Salam to everyone.

All my successes had been built on my failures – Benjamin Disraeli

Days gone by. I came to realize that May is almost at it’s end. By starting off mumbling regarding what had happened to me in the past few weeks is plain boring. Let the quote above reflects something out about ourselves. I have something else in mind.

Alhamdulillah business had been tremendously good. I can’t thank Allah enough, for His endless bless, His guidance and rahmat. Alhamdulillah. Rough patches arose every now and then but the power of tawakal had been doing it’s magic. Beyond any available prowess made achievable by men, somehow we slipped. Sometimes we forgot. But we can’t put Him aside. Trust me. He scrutinizes every un-uttered lines, every whispers in our little hearts.

For this perfect fates, I thank Him. For this gracious bliss, I thank Him. I can get very misty-eyed whenever I brought this subject up. I guess Maher Zain’s Thank you Allah will somehow describe my soul as per se.

Countless ni’mat, how should I express those in words. His gifts had never failed to surprise me. At times I thought I needed my friends to support my downs, they were not here. And I don’t blame them either, I hadn’t been there for them all the time as well. At times I thought I would cut off some ties over something which happened to be what matters most to me at the moment, Allah lose them all for good. My life had been miraculously happier without them around. Strange, but true. We just need to view it as a third party, insyaAllah, without hesitation, we’ll know what’s good and better Allah had in store for us.

I am forever seeking His bless. May WE ALL forever be under His bless.

Has He counts my thanks in? I never think it will be enough.

I’ll be posting some good news, insyaAllah, very very soon.

Best regards.

If I can freely  put into words what I have in mind right now,  this is going to be another long and (as always) very boring post.

Salam to everyone.

Weekends had been busy. Nothing unusual happened. MaulidurRasul (a day that marked Prophet Muhammad’s PBUH birthday) was celebrated on Friday; while in while the world is still looking pretty much the same. The end of it is nearing, yet, they have no fear.  Or shall I say they’ve forgotten how to feel the ‘fear’. They recited selawat with great enthusiasm. But they neglected the rest of the Rukun Islam. They talked about how great His Prophet was in leading the ummah, how undeniably courageous and  soft  He was in person. But they still don’t  listen to rakyat. As a matter of fact, our rights were denied, especially when poor people were concerned. They faked the empathy. Sad. But it’s true.

I never compromise hypocrisy. I never do.

By telling my heart out won’t do the justice. I did not come from a filthy rich family. But we’ve been fine. Thanks to Allah’s endless rahmat, we managed, by far, to live the life everybody’s envy of (literally speaking). I pulled the strength (thanks to Allah again), persevering my way through any obstacles, toughening myself while in while keeping up with endless challenges that come along the way. I don’t think I will give up that easily now.

I know and HE knows how hard I’ve worked.

I know and HE knows how badly I wanted this business to succeed.

I know and HE knows what I had had for dinners for the past 18 months.

HE knows. And HE had been with me all along.

I might get a little emotional now.

Oh my~

I don’t ask them to play God. I just hate their fake smiles.

As I’ve mentioned above, I never compromise hypocrisy.

When I was hesitating to jump into the water [starting off my business], no one cares. No one was there to teach me how to swim [piece of advice]. No one was there to watch my back [courageous words]. No one was there to offer me a float [funds and capital]. Most of them were discouraging me to swim [ laugh behind my back].

But the great Muhammad PBUH had leaved a very good track of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge.

And Allah had clearly described the power of tawakal. Plus how much HE mentioned how HE loves hamba-hambaNya yang bekerja keras.

And so I jumped.

Then I got almost drowned [ setback ], swallowed a lot of water [obstacles], I cried for help [ I mean, real help]. But no one come to my rescue [ I was downgraded, misjudged and manipulated].

But then again,  Muhammad PBUH the prophet had thought the ummah the meaning of patience and perseverance. And ALLAH had promised handsome rewards for those who did.

And so I swam further. From dog paddling to butterfly stroke, I can even now dream of winning an Olympic medal!

Thanks to my Creator and His beloved prophet. Thanks to dear family and friends.

