Christmas Celebration in School

Recently Taylor had her Christmas celebration in school and parents have to bring some snacks for their teabreak. Since the celebration fell on Monday, I decided to bake some cupcakes (which turned out looking like muffins instead) minus icing on Sunday.

This is the recipe I used: http://www.food.com/recipe/vanilla-sour-cream-cupcakes-489644

I also halved the sugar as it was meant for the kids and I didn’t want it to be too sweet. Taylor had two for teabreak on Sunday with daddy constantly checking to see if there’s any leftovers so he could have them instead. I love the feeling of making something that the family enjoys!

Googled some cute and easy Christmas snacks and felt that the one below is the most manageable and could last till tea time for her in school!

Her teacher said that she enjoyed it thoroughly and that made me mighty pleased with myself 😉

Will be finally moving next week and I hope to be able to bake more after I settle down!

Belated Birthday Gift

I first got introduced to this brand on Sushi-cat.net and have been oooh-ing and ahh-ing over their collections ever since. But since their items are rather pricey, I try to not go to their website too often haha :p

This is my second purchase from them. Love how they are being packaged!

The star being this gorgeous necklace, which I imagine will go well with so many outfits. Can’t wait to wear it out!

As I have not gotten new fragrances since I can’t even remember when, I decided to get 2 to try. So exciting and so unlike me to not smell and get something. But, here’s the description for Circus Girl Trailer, one of my choices.

Circus Girls Trailer captures the sweet smell of the entertainer’s perfume and the lingering scent of late night tobacco and cloves. A bright top highlighted by bergamot grapefruit, and fresh green notes fuses flawlessly with a soft floral heart of rose, lilac, ylang, hyacinth, and jasmine. Rich tobacco, clove leaf, powdery musk, and creamy sandalwood finish the fragrance to create an experience of innocence, sophistication, and a hint of magic.

Doesn’t that sounds amazing and exotic? I tried it and absolutely love it! Am so glad I took the plunge and ordered it. Used to be very into collecting fragrances but have been in a rut for too long. Now my interest is piqued again!

Many things that I want to blog about but I don’t have the motivation to do so! Life is a routine now, but a happy one. Getting to spend time with the little one, and watching her grow and learn things is one of the greatest joys I have ever experienced.

I was just saying to T the other day that I used to think that I won’t be the parent who sit in the backseat just to accompany their kid, they should learn to be independent. Now I love sitting in the backseat with her, just to be close and spend more time together hahaha. T shared that he imagined himself to be a loving daddy who will play with his kid every night after work. Now that it is really EVERY night, it hits him how tiring it gets when you never get a break, and it’s on top of all the things you have to do as a parent (read: feed, shower and a whole lot of other chores).

Both of us laughed ourselves silly over how naïve we used to be. Oh well, not that we are regretting this parenthood journey!

Spring in Japan – Part 3

On Wednesday, since it was a public holiday, T could join in whatever we are doing. So we went to Fuji Matsuri, a flower festival. It was of wisteria which was really pretty. The google version was really awesome so my expectations were high but when I got there, it was extremely crowded and the view wasn’t the same. So I guessed the google version must have been at another place!

baby T fell alseep on the way there so we had to push our stroller amidst this crowd. Obviously, we made our way around the bridge instead hahaha 😉

The wisteria that we came for! Swaying beautifully along with the breeze.

And another photo of the crowd

After, we headed to Shinagawa since we wanted to check out if the supermarket there has Enfamil milk powder. baby T was going through a growth spurt so she was drinking a lot more milk than usual so we ran out. But apparently, Japan doesn’t stock foreign macilk powder brands?! Anyway, we still enjoyed our time there since we had yummy tempura. There was also a sky garden where we spent some time there soaking in the sunshine.

 

The plan on Thursday was to head to Akachan Honpo. I read that it is a store that sells everything for babies and there was one a few train stops away from my hotel.

I actually saw pretty clear directions online but can’t find it now! Anyway, I did check the directions with the concerige since they were posted in 2009 or something, and I wanted to make sure they haven’t moved! Get on the JR Yamanote line to Gotanda Station, take the West exit and cross the street. Take the TOC shuttle (there is a TOC sign at the bus stop so it should be really easy to locate) and get off at the second stop. FYI the bus is only making 2 stops. Walk through the doors of the building it stopped at, known as TOC building and take the elevator to level 5. You should be able to spot Akachan Honpo.

Since it is a departmental store for babies/kids, there is a changing area and several nursing rooms. It is also very spacious and has a rather large variety of goods ranging from shoes to food to toys. We spent the most time in the toy section the most of course, and there is a little playarea that baby T enjoyed a lot too!

