Every time Sisi and I spend time together, we can talk for endless hours about everything we can possibly think of. I find that as we get older, it gets harder and harder to find time to sit with friends in the middle of the afternoon and forget about all the things that needs to be done that day. So days like today, where Sisi and I find a corner at a café/restaurant and completely forget about time, are always special. Our moment together is all that matters and we are oblivious of what’s around us. Love you Sisi! x

The soundtrack to this weekend was “My World” by Tim Kay. The song is probably best known as the theme song to Jamie Oliver’s “Jamie At Home” series and we’ve had it on loop for the last couple days. On Saturday, I caught Nerissa watching an episode of Jamie’s Australian Tour Diary where Tim Kay performs a live acoustic version of the song. Nerissa kept rewinding to hear the song again. I thought I’d save her the trouble and buy the track on iTunes. Some songs you just connect with and 99¢ for a song that captures the spirit of the moment is totally worth it. P.S. The photo above was taken in Provence. In my world, the backyard doesn’t quite look like that yet but one lovely day it may.

Spring is here and the flowers are starting to bloom. However, none of our flowers right now are big enough for a regular size vase. So, I created a mini-centerpiece using a spare spice jar as a vessel. The flowers are crocuses which were the first to sprout up in the backyard. Our rosemary bush stays vibrant all year long and I added a sprig for color & contrast. The cut crocuses opened wide shortly after hitting the water but the delicate, paper-thin petals are starting to expire after only a few days. No worries. We have lots and they’re all free for the picking.

I wanted to put together a special package for Valentine’s for Nerissa. While searching through our hard drive, I found a photograph of scooters and macarons Nerissa shot in Paris. It’s a beautiful image and it was a shame it only existed in our digital archives. I came up with the idea of printing and framing the photograph and packaging it with a set of macarons. Unfortunately, sourcing macaroons in Vancouver was more difficult than I anticipated. There was none to be found near home or near work. With a little one in the house it’s hard to sneak out on long secret missions and I wasn’t able to put all the pieces together for the 14th. Luckily, the next special occassion, Nerissa’s birthday, is soon after Valentine’s. Perfect timing since I figured I would need one or two more weeks to get everything together.

I sent a message out on Twitter asking where in Vancouver I could find macarons. I was told La Baguette et L’Echalote on Granville Island or Thomas Haas. I chose Thomas Haas. I then packaged the macarons in a Ladurée souvenir box we bought in Paris; fitting since Ladurée started Nerissa’s macaron obsession. The framed photo and box of macarons were stacked together, tied with a ribbon and, viola, there it is. Bon Anniversaire!

Dinner last night was at Munch in North Vancouver. What a fantastic place! I had a nice creamy seafood risotto with a glass of Malbec and Peter had a bison burger. I could have seriously had another plate of that risotto but was too embarrassed to order another one. Well, I’m going back with my friend Sisi for lunch next week so I could have my second serving then. It’s nice to have a place like this in the city where Peter and I can enjoy a really good meal and not have to worry if Luna cries. How many places have a play area for kids and a full bar for adults? Yippee! We’d definitely recommend this place to other young families too.

Winter was mild this year which means an early spring. In our backyard, we’ve already seen crocuses, daffodils and irises sprouting up. The tulips are on their way too. We’re looking forward to warming the house up with weekly fresh cut flowers. Pictured above are clippings from last spring (dahlias, rosemary buds and baby’s breath) which should make their return sooner rather than later this year.

Four months, already! Lots of developments to report this month. Luna still loves to smile and has added cute silent giggles to her repertoire. Very recently, she’s added a tiny baby laugh to her giggles but that’s only happened twice so far. Luna likes to babble with anyone who talks to her. We call it “conversating”. I know that’s not a real word but she doesn’t speak real words so it fits. Luna has outgrown her bassinette and moved into a crib. Luna can’t do a full belly-to-back roll, yet. She can manage a 3/4 roll but if we put her flat on her stomach she gets frustrated that her body can’t accomplish what her mind wills it to do. Maybe next month, Luna. Even though Luna can’t roll yet, she can travel quite some distance by wiggling and kicking around. When we leave her on a mat for a few minutes it’s quite surprising where she ends up. In month four we’re using a Baby Bjorn baby carrier for the first time. Luna enjoyed being carried snuggly through Vancouver while we checked out the Winter Olympic sights. Lastly, Luna really enjoys being sung to. Her favorite songs in month four are James Brown’s “I Feel Good” and Lionel Ritchie’s “Say You, Say Me”.

