Halloween Hooters

We had a blast at this year's Halloween Party. There's nothing like hanging out with people you really care about, make memories together and always have something to talk about years down the road.

Here are some pictures from today.

3 Hooters! It's very hard to get a decent family picture taken.

Papa and Mama owl... I don't know why we look so formal here. I tell Mountain Man that we used to be more "fun".

Mountain Man and Boy together. Mountain Boy decorated his very own dorky specs with minimal help from Daddy. He is really a budding artist according to his teachers!

Getting his face drawn by one of the older girls. It's such a smart alternative to a mask, he had been refusing to wear his!

Making "music" with a butter cookies tin. The kids banged and clanged in unison, supposedly emulating STOMP. It wasn't too bad.

Here's our halloween pictures from 2007 and 2010. By next year i'll have a make a 4th costume for baby girl!

Halloween Costume reveal!

It's been about 1-14 degrees in Beijing, sooo cold it's not funny. I could either let Mountain Boy brave the Halloween chill in an awesome costume and risk catching a cold, or let him stay warm but hidden under his wool coat. The choice seems pretty clear to me but hey it's not like i'm gunning for Mother of the Year.

Anyway doesn't he rock!?!

FYI the yellow thingie on his pants is supposed to be the owl's feet.

Back view.

In mid-air.

Wings spread.

He got quite a few praises from people and he felt so proud of his costume that he wore it the entire 3hrs at school so the effort was worth it. We can't wait for the Halloween Party this Sunday. Mountain Man and my costume coming soon....

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

This is a "push present" I'm giving myself. Sparkles and smiles at me all day.

Unlike handbags, diamonds have little/no resale value so this one is for life, to be passed down to generations after me. At least that's my justification.

Some info on setting options:
The 4-prong setting versus the 6-prong or basket setting has a a key benefit of allowing more light to enter the diamond. The height of the setting also determines how much light can pass through. A higher setting gives the illusion that the diamond "sticks out" and is therefore bigger. But IMO if setting is too high and the diamond is so small the ring looks a little too wannabe. My current setting is in fact a little too high for my liking, need to get it fixed when i get back to Singapore!

There are not my own diamonds unfortunately, but the picture below shows the difference between 4 and 6 prong setting. The 6 prong results in a rounder look and more security.

Picture from Dancing Fire, Pricescope.

All time favorite classic Tiffany design has a little window below to allow light to enter the diamond, making it quite a popular solitaire design. I think i may reset mine to this eventually. Or maybe Mountain Man will buy me his version of a push present down the road, and i would like to state for the record that this is the setting i would like to have my future rings in.

Example of basket setting. More blockage, but i also like the way it looks from the side.

Also if you are a bloke (or if you are Mountain Man) and you are thinking of getting a diamond ring for the other half, u can use the table below as a reference, it shows the ratio of your diamond to ring size. No need too big, 65% enough. *wink*

Other tips on buying a diamond ring that wows...

In order of priority, in my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

1. Carat. Because size is the first thing people notice.
2. Cut. When a diamond is badly cut, it doesn't sparkle, or it doesn't look round. Go for at least GOOD cut. If you have to choose between shallow or deep diamond depth, go for shallow because a "fish eye" effect is more tolerable than a deep dark centre look. Plus shallower diamonds also mean bigger table, ie bigger looking diamond.
3. Colour. D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K, L, M N.... I know there are people who feel that color matters, but i've seen with my own eyes how J compares to F, and frankly the difference is not worth fussing over, especially if the cut is good.
4. Clarity. If you haven't seen the diamond physically, go as low as SI2. Some (but not many) I1-I2 diamonds can still make the mark depending on where and what the inclusion is. Some inclusions are right smack in the centre or rather feathery so it results in a cloudy spit-like look so that's definitely a no-no. But if some inclusions can blend in with the diamond then don't worry, unless people start carrying a magnifying glass in their purse. Some experts say that I1-I3 diamonds are so flawed that the diamond may chip, so keep that in mind. The recommendation is not go lower than SI2.

Having said all these, I think if you have the budget and it's an engagement ring, go ahead and get that perfect flawless diamond because she deserves it. Think about this, she is going to wear it almost everyday for the rest of her life so it's gonna cost less $/day as compared to say... a pair of high heel shoes?

A Boy's Bedroom

I enjoyed putting together this little project. Mountain Boy had a lot of creative say in this.

No prizes for guessing his favourite transportation vehicle.

He chose his own bed. And thankfully he has had more good nights than bad nights on it. He likes the freedom and rightly so because he is almost 2 and almost a big brother! The RoomMates Robot stickers on the wall have actually followed us to 3 different houses. It's amazing how reusable they really are.

His petrol kiosk bookshelf. It's very slim and functional.

I didn't quite think through this wooden cupboard, it was actually the first piece of furniture i purchased for his room. It ended up feeling very out of place and clunky in his bedroom so i decided to spruce it up with some decal stickers. Mountain Boy helped paste most of the stuff and surprisingly he doesn't peel them off even though it's within reach.

He spends a lot of time in his room each day. It's really cosy and breezy because it's north-south facing so the natural light is great. And again to my surprise, he doesn't get up from his bedto play with his toys in the middle of the night (at least not to my knowledge). I always thought that toys and bedtime shouldn't mix but i was wrong.

The fate of bananas

3 food entries in a row. I'm on fire!

I hate having to buy a big bunch of bananas from the supermarket because we can never finish all before they turn mushy and horrible. It's also a big waste to dump them. So the best way to deal with over-ripened bananas is really to turn them into nutritious and wholesome breakfast banana breads.

