A Dollop Of My Home: Handmade Goodness

Thank you for sending in your photos for the A Dollop Of My Home series!

I've received lovely contributions that will be showcased every Friday.

Email me if you want to send in photos of your home :)

Oops, I am a little late for this week's post!

Ironically, the delay was due to a mess-up with our living room re-do today. What was meant to be an easy thing to settle resulted in a half-done space and loads of extra stuff lying around with no place to go. I am upset of course, and hope something can be sorted out with the furniture shop and delivery/installation chaps soon!

Nevertheless, I hope the ingenuity of the entries will make up for the delay! Today, we have 2 ladies sharing handmade goodness they have created for their homes. Their handiwork reflect very different tastes and purpose but both are equally inspiring to me.

First up, we have Grace, a mother of 2 young tots. She created 2 gorgeous lamps for her home, with inspiration drawn from the beautiful work of Marjorie Skouras. Here is one of the lamps made with coral beads:

 A close-up view:

Next, we have Andrea of Pixie Threads sharing with us a fun artwork done for her sons' room. She has 2 boys, and they literally had a hand in getting these canvases done ;)

Isn't it incredibly cute to see the little and little-er hands?

Thank you Grace and Andrea for sharing snapshots of your lovely homes with us!

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Have you created something beautiful for your home?

We would love to see what you have done!

Email me to be featured on A Dollop Of My Home. 

Keep the photos coming :)

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Click here for A Dollop Of My Home Series

and here to read about the birth of this series

Too big shoes

In the recent weeks I've been feeling like I've bitten off more than I can chew. Like I've found myself in too big shoes that I'm struggling to fill, as I stumble around grappling with life's responsibilities.

There're many advantages to working part-time. A lot of those pluses has got to do with being seemingly able to have the 'best of both worlds'. Having a job along with time for family. Space to have adult/intellectual conversations while still having the capacity to do weekday outings and imaginative play.

The flipside of this is that there are many times when I see the glass half-empty instead of half-full. I feel like a Jill of many trades but a master of none. I see FTWMs excelling professionally in their careers, and SAHMs who have systematically put together creative and conducive learning environments for their children. To me, I have done neither, and I'm a lousy housekeeper to boot.

Roboman tells me to stop holding myself to such high standards. While comforting, I don't believe I have that high standards, and am angry with myself for not having enough tenacity and energy to achieve all that I set out to do. I'm frustrated with my inability to do all that I want to do!

Sighs. Ok, I just needed to get all of that out. I'm going off to count my many blessings now, and pray that God will take care of my lil Bubs despite me!!

History Gets Social: My Yellow Jumpsuit

So I was at the finale!

The journey has been an eye-opening one, starting from

being selected as one of the Top 10 Best Family blogs,

and rustling up this rally speech video.

Thank you for your support and for sharing this journey with me :)
It was a blast although I didn't win!

The blog awards party was held at Shanghai Dolly,

where a roomful of bloggers descended upon that one afternoon.

Maj Gen Chan Chun Sing, the Guest-of-Honour, opened the event literally with a bang:

I spent the rest of the time drinking water to ease a funny tummy, and mingling a little with the other finalists.

For those of you who are wondering, no, Roboman was not my date for the event. Haha, I knew even before I asked that he would say no, as it is just not him to do so. Thankfully a girlfriend gamely went along with me, and Roboman ended up taking Bubbles to attend a Barney-themed birthday party.

The highlights of the event for me where the Best Dressed Competition and the awesome emcee Ah Dong from FM100.3. The theme was for us to dress as a "Historical Character" and finalists of the Best Dressed Competition really took a bit of a creative spin to it, with a Liang Po Po (who eventually won), and a "HD version?" of Dick Lee among them.

Emcee Ah Dong's wit and humour, and impeccable bilingualism really entertained and impressed me. In many ways, he might have actually made the party, IMHO!

It was lovely for me to get to meet in person the other blog finalists too, most of whom I've never met.

I'm terrible at recognising people from blog photos and actually mistook 2 other people as 2 of the finalists in the Best Family Blog category! It was great to have correctly recognised the very warm Yvonne though, and the whole group of us posed for a pic. (I need to ask for a copy!).
Congrats, Daphne on the well-deserved win :)

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The gf and I hung out a little more after the party, and munched on greasy fried potatoes.