First treat of the day for us was a visit to Mark & Shannon’s new place for coffee and a slice of lemon meringue pie. Mark converted a 70 year old schoolhouse in Strathcona into an innovative mixed-use multi-family dwelling. The conversion maintains 40% of the original structure with modern updates getting the schoolhouse to Built Green Platnium standards. Each of the five units have a flex-space that could be used for an income-suite, additional living space or a home studio. The main floor of the schoolhouse is Shannon’s studio/workshop with future plans for public community programming. It’s a beautiful and thoughtful conversion which I’m sure must be the talk of the neighbourhood. Now, about the pie…it was baked by Shannon’s mom and it was spectacular!

Breakfast today: Homemade whole wheat bread (freshly baked yesterday), coffee, Casa Giulia blueberry preserve & cheese tarragon omelette. I was also happy to receive my Anthropologie catalogue in the mail this morning. Like a magazine subscription, Anthropologie mails out a new catalogue each month with great photography, locations and styling. It’s incredible to think they’re essentially producing 12 different lookbooks with 12 different themes each year. That’s a lot of imagery/creative to produce. And it’s all top quality. Having produced a few photoshoots and lookbooks in our day, we really respect the effort and imagination put into these monthly catalogues. We’ve kept every issue we’ve received neatly stored in our library. It’s a nice monthly visual treat and it’s free to subscribe.

These days, I’m all about simple and quick breakfasts but…it has to be delicious, too. Today’s breakfast consisted of: homemade whole wheat bread with flax & sunflower seeds, hard boiled eggs, coffee and Casa Giulia blueberry preserve from Italy. Peter’s Note: If you can’t get enough of breakfast photos visit Jennifer Causey’s Simply Breakfast blog. If anyone is keeping track, Simply Breakfast is, hands-down, the number one breakfast blog. Jennifer has documented 507 breakfasts (and counting) over the last 3 years. Simply awesome!

Toys don’t really interest Luna in this stage of her life. She prefers human interaction and we’re happy to give her lots. However, we can’t be with her every second of the day so we got her a baby gym so she can entertain herself. Friends also tell us it’s good for hand/eye development. Luna seems to really enjoy it. She took to it right away. It’s definitely the best $25 we spent this week.

I love our mornings! As soon as Luna wakes up, she calls out to us with her cute baby sounds. And when I hear her, I lazily get out of bed with my eyes half open to grab her and lay her beside me. But I’m usually woken up to find myself giggling as I see my little Luna somehow wiggled herself out of her blanket and out of her pants laying sideways at the top of the crib with no pants on. Amazing, how did she do this! Then I grab her to lay her beside me as I watch her slowly look around still half dazed observing what’s around her. Then it’s followed with a few stretches with the sounds of her limbs cracking away. Then she stops, looks at me, and gives me the sweetest morning smiles and giggles. These are the little special moments we share together. A start of another great day!

You know the safehouses in Grand Theft Auto? No? Don’t play video games; not criminal minded? Well, neither is Nerissa. It took some explaining but we’ve come to incorporate the word “safehouse” into our parenting lexicon. In Grand Theft Auto, a safehouse is place where you can escape from the cops, get your stolen car fixed or covertly meet up with your associates. For us, a safehouse is far less nefarious. It’s a place where we can comfortably nurse, that has a properly maintained changing area or where we can get a decent meal and not feel guilty about Luna crying. We keep a mental catalogue of places around the city so that we can make a pitstop when out and about rather than rushing home. One day, I’d like to create a Grand Theft Auto style map with all the baby-friendly safehouses around the city. I think it’d be funny.

