Random Rat!

when Z was a lil boy, he carried an umbrella to shade a rat (that was trapped in the cage) from dying under the hot sun. N this a.m, while driving, he suddenly swerved his car to avoid running into a rat who was running past the road! I looked at him with disbelief, then broke laughing when i remembered the umbrella story that MIL told me about! (coincidentally, he was born in the Rat year too!) :P

Surprise Vs Shock

i personally think life with surprises are more colorful.....it gets routine and bland when there's no more surprises, doesn't it? By surprise, I mean good ol surprise, coz I don't call a bad surprise a surprise, I call it "shock"...LOL!

But the worst thing would be, when an incident that's supposed to be a bit of a shock to me didn't even shock me at all....ahhh......that's a pretty bad thing, I'd say!

20.10.2010

today is my little pipo's 3rd birthday.....and yes, I do realize I haven't been able to post a single word for the past 35 days or so! *GASPSSSS* yesh, time do fly by FAST when you're super busy. No doubt about that!

Ok, I will write about the past happenings in the last month after this post (ie. if I can still recall them at all), but today is special....a very beautiful date..... 20.10.2010, Maia's birthday, so, I told myself I MUST MAKE TIME to write....
Obviously that's the birthday cake I made for her...you can see the details here! :) This one's for her to celebrate it at school with her classmates. And this (below) is the 'Goodie Cup' for em! Those who know Z and I would already knew we wouldn't serve kids junk food or the usual party packs.....And I decided to do PERCY instead of THOMAS (from Thomas & Friends?) coz I think Thomas is just overrated....just google...and you'll see every Thomases imaginable! LOL!
Anyway, back to the birthday babe.....well, all I could sum up is, I'm very thankful to have her...she reflects me in many ways, the good and the badssss, of course. When my youngest sis saw her birthday cake photo today, she commented in my FB saying: "she's only THREE?????"
Coz honestly, her acts, attitude and speech, way supercede her tiny age! She speaks like a granny most times! And she started talking since err.... 10 mths old? Yeap, she's been talking for that longg.....I guess that's also why we felt she should be older than just THREE! Haha!

She's very naughty, unlike big sis Kyra.....she's also more demanding and bossy, not to mention dominating! Hmmphh!!!! She can melt your heart with her grin and flick of words 'tailored' to please and win you over! That's why she's the popular one with our relatives and friends.... :P

tbc tomorrow....sleepy germs attacked!

The SURPRISE is this!

Above: Berita Harian weekend copy, 2nd section, published on 12th September 2010 (Sunday)

Alright....yeap, that's the surprise I've been waiting to reveal....ahh....it's really just a 1-minute-fame kinda thing to me honestly, but it's just strange and exciting to see your own things (and yourselves) printed in a national paper like Berita Harian. I mean, seriously, when I got the copy 1 day late (coz I couldn't get it on the day it came out) on Monday, I even missed this front page (of the 2nd section) coz I didn't think they would feature our home on front page most definitely....so I went right to the middle and saw those photos and article of us in the centrespread. Only hours later, when I retrieved the pages out to keep, that I saw the cover!!! LOL! Well, that was really exciting...and weird......to see my bed, our bedroom...right there! LOL!

But one thing though, I wasn't surprised to find out they have decided to feature the babes' room as the biggest photo in the article itself.....I've mentioned this before....(I think?), it's my favourite room in the whole house!
And you see the tiny family pix there? Yeap, you've seen this before...in my previous 3rd post.


Sorry, I am just too lazy to scan the pages out....so here.....read it online, while it's still available.
But then....sorry to those peeps who can't read nor understand Malay.....the paper is a Malay paper, LOL!

From JUNK to RETRO FUNK!

Alright...for those of you who knew....I am trying to convert my unused guest room to a studio for me to do sewing, designing, painting.....crafting....everythingggggggggg!!! Well, I didn't have a budget for this personal project (of course, as usual....necessity is the mother of all my inventions LOL!)...now, seriously.....not kidding! And coincidentally, while my Godma is in the midst of house-moving, she's throwing and leaving a lot of stuffs behind....I mean, A LOTTTT!

