Syawal 1439H

Syawal 2018 

Syawal 1439H 

Days 1 - 3 

roll roll over the kitchen.

people may think i loveeee chocolate like chocolate is life. well, it is. but i dont fancy too sweet stuffs and messy cakes. i like my cakes neat.

i did a trial nutella marble cake for my family's consumption.

thank god for cake leveller! hahahhah. i can slice my cakes neatly and easily. i bought my cake leveller at Sia Huat. and the nutella spread was just nice. hehhh. 

so there, nutella marble cake. already five orders for this. lol.

and then i very mentel. attempted a neapolitan marble cake for fun.

why does it smell so goooooood~
of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ripples! perfect combinations in a cake!

yay to no need to buy cakes for Raya!

one of my #cakegoals, achieved!

one of my light-hearted and best class evuhhh!
monogram cake!

when i first saw Adi Klinghofer's instagram on monogram cakes, i was in love. naked layered cake, no need for crumb coat or cake coat, no over the top decorations.. oh the new #caketrend!
and I dont recall Singapore having such cake trends.
so when Zanstreats opened this slot, hellyeah i signed up for it!

it wasnt as easy as it seemed.
from making the cake, to slicing it, to cutting it into the template (more complicated cuts with more designs).. even the piping needed to be counted and precise.

the fun part is the decorating part!
or so i thought.
because the decorations needed to be colorful yet do not cover parts of the cream, yet not over the top nor too cluttered. quite an amount of thoughts go into the decorations too.

lo and behold, my own monogram cake. the completed piece. 

of strawberry sponge cake layered with vanilla Italian meringe buttercream, 

decorated with chocolate macs and fruits.

yay to me!

think about it.

introduction to (new) cakes

one of the many cake-making and decorating class by Zanstreats.

An introduction to Cakes.
well, not quite for me. but its definitely an introduction to the sponge cake, butter cake and chocolate ganache! all that I wanted to learn.

of baking, cooling, layering, coating and piping cakes. 

end result #1 - vanilla sponge cake layered and coated with vanilla smbc and raspberries fillings 

end result #2 - chocolate butter cake layered and coated with chocolate ganache

all in a day's work

a line a day, all day, every day.

I found this journal by chance at Typo, and I was actually contemplating if I should get it. Glad I did buy it! 

I mean, why shouldnt I?

There's a question for every day for 365 days, for three years! Although the questions were repeated, I'm sure it beats having writer's block at any day.

I'm such a sucka for pretty things. Hahahh. 

And the questions.. oh the questions! Some are rather close to the heart, some makes me think, and some are just triggers the emotions. You know? 

The daily questions are: 

1)        What inspired you the most today?

2)        What do you love most about the weekend?

3)        Where and when was your last selfie?

4)        Sometimes when I’m alone, I like to …

5)        What is your favorite song now?

6)        What makes you unique?

7)        What makes the perfect Friday night?

8)        What was the last film you saw?

9)        What’s in your fridge right now?

10)       … is a total babe.

11)       Pssst, tell me a secret!

12)       What was the last compliment you were given?

13)       Describe your day in 3 words.

14)       What are you most proud about this week? (Well done, you!)

15)       If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be?

16)       What makes you happy?

17)       Write down some advice to your younger self.

18)       Whats your guilty pleasure?

19)       If you had a million dollars, whats the first thing you'd buy?

20)       What did you wear today?

21)       Whats your happiest memory?

22)       What do you love most where you live?

23)       What do you love most where you live?

24)       What did you dream about this week?

25)       What do you love most where you live?

26)       What is your favourite website/blog?

27)       What was the last book you read?

28)       If you could have any super power, what would it be?

29)       Make a wish!

30)       What did you eat for lunch today?

31)       What are you most looking forward to? 

Wont you agree the questions make you think, like THHHiinnkk? 

I mean, if you were to compare, now and later, your answers may even be different in three months. What more a year, or three years down the line. 

Your favorite song may change, your happiest memory could change. You may not read the same book which you had procrastinate since six months ago. What you want to buy with a million dollars would change too. You know, that kinda thing. Because humans change constantly and so does their feelings and needs and wants. Thats a constant. 

Some require a little more emotion and thought - like what do you actually do when you are alone? Or what was that last compliment you were given? I definitely cannot recall the last. 

Who knows, these could be topic starters for when you have writer's block to blog! Lol.

I skipped January 2018 entries because I only had the book in Feb and could only recall as far as Feb events. January was a so-called trial for the new year so it doesn't really count. It only counts because its my birthday month. 

So far so good; Ive been updating diligently. I dont want to forget the recent happenings and I do not want to forget my constant train of thoughts either. So I reckon this journal book is actually a good kick-starter for me to pen something. 

