Good buys from that family vacation.

There are just so many things to share after that wonderful vacation I had with the family. It has been awhile since we really got to spend time like that together and I was a little too ambitious, wanting to achieve too many things in that one lovely time. In the end, there were things we didn't get to do but the most important thing was, the vacation was basically for the children to enjoy themselves while my shopping needs and Mr Oosband's shopping needs took a backseat but not totally forgotten ;)

 

These were among the lovely finds by chance. Do any of you remember the Sanex shower cream? Is it still sold here in Malaysia? I haven't really noticed its existence and I remember how it was once the trusted body cleanser in the ranks of Dettol. We got it when we were at the Disneyland hotel because I totally forgot to pack the babies' bath toiletries while we were in London. So, this was the best alternative we could find when we reached the hotel. It smells the same Sanex I knew and it is amazing that after so long, it has maintained a similar look and feel.

The Avene bottle next to it was bought in a street in Paris. The thing about me would be, I will not get it out of my head until I get the right bath product fit to be used by my babies. So, while we were browsing through the pharmacy, this was the only baby product we could find that perfectly fits our requirement - mild for babies and can be used on the hair and body. I was so excited when I saw the huge array of skincare/bath range from brands like Avene and Vichy... that I think if I were to live in Paris, I would be so spoilt for choice.

 

This was another great buy. I love the scent from Loccitane's Verbena range, so much so that I was going to buy the entire collection. But, some sense hit me on the head and so I thought it would be just reasonable for me to bring home a couple of shower gels and body cream. Love love love!

I took this photo while waiting for Mr Oosband and my eldest to come out from their gadget store. I had already gone in the Sephora store but wasn't too impressed with it but I love the architecture of the buildings in Paris and I was surprised to see that the Sephora store is just below Marriott. Hmmm... I should stay here one day, me thinks ;)

Anyway, while walking past Sephora, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Guerlain store. I didn't hesitate to enter the store and quickly asked for their ever so famous meteorites powder which I had so wanted to buy but never get the chance to. I mean, it is a little difficult to find a Guerlain counter nearby and just to go KLCC to get a RM180 powder may not be something I'd do.

So, to find it right in the heart of Paris where it is from, could be a very good idea [and excuse!] for me to finally own one, don't you think?

 

While in Guerlain, this particular thing intrigued me til this day... they sprayed this new perfume, La Petite Robe Noire (Little Black Dress) on me and also on this cloth label-like material. Note: they do not spray it on paper, like what we always see... but a cloth. A good, satin-like cloth so that the smell lingers just as how you would smell it on your clothes.

And, while I was there, I asked them if I could take some photos of their place. They were more than happy to oblige. 

This place is basically a spa where some of their items are shown on the ground floor but they would direct you to go up another floor for purchases. But the 1st floor I went to was full with perfumes! There were perfumes everywhere. When I went up the stairs, this was what I saw... a huge centrepiece of perfumes.

On my right side is another section of perfumes...

and on my left is another huge set of perfumes...


these were set further inside a closet-like area on the right side.

No matter what people generally say about the Europeans not too welcoming and warm with us Asians, I felt none of those. From the experience I had going into stores after stores in many parts of Paris, I must say that their customer service is far better than the inconsistencies we experience here back in our homeland. They're less judgemental, they do not mind extending many samples and now that I'm back, I regret not getting the Little Black Dress because it smells really good on me *sigh*

Some of the little little things that got me really excited would be the large choices of children and babies' products. You know how difficult it is to find an infant tooth paste that I had to resort to this with Jada (back then) and Jebat (now). But a visit to Tesco while we were staying at a friend's place in Orpington allowed me to bring home some of the best buys we would never find back home.  I just wonder why is it so difficult to have items like these here.

I also got extremely excited with the type of food I could easily get for Jebat. I can safely say he was well fed throughout our vacation ;)

There were so many types and brands but of course, we had to stick to just a few type of food. My friend told me at times there would be jars of halal baby food but there were none when I went. So, we were stuck with veges and fish stuff. And they had a any 8 bottles for just 4+ pounds promotion. Oh wowwee...

