life.....N everything in it!

Tee-pee weekend!

2011-05-03T10:53:00.005+08:00

I know I haven't written bout Kyra's 5th birthday and many others, but pleaseeeeee.......lemme start with whatever that's on top of my head now, okie? :D Thanks!

So, last weekend was another long weekend since 1st May aka Labour's Day fell on a Sunday, Monday became a public holiday here! So, the Thursday before weekend arrived, I suddenly got inspired to finally get down to making the TEE-PEE that I've planned since 2010! So, off I went to the hardware store to get 5x 8' long wooden dowel (that were later cut down to just 7'). The other 'ingredients' were ready-stock @home anyway.....hehe....

I was determined to get it done in time to kick off our long weekend with lotsa 'faux-camping' fun with the babes....coz I knew they would be thrilled.......so, spent the whole long afternoon measuring, planning, cutting, sewing.......assembling...............Tadaaaaa!!!! DONE on time.....PHEW!

I remembered we have their now-unused baby cot mattress in the storage room....complete with comfy soft jersey fitted sheet :O oooooooo.........so, I pulled that one out of hiding......and quickly put together THIS "scene" below......right before the babes got back from school that Friday afternoon!
Wooo...I tell you, they were excited alright! And I thought, might as well do an impromptu family 'BBQ cook-out' that evening itself! So we took out whateva food that's BBQ-able from the fridge, set up a last minute BBQ pit using a wide and low flower pot (BAD BAD idea I tell you, I think the heat cracked the pot a little...LOL! but other than that, the BBQ was a success I tell you!)

These 'grilled' tomatoes were SUPER yummy!!! So yummy I didn't have to persuade Kyra to eat her matoes!!!! Ok, here's how you do it........season the tomato slices with salt, pepper and Olive oil! That's it......BBQ it a little....and you'll get these very sweet, tasty tomato slices!!! MUST TRY!
And that night, we really 'camped' in the tent! But of course, mid sleep, I had to transfer myself to the daybed coz Gosh! It was kinda horrible sleeping without a mattress...LOL! But what's important is, the babes, especially Kyra really enjoyed the whole tee-pee & cookout weekend!

Sorry Blog! I've neglected U!

2011-05-03T09:42:00.003+08:00

it's been months since I last found time to write here.......and all the while feeling guilty, somehow I still couldn't find time to stop by......SHORRRYYYYYY!!!! but hey, I am BACK! (hopefully for good?!)

There's actually tooooooo many things I wanna record down HERE, for sharing, for memory-safekeeping purposes.....no, I'm not losing my mind yet......It's just that when you have a family, especially 2 wonderful babes that are growing up sooooo fast day by day......with so many chores in hand to do, you tend to forget details.....especially details of small cute things.....such as funny innocence spoken by the babes for example......it's the little things really......and that is actually the main reason I started this blog!

Anyways, I'll try to keep up with the MANY MANY backdated UNposts.......(I 'posted' em in my head....but my head is not linked directly here....so, there goes....) :D

ok, BRB! lemme compile, and prep the photos before I start typing away.......you know I love having loadsa piccies in my description of anythings........who doesn't?

Case of Danielle: the child who was 'broken' by an 'unlucky' mother?

2011-01-13T09:00:00.003+08:00

Just last week, I (yes, I, me) heard from mum about a fren's baby who was left crying non stop upstairs at the babysitter's place, till a nebor had to call the babysitter up to 'alert' her! gosh, i fear for the baby, man!

Read it here: Child found living like an animal!

read paragraph 9 from the link above, OMG! and her mother FEELS she's a victim of BAD LUCK! HUH!!!! being a responsible parent requires no good luck, just love and effort, some people are just so full of sh*t!
(sorry, but i really can't stand ppl who blames things on bad luck!)

On Oprah, the story here!

Reading the articles is nothing compared to watching Danielle on video, the way she eats? she stuffed her mouth full with food coz she doesn't know when will her next meal be.....and she's functioning like a toddler when she should be doing what a 9 year old does!

Random Rat!

2010-12-10T17:19:00.001+08:00

when Z was a lil boy, he carried an umbrella to shade a rat (that was trapped in the cage) from dying under the hot sun. N this a.m, while driving, he suddenly swerved his car to avoid running into a rat who was running past the road! I looked at him with disbelief, then broke laughing when i remembered the umbrella story that MIL told me about! (coincidentally, he was born in the Rat year too!) :P

Surprise Vs Shock

2010-10-22T09:53:00.002+08:00

i personally think life with surprises are more colorful.....it gets routine and bland when there's no more surprises, doesn't it? By surprise, I mean good ol surprise, coz I don't call a bad surprise a surprise, I call it "shock"...LOL!

But the worst thing would be, when an incident that's supposed to be a bit of a shock to me didn't even shock me at all....ahhh......that's a pretty bad thing, I'd say!

20.10.2010

2010-10-20T22:47:00.005+08:00

today is my little pipo's 3rd birthday.....and yes, I do realize I haven't been able to post a single word for the past 35 days or so! *GASPSSSS* yesh, time do fly by FAST when you're super busy. No doubt about that!

Ok, I will write about the past happenings in the last month after this post (ie. if I can still recall them at all), but today is special....a very beautiful date..... 20.10.2010, Maia's birthday, so, I told myself I MUST MAKE TIME to write....
Obviously that's the birthday cake I made for her...you can see the details here! :) This one's for her to celebrate it at school with her classmates. And this (below) is the 'Goodie Cup' for em! Those who know Z and I would already knew we wouldn't serve kids junk food or the usual party packs.....And I decided to do PERCY instead of THOMAS (from Thomas & Friends?) coz I think Thomas is just overrated....just google...and you'll see every Thomases imaginable! LOL!
Anyway, back to the birthday babe.....well, all I could sum up is, I'm very thankful to have her...she reflects me in many ways, the good and the badssss, of course. When my youngest sis saw her birthday cake photo today, she commented in my FB saying: "she's only THREE?????"
Coz honestly, her acts, attitude and speech, way supercede her tiny age! She speaks like a granny most times! And she started talking since err.... 10 mths old? Yeap, she's been talking for that longg.....I guess that's also why we felt she should be older than just THREE! Haha!

She's very naughty, unlike big sis Kyra.....she's also more demanding and bossy, not to mention dominating! Hmmphh!!!! She can melt your heart with her grin and flick of words 'tailored' to please and win you over! That's why she's the popular one with our relatives and friends.... :P

tbc tomorrow....sleepy germs attacked!

The SURPRISE is this!

2010-09-15T16:36:00.004+08:00

Above: Berita Harian weekend copy, 2nd section, published on 12th September 2010 (Sunday)

Alright....yeap, that's the surprise I've been waiting to reveal....ahh....it's really just a 1-minute-fame kinda thing to me honestly, but it's just strange and exciting to see your own things (and yourselves) printed in a national paper like Berita Harian. I mean, seriously, when I got the copy 1 day late (coz I couldn't get it on the day it came out) on Monday, I even missed this front page (of the 2nd section) coz I didn't think they would feature our home on front page most definitely....so I went right to the middle and saw those photos and article of us in the centrespread. Only hours later, when I retrieved the pages out to keep, that I saw the cover!!! LOL! Well, that was really exciting...and weird......to see my bed, our bedroom...right there! LOL!

But one thing though, I wasn't surprised to find out they have decided to feature the babes' room as the biggest photo in the article itself.....I've mentioned this before....(I think?), it's my favourite room in the whole house!
And you see the tiny family pix there? Yeap, you've seen this before...in my previous 3rd post.

Sorry, I am just too lazy to scan the pages out....so here.....read it online, while it's still available.
But then....sorry to those peeps who can't read nor understand Malay.....the paper is a Malay paper, LOL!

From JUNK to RETRO FUNK!

2010-09-10T11:06:00.005+08:00

Alright...for those of you who knew....I am trying to convert my unused guest room to a studio for me to do sewing, designing, painting.....crafting....everythingggggggggg!!! Well, I didn't have a budget for this personal project (of course, as usual....necessity is the mother of all my inventions LOL!)...now, seriously.....not kidding! And coincidentally, while my Godma is in the midst of house-moving, she's throwing and leaving a lot of stuffs behind....I mean, A LOTTTT!

One afternoon while at her place, I spotted this very rusty metal desk....from the look and shape of this desk, I already knew its fate.....Godma's definitely gonna dump this one for sure....so I adopted it....coz I saw loadssss of potential in this little guy......
So, with a little sanding down....a new coat of matte white paint.....some simple stitching and gluing.....here it is......the nipped & tucked metal desk! It was truly a piece of junk at 1st....and now, it's so retro funky and I really can't help but smile everytime I look at it coz it's just sooooo bright and happy! Doesn't it give the same effect to you as well??? Yes? :D
The Green Polkadottie wooden stool is also a 'throwaway' that I adopted and make-overed! Now I am thinking of upholstering all my wooden stools at home to look like this! LOL!

Here's my new 'workstation'......see the two cute 'containers'? They are practically almost FOC as well.....
Those containers came from THIS (below)!
Some of you might have noticed the matchy-matchy wall clock on my new desk eh? My youngest sis customized it for me......she's now selling handmade notebooks, clocks and such in her FB 'store' too!!! With just RM18, you could have your clock customized by her too!

And this......is the 'signage' to my 'polkadot + cupcake' studio.....a temporary one that is....coz I plan to request for Maia to do the POLKADOTS....and Kyra to do the CUPCAKE for me! Coz after all, this label is all because of them.....about them....for them.....to begin with!
Okies, I must go....it's a public holiday today coz it's HARI RAYA (celebrated by our Muslim friends) and we are going to one of the teachers' house in a while...gotta get ready and get going fast!!!! Happy holidays everybody!

SURPRISE AHEAD!

2010-09-03T11:25:00.001+08:00

ooooh...btw, as compensation...I just might have an interesting surprise for you in a few days' time....stay tuned!!!! I can't wait for it myself!!!

Hey Blog, still recognize me? :P

2010-09-02T19:22:00.000+08:00

I am soweeeeee...Blog! Schedule's crazy...last minute of something...another last minute of another thing......gosh! Okie, nevermind, let me make a summarized round-up....LOL! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and ie. being a mummy, wife, maid, chef, baker, seamstress, among others.......... (and not to forget spending real quality time with my two babes!)

I also happened to be the "OFFICIAL" curtain-maker for godma's new house...aduhai....what to do....this is a duty I can't possibly say N.O to.....if you understand.

Then, out of the blue, an ex uni-mate contacted me regarding something VERY INTERESTING that required me to start doing my two huge BLANK canvases.......yes, here it is....that's what you do when you don't have an 8' long easel...lol....two chairs will do!!! This bamboo acrylic painting is for our living room.....

and sketched errrr more 'passionately'.....for our bed room.....I mean, the canvas was meant to be in the bedroom (i've got 2 2' x 8' canvases btw)......but somehow, I never took down time to start any......maybe coz I didn't have much down time to begin with.......???? :D

This sketch is charcoal btw......
Then with the leftover charcoal sticks...I let my babes play....definitely! And unfortunately, because it's BLACK in color....err...duh!!! charcoal , rite? Kyra refused to touch it....so Little M quickly did her version of charcoal art for her mummy to stand in awe looking at every day coz it's now hung in the kitchen's wall of frames....LOL!

"Of frawers n butterfly under the big big sun" by Maia Faith Leong :D

And Kyra did her non-charcoal version of Picasso-ish HEART....and HOME (the one below)....
Honestly, I really love the HEART and HOME she did here.....it's somewhat random but when you look at it, all you see is positivity in her...... (well, at least she's not drawing monsters and scary anythings....hehe)
And because the silly mummy SAT on a photo frame, even though she ain't that heavy, the glass broke into pieces as well....kakakakkakaa!!! And I am just too lazy to go to the glass maker to cut a new one....so I turned the frame into their hairclippies organizer..... It does double duty: to keep their clippies in check and tidy....as deco item in their bedroom! I knew I broke the glass for something........ :P
Feeling very vibrant....I finally got down and made their INITIALS for their bedroom.....something I've had in my head for mths actually.......but you know me....crazy schedule all-time-round.....
And here is the curtains for our apartment that's to be rented out.....it's a loft unit, thus the curtains are 18' long and very very veryyyyyyyyyy wide....... I dread the thought of doing it in my head!!!!
And, Z helped me paint our old but strong IKEA shelf matte black....to match the theme of the apartment.....yeah, neutrals BLACK & WHITEsss.... (black/dark brown lah).....I am loving the matte black so much...I wish I could transport it back here for my humble studio!!! aihhhh!

A lot of DIYs for the new apartment coz we are on a tight budget to furnish it.....but I guess DIY-ing never fails to make us appreciate things around us even more!!! Try it...you might know what I mean here.....
Thennn.......we had an informal family pix taken by my littlest sister who is a photographer and graphic designer and many more.......
And last sunday, the babes' kindergarten launched their 3rd unit which is also in our neighbourhood.....so I made em a CONGRATS mini cupcakes to celebrate!!! I personally love this set a lot!!! It's the colors I think.....
Then....I've got 2 customers who mixed up the bday dates and suddenly, I have a back-to-back last minute cupcakes orders....and here they are......one for a 30 year old guy, the other for a lady colleague......

So, are you getting all dizzy already???? Told ya so! Thus, I refurbished a to-be-thrown-away desk that's still in good condition...and made it polkadotie!!!! I adopted a few unwanted solid wood stools and repainted em......Yippeee! Total cost to do this? Less than RM20.... (USD6+). Isn't it cute?
And these here are my pencil holders.....each costed me RM1++ (USD0.50++), not sure bout you, but I just love the rugged rope-y look! And here I am typing happily albeit headachy (due to a stupid tooth) on my new work desk n stool!!!!
I know I know.....
you must be thinking.....so we shall wait for another 1 or 2 weeks for an update round-up lidis yes? LOL!

I try not to do that to you, Blog.....but you know I don't have much of a choice.....soweeee......

Sorry BLOG, I've been occupied.....

2010-08-18T08:49:00.005+08:00

I can't even remember my last post, that I had to go 'view blog' to see......

Last week on Monday....Kyra came back from school and developed high fever of 39.2C in the afternoon, checked her innermouth and found several ulcers.....SIGH...HFMD again it was....but because it was already 4pm, we only brought her to her Paed that evening.....was given antiviral and paracetamol...but strangely her fever did not come down through out the nite....

She woke up looking fine...still....then at 3pm, she started trembling and her body was burning hot and her temperature hit 40.0C, I quickly called her daddy to come back so we could send her to KPJ (a private hospital 5 minutes away).....Once at the in-house Paed's clinic, Dr S asked: "Is she covered by medical insurance?" :O

Apparently, in such a situation, when paracetamol or antiviral are not working for the child, she/he will be administered IMMUNOGLOBULIN intravenously, asap to prevent the high fever from going any higher. The reason why Dr S asked about insurance is coz ONE tiny 50ml bottle of that 'magic potion' (I called it) costs RM820 (approx USD250++) and Kyra's estimated to need 4-5 bottles :O Yeah, you do the maths, alright....

The first nite, Maia refused to go back home with daddy.....she wanted me to go home with her as well... :P....but thankfully, a few close family members were there to distract her and got her into the car ....the car to go home! LOL! Poor babe...I miss her loads......

So to cut a long story short, Kyra was hospitalized for 3 days and 2 nites.....I 'checked into the same hotel' as well....coz strangely, she wanted me to stay with her (overnite) instead of the daddy :P It was truly a packed week for us...especially me.....I've got house chores piling up at home....laundry's a few meters high......(ok, exaggerating a bit)....orders for POLKADOT + CUPCAKE items are delayed...... :( and worse of all.....I was truly very exhausted.....

The days in the past week after Kyra was discharged....I felt OUT OF PLACE.....I could not get back into sewing totally.....the house was a TRUE MESS....no kidding.....at the same time, I felt so overwhelmed by all that chaos.......I wished I could close my eyes and SKIP THAT ENTIRE WEEK, forget it ever happened, just like that......yeah, I bet you had that kind of emotion too, don't you? Honestly, that was my first after so long....to wanna SKIP AN ENTIRE WEEK! lol! Guess I was just tired to the extremities!!!

It took me quite a few days to morph into myself....the self who loves to sew and bake and everything else......thus, this blankie was the first item I made after the longggggg hiatus...
A peachy pink blankie of cupcakes......green tea buttercream with chocolate chips, fresh cream frosted cupcake with cookies and cream.....and choc ganache cupcake with strawberry shards....

Hehehe....what to do...I needed something cheery to brighten things up.....

Oh! A new member in my bed!!! :O

2010-08-09T08:58:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, I added a long bolster to my bed....after contemplating for so long.....haha...yeah, I realized after having two pregnancies, I needed SUPPORT on one side when I sleep, be it the hubby or the bolster....so I decided I got to have BOTH! In case one drops off the bed at night... :O :D

So, without a matching bolster case to match...I decided to take things into my own hands....and using a plain dark chocolate cotton....and some un-pricey satin ribbons (in 3 tonal shades), I made THIS bolster case to match my beddings and room......it is super simple to make and I personally think it looks cute......(okay, by now, most of you would have realized these shades of olives N browns are my faves)......
The 'white' butt of the bolster is poking out slightly..have not the time to rectify it...nevermind.....I've slept with my bolster.........I wonder when I'll find time to do that little un-crucial step......hehe...

Saying NO and do the RIGHT thing, or?

