Mina Centre Abu Dhabi

Last night I went to the Mina Centre Abu Dhabi (location hint: Mina Port, Abu Dhabi Co-op, near to ACE Hardware Mina area, Toys R Us) in search for beading tools and supplies. The bookstore, where I bought my tools before, had the small pliers good for cutting wires below 0.8mm. I found the round nose plier set there too, priced at AED30.00 or AED38.00. The only problem is, the round nose pliers are a bit bigger than the ones I have now, it is good if I had a bigger palm *grin*. They also do not sell it per piece so I would have to buy a set of four or five different round nose pliers.

The beads they have are for children craft projects. Small craft section for colourful plastic beads in boxes. Not for me at the moment unless I am conducting bead classes for young children. They also do not have wires I was looking for. I was a bit dissappointed. They have supplies for other hobbies e.g. oil paintings, clay, engravements so if you are into those, you may want to visit this bookstore.

I finally found my mini wire cutter that would cut the 0.8mm in Daiso Al Wahda mall which cost about AED14.00. Happy!

Wrapped!

I almost forgot to post this latest wrapped bead earrings I made earlier this week. I love these wrapped beads projects. Will do more of these. I used 0.6mm wire for this. White faux pearl on top and Crystal white / black bead at the bottom.

Bead Obssession

Lookie lookie what I found... new beads bought from Dragonmart. If you are new in Dragonmart Dubai and want to find beads findings and supplies, go to the GA - GB area. Find a shop called Dudu Shop or DuDu shop (these are two different shop in a same row, no kidding). You should be able to find other related shops in same row. Please try to haggle for discounts :)

This is cheaper compared to the second bead strand. This is AED20.00 a strand. It's just plastic beads in funny shapes.

These are AED50.00 a strand. Purple jade stone.

I think next time I will buy two strands of cheaper beads. I am not daring enough to mix colours and a super perfectionist but I will get there. My new list of supplies to buy include more rolls of wires and a look out for stronger wirecutter. I nearly chipped my wire cutter cutting a 0.8mm wire. Will not do it again! I used my other wire cutters now that I have extra of those from my first few attempts in tool finding in Abu Dhabi.

Last night I have separated few beads from the maroon colour beads as I have plans for them. I have made headpins but short of energy in wire cutting. Next I just need to be brave in mixing colours!  

May Bead Projects

Having to discover a new passion, I am now in need of supplies. Thanks to few expat women forums, I found an area in Madinat Zayed which has almost what I need. They are only short of 0.6mm in diameter and above crafting wires and of course tools. Findings like earring loops and hooks are there but not the right colour. Too bright, too silvery, too bling-bling. I like silver jewellery. If you happen to find this blog and want to know where to get supplies in Abu Dhabi, you can head to Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre / Gold Souk. In the Shopping Centre itself there's one shop in particular that I visited twice to get supplies. It is next to a shop called Hollywood, near the G2000 retail outlet. I should really try to remember how to get to the shop, I seem to be always walking in circles whenever I go there.

Just outside the Shopping Centre, along side the Al Jazira Hotel there's a row of shops having more supplies. Naming a few, you can try to look for Golden Thread and Al Reza Trading. Malek & Shaheed shop has good supplies for Swarovski stones. All these shops are within the same block. Park on one area and prepare to walk. If you do not mind to walk around a bit you will find interesting findings. As the largest diameter of wire I found is 0.6 mm, I have to work with that for now. I hope the shops in Dragonmart Dubai can offer better supplies.

Last night I wanted to try out making wrapped bead earrings with the wires I bought, well not bad. Just need more practice.

Wrapped bead earrings - my first attempt

I love pearls!

Trying to play with the colour blue

My Happiness Project

Have you read this book, the Happiness Project? I have not read the book myself but I found the book on the display table in Magrudy's book shop in Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi few months back. I was flipping through the synopsis and read few pages (was not planning to buy any more books that day). It is from reading that few pages of book that I have decided the 'Happiness Project' is what I would call my journey this year onwards.

