Lunch Box Diary #1

I was so hungry I finished my salad before I remember to take a snapshot of it. It isn’t everyday that cookie monster got up early in the morning to prepare the lunch box for me. In fact it’s the first. Hmmm no wonder it taste especially delish….Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to keep a lunch box diary for future reference. 

Taken with Decopic app with my HTC phone

 

I had arugula leaves with onions, cucumber, some crumbly cheese, hardboiled eggs, sweet pepper stuffed with cheese. I promise I will take photo of my next salad. 

Signing off,

Sandi

Sky Juice Modified #3: Earl Grey Tea Updated

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I thought I would do an update from my last earl grey tea post here. I have found the following lovely earl grey that I have for breakfast every morning. 

One of my favourite go-to tea for those really stressful mornings. Price wise it is rather steep so rationing is a must unless money grows on tree. Hint: Strong lovely dose of Lavender. Dun throw away the sachets, the fragrance is so strong that I could still smell the soothing lavender at the end of work day. I use it as air freshner around my desk.

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Another one of my favourite morning teas. 

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My favourite tea strainer vacuum mug. It does it’s job of keeping the drink warm from where I sit. The most miserable point in North Pole directly under the aircon vent. 

Signing off,

Sandi

My Sweet Yellow Rose

My garden is putting out beautiful sweet smelling roses hopefully they would start to bloom in time for Christmas.

Signing off,

Sandi

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20th World Orchid Show Singapore

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This is the 2nd time that Singapore has hold the World Orchid Show and this is the no-hold-barrier for putting up such a  stunning reverie. I was lucky enough to get tickets for the 1st day of the Orchid show on the 13th Nov and the 20th Nov. The first day was to drool over all these beauties while they are fresh and beautiful from arrangement.

 

One of my Favourite Display

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And the last day was to go crazy over buying these babies back home.

 
--> I was glad my parents have persuaded me to attend as they know I am a flower nut and probably would have kill myself for missing it.

Signing off,
Sandi

Sky Juice Modified # 2: Blackberry & Orange Smoothie

Smoothies are easily the most refreshing drink one can make during a hot summer night. As long as you have a blender, no smoothie is impossible. Every time I walk past shops selling those diluted expensive drinks, I would just turn my nose up at those poor suckers who buy from them. Dun get me wrong, I used to be one of those poor suckers too. I bought it not because its delish, but because I am thirsty and lazy and couldn't be bother to look around for cheaper alternatives. Not till I made up my mind to buy a blender to make myself a refreshing thick yummilious full of nutrient smoothie, instead of those overpriced diluted slush.

I am going to share with you this yummy recipe to keep you refresh and energize for the day.

Blackberries and Orange smoothie

1 cup Frozen Blackberries

2-3 tbsp of orange concentrate from minute maid( you can sub with pure orange juice)

1/2 tsp of orange blossom water.

1/2 cup of warm water with 2tbsp honey.

* 2 tbsp of vodka (for the extra buzz)

Combine all the ingredients and give it a whirl, the end product is a thick slush of yummilious goodness.

The scent of Orange Blossom Water is essentially a warm floral note that can be cloying in concentration. Hence a light hand is needed. Its always good to use less than to use more of it.

Sky Juice Modified #1 Earl Grey Tea

I love my earl grey tea early in the morning. It brings me joy and wakes me up from slumber. Every time I inhale its strong citrus scent I feel that nothing is impossible this day for me. It’s my go to caffeine.

*Russian Earl Grey Tea*

A light smoky blend with a hint of citrus and strong lemongrass scent. 

Verdict:

I suppose this is an idea taken from ancient caravan-transported teas with the smoky flavor but I am rather put off by the slight oiliness scent that lemongrass is well known for. Not really my cuppa EGT.

*Twinning Earl Grey Tea*

They use to be so fragrant, a bouquet that is full body and strong. But this new batch that I bought is disappointing. It could be that they are on the shelves too long and also because I bought them on discount. Anyway with some variation I added ½ teaspoon of lavender to it to give it more of a kick. Beautiful. 

Verdict:

 Good cheap tea to play with and modify with different blend of herbs and spices.

*French Earl Grey Tea*

Light-girly-toss-of-nose kinda citrusy. Its very delicate and remember not to use too hot of a water as it will drown out the light fragrance in the tea. It makes me feel like a porcelain doll that can’t take too rough handling or I will be in need of a swoon on the chaise.

Verdict:

Good for girly Sunday Brunch but a bit too delicate for a wake me up.

*TWG American Earl Grey Tea*

The salesman assured me that it is the strongest flavor earl grey around TWG. I love the scent of it slightly tipping towards the strong yet gentle manner it produce. Just the right mix of citrus top note for scent and evolve to the taste of vanilla undertone. 

Verdict:

Love it. Good for those morning when one would need a man to cuddle.(Strong vanilla base could be the very reason)

Perfume Potion # 1 “Citrus Musk”

I am dedicating this perfume to my “Cookie Monster”. My clumsy first attempt to make a perfume for him was citrus musk. Back then I haphazardly mix a bunch of essential oil and some fragrance oil together, obviously it didn’t turn out good enough.

As I am quite the hoarder and did not want to waste the precious oils so I just let it sit around for a bit. The problem with this potion is that there is a huge distinction between the top and base note. Looking back I realize there was no middle note and the base note was just the fragrance musk. It needs a good dry down and middle note to round it up. Its like you can see the head and leg but not the body. 

“Cookie Monster” likes to nose around the bottles of failed experiments. He like the potion. Not being a “nose” he didn’t understand the concept of a good perfume from a lousy one. He just know what he likes and dislike. I believe the reason he enjoys it is because of the natural essential oil of grapefruit and bergamot, which uplift him every time he sprays it. That I find is the true beauty of natural perfume. It uplifts ones mood, as no other commercial synthetic perfume out there will. 

Anyway, he was reminding me a few days back to make him more of the “good stuff” but alas with no good bookkeeping I couldn’t find the recipe again. SO I guess I will have to do a tabula rasa.

A fresh start is good except that I am rather impatient and inexperience, not forgetting I have not have the foundation of knowing my materials yet. Some of the materials are so expensive to test it out with.

I just try to recreate from scratch. But this time round, I think I will include ylang ylang to add body to the perfume so that there is no gap between the top and base note. I find that ylang ylang is an expansive note and it fills out the gaps pretty nicely. The only problem is that it can be too expansive if too much is added. It needs a delicate touch. I would also like to make it slightly spicier with an addition of black pepper to the top note. As of now it is stewing in a dark corner of the room waiting to be evaluate in about 1 month time.

I intend to add in more citrus notes to extend the life of the top notes longer. Maybe a little bit of glycerin should do the trick to hold it down. The synthetic musk is sorta good as a fixative to add longevity to the perfume on the skin. But the end result will be different from the first one as in, the current perfume volume will smell like a big fat ball unlike it’s hourglass predecessor.

Of course this is not the end of the Citrus Musk Journey, as I am still unhappy with it but it will satisfy my “cookie monster” for a while.

Till then signing off,

Sandi