affordorable

It's been a week since I last blogged but not intentionally, though. I'm experiencing problems with my laptop's power button (it's dying on me nooooo), total Blogger's accessibility (I chalked it up to China's Internet cencorship), my VPN, and even the hotel's internet. It gets frustrating but I every time I tell myself I'm in Shanghai, I brush off my social media and World Wide Web concerns and think of the blessings instead. 


Still, I'd like to apologise for not being able to update my blog. Also, just as a warning: my laptop might just fail on me soon, so just in case if I don't come out with new posts after this (or the one after that, or the one after), it'll be from the lack of having an actual working laptop, most probably!

Shah and I just got back from our little adventure in Beijing over the weekend but for now I want to share the outfit I wore to Shanghai Disneyland last weekend. It was exhilarating to be able to visit my third Disneyland (!!!), always a place that I feel truly fits its "The Happiest Place On Earth" slogan! I wish I had some Disney-inspired outfit to wear but since I didn't, I made do with this cosy golden-mustard sweater, these dark navy blue pinstriped pants—which, aside from the colour, are identical to these grey ones!—and my favourite tan varsity-style coat that I bought in Tokyo last year.

I brought my favourite shades with me (worn here) and was like "All SET" but surprise surprise, I caved after seeing those aviator shades with a tiny Minnie bow on them, then promptly made them the accessory of the day.

On top of the shades, Shah and I had done some little shopping prior to taking these photos and luckily Shanghai Disneyland had a special offer in celebration of International Women's Day: shop and get the cutest Mickey-print backpack for a mere 50 yuan, which is like RM 35 or less than 10 USD—a complete bargain, and so handy to carry all our shoppings!

You'd think wearing a hijab would mean I don't need the help of a beanie to keep my head warm, but nooooooo. God knows why; my body strangely loves distributing heat to the outer environment!

PS: Shah is always worried sick at how icy cold my feet can get but they are almost the norm for me whenever I'm in cold weathers — always been that way, since I studied in Christchurch. Does that happen to you guys as well?

I've mentioned the debunked myth that most heat leaves through your head (supposedly 20% of body heat, but it's not true!), but I'm pretty sure a lot does leave through my feet — and then an additional 10% of whatever remaining heat flows away from my head.

Hence, me needing a beanie (and thick socks of course), so thankfully I brought my trusty cat-ears beanie on this trip, that I first wore in Tokyo.


You might have checked out the grey coat Shah bought for me but this navy blue bomber jacket from Zara was my chosen one. I don't think navy blue is anyone's go-to colour but I personally love it; somehow I feel like the colour has always suited my complexion, as weird as that sounds. I also wanted a waterproof jacket so getting this jacket was a no-brainer, plus the padding really does keep me extra warm and cosy (albeit only from the hips up).


Pairing the jacket with pinstripe pants that I got on sale from a local brand (a local brand, YES!) and I also nicked Shah's Adidas t-shirt to go with it. Not my usual look but this whole garb feels a little androgynous and kind of cool (to me, at least), but I can't decide if those cat-ears are bringing the "hip" factor down a bit...or perhaps raising it? Not that it matters either way, because it's a constant cosy presence on my head here in Shanghai, and cosy is what really matters right now.

I love how these neat flower beds are scattered throughout the city, like this one near People's Park; I'm really looking forward to seeing more flowers blooming in Shanghai spring!


The Shanghai Marriage Market is the one attraction that fascinates me the most — although, it's probably crude (and rude, perhaps) of me to call it "an attraction" since obviously the locals seem to take it seriously, but there's no denying how the weekly event has turned into a sight for tourists. Middle-age men and women and even older ones advertise information of their younger offspring on a piece of paper and stick it to the top of the umbrella, or laminate it and place it on the steps, in the hopes to find a mate for the younger 'uns.

Shah found one "ad" written in English, where we could immediately know details about the person: sex, age, education, job, height, weight. Some ads even have pictures of them!