One afternoon while at her place, I spotted this very rusty metal desk....from the look and shape of this desk, I already knew its fate.....Godma's definitely gonna dump this one for sure....so I adopted it....coz I saw loadssss of potential in this little guy......
So, with a little sanding down....a new coat of matte white paint.....some simple stitching and gluing.....here it is......the nipped & tucked metal desk! It was truly a piece of junk at 1st....and now, it's so retro funky and I really can't help but smile everytime I look at it coz it's just sooooo bright and happy! Doesn't it give the same effect to you as well??? Yes? :D
The Green Polkadottie wooden stool is also a 'throwaway' that I adopted and make-overed! Now I am thinking of upholstering all my wooden stools at home to look like this! LOL!

Here's my new 'workstation'......see the two cute 'containers'? They are practically almost FOC as well.....
Those containers came from THIS (below)!
Some of you might have noticed the matchy-matchy wall clock on my new desk eh? My youngest sis customized it for me......she's now selling handmade notebooks, clocks and such in her FB 'store' too!!! With just RM18, you could have your clock customized by her too!

And this......is the 'signage' to my 'polkadot + cupcake' studio.....a temporary one that is....coz I plan to request for Maia to do the POLKADOTS....and Kyra to do the CUPCAKE for me! Coz after all, this label is all because of them.....about them....for them.....to begin with!
Okies, I must go....it's a public holiday today coz it's HARI RAYA (celebrated by our Muslim friends) and we are going to one of the teachers' house in a while...gotta get ready and get going fast!!!! Happy holidays everybody!

SURPRISE AHEAD!

ooooh...btw, as compensation...I just might have an interesting surprise for you in a few days' time....stay tuned!!!! I can't wait for it myself!!!

Hey Blog, still recognize me? :P

I am soweeeeee...Blog! Schedule's crazy...last minute of something...another last minute of another thing......gosh! Okie, nevermind, let me make a summarized round-up....LOL! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and ie. being a mummy, wife, maid, chef, baker, seamstress, among others.......... (and not to forget spending real quality time with my two babes!)

I also happened to be the "OFFICIAL" curtain-maker for godma's new house...aduhai....what to do....this is a duty I can't possibly say N.O to.....if you understand.

Then, out of the blue, an ex uni-mate contacted me regarding something VERY INTERESTING that required me to start doing my two huge BLANK canvases.......yes, here it is....that's what you do when you don't have an 8' long easel...lol....two chairs will do!!! This bamboo acrylic painting is for our living room.....

and sketched errrr more 'passionately'.....for our bed room.....I mean, the canvas was meant to be in the bedroom (i've got 2 2' x 8' canvases btw)......but somehow, I never took down time to start any......maybe coz I didn't have much down time to begin with.......???? :D

This sketch is charcoal btw......
Then with the leftover charcoal sticks...I let my babes play....definitely! And unfortunately, because it's BLACK in color....err...duh!!! charcoal , rite? Kyra refused to touch it....so Little M quickly did her version of charcoal art for her mummy to stand in awe looking at every day coz it's now hung in the kitchen's wall of frames....LOL!


"Of frawers n butterfly under the big big sun" by Maia Faith Leong :D

And Kyra did her non-charcoal version of Picasso-ish HEART....and HOME (the one below)....
Honestly, I really love the HEART and HOME she did here.....it's somewhat random but when you look at it, all you see is positivity in her...... (well, at least she's not drawing monsters and scary anythings....hehe)
And because the silly mummy SAT on a photo frame, even though she ain't that heavy, the glass broke into pieces as well....kakakakkakaa!!! And I am just too lazy to go to the glass maker to cut a new one....so I turned the frame into their hairclippies organizer..... It does double duty: to keep their clippies in check and tidy....as deco item in their bedroom! I knew I broke the glass for something........ :P
Feeling very vibrant....I finally got down and made their INITIALS for their bedroom.....something I've had in my head for mths actually.......but you know me....crazy schedule all-time-round.....
And here is the curtains for our apartment that's to be rented out.....it's a loft unit, thus the curtains are 18' long and very very veryyyyyyyyyy wide....... I dread the thought of doing it in my head!!!!
And, Z helped me paint our old but strong IKEA shelf matte black....to match the theme of the apartment.....yeah, neutrals BLACK & WHITEsss.... (black/dark brown lah).....I am loving the matte black so much...I wish I could transport it back here for my humble studio!!! aihhhh!

