3 Easy Steps on How to Clean the Kitchen Fast, Efficient and Fun!

Storm after the party! LOL!

OK! Let’s face it.

It’s hard to clean up after the party.

Kris and I will share to you how to clean up your kitchen in a fast, efficient and fun way by just remembering this 3 steps.

1. It should always be a TEAMWORK!

No matter how small it is, even throwing the garbage in the bin outside or wiping the plates dry can make a big difference.

Try to involve everyone.

Families with small children can take this opportunity to teach kids how to work as a team. Give high fives every after task finished.

2. Turn the TIMER on!

This is my favourite part. It’s in our nature to race with deadlines. Kris says he works more efficiently when he knows his art show is going to be in a few weeks time and I hurry to work so I won’t be late.

Why don’t we apply this to cleaning?

Putting a time boundary in tidying up the kitchen saves you from spending a longer time cleaning up. I finish putting up everything in it’s order with an average of 20-40 minutes. Before, I use to maybe spend 1 hour or more. This of course depends on how heavy the load is.

No! I don’t take time in the kitchen not unless I’m cooking or baking which I don’t really mind.

Since then, it has helped us keep track of our precious time and we ended up cleaning the kitchen quickly. We now have more time to spend with other important things like going out for coffee or gardening. 🙂

You can do this with kids as well. You can call it ” The Amazing Kitchen race”! Sounds fun!

3. Work from LEFT to RIGHT!

Have you ever thought of where do I even starrrrt?

There are a lot of ways to know where to start but as for me, I start working from the left to the right side of the kitchen. Why? because this way I find it accomplishing to see little achievements. For example, seeing the left side of the kitchen bench clean makes me feel good and that I just have to move forward to clean up the whole space.

Thanks for reading our blog everyone! Let us know if this kitchen hack has helped you. We hope to hear from your stories and would absolutely like to know what are your other techniques on how to clean your kitchen in a fast, efficient and fun way.

Lots of love,

Kris and Aileen

Christmas Tree Humour

Kris and I being nurses are shift workers who works on rotating shifts ( Morning, Afternoon and Evening). This photo shows our entire 2 weeks of laundry that needs to be folded.

We’ve been very busy at work recently and Kris just finished off his night shift this morning. I did not realise the pile was this tall till I placed them altogether in one big container.

We just finished our Christmas Eve dinner and thought of making fun of it before folding them. I remember I saw a post on facebook last year about another nurse who also had a pile of laundry and decorated it into a Christmas tree.

This post is just remembering our fellow nurses whom we can relate on how tiring it can be from work that we sometimes can’t be bothered tidying up. We call this “Can’t be Bothered Moments of our Life”.

We would like to say it’s ok 🙂 When you feel like the work is never ending, you just have to drop everything and go out and breathe. Go and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend, go out for a walk or take your family to the park instead of doing the household chores.

For all the people out there working this Holiday season whatever occupation you are in, we wish you a Merry Christmas and big thank you for sacrificing your time to be at work in this season.

God bless you. 🙂

Merry Christmas to all 🙂

Mango Float

Easy steps on how to make a Mango Float.

Our native country Philippines is known to grow the best Mango in the entire world! Yes, that’s right! In fact it was recorded as the world’s sweetest mango in the world by Guinness Book of World Records.

When we moved to Australia this year I was thrilled to know that they grow sweet mangoes as well. Since then, mango has become my daily snack. Australian mangoes are really big and one mango can make you feel like you’ve eaten a full meal.

Kris and I love desserts. One of our favourite dessert is Mango Float. It tastes sweet and can be very addictive that’s why you must share it (or gain extra weight). For those who haven’t tasted it yet, it is somewhat similar to a tiramisu but with mango flavour minus the coffee and chocolate. If you are a mango lover, this dessert is definitely for you. Absolutely divine and an instant crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

3 sweet mangoes

2 tubs thickened cream

1 can condensed milk

2 packs sponge fingers/lady fingers (or you can use Graham biscuits as alternative)

What you’ll need:

Egg beater or electric mixer (Choice between the two will affect the texture of the cream. For a fluffy mixture of the thickened and cream and condensed milk I suggest using an electric mixer.)