So far our safehouse list includes:

• IKEA, Richmond – the best family/changing area we’ve seen. It’s bigger than most downtown dens and looks like a mini-showroom.
• Whole Foods, Cambie Street – the eating area has lots of space for a stroller and other gear. Hippies love crying babies. Hippies love everyone.
• Little Nest, Commerical Drive – delicious food, good coffee and designed with young families in mind.
• Lilli’Q Cafe, Yaletown – During a long walk, we needed to find a place to change Luna and found Lilli’Q. We were a long ways away from the nearest safehouse so Lilli’Q was a welcome new discovery. There’s a comfortable changing area, a play area for bigger kids, friendly staff and nice drinks.
• Munch, North Vancouver – You won’t find a lot of kid friendly places with a full bar! Amazing food & drinks and would definitely recommend this place to other young families.

Last year at work, as part of the new website design, we created a team section where we individually created compositions that represent who we are. For my self portrait, I decided to gather some of my favourite things and put them together to create a still life. Here’s a list of what you see:

- The framed pattern was a gift wrapper found at the Vancouver Art Gallery
– Framed illustration purchased from Yumi Yumi via Etsy
– My handmade Bricolage journals
– Baby Eames chair reproduction from Nood (50% off sale! btw)
– White Eames Eiffel chair from Herman Miller
– Skirt from Anthropology
– Matryoshka doll was a souvenir from my trip to Alaska
– Twigs & rocks from the beach where I live
– Brown shoes brought back from Paris
– Smena 8M toy camera
– Catalogues: Habitat, Muji, Anthropolgy

Last note for the weekend: hello to Hooray Design. Thanks for including us in your awesome blog.

We keep an inspiration board up in our studio. It’s a easy way to casually pin-up artwork, clippings and other tidbits that inspire us. Items currently include:

• paint chips and fabric swatches for on-going projects;
• few old photos that don’t have a home in our albums;
• spare art prints that we haven’t framed yet;
• reference material and souvenirs;

But most special are the hand-made cards & mini-crafts given to us by our friends. Those gifts always get a special spot on the board or in our library. Alice Cho holds the current record for most things pinned up.

Last night we borrowed Nerissa’s parents’ electric raclette grilll and had Jonathan & Anita over for raclette. Wikipedia describes raclette as “both a type of cheese and, informally, a dish featuring this cheese“. I’d describe the dining experience similar to a fondue but with the cheese and accompaniments grilled instead of boiled. While there’s one or two places where you might be able to order a savory fondue, it’s really hard to find a restaurant that has raclette on the menu. The only one, in Western Canada, that we’ve seen is the Grizzle House in Banff which is fitting because the dish has an old school Swiss alpine feel.

The cheese is grilled in tiny pans and served over bite sized potatoes along with sweet pearl onions, cornichons and sausages. It doesn’t sound like much but the flavor combination is really delicious. Raclette’s fun because you eat at a casual pace and the table has a communal feel fueled with conversation. Jonathan & Anita also brought over prosciutto, melon, pâté and manchego cheese. As an experiment, we melted the manchego in the raclette pans and grilled the pearl onions. Pretty yummy, actually. Those were probably one of the many raclette etiquette rules we broke last night but that was part of the fun; it was interactive and a new adventure for all.

Peter gathered all the green chilies we had growing out in the garden and I was surprised to see almost a full bowl of chilies! There was no way the two of us could use that many chilies so we decided to share some and give them away as presents. We gathered bunches of peppers together and created custom packets for each. We experimented with simple paper/tape techniques, different ways to tie thread and finished it off with an ink-jet sticker label.

(Updated: Jan. 30, 2010 with new photos.)

Cupcakes + pizza + lavender tea + storytelling = a perfect afternoon with, Sisi, one of my best friends.