A lot of DIYs for the new apartment coz we are on a tight budget to furnish it.....but I guess DIY-ing never fails to make us appreciate things around us even more!!! Try it...you might know what I mean here.....
Thennn.......we had an informal family pix taken by my littlest sister who is a photographer and graphic designer and many more.......
And last sunday, the babes' kindergarten launched their 3rd unit which is also in our neighbourhood.....so I made em a CONGRATS mini cupcakes to celebrate!!! I personally love this set a lot!!! It's the colors I think.....
Then....I've got 2 customers who mixed up the bday dates and suddenly, I have a back-to-back last minute cupcakes orders....and here they are......one for a 30 year old guy, the other for a lady colleague......



So, are you getting all dizzy already???? Told ya so! Thus, I refurbished a to-be-thrown-away desk that's still in good condition...and made it polkadotie!!!! I adopted a few unwanted solid wood stools and repainted em......Yippeee! Total cost to do this? Less than RM20.... (USD6+). Isn't it cute?
And these here are my pencil holders.....each costed me RM1++ (USD0.50++), not sure bout you, but I just love the rugged rope-y look! And here I am typing happily albeit headachy (due to a stupid tooth) on my new work desk n stool!!!!
I know I know.....
you must be thinking.....so we shall wait for another 1 or 2 weeks for an update round-up lidis yes? LOL!

I try not to do that to you, Blog.....but you know I don't have much of a choice.....soweeee......

Sorry BLOG, I've been occupied.....

I can't even remember my last post, that I had to go 'view blog' to see......

Last week on Monday....Kyra came back from school and developed high fever of 39.2C in the afternoon, checked her innermouth and found several ulcers.....SIGH...HFMD again it was....but because it was already 4pm, we only brought her to her Paed that evening.....was given antiviral and paracetamol...but strangely her fever did not come down through out the nite....

She woke up looking fine...still....then at 3pm, she started trembling and her body was burning hot and her temperature hit 40.0C, I quickly called her daddy to come back so we could send her to KPJ (a private hospital 5 minutes away).....Once at the in-house Paed's clinic, Dr S asked: "Is she covered by medical insurance?" :O

Apparently, in such a situation, when paracetamol or antiviral are not working for the child, she/he will be administered IMMUNOGLOBULIN intravenously, asap to prevent the high fever from going any higher. The reason why Dr S asked about insurance is coz ONE tiny 50ml bottle of that 'magic potion' (I called it) costs RM820 (approx USD250++) and Kyra's estimated to need 4-5 bottles :O Yeah, you do the maths, alright....

The first nite, Maia refused to go back home with daddy.....she wanted me to go home with her as well... :P....but thankfully, a few close family members were there to distract her and got her into the car ....the car to go home! LOL! Poor babe...I miss her loads......

So to cut a long story short, Kyra was hospitalized for 3 days and 2 nites.....I 'checked into the same hotel' as well....coz strangely, she wanted me to stay with her (overnite) instead of the daddy :P It was truly a packed week for us...especially me.....I've got house chores piling up at home....laundry's a few meters high......(ok, exaggerating a bit)....orders for POLKADOT + CUPCAKE items are delayed...... :( and worse of all.....I was truly very exhausted.....

The days in the past week after Kyra was discharged....I felt OUT OF PLACE.....I could not get back into sewing totally.....the house was a TRUE MESS....no kidding.....at the same time, I felt so overwhelmed by all that chaos.......I wished I could close my eyes and SKIP THAT ENTIRE WEEK, forget it ever happened, just like that......yeah, I bet you had that kind of emotion too, don't you? Honestly, that was my first after so long....to wanna SKIP AN ENTIRE WEEK! lol! Guess I was just tired to the extremities!!!