AND *drumroll*
I know I will be slaughtered by certain folks if I don't post about what I wore.
So in Bubbles' words:
Tada!

A vintage dragonfly pin (in place of a flower one)
and a matching carved metal ring

Me and my mustard yellow jumpsuit.
Bag's vintage too, and matte gold Aldo heels have seen me through literally years of parties (including my own wedding and events before that!)

I was going to go in a pretty nyonya kebaya jacket that I inherited from Roboman's late grandmother.
However, this jumpsuit jumped (sorry) out at me 2 hours before the party.
I had to get it, and I'm glad I did!

A Dollop Of My Home: Pretty Pinks and Mauves

Thank you for sending in your photos for the A Dollop Of My Home series!

I've received lovely contributions that will be showcased every Friday.

Email me if you want to send in photos of your home :)

This week's A Dollop Of My Home post features pretty pinks and mauves!

I first saw sneaks of Yuling's cozy home on her blog and when she sent me these 2 photos, I squealed with joy. It is easy to see how her innate sense of beauty has enabled her to design the Missy Messy line! There's so many things to love. Lovely pink wall setting off brown furniture, the favourite all-family framed photos on the wall, and open bookshelves.

What she says about this living/dining room:

It's the most open and shared area of the homeland, yet also one of the most intimate ones because it bears testimony to our everydayness as a small tight family. :)

And how pretty is this little tea corner?! Even for a non-tea drinker like me, I would love to have a space like that!

My tea area when I'm alone, or the default 'mei mei' corner in our kitchen. I always try to keep this corner free of clutter so that I can always see my cookie jar and vintage teapot and teacups. Teatime keeps me sane, and the pretty tea things are reminders of the love I get from my husband and my friends, who always get me lovely lovely things like these.

For Doggy lovers, this next photo sent in by Fernoftheforest should delight you.

Rusty, the blueberry-loving Cairn Terrier, with a gorgeous backdrop of plush cushions by full-length windows. I love the complementary but different colours, textures and sizes of the cushions. So easy an idea with so much mileage! Full-length windows are such gems too :)

Thank you ladies for sharing with us these shots! :)

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I hope you are enjoying this A Dollop Of My Home series as much as I do!

It has been a wonderful journey to little places that hold so much meaning for their owners.

Email me your photos if you too would like to share!

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Click here for A Dollop Of My Home Series

and here to read about the birth of this series

Stress relieving conversations

I've been having a bad week or so. A lot of nasty news. I've been feeling really stressed. Just yesterday, I discovered a WHOLE LOT of NEW grey hair growing out from the top of my head! Ugh! This is what stress does to me.

Thankfully there are sweet, funny moments with Bubbles that help put a smile on my face and laughter in my belly. She's been on a roll with asking questions and making funny observations - I get so tickled by them.

Bubbles' has 2 bolsters she grins, hugging them tight

Yes dear, you do!

Mummy bought bolsters for Bubbles

Yup, I did!

Mummy!

Yes?

Did you pay for them?!

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Roboman steps into my parents' place, took off his shoes and socks,

and sits on the floor to play with Bubbles.

Daddy! sniffs

You have smelly feet!

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I climb onto a stool to reach for an item in the cupboard.

Mummy! Be careful!

Don't fall down!

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Looks at Roboman's old sandals outside the front door.

Mummy!

Why is Daddy's sandals outside?

He left them there.

Oh! Naughty Daddy!

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Mummy! Can I wear your ring?

Errr, I can't take it off (me bad)

Put soap!

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After she notices something I didn't.

You are very observant, Bubbles!

Grins

Just like Gong Gong tells me!

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Now, if only each smile I get from these conversations can help reverse the greying of my hair!

Another white top

These recent months, I've been very much drawn to white cotton tops. They brighten up my look and exude a breezy casual vibe that I like.

This one in particular is a favourite. It is made of just one piece of cloth and sewn up at the sides. I have learnt the hard way, as those following my Tweets might recall, that I do need to either belt it up or tuck it in lest it flies up again!

On another note, I really dislike the state of my hair right now. It is in neither prettily long nor sassy short. I decided that I'll give growing it long one last go before I finally bid the long-haired look goodbye. When in my 20s, I thought I'll give it up when I hit 30, but no, I do miss having long hair. I'd like to think that I can squeeze in one more cycle before my age makes it unforgiving!

