Saved so much time cooking and the meat so tender

This is my first electric pressure cooker and I could not be more than pleasantly surprised. I was expecting it to be as loud as my conventional pressure cooker. This was quiet until I release the pressure but still not as loud. I also find the 30 minute timer on the pressure cooker mode to be very handy as sometimes, my meat get too tender they break apart just on stirring.

The pressure cooker is also versatile, I have used it as a rice cooker, slow cooker and steamer. It also has a keep warm feature which is very handy for me a when I cook our dinner earlier than normal. I have found this to be very convenient. I have yet to try the other features but so far, I am impressed and would find myself cooking with it all the time.

The pressure cooker came with an instruction manual that has a few handy recipes in them, a paddle, measuring cup and a steamer rack. The lid has a very sturdy look to it with nice easy to grip handles. There is also the dials for pressure cooking and quick release of pressure. The lid is also very easy to secure and unlock. I wasn't sure at first but it seems to be stable and stays put.

The front panel is also very easy to operate and seems to be self explanatory to me. The modes of cooking are very handy and has a delay timer too. This have been used in my kitchen almost everyday since I got it.

Handy extra storage solution for me and provides easy access too

I have always needed this extra storage in my car. I always find my cup holders to be filled with lots of other things like keys, sweets etc and this will provide me a place to store my other driving essentials without the cup holders overflowing and me ending up too distracted.

This is a set of 2 in a black leatherette outer and has studs on the top. It looks good and fits well in between the chair and the cup holders. I can also easily carry this bit if I need to swap cars. There is no closure on the top which gives me easy access to whatever I store in it. Being a girl, I would put handy facial tissues and wet wipes on it, lip gloss, hand lotion, cable charger, pens and my other bits I find essential for my travels.

I find this very handy, well made, good value for a set of 2 and I would find lots of uses for it.

  

 

You can get it from here.

May xx

Our Maine Coon Baby Loves

We have grown as you can see compared to what Gumball was like in this post. He was teeny tiny then. Not anymore. Gumball has grown into a very beautiful boy. He is now 2 years 9 months old.

We have also adopted 2 of his half-siblings who were born 6 months after him Darwin and Skips.

.

Gumball in one of his snooze mood.

Gumball's "talk-to-the-hand" aka do not disturb sign.

This is Skips trying on a bit of statement jewelry which in fact suits her better than on me. I took it off after taking the photo. It was a tad too heavy for her. Skips is quite feisty and not very shy but she absolutely adores my husband and loves a fuss. Not to mention the treats.

And last but definitely not least, Darwin. He is very timid and shy but absolutely lovely. He purrs the moment he sees you and massively enjoys a cuddle and a lot of fussing. He's very playful and loves a good chase game. He also loves his food. Skips and Darwin are 2 years and 2 months old and doesn't stop growing until they are 3. Darwin is currently 9.5 kgs. He gives the best cuddles not only because of his size,but because he lets me cuddle him for as long as I want. :-)

Our babies. We adore them.

May xx

Gumball for Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

We have been blessed today to welcome the newest member of our little family..

I'd like you all to meet Gumball.

He purrs a lot and now getting used to the bucket loads of attention!

We are all very much in love!

I'm hoping to post a little tut tomorrow once Gumball has settled and decides to stop 

walking all over the keyboard!

Philippines Vacation Officially Over!

Hi everyone! I apologize for having been MIA for the last 5 weeks.

I will be showing you why.

See, I couldn't resist her. She made me do it. :-)

These are a few of the hundreds of photos I've taken whilst out in the Philippines.

My family can't have enough of the sunshine and the blue skies.

I meant it when I said I was sorry but these photos makes the regret bearable ;-)

 I can't say I missed the winter weather here but I missed my crochet!

I didn't bother bringing out any with me as I fully intended to be mostly horizontal whilst out there basking and refilling my vitamin D supplies! 

