I've been obsessing with teak credenza as of late.  Been hunting antique stores & craigslist for an old one for a steal of a price.  So far my search returned null :(  There are a few thrift shops on my hit list but I can't go there just yet.  Hubby got me all creeped out, feeling the hibby jibby of antique furniture at the moment :-(  It happened during our last excursion, he would say stuff like "I wonder how the owner died ?"  or "I can see the dead people using that thing".  I yelled at him but it was too late to un-heard what he said !  so now when I see antique stuff, all I can think about is dead people.  And I'm a bit of a weak sauce when it comes to the sixth sense O_O

While waiting to find that perfect credenza, I've been browsing at new ones :-S  You know, in case I'm destined to buy a new one, because I know my crazy hubby will pull off every stop to prevent me from bringing an antique into our house.  He has this phobia with old stuff !  His problem really but I want to respect it.  I have no choice anyway !

So, here are some beautiful credenza/sideboard that I really like, that I can only admire online, simply because I can't afford it:

 

A Vancouver shop called Full House Consign has beautiful beautiful storage pieces.  Price point for some of these nice ones are a bit steep.  I'm waiting for a good sale :)

Here are some reasonable priced ones from Moe's Home, West Elm and Mod GSI:

I hope within a month or two I can find the perfect one.  Wish me luck !



My hubby flexed his muscles and asked "do I look bigger ?"  My heart skipped a beat.  Crap, it's that question again !  I never know how to answer it.  I have absolutely no clue how big his arms were 1 hour ago, before he went to the gym.  Do guy's muscles get blown up like a balloon after they hit the gym ?  Do they look obviously bigger that one supposed to notice the before and after ?  For the life of me, I can not tell. 

"Do I look bigger ?"  This question totally put me on the spot, like I'm a bad wife !  a wife who's not aware of the changes in her husband's physique.  How can I not know what my husband muscles looked like ?  It's not the first time C asked me this.  But it's been a long while since he asked me last.  My mind races through, trying to remember if he mentioned anything on his work out progress.  Was there any BREAKTHROUGH ?  I don't remember.  I would remember if he said it right ?  My memory isn't so strong now a day though :-(  oh boy !  I recently even made the effort to remind my brain to take a mental image of his arms, so I can comment on them.  You know, so I can be a good wife !  One that notice things, even little trivial things like muscles size. But crapola, I forgot to check him out !!!!  for the umtieth time I forgot !  Crapola !

Seeing that I didn't respond right away, hubby thought I didn't hear him, so he went to stand right in front of me, gleefully flexes and asks "so, do I look bigger ?  here, kiss it ?"  Seeing how happy he is, I can not bear to tell him I didn't notice any substantial gain.  They look fine.  The muscles are there, hanging tight onto the bones of his arms.  They look the same like yesterday, the day before, like 10 years ago.  I can't, for the life of me, notice whether they grew or shrunk :(  can't they just be the same ?  Can I just answer "it looks the same" ?  Would that be considered as a discouraging thing to say ???

I didn't notice the changes on his arms, but what I noticed though, is how flat and firm the skin on his tummy is.  They seems to look better by the day.  Maybe he's hungry ?  maybe he hasn't been fed for a while ?  It looks so flat, so empty.  Just then an image of my tummy flashes before me.  I wanted to cry.  My tummy always look full.  I longingly wish mine were some what like his.  Wishing that it doesn't hang out like a muffin top above my jeans.  It saddens me that no amount of sucking in can suck anything in.  I still wear my pregnancy clothes, though I'm no longer pregnant.  I still wait each day for my body to bounce back into its pre-baby weight.  But who am I kidding ?  it didn't go away after the first baby, there's no chance for the 2nd one.  I have to buy 2 sizes up.  Being an optimist, I still have a sliver of hope, that one day, I can fit into my old clothes again.

"It looks like your arms are a bit bigger ! " I decided and stated to my hubby while giving his puppies a peck.  He take in my words, his eyes twinkle, they light up brightly.  He then moved pass me to check himself out in front of the mirror in our hall way, looking all content and happy.  "Oh my love," I thought quietly "it takes so little to make you happy !  How cute and naïve you are !"  To be fair, though I have nothing to base on :-/  his arms do look big.  Using my common sense, I think an hour at the gym does make ones muscles grow bigger than before.  You know, like when we walk around a lot, our feet gets bigger, swollen within the hours.  Similar to that, when we work out our muscles, they get swollen for a short while and then will shrink back to its usual size.  Ahhh, but why bother with that bit, it's about "carpe diem" right now !  Let my love have his moment, enjoy his temporary swollen muscles.  Let the man dream.  Let he think that he's soon going to look like those guys on UFC, bulking his muscles on a diet of veggies, fish, kale chips and hemp hearts.  Being kind to my husband allowed me to be kind to myself.  Giving myself a chance to think that I too, by playing with my kids all day, I too will soon be fit & toned like Jillian Michaels (trainer on The Biggest Loser), all the while snacking daily on cheese, chocolate and ice cream.  Yummy !