It took me quite a few days to morph into myself....the self who loves to sew and bake and everything else......thus, this blankie was the first item I made after the longggggg hiatus...
A peachy pink blankie of cupcakes......green tea buttercream with chocolate chips, fresh cream frosted cupcake with cookies and cream.....and choc ganache cupcake with strawberry shards....

Hehehe....what to do...I needed something cheery to brighten things up.....

Oh! A new member in my bed!!! :O

Last weekend, I added a long bolster to my bed....after contemplating for so long.....haha...yeah, I realized after having two pregnancies, I needed SUPPORT on one side when I sleep, be it the hubby or the bolster....so I decided I got to have BOTH! In case one drops off the bed at night... :O :D

So, without a matching bolster case to match...I decided to take things into my own hands....and using a plain dark chocolate cotton....and some un-pricey satin ribbons (in 3 tonal shades), I made THIS bolster case to match my beddings and room......it is super simple to make and I personally think it looks cute......(okay, by now, most of you would have realized these shades of olives N browns are my faves)......
The 'white' butt of the bolster is poking out slightly..have not the time to rectify it...nevermind.....I've slept with my bolster.........I wonder when I'll find time to do that little un-crucial step......hehe...

Saying NO and do the RIGHT thing, or?

Don't you hate saying NO to a nice friend? Yeah...it's not the easiest thing to do...but when saying NO in that particular case is CRUCIAL, you'd hope that the turned-down friend would understand your situation and be fine about it......ahh well....hopefully that friend will truly understand that I cannot say YES even if I wanna.....coz if I did, there will be another side of people who might be cross at me...so yeah, heck! it's a difficult thing.....and I hate the fact that it's still bugging me even after 3 days!!! blerhhhh......

SAHM to WAHM

Yesterday, while updating my FB Polkadot + Cupcake page, I realized I have put my status as SAHM (stay-at-home-mum).....but I don't stay at home goyang kaki lehh......in fact, almost every minute at home is work work work....be it for Polkadot + Cupcake, or The Polkadot Cupcake, or for my very own Polkadot babe and her cheche Cupcake! LOL! So, I finally changed my utterly unsuitable status of SAHM to WAHM....ie. Work-at-home-mum! :D Much much more suited to me, I personally think....LOL!

Ah well....my babes are big girls now.....big as in 2.75 years old and 4.5 years old respectively... :P It's time for me to start something for myself finally......while taking care of them at the same time of course......

Yesterday afternoon, principal's hubby who is also their kindie's "CEO", called coz we're supposed to work on the kindie's blog (yes, supposedly I am to manage and write their blog), then he asked about my label.....not knowing I oredi 'launched' it in FB.....so he asked if I wanted to promote my label during their year end concert (which is not at year end totally...it's on 30th October!).....and I told him, many thanks, it's a lovely idea, brilliant in fact, but how can I single handedly come out with a range of items to be showcased? I told him my sewing and designing time is only in the morning when the babes are in kindie.....then he said: "Put them in full day classes then?"

Nah nah nah.....I would not, and could not bear knowing the fact I am 18 feet away from their school not having them around the entire day...it's just not me.....so, yeah that's it...for now.....I am still very much a full time mum, who works from home..... W.A.H.M it is! :)

MY C.B white dress 'wannabe'!

Okay, Z and I do movie nites (@home of course) often....thanks to downloaded HD movies LOL!)....so, last friday evening, he was nice enough to surprise me with SEX AND THE CITY 2, the movie lah....not the other nouns in the title itself..... :P

Almost at the very beginning, you'll surely notice SJP aka C.B (Carrie Bradshaw) in this plain but sooooo gorgeous jersey white dress with V-neckline.....and I was hooked on it....wishing I own one....one in this WHITE....and err...a few others in navy blue maybe.....and prints!!!??!!!