2010-08-09T08:55:00.002+08:00

Don't you hate saying NO to a nice friend? Yeah...it's not the easiest thing to do...but when saying NO in that particular case is CRUCIAL, you'd hope that the turned-down friend would understand your situation and be fine about it......ahh well....hopefully that friend will truly understand that I cannot say YES even if I wanna.....coz if I did, there will be another side of people who might be cross at me...so yeah, heck! it's a difficult thing.....and I hate the fact that it's still bugging me even after 3 days!!! blerhhhh......

SAHM to WAHM

2010-08-03T10:07:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, while updating my FB Polkadot + Cupcake page, I realized I have put my status as SAHM (stay-at-home-mum).....but I don't stay at home goyang kaki lehh......in fact, almost every minute at home is work work work....be it for Polkadot + Cupcake, or The Polkadot Cupcake, or for my very own Polkadot babe and her cheche Cupcake! LOL! So, I finally changed my utterly unsuitable status of SAHM to WAHM....ie. Work-at-home-mum! :D Much much more suited to me, I personally think....LOL!

Ah well....my babes are big girls now.....big as in 2.75 years old and 4.5 years old respectively... :P It's time for me to start something for myself finally......while taking care of them at the same time of course......

Yesterday afternoon, principal's hubby who is also their kindie's "CEO", called coz we're supposed to work on the kindie's blog (yes, supposedly I am to manage and write their blog), then he asked about my label.....not knowing I oredi 'launched' it in FB.....so he asked if I wanted to promote my label during their year end concert (which is not at year end totally...it's on 30th October!).....and I told him, many thanks, it's a lovely idea, brilliant in fact, but how can I single handedly come out with a range of items to be showcased? I told him my sewing and designing time is only in the morning when the babes are in kindie.....then he said: "Put them in full day classes then?"

Nah nah nah.....I would not, and could not bear knowing the fact I am 18 feet away from their school not having them around the entire day...it's just not me.....so, yeah that's it...for now.....I am still very much a full time mum, who works from home..... W.A.H.M it is! :)

MY C.B white dress 'wannabe'!

2010-08-02T10:11:00.002+08:00

Okay, Z and I do movie nites (@home of course) often....thanks to downloaded HD movies LOL!)....so, last friday evening, he was nice enough to surprise me with SEX AND THE CITY 2, the movie lah....not the other nouns in the title itself..... :P

Almost at the very beginning, you'll surely notice SJP aka C.B (Carrie Bradshaw) in this plain but sooooo gorgeous jersey white dress with V-neckline.....and I was hooked on it....wishing I own one....one in this WHITE....and err...a few others in navy blue maybe.....and prints!!!??!!!

And, fyi, weekendsssss ago......i mentioned i wanna get down to cutting and sewing a navy blue fabric i got for myself....but it never happened......swarmed with thingssss and more thingsssss......but on saturday nite, I got a bit insomniac and thus.....started cutting at midnite...finished this 'C.B white-dress-wannabe' at 2+am! LOL!

errr...hmmm.....the lace was not supposed to be there.....but due to unforeseen 'reasons', i ter-cut the skirt tooooo short.....and thus....... hehe.....

(No, the belt was not DIY-ed, I couldn't find my handmade obi belt so it'll have to make do for now!)

Shall upload a pix of me in it....when I could have someone to photograph me later k... hehe...
How do you like it? Like it, dislike it,.....well, I love it! It's also super comfy........

I NEED to....

2010-07-26T13:29:00.007+08:00

in random order lah....

1) save $$$ from my cupcake sales to NOT ONLY buy a bigger oven, but also customize its 'built-in' cabinet.....
(gosh! coz I can't see where I can squeeze in another oven in my current kitchen now.....and besides, such ovens require its own built-in cabinet......aduh...extra cost to me, that is!)

2) save $$$ from my handmade sales to get myself a serging machine.....and an electric sewing machine that can do buttonholes and have different stitch options! Both ain't cheap fyi ya...
(fyi, I already found its table...lol! Salvaged a metal table with caster wheels from Godma's unwanted-and-to-be-thrashed stuffs)...yeah, so now, I have the suitable table....but yet the machine itself...LOL! See the table? Pretty messed up huh? But worry not....I shall wave my magic wand (when I actually have ample free time, I don't know when....with my current schedule).....and turn this Raggedy Ann into Snow White! :D I have the colors and design in my head the moment I spotted this poor thang...yet the time....so be patient ya'll!

You might ask...."Why not just swipe those on my credit card or something?"

Well, yeah....credit card....I have come to learn from Oprah that....credit card is like the devil....'who' makes you spend money you don't already earn.....and people are S.T.U.C.K with this bad habit of destruction......how true is that? So, I have told myself to swipe my card in TWO circumstances only......

a) EMERGENCY of course...
b) When I have the cash to actually buy the thing but bringing cash is not convenient...., in short, it means, only buy with credit card when you actually have the money to pay for it almost quite instantly lah! lol!

Truth be told, I learnt a lot of things from Oprah...from her interior decorator Nate Berkus' tips on decorating, to the financial experts she had on her shows.....to the shrinks who talked and talked....I just wish I could watch her show every day...and learn a new lesson daily...but sorry lah.....haven't seen Oprah for quite some time......(gotta fix that!)

Did I mention that I recently helped my parents UN-clog their bedroom? Yeah, now you know....I learnt that from Oprah too! LOL! It's her "Clean Up Your Messy Home" campaign....no no no....don't get me wrong...my parents bedroom was NOT dirty what the heck.....but my dad aka the "HOARDER".....had kept toooo many unnecessary items till they 'clogged' the breathing space in their bedroom.......hah! No wonder he always complains he's unable to get a good sleep or rest at home!

So, as busy as I am.....I set on a task.....Mum couldn't be happier....coz she said: "He never listens to me, only you girls can talk him out on letting go of his hoarded junks" LOL!

So on one fine weekend, me and MY TEAM (= Z + K + M), headed on to mum's house (why we always call it MUM's PLACE, Mum's house and not DAD's place????). Thankfully, Dad was willing to let me touch, sort and throw then reorganize his stuffs......I think I threw out 50% of things......but of course, I didn't simply throw things okayyy.....hehe....

And just look at the junks that we should have discarded ages ago!!! Man!!! This is just 5% of the total items we got rid of that weekend you know..... :O

"Things you have not touched or used in the past 12 mths, THROW or DONATE"
-from The Oprah Show :D

So, items that are still usable but un-needed, we donated to the Salvation Army...some were taken by Dad's workers, this way, every good item did not go to total waste! Look at these cupboards here.....It's an ISSUE of organizational skill really....I opened his cupboards a-many.....and realized that Dad had a 'whimsical' organizational system......

He stored some stationeries in Cupboard A, some in cupboard C.....you get the flow....
So, I cleared and regrouped his stuffs according to TYPE, and placed em nicely in ONE place....thus, these 3 cupboards were made EMPTY!!! Yes, EMPTY!!! And that's how I managed to clear their bedroom off these 3 bulky unnecessary items!!! GOOD!!!

Using some leftover Murobond paints from our house, my teammate Z helped mum and dad paint their not-so-feature-able feature wall...which was half maroon, half white :P
***Sorry, again, I forgot to snap the "BEFORE" pix...as usual...too excited to get started to transform things....always always forgot to do that!!!

So this is the semi-final outcome......tadaaaa!!!! Gorgeous Aubergine shade.....
The week before, Mum , little sis and I went to buy her curtain fabrics....and see how the curtain matched the feature wall? (This is not yet the final outcome....I have to go there to snap the pix....haven't done that...will update here when I have it ya)....even their old-but-still-pristine bed set matched the new shade harmoniously...dont cha think???
So I told mum, the only thing she gotta 'fix' would be her FILI FALA flower power-ish bedsheet! LOL! Asked her to find one in matching shade, simple pattern to simplify the room even more....

As I am writing this, this bedroom already had the curtains hung up......there's more breathing space.....and definitely less crowded! Even though this is not some fancy 'makeover', I feel that we made the best of things with super minimum budget...and that's the real success...to me at least!

Have you spring-cleaned your space recently? It's fun.....HAHAHA!

mODE: B.U.S.Y

2010-07-26T08:52:00.004+08:00

At times, I feel guilty for not saying "HI" to my blog.....but i think it will understand.... :D

So, the past week was crazy busy for me, first, I managed to complete this bag that I started 2 weeks ago.....and I'm loving it.....I think this is my first gem-ed handmade item....but I am happy for 'her' coz she'll have a new good owner :D

Then, in all craziness, I made myself a long wallet, copied the design from my favourite Burberry's long wallet, using the little square Japanese cotton remnant from the babes' dresses, but little did I expect this wallet in this print would generate such positive responses from friends and family alike! Making me wish I had bought more of this fabric.... :P

Truth is, I made it coz it's supposed to be my TEST wallet, coz Godma ordered a handmade long wallet for the son's girlfriend....for her birthday.....and yeah, I made hers too in the span of last week!
Then, there was a cupcake order that called for nearly 100 cupcakes....got me baking 4 batches and totaling an exact 100 pcs of these.....yummm!!!! I tell you, after finishing the whole baking that evening, my body felt as though I have just gone through mountain hiking!!!! LOL!
Then, I also made this cutee bear blankie comforter....It's for baby-toddler....unfortunately, it's just 3' x 4' and definitely too small for even Maia....so I am putting this one up for sale in POLKADOT + CUPCAKE!
More bakings to be done......these birthday cupcakes were ordered by a boyfriend for his girlfriend...how sweet eh.... hehe.....these are rich chocolate medium cupcakes with MATCHA buttercream.....oh, I gotta say....they complemented each other so well.........

And on Sunday, I am baking for an order by a friend to her church friends' 39th Anniversary! How exciting.....I mean, 39th....gosh.....maybe you know of many couples who made it that far, but are they making it that far and still very much in love? That's what you should find out.....LOL!
Was informed both of them love music....thus the theme....and I chose RED coz this shade represents L.O.V.E!!!
Okie, I better go.....I'll come back again when I feel inspired to write better! LOL! In the mean time, have a good productive week peeps!

Birds, Beessss....then B.a.b.i.e.s :D

2010-07-20T13:33:00.003+08:00

15th July 2010, my younger cousin's wife gave birth to a baby boy Hariq Danesh Lee. Well, being the good aunt that I am...LOL! JOKING BIG TIME......okay!, I already packed a few baby gifts that I'll be sharing with Sis#2.....then, I remembered I used to make newborn baby shuz for Maia and decided to try my hands at em again this morning.......but this round, it's not red or pink....it's Houndstooth black and white :D.....How do you like em? Hehe....

Baby Hariq is Muslim born to a Muslim Melanau mummy and Chinese daddy (my cousin). I think these cute smart shuz will make visitors ooo ahhh during the upcoming Raya, no? :P
I added a Mandarin button at the side too...

Might consider making a few for Polkadot + Cupcake.....rain check!

When I am biggggg!!!

2010-07-17T23:30:00.006+08:00

Those who know Z and I, would know that we always always only let the babes sit in their own respective carseats. So few days back, as I was stepping out of the car while Maia's still strapped in her carseat, she called out to me saying:

"mummy mummy!!!! carry me out......next time when I am bigggg, I carry you lah!"

hmmmmmphhhh!!!!!
Not sure to chuckle over that sentence or feel concerned...LOL!.....
Did she just 'bribe' me with a 'favor' or wad?!!!

Wad a weird weird day!!!

2010-07-17T22:40:00.005+08:00

3 days ago on Wednesday that is....I nearly got ran down by a mommy who was dropping off her child at the kindie my two babes went to.....She reversed all of a sudden even though there's no need for her to do so considering there's so much space for her to go forward and make a u-turn, and I happened to be passing behind her halted car at that time after sending both Kyra and Maia to school.....gosh, good thing her 'beeper sensor' (whatever you call that thing that beeps irritatingly wen your car nears something) worked! Okay, that was weird thing #1.

Off I happily went to make my own apron, I don't own one......and as I was stitching the polkadottie waistband, somehow....stupidly.....I stitched my left index finger through and through, from top to bottom, right next to my fingernail! OUCH!!! Funnily, even when the needle was still INSIDE my finger, I didn't make a move or went "OUCH!".....truth be told, I just looked on the polkadots wondering what just happened! :D I think the polkadots made my vision bleary to differentiate my own finger and the dots! LOL! ooohhh...and only many many seconds later, I realized I have stitched into my own finger.....HAH.HAH! and slowly, lifted up the needle to release my bleeding finger.... :D and I could really see two holes, 1 up, 1 bottom.... yeah, crazy heh! Weird thing #2 of that day.

So you think after weird things #1 and 2, that would be enough for a day's event.....NO nou.....
my day had its own agenda......I suddenly had severe symptoms of UTI in the afternoon.....no early signs in the morning.....got me so puzzled and frustrated coz I couldn't even sit long enough to sew a stitch! SO there I was seated (finally)......in the toilet......with my seam ripper to rip off some seams of an old (but pretty new) panel curtain......I hate being unable to do anything.....so there I was.....

Sis#2 chuckled when I told her about the toilet scene.....she thought it was funny....hmmmm...

Then later in the afternoon, I could feel fever and chills creeping onto me.....not to mention lots and lots of pain in my lower abdomen.....gosh! At 6.35pm, we dashed out to the Dr's clinic waiting for him to open at 7pm, imagine how desperate I was.....

Okay, Dr assured me it's nothing serious, very common actually...must drink lotsa h2O! Take antibiotics and fever meds.....So I went home, take the meds, and ooohh....did I mention, I even baked carrot cupcakes before going to the Dr's? LOL! My big babe was 'wailing' about missing cupcakes and pizza......I felt guilty coz I oredi told her we would make pizza for dinner that evening, but due to my 'condition' pizza-from-scratch is totally impossible.....so I made her a consolation....her favourite carrot cupcakes.....at 1st, even Sis#2 asked if I was crazy to bake while I was supposed to be resting......hehe....

That's my weird wednesday......but come to think of it....(I guess I am a sucker for looking at the bright sides of anythings nowadays huh)......I made a very cute apron design, which even Sis#2 likes very much (she doesn't cook or bake).....I made the carrot cupcakes that got her friend to watsapp her to tell her how nice they were! That made me happy.... :D

my GUNNYbags!

2010-07-08T22:01:00.004+08:00

A few days ago while accompanying mum at the fabric store to shop for fabrics to make her bedroom curtains, I stumbled upon this rugged gunny-sack kinda fabric.....at RM40 a meter, I think it's by far the most expensive fabric I ever purchased on my own! :P

And because I love anything 'gunny-sacky', so I told myself I had to stop sewing all my other orders to make a FIRST bag for myself....and so I did.....and THIS is the bag!
It has Japanese natural cotton with polkadot prints in Olive Green as the lining fabric.......
a roomy zippered pocket on one side......
and 4x patch pockets on the other, 1 for my handphone, 1 for my sunglasses, 1 for pen, 1 for my envirosax (or equivalent)! :D
Then, I made a matching wristlet for my lipsticks, blotting paper, tissue paper, hand sanitizer, comb, lil mirror and hairbands........this will go into the big brown bag of course.....
Later, I decided to add zipper to the big bag for security reasons, upon Z's advice.....which I later thought was rather needed....added a zipper tag too so that I won't have to fumble here and there searching for tat tiny zipper head! hehe!
The next day, which is TODAY, I made something I fell madly in lurveeee with.....this bag! (BELOW)
It took me many hours to get it done.....non-stop hours.....till I got so exhausted....I felt sleepy and so hungry...LOL! Some areas were truly hard to stitch with my manual not-so-mechanical-nor-electrical sewing machine, man!!! But I really loveeeeee this bag! It's for sale :O
The strap is detachable, so you can use it as a clutch bag if you wanna.....or you can attach one buckle to the other side to become a wristlet! Comes with magnetic closure.......and to me, I think the strap is kinda cute.....it's 'handwoven' too! Everything is built from scratch of course.....

And I really do hope whoever the owner of this bag is, will take really good care of it for the longest time possible.....coz I really poured my heart and soul into making it......I wish I do not have to sell it.......but then, I wish so with all my handmade items...so you get the flow.....I love em.....but I must learn to let go....so I can make more.... :[ If you're one who crafts your own things, you'd know the feeling....... :(
Like what you just saw? Hop over to POLKADOT + CUPCAKE's FB page and join us!!!

DURIAN

2010-07-06T23:40:00.000+08:00

So it is said....when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade! SO, what happens say life throws you DURIAN?!! :O

Re-purposing the laundry room (PART 1)

2010-07-05T23:38:00.004+08:00

SORRY, forgot to snap the "BEFORE" shot....but nevermind, it's just messy and wrong anyway...haha.....so THIS (below) is the "AFTER" shotsssss......but bear in mind, just the PART 1 ya!

I am truly glad that I have just the exact and enough space to slot in THREE units of LERBERG, ie the black metal shelves from Ikea....Exactly three units and not an inch left to spare! Phew!!! I'd be soooo arghhh if the 3rd one could not fit in by...say.....an inch?

Previously, I was just plain blurrrr to not put a thick rug in front of my washer and dryer coz I always had to kneel down in some instances to unload the laundry from washer then load em into the dryer.....and I was always mumbling to myself how much I hate to see the knees getting the 'wear and tear' by it......okie, problem solved! thick comfy rug for my knees.....happy laundry days any day now....haha!

Now you see why I had to re-purpose the laundry room? My kitchen can fit in stuffs alright, but under normal usage only...and when you have packs of flour and sugar and etcetera all in bulk, that's just abnormal for a normal kitchen......and that's when you need a P.A.N.T.R.Y! Well, it's nothing fancy but it neatens both my kitchen and laundry room up!!!

