Life Love and Me » Life

Nikki …..my little BFF

celine — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:08:37 +0000

Where have I been for the past 2 months? Have I stopped blogging but never said good-bye? I received quite a number of emails on this for the past few weeks from many concerned friends. Some were even worried that something happened to me.

Thank you so much for your concern my dear friends. I am fine, don’t worry. Yes, I am still blogging ….. its just that I was so pre-occupied with my little BFF. We spent so many hours hanging out together daily that I do not have anymore energy to blog after that. Here she is. What do you think?

I have never been a doll person. Actually I don’t remember having a doll as a kid. Not sure why I never took a liking to them, most likely its due to their plastic body and fake facial expression. I just couldn’t bond with them. Everything changed when I discovered waldorf dolls two months back. I was transformed into a doll-freak! I spent many hours researching on them and “drooling” over the creations of reputable waldorf doll makers. I like how they are made entirely with cotton and wool, and how they have very life-like facial expression.

I still find it difficult to believe that I actually own a doll. My dh is amused over my Nikki related activities. He thinks I treat her like a human being. I would talk to her, carry her all over the house, bring her out on road-trips and even hug her to sleep at night (sheesh!). I am surprised with my own behaviour too, but I am sure having hell of a good time with Nikki, haha! Everyday I would rush through my mommy’s duties, so that I can spend more time with her. Over the weekend, the girls and I would have “play doll” sessions. They are sucked into the waldorf thing-y too. They are two dolls each!

Well, this is what I have been doing for the past two months. Things have normalise a little now, so I am back at blogging, baking my girls tea-time snacks and cooking proper meals. You will definitely be hearing more from me now.

Valentine’s Topiary for Chinese New Year

celine — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:23:00 +0000

I have never been one good with traditions, frankly I suck at them. Since young I never saw the significance of Chinese New Year. To me it was (and is still is) merely another flipping of the calendar day. I only enjoyed the extended days of holidays that came with it. Before marriage it would mean holidays overseas with friends, but after marriage everything changed. I needed to be a responsible daughter-in-law and mother ……. certain chinese new year must-dos needed to be done even though I do not believe in them.

During Chinese New Year it is customary to prepare “goodie bags” for family and friends. I enjoy putting together personalised gifts each year. I find store bought hampers expensive and boring! This year I made Valentine’s Topiary filled with traditional CNY cookies and nuts.

I spent a week cutting circles from 5 yards of velvet plus many, many hours assembling them. It was fun but my biceps were aching by the time I completed all nine of them. This was the most time consuming part. The rest was quite a breeze.

I painted and decorated metal pots from Ikea, planted the topiary with a thin layer of cement, filled it up with the cookies and nuts, then covered it with dried moss.

My girls had a lot of fun in the entire “planting” process. They would work through their homework (from school) in record breaking speed so that they could help out. We had some awesome time bonding ……

I included this tea set as part of the gift too. I fell in love with it the minute I saw it at the mall. It is SO PRETTY. I hope my friends feel the same too. *keeping my fingers crossed*.

A New Decade – 2010

celine — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:41:55 +0000

I used to have a love-hate relationship with January 1st. I love that it signifies a new beginning, new dreams, new hopes but at the same I hate it due to all my un-met resolutions! Two years ago, I finally grew-up (i.e. matured) and stopped making a big deal out of the New Year, and stopped making a long list of not likely to meet resolutions. January 1st became another flipping of the calendar day. I reasoned that I can do up a to-do-list aka resolutions anytime of the year. The biggest challenge is to stay focused and get it done.

So how was past two years since I stopped making resolutions? Were they more fruitful than the ones with resolutions? Not sure but I was definitely a happier and more relaxed person without my list of to-dos. In 2008 (the first year without resolutions) I learnt how to bake cakes and bread. I started off with recipe books and very soon realised that food bloggers are a much better source. I surprised myself by not just liking it but enjoying myself so much that I do it every other day. Being someone who prefers the outdoors and likes to be on the go all the time, my indoors hobbies used to be short-lived, but baking survived till today. My mum asked me yesterday, “You are still baking? You have not got tired of it yet?”. Due to this (my baking hobby) I stayed home more and started to appreciate my life as a homemaker.