I was sent a care package from hubby's company and amongst all the treats was Everyday Superfood's Omega Mango cereal !  It looks good but I wasn't sure if I like to chow down on so much seeds first thing in the morning so I put it away. 

One morning, just one of those day, when I didn't feel like my usual breakfast fares, I opened my cupboard, saw it & thought heck, I should give it a try.  I pour the mostly-seeds-cereal on top of my vanilla yogurt and after the 1st spoon I couldn't stop.  It was delishhhh !  It was soooooooo good !  the dried mangos were so flavourful (I can smell the fruit !), the cranberries were chewy and has a nice tart/sweetness to it, and the mixture of seeds/nuts provide a perfect harmony of crunch.  I didn't have to pick anything out at all.  I like everything in there.  They all just blended so perfectly together.  It was a party in my mouth (like my daughter would say) after each spoonful !  And it has all the good nutrients like Omega 3 & 6.  Not only it tastes good but also GOOD for me !  I love it !  I love it !  !  Needless to say, I went and made myself another bowl :D  and had 1 more while prepping dinner !!! 

This cereal is great for moms and those on the go like me !   it's great for a nutritious breakfast or as a mid afternoon snack (to re-energize and tide you over until dinner).   Us moms are so busy running our household, chasing our kids around, so anything fast gets a thumb up from us !  And this is what it is,  Fast !  and healthy, and tasty !  :D 

 

Don't let the small package fools you !   this package goes a long way !  Everyday Superfood has many other superfood mixes.  However, I like this too much at the moment to try out try out their other mixes :) 

 

You can find this yummy goody at stores listed here: 

http://www.everydaysuperfoods.ca/find-us.html

A while back I brought 4 of 16 x 24 white inner cushions at Ikea at $4 each.  Didn't know where to put them so I decided to use it to brighten up Honeybee's bed.  I went back to Ikea and brought 2 metres of Lillivi fabric at $8.99/m.  I like the happy mixture of the many colors printed on this fabric (great for learning/playing "what color is this?").  I also like that the fabric is cotton duck !  great for making cushion cover !  heavier than your standard cotton, hold shape well, somewhat stain resistant, and easy to fold/push through the sewing machine !  and plus, you don't have to serge if you don't want to :-)  can't get better than that !

  

I wrote this assuming you have a little fabric knowledge and at least at the beginner skill level with the sewing machine.  If you haven't sew before, don't stop reading :-)  Just read on and perhaps seeing how easy this is, it might encourage you to learn to take up sewing !  It will saves you lots of $$ making cushions for your home and quite handy for hemming that pants that's a little too long. 

OK, so all I did was cut 4 strips of 17.5 inches out of the 2 metres.  With the front facing me, I fold and hem the left end (about 1 inch).  After that's done, I lay the fabric strip back side down on the floor(printed side facing me), and start to fold.  Here's a picture to show you how I folded the fabric:

 

Fabric strip > width:  17.5", total length:  59"

Fold the hemmed end #2 over #1, then fold #3 over #2.  Sew straight across the top and the bottom (along the 24" length).  Turn the pillow cover inside out and then I stuff it with my inner cushion !  Ta da !  Easy right ?

Depending on the size of cushion you want, measure the cushion and add 1" to it and that should be the width and height of your fabric.  For example:  if your cushion is 16 X 16", you will cut 17" height and the length will be 17" + 22" (11" for each flap) = 39" will be the length.  I got the 11" flap by taking 16" cushion divided it by 2 then add 3" so it over lap each other.  

Standard rule for me is for square pillows, the flap in the back should be at least 3 inches over lapping each other.  For long pillows like the one I have, they are 5 inches over lapping each other.  

Hope that numbers help.  If you have any question please email me !

Some pictures of cushion covers I made:

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

The day we brought Lovebug home, we knew she's a strong one !  When we took her out of the car seat, she would hold her head steadily as her eyes gazes around the room, her home.  By 1 month, we no longer have to support her neck.  She slept 5-6 hours straight with no diaper change.  She only pees at night and save all the yucky stuff for day time :-)  She loves to smile and would smile at anything and anyone.  By month 2, she was soothing herself with her thumb and would put herself to sleep.  By month 3, we no longer can keep her on her back.  She rolls over within minutes of us putting her down.  And she doesn't just roll over once, but 2 or 3 times.  In a span of 5 min. she would be within 3 feet from where I left her.  She's growing too fast !