That’s her playing with toys. I love bringing her to the toy store! There’s a wide variety and she doesn’t bug me to buy anything for her. Yet. hahahaha 😉 I am going to enjoy it while it lasts!

That basically sums up my whole week in Japan. We didn’t go anywhere special on Friday since we were leaving that evening. I only brought her out for a short walk to the nearby supermarket.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable and memorable first overseas trip as a family! So much that we recently went Phuket as well. Will blog about that soon.

Now, ending with the breakfast I had daily in Japan. Beef donburi!

Spring in Tokyo – Part 2

The next day is a Monday so I am on my own. For my first day, I decided to head to an area I have been to before – Shibuya!

I decided on Seibu Muji as they have a kids play area on level 5 and diaper changing area. Both very important once you have kids. It wasn’t too difficult getting around as there were elevators whenever I needed them after some looking around.

From Shibuya station, I exited via Tokyu to use their elevator and once outside you will be able to see Hachiko. Walk towards the famous Starbucks just right across the famous Shibuya crossing and you will be able to see Seibu. From there it should be quite easy to get to Muji as there are link bridges.

Baby T really enjoyed her time there as there were a lot of toys to explore. I also managed to get some clothes for her ^^ I fed her at level 2 where the café is. As I wasn’t hungry, I only got a coffee but the staff didn’t chase me away. I saw a few moms with their strollers enjoying their lunch there too so it I guess it’s rather popular among moms to hang out here too.

 

On Tuesday, I went to meet my Japanese colleagues since our office is really near to where I stayed. They showed world class hospitality by allowing me to use the meeting room to feed baby T after our lunch.

One of the places I had on my list was Kiddyland in Harajuku so I decided to head there after settling baby T. To walk to Kiddyland, once you exit from Harajuku station, cross the street and you will see Gap. Facing Gap, turn right and turn left at the first corner. Keep walking straight and cross the street when you get to. Keep walking straight and you will reach Kiddyland! It’s around 5-10 minutes walk.

I wanted to go Kiddyland as it is a toy store and I thought it will be fun for baby T but a lot of the toys were for bigger kids or even adults and many of them were in boxes so she couldn’t really play with them per se. But in the end she still had fun exploring the place just looking at the other people in the store and walking around.

There is restrooms in Kiddyland itself and also a restroom that is bigger and meant for changing diapers on level 1 as well. As she was well stimulated at the toy store, she promptly fell asleep while I was walking back to the train station. So I did manage to spend some time at a local drugstore and did some shopping! I also chat up a super nice store assistant who gave me his staff discount because I didn’t have my passport with me and wasn’t entitled to do tax refund.

And ta-da! My haul 😀

 

Am super pleased that I managed to get some shopping done!

Spring in Tokyo 2015 – Part 1

I recently went to Tokyo (end April) so I thought I would share some photos and the places I went since I brought baby T along with me! It was a solo journey there since T will be traveling from US to meet me in Tokyo. I decided to tag along for his work trip because I am sick of staying in Singapore but don’t want to travel without my baby unless it’s for work 😉 Before the trip I did a little research on the places I could go (which wasn’t a lot) as we stayed in Shinagawa but I figured being in a different country should be sufficient to entertain a 1 year old already. Schedule

She will usually wake up between 630-7am and then we would give her milk after she wakes. After we are all ready to go down, which is usually around 8-830, we would all have breakfast together which is different from what Taylor is used to at home but we are going to switch to this schedule when we get home anyway. After that Daddy would leave for work and I will bring her back to room to clean up a little, and get ready to bring her out for that day. We usually head out around 1030, which is very close to her nap time, so I will bring her to our intended place of the day and give her milk before getting her ready for a nap. After that, I will choose somewhere quiet to hang out, either to have coffee or lunch or even ice cream one day.

Once she wakes, if I am at a convenient place to feed her lunch, I will do it there if not I will just pop to a nearby café/restaurant to feed her. After her lunch, the fun starts for her where she will spend her afternoon exploring the place I have chosen to bring her to that day. Around 3pm I will give her some snacks while she’s playing, and then around 4-5pm, depending on how she feels, I will give her a bottle and prepare her for her second nap. After her nap I will bring her back to hotel to have dinner with Daddy if he is free. If not, I will grab dinner from the station before heading back.

Even though we go to different places every day, but she pretty much follows the same routine so it worked out rather well.

Ok that was a lengthy intro so I am just going to start talking about the places I went. Probably going to spilt this into 2-3 posts in case it gets too long.

The first proper day we went to Tokyo Tower! Met up with my friend Miki and her family. It was a sunny day and very beautiful weather.