Last year I miraculously decided to cook dinner on weekdays for my family. My hubby was shocked because no cooking was my condition when he proposed. He was worried (knowing how much I hate cooking) that I was either having a severe depression, or an early mid-life crisis. I am still at the maximum four-ingredients recipes, still complaining two hours before dinner time, still looking for ways to make my already easy recipes easier but I am still putting homecooked meals on the dinner table on most weekday nights. And for that, I am so proud of myself. Those who know me personally would be proud of me too.

Not sure whether it is pure coincidence but my life changed dramatically the minute I stopped making new year resolutions. Just for the records, learn-to-bake was part of my resolutions for years. Once again I did not make any resolutions for 2010. I will continue to embrace each day with an open mind and try to live it to the fullest. Vanessa of V and Co, wrote a beautiful post on the coming decade and how she chose consistency as her word of the year. To me it was a very well written post and I like it a lot, actually so much that I decided to adopt a similar approach for the coming decade. I would like to be consistent in loving my family, to be consistent in looking after my family’s needs, to be consistent in preparing dinner on weekdays, to be consistent in my parenting approach, to be consistent in my exercise routine, to be consistent in my calorie intake, et cetera.

Happy (belated, again) New Year, and hope that it will be a super-amazing one for all of us!

Responsible Decisions

celine — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:14:43 +0000

Hubby and I made a painful decision last November. We cancelled our planned 6 months in advance, eagerly awaited year-end holidays abroad. It was painful, difficult, awful but we did it. At times I wish that we are less responsible, I wish that we love our daughters a little less, I wish that we are more selfish , I wish, I wish, I wish …..

My elder girl’s teachers felt that she has the ability to secure a government scholarship to study abroad. As the exams are going to take place in September next year, we were advised to prepare early (huh?) and send her for extra coaching during the year-end break. Being the non-typical Asian parents (Asian parents tend to be very obsessed over kids education) we laughed it off. We were shocked when my girl told us that she wanted to have a go at the scholarship thingy. We tried to talk her out of it as hubs and I prefer our girls to have a more balanced school versus all-other-fun-stuff. She convinced us to support her decision ….

We ended up cancelling our holiday plans – hubs went back to work and I was busy sending her to and from tuition classes. While she was busy with homework, my younger girl and I prepared Christmas gifts for our friends. We made Christmas trees out of our friends favourite chocolates and sweets. We even made one in Japanese wasabi beans and sugarless sweets for a special old lady. I was inspired by Angie of Treasure For Tots. She has a tutorial on it.

This is what I made for my girls. After doing 11 trees, I was too lazy to paint/decorate the pot. They were not the least bothered, more interested in the goodies (all their favourites).

I was not in the mood to do any Christmas baking or any other baking for that matter. My oven was not warmed-up for over a month. I was busy feeling sorry for myself (over my cancelled holidays) when my kids were not looking. I know, I know, I am a spoilt and immature mummy.

Here’s a song (my favourite) from me to you. I hope that your Christmas was filled with lots of Joy, Peace & Happiness!

Fluke-Shot?

celine — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:14:00 +0000

Both my girls started to like eating mooncakes after our experience with Fook Pan last year. So I thought that it would be a good idea to try making them myself so that I could adjust the taste according to our liking. I was all prepared to give mooncake-making a go but hubs thought otherwise. He felt that I am being overly ambitious and is grossly under-estimating the complexity of mooncake-making. Anyway I went ahead and bought the required ingredients. I started by making a couple of small baked moonies and surprisingly they were almost perfect (in my opinion) – nice imprint, evenly browned in the tone that I like and no cracks. I was giggling, jumping up and down, dancing around the house, calling all my friends, telling my neighbours ………

Two variations of small baked moonies – red bean paste and ribena lotus paste.

