my steamed fish!

I kind of got carried away with the onions, ginger and all, but it tasted good.. almost as good as my mum's cooking... almost, as in, I need more practice :-)

I think I can safely say I can cook now :-) Thanks mama for the recipe!

Oh how cute!

We found this little café in servette, looks like a room out of a 

vintage-furniture magazine. What a gem!

Lina with her choc muffin

My blueberry cupcake with blue frosting

life is sweet..

..and so are cupcakes!

 

yeahaaa!! I made my first batch of vanilla-coconut cupcakes!!

from russia with love..

This was the first russian dish I made: beef stroganoff! well, it was a slightly modified recipe. I substituted cognac with lemon juice. I didn't have flat egg noodles, so I used pasta instead. I hope I didn't offend any russians for this, but it tasted good to me!

my baking adventures continue..!

Soft, moist earl-grey tea mini cakes.. good with coffee or tea

Let's make some maki sushi!

Our japanese friend Nao invited us to her lovely home and she thought us how to make some sushi rolls.. They were not only fun to make, but they also tasted GOOD..! Arigato gozaimasu!

Itadakimasu!

This one is called 'Tulip Maki'

Hrmm I kind of destroyed some of the egg rolls, as you can see LOL

Merci beaucoup Tonio

happy first wedding anniversary

ahh... much better..!

I've always been too lazy to look after my skin, so even at 30 I find that I'm still getting oh-so-disgusting zits.. as if I was still a teenager! But after taking the following steps, I saw a massive improvement on my skin... visibly less zits! If you have the same problem as me, then maybe these would help you too:

1) Change the cover of your pillows every week

2) Use soft disposable kitchen paper towel to dry your face after washing, do not, I repeat, DO NOT use your bath towel. The crap you get from your own body will go on your face!

3) Once a week, pamper yourself with a DIY facial:

- Rinse your face with your daily face wash and pat dry

- Dip a slice of tomato into sugar and use this to scrub your face (focus on your T-zone), this will get rid of dead skin naturally. In fact, leave the slimy tomato juice on your face for 5-10 minutes, this is especially good if your have itchy or easily-irritated skin

- Then wash and steam your face with hot water. Steam, not dip your face in it ok

- Then put on a clay mask (choose one that suits your skin type) for like 30 mins or until dry

- Wash off mask and then put on your moisturiser

On this note, please avoid using products that have paraben in it... use bio products if you can. Apparently, paraben can cause cancer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraben). Some cosmetic lines in France were recalled because of this issue.

4) No matter how tempting it is, do not squeeze them pimples..! Don't even touch your face with your hands. I noticed I always zits around the chin area because I touch it when I'm thinking of something or when I'm trying to look interested when people talk to me LOL

5) Before going to sleep, moisture your lips to prevent drying and most importantly, do not forget to add eye cream!

6) Wear moisturiser with SPF as a base under your makeup. UV rays age your skin real fast!

7) Eat healthy foods! This one I have to give a miss cos I don't have the will-power to say no to chocs or chips. But for those that can stick to a healthy regime, please continue on with full speed!

I saw an improvement within 3 weeks. So don't give up if you think you have skin problems. It can still be improved even if you started late like me. :-) Note to future daughter: please do this when you are in your early 20s! Don't wait till you're 30! LOL

Well what can I say

To Buddhists, the theory of karma states that each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation. I believe that karma exists in a similar context in Islam too, that Allah is fair and just.. and before you pay for your bad deeds in hell, you may suffer from 'bad luck' in your life on earth.. as a result of your actions or bad intentions to others, something we call in malay, 'KETULAHAN'.

So before saying nasty stuff to/about other people, think for a second that the same thing could happen to you too. And I've witnessed this in the past few months.. the power of faith in Allah.. and what He can do to you.. Of course no one is perfect, but one can always strive to be a better person.

Holy F..ish!

Thank you Chris for taking me and Tonio for the lovely seafood dinner!

I made my first batch of apple pie cupcakes

I was supposed to add frosting at the top, but they tasted good enough on their own I didn't want to ruin it.. I will try the ones with frosting next time and compare the taste..

The real McCoy

Thanks so much Lina for teaching me in person on how to make the real chicken green curry. Thank you too for making the rice at the same. Balik tarus makan! We feel so blessed... The one I made the other day was not only too spicy, it was not even green! LOL. With practice, I hope to be a master chef like you, merci!

my first kitty kitty mug

 We just re-arranged the hobby room over the weekend for more space. So now there is more room for my various DIY projects.. I just finished hand-painting this mug for Tonio :-)