10 Facts About Me | Sunny Yellow Not Mellow Blazer & High-Waist Straight Jeans

How are you doing? I hope you're having a wonderful day, whichever part of the world you're browsing from! You might be new here (did you accidentally stumble over here? Let me know how you got here) so let me introduce myself to you:

My name is Liyana Aris, I was born and bred in Malaysia (Truly Asia), and this virtual space where you're currently at is where I blog mainly about my personal modest style. Some of my regular readers (hi, you ❤) might be able to tell you that aside from style, I love to travel so I share some travel stories here as well.

PS: An extension of this introduction is on my About page.

I thought this would be a good time to share ten facts about me. No scandalous facts here though, sorry guys — no skinny-dipping fact and whatnot, just some good ol' fashioned get-to-know-me things over here!

1. I'm a middle child, sandwiched between one elder sister + one elder brother, and one younger brother + one younger sister. 

Girl, boy, girl, boy, girl. Yep, my parents hit some kind of jackpot, for sure!
Extra note: Our family has an inside joke that I have "middle child syndrome" (which I will neither deny nor confirm). I recently wrote a post about growing up around Hemophilia if you're interested to take a peep.

2. I was a pretty decent student in school but hated going almost every day. 

Even when I had my best friends as my classmates, I tried to get out of going every morning, beats me why. I scored straight A's in all the major exams throughout primary and secondary schools, except for SPM (the last, biggest school exam here in Malaysia) when I got a B in Biology. I've always had this sneaking suspicion that if I had gotten an A in Biology, my life path would have been ABSOLUTELY different than the one that I'm on now, so, no regrets on that B grade, guys!

3. I have a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. 

I actually went to Canterbury to do engineering but dropped out of the course; my interest in the subjects waned which made studying them too challenging for me. Switching to Geology made sense for my science-loving self, plus I genuinely enjoyed studying it.

4. I got married one semester shy of graduating.

Do I have regrets about losing a semester doing engineering? Absolutely zero because if it weren't for the engineering Materials course, I wouldn't have met Shah, who was a teaching assistant for that class and whom I married during my last summer vacation before graduating.

If you had told me back then, before I met Shah, that I'd be married before I finished my studies, I would've laughed in your face, probably — never occurred to me in a million years that I would be that girl who married before graduating!

5. I lived in Paris for 11 months. 

I KNOW. I mean, PARIS, can you believe it? I was pretty much speechless when Shah told me he had to go work on a project in Paris for a whole year (he went one month earlier than I did).
I knew from the get-go that after the stay ended, I will always, always not be able to fully believe I actually LIVED there — and lived the dream that so many people dream.

6. So, ahm, I've met Tim Burton. 

It was a regular movie night-out for Shah and I at Les Quatre Temps in Paris when we luckily caught the casual premiere for Frankenweenie. Also: I managed to get Tim Burton's autograph on top of telling him I love him "sooo much".

7. My most favourite movie of all-time is The Emperor's New Groove. 

Yes, the one starring Emperor Kuzco, voiced by David Spade. Am I actually 12 years old, you ask? A huge part of me very well might be! Another one of my ultimate favourite movies is the feel-good Miss Congeniality, which I feel is the epitome of female empowerment (and which I really wish is available on Netflix!).

8. I am a certified Disniac. 

I treasure many Disney-related things but I definitely have a soft spot for the Princesses; it's just something that stuck with me way past my childhood. My favourite Princess? Honestly, my answer keeps changing because I adore so many of them, but Mulan always manages to come out at the top (and yes, she IS a member of the Disney Princess gang despite not being an actual princess).

9. I live between two cities currently.

After I came back from New Zealand, Shah and I lived in the hometown I grew up in as it was near where he worked, but almost two years ago his job took him to a town that's four and a half hours' drive south from our home so we now constantly shuttle between the two places at least every other week, and we try to visit his parents every month (who live nine hours of driving away up north, so flying is necessary).

It can all get pretty exhausting but we've had so many blessings to complain too much!

10. I've loved styling myself since I was in kindergarten.

I have my mom to thank for this; I remember her putting me in beautiful pouffy dresses, frilly socks and pretty ribbons in my hair really early on. She did the same for my sisters but I end up being the one who enjoyed dressing up the most and developed a real affinity for style. One kindergarten outfit that stood out in my mind: a Ninja Turtles tee, short pleated skirt and a pair of — get this — suspenders.
Seriously, if I see a girl walking around in that outfit now I'd think, dang, that's one stylish little lady!

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My love for dressing up continues, with a lot of experiments in between; some successful ones with many, many failed ones. I started this blog originally as an outlet for makeup but then decided to steer it in the direction of my true passion: style.

Now that you know me a little better, I hope you'll continue coming back to see more stuff from me! But before I end this post, let me say a few words about this outfit here: I just appreciate this sunny yellow not mellow blazer so much. It makes such a fun addition to my blazer collection so I'm looking forward to styling it not with jeans next time.
PS: Styling ideas are welcomed!

Wearing: Topshop yellow blazer  |  Adidas floral t-shirt  |  Zara high-waist straight jeans  |  Zara suede mules  |  Topshop chain bag