{bubble tea love}

I first tried chia seeds when I started getting into green smoothies  last year.  I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.  At that time, all I knew was that chia seeds were those those things from Chia Pets that you may have had as a kid!  They are actually quite the superfood and full of nutrients, antioxidants, omega 3 etc.   I used to see all these chia seed pudding recipes and was very skeptical but chia seeds soaked overnight with some milk, honey and topped with fresh fruit really is yum and a good option for breakfast or dessert.   Then I saw this recipe this morning on Beauticate ... rose and figs - two of my favourite things!  I definitely want to try this recipe out.  

Australian illustrator, Megan Hess , has just launched a gorgeous collection of limited edition lace inspired prints that can be purchased on her site. Super beautiful.  I am so tempted to get one for my walls at home.. LOVE.

This year marks 50 years of the iconic Carla Zampatti fashion label.   After being denied a pay rise from her  £13 a week job designing blouses for a wholesale fashion house in 1964, she launched her own label a year later and the rest is fashion history.  The fashion house  celebrated yesterday with the 2015 Spring/Summer showcase in Sydney at the Opera House.   A beautiful, elegant and gorgeous collection.   Well played Ms Zampatti. 

A great Linkedin career advice post from Shane Rodgers appeared on my Facebook feed this morning.  Although it is titled advice for 25 year olds I think it rings true for all ages and all careers.  The full post is here but I have extracted a few I particularly liked:  A career is a marathon, not a sprint Chill. When we are younger we tend to be impatient... Most success comes from repetition, not new things ...The lesson here is to get good at things before you try to move to the next thing. Genuine expertise belongs to an elite few. They seldom have superpowers. They usually have endurance, patience and take a long-term view. They also love what they do. If your find that, don’t let it go. Deprioritise your career when your kids are young If you have skills, commitment and passion, careers tend to take care of themselves. Over the long haul, it really doesn’t matter if you have a few years when your career is in canter mode while you prior...

The Design Files has featured Vietnamese recipes all this month in its Tasty Tuesday series courtesy of Michael Pham of the Phamily Kitchen . All my faves are there including Thit Kho (caramelised pork belly and eggs), Pho  and Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancake).  Click here for all the recipe links.

In Australia around Easter time you can expect to find hot cross buns selling in every supermarket and bakery in town.  They are a must have at this time of year.   However, in Singapore they are an extremely rare commodity. After seeing lots of pics of hot cross buns on Instagram, I was having a serious craving for them.  We had no big plans for the long weekend so I decided to try baking them for us.  I was very chuffed as they turned out great! We even ended up making two batches over the long weekend as we brought a dozen over to our friend's place for Easter Sunday lunch. They are surprisingly quite easy to make but it just takes a bit of time as you have to wait for the dough to rise and proof. I googled and found this recipe from the BBC  which seemed the easiest and most fuss free.   I skipped the fresh fruit and just used 230g of dried mixed fruit.  I also used marmalade/other citrusy jam for the glaze as I didn't have any apricot jam...