 

From Disneyland, though most of the things we brought back were toy stuff, I got myself these kitchen mittens and pot mat. Hehe...

 

I think this Tom Ford lipstick was my only real expensive cosmetics purchase. I was getting one for a friend and I thought I ought to get one for myself as well. I was looking for a coral-like shade anyway and only after buying it did I realise how expensive it is... most probably my most costly lipstick ever but a really good one too. The colour is so intense and creamy but due to it being so intense, it was a little over the top for me. I've learnt to make it work, so far...

 

And I especially love the food stuff I can easily get. In Paris, it was Nutella everywhere... even at our breakfast spread. It was heaven for Mr Oosband as he loves Nutella.

 

As for me, what I loved most was the many Marks & Spencer food outlets with plenty of great stuff. I enjoyed every one of them and realised that I didn't snap any photos of them. This was the only one I managed to capture on camera because I was bored on the Eurotrain from London to Paris and before I opened this up, I took a few shots of it.

 

One of the best souvenirs I bought for myself would be this London Olympics keychain. A memorable piece.

But what caught so many attention from foreign tourists like me would be this gorgeous ring-watch I bought on a whim while shopping at Next. They had it in colours like yellow gold, rose gold, silver and titanium but I thought the rose gold looked good on me. After I went back to Orpington, where we stayed in London, I decided I was going to go back to the store on my last day, to get all the rest of the colours. Oh boy, did I underestimate the hecticness of travelling with small children... we didn't have enough time in the end but am happy that I at least got myself one.

All in all, we took more than a thousand pictures. I love looking at all of them time and again as I don't think I would remember most of the moments if I hadn't taken any snapshots. Jebat only started to walk a week before the vacation and seeing him take those cautious steps while my mind was totally free from any work-related matters made the moments so precious to me. Though it was quite a tiring vacation travelling with little children, the break was really good as it made my mind fresh and all zesty to go back to work again.

So here's to more of this kind of vacation, eh...

The Philips Avent Steamer cum Blender - it's like Steve Jobs for mommies.

I think Avent is a Steve Jobs for all mommies anywhere in the world. They have such brilliant creations that looks oh so simple yet work like a charm in most situations. I think they keep coming up with inventions to meet the needs of the majority of mommies and if you think that you don't quite need it, wait until you tried and tested the gadgets before realising yourself exhaling those loud "oohsss" and "aahhhs". Once you have it, you will ask yourself why you didn't get it earlier.

So today, I'd like to talk about something God sent, which will make everything seem so convenient, easy-peasy and no sweat.

This is the Philips Avent Blender cum Steamer which I bought during a promotion in myBBstore just a week ago. And if I had thought twice before getting this item, I was glad that I eventually bought it because cooking homemade healthy puree for my weaning baby has never felt this easy as 1,2,3 and A,B,C :D

Why do I say this is God's gift to mommykind? Well, it is such an amazing little product - a steamer and a blender in one, that making your precious' first tastes when he reaches 4-6 month old a wonderful experience to both baby and mommy. Why? Because it is gratifying for the mommy to know that her precious' first tastes comes from the creation of mommy herself and for the baby, he's getting all the right nutrients without compromising on quality nor taste.

I am not saying that there's anything wrong with mommies buying instant baby food from the supermarket. I am only saying that, with this little gadget, you seriously wouldn't imagine getting instant baby food because it makes making simple baby food absolutely simple, hassle-free and very very easy. In fact, if you have followed me from my previous experience preparing baby puree for Jada, this experience now with Jebat is even simpler, that I couldn't understand why Philips did not invent this 3 years ago! Just read on and you will see what I mean...

As per my other babies, I always start their first taste with a vegetable... and none other than carrots because it tastes wonderful when mixed with a little bit of milk. Why milk? Because in order for a baby to learn to start eating solids, it would help if the food that he's eating has a little bit of his usual milk, to help him familiarise with the food he's tasting.