Near the windows, you have the wash basin, the giant washer and then dryer....
Every placement has its ergonomic consideration btw...LOL! You see, my washer opens to the left, that makes unloading and 'throwing' of washed laundry directly into the dryer which opens to the right, very smooth and ergonomic! :D I had the basin installed there before we even moved in, coz I know I'll need to wash my hands after handling the detergent :) and also the dogs which is just outside the door!

On the door grill itself, I hung an Ikea hamper or whatever you call it....for storing 'ocipalar' light but bulky items! And here.....there you see em....my "S, M, L, XL" I always call em.....hanging proudly protecting the plastic baggies from being abused! hehe!

Why did I say PART 1 for this post you wonder?
Well, I've gotten the wall brackets ready.....the only thing not ready is the MAN to do the drilling and installing..that's all... *hint hint*

Gonna add two wall shelves on top of the metal shelves......then make a 2-panel curtain to cover the entire 'pantry'....the only tiny problem is, I might have an issue on how to hang my panel curtains now that I lost our unused and new shower curtain rail somewhere in this house :O.....hmmmmm.....how could something as long as 6' go MIA???

:D

oh so busy....and random!!!!

2010-07-04T21:26:00.013+08:00

NOT according to sequence btw.......manyyyyyy photos ahead....(but you like photos more than words, don't cha? I do)

* We (sis#3 and I) got mum a puppy for her birthday that's in September 2010. Yeap, laugh, chuckle, whatever....LOL! His name is KIDDO and is very cute.....wait...I go 'curi' (steal) his photos from Sis#3's FB album first.....

wait arh......

...............

...............

SEE!!!! Ain't he adorable!!!!!????? He's at the moment, less than 10" long only!

His pop's a Terrier while mom's a Shih Tzu. We bought him from my ex-school friend actually. I haven't seen him in a while....heard from sis, he's getting naughtier by the day! Cutie pip!!! So, you already knew what we got mum for her 'upcoming' birthday......hahahaha!

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

I got a birthday cupcake + cake order to be delivered last Friday, and I had to stay up till 2am to finish it ....got me sooooooo worn out the next day.......and I told myself: "NEVER AGAIN should you accept such last minute cake order, girl!" Noted...noted.....

Anyway, here it is....birthday babe's born in the year of the Pig (Chinese calendar), her name is Joey (like me!) and she turned 3, while I turned 3-0! :P

Well, I have my SIS#2 to thank for assisting me from 8.45pm to almost midnite with the moo-moo calf especially.......but anyway, it's always a lot of fun working with her (not in the office I mean! LOL!)...coz most times, we don't even have to complete our sentences and we just "ok, got it!" auto-mode! I guess growing up playing and fighting together did benefited us...or at least me? :D

SO, u like my pig? hahahahaha!!!!

Wait....got another cupcake thingie to share with u....but you'll have to wait....
my hands!!! my hands!!! they are itching to sew something.....gosh, I didn't have the time to sew the entire weekend!!! I tell you why.....

1st, it started on Friday nite when I baked Godpa's birthday cupcakes till midnite......

Then, before I knew it....it was already Saturday and I had to fetch Godma from her office and go check out kitchen sinks with her for her new home.....that ended at 3pm.

Then, there was his birthday dinner that we all organized at their place.....done, the entire Saturday was gone! Here's my two babes singing the bday song, as usual....It's almost like their national anthem already, and they usually do it in three different languages :D

And here, check out the cupcakes.....me likey the laebit!

See the pile of fondant with a toothpick sticking out below?
That's Maia's creation, it's her version of bday cake + candle...
(I beg you to forgive her...she's only 2.5 year old LOL!)

Errr......the green lump on a stick,
(kinda her style eh)...is also Maia's.....she said it's a lollipop....
later she said it's satay! :P

The veined butterfly and 'face' was created by Kyra specially for my Godpa's bday...
I didn't expect a pretty well-cut veined butterfly from my 4.25 year old actually...
but again, I guess I underestimated her little fingers....
(in fact, all the veined butterflies here were hers)

These were butterscotch cupcakes with buttercream frostings btw.

SUNDAY! today...yeap yeap!
We started the day 'ferrying' Euro (our male labrador) from my in-laws' to our house....
Then I got a very last minute cupcake order from who-else-would-I-oblige-for-but SIS#2! LOL!
So, off to the kitchen....baking it was....and this is the simple classic chocolate cupcakes with a hidden layer of choc ganache topped with fresh cream frosting!

YUMMMMMY!!!

Then at 3+pm, Mum and Dad and SIS#3 arrived, so we went to Godma's to move a few SUPER heavy furniture items to my place......the stuffs she won't be bringing to new home that is!
Let u see....

See that set of outdoor table and 6 stools made of concrete but fashioned like wood?
Yeap.....I'm loving it very much there.....they feel right here...LOL! But you know how darned heavy they were???? Luckily I have a strong sista, cousin and Godpa around! whooshhh!!!

And this poor prickly baby.....would be abandoned when they move house....so I adopted it....
See my feet there? Just for comparison.......size comparison lah....

Okie....enough photos and words to blurrrr you out for the nite.....go to sleep! Nite nite!!! Sweet cupcakey dreams yo! :D

(I hope I'll find time to post some photos of the newly organized and RE-purposed laundry room tomorrow.....)

Make Me A Snowman, MuM!

2010-06-30T16:00:00.005+08:00

So yesterday Kyra said to me when I was showering her.....

Kyra: "mummy i want snowman, make one for me?"
Me: "huh? mummy cant make snow worrrr"
Kyra: "no need....just cut a circle, use white fabric....and u sew sew sew become snowman lorrrrr!"

:]

It made me happy just to know my little girl looks up to me that way......she practically thinks her mummy is ABLE to make things she could think of! That's very flattering, but what really made me happier is the fact that at 4.5 years of age, she has adopted some part of me....the 'IMPROVISER' in me...LOL!

I guess this is why we as parents, should always be a positive influence in our child's life, big and small, even in little ways, from the way we eat to the way we speak! Coz I myself truly believe a child actually reflects her parents in more ways than we realize! BTW, I am not saying I am a perfect mummy, far from it actually...but I always try to remind myself this: "They (the two babes) will be influenced by what you do"......

And come to think of it....I do remember very vividly how my dad taught and showed us the ways around DIY tools when we were very little girls! He would go on and on about how to get it right....how to hammer a nail, how to shave wood with a wood plane, hold the saw the proper way whenever he needed to do some DIY fixings around the home.....I guess that's why even now I'd tell you, I owe my woodworking skills to my dad, my love of baking to my mum!

And even though I can't say I love cooking... but through my mum, I have learnt that EVERYBODY loves coming home to warm homecooked meals without the need to worry what to 'tapau' (take away)! I'll always remember the nice content feeling of filling up my tummy right after school with a yummy lunch at home during my schooldays.....readily prepared by mum of course. And all these, are the little things that motivate me to dish out decent-enough meals after meals on a daily basis.......

polkadot + cupcake

2010-06-28T21:38:00.011+08:00

28th June 2010: today's D day.....I created the page and gently launched my handmade label "polkadot + cupcake" in Facebook after 'simmering' it for many many weeks. This is significant to me......coz I just celebrated my 30th birthday last week on 19th June, then a week later on 26th June, Zac and I marked our FIFTH year 'married'...LOL! I guess I really love the month of June subconsciously......

Well, I think I'll just copy and paste the write-ups of this humble beginning from its facebook fanpage then.....coz I've been composing, editing, writing, updating blogs and fanpage all at the same time.....even my brain got exhausted now....lol! but NEVER short of excitement! :D

okie, here it is...quoted from 'polkadot + cupcake' facebook fanpage:

"This is THE label.......

the tiny bit of fabric that will adorn all my items from now on...

How did I know I chose the right name for my label?
Simple....I just named it after my two most precious little humans...their pet names ie. LOL!
...
Then, I sms-ed the 'proposal' to 2 of the few most important peeps in my life,
one with a solid graphic background, the other....ermm....with many backgrounds:P
I got their responses within the same hour, same solid positive response....no alterations needed even though this is my 1st proposal!!!
What more do I need to seek, right?

(I mean, over the years, even naming my two girls were not this doubt-less...LOL!)"

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

For some of you who might have read this POST, you'd know better.... :D

Anyway....welcome to my tiny little shop.....so far, I have got some little bags, little dresses, skirts, nursing covers with rigid necklines and its matching pouch @ just RM39....(yeap yeap!!! I had to pay over RM100 to get mine shipped in from the states 2 years ago after I gave birth to Maia!), ONE dog leash....haha.....wall decor and the list will grow..most definitely....

Oohh...Sis#2 even asked me to include my homemade cupcakes as one of the 'items for sale' too! :] I'll take that as a compliment....but maybe I will, but not on the same site though.....coz today alone, two persons (sis included) had mentioned I should cater for the local (Kch) market for cupcakes....haha.....maybe I should.....

Ok ok....see the "FACEBOOK" button on the top left on this site? Yeap....there you go!
Thanks in advance for visiting ya :)

***PPSSSTTT!!!! I don't have a clue why I can't seem to change the font size of the 'copied n pasted' paragraphs.....it's kinda irritating to the eyes i know..i know...lol....

1 Shirt = 2

2010-06-27T13:36:00.005+08:00

You know I actually have a couple of brand-new-still-in-baggie teenage boy's shirt from my 'late' online store that can't fit anybody I know around......have been thinking what to do with em on and off for some time now......so this morning........I did something wonderful to the green shirt (not in photo coz I already TURNED it before remembering to snap a pix)......

And here it is.....the once untouched new shirt has become my weekend cotton top! I am actually wearing it now with a white weekend shorts....the combination looks casual, yet not sloppy and actually kinda cute! (I did reconfirm my 'perasan-ness' with hubby....he said it looks nice!) :D
Ohhh...and here is my 1st handmade bow ribbon......don't you love bows???? I do....since forever!
On top of that, well, if you know me....I do not like wasting fabrics, especially one so high quality like this cotton, so I turned the upper quarter of the shirt into Maia's dress! I used cotton Indonesian printed batik for the skirt part.
And to cover the original logo of the shirt (you can leave it as it is if you want btw), I used the fabric remnants to make raw-edged roses......

I 'whatsapp-ed' Sis#2 these photos, and she 'app-ed' back: "So are you gonna make me the yellow one? I can go collect it later if it's done!" :D

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

UPDATES!!!
So, a couple of hours later....
Oh! Can you see the 'tag' on this yellow top?
Haha.....this one's as per Sis#2's order....
And when you have this top, you know you'll have the matching dress....
Like this one here....
This one's for Kyra.....wider, longer......compared to the green one.
And if you haven't noticed, I did something to the 'manly' collar.....
Yeap yeap!!! :D

TOY STORY 3, have you?

2010-06-26T21:44:00.007+08:00

We just got back from the movies with the two babes....TOY STORY 3 of course....and my say is? Bring your kids to this movie if they can't learn to keep their toys after play :D

Yes, halfway watching...I got this idea and couldn't wait to break it to the girls.....lol! Baddddd mummy!!!! So I told em, "see what happened??? If you do not keep your toys properly after playing with em, they go missing, or get taken by the rubbish collector to be thrown into the rubbish truck!!!" :O

Did it work?

Well, upon returning home, Kyra wanted to skip taking her bedtime milk coz she was cleaning up her toys in the playroom :D Her daddy kept asking her to go up to bed and she insisted she needed to clean up toys........I knew she needed her bed already....it's late, so I consoled her YET kept my 'STRATEGY' unharmed by saying: "Go ahead, go to bed, mummy will help me clean up your toys, but only for tonite, only tonite, okie?"

Kyra: Okay....(sounding relieved)
Mummy: but tomorrow onwards, you gotta keep your own toys, I am not gonna keep your toys after you, you get it?
Kyra: Okay....
Mummy: Gniteeee........
Kyra: Gnite.......

Well, I do not know how long this TOY STORY 3 'made-up-by-mummy' lesson will last.....but I hope by the time this lesson wears off, keeping toys properly would have become their habit...for good! :D

Anyway, have you watched TOY STORY 3 by the way? (fyi, I didn't watch 1 nor 2, not that interested, but I guess I could say I have no regrets watching the 3rd) And if you have, what is your favourite part/scene? Hehe.......Mine's when Mr Potato Head morphed into a zucchini (or cucumber...not sure..too dark) LOL! I practically laughed out loud together with most if not all the audiences! Hehehehe......

And according to Zac who sat next to Kyra in the movie, at the end when all the toys got back to Andy safe and sound, she was smiling widely..........sweet.

***********

Oh, another sweetness....
This afternoon when Zac and the two babes went to get the movie tickets, he said to Kyra: "Eh, we are going for movie worr.....mummy is not here, what if she gets sad?"

Kyra: Pu Hui! Den e xia wo KISS tha, tha ciu pu hui SAD liau!
(Translation: Oh, it's okay, later I will kiss mummy and she will not be sad anymore!")

ahhh.....how kher ai (CUTE) a thing to say...LOL! I just feel the need to jot this down...in case I forget in years to come....hehe......

Okiesss......nite nite for now......

Here are the babes wearing the skirts and pageboy hats I made for em...
Kyra's a poofy bubble skirt, while Maia's a pleated cotton linen.

DIY Ya Own Garlic Bread!

2010-06-24T14:15:00.003+08:00

I just made some garlic bread for breakfast this morning.....actually the photos you see here are of the 2nd batch's, the ones for my sis#2 who's waiting to go to work....so you see, the garlic is kinda coarse here.....the 'supposed' garlic paste could be finer, just like the previous batch's that was already in my tummy... :D before I remembered to snap a pix of them! hehe!

First, slice your baguette lengthwise....or you could even use normal bread! In fact, I think I will experiment with wholemeal bread next!!! Once I replenished my garlic that is.....used up all of them this morning :P
Super simple, but yummy and healthy!
All you need next are: Butter, black pepper (preferably our Sarawak very fragrant pepper :D ), dried basil, and salt to taste. To make the garlic bread 'paste', you could use a granite mortar and pestle like I did to crush and cream the garlic + butter + salt + basil + pepper. Then, spread your garlic paste onto the breadsssss....preheat your oven if necessary......mine's not.

Bake them at 200C degree for 6-10 minutes, depends on your oven really.....THAT'S IT!!!! SIMPLE EH???? Do it then! :D
I had mine with a strong cuppa coffee for breakfast.....I forgot how many slices I had :O....
oh gosh!

I made my 1st roman blinds :D

2010-06-24T10:46:00.006+08:00

Ingredients:
*2 x 150cm wide Ikea BOMULL bedspread RM29/pc
(yes, you read me right, bedspreads I used)

*1 x 220cm wide Ikea BOMULL bedspread RM49/pc

*5meters plain cotton as lining (I used 90" wide bedsheet cotton coz it's wide enough) @RM10/meter

*Matching thread

*5.25meters velcro

*approximately 20meters of 1" wide pencil pleat tab (used as the slot for the aluminum rods)
@RM13/box of 50meters

*2 x 4.5' wide roman blind track set @RM72/set

*3 x 2.0' wide roman blind track set @RM64/set
***coz minimum length to pay is 4' apparently :(

Now I truly 'gedit' as to why people at the curtain shop charges so 'nicely' for customized roman blinds....these babies are not easy to make.....especially if you, like my case here, chose a non-stiff, non-rigid fabric....aduhmak! my bad...my bad......I am lucky though they turned out straight enough.....PHEWWWWW!!!!!
***But I think these should be easy for pros to sew if they do it for a living, no? :P
Here's the outcome.....
I chose BOMULL coz it's unbleached cotton, very raw feel to it...
and it has nice horizontal texture lines going across....
look here....it looks like japanese blinds.....something lidat lah....
but I do know it's not the best fabric to pimp into becoming ROMAN :P
Finally.....I have roman blinds in my bedroom....to replace the temporary pieces of fabrics that I used to 'dress' down my windows....LOL! Happeeeeee.........
I hope it'll be longggggg before I have to make more roman blinds.....
Very daunting...... :D

TOTAL COST?
RM520 only.

I had roman blinds in our living room custom made by curtain shop early 2009, and 6 panels of 4' wide roman blinds costed us RM2000 after -RM300 discount :O. That makes 1 panel = RM333.33. Darn expensive, right? Hoooshhh!!!!

The ones I DIY-ed here, a total of 5 panels, we can assume the 2' wide panels are the same as those of 4' wide since they charge a minimum of 4' for the tracks anyway. So if I were to get these custom made, I would be paying approximately RM1500.

Hey, I think I just saved 2/3 of the price! :D

***Psssttt!!! For those who are new to my blog, the headboard is also DIY-ed! If you need a solution to a big hole behind your bed.....check this out!

My time saver trick!

2010-06-24T10:29:00.002+08:00

Yes, it's as simple as that, I cut down my cooking time into half by squeezing two types of 'food' into my Sharp Healsio water oven to steam most times. In fact, I do this with my Panasonic convection oven too, whenever suitable!

Seen here was last nite's dinner. Steamed broccoli in the large deep plate and egg tofu in the smaller bowl for the babes. Then on the stove I had salmon cooking, the salmon dish I blogged about quite recently......and another small pot with green peas and etc simmering (before I turn this dish into the pea puree to go with the salmon)!

Most people who saw me cooking my broccolis this way would ask: "Wouldn't it be still hard to the bite?" Truth is, it's perfectly nice, not to mention healthier than boiling your broccoli like my mum and godma still do:D I oven-steam it for 12-13 minutes, with just olive oil + black pepper + salt, and the outcome is a very sweet and juicy calcium-rich vege! In fact, this steamed broccoli is Zac and the babes' favourites! Mine too of course, coz I introduced this to their taste buds haha.....

