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Archive for the ‘hottie thoughties’ Category
    
It’s Monday, and Jacqie’s in Japan spreading the Gin & Jacqie love around! Which brings us to this Monday’s perk-me-up about a Japanese boy and his French bulldog. Tokyo-based mother, Aya Sakai, has been posting up awwwwweeee-some pictures on Instagram of everyday bonding sessions between her boy and his best friend, and seriously, it doesn’t get any cuter than this. If you’re having a gloomy start to your Monday, we can assure you that your day – and week – will turn around after following Aya Sakai and her snippets into this amazingly adorable friendship. And if you’d like a peek into Jacqie’s journey around Japan, don’t forget to also follow US on Instagram!
Have a great week ahead, folks!
Tags: kids, love, mommy stuff, mondays schmondays, recommended links
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This week’s Mother’s Day giveaway comes from none other than one of our favorite local handmade brands, Oh & Ah! We wrote about Oh & Ah wayyyy back when (click to read), but the brand has expanded heaps since then. With new products under their legally charming belts, Oh & Ah has proven that a little innocence and a lot of good design sense goes a really long way. We asked them to recommend three of their latest products for those of you who aren’t familiar with the brand, and here’s what they picked:
“Our Bus Series has been really popular among the Lapan crowd. There are three designs available for purchase: bus sekolah (a long yellow school bus for RM79), bus mini (a smaller model in pink at RM59), and our latest addition which is the zoo bus (RM79). Right now, the bus mini is sold out.”
“Another favorite among customers is our Elephant design light (retailing at RM230). These lights are made of clay, and are attached with a lightbulb AND dimmer. We love hearing what people decipher this clay guy to be; some have said monkey, others have thought of him as an odd-shaped man, the list goes on… However, to us he is an elephant!”
“These little guys sunbathing on patches of grass have been on constant repeat through our collections since the days of setting up shop at Art for Grabs. We love them because to us, they represent Malaysia’s hot weather, where so many enjoy a wonderful sunbathing temperature of 30 degrees almost all year round. Now they’re available on easy-to-wear rings, adjustable to fit all sizes. They retail at RM39 each, and are really fun conversation pieces to have on hand (pardon the pun!)!” <—EDITOR’S NOTE: Ellie couldn’t resist these adorable sunbathing dudes, and has bought a few already!
The generous peeps of Oh & Ah are giving away three Hello Marks (first picture of this post) to three lucky followers of Gin & Jacqie! There are two ways you can win yourself a handsome little bookmark by Oh & Ah:
Facebook: leave us a comment on our Gin & Jacqie wall and tell us about a favorite story or book your mom used to read to you when you were younger.
Instagram: snap a picture of your favorite childhood storybook as read to you by your beloved mom, and hashtag #ginjacqie #lovebooks so that we can keep track of all entries. Please note that if your account is set under Private, we will be unable to see your tags, so do leave us a comment on our Oh & Ah instagram pic to inform us of it!
This contest will run from today up ’til the 24th of May 2013. In addition to their generous prizes, Oh & Ah are also giving away a 10% discount to everyone! Simply type in “ iloveumom” upon checkout on their shopping site to redeem. This discount lasts up to the 30th of June 2013, so stop wasting time and get to purchasing some awesomely handmade stuff!
Tags: contest, deco, gift ideas, gin & jacqie, kids, local loves, love, mommy stuff, recommended links
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Closets turn office spaces are the new ingenuity, and Natalie Wright’s closet office space fits just right with us! Neat, organized, and just an ideal use of space, we wouldn’t mind being cornered in this little office! For more images and Natalie’s workspace tour, visit Apartment Therapy, and for some tips on how to convert your extra closet into an office, check out these nifty notes.
Tags: friday inspirations, inspiration, interior
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Since we’re celebrating Mother’s Day for an entire month here at Gin & Jacqie, we thought it’d be apt to introduce you to Emila Yusof, one of Malaysia’s talented and established artists. “….an illustrator, a children’s book writer, a blogger, and a seasonal traveler” is what Emila describes herself as, but first and foremost, she’s a loving mother. She has published many children’s books that bring to light our local cultures and heritage, and is currently working with big names to illustrate travel covers and advertisements.
  
