Bridal shower.... two months too late?

The original title read, "Bridal shower.... one month too late?"

Apparently, I've had this in my 'draft' folder for sometime now.. not realizing that it has not been 'posted' yet! 

*facepalm* 

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It seems that most (if not all) of my GFs are already married, some with kids on tow. So it comes as no surprise that everyone was really excited when the 'youngest' in the bunch is finally tying the knot! We say 'youngest' mostly because her birthday is the last of the year (December)... and because, well because she's Drog. 

*muahs!*

I remember clearly those London days when we used to countdown to her birthday, a MONTH in advance. Yes, during our uni days. Yes, in London. She enjoyed it and we all definitely enjoyed pampering her so. Ah, don't let her looks and demeanour fool you. As her then-boyfriend-now-husband perfectly puts it..

"She's a BEAUTY with a BRAIN"

 

Yes, so smart one this girl. Despite her 'ultra' vain'ness, this is one keeper. Probably the most humble, kind-hearted and thoughtful person I've ever met. 13 years of friendship and counting (Damn I'm getting old) 

So ANYWAY, since she's getting married (NOW happily married!) pretty soon, we had a bridal shower cum birthday party to celebrate. Wonderfully organized by Azz and Jidons, it was one perfecto affair. Close college-uni-work friends came to join in the fun. The deco was perfect, prepared by EventsbyAzzwaa (Instagram acc)

Oh and of course, cake by NHomeBakes, who else? Haha. Took a bunch of photos that day. Konon nya Sha and I were the 'photographers' laaa.. haha but most of mine turned out a tad dark. Still, have not bought a proper flashgun. Still... ahaha

 

Happy Belated Birthday D'rog!!!!! Biggest congratulations on your wedding and may you have a long-lasting beautiful marriage with TONNES of smart kids (since you both so hebat!!) haha 

Love,
Natte'

xx

p/s: Haha.. wedding photos to come yah! 

Customized

So, as of late.. I have been trying to push the envelope, in terms of my baking adventures. Well, I have always wanted to be able to make em' fondant figurines etc. But I have been lacking in cake covering in fondant skills.

They always tend to appear.. 'bubbly'.

I kid you not. See here is a cake I did for a colleague at work. Bubbly. Grrrr.... But I'm definitely having fun with fondant toppers! So covering cakes aside, I think I'm quite content with my development re: fondant toppers. 

The ones below are customised toppers for my husband's relative. I'm loving the mini fondant cupcakes, don't you? Oh yeah.. My handwriting still needs a whole lot of improvement, LOL! 

I think I needed to let these dry more before putting on the cupcakes. They kinda wilted a bit upon touching the cold frosting! 

Haaaa, these (below) were made for a friend's son's birthday party! Loved the opportunity to make these toppers. She only had to tell me the theme, and I... went crazy! Haha.. You gotta have matching toppers with the cake, no? 

Note the dim looking picture. When did you think these were made? In the middle of the night of course! Haha! 

Also made macarons for the event!  

Finally... a smooth covered cake! Weehooo! I was so excited with the finishing. The mini make-ups on it were definitely a plus point too! Have always wanted to make this design, so who better to make it for, than ze bestfriend who can never have enough make-up. She has a good stash at her work desk. I can definitely rely on her for make-up supplies should I need to get ready at the office for a wedding! 

I think I've learnt a thing or two from my past mistakes. But I definitely still need more practice!

xx

New Year

Happy New Year!

Yeah, about 14 days too late?

It's as if I forgot this page existed. Almost. So many things happened that I do not know where to begin. How is the new year treating you so far?

Alhamdulillah, for us.. this year marks the new beginning for our small family of four. We have tonnes planned for the year! Finances to juggle, we are not planning any holidays (yet) for this year. We're putting it aside for something big, supposedly to materialize by mid this year, God willing. Stay tuned for that news!

On another note, baking slowed down nearing the year end and went to a complete halt during the new year as I was down with mastitis the whole of last week. Yeah, not fun having to MC for the first few days of the working calendar.

But I'm on the mend and planning to start-off with a bang! Back to baking frenzies it seems!

Gah, it's only 9.45am

Back to work first then..

xx

#yaasinfordatuk

A week ago today, I called my dad asking about my sister's UPSR exam results. Alhamdulillah they were ok. Well done sis! I also asked about my grandfather. 

He said Datuk was fine.

So you can understand my shock... when I receive a call from my brother the day after, saying that my grandfather passed away. 

I broke down.

I went to bed the night before feeling grateful for his improving health and the possibility of taking the kids down there for a visit later this year. 

I was too late....

So immediately, without thinking much.. I gathered my things, told the boss, and left the office. On my way down called my sister-in-law asking her help to book two tickets back to Tawau. Yes, only 2. Husband had a trial the next day, which we all know he could not miss. Working with the court is different than an organization. A lot of people depend on you. The court's time, that of your opposing counsel, witnesses (if any) are all very valuable and most times, scheduled far in advance. So to simply NOT be present is... not acceptable. So we agreed to split the kids for one night. Since the younger one is still fully breastfeeding, I decided to take her along. Plus, I have not been away from her for an entire night since she was born.. that could come as a shock to her and I wouldn't want to burden anyone else. She'd sleep soundly with me by her side anyways. 

She could be my rock.

And indeed she was (is). 

The drive home was the longest 15 minutes of my life. I cried the entire time. Went back to pack, and picked her up to headed to the airport. When I saw her, I immediately stopped crying. 

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When my grandmother (who I presume has not stopped crying since my grandfather's passing) knew that her cicit has arrived.. she immediately stopped crying.

Everyone stopped crying and fussed over little Elina.

She became everyone's rock.

From the corner of my eyes I saw my dad smiling. I was glad I brought her along. Her sweet smile just brought cheer to everyone there. We all came together to do the necessary. Recited the y'aasin. Began dividing portions of the Quran for each family member, so we would be able to khatam the Quran by the end of the 7th day. MasyaAllah how beautiful it was to see everyone coming together to undertake such task. The only other time I cried was on the plane ride home. Having alone time (whilst Elina was sleeping) wasn't really what I needed then. I wished he was there with me. 

By the time I arrived in KLIA2, I was exhausted. Lucky for us girls, we were greeted by ze husband.. who took us for dinner (at the airport) before going home. Yeah, we did like browsing through the stores at the airport. It's so huge, you won't feel like you're in an airport.. except for the constant flight announcements buzzing through the speakers.. 

I guess when I went to visit him at the hospital I already knew that his time was almost up... I just didn't want to believe it then...

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إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِرَاجِعونَ

"Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return"

A taste of ice cream!

Remember how I was telling you about my new frosting recipe?

Tried it again for my red velvet.. this time doubled up the cream cheese and used a different brand. 

Wah lahh!! It tastes so good, almost ice-cream'y like nyumminess! Less sweet too! (plus point!!) QC was supposed to only take one of the 3 I left him and gave the other 2 to my sisters-in-law. It wasn't in the fridge when I got back from Tawau (another story, another post) so I assumed that he had.. 

It pipes well too! Look... FLUFFY!!

But I had a feeling that I should probably ask him. You know, just to be sure.

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He at all three cupcakes by himself....

(-__-)

xx