As I watch Lovebug growing and developing each day, I was reminded of the bible verse Ecclesiastes 3.  I've read it many of times before and each time, something new comes out of it.  That's the beauty of God's Words.  There's always something new. 

There is indeed a time for everything under the heaven.  My blueberry brushes are flowering and soon will come in the fruits.  My figs are  growing and ripening under the warm sun.  My little baby is doing what a 3 month baby is supposed to be doing.  And recently, she's starting to kick her legs, lurching and trying to push herself forward.  In time she'll be crawling and before I know it, she would be tip toeing around our house, babbling strange words.  How do they do that ? just automatically do what they're supposed to do at certain month ?  It's simply amazing and awesome. 

Lovebug is laughing excitedly at me right now.  She loves to look at my face.  I can tell she loves me.  I love that she loves me.  Looking at her I'm just in awe of how wonderful and beautiful baby are made.  Like Psalm  139:14 said:  "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  Yes, we all are wonderfully made by Him.  You are beautifully made.  You are the apple of His eyes.  You are loved by an incredible, incomparable God.  Appreciate, cherish, and value who you are.

Here is my one of my many favorite scriptures expanded from verse 1 to 14:

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

 

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

........................................................................................

highlight of the day:  Honeybee told me today, around noon, while we were tending our little vegetables garden, "mommy, I love you mommy ! K happy K daughter mommy".  It is simply the best feeling in the world !

High tea on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon is all the rage nowadays.  It seems as though every week my fb's newsfeed would display a high tea gathering at a fancy hotel.  I'm quite surprise that no one went with a theme, like floral dresses, elegant big hats, pearls, gloves, etc.  It would be fun to dress up for the event !!!  in my opinion anyways ! I haven't done a high tea yet but if I have the chance to, I would prefer having high tea in a garden !  with fresh flowers and all !!!  I think this summer I would set up one with my girls !  Honeybee loves to make tea.  Hopefully Lovebug can sit up in her high chair by then to join us.

It should be easy to set up a high tea party in your garden !  there's no set rules for décor but you do need tea cups and tea pot :-)  and fresh flowers !  for the food part, one must haves are finger tea sandwiches !  then you can add baguette rounds, cupcakes, macaroons, scones, muffin, tarts, cake, cookies, biscuits, etc., any treats that you want to have with the tea. 

Since tea sandwiches go hand in hand with high tea, be creative and cut your tea sandwiches in different shapes:

Here are some recipes for tea sandwiches taken from the Food Network:

Tomato-Cheddar: Spread mayonnaise on white bread. Sandwich with sliced tomato, aged cheddar and watercress. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Ham, Brie and Apple: Spread softened butter and dijon mustard inside a split loaf of French bread. Fill with deli ham, sliced brie and sliced green apple. Cut into pieces.

Cucumber-Butter: Mix 4 tablespoons softened butter, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs. Spread on white bread and sandwich with sliced cucumber. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Salmon-Cucumber: Spread softened cream cheese on white bread. Sandwich with smoked salmon and sliced cucumber. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Shrimp Salad: Mix 1 cup chopped cooked shrimp with 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon each grated lemon zest and juice, and 1 teaspoon each chopped chives, parsley and capers. Sandwich white bread with the shrimp salad and Bibb lettuce. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Crab Salad: Make Shrimp Salad Sandwiches (No. 12) with 1 cup crabmeat instead of shrimp. Add sliced avocado.

Curried Egg Salad: Mix 3 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 3 tablespoons each chopped celery, red onion and cilantro, 2 teaspoons each dijon mustard and lime juice, and 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Cut white bread into pieces and spread with mango chutney. Sandwich with the egg salad.

Pesto Chicken: Mix 2 teaspoons pesto with 2 tablespoons olive oil; brush on thin baguette rounds. Top with sliced cooked chicken breast and halved grape tomatoes. Drizzle with more pesto oil.

Peanut Butter–Bacon: Spread peanut butter on white bread. Layer chopped cooked bacon and sliced banana on top. Top with bread spread with mayonnaise. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Prosciutto-Fig: Spread softened butter and fig jam on the inside of a split baguette. Fill with prosciutto, sliced pears and Bibb lettuce; season with salt and pepper. Cut into pieces.

