Month: August 2015

Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 3

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Day 3 of our Building Buttercream Skills course was all about flowers. We were asked to bring 8 treats that has a flat surface and shaped either round or rectangle. Ms. A taught us to pipe Bead, for borders Leaves Grass Star Drop Flower Swirl Drop Flower Daisy Sunflower Zinnia As always, while Ms. A did a demonstration on how to make each flower it looked so easy. I had a hard time specially with making daisy and I made use of the leftover buttercream from day 2 which still works fine in piping but we noticed that it was already oily and a lot of air has been incorporated into it. Lesson’s learned: Use a medium soft icing consistency Turn flower nail anti-clockwise. Place nail on the 1st line of your finger and move with the help of thumb towards the end. Consistent pressure control Let the piping tip do it’s work The yellow ones were made by Ms. A and the middle was well my creation.  Final reminder is to Practice…Practice…Practice…   Homework for …

How to make slime dough

Slime Dough

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Lately, my LittleOnes are into making slime – first one with borax and this time with chia seeds. The look on their face when everything comes together is priceless, it’s like magic happening right before their eyes. Johnson’s surprised us a gift basket of their newest Pure Protect Kids range. To the kids delight it included an exploration recipe booklet and one of the recipe is this slime dough we are sharing with you today. I was not able to take photos during playtime, our hands were sticky and play area so messy.

Promoting Kids’ Creativity & Imagination

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I am always finding way’s to keep my LittleOnes entertained, less gadget and more play. Today we have a guest post from Charlotte where she shares a list of toys and activities that will help our children get busy. Charlotte Sorley is a mum of three and is always looking for new ways to keep her little ones entertained to allow her to finally get round to those pesky chores. When she’s not running around after her brood she loves walking the dog and the odd spot of gardening *** It’s amazing how much imagination children have and how much fun they can enjoy in their self-created worlds. Beyond entertaining a child, their imagination and creativity are vital for growth and development. Along with literacy, mathematical, social and physical skills, creativity should be nurtured for a well-rounded skill set. Here are some ways that you can encourage their imaginations. Jigsaws and puzzles The magic of watching a puzzle come together to create a beautiful image has been a popular pastime for many generations. Choose a themed one that …

Back To School Bento Ideas

Back to school Bento ideas

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Summer vacation is almost over. We have a few days left till school starts and I have two students this year. Time fly by so fast, weren’t they just babies yesterday! We have books to cover and label, uniforms to sort, choose the right bag, plan for our kids lunch and snack in school. Here is a list of lunch & snack ideas for our kids: 1. My LittleOnes favorite for breakfast or to snack on when we are on the go is hands down chicken nuggets. You can make a batch ahead of time and it’s pack of assorted vegetables – carrots, broccoli, potato and celery – you can add whatever is available in your pantry. Definitely a much healthier option than those available in the market. 2. We never ran out of bananas in the house, the kids occasionally eat them as a fruit. They however cannot resist a slice of banana bread with streusel or banana pistachios oat chocochip cake. I usually wait for the bananas to have some spots before using them to bake. …

Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 2

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For the 2nd session of our Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course we were asked to prepare a firm 8″ cake, 2 recipe’s of buttercream, piping gel and cake filling. I prepared all of these Thursday evening because we have a busy weekend, every thing was stored in the refrigerator and thawed Friday night for my class the next day. I was not feeling well for my class, didn’t get enough sleep trying to fix my iPhone which got stuck to Error Code 53 after doing the latest ios update. My iphone 6 still not working, Argh! That’s another story to tell, back to my class. Ms. A (our teacher) showed us how to: level a cake using a cake leveler separate cake in two create a dam place filling apply a crumb coat final coat and smoothen surface I have done the following task before, it felt good that even if I’ve never attended a class prior to this one I was actually doing it correctly. While waiting for our crumb coat to crust Ms, A showed us new methods: …

Eggspectation Restaurant review

Eggspectation, is it just eggs?

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Kuya V: “What are we having for dinner?” Me: “We have a reservation at Eggspectation.” Kuya V: “Eggs for dinner? Only eggs in the menu? I’m so hungry, I can’t just have eggs.” I think he imagined green eggs in the menu which prompted a request to get burgers and ice cream after dinner. He was that worried. You really can’t blame the kid, the name Eggspectation does begin with egg which suggest that their menu mostly consists of different ways eggs are prepared and of course breakfast. I am happy with breakfast options anytime of the day. So, is it really just eggs and breakfast dishes in the menu? Warm welcome greeted us as we entered the restaurant, the place was not full that Friday night so we were immediately seated. Ms. Aschely was assigned to take care of us, both kids were given activity papers with the kids menu on it and some crayons, a baby chair was offered for LittleMiss but she only want to sit with me. The place looked big because of …

Wilton Course 1 Piping class

Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 1

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Baking cakes and decorating is something that I’ve learned from friends and watching videos online. I have always wanted to enroll myself to a cake decorating class ever since we moved here in Dubai, but never found time. I finally made time to enhance my cake decorating skills and enrolled to The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1 – Building Buttercream Skills. Although I have been baking cakes, decorating them completely with just buttercream scares me. The only cake I decorated not using fondant is my ube cake and I hide my cupcakes buttercream imperfections by adding sprinkles.   Inquired about the class schedule at Wilton’s Gold and Diamond Park store and it was perfect for us. My LittleOnes and Daddy C urged me to enroll right that moment with the assurance that they will be ok without me.

Endeavour Space Shuttle California Science Center

Up-Close with the Endeavour Space Shuttle at California Science Center

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A visit to the California Science Center was not in our plan; we honestly did not know that it is home to the Endeavour Space Shuttle. As we enter the Samuel Oschin Pavilion our jaws dropped at the sight of the Endeavour Space Shuttle, it was huge and completely overwhelming.  It’s not every day that you get to see a space shuttle up close. There is a reservation fee of $2 to see the Endeavour which you can purchase online (timed reservation is required beginning September 2015). We purchased IMAX tickets to watch Galapagos 3D which entitled us to a free pass to see the space shuttle. Kuya V sat thru the movie while the rest of us fell asleep, we were jetlagged.