Ag May ...

Sometimes I feel like the most organised, super efficient, cover-all-bases, thinking-10-steps-ahead type of person...  like when we came home after a long weekend away. After a fun-filled albeit tiring last day, plus a long drive home, we had the kids fed-ed and bedded, everything unpacked and put away, and set up for the new school term by 8pm. We had made sure the girls had enough snacks, filled with enough fruits and popcorn to make a long car ride home pleasant. We had washed all of our clothes the night before so were unpacking and putting away clean clothes (I loved this!!!) and had plenty of clothes to choose from for the following day. And everything had been checked off everyones list of holiday expectations, so they were happy to come home. All steps covered.  Organised.  Efficient.  Give the girl a pat on the back, John.  (Wait!  Who's John?) And sometimes, I feel like the laziest, biggest time-waster to have ever lived... like the ti...

Back to front... let's start with Blueberry Custard Pie. A buttery homemade pie crust, encompassing a custardy blueberry filling; topped with a streusel topping.  Once the pie crust has been made (which can done in advance) then this pie comes together quicker than you can say "a buncha munchy crunchy carrots"  (Octonauts, anyone?). This pie is awesome straight out of the oven, served with a scoop vanilla ice-cream, tea and Mark Harmon in bed, or warmed in the microwave served with a dollop of cream for breakfast the next day.  But better with Mark Harmon. I have written about this already ... actually almost a year ago today!  But I think it's worth writing about again. My little ones are growing up quickly.  Besides all the exasperated sighs, the telling off, rule after rule after rule, we're doing aw-right.  I have been having more energy, am more organised, and more open to laughing with the girls.  Something recently just clicked with m...

Bunk beds, loft beds… they’re pretty cool.   Awesome cubby houses; magical castles; huge hideaway spots; in-house cinema.   Just an awesome place to be.   Why wouldn’t you have a bunk bed or a loft bed?   Especially with three kids!   Especially in a small apartment. Well, here’s a couple of reasons why not… If you’re the wrong height and you can’t reach the top bunk from the ground, do you know how difficult it is to change those bed sheets? Or what about when you want to air out the mattress?   If I can’t put on the bedsheets from down there, how do you think I’m going to lift the mattress high enough to go over the railing and then down to the floor?   WATCH OUT BELOW! And what about when your kid falls asleep in the car?   Yep – you can maneuver them out of the car.   Yep – you can carry them up the stairs.   Yep – you can turn this way and that so that you don’t bump them into the furniture...

I'm a sucker.  And I've got an addictive personality.  And I rationalise and justify everything I do.  So, it's never a good idea for me to pick up a new hobby... aka addiction... unless it's truly good for me. I picked up the capsule wardrobe thing... good. I picked up the skincare/makeup thing... not so good ($$$). I latched onto the no shampoo thing... good. And now I'm onto the Kikki K thing... so NOT good. I'm into it.  So so so into it.  My life can be soooo much better with the help of stationary and vision boards and stickers and pens and yep... workshops. It's mid-year and I'm goal setting.  I've never been a believer in the New Year's Resolution movement, but mid-year goal setting... I'm all over that like a rash, baby. I've "invested" in a planner so that I can live each day with purpose. I've "invested" in a vision board so that I can keep motivated. And I've attended a ...

I asked Little Miss M - Do you want to have your birthday at a play centre and you can invite lots of friends, or do you want me to plan an at-home party with just a few friends? After all the fun that she had been having at her friends parties being held at a play centre, I was very surprised when Little Miss M opted for an at-home party.  Apparently, I'm loved because I plan the birthdays. And so a birthday party was planned... A FURBY PARTY!!  Dah-Noh-Lah!  Party party!! We had games... A photo booth with props... (and we printed out the photos for the guests to take home) We had cake... And we sent the party guests home with a furby key chain, a photo from the photo booth and some homemade love... Yes, I had to take a few days off from work to get everything done. Yes, the Furby cake was filled with smarties and m&m's (not sure why we don't have a picture of it).  And I really don't want to think of how much butter was used to ma...

