What are your regretable kitchen purchases?

My favorite illustrator Emily McDowell comes with another pressing question. And I never laughed this hard thinking how this resonates so true with me.

My list:

1. Of course, a blender that has collected dust as thick as a rug. I bought them three years ago, mixed a guava and orange juice with it on the first night. And that's it.
2. A microwave. A good one. But it seems that I was (am) so bad at math I did not realize that the voltage was just far too high for my small house. I re heated a rotisserie chicken in it once. And we are done.
3. Different colors and patterns of tea towels. I have no idea where they are now.  
4. Food steamer. "For when you are feeling oriental and would like to serve your guests with dim sum or buns." Exhibit A: I do not have guests that often. Exhibit B: Dim Sum corner is literary in every corner in the island.
5.  A set of China. Which probably is somewhere in China.

Pet Peeves 2.0

What's on your list? Are they adding up? Are you ditching any of them?

As a big time worrier, it seems that my list keeps mounting up. I am not proud of it because it makes me feel like a nagging 65 y.o woman (and I am only a 60 year old).

But, sweethearts... I just cannot bear the vision of:

• People at work walking...s l o w l y... It is like being in a factory with snail workers! Time is ticking, you have not put your make-up on which means you are not ready for work and.... and... it is already TOMORROW in Australia!;
• Shopping Mall scene: Children screaming and crying for toys;
• Restaurant scene: Mothers dining with their children but being busy with phones. And I am pretty sure that they are posting"Quality time with my kids." pictures on social media.

This illustration below are Emily's and my other pet peeves are listed here . 

Which famous people do you want to be friends with?

Ah it's that time to answer  one of my favorite Illustrator Emily Mcdowell 's pressing question again! 
I love this one: "Which famous people do you want to be friends with?". I am with Emily on Falcor (The NeverEnding Story!) and Mindy Kaling. 

Other than those names, I am also dying to be friends with Meryl Streep, for obvious reasons, Keanu Reeves, Zooey Deschanel, Jessica Quirk (fashion blogger), Djenar Maesa Ayu (Indonesian writer) and George Lois. And of course, with Simba and Mufasa from The Lion King.

What about you?

ps: Other questions from Emily. By the way, notice how I mentioned The NeverEnding Story on her pop quiz about Childhood Obsessions? Emily did not mention Falcor there but did on this one. Well... Great minds nerd alike. 

What's your favorite holiday treats?

My take on answering Emily Mcdowell's pressing question; "What is your favorite holiday treats?"

1. Macaroni schotel, Potato Gratin, klappertart, vruchtensalade (fruit salad) and...
2. Roasted pork with andaliman sauce. Andaliman sauce makes it very North-Sumatran and no one... I repeat, no one can whip it better than my Grandma!
3. Speculaas cookies... hhhmmm #nom. I can eat stacks of them till my face is swollen!

ps: Coincidentally, I was interviewed for an article titled Ghost of Christmas Delights. Read it here:)

What's yours? Emily's answers below, I agree with her on NO straight eggnog. But I have no tolerance for anything minty in my food. I just do not get it.

What were your childhood obsessions?

Pop quiz time by Emily McDowell !
But here goes...

1. Pippi Longstocking aka Pippi Langkous! Her beautiful freckles and her mad ideas and approach in life. Love! I secretly thought of my neighbor Doddy and Verina as Thomas and Annika *wink.
2. Crossword puzzle every Sunday with Grandpa. For a heavenly bowl of chicken noodle that we will buy after finishing all the questions!
3. The NeverEnding Story. For a month or two, I would read in the dark, under the blanket, with a flash light. Just like what the boy did!
4. Play. Christmas play, Easter play, Bible stories  play, ANY play. The stage was my oyster.
5. These book series Girl Talk, Dear Diary (When I started to have eyes for boys...)
6. Mermaid and this movie Dad bought in Japan and sent over to my Grandparent's for me:  The Last Unicorn.
7. Milo chocolate and its chocolate bar, Astors and believe this... I was obsessed with green beans and sardines! Like "Grandma, can we eat sardines and green beans for dinner tonight... again?" for like... a year. 