In my Instagram post I mused out loud if these children grant permission to be advertised so publicly but after reading a couple of articles about the market, it doesn't seem that way. It's part of the culture here I suppose, for the older generation to place such worry on the the single status of their children or grandchildren. It makes me wonder how long this market that started in 2004 will last, and how successful their endeavours have been so far.



People's Park is quite vast so there are other things to check out too; I saw a mini funfair but people-watching is probably the most interesting thing to do here! There's a section where people were playing mahjung (I assumed it's mahjung), and there was someone doing tai-chi (OK, not tai-chi, but something more badass I think) and being recorded.

We did more on this Saturday, which I'll share in my next Photo Diary post! I also share little bits of my Shanghai experience on my Instagram so if you haven't followed me, do give @theliyanaaris a follow!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading through this, guysss, I hope you enjoyed looking at these photos  XXOO

Before I travel to anywhere, I always make sure to check the general upcoming temperature of the place I'm visiting, just so that I could have a better idea of what to bring. Well, somewhat of a better idea, I should say, because this time I made the mistake of bringing only one proper winter coat. I mean, one!!! You'd think this was my first time ever travelling...


Like I mentioned in my Put A Robe On It post, I honestly thought it would be slightly warmer. I did pack enough heat techs and thicker sweaters to help me cope with the cold but I can't just go on for one whole month with just one coat, can I? (Also, imagine how boring my outfits posts would be if they all feature the same outer-wear...)


As much as I would've liked to buy something from a local brand here, I ended up choosing favourites from my regularly frequented high-street stores; I found a waterproof navy winter bomber jacket from Zara but Shah reeeaaally was a fan of this grey coat from Bershka, which he ended up buying for me as well. I'm not that into greys usually but Shah made a really strong case for it. (Besides, as much as I dress for myself, I also like my man thinking I look cute, can you blame me?)
As it turns out, this jacket, which covers my neck and chin when zipped all the way up, served me really well the other night when we went to watch Logan at a nearby cinema late at night when it was getting windy, so thanks Shehhh XXXOOO

Underneath the coat is the slip dress I wore for my birthday dinner earlier this year with the leopard-print multicoloured top, and this simple long-sleeved t-shirt with exaggerated long sleeves by Zara (so handy at keeping my hands warmer!).

I experienced uncomfortable, strained eyes for the past couple of months and suspected my eyes' power shifted, which in my mind usually mean one thing: new frames opportunity YESSS.
Obviously the more practical route to take is to just add in new prescription lenses into whatever current frames I use but as much as I loved the one I got in Tokyo, I was ready for a fresh change in my daily glasses look.
Also, fortunately for me, the shop I went to got my glasses ready just in time for my Shanghai trip!


Aviator-style glasses are now on-trend again and I for one could not have been more excited, because I think they make wearing glasses feels less of a chore and wayyy more fun. I remember gazing wistfully at photos of my mom and dad when they were young adults, looking nonchalantly hip and super, super cool in their bell-bottoms and aviator glasses. The moment I put them on it was like "YAS I look like Mak and Bapak circa 70s this is the dream."

I get that this choice of style is going to be slightly scandalous and certainly not everyone's cup of tea (the aviator shape will grow on my siblings, I'm positive about it!). I'm going to tell you outright though: no one's opinion matter, as I am SO PLEASED to tell you that my mom loved the look on me.
More importantly? I love it on me. Plus, I'm not going to lie, I think they're kind of freakin' stylish, and I don't hesitate to wear them out at all—a far sentiment from "2015 Liyana". Major brownie points: love how the aviator frame suits my usual makeup!

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I usually get my outfit shots taken on weekends because my "photographer" has a full-time 8-5 job (sorry, just had to air-quote my main bae the engineer's unwanted second job) but since I love this fuzzy cardi so much (see here and here) I asked Shah to shoot it in this well-lit mall in the East Nanjing area. Shooting indoor usually result in weirdly lit photos—like these here, as a matter of fact—but I'm glad the photos turn out OK after editing them.