Weekend

melanie

It was a hustle and bustle Saturday. Shops and hawkers are cranking up with Chinese New Year (CNY) songs and decors are setup at Petaling Street. It seems like everything has happened before. Was it a déjà vu? Nah~ it’s not. We do the same thing every year. We shop for CNY stuffs till the very last minute, as usual. It’s not done yet and will be continued on the following weekends. Woot ~

Textile shop. My favourite shop where I enjoy looking at the patterns, colours, feeling the textures and think what can I do with this and that? It’s so beautiful. I bought 2 pieces of polkadot cloth. Thinking to make a few sets of bean bags (juggling cubes) to juggle. That’s gonna be my next handcraft work. Yay !!

polkadot

It was a beautiful Sunday but we did not climb. We spent precious time at home with mom and dad and best of all, we made these juggling cubes. Our team work performed pretty well. Thanks, Abner. Let’s keep it up.

juggling cubes

And let’s see who juggles better and the winner wears the pants !! Woohoo ~~

A’lil update II

melanie

It’s Friday !! I have to finish up an animation for a client of mine and soon it will be updated to my portfolio. Then I’ll be free to paint !! Yay !!

Yesterday, I tried making tofu meatball for dinner but failed. The taste was rather nice but I had it way too thick and I did not cook it for long enough. The tofu meatballs were mushy. Uek~ I shall try it again tonight.

“A bit of failure makes success.” Hah !!

salad tortilla

I had tofu-chicken salad tortilla wrap for breakfast this very morning. Lesson learnt; do not be greedy. N.E.V.E.R. I had one whole piece of wholegrain tortilla which is a’lil too much for me. My stomach is kinda bloated and I don’t feel good now. 🙁 The next tortilla that I’m gonna make is definitely be half the size of it. Oh ~ do not forget to heat it up too. It’s a bit “gerli” eating it cold.

It’s half past twelve. I’m going to have my leftover salad now without tortilla. Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend !!

I’ll be busy with family over the weekend as Chinese New Year is around the corner. Freaky, freaky ~ What about you?

Getting Healthy

melanie

I love tofu. It may be bland but it’s good for health.

sunrise-soya

As I start working with SUNRISE, I got enlightened that tofu is MAGIC !! It’s a tad exaggarating but it’s true. Have you ever tried a dessert made with tofu? Or smoothies? Pie? Lasagne? Well, with SUNRISE you can find loads of intriguing tofu recipes. I can’t resist but to share this with you all.

Albeit I won’t be able to get these products from SUNRISE here in the country but I would like to start eating right for a healthier life. Not to forget to shed some weight too !! I’ve gained 4 freaking kilos and it’s so so hard to drop even half a kilo !! *frown face, pout lips* I shall take this as one of my challenges in 2011. That’s gonna be no junk food. Aww… this is hard. Less fat. This is o’kay. More exercises. Alrighty-ho. Long story short, I’ll keep myself in touch with SUNRISE for more healthy food from Clara and fitness tips from Christine. Ale ~ 加油 ~

Psst… It’s Wednesday. Boulder day !! 🙂

Art of Nature

melanie

moodboard_nature

Many designers, artist and poets inspired by the beauty of nature. The drifty cloud in the sky, crystal-clear and blue water, white sandy beaches, gentle sunshine, the amazing sunrise, sunset, moonlight, woodland, the peaceful sound in the forest, forest insects, the greenery of trees, wild plants, flowers and et cetera. How can I forgotten about the sea world. The friends in the sea. The cetacean I’m dying to meet. The Nature, a most wonderful creation of God leaves me absolutely mesmerized. It’s my biggest influence.

I’ve compiled some photos taken from my trips to various places and created an inspirational mood board that I’m gonna use for some upcoming projects. So now I am going to get my painting done and I shall start a new one soon. 🙂 Have a nice Tuesday !!

Retreat @ Kemaman

melanie

kemaman

It is monsoon season at the east-coast of Malaysia but the rain does not stop us from having fun. More than words can say, the holidays were awesome !! I haven’t been having so much fun since like eons ago. We rolled down the sand dune, bowled and bouldered by the beach *my body is now aching like nobody’s business and bruises on legs and knees, ouch…*, we swam, hiked, cooked, had some local nice foods, coffee and tea, uno, countdown, juggled, massage and more. It was a crazy and fun “career” retreat !! *giggle giggle* 🙂

Thank you y’all for the company and stay tuned for more fun to come in 2011 !! *Hugs*

Happy New Year !!

melanie

happy new year 2011

Holiday is here again !! I’ll be leaving for Kemaman for a bitchy beachy holidays !! Hope the weather is nice for us to boulder, hike and soak up the sun !! 😀

A very, very Happy New Year to everyone of you !!