How time flies…I can’t believe it was 5 years ago when Peter and I were making journals which we called Bricolage. I had a lot of fun making these journals. I would spend my days searching for great fabrics in the city then would excitedly go home to start making. We were living in a tiny condo in Downtown at that time (I think it was 550 sq ft!) so I would practically use the whole space as my working studio. I had fabrics all over the floor, ironing board in the middle of the living room and stacks of journals in every corner of our condo. It was really great fun! Peter’s job as soon as he got home from work was to make all the pins with the little hand-held pin maker we bought.

When I started making these journals, I honestly didn’t think anyone would buy them. But as soon as the orders started coming, I was really excited that people wanted them. I had orders from Europe, Canada & the States plus I had a store in Belgium that ordered a few dozen. I was happily busy!

After a few months, our journals were sold-out and I was ready to start something new. That was 5 years ago! Now that I am on maternity leave, and spend my days at home, I am ready to start making products again. I am so excited! I’ve started working on it already but things just take a little longer to do now with a baby in the house. As soon as it’s nap time, I quickly run to our studio and squeeze in as much creative time as I can get (vacuuming and other household chores have been ignored…they can wait!). I hope to launch our new products in late Spring or early Summer. They’re not books this time. Stay tuned!

On another note, our DIY Place Cards have been featured in a design and style blog called Paper n Stitch. Thanks Brittni!

Luna is now three months old! She is such a happy baby and entertains us with non stop smiles and laughter. She has a daily routine now where she naps at certain times of the day, then has her play time for about 1.5 hrs before yawning starts again and she’s ready for her next nap. As soon as she wakes up from her naps, she cries for milk and once she’s done feeding, we are treated with the loveliest smiles from such a little person. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that little head of hers as she seems to find everything so utterly amusing. It’s a joy to see our little Luna so happy in her environment. It makes us realize even more that we have created such a lovely environment where she feels so safe & loved.

I spent an afternoon at Little Nest with the girls (& Peter). We had a lot of catching up to do so the afternoon was filled with non-stop chatting, laughter, entertaining Luna, coffee and munching on food. I love this place. It’s casual, kid friendly and has great food too. I could spend everyday here if I lived on Commercial Drive.

I was checking out Bloesum Kids the other day and there was an article on this wicked café called Moomah in New York. It’s like a gallery/studio/café/shop all in one. This place is stunning, you have to explore the site yourself to know what I’m talking about. It’s a creative café where parents and kids can hang out. It’s a similar concept as Little Nest but Moomah offers a little bit more by having some classes for kids & adults. Oh, do I wish we had a Moomah here in Vancouver…

Last night was filled with great food & wine at Doni & Gen’s place. These days, gathering with friends at each others’ homes makes for a perfect weekend. We indulged in fresh oysters, cheese, cured meats, paté, Portugese sardines, apples, strawberries, cornichons and some artisan rolls. We ended the evening with some lovely dessert wine and chocolates. Thanks Doni & Gen for another wonderful get together!

I had a housewarming dinner party with my friends from work last year and I decided to make it a little bit more special by making everyone their own place cards that they could take home with them. I chose my favourite origami patterns and created little envelopes by folding the origami paper in half and stitching the side for a more hand crafted look. And to make it even more fun, I put random goodies inside each envelope which everyone excitedly opened to see what they got. It was like Christmas all over again!

I always like dinner with friends to be more interactive and add an element of playfulness to it. These are super easy to make and your guests gets to take home something special that you personally made for them.

Just chillin’ in her rocker contemplating what to do today… should I play or should I sleep? Mmm… tough life.

I was going through our photo files and I found these. I had almost forgotten what life was like before Luna. These photos were taken probably a year and half ago. The image above was taken from one of our weekend breakfast. I always make it a point to have something special for breakfast as it makes it a good start of the weekend. I still try to do that until now but with less effort and less time to eat.

The second image shows our favourite thing to do on a rainy Saturday night. It’s something we get excited about. We grab a good film, open up a nice bottle of french or spanish wine and eat all of our favourite food as we watch our chosen film. It’s like our own version of a tv dinner. We usually end up drinking a whole bottle of wine and eat up all the food too. If I remember right, I think we were watching the classic french film Mon Oncle while devouring all this food.

