Quarantine Weekend Theme-China

Can you believe this our 8th post about our themed weekends? Which means we’ve had 9 themed weekends (the first 2 were combinesd, Easter + Indoor Camping) and 10 weekends in quarantine. I’m honestly not hating it, but also, I’m ready for a change.

This weekend, the kids asked for a China theme. They are in an English/Chinese bilingual program at school, but I really think it was an excuse to eat dumplings. They loved them when we had them with the Singapore weekend, and have been asking for them ever since. Christian and I lived in Mainland China and, of course, in Hong Kong, so we were happy to oblige.

Thankfully we had some Chinese New Year decoratons, so we pulled out our lanterns and pineapples. Then after much deliberation, we decided to use whiteboard markers on the glass to draw the Great Wall and Chinese pagoda and temple. It was a bit subtle, but still added to the fun. We debated over washi tape and paper, but, honestly, this came together pretty easily.

The kids usually go out Saturday morning, to give Mama a minute to wake up and work out. Recently Papa has been taking them out, so this Saturday he took them to the market. My huband and kids love the wet market, with fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and cooked food. They had a little adventure, even in the rain.

They got some fruit and rice rolls, plain, shrimp and pork. The kids chowed down on the red dragon fruit, lychees and rose apple/cashew apple (one of my favorites, yet I’m still not sure of the name), but the rolls were the favorite. I also love the peanut dipping sauce.

Next they got to make thier own hand pulled noodles, for lunch. Any time my kids get to play with dough, they are pretty much in. After making the dough, they were able to stretch and then put to dough in boiling water.

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Summer Dayz Popsicles

During these hot summer days I find that I’m craving something sweet and cold at the end of day. Let’s make some popsicles!

collage popsciles

 

1. I made a few with fresh strawberries, pureed and pieces.

2. Pimm’s Cups are refreshing.

3. Coconut water is hydrating, so it would make an excellent popsicle.

Party Themes I Gotta Try

I’m always looking for an excuse to throw a party, host friends, or make someone feel special. These ideas would be so much fun.

collage party themes

 

Living in Hong Kong, there is lots of to-and-fro. These invitation are amazing.

Do you have too many books and nothing to read? Me too.

A seriously healthy birthday cake. It’s pretty, but…oh.

And always, treat yo self.

New Obsession: Quince

As you all probably already know, I tend to get obsessed with something {particularly food} for a bit. For awhile, everything seems to be about that dish. Right now that obsession in quince.

I’ve heard of quince before, but until Australia this Christmas, I’m not sure I ever really came across it. In Melbourne we found this quince tea that we now make iced tea from every weekend, and this amazing smelling soap. It’s become my new thing- I look for it every where. Because the scent is sweet and spicy, it would be a great hostess gift or new flavor to your next party.

collage quince

 

Artisan quince syrups.

What a quince looks like.

Quince paste, which is quite tasty. They say it’s good with cheese.

This is the brand of soap we found. Smells so good!

T2 teas are all the rage in Oz. This quince tea is perfect, it doesn’t need any sweetener.

I bet this body moisturizer smells amazing, too.

Smooth Fruits and Veggies

We recently got a Nutribullet and I am now obsessed with finding new recipes. I love my usual spinach + banana + berries + flax seeds, but I really want to get in more veggies {rather than fruits} that I wouldn’t usually eat, while keeping it relatively low calorie, and, of course, tasty. It doesn’t hurt that they are so colorful!

collage smoothies

 

1. Beets + avocado + strawberries + lemon + celery + apple

2. Carrot + banana + almond milk + cinnamon 

3. Greens + almond milk + flax + banana (can I handle it without the berries??)

4. Fig + banana + vanilla extract + flax