Cut them carrots in small slices and it is ready to be steamed.

Before steaming, make sure you fill up the cup that comes with the blender to a suitable level that's marked.

See what I mean... if you click on the picture above, you will see an enlarged version. The cup is magic. It has the right level marked with the duration of the steamer. For carrots, I filled it up to 150ml which will allow the steamer to steam them carrots for 15 minutes.

Just turn the knob to the left and let the magic continue :)

Once there's the BEEP sound and the light turns off, we are ready to turn it upside down and this is something that amazes me more....

See, you can very clearly see some level of water from the steam at the bottom of the blender. If you read the instructions of any cook book, they might tell you to scoop some water from the steamed or boiled carrots that are cooked the conservative way. Here, you do not need to worry about water from the bottom of the steamer that you're supposed to add before you blend because *walah*.... there it is! *screams in glee*

And I should then just turn the knob to the right for it to blend and *walah*... in less than 1 minute, the blended carrots for my tiny knight in diaper is ready *clap clap clap*

So mommies, you had just eliminated having to transfer steamed/boiled food into a blender, you do not need to wash additional items like the large steamer nor do you need to gasp when you realised that the carrots on your pan has dried up to a brown colour ;P yes, moi had that experience while waiting for the carrots to boil in 15 minutes and ended up smelling burnt carrots when moi was occupied with some work in the living room!

I had also eliminated the hassle of washing a large blender or the little parts of the hand blender. Instead, am so happy to let you know that I only need to wash this little piece of magic and the parts are really really easy to clean *beaming with joy*

The best part... was probably also that the gadget came with good recipes in three stages of the baby's age. This, is in addition to the Annabel Karmel recipe book I always refer to and since many have told me how difficult it is to obtain her book, the recipes that came with the blender cum steamer is already quite good.

this is carrot + sweet potato.

this is just apples. And there are more recipes...

My only complaint is that it's power cord is way too short that I needed to use that little base as a temporary measure since I was so excited to get going with it immediately... as soon as I unboxed and cleaned it :) But, it is not a big deal and nothing major.

You may also find it a little smallish but I love that it is that perfect in size because it eliminates from me overdoing it. I remembered how it was before when I was happily cooking them stuff but once they've all cooled down, I realised that I didn't have enough ice-cube trays to store all those different purees.

With this wonderful gadget, all the purees I made was enough to fit one ice-cube tray and I was able to make 4 different purees in less than 2 hours. Of course, I only made carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and apples, all suitable for Jebat's first tastes before moving on later to mixing them up together and adding other textures and tastes. Oh, and like before, when it comes to rice, I went to my trusted Nestle Nestum for the instant rice with milk because cooking rice would be too cumbersome at this stage and I shall only cook them rice later when he is ready for a mix of tastes. Now, with just his first tastes, I am only introducing him to one type of taste at one time.

Oh, and the green spatula on the photo above completes the magic on a perfect note as it scoops the right amount of food into the ice-cube trays and left no traces of food inside the blender.

And did I mention that everything was easy-peasy? It's easy peasy kacang putih... as if I am working on my MacBook Air with all the right short cuts and efficiency :D

Once it has cooled off (which is almost immediately with this small scoop!), I was ready to feed Jebat his carrots and what a magical experience it was, not having to sweat under the heat from the fire on the stove nor the steam coming out from a large steamer...

A happy baby eating his potatoes during dinner because mommy got so excited with them carrots that we didn't take any shots ;)

If you think you're a bad mom for buying instant food from the jar, don't feel bad. I wanted to do just the same as I am always tired from work and have no energy left to think about preparing purees. But if you still feel bad and want to do something about it, do get this item... I promise you, you will not regret it.

I got it at a discounted price of RM350 from it's RM459 original price tag. I am not sure if the promotion is still on so go check it out.

I am a heavy user of Avent where I have the duo pump, hoards of bottles, food/breastmilk storage, microwave steriliser, electric steriliser and the bottle/food warmer, apart from this item. Are you a big fan of Avent like moi?