P/S: Am catching up with my painting. It’s about half done. Is it half done yet? Now I realized that I have so many cherries to paint. 😀

painting

Christmas

melanie

Whoops… I was so excited that I forgotten to snap some photos of the ayam masak merah and pudding that I made for the party. Sorry~. The party was full to the brim with joy and blessing. And food too !! I feel blessed to have all the lovely friends around. Here’s a toast to y’all. CHEERS !! 🙂

Abner and I spent a relaxing morning on Christmas in a Japanese restaurant. We had breakfast, lazed around and watched a funny Japanese show. My cheeks ached from laughing. Gosh. We then headed to Carrefour for some grocery. There we spent about 2 hours to get our shopping done. And we made our way back home for some secret gardening. lol.

Abner’s the chef this time round. His specialty, Olio spaghetti. Where I busybodily suggested to poach some eggs. I felt butterflies fluttering in my stomach because I failed poaching the eggs from my first attempt few months back. Hey, I don’t wanna fail again. It wasn’t nice seeing myself wasting food. (Abner, do not roll your eyes.) Taking a deep breathe I tried again. Slow and steady… steady… make it… make it… BINGO. Yay !! But hey, I need more pratices in poaching the perfect eggs.

Tips: Vinegar, deeper pot and NOT boiling water. Hmp !! Arms folded across the chest.

xmas dinner

Dinner was nice. Dessert was nice. The movies we watched, 4 Christmases and Back Up Plan were nice. The whole evening was nice !! Thank you Abner for spending such a lovely Christmas with me. Hugs.

And… (drum rolling)…
Pancake and outdoor climbing on Boxing Day. Hoho~

Indeed, I had a nice climb yesterday. 😀
pancake

Oh !! What happen to my painting? Still painting. S.L.O.W.

Soft Toy Postcard

melanie

Evonne: Mel, come and see this!! I bought a few of it.

And so it catched my attention. For the first time I got sooo excited over soft toys. Soft toy postcards that it is. I was at the rotating slat panel display for about 15-20 minutes, choosing for my favourite ones with fascination. I really like the idea where recipients can peel the cloth off and turn it into a soft toy. It’s so adorable. 🙂

I wanted to get a giraffe and a whale but it was out of stock. 🙁 So I got the pink elephant, monkey, lion and t-shirt rabbit at TWD4 each if I have not mistaken. You can check out the website here for more varieties.
soft toy postcard

And this cute little pink elephant is now in good hand. Hohoho ~

Merry Christmas !!

melanie

xmas

Christmas is coming !! What’s my plan ?? Gonna cook ayam masak merah (spicy chicken) and sweet corn pudding to bring over to Francis’. Will be celebrating Christmas Eve with a bunch of nice and coolie friends this year. I’ll stay at home, relax and paint on Christmas. Yay 🙂

I would like to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas !! May your Christmas be filled with joy, peace and love.

Gaw Dung

melanie

And so I have wrapped up some work for the festive seasons to come. Gaw Dung, Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year~~~ hmmm.

Anyways, I just got to know that Gaw Dung is also known as Winter Solstice Festival. *shrug* And so we had family reunion dinner as usual but a bittttt different this year. It is because the dinner was served by mom and myself. Yeap !! I cooked !! Sweet & spicy prawns and Tangyuan (Glutinous Rice Dumpling Ball) but I prefer calling it Tong Yuen in Cantonese. I have to admit that the prawns tasted good. Har~ har~

It’s happy to see my family enjoying the foodie and guess what? It’s finger licking good !! =D

Would you like to try cooking this scrumptious dish?
No? It’s ok. Yes? Here goes the recipe.

holiday

Sweet & spicy prawns

Ingredient A
1 bulb of garlic
1 bulb of onion
1 inch thick of ginger
5 red chilies

Ingredient B
1/2 a bottle of ketchup
5 tablespoon of chili sauce
4 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar

Ingredient C
Prawns or clams. Wash and clean.
Egg (last)

Ingredient D. Optional.
Coriander to garnish.

1. Chop ingredient A and put aside.
2. Heat the pan with enough of oil to deep fry the prawns and put aside.
3. Reduce the oil from the pan, stir fry ingredient A till it turns golden brown and smells fragrant.
4. Add in ingredient B and stir well.
5. Add in the fried prawns and stir well.
For clams, you do not have to fry it. Just add in clams and stir until it’s cooked.
6. Lastly lower the fire, beat the egg, stir well for just 5 second and off the fire immediately.
7. Serve the dish into a serving plate. Garnish with coriander. And voila ~

Good luck and have fun cooking !!