I'm hoping to be back to my normal swing of things very soon so please join me in exploring the joys of my life with my family, my kids, my crochet and all the rest that makes me feel very blessed!

Hope you have enough...

Updates and a Free Whispers Crochet Jacket Pattern

Snow has stopped falling and the schools were reopened today! Hurray!

I'm halfway my motif top.

Whoop!

As you all know, I'm not very fluent with knitting and I found this bargain and funky badger novelty hat!

Ethan absolutely loves it 

and I had to put it on for size ;)

Now, with the gloomy weather outside, my beautiful tulips are coming out.

They are slowly but surely on their way out. 

There's another dozen to say hi!

Browsing through the enormous free pattern out there, I found this adorable jacket by Drops Design.

I think it looks very delicate and girly and country-ish chic..

But until I have finished with my current wip's, I'm restraining myself.

Oh, and hopefully, we'll have a new addition to our family soon!

Watch this space! ;)

Busy Saturday morning routines

The kids do their swimming lessons and Taekwondo training on Saturday mornings.

Early start and everybody is zonked out by lunch time.

Kids have achieved their yellow tag and Ashley has received extra recognition with a trophy by being the best in all the grading for the day! Yay! We are so proud and happy that all their efforts has come through and are recognized.

Tulip has fully bloomed!

It's so pretty I can't wait for the others to come out!

Somebody loves the new pillow. 

 And I have started a new wip!

I couldn't help it... :)

It's very dainty on a 2mm hook and a 3ply yarn.

 It grows quickly too!

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with the band though. I don't knit but maybe can do a basic knit and purl. Will still see when I get to it what I'd do or maybe do a crochet version of the band that's supposed to be knitted. 

How's you're Saturday mornings?

New Year 2013!

Happy New Year everyone!

Wishing everyone a safe, peaceful and full of love 2013!

Christmas in Barcelona

I'm not sure if anybody has noticed but I haven't posted for a week... I suppose everybody is busy with Christmas and with Santa coming, gotta get the children ready! ;)

Well, this year.. it's more special than usual. See, my lovely partner-in-crime was born the same day as Jesus. It's also his 40th this Christmas. So as a treat, we went to Barcelona to celebrate! But we couldn't leave the children behind even if we could if we want to. We didn't want to. 

So off we went and saw the wonderful city of Barcelona with a meager "No hablan espanyol" in my mind! Thankfully, I am originally from a country (Philippines) where lots of Spanish words were incorporated and mixed in with our native language so I did kind of understood some and totally lost at most of what was being said to me!

Loved the weather, it was mild winter...10-15 degrees Celsius! And with sun..

Anyway, let me show you some of our photos...

 Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) by Gaudi

They are hoping to finish the building by 2026!

 The other side of the Sagrada Familia

 Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter 

 It was quite foggy the day I took this photo. Beside this road is the beach they made in preparation for the Olympic games in 1992 (i think, correct me if I'm wrong)

 The highest peak in the city is where Mount Montjuic is which is the mountain far ahead on the photo. The statue is of Columbus. It's also the end of the famous tourist road La Rambla. 

At the top of Montjuic overlooking the city. Foggy.

 Pueblo Espanyol (Spanish Village)

This is a recreation of how an old Spanish village would look like. The buildings are real but they are copies of buildings around Spain and they are not lived in. 

 We took the kids to the Aquarium. They loved it there. There was lots of oooh and aaahs and look!

 This was just beside the Aquarium. The Port.

 There was a dolphin show in the Barcelona Zoo! It was amazing. It was my first time to see one. I loved it.

There was also a sea lions show.

These trees caught Brynn's eyes. They're lovely now and they're probably beautiful when at bloom.

So, back to reality for us and thank God no mishaps happened. Our pockets weren't picked, we didn't get sick nor hungry or got lost. We wanted it to be a little bit extra special for the man who works really hard for us and I hope we did because we love him very much.

I hope you all had a special time with your family this Christmas. 

Have a blessed New Year to all of you!