Korky the Cat at the Coronation and Overnight Oats

Dad and I bonded over a common love when I was a kid: Beano and Dandy comics and I loved the old school characters the best: Korky the Cat, Jonah. He read those when he was growing up and every now and then, my copies of the Beano and the Dandy would mysteriously disappear and end up in his room instead ;)

I found my old the Beano and the Dandy 50 Golden Years compilation the other day and seeing that it's the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth, I was tickled to find this Korky the Cat comic strip depicting her coronation 60 years ago.

The weather has been so hazy lately that I wanted something refreshing for breakfast. I've been trying to have more healthy food on the go (cutting out the nasi lemak and roti canai from the office canteen, delicious as they might be) and didn't fancy the idea of hot oats so after Googling, I found the perfect solution: overnight soaked oats in yogurt served with chilled rosemary baked pears and a sprinkling of almonds. The pears and honey added a nice flavour to plain oats and I loved the crunching into almonds.

A Weekend Stay Over

We'd a free night's stay at the E&O over the weekend so we checked ourselves in for a lil rest and relaxation. I've always a soft spot for the E&O mainly because of its old world charm.

 

Checking in was quick with a welcome cocktail and wet towel provided and we'd lunch with my family at Sarkies to celebrate my Dad's birthday. That's Dad in his trademark heavily starched blue shirt (it's so stiff, I swear it could stand on its own), Cempedak and my brother-in-law.

Flashback to the 80s: wearing a scarf print dress. I remember my Mum owning loads of scarf print tops back then; it's now come full circle that I'm a mum and I wear scarf print!

Bubs and I were fascinated with the room key. Bubs loves all keys, jangling them around in his hands, refusing to return them back. I found it cool that the E&O still has room keys instead of card slots.

The room was nicely done - loved the dark wooden floors, intricate rugs and of course, the long bath that we'd many soaks in. 

Mum and my baby brother checking the cupboard for any boogey monsters. Can I tell you again how much I loved all the dark wooden furniture?

 For any staycation, it's practically a must to explore the pool. Especially if it's a salt water pool and offers you the prettiest view of the ocean.

Hubs and Bubs put on their swim gear and made the most of their afternoon splashing around in the pool.

I lounged around, reading a book, snapping pics, but mainly feasted my eyes on the beautiful surroundings, savouring the beautiful sunshine, the warm breeze. This is the life!

Bubs thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of spending the day in somewhere new. He had so much fun exploring the room, clicking the remote control nonstop to change TV channels, flicking the lights (that were his height) on and off and brrrrrommming his little toy 4 wheel drive all over the room. He got to eat in bed, bounce and jump on the bed, soak around in the bath tub, it must have been toddler heaven for him :)

Rice Dumpling Festival

Did everyone pigged out on rice dumplings or watched any dragon boat races? I'm not the biggest fan fan of sticky rice dumplings mainly because I find them too rich and heavy to digest but I don't mind the occasional one. I always get raised eyebrows from people when I tell them that I like to eat bak zhang (meat dumplings) with a sprinkling of white sugar like how Dad taught me. There's the satisfying crunch of the sugar followed by the sweetness balancing out the saltiness of the meat and glutinous rice.

Mum-In-Law makes rice dumplings specially for Hubs because he's really picky about the stuff inside rice dumplings, he doesn't like chestnuts or tiny dried prawns and a gazillion other stuff. Fingers crossed that Bubs doesn't end up being such a fusspot with food. 

Mum always gets me thor tau zhang (peanut dumplings) instead, the sticky rice is white because it's not salted with soya sauce and there's a sweet, peanut filling inside instead.

None of my relatives make their own rice dumplings so I was fascinated when Dragon I had a mini display for rice dumplings. Bubs had a naughty glint in his eyes when he spotted the containers full of beans and rice so I'd to steer him away from them.

The durian sago cream dessert at Dragon I is the best thing ever! Hubs complained that the scent of the durian was overwhelmingly strong but I loved every single bit of it. It is so luscious and creamy.

Can you actually see Elmo against the bright red table cloth? Doesn't take much to amuse a toddler ;) 

What to do with Lemons

You could wear them ... I love how cheery this lemon yellow DVF Gap Kids t-shirt dress is! I initially wanted the blue one but my Mum said the Gap store in Singapore only had the yellow one left so she got this. She got confused at first when I asked her to go to Gap Kids to get me a dress, she was wondering why was I making Bubs wear a dress, LOL.

You could use them for the best brunch ever ... Rye toast with avocados, poached eggs and wasabi mayo. This has to be one of the quickest and healthiest brunch I've ever made.

Ingredients:
Lemon juice
Wasabi paste
Plain yogurt/cream
Avocado
Pepper
Toast

1. Poach eggs - this is the trickiest bit and mine were a total failure! 
2. Cut avocado in chunks, squeeze a dash of lemon & add pepper
3. Mix lemon juice, wasabi paste and yogurt (or if you're feeling decadent - cream)
4. Serve the eggs with wasabi mayo and arrange avocados on top of toast
5. Tuck in!

DIY Water Table & Daddy's Day Lunch

I tried making Bubs a water table after seeing a few DIY posts online, the concept seemed relatively simple, just a container of water set on a low surface and a couple of strainers/ladles/floating toys.

I couldn't find a low, flat container or tray so I got the next best thing: a RM39 inflatable mini pool from Toys R Us and for some extra fun, a RM5 bag of colourful plastic balls from Daiso. It was a breeze to set up by placing it on top of an Ikea kids table out on the balcony and throwing in a handful of ladles and empty containers. The water table was a little too high for Bubs and he kept having to stand on tip toe to reach it. Apart from scooping up the water to pour over the potted plants and fishing out a few balls, he didn't want to play with it.

Which brings me to Plan B. Put the inflatable pool in the shower and let him play in it with all the toys. Now this he had a ball with (pun intended)!

We celebrated Father's Day with my family with a buffet lunch at Cititel. Cempedak and my brother are so addicted to their gadgets. I thought my Mum's dove gray beaded top was fantastic.

I wore my MNG tweed sleeveless tulip dress (fully lined!) that I got for a bargain 50% off. It's still available on the sales racks the last time I saw.

Bubs checking out his reflection at the Cititel lobby and clearly liking what he sees. He does this hilarious pirouette like bouncy dance.

I went a bit overboard at Tesco - currently loving their balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil for a dip with bread. I've also included their flatbread with a wedge of cheese and some dried fruit for the dreaded 3pm week day office munchies.

The recent haze has been awful with our allergies acting up. Hubs and I are sneezing non stop and Bubs has gotten his eczema back again despite us using Moogoo wash religiously on him, daily vacuuming (thanks Hubs!) and special detergent for our washing machine. Hubs begs me to let him apply cortisone cream over the patch of rashes that Bubs scratches so badly that he leaves marks on his skin. I have mixed feelings over steroids for his eczema treatment :( I keep telling him that cortisone cream only masks the symptoms but it's no use unless we can fix the root cause, which we've no idea what it is but I blame the hazy weather and heat wave for it. I've resorted to applying Tesco Finest Tuscan extra virgin oil after his shower to moisturise the skin. It smells so yummy that I'm so tempted to get some bread to mop up the excess oil to eat!