LEKKER!
Stranger Than Fiction #58639
Friday, July 04, 2008
Labels: home life
Last Sunday was Stay-At-Home day in Cookalot. Whilst the two men sequestered themselves in the study with their online games, I made myself a pot of jasmine tea, put on season I-Lost-Count of CSI:New York and proceeded to wind down. Quite literally in this case as I decided today would be the day I get through at least some of my hanks of newly bought yarn from yet another spree.
Let me explain what I mean.
Yarn here are sold by weight and come in hanks. Before using, one must wind them into neat balls or else one will come face to face with an almighty tangle in the middle of knitting or crocheting and be compelled to stab oneself with one's needles or hooks.
In order to keep morale and sugar level high, cookies also went along with my tea. I was in a playful mood, hence my choice of refreshment:
These Japanese cookies are funny. They are indvidually wrapped and have messages stamped on them. And herein lies the fun. You never know what message you're going to get when you unwrap your cookie. Take my fourth one for instance:
Sometimes I feel I'm being toyed with.....
Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:53 AM
Party Outfit
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Labels: home life, sew gorgeous
(This took place before Christmas 2007)
What's a girl to do when she just can't find seem to find the right skirt to match her top for the big family Christmas party?
If she's had formal training in fashion design, she first curses the shops in Maastricht for wasting her time, pulls out tracing paper, measuring tape and ruler thereafter proceeding to draft the skirt she has envisioned for her 19.90 euro bustier top from H&M which would be arriving by post shortly.
The design was simple - a full, gathered skirt with a fitted hip yoke.
Then came the fabric. I knew straightaway it had to be this black embroidered lace I kept in my stash cupboard. I bought this lace about 10 years ago from Arab Street but never had the heart to cut it. It's accompanied me all this way. But this was no time to be sentimental. I was in need of a skirt. Said skirt was begging for this lace and that was that. For the yoke, I used black duchesse satin, leftovers from another evening gown I made for a formal dinner years ago. It is still hanging in my wardrobe back home. I wonder if it still fits me.
Anyhow.
To give the skirt a little more body, I sewed a tulle petticoat comprising of 3 layers of soft netting. I wanted to break the monotony of the lace design so I stitched 2 rows of grossgrain ribbon of different widths on the lower portion of the skirt. The whole project took me 2 evenings and I was mighty pleased at how purdy my holiday outfit was coming along. Then came the final fitting. Everything looked okay but it still lacked a certain something. Epiphany came in the form of a belt. I need a belt! So it was back to the drafting table and sewing machine. Another evening and voila,
The finished garment:
On the left is the outfit as is, on the right is the entire ensemble with the faux fur stole, satin Swarovski clutch purse, new Ferragamos from the mothership store in Florence and last but not least, my strand of pearls.
Going by the photos, you could never tell that an hour and a half ago, I was doing battle with the rabbit stew and ratatouille, my contributions for the evening, nor could you tell it was 2oC outside when the photo was snapped in our backyard, could you? The things we bloggers do for a post entry.....
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 4:43 AM
Fear Factor Food
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Labels: asian food, she cooks
Stir fried pig intestines - a little something I indulged in recently.
Ah, it sends me but completely freaks the two men out as will the in-laws on the other side of the pond. *snigger*
This is what K calls Fear Factor Food.
Do you have a list of foods you will absolutely, on no circumstance touch? Here's mine, in no particular order:
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:50 AM
Sanya
Monday, June 30, 2008
Labels: going places
Our week in Sanya was lovely. So lovely it took me the same amount of time to get over my post holiday blues.
The island itself is laidback and very reminiscent of Singapore in the 70s while the city centre is bustling with shops, commerce and traffic.
The resorts were a different matter. Stepping into them was like stepping into another world. You'd be forgiven to think you were in Langkawi or Phuket or any one of the beautiful island resorts in the Phillipines. They were designed to pamper and spoil.
