keep your Instagram life confined within a gadget. You can print out your life on Instagram, and have as many keepsakes as you want. All with a simple click-choose-receive service from Monstagram.


I'm not going to delve into details, because it's pretty easy. You pick your preferred photos, send the order and wait for a few days for the Monstagram team to revert with your products in three optional forms – Coloroids, Krinkle Kuts and Magnets.


COLOROIDS are basically colored-polaroids with your photos. you get a choice of four different frame colors and also get to add in text beneath as you like, or write on it yourself. Sized at a standard polaroid 4.2 X 3.6 inches, there's no need for a polaroid camera for nice keepsakes!







KRINKLE KUTS are cute little square stamps, with your insta photos on them. This is my favorite format to keep cute photos as they have such a cute cut. Sized at a reasonably square 3.5 inches, they make cute purse keepsakes or just to give away to friends for the fun of it. At this size, it's perfect to place on the borders of my iMac! :)














MAGNETS are what they profess to be – cute little squares of memories to display on your fridge. They are also water resistant, so nothing in your kitchen can deteriorate the quality. Sized the tiniest at a squarish 2 inches, these little things can add a sense of warmth to the workplace, the kitchen and even as a gift to loved ones.










I can't wait to get a set of these made. If you want to show off your Instagram pics, it's time to Monstagram them! :)

I introduced the #100happydays challenge in a previous post, and also documented my happy days for Day 1 to Day 10. My first ten days are mostly focused on my well-being, with my juice cleanse program underway at the time, as long as the little things alone the way that made me happy, like the beautiful Atlas charm bracelet gift from Tiffany & Co. ♥ and also working on my art.

Let's see how my days up to Day 20 went!







DAY 11: Received my new snakeskin cover for my Kobo Mini from Etsy.com!
DAY 12: Came home to a delicious bacon, spaghetti and salad meal; cooked by my other half. ♥
DAY 13: An impromptu selfie, that turned out looking real silly. :)
DAY 14: Received a very long and heartwarming email from one of my international readers.
DAY 15: Had a Mother's Day barbecue with my cousins and relatives with loads of lamb.
DAY 16: Bought a pretty pair of shoes from Charles & Keith! Another to add to the collection.
DAY 17: Got my Everlast gloves to start off my new Muay Thai gym classes.
DAY 18: I finally get to check out my pressed roses, after a month of pressing them. Colors all intact!
DAY 19: My brother made the most delicious batch of cookies – soft and chewy!
DAY 20: Attended Tory Burch's Summer 2014 Collection preview, and fell in love with the pieces!


That's all for the recap! You can follow me on Instagram to view them as well.

Most people who know me, know my love for Charles & Keith. I have been a fan ever since I started my first job in 2009 as an intern. On my meager intern pay back then, I always managed to afford at least one new shoe a month from this brand. I love shoes, and Charles & Keith was my first real love when it comes to shoes – because I have tiny feet; and they carry size 3 (for some designs)! I sometimes also fit a size 4; but it is the super snug fit, quality and pretty designs that helped carry that love until now.

Of course, by now, I have already accumulated nice collection of various bags and shoes from Charles & Keith. I always make it a point to stop by a store to check for new collections. My boyfriend has been trained to automatically walk into the store if we ever do come across one. These are some of my favorite shoes and bags, captured on my Instagram.












Charles & Keith has been a very big part of my life, fashion-wise. And this summer, I am excited to present to you their 2014 Summer Collection.

They are designed for that young, preppy and polished look – in hues of blue, and also some very nice pastels. There are a lot of cut-outs and sling backs for the shoes, and very noticeably a lot of boat-shoe and low-heel designs as well. There are quite a few blocky wedges as well, which I really love! My favorites from this bunch here is the striped, chunky kitten heel with stripes and also the black, mint and cork combo at the bottom.





For the bags, there's a nice array of clutches, totes and bowling bags. Most of them are in hues of blues, blacks and whites. I don't know about you but I love all the bags from the last two rows. Very chic, casual and corporate. My ultimate favorite is the one and only orange bag at the end. Love! Can't wait to get my hands on this new summer collection!

Yes, it is a new social media trend, and I am totally onboard! I am a fan of everything POSITIVE and to paving the road to happiness! I have talked about how the law of attraction has changed my life, and about how gratitude can work wonders and also about how negativity can affect us.

I'm very proud to say, that I am a big supporter of living and breathing a positive life as it paves the road to a positive future.



According to the 100HappyDays website, 71% of people tried to complete this challenge, but failed quoting lack of time as the main reason.These people simply did not have time to be happy.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? 
Do you have the time to be happy?
Do you think that your happiness is worth at least some time?