I received alot of compliments from friends and family, as well as hubby’s co-workers. I was quite surprised that they liked them because I adjusted the recipe by reducing the amount of oil and sugar used. I thought that only my family members would be able to appreciate them. Oh, even my skeptical hubby told me that I did a good job and asked me to bake more as gifts for our friends. I was thrilled with his nod of approval.

Four variations of medium sized moonies – green tea, black sesame, white lotus and coffee.

This batch in “five nuts” turned out a little too pale for my liking.

Look at the nuts inside! Surprisingly this is my younger daughter’s favourite. She loves the nutty filling.

Individually wrapped and sealed, all ready to be packed as gifts.

Packed in self-made containers

All ready to be delivered to my girls’ teachers, our friends and family members.

I am glad that my first attempt at mooncake making turned out so well. I had so much fun making them and the lantern containers. They kept me sane during the home-bound days last month, my only “sunshine” in a trying month. This is my most memorable Mid-Autumn Festival, the best to-date.

Part-time Cook

celine — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:18:00 +0000

Whenever we holiday overseas my husband would always take over the planning of all our meals. He would do some homework before the trip and speak to the locals when we get there, just to ensure that we do not miss out any of the must-eat places. He would also find out the opening hours of the local markets (for fresh meat, seafood and vegetables). Yeah, he loves to cook and does a much better job than me. Whenever he cooks fresh ingredients is a must and a never to be compromised quality. He makes an effort to get all ingredients from the fresh market unlike me where convenience is always my priority. I like my vegetables and fruits thoroughly washed and nicely packed which means from the supermarket.

He enjoyed himself shopping at the Subiaco and Fremantle weekend markets. He was busy shopping for vegetables and fruits whilst I was pre-occupied at Angry Almonds (awesome place, Daphne …)

My younger girl trying to act like a big-girl, eating her grilled by daddy steak, with mustard instead of ketchup.

Found the mustard a little spicy but was pressured to join us.

Enjoying their supper – daddy cooked creamy chicken soup by the balcony.

We were waiting patiently for our meal.

Yeah, its the infamous Cicerello’s at Fremantle.

Definitely worth the wait. Super yummy delicious …..

Delicious food plus awesome view & ambiance, simply perfect!

Chasing birds ……. my girls favourite past-time. *scratching head*

Acting silly purely for my lens …….

Animals Overdose

celine — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Since young both my girls love animals very much. They would get very excited whenever the opportunity arises for them to visit the zoo. As both my husband and I are not animal fans, they rely on school trips, and visits from family and friends. As they grow older, they started to negotiate visits to wildlife parks and/or farmstays when we travel overseas, as their reward for doing well in their school exams or in exchange for a month of washing toilets at home. I still have not figured out where their love for animals came from, as I am someone who would scream my head off whenever I see a cat, dog, et cetera.

Before we got into Perth, my younger girl (the more crafty one) “sweet-talk” her dad for a day at Caversham Wildlife Park. As promised, we spent an entire day right from opening hours of the park right till the very last minute of their closing. If not because of my Nikon camera, I would fallen asleep standing.

I had a hard time getting them to stand still for a picture. They just cannot wait to get into the park to meet their “friends”.

Even though I stayed in Melbourne for many years, I have yet to go near a kangaroo. Give them a pat? No way ….

“Mummy, can I sleep over with my friends?”

Having a chat?

Laughing over a joke?

“Mummy, another shot before we go, please?”

Farm shows a must-watch and must participate in all events if possible, even though it is the tenth time.

The Food and Wine trail – the more interesting part of our Swan Valley stay (for me). We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves visiting chocolate factories, vineyards, breweries and fruit orchards. I especially like having lunches at the cafes.

Burnt Out!

celine — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Hubs and I were totally burnt-out from our daily routine, him from “his grind” and me a little bored with everything from the domestic front. We decided to take a short break with the girls. We got into Perth early this morning and will be here for the next ten days.