Spatula

Mixing bowl

Wide rectangular container

1. Lay the first layer of sponge finger into the container.

2. Pour the mixture of thickened cream and condensed milk on top of the layered sponge finger. Use spatula to spread the mixture evenly.

3. Put slices of mango on top of the cream mixture.

4. Repeat steps 1 , 2 and 3 till the desired number of layers (usually 3 layers will do).

5. Add final layer of cream mixture and dust the top layer with crushed sponge fingers. Then style it with slices of mango. This is my favourite part. 🙂

6. Cover and place in the fridge overnight to soak the sponge fingers with the cream.

ENJOY!

Monstera De MAFIA

How to look after your Monstera Deliciosa.

Kris and I are both plant lovers.

One of our favorite plant is called Monstera deliciosa.

Why is it called “deliciosa”? It’s because this plant eventually bears fruit that tastes so delicious. I haven’t tasted it yet but apparently it tastes like a combination of berries, passion fruit, pineapple and mango! Tropical huh? Fruit Salad in one plant! Yum!

This plant was gifted to me by my previous work colleagues before we left New Zealand. We bought it here from Flower Power Australia. Thank you ladies.

I don’t work for the real “Mafia” but in some workplaces, where a bunch of Filipino girls are working together we automatically get called “The Mafias”. We are of similar height, weight, hair and skin colour, and we go on tea’s and lunch breaks on a well organised time schedule – I guess that’s how they decided we behave like a mafia. So I named the plant after them.

This is our second Monstera plant. We sold our first monstera in NZ simply because we had to move overseas. We have looked after our Monstera plants very well and we do get a lot of queries on how to look after them.

I am going to share to you the most important tips to keep your Monstera strong and healthy.

1. Keep away from direct sunlight and heat source. Monsteras like bright areas and should be placed under a shade.
2. Use a LARGE POT with DRAINAGE. Monstera’s grow really BIG if well taken cared of and that’s what we all want. Good water drainage allows the plant to breathe and not drown in the water.
3. Wipe the dust off from the leaves and mist with cold water. This helps the leaves absorb energy from the sunlight for growth. Spraying cold mist keeps them fresh just like having a shower.
4. Rotate the pot at least once a week so all of the leaves are evenly spread out.
5. Water thoroughly. Make sure that the top soil is completely dry before the next watering. Empty the drain every now and then.
6. Water more in Summer than in Winter. Monstera is at it’s peak of growth around summer and slows down in Winter.
7. Water with fertiliser mix at least every fortnight.
8. Inspect for pests, scales and diseases hiding underneath the leaves and the stems.

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Our first Blog. Ever.

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our Blog!

This photo was taken 10 years ago when Kris and I were still very young at heart! Char lang! 🙂

This was when Kris’ sister got married in Bohol and they have to fly back to the Philippines from New Zealand. I was still in Cebu that time waiting for my application abroad.

Kris and I were in a long distance relationship for a few months but broke up even before he returned back to the Philippines. Sooo, it was very awkward the first time we see each other at the airport.

Even then, we remained friends and he got me some “Pasalubong” of Chocolates. I was even the bridesmaid of his sister’s wedding.

They say ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends cannot be friends anymore but we chose to stay friends despite our failed romantic relationship.

Fast forward, after 4 years, we got back together and we got married the following year.

We can say that truly “Love is Sweeter the Second Time Around”.

Our goal as a married couple is to inspire people around us by our story and creativity. We believe that God has given each one of us a good story to tell and a talent to share. Feel free to message or comment in our blog and we would be glad to answer any questions.

So come and follow us on our adventure.  Let us journey together.

God bless you.