I have made few list of to-dos in my project which has no timeline but will have an objective - Make Me Happy! So if it does not make me happy, it will not be in the list. Simple.

One of the projects in my list had made me really happy.

Yes, I made my first bead earrings! It even looks expensive (quoting my husband's words). One of the things that I always wanted to learn and do is making bead jewelleries. It is not easy to find the tools. Supplies are not easy to find and choices not many. Under the Summer heat, I had to plan my route on where to be dropped and picked up. I will be heading to Dragonmart, Dubai one of the coming Fridays to shop for more supplies as I was informed that there are more choices there. Hope so. If not, then online shopping we will do!

I was so happy about my first earrings I decided to make another pair. I could go on making more but having a headache and a toddler demanding for attention, certainly not easy.

My second pair of earrings looks 'ethnic' - my husband said.

I am so happy. Happiness Project is a go!

Are we there yet?

When I made that sudden move to change my career from hotelier to a normal office worker, I never expected to 'feel' myself changing as well.

Hospitality industry has always been my sandbox since I left high school. It's in my DNA. I had doubts in myself, wondered if I could survive outside my comfort zone. Adjustments in working schedule, list of duties, colleagues, office cultures and not forgetting, new friends! I have never had so many non-hospitality related friends in this country and within 3 months I have new strings of friends.

Honestly, my first three months was depressing. Doing the same routine and felt that I have not achieved anything, except the good night sleep, cooking more and of course more time with my son. Well, reading back what I typed, I did achieve what I meant to do after all. I just want to break the cycle with much more life.

As my husband pointed out, I need to reinvent myself. Be happy. Therefore, in the next coming months I look forward to reinventing 'me'.

Nope, we are not there yet.

Spa review - Gossip Day Spa / Salon, Abu Dhabi

I am not a a usual spa-goer but last December I saw a good deal on Groupon for a facial, face threading, hair mask treatment and blowdry for AED199.00 so I bought it.

Gossip Day Spa is located in Sas Al Nakhl Village, near to the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Village has a few entrances, so to find this spa you have to find the gate next to a small mosque. When you are at the gate (the security guard will stop and ask your purpose to enter) you will already see the spa signage in front of you, next to a pharmacy and Spinneys Supermarket. I have a trusted taxi driver who knows where the Village is so I am blessed.

I booked the treatment for 5pm on a Thursday (March 2012). When I entered the spa was empty, three ladies huddling at the reception counter looking at something behind the counter. I told them I was their 5 o'clock appointment and one of them quickly addressed me by my first name. Only one of them knew I was holding a voucher so she was the one pointing me where to go, where to put my stuff (I came straight from the office so I had my big sling bag and my black coat on the other arm). Did I feel welcomed? Not really. I felt rushed.

In the treatment room I was informed that I will have the face threading first. This is only my second time doing this method and the first time it was gentle and was done slowly (different salon). I still have tears streaming even though I was given this special treatment. This second time, the lady seem to ignore the fact that I was not used to this threading method. I can feel her thread was the thick type and boy, I was gripping the edge of the bed. At this point I was already sensing that this will not be an enjoyable spa experience.

The second treatment was the facial massage, done by the same staff who did my eyebrow. I told her I have my contact lenses and she said she will do gentle massage on my eyelids. The lotion or liquid she was using to massage my face was going into my nostrils and this was not comfortable at all. The massage was just okay as you can feel it was  rushed and rough.

The third treatment was the hair mask treatment. A different lady attended this treatment and she had very limited English vocabulary. She first washed my hair. Water was above warm level and for my sensitive skin it felt hot. I had to tell her twice to get the correct temperature. After washing she massaged in the hair treatment, wrapped my head with a shower cap and a towel.

The whole experience took about 2 hours and 15 mins.

Location - 4/10
Staff friendliness - 2/10
Price - 2/10
Overall experience - 2/10
Will I recommend this spa to anyone - No
Will I come back - No