A Dollop Of My Home: Childlike Touches

Thank you for sending in your photos for the A Dollop Of My Home series!

I've received lovely contributions that will be showcased every Friday.

Email me if you want to send in photos of your home :)

Welcome to this week's A Dollop Of My Home post!

First up, we have Shawna's shot of her lovely bathroom (love the natural light!). Shawna is the author of a lovely blog where she shares pretty photos of the food she makes for her son. Check out Lil'tummy Yummies!

Scented candles have been replaced with her child's colourful bath toys. Check out too the gorgeous colours of the potpurri holder!

Next, we have Sharmane's entry. Sharmane is a mother of a chubby toddler son. This enterprising mother used to run a pet supplies shop. She's since handed over the reigns of the shop to her brother, so as to spend more time with her son.

This mini toy car collection, put together by Sharmane and her husband, has dwindled with the moving of homes. It is still a pretty one to admire. Someday, her little son may get free reign with them!

Thanks Shawna and Sharmane for sharing your photos with us!

Do you also have a place in your home that has been over-run with kids' stuff,

but which you still love?

Or perhaps a pretty collection you would like to share?

Send in your pics!

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Click here for A Dollop Of My Home Series

and here to read about the birth of this series

Recognising labels and logos

Bubbles received a new toy recently! Her latest fave furry friend - Froggy Woggy.

The gift is from a dear friend who has been mistaken for Bubbles' aunt because of the comfortable manner they have with each other. When Bubbles took this green froggy out of its gift wrap, she immediately pointed to its label and said, Mummy! Like Puppy!

I was taken aback. She recognised it as the same label that adorns a furry toy that she calls Puppy! I didn't even notice it myself.

She has also pointed out Ikea logos off catalogues (Daddy, Ikea!), which made her usually cool-as-cucumber Daddy rush into the kitchen to ask if I taught her to read the Ikea logo (I didn't!). We assumed it was the colours she recognised although we were still surprised as we have not pointed out the Ikea logo to her before.

A few days later we realised our assumption about colour recognition was wrong. She pointed to the bottom of one of our mugs that has an Ikea logo in black print and exclaimed: Mummy, Ikea cup! I was standing over her and almost spit coffee on her head.

This little girl overwhelms me sometimes.

Blind Date x 4

Last week, I was invited to join a group of mothers for a 'no-kids' lunch. This group has met up before on a couple of occasions, with kids in tow. I've been privvy to how some of them are like through their blogs, and they through mine. Curiously, I readily agreed to the meet-up even though the number of people I have met through blogging can be counted with the fingers on one hand. This one date busted it. It was partly a yearning to be among working mothers who have kids around the same age as Bubbles, and also being touched that I was asked!

It turned out to be a rather pleasant lunch and I was quite amazed how there was non-stop chatter. The conversation flowed easily and every topic captured most, if not all of our attention. I was also struck by the academic qualifications of the group before me. Mentions of biomedical, scientific terms, doctorates, post-doctorates, types of cancers, research pieces etc blew me away. I was in the company of very intelligent women indeed.

So drawn into the conversations was I that I totally forgot that I lugged my camera out, fully intending to snap some photos of the meet-up. By the time I remembered, we were getting ready to leave. I felt then that there was no need really, for photos, because there was certainty that we would meet again!

Funny how the camera bags we own state Nikon when we own Canons!

My $5 Dress

I recently scored a S$5 dress that I am sooo pleased with!

Found it at the bottom of an "all new clothes" bin at the fashion bazaar at Tanglin Mall.

Dressed it up with a cheery yellow flower pin.

It used to belong to a pretty dress that I had to trash because of a huge oil stain that could not be removed.

What's on/in my hands

Have a fab week ahead!!

A Dollop Of My Home: From Geneva & Vancouver

Thank you for sending in your photos for the A Dollop Of My Home series!

I've received lovely contributions that will be showcased every Friday.

Email me if you want to send in photos of your home :)

In this week's post, I'm thrilled to share contributions from 2 ladies currently residing abroad. First up, we have Lady J, who has a natural flair for prettying up a home. I particularly love how she makes the effort to always have fresh flowers!

Here is what she says:

"We have relocated to Geneva for about a year or so and thankfully our rented apartment comes fully furnished. The feature that I love most about our temporary home is the coffee table. It's a little messy but I feel that there's beauty amongst the chaos for I can happily pile on stuff (candles, trinklets, chocolates, books and flowers) on the table and not worry about our dog - Sparky - chewing our things away."