There were the usual international hotel chains suspects but we picked the Crowne Plaza Hotel as it was self-contained and had great facilities. This was important to us as we wanted a lazy holiday and would hardly be venturing out beyond the hotel's private beach. After some consideration, we opted for a deluxe room with a small private pool which links up to the main lagoon pool.
The room given was very spacious which left us pleasantly surprised. I had the presence of mind to snap pics of it before Sonny-boy thrashed it. The hotel website has a better photo but you get the general idea.
This is our little private enclave, complete with deck chairs and jacuzzi cum pool. Check out the lush landscape! It was amazing swimming among all that greenery. Not pictured is the balcony just at the room entrance. It was furnished with a divan-like couch, huge cushions and another single seater chair with a rustic and simple wooden table. It gave a good view of the pool area and I spent most of my time there crocheting - one eye on the hook and the other on Sonny-boy.
Just beyond the bridge (in the pic above), is the submerged pool bar. We spent a fair amount of time there too - swimming and relaxing can be so tiring, don't you know? It was hilarious, the three of us swimming up to the bar, plonking our super soaker guns on the counter and ordering mango martinis, coconut juice and mango ices. The waitress was very patient and never said anything about us flooding her bar counter surface. For me, sitting in the pool, sipping at my coconut juice, that was the spirit of the holiday. After finishing my drink, the waitress would offer to cut open my empty coconut so I could eat the flesh as well. I was more than happy, it's been ages since I had fresh coconut meat.
And where would a beach holiday be if a boy couldn't build his sandcastle? Here is our budding architect slapping on the final touches after Dad, the project manager, did most of the manual work. Mum was imitating a beached whale on one of the deck chairs. She only budged to ooh and ahh at the completed castle and take photos. And when it was time for refreshments at the beach bar, of course.
This is the beach. If it looks empty, that's because it really is. It's low season during the summer which was great for us because we and a smattering of other guests pretty much had the resort, its adjoining shopping mall and restaurants and beach all to ourselves. And with no harried staff, they were more than attentive and friendly.
As for the food, it still makes me weep to think about it. Dim Sum, Thai, Brazilian, Japanese, Cantonese, Szechuan, Italian.....
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:44 AM
A Housewife And Her Holiday Laundry
Monday, June 23, 2008
Labels: home life
7.30am - Sort out washed holiday laundry into the ironing basket. Go away to get showered and dressed for the day.
8.45am - Come back and poke around the basket, wondering which ones to start on first. Go away to wake Sonny-boy up, get a glass of water and some crackers.
9.30am - Put out the ironing board, the iron and spray starch. Poke around the basket some more. Go away to switch on the computer and surf my favourite forums and blogs while contemplating on how best to attack the laundry.
12.00pm - Ooops! Got to go for my yoga class. Will do the ironing later. Promise! Cross my heart and hope to die.
1.35pm - Back home for a quick shower. Ignore ironing basket completely.
2.30pm - Have conversation with damn laundry.
Me: I don't suppose by chance any of you will iron youselves to a crisp military finish, march all the way to the wardrobe and hang yourselves up ready to be worn, would you?
Laundry: Nope.
Me: Drat.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 8:32 AM
Houston, We Have Visual
Friday, June 13, 2008
Labels: home life
Perhaps the Powers That Be at the censorship board decided to spring a birthday surprise on this poor cut-off housewife. Perhaps they wish to create a good impression with the lau wai (foreigners) with the very impending, very important Olympic Games. Whatever the reason.....
..... I can now access Blogspot blogs.
Oi.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 1:16 PM
Gone Fishin'
Labels: Beijing, going places, home life
To end off my birthday celebration and kick start Sonny-boy's summer vacation (he's only due back in school on 1 September), we leave for Sanya, Hainan for a week long break.
See ya later, alligator!
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 1:06 PM
Happy Birthday To Me
Monday, June 09, 2008
Labels: home life
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:10 AM
