Project Life Catch Up Week 29

This week is the final week we spent in New Zealand. There are slightly fewer photos to share than last week but it is still a pretty full on section in the album. As with the previous weeks, I have used the Dear Lizzy, Amy Tangerine and Maggie Holmes PL Mini Kits with a few embellishments from my stash.

As I mentioned last week, Miss Three loved the winter clothes. She was a huge fan of scarves, gloves and jackets as these are things she never gets to wear in Singapore. I love these photos as I think they give a good indication of her personality too.

One of our favourite memories from the trip was Miss Three and Aunty Anne making gyoza (Japanese dumplings) from scratch. Miss Three had a really good go at making the dumplings and while hers were not quite as perfect looking, they tasted just as good as Aunty Anne's. 

The bottom image in the spread is the view from the playground in Clyde. We loved being surrounded by mountains in this part of the country and we never tired of the fresh air and long views.

While we were down south we spent a wonderful day playing tourists in Queenstown. We absolutely love this town. There is so much to see and do and the food options are really great too. It was a stunning day weather wise which is always a bit of a lottery mid winter. After our adventures up the gondola and wandering around the lake we went to pick up a young friend of Aunty Anne's who came to stay. She and Miss Three got on really well and we stopped in at Arrowtown for an ice cream treat on our way back to Clyde.

We made another stop on the return journey to look at the massive hydroelectric dam just above Clyde. It is pretty impressive and generates a large chunk of the electricity used in the South Island. Sadly that was our last full day in the region and we headed back to Christchurch in one day. We were dreading the journey a little as it is about 6 hours of driving, but Miss Three slept most of the second half of the trip so all was well. 

The final photos in this spread are really special to me. The bottom left shot is of the children from our ante natal group. The group still gets together at least once a month and it was lovely to see Miss Three at play with these children. They got along pretty well and as they were all born within a month of each other (MT is the youngest) it was a fun morning. The other shot of MT with her Grandad is another favourite for obvious reasons.

The final spread for this week is some of the photos from the photo shoot we did with Alpine Image when we visited Wanaka. Tet's sister gave him the shoot and images for his 40th birthday present. It was a wonderful couple of hours spent in the bracing 2 degree temperatures. We got so many amazing shots that we have been a little overwhelmed when it comes to choosing which ones to put on canvas. 

It really was a wonderful break away from reality. It was very hard to leave this time and we have put a lot of thought into how we can get back to New Zealand to live. We don't really have any answers as yet as there is very little work in my husband's field in New Zealand any more. We have been contemplating starting our own business or franchise as a means to get back. Time will tell if we can manage it.

Project Life Week 28

Sleep training Miss 3 is resulting in insomnia for me so this will be an earlier post than usual. I am hoping all the hard yards will pay off on that front but based on last night's effort I can't say I am feeling positive.

Week 28 was the first full week of our trip to New Zealand and it is quite photo heavy. We spent the first half of the week in Christchurch with my Dad and the second half down in Central Otago where my sister and sister-in-law live.

 

We relished all the open space and blue skies. This spread was kept very simple. I loved the little labels from my Life Paper Scrapbook kit. They are so versatile. As you can see we did encounter some snow on our journey south which Miss Three was very taken with. The novelty of tights and warm clothes had not worn off at this stage of the trip either so she happily dressed for the weather.

I decided to include an insert in this week. This side is devoted to food. We really enjoyed the standard of food and especially coffee on this trip. Two weeks and not a bad or even average coffee in that time. Miss Three renewed her relationship with the fluffy on this trip. The one pictured above with sprinkles and chocolate sauce was her favourite and she requested a special second trip back to the cafe in Clyde to have another one.

The rather amazing looking dessert was hubby's Creme Brulee at a Japanese restaurant in Tekapo. We all fought over the candy floss (cotton candy) that came with it. We even managed to squeeze in the kiwi favourite takeaway of fish and chips. 

The reverse side of the insert shares a couple of our favourite activities in Christchurch. We made the trip to the Antarctic Centre and it was an excellent outing. Lots of interesting displays, penguins and best of all, the Haglund ride. This is an all terrain vehicle used in Antarctica that takes you on a short obstacle course style ride. We all, including my Dad and Miss Three, loved this part of the day.

The other highlight of Christchurch as far as Miss Three was concerned was the Chipmunks indoor playground. We ended up going three times in the eight days we were in Christchurch! It was a great spot to catch up with friends who have small children as it has a cafe attached. We have already had to promise that she can go again when we are back in April!

This page is all down in Central Otago. We stayed with my sister in the tiny town of Clyde. It is a beautiful part of the world and I am a bit sad that she is moving into Alexandra next year as we really enjoyed being in Clyde. On our arrival in Alexandra (where she works) we called into school where Anne had arranged for Scarlett to spend the afternoon with her class. She had a lovely time playing games and reading stories with the big kids. It was the last day of term so a perfect time to be there. We went over to Wanaka that weekend to see Tet's sister and her fiance. No rest for returning expats, that is for sure.