Great film + great food = happy people.

Luna has received the loveliest presents from our friends. The top above is designed by our very talented friend Genevieve. Her kids clothing line, Cielo is sold in various stores as well as on her website. I can’t wait for Luna to get bigger so she can wear it!

The toque is from our friends Shannon & Mark. They had purchased it from a friend who makes products made out of recycled woolen sweaters that they call Re-felt. It’s so cute and wintery!

Our DIY Eames chocolate bars has been featured in Modern Findings – a blog that features all things mid-century modern.

Luna has super sensitive skin. The cold winter air completely dries up her skin in certain areas of her body and she also gets baby eczema, rashes & cradle cap. My sister used to live in South Africa and has recommended to bathe Luna in Rooibos tea to help with her skin irritations. So everyday, I drop a bag of Rooibos tea in her bath and it has done wonders to her skin! It is truly amazing. She loves the smell of the tea and tries to lick the water when it lands on her lips. Her spa time just gets better and better…

Rooibos is a natural caffeine-free herbal tea grown in South Africa. It has been used for hundreds of years by the “bush people” for natural remedies. I’m so loving this tea. It’s not only good for your internal system, it’s amazing on the skin too. Yay to South Africa and to those “bush people”!

Girls day with my neices Sarah-Jane and Isabelle meant a chance to spend quality creative time together. We took turns making throw-pillow covers. It was fun, easy and they both get to bring home something memorable to decorate their rooms with. See you soon, Sarah and Izzy.

The only shoes I seem to be wearing lately are my Bensimons & espadrilles. I spend my days at home wearing my espadrilles as slippers and go for walks outside at the beach in my Bensimons. My wardrobe has changed completely since I got pregnant as leggings have been my best friends. Ultra comfort!

I grew up wearing espadrilles in the Philippines as we get a lot of products from Spain. They are super cheap and easy to wear. I had all the colours you could imagine. Now, I only have 1 pair in black which I bought in Barcelona for 8 euro. I wish I bought more! I did go to Madrid the year after but completely forgot to buy more. Hermés, Sperry and others have versions of espadrilles but I like the folky classics you find in the markets.

As for my pair of Bensimons, my search started when I was in Paris in 2008. I was looking for a pair of comfy sneakers to wear all day as I wandered the streets of Paris. A friend had told me about Bensimon before leaving Vancouver and had given me the store address which is located at Le Marais. So on our first day in Paris, we wandered the streets of Le Marais to look for the store which was an easy find. As soon as I stepped into the store, I fell in love with everything. I wanted to buy all the colours they had. I tried them on but for some reason, none of the sizes would fit me. I left the store wondering what was wrong with my feet! Why couldn’t I fit into any of the sizes? Bensimon seems to be the espadrilles of France. Almost all Parisians own or used to own a pair. They have a kids version too which are super cute. I’ll have to get a pair for Luna when she’s bigger. They are cheap as well and also super easy to wear. I ended up getting my Bensimon in Vancouver and surprisingly, I found a size that fit me!

I was able to squeeze in another sewing day for myself so I took the opportunity to make myself a tote bag. I’ve had the book Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter for quite sometime now but I just never had the time to make anything from that book. It’s such a wonderful book with so many easy and fun sewing projects for the home. I’m obsessed!

Our little Luna is now two months old! She is now a lot more active, always smiling and demands for play time. In her first month, Luna’s favorite activities were breast-feeding, cuddling and napping. Breast-feeding and cuddling are still in her top five but napping is now precluded with crankiness. Her new favorite activities include listening to singing or clapping, being held up while pretending to stand like a big person and, now, she loves baths. That’s quite a breakthrough since she absolutely hated baths in her first month. Now, she just closes her eyes, stretches out and enjoys her spa time. The sweetest new development in month two is that Luna has learned to smile. It’s so special to wake up to a grinning baby or to be surprised with an impromptu gigglefest. We’re looking forward to the new adventures month three brings along.

