Top 5 IKEA Picks for a Boy's Bedroom

IKEA's 2015 catalogue is finally out. I have received mine from the letterbox last night.

Although the novelty of IKEA products is undeniable, it is also an irrefutable fact that IKEA shopping and even product browsing is so accessible and easy to do. There are new items in stock now and I wish to share my favorites. Most of which are for a boy's room, which is ironic because I don't have a son, yet. Or maybe that's just the way it goes.

Let's start with Number 5:

5. BOLLKÄR, BOLLSINNE, AND BOLLTOKIG SOFT TOYS

This would look great on the bed as a huggable pillow, on the floor, or to be shoot on a ring. Buy all three for visual impact and a fun splash of color.

4. GISSA WALL POCKETS

A fun storage solution for small items such as small toys, pens, sunglasses, notebooks or what have you. It's an ultimate catch-it-all, takes no floor space and also serves as a cool wall decor. 

3. BENRANGEL QUILTCOVER AND PILLOWCASE

Halloween's coming up and this would be perfect, but knowing that boys love creepy things like monsters and dinosaurs, I think this would be good all year round. I also love that the quiltcover is reversible so you can switch it up when the conservative grandma is coming for a visit. And just an idea, wouldn't it be cooler if you can make it glow-in-the-dark using fabric paint? 

2. NEW RUGS (SPRINGA, SNABBFOTAD, FLYGTUR, UTFORSKA, AND LEVANDE)

SPRINGA (The Red Racetrack) would look great in any contemporary room, either for the athletic kid or a fun addition to the nursery. Its bold color and numbers are graphic and would even work as a teaching tool. SNABBFOTAD (Rug with Shoemarks) would look good in a very tidy boy's or teen's room to add visual contrast. Just inform the house cleaner in advance that this is not "real dirt marks". :)

FLYGTUR (Red Airplane). Boy's Room must have, especially if he's into airplanes. When designing, I try to stay away from character or Disney-themed rooms as they tend to be out-of-style faster and "matchy-matchy" is always not good if you don't want your kid's room to look like a venue for a kid's birthday party.

UTFORSKA (Compass). Here's one that would go well in a library or a nautical-inspired room. Imagine this on the floor and vintage maps on the walls. Orient the arrow geographically and you're good to go. It's just brilliant!

LEVANDE is for the techy kid. Added bonus are the colorful texts against a black background.

And lastly,

1. STUVA LOFT BED

Had this been available when we were buying a bed for my daughter, I would have definitely picked this. Actually, I am considering of getting one, or two. It's simply amazing! IKEA has done it again, this time by mass-producing a bed and storage solution at a very reasonable price. The STUVA has a loft bed, a cabinet, a book shelf, and a study table all in one piece. It's a space-saver which your kid would surely approve. 

Now, what is your favorite?

Lia Ahryn's Third Month

Baby Lia turns three months last Thursday!

She’s now more talkative (meaning her babbling has increased both in frequency and quantity of sounds produced). She enjoyed talking to us and loves it even more when we sing.  Her feedings were increased but she naps as often as before.

We've already switched her to small-sized diapers (Yes, we still love Huggies). We also bought new teats (for 3 months+) for her baby bottles and we'll do the change soon. She’s now using the stroller on the reclined position as she has outgrown the baby car seat. When she’s strong enough to support her head, it’ll be easier to bring her around on the baby carrier.  And maybe we can go out more. She recently discovered her hands and how tasty they are and she's also starting to grab things.

Yesterday was her checkup and vaccination. She has doubled her weight and is now more than 5kg. The doctor also noted that she’s quite tall for her age.

One of the side effects of vaccination as we all know is fever. Sometimes babies have it, sometimes they don’t.  In Lia’s case, she got a low grade fever a day after her jab. So this is her FFE, first fever ever! Thank God she's happy though.

The Mom gave her a fever patch but the sister thought to put some princess stickers on it just to make it a little prettier. So there you go! 

Baking Class at The Quincy

SPOILER ALERT: You know it's sometimes fun and exciting when you don't know what to expect? Well, this post will tell it all.

We were having lunch at the lobby restaurant when a staff approached us and ask if we would like to join the baking class. Jane's carrying Lia at that time so Ashrie and I decided to join.

There were two other couples in the class. Each of us has been given a colorful apron and one person from each couple receives a nametag. We were also handed two recipes, one for chocolate cupcakes and the other for vanilla buttercream frosting.

Everything was prepared in advanced. The oven was preheated, the measured ingredients were in bowls and the butter's already softened at room temperature.

Our trainer was quick, very knowledgeable and lively. We hand-mixed the cupcake mixture, Ashrie wrote her name on the cups and in minutes we were scooping the chocolate mixture onto the cups for baking.

After a little cleanup, we then got to frost some mini cupcakes (these are different from the ones we're baking). Ms. Trainer frosted one cupcake as a sample and we are to design seven cupcakes per couple using the available buttercream icing in different colors and a variety of candy sprinkles. 

