Keeping Up With Kat: February Favourites

Hey Mamas, grab a cuppa or a glass of wine and let’s take some time to catch up with one another!

Each month, I’m bringing you all the things my family and I are into from books we’re reading to places we’re nom-ing at to our favourite spots to hang out. I’ll also share some musings from yours truly and other random fun bits along the way. Here’s a look back at February.

Ever since I started my new role here at the Sassy Mama HQ, I’ve had to make a conscious effort to really make sure I’m organised in all departments of my life. Previously, as a mostly stay at home mum, a lot of areas of my life were easily adaptable from grabbing groceries for dinner or taking out the littles on a whim. Planning date nights was as easy as a simple text to the hubby a few hours before.

But now, I’ve taken full advantage of simple shortcuts like ordering groceries or dinner online to make our lives a bit easier. A few months ago, I discovered Jou Sun and my grocery game has never been stronger. Having had a few frustrating moments with other delivery services, I was ecstatic to know that Jou Sun had a reliable same day delivery as well as a variety of organic vegetables and meats to choose from (all reasonably priced too, I might add!).

My birthday happened to be in this month, so we had quite a few celebrations out and about with friends. We had heard so much about Serge et le Phoque so decided to check it out! The chic French restaurant is nestled right in the heart of Wan Chai Market which makes this place grow in charm (and hipster points!) by the minute. The restroom is next door in the lobby of an industrial parking lot, if that’s not hipster, I don’t know what is! Besides the fact that this place was dripping in cool, the food was equally incredible, if not better. We had the chef’s menu and by the end of it, you literally had to roll us out. We were completely satisfied and properly stuffed! If you’re headed there for dinner, definitely ask for the whole suckling pig.

Carrying along the theme of my birthday celebrations, the hubby booked me in for a 90 minute pamper sesh at my all time favourite spa at the Mandarin Oriental. There is simply no other place that instantly transports me to pure relaxation. Everything about the Mandarin Spa oozes luxe…from the gorgeous chinoiserie sinks to the relaxation room filled with healthy snacks and herbal teas to the treatment room itself. All my aches and pains melted away as I let myself indulge and unplug for a good few hours.

If you know me well, you’ll know I am a HUGE fan of stationary and paper goods. I have boxes upon boxes of craft supplies…if you see my collection of washi tape, you’d be tempted to sign me up for some sort of washi tape rehab. One of my absolute favourite designers is Anna Bond from Rifle Paper Co. Forget designer shoes, put me in a store full of Rifle Paper Co. products and I’ll max out my credit cards in a nanosecond. Not always easy to come by in Hong Kong, I’ve finally found Allure Living in Lang Kwai Fong that carries the most selection of my fav stationary goods to feed my obsession. This check-list planner from Rifle Paper has been keeping the OCD in me organised. There are plenty of other beautiful homeware items and children’s toys to peruse through as well. Go check it out and make sure you tell the owner, Terri, I sent you!

A huge guilty pleasure of mine is binging on TV shows (as I had previously admitted to here). This past month we welcomed Netflix to our screens in Hong Kong and you can bet we decided to treat ourselves to a subscription faster than you can say “TV ADDICT”. One of the main reasons for getting Netflix was to watch the widely acclaimed, “Making A Murderer”. There’s a reason this Netflix original documentary has everyone talking and debating about the alleged innocence of one man who was falsely imprisoned for 18 years, released then convicted and sentenced to life for another crime. But seriously mamas, did he do it?!

Another Netflix favourite this month is a family friendly option. If you grew up saying, “Cut it out!” then you can definitely appreciate my excitement for the highly anticipated return of my favourite family from the late 80’s in “Fuller House”! Growing up, some of my best memories were watching “Full House” with my mum and sister after school. I mean, John Stamos was my first TV crush (who I happened to meet by chance in my freshman year of high school)! I can’t even begin to explain to you how excited I was when I heard the opening song, “Everywhere you look, everywhere you go. There’s a heart (There’s a heart!), a hand to hold onto…” I’m hoping my love for cheesy wholesome family sitcoms pass down to my kiddos!

In our house, there is always a debate over how many stories we read before bedtime. We love that Aiden loves to read but we also love to have some time to ourselves in the evening (amiright, mamas?)! Everly on the other hand is usually dozing off before we finish the first book!
In any case, here are some of our favourites this month:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin and John Archambault
Everly loves this one and who can blame her? We love a good rhyming book and this one is as catchy as they come! Follow along as the alphabet climbs up a coconut tree.

Pom Pom Gets the Grumps by Sophy Henn
I picked this adorable book up while I was in New York a few months ago. The story follows Pom Pom the Panda and how his day started off on the wrong foot. Pom Pom also reminds me a lot of my toddler when he gets the grumps!

Look Inside Cars by Usbourne
Gifted to Aiden from his godparents, he could spend hours (toddler hours = 10 minutes!) opening the many flaps on each page that reveals a new tidbit of information and cute graphics on his favourite topic of cars.

The Little Boy Who Lost His Name and The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name by David Cadji-Newby
This is a special one that comes into our reading rotation pretty regularly as it has been customised to Aiden and Everly’s name respectively. The story follows the protagonist, Aiden and Everly, who goes on many adventures to find the letters of his/her name. This is such a lovely newborn gift idea for family and friends.  

One of my new year’s resolutions this year was to pick up driving. For my North American mamas, you’ll understand my trepidation in putting petal to the metal on the “other side” of the road…! However, one of my goals is to conquer my fear of the narrow and windy roads on the south side of the island. The reason being is that we usually end up in either Shek O or The Pulse on the weekends. Since the weather has been warming up sporadically throughout February, we’ve had the chance to roll up our pants and dip our toes into the ocean. We feel like we can all breathe a little deeper and pause a little longer when we’re on the beach. In the competitive world that is schooling in Hong Kong, we want to teach Aiden and Everly that play doesn’t have to centre around an expectation, learning outcome or even a programme. Although our littles are both still under three, we want the importance of play to be foundational in their lives.

Well, the shortest month of the year has finally wrapped up. Whether you’ve had lots of high or some lows this month, I hope that lessons were learned and memories were made regardless of circumstances. It was great catching up with you, mamas. If you ever want to get in touch, email me at: [email protected] Here’s to an incredible month ahead!