Farewell in a Box

how do you find a present wonderful enough to sum up years of wonderful friendship?

a dear friend will be leaving for aussie land & i've been rummaging through my head just thinking of what would make a good gift.

more than a friend, she was...
my craft guru...
the one who always dreamed up of the most wonderful, exciting ideas..
helped me got my room painted in the loveliest shade of blue & sponged dabs of white to look as if they were cotton candy clouds.

my confidant...
sleepovers at her place always left me inspired as we talked about our dreams for the future & everything else under the stars..

my cafe kaki...
scones, cakes & tea sessions

a few rounds at the mall didn't get me anywhere close to a perfect gift..
it can't be fragile or too bulky that would make it impractical & cumbersome for her to bring along..
so i decided to pick up some craft & novelty items from a craft market & put them in a little takeaway box...
i'll call that my farewell in a box, & seal it off with a heartfelt handwritten note.
so happened the items picked fell into hues of black + white + red :)

my farewell in a box consists of:

a pocket sized black polkadot notepad
a heart shaped wooden chalkboard
brown alphabet cut-outs
purple magical ointment, ideal for healing wounds & soothes eczema


ps: her sis prepared a simple dinner at their place & i thought it was the most brilliant, original idea!

what dinner would make a great send off, you may think??
her sis packed a variety of banana leaf dishes from a local restaurants & had them served on homegrown banana leaves from her own garden!
i would want that for my farewell!  
... not that i'm going anywhere anytime soon :p

8 Sweet Years

we don't have the luxury of having extra eyes or hands at home to watch our kids so i can't actually recall the last time we went for a real date since the kids came along.
as far as i an remember, our 2 munchkins are always with us both whenever we're out on nights or weekends.
so it was a nice change when the mr decided to call on the godma for a favor to watch the kids for 2 extra hours so that we could go out for a nice, quiet dinner to celebrate our 8th anniversary.
that said, we had become so accustomed to having them around that when they are actually not with us, it feels strange... as though we've missed an arm or leg!

ok back to the date, dressing up without having to figure out if the top was suitable for nursing was kind of liberating.
then, as i was planning to step out of the house, i realized i was clutching onto the diaper bag/basket which i carry EVERYWHERE. it has become my must bring item as this amazing basket can hold the kids extra pair of clothing, leah's porridge, 2 water bottles, diapers, wet wipes, my purse, mobile & still have a little excess for whatever other stuff i need to bring along when i'm out.
this is the same basket i used for leah's shots when she was about 6m. talk about versatility!

i chuckled at the sight.. and reached out for my purse then realized i have not carried my handbag for AGES!
i took my handbag out from the closet, put in my purse & mobile & then felt really weird cos the entire bag had so much space left :D

before he proposed we go for dinner,  i've been wanting to make a card or at the least handwrite a message to the hubby.
inspired by eatdrinkchic's valentine project, i had wanted to attempt this since the kids would be us and it was a school night.
it so happened i had most of the things at hand so here's my version of it, in case if you'd like to give it a try on your next anniversary.

btw, i haven't finish writing off the letter and a romantic movie, champagne & candles weren't what exactly transpired.

in reality... we headed to setia city mall, had japanese & strolled around the mall, grab some yummy popcorns & donuts & held hands :D

it was an enjoyable, relaxing evening spent with the hubby, & later we even had time to finish off Avengers with Luke while Leah was fast asleep, found Hulk hilarious & gobbled the whole bag of popcorn.

a good friend sent us this lovely anniversary wish...

Marriage Anniversaries are fantastic opportunities to:

Thank God for giving you your other half, 

Reflect on how you fare in your Marriage Report Card

and

Appreciate precious moments together.

i supposed that's just what we did {wink}

Mamentoe: Memory Keepsake Box

here's a little baby project i put together for BabyTalk's January 2012 issue.

here are the supplies you'll need for this easy pidzy project.

 

ikea ribba frame

scrapbook paper for backing + some little trinkets to spice up the box

wooden colored mini alphabet blocks (cotton on kids)

little gifts & keepsakes eg; handmade card, baby's first polka infant pants from ah yee

  

photo + a favorite quote (printed)

arrange all of the above & viola...!

precious memories in a box :)