Well, you don't have to own this water oven to steam your brocco most definitely! You can steam it the old fashioned way, or even used the multi-tiered electronic steamer....it's just steaming anyway! And trust me, you'll never want to go back to boiling your vege after this!

This (above) is why I have broccoli in my fridge every week!!!

L2B June Part 2 Challenge: BUTTER COOKIES

2010-06-23T19:48:00.010+08:00

Made these last Tuesday nite for our Learn2Bake Club's June Part 2 assignment. Honestly, I hate (read: utter dislike) baking CNY cookies btw, I myself am not a cookie person to start with, I am a cake (or cupcake) person.....but well, my babes, dad and Zac loves anything buttery....so I shall give this butter cookie a chance......

Well, verdict is, I am soooo glad I baked these! Really! I had over 12 pieces of the ones with raisins for breakfast yesterday morning over my cuppa coffee....gosh! And obviously my favourite is the 'Oh! Raisins!' ones. And 'lou gung' said last nite: "I think yours is more fragrant than the ones in the blue tin!" (referring to Kjeldsens') :O
Hoooohhh!!! That's kinda pressuring...LOL!

Alright, 30 minutes ago, I packed a container of these cookies for Sis#2, she's bringing em to work to be shared with her lady boss.... :O I shall wait and see what does she think of these....*with a bated breath* LOL!

But then, for those of you who would like to try this recipe out, here it is:

Ingredients

2 cups butter, softened (use good butter please)
1 1/2 cups white sugar (I used just 1 1/4 cup) and plan to try using caster sugar next time for a different texture!
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the yolks one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Shape dough into logs about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate or freeze until firm. (***FYI, I didn't chill my dough, I shape em immediately to bake!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Unwrap rolls. You can roll the logs in nuts or sprinkles before slicing. Slice into 3/8 inch wide slices. Place slices 1 inch+ apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Do not brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. (***I had to bake mine for approx 12-13minutes at 180C, different oven will bake differently, so please try yours at 8 minutes to begin with to avoid over-browning ya)

HAPPY BAKING!!!
And those who this recipe, please let me know how yours turn out, alright? You can leave your feedback of your butter cookies in the comment box.....it'd be interesting to know :)

*****UPDATE*****
Today, Saturday 26th June 2010, I gave some of these butter cookies to Godma. An hour++ later, I got an sms from her that read: "4got to sms u. Ur cookies better than d 1 that we bot. (round tin imported)"
*referring to Kjeldsen's :D

So, this far, it's 3 against 1.....LOL! Hubby, godma and myself (trust me, I tried the cookies side by side...just curious) thought that this recipe's butter cookies are better than Kjeldsen's, while Sis#2 begged to differ.....she thinks Kjeldsen's fine textured butter cookies are better, though mine are still yummy.

After d trip....

2010-06-23T09:05:00.010+08:00

I have so many stuffz to write about but not the time to do so....gosh! This is overwhelming....as I was sewing a ruffle skirt (very cute I must say) yesterday, I told myself: "You have to set a day to sit down with your long-neglected blog, before you start making your 2nd set of curtains!"

Okay, so here I am!

Where should I start? I think I'll go randomly according to memory then...BEWARE! photos aplenty! Click to view larger images ya:)

We (the babes and I) flew to KL to join Zac for the school holidays on 10th June, and were back 17th. To summarize, out of the 7 days, we 'appeared' in IKEA (or Ikano) FOUR times :O coz it's become Kyra and Maia's favourite hangout mall, thanks to Ikea's ice cream at the cafe and the mini super cute Ikea trolley for kiddos! :[ (I guess they have gotten used to that place coz even before we moved back and away from Ikea *sob*sob*, we frequent Ikano almost every other weekend anyway)

Photo strip #2: What you do when you're @Ikea's!
25 years guarantee: for my little babe? : trolley-full of food used to be our usual before we left Ikea for good to 'occupy' our Kuching home : fabricholics I am! : the very-loved RM1 Ikea ice cream (we had plenty of this throughout the trip lol!) : don't you love the colourful stools? I have one of that at home, mine's red! But I guess ONE red stool can't be as cute as many colourful stools like this eh!? :D

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We lunched with Jacklyn and family at Chili's @1U, the babes (total: 4 of them) had lots of fun riding the 'animals' except Kyra (of course!). She, very much like her dad, just refused to let herself have fun, pure simple fun....aihh........in fact, she was sobbing while riding her big toy elephant ride! Gosh! Jac bought us the lunch, how sweet of her, and Tyrel of course...LOL! Tashell and Maia, surprisingly clicked so well, these two were buddy-buddy with each other the entire time...just look at them, you'll see.....and before we said our goodbyes, I promised Tashell that I will let her make cupcakes at my house with Kyra and Maia and her meimei Tafflene when they visit Kuching in November.....(which kid doesn't like cupcakes!?)
Photo strip #3: sweet sweet babes under 5! Oldest cheche being Tashell, followed by my Kyra who's 3 months younger, then Maia who's an October 07 baby while Tash's little meimei is youngest, a November 07 baby! That's Maia in 4th pix, holding the Tupperware tumbler Jac got them each, they were eager to use it once they got home....goodness!

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We dined with Caren & family, and Ilin at the new Empire Shopping Mall. Boy, Le Boy was quick to warm up to us, to my huge delight! At 9 months old, babies this age are aware of who's around them and usually have stranger-anxiety, that's why before meeting him I was a bit sceptical as to whether I'd get to carry him for the 1st time this trip. He too, clicked with Maia well...LOL! Seems like most people (adults and kids alike) can click easily with her eh.....

I must say that Le Boy is one cheerful and lively little fella, even Zac agreed! On top of being all that, he is also one tough little cookie, according to mummy Caren, he went through his 2nd operation (for his cleft) without much fuss and was still able to smile to the Dr and nurses the next morning after operation :O I truly don't know how could he not be bothered by the pain lerrr....Gosh! Kudos little fella! I was so happy to see you really! All grown up (compared to the last time I saw him at 3.5months old) and eating ya solids so amazingly good. Well, his mummy has gone through a lottttt even before his birth, so seeing him now all so 'leng cai' and healthy kinda makes everything okay, everything fine......(of course, wait till he starts trooping around the house breaking things, and has a lot more of his own 'principles' to debate with mummy......hahahaha).

Oh! The cute thing about this meet-up was, we all got each other presents! LOL!..Making it feel like Christmas really. I gave the 1st and 2nd zippered pouch that I made to these two wonderful friends of mine, and they in return, got me an early 30th birthday gift! In the form of fabrics!!! YEEEeeeee! Great thinking huh?! Me likey! :D
Photo strip #4: That's Le Boy (actual name: Sherlock), and notice how the three little peeps were wearing similar themed clothings? How cute is that? Maia was actually in Le Boy's jacket coz she said she was cold :P but I am guessing it's only coz Kyra has her jacket on! And THANKS you two for the sweet birthday gift and 'dinner' a few nites later....(you know, the one where we talked till we forgot to snap our usual 'photo', till the restaurant dimmed to lights to close up?) :D

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Photo strip #5: What we do at daddy's place!

Maia demo-ing her new bathing suit, and showing us how the orange Tupperware tumbler and ball matched her suit to the T! : the two babes playing 'water' at daddy's apartment's indoor pool : Domino's pizza (beef pepperoni to be exact) used to be our weekly too, so we couldn't miss it while we were there : role-playing as "THE ANGEL" with a magic wand that costed just RM6.50 :O for the entire set (wings, wand and head piece) Found it at Bake With Yen baking ingredients shop btw!

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Photo strip #6: More thingssss.....
I love this pix of Kyra and Zac coz I think she looked sweet there : That's Maia in our trusted Peg Perego Polkadottie stroller that does everything.....you can't go wrong with this stroller really! Yeah I know it does not look space-age like Stokke's or aero like Quinny's, but practicality-wise, this one beats em hands down! I am sure of that coz I have tried all before deciding to get Peggie Peregoieeee! :P : ahhh....two sistas looking all sweet and demure and harmless eh? Too sweet to be true lah! : okie, I chose 3 bathing suits for Kyra to choose from, and guess what?!!! She chose the zebra-print bikinis instead (last pix)...hahaha!!! And no, she didn't get that from me....

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Photo strip #7: It's time to say buhbaiiii....
I pledged my RM25 to plant a tree, and in return got a nice colourful grocery bag at Mid Valley : I tried and tested the RM5 a pop cupcake at KLCC's Bijou and found them to be fine and achievable at home, here in my home..LOL! : its their 1st ride on the KLIA Express train to reach KLIA before boarding our plane:)

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Oh, we were lucky enough to be on the Mas Airbus instead of the usual 737 coz they also served us Haagen Dazs ice creams.....I guess that's to compensate our leaving Ikea...I mean, KL....???
LOL!

Oh gosh....now that I've baked my June (part 2) challenge for my Learn2Bake Club, I have to post it up here too ya.....wait....lemme go fetch my little babe now......I've been prepping photos and blogging the entire morning! :O

Simple Shu Cream

2010-06-07T15:22:00.009+08:00

School holidays have kicked off officially today and we (me and the two babes) are feeling so free and easy.....we slept in till 8+ (unlike usual @7am), we didn't have to rush for showers or anything.....so relaxed that I could only think of baking something light and easy......and thus, these mini puffs!!!! Also known as 'Shu Cream' in Japan, these are what we know as cream puffs with custard filling.

If I had known how easy it was to make these, I would not have spent so much buying Beard Papa's cream puffs from Mid Valley most times I am there! In fact, taste-wise, sis and her boyfriend said these taste better! Ahah!! And see how these two tried to finish the 1st batch of mini puffs at one go??? Goodness.....and my fussy-eater Kyra prefers her puffs au naturel, WITHOUT any filling! That's so her....haha.....
I ran out of eggs, so Sis#3 got me more to make more of these to bring home! Quickly, I whipped up another 36 medium ones so Dad and Sis#2 could try em when they are back from work later!

Anyways.....for those who love 'Shu Cream' aka Cream Puffs like we do....here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 eggs - 2 eggs

For custard cream filling:
2 tbsps flour
1/2 cup sugar (I used only 1/4 cup but my sis#2 still thought this is a bit too sweet, so the next time I make these, I'm probably gonna use just 1/8 cup :O )
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp melted butter
*powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Beat eggs in a bowl.
Put butter, sugar, and water in a pan and bring to a boil.
Add flour in the butter mixture and stir quickly. Stop the heat.
Add eggs slowly in the mixture and mix well.
Put the dough in a plastic bag to squeeze out as small mounds.
Make mounds of dough on an oven pan.
Bake them in the 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
Cool the puffs and cut them in halves horizontally.

Make custard cream as follows:
Mix egg yolks and sugar in a pan.
Add sifted flour in the pan and mix well.
Add warm milk in the pan gradually.
Place the pan on low heat and stir the mixture constantly until thickened.
Stop the heat and add melted butter and stir well.
Cool the custard cream. Fill the bottom halves of puffs with custard cream and place the top halves. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*Makes 24 mini puffs, or 18 medium puffs, depends!
And, oohhh...btw, u're supposed to flatten the "TIP" of the piped mounds so it'll turn out looking more like the NORMAL cream puffs...LOL! I didn't coz I think it looks cute this way.....since it's sooooo eenie mini anyway.....(if I were to make bigger ones, I'd flatten it though....else, it might look like.... P**) LOL!

Puff puff awayyyyyy!!!!

1st Commissioned Cupcakes

2010-06-05T14:13:00.005+08:00

All these while I have been making cupcakes and cakes for family members' occasions voluntarily, and today's set of cupcakes would be my FIRST commissioned cuppie-works! Hooray! Ordered by my Godma for her good friend's son whose birthday party is this evening......and birthday boy Nick is turning 10!

Here's the 40 mini chocolate cupcakes with VERY super thick chocolate ganache. The 'grassy hills of Monaco' (ahemmm) are grown on top of the chocolate ganache too and it's peppermint buttercream grass.....I tried one extra cupcake with that peppermint buttercream...and ohhhh.....soooooo yummmmmy!!! Perfect combination, as usual!
Dangerous corner ahead!!!!

DIY-ed the mini flags, had to borrow the babes' magic markers to do the job! Hehe!

Ohhh!!! Ferrari won! (in case you get the wrong idea that I am a big fan, I actually placed the red mini race car at the finishing line randomly.....and only after I started snapping photos that I realized....ohhh....RED = Ferrari! :D )
Godma's gonna collect these yummies later in the afternoon.....I hope the birthday boy will be thrilled to see them, though I have no doubt on the seriously yummy cupcakes myself! :D

Simple salmon with precious pea!

2010-05-29T23:07:00.001+08:00

It's one of those days when I feel demotivated and yet still have to perform my duty to fill up the little bellies of the two babes with nutritious stuffs.......with no plans on what to cook for dinner....I opened my fridge and THIS orange Mr Salmon stared back at me....and tadaaaaaa.......dinner is planned! And in less than 45 minutes, dinner is done!

Here....let's all have healthy salmon with pureed peas :D

Here's the low-downs on this meal:

A) THE FISH:
Salmon, as many slices as you want. Here I am using just ONE medium large slice.
Dried basil
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
Garlic powder

*Season the salmon with all the above.
*With a skillet or pan, heat up some olive oil or butter if you prefer.
*When it's heated to the right temp, lay the salmon into the pan and fry away!
*Halfway through, turn it over once.....let it cook for the same amount of time you did the other side, that's it! (Pardon me coz I can't tell you exactly how long to cook it over the stove, diff temp diff pan.....there's just no magic number in my case...you look, and tell.....if the salmon is cooked well enough....I guess through experience? Hehe...sorry ya!)

B) THE PEA:
1 cup of green peas (or more if you have more salmon slices)
2 medium potatoes, diced or sliced (doesn't matter)
1 large yellow onion, sliced (I usually use a lot more onions)
1 cup of boiling water (add more when necessary)
Salt and pepper to taste
Heavy cream (more if you like it super creamy)

*Boil all the ingredients (except heavy cream) together till cooked.
*Then, carefully pour it into your food processor and puree it.
*Halfway through, add in the cream, then let the food processor run a few pulses again to get it well blended!

The pea puree is done! It's yummy and also very nutritious coz it has carbohydrates from potatoes and the antibacterial properties of onion and best of all, as the name suggests, it has a pea-ful of goodness.....look at the chart below.....see how much nutrients a cup of peas give us?

Truth is, I myself NEVER liked green peas in the past....but I really do know and acknowledge its goodness....and I wanted to slot in this good stuff into my two babes...(and myself too of course..hehe)....but eating green peas in its round cute form is just not workable...thus, I searched for alternative ways to make peas more appealing...and I think I have just found it! :) Coz both babes ate the salmon and the pea puree appetizingly just now....

It always makes me feel good knowing I am feeding the two babes and myself right....that's the least I could do!

Food Indulgence N Ice Creamsss!!!

2010-05-25T16:23:00.004+08:00

I just saw an FB contact's contact's photo album entitled "Miserable Life" and who would have guessed the content is actually a BURGER from Mc Donald's? LOL! What a funny way to crave.....and this triggered some thoughts.......and I come to realize I really have to be grateful to be able to eat anything I want (as long as the quantity and frequency is moderated) and be healthy and stay below the 50kg line! Okay, I am currently 49.5kg to 50.0kg (111.5lbs), and for a 5'4" woman, I think I am doing fine.....

I am not one to stay off foods to end up binging on em one bad day....I believe I should be able to eat the things I love as long as I eat it with a sane balanced mind! This is how I keep a consistent weight so far.....and I truly pray that my metabolism will not take a dive now that I am entering my 30th year on earth......hehe!

I also do not eat supper and I eat very healthy lunch and dinner every day because I have to prepare these meals for the two babes at home anyway....so I eat what I feed them! HAHA! And mind you, Kyra is a very fussy eater.....so in case you start to get the idea that their daily meals are tasteless bland stuffs....think again! Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the kind of breakfast I eat......(Coz if there's cake in the oven, I eat 3 cupcakes + coffee for breakfast....yeah, you get the picture....) mainly coz the babes don't eat their breakfast at home.....after their morning milk, they shower and hop over to school where they will eat 'breakfast' at 9.30am. I know for sure that if I have to feed them breakfast, I too will be eating healthy breakfast every morning! :D

So, since this is about indulgence food.....I made my current favourite Matcha Ice Cream....then I made Cookies N Cream Ice Cream too since not everybody in the family fancy green tea like I do....My online buddy Cynthia gave me the recipe to a vanilla ice cream, I modified it a bit and here they are.....

The taste is awesome....those who know NingNing, can ask her....those who know Jacky (her friend who came by last nite)....can ask him! LOL! The only alteration I would make for my 2nd batch of ice creams is to cut down on the sugar......these are a tad too sweet for the sake of our healths really....

Matcha, anyone? :D

55th Birthday for the babes' Granpa!

2010-05-24T11:01:00.004+08:00

My dad, aka the babes' granpa turned 55 last saturday. We threw him a surprise family dinner party, and he totally had no idea.....that's why he was so gloomy the entire afternoon, LOL! Well, who could blame him for thinking that his children would definitely remember his birthday after all that he did for them....hehe.....

So, imagine how 'delighted' (that's an understatement) he was when he finally saw the birthday cake and all of us at our home that evening.....hehehehe....... and as usual, mum would 'cater' for most of the food and I catered for the cake and/or dessert.

