My Very Own Customized 'Cunli' Tote Bag

Back to not being able to remember when was the last time I dressed up like this, but not like it's that big of a concern! To those who are not living in Malaysia — and do not follow NatGeo's account on Instagram — Malaysia's Covid cases has been through the roof. Embarassingly so, may I add. Let's just say whoever wrote the caption in that NatGeo post on Malaysia's handling of the pandemic did a good job summing things up, so feel free to take a peek at that post.

So yes, coming back to my first sentence in this post, Malaysians are yet again stuck in another full lockdown (well, full-ish *eye-rolling inevitable here*). I'm not complaining about the lockdown; it's really more about the mess done that led to it. The current situation hardly affects me negatively but sadly so many people are. I watched a clip today from a news outlet about how there are about 500 people rendered homeless in JB from the pandemic, which of course must mean there are many others in cities around Malaysia who are in the same boat as those unfortunate people. My heart goes out to them, and I pray they would be given the help that they need. I also want to acknowledge our heroic frontliners, who are not having the easiest time doing their job but do so anyway with dedication.

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OK, I know it's a bit moot to even talk about my outfit here, but I'm hoping you would be alright with me utilizing my space here to share with you some pieces of updates about wee ol' me. It's been a while since I last updated my blog as some of you may have noticed. My family and I are thankfully doing fine amidst all of what's going on (and some of us have received our first dose of vaccines too — big plus!) but that's not to say we don't have our own personal struggle. I haven't been in the right headspace to update The Good Weekender because I've been taking care of one of my furbabies, who is not well. 

The fact that we're in a lockdown has made me sometimes anxious thinking about not being able to visit the specialist vet we've been going to for months since my furbaby was diagnosed, as it requires district border-crossing, hence not allowed currently in the lockdown. Most of my energy is going to caring for my baby.

I contemplated writing anything here but I actually edited these photos weeks and weeks ago, and am reminded of them again, so I think it's a good time to finally post them. 

I miss my family who I haven't seen in more than half a year, and I especially miss seeing my mom and dad. My sweet thoughtful mom ordered customized tote bags for her three daughters and she posted this customized "Cunli" tote bag alongside some clothes from my old house months ago. "Cunli" is, by the way, what my nephew and niece call me. (They call Shah "Caca".) 

I remember being so happy taking the tote bag out for a spin on this day! It wasn't even like Shah and I were doing anything extra special on the day but it was nice to dress up just a bit (not pictured: the mandatory mask on before and after the shoot!). I wanted the bag to be the star here so I decided on a black theme, but throwing in the sweet red floral print courtesy of this dress as well. I'm really just a sucker for shapeless maxi dresses such as this, especially the ones that have an interesting print on.

Wearing: Zara floral maxi dress & sock boots

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These photos were taken before the current lockdown and I'm not going to lie, I'm very much looking forward to the day when I could dress up like this again because that would mean the moment for normalcy would be back when we could all thrive again in the physical presence of our loved ones, and things will be better for everyone with the hopes of job security and a warm place to go back to at the end of the day, all secured. Hopefully.

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Stay safe and take care good care of yourself, peeps. Until my next post ❤