But thanks not to them.

Again, I never compromise hypocrisy.

This is the wrong time for you to show up with your yacht or even a banana boat and offer me a ride.

So, so wrong.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Oh Lord, lead us to the correct path. And bless Your endless love upon Muhammad PBUH. May His spirit will shine in us all. Amin.”

D A U L A T  T U A N K U =)

TM : Hari tu ada persembah kek kan? Waktu pertabalan?

SM : Hmm, ada Tuanku, ada.. Hehe.

TM : Kat mana bakery ni?

SM : Kat Ampang Tinggi Tuanku.

TM : Ohh.. Ada jumpa anak saya kan hari tu?

SM : Hmm..

TM : Anak saya, Tunku Besar (YAM Tunku Ali). Ada jumpa kan kat luar istana hari tu?

SM : Ohh, haa.. ya Tuanku.. ada.. ada..*sangat nervous*

TAA : Hari tu fruit cake, ni kek apa pula dear?

SM : Carrot cake Tuanku =)

TM : Terima kasih. Come, ambil gambar.

Ok, to tell you the truth, I was floating in the air! The moment Tuanku Muhriz spoke to me was the moment I knew my tears will stroll down my cheek with no obvious reason why. Fortunately, it didn’t happen =) And at time when Tuanku mentioned my previous cake was unbelievable!

I can’t believed HRH still remember my small cake

Selamat Hari Keputeraan yang ke-62 Tuanku Muhriz

Semoga Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku dan Tuanku Ampuan.

Salam to all..

It’s going to be a very quick post. I finally had been adapted well with the condition of not living with a laptop, a handphone which running out of memory (and seriously lack of appealing appearance!) and decent meals made deliciously by mak will take months to fill in my hungry stomach again.

Missing mak and ayah (euuuww!!)

Period.

And last but not least, I’ll be uploading a VERY NICE picture very soon.

It was taken during Hari Keputeraan Duli Yang Maha Mulia, Yang DiPertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir on January 14th! Oh! Happy!

Wait for my next post! Till then, best regards =)

Salam to all.

Wow.. Lama sangat dah tak tulis blog. Feels like forever! Nak type down pun rasa sangat lembab ni!

It’s been two weeks without a single post. Kerja masih banyak. Tapi alhamdulillah. Ever since operating from LemonVanilla’s Bakery, everything had been working out so well ( I lied, ok!). But nevertheless, despite my never-ending works, I enjoyed fulfilling clients’ demands and orders. Although sometimes I screamed (inside!) for those late orders, God still gave the courage to be patience and considerate. OH! Please, try to understand me this time. I had my working hours fixed, even most of the time, I did have to stay back until late at nights. Things did change and they required a lot of readjustments. We need at least 5 days in advance for any orders, especially the ones regarding weddings and engagements.  Hmm..

But anyway, I need to finish up some paperwork. Family and friends, thank you for the support. Clients, we are here to celebrate every bite of life. Call and make advance appointments. We never like to turn you down.

And here goes some pictures taken from our Yaasin’s recital majlis.

Adakah ini spokeperson LemonVanilla ^_^?

My eldest sister with Amir.

My beloved ayah, Tn Haji Sulaiman Ismail (R).

Beloved mak, with orang pangkal, my adik!

Antara tetamu-tetamu yang hadir. Terima kasih daun keladi

All the way datang dari Ampang! Semangat nak sign guest book! TQ for coming, JK!

And last but not least, sekitar Majlis Hi-Tea Lembaga Kebajikan Perempuan Islam Malaysia yang diadakan pada 12 Disember lalu di Seremban. Let the pictures do the work la ye!

Kek terbesar dalam sejarah LV

Kerusi kuning itu….

Kek kuning itu..

Dif- dif kehormat

According to plan, the cake was supposed to be the officiating cake.. but then, ditukar jadi kek untuk auction.. First donor was YM Tuanku Ampuan Najihah;

Dan penyumbang- penyumbang seterusnya..

Pembida terakhir, a doctor, who then give back the cake to be distributed to all of the guests. Sungguh baik hati!