Well, T didn’t go up since he’s afraid of heights and not baby T either since she was napping haha. It is their loss because the view is spectacular! I always love having a bird’s eye view.

After that, we had a nice sushi lunch around the corner and then headed to Ginza for some shopping.

Not much shopping done since we only went to Uniqlo but better than nothing. Sadly I left some of my loots back in the hotel ;(

Since it is springtime, it really isn’t too cold and all baby T needed was a jacket. A hoodie is very useful when the wind gets strong and also when I want to cover her eyes to get her to sleep quicker hahaha.

Ok signing off now since I am tired. Will try to continue again this week! 🙂

baby T updates

It’s another 4 days to baby T turning 11 months. Been feeling rather emotional these couple of days because all of a sudden, she seem so big already and just another month, she is officially no longer a baby but a toddler!

I skipped the last update (6-9 months) because it was a crazy period, baby T was hospitalized the first time around Christmas, and then another round in Feb during the week that I had to be away for a business trip ;( Maybe I will write about this some other time because I want to keep this post mainly positive!

So my little sweetheart has suddenly progressed so much! Here are the things I have noticed this past week.

– climb up stairs (she can do this a while back but is much more stable now)

– stack the Fisher Price Brillant Basics Rock a Stack

– clap her hands

– say mum mum when she is hungry. Is this her first word then? She knows how to say mum mum some time ago, but I didn’t think that she knows what it means. These days she will say it when she’s really hungry though! One more interesting word is gei gei, she said that when she was super impatient while waiting for us to get ready to go out. I wonder if she knows that means gai gai? I only heard that once before, so definitely going to pay more attention to her blabbering these days!

– comb her hair. I bought a comb for her recently and she actually know how to use it! I wonder how since I don’t really comb my hair very often hahahaha.

– shake her head when she doesn’t want something

– hold her own milk bottle, not throughout the whole feed though because she gets distracted. but there was once when I left the bottle near her and went to do something else, and she just picked it up and just started drinking while standing up holding on to the coffee table haha

– stand on her own for a few seconds. she started doing this a few weeks back but wasn’t too frequent but this past week she seem to have gotten stronger (and more confident) in standing!

This is all I can think of right now, but I am quite amazed by how much she has grown! Other notable things are that she can understand what I am saying most of the time, like no, pass me things, bye bye to mean that I am going off etc. She is also super sensitive, whenever I raise my voice a little to shout that I mean business, she will burst into tears. T and I find it very amusing, but I am sure it will turn into an annoying habit if she rolls around on the floor hahaha.

 

2014 Favorites

Though I had titled this as 2014 favorites, I would say that these are my favorites after I gave birth since the needs I had before and after birth is way different.

And because 2014 is mostly about baby T for me, I decided to include things that she had really enjoyed too!

In no random order, let’s start.

1) Fresh – Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15

After I got pregnant my lips started getting drier and was always peeling. I had purchased this Fresh gift set that comes with this lip treatment as well as a sugar scrub so I thought of giving this a go. I really didn’t expect it to be any different from the other lip balms that I had used but it really made a difference! This feels luxurious on the lips and it definitely got rid of my dry lips problem. The fact that it is tinted is a bonus, ain’t nobody got time for lip balm, lip stick then lip gloss routine anymore lol.

2) thisworks – Sleep Balm

I love this! Ever heard of the phrase ‘sleep when the baby is sleeping’? The problem here is, how to sleep the minute the baby starts to sleep?! So I gave this a go and it really helped me fall asleep faster and better too. Haven’t been using it too much though because I think my body is getting used to sleeping once it gets the chance to. Ugh, really don’t miss the first 3 months of having a baby.

3) Earth Mama Angel Baby – Natural Nipple Butter

another thing that helped me survive the first few months of motherhood. I think I have had it rather good already, because I didn’t have cracked nipples all the time, only mostly during the first month and after that I don’t even feel that breastfeeding is a painful thing. This particular nipple butter really provided relief at that time and even now when baby T bites me occasionally with her razor sharp teeth. I also like that it is all natural so I don’t have to worry about her getting some in her mouth.

4) Solitaire Diamond Earrings

When you are a mom you don’t have that that much time or brain energy to plan an entire outfit. However I do still like some accessories and diamond earrings go with everything! My photo is from Tiffany but my pair is actually a wedding gift from my MIL 🙂

5) Skinny Bracelet

I used to wear my Pandora bracelet all the time until I have to carry baby T and was worried that this may hurt her. (now I don’t worry about it hurting her, but more of her wanting to pull it off and hurting me in the process fml) Ahem, so I was saying I do like having something on my wrist and this Tiffany bracelet is so light (compared to Pandora) that it feels like I’m not wearing anything at all!

