Eid 2018

Selamat Hari Raya peeps!

Overdue as usual, tapi raya kan sebulan. *chuckles* Hope you guys had a great Eid with family and friends.

Our days leading up to Eid were relatively uneventful. Despite being maidless (helper balik raya for her yearly holiday), I managed to take two days off before Eid for a facial plus manicure/pedicure. Dragged the kids with me and had to give them gadgets to keep them occupied. The fact that I managed to sleep throughout my mask was a sure sign that they behaved really really well! Iftar and sahur were purchased from various pasar ramadhans. Aiden pun dah big enough to help me with house chores - dah boleh harap to basuh pinggan, jemur kain, lipat baju (pants only!) and siram pokok.

Alhamdulillah, I also managed to tunaikan our nazar to donate a sum of money to anak-anak yatim. With the help of a neighbour, we bought Happy Meals and gave duit raya to the kids, while the balance went to the upkeep of the children’s home. Even though I wasn’t there physically, I certainly hope apa yang kami niatkan made their day.

Menunaikan nazar.

I was so so so very tempted to buy baju raya - rambang mata with the various designs and discounts too. But the fact that I don’t know how much I will slim down post pregnancy (I certainly hope I’ll go back to my original size *cries*), terus tak jadi nak beli walaupun jari gian jer nak click the Add to Cart button. Instead, I went crazy over the FashionValet sale with Duck scarves (cos you know, my head won’t grow bigger)! Handbags were also calling out to me but I’m eyeing something quite special but pricey - so I decided to sell some of my handbags on consignment to ease my finances for the next handbag. Other than that, my brother’s kontena finally arrived so that eased my shopping temptations oh so slightly. What did I get? A diaper bag, baby swing and Trunki for baby AY, solar lights for Hubby and of course - the latest addition (and hopefully final) to my kitchen countertop... my KitchenAid diamond blender! 

My handbags on consignment - they placed it on the floor jer! *amused*

Check out those Fashionvalet shopping bags!

After all the analysis on diaper bags, my Jujube BFF is finally here.

Current situation on my kitchen countertop.

Did I mention my craving for lemang periuk kera??? Just a few days before Eid, I saw some photos of it on Instagram and started salivating for some. The last (and only) time I tried it was in Cherating Kuantan, and upon memory the lemang was super lembut and lemak bersantan - it was even good to be eaten on its own! Posted my kempunan and so so many people stepped forward to suggest locations to purchase, and even some offered their Raya lemang orders to me. Awwww I was so very touched. In the end, I went with one of the suggested Instagram pages who was willing to still take my last minute order, and tadaaaa... kempunan resolved! Honestly this is the first time in this pregnancy that I’ve felt a craving for something. Usually anything goes for me, as long as it's Melayu food (no steaks, Western salads or even barbecued food for me)!

Thanks to Husna for accommodating my last minute request. Two thumbs up for her lemang periuk kera and daging dendeng.

Talking about the pregnancy, Alhamdulillah baby AY is growing well and according to her week age. Despite puasa penuh, I was honestly struggling between fasting and the pregnancy, and even at the tail end of Ramadhan I started losing my appetite and felt as if I didn’t eat as much as I usually did. Hence I gained less than 1kg from the last month’s checkup! (I typically gain ~3kg per month.) But even thought I didn’t gain much weight, my tummy has ballooned so much - I only discovered the sheer size of it when I was trying to shave. Thankfully I am still able to see my toes! *giggles* Baby AY is approximately 770gm now, and her latest scan showed a very prominent nose! Hidung macam Abang Aiden agaknya... can’t wait for her to arrive in our arms!

Check out that nose!

I digress. Back to Raya stories! We headed for Teluk Intan the day before Eid. All of my sister-in-laws beraya in Teluk Intan this year, so it was wonderful to get everyone under the same roof. Unfortunately, I wasn’t much help in the kitchen - blame it on the pregnancy. *sigh* We all also managed to have one last moreh/supper before Eid at McDonalds Teluk Intan (possibly the most happening place in town). The durian McFlurry was soooooo good. Absolutely worth the price tag. Siap sendawa durian lagi!

