I had finally settled the hotel reservations in Bali; being such a cheap skate after lots (and I mean LOTS) of hunting around, comparing locations, prices, checking out reviews, we’d finally settled for 2 small properties, Ellie’s in Nusa Dua and Barong Resort & Spa in Ubud. Not sure if it’s such a good idea not staying in those big reputable resorts, especially with Zara, but I like smaller places (not having to compete with big tour groups), we shall see.

(Thanks to those who had suggested places to stay in my last post)

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Yesterday, I invited my side of the family over for tea and dinner. We ate out for dinner but for tea, I baked some scones.

Simple recipe of mixing everything in the food processor, cutting the dough up, and then baking it.

Nothing beats fresh from the oven scones with a dollop of whipped cream and strawberry jam.

I baked about 30, and at the end of it, we have about 6 left for today’s breakfast. 9 of us took 24 scones!! But they are pretty small though.

As for Zara, since her 1st birthday, she’d never seen so many people in our house before. She had fun, playing with her cousins, going to the park with them, and best of all, getting to see her youngest cousin, baby Tasha (her inspiration to become a baby) again!

Playing with Norman Ko-ko; getting ready to go out for dinner; giving Tasha a big hug (almost suffocating her in the process); Tasha giving us a rare smile (she’s grown so much, compared to older photos).

In the car, while on our way to home after dinner, I asked her, “Zara happy or not? So many people came to Zara’s house to play with Zara?” She said, “Happy! *pointed to her chest* Zara.”