Happy Thursday - this week's eye drawings

 

Happy Thursday friends! Just stopping by to share this week's eye drawings. :)

P/s: Dad's surgery is tomorrow. So I'll sign off for this week...enjoy your weekend friends! 

Workspace Wednesday - cute stuff my sister bought me

 

Happy Wednesday friends! My sister just cam back from South Korea and bought me some cute stuff! Yep. I love My Melody. :) And yes, this grown woman only wears cute socks. *LOL*

Keeping meals simple

 

These days I'm all about keeping meals simple to minimise time spent in the kitchen doing prep work, the actual cooking and cleanup.

Since I'm in it for the long haul, I want to make it easier on myself so that I don't suffer from burnout.

The upside of spending the last 2 years trying out recipes is that I actually have developed some competencies in food prep and now rely more on my taste buds than actual step-by-step recipes. Right now I'm down to 45 minutes if I do 2 dishes and 60 minutes if I do 3 dishes (served with steamed white rice) with cleaning up done in between so that lunch service is about 90 minutes total.

And I have all my trusty friends to help out too - regular oven, steam oven, rice cooker and air-fryer.:)

This was the other day's lunch - air-fryer fish fillet and stir-fried mixed veggies.

What about you? How long do you spend on a home-cooked meal?

Make Stuff Monday - upcycled decorated bag

 

Can you tell that I've been having fun mixing up my own stash with happy mail bits? *winks*

It allows you to stretch your creativity and play with "new" colour combos.

And despite using my stash diligently and not buying anything new (papercrafting supplies), I still have years of stash left. Can you relate? *LOL*

Friday's desk...this week's eye drawings

 

Hello friends! Just stopping by to share this week's eye drawings. :)

Enjoy your weekend! :)

Wednesday's decorated envelope

 

Happy Wednesday friends! Instead of a card to go with your gift, why not try a handwritten note/letter....and decorate the envelope instead? *winks*

Still having fun mixing up my happy mail bits and my own stash. Isn't this puffy girl sticker cute? :)

And yes, this gal is still obsessed with gold mist. :)

A family layout and life update

 

Hello friends! Just wanted to share a family layout on a recent outing with the folks and nephew #1 to celebrate my birthday. And give you a little life update.

Nephew #1 has been serving his National Service (mandatory for all Singaporean males) since January so my parenting duties have been limited to weekends when he gets to come home. 

Just when I've gotten into a comfortable home routine of feeding/caring for my family and getting my own work done, life threw a curveball.

Dad had a heart attack on March 2 and had 2 stents and a balloon to clear the blockage in one artery. His angiogram also showed a blockage in another artery and he's scheduled for another stenting procedure on 31 March. 

Mum is so stressed out that she lost a ton of weight and can't sleep at night. Meanwhile, stubborn dad still wants to eat unhealthy food despite his near-death experience...and has to be reminded everyday to take his medication.

My sister starts her new job at the end of March with no option to work from home at all. So daily caregiving duties fall on me except when I need to travel. I am tired and scared...but I will do my best to navigate the next few months. The folks are weak but still mobile so I'm not doing everything for them.

This is my creative outlet so I'll still be sharing my creations but please forgive me if I take a while to return blog comments.

Make Stuff Monday - an upcycled decorated box

 

Today's Make Stuff Monday project is an up cycled decorated box. :)

I started with this sturdy cardboard box.

I redesigned some happy mail by adding my own stash...

Trying my best to hide glue marks...

Adding texture to create interest...

And finishing with some gold mist to tie everything together. :)

Happy week ahead friends! 

Friday's desk - a week of eye drawings

 

Happy Friday friends! Just sharing this week's eye drawings! :)

Enjoy your weekend!

A decorated vertical envelope

 

Yes friends, I'm on a roll this week just upcycling the bits from my recent happy mail, adding my own spin on it with additional pieces from my own stash...

And really stretching my own limits when it comes to mixing patterns on patterns.*winks*

Can you tell that I tried to use the black bits to create a visual triangle for the eye to navigate through all the mish mash bits? *LOL*

Hope you have been having an awesome week so far!