At the end, the amount of money collected through auctioning was RM580!! I was so thrilled!!

With Tengku Mariam, Aini and some other guests. Thank you so much for this rare and special opportunity!

I am going to have a very busy day tomorrow.

Untuk warga Kuala Pilah/Seremban, please feel free to come over to LemonVanilla Bakery. Berhadapan Pusat Pertanian Ampang Tinggi, Jalan Kuala Pilah-Seremban. Kami kini beroperasi setiap hari, 7 pagi hingga 6 petang.

Best regards

In short, this is going to be a long post.

I was thinking of starting off a new blog, the one where I can pour my heart out instead of blabbing them here. Emotions had run high in these past few weeks. A lot of things had happened and that included today.

Let pictures do the talking. An avid reader had scolded me for not uploading pictures as promised. Sorry. Time had really taken it’s toll this time around.

Kek hantaran.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri’s cake. I know. It was almost 2 months ago

Carrot  banana walnut cake with cream cheese topping.

Manhattan chocolate cheese brownies.

Tiramisu

Chocolate banana cake

Favourite order, Aquarium Birthday Cake.

Tiramisu, up-closed.

Black forest cheesecake

Balloons birthday cake. Very suitable for kids

Marble cheesecake

Ok, a few more afterward.

I already moved out to a new place, located in Ampang Tinggi, Kuala Pilah. It was a perfect, house-like bakery, which I happened to love instantly.

Front view of LemonVanilla Bakery. Yeay!

Inside view of the production area

My office

Somehow, after 1 year officially of working from home, we managed to move out on 19th of November ( which clearly make my mom very very happy since our kitchen is now VERY spacious) and did my last mass production from home yesterday. We had a Yaasin’s recital ceremony at our new place today, had a huge number of clients, friends and relatives turned out, and my parents looked happier than ever. I hope I have made them proud.

Alhamdulillah. Somehow He answered my prayers.

And these are another strings of my proudest moments, capturing pictures of Negeri Sembilan’s football team during their visit to Kuala Pilah

Ponek nak sign macam ni

Anyway and anyhow, I know the cake was simple (pardon me, I didn’t take a pic) but I hope those football players loved it. Tahniah jang!~ sincerely from LemonVanilla Bakery, tanpa ada maksud tersembunyi!

Muka excited~! Weeeee!

Then, a few more pictures (oh, sudah penat lagi mengantuk)

Blueberry chocolate ice cream cake

More or less the same. blueberry cake.

Book-like birthday cake

Thank you, Jabatan Agama Kuala Pilah

Manhattan chocolate cheese brownies, lagi

Marble cheesecake, lagi juga

Chocolate cheesecake with chocolate ganache.

Thank you Miss Fauzana of UiTM Kuala Pilah. Congrates on the engagement!

And last but not least, classic cheesecake.

To all clients, thank you so much for your endless support. Please feel free to visit LemonVanilla Bakery, located in front of Pusat Pertanian Ampang Tinggi, Kuala Pilah.

To that mysterious stalker, I hope you enjoy these pictures

And not to forget, Tengku Tina of Istana Besar Seri Menanti; thank you for that much-awaited phone call I really hope to serve HH in the near future

When I come to think about it, I should just had my rest and forget the world’s content. Today had been hectic. But since I had a few cups of coffee since morning, I can’t barely sleep. Fatigue but awake. Still had a long to-do-list tomorrow. Notice how inalert I was when I realized I didn’t trademark my pictures..

Naahh.. nevermind-lah!~

Best regards everyone. Good night

p/s : I love our new place. It’s located just opposite the main road of Seremban-Kuala Pilah. At least I can sometimes see TAR speeding on the road with His sunglasses on! 

Pardon my grammar~! I haven’t sleep in the past 20 hours~

It’s the time of the year when embarrassment is toying with myself.

Time to knock some great senses back into my head, send wishful hopes and thoughts out so that God can listen and angels can smile.

Yesterday was my birthday. But why am I feeling ashamed?

