Bookworms unite!

I went to the Big Bad Wolf books warehouse sale last week with my daughter and had such an interesting time. If anything ever gets me excited, it's a book sale. Book sales are my retail therapy equivalent to shopping for clothes and other girly stuff. For a time I actually wondered if I'm the weird one out but last week's experience at the book sale put that thought to rest. I met many, many bookworms while waiting for the book people to open their doors to us into book heaven. You know who the bookworms are - we are the ones who are there right at the front of the gates excitedly straining our necks to see what's inside and planning all our strategies. Quite ridiculous, actually. We'd compare notes and share stories, and I was very pleased to find similar-minded people who actually thought nothing of spending huge amounts of money on books because we think it's worth it. Like they say, birds (or in this case, should it be worms?) of a feather flock together ... and there were many birds (worms?) that day. Not only that, we all practically had the same thoughts on lots of other topics too - shopping for clothes, for instance. To us, it seems that if a shirt fits - great! Now can we have all five colors of the same shirt and get this shopping over with! It's so different when we talk about books. The mood changes entirely - everyone gets excited and we're all suddenly talking like old friends. Someone commented that bookworms are not environmentally friendly since trees have to be cut down to feed our habit. That's true, but a bookworm will never give up the joy of holding the book in their hands. Oddly, we just don't find the same joy by reading a book over the computer screen. It somehow takes away a very substantial part of the fun of reading a book. We bought lots of books at the book sale but it just never seemed to be enough. We are eagerly waiting for the next sale again and next time I will be even more prepared! For the time being, I am eager and happy to just lose myself in the books that we purchased last week.

Mask-changing performance by Sichuan Troupe @ 1-Utama

It was by chance last week that we caught the mask-changing performance by the Sichuan dance troupe. We were going grocery shopping and when we arrived the performers were halfway through their routine. We managed to catch the last performance nevertheless, and what a performance it was. The performers were dressed in their traditional finery with various masks. The mask-changing technique is an age-old tradition in Chinese performances and takes years of training to accomplish. The performers were very quick with their hands, that much I can deduce because it takes them just a split second to change their masks. Just a sleight of the hand and a mask is changed. Incredible!

High School Musical-themed cupcakes

These are the High School Musical-themed cupcakes that I made for a friend's daughter's birthday recently. The little girl was a great fan of High School Musical (which kid isn't, huh?) so I thought this would be a fitting theme for her birthday cake.

More Chinese New Year cookies!

I figured since I have leftover ingredients I might as well use them all up instead of leaving them to waste. Thus began my last minute scramble to make the cookies on Chinese New Year eve, no less!

The nestum cookies with chocolate coating was deliciously crispy and is my daughter's current favourite.

The orange cookies are also nice with the nonpareils sprinkled on top.

All in now I've made 6 types of cookies this Chinese New Year.

Christmas Treats

We attended a Christmas potluck dinner on Christmas eve. I'd take any excuse to bake so I baked an assortment of cupcakes and cookies for the party. It's the first time I've ever baked and iced cookies and I thought they turned out pretty good. Needless to say, the cupcakes and cookies were a hit with the guests, especially kids both young and old!

These are chocolate cupcakes with Christmas sugar decorations. Gets the festive mood going, don't you think?

For the adults, I made a batch of carrot cupcakes.

For children (and adults) of all ages, individually packed iced Christmas cookies.

Creating a gingerbread house

My daughter joined the Gingerbreadhouse decorating competition at the Bangsar Village Shopping Centre yesterday. She's never done something like this before so I thought it will be a lot of fun for her to get her creative juices flowing.

We were given a cardboard box (Bummer! Not a real gingerbread house) in the shape of a house, then a bowl of icing and lots of colored rice, cereals, candies to decorate it. My little girl had such fun decorating the gingerbread house! See how intense she looked!

The end result is a pretty house that is now placed at the shopping centre for judging later, along with the houses made by the other participants. It wasn't so much joining the competition as much as having fun as a family. This little activity really made her day. Another priceless experience to add to her growing list of fun activities!

Revisiting Hanoi - The Sheraton Hanoi @ Westlake

My family and I were in Hanoi last weekend for our last holiday before I deliver our newest family member. I must say that this is a highly anticipated holiday because I love the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and besides, I’ve long wanted to show my family what surprises Hanoi has to offer.

Our flight arrived at Hanoi at 8:50am, long after the denizens of Hanoi has woken up and had their first bowl of hot steaming pho. After about 40 minutes by car, we arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Hanoi. Amidst the hustle and bustle and the endless honking of cars, Sheraton Hanoi stood out like a welcomed oasis by the West Lake. Being in this location has its advantages and I think it is a perfect getaway after being in the city with its endless honking.

I had earlier emailed Ms. Kim Lien from Customer Service that my husband and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary and had gotten a confirmation right away that they will surprise us. What a surprise it turned out to be! We had a room with a view of the beautiful West Lake and our bed is decorated with rose petals and a lovely cake as well as a congratulatory letter from the hotel. There were candles on the night stand as well as rose petals in the bath. Truly romantic! Like all Starwood properties, The Sheraton has the requisite amenities to keep guests comfortable. It has a very welcoming pool with a pagoda and a very unique dragon shower. Take a little walk to the other side and you’ll be greeted with a moongate and a tranquil courtyard and lush gardens. I would have been perfectly happy here just sipping a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee. There’s also a gym and tennis court in the hotel grounds. What makes the Sheraton Hanoi truly stand out is its staff. They were all genuinely warm and friendly and were more than happy to accommodate us (me especially with my endless enquiries and requests). We’ve stayed at many hotels in many countries and I must say, the staff at Sheraton Hanoi is top-notch. This is exactly what 5-star service should be.