Creative Aquarium

Do you know what was I sleeping on?

I was sleeping on a table  with a fantastic aquarium underneath. Just realized that aquarium can be so creative after visited HOMEDEC exhibition last month.

Aquarium decorations are where you can really get creative and bring out the uniqueness from your lovely home. Indeed, you can have lots of fun with your aquarium decoration! Let's see to believe.

Cupcake

I was following Laura’s instruction as below and was expecting a dozen of delicious and delightful cupcake. After over a few hours of experimenting and attempting, argh...i’ve given up.  However, with the passion and encouragement from Laura, I do enjoy the session. And she reminds me that, she is a real person in a real kitchen with real ingredients, so if she can do it, so can all of us!

Serves: (12 Cupcakes)

Ingredients
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Stick Un-Salted Butter, softened
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Whole Milk

For the Frosting:
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, softened
½ cup Raspberry Preserves
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
1 16oz Box of Powdered Sugar
Fresh Raspberries, for garnishing
Pinch of salt

Preparation

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake tin with liners and set aside.

2) In a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and cream together until you get a smooth mixture. Add the dry ingredients and with the speed on low mix together and slowly add the milk and just mix everything to combine. DO NOTOVERMIX! Make sure you give everything a good stir with a spatula from the bottom to incorporate any bit that wasn’t mixed.

3) Scoop the batter into your lined cupcake tin, make sure its only filled ¾ of the way up because they will rise. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool for about 45 minutes before frosting.

4) To make the frosting combine together all the frosting ingredients except the fresh raspberries and mix together to combine. Add the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Top with a few fresh raspberries and dive in!

5) These little beauties are so delicious and beautiful that I promise you everybody is going to think that you went to a fancy shmancy bakery and bought them. I make these very often because they always get a wow reaction from everybody and of course they are delicious!

Thanks Laura! http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/

Chef

 If you have a friend who is a chef, most probably he would prepare you abundance of food when you pay him a visit. However, when you meet up more than one chef, they will just throw the ball around and not even get a dish done. Instead they will try to inspire you to cook for them…><

Upon their inspiration, today I’m going to learn how to venture beyond recipes, and learn how to instinctively create tasteful, unique food for friends and family.

Wish me good luck and I’ll show you my result soon ^^

Trackable Luggage Tag

When it comes to the holiday packing checklist – passports, air tickets, toiletries, clothes, currency, medicines, clothes etc are the most obvious and top of your list. What about your luggage that keep all those necessary stuff? Losing luggage is always a worry for passengers but there is one method that can avoid by the use of simple luggage tags.

There is one of unique security tags in the market recently that available online. Each tag has a unique serial number which enables it to be traced to the owner via the website. You purchase the tags and register them on their website, when someone find your possessions they just visit the website stated on the tags, key in the unique code and you will be alerted through sms, email or phone call telling that your property has been found, and giving details of the locations.

If you are looking for an unusual yet functional present for a special one, this is such a good option. Browse through the website if you are interested to grab one of it: http://globalbagtag.com/

Ideal Home

What's your ideal home? Bungalow? Semi-D? Penthouse? Townhouse? Double-storey? Or condos?

I’m thinking of a studio. Saving utility cost, what you need is maybe a ceiling light and a desk lamp, one air-cond, one air freshener, one tv, one bed, one table…all in “one” unit. Hifi system now will reach every corner of the house, even you are “busy” in the toilet also can get entertained. Haha. One scented candle only will make the whole place smells soothing. Even if you are inviting people to come over, you can pay full attention on them. Whatever they do or whenever they go you will know well. This sounds good for me as some of the unwanted visitor could leave earlier :P

Studio, it really makes me feel life a lot of simpler and less hassle. 

Clarinet

Actually I’m not familiar with this kind of musical instruments, after google I got to know it’s called Clarinet. I found this Britain’s Got Talent reality show video clip, a 50-year-old accountant James Shields has a passion besides numbers – it’s his clarinet. Practicing every day – James certainly has the talent down, but certain buzzers can surprise even the most practices musician.

Even he has failed in this competition, but he has made a great step forward for his life. I’m so touched that he has made a move to create an unforgettable and precious moment in his life. It’s worth it.

Guitar

When talking about Guitar, my love to Beyond with 黄家驹 would be a lifelong commitment. Nobody could replace this legend band in my heart. All the songs that he wrote are spiritual, full of encouragement and meaningful. Till now, we are proud of you! RIP

Coming Sunday is Mother’s day, share you a legend song that definitely will be play during this time. This is the Malaysia unplugged version during 1993, it’s so special. Enjoy!

Sexaphone

Do you love sexaphones or any music instrument instrument? Kenny G, he’s always been a strong live performer and many people who’ve just heard the hits on the radio or in the grocery story or in the doctor’s office or, well, everywhere, are not hearing or seeing the whole package. “Live, anything goes,” he says. “Live, there’s a million notes being played. The fun part of playing live is that it’s all about getting the dynamics of the lows and the highs and the fasts and the slows.”

Even then Kenny G is not there to give a clinic—for fans, for musicians or for critics. “I’m not going to give them my 32nd note exercise pattern. It’s not going to sound good and there’s no point. The point would be if I was doing an instructional record, say, here’s this exercise or that exercise. Other than that, it doesn’t sound musical to me.”

He does take his exercises seriously and he readily explains his motivation as well as his methodology. “To me practicing is two parts. One part is that you’ve got to get that saxophone and mouthpiece in your mouth. You have to. Otherwise you lose the muscle control. It’s a physical thing. It’s hours of practicing. I’ll turn on a golf tournament and watch while I’m playing my saxophone. That way I’m going to play longer and stronger.”

The second part is all about the technique. “It’s like a gym,” he explains. “You’re exercising. I play every one of my exercises in every key and I play them slow or I play them fast. I try to circular breathe them. Sometimes I go like 15 minutes without taking my mouthpiece out of my mouth because I’m circular breathing a bunch of exercises. When I’m done with that, it’s like I take a 5 minute break now. That’s how you work it. So that when I play live, nothing is holding me back from what I want to do with the saxophone.”

http://www.kennygsaxophones.com/kennyg/Home.html