Spending time in Central Otago really made us rethink our future. We were quite impressed by the quality of life in that part of the world. Miss Three loved the fact that people had chickens in their gardens and plenty of space to run about and play. The slower pace of life and friendliness of the people we met also reminded us why New Zealand will always be home for us. The bottom photos here are of the main street of Clyde. The middle set is of Miss Three having a massage from her aunty. Anne used to be a massage therapist so knows what she is doing but overall, S was too ticklish to last long.

This last spread is all about Miss Three. She was lucky enough to be lent a running bike while we were in Clyde and she loved it and got pretty good on it by the time we left. She also met a gorgeous and incredibly tolerant Cavoodle who enjoyed being pushed around the pram and showered in kisses. The opportunities we had to get outside and run were frequent and it would be true to say that Miss Three struggled with the lack of play spaces when we returned to Singapore.

Congratulations if you have made it this far! It has been a bit of an epic post. I apologise for some of the bad reflections on some of these spreads - nothing seemed to improve them much. Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Project Life Week 13

As we enter week 16 of the year I am wondering if I will be permanently behind with Project Life or if I can get myself caught up. Weeks like this one do not help!

The main event was our trip up to Kuala Lumpur. I was considering a mini album but decided I just did not have the time so went with recording the trip as part of PL. Three inserts later and the story is told. I challenged myself to use up papers from my January Studio Calico kits in an attempt to have an empty drawer waiting for April's delivery. I still have a few uncut papers left but I think they are heading for my stash. If I haven't used them in three months then I am probably not going to use them at all.

 

I have divided the week into days and themes this time in an attempt to have some sort of order. It makes sense to me but I am not sure it would necessarily be as clear for the casual viewer. This spread is the first day of the trip and into the next morning.

 In the spirit of stash bashing I have used a selection of labels from October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker collection. They were really useful as the background papers I have used this week have all been patterned making it harder to journal directly on them.

 This insert side deals with the apartment we stayed in and some of the activities my family got up to. I have included another modern homemaker labels, a Jenni Bowlin label, a journalling card from one of my Studio Calico PL kits and a flair piece from Paper Bakery.

 One of the best things about where we stayed in KL was the proximity to an enormous playground. We went there everyday so I felt it deserved its own spread. I kept this very simple with some hand written journalling and some various word stickers from my PL stash.

 All the pictures on this side of the insert were taken from the same park in central KL. I added a piece of flair from Paper Bakery and some older labels from Crate Paper.

 One of the best parts of the trip was heading out into the burbs of KL to visit with our friends Alan and Indera and their three dogs. Only one of the dogs was very taken with Scarlett. The others were scared and/or barking at her. Yoshi was a real star though. Again I just kept it simple with some OA labels.

KL is known for its great food and Alan and Indera took us to some great foody spots. Check out the breakfast dosai on the bottom right. I backed this spread with a Basic Grey SC limited edition paper that I could not imagine using on a layout. I do like it much better cut into pocket sizes. The journalling cars is a SC PL kit one and the word label is one of my favourites from MME.

This final page of KL only photos is a round up of some of the things we got up to and I must not forget to show you the My Little Pony someone got while she was there! Alan's car has a glass roof so that was fun in the downtown area. It gave us a new perspective on the skyline. I have used more MME word stickers and journalling cards from OA and SC.

 

The final spread highlights the joys of KLIA including a great children's play area and adjoining massage chairs. It would have been rude not to try them! We had a lovely Sunday at home including ballet and lunch out. I have added clear sequins to the ballet photos which have not photographed well but look cute IRL.

Congratulations if you made it right through to the end. It was a bit of a mission this week. I have processed the photos for the next two weeks and they are looking much lighter. Fingers crossed I might even use some filler cards!

A Family Weekend in Kuala Lumpur

We spent part of the Easter weekend in KL. We all needed to just have a relaxing break and we certainly had that. This will be quite a picture heavy entry!

We made the trip on a Wednesday afternoon. Poor Tet flew into Changi at noon and we were back at the airport again by 4.30 pm. We flew with Jetstar for the first time in Asia and we were very happy with the flight and the very low airfares.We were a little anxious about the journey as it involved 2 taxi rides, a train journey and the plane trip. Miss Three is much better travelling either late at night or in the morning. We really were pushing it flying at this time of the day. She was a trooper although I do feel sorry for the people sitting around us as she did sing quite a bit on the plane. She finally fell asleep in the taxi to our apartment in KL which meant she had a very late night!

She was up super early on Thursday morning so she and Tet went out on an adventure letting me have a lie in and a gentle start to the day. Some of these photos were taken by Tet.

Checking out the kiddy pool on the 22nd floor of our apartment building

After having a look at some of the facilities at the serviced apartments we were staying at, MT and Daddy headed into the area around KLCC (the convention centre). There is a huge public space with lakes, playgrounds, fountains and a water play area. It is child heaven, especially early in the morning before it hits the 36 degrees it was each day we were there.

The Petronas Towers: until recently the tallest building in the world

The biggest playground ever!

