Top Ten IG Shops for Mommies!

When I discovered the magical world of instashops, I was hooked. Not only are they selling cheaper than normal retail shops, they are also selling things you simply can’t find anywhere else in Malaysia! Most of them also deliver to your front step, making it super convenient. Of course since I’m a mom, most of my favorite shops are mom-centric.

My criteria for this list are 3 things--updated almost daily, very niche items, and having good feedback.

Let’s begin!

1. RTW Store

My favorite among favorites! Cheaper than retail strollers and travel systems, with a variety of brands to choose from. No wonder they have almost close to 30,000 followers!

Sells: Cosatto, Babyjogger, bugaboo, babyzen yoyo, maxi cosi, nuna etc. There’s too many to name! Just give them a visit and you’ll see!

2. The Posh Poufs

My favorite among all headband makers. Gorgeous, carefully made headbands for your little princesses. Custom made and ready made alike.

3. Bebe Bundo

They recently launched their webstore. The premier baby and kids moccasin shoe makers in Malaysia! A batch of new collections just came out and I wanna cry at their fabulousness.

4. LilMunchkin Store

Look out for USA baby brands like Carter’s, Old Navy, Baby Gap, Ralph Lauren and Timberland. You buy on pre-order basis, but the cheaper price justifies waiting.

5. Charms & Beads

First of the non-mommy variety! I know Pandora is already in Malaysia but have you seen the prices? One word—cut throat! This instashop solves your woes .. get a bracelet or charm at a fraction of the price in Malaysia! Yes, it’s pre-order basis.

6. Sweettoothville

I was getting bored of the usual cakes when I stumbled upon this inspiring instashop! The cakes are made to order and they can sculpt almost anything. They’ve made custom cakes for Nora Danish, and the king!

7. SJ World of Babycakes

Who doesn’t love macarons? and homemade? Enough said.

8. EZ Diet

Healthy 7 day meals sent to your doorstep. Endorsed by Sazzy Falak, the fitness enthusiast.

9. Kufi On Kanvas

Gorgeous gorgeous Islamic artwork from very talented people. Price ranges from RM 200 and above.

10. Lisda Home Spa

This last one is so awesome because let’s face it, after a massage session, you really just wanna sleep. You can, because they’ll come over to your house for the massage.

Hope the list was useful to you. Give them a try and let’s support small businesses.

Penang

Last month, me, hubs and baby went on our first 4 hour travel together to the north of Malaysia, in Penang.

The last time I was in Penang was maybe 8 years ago. The Penang I remember then is nothing like the Penang now. First I have to say Penang is so awesome!! It’s so different from KL or any other city in Malaysia.

The drive to Penang went quite smoothly despite having a baby on board who has no sense of time or patience. There was only one meltdown that required us to stop the car. Other than that it was good. Upon arrival in Penang, it was already nighttime and we decided to get a bite to eat hawker style at Gurney Drive.

If you went to Penang, there is a list of food that you must try. One of them is Pasembor, or we call it rojak in KL. There’s this one particular hawker that was so popular that we had to try. His stall is stall no 9. The gravy is sweet with just the right hint of spiciness. It was so good that the following morning we went out looking for more pasembor, only to learn that pasembor is an evening dish and rarely do they serve them in the morning. As my dad put it, ‘no one opens their pasembor stall in the morning. People will just laugh if you go looking for it.”

Usually our travel itinerary is a very straightforward mantra--- we do what we wanna do. But since baby is on tow, our itinerary is dictated by our ability to lug around baby and by the position of the sun. With that in mind, we decided to take on botanical gardens and bukit bendera in the morning.

For the record, we love gardens and parks. For someone who has been to several botanical gardens in and out of the country, I would say Malaysia has one of the best botanical gardens. And out of my favorite botanical gardens, this is one of the best in terms of variety and upkeep.

We met the fern garden keeper and he invited us in to give a short tour. Every now and then they will climb up to Gunung Jerai and other jungles to pick up a new plant for the botanical gardens.

Penang Botanical Garden also known as Taman Kebun Bunga with Bukit Bendera as backdrop.

The next place we went to was Bukit Bendera. I’ve been on the hill previously. What’s different this time is it’s new funicular train. Also the love lock wall on top of Bukit Bendera.

Also worth mentioning up here we get to check another food off the must try list. Penang Char Kuey Tiaw. It was so good me and hubs had to order a second serving.

A good baby carrier is a travelling must-have!

Later that evening, we decided to explore Georgetown itself. Around 4pm, the sun was still hot outside. So the only option was to hire a trishaw. Walking may be fun but riding a trishaw around Georgetown beats anything and it was the highlight of the trip.

We got assigned to an uncle who looked about 70. He insisted on taking us on a one hour tour, so we took it. At one point I honestly wanted to kick hubs out to replace the poor uncle but he looked fine throughout.

Georgetown is a beautiful city. Old colonial buildings line the streets unlike other modern cities. The roadside was clean. The shops were unique and most looked like they’ve survived decades.

Besides Kuala Terengganu, I gotta say Georgetown is my other favorite city in Malaysia.

Anyway, I highly recommend touring Georgetown on a trishaw!

Georgetown has lots to offer. The beach area, Batu Feringghi is also highly popular but honestly, I find it a little overrated. I’d say skip the beach and explore Penang city instead.

Okay that’s it for Penang. I would definitely come back for the city and food!

Review: Babyjogger City Mini

All I can say about the Babyjogger City Mini is wow. I can only sing praises for it. We started using the Babyjogger City Mini when Naila was about 3 months old. The back can be reclined almost flat and 3 month old Naila had no problem being comfortable in it.

The first thing I notice about it compared to other ‘everyday’ stroller is how sturdy it is. The build is strong unlike most easy-fold lightweight strollers. It weights approximately 7kg—which is on the heavier side of the lightweight category but unlike most, this stroller is suitable for baby from birth up to 22 kg.

At first I thought the seat could use a little more padding, but then we started using it at the park where it was really hot and humid so we thought it was perfect. Just that to make the baby more comfortable, we added the infant insert.

We used the stroller on all sorts of surface—pebbled sidewalks, brick roads, tar roads, wooden floors, in the mall.. you name it. The big tires just glided over them smoothly. These are not air pumped tires like the F.I.T. jogging strollers but they are just as durable.

 

Another thing we loved about the stroller is the huge sunshade. In fact, that was the push to buy the stroller. Living in Malaysia, we knew that we were going to be outdoors or walking out in the hot sun, so the sunshade is so important for us. There are two levels of shade coverage. When you push down the shade it totally covers the baby inside that only her legs are exposed.

Then there’s the fact that the stroller can be folded up and opened with just one hand. I can’t begin to tell you how important this is especially when you’re alone with the baby and you don’t wanna spend another second to figure out how to open the stroller.

The stroller folds flat, and fits our compact car boot. I mean how awesome is that? If there isn’t enough space, the back tires can be taken off.

The stroller has all the basic features such as tire brakes, luggage basket, swivel front tires and it comes in many colors. Add-ons include cup tray, belly bar, weather shield, glider board and a parent console.

To sum it up, we love, love the Babyjogger City Mini! It’s compact enough, lightweight, sturdy and pretty much fits our active lifestyle. Plus the baby is loves it too. Totally recommended from birth.