Its supposed to be a line per day. Some days i wrote a paragraph! Its actually nice to write a short entry, noting the reasons and emotions behind it. That would make the entry all the more meaningful, isnt it? 

A line a day for three years, thats not bad ey. 

Self-Me First.

This year I started my iG with my #birthdaybuys from Times Bookstore.

Gosh that place is becoming a puaka place. I went there pretty much every day after sending Sara to school. Its like my heaven on earth.

Ok I digressed.

For this year’s resolutions, I sort of decided on many themes, one being Self Care. It means I want to attempt stuffs that I never did before and try to care for myself more than previous years. While I love my family and home, I realized I also needed to find time for myself. It doesn’t matter if I do not turn out as a professional. I want to at least be able to say, “Oh yes, Ive tried that”. 
Self Care is also about caring more and better for my skin and health, hopefully. Lately Ive gotten dry sensitive skin etc. I thought I should at least care for my body; its the only Ive got. 

So I started with a Creative Lettering and Origami kit sets. Like I captioned, I would like to think that I have time. Lol. Who are we kidding right.

Below are my 2018 Resolutions/To Attempt List of things to do:

1)      Creative Hand Lettering/Modern Calligraphy
I got my kits from Times Bookstore. Initially I just wanted to own the kits, but as time went by, I realized that typography skills and service is increasing in the market. Hence why not try my hand at it? I also printed some free printouts from online to enhance my go at letterings. I would love to go professional with it. But that’s unlikely to happen as there’s a lot in the market now. I might just do for my own people and events. We’ll just go along.

2)      Origami/Paper Quilling/Paper folding
One of my childhood dreams is to bond over origami with my children. Lets see how that goes. My girl cant even sit still for five minutes. Hahahh. Well at least I have a couple of books to guide me, and I can try to fold more that just the number cube.
I hadn’t tried quilling though. Still searching for books or online guides for me to kick off this craft. Given that I already have a few kits in hand, quilling may even be brought forward to next year. Hehh.

3)      Coloring
My #semangatlimaminit hobby then. It was so sad I stopped coloring in 2016, partly due to health. The books are almost turning yellow! I had to dust and sun them. Now I’m bringing this hobby back into my life.

4)      Art Jamming
I am reserving this session with my dear friend for our belated birthdays. I hope this materialises. We hadn’t met for a while and I miss her. And I want to spend time with her by doing something, instead of just chatting our money at Coffee Bean or something. I saw a few coupons on Fave, and found more online. So we’ll wait for this to really happen.
 

5)      Blog

I’m trying! It’s hard with two kids and trying to post something. The most is I usually pen groceries and bills lists. When I tried to write something, Sara would come over and insist to sit on my laps and write something too. That girl! Hahahh. So far I think I’m not bad for a #motheroftwo. Some blogs that I used to frequent or either dead or inactive. Chet!

6)      Baking
I did this last year. I stopped after being pregnant with Adam. Yes, I do want to start again, once again at my availability. This time I wanted to be specific with what I want to bake or attend class. I have a few on my mind, it’s just a matter of finding time and having excess money to pay for the baking courses.

7)      3-Year Reflections and Thoughts
I bought the diary from Typo. The best evuhh! It’s a journal of 365 days with 30 questions repeated for every month, for three years! And you get to read what happened last year when you do this year’s entry! How cool is that. It’s like FB Memories, on paper.

8)      Exercise
Oh why am I so ambitious. I am upset that the stomach is still flabby! So upset that I pinterested flat abs exercises (damn you, planks!) and some celebs with abs for motivation. Yes, Britney is one of them. I need to go down to my pre pregnancy weight, but its taking a long time because I am in no hurry to flatten the stomach and I still enjoy junk foods around.

9)      Memorise 4 Qul + Yasin + Doa Qunut Im not a preacher, don’t intend to be one. I don’t impose. Im not a good Muslimah, yet I always try to be one. I memorised Al-Ikhlas, Al Falaq and An Nas, so Im left with Al Kafirun. I know I have to push myself to memorize Yasin and Qunut properly. Its about being a good example to my children. Pray for me on this one.



10)   Proper Use of Make Up
Suddenly there's a interest in cosmetics. Hahahh. Not that I want to smack my face with thick make ups, but at least I want to learn to apply proper make up. You know, primer, highlighter, concealer, etc. At least make my face up properly. Hehh. I sorta have the tools, but I have no idea how to use them. So yeah, learning and applying, slowly.


