Halloween Show and Tell

Welcome! Meet my friend Rebecca, she's truly inspirational! Her home is full of delightful treats, especially through the seasons of Halloween and Christmas!

Today, my little daughter and I was lucky to have the pleasure of sharing the fun of her talents and goodness!

Rebecca's home is filled with Handmade creativity everywhere! The Halloween quilt (yellow brick road pattern) will greet you as you walk in the front door, along with a loving atmospere that is felt the minute you walk in to her home! Around the corner you will find a CHRISTMAS TREE decorated for Halloween--gotta love a Halloween tree!

In the Kitchen you will find A Countdown to HALLOWEEN calender created by Rebecca, inspired by Pottery Barn! The pockets hold treats and fun surprises!

What FUN, A huge tree branch that Rebecca found and worked her Halloween magic to create a festive, spooky Tree to greet guests at the front door! Check out the Halloween treats made from donut holes from another crafty friend who LOVES Halloween!

"Help me find me Bones" a Halloween Childrens game, hide the bones in the yard, the kids find the bones and stick them on the skeleton! A large glasss jar sampling a few of her adorable mini scrapbooks! Halloween cheers to Rebecca, a super talented and creative gal, a super friend, but most importantly a super Mom!

From Leftovers To.....Restaurant-Quality Fried Noodles!

Oftentimes, I have plenty of leftovers in my fridge just because, well, I cook too much! :) So here's a tip on how you can turn leftovers into a delicious fried noodle dish fit for a restaurant. OK, here's what I had in my fridge:

• Shrimp stir-fry with broccoli and carrots
• 5-Spice roasted pork belly (sliced into thin pieces)
  

What I added are rice noodle sticks (the same ones used for Pad Thai), mushrooms, onions and garlic. That's all, very simple. To add a little bulk to the dish, I also cut up a piece of chicken breast cutlet that was sitting in the freezer.

OK, let's get to it. First, soak the noodles in hot water for about 30 minutes. You don't want to boil the noodles and make too soft as you'll be frying it in a little while. Get a wok or pan hot with vegetable oil in it. Start by sauteing the onions first, sweating them before adding the garlic. Now add the raw protein, in this case, it is only the chicken meat as the shrimp and pork belly are already cooked. Add some seasonings like fish sauce and pepper. Make sure that the chicken is cooked before adding the noodles. I would normally cook the vegetables at this point but as they are already cooked, there is no need to. Use a pair of tongs to stir up the ingredients together with the noodles. Add soy sauce and sweet soy sauce (or Kicap Manis) to get the darker color that you see on the noodles and keep stirring. Now, add the leftovers and the mushrooms and stir it up some more. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. I also like to add a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of sesame oil to my noodles. So, keep mixing and frying until the noodles become soft.

And there you have it. Delicious fried noodles made from leftovers. Yummy!

12-Minute Pizza From Start To Finish

How many times have you wished that you had something in your kitchen that is not only fresh and delicious but quick to prepare as well? Well, I'm here to tell you about how you can whip out a delicious pepperoni pizza in 12 minutes flat from scratch, start to finish. Nope, I'm not kidding. And it's not the frozen kind either.

Here's what you need:

Naan flatbread
Pepperoni
Marinara sauce
Mozzarella cheese (shredded)

OK, let's start the clock. Tick-tock!
Turn on your oven and pre-heat it to 425F. This is when you start working on assembling your pizza. Spread marinara sauce onto the flatbread and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese, covering the entire flatbread. Tick-tock. Now, arrange pieces of pepperoni onto the cheese-covered flatbread. Cover that with more cheese. Tick-tock. It's only been less than 5 minutes and your pepperoni is already assembled and ready to start baking. At about this point, you'll probably hear your oven beeping, signaling that it is ready.

Well, what are you waiting for? The clock's ticking (literally)! Tick-tock......quickly shove the pizza into the oven, my friend! Phew....now it is just a waiting game. Tick-tock. 5-7 minutes is all you need in the oven for the cheese to melt into a gooey delicious mess. Tick-tock.