Normally we would prefer to either go to Sydney or Melbourne whenever we visit Australia. We consider Perth a little “slow” (no offense meant) for us. Probably it is a sign of old age, spending 10 days in a slow and laid-back place with moderate winter conditions sounded rather appealing to me.

Actually it has been ages since we last visited Perth. If my memory does not fail me, Erica was only 18 months old then. She is 11 years old now. All I remembered about that trip was the service apartment that we stayed in. It has an awesome view fronting the Swan River. It was The Peninsula at South Perth. We never thought of going back as I would imagine that the place would be a little “run-down” by now. Daphne of More Than Words gave some interesting options, and we like her Subiaco idea.

When we arrived this morning, hubs suggested that we should check out the condition of Peninsula. I didn’t realize that the place left such an impression on him as well. We were delighted when we saw the place. It was surprisingly well maintained. I was thrilled because I absolutely love the river fronting view and its neighbourhood. It is awesome…

At the KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) before departure.

While waiting for breakfast when we arrived in Perth.

It was Majestic indeed!

celine — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:28:06 +0000

The Malacca River fronting the hotel

We took a short drive out of Kuala Lumpur, and spent the weekend in Malacca Town, one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. It is considered one of Malaysia’s most interesting city as its buildings and streets have strong influence of its founder Parameswara (a Javanese prince), the early Chinese migrants, and the three European colonial periods of Portugese, Dutch and British.

All four of us were looking forward to the trip for our own reasons, the girls imagining their history books coming to life, for me its the hotel, a refurbished 80 year-old used to be mansion belonging to a rich tycoon, and for my other half, an escape from the depressing financial markets!

The Majestic Hotel lived up to its name in all sense, aptly described in YTL Life as; “…… a lovingly restored, utterly charming and exclusive boutique hotel”.

My girls had a good time harassing Uncle Donovan, the hotel guide, with all the why-s, but-s and how-s, during “The Historical Tour Walk”.

The Christ Church of Malacca, the oldest surviving Dutch church building found outside the Netherlands.

Queen Victoria’s Fountain, one of few surviving architectural footprints from the British colonization.

Part of Porta de Santiago built in 1511 by the Portugese, as a fortress to protect the spice trade route.

Ruins of the St. Paul’s Church. St. Francis Xavier was enshrined here in 1553 before being shipped to India.

Malaysia’s Independence was announced at the Warrior’s Field on 20th February 1956

A library along Jonker Street, a street famous for selling antiques.

A trishaw puller taking a nap after a hard day’s work.

Sunset by the Straits of Malacca

We'll be Back!

celine — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:13:39 +0000

We wanted to do a 3-hours massage at JivaRhu Spa, thus were thinking of ways to occupy the girls while we were gone. I was thankful, and impressed with level of customer service, when the reception made special arrangements for the girls to participate in the mangrove tour without us. While they were given a two hours private guided tour of the botanical and zoological wonders of the mangrove ecology, bat caves, eagle feeding, macaw monkeys and fish feeding stations, we spent our time at JivaRhu Spa, for a 3-hours couples massage.

After lunch the girls were busy at the beach collecting sea shells and participating in the activities planned for the day; henna painting, necklace making, games by beach, etc. They even had a go at the play-station challenge.

As we were taking the 10p.m. flight back to KL, the duty manager allowed us a late check-out at 6p.m. So incredibly nice of them, right? In addition, we were invited to continue to use our all inclusive package till departure at 9p.m. to the airport!

All of us enjoyed ourselves so much that we were reluctant to leave. TRR, though aged a little, managed to retain its “magic” that attracted my hubby and I, during our previous visit – quiet and unpretentious, surrounded by the best of mother nature. It’s simplicity at its best, with a generous dose of luxury. On the plane ride back to KL, my hubby said to me, “Maybe we should spend Christmas there, this year….”