11)   Homeschooling
No, I don’t mean to quit my job to homeschool the children. Heck we may not even study. I mean I want to teach the kids when I’m with them, on weekends or long holidays. Maybe print early childhood learning guides for them to learn through playing. So far I have printed alphabets, shapes, numbers and animal flashcards for Sara. Just needed to find some corner in the house as a noticeboard.

Now that I have listed the resolutions, it felt like a lot! Im really being ambitious. Hahahha.

Of course I don’t expect instant ability or professional work coming out of me. I would like to pace myself, gradually upgrade myself as time goes by. Its only February anyway! I have a whole year for these, right?

The list hadn’t include my #kitchengoals. Or #livingroomgoals. Or #bookshelfgoals. Or any other #goals. And I already think it’s a lot.

#prayforme lol

eight pieces of CCC

since I made a mess in the kitchen. 

and i made caramel chocolate cupcakes for my neighbour for her CNY. 

gave her eight pieces, because, well, lucky number. received a text after that, her telling me how it tastes sedap. makes me all fuzzywarm inside. nobody died from my cupcakes. hahaha. 

Caramel Chocolate cupcakes, with crushed Lotus biscuits in the centre and topped with Caramel SMBC. gold pearls, because wealth.

layer by layer.

so i brought le mummy out on a baking class of one of her favourite cakes evuhhh - Kek Lapis Prune & Rempah conducted by Zanstreats.

Mum was excited and on the ball! i was like, relax Mak.. but she was enthusiastic! asking about this ingedients, that baking tin size, this method, that oven temperature. haha my mother so cute.
its not even her first time baking, but so cute to see her as a student for a change. lol.

we did 6x6 square cakes, times two because well, different houses.
and i personally was pleased with the outcome.

 

and now she is pumped up to keep practising the cakes, because #semangat. hehehhh. which is good, because DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH KEK LAPIS COSTS DURING HARI RAYA!! the cheapest so far was SGD50.00! madddddnesssss!

told Mak that if we could succeed this cake, and its other flavours, i would actually quit my job and do kek lapis for orders. she concurred.

now she's buying the baking stuffs to make the cakes,
and asked me about other traditional cake classes that she could attend.

Mak oh Makkk.
why you so cute.

pen my book.

when lil bro mentioned he wont be having a guestbook for his wedding, i recalled i have an unused black plain guestbook chucked somewhere in my storeroom. so i offered to do up the book for him, so guests could pen their well wishes to the newly weds.

sourced Pinterest and googled for suitable designs/images, and took out my colored pens. i was undecided to have a monochrome theme for the design, or to add some colors. i even thought, since its rather a last-minute plan, i should just print using normal A4 white paper. but nahhh.

took a little extra time with it, designing and deciding on the colors and fonts etc, and printed the final simple design at a nearby photo shop.

voila, a guestbook ready within a couple of days. phew.

yes, she did it again.

as per tradition, mummy will always put together our wedding trays. wedding trays for my brother's solemnisation were no exception.

I JUST REALISED I NEVER UPLOADED ANY IMAGES OF MY WEDDING TRAYS!

so anyway, mummy did the trays for her son's solemnisation and i think it is equally elegant.

ive always advised her to not make the decorations extravagant, because we want the gifts to stand out, not the flowers or the bold colors or twigs or whatever. the idea is to show the gifts, so it would look pretty when pictures are taken, not show off the flowers. lol. i honestly cannot stand extensive decors on wedding trays because i just do not know what to look for - where is the gift? why is the flower so big/the color so bold? what should i be looking at??

knowing what gifts will be exchanged - food, scents, toiletries, handbags and watches, etc - would be extremely helpful because it helps to decide how big the trays would be and how the decorations would be. it also helps in what kind of decorations are needed - big petals, small petals, more leaves, just baby breaths, more pearls, less blings, etc etc.

and so my talented awesome mummy put together the entire wedding gift trays below, all are her idea, yes right down to the bunga rampai holders and sirih junjung:

although i do assist her occasionally, i do wonder if i can even match her creativity.

so whaddya think? can take in orders? hehehh.

in addition to wedding trays, we also DIY-ed the wedding favors for kids and adults.

we chose yellow/gold for the favors so they give a sense exclusivity and class.

before my wedding, i learnt that to add a touch of exclusiveness to the reception, it would be good to have glossy/shiny favors because the public would always have a second look at what's bling bling at the entrance of the reception. hence i chose silver packaging for my favors back in 2014.

similarly for this round, we chose gold. because, classy. and i loveddd how it turned out when we laid out the favors on the table. so much gold bars! hahahh.

so thats the DIY-decorations bit for my brother's wedding ceremony.

do send in emails for enquiries on wedding trays and wedding favors if you have any HEHEHEHEHH =D