Come Dine In

Last school year, I excerted full effort in making the gifts for Alyssa’s Nursery teachers because she stayed there for more than a year and we had so many memories with them from school trips to school activities, also her last stay there is just in time for Christmas holidays. I baked chocolate cupcakes and an AVP of all the pics I’ve taken. You can view the recipe HERE and the story HERE.

More soft and chewey crinkles

Personalized Cards made more personalized by Alyssa's hand-writings.

This school year, I still made sure that we give the teachers personalized gifts so I baked chocolate crinkles and even though I’m not gifted with crafty hands, I still tried my best to design the cards myself. Alyssa helped me with the crinkles, but no luck with the cards.

I tweaked my usual crinkles recipe this time and so far I’m happy with the texture, but still not contented with the taste. I’m gonna update my recipe soon.

Holidays are time spent away from the reality of our lives. We escape the monotony, the noise, the banter, and the incessant need for productivity. Villas are the perfect setting for that escape as they host visitors around the world in a fresh world of peace and tranquility. Often times surrounded by exquisite terrain and boundless hills, villas set the pace of your next holiday as they invite us to truly smell the roses and breathe in the air around us. With on-site pools and hot tubs to flower gardens and tennis courts, your villa can be your next home away from home.

Villa holidays take you and your family to a new place all the while maintaining a home-like quality. Because villas are essentially large-scale homes, often referred to as chateaus or manors, they represent the vacation that still requires the practical necessities. Staying at a villa means you will have access to the same household rooms, appliances, and decor as your own home but amplified. The authentic style of the villa at which you stay helps you assimilate into the locale of your holiday.

One step outside, however, and you will become immersed in the region you are visiting which will remind you that you have traversed lands and are certainly not at home anymore. You will have entered a new, temporary home that can be all you imagine it to be. From the endless choice of amenities that your villa offers to simply the city or town in which you wish to stay, you can customize your holiday trip to your unique interests and needs. Your choices range from beachside villas to those along a winding road. Online inquiries help you compare prices and narrow down your options about when, where and how to stay in a villa for your next holiday.

I already miss wearing a long gown, it’s been what, 3 years? That was when I attended the wedding of one of hub’s bestfriends and so I am really excited for the upcoming wedding of my dearest and one and only sis-in-law in December. I was reading about a diet pill review which I would really want to try when I realized that taking them now will only be useless. It’s only 3 months from now and we’ll already try to conceive for our baby #2. Now that’s a huge problem – for sure my gown will be finished 2 months before the wedding and how it will fit my bulging tummy is the question. Oh well, I’ll think about it when I’m already there.

For now, I’m in the process of preparing myself for a healthier and stronger me before I undergo a serious prepregnancy diet by October.

I just want to share how excited I am for my upcoming giveaway. This is my first time to be contacted by a company to try their product for free and even offer loots to giveaway to my readers. Oh my!!! This is heaven for me! I’m soooo thrilled!!! But, sorry I won’t spill anything more, just wait for my launch. Okidoki??? Oh, one clue is acceptable though – it’s for you, FOODIE lovers!!!

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Here I go again… Because I started looking for some home-made beauty tips, I can’t stop myself and now wanting for more! Apple and honey??? Yum!!! But applying them to face? eeekk!!! That’s sweet! haha!!! Well if you’re afraid of going to the derma (I am! ) then why not try doing some yummylicious home-made facial masks? It is said that this facial mask and the oatmeal facial mask I just posted earlier help treat acne. I don’t have pimples, but clearing my face with those white and black creatures is what I badly wanted.

Now how do you do it? Simple. If you have a blender or food processor, blend the peeled and cored apples and mix with 3-4 tablespoons of honey until you make a paste-like mixture. Apply to your face, relax and rinse off with warm water after 20 minutes. Done. Enjoy the refreshing feeling of the yummy apple shake you just dumped into your face.

Let me know if you’ve also tried this, I will as soon as I buy honey this weekend. I only have golden syrup here and I know it’ll be a disaster if I use that. haha!!!

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I am not vain when it comes to my skin, but I won’t hesitate to try natural acne treatments when I really needed to. I believe it won’t hurt and because there are no chemicals added, I would feel much safer. During my curious years, I try whatever I feel like trying. I am not a natural kikay that’s why I’m not cosistent to whatever it is that’s about beauty.

I remember myself trying the wonders of egg white, yogurt and tomatoes. Of course, as I said I am not consistent so what effects am I wanting to see in just one application? haha! Silly me! Now, I’ve learned that oatmeal is a good natural treatment for acne and that oatmeal on its own can do the tricks.

How? Just add some water to oatmeal just enough to make a thick paste and apply as a facial mask. Leave for 20 minutes then rinse. It has exfoliating properties that remove dead skin cells and relieve the discomfort associated with acne. That’s it for now – plain oatmeal facial mask. There are however a lot more oatmeal masks that can be done, but I’ll tackle those on future posts.

Coconut tree is known to be the tree of life since every part of it can be used in so many ways, not to mention the really delicious fruit it produces.

There are a varied choices of branded hair growth shampoo, but did you know that hair loss can be well treated by just a very natural product which is called coconut oil? I can still remember how my grandmother turned the coconut milk into oil and use it to rub to my skin and scalp every time she massages me. The smell is relaxing and invigorating without me noticing the benefits it is giving my skin and scalp.

If you’ve been suffering from hair thinning, I would suggest you try applying coconut oil or the widely available VCO (Virgin Coconut Oil) now. It’s been tried and tested that coconut oil stimulates hair follicles which makes the scalp nourished producing a more stronger and shinier hair.

Here in UK, every family is encouraged to have a complete intake of 5 portions of fruits and vegetables everyday and I guess every country is doing the same since it is based on the advice of World Health Organization. This is not 5 portions of each, but 5 portions all together.

Taking this 5 portions a day is a good practice to a healthier body, skin and lifestyle. As a mom, I make sure that my family gets a serving of fuits and veggies everyday. I don’t literally count, but serving them in every meal makes me feel comfortable that at least I have been serving my family about 5 portions of fruits and veggies a day since I became their cook and kitchen slave. This for sure will make me, my daughter and of course my lovely hubby free from finding the best acne medicine because we take the right kinds of foods.