Sunday, March 04, 2012

Being Kind to the Environment - a Mom's Way :)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make.

I love the environment *ceh, pengumuman yang agak poyo*

Well I do! Seriously. I try to bring my own bag to shop on Saturday, I travel by bike to reduce my carbon prints (and fuel expenses), I refuse plastic bag when I only purchase few items, I like to patron environmental-friendly retail like The Body Shop and recently I started buying Lunatots cloth diaper for Khayla.

I stumbled upon Lunatots booth which was one of the popular booth in the Motherhood & Baby Expo at KL Convention Centre. I've always been interested to try their products especially the cloth diaper, but I did not because:

1. Friends tell me that it's not really practical for busy working mom like me. Especially since I'm working and studying at the same time so I will not have the time to wash the diapers.

2. It's expensive (during the expo, I bought 3 pieces for RM60+/each), and certainly buying 2-3 is not enough to make economic sense of it.

So for a few months I live with the guilty conscience that I'd opted for convenience rather than being kind to the environment *thinking of how many acres of landfills that are being filled with Khayla's used diapers*

But somehow my colleague managed to persuade me to give it a try. Plus, they have a new model of cloth diaper where the insert is clipped to the outer layer. So when the insert is soiled, all we need to do is to change the insert and not have to wash the whole thing.

Eh, so easy meh?

Yup, it is:

Just pin the insert onto the outer layer and when it's time to change (roughly 4 hours later, if baby didn't poo), un-pin the insert and change with new one!

Senang kan? ^_^

But then, some of you may argue - kena cuci la, dah la insert warna putih mesti susah nak tanggal kotoran najis especially poo baby!

I also thought along the same line but when I tried it, the stains came off easily! Even when Khayla poo in the diaper, I just have spray off the hard stools into the toilet bowl, then put the whole thing in the washing machine. When it's done, tadah, as good as new!

The inconvenience part is actually not that bad, and furthermore I can save 2 diapers per day (coz I only have 3 inserts right now, but I can probably save a lot more if I have more reusable inserts).

That means I only put on disposable diapers on Khayla before bedtime and when we are going out (to be fair, the disposable diapers have better absorbency so it can last the whole night so I am still not doing away with it yet).

Suami Terchenta however is still not impressed with the cloth diaper idea because it sometimes leaks. So I read up the facts on diyaluna.com website (the genius who came up with Lunatots brand and also a user of Msjbox) and found out that new inserts need to be washed several times prior to use as new clothes still repel water. I only washed it once, and that explains the leaking. Problem solved!

Here's the 3 cloth diapers that I bought and they came in gorgeous colours, especially the purple one :P

Doesn't it look just like regular diaper, only more chic and stylo?

Since I love style, comfort and convenience, this is one purchase that I'm not regretting an highly recommended. Seriously, sangat la senang memakai lampin kain moden jenama Lunatots ni.

Kan Diyaluna kan? :)

Khayla wearing the purple cloth diaper macam takde apa2 yang baru berlaku

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Jalan-jalan Cari Makan: Restoran Salero Negori

Pernah tak bila family korang datang melawat korang di KL dan korang memecah otak fikir kat mana nak bawak dieorang makan?

Well, aku selalu mengalaminya. Sebab. Kami suami isteri jarang makan di luar dan tidak berapa food adventure semenjak ada anak ni. Tiba2 kena makan di luar agak sedikit culture shock.

Tapi al-kisah. Suatu hari aku kena melawat seorang staff yang tak sihat di area Keramat. Dalam perjalanan balik, tiba2 (ceh, semua dalam cerita aku adalah peristiwa yang tak dirancang!) aku ternampak restoran ni:

Restoran Salero Negori

Ya, itulah dia restoran Salero Negori. Lokasinya agak tersembunyi, mungkin sebab tu la tak ramai pelanggan.

So since my dearest sister ni beriya2 nak merasa masakan negori ni, ater kome bawak la dia ke mari (eh, betul ke slang aku ni?).

Kami pesan daging salai masak lemak, sayur paku masak tempoyak, ikan masin, dan ayam goreng kampung. Not exactly masakan negori, tapi saja nak merasa. Minuman pulak, order teh botol.

Daging salai masak lemak, sayur paku masak tempoyak, ikan masin, dan ayam goreng kampung

The verdict. Servis cepat dan mesra. Suasana santai. Makanan pula unfortunately bagi aku takde la special sangat, sekadar memenuhi syarat je. Nak kata tak sedap, bohong la tu. Tapi nothing to rave about. Harga, agak mahal dan tak sesuai dimakan hari-hari sebab poket akan confirm ranap.

Aku suka teh botol tu, rasanya sangat klasik dan mengingatkan aku teh kampung. Overall, boleh la bagi 2 bintang :)

So next time family datang dari jauh dan mintak masakan Negeri Sembilan boleh la bawak makan di sini. Not the best in town, but at least there is one in case someone feels like it.

Next, kami singgah di KLCC dan jalan-jalan cari makan di Ben's pada sebelah malam pulak. Tapi itu next story ya? :)

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Dinner at Hokkaido Seafood Restaurant KL

My sister is in town.

Bila ada family datang haruslah membawa makan di tempat yang sedap. Eh. Bukan tempatnya yang sedap, makanan yang sedap.

Sebelum ni kalau cerita tempat makan sedap (makanan sedap maksud aku), terus terbayang Gold Coast, Bagan Lalang. Tapi tidak terasa hendak spend time yang lama di dalam kereta semata-mata untuk seekor ketam dan sejemput udang.

Lalu teringat bos En Suami Terchenta pernah bawak kami makan di sebuah restoran Cina yang halal di tengah bandar.

