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Keeping up with Kat: March Favourites

Keeping Up With Kat March Favourites
Family LifePost Category - Family LifeFamily Life

Hi Mamas! Does time fly by or what? I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of the month and we’re into Spring already…

Check out my family’s monthly favourites, what we’re ordering, eating, reading and playing as well as where I’m getting some pampering and treating. I also share some recent thoughts on being a stay at home mama versus a working mama.

Ordering

A little late to the game, but this month I’ve finally discovered what the fuss was all about when it comes to Grana. I’ve passed by their store on Hollywood Road and in Causeway Bay several times but never had the chance to pop in. Recently, I was able to attend their DIY crafting session with the talented ladies from Crafties. We spent an hour sewing on chic elbow patches onto the super soft Pima cotton sweaters. Not only did I love my newly patched sweater, I was enamoured by the rest of the merch that hung in oh so perfect colour coordinated racks (the OCD in me was totally fan girling!). I was drawn to the beautiful Chinese silk pieces but was in such a rush I decided to check out their online store later that evening. I ended up ordering a light grey silk racerback camisole that came within a few days. It showed up in their signature blue box and wrapped in the cutest wrapping paper covered in graphics that showcase all the places their materials are sourced from around the world. Better late than ever, Grana, you’ve just added another fan to your growing list!

eating

Although we’ve had pretty miserable, rainy, London-esque weather in the 852 lately, we were spoiled with literally the best weather over the Easter weekend. Making sure we took advantage of the sunshine and blue skies, we headed down to The Pulse in Repulse Bay for a bite to eat with some friends visiting from out of town. It only seemed fitting to chow down at Limewood on such a gorgeous day at the beach. Aiden loved trying the charred corn fritters with sweet lime yogurt off their kid’s menu (but let’s be honest, I was more in love with those deep fried morsels!). We had their famous fish tacos, guac and chips, grilled corn, pork neck and BBQ chicken salad. I ordered the ice cold lemongrass and rosemary drink to wash it all down. We couldn’t leave without nom-ing down on their cinnamon churros, salted caramel dip and fresh coconut ice-cream (excuse me as I wipe the drool off my face…!). This place seriously hits the spot Every. Single. Time.

pampering

At Sassy HQ, we work hard and we play hard…! We also get to experience some pretty stellar perks from time to time. This month, a bunch of us girls in the office had the chance to get complete hair makeovers from the geniuses aka stylists at Daz Hair. Head stylist Darrin along with his talented team transformed and updated our looks. I have pretty thick hair and a typical appointment at any hair salon can usually last up to 5 hours (I know… big hair problems!) More often than not, I usually leave the appointment feeling a bit underwhelmed and disappointed that all those hours amounted to something I didn’t love instantly or could maintain myself. This was not the case at Daz! I chopped off around 5 inches, got my colour and balayage updated and left with a bounce in my step! I’ve been loving this fresh new look especially with the warmer weather ahead of us.

To compliment our new ‘dos, we were given a range of Living Proof products to try out. I love that their products are sulphate and silicon free – but more importantly to me, their entire line is safe for colour and chemically treated hair. No more of that brassy orangey, straw like hair…! My absolute favourite product in their entire line has got to be their Flex Shaping Hairspray. It smells incredible, doesn’t leave a crunchy texture AND it keeps all my insane baby hair in control (talk about that hair growth post hair loss after giving birth).

treating

One of hubby and my go-to treats near our neighbourhood is Oddies Foodies in Wan Chai. The beautiful marriage between Italian gelato and Chinese egg waffles. If we’re in the area running errands or having dinner – we’ll always pop by for a quick snack or dessert to end a meal. We love the classic Night Wolf (low fat soft gelato twisted with 66% dark with buttery crumbles, caramelised banana ice cream, passionfruit panna cotta, brownie and chocolate chip eggettes, and sprinkled with a touch of crunchy flakes!) but lately, we’ve opted out of the gelato and only ordered the Chinese egg waffles instead. But before you think these are just your regular, run of the mill egg waffles, let me stop you there. We’re talking about Chinese sausage egg waffle! They take the salty and sweet game to a whole ‘notha level! We’re also loving the pineapple egg waffle which has a really similar taste and texture to the Taiwanese pineapple cake filling. If you’re in the area or walking down Gough Street (new gelato flavours each week!) in Soho, definitely make a stop at Oddies Foodies – you won’t regret it.

reading

It’s no surprise to those who know my son, Aiden, that dinosaurs are simply his jam. If you subscribe to our Instagram account, you’ll see what I mean. A couple of months back while the hubby and I were in New York, we picked up this book called DinoBlock by Christopher Franceschelli. Following the success of it’s sister books (AlphaBlock and CountBlock) – this one introduces toddlers to a range of dinosaurs including helpful pronunciations for mamas and papas. Surprisingly, Aiden has learned to identify many of the dinosaurs including their difficult long names (um, micropachycephalosaurus anyone?)! We love the graphics and Aiden has this book on major rotation this month.

Everly on the other hand has been loving the raised parts of the touch, think, learn books by Xavier Deneux. We have Colors, Numbers and Farm and the minimalistic style of the pictures, to the bright colours and illustrations are a favourite one with our sweet girl. She loves flipping through them and of course being read to!

playing

The hubby borrowed a kite recently and we’ve been taking the kiddos out to fly it on the weekends. One of our favourite places is our best kept secret (but maybe not so secret for our Kowloon mamas!) is the grassy patch behind the Disneyland Hotel that faces the water with a long strip of boardwalk. It’s usually pretty quiet – even on the weekends so it makes for a great spot to fly a kite and have a little afternoon picnic. You’d be surprised to find that there are not many public areas that allow kite flying (beaches included!) so we were grateful to find this spot. When we finally got the kite into the air – the sheer joy on Aiden and Everly’s face was priceless. It’s moments like these that I know I will treasure forever.

There were a few times this month when I felt the struggle between balancing life as a working mum and making sure my kiddos felt like I was present. I remember when I was a full time SAHM (stay at home mum) I would look at my fellow mamas who were working and feel a twinge of jealously. They were pursuing their careers, able to eat whatever they wanted to for lunch and have the opportunity to have an adult conversation without constant interruptions! Now that I’ve started working, I find myself missing the kiddos a whole lot and experience major FOMO (fear of missing out) when I see my old fellow SAHM doing all the fun and mundane every day things I used to do.

It’s hard not to compare isn’t? But every time I do it – no matter how much I know it’s not productive thinking, I am reminded by those around me to stop comparing or looking at someone else’s “plot of land” (the grass is always greener…). Instead, I’m learning to embrace this season in my life and be thankful for what I have in each moment. I feel like this is something I will need to remind myself and re-learn time and time again. So basically… working mamas and stay at home mamas – you do you. Know that we at Sassy HQ support you regardless of your choices.

I have a feeling I’m not alone in my search to find balance every day. If any of you ever want to write more about your experiences or get involved in our community in some capacity – please email me at [email protected], I would love to hear from you!

heart-peach

Until next time, stay sassy, mamas!

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