A little sparkle!

Easter is just around the corner and this year it is going to be very meaningful to us as Captain’s family from Rome will be coming down to Dubai to celebrate with us.  Even though it is going to be sad without ‘Nonno’ as we fondly address my late father in law, but at least the family could get together and remember him. 

 I started buying small decorations to put the house in the Easter mood starting with these glittery eggs.  They are multicolored and so striking I can’t help but picked them and brought them home.  Captain’s niece, France would be all over them, definitely but she would be disappointed when she discovered there are no ‘sorpresa’ or surprises in the eggs!  In Italy, all Easter eggs come with a little surprise inside – from t-shirt to toys to jewelry.. you name it chances are they have it!  You’d never know what you’d get until you break them. Fun, isn’t it?

Speaking of glitters, today I chose this sparkling crystal embellished tank top to go with my loose white pants to run some errand.  I had this top for while now having bought them at Aizone, my favourite boutique here in Dubai.  It is cute and the colorful crystals just brighten up my day!  The denim shirts added a bit of masculinity and toughen up the whole outfit for that casual on the go look. 

Outfit

Cyrstal embellished top : Rawyalty

Denim shirt : Koton

Pants : GAP

Flats : Vera Wang Lavender

Bag/Carry-all : Gucci  

Leather Cuff : Uterque

Pictures by : AD

FOODIE WEEKEND - Quick Beef Stew

I have been down with cold for a few days and to add cherry on the cake, I injured myself during one of the yoga sessions (between downward dog and warrior one) and was diagnosed with protrusion disc (determined after half an hour spent in the MRI).  I was given some Arcoxia, anti-inflammation medicine and some muscle relaxant and was asked to stay away from the gym or yoga mat for 2 weeks until my next visit with the doctor.

So, moments like this I need some major consolation in the form of food but too lazy to labour too long in the kitchen.  After raiding my freezer and discovered that we had some nice cuts of steak, I decided to treat myself and the gang with some beef stew.  I called this beef stew ‘Quick’ because the other recipe for stew that I have requires 3 hours of cooking time which sometimes can be an inconvenience especially when you plan your cooking at the last minute.

This recipe is suitable for both beef or lamb and takes about an hour to prepare.

Quick Beef Stew

Ingredients (serves 4)

4-5 peices of beef steak, about 600 grms cut into peices.

( you can use beef cube instead but choose the tender part)

1 whole onion diced

2 clove of garlic

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme

2 potatoes, skinned and cubed

2 carrots skinned and cubed

2 celery stick chopped to about an inch long
(I didn't put this, it was not available in my fridge)

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon of flour

750 ml of beef stock

1 tablespoon of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Some extra virgin olive oil

Method

In a pot, heat some olive oil, then slightly cook the beef on high heat until slightly brown.
Remove and set aside

In the same pot using the leftover oil, add in the onion, garlic, potatoes and carrot (celery as well if you have) until colored. 

Then add the chopped tomatoes and stir well.

Add in the flour and stir until it is incorporated, no lumps left behind.

Return the beef back to pot and add in the stock and bay leaves.

Cover and let it cook for half an hour.

After half an hour, uncover and season stew with black pepper, salt and sugar.

Let it cook for another 15 minutes before adding the thyme.

Serve hot with some bread.

Mall Therapy

It finally rained yesterday here in Dubai after almost 2 years of no serious raining.  At least yesterday morning we could see the puddles on the street, wet grass in the garden and that fresh after rain breeze.  I sort of miss rainy days when the city literaly submerged after a few hours of rain and my wellies would make their appearence ;) 

Picture taken from my bedroom window about 2 years ago when it rained the last in Dubai. 

Captain went on his trip to Venice and I thought I would take some ‘fresh air’ aka mall therapy today.  Since I am still down with cold, I decided to put on this light poncho and scarf to protect myself from the full blast air conditioning in the mall.  Sometimes I think they are overdoing this air-conditioning thing especially at the malls.  Brrr...!

I love this poncho.  I have used it a lot especially when travelling in the aeroplane.  It is big and comfortable, just perfect!  The pink scarf has doubled as a sarong on many beach vacations.  It is big and bright and this dull (grey and black) outfit needed exactly that.

Outfit

Poncho : H&M

Leggings : Jane Norman

Scarf : Splash

Bag : Vintage Chanel

Booties :  Naturalizer

Bangles : Parfois

Ring : Gift from Captain

Pictures by : AD

The truth about high heels and me

Oh, high heels..  It is always bittersweet for me to talk about them.  How I love them.  I can spend hours at the shoe department in Harvey Nichols, trying them on.  Lately, there are so many beautiful pairs, so many styles and heights but sadly, most of them are not for me. 

Louboutin

I have a bunion on my right foot.  Yes, it may not be pretty but it is a common problem faced by many including fashionista and designer Victoria Beckham.  I do not actually remember when it actually happened.  What I remember is that when I was working in advertising as an Account Servicing Executive; I was running around between pitches in high heels.  It was never a problem for me.  I had many pairs and colors to match my suits (yes, those days in early 90s, ‘matchy-matchy’ was in) and how I rocked them.  Then I quit advertising industry and ventured into TV Production where most of the time people were in their tees, jeans and tennis shoes running around shoots and studios.  My high heels were forgotten, given away to siblings, friends or dusting in the shoe closet. 