The morning of Eid, we got dressed and then discovered that we were the only ones not in biru (lebih muda)! Apparently my MIL changed the colour scheme two weeks before Eid. But in retrospect looking at photos, I think our peachy outfits certainly stood out from the pale blue everyone else was wearing.

Balik kampung macam nak pindah rumah. And a group photo of our last supper at McDonalds!

Official 2018 Eid photo.

Peach versus light blue.

We left Teluk Intan on the second day of Eid and headed to Ipoh to visit my stepmother and step siblings. Headed straight home that very same night and found myself doing already doing laundry on day three of Eid! Surprisingly, not many open houses invitations this year - which is just as well, since I don't have that many outfits to accommodate my bulging belly. *sigh* 

Last weekend, I managed to host my stepmother and stepsister at our humble home. Despite being maidless, I served Nasi Arab (of course beli!!!) and some homemade ayam kuzi and rendang that my helper had thoughtfully made ahead and frozen in case of impromptu visits just like this one. (Loveeeee my helper to death!)

One of the few outfits that I could still squeeze into. And Aiden and Ian posing with their cousin.

Nasi Arab spread.

Last but certainly not least, I'll close this blogpost with how the kids spent their duit raya. This year, Aiden was really adamant about spending his duit raya to his whim and fancies. I was having none of it, so we negotiated to a mutual agreement that half of his money goes to the bank while he has control of the other half. Ian, of course followed suit. Monkey see monkey do!

They pestered me for a trip to ToysRUs daily, and I finally relented. Imagined my shock at the price of the Minecraft set that Aiden chose. But a deal is a deal, and I allowed him to purchase it since it was still within the budget he had. But seriously, those are crazy pricey figurines!

I think that should summarize my past few weeks. Looking forward to my helper coming back home this weekend, so that I can stop juggling house chores and work at the same time. I am really feeling the heat at the office, especially when I have important meetings to attend and a team to manage. *sigh* I miss my laidback days in Upstream!!!

Here's hoping that you guys have a good Syawal ahead. Until next time, take care!

A Family Wedding

I was actually going to make the title as "My Baby Cousin is Married!" but after a while I managed to refrain myself as I realized that it was a tad too cheesy as a blogpost title.

But really, it's been quite a while since we hosted a wedding in the family, and this is the first time a younger cousin of mine is getting married. I actually teared up when he lafaz the akad - not because of the conventional reasons, but rather because I felt old that I have aged. I used to think that my twenties would never end, and then upon becoming 30, I consoled myself that mid thirties was old and I had 5 more years to go before hitting 35. Fast forward to today, I am less than a month away from becoming 33. *sigh* I rest my case. 

Anyway, the resident baker of the family (read moi) was obviously responsible for the hantaran cake. I made chocolate cake, draped it with white fondant, and topped the drapes with a beautiful flower in white. 

Draped effect on the cake.

The solemnization was held at a beautiful mosque in Bandar Sri Damansara. The mosque was up on a hill and looked like it came from a charming old scene from medieval times. Beautiful bricked walls and all that. Not really practical for Friday prayers as they had limited parking and quite a walk up some stairs if you park outside. But absolutely breathtaking for a wedding.

 Best decent picture of the boys in beige.

Beautiful hantaran with the bride in white.

It was not easy to control Ian in the mosque. Wide space just equates to plenty of running for kids. And he kept wanting to run to the bride's side of the hantaran. I think he was enticed by those pretty macarons on their hantaran cake. In the end I had to escort him out and let him roam freely. There was a ramp just outside the entrance, probably for wheelchair access; and Ian confidently ran up to it and starting using it as a slide!

Selfies to kill time.

Meanwhile, the solemnization went on smoothly in the mosque. It was beautiful - sekali lafaz and suddenly I have a new cousin-in law!

Such a picturesque masjid, kan?

Check out that intricate balcony.

Sah? Sahhhhh...

Anyway, the very next day we attended the reception on the girl's side. It was held at Dewan Perdana Felda. The theme was brown. The boys didn't have any brown baju melayu so I dressed them in beige-gold vest suits. Ian wore Aiden's hand me down vest suit; I looked high and low for the matching gold bow but couldn't find it so in the end he had to wear a red bow. *chuckles* Aiden wore a beige vest suit with a tie. They both looked so dashing that day!

