Party Balloons

My lil' bean loves balloons... maybe because during her first B'day I had all these colourful balloons hanging on the ceiling and since then, she loves them lots! Well, we bring her to a lil' boy one year old Birthday party and well they have a clown to entertain the kids! Lots of fun there, so being a clown he had these little tricks of making cute animal balloons, and well my lil' bean will not miss this out and ask for a green poodle there on the left......... then hmmm, after a few moments of her grabbing and all, it kinda come off a little, so we went and ask for another one.

Come on......... there are lotsa kids and the queue is really long, finally I manage to politely asking for another one for her, and this time it is a pink bear!

The clown was indeed a professional and he really manage to put a smile on all the children faces. A wonderful job indeed, and as for the clown himself, he told us he started this ballooning since he was 13! Since then he has been practicing till now and it is a wonder to even watch him blowing and making all these cute balloons!

My baby still clings on those balloons all the way till we got back home! It shows how much she loves it.....LOL

My Wooden Tub Story

Oh yes I've got my wooden tub! Surprise me the tub that I got was actually on Mega Sale promotion! Damn I'm lucky..... I fell straight away for the tub and the price is good too! I couldn't belive it myself. Well will post some pictures here once I got it install properly. Hahahha!

Well, of course it's not made in Japan and not like an Ofuro tub but it serves the purpose to me as I got the wooden tub I want and also a soaking foot small wooden tub as well. Hurray! It is actually made in Taiwan, or so the seller told me and the slight disadvantage is that the tub must be soak in water all the time so the wood will not crack. Pray to god this won't happen! That is why the tub only cost me RM500. That's the WOW factor there!

Then recently, I stumble upon a shop that sell wooden bath tub too....... why I wanna mention here is because the shop is actually selling all sorts of buddhist praying stuff like joss sticks, praying altar, sandalwood, some feng shui stuff and suddenly I saw this wooden tub hiding at the back! I was like whoa..... how come they sell this kinda thing in a shop like that??!?!?

Excuse me, I search high and low for the tub and after I bought it then I stumble on these tubs laying around in the shop.......... come on man!

Well no doubt, I still like what I bought because of the price; and I do hope it lasts for at least few years.

Ofuro

My latest craze........ an Ofuro - Bathtub. Well in short it is actually a wooden bathtub. I have been in love with bath tub ever since I was a child. I have always love soaking in the water for long hours. It makes me relax and yes I love reading and listening to music in a tub. Years ago when I studied overseas, I used to soak in a tub when I have the time... which is seldom too. I loved to go to sauna and steam room too during winter time as well then after that go for a swim........ you tell me it is damn relaxing. After that you bet..... sweet dreams will follow you.

So, after I came back to my hometown, I don't have a chance to enjoy a tub mainly because I do not have one and if I really want to, I have to go to mum's bathroom which is inconvenient. Later, when I actually have my own place to stay after married, sad to say that our small loft does not allow me to have a tub. Again, in my dismay, I fail to have a bath tub that I can call my own.

Well, I did promise my self if I ever get he chance to renovate another one of my own place; I DEFINATELY WANT A BATH TUB! Come on give me a break. Now before I go on and on, I have two kinds of bathtubs that I would really dream of having there are:

• A Classic free standing Bathtub. (Like the blue tub above.)



• A Wooden Bathtub - preferably a Hinoki tub from Japan. Here's some idea of what a Hinoki bath tub is! http://www.bartokdesign.com/japan/

Trust me both the tubs really fascinate me and of course the price of these tub is not cheap as well. Unless you get those from China maybe slightly cheaper. Pray to god... please I want one!

Some music for the evening

Recently I have attended the Choral Concert by the Penang State Symphony Chorus on the 3rd of July. It was held in the Senate Room of Wawasan Open University. It was a lovely concert although both me and hubby were having McD in the car before attending it. My uncle Johnny is also singing in the choir, therefore my aunt and uncle including us did enjoy ourselves very much.

Traditional Nyonya Popiah - Homemade only (part II)

Traditionally, nyonya ladies used to cook these at home and have Popiah Parties. Well, this tradition is dying soon as not many people cook these days. Well, in my home we are still having this popiah tradition and it is one of my favourite food. Also one must know how to wrap a popiah properly or else everything will drop off, and the popiah wrap will break loose!

Above here I have included the ingredients that will be wrap inside a popiah. So all those commercial ones out there is really nothing compare to these homemade ones! One must get the ingredients right from the beginning to have a "Traditional Nyonya Popiah".