I haven't found THE recipe yet... The one i baked above was ngeh... okay only. It didn't make anyone feel like 2nd helpings. If you have a good one to share please do!

Complete the sentence: The best recipes come from....

... the back of ingredients packaging. I swear on it.

I've tried alot of internet recipes and if i compare them with the ones behind the packaging, i have to say the latter wins hands down.

I recently made a batch of soft oatmeal cookies using the Gold Medal Unbleached Flour Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and it came out just heavenly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I made only one slight change to the recipe. Added 1plus a bit of egg instead of 1 egg because i feel that china eggs are very small.

Separated the dough into 2 batches.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip with walnuts.

Oatmeal with cranberry and white chocolate.

Mountain Man and boy prefers the cranberry/white chocolate combination. =)

Much ado about hair.

Hair is an underrated body part for men, but for women it's nothing less than our crowning glory. Over the years, i've done it all. Rebond, relax, perm, digital perm, multi-digital perm, bleach, highlight.... I'm surprised my hair don't look deep fried (at least on most days it doesn't). And that's because i spend way more time and money to undo the harm than anyone can imagine. Conditioners, treatments (home and salon), home remedies which involves mayonnaise and beer, i was that desperate.

I've been using Frederic Fekkai's Brilliant Glossing series on and off for almost 1 year now. I especially like the glossing cream but the results are quite temporary. Somehow using the same hair product continuously creates some sort of diminishing effectiveness over time. Still, it's the most effective product i've used to date.

But now i'm on to try the latest Moroccan Oil Treatment after reading Lisa's blog and the rave reviews on forums. I can't wait. Spring/Summer (ie humidity) beckons so i better have something on hand to tame the mane.

But what i can't wait to try is the Brazilian Blowout (sounds kinda dirty). A revolutionary hair treatment that leaves your hair salon-blowed everyday for 12 weeks. *drool* I wonder if Singapore has this already?

Mrs Vain

2 things i did this week which proved that i am a true blue vainpot.

1. I was involved in a recent charity event and i was tasked to do make-up for the main performer. Had no idea why i got arrowed to do something like that *roll eyes* but i didn't mind the challenge. So i enlisted the help of youtube to find demo videos of cool make-up techniques, then i came across Michelle Phan; a lancome spokesperson/make-up artiste who posted some very easy-to-replicate make up ideas. I borrowed the video on Modern Geishas and adapted it to a butterfly. Honestly the eye make-up was a total failure because i didn't know how to blend and i look like someone hit me in the eye, but i created these beautiful butterfly wings that turned out very well because it distracted people from the disastrous eye-zone.

2. The other vain thing i did was to get hair extensions!! Cute right? Apparently it stays on for 6 months. I'm not sure i'll last 6 weeks. I've been wanting to try hair extensions for the longest time but i never did because i was afraid of post-natal hair loss.

Friends are made of these...

A fellow stepford wife has been posted to Shanghai. We mourned over her move by finding excuses to meet up almost every single day during her last week.

Seriously, friends have made motherhood bearable/pleasurable. They are not just the icing on the cake, they ARE the cake. Most of them have kids older than Mountain Boy so it's great that i can take a cue and learn from their successes and "mistakes".

All the best in Shanghai. Thank you for being so genuine and caring, you have been such a great company for the past year. I really mean it when i say that i look up to you as a mother. I miss you already.

XOXO

久的不去，新的不来。。。

^^It means: If you don't get rid of the old, the new will not arrive.

I think being a stepford wife has made me quite bored shitless, especially after Mountain Boy sleeps. After 730pm, ebay, taobao, and The Purse Forum are my regular companions. I have now sold 3 bags on ebay and bought 2 items at great discounts!

So without further ado, here it is. I present the third member of my Chanel family, the Beige Vintage Medium Flap.

It's not the usual flap u see people carry. And I somehow love Chanel Vintage more than the new bags. The less polished hardware gives it a classic and edgy feel that i think is quite ME. I can also knock it around without fearing too much "damage".

Like it?

The Stepford Wife: Couture Cake

I tried baking my own birthday cake when i was 15. I got as far as buying the ingredients before quitting and deciding that i'll never be able to bake my own cake.

I proved myself wrong today. A friend presented me with the opportunity to join a baking class at The Fig Tree. After having watched Julie and Julia last month, I was enticed by the idea of a culinary school like the Cordon Bleu.

Anyway the cake of the day: Blackforest. Perfect. It ranks second to cheesecake in my books.

The kitchen is well-stocked with the best ingredients and baking utensils, from different sizes spatulas (which apparently makes a difference) to different qualities of whiskers (which apparently also makes a difference).

We were not allowed to use mixers for this exercise, so everything was hand-whisked.

Check this out, the oven is as tall as me.

Lesson number 1: Use the best ingredients available. The key to a delicious Blackforest Cake- Griottines Cherry. Essentially high quality cherries soaked in alcohol.

Lesson Number 2: Always use a baking tray versus a rack because it evens out the heat distribution.

There are many more lessons learnt but it's too many and too long. So let's just get to the good part. TADA! the "sponge cake"! It's actually very hard and dry at this point so we had to make a syrup to drench the cake.

This was the most fun part. The cream and the decoration.

I think we have a winner.

My very first successful Blackforest cake. "U are pretty, oh so pretty...."

This was the head chef's cake. Its overly sweet but dont tell her that. For our cake, we reduced the sugar and amped up the kirch alcohol so it was divine. The BEST Blackforest cake i've ever had.
An additional icing on the cake, today's lesson was photographed by a lifestyle magazine in Chang Chun. So I am going to be famous in Chang Chun!

PS: I've started a new label for the blog called "The Stepford Wife" to mark events related to being a stay-home mom.