Selfie at my aunt's house while waiting for everyone to arrive so that we could go together as the rombongan lelaki.

So.hard.to.get.decent.pictures! *sigh*

The boys with my one and only niece!

With my cousin and cousin in-laws.

Kids! Where are you guys looking at??!!

The wedding dais was absolutely gorgeous. Fresh flowers in shades of pink and purple covered the entire stage. Even the main table was stunning. Sequinned table cloth with candles and all. In fact, the entire wedding reception went so smoothly and was professionally done, I bet my aunt was sweating buckets, worried about her turn (our side of the reception) next week. Heh, even I was worried for her! The girl's side certainly set the bar really high!

The newlyweds.

Cheeky boys!

Ian was so excited to be up on stage!

Us with the newlyweds.

Last picture before we left. Aiden's shirt pun dah tak tuck in! *sigh*

Wish us luck for our side's reception next week. I'll be doing the dessert table AND photo booth so I'm under immense pressure too. Not only that, both Sultanahs (my aunts) have confirmed their attendance, hence there will be protocols to adhere to too. It's going to be one crazzzzzyyyyyy weekend!

Eijas' Engagement Cake

This was an order that I could never say no to. My aunt was planning her eldest son's engagement and she asked me to prepare the engagement cake for the dulang hantaran. I happily obliged, since this is the first time my aunt is going to receive a menantu. Also, this is the first time a cousin younger than me is getting engaged! In my eyes, he is still my baby cousin. I remember when I was younger, I used to love babysitting him and his brother as I did not have any siblings of my own. I even bought him his first phone as a reward for his great SPM results. I am actually also his guarantor for his university loan! Alhamdulillah, he's going to be a doctor soon. But now, he's getting engaged??

Anyway, my aunt requested for a lilac cake to fit the theme. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any purple sugar flowers at the bakery. Instead, I found this beautiful pink sugar flower that matched so well with my pink cake board. (Yes, the sugar flower was store-bought. If I am ever able to make that flower myself, I might as well stop working and open a cake-making business!) 

Just after putting on fondant to the cake.

I decided to keep the cake simple but elegant. Since the cake was simple, the flower became the main attraction of the cake. I only decorated the cake with a flower border and matching white pearls.

The finished cake.

White flowers around the cake.

View from the top.

Since we did not own anything in lilac, I decided to wear my Cadbury purple baju kurung. And a week before the event, I dragged Hubby to Jalan TAR to purchase a matching purple baju melayu and even sampin! Thankfully, Hubby agreed on the colour, especially since Cadbury purple is quite an adventurous colour. I haven't managed to convince him to wear fuchsia pink, though!

Takes a confident couple to wear this colour, so kudos to Hubby for trusting your wife's taste with this baju melayu.

As soon as we arrived at my aunt's house with the cake, everyone crowded around whilst I gingerly took the cake out of the box. They ooohhh-ed and aaahhh-ed when they saw the cake! One of my aunt's neighbour actually pulled me aside and asked whether I could bake her daughter's wedding cake, but I politely declined. Honestly - baking and juggling two boys just can't seem to jive!

The cake on the dulang hantaran. Loving the purple baby breaths!

Phewww... even though the cake was more pink than lilac, it didn't look too out of place from the other hantarans.

Ian posing with the man of the day.

The engagement was held at Intekma in Shah Alam. The girl's side actually booked a huge hall for the event. The pelamin was also beautifully decorated, as if it was a wedding dais! Kalau nak kahwin terus pun boleh!

Our side in lilac, and the girl's side in pink.

The representative from our side showing the hantaran that we brought.

My aunt's 4 boys - the hantaran bearers. She has 5 boys in total, including the one getting engaged. 

Upacara menyarung cincin and my aunt posing with her future daughter-in-law.

My two aunts, cousin in-laws and I posing with the lady of the day.

Another shot.

Posing with the hantaran from the girl's side. I love their dulang hantaran!

Aiden posing with his favourite cousin and best friend - Airyl.

The cake.

Last picture of the day before we left.

And this was how I ended the day. By having tapai at an open house. Heaven!