Penang Holiday

Every year in March, we travel up north for my late FIL's anniversary prayers. Since the whole family gets together, it's usually extended to be a family holiday as well. Pretty good tradition actually. This year, we went to Penang for 3D,2N after the prayers.

We stayed at a new boutique hotel called Hotel Penaga which is centrally located along the UNESCO world heritage site. Basically, we parked our cars in front of the hotel when we arrived and only sat in the cars again when it was time to leave. Yup, we just went around on foot (oh, plus a 40 minute trishaw ride which came with the room package).

Walking along the Heritage Trail

ZZZZZ.......just like her jie jie, Erin wasn't too interested in history :-)

ZZZZ. "Just wake me up when you'll are done ok?"

Went into the Pinang Peranakan House for the first time.
Not exactly cheap at RM 10 per person. We paid close to RM100 for all of us.
I was excited to visit since scenes from the series Little Nyonya (Chen's family house) were shot here.

Grand dining area
I mentioned my visit to my colleague from Penang. She said it was actually her ancestral home! But her granduncle sold it to a buyer who restored the home to its current condition.

Courtyard

My little princess and I

After the walk, we spent some time just chilling in the hotel. Loved it so much that I took loads of photos. (BUT I actually forgot to take photos of the yummy Penang food we had !). So here's more, on top of what was posted earlier.

Library Area
I love the combination of old and new. Btw, it's rather an artsy-fartsy hotel as it's designed/owned by the famous local architect Hijjas Kasturi.

Lobby

Penaga Spa
We took their Monday promotion - RM120 for one hour massage for TWO pax.
The massage was really good.

Swimming Pool

View of swimming pool from the dining area
Such a clever idea in terms of space utilisation! Though narrow, the pool was long enough for doing laps (and for our group with kids, we may not have chosen this hotel if there was no pool) and it served an extra purpose of being aesthetically pleasing to the eye from the dining room.

Had our last day lunch in the hotel to utilise our RM40 food voucher
The package we took was RM670 net for 2 nights, inclusive of a 40 minute trishaw ride and RM40 food voucher (bowl of noodles about RM13 each).
For the nice hotel and great service, I think it was good choice to stay there. :)

"Mummy, we must come back to this hotel ok?"

9 Months Old

Baby Erin is now 9 months old.


About her:

1. Weight : approx 8.5kg

2. She has two teeth on her lower gum now.

3. She claps whenever anyone sings "Happy Birthday to You"!
The song is really like a cue for her to clap. Once when she was crying cos she fell down, my mum sang "Happy Birthday to You" and she clapped even with tears streaming down her face. He he.

4. Oh dear, she has give up the "Most Well Behaved Baby" award these days. She can really scream when she wants something.
psst: I suspect Elyssa jie jie has been giving her secret night lessons on how to be a fierce baby. ;)

5. She can hardly sit still. Nicknamed "little worm" because of that.

6. Can cruise confidently.

7. She's at the stage where she loves to ransack things. And loves putting stuff into her mouth.

8. I think she has the most innocent smile!

Hotel Penaga, Penang

During our recent Penang holiday, we stayed at a heritage boutique hotel called Hotel Penaga. The hotel itself is converted from a row of pre-war shop lots and it's located along the heritage trail. Absolutely loved it! Nice heritage feel but with all the modern amenities for a comfortable stay.

I took plenty of photos :)

The room was big!

Elyssa on the comfy king sized 4 poster bed

TV, Writing table and Lazy chair

Sofa

Erin in the Playpen we requested
(actually, that's for Elyssa to sleep since Erin has to sleep next to me)

Bathroom Door with Stained Glass Panels

Yay! Jacuzzi in the bathroom!

Shower area with SIX shower heads!

Bathtime for Erin

The girl really enjoyed the jacuzzi

Even the corridors had plenty of character!

Sofa and other furnishings at the end of the corridor

Hubs sitting by the pool, doing what he does a lot...