Salmon Salad: Combine 1 cup flaked cooked salmon, 3 tablespoons each mayonnaise, chopped chives and dill, and 1 teaspoon each dijon mustard and lemon juice. Layer the salmon salad and sliced radishes on pumpernickel bread. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Smoked Turkey–Apple: Brush the inside of a split baguette with softened butter. Fill with smoked turkey, cheddar cheese and sliced apple, and season with salt and pepper. Slice; top with a dollop of apple jelly.

BLT: Mix 1/3 cup each mayonnaise and finely chopped cooked bacon; season with pepper. Spread on toasted white bread. Sandwich with sliced cherry tomatoes and baby greens. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Tuna Salad: Combine 12 ounces drained canned tuna, 2 tablespoons each minced red onion and minced celery, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Spread on white or wholewheat bread. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces

Roasted Vegetable: Spread goat cheese on the bottom half of a split baguette and sun-dried tomato pesto on the top half. Fill with roasted eggplant and zucchini slices and roasted red pepper strips. Cut into pieces.

Strawberry–Cream: Cheese Spread softened cream cheese on slices of date-nut bread and sandwich with sliced strawberries. Cut into pieces.

Chicken Salad: Whisk 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons each chopped shallot and tarragon, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, and salt and pepper; stir in 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken. Sandwich toasted white bread with the chicken salad, watercress and sliced cornichons. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces. Top with more cornichons.

Cream Cheese and Jelly: Sandwich softened cream cheese and raspberry or strawberry jelly between slices of whole-wheat bread. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.

Ricotta-Orange: Cut whole-wheat bread into squares. Sandwich with fresh ricotta cheese and orange marmalade.

Chocolate-Raspberry: Sandwich chocolate-hazelnut spread and seedless raspberry jam between slices of white bread. Trim the crusts and cut into pieces.


Tea sandwich smarts (from Canadian Living's Cooking School)

• Allow 4 to 6 cut sandwich pieces per person.
• Choose the best-quality bread. Never serve end slices. Freezing bread before cutting and then spreading makes for easier handling.
• Bread should be lightly buttered no matter what the filling. Butter should be at room temperature before spreading. Sandwiches will not become limp and soggy as readily if you spread butter right to edge of bread.
• Cut crusts off bread with long, sharp knife after (not before) assembling sandwiches. This keeps everything neater.
• Since tea sandwiches should be delicate, cut each sandwich into thirds or quarters or in half diagonally. Or use cookie cutters to cut into decorative shapes.

After a month of bringing my new born baby girl home, soft skin and wonderful, she started to have flaky dry skin.  Her face and feet were so dry they made her irritated.  I had baby Aveeno on hand so I tried rubbing them on her.  It lasted for about an hour and then her skin is all peeling again.  I can't stand it so I decided to try out something new. 

I went online and read reviews after reviews from other moms and set my heart on Avalon Organics.  I went and brought  nourishing baby lotions and shampoo/body wash.  The ingredients list aren't too long, so I looked them up and they're all seems to be ok.  Excited to try them out.

The nourishing baby lotion was light, non greasy, absorb quickly, and the best part, it made my baby skin soft again, for the whole day !  how awesome is that !  It's unscented but the smell is still very pleasant, probably from all the flowers extracts in it. 

As for the Avalon Organic shampoo and body wash, again, it was light, was non greasy, mild, doesn't foam much (which is what I'm looking for, because more foam = more chemicals), rinses off in a flash, and a little drop goes a long way.  I really like the light smell, very gentle limely like. 

Overall, I like both of the products and very pleased with the results.  With so many products on the market and so many containing harmful ingredients, I try to best to expose my babies to as minimal as possible.  I always read the label and check up on the ingredients.  By habit, the minute I see Sodium Laureth Sulfate, I would pass on the product.  A lady I knew has been telling me for over 10 year now, on how bad it is and it kinda stuck with me.  Back then, the internet wasn't what it is now so there's very little info on it.  Now that I know what it is, I would refrain from buying/using any product containing SLS. 

You can read more on SLS here:  http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/toxics/whats-the-difference-between-sodium-lauryl-sulfate-sls-and-sodium-laureth-sulfat/

I'm still quite disappointed that Johnson & Johnson, the creator of so many baby products, came under fire in the recent years for putting in many harmful carcinogenic ingredients in their baby products.  You would think that they would use only the best (or at the least acceptable) ingredients since it's for baby, sensitive new born baby.  Truly disappointing.


highlight of the day:  it was a lazy Sunday at our house.  After church service we made flatbread veggies pizza for lunch, then we went out and sat in our yard, watered our little garden, and emerged ourselves in the warm June's sun.  Delightful !