Whale and dolphins cavorting in the lake

We were totally surprised to find blossom in the tropics

We spent part of each day in this area. MT just loved having so much space to run around. There was even a soft running track for her to race her parents. We were surprised how far and fast she can run now. I would totally recommend this area of KL for staying if you have younger children as there is so much free and appropriate space for them to hang out in.

When they returned to the apartment we went to the restaurant on site for breakfast.

The food was great and very reasonably priced. The views were pretty great from the 22nd floor.

We spent most of that day just pottering around the apartment and checking out the mall next to the playground area. We ended up eating room service for dinner and it was really fantastic. We had intended going out for dinner but just as we were about to leave there was a massive tropical downpour.

Room service dinner

We chose to stay at The Ascott Serviced Apartments. We have found having the extra space in an apartment is so much better with a three year old. We cannot always afford to take this option but in this case the apartment was over $100 a night cheaper than the hotels we were looking at. As a bonus we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom apartment so we were in a huge space in a great location. My only complaint was that there was no wifi in the room which was tricky when it came to buying my Studio Calico kit at midnight...

The living room

 Enjoying the comfy chair before bed

Modelling the linen basket in the main bedroom

Enjoying the pool

One of the other major reasons we came to KL was we have a couple of really good friends who live there. They are moving to Bangkok soon so this was a great opportunity to see them while they were still in KL and it meant that Scarlett could get to meet their dogs.

Suburban KL

Meeting the dogs

Yoshi the shih tzu - he loved MT - the other two not so much

Alan and Indera were such good tour guides and drove us around a lot. We really enjoyed Alan's cute little Peugeot car with the glass roof. It was awesome for looking at all the skyscrapers in the KLCC area. They took us to some great malls and interesting parts of town including the Pavillions Mall and Bangsar. We also had an amazing breakfast at an Indian restaurant in Bangsar.

Paper Dosai and our friend Indera

A gorgeous cafe in Bangsar

MT loving the car

MT being totally spoilt by Uncle Alan and Uncle Indera

 We just has such a great relaxing break in KL and are definitely going to return with my Dad later in the year. 

Scarlett playing with the Lego in Parkson Department Store

Dancing with the robots

We did the reverse of the journey we made up to KL but left a little later in the evening and MT was much better. She fell asleep on the plane journey on the way back. We found KL airport was very good with small children. There were plenty of places to eat and there was a great children's playground right next to the gate our flight departed from. There were also massage chairs which we all tried out. We felt unstressed and happy on the homeward journey and were ready and bale to get stuck into Easter Sunday upon our return.

On the train to  KL Airport

Playing by the gate at KLIA

Squirming on the massage chair

I hope this was an interesting look at our weekend. We had a wonderful trip. KL is a fun place to spend a few days and, like the rest of Malaysia, the food is wonderful.

JYC The First Sign of Christmas

I have to admit I was surprised at the first things that popped into my head when I read the Day 2 prompt. I feel like the season is here either when my feet hit the beach in Phuket, Thailand or when we go fruit and pea picking in New Zealand! Neither I suspect are the traditional answers to when you feel the festive season has begun.

I think I may need to take a few steps back to help put these two disparate options into some sort of context. I lived in New Zealand until I was 8 and then in Singapore until I was 15. When I lived in New Zealand going fruit (usually berry) picking before Christmas was a fun family activity before Christmas. When we lived in Singapore, if we did not go home for Christmas we spent the ten days before Christmas Eve in Phuket having a relaxing beach holiday. Both of these things totally scream Christmas to me!

I do not have access to my childhood photos as they are in NZ with my Dad but I do have photographic evidence of the way that we have embraced these traditions in our little family of three. 

We spent last Christmas back in New Zealand.

Grandad and Scarlett picking raspberries

It wasn't hard to find plenty of ripe ones

Taking instruction on the finer points of fruit picking

Scarlett picked all these herself

It was wonderful to see three generations picking together and enjoying the sunshine. The man who owns the place where we pick always tells us to eat at least as many as we buy so it is a pretty delicious way to spend an hour or two.

Christmas 2010 and 2012 will involve a few days in Phuket as we are spending Christmas Day in Singapore. This year will be great as my sister is coming from New Zealand to join us and Tet's brother and his girlfriend will meet us in Phuket too. Our trip in 2010 was much more low key as it was just Tet and Scarlett and me. We stayed at one of the quieter beaches and had a wonderful time. I was thrilled to see Scarlett enjoying just the same sort of childhood holiday that I loved so many years earlier.

It was a hard job spending time under these umbrellas and in the warm waters but we managed to survive

Scarlett loved playing in the sand

She was busy making sand castles at 10 months - she started walking a week after we got home from this trip

The beach air meant Scarlett had lots of great naps

Even though we now get to Phuket the day after Christmas it still feels like our holiday season starts with taking off our shoes and feeling the sand between our toes. I am much more excited this year about going to Phuket than I am about Christmas Day itself.

Do you have any rituals that signify the start of the season? Are they the traditional Black Friday shopping adventures or is there something a little more unique in your family. I would love to know what marks the beginning of your festive season.