Luna’s first Christmas was filled with presents, yummy food and family fun. To all those visiting, Merry Christmas from Peter, Rissa & Luna. If you’d like to enjoy some christmas music, try the playlist below. We’ve had it on loop for the last week.

We often like to wrap presents in newsprint or butcher paper. It has a nice raw texture and neutral palette. All you need is some nice ribbon to finish it off but sometimes you just want a splash of pattern. A couple months back, YouWorkForThem was clearing out their book collection. They were practically giving away their newsprint zine, “Sentence 01“, for 95¢. A different artist designed each page of the 16 page zine full of abstract black and white imagery. At the risk of offending the artists and author, I bought three copies not to read but for the sole purpose of using each sheet of the zine as wrapping paper. And it works wonderfully. Rissa put the package above together for Doni, Gen & Aoi. Inside is a loaf of home baked cinnamon raisin bread (Rissa’s go to gift for 2009). Newsprint ink tends to run, so if you don’t want ink on your gift, you’ll want to wrap your gift in an additional layer. In this case, Rissa wrapped the raisin bread in cling wrap before wrapping it in the newsprint.

Below is a gift given to Luna by my sister also nicely wrapped in newsprint with a simple pattern of chinese characters. So simple. So lovely.

The prettiest baby Kimono I have ever seen. Luna receives her first mail last week and inside the envelope was the most gorgeous baby kimono that was sent by Jonathan & Anita. Thanks guys! It’s the prettiest thing, it makes me want to frame it rather than let her wear it! The Kimono is from Redfish Kids.

Fifteen more days until Christmas. Yay! I usually like to make something festive every year to give to friends. In the past, I’ve made cards, notebooks, baked goods etc… This year, I’ve decided to make Christmas cards to send out to our lovely friends. This is the most realistic task I can do as lately, Luna decided that she wanted to be in my arms ALL DAY! So the idea of baking Christmas goods have been scratched off my list including other crafts that needed cutting and gluing. There’s only so much I can do with one arm!

So I’ve been sitting in front of the computer designing these cards the past few days. As I am designing them, Luna is laying in my arms fast asleep & snoring away. But having a baby at home also means that things just take longer to get done which is something I am still getting used to. When she cries, I have to get up and cradle her to put her back to sleep. When she’s hungry, she cries for milk so I have to move to the couch to nurse her. But having her always so close to me is really so special. She will never, ever be this small again.

When I started designing these cards, I wanted to stay away from the typical Christmas shapes, ornaments and colours used to design anything for Christmas. Though, I still wanted it to look fun and festive. The base pattern shapes are taken from Kids & Toys Petite Pattern Book which is full of fun patterns you can customize or use as is. The colours I used are inspired by what I see outside my window. The chilly winter air, smoke from chimneys, fallen branches, pine cones… Yes, this is winter!  These cards have been printed using my epson printer on card stock.

I hope to send out these cards within a day or two so it can soon find it’s new home. Happy Holidays everyone!

Staying at home means having a lot of time to do fun stuff with Luna (well, sort of…she’s been wanting to be held all day lately though which makes it more difficult to do anything). For as long as I can remember, I have always been obsessed with fabrics and patterns. When I find a fabric that I like, I always end up buying it for future projects.

As I lay the fabric flat on the rug and layed Luna on top of it, she suddenly had a burst of energy moving her eyes around, flapping her hands and kicking her feet. I then realized that newborns can only see in black & white and shades of grey. She probably had a visual overload as she was surrounded with this black and white pattern on the fabric. It was fun to watch seeing her so excited and SO WIDE AWAKE!

I plan to make Christmas stockings with this fabric to hang on our white brick fireplace in the tv room. It might be a project for next years Christmas though as I seem to be busy putting Luna on different poses on top of my many fabric collection!

On one sunny day, we decided to take a trip to Langley to check out Vista D’oro Farms. Vista D’oro farms is part winery, part cooking studio and part tasting room. We were first introduced to Vista D’oro while we were on a search for rose confit which we first tried in Nice, France.

