Friday Five - September Holiday Activities

It's the September holidays again, and though Kaitlin will still be attending CC I thought it would be a good idea to see what's happening and I chanced upon some of these interesting activities for kids that we might head to during the weekend.

For those of you with kids that have an actual one week school term break, and are totally unsure of what to do..I hope this helps:

Sentosa Buskers Festival

Expect wacky street performances from both local and international buskers. Not only that, you can try your hand at juggling and acrobatics. There's also a Beer Garden and Food Street for you to chillax and get some yummy food as you get wow-ed away by the performers. You might even chance upon some unique finds at the Flea and Art Market. For every island admission ticker purchased from 9 to 15 September, $1 will be donated to charity. More information here.

The Tale of The Frog Prince

Recommended for kids aged 2 to 6 years old, this musical play by the Singapore Repertory Theatre will teaches children the importance of friendship, treating everyone with kindness and respect and how to never judge a book by its cover. Get your tickets at Sistic.


Panda Party at River Safari

Pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia celebrate their birthdays and first anniversary in Singapore during the month of September and in conjunction, the River Safari is having a Panda Party for the kids! Expect activities like a guided tour of the Panda Forest, face painting and more. There will also be nice panda-themed bites and wild discounts on panda merchandise.

Singapore Maritime Gallery 1st Anniversary Carnival

Who doesn't love a carnival? Besides exploring the maritime gallery, children can also look forward to a pirate ship bouncy castle, maritime story telling sessions, learning how to tie a sailor's knot from a sailor and much more! If transport's a problem, fret not as there will be a free shuttle bus service between Marina Bay MRT Station and the gallery on weekends.

Winter Playground at Changi Airport

As part of the 'Simply Switzerland' event happening at Changi Airpot, there's a Winter Playground for the kids to enjoy. Look forward to a giant inflatable and a ski carousel. Entry into the playground requires you to spend a minimum amount at any Changi Airpot outlet. More information here.



Linking up with:

Friday Five - DIY Teacher's Day Gifts

It's been quite a while since my last Friday Five post, and I'm finally back with five of my favorite DIY Teachers' Day gifts.

Teachers' Day is coming up and to be exact, it falls on 6 September this year.  Kaitlin's teachers have been such a great help in her development and learning process, that I felt a DIY gift would be so much more meaningful to gift compared to a store-bought one. So on to Pinterest I went!

(via Hello Bee)

(via Eat Sleep Cuddle)

(via Blog Her)

(via Wit and Whistle)

(via The Etsy Blog)

If you decide that you want your gifts to be witty and "pun-ny", here are some cute options as well:

(via Pinterest)

Hope that helps! For more inspiration, you can hop on over to my Pinterest and click the "For the teachers" board.

Friday Five: Outdoor Photoshoot Tips

I recently blogged about our family outdoor photoshoot with Natsuki, and I thought it would be a good idea to share 5 tips I found useful in preparing for ours:

1. Timing: Pick a timing to shoot when the sun's up, but not too hot. Natural light is your best friend. Remember to consider your child's naptime, so he/she won't end up being cranky. It's best not to have it done during their usual naptime or right after they've just woken up and during.

2. Sunblock: Remember to apply sunblock for yourself and your kids. It's "just 1 or 2 hours, but your skin's still exposed to the sun so it's best to protect it.

3.Theme and props: It would be great if you and your family could think of some themes for your photoshoot. Helps you get into the mood, and also in your choosing of props. I found it useful to go on Pinterest and even do a simple google image search for some inspiration. Some photographers will provide basic props, so if you don't have time to get any that's fine. If you do have the time, and don't want to be the same like everyone else, bring or even make your own props. You can easily find props from things you have at home or at stores like Daiso.

4. Co-ordinate: I find that it's nicer to co-ordinate outfits with the rest of your family. This doesn't mean that everyone has to match and be wearing the exact same shirts, but more of colour or style co-ordinating. Perhaps Dad could wear a blue polo, mom in a blue dress, and son wearing a blue pair of shorts. Or everyone could be wearing shorts/sneakers.

5. Last-minute is a no-no: From my experience, it's never good to leave things to the last minute, especially when you've to deal with kids. Go for that hair cut the day before, plan your outfit before you go to bed, and make and pack your props early. This is especially if your shoot is early in the morning and is a distance away. You don't want to end up rushing and getting flustered and unhappy cos it'll just show in the photos.

Hope those tips help, and don't forget to bring along some bottles of water and even some snacks. It's gonna be hot outdoors, so you'll need to hydrate alot. Snacks are useful just in case the kids get hungry or bored. Last but not least, don't forget to have lots of fun!

Linking up with:

Friday Five - Pancake Party

Sudden craving for pancakes even though I just had some pancakes for brekkie yesterday morning. Salivating over these:

via une-deux senses

via Cooking Classy

via Recipe Girl

via Call Me Cupcake

via Desserts for Breakfast

Looks yummy right? I might try a few recipes sans sugar and substitue with lots of fresh fruits for Kaitlin! 