Well, I do. Because time is usually carelessly spent on being busy and stressed with life, and also aimlessly navigating through social media sites. So much time in between that could be utilized.


BUT WHY DO IT THOUGH?
Because happy people are grateful people. We practice gratitude. And if you want to practice gratitude as well, this is the perfect tool. For 100 days, just post something that you are grateful for (and made you happy) at the end of each day. Be genuine in all your posts, it's that simple.

As part of the challenge, I will be posting everyday photos on my Instagram, as well as a recap on my blog after every 10 days. I think this counts for 10 posts in total, and it's own 100 happy days label! :)



SEE WHAT MADE ME HAPPY DURING MY FIRST 10 DAYS! :)





DAY 1: Started eating clean in-prep for my cleanse, these are all my fave food.
DAY 2: Read the cutest book. Here's my review on why this book is so good!
DAY 3: My juices from Lifestyle Juicery arrived. Time for a cleanse!
DAY 4: Went to Ipoh and had fine French food at Garvy's In The Park.
DAY 5: Finally made use of my leather rollie for my art tools.
DAY 6: Woke up early on Labour Day to go for a run, on my third day of cleanse!
DAY 7: Picked up my gift from Tiffany & Co, an Atlas bracelet; how very generous of them. :)
DAY 8: Watched Breakfast At Tiffany's, my favorite scene where she goes looking for Cat in the rain.
DAY 9: Gave my cat Karma her new pink collar, and some tasty new treats as well.
DAY 10: Working on some album art for local band KissKillMary.


That sums up my 10 happy days, thus far! Life seems pretty good when you focus only on the good!

Remember, this is not a contest. If you cheat or just post something to orchestrate your happiness, then honestly, your 100 days are already quite meaningless. Take a break at the end of each day, and think about what made you happy today. :)

Instagram is the new thing, as we all know. It's the new Twitter, in photo and text form. And it is not limited to only 140 characters. It also shows off your skills and to get noticed for taking beautiful photos. Best of all, you don't need to be a professional photographer to do so.

People who use Instagram likes to see pretty things & create more pretty things for the world to see. Just follow these tips (and follow me!) and perhaps you will get noticed on Instagram and have your photo appear on the famed 'what's popular' page!




#1 SHOOT WITH NATURAL LIGHT
The lighting, will make or break a photo's success. When you shoot indoors or at night, you will get unfocused and grainy images – I mean, we are talking phone cameras here. Even with tungsten/white lights, your photos will have that ugly yellow/blue twinge to it. So when indoors, try to shoot next to a window. When outdoors, shooting under the direct sunlight might not be the best either, so try to shoot under a bright, shaded area.









#2 USE BLUR TO FOCUS THE ATTENTION
There's a blur feature from Instagram that is very useful. Blurring an image adds depth to your photos. For photos that have a lot of elements that makes it look very busy, blur out the noise with the blur tool. You can blur in parallel directions, creating a toy camera feel. Or you can use a circular blur to focus on just one thing. You do not have to blur the entire image, just a bit on the corners would also suffice.










#3 THE NO-FOCUS METHOD
Wait, what? But you just told me to blur and focus on one thing! Yes, but let me explain. In some situations, photos may look nicer when everything is included. For my example below, food. You can blur the rest and focus on the main food, but you can also leave it as it is, as long as you got the right composition. When taking a photo like this, you need to try a few angles and variations before you can get that perfect messy but beautiful look (sort of like messy-bed hair that sometimes look good).









#4 THE TILTED COMPOSITION
Most camwhores use this. All you need to do is focus on one thing (or yourself), and tilt the camera ever so slightly, then snap. For some reason, this tilt-tactic makes a photo a little more interesting. It can be a light tilt, or even a 90-180 degree tilt. An upside down photo has a sort of interesting appeal. But if you forgot to tilt the camera while taking the shot, you can use Instagram's built-in 'tilt' feature.









#5 HAVE A FEW GOOD PHOTO EDITING TOOLS
Before posting onto Instagram, edit your photos with a good tool. It's not cheating, it's merely enhancing your photos to look better. You can get an apps like Snapseed or Afterlight to do basic editing like brightening, adjusting the saturation and contrast. These tools will totally enhance your photos, giving it depth. I personally love Snapseed, it's the only photo editing app I have. For a more dramatic approach, apps like Pixlromatic can be used to add nice vintage light leaks and scruffy scratches to your photos. There are also a few frame apps to help you frame your photos in very interesting ways. :)






Try these out, they are easy peasy ways to create great photos!