Setting up my Midori

I have fully embraced journalling and planning, after joining a planner / journal group and being inspired by the worlds done by fellow journallers and planners. Gosh, didn't know this hobby could be addicting and ugh, expensive hahaha! Washi tapes, clear stamps, stamp pads, pens, stickers, and more have been my points of interest. Seriously burning a hole in my wallet. Not to mention of course purchasing a couple of planners hahaha!

Anyway, this is how I have set up my favourite journal so far (sorry, Moleskine, I've switched hahaha). I love my Midori travellers notebook and I am so glad that even though it is a but pricey (and is pricey to maintain because of the inserts), I know that this is the wisest investment I made when it comes to journalling. 

Unlike others though, I want to keep my Midori as simple as possible. Maximum of 3 inserts perhaps:

• Weekly with Memo inserts (2 for the whole of 2016, though I'm not sure if I will put them together - for my weekly journal
• Blank Insert - more in depth writing, including prayers
• Dotted Insert - my letters to my two kids
• Kraft Paper Insert - for travel

I also included the plastic insert that has slots for cards and a nice small zip pocket. Love love this!

I plan to have inspirational cards when I open my journal. The plastic insert will hold these.

The back of the front part of the insert contains wash tape samples and some sticky notes. Check out my charms: V letter, horse, butterfly, moon, and key. All have special meaning to me. :)

The zip pocket right now contains more inspirational cards but maybe in the future it will holed other things.

These are some of the loot that I got to help me be more creative in my journalling!

I have noticed two things: One, I am so much into gold. Two, my palette is on the neutral/muted side, no cutey-pie pastel or ultra vibrant colors. Hahaha. Plus, I'm more into vintage design stickers.

And since today I am stressed, I just dabbled on designing my journal entry for the first time. 

Kinda crappy looking but I do hope that with experience my designs will be better.

This hobby, together with modern calligraphy is what's keeping me happy and grounded so far. I love that it brings out the creativity in me, while at the same time helps me keep my memories for me to read in the future.

Read More

The Art of Gift Wrapping

Ever since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed wrapping gifts, whether these be for birthdays, Christmas, or any other occasion. It's a sad thought when i realised that as years passed by, I just relied on two things: either I have them wrapped in Rustan's, National Bookstore, or any other store that offered gift wrapping service. Worse, there was a time when only paper bags of the stores (whether they have themed paper bags or not) were the ones used as "gift wrappers."

This year, I have decided that those days are gone, and that I will go back to my liking for wrapping gifts. This time however, I choose to be a little more crafty, and to have my own brand or style of wrapping gifts. I bought a ball of twine from Craft Central, washi tapes from various sellers (mostly IG / FB sellers), and kraft paper (three huge rolls from a main supplier in Pasay) as my materials to wrap gifts. I also ordered customised gift tags (one for Christmas, one for any occasion) from Post Script Designs. I love Post Script's products and have been ordering from them since 2013! 

Anyway, I'm sure I would have so much fun wrapping gifts, thinking of ideas on how to make use of simple and inexpensive materials. 

This Christmas season, I have already started wrapping a few gifts, and although at first it was a bit tiring and such a slow start for me (I even got help from our helpers), I slowly got the hang of it. I loved the end products, I must say! Each gift has a different design, thanks to the number of Christmas-themed wash tapes I hoarded hahaha.

I plan to attend gift wrapping workshops in the future so that I would gain more knowledge, experience, and ideas in the art of gift wrapping. Oh happy heart! 

Read More

The Hunt for the Perfect Planner

I have always loved blogging, mainly because since I was a child, I loved to write in my journals. Though I stopped for a while, it truly is a blessing that I have rediscovered journalling. More than ever, I am focused in documenting my life, my thoughts and dreams, and even my kids' growing up years via this blog and a personal journal. Why the need for a written journal when there is the blogosphere right?

For me, there is a certain nostalgia and sentimentalism when it comes to writing in a journal. Besides, not all I can put here in my blog. :)

Anyway, I started hunting for the perfect journal/planner back in September, and I finally decided in getting this lovely Day Designer planner:

I'm not the type who likes cutesie stuff, but I do have a weakness for pink, polka dots, and gold. So imagine when I saw this one with all three elements! I have yet to receive this from the US - ordered this from Belle & Blush, but I look forward to using this for my daily chores, to do's, and most likely anything about our business - meetings, activities, and tasks.

Before November came, I got fixated with the Starbucks 2016 planner. Sure, I had those planners back in 2011-2013, even if I hardly drink coffee (officemates mates helped me back then!), but stopped for a year because I felt that after years of using it at the office, I didn't really use it. However, 2016 planner is different... thanks to its collaboration with Moleskine! Now we're talking, right?

I have been a Moleskine user as its notebooks served as my sketchbook and journal, so this was a happy surprise. I would love to have the white version (weekly with memo), and I am 3 stickers away from bagging it! I will most likely use this for my kids' schedules and school activities, plus most likely as my blog planner too. We'll see.