Tell me yours!

What's lurking in the back of your fridge?

It's pop quiz time again! Inspired by Emily McDowell, one of my favorite illustrators; What's lurking at the back of your fridge?

My confessions below;

• Pack of Cheddar. And at least two cartons of soy milk.
• Half bottle of white.
• A jar of sambal terasi that's like a year old (because I am one busy Indonesian lady with serious Asian taste bud and I just have no time to make my own sambal) Ha!
• Three bags of denta stix for my babies.
• Puckered limes. As I think every fridge must have them.
• Cabe rawit. They look like this and is a perfect condiment for instant noodle for midnight snacking. Snacking? Yeah...
• Two loafs of white bread and one loaf of brown bread.
• Frozen peas. And one can of baked beans.
• Serious amount of jelly beans. And I am not a sweet tooth. I think one of my friend gave it to me months ago... I cannot remember who!
• Butter. Butter. Butter.
• Grapefruit juice. 
• Half-opened tonic water.
• Aspirin
• My lipstick. It was melting the other day because I left it in my friend's car. I really love the pop effect the color brings so I am trying to frozen it back. Dummy. 

Below is Emily's.

What do you do when you are home alone?

Here's another pop quiz, still inspired by Emily McDowell, one beautiful illustrator that I adore; What do you do when you are home alone?

This question kinda tease me in a way as... I am living alone anyway (smirk!). But I do host friends, families and or relatives every now and then. This gives a different vibe to living alone as a single woman; I enjoy cater for them, making sure they love the scent I added to the fresh-towels, providing what they usually love for breakfast and just dig into long conversations at night over drinks or instant noodles. 

But I always love to snuggle back to my "alone space" when my guests depart. And this is what I do:

• Walking around, no make-up and... ahem... half-naked. As in, wearing tank-top and hot pants and just be bra-less. Trust me, ladies... This feels very liberating. It is just you and your body. And you get to feel your natural scent and you feel more like a real woman. I do not know how that works but it does!
• Let my dogs hang in the room when I think they deserve it and have serious-long-conversation in baby talk mode! I do this sometimes even when I have company tho (the talking part). Shameless! 
• Breakfast in bed and once in a while, I will take out all of my wardrobe and just separate some that I will donate (also, very liberating)
• Play my favorite music and just dance in the kitchen or dance while I water the garden. I do!
• Read, with no pressure of having to attend to someone's need. Read selfishly... and just dive into the book. 
• Watch festival movies and or stupid serials.
• Drink beer in my dining room, one feet up on the chair. Makes me feel like a boss :))
• Dusting my hand-bags while thanking them for the way they make me feel good at down times.
• Eat what most people think as the grossest food ever: French toast with honey and bacon.
• Blog.

What about you?

This is what Emily does:

What is really in your bag?

Let us do a pop quiz this Sunday!

Emily McDowell, one of my favorite illustrators; is asking us one pressing question every month. My first attempt to join her in her randomness is to answer the above question:

So, I will let you to take a snoop in to my hand bag:

• You will always find a pair of shades. 
• Hmm... aspirin and my pink pills. Such a bad popper!
• A small beauty kit. And I mean small. I am diligent in cleaning them up. I do not bring eye-shadows and or blush in many colors. But I will always have my hot-red lipstick. To make me feel all put up together whenever I needed to and my Tarte blush in peach.
• Wet tissues and hair brush.
• My mobile. One device only. As a not-so-much-of-a-gadget-freak, I can be very faithful to one mobile device. To the last day the machine gave up on me, I will never look for a replacement.
• My ipod touch. We have been together since 2009 and through a lot of ups and downs... 
• One book I currently am reading and or a copy of current issue of Reader's Digest.
• A bottle of EDP or body spray. Depending on what I have in the agenda after work.
• One notebook and a pen.
• A pair of extra-just-in-case earrings.
• One tube of Xylitol.
• Receipts...