PINKYLEONA

Started baking my own bread and look at all my breakfast toasts 😍 above photo are my soda irish bread (recipe : HERE)

 My house is clean and minimal, without many fancy gadget one could have. Which without, I still able to bring onto our table a lotttt of cooking & baking. Everything I own including :

Rice cooker*, electric oven*, microwave*, blender, (baby food) processor, hand mixer & kettle  

*gifted (during wedding)

Can anyone believe, that I don't own air fryer, juicer, toaster or coffee machine? (because I don't drink coffee)

But I already have an oven, so..

Recently in October, my mom gave me her bread maker (used only 1 time) because she doesn't really know what to do with it (mom specifically rant about doughnuts (dough) as described on the machine, but she found the old-school way is simpler way). I think so too

After 2 days, I officiated this machine by baking the standard (one that most people have at home), basic bread : a sandwich loaf!

I loaf you ❤

Sandwich Loaf Recipe :

(A) 270ml Water

(B) 1.5 tbsp Butter/Margarine

(C) 1.5 tsp Salt

(D) 1.5 tbsp Sugar

(E) 1.5 tbsp Dry Milk (Milk Powder?)

(F) 3 cups Bread Flour

(G) 1 tsp Dry Yeast

Instruction :

1. Place ingredients into the bread pan in the correct order (A) to (G). Water should be put firstly, then add sugar, salt and flour, always add yeast/baking powder as last ingredients.
2. Press MENU button until desired program is selected. Press COLOR button to select desired crust color. Press LOAD button to select the desired size.
3. Press START/STOP button and let machine do the job until finish.

It is that easy! From the day I got this machine, I never bought any sandwich loaf from the store! I plan to continue explore this machine, because I simply hate a 1-task machine. I want to make artisan bread and pizza next! 

Below are my personal opinions on this bread machine (pros & cons) which are :

(+) Simple and easy

Bread is made by kneading-proofing-kneading-proofing-baking manually. What this machine does is all the above. It does the kneading, proofing and baking all in the same bread pan. You don't have to keep coming back to check on your dough. 

One time, I woke up at around 5am (my son suddenly wanted milk at this time, very random), and I suddenly was thinking of a fresh loaf for breakfast. I measured the ingredients, placed them in the bread maker, went upstairs and went back to sleep! And woke up with a freshly baked bread around 8am. I love this fact that I can rely on this machine unattended!

(+) Use Own Ingredients

One knows I love everything homemade because I like to use reputable, premium ingredients, one that I can control going into my body (and my family's). 

The first time I officiated this machine, I don't have any milk powder at home, so I use my son's soy milk formula. I also use himalayan pink salt, and basically switch to a healthier, favourable ingredients anytime

(-) Capacity

This machine makes 1.5lb & 2.0lb loaf that suits my small family, but not larger ones. Must weigh in this point (restricted capacity) before buying!

A friend from high school requested for a bread making video using this bread maker machine, so here goes..

Until next post!

 We all should know by now, many were affected by this pandemic, especially those in tourism, event, and wedding business. Some were hit hard, although we are lucky -my husband and I are safe and sound. We know we have to buy things, to keep the economy going. (Money spent = someone else's income)

ARCONA LA

(Tax paid to Malaysia custom, and shipping partner?)

I did purchase my half (or whole) year worth of skincare during 2020 Black Friday with huge savings and lovin' it. They are even cheaper than many years ago when I stock up SK-II essentials. I can't wait for my current favourite, holy grail skincare to arrive! (They are shipped from the US to Malaysia)

(hope to help Sephora Beauty Advisors to keep their job)

Of all years, this is the only year I was excited about the holiday set and I want to try giving. This purchase goes to anyone involved in my son's progress throughout this year, with all my hearts, we thank you all.. (Ms. Kalai especially)

(hope to help La Senza Sales Assistant to keep their job)

Although finding my own size is tough, this year I vow to not look much at their price tag, but rather, to keep the purchase going >.< but I love my purchase! So good -especially during the recent Black Friday..

As a mom, I tend to keep my son's necessities before my own. But obviously, new clothes are always needed to fit him constantly a size (growing) up hehe. This is especially when he no longer attends play school and there are no more hospital visits, food poisoning etc, so he tend to put on weight than fluctuating in size (Note : last year, he loses 1kg in 1-week span due to Rotavirus, but gained back fast. The weight remain steady but the goes 2-weeks worth of growing up, yeah?)

Plus, this year we will welcome new baby (my brother's) so I tend to purchase more here.. Can't resist!

FIRDIEYRA, KHAIZAN.COM, MEEYAMOR

(Mostly purchase through a friend doing dropship)

Friends are there to support other friends! XX these are all local brand, wholesale that has the most impact on local economy (local retailer, transportation, dropship/seller, etc). They are all the brands I never made any purchase before -so I start buying them now. I also bought Meeyamor shawls this year (first purchase) and will continue doing so soon!

OTHERS

Alhamdulillah for 2020's rizq, I wish to keep the economy going in this tough time, because it's the most responsible thing to do.. (as a citizen with a little but of a purchasing power)

Until next post!

