The one about the Lego Lion

 

So my sister E spent quite a bit of time putting together this CNY Lego Lion...

And I figured we should have it in the family scrapbook while it's still intact (I tried moving it and promptly lost 4 pieces at the side...LOL*)

I got some of these horse red packets from Vietnam..they are perfect for the CNY layouts. :)

Pin It

Celebrating my brother's birthday with my first ice-cream cake

 

I haven't made anyone's birthday cake in a while...it's just been easier to buy one....but I baked a Basque Burnt Cheesecake for CNY and discovered that I really miss the therapeutic process of measuring and mixing and making something delicious. So I'm going to bake a lot more in 2026. :)

Incidentally, I also bought an ice-cream maker a few months ago and have been enjoying making my own ice-cream. So I decided to try an ice-cream cake. Back in December I served my vanilla ice-cream with blondies and it was a hit....so I went with a blondie vanilla ice-cream cake. I did run out of time and didn't manage to cover the cake with frosting but I decorated with Fererro Rochers and it looked pretty good. *winks*

I almost forgot how excited the Yams get when there's cake. *LOL*

Can you spot the upcycled packaging on the layout?

Happy Tuesday friends!

Pin It

Meet nephew #1's girlfriend!

 

So nephew #1 brought his girlfriend over to meet his grandparents and his fave aunt (of course! *winks*).

They met in Melbourne last year...yes, she's tiny! 

Meanwhile nephew #1 also came with a fresh new perm. *LOL*

Lots of red packet bits as embellishments since this was during CNY 2026. :)

Pin It

A double page spread - Christmas 2025

 

Haven't done a double page spread in ages. Here's one from Christmas 2025.

Had to send my sister to the airport for her mini vacation on Christmas Day so decided to make an outing of it with the folks. And yes, I brought the Santa hats for photo taking. *LOL*

Very happy to finally use up my Christmas stash from 10 years ago. Woohoo!

Pin It

Celebrating E's birthday 2026

 

So we celebrated my sister E's birthday last week. 

She got her pressies 2 weeks prior so it was just cake for the actual day. 

Can you tell that the folks are happy to have cake? *LOL*

Lots of cardboard packaging used. I even incorporated the bakery's happy birthday signage on this layout.

Pin It

New Year's Day dinner

 

So we went out for dinner on New Year's Day....

Here are the folks acting all cutesy with the food. *LOL*

So I went all in with the cute elements...*winks*

Pin It

Happy holidays...see you in 2026!

 

Hello friends! Just sharing a last family layout before taking a break from blogging to enjoy the last few days of 2025. 

My cousin came over with her boys for a Christmas gathering.

The nephews love ice-cream so I made my first batch of vanilla ice-cream for them using my new WMF ice-cream maker. I got the two thumbs ups (plus big toes) from the boys! *LOL*

 And also the obligatory photos for my family scrapbook. :)

Happy holidays friends! See you in 2026!

Pin It

December dinner 2025

 

Haven't shared much of this year's family food. Here's what the Yams ate on Monday. All made by me of course. :)

We had braised sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried mixed veggies and wood ear mushroom salad.

I fussy-card the Fresh rewards illustration from the marketing flyer and added some more "blooms" with stickers. The red "frame" also came from a marketing pamphlet. I just adhered random bits of paper and stickers to add interest and texture.

Kept it simple (by my standards) with pops of texture and layers.

Pin It

The one about the Pachira flower

 

Last week my Pachira (Chinese Money Plant) bloomed for the first time. The bloom was really big and fragrant. I was in a hurry and thought that I would take a photo the next day. But the bloom only lasts for a single day. Fortunately there was another bud on the Pachira. Which I got a snap of. And it bloomed the next day! Even the neighbours came over to take photos. *LOL*

Let's see if good fortune ensues from this. *winks*

Pin It

Another day out in town

 

So the other day I brought mum out to town for lunch and a little shopping...

Well, you know me...and my love for Japanese food...*winks*

After that we met up with my sister for dinner at our fave Korean restaurant.

If you were wondering about dad, he was uncontactable so he ate our leftovers for dinner. *LOL*

Pin It

Day out - Turkish food for dinner

 

Last Saturday we finally went to attend a Sephora event followed by some lovely Turkish food for dinner. It's been hard to attend Sephora events of late because we now have another kid in the house. Nephew #3 has moved in to stay with us, less than a year after nephew#1 moved back home (he's now in Melbourne). Nephew #1 stayed with us for 6 years. I'm not one to air out family's dirty laundry...I can only say not all parents are good parents. 

Anyway, the folks were excited to have Turkish food for dinner (not currently a cuisine in my cooking repertoire..*winks*). They each chose their own plate while my sister and I shared a mixed grill plate for 2 (pictured) It was pretty good. :)

Pin It