While the illustrations are a great bonus to visiting her personal blog, it’s her posts as a mother and a traveler that keeps us checking in. Her recent travel log to Hong Kong Disneyland with her son was a helpful insight to parents hoping to visit soon.
So if you’re a parent looking to get to know another, we highly recommend Emila Yusof. Light, entertaining, and filled with loving illustrations, her blog and journey will keep you inspired.
Tags: inspiration, kids, local loves, mommy stuff, recommended links
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1. Mama maternity dress in black RM79.90 2. Gin & Jacqie’s Piper baby bag 3. Gold-framed aviator sunglasses RM19.90 4. Cardigan in beige marl RM39.90 5. Brown sandals RM79.90
When I was pregnant, affordable maternity fashion was hard to come by. Because of the ridiculously high prices of maternity fashion found around KL (the price of a basic pair of maternity shorts with elastic waistband was easily going for RM99) I was fully dependent on just buying sack designs from department stores to get by my constant shifting shape. In fact, one thing that I learned after my first pregnancy was that I needed clothes that would transcend through pregnancy and beyond. A woman’s body can transform tremendously, and while pregnancy does bring out the best glow, it can also bring to light a lot of insecurities, even more so postpartum. I realized that my old clothes couldn’t get me through the months before I lost the weight, neither could my pregnancy clothes fit due to the shrinkage of my body. Not only that, but breastfeeding affects fashion in a way I never expected! Everything I wore had to be easily removed and accessible, and easy to clean. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking like the fashionable mom I desperately wanted to be!
Most are unaware of this, but H&M has been carrying their maternity line in our local stores, and the pieces are as affordable as they are functionally comfortable. In fact, I’ve purchased a few pieces postpartum, and they relate as well now as they did when I was still equipped with a newly deflated belly. One of my favorite buys was the Mama Maternity dress, and it is on constant cycle with my Gin & Jacqie Piper baby bag. The combination of both keeps me stylish in a subtle manner, and the bag’s print brings a little fun into an otherwise basic outfit. Paired with sandals (swollen postpartum feet), classic aviators, and a comfy cardigan, this is a great ensemble for those cosy days out. Replace the sandals with a nice pair of flats, and you’ve got yourself a work to drinks outfit!
Change is hard for everyone, whatever the situation may be. But with change, comes progress. And with progress, comes great and affordable fashion that supports us through the many stages of moving forward. Have a great Tuesday, folks!
Tags: gin & jacqie, mommy stuff, tuesday trend talk
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For the month of May, Gin & Jacqie, alongside some popular local brands, have come together to reward all those lovely moms out there! Each will, we will reveal a new giveaway, and to keep updated, you should check in here or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. This week, we would like to introduce our favorite place for those fun-filled family breakfasts: MARMALADE!
    
Chosen as Timeout’s Best Healthy Eats three years in a row, Marmalade Café has come a long way from being one of the first eateries in Kuala Lumpur to promote healthy living through heartwarming, homemade recipes. Marmalade has a menu for every tummy, from generous salads, to hearty meals of homespun pies and lasagnas. And because Marmalade caters to families, there are specially designed children’s areas for your little ones to play and mingle in, as well as a menu consisting of yummy and healthy treats just for kids. Marmalade also handles many private functions as well as public events, and has become a popular favorite among parents to throw their kids’ birthday parties at.
Recently, Marmalade also collaborated with Lilie Pilie, a homegrown brand of handmade nursing covers, to spread public breastfeeding awareness. Lilie Pilie has generously provided Marmalade with nursing covers that are displayed and readily available at both Marmalade outlets for the convenience and ease of breastfeeding customers. This is part of Marmalade’s initiative to establish a loving and nurturing voice within the food industry.
   
In conjunction with Mother’s Day, Marmalade has generously provided Gin & Jacqie customers with RM10 vouchers to be spent at their light and airy branch in Publika! From today ’til the 10th of May, those who spent RM100 and above at Gin & Jacqie’s online store will be rewarded with a RM10 voucher! Simply print your receipt along with the voucher, and enjoy a meal at Marmalade! Also, Marmalade has a special something brewing for Mother’s Day, so follow them on Facebook to keep from missing out!
Stay tuned for more great deals and giveaways, only here at Gin & Jacqie 
Tags: gift ideas, gin & jacqie, giveaway, local loves, marmalade, mother's day
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It was definitely an experience to go through the Below The Line challenge – and the G&J team pulled through the week within the affixed budget. The word ‘challenge’ couldn’t be more applicable as each of us had a bit of a block at times in searching for a meal within KL that conforms to the RM5 limit!
Here’s a recap of our Below The Line dishes below – tasty or bland, you be the judge of that!
It’s always a little tough to eat a hearty breakfast in the morning, so we opted for quick but filling meals throughout.
 A small but delectable cheese stick from Lavender, priced at RM2.20.  We are quiche fanatics. This quiche is part of a larger slice from Delifrance, priced at RM7.80. She split it with her sister, totaling her breakfast up to RM3.90.  Sumptuous fried koay teow for breakfast that came at RM5 a plate. Yes please!
Meanwhile on the lunch front, our scout and quest to stay within our meager budget continues.
 Ellie sets the bar pretty high with her cheese and chicken wrap for lunch! Made from ingredients that can easily make a couple more batches – provided if we aren’t sick of wraps by then!  Jacqie and Cheri’s lunches! Both at the price of RM5 per bowl, the Sarawak noodles and soup noodles were pretty tasty!  We never say no to penne – not even when we had to dig up our previously used tuna from the fridge. Only RM2.20 per portion in comparison to restaurants! Busy people calls for breezy dinners too! Our schedule lately has been absolutely crazy yet rad, so this often means comfort food sans the luxury. One thing we absolutely didn’t scrimp on was flavor, and it was one constant throughout these 5 days that really made us appreciate the smaller things in life.
 Dinner was light with a simple bowl of plain congee, topped with some ginger and a dash of basil and Marmite. This humble dish when prepared at home can cost as low as RM2 to RM3.  Economy rice anyone? The trick to getting a meal below RM5 is taking the right portion and add-ons. Here with steamed egg, veggies and some meat only fetched RM4.80.  Nasi lemak is always a good choice whenever. We topped it up with good ol buttered toast, bringing the total to RM4.80. And thus concludes our Below The Line challenge! It left us feeling much, much more worldly and even more grateful for what we have. Material wealth aside, we are much more fortunate that those who struggle from day to day. So peeps, waste not, want not, and lead an inexpensive lifestyle! In fact, your wallet will also thank you for it. (;
If you want to revisit what we said last week on Below The Line, you’re more than welcomed to! Also, not forgetting the rest of Ellie’s deliciously low-cost meals documented here.
Tags: below the line, challenge, dinners, lunches, malaysia, mondays schmondays
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