My dad was born in the year of the Goat (or sheep?!), but because a herd of sheep is way nicer, better and cuter than goats, I made him these......... (the Chinese words read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and we had to google it for me to refer coz I don't read nor write Chinese. It's my 1st set of cupcakes with Chinese words btw...a lot of fun!)
Take a closer look.....the one inside the fences is GRANPA SHEEP of course..the birthday man! The 2nd largest sheep is GRANDMA SHEEP... :D, and the two lil sheep is Kyra and Maia each! There were even two sherperd dogs, the brown one is a mongrel (LOL!) while the other one in jet black fur is a Labrador Retriever! Fences made of biscuits, salty yummy biscuits, while the paving stones are actually Cadbury's. Grass is buttercream, the 'land' itself is chocolate ganache. The sheep's wool is buttercream as well, while the head and legs are fondant. To be honest, I had a lot of fun creating this birthday cake......so much so I can't wait for another occasion to bake one with deco!
Here's the two babes wishing their Granpa a happy birthday with their wet kisses...LOL!

This is us, from LEFT TO RIGHT:
Zac, Me, Kyra, Mum, Granpa, Maia, Sis#2 aka NingNing and lil bro Leonard. The only person not in this photo would be Sis#3 who's far enough, in KL...too bad. But well, she's coming back next week.....goodie!!!!

An old video of Maia....@1yr++

2010-05-19T09:32:00.005+08:00

Shaun The Sheep?

2010-05-18T17:55:00.004+08:00

Made these last weekend for my Singapore sis-in-law, at the same time test drove my Shaun The Sheep for fun......these are moist chocolate cupcakes with either dark chocolate ganache (the blackish brown) or peppermint white chocolate ganache (the green ones), and I think you'll be able to tell how moist it is with this pix, no?
Tested ONE ladybug too...with fondant.....just coz it's so adorable....
The frosting in lighter green is non-dairy fresh cream and it's by far my favourite kinda frosting coz it's not that sweet.....

Say Hi to Shaun, everybody!
Lemme see....Sis-in-law brought back 10 cuppies to Singapore,
Cuzzie Mobby took 6,
Aunt Halinah got 5,
Sis#2 took 3 (2 for her buddies),
and I ate the rest! LOL! FYI, there were 34 cuppies in total. Ahemmmm!!!

Dad's 55th birthday is this coming Saturday, and I have already 'sketched' out my cake design specially for him (in my head that is). :D I can only tell you it's yellow butter cake made with golden churn butter, just because some weeks ago he did ask if I could make him the 'common' yellow butter cake...hehe!

Another good occasion to bake, YAY!!!

OMG! my 2nd zippered pouch :O

2010-05-18T16:42:00.002+08:00

I did it again!!!
It's just so interesting to see THIS come to shape,
I guess the vibrant happy stripes contributed loads to its cuteness ratio too........
The strap of this zippered pouch is made with polkadot
grossgrain ribbon, and yes, the fabric flower is another
scrappy matter...hehe!

The interior is lined with brightly printed cotton,
and I suspect this is why I am loving this stripey pouch
super duper muchie!!!
Makes me happy just looking at it! :D
This one's gonna be a gift for a dear friend,
I hope she does forget to read my blog from today till mid June:P
LOL!

I have one little problem with the things I made....
(cupcakes excluded)
Each time I make something,
I fall deeply in lurveeeee with it that
I am so hesitant to let it go! :(

To the (past, present, future) recipients
of all my humble homemade handmade things,
I really hope my little gift would bring as much
excitement and joy into your life as much as
it did mine!

And if you happen to own something I made for you as a gift,
do know that you mean a lot to me :)

Eeeee!!!!! I Just Made My 1st Pouch!!!

2010-05-18T11:43:00.005+08:00

I haven't done a single sewing for over a week.....or was it 2 weeks? :O Coz I have been baking a lot a lot.....there's baking for Mothers' Day....Teachers' Day.....Cousin-visiting-from-Miri day...LOL! It's good to have wonderful occasions to bake for...haha...less guilt! :P

So this morning, since lunch and dinner have been taken care of,
I found myself itching to make something useful,
and I remember how much I loved Sis#2's MNG wristlet pouch last Sunday,
thus, THIS!
Fully lined with cotton printed batik and with a layer of
4mm thick sponge sandwiched in between,
this wristlet pouch is even good for a digital camera I realized!
Well, it can definitely fits my hp, keys, tissue pack, hand sanitizer,
(even 1 sanitary pad), and a medium square wallet.....(not my long wallet tho!)
I truly luv this navy blue Japanese cotton to bits...it's on the expensive side....unfortunately!
I can only imagine owning bolts and bolts of beautiful Japanese cotton in my studio...
sigh....LOL!
(Don't get me wrong, I luv American cottons too....esp those of Patty Young's,
Amy Butler's....the list is longgg!)

I completed the look with my handmade flower,
also from scrap fabric, I like a bit of contrast for this pouch,
so I chose this red punchy printed fabric flower.
Now I wish I already have my fabric label in hand....so I can stitch it on the pouch,
and call it the "-------" creation!
Hehe.....surprises ahead!

A sweet THANK U for the teachers!

2010-05-13T19:11:00.000+08:00

This one's bittersweet chocolate....
And it's now transformed into a pretty pink ladybug!
Sitting pretty on a bloom....ready to fly whenever
you reach out to catch it! :D
And here's "I AM VANILLA"
good ol plain vanilla....
Plain personalities go so well with classy blingz....hehe!!!

And here's the final 25 cupcakes to celebrate the babes' teachers
in school today......
Our sincerest gratitude for teaching my two babes,
and tolerating Maia's "OOpppssss, I spilt water again!",
and the other "Ooopppsss!" in class.....

HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY
to all the great educators everywhere!!!

Homemade Mothers' Day!!!

2010-05-11T19:43:00.011+08:00

We celebrated 5 moms last Sunday, namely, Grandma (my mum), MIL (Z's mum), Godma, ME, and a last minutely invited Aunt. The CHILDREN (me included) decided to make the dinner ourselves and exclude the usual chef aka my mum because it's Mothers' Day....... (I wonder why am I not excluded as well...LOL! But I guess that gotta mean I am still young). So here it is....snapshots of that evening.......a very enjoyable one that is!

The carrot cake I made.....and look at how pitiful that babe was?
Don't be fooled by her multi-facial expression! HEHE!
She just had a chocolate mousse prior to this pix!
I didn't ask her to pose with my cake fyi.......Here she is again....
Posing with the chocolate mousse I made for dessert!
You'll be able to tell how heavenly chocolate mousse is by looking at
Maia's expressions here......photo by photo!
I didn't have to ask her to dig in too!!!!
Mmm......mmm......
MMM......MMM......mmmmmmmmm
confirmed a chocolate love, like me and my family!
(FYI, Kyra on the other hand, DOES NOT like chocolate)
Weird huh? Who doesn't like chocolate? LOL!
Lemon Dew drink that LEONARD, my lil bro made.....
Honey Dew juice + Lemon Juice + Sugar + Crushed ice + Mint + h2o
Very refreshing!!!
Modified deviled eggsssssss!
Our last minute improvisation!
I had a lot of fun dressing these chocolate mousse up I tell u....
Made me feel like a real CHEF for that day...LOL!

Simple sushis by Cousin Stella....
It's yummy albeit the simplicity...
My babes just loved it so much, they ate till Z had to forbid em!
Ahhhh............
The MOMssss..... x 5
(the 2 babes couldn't help emselves...they just had to celebrate the
cake and candles....as usual......even if it's not their occasion I tell you)
"US"
It was a great fun throwing a small casual dinner party for my closest family
members.....at least now I know how to make chocolate mousse.....and pipe basketweave pattern on the cake!!! :D Mothers' Day is never a day when I expect to get presents from hubby really....it doesn't make much sense to me..LOL! But he did give me a little something that I've wanted since last year.....and I thank him for that :D AND he did say:
"This is an ALL-OCCASIONs-WHOLE-YEAR-IN gift you know....."
LOL! I don't mind......
What's really important on this kind of occasion is how it is celebrated....
with people who mattered most to me!

Now this is really a HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY, alright!

The 'Cake' That's Missing Something......

2010-05-11T10:50:00.003+08:00

u know how it is when the perfect 'carrot cake' requires chopped walnuts in it but you just can't have it coz your kids are allergic to nuts? The carrot cake without this 'chopped walnuts' tastes very good FYI, but deep down, I still wanna taste the perfect carrot cake that I ate for the 1st time, THE carrot cake that got me falling in lurveeeee with it to begin with!......

ahhhhhhh.......what should I do?......... (please don't help me with question..hehe)

GREEN Tableware For Kids & My Fave GREEN Bag!!!

2010-05-03T13:26:00.002+08:00

Yesterday @ The Springs, was just accompanying the babes at the play area inside POPPIES when my eyes spotted THESE.......

Yeap, you think you're looking at melamine or claytan's tableware, but you're wrong! :) These soup bowls and soup spoons are made from rice husks, thus the brand LITTLE HUSKS. It's completely natural, non-toxic and good for our environment too for obvious reasons! I am just so glad they have soup spoon in their range coz I've been looking for a long time for it....(didn't wanna let the two soup-loving babes use my clay and cute soup spoons for fear of em breaking it, and I only have 8 pieces!)

Even better is, the price is decent and it's locally manufactured, not MADE IN CHINA...phew-factor there! Hehe.... :P The soup spoon is only RM3.90, the soup bowl RM8.90. Would love to get the plates for them too if not because of its small size :(

After grabbing 2 of these items, I spotted what could be my FAVOURITE PRINTS from Envirosax thus far...the ORIGAMI set!!! Not gonna get all 5 prints from this range though coz I have enough grocery bag really.....but I knew I just had to own this one!!! It has cherry blossom prints....with a calm cool aquamarine colour......the print is so vibrant, don't you think? Makes me happy just looking at it.....(making me wish I have tons and tons of fabric in the entire ORIGAMI range prints!!!)

Aren't these sooooo pretty???? I wish I could have valid reasons to own the entire set, but NO, I do not...I have enough grocery bags.....(sigh).....So, for those of you who hasn't started using reusable grocery bags when you go to the supermarket, these gorgeous baggies gotta give you a good reason to...NO? (even if these don't....what about conscience then?) hehe!

***pssttt!!! I am actually very glad that the supermarket I frequently go to (if not each and every time) supports using our own grocery bag!!! This is very encouraging.....UNLIKE one huge hypermarket here that does not allow our own bags and even SEALS their plastic bags with cable strings!!!! Each and every plastic bag I tell you! Now imagine how many plastics they waste already...... :(

What's with girls and shuz?

2010-04-30T11:26:00.006+08:00

CROCS Malaysia had their warehouse sale starting yesterday till 3rd May 2010. Z managed to grab 2 pairs for Kyra since she loves wearing her Crocs super much. So I asked him to get Kyra a RUBY RED Alice (1st pix) in size M1, and PINK Mary Jane (2nd pix) in size M2! The usual prices for Kyra's Crocs are between RM119 to RM129 depending on design, and for these, we only paid RM35 per pair! Yeap, amazing discounts huh! Over 70% mark down :O So totally worth it!

Hehe...some of you might wonder, "What about Maia?".....
Well, I just took out Kyra's old Crocs and washed em...there are currently 1x BLUE Gabby, 1x PURPLE Alice and 1x PINK Sketchers (also the same kind of material as Crocs), strangely, all these 3 are of more or less the same sizes....and all are still looking new and in pristine conditions! Now why did we get so many pairs for Kyra last time? hmmmm......I can't remember.....

So, that's why, no more impulse buying! Haha! Maia's now wearing Kyra's 1st pair of Crocs which is a LILAC Cayman...and once she outgrows this pair, she will have the Gabby, Alice and Sketchers to choose from! Imagine that.... (Guilty to say, on top of these Crocs, both babes still have their dress shoes from Chinese New Year and sandals to boot! Pun intended...hehe!)

Okie, gotta continue my spring cleaning....sorting their outgrown clothing and shoes to be donated to the Salvation Army.......

These below are the ones we didn't get coz I usually don't buy things that are not so classic and will bore me over time.....Hello Kitty Crocs are discounted to RM50 per pair, Polkadot ones too!

"Mummy I will tell you how to bake it later"

2010-04-27T16:08:00.003+08:00

This afternoon, after the two babes got back from school, as usual, I will go to the kitchen to get ready their lunch. At that time, I was actually watching a baking program on the Asian Food Channel, 'SUGAR'. So I guess, seeing that I have to go away from the TV and all.....Kyra shouted from the living room in a serious, very enthusiastic tone:

"MUMMY MUMMYyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! I HELP YOU WATCH YOUR SHOW, LATER I TELL U HOW TO COOK IT, okay!?"

ME: "You sure?" *while chuckling away by myself.....and smiling in my heart....LOL!

Just the fact that she meant it so sincerely yet innocently.....ahhh.......cuteness!!!! I hope she'll get to read this when she's all grown up and be as amused as I am! STILL AM!

Kyra & Mummy's FAVE Cupcake!

2010-04-27T12:00:00.003+08:00

Yeap, just shy of a year ago, I wouldn't even try baking carrot cupcakes. Yeap, silly me! Just the 'vege' name in it turns most people off I think....but thankfully I shared a good slice at BING's early last year with lil bro, Ivy, WK.....and immediately fell in love.....

Even better is, Kyra the fussy picky eater, loves my carrot cupcakes! She, the one who does not wanna eat black chocolate cupcakes, because it's dark in colour....yeap, SHE! Haha.....

This carrot cupcake seen here, is frosted with LITE cream cheese frosting....unfortunately, the LITE version is a bit runny especially if it's not chilled, but it's absolutely yummy I had 3 standard sized of these for breakfast these two mornings.... :O (psssttt!!! I am having my 2nd one now....with a cuppa hot earl grey....yeap, call me crazy....crazy in love with carrot cupcake and cream cheese frosting that is!)

Learn2Bake Club April Challenge: Butter Cake

2010-04-19T08:23:00.004+08:00

Okay, plenty of sewing done, now it's time to EAT! I remembered I am owing the CLUB my April assignment, and since mum's gonna cook dinner for us + Godma's family + themselves and eat here yesterday (Sunday), I quickly took out my mixer to whip this up! It's a basic butter cake recipe from WILTON and I merely added raisins and white chocolate chips into it, topping it with rum flavored frosting! I honestly think the RUM-RAISIN combo is sooooo right! So right I put THREE of these cupcakes into my belly after dinner.....sigh! LOL!

Well, enjoy! (the photos, I mean... :D )

POCOYO's in town, mine!

2010-04-15T22:12:00.002+08:00

Tiered MAXI Dress!

2010-04-15T13:44:00.005+08:00

I can't wait to show you guys this dress I made in the morning while the babes were in school. Saw the new arrival japanese cottons in store the other day, could not resist the beautiful vivid prints and smooth 100% cotton.......and while blog-hopping two days ago, came across
MODA BAKE SHOP featuring a spring/easter dress and that's where I got inspired to do this! I think the 'summer-like' weather plays a part in my urges to make comfy (& stylish of course!) dresses...somewhat.....

Made a matching flower hairclip/brooch to complete the look too...hehe....but I am most glad coz my estimation of Kyra's height and size is right.......PHEW!!! (Don't you hate to do alterations!?) It has smockings at the back so the dress will fit nicely and comfortably! Now, I am very tempted to make one for myself :P

It's a BIRD! It's a DRESS!

2010-04-13T16:45:00.003+08:00

yeap.....modified from my black short-sleeved shirt that's now shrunken too short and tight for me.....(or am I the one who grew taller and fatter? LOL)...no, I believe it's shrunken too short and I have grown more than I was 8-9 years ago..... :O Oh yes, I usually donate things and clothes when I spring clean, but somehow...this very old shirt managed to sneak out of the DONATION BAG! Now I know why.....'it' has its purpose...... :]

Btw, the LITTLE BIRDIE was unplanned. I accidentally TORE the shirt at the back...thus.......

Then later, I decided to cinch the waist to give the shirtdress more shape, and this is the final outcome.

My Blouse = Her Shirtdress

2010-04-13T13:41:00.007+08:00

I was googling on what you can do with shirring...yes, I am madly in love with shirring lately after learning it......and I found this interesting and useful idea HERE! And since I do have a couple of adult shirts/blouses laying around my closet since forever, I figured this is what I should do about them....instead of letting them collect dust!

Here's the outcome.....it took me approximately 30-40 minutes to do this, and I am really very happy with it :D even though the only shirring involved was ONE LINE, on the elasticized waist.

I made it a sleeveless dress so Kyra can wear it during the daytime....believe me, the weather is really turning mad on us.....@34+C degrees (used to be 29C), I figured she won't wanna be drenched in her own sweat! (or worse, she might not wanna wear it if it makes her uncomfy!)

Now lemme go and spring clean the closet for more shirts.......you have one? :D

Old Bohemian Navy Dresses

2010-04-12T19:08:00.001+08:00

I did these yesterday, it only took 45 minutes for both actually and anybody who can sew straight lines can do it too really! The TEE is an Old Navy V-neck snug fit tee that I bought for RM5 each, from factory outlet....meant to be used for our TEE SHIRT PRINTING project with the babes, but because it's not really the white plain tee I had in mind, I hesitated on it for many weeks....and finally yesterday, I found an old fabric remnant from my youngest sis' bohemian skirt that she shortened! And tadaaaa!!!!

These dresses are super stretchy and lightweight, perfect for our scorching weather, and besides, I never like to dress them up in big boyish tee and shorts and then look sloppy, even at home! Don't get me wrong, I am not those mummy who shops endlessly for the lil girls' dresses, I hardly do that actually....I just like to see them in decent presentable play clothes that's also comfortable with a hint of style :D

Batik Print Shirred Sundress

2010-04-09T19:27:00.002+08:00

Made this just now using a half piece of batik printed sarung for Kyra. The good thing about this fabric is that it wears very well with age, the more you wash it, the softer it becomes! This is why it's actually very good for our super hot weather too. OMG, I am in love with shirring....LOL! (Newfound skill, for an amateur sewist, it's a big deal okay...haha)

My 1st Shirring!