It only took us a year to finally check out their flagship store in Langley which is right on their farm. The location is so beautiful, it brought back memories of our trip to Provence. We tasted their Merlot and Port wine. Their Port wine is out of this world. Super good! Their flagship store also carries all of their jams, wines and other artisan market goods. I could have stayed in that store for hours tasting their different jams and drinking their wine!

If you haven’t tried their jams, trust me, they are a treat! Oh, and you have to taste their Port wine too!

(On our recent trip back to Europe, we brought back a bottle of rose confit from Paris and soon after, we found a store called Farfalla tea boutique in Gastown that sells boutique jams from Paris and they had rose confit! But sadly, they have recently closed their doors).

Luna’s first time sitting on her lounger chair and looking kinda scared. As soon as I strapped her in, she puts her arms together as if she’s protecting herself in case she falls. It’s not a good way to protect herself but she probably figured she can just roll over like a ball in case the chair collapses. This photo was taken a week ago and, since then, she’s learned to like sitting in it. Though, I wish they made big ones for big people too! Looks kinda comfy don’t you think?

Finally, the three little ones meet for the first time. Chloe, Kai and Luna all born this year and only a few months apart. Luna being the youngest of the three. Their play day consisted of Luna being asleep all day, Kai rolling on his back on the floor sucking his soother and Chloe on her chair munching on her snack. They were all in their own little world yet together in one space.

It was a great bonding girls day for the moms as well. Janice, Eliza and I all worked together at Kevin Louis Design. There were 5 of us designers in total (all women) and Kevin (principal) being the only guy in the studio. A few years back, all of us girls used to joke around that we would all end up getting pregnant at the same time (we are all around the same age) and nobody will be left at the studio. Eliza was the first, then a few months later Janice, then a few months later me!

So now, the three of us are in maternity leave enjoying ‘the sweet life’! Since our babies are only a few months apart, I hope for them to be friends and have lots of future play days to come. But it’ll be interesting to see how they will interact with one another as soon as they all start talking. Chloe is only spoken to in Chinese at home, Kai in Korean and my little Luna in English. And, to not complicate things, Luna’s favorite music is French! This will be interesting…

It’s only been a month and I’m totally loving this new domestic life of mine. Sleeping in, having girl days (in the middle of the week), lunch with my mom & sister, staying home, baking… I’m so loving this! One year maternity leave doesn’t seem to be enough now…

Since I purchased my bread maker, I have been non stop making all sorts of bread from whole wheat bread, white bread, french bread, rosemary, raisin etc… It’s so much fun! Today, I made raisin bread for my sister as per her request. This recipe calls for more work than other bread recipes. After the kneading cycle, I have to remove the dough from the machine and flatten it out as if making a pizza dough and spreading the raising/sugar/cinnamon mixture to it before rolling it like a baguette (I roll out the dough with a mojito muddler as I don’t seem to stock a rolling pin in my kitchen!). I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s always a hit! It’s amazingly good eaten freshly baked with a spread of melted butter on top!! Here’s the recipe for a 2 lb bread:

Recipe (2 pounds)

Granulated sugar – 1/3 cup
Cinnamon – 3/4 tbs
Raisins – 1 1/4 cups
Milk – 1 1/4 cups (300 ml)
Butter, room temperature – 2 1/2 tbs
Egg, room temperature – 1
Salt – 1 tsp
Granulated sugar – 1 1/2 tbs
Bread flour – 4 cups
Yeast – 2 tsp

The granulated sugar, cinnamon and raisins mixture is spread out on the dough after kneading (see photos above).

Happy bread making!

The day I started my maternity leave, I had a list of personal projects I wanted to work on like making throw pillows, designing posters, cards etc… But I guess Luna had enough being cooped up in a dark watery world in my tummy and decided to come out 2.5 weeks early. We were shocked but super happy to meet her early!

Having a baby at home means doing as much as you can while they are fast asleep. While Luna was snoring away this morning, I finally was able to make her throw pillow. I love how easy and fast it is to make one. I plan to make a few more but I’m on the hunt for nice fabrics. Next task on my list: finishing up her birth announcement cards!