Brian Atwood

Many years later,  I moved to Dubai and made some new friends.  I started going out with my new found friends for ‘girl brunch’ once a week.  Some of the ladies were wearing their high heels and I was inspired again.  But my heels, they didn’t like me anymore!  They hurt so bad after half an hour and made me wonder how did Victoria Beckham do it?  What’s her secret?  Maybe there is no secret.  Maybe you have to suffer for fashion.  Maybe that’s why she hardly smiles because her bunions are screaming inside those sky high Louboutin! 

YSL

So I stopped wearing heels, especially the court/closed type with pointy tips (Manolo? Forget it!) I stopped buying expensive shoes due to fear of wasting money if they didn’t work out for me.  

Nicholas Kirkwood

But a few days ago, my hope to be ‘elevated’ in style again was back as high as the 5 inches Brian Atwood, when I bought a pair of high heels from Nine West with rounder tips (think YSL Tribute pumps) just to see how I’d do in them and guess what?  They didn’t hurt!  I walked perfectly in them so far (errr, for about half hour)!  Maybe the rounder tips help.  Maybe it is too soon to judge.  I am going to try using the shoes until October (my next visit to the States) and if they worked out fine for me, I’m going to treat myself to a pair of YSL Tribo pumps and if not, I’ll just console myself with a pair of Chanel Cambon flats instead!  Either way, the wait will be worth it J

My 'training pair' Nine West. 

Does any of you ladies have the same problem?  If so, how do you manage? 

FOODIE WEEKEND -Cinnamon Rolls (First Attempt)

I have had this recipe for cinnamon roll in my recipe book forever but never made an attempt.   Recently while waiting in a queue at Cinnabon to take away some for the boys, I thought to myself why go through this trouble when I can bake my own (ya, right!)?   So when I broke the news yesterday that I am baking our own cinnamon roll and got a big “Yes!!” from the boys, I became more motivated.  I had all the ingredients at home except for the cream cheese.  Just the idea of changing and driving to the supermarket was not appealing at all so I decided no icing for now.

The rolls turned out not as good as I would like them to be.  There were some dents on some of the rolls if you look in the pictures. This is because during the second 'raising' process, the rolls got so big they bumped into each other and I had to separate them hence the dents.  Another thing, the bottom got slightly darker than the top and the seam on some came loose during the baking process.  Note for next batch, leave more space between rolls, use one of those  aluminum deep baking try not the black flat type I normally use to bake cookies ( I saw them used this type of tray at Cinnabon (yes, I went spying) and pinch more to tighten the cylinder before cutting.   Other than that, I think they tasted like cinnamon rolls should, the boys loved them and Captain thought they were a success. 

Maybe I should stick to queuing at Cinnabon instead.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients (makes about 14-15 rolls)

Dough:

1 cup whole milk

 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

3 1/2 cups  multi purpose flour

 

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

 

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

Nonstick vegetable oil spray or butter for greesing. 

Filling:

3/4 cup packed, golden brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

1/4 cup unsalted butter, soften

Method

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Mix together melted butter, milk, 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, salt and beat on low speed (I use the food processor.  You can also use the dough mixer) , remembering to scrape down sides of bowl.

 Add another 2 cups of  flour and beat until dough is sticky.  Gradually add the other 1/2 cup of flour   until dough begins to pulls away from sides of the mixing bowl.

Transfer the dough onto lightly floured table or kitchen top. Knead until elastic and less sticky.  Add  more flour if needed.  Form into a ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray.  Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let dough rise in warm place until raisen.  I use a pre-heated oven for this purpose.

.

Transfer dough back to the work surface and roll out  into a rectangle, long side closer to you.

Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border then sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over it.

Starting at the long side closer to you, roll dough into tight cylinder pinching gently to seal it.  Gently even out the thickness of the cylinder. 

With seam side down, cut dough into equal size.

Arrange the rolls on a pre-greesed baking dishes (cut side down) leaving enough room between them. Cover baking dishes damp kitchen towel leave it to rise in warm area until almost doubled in volume.

Bake rolls  in a pre-heated 190/375 degrees oven for about 20 minutes or until golden .

Remove from oven and immediately transfer onto a cooling rack.

Serve warm.

                                                  

                   For you who wants to try out the cream cheese icing, here is the recipe.  

Icing (Optional)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
3 tablespoons milk


5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups




Method


Beat cream cheese in a bowl until creamy.


Add the milk and beat until combined.


Add in powdered sugar, and beat until smooth.


Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

Girls day out

Today I took some time off from home to meet up with my girlfriend, N.  I haven't seen her since I came back from Rome which was like almost 3 weeks ago!  Since she herself had just gotten back from her vacation in the Maldives, we had so much to catch up while spending some 'girl time browsing the mall!