2010-04-09T11:41:00.002+08:00

Maia's recovered from HFMD, and her asthma cough is better too! Kyra's cough is still persistent though, sadly. And after weeks of not sewing, I finally have the mood to do it! YAY for me! Coz I finally learnt how to do shirring, something I've always wanted to do but dared not! Thanks to PRUDENT BABY, I successfully shirred my 1st paisley print sundress for Maia!
Now this 2nd experimental shirred dress is inspired by KUKY IDEAS. Here I used the leftover fabric from Maia's quilted blankie project (seen here on her bed). It's actually a very narrow fabric, but good thing is enough to let Maia wear it for now...at least.... :D I obviously love this kinda green.....that's her in her shared bedroom btw!

Well, if I find time to sew today, I'll make a shirred sundress for her big sista Kyra! If not today, it will definitely be SOON! It's just so much fun, I am grateful there are generous peeps out there who took time to compose tutorials on these....or anything for that matter!

HFMD down, ASTHMA to conquer!

2010-04-07T19:30:00.004+08:00

As mentioned previously, we spotted HFMD symptoms on Maia and Kyra on Saturday. After tons of chinese medicines, today, Maia's ulcers seem to have shrunken, the blisters on her right palm are also drying. Thank God both babes didn't have to suffer the pain of multiple mouth ulcers! I can't imagine the pain, coz I usually am truly frustrated when I have just ONE ulcer in the mouth.....imagine FIVE or SIX in Maia's mouth! The chinese medicines must have helped suppress the progression of her ulcers...coz Maia didn't complain much about pain throughout! PHEW!!!

The only problem from this incident is, both babes started coughing badly on Sunday evening.....and so, we brought them to the child specialist, Dr Tan. I am so thankful we went, Dr Tan said that their coughs relapsed most probably due to the HFMD virus attack on the lungs. She prescribed antivirus pills and other cough medicines.

Now the only thing Z and I have to tackle is their continuous super-prolonged coughs.....come to think of it, it's gonna exceed 2.5 months' mark very soon, my goodness!!! They were recovering when HFMD attacked, unfortunately.....so now they are still coughing madly especially in the mornings.

Somebody suggested a direct-selling cactus juice that costs a big bomb (let's just say you can buy 2 pairs of TOD's shoes from factory outlet in the states with that money). I am doubtful. I think I will try HONEY, LEMON WATER, cut down on dairy products for now.....I have googled, I know what I am talking about :) and besides, within this period, we have already spent 1x COACH large handbag on their medical bills :[ and honestly, I prefer something we can maintain daily on a long term basis, not just this week or month!

The only thing both Z and I do not know is, WHAT IS THE TRIGGER for their asthma! I just wish somebody can come visit and tell us the answer......could it be flower dander from our garden? or the labrador at the backyard? or dust mites in the soft toys and mattresses?

For the record, we have:
*Removed all soft toys from their room
*Removed the bedroom rug too (thought it's part of the theme :( )
*Vacuumed and mopped every other day (that's a lot okay....the honorable maid is yours truly)
*Cleaned all the airconds inside out, even with enzyme solutions made for the internal fins!
*Changed their bedsheets super frequently!
*Cleaned their everythings with RAINBOW VACUUM CLEANER! (that can suck out dust mites!)
*Googled so much on this topic, that if Google can speak, it will say: "That's enough!" :P

and still, NO IMPROVEMENTS! We are d.e.s.p.e.r.a.t.e.

Re-PURPOSing The Doors

2010-04-07T11:02:00.011+08:00

I remember how the back of our old bedroom door looked back when I was a little girl and still co-sleeping with my parents, with my Sis@2 too! Because of the lack of space, I also remember 'hating' not having my own HOOK! Yeap, hook I said.... :P

But now that I have my own home, own room own bathroom.....strangely enough, I still find myself being overwhelmed by the sheer number of things to organize....to keep NEAT! Having two little babes who own tons of toys and things do not help:( and today, I find myself holding my mini power drill (again!)...and plenty of screws.......you guessed it, to screw things of course!

Here, let's see.....

Clockwise from L-R:
*The 'scene' at the back of the babes' room door, fixed with 2 units of IKEA Molger wooden hooks to hold their bags, diaper stacker, etcetera.....

*Right next to the door is where I 'planted' their huge apple tree....and there you'll find a giant FROG pockets! Also from IKEA, of course......(the source of all things innovative and more or less affordable....)

*The 2 green bath towels now have their own place, behind my bathroom door! Originally there was only ONE hook and I find my towel nowhere to be hung!

*On the same bathroom door, on the OTHER side, I attached 6 Ikea hooks for random items....mostly clothes though! Some of you might wonder why I 'pollute' the front of my bathroom door with hooks, I bet? Well, the entire space that you see here is the walk-in closet actually, so I guess it's okay to make full use of the door as well...since the entire 'thing' is an open concept storage anyway.........well, better than having nowhere to hang my stuffs, I'd say! And AFTER we install the dividing doors (ie. also AFTER we have excess $$$ LOL!), no one will be able to see this door from our bedroom!

*On the same bathroom door of mine....(poor door has to work so hard for me...LOL!), I fixed 2 units of IKEA tie rack that I bought aeons ago onto the door frame to hold my belts, scarves, several accessories......now I can access em easily and they no longer create a terrible mess when they are all over the floor......yay!

In case you remembered I once mentioned we were getting Ikea Stolmen system for our walk-in, right? Change of plan. A good one. Now we plan to DIY something rugged, maximizing the entire floor to ceiling space, probably on HALF of what the Stolmen might have costed us! Will keep you posted on that when it's accomplished.....kinda busy with two babes who've been down with asthma for over 2 months actually.....

Now this (above) is the back of door @ our STORE ROOM. I attached 2 plastic baskets, 1 pencil caddy, 2 stainless steel hold-anythings and a hook to hang the purpose non-woven bag!

*Plastic baskets are removable and they are used to store colour pencils, loytapes, and such!

*Pencil caddy (the wooden thingie) is for the babes' markers and our pens/pencils! Before today, Kyra always managed to locate and sneak the markers for her 'art'! It's okay for her to do that, but not OKAY FOR MAIA COZ ONCE SHE TOOK A PEN AND DREW ALL OVER OUR LEATHER DINING CHAIR...so there you go.....

*The stainless steel hold-anythings, I use em to store scissors, penknives.....you name it!

*Finally, the purple FOC non-woven grocery bag is now proudly keeping all their A3 art papers in check! Before today, this bag held nothing really :D

Well, I still have a little bit of space on the back of this door....but for now, these are sufficient to keep our almost-daily items organized and UN-lost!

Honestly, at first, I did hesitate to drill on the doors.....then I reasoned with myself (Yeap, it seems like I have two of me here.... sort of!), and the other ME won! Really, if I didn't drill and make use of the back of these doors....they won't see much daylight too anyway.....and all those ugly messy stationeries will tarnish the look of our living room! So which is more crucial? A few holes at the back of your door, or a messy living room? Obviously, I got the answer already.... :)

Bad news for an Easter weekend!

2010-04-04T17:09:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, Maia shouted: "Mummy, look at my hands!!!!" and yeap, 4 blisters on her right palm and immediately I knew that could be HFMD (Hand Foot Mouth Disease), with a dreadful feeling in my chest of course......the minute we reached home, I checked with their kindie's principal if anybody's been down with HFMD the past week....and YEAP! Her own little niece :(

I quickly reached for the torch light and checked both babes' mouths, and off we went to a chinese physician's clinic. Thank God we realized the infection early enough, Dr Lee said that his herbal medicines might be able to suppress the ulcers from 'popping'. FYI, Maia's mouth has got 5 (if not more) ulcers already but they are not reddish and painful YET (I can't tell whether those are painful or not coz she didn't complain till now! Strange, I know).....

So, out of the Dr's office, paid RM160, 5 bottles of herbal meds for both to be taken 3 hourly for the next 3 days or so. Dr said that as long as it's not EV71 virus or Coxsackie, it won't be life-threatening.

Today is the 2nd day both babes are on the medications, so far so good as nobody is complaining of sore ulcers nor developing fever *THANK GOD!*, but I do hope the ulcers will start disappearing tomorrow though....

On top of that, we learnt from a friend about this little green plant that people take for ulcers and many other sickness, called PEPEROMIA PELLUCIDA.

"软骨草" Chinese remedy to heal HFMD(Hand Foot Mouth Disease)
Name: Peperomia pellucida

QUOTED FROM SEVERAL WEBSITES:
"The leaves and stalk of pansit-pansitan (=Peperomia pellucida = 软骨草) are edible. It can be harvested, washed and eaten as fresh salad. Taken as a salad, pansit-pansitan helps relive rheumatic pains and gout. An infusion or decoction (boil 1 cup of leaves/stem in 2 cups of water) can also be made and taken orally - 1 cup in the morning and another cup in the evening.

For the herbal treatment of skin disorders like abscesses, pimples and boils, pound the leaves and/or the stalks and make a poultice (boil in water for a minute or two then pounded) then applied directly to the afflicted area. Likewise a decoction can be used as a rinse to treat skin disorders.

For headaches, heat a couple of leaves in hot water, bruise the surface and apply on the forehead. The decoction of leaves and stalks is also good for abdominal pains and kidney problems.
Like any herbal medicine it is not advisable to take any other medication in combination with any herbs. Consult with a medical practitioner knowledgeable in herbal medicine before any treatment."

Seen here (below), I mixed it with a little honey so that it's easier to coax the babes to take it.

But honestly, luckily it's not bitter to the taste, it smells FRESH, nice scent and has not much 'green' taste.....Maia had no problem drinking it! :D

"Description: Peperomia pellucida is an annual, shallow-rooted herb, usually growing to a height of about 15 to 45 cm. it is characterized by succulent stems, shiny, heart-shaped, fleshy leaves and tiny, dot-like seeds attached to several fruiting spikes. It has a mustard-like odor when crushed.Flowering year-round, the plant is found in various shaded, damp habitats all over Asia and the Americas. It grows in clumps, thriving in loose, humid soils and a tropical to subtropical climate.Peperomia pellucida has been used as a food item as well as a medicinal herb. Although mostly grown for its oriental foilage, the entire plant is edible, both cooked and raw. The analgesic properties of the plant seem to be related to its effect on prostaglandin synthesis. Anti-inflammatory, chemotherapeutic, and analgesic properties have been found in crude extracts of P. pellucida. It may have potential as a broad spectrum antibiotic, as demonstrated in tests against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Escherichia coli .Chloroform extracts from dried leaves of P. pellucida have been shown to exhibit antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes."

It's Truly Bloomin Brilliant, Jamie!

2010-04-03T22:02:00.000+08:00

I've heard from a friend that this recipe is very good.....and decided to give it a try since all the ingredients are in my kitchen anyway....and most importantly, we all love chocolate-anythings!

Hubby: This brownie is really good, man! You can really sell this!!!

So, in case you have not a clue of the title of this post.....this brownie is from Jamie Oliver, one of my favourite cooking guy...for his spontaneity and simplicity of course!

Learn2Bake Club

2010-03-31T19:19:00.009+08:00

31st March is a special impromptu day. Why?
Somehow, over the FB messages, me and 2 other online buddies who love baking, we created our Learn2Bake Club in Facebook! It all started with Cynthia suggesting it....then it all happened in a day! Yeap, a day = today!

We ding-donged emails throughout the day, from naming our little humble club to the rules and privacy settings. And I have just created this lil logo for it :D....waiting for approvals from both my peers. I just feel that any club, like any human, needs an identity, a 'face'......

Quoted from the club's FB page:
"This is a club for anyone who would like to learn to bake. Each month, we will have members suggest what to bake for that month (1-2 recipes each month). Recipes, ideas and tips will be contributed to help each other grow from there. The challenge of the month will be revealed on the 1st of each month, and the posting of your work will be on the 28th of the same month.All are welcome to join this club!"

So do you bake? You like having baking peers? :D Coz if you do, you're most welcomed to join all of us in our lil Facebook group here!

Organization tips!

2010-03-28T10:36:00.004+08:00

What are you working on right now? Well, I am reorganizing my super messy and unorganized 'studio', trying to make it look as close to acceptably cute as possible, but then.....the downside is, I still can't get rid of the Lorenzo king sized bed that F.I.L gave us for our wedding (which is now a guest bed that's hardly used btw).......and this bed alone has taken up 30% of the entire room....sigh! :(

Days ago, I came across some cool and frugal tips on art supplies organization HERE!.....

Now...while I do not have that cute scary looking owl on top of my newly installed IKEA shelves, nor do I have that vintage chest of drawers.....I do have the clip-hanger like the one seen here....I also do have plenty of plastic storage boxes...and the BEST tip in this 'picture' would be the overhung glass jars!!! I think this is a brilliant and smart idea...especially if you have buttons and small stuffs to store and always can't seem to find them fast! Now I have asked my mum to help me collect small jars alright... :D

I do silently hope however.....SOMEHOW....my 'studio' will turn out NOT BAD!.... :P
Stay tuned! I am very excited to find out myself!

of cupcake and polkadot!

2010-03-27T17:14:00.002+08:00

and so it is 'decided' that Kyra is mummy's CUPCAKE while Maia, mummy's POLKADOT! They both like their pet names very much funnily.....and both cupcakes and polkadot are truly few of my favourite things in life!

A DATE for Lunch With Family!

2010-03-27T15:47:00.004+08:00

My aunt and family from Sibu arrived yesterday. So we are having lunch at my place today, mum cooked her yummy fragrant melon rice while I made soup and dessert....and then bread...that was supposed to be for TEA......(all became LUNCH! LOL!)

How shall I call this soup? I simply created it out of the 'ingredients' I had in fridge....made of CELERIES + BROCCOLI + TOMATOES, plus cream!
le cebroto soup then! LOL! Lame, I know.....but nevermind...it's a weekend! YAY!
Tried making it both pleasant to the eyes and mouth.....

Here's a HEART-y soup for you!
And a POLKADOT-y one......
Then while we had lunch, my FIRST sour dough cheese bread was baking in the oven....and it came out looking like this! YUMMY! It has cheddar slices on top with sprinkles of sugar!
And they tried a bite...then two....then a few more cuts out of the lot....haha...
Then they added margarine spread on top of the piping hot bread....YUMMMM......it is savoury, no kidding! Has just the right amount of sweetness, saltiness and nice texture.
I already knew it's not gonna be my last time making this....
The two babes wanted to have more too!
Then it's DESSERT time....
Yes, I know this pink cupcake looks exactly the same as the one I made for Kyra's birthday celebration @ school, but wait......
It has a twist to it! YEAP!
This time, the cupcake has melted chocolate filling inside :)
Good news for chocolate lovers, like err....ALL OF US?

I really don't know when will be the next time we have a sit-down meal and good time with my aunt and family again......but I do hope it won't be too long.....
So we'll all have another excuse to whip up a storm! in the kitchen that is! :D

Bday Cuppies For Her Mates :)

2010-03-25T18:10:00.010+08:00

Kyra's birthday fell on Tuesday 23rd March, a school day. Thus, I made birthday cupcakes for her to celebrate it with her classmates during their break time. Here's TWENTY THREE rich chocolate and carrot cinnamon (NUT free coz it's better to play safe, plus, my own kid is allergic to nuts!), with baby pink frosting and simple black fondant alphabets with inverted dots!

These somewhat looked like one of the felt cupcakes I made her the other day,
the one with pink ribbon 'swirls' on top! Coincidence really!
To be honest, this is my CURRENT favourite cupcake combination. It may be simpler than those fancy fondant covered ones but taste wise, it's awesome!!! It's non-dairy fresh cream frosting in PINK, on top of the soft yummy cupcakes! Not too sweet like buttercream, yet light enough to complement the cake well! I know this coz i had to TASTE one.....this a.m i 'stole' one as breakfast already :D

"K" is for KYRA!

The homemade goodie paperbags,
containing 2 cupcakes + 1 fruit pudding + 1 cracker for each of her friends at school!
This round, she wanted it to be POCOYO instead of HELLO KITTY!
So I did it in 5 colours of the POCOYO & FRIENDS' characters......

It amused me to see how the kids enjoyed their cupcakes! And just look at the mess they made, and happily too!

After my birthday babe handed out all her goodie bags,
she whispered to me
"Mummy I love you!"
and hugged me in her class :)

Kyra's 4th Birthday Party

2010-03-24T16:52:00.012+08:00

Okay, WARNING! Plenty of photos ahead.....(I love blogs with plenty of photos, don't ya?) :D

It all started with this! Rich chocolate cupcakes made with lots and lots of melted chocolate......
FOURTY, yes, 4.0. birthday cupcakes decorated in PINK coz Kyra requested for PINK HELLO KITTY theme! There's PINK GEL, PINK SUGAR, PINK FONDANT ALPHABETS, PINK CANDIES on top of the chocolate ganache here!!! Yumm....my!!!!
Just for fun....I 'studded' the otherwise ordinary baby pink alphabets with 'black diamonds' (metaphorically speaking of course)........using black edible gel for that funky un-baby-ish look! She's 4 years old already, funky is legit for this age, no? :D

And the MAIN BIRTHDAY CAKE!
A Hello Kitty who wore pink polkadot jumper and pink flower on her head!
Holding red heart-shaped balloons, which is actually the exact balloon shape that we used for her party really.....coincidence!
And here's the recipes for the cake + chocolate frosting!
and I won't forget to add that it's very delicious...so you should try this recipe some day!
And this is US. Too bad we didn't have more snapshots! But the bday girl was very happy that night.....VERY VERY happy.....even my Godma noticed!
SEE? She's thrilled...in fact, even before the day of the party actually!!!
This is birthday babe with her fave aunt (sis#2) and all the presents she got!
All the presents are great and the babes love it, thank you very much relatives 'sekalian'! :D
So great they could not help but start a band right away! LOL! Here Maia is playing the drum while Kyra's on maracas shakin' away! It was a lot of fun when they opened the presents....a lot of laughters.....
You see how matchy matchy the presents are????
It's as though they knew her mummy's makin her a play kitchen and they coordinated!
Perfect coordination, I'd say!
Water pot, fridge, bday cake, stainless steel pots n pan.....perfect for her new kitchen!
The ultra inexpensive birthday banner in PINKs and HELLO KITTY.....something simpler coz I was really rushing her birthday present the past few days before the party by the way...(the kitchen).