I had no ulterior intention of down-siding the true meaning of a birthday celebration. Very selfish of me when I personally think that birthday is just another mark of a year full of mistakes and honors, plus with anything else in between. A birthday is just another day. A day to make a great muhasabah of oneself, whatever one had achieved and one did not.

A day to mark an additional digit to your age. A day to realize you’re growing older and ponder if you have what it takes to diligently bring yourself out in the real world for at least another year.

A day to try not to cry for all the things you wished you shouldn’t do in the past 365 days.

A day that leaves you with an unenviable question, how come your friends can remember your birthday and took sometime off to write down those heart-warming wishes while you on the other hands, did not do the same?

Why?

I hate to admit I never really like to celebrate mine. It shows the bad side of me. But it shouldn’t be comprehend that others feel the same way too.

Some people just happened to enjoy their birthdays to the fullest. And I should learn how to remember theirs despite how busy and hectic life I may be having, through out the next whole year..and more years to come, right?

Somehow, tears stung my eyes. For all His bless, for all this super great family, for all my  fantastic friends, for all amazing clients; I hope they understand my flaws at ease and forgive me for all my wrongdoings.

Ayah, I enjoyed watching endless football matches with you. Screaming in joy, exchanging high fives, curses and praises; these are what made us a perfect companion for each other. A match is not worth watching without you by my side. Afterall, love is a verb. I don’t know how to tell you how much I love you but I know, somehow, deep down inside, you’d understand that you mean the world to me. Thanks for this sepet eyes, thanks for igniting the passion for football in me. Thanks for those hugs and words of wisdom. Thanks for trusting in me. Thanks for those countless support. Thanks for those breakfasts and lunches and dinners while in while it should have been a part of my duty as a daughter to you. Thanks for remembering my favourites. And the most important thing of all, thank you for understanding me. Thank you for all those chances you asked me to seize. I love you ayah. So much.

Mak, this road I’m taking is undeniably honey-combed with great pain. I stumbled, I fell and I learn not to weep. The only thing that keeps me running is your faith in me. Even at my lowest point of life, you’re still here to sing me lullabies and cheer me up with your voices from heaven. Did I make you proud? Can I still be able to make you prouder?

For your extreme patience, thank you. For your perfect judgment and sensible chants, for those unconditional love and affection, for your endless support and profundities; I humbly thank you. I can’t ask Allah for a greater gift than you. I love you mak. So much.

To my great clan; shoot me for I’ve been a great pain in the ass. Slap me for I’ve been messing our perfect little house with my things. Punch me for I had sometimes being boastful and proud over these few victories. Scold me after all my wrongdoings, congenital habits and unintentionally hurtful words. Do whatever you wish you want to, but I will never stop thanking Him for giving me a group of sincere yet outspoken critics. I will never stop loving you for all those bittersweet times we shared as we grew up. And I will never forget your beautifully phrased praises for all things I’ve managed to achieve by far. Sisters and bro, I love you so much.

Supportive friends and creditable clients, you have a special place in my heart where He knows what I’ve been praying out for all this while.The world may sometimes be ruthless. The people may somehow turn toxic and poisonous. But I do hope you can bear with me. I may forget more birthdays, I may even forget some names. But I pray so hard so that those encouraging words and ripple of pride will stay vivid in my memory. I love you guys. So much.

Ya Allah, thank you for all those lessons of life. Thank you for another great year I had lived on. Thank you for Your bless. Thank you for making my dreams came true. Thank you for Your trials and tests. Thank you so much dear God. Lead us all to the correct path.

Gosh, it’s more like a prolix already!

Take care all.

Endless love,

SITI MUNIRAH SULAIMAN

Salam everyone.

These pics were meant to be uploaded last week, but then again, I know, it’s sounded more boring than ever whenever I mention the phrase ‘I was busy’, again. Good that these pics can tell stories, too. I’ll be uploading more, soon.

The inside view of Crystal Seafood Cafe’s exclusive dining area.

Up-close, but overall, this cafe has an inviting atmosphere which I found very hard to resist to dine-in! And how much I wish for a shooting star, Kuala Pilah will have one of this, right here, in the near future.