There is also a story behind this bracelet. I actually thought I lost it after having it for a month, but turns out that it was in one of my bags hehe. Found one year later. Was actually contemplating on getting a new one, but luckily I didn’t act on impulse. Can use the money saved to buy something else! 😉

6) Fisher Price – Brillant Basics Rock a Stack

To be honest I bought these because they are cheap and colorful. I really didn’t expect baby T to like them that much. She has been playing with it everyday for the past 2 months and she reaches for this the most often. But of course she doesn’t stack them, you think she’s a genius? Hahaha. Mostly, she loves banging them on the table and together. She also loves dropping them on the floor and picking it up again, then repeat action for X number of times. I guess she loves them because it’s easy for her fat hands to hold? Lol.

7) Vulli – Lazare the Cat

This was a gift for her during her first month celebration and at first I was really doubtful of how much she would like it because it does seem difficult for her to hold on to it. But she has played with this since she was ~3/4 months old and she still reaches for this occasionally at almost 9 months now! This is awesome as a teether because it is of rubber, safer than most of the things she tends to put into her mouth anyway.

Vulli is the brand that is famous for Sophie the Giraffe and seeing that she loves Lazare so much, I thought she would love Sophie for sure! So I bought it and she still reaches for Lazare more than Sophie #wastemoneyonly I feel like if she had Sophie first, she may have loved Sophie more than Lazare but I guess we will never find out.

8) Bralettes (photo from cupcakesandcashmere)

I gave bralettes a chance after seeing Emily mentioned it on her blog. That was when I was in my third trimester and I was sick of the conventional bras, yes even the wireless ones. And to my surprise I love them! I still can’t make them work under certain clothing and most days I do wear a bralette. I also love how pretty and sexy they are, even though I don’t feel sexy very often these days. My favorite brand is Eberjey because they are so comfortable!

And that concludes my post. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

 

The ‘Use-it-up’ Project – Goodbye

I was going to do up the post as usual, but I deleted the photo by accident!

So it got me thinking, if I want to continue doing this and the answer as you can tell from the title, is no. I had enjoyed doing it in the past but right now, I would really prefer to blog about other things going on in my life, if I find the time that is!

Maybe I will still have the occasional beauty/fashion post, or maybe more mommy-related posts. No idea, and I guess I will just go with the flow.

The ‘Use-it-up’ Project (36) – October Edition

Trying to get back on track! Half a month late is better than 1 month late I guess. I didn’t think I will have enough products since I haven’t really been using a lot of skincare/body care products but I still do so let’s go.

1) Yes to Cucumbers – facial towelettes

why did I buy it? as you guys probably already know, I love trying out new wipes!

first impressions? it is gentle and removes makeup pretty well.

upon finishing? I don’t mind repurchasing this again especially if I am going to US since it will be much cheaper over there.

2) Bioderma – Sensibio H2O

already my N number of bottle, search Bioderma under tags to read more. This is a sample size that I used for traveling but since I haven’t traveled recently, I decided to just finish it.

3) La Roche Posay – Thermal Spring Water

why did I buy it? used this mainly when my skin feels dry. I have one at home and one in the office.

first impressions? the mist is very fine, and it feels really good after spraying this.

upon finishing? The caps ended up destroyed because of the constant capping and recapping. I wouldn’t mind repurchasing this again when I am done with my other facial mists.

4) The Body Shop – Tinted Lip Balm in Cranberry

why did I buy it? got this in The Body Shop Christmas set in Cranberry scent my favorite!

first impressions? not really moisturizing at all but the smell and taste is good so I used it a little in the office since there’s where I have it.

upon finishing? as my lips were rather chapped due to pregnancy, even till now (!), I didn’t really use this much as it didn’t do anything for my lips. I recently opened it and it smelled weird so I decided to chuck it.

5) Jurlique – Herbal Recovery Eye Cream

why did I buy it? wanted to give Jurlique products a try as it is a natural brand which is what I am branching out into so I got a skincare set from them which includes this eye cream.

first impressions? when I opened it, there was a lot of wastage because of how the cap was designed. You are supposed to use the opposite end of the cap to twist it into the product to poke a hole, which is a really traditional way. The eye cream feels just like an average eye cream to me.

upon finishing? not very memorable and because I hate the packaging I wouldn’t repurchase.

6) Jurlique – Herbal Recovery Gel

why did I buy it? wanted to give Jurlique products a try as it is a natural brand which is what I am branching out into so I got a skincare set from them which includes this serum.

first impressions? it is rather sticky! and the scent is quite heavy too.

upon finishing? I got used to its stickiness, but I don’t think I will repurchase it due to that. Overall, it is quite an ok product though since I do believe that it does hydrates the skin really well.