Annabel Karmel's Puree Recipe - cooking after a long vacation.

I have been extremely lazy with my updates. Since returning from our vacation, there has been way too many things to document and I just don’t know where to start…

All I can say is that the vacation was a much overdue one for me… my last break was in November 2007 when I was already in my very early pregnancy and didn’t even know it. From then on, it was work, work and work for me non-stop as compared to my usual habit of taking a short break twice a year from work.

I was afraid about the flight to London since I was all on my own… but my worries were unfounded as little jj behaved extremely well… of course, there would be those restless moments here and there, I mean who wouldn’t, right? Even an adult wouldn’t be able to sit still for a full 12 ½ hours flight. But she was alright… she slept when she’s supposed to, played on her own in her bassinet, sat in the bassinet nicely while I fed her the 2 meals given on board… and best of all, she let me ate peacefully when my meal came. There were not much interruptions from her except during those times she was awfully restless and I had to play Toy Story on the in-flight screen over and over again just so that she could focus on something instead of crying for no apparent reason.

But, if you were to ask me to do it again, I might hesitate… I wouldn’t be twice lucky and I think that belief may be true since little jj gave us a whole lotta nightmare during the flight home… it was either that her daddy was present and she knew there was an extra set of hands to take care of her, or she was very insecure with the darkness throughout the flight (as the flight home was a night flight). She barely slept 2 hours in 2 occasions, but that was also contributed by that drug we got from her paediatrician for her to relax during the long haul flight. So, basically, all throughout the balance of 10 hours when she's awake, I could clearly hear her crying and screaming in daddy’s arms while all I could do was to get better quick - I fell sick immediately as I board the plane and my body temperature shot up in an instant. Everytime I felt better, I took her away from daddy and all she wanted to do was to hold on to me.

It was truly very tiring.

little jj's bad hair day - 10hours of crying, screaming and struggling

while sweating profusely once we touched down at KLIA

But, despite her usual nature of not trusting strangers and unfamiliar environment, she warmed up instantly to London’s cold air and allowed us to toughen her up by taking her out almost an entire day, every day thru the entire week of our stay… I fed her where ever we decide to take a rest from our journeys that she has somehow gotten used to being fed out of the comfort of her home instead of every time wanting her usual chair and that familiar environment at home.

little jj and abang noah, warming up with the battle

of the pacifier, just after we reached their home in London.

I guess that vacation somehow wasn’t just a good one for me but brought out the best in her as well.

For more details on our vacation, I would rather let little jj update her blog, yah ;D soon… she says ;P (update: little jj has updated her blog)

When we got home, I got busy with unpacking and doing the laundry in so many batches… there were those of the one’s from the pile at home, those from the trip, my clothes, little jj’s worn clothes and little jj’s new clothes. I practically only managed to finish everything in 4 days! It helped a lot that my parents were kind enough to volunteer taking care of the little munchkin that day we arrived so that we could all get our rest.

Then, there was cooking for little jj as her puree stock has either depleted or expired and so I turned to Annabel Karmel again for the next phase of puree recipes – 9-12 months.

As we all recovered from jet lag (with little jj affected the worst), I could only prepare them purees after 10pm with only 2 days to whip up her food as the home made chicken stock could only last for 48 hours in the fridge. With jet lag, and a baby who’s cranky all the time, coupled with bags and stuff strewn on the floor of our living room, cooking 2-3 types of food after 10pm was a chore for me. But, we’ve all lost weight from the amount of walking that we’ve done, and I just had to take that step so that we could stuff little jj back to her normal baby fatness (eheh!).

So… as you’re all always eager to see what I whipped for little jj, enjoy the photos….

First, there was that 'First spaghetti Bolognese' which I didn't manage to take any pictures since it was already after midnight when it was ready and I was dead tired. I only made one meal the first day due to tiredness...

Next was...