Luna is now one month old and growing! So far, life with Luna at home has been pretty easy (easy compared to some of the stories I have heard…). Though, every time I think it’s “easy”, she suddenly wants to stay up for a portion of the night or wants to be held all afternoon as she sleeps soundly in my arms. She’s probably thinking, “hey mom, stop with your baking and play with me instead!”.

Our activities daily hasn’t really changed, except for the past few days, Peter and I are trying something new with her. We read in a book, my sister gave us called ‘What To Expect The First Year’, that babies today are developing some motor skills later than they used to because they are spending less time on their tummies. So for a few minutes each day, we lay her on her tummy but this usually only lasts for a few minutes. It’s a new feeling for her and she easily gets frustrated not knowing what to do with herself in this position. As she lays on her tummy, we see her trying to do a crawling movement and tries her best to lift her head up to look around. We encourage her by clapping and telling her she’s doing a great job. But all of it ends as soon as she starts screaming as if she’s telling us “give it up guys, just put me back on my bassinet and let me rest!!”.

Aaahhh… the life of a baby…

Xmas tree is up! Thirty-five more days till Christmas. Tree skirt: an old white wool sweater. Star: bookmarks I made a few years ago taped together to make a star. Ornaments: Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Michaels. The hand-carved wooden nativity figures on the mantel are from the Philippines.

Rissa and I are currently working on Luna’s birth announcement. We sketched up some ideas together on the weekend. Rissa spent yesterday reformatting some of them into InDesign files to print out and mock-up on paper. Other than posing for cute photos, Luna wasn’t actually too helpful on this task. Her favorite activities continue to be eating, sleeping – I think she dreams about swimming in rivers and oceans of milk – and something new: stretching out and exercising her limbs. Maybe one day soon she’ll have fun putting stuff together with mom and dad. We’re hoping to finalize the design and production this week and send off the announcements asap.

Squeezing in some extra cuddle time with the girls…I took three weeks off after Luna’s arrival and tomorrow will be my first day back in the studio. Luna wakes up for feedings approximately every three hours. Mom and I have a little routine going. She feeds. I change the nappies. The new sleep pattern hasn’t been too bad so far but tomorrow will be the real test.

Update: Day one went off without any tiredness. Hope to keep it up as much as possible.

Yup, a perfect day to go to the beach! The sun was out. The cold breeze brushing against our faces… I love simple days like this when the three of us are together. It was Luna’s first stroll along the beach and she slept through it all. Before today, Luna’s only taste of the outside world was a couple trips to the doctor and a quick dash through the mall. It’s nice to get some fresh air and a change of scenery. The three of us together – a perfect day.

My mom is staying with us for three weeks. She arrived last night and we’re really enjoying her traditional home cooking comfort food. More info and recipes coming up…but first, we’re going to Marga and Dan’s wedding shower.

Luna seems to love listening to Carla Bruni. When she was in my womb, I used to put headphones on my tummy and play Carla Bruni to her before going to bed. Mmm…does she remember hearing it inside my womb? I wonder. Her favorite song seems to be Déranger Les Pierres. Even in the middle of a crying frenzy, Luna will pause and relax for a little Carla Bruni.

Today is a special day as it’s Yuka & Paul’s wedding. But sadly, I am unable to attend. We are thinking of you guys on your special day!!! I may not be there physically but in spirit I am.

There’s nothing like having some chewy double chocolate chip cookies on a rainy day. While Luna is fast asleep in her own little world, I’m busy in the kitchen trying  a new recipe. These are truly amazing! They are super chewy and not too sweet. These would make fantastic christmas presents. Just sprinkle some icing sugar on top of the cookies to make them look more festive.

Recipe
1 1/4 cups margarine
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
1. Cream together the margarine, sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla.
2. Blend in the cocoa and add baking soda, salt and blend well.
3. Add the flour into the creamed mixture and fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Bake at 350° for 8-9 minutes.

Recipe by Recipe Zaar.