So malam itu kami pergi ke Hokkaido. Jangan silap ye, Hokkaido tu bukan daerah di Jepun tu tapi restoran Cina di Jalan Pekeliling.

Restoran tu sangat la penuh, tapi memandangkan kami datang dengan sebakul bayi (HAHAHAHA!) - si Khayla tengah tido pulak so haruslah mengangkut dia dan car seat nya sekali. Terus kami diberi keutamaan dan dapat pulak seat di dalam, directly di bawah aircond. Terus bertambah nyenyak bayi itu tido.

Walaupun restoran penuh tapi servisnya amat cepat. Tak sampai 5 minit pelayan datang untuk ambik pesanan.

Kami order ketam sweet & sour, dimakan dengan mantou (ban kukus), ikan siakap stim kicap, asparagus goreng belacan dan prawn butter.

Tak sampai 15 minit, ketam dah sampai:

Ketam yang segar dan sedap, isinya kental dan kuahnya pedas tapi fuh,, meletops!

Tak lama kemudian ikan pulak sampai, diikuti dengan asparagus. Aku suka asparagus tu, memang terasa sangat udang kering tumbuk which blends perfectly with the taste of asparagus...

Khayla pulak menikmati ban kukus dengan penuh berselera dan sangat suka ikan kukus yang segar tu.

Tapi paling aku suka ialah udang butter. Rugi pulak tak ambik gambar tapi memandangkan tangan masing2 kotor meratah ketam, so tiada perasaan hendak mengambil gambar. Maybe next time.

Kami makan sampai tak larat. Bila bil sampai, to our pleasant surprise harga makanan dan minuman semuanya tak sampai RM150. Memang berbaloi :)

Kalau sesiapa terasa nak makan seafood di tengah KL ni, boleh la pergi ke restoran Hokkaido yang terletak bertentangan dengan AC Hotel (dulu dikenali sebagai Hotel Vistana), dan tak jauh daripada stesen bas di Jalan Pekeliling. Datang awal sikit, sebab restoran ni memang ramai pengunjung tak kira bangsa.

Thanks sis, belanja makan malam tadi. Really sedap dan truly appreciated!

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Monday, February 13, 2012

Khayla - 14 months old

Today when I picked up Khayla at the daycare, her babysitter related a story about my precious lapis lazuli while putting on her shoes,

'Today she shows her temper. She was playing with a toy and cannot took it apart. So she screamed angrily at it! Huiyo, this girl ah, got temper satu macam!'

I thought back of myself at the office - how I easily lose mine too whenever something went wrong.

*slap on forehead*

Like mother, like daughter!

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Monday, January 23, 2012

De-cluttering my space-challenged wardrobe

Tonight I have nothing better to do so I decided to de-clutter my wardrobe and make room for new clothes (heh, my new year resolution is to buy nice clothes that I will feel confident in my own skin!).

I started the de-cluttering process at 8pm. At first I wanted to change the shelving system by moving the lower shelf to above the hanging rod. But my ever so helpful hubby told me that the cupboard is not designed to be flexible.

Immediately I hate my cupboard. Baru nak berangan2 ada wardrobe macam dalam katalog IKEA. Ces.

Anyway I had to work around the same look but I lowered the shelf to just above the bottom box where I store our kain batik and pelikat. I'll probably nail the shelf tomorrow when we can do noisy work (night-time is a no-no).

I racked my brain and godek2 the Internet to find some inspirations as to how to fully maximize my very small cupboard to store our clothes.

To my irritation, when I googled 'how to organise clothes in small cupboard' the images that appeared are wardrobe that are not small at all, they can even hold a few shelves of shoes! Hmmph. I guess the Western people's idea of small is not that small. Spacious to them is a walk-in wardrobe or closet after all!

So yeah, i was on my own to create a tidy, organized and highly functional wardrobe out of such a confined space.

The first thing I did was to take out all the clothes and separate them according to 'daily use', 'work wear', and 'cannot use anymore'. The latter is then further filtered into two categories - 'torn/yellowed/broken zip' and 'can't fit anymore but can still wear'. I then decided that I could make some money by selling the expensive pre-loved and not fit clothes anymore later.

Once I've sorted out the clothes, I chose which clothes to keep folded on racks and which to hang. Basically those that are hung are jackets, trousers, coats, robe, and baju Melayu/kurung, while daily wear like blouses and work wear shirts are folded and kept on racks.

My biggest headache when it comes to messy cupboard are t-shirts. They are worn on daily basis, and therefore cannot be stacked folded because they'll end up coming undone when we pull them out. Knowing my dear hubby the type that can't be bothered to keep the cupboard in pristine conditions, I had to find a solution to store then in such a way that won't create a mess when we need to take one.

I had the 'a-hah!' moment when I remembered that we had a shelving organizer bought from IKEA we hardly used now that we had moved into new house. Previously I kept our little stuffs like socks and undies in the organiser but it was usually under-

I tied the organiser to the rod, rolled the t-shirts and slot them into the small shelf according to colours. When I was done, I beamed at my own work.

Don't they just look lovely and tidy?

Same goes for the bath towels. Initially I plan to keep the towels in the bathroom cabinet once it is installed. But since our bathroom is still in progress, I just stack them vertically in the box so it can easily be pulled out when we want one without messing the others.

The de-cluttering process ended at 12am. Phew! But overall I'm happy with the result. It just goes to show that even with limited space,I can still have a pretty organised cupboard.

I've also made up my mind with each new item I purchase, I'll take out one item that I hardly use so I won't end up hoarding stuffs that will end up overcrowding my wardrobe.

Now I can stock up on new clothes. Hurray! If only I have tonnes of money to buy clothes right now in the midst of home renovation! :P

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