(pssst : is it just me or I am the only wifey who feels like throwing the phone away???)

Elyssa enjoying the pool with her cousins
I like the glass panel at the side! One end of the pool also has a jacuzzi effect with the touch of a button. Nice!
On far end of the photo is my SIL carrying baby Erin. Snapped this photo just before going for my 1 hour massage at the spa. Absolute bliss!!!!! :)

One for the album
Little Miss Bossy Elyssa literally commanded her older cousins("OK, EVERYBODY COME HERE! MY MUMMY WANT TO TAKE PHOTO! FASTER! COME!") to pose when she saw my camera. Adoi.

I have more photos and more stories to tell, but Elyssa is whining next to me now, so will continue later.

Being a Moo Moo in the Office

Yay, I have succesfully worked and pumped milk in the office for 6 months now!
Not too bad for someone who struggled and struggled with breastfeeding from Day 1. *pat myself on the back*

Baby Erin will be 9 months old in two days time :-)

Little Model

Ooo... I like these 2 photos that hubby took during our Penang trip last weekend :)
Reminds me of those old style photo studio shots.

Baby Erin @ Pinang Peranakan House, Penang

No time to write though. Will update more about the Penang holiday later.

"Just Another Day......"

Typical weekday at my parent's place -

Story Book Time

Run n Chase Time

or Crawl n Chase, for Erin ;)

Singing Song Time

Hugs n Kisses Goodbye

Yup, "just another day" for the kids with their grandparents during weekdays. A day that's Full of Fun and Full of Constructive Activities (almost nil tv time)
Full of l-o-v-e from the grandparents. Such a lucky lot indeed!

Sometimes, I don't know how or even where to start counting my blessings! :-)

Elyssa as a Jie Jie (1)

"Come Erin, jie jie give you milk-milk"

"Oh milk come out already. Jie Jie wipe for you"

"Be a good girl ok? Finish your milk"

Awwww... such a sweet and loving jie jie eh??
(but actually about 3/4 way, she said "nah mummy, you feed" and then went to play Ipad. Hmmph.)

Baking Classes @ Caramel Factory

Move aside Retail Therapy....
Cos I've found something wayyyy better - Baking Therapy!!

I just spent two happy Sunday afternoons attending baking classes @ Caramel Factory. :)
Classes at Caramel Factory are taught by the very pleasant Japanese proprietor called Tomoko.

My first class - Japanese Souffle Cheesecake and Diamant Vanille

Tomoko explaining the recipe

Basically, the class is structured this way-
a) Tomoko explains the ingredients in the recipe
b) She does a demonstration
c) We have a hands-on session. Mostly solo, but sometimes we partner up to share the baking equipment
-repeat b) and c), depending on the complexity of the recipe and if there's a second recipe.
d) Tea time! She normally makes a batch (of the recipe of the day) for us to enjoy with a cup of tea.
e) sometimes repeat b) and c)
f) Oven pings. We get to see the fruits of our labour. Pack 'em and go home with huge smile on face. :)

I like it that the classes are purposely kept small. Around 8pax only for the two classes I attended. So there's plenty of time to ask questions and call for help! (my standard call for help - "Tomoko, Tomoko, this one can already ah???" he he). And she patiently answers all my silly novice baker questions too.

Demonstration Time

My Baking Station

Tea & Cookies (Cheesecake not in photo) while waiting for our cakes in the oven

What I baked - all ready to bring home
(no photos of the making process cos hands dirty)

Elyssa with the cheesecake I baked :)

My Second Class - Vanilla Swirl and Red Velvet Cupcakes

Me piping cream cheese topping on the red velvet cupcakes
(photo pinched from Caramel Factory's FB page)

Ta da...... my completed cupcakes

Elyssa with my cupcakes

Yummmm....
She asked me to bake the cupcakes for her to bring to school on her upcoming 4th birthday