And, fyi, weekendsssss ago......i mentioned i wanna get down to cutting and sewing a navy blue fabric i got for myself....but it never happened......swarmed with thingssss and more thingsssss......but on saturday nite, I got a bit insomniac and thus.....started cutting at midnite...finished this 'C.B white-dress-wannabe' at 2+am! LOL!


errr...hmmm.....the lace was not supposed to be there.....but due to unforeseen 'reasons', i ter-cut the skirt tooooo short.....and thus....... hehe.....

(No, the belt was not DIY-ed, I couldn't find my handmade obi belt so it'll have to make do for now!)

Shall upload a pix of me in it....when I could have someone to photograph me later k... hehe...
How do you like it? Like it, dislike it,.....well, I love it! It's also super comfy........

I NEED to....

in random order lah....

1) save $$$ from my cupcake sales to NOT ONLY buy a bigger oven, but also customize its 'built-in' cabinet.....
(gosh! coz I can't see where I can squeeze in another oven in my current kitchen now.....and besides, such ovens require its own built-in cabinet......aduh...extra cost to me, that is!)

2) save $$$ from my handmade sales to get myself a serging machine.....and an electric sewing machine that can do buttonholes and have different stitch options! Both ain't cheap fyi ya...
(fyi, I already found its table...lol! Salvaged a metal table with caster wheels from Godma's unwanted-and-to-be-thrashed stuffs)...yeah, so now, I have the suitable table....but yet the machine itself...LOL! See the table? Pretty messed up huh? But worry not....I shall wave my magic wand (when I actually have ample free time, I don't know when....with my current schedule).....and turn this Raggedy Ann into Snow White! :D I have the colors and design in my head the moment I spotted this poor thang...yet the time....so be patient ya'll!


You might ask...."Why not just swipe those on my credit card or something?"

Well, yeah....credit card....I have come to learn from Oprah that....credit card is like the devil....'who' makes you spend money you don't already earn.....and people are S.T.U.C.K with this bad habit of destruction......how true is that? So, I have told myself to swipe my card in TWO circumstances only......

a) EMERGENCY of course...
b) When I have the cash to actually buy the thing but bringing cash is not convenient...., in short, it means, only buy with credit card when you actually have the money to pay for it almost quite instantly lah! lol!

Truth be told, I learnt a lot of things from Oprah...from her interior decorator Nate Berkus' tips on decorating, to the financial experts she had on her shows.....to the shrinks who talked and talked....I just wish I could watch her show every day...and learn a new lesson daily...but sorry lah.....haven't seen Oprah for quite some time......(gotta fix that!)

Did I mention that I recently helped my parents UN-clog their bedroom? Yeah, now you know....I learnt that from Oprah too! LOL! It's her "Clean Up Your Messy Home" campaign....no no no....don't get me wrong...my parents bedroom was NOT dirty what the heck.....but my dad aka the "HOARDER".....had kept toooo many unnecessary items till they 'clogged' the breathing space in their bedroom.......hah! No wonder he always complains he's unable to get a good sleep or rest at home!

So, as busy as I am.....I set on a task.....Mum couldn't be happier....coz she said: "He never listens to me, only you girls can talk him out on letting go of his hoarded junks" LOL!

So on one fine weekend, me and MY TEAM (= Z + K + M), headed on to mum's house (why we always call it MUM's PLACE, Mum's house and not DAD's place????). Thankfully, Dad was willing to let me touch, sort and throw then reorganize his stuffs......I think I threw out 50% of things......but of course, I didn't simply throw things okayyy.....hehe....

And just look at the junks that we should have discarded ages ago!!! Man!!! This is just 5% of the total items we got rid of that weekend you know..... :O

"Things you have not touched or used in the past 12 mths, THROW or DONATE"
-from The Oprah Show :D

So, items that are still usable but un-needed, we donated to the Salvation Army...some were taken by Dad's workers, this way, every good item did not go to total waste! Look at these cupboards here.....It's an ISSUE of organizational skill really....I opened his cupboards a-many.....and realized that Dad had a 'whimsical' organizational system......

He stored some stationeries in Cupboard A, some in cupboard C.....you get the flow....
So, I cleared and regrouped his stuffs according to TYPE, and placed em nicely in ONE place....thus, these 3 cupboards were made EMPTY!!! Yes, EMPTY!!! And that's how I managed to clear their bedroom off these 3 bulky unnecessary items!!! GOOD!!!