I know I promised to update about Daddy Li's birthday. Will blog about it soon. In the meantime, have a good weekend :)

Friday Five - Christmas Desserts

We are only a few days away to Christmas!! It's so exciting, even though to be frank, I've got no concrete plans on my side. Haha but just the thought of Christmas coming makes me really happy :D I hoped the Friday Five Christmas themed posts in the past few weeks have helped you to get ready for Christmas in some way or other. 

To end off the Christmas series, here are five super cute and super easy to make Christmas desserts that you could add to your Christmas brunch/lunch/dinner menu or even just a Christmas activity for you to do together with your family on Christmas day :) It's definitely something different than the usual log cake. 

via Pizzazzerie

via Liv Life

via Just A Taste 

via Anna and Blue Paperie

via Daisy's World

Here's wishing all readers a Merry Christmas filled with love, joy and peace! Let's all be thankful that the world has not ended (as according to the Mayan calendar) and be grateful for everything that we have. Enjoy your Christmas holidays guys :D

Friday Five - Christmas Wrapping

It has been an insanely busy week, and I'm so glad it's Friday. Well, kind of. I say kind of cos well time is ticking too fast, and it's almost X'mas and almost the end of the year. Noooooo...I still have so many things on my to-do list. Now is the time where I wish I have some super fancy device to stop time. Yes, I do know that it's near impossible for that to happen, but I can only hope.

Back to my point! Speaking of Friday, this week's Friday Five is all about wrapping those Christmas presents. If you still haven't started buying your presents..WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU INSANE?! I say this only because well we all know how crowded town is gonna be with the days nearing to X'mas. Better start shopping for your presents especially since there are many great deals going all around the malls.

So well, if you are the kind who pays close attention to tiny details, and are most likely to be wrapping the presents yourself and enjoy personalising them here's are some easy-to-execute ideas I found over Pinterest:

via Project Wedding

via Homemade Ginger

via Cotton and Flax

via Nashville Wraps

via The Merriment Blog

Hope you like some of the ideas that I picked out, which can be useful for you not only during this festive season, but also for presents that you want to gift for birthdays/teachers' day/mother or fathers' day/any other day you feel like giving a present! All very easy to do in my opinion and don't cost much. Plus, it'll definitely be a statement present compared to the others! Also, if you are all about saving the trees and being eco-friendly, you can use fabric to wrap presents as well. Don't have to buy them..they can be scraps of pretty fabric from your stash.

All materials can be easily bought at stationery and art stores like Popular and Art Friend. You can head down to Bras Brasah and you should be able to easily find what you need. For fabrics, you can try Spotlight, Daiso, Textile Centre or the Arab street and Chinatown area.

Hope that helps you. If you've got a great DIY to share, just drop a comment below :) For more inspiration and other Christmas pins head on over to my Christmas Pinterest board. I'll be posting Christmas related pins all the way till Christmas Day :)

Friday Five: DIY Christmas Gifts

Out of ideas on what to gift your friends and loved ones, or on a tight budget? Or do those christmas gift sets filling the shelves not make "the perfect present"? Why not consider DIY-ing a christmas gift instead?

There are like a billion possible presents you can D-I-Y, but here are my favourites:

For the mom/wife or the friend who loves to cook:

via The Gilded Hare

For the friend who loves to look good, feel good and smell good:

via The Idea Room

For the husband/father/ or that quirky/hipster/guy friend:

via The Tortoise and The Hare

For a baby or the expecting friend:

via Chez Beeper Baby

For the kids or anyone who loves their lego:

via Meet The Dubiens

Hope that gives you some ideas on what you can DIY! It doesn't have to big or perfect, I'm sure whoever receives it will appreciate the thought and love that was put into the present. For more ideas, head on over to my Christmas Pinterest Board! I'll be pinning more Christmas-related pins up till Christmas so remember to check back or you can follow me for easy updates :)


Less than 20 days to X'mas! Are you in the festive mood already? I definitely am :D:D

Friday Five: DIY Christmas Ornaments

It's been a pretty busy and crazy week, so I'm sorry for the lack of posts. But, as promised I shall continue with the Friday Five Christmas Series :)

We've set up our Christmas Tree except for a few final touches which I hope will make our tree more special and meaningful to us. I'll snap a picture and show you guys the tree when it's all done. Meanwhile, I'm sure many of you would have been thronging shops buying Christmas ornaments and perhaps couldn't find something to make your tree unique or maybe you've already set up your trees, but it's lacking that something special...how about DIY-ing your ornaments?