The morning after! :)
Their fave aunt came and they 'officiated' all the presents!

Oh dear! Kyra looked like a butcher in the market in this shot! HEHE!
That's a dress I made for her a few months ago but it was a little too long then.....
The red piece is a play apron I made for them, each babe has one.
Little sis just lovesssss the drum super duper much! Isn't she a cute little drummer girl in pink here!? She's pink from dress to drum, gosh!
The two sisters sharing their happy moments......

All I can say is, a smaller intimate birthday party like this is wayyyyy better than a big grand one.
I get to enjoy every single minute without having to worry if I left out a guest on the deck or something........and things are more casual and fun too! Even the birthday babe approved!!!

And if birthday babe can read this many years down the road,
mummy would like to wish you
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (of course!)
a lot a lot of joys in your life
and hope that you'll always be in the pink of health!
And you truly are a great and understanding kid!
Always!
AMEN to that!

Home-'baked' Felt Cupcakes

2010-03-21T14:25:00.003+08:00

After making that play kitchen for Kyra, I sorted through their toy foods...and realized there're everything from meats to veges and even snacks, but no CUPCAKES!!! She should have cupcakes to bake in her new swanky oven....so I googled and found this felt cupcake idea....and thus......this!

Now there's chocolate cupcake with strawberry cream, vanilla butter cupcake with fondant flower, cream cheese cupcake with choc ganache and orange cream, peppermint cupcake with choc ganache and strawberry, carrot cinnamon cupcake, dark chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream! Now who wants one!!!??

Tiny oven mitts for tiny baking hands!

A Handmade 4th Birthday Gift: Play Kitchen for Kyra!

2010-03-21T12:50:00.013+08:00

Last weekend, remember I mentioned here we were doing a family weekend project? Well, it's finally completed, just in time for Kyra's small 4th birthday party yesterday evening. Basically 80% were done by yours truly :D, did I mention I loved loved loved our Living Skills class back in secondary school many years ago? Yeap, I still do, obviously! (Just the practical part though, not theory)

So here you see, I used the leftover plywood from our Headboard Project, very minimum if you ask me. I had to maximize the entire piece to create a play kitchen that's big and tall enough for Kyra to last her playing time for the next few years, maybe? LOL! Photos below will help you browse through the entire process......

LET's BROWSE!!!!

Made of 18mm thick plywood of good quality, and solid 'Selangan Batu' for some parts, also from the same headboard project. The hardest part would have to be cutting out the BIG HOLE for the 'basin' manually, using that tiny thin ruler-like saw and drill!

This (below) is the 'OVEN' door, seen here, I was starting a hole to cut out the little 'window' for the oven! Also not an easy thing to do, especially when you do not have gadgets or cool tools to do it! The most 'hi tech' tool I used for the entire project would be this BOSCH drill (also not mine! LOL!, it's Godpa's).....

Tadaaaaa!!!!! Birthday babe could not help but lurve the play kitchen.....the best thing is, while I was doing wood filing, sanding, sawing.......she would run to me and hug me, and tell me "MUMMY I LOVE U!", or "THANK YOU MUMMY".......isn't that sweet and so priceless?! :D
She did that more than 5x in a day! hahahaha!

She just could not help playing with it a bit while I took five!

Before painting could be done, I filled up 'holes' and joints with instant wood filler....wait for the filler to dry and harden before sanding it down! After I sanded down the entire thing, I painted it semi-matte white, also using leftover paint.

For the 'OVEN' interior, I sprayed it silver....good thing I found a lil bit of paint in storage room! And yeap, that's baking paper you see there...hehehe.....last minute improvisation.

ALL DONE FINALLY!!!!
After 4.5 days of hard work.
Seen on top of the kitchen are all the birthday gifts that Kyra got from relatives, and to my delight, their gifts seem to coordinate perfectly with the kitchen!
In the oven are felt cupcakes and pie that I made at the very last minute for Kyra 2 days ago, will write about it soon! Stay tuned for that one! :)
The other side of this kitchen island is for storing all their toy 'appliances'!
See the Hello Kitty toaster, rice cooker, blender, cake mixer and weighing scale?
The babes got these from relatives for their birthdays last year!
The side of the kitchen, with hooks for keeping all their mini kitchen stuffs organized!
Here they can hang oven mitts, grocery bags, aprons and such!

That silvery thing is actually a remove-able LED light, it will light up when you press the middle button! Cool little thing that hubby bought out of his impulse-buying spree at the hardware, but he never found a use for it till now.....so, there you go! :)

Kitchen Design & Details:
***In case you're wondering why I designed the kitchen to be an island styled counter,
well let me tell you, we have let the TWO babes try out IKEA's mini play kitchen that's RM390,
and both seem to fight for 'cooking' space! So this is the main reason I did the 'island kitchen', so both babes can play together without fighting, hopefully! Furthermore, with my limited wood pieces, I cannot possibly make a longer wider single sided kitchen too anyway! :D

KITCHEN 'FEATURES' & cost breakdown:

Ultra modern hobs made with IKEA Panna coasters : recycled! Thus RM0
Basin = stainless steel bowl: RM8
Water tap from our basin at the back which is already leaking anyway
Plastic knobs from hardware store & other hardware stuffs: RM30
Real stainless steel mesh that got turned into the 'oven rack'
Acrylic piece for the oven 'window' courtesy of Sis#2's supplier
Stainless steel handles ie. IKEA Lansa N! : RM35
IKEA Rill caster wheels: RM19
Wooden hook set (on the side): RM20
Hot pink curtain found at 100yen shop: RM5
Curtain rod system: RM16
Wood filler so the kitchen will be smooth and hole-free: RM8

TOTAL COST: RM141 only (approx. USD40)
+ PLENTY OF "I LOVE U" and "THANK U MUMMY" hugs from Kyra while mummy was making it :D....that is priceless alright! :D
And honestly, though it's not lightweight works, I really felt a huge sense of joy making this, and even more so after seeing the outcome.

Just keep sewing!

2010-03-17T23:01:00.004+08:00

I realize I especially love shutting myself out in my so-so 'studio' to do some impromptu sewing whenever I feel upset or pissed or frustrated, and while doing so (sewing)......I later realized I was humming in DORY's tune (Dory the blue Angel fish from FINDING NEMO?)....."Just keep sewing....Just keep sewing......hohoho...I love sewingggggg!" (Dory sang "Just keep swimming....Just keep swimming" by the way!)

and I made mini oven mitts for Kyra's little hands.....

Family DIY weekend

2010-03-14T19:49:00.002+08:00

We started this 'project' yesterday.......it is now almost 8pm on a Sunday evening, and no, it's not finished yet.....probably somewhere around 70% done? But boy........I am super excited just doing it and anticipating the final outcome!

Everybody got involved, Z is responsible in cutting the plywood, Maia is responsible in messing things up and dropping and losing the screws :(, Kyra's helping with sweeping and lending a helping hand when I call for her.....and of course, yours truly is responsible in the design, measurements, assembly, filing (not paper filing mind you, filing wood with metal file, NOT FUN I tell you!), sanding and painting!

Just so happy 4 of us have our weekend well spent!!! Instead of the usual trip to the mall......

Stay tuned to see what "IT" is!!!

Stamping Potatoes!

2010-03-11T22:26:00.004+08:00

I've got some extra potatoes that have gotten less fresh, suddenly got the idea to let the babes play with good ol potato stamps!!! (Just like old times...MY old times that is! hehe). Was thinking what to carve for them......finally decided on something super easy but meaningful, their INITIALS!
If you're thinking "Damn! She's nuts to carve out a heart that's so symmetrical!", stop right there!!! Trick is, the heart is easier than my freehand letters K & M actually coz I merely used my COOKIE CUTTER! HAHA! Good trick, and the end result is good and precise! :D
Both Kyra and Maia just love any chance they get to play with their paint brushes and watercolours, and of course it gets messy and dirty every time they are at it, so that's why I never let them do their 'paint job' in the house.....they will paint their masterpieces on the deck, easier for the mummymaid later! hmmmph!!!

Honestly? Maia can stamp neater than Kyra. But Kyra can use the brush better. But as of now, Kyra's drawings seem to have slight improvements....at least now her drawings of MUMMY, herself and Maia have dresses on and a handbag in my hand! Hehe!!! Her drawing of DADDY remains consistent still....5 strands of hair. Period. And according to her, DADDY (the drawing) sometimes has a frown on his face too! (While the 3 of us ladies in the house are always smiling) :D

Kyra *HEARTS* Maia, vice-versa so it shall be!

Rest In Peace Smart Ass!

2010-03-10T08:39:00.010+08:00

Mao Mao (aka Maomaobear @home)
June 2001 - 10th March 2010

This is coming from nowhere.....I'm crying now just browsing her photos in my sis' FB. Our family dog that had been with us for the past memorable 8.5years passed away at 1am today 10th March 2010.

This puff ball that I bought for just RM200 and named 'MAO MAO' (mao actually means CAT in Mandarin) because I thought she looked like those Persian cats when I first got her.....(the fur I mean, while the face resembled a cute lil teddy bear back then)...and now you're probably thinking how did THE family dog turned out looking like one? :) Not long after that, I moved to KL, and automatically she became my sisters' pet that they came to love to bitttsssss!

I remember I went with mum to pick one out of 4 pups, somehow she chose me, instead of the other way round. And after we brought her home, Sis#2 even scorned and said: "BUY BUY BUY, BUY FOR WAD I ALSO DONT KNOW!" and this a.m, she was the one to accompany her when Mao Mao breathed the last of her life......

I can't even describe how smart this dog is......I know for sure, she's the smartest dog we ever had this far...and we had many many dogs in the past.....She's so imperfect, and that's what made her sooooo much like us, humans.

Once we brought her to a pet store for a stroll, the lady at the store asked me: "So.....how did u choose this dog?"
ME: herh? I dont know...she just appealed to me....compared to the others.....why?
LADY: She's not purebreed, and she's got crooked teeth! *She went and opened Mao Mao's jaw for us to see the crooked-ness....and we all chuckled.....I felt slightly embarrassed inside coz at first, I thought she asked me the question because Mao Mao is special in a positive way...LOL!

Alright, so we have a dog with crooked teeth.....for a good reason (we later found out), she bites!!! People whom she does not 'agree' with...she bites! So, somehow the crooked teeth made it impossible for a REAL bite.....hehe!

Yeah, as mentioned by my sis#3 (who loves Mao Mao very super duper much I tell u, and vice versa), she loved car rides. Once she followed my family on a super long 6 hour ride to Sibu......now, that's not something any dog could do, and do well. She would bark at Mum when Mum tried to wake little sis up in the morning.....that's how protective she is over my sis.

She's very fussy with food too, and threw tantrum if you hurt her feelings. She complained if she felt like it. I remember how she 'grumbled' non stop when Maia first moved to my parents' home to stay temporarily....she just didn't like knowing her 'spotlight' is at stake...LOL! So human, rite? (And by saying 'grumble', I really mean GRUMBLE.....the way a human would...the sound)
She also loved air conditioned rooms.... :)

Oh, she had a favourite toy too....this IKEA Blund bear, she would fetch it for us to throw. She 'carried' it wherever she went back then. I remember Sis#3 even had to buy a couple of Blunds as STOCK!!! And Blundy bear would get sooooo dirty and smelly I tell you.....

Just got this SMS from Z....
"I believe she could sense they are going out for a few days and she can't wait that long. She's a good dog though" (My parents and sis will be flying to KL this afternoon to attend little sis' convocation this coming weekend).

I am gonna have to stop writing about her....else I would have super puffy eyes when I fetch the two babes from school later.....

Mao Mao, if you were a human, you'd make a good sister. Now, Mum would have to get used to not having 'someone' to scold at home....Ling will have to get used to not having you as roomie......and many many people will have to get used to not having you dash out the door barking your lungs out at them (or biting...).......

You've made a permanent mark in all our hearts, trust me. Rest in peace, Smart Ass!

FRESH & RAW food

2010-03-08T21:43:00.003+08:00

Just finished watching 'FRENCH FOOD AT HOME' on AFC (Asian Food Channel), now continuing my down time with 'FRESH WITH ANNA OLSON'. (No, I usually never get much chance sitting around in front of the TV to watch these two cooking shows...coz I either forget when it's on, or I'll be busy with other things).

Now halfway through the 2nd show, I realized one FACT, and that is:
Chinese food DOES NOT have fresh, uncooked dishes (as far as I know of ie.) :O

You see, Japanese has their fresh raw sashimis.
French and most other western foods, have their fresh salads and herbs.
Even Malays have their 'ulam'. (raw uncooked vegetables eaten with a certain dip)
Chinese??? I can't think of any raw, uncooked dish, eaten as it is.......can you?

Then again, I also can't think of any chinese dish that is high in calcium too! Strange huh?
(Chinese food do not use cheese, milk, or the sorts....the only calcium-giving element would be broccoli...what else?)

For me personally, it's important I know how to get the best out of the food I feed my family, else, it's a bit of a waste, IMHO :[

Shower-ful of Substance :P

2010-03-08T14:26:00.004+08:00

It's just amusing how I always have the most important and full of substance things/topics in my head when I am in my shower......so much so that I always wished that my brain is directly linked to blogger.com via bluetooth or some cool tech!!! :P

I need a favor....

2010-03-05T14:12:00.003+08:00

for Kyra's 4th Birthday mini celebration at her kindie....a favor 'packaging' design that is! Most of the parents of her classmates used plastic loot bags, party favor boxes that come from typical party supplies shops.....I'd like something different....but on a budget! It'll be a POCOYO & FRIENDS theme for the celebration with her mates, instead of the PINK HELLO KITTY party at home :)

Still brainstorming......

Most Important Thing A Father Can Do!

2010-03-05T09:51:00.005+08:00

My online buddy June who's based in Dubai with her family, will be celebrating what's termed as 'Mothering Sunday' aka Mothers' Day on 14th March 2010. Happy Mothering Day to you in advance, June! :D She put this quote in her FB status today...and it's just so 'WOW' to me that I had to quote her here.....else, it's a big waste of something so true and meaningful!

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

PART 2: Kyra's 4th BDAY Stufz

2010-03-04T16:13:00.004+08:00

Sneak PEEK of the lil stufz I have made/found/prepared for Kyra's upcoming very small-scaled-but-important 4th Birthday Party! :D Have fun wondering.......

Rotten Oranges Up For Good Use!

2010-03-01T10:49:00.008+08:00

I'd like to hit myself on the head for forgetting to remind Godma and Mum and Mum-In-Law to keep their rotten mandarin oranges from Chinese New Year! Yeap, ROTTEN, BAD, non-edible ones, so I can make more fruit enzyme out of em! :D

I just harvested my 2nd batch of enzymes.....am making new ones with my few oranges....Mum-In-Law has got plenty of bad oranges coz she bought soooo many cartons of it! Called her a few days too late as she just threw away several cartons! :P sigh....

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Good thing Godma still had some rotten oranges and pomelos left! Used them to start my new batch of enzymes :D, brown sugar is the only 'cost' incurred in the production, use only plastic containers for fermentation, and my 'harvested' big bottles of enzymes ready to be used!

Before you get all grossed up by the word GARBAGE....do enlighten yourself with some light reading on the production and multi uses of this enzyme:

*How to make enzyme

*Uses of these enzyme

In homes, garbage enzyme is used:
- as a household cleaning liquid
- to remove foul odours, molds and grime in the kitchen and toilet
- as an anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent
- to drive away insects
- to clean carpets and remove ticks
- for laundry washing and ironing
- for mopping floors
- for cleaning cars

At the very beginning, I was a believer (since this enzyme is acidic, thus it makes sense), but after using this enzyme solution (I diluted some in my spray bottle) to wipe clean the mirror directly next/behind my stove that was so oily.....I became an even stronger believer!!! Not only that, I have a house plant that never grew an inch since the day I bought it, after watering it with the enzyme solution, I could swear (but not necessary) it sprouted new branches in the next 2-3 days!!!

That itself is proof, strong enough to make me continue practicing this garbage enzyme production for our own home use, at the same time, do my tiny part for the environment.....so, when are you gonna start?

***Sadly, my mum is a non-believer....strangely.....hopefully one day, somebody other than me can convince her :( She'd tell me she's heard about it from her sisters and church friends, but somehow, has zero interest to try.....Well, I guess it's hard to convince somebody who insisted on using 4 scoops of chemically-laden laundry detergent (instead of just 1 full scoop as per instruction) because she said "It's cleaner that way!" :P She won't be able to see the effectiveness of something as harmless, low-cost and chemical-free as the garbage enzyme until she tries it.....one day............