Using some leftover Murobond paints from our house, my teammate Z helped mum and dad paint their not-so-feature-able feature wall...which was half maroon, half white :P
***Sorry, again, I forgot to snap the "BEFORE" pix...as usual...too excited to get started to transform things....always always forgot to do that!!!

So this is the semi-final outcome......tadaaaa!!!! Gorgeous Aubergine shade.....
The week before, Mum , little sis and I went to buy her curtain fabrics....and see how the curtain matched the feature wall? (This is not yet the final outcome....I have to go there to snap the pix....haven't done that...will update here when I have it ya)....even their old-but-still-pristine bed set matched the new shade harmoniously...dont cha think???
So I told mum, the only thing she gotta 'fix' would be her FILI FALA flower power-ish bedsheet! LOL! Asked her to find one in matching shade, simple pattern to simplify the room even more....

As I am writing this, this bedroom already had the curtains hung up......there's more breathing space.....and definitely less crowded! Even though this is not some fancy 'makeover', I feel that we made the best of things with super minimum budget...and that's the real success...to me at least!

Have you spring-cleaned your space recently? It's fun.....HAHAHA!

mODE: B.U.S.Y

At times, I feel guilty for not saying "HI" to my blog.....but i think it will understand.... :D

So, the past week was crazy busy for me, first, I managed to complete this bag that I started 2 weeks ago.....and I'm loving it.....I think this is my first gem-ed handmade item....but I am happy for 'her' coz she'll have a new good owner :D


Then, in all craziness, I made myself a long wallet, copied the design from my favourite Burberry's long wallet, using the little square Japanese cotton remnant from the babes' dresses, but little did I expect this wallet in this print would generate such positive responses from friends and family alike! Making me wish I had bought more of this fabric.... :P

Truth is, I made it coz it's supposed to be my TEST wallet, coz Godma ordered a handmade long wallet for the son's girlfriend....for her birthday.....and yeah, I made hers too in the span of last week!
Then, there was a cupcake order that called for nearly 100 cupcakes....got me baking 4 batches and totaling an exact 100 pcs of these.....yummm!!!! I tell you, after finishing the whole baking that evening, my body felt as though I have just gone through mountain hiking!!!! LOL!
Then, I also made this cutee bear blankie comforter....It's for baby-toddler....unfortunately, it's just 3' x 4' and definitely too small for even Maia....so I am putting this one up for sale in POLKADOT + CUPCAKE!
More bakings to be done......these birthday cupcakes were ordered by a boyfriend for his girlfriend...how sweet eh.... hehe.....these are rich chocolate medium cupcakes with MATCHA buttercream.....oh, I gotta say....they complemented each other so well.........


And on Sunday, I am baking for an order by a friend to her church friends' 39th Anniversary! How exciting.....I mean, 39th....gosh.....maybe you know of many couples who made it that far, but are they making it that far and still very much in love? That's what you should find out.....LOL!
Was informed both of them love music....thus the theme....and I chose RED coz this shade represents L.O.V.E!!!
Okie, I better go.....I'll come back again when I feel inspired to write better! LOL! In the mean time, have a good productive week peeps!

Birds, Beessss....then B.a.b.i.e.s :D

15th July 2010, my younger cousin's wife gave birth to a baby boy Hariq Danesh Lee. Well, being the good aunt that I am...LOL! JOKING BIG TIME......okay!, I already packed a few baby gifts that I'll be sharing with Sis#2.....then, I remembered I used to make newborn baby shuz for Maia and decided to try my hands at em again this morning.......but this round, it's not red or pink....it's Houndstooth black and white :D.....How do you like em? Hehe....

Baby Hariq is Muslim born to a Muslim Melanau mummy and Chinese daddy (my cousin). I think these cute smart shuz will make visitors ooo ahhh during the upcoming Raya, no? :P
I added a Mandarin button at the side too...

Might consider making a few for Polkadot + Cupcake.....rain check!