We turn 7!

Every year, we promised to keep the tradition of having a staycation (so far they are all local hotels) every year on our wedding anniversary. We were lucky we found a gem! 

It's a hotel with Bali-inspired design, and oh I am in awe!

The room comes with anniversary decor

Mommy & Seff's favourite spot

Our room has private balcony with Koi pond. Please find the room tour below (it's a simple room tour, I am no influencer/youtuber so no editing happening! hehe)

This hotel really sets the correct mood, I keep telling my husband I love this place! Seff also loves fish feeding and always check out if the Koi are hungry. FYI, we can get the fish pellets for the Koi at the hotel front desk for free (good way to control the meal portion)

Did I tell you the Koi are hugeeee? Even my chubby son's whole leg is smaller than the Koi.

Seff isn't afraid of animals, let alone fishes (we caught him trying to dip his toes inside the pond, but we said no! I think his whole thumb is smaller than fishes' mouth, scary!)

Husband posing while fish feeding

A surprise delivery came to deliver this prettiest floral box on the day we checked in..

Never fail to impress! I love this pastel arrangements, very romantic!

Feeling and posing

The following day we had breakfast at the balcony (we selected the dishes of choice a day earlier). Our spread is all Indonesian Food, matches with the Balinese theme hotel.

Note : All items purchased using my own money 🙂

I have been keeping my hair long for quite a while now (throughout year 2020) to be exact. Although I am a mom, a working mom, it never bothers me -a little bit of hair care!

My routine to maintain the mane :

A. Shampoo & condition (daily/so)

I can get away with shampoo-ing daily or once every 2 days, alternating between my shampoo bars (LUSH My) (1),  Kristen Ess Purifying Micellar Shampoo (2) or Briogeo Micro-Exfoliating Scall Scrub Shampoo (3)

After wash, I put on (spray) leave-in conditioner (I have 2). Reason for having 2 bottles : 1 for upstairs and 1 downstairs, so it depends on where I just did my hair wash.

I love Kristen Ess' Leave-In Conditioner (4) more, but OUAI Leave-In Conditioner (5) has heat protection, so I definitely put on this before heat styling..

B. Scalp Scrub & Hair (Deep Conditioning) Mask (weekly)

Once a week, I dedicated the days off work to either a scalp scrub (targeting scalp), or hair mask (for hair, duhh!), or both.

Current products used are :

Scalp scrub : Kristen Ess Instant Exfoliating Scalp Scrub (6)

Hair Mask: Briogeo Deep Conditioning Hair Mask (7)

C. Hair Tools (when needed)

I am extremely grateful for my 32nd birthday gift this year : the Dyson Airwrap (8)

It has 3 different settings (heatless, medium & high heat setting) that did not do heat damage on hair, and is a very powerful tool! 

I can style hair in 30mins, and dry hair in 5-10 mins, which is major love for a busy mom in the morning

D. Hair styling products -hair oil/ hair spray (when needed/when hair done in (C))

While the step (A) & (B) arequite established, step (D) is where I had trial & error, and one product serves different occasion/purposes

After curling, I usually finished the job with Percy & Reed Extra Hold Hairspray (9). The remaining days when I had smooth, straight hair, I just put on a little bit of OUAI Rose Hair & Body Oil (10)

That is all, and I am not a frequent visitor of salon at all! Especially during this pandemic with all these uncertainties, I am quite happy with my hair care routine and often were commented on the hair's health..

..Or it probably just because I have a headful, thick, hair, I don't know.. hehe

Until next post!

 (This was in September, while previous post/husband birthday was in October, so yeah, my update/timeline on this blog is somewhat a mess.. sorry!)

During MCO, among the organization we supported is Zoo Negara, where we donated a smaller amount to ensure all the animals there are well taken care of. So we pay a visit to Zoo Negara Malaysia in WP Kuala Lumpur, last September (Malaysia Day to be exact)

This time, we let Seff walk and run everywhere, climbing many fences and even tried to approach animals in cage!

It was lovely to see the animals are well and healthy, we wish to keep contributing to the Zoo Negara if all is well! 

Until next post!

Due to this, we decided to have a day trip to Cameron Highland, as we learned the heavy traffic is mainly due to visitors outside Pahang/Perak (mainly from those 3 states alone, but now they are restricted from travel interstate), so we predicted the crowd will be less and less that weekend. We were right

We make this trip as clean as possible : Home - Sg Palas BOH Tea Plantation - Kea Farm Market - Home

These are some family photos in CH :

The Hotel gave a complimentary cake for le hubs too! Soo moist, so good!

And I cannot even remember when is the last time I had meals this much (buffet), super full that day. Thank you, mom, for the treats!

Hotel food (high tea) was good, from the mains towards their drinks. I think I had 5 glasses of Teh Tarik there >.<. They gave each of us a set of gloves, and strictly adhere to the SOP (so everytime we wanted to get the food, we are required to put on our own gloves/so we never touched the buffet equipments with our bare hands). Would like to repeat!

Hotel Food Review : 4/5 

(cannot find anything wrong! yet I am super picky!)

Until next post!