All the madness rushed in, and suddenly I am obsessed with finding the perfect journal that would serve as my main journal since my Moleskine got filled up already. I went to Scribe in Megamall, looking for the Midori limited Blue edition (Pan Am Edition) travel notebook, but I was told that there was no more stock. However, before I left the shop, I was called back, and the lady informed me that the one that was reserved hasn't been claimed for 3 days already, meaning I could have it! It must be fate. Upon seeing it the first time, I was IN LOVE. I knew this was the journal for me.

It is a bit expensive, and the inserts may break my wallet's spine (tehehehe), but having read all positive reviews, I know it is worth it. Besides, there are local suppliers selling in IG that sell their own version of inserts that fit the Midori Travel Notebook at much cheaper price. I got a few from Noted Journal, and others I have looked at are: Planners and Journals, Shmily Arts and Crafts, and CN Crafts. I was too tempted to get their own version of travel notebooks too, but had to restrain and tell myself that I already have a gorgeous Midori to keep me company.

I have also eyed Alunsina Handbound Books since 2013, but I ended up buying the Simplified Planner and the Home Base Binder by Emily Ley. On hindsight I wished I got the Alunsina notebooks too, but hey, no regrets, since the SP has served its purpose too.

The Alunsina journals are among the most gorgeous leather journals I have seen, plus they are locally made!

The brand also offers travel notebooks, a serious contender to the Midori.

I was really torn between the two, but the Midori finally won me over. There is still a very good chance I'd be getting one of these (or both journal and travel notebook), but for now, I think I should be contented with my Midori and maximise its full potential.

I really look forward to organising, crafting and documenting my life more, and hopefully these planners and journals will help me in my journey. :)

Read More

Home Insurance Woes

Finally. My home insurance (Fire Insurance and Mortgage Redemption Insurance) woes are over. I hope. I had to deal with my concerns for 2 days with BDO, and thank goodness I finally got to pay and settle. What's irritating about it was the fact that their customer service isn't that great, unless you call them up then you would feel a bit of a sympathy and that they truly were sorry for the confusion that caused delays and all.

But all is well now. Well, at least until the next billing (or shall I say non-billing) cycle comes along next year.

Good thing I don't have any concerns when it comes to my life insurance, of which I have Philamlife to thank for. I'm happy with my plan, although I am also looking for other insurance plans, this time for the hubby. I've seen some of equote's low cost life insurance, so that's an option as well. Anyways, enough of the woes and all. It was a fairly good day, and at least I accomplished something hat would have been more annoying if I wasn't able to pay that much attention to (imagine, the horror of paying someone else's home insurance!). Goodnight!

Read More

Jonathan Adler Happy Home Stuff

Guess what I got today?

Yup, it's the Jonathan Adler Happy Home 5-piece Vanity Set! This is what's inside...

Found it in one of the unlikeliest place to see it (well for me at least)... HMR along Pioneer! There's a lot of stock still, and the good thing is, it is on sale! From roughly Php 800 it became PhP 490 per set. That's a steal huh!

Love the aquamarine room scent too. Love love love. Get yourself one!

Read More

My Lavender Fields

This picture captures what I want in life. It also captures the very essence (and title) of my blog.

Read More

Storage Space Needed

Goodness! I just realized that our household has a lot of stuff, I even wonder now how all these actually fit in our small condo! This thought arose because lately I have been checking out what our needs are at home, and see if we need more renovations (like the living room wall where initially wanted more cabinets and wall-mount our TV). That's when I knew that we completely lack storage space. Either that or we seriously need to scale down and edit our things at home.

Anyways, short of checking out warehouse and steel buildings prices (yes I know, it's an exaggeration tehehehe), I am now seriously contemplating on buying space in our roof deck. It is kinda expensive considering it is just a bare space with steel borders to delineate each "stall." However, this might just be one of the solutions. Again, this or we really need to let go of our old stuff.

Maybe condo living demands one to be simpler, to edit things, and to dispose of stuff that are no longer used. Maybe it's because we have a small condo. One thing is for sure though... I need space!

Read More

Nakakaloka Ang Init!

The heat is on they say! But this summer is really one hot b*itch, you know!

Luckily we have a little balcony with small plants. This is one space I am thankful for every summer. Especially during those really hot nights. Yup, we do not have a central aircon in our little condo home, but it was by choice. We still get a small breeze but still, sometimes the heat gets tooooo much my head aches. Hahaha.

Anyway, I'm just here lounging in our balcony with my laptop in tow, a really nice glass of cold water, and the latest copy of Mtero Home & Entertaining.

I don't usually get Metro Home but it was the only available home magazine in the supermarket. Plus, it has a really nice headline: "Manila's Most Stylish Condos." Of course that caught my eye. I leafed through it briefly and I must say that I liked it. So far. The mag featured Acqua Livingstone residences by Missoni Home. Bitin yung pics!