It's a fun activity to do with kids (it could even be an advent activity), and no one else would have an identical ornament as you :D Plus, DIY-ing means spending less money on ornaments which have been crazily priced other than at Daiso. Here are five DIY Ornaments you could make together with your family and involve no or minimal sewing (great for ppl like me who can't sew for nuts!):

via Fancy House Road

via The Journals of Giddy Giddy

via How About Orange

via Ambrosia Girl

via One Artsy Mama

I love how some of these are so simple to do and yet they turn out so pretty at the same time! Sometimes less is more don't you think so? Plus, I love how you can recycle some items like bottle caps or even use your old ornaments to make new ones. So environmentally friendly and good for the pocket! 

If you want to check out more DIY Christmas Ornaments, you can check out my Christmas board on Pinterest. Don't forget to follow me for more Christmas pins :) Have a great time welcoming the start of December and all things fun, festive and merry over the weekend xx

Friday Five - Christmas Advent Calenders

I'm sure everyone is starting to get into the Christmas mood, especially with all the streets and malls being decorated up and all the awesome Christmas gift sets on display + christmas sales starting! 

So from now till the week of Christmas, I'll be posting Christmas related things for every week of Friday Five. Starting it off would be five of my favourite DIY Christmas Advent Calendars I've spotted on Pinterest! 

If you don't know what an Advent Calender is..it's used to countdown the days to Christmas and is either filled with toys/gifts/activities to do together. Typically it's the usual cloth or paper chart, but I've come across alot of unique and pretty ways to do up your Advent Calender, you can check out more ideas over at my Pinterest (@beaverwoo)!

via paige + modern

via The Feminist Housewife

via Little House Blog

via Twig and Thistle

via Design Sponge

If you've got a DIY Advent Calendar to share or have come across any unique ones comment below :) Would love to check them out. Happy Weekend :)

Friday Five - Baby Shoes

Have been on the lookout for cute shoes for babygirl cos she is going to be outgrowing her Hello Kitty Vans and Bobux one real soon. It's really difficult to find pretty shoes that are comfy and suited for our tiny one's little feet so here are my favourites that I've found so far:

via Carter's

via Little Blue Lamb

via Roobez

via Wee Squeak

via Ralph Lauren

Yes, I prefer the shoes that I buy for Kaitlin to be in easy matching colours cos she has a tonne of clothes and they are all different colours so a neutral colour like white would be great, but they get dirty easily so got to take proper care of them. Of course pink is a must, plus half her clothes are pink anyway! If you're interested in getting the shoes above, they are all still currently available on their online shops and Ralph Lauren and Carter's are having a sale!!

Might be heading down to the baby fair at Expo this weekend to look-see and get Kaitlin a pair of shoes. Hopefully I would be able to restrain my purchases to just shoes and maybe educational materials and not end up buying clothes and toys!

Oh yes, if you are wondering what are some good shoe brands for kids (I've known of some and also did some research) besides the above brands mentioned, here's a list:
1. Bobux
2. Stride Rite
3. See Kai Run
4. Pediped
5. Pitter Patter
7. Livie and Luca
6. Vans
8. Toms
9. Keds
10. Umi
11. Jemos
12. Pedoodles
13. Converse
14. Superga


If you know of any good brand that's not been mentioned, please share! Afterall, a girl can never have enough shoes :)

Friday Five - National Peanut Butter Lovers Month!

It's only the second day of November, but it has started out gloomy on my side. Most of the gloominess is due to the weather. Yesterday was mostly an on and off rain day, and it seems like an impending heavy rainfall will hit us for the rest of the week. Been reading snippets of news about Hurricane Sandy, and that really makes me feel sad :(

It's like why must there always be a hurricane or a tsunami happening every other year :( global warming needs to stop! I know that's impossible, but seriously I would want my great grandchildren to still be able to see trees and breathe clean air.

Another gloomy matter..my babygirl is down with a cold. Been a week, and we have brought her to the docs on Tues but she's recovering really slow. Thankfully, and I am really thankful, she is still as active and happy :)

In light of all things gloomy, this week's Friday Five shall be food related, and what better than licking spoonfuls of peanut butter from the jar to drive away all the blues!

Bet you didn't know November is National Peanut Butter Lovers Month! I don't think I know of anybody who does not like peanut butter..okay, so maybe there are one or two people who don't but seriously it's peanut butter!

This is really random, but I'm just wondering..if people who like smooth and chunky types of peanut butter have different types of personalities or outlook on life? I'm more of a chunky peanut butter type of person..but I do find myself wanting some smooth peanut butter on days where I feel like I need some calm in my life..okay that was really random.

Back to the point of this post! If you've gotten bored of licking peanut butter off the spoon or having pb & j sandwiches, here are five peanut butter recipes that look oh so yummy that i've got to share:

via Bakers Royale

via Spoon Fork Bacon

via TheKitchn

via Sophisticated Gourmet

via Sally's Baking Addiction

Feel free to check our my Pinterest (@beaverwoo) for more Peanut Butter recipes. Look under Sweet Treats :) If you've got a recipe to share, please drop a comment as well, interested to check them out!