Here are some of the ingredients that I snap with my camera... and I have already named them well, other ingredients such as beansprouts can be wrap in it too.

This is the popiah wrap that we can still buy it here in Penang. Lucky us! :P

So here are all the ingredients that are waiting to be wrap in a popiah! Yummy.... and am getting hungry too! If I were to have my ideal Popiah Party..... I will definately need all my guest know they will need to help cooking and then later know-how to wrap the popiah properly.

Indeed it takes time to pratice and I have been doing it since I was a young little girl at the age of 10. LOL.

Tuna Time!

Ooooo... after lazing around watching tele in the house for almost a year now.... my fav shows, AFC (Asian Food Channel) and Travel & Living. Indeed I'll make full use of what I do mostly at home which is home cooking. So I tried a few things and this is the one I have been waiting to try out.
Finally I spotted a piece of tuna which can be cooked into a Yummy Tuna Steak! I have been searching at local store and finally got it! :P
So this is actually Fresh Tuna and it taste so good even hubby loves it! I added some salsa sauce to it so it looks like one in those restaurants! Hubby says it's even better.... well I have not come across any place that cook tuna steak yet around my neighbourhood!

Black&White...

These are some of my black & white shots of Sophie. Will try different colour tones in future too. Hope I can shoot more eye candies and show it here! I have thrown my photography techniques way too long and am now trying to catch back with new technologies. Hah! I personally still prefers Black&White though!

First Attempt!

Well this is my first attempt to shoot Sophie! Hope you all like it! LOL... well a lot of people says she's scary.... well it depends how you look at it. She's a fashionable doll so I have not yet made any clothes for her so this is the only outfit she has at the moment! :)

She loves Dalmatian too!

Sophie outdoor shots!

This is a fashion shot.... with special lighting.

This is Sophie!

My First Blythe! I named her Sophie as she looks so "Frenchy" to me. Our relationship is definately love at first sight! Simple Polka dot blouse and a matching pleated black skirt with a pink ribbon is just simple and elegant. She comes with white tall boots too, very chic!

Well, if I've got time will definately make some new clothes for her too! LOL.... I know I am very busy!

My Blythe a.k.a. Sophie in a box!

Blythe is a fashion doll which is widely known around the world. It is also a collectible item. There are many fans around and we make friends easily! Wish you all to join me too if you are interested! :)

It was created in 1972 and was initially only sold for one year in the USA by toy company Kenner. In 2000 the photo book This is Blythe was published and in 2001 the Japanese toy company Takara began producing new editions of Blythe dolls. Look for more information in the web!

Sophie has Arrived!

Finally my long awaited Blythe has arrive safely. I was nervous about her arrival and was worried that customs in our country might ask me to pay tax for it. Phew... my worries are over now!

I have named her Sophie as both me and hubby find her quite "Frenchy" in a way; and we both love the name.
She arrives in the morning, but I was not at home........ luckily our neighbor manage to keep her in for a while. Well it was not a long journey it took her 4 days to arrive at my doorstep! :)
Me and hubby both were excited to see her. We invited her carefully out of her box and she beautifully presents herself to us........ it did not take us long to name her too. LOL.

I love her hair and well I wanted to have her so badly as she was released in the same month as my Baby girl on 25th Sept 2009. This is the reason she's with us today. An additional sweet girl to our sweet family. Hooray!

Yummy Delights!

Yum Yum.... In spite all the busy schedule for the end of the year, I have manage to made up this New year Day Lunch for myself and hubby. It's Roast chicken with bacon and Potato. Well I think it looks good!

Then after that we both have my all time favourite dessert: Trifle. I made this for Christmas and New Year. Everyone says it's yummy.... of course I add more coffee liqueur than usual! LOL.

Love Bites

When I visit Paris, I have bought a silicon mould. So this is the first time I am using it and I am happy that the results turn out to be fantastic. The silicon mould is so easy to use and above all you do not need to coat an extra layer of butter/ or lay a baking sheet on before put it in the oven.

Above here is the picture of what I have made. These are the mini "Love Bites" that I made... well it is actually butter cake and strawberry jelly. WHat do you think lovely isn't it?

Moo Moo Baby Sling (Part II)

I did promise to show you how I use my Moo Moo Sling... so here it is. Baby is a bit cranky at first when she's in it, but after a while she got use to it and felt comfortable in it. I guess I 'll have to practice to use it often so she can get use to the idea. LOL.