*Mana jutawan-jutawan Pilah?*

Anyway, the 3rd shipping is due soon. New cakes, fabuluos brownies. What’s left to be done is to have your teeth sunk them in.

Enjoy. And thanks for your endless support

November’s here. Amazing things had happened throughout the past few weeks. I can hardly catch my breath.

As days go by, I’m missing my parents terribly. Problems did arise from each corner of my indisputably busy life, despite how I wish I could handle things one time at a time. Somehow I wish I could board the first flight heading north tomorrow. The feeling of longing to be consoled is hardly deniable, even at the age of almost 23. Hurmm~

It’s about time to be in state of super-busy. I might not have those ample time like I used to have, blogging and updating myself with latest posts from my favourite bloggers. Somehow I swore to fully make use of my time, but along the way, distractions cross my path Prioritizing had definitely smote me. Maybe some time off work would do wonders.

The good news is, now Klang Valley’s residents can savour LemonVanilla’s cakes and tortes @ Crystal Seafood Cafe, No 3099, Jalan Cengal Selatan, Setapak Garden, KL These include classic cheesecake, tiramisu and almond chocolate torte. And if I’m not mistaken, some cake supplies were also distributed to this cafe’s second outlet in Putrajaya’s Precint 15, nearby Mydin. Enjoy!

p/s : it’s a fairytale, because I never thought I could supply LemonVanilla’s cakes to KL within such a very short period of operating~ Thank you Mr Nazlan of Crystal Teamtrade Sdn Bhd. It’s a dream come true

Salam and a great, great hello to everyone.

I’ve been in a great spirit. Regarding on one big project I’ve mentioned in the previous post, I managed to pull it through with an awful lot of difficulties. But first, sembah takzim dan tahniah buat Ke Bawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir upon His Highness installation as the 11th Yamtuan of Negri Sembilan. As a Negri native, I felt extremely proud and grateful Daulat Tuanku!!

As how anyone would put it, success never come overnight. Lucky is not accidental. And failure is not an option.

I’ve decided to choose victory, despite the dear price that I have to pay. Failures came and went as they pleased but I looked up at them as opportunities to learn something new. I might be very much inexperienced (as how some of my lecturers put it), I might as well learned everything the hard way. But I know, somehow, I’ve made my mind. I know what I want and where I am heading.

(Mr. XX, thank you for the irresistible offer, but no, I don’t want to be a pastry chef~)

There’s a long way to go, though.

But Alhamdulillah. Patience pays it’s price. Everytime I come to think about it, I wished I could do a little bit better, a little bit faster, a little bit nicer; a little bit more of everything. But nope, Allah had wrote my path according to His plan. The timing is just perfect. Just perfect.

With so many dreams in one hand and tireless effort in the other, growing up with supportive family and friends is a huge rahmat. I might weep and smile all at the same time, but for those who know me better, I wouldn’t be able to stand this tall without their support. Unintentionally done, I might forget an awful lot of birthdays, missed a handful of gatherings, weddings and God-knows what else, but please remember one thing; I never missed praying for everybody’s good health and prosperous life, every single day.

I know this journey might ruin a few bonds.

And I couldn’t do anything about it.

To those who understood, thank you.

*****************************************************************************

One of my 100-things-to-do-before-I-die-list had come true.

#17 Serve my cake to a King.

It’s been a great year.

Even I’ve accomplished #5 Watch MU plays in front of my bare eyes. And a few more of #’s [ of which I couldn't spare the details, yet ]. But anyhow, all praises to Allah for this bless. Alhamdulillah..

Till then, have faith in yourself. Do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams. Impossible is indeed, nothing. You need to stumble before you can run.

Best regards

p/s : A huge thanks to Tengku Tina of Istana Besar Seri Menanti for making one of my biggest dream come true. To my dear friends; Aini, Along, Syikin, Fifa and Nadiah, what would I be without you guys. Last but not least, Kak Lin, for all those encouraging words. Thanks a lot.

Honoured : With YAM Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz and friends.