Ding! Pizza's ready!

Time to dig in, folks! It'll probably take you longer to eat the pizza than to assemble and bake this fresh pizza pie from scratch. Unbelievable!

NOTE: To jazz up your pizza just a little, try adding fresh basil (or dry basil flakes) together with garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper to the sauce. You can even think about different toppings. Enjoy!

October 2009 favourites

Happy Halloween!! Apologies for not being around on my blog or Twitter - I've been super busy, tired, and have had some personal stuff going on where I really wasn't in the mood for wearing make up, let alone talking about it! I'm back to normal now though and have some free time this weekend, so I hope to catch up on lots of posts, starting with this one - my monthly favourites.

I say it every month, but how quickly has this month gone?! It's not really been an adventurous month for me - I've been sticking to some firm favourites from last month, but have one or two extra's thrown in.

MAC eyeshadows

All That Glitters (right) - This was a favourite for me last month, and I've used it practically everyday this month. I wasn't going to feature it again, but I've used it almost every single day. I've only had it for about 7 weeks, so to hit pan in that time shows how much I love it.

Patina (left) - This is a gorgeous everyday neutral colour. It's a beige-gold and works really well as an all over lid colour, or in the crease when you want a simple and quick look. I love it paired with All That Glitters too.

Benefit Lipgloss - Zone Out

When I bought this lipgloss, I wasn't overly impressed with it. I thought it was way overpriced and nothing special, but it's the gloss I've been choosing during October. It looks stunning over MAC's Creme d'Nude lipstick (my favourite!). It kind of looks like you've smeared your lips in honey. It sounds gross but looks scrumptious. It smells lovely too. Don't underestimate it!

Barry M Nail Paint - Bright Red

I've only worn this on weekends because I think it's a bit OTT for work, but I've been complimented everytime I've worn it. It's a great Autumnal shade, or for when you want a quick and simple step to make you feel glam. Red nail polish is really hard to get right, I think. It can be quite slutty if it's slightly the wrong shade, but this is definitely not!

Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Lotion

I've recently been trying to use up a load of my body products - Project 10-pan for the bathroom if you like. This body lotion got pushed aside so I could use up my half empty ones, and it's only these last 3 weeks I've got back into using this. It smells soooooo good!! It's not a sickly vanilla ice cream scent, but a yummy, musky-type of vanilla. That's not making much sense, but sniff it and you'll see what I mean! I use it in the morning because it sinks in so quickly, and the smell lingers all day. I use it in the night sometimes too and it is such a soothing scent to fall asleep with. I won't be pushing this aside again in a hurry!

And since it's Halloween, here's a snap of my Auntie Lynne. Rawr... scary, right? haha

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend, whatever you may be doing :) xx

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Still Here

Just in case anyone is wondering or worried, I did arrive home safely, did not hand over my passport and become a ex-pat or anything. Just had to jump right back into work, (the day after I got home) and getting ready for The Wine Country's big Beaune Imports tasting, seriously going to be one of the finest tastings of the year....and between the jetlag, tons of work that was waiting for me and a slowly creeping-up-on-my-ass chest cold I just have not had the time or inspiration to write much, but I'll be back.

I still have more to say than anyone wants to hear, (like most bloggers) have opinions coming out my ass and I'm about to have one hell of a wine week so there will be lots to say, lots to share and plenty of things to write about. Oh on top of that...My Amy is flying in for a visit on Monday, (insert happy dance here..looks a little like Snoopy's dance but with more swing in the hips) so if anything was going to pull my head out of my, "I'm so blah after a wonderful vacation" ass, it's her. Just thought I should let the few regular readers I have, know what's going on let you all know that this blog is not going away......just taking a few days to get caught up!

Christmas Examiner

First article is up and my column is now active. Check it out at Christmas Examiner.

Interesting and Fun Facts about Halloween!!

When talking about Halloween, everyone usually thinks it as a children's holiday, where all kids get dressed up in crazy way and go door to door asking for candy. It is among the oldest celebrations in the world. Millions of people celebrate this day without knowing its origins. Facts about Halloween make this holiday more fascinating.