Pampering myself - Body Massage!

Indeed I need to pamper myself although Baby is my first priority. If I am not strong enough my baby will suffer too. Well, of course I could ask hubby to help massage my neck and shoulder, but then again he's tired too. Ideally a masseur would be best solution; So, once a week I have my masseur come over to give me a full body massage. Talking about over indulgent, I think I deserve it after all the long nights of waking up and carrying baby, I do not feel it's wasting money. Then again, my husband said he too need a massage.... haha see I am not the only one needs pampering after all.

I have tried two different masseur and find them both effective in both ways.

First is Lady Kim - expert in Siamese type of massage for post-natal women.

Second is Lady Aning - expert in Indonesian type of massage for post-natal women too.

Their price varies and they use different ointment and technique as well. The duration is about an hour to an hour and a half. So I obviously can relax during my massaging time while hubby taking care of baby. LOL

MooMoo Baby Sling

Oh Finally, I have finished this "Moo Moo Baby Sling". I was wondering whether to make a Mei Tai Baby Carrier or a Baby sling; then I decided that a Baby sling is easier to use so I make one myself. I know they are selling some in the market but I do not like the pattern and the colours so I thought I better make one that I like since there are so many fabrics lying aroung in the house. :P

Indeed it is not difficult to make and again I did some improvision by adding some padding around the edges. Took me a while to make it but I assure you it is not difficult to make at all. You can browse through the instructions from this webpage...baby sling patterns page by Handmade-Adelaide-Baby.com; I find the instructions useful when I make my baby sling, I hope you find it useful too. Well when my baby arrives I will post a photo with baby in it. LOL.

Zoo Blankie for Baby......

As you all know I am busy doing my projects.... this is another project for my Baby. It's a rainbow colour "Zoo Blankie" or quilt as most people call it. I manage to find the colourful animals pattern fabric in Ikea and I got lucky with the rainbow stripes fabric which I found in a local quilt store. I love the colours and the combination of patterns, it just suits don't you think so? While the main colour is still pink as it's a baby girl colour. I almost use the quilting method but I found out that it is too much work for me now; so I did some research and found this easy method which does not require much sewing. A tied baby quilt is good for me. You can find the methods in this website http://www.everythingsewing.net/babyquilt.htm

Of course I did some modification as I do not want the string to hang all out at the front of the blankie! :)

DingDing (Version1) - Rag doll

Been busy lately with my pet projects for my Baby girl. I have created a new rag doll named, "DingDing". She is a modification of Ruby dolls & Chibi dolls. You can view from this website - Make Your Own Baby Chibi Doll! by OneRedRobin. Well, I could not really find a rag doll that I like so I have decided to make my own.

This is a Chibi doll.............

This is a Ruby Doll.............

The pictures here are my own version of "DingDing". I have inserted some bells in it so it will make some 'ding ding' sound when you shake the doll. Lovely isn't it?

Hello Ducky!

I am currently making a few projects and one of it include making a felt ducky for my precious little one when she arrives! I have found out about this Kate Erback’s Hello Ducky which I love. As this is the first time I am making a felt dolly, I am really stunt by the results. LOL!

Well as you can see here, this is my handmade ducky! Impressive huh? I have change the design slightly and the colours too. Furthermore, I have inserted a bell in it so it will make a ringing sound when you shake the ducky! I plan to make a bigger one next time round if I have the time! If you want to try out this too you caqn click on the link and print out the template and make your own version! Till then...... :)

My Movie making stint!

Oh! Recently I've made a short movie clip dedicated for my baby girl. Many of my family members are old and they are all excited about the arrival of a new member to our family. Since I am quite free, I have decided to do a short video of the elders in the family and introduced them to my child. Hopefully in years to come when she grows older she will remember all the family members and how excited they are about her arriving to this world and our family.

The Title - Love from the Bottom of Our Hearts

Produced by - My Brother and me......

Directed by - Me (Mommy)
I have chosen to use the Rubber Duck as the main art direction....... as you can see all the family members has a respresenting duck card to help introduced them. The duration of the video clip is about ten minutes. As this was a spontaneous interview of each family member, all were unprepared and shoot on the spot. It's been produced this way to capture the moments of joy naturally felt by all the members so no preparation is needed. Indeed, the end product was a successful one, hopefully so.... :)