The last Metro Home mag I got was last year:

Yes, I only get their issues that have "Condo" as their headlines. Hahaha, so sue me. Love the latest issue though.

That's it for tonight.

Gotta finish cooking our dinner.

Bicol Express.

Ironic, huh? :P

Read More

Long Holiday

It's Holy Week and we have decided to just stay in, reflect, and then spring clean the house.

I was hoping for a solemn weekend (at least from Thursday to Saturday) but it seems this will not be the case, as the house seems to be as busy as a beehive. Not to mention hearing the Plants vs Zombies sound effects and all - thanks, little girl. She's all hooked up with this game (including myself - guilty as charged) that when we had a short trip to the mall before they closed, she wanted to get a Plants vs. Zombies custom t-shirt! Oh well. Hahahaha.

However, I really want this to be a relaxing one. If not relaxing, at least fun long weekend. Don't want to think about work, don't want to think about anything except having fun and enjoying the day with my family. That's what matters after all.

So here's to a meaningful weekend to all of us.

Read More

Goop Spring!

Not sure what others feel about I definitely love reading GOOP - Gwyneth Paltrow's virtual corner! Haven't checked out her blog for the longest time, but I guess her newsletters are enough already. Latest that I've read and enjoyed were her Spring style and her dinner with Jose Andres.

Yup, two thing I like most: Fashion + Food. Hahahaha.

First up is the Spring Style. Check out it out here:

These were my faves:

Whew. Totally love all these looks. If I were to get all of these, I'd have to get lots of retail boxes to stack up all my loot, hahahaha!


Then there's the dinner newsletter here:

Check out the paella...

CHICKEN & PAELLA RECIPE:

¼ cup Spanish olive oil
3 cups diced seasonal vegetables such as green beans, zucchini, baby squash, cauliflower
1 cup seasonal mushrooms
2 pounds organic chicken legs and thighs, cut up
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
1 cup grated fresh tomato
a pinch of saffron
4 cups mineral water
½ cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika)
2 cups Spanish bomba or calasparra rice

Heat the olive oil in a 15-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, sear the vegetables until they get a nice brown color. Remove vegetables from the pan and reserve. Add the chicken in small batches to the pan and sear until skin is golden and crisp. Remove the chicken and reserve. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the grated tomato and cook for 1 minute making sure to scrape up all the browned bits from the chicken. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes.

Return the vegetables and chicken to the pan and pour in the mineral water. Allow the mixture to boil for 2 minutes to flavor the water. Then stir in the rice. Season to taste with salt and boil for 10 minutes. Do not stir the rice again, as this can cause the rice to cook unevenly.

Crumble the saffron across the top of the paella and sprinkle the pimenton evenly. Do not stir the rice. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the paella from the heat, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the paella rest for 5 minutes before serving.


GRILLED BUTTER OYSTERS RECIPE:

12 oysters
6 tablespoons butter
¾ teaspoon mace, freshly ground
¾ teaspoon Black peppercorn, freshly ground
Melt the butter in a small pan.

Place the whole, raw oysters on a rack on the grill. Allow the oysters to begin opening. Once they begin to open, immediately remove the flat half of the shell. Place the oysters back on the rack. Top the oysters with butter and allow the grill to flame up - this will add more flavor to the oysters. Sprinkle the oysters with fresh ground pepper and mace. Serve immediately.

Read More

After Dinner Activity

Like mother, like daughter!

Read More

New Things at Home

After being angered by our January Meralco bill (all-time high, seriously!), hubby and I decided that we should take a look at our existing appliances and see if any one of these are causing high energy consumption. Imagine, our bill doubled not because of the rate but because of our consumption. Que horror!

Anyways, enough of the drama. We decided to get a new ref (Panasonic with inverter technology) and a new aircon. Never mind that the ref was really big (we need this). Never mind that we got a higher HP aircon. As long as we feel that this will be more beneficial in the long run.

My concern now is where to put the old ones. The ref, we had a buyer who just got it tonight. The aircon, hmmm, tricky. If it can still be fixed then likely we'll just put it in the living room. But other than these two, I think we are in serious need of storage space. Our 60+sqm unit is just too small for us. Either that or we really have a lot of things. Our option is to get those cage storage spaces on the rooftop of our condo. I've been there, seen a lot of stuff stored by owners, from cabinets, to old chairs, and even bikes along with their kuat bike racks!

Problem is, them storage spaces are expensive too. Ack. Either we get one or we just carefully edit our things and recycle.

For now, I'm happy with my ref. The hubby? Happy with his aircon. Hahaha.

Read More

I Wish I Looked Good Wrapping Gifts!

Read More

Yaya / Helper Woes

For some reason I keep experiencing hiring household help who ends up leaving. Is it the condition of our home or do I just keep on getting the wrong people? Some have too many demands like going home and having overnight every weekend, while some do not like to wear uniforms even though the clothes are really nice and resemble nursing scrubs.

At some point it gets tiring, you know. So tiring that sometimes