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Next, we have A, who is currently taking a year out to do her own thing. She now lives in an student apartment in Vancouver, with a little cozy room to call her own for just 3 months.

I love her entry because it reminds me that home really is what you make of it! I also want a quilt!

Thank you LadyJ and A!!

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Click here for A Dollop Of My Home Series

and here to read about the birth of this series

Wrapalicious

A grilled chicken-sweet peppers-cherry tomatoes-mozarella cheese wrap.

Lunch for myself and the Bubs.

Lovely and so easy to make.

The only thing is, she has to eat each item separately.

That's just her!

A Praying Tot

On the road during our recent trip to the Art Museum, I was getting worried that we might get caught in a traffic jam, given that it was a Friday evening.

I called out to Bubbles in the carseat behind me:
Baby, could you help Mummy pray that there wouldn't be a traffic jam please?

I meant it as a rhetorical question, and didn't expect her response!

Bubbles' 1st uttered prayer:

(said with all earnestness and in a series of questions!)

No jam?

Dear God?

No traffic jam?

Dear God?

Ok?

No traffic jam?

Dear God?

In Jesus' Name?

AMEN

Wow, thanks dear. Could you also pray that we can get a parking lot please?

Dear God?

No parking lot?

No, no, we want a parking lot, don't pray for no parking lots!

Dear God?

Want parking lot?
No traffic jam?

Dear God?

... ... ...

God answered her prayer you know :)

There was no traffic jam!

We made it in good timing AND got a perfect parking lot right next to the lift lobby.

The Art Museum

We finally made it to the Art Museum! I have been so keen on experiencing the Children's Season at the museums since last year. We gave it a miss then because the Bubs was still not walking yet! How things have changed :)

This picture below is courtesy of the talented MamaJ.

Junior J and Bubbles got along really well! 

It was entertaining the watch the two of them copying each other :)

Like shouting "Mummy!" or squeezing into the 'tree trunks', or even wearing bibs.

It was fun and I plan to take Bubbles there again. I also want to take photos of the gorgeous Mummy Dearest room!

Blueberry Muffins

I baked a batch of blueberry muffins over the weekend.

Since I can't remember the last time I actually baked muffins, I thought I should photograph them!

The Bubs was very interested, so she ended up in the photo too.

First, she surveyed the muffins from a little distance, with a pleased smile on her face:

Then, she bent forward for a sniff: 

Before I knew it, her little tongue popped out for a taste.

There was no way I could continue photographing the muffins after that.

With a squeal of laughter and a bear hug, we proceeded to eat the muffins, still warm and blueberry gooey.

Lunches alone

One of the things about working part-time is this:

Unless I make an effort to plan who to have lunches with, there will be many times when I end up having no company.

I'm no longer in the know of events and meetings that don't concern me, and it is not uncommon to find myself in the office with no one to ask out for a by-the-way lunch.

Most of the time, I use the opportunity to run an errand or two. Once in a while, I walk/drive aimlessly around the area and end up either in an all-too-familiar eatery, or stumble upon somewhere new to me.

Thankfully, I do enjoy solitude and am comfortable doing things on my own. Such lunch times are also great for catching up on reading!

What do you do when you're on your own for lunches or dinners?

A Dollop Of My Home: Sheer Drapes, Photo Wall, Lights

Thank you for sending in your photos for the A Dollop Of My Home series!

I've received lovely contributions that will be showcased every Friday.

Email me if you want to send in photos of your home :)

Our master bedroom's curtains.

Nothing spectacular but I love how sunlight prettily diffuses in.

Dreamy :)

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Pinkclothmicrophone, a mother of 2 lovely kids, sent in these 2 photos:

Photo wall of family shots. It makes her happy, she says :)
It was this wall that inspired me, and that is why I have a new-frames collection. hee
I particularly love the photo set of her son's many expressions!

This is her bathroom light. She likes to stare at it and let her mind wander in daydreams :)

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Su Lin sent in this shot: A little corner of her master bedroom.
This spot faces her bed, and she feels calm and soothed looking at it before she sleeps :)

It is the simplest things that makes a place feel like home!

Thank you ladies for sharing your snapshots!

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Click here for A Dollop Of My Home Series

and here to read about the birth of this series