I met N when I moved to Dubai about 7 years ago and slowly we became good friends.  We share the same hometown and even more bizzare, were in the same high-school!  Even though we never met in high-school (she's a couple of years my junior) but that never stopped us from getting along.  On top of that, her husband and Captain are colleague.  Cool, isn't it?

  

Even if N and I are different in many ways, we managed to stay close because we accept each other just the way we are. We do not critisized how we differently decided to live our lives or dress up but instead support each other and celebrate each others fortune and success and in tough time, lend a helping hand and be a family to each other when our own families are so far away from us.

She might not be my best friend and vice versa but I truly appreciate her friendship, time and sincerity and for that I can never thank her enough but hope to be the same to her.

So, what happen whenever me and N meet?  We raid the stores!  And for this I decided to put on something simple and casual, easy for me to get in and out in the fitting room.   After a few hours of browsing and a dozen of phone calls from our homes (yes, the kids they hunt us down whenever we go out) she ended up buying a nice pair of leather jacket, after looking for a perfect one for quite sometime and I came home with a little something for myself too :) 

Outfit

Top : Walt Disney (a gift from my sister)

Cardigan : Express

Leggings : Norma Jane

Shoes : Cole Haan

Bag : Mulberry Alexa

Necklace : X'mas present from the boys a few years ago

Pictures by : N

Myth – If I eat less I’d lose weight fast. Busted!

This is a normal scenario :


You were a few kilos over from your ideal weight and desperately needed to lose that extra kilos by the end of the month so you could attend the famous high school reunion and face your longtime nemesis in style.  So you started eating a leaf of salad, a few cuts of fruits and drink liters of green tea in the pursuit of that dream weight, but after a week of starvation and kilos of salad, to the point that your urine turned green, nothing happened!  You started getting desperate and cut down on your fruit intake, maybe it’s the sugar, you thought and still not much happened.  What did you do wrong?

Answer :


You are not eating enough to loose weight.  Eating too few calories can actually inhibit weight loss. 

Surprised? 

Fact :


When not enough calories are consumed for the body’s basic need to sustain itself, the metabolism rate starts to slow down.  This is because the brain is telling the body that there are not enough calories to save itself and as a result the body will hold on to whatever calories at present hence the failed weight loss.


Solution:

The secret to healthy weight loss is quite simple.  Eat the amount of calories your body needs to sustain itself  (between 1,200 to 1,500 per day for women and more if you work out, about 1,700 to 1,800) by eating 4-5 small meals throughout the day, paying extra attention on sugar and fat intake.  To speed up the process, do a 20 to 30 minutes light workout 4-5 times a week.    Drink  at least 2 litres of water daily to flush out the toxins and excess water in your system (yes, water eliminates water!) and in a few weeks you should be able to see results, fit into that Herve Leger dress you saved for that special occasion and watch the jaws of your nemesis drop to the floor! 


Priceless!

FOODIE WEEKEND - Easy Peasy Thick Pumpkin Soup

Ever since we came back from Rome, Captain has been down with on and off cough and cold.   I don’t know why but I tend to associate cold with soups and for that reason, we have been having thick vegetable soups for dinner. The twins are not a big fan of vegetables but blessfully, they love vegetable soups especially when accompanied by some nice crunchy bruschetta on the side.

So for my food entry this time, I am going to share with you a simple recipe but good enough to serve as starter when entertaining.  This recipe is not restricted to pumpkin or squash only, you can also use carrot, potato, broccoli or zucchini.  I prefer pumpkin because the soup will turned out so flavoursome and naturally sweet.  Carrot soup is a big hit here in our house too for the same reason.

Easy Peasy Thick Pumpkin soup

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

1 kg of pumpkin skinned, seeded and diced.  You can also use squash or any other suitable vegetable

1 whole onion (big) diced 

2 clove garlic minced. 

1 1/2 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme.

Some extra virgin olive oil. 

750 ml of vegetable stock or water with 1 1/2 vegetable cubes.   I use Kallo Organic. Remember to turn the cube into liquid stock before cooking.

50 ml of low fat thick cooking cream (optional).  I use President light. 

Some ground black pepper and salt for seasoning

Method

In a pot, heat some extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onion until slightly soft.

Add in the pumpkin and saute together for 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour in the stock.  

Leave to boil until pumpkin started to soften.

Using a hand blender, blend the content of the pot until smooth.

Stir in the cream and add the chopped fresh thyme.

Finally season with black pepper and salt . 

Dribble a little bit of extra virgin olive oil just before serving. 

Don't forget some freshly baked bread!

Label Crush - ABS

I was not familiar with this label called ABS http://www.absstyle.com/ until I stumbled on their beautiful pieces while shopping online. I have to say I want, I want, I want!! The best part about this label is that the pieces are affordable and will not put a hole in your wallet. I am lusting over these pieces now and hoping to try them on soon!

I love the blowy asymmetrical hemline that gives a romantic vibes to these dresses.  The pink dress is spot on for this season.

Drop waist dresses - a pinch of bohemian teamed with this season trend, stripes!  Perfect day time dresses for spring!

Mini cocktail dresses, every wardrobe staple in simple black and on trend color blocking.