Halloween was started by Celts, who celebrated November 1st as a New Year on their calendar. A festival was held the evening before, on October 31st, in the honor of their Celtic lord “Samhaim” of death. Read More>>

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Reunion StrayDogs, Pest Infested: Esplanade

HEADLINES TODAY: October 31st, 2009.

They will recreate the Singapore weekends with their R&B and blues numbers, some of which were very much in demand with tea dance enthusiasts back in the late 60s and early 70s.

The original hits in this concert will include songs like Born in Chicago, All Along The Watch Tower, Walking the Dog, It’s All Over Now, Cold Morning, NSU and Freedom among other tea-dance session favourites.

Straydogs Present Line-up:
Kiang: Bassist, Terry Tan: Vocals/keyboard/harmonica, Anthony Toh: guitarist, Lim Thian Soon: Guitarist, Hensen Beng: Drums
Pest Infested Present Line-up
Ernie Koh: vocals/guitar/ harmonica, Loo Zhen Hoong: drums, Chris Ong: lead guitars,Tony Cheong: guitarist, David Ng: bassist.

Reference: Esplanade Website: http://www.esplanade.com/

Image/Pest Infested/Original: http://www.kiwi-us.com/

" Spooks, Storms & A Tour of The Farm "

I love all the images of Halloween! I love Ghosts, Goblins & Haunted Houses & Cemeteries !!


The Paranormal fascinates me! I 'm sure it's because I've had several paranormal experiences in my life and believe that there is so much more to this than some believe..........

I lived in a haunted house for 3 days in Joelton, Tn (a few miles north of Nashville) in 1974.

It was NOT a friendly spirit either! I've seen a full body apparition on NOT one, but two different occasions!! So yes, I know it's real!

So as Halloween creeps up on us, so does stormy weather...........Just before dawn

The storm clouds were gathering...........

There is a 100 % chance of storms tonight..............

Some could be severe the weather mans says. I hope they don't include heavy lightning and high winds!

Or make our skies as scary as this ...................

Last night Hubby and I shelled Pecans while we watched the Travel Channels Spook Shows!

This morning I went on a tour of the farm.........This is the Turnip Patch!

This is a Tropical Hibiscus that has gotten huge.............I'm going to cut it back and mulch it good and see if it will come back. They don't usually come back unless you keep then in a greenhouse.

This Cigar Bush dies back to the ground in winter then returns in the spring.

Some of the Roses are still blooming............

As are some Marigolds............

Love this Mandavillia! It will have to be dug up and put in the greenhouse.

These Orange Cannas keep reaching for the sky!

The Joseph's Coat is blooming again!

This Hot Pink Hardy Hibiscus must be 9 feet tall! We will cut it back to the ground in a few weeks. It will get even taller next year!

There are a lot of plants in the greenhouse that could still be out for awhile longer but we are just going to leave them in till spring because it's just easier to water them there.

These are the 2 Pagoda Bushes I ordered. We won't plant them till Spring.

I got these 2 fig Trees in Lafayette, Louisiana . We will get them out soon.

My pride and joy is this White Canna ! It has really grown and has a new shoot!

Those 3 little sticks in the long planter are Red Hardy Hibiscus..........

Ahhhh......my girls! There are several that should start laying anytime but in the meantime,

Miss Trix gives us an egg a day!

And Ole Oscar keeps the girls in line...........I think! May be the other way around!

Now after we got through with the Entertainment Center Hubby says: "no projects for awhile, I've earned a fishing trip"! I say; " you go for it" ! What does he do? Gathers the scrap lumber up and builds Roxie a DOG HOUSE !! HA!

MEN! Will we ever figure them out?????

Of course all 5 had to investigate and smell it! Roxie has spent this last 2 nights outside in it and did great! No barking! Not a peep! She will come in tonight though because I don't want her out in bad weather.................

I hope everyone had a good week and will enjoy this All Hallow's Eve !!!!!