Hello there world and all of its lovely people.  I've indulged my laziness and procrastination tendencies enough and I'm ready to face the world.  What have you been up to in the past 6 months? I think I've found a pattern... I think it takes me about half a year to get going; to get my mojo on; to get off my arse.  After a quiet six months, all of a sudden, I have inspiration boards and I have time planners and I have goals..  and it's already July. Anyways, here are a few handmade goodies that have graced my craft table in the past six months.  Either I've been really non-productive or I've been really lazy with the camera.  Probably both... never mind.  Let's work with what we've got... Origami (Christmas) Baubles - it helps if you have a circle cutter Origami Baubles paired with white chocolate stuffed Snickerdoodle cookies - white chocolate stuffed anything *swoon* Hairclip/Headband holder My gorgeous niece asked for a box for ...

My little girls are growing up.   They’re catching up with each other, and then they’re racing away as they go through their developmental growth spurts.   But whatever the case, they are growing together.   And it’s the joy of my life.   You know that feeling?   When you’re just sitting there, watching, enjoying, with a goofy smile on your face.   Yeah – that feeling.   It’s awesome. One day, after Little Miss M and Dear Husband had already left for the day, I was lounging around in bed – ok, I was wallowing in self-pity over my head cold.   Before he left, I think Dear Husband had a quiet word to the two little one to let me rest. And so they did.   I heard some shuffling.   I heard some whispering.   I heard some furniture being moved around.   I heard some “help please Ditse”.   I heard some “Ssshhh, mama’s sleeping.” Of course, who can resist that?   I had to get up to see what was going on. ...

I love to travel.   I travel to experience different cultures.   I travel to see new sights.   I travel to meet new people.   I travel to catch up with my friends and family.   And I travel for the food.   Actually, I really travel for the food and everything else is a bonus.   But, you know… don’t tell anyone, especially my relatives. One of the foods that I discovered while overseas in the U.S of A was the soft pretzel.   And the soft pretzel, still warm, lightly salted, served with a luscious caramel dipping sauce.   Thank you Auntie Anne’s. Ok – so I would travel to the States just for Auntie Anne’s and In-an-out Burger and for the “biscuits with gravy” and for the pastrami sandwiches.   And for the ribs.   And for the chicken wings with buffalo sauce.   And to be able to eat raw broccoli dipped in ranch without anyone pulling faces!!! And yes, I would travel to Hong Kong just for the mango with sago in coconut...

We've had a small spate of birthday parties for Little Miss M to attend in this past month.  And it's always a bit of a guessing game to figure out what her friends might want for their birthday.  What Little Miss M would like to give to her friends. So far Little Miss M is still quite happy to give her friends something homemade.  And so far, these have been a hit with both Little Miss M and her friends (well, according to their mommas anyway).  And I think these little ones still get a kick out of seeing their names on things.  What do you think? And the best thing... I've heard how Little Miss M's friends show how they treasure their presents - favourite doll's sleeping bag; magic cape; a bag for treasured things.  And how they don't want to sully it by getting it dirty on their bed if they use it as a pillow!!!! Little Miss M has been helping with the designs.  I'm hoping to start her on sewing them up herself with a bit of practise :) ...

Hmmm... exciting title, huh? Anyways... part of my simplify philosophy is how we live our life here at mon chez moi.  Borne out of necessity and preference, our bathroom has been simplified the agmay way. When we moved into our apartment, the bathroom was sadly lacking in storage.  It was also lacking in space, so putting in any storage was going to require some thought. I thought about what activities we needed to do in the bathroom.  And limited storage requirements just for those activities. Makeup - no. Tooth brushing - yes. Medicines - no. Contact Lenses - yes. Lotions - no. Cleaning products - not really. Hair products - yes and no.  (For my Dear Husband, he washes his hands after applying hair stuff.  I just brush and spray.) Do you get the picture? Actually, here's a picture. And that's it.  That's all that's in our bathroom. (I'm still looking for a way to store the toilet paper, which sits just outside the bathroom in the l...

DIY – Gingham Shirt Oh - and please excuse the less than flattering photos... Another foray into "sewing for me" – a pink gingham structured shirt. This is another pattern from Vogue.   What can I say – I like familiarity . The pattern offers multiple variations, which was appealing as well as it being the style that I was looking for. And here is the finished product (*sigh* back to setting up the camera for selfies).   Ok, it’s not my favourite pair of pants but I’m working on that. Onto the shirt.   I like it.   It’s not perfect, but it has potential. On the finished product... I like contrast cuffs and collar.   I like the shape.   I like the fit in the front.   I like the circumference of the sleeves. I don’t like the slight tightness in the bust.   I don’t like the length of the sleeve.  To get to this point, these are the alterations that I had to do to the pattern - Shorten to cor...