Yummylicious 2: Carrot, cheese and tomato risotto

clockwise from top: onions, tomato, rice, carrots & chicken stock

not in picture: cheese & unsalted butter

Yummylicious 3: Creamy chicken & vegetables

clockwise from top: all-purpose flour, milk, button mushrooms,

carrots & chicken stock (onions at center)

not in pix: vegetable oil, cooked chicken & cheese

the result...

Yummylicious 4: Tasty chicken Bolognese

clockwise from top: chicken, chicken stock, onions & garlic,

grated carrots, dried thyme on spoon, tomatoes in a can

not in pix: olive oil, pasta

as usual, i used alphabeto for the pasta hehe...

Yummylicious 5: Chicken with tomato & rice

clockwise from top: chicken, tomatoes in a can (cooked rice on top of can),

chicken stock, carrots, potatoes, apple juice, onions & garlic

the result...

More to be made this week - which entails fish and lotsa vege...

my little cookie in the jar... a tough cookie indeed.

don't i look better now?? mommy had just trimmed my fringe...

Annabel Karmel inspired: Yes, anyone can cook!

Yup... I have been one busy woman the last couple of weeks... Alhamdulillah... a few jobs came pouring in, one after another and my schedule looks pretty tight til early April.

This weekend was a mad one due to this sudden hecticness, coupled with the fact that little jj's puree stock and pounded fried anchovies are depleting. So... while finishing up this financial translation job due for tomorrow, I had to juggle precious time for my precious pwincesh's tummy needs ;P

And since it is already 2.45am right now, I guess I'll just tease you with some yummy pictures of Annabel Karmel's delicious recommendations... a continuation from the previous puree adventure!

It all started with the basic - preparing chicken stock before other yummy meals can be prepared, and fried anchovies (without oil) for that extra natural saltish taste to add to little jj's every meal.

Then, the rest of them came...

Yummylicious 1 - Eat Your Greens

It's main ingredients are potato, peas, broccoli and spinach.

I have to tell you that it tastes sooo delicious, surprisingly. Much better than the last spinach recipe I made in the last puree adventure.

The next few meals have similar colours when they are pureed since they all contain carrots... lots and lotsa carrots.

Yummylicious 2 - Mini Minestrone

This recipe wasn't a planned one. But as I was preparing the rest, I thought the recipe looked so simple and I had all the ingredients for it.

What I like best about this recipe is that it reminds me of my best friend, Sue, out there far away with her hubby in Abu Dhabi... whenever we'd meet up at Dome, she would usually order Minestrone Soup... in a way, she was the one who introduced me to this delicious meal. And now, I thought it would be lovely for little jj to have her first taste of it too ;D

the best part is, mommy went a little overboard by using
alphabet pasta hehe... with hopes that little jj will be reading
in no time since she has eaten up all the alphabets ;P


Yummylicious 3 - Chicken with leek, carrot & peas



since little jj loves chicken, i had to make sure i try another
variety...


Yummylicious 4 - Braised beef with carrot and potatoes



actually, the recipe includes parsnip and sweet potatoes but
parsnip is a little difficult to find and little jj doesn't quite
like sweet potatoes. so, i've eliminated them from here.


Yummylicious 5 - Fillet with carrot, cheese and tomato

I was mighty surprised with this recipe... the fish fillet is cooked separately in the microwave with just additional unsalted butter and milk but it came out tasting so delicious, even on its own! This gave me an inspiration in case I am lazy to cook in the future, just chuck in that fish into a dish, take some chopped onions and a few bits of peppercorn for additional taste, milk and butter... in 3-4 minutes on high and walah... a creamy tasting fish...

Yummylicious 6 - Salmon surprise

salmon dipped in orange juice with cheese spread on top...
doesn't it look the same as the picture in the book?

I didn't do all of them within a day because that would be really crazy. They were all spread throughout the weekend, with the last one just completed around 1am earlier today. I'd want to prepare one more dish but I am out of carrots... hehe.

mommy, the alphabets in the mini minestrone will be
blended into a puree... how do you expect me to
read the alphabets...

I am still wide awake from that dose of strong coffee but I think I shall head to bed soon. Nighty nite.