Play Dress: Kyra's 'Kimono'

2010-02-24T13:37:00.007+08:00

I made this type of modified, simplified, modernized 'KIMONO' for Maia when she was a tiny toddler in early 2009. Out of the blue, I got the itch to make one for Kyra using my Ikea CECELIA 100% cotton fabric...I love this fabric for TWO reasons: It's very good cotton with good printing, and at RM9.90/meter, I'm lovin it :D

This fabric has got birds and leaves and such all over its white background, the 1st time I tried to buy it, it was sold out for quite some time.....then I finally got hold of 4 meters... hehe....If you follow my blog, you'd notice that I've used this same fabric on the Ikea APA toy storage box/bench, and also as neck roll cover for my very old rattan rocking chair!

And if you're wondering WHY I put so many photos of Kyra in her new play dress in this post? SIMPLE. It's super hard to get a good photo of her, trust me......unlike Maia who can pose for me....Kyra's really unpredictable when it comes to photo-taking......and she's also slightly awkward when you ask her to smile for the camera! :P

So, I personally truly treasure any good shots of her....they are hard to come by...LOL!

WHAT's FOR LUNCH: Homemade Beef Patty Burger

2010-02-24T13:01:00.002+08:00

This is what we had for lunch today....my beef patty burger! FYI, I make my own beef patties/meatballs because it's nicer :D and I know what went into the mix... :O PLUS, Kyra and Maia both love it when I whip up the beef meatball bolognaise, or, using the same 'patty mix', bake beef pizza for them....and this, "DA BURGER" would be my FIRST, and definitely won't be the last, as both of them just swallowed ONE each! :P

This is what I used/did:
*Sesame coated hi protein buns
*Fresh tomatoes, sauteed in olive oil
*Cheese slices (Cheddar)
*Eggs
*Beef patties
*A swirl of mayonnaise
*A dash of black pepper
*A sprinkle of basil (optional of course, I just love using Basil in my cooking, that's all)
*TABASCO sauce (for me, ie!)

JOEY's Beef Patty Recipe:
*Beef knuckles, ground/minced (I used food processor, very speedy!)
*Black sesame oil/ Olive oil
*Spring onions, chopped finely
*Salt to taste
*Sugar
*A lil ketchup
*A lil bit of 5-spice-powder (better known as "NGO HIANG HUN" in Hokkien, or "WU XIANG FENN" in Mandarin)
*A lil bit of thick soy sauce
*Ground black pepper
*Large yellow onions, finely chopped!

NOTE: I apologize coz I never measure the ingredients I use to make this patty....I usually just "FEEL" it.... :P

MY OWN TIME-SAVER:
I usually make pretty big batch of this, then divide into portions, have each wrapped and sealed in aluminum foil, then keep them in freezer. This way, I do not have to waste time making it each time I need some!

HAPPY TRYING!!! And do let me know if you've tried it! :D

Our BIGGEST DIY ever!

2010-02-23T15:08:00.004+08:00

This is a backdated post btw. We finished this project over 2 weekends, by the 2 of us, incurred a pretty minimal RM550 total bill (very 'mini' compared to the amount we'd be paying if we used professional service to do it!). For the introduction & details about it, please go HERE!

So here it is.....

I had to tack thousands of times till my palm were practically swollen! LOL! But the sense of satisfaction and achievement seeing the 4 boards all wrapped up beautifully is indescribable!

Finally, I have a hidden storage to stow away all the things that we cannot throw/donate away but have nowhere to store them in the 1st place! YAY! My wedding gown, Kyra and Maia's baby clothings, toys, stamp albums, etcetera......

I consider ourselves pretty accurate and slightly lucky coz once all 4 boards were installed, everything seems straight and good! :D You'd understand if you get hold of the boards......they are extremely heavy, and to make matters worse, the concrete wall and sides wasn't exactly level!

The finished project :D To me personally, not only this project brought together a 'collaboration' between Z and I, it's just priceless to see the older little girl at home BRAG "Daddy made this! Daddy made this!" endlessly to everyone who came to our home that week! LOL!

Now that is PRICELESS alright!

NOTE: Pardon the 2 side windows! The previous curtains are now too wide, I gotta alter em 1st...but don't have time to do that yet.....will update with new photo once that's done!

Z: How come she didn't say "mummy and daddy made this?"
Me: Well, simply and possibly coz she got too used to seeing her mummy DIY most things at home already lerrrrr..... *Chuckling away*
:]

And to my dear hubby, I really appreciate your efforts for helping me with this DIY, (you could have said NO), especially knowing that you are sooooo not a DIY person to begin with....I won't brag about you doing it the way your doter did lah...but I am just as proud! :)

PART 1: Kyra's 4th BDAY - My Next 'TASK'

2010-02-23T14:35:00.007+08:00

Now that the Chinese New Year is almost over.....(28th Feb is the 15th and last day FYI, also called the Chap Goh Meh), my next 'job' is to throw a PINK Hello Kitty themed 4th birthday party for Kyra. It's definitely gonna be a small scaled party compared to Maia's birthday cum housewarming party, but as small as it might get, I would still like to make sure it's what she's been waiting for since many months ago! (Poor thing, I know)...LOL!

This sweet babe is not demanding, in fact, she's very forgiving and tolerable when it comes to things she wants. She's not one to cry and demand us to buy her the cooking pots set that she wants so so much for so long....she's also not one to stick and hold on to the toy at the toystore when there are other kids wanting to play!

Now it's up to me how PINK the small party will get... :O
LOL!

Of Red Lipstick And Heels...on A Kid That is!

2010-02-23T09:31:00.008+08:00

On the 2nd day of Chinese New Year celebration, I got a wee bit disturbed seeing a 5 year old wear bright pink eye shadows on her eyes, badly UN-blended on top of that :P. But today, I read that Suri Cruise has started wearing make up (not just high heels anymore), not just any pink girly lip balm, mind you! It's SHOCKING red lipsticks + high heels on a 3 year old , otherwise a very sweet and pretty lil thing....

This photo made me wonder, if Kyra or Maia asks to use make up, would I let them? Well, the answer is NO, unless well, they are in school dance or play that is :D. I mean, they do not need enhancements of any sorts at their age IMHO. Little girls are cutest and prettiest at their most natural, and I believe it is us adults who wished we could look as good au naturel without a stroke of make up on! I know I do!

From what I have seen, lil Suri is not just playing dress up on any ONE day.....there are many shots of her wearing her (favourite, probably) silver heels in rain, wind or shine. I do honestly envy her wardrobe....coz just take a look at this green handbag (below)....isn't that soooo cute!? And I bet it costed a bomb too! The red jacket, is stylish, but I think is better suited to an older kid/teenager really......again, IMHO :P

This gold ballroom dancing heels (above) are not so bad compared to the silver unstrapped heels she wore in the other photos HONESTLY.....those who've had experience wearing heels would know.

Would I let Kyra or Maia wear heels? YES. When they play dress up in their play room. Period. FYI, I never bought a single pair of heels for them as of now.....they have 3 pairs of heeled sandals, all bought by my in laws. But luckily, they never seem to harbour any strong interest in the heels...PHEW! My own personal MAIN reason is simply, I do not want them to fall flat on their face and break their beautiful teeth!

If you look at the photo above (Suri in pink dress), you see a very pretty and sweet 3 year old, but as you scrolled down, I am sure you noticed the silver heels....it has no straps whatsoever...from experience, I think it's not easy for her to carry it off......poor girl!

Maia's 3-tiered SPRING TIME skirt :D

2010-02-22T19:59:00.004+08:00

Maia could run so fast in this skirt...LOL! till she took a fall! :P

It's so round and fun, makes the babe wanna twirl and twirl!!!

One happy babe with one cheery 3-tiered skirt! Big sis asked me: "Mummy, where's mine?" It's coming....it's coming........

Tiger ROARing New Year @ the LEONGs

2010-02-22T10:32:00.005+08:00

How to sum up this Chinese New Year celebration? Hmmm.......okay, for one, I wasn't feeling the bestest throughout the entire new year week! Yeap, that sucked big time....No, I wasn't sick or anything, but somehow was sooooooooo lethargic, exhausted, and sleepy....yesh, weird huh? For someone like me to be SLEEPY at all during the daytime...LOL! (FYI, I don't have the napping habit). I'd like to blame it on the super rainy weather, or as my O&G Dr said: "Sugar overload!" It brings you high up, then straight and flat down....your energy level that is! I think he could be right......

Okay, as usual, we would have family photo taken together on the 1st day before visiting other relatives' houses. On the 2nd day, it's the usual OPEN HOUSE @ Parents-In-Law's house with lion dance performance (yeap, it's the same every year since I don't know when)......

So, I shall let the photo collages below tell the story.....who doesn't like photos compared to paragraphs of words, right? :D *Click to enlarge photos*

Cherry Blossom Lantern

2010-02-02T22:38:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year 2010 (Year of the Tiger) is just 9 days away, and I have not gotten any single lantern up! The ones sold at Green Gallery that I want is RM169 each :O (yupe, crazy, rite?), so I decided to make my own using Ikea's rice paper japanese lantern @RM15.90 each!

With a RM1.00 chinese calligraphy brush, some black watercolour paint, and 2 packets of RM0.80 faux cherry blossom blooms, I started my quest.....to create MY lantern! :D
First started off with cherry blossom branch painting.......as randomly as possible.....so it looks natural!

Let the paint dry a bit (I was too lazy to wait till it totally dried off really), using hot glue gun, I attached the blooms one by one to the branches....but you have to snip off the 'butt' so it's flat enough to be glued!
Tadaaaaa!!!! All done, in less than an hour:)

Mum and dad came over to my place last nite.....Mum loved it and said she'd like the same thing.....so we'll be asking my littlest sis to get 2 such lanterns from Ikea! hehe.....

The lovely thing about it is, I don't even have to take it down after the Chinese New Year celebration is over....coz it's just another oriental lantern, it's not red nor Chinese New Year-ish like this one here! hehe...

100th POST: PLAYROOM - Revealed!

2010-02-01T16:08:00.006+08:00

Oohh...I just realized by coincidence that this is my 100th post! Great, sooooo right to reveal something not usual :D

Remember the makeover project I had been working on to transform my dining room to playroom for the babes? I showed a lil SNEaK PEEK previously, and mentioned it some time ago!

Here it is! Finally completed just in time for the Lunar New Year celebration! Yay!

Well, I did not really remember to snap a proper BEFORE pix of the dining room, but anyways, it's just a plain pretty bare space previously.....photo below was taken a few days before we celebrated Maia's 2nd birthday!
The biggest change would be the feature wall here.....I added candy pink, orange, dark brown and my favourite green, all are from leftovers except the pink that costed me RM27.90 for a liter and I only used 0.2liter :(
Here's the full view! Love the bright airy space, thanks for the huge 13' wide sliding doors on the left. I did not get any new items, merely reshuffled some old furniture pieces, added accessories and small touches......

Toy storages...very important feature in any kids' room! You probably would know this if you had one or two or more kids :) Even with proper and ample storages, I sometimes still hurt my feet stepping onto their small toys on the floor......Before this, their toys dominated my entire house, which was really scary! A rubble of toys! IMAGINE!
This is a super cheap feature I added, that I call the "ART LINE"....for obvious reasons!
That's Kyra's drawing, the 2 humans seen walking side by side, according to her, are Mummy and Daddy:D (Love it...cuteness!)

The old daybed that we brought back from KL, I simply love this bed...so strong and timeless! This is where they play "HOUSE" or trampoline now.... SIGH! (instead of napping!)
Matching throw pillows that I made, notice the similar green and pink and black/dark brown to the feature wall? And the napkins, tablecloth etc.....were blogged quite some time ago....

Another family portrait by Kyra....LOL! The one in black dress is ME! :D

And NOPE! Did not go over RM100 for this whole transformation, as aimed! In fact, it's just RM27.90 + RM15.90 (Ikea acrylic toy goblets and glass set)!

Toy Stroller 'Refurbished' In Colours!

2010-02-01T15:53:00.005+08:00

This toy stroller has been around for over 2 years now, bought it at TOYS'R US for Kyra's Christmas 08 @RM29.90 (if I am not wrong). The 'seat' (actually just a thin polyester fabric seat) has stains and tears and holes here and there already but the 'chassis' is still in tip top condition.

Most importantly, the two babes love it very much! They use it to stroll around my living room with the toy baby, sometimes use it to CARRY THEIR THINGS AROUND!!! Yeap! In short, toy strollers like this attract lil girls' attention very much, that's what happened the other day when my niece came over, the only thing she wanted to touch but dare not tell us was this stroller....(she whispered to her dad instead).

So I used a multi-coloured checkered cotton fabric that I have and 'refurbished' it.....
............added a little fashion chic to it by replacing the plain-coloured straps with my precious polkadottie grossgrain ribbon :D hehe!
And also made a new flower dress for their baby to celebrate Chinese New Year with! LOL! Else, this baby was always, always naked! :P (trust me, this kind of no-pattern, 1-piece dress is extremely simple to make, can be done in less than 30 minutes!)
I'm liking it a lot...the bright colours are just charming, and suits the new playroom to the T!

Angry Day = Productive Day?

2010-01-30T23:05:00.004+08:00

Today, even though it's an ANGRY day... (I shall save you the trouble of knowing the reasons, less info, less frustrations sometimes), it has been pretty productive for me..... Well, I learnt how to make the vanilla ice-cream cookies from Mum over the phone this morning, started doing it right away, and finished it with a total of over 300 or 400 pieces....did not count.....(photo above).

Baking them got me really exhausted, but I am crazy enough to start sewing the 'KUNG FU SHIRT' for Z to be worn on Chinese New Year! And I finished it 45 minutes ago! Double YAY!

Whoooshhh!
I still have Mom-In-Law's qi pao top to sew, Maia's 2nd qi pao dress too! On top of many many other chores, OMG! (Will show photos once these are all done!)

Many a time, people ask me how I find time and energy to do all these on top of handling the two babes, lunch and dinner, EVERY THING basically.....(including the labrador at the backyard:( ), well, when the two babes are not interested to do their own thingssss....i let them join me....like this! (see??) Even if it means getting the entire floor (almost) covered with baking flour..... sigh....

As for where I get the energy to do all these extrasss?? I really dont know....but I suspect it's my passion that drives me all these while! How I wish passion drives many other things!

Good Nite! Happy Sunday!

life.....N everything in it!

Tee-pee weekend!

Sorry Blog! I've neglected U!

Case of Danielle: the child who was 'broken' by an 'unlucky' mother?

Random Rat!

Surprise Vs Shock

20.10.2010

The SURPRISE is this!

From JUNK to RETRO FUNK!

SURPRISE AHEAD!

Hey Blog, still recognize me? :P

Sorry BLOG, I've been occupied.....

Oh! A new member in my bed!!! :O

Saying NO and do the RIGHT thing, or?

SAHM to WAHM

MY C.B white dress 'wannabe'!

I NEED to....

mODE: B.U.S.Y

Birds, Beessss....then B.a.b.i.e.s :D

When I am biggggg!!!

Wad a weird weird day!!!

my GUNNYbags!

DURIAN

Re-purposing the laundry room (PART 1)

oh so busy....and random!!!!

Make Me A Snowman, MuM!

So yesterday Kyra said to me when I was showering her.....

Kyra: "mummy i want snowman, make one for me?"Me: "huh? mummy cant make snow worrrr"Kyra: "no need....just cut a circle, use white fabric....and u sew sew sew become snowman lorrrrr!"

polkadot + cupcake

"This is THE label.......

1 Shirt = 2

TOY STORY 3, have you?

DIY Ya Own Garlic Bread!

I made my 1st roman blinds :D

My time saver trick!

L2B June Part 2 Challenge: BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients

Directions

After d trip....

Simple Shu Cream

Ingredients:

Preparation:

1st Commissioned Cupcakes

Simple salmon with precious pea!

Food Indulgence N Ice Creamsss!!!

55th Birthday for the babes' Granpa!

An old video of Maia....@1yr++

Shaun The Sheep?

OMG! my 2nd zippered pouch :O

Eeeee!!!!! I Just Made My 1st Pouch!!!

A sweet THANK U for the teachers!

Homemade Mothers' Day!!!

The 'Cake' That's Missing Something......

GREEN Tableware For Kids & My Fave GREEN Bag!!!

What's with girls and shuz?

"Mummy I will tell you how to bake it later"

"MUMMY MUMMYyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! I HELP YOU WATCH YOUR SHOW, LATER I TELL U HOW TO COOK IT, okay!?"

Kyra & Mummy's FAVE Cupcake!

Learn2Bake Club April Challenge: Butter Cake

POCOYO's in town, mine!

Tiered MAXI Dress!

It's a BIRD! It's a DRESS!

My Blouse = Her Shirtdress

Old Bohemian Navy Dresses

Batik Print Shirred Sundress

My 1st Shirring!

HFMD down, ASTHMA to conquer!

Re-PURPOSing The Doors

Bad news for an Easter weekend!

It's Truly Bloomin Brilliant, Jamie!

Learn2Bake Club

Organization tips!

of cupcake and polkadot!

A DATE for Lunch With Family!

Bday Cuppies For Her Mates :)

Kyra's 4th Birthday Party

Home-'baked' Felt Cupcakes

A Handmade 4th Birthday Gift: Play Kitchen for Kyra!

Just keep sewing!

Family DIY weekend

Kyra: "mummy i want snowman, make one for me?"
Me: "huh? mummy cant make snow worrrr"
Kyra: "no need....just cut a circle, use white fabric....and u sew sew sew become snowman lorrrrr!"