For fun, a judge chose one cupcake as the best one and the couple received two small bottles of rock candies. The generous winner gave one bottle to Ashrie being the only kid in the class.

Before the hour is done, our chocolate cupcakes are out of the oven! They were returned to us together with a big white box to bring home and enjoy along with the mini cupcakes we frosted. T'was fun indeed!

Thanks to The Quincy Hotel for their Qool Weekend Promotion. If you'll stay on Mondays to Saturdays, you will get to enjoy their Painting Session instead.

Family Staycation at The Quincy Hotel

It was our 8th Wedding anniversary last Monday and since we had no time to have a romantic dinner for two (because no one's going to look after the two kiddos) we decided to have a break last weekend. It will be our first time to have a staycation with our newest member and we're curious on how it will turn out. We are also trying a boutique hotel for a change. 

Here's a happy Ashrie at the hotel lobby and entrance.

Below is the view from the pool deck on the 12th floor.

With the recent boom on the boutique hotel trend which provides a competitive and creative alternative to mainstream hotels, it’s definitely worth a try and find out how they fare in terms of design, service and hospitality especially for families like us. 

THE LOCATION. Although in the city, it is located a distance away from the busy Orchard Road which is ideal if you really want some R&R. We stayed in one of the hotels along Orchard last time and it was indeed fun to go shopping because of the proximity. But here, because it's about a 10 minute walk (with young kids this will be doubled) to Paragon Shopping Center which is the nearest shopping mall, we stayed in the hotel the whole time. We are locals anyway and don't need sightseeing. Also, vehicular traffic is not busy which is a good respite from the noisy city street. 

THE ROOM. As expected there were mirrors all around. There's a mirror wall in the foyer, and two more in the bathroom. There's a long mirror panel above the bed all across the entire wall and another on the TV panel. Plus the see-through tinted glass of the bathroom wall. This works for our advantage as we can see our daughter from the bedroom while she plays in the tub. 

The flooring is made of black granite tiles. It is used all throughout the room up to the shower. I'm not sure if it was cleaning season or if they removed the rug for good, but there was no rug in our room during our stay. 

Tiled floors are cold so I would suggest bringing bedroom slippers for your kids. 
I love the wall to wall windows. You can choose to have unobstructed view of the outdoors (and them of you as well), use the sheer curtains, and at night for privacy, you can close the roller blinds automatically with a push of a button. Ashrie loved operating it. It's really cool! 

THE BED. Our bed is huge. We initially requested for two single beds but they have set-up our bed as a king size, which is actually twin beds placed side by side. Seeing that the size could fit the four of us we decided to leave it as it is. I think a cot can be requested but we opt out knowing it will eat up more space. With a bed this big, I wonder if they forgot to bring in another nightstand and lampshade on one side or it's another cost-cutting measure like the missing rug. The stainless steel frame is a unique touch by the way.

THE TOILET. Fitted with sleek toilet fixtures and with Molton Brown toiletries, the toilet and bath is well equipped with more than enough towels for a family. I'm not a fan of the sink because it is too shallow for me, (which made my washing of baby bottles troublesome). The weighing scale seems to remind you that you need to hit the gym or the pool which is open 24 hours, by the way.

THE FOOD. We had lunch after we dropped our things in the room and that was the only food that I paid for. Neither that we had no food later nor we did not pay for dinner but the complimentary snacks, cocktails, dinners, breakfasts and lunches were more than enough for your satisfaction. The buffet spread was limited but was always replenished. Just be sure to come down on time on dining schedules.

There's a free flow of soft-serve ice cream (kinda reminds me of Wendy's) and the coffee bar is right at your disposal.

              

The mini-bar is stacked with different can drinks and bottled water and is free. We also got a complimentary bottle of red wine.

THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Jane and I had fun. Ashrie had fun. Baby Lia, well she's definitely "at home" and slept most of the time. Boutique hotels can be family-friendly after all. So, if you are not looking for grand lobbies, imposing chandeliers, intricate ceiling cornices and cushioned hardwood furnitures, well, this might also be for you. The ambience is great, the staff were friendly, and the room is clean. We give it 7 out of 10 stars!

And have I told you we joined the baking class? During our staycation? And right there in the hotel? More of that on my next post. 

Home and Decor Singapore Instagram Contest

Looky! This is my winning photo for Home and Decor Singapore Weekly Instagram Contest.

Although I haven't received the official mail or collected my prize yet, it's just fun to be recognized.

The photo was taken on our wooden coffee table from Mode Studio. I just placed THE magazine in lieu of the usual coffee table books and took the shot together with some of our coffee table staples: my revived, almost one-year-old Boston fern, two antique gas lamps from the Philippines, Seletti's large Bugia & Lanterna Candleholder from Fred Lives Here, a pinecone I purchased from Galanga Living last Christmas (it did not go together with the other Christmas decorations to the storage and was displayed perpetually the whole year) and lastly a small glass cloche I ordered from the US.

By the way, the contest is still ongoing (click the link above) and there are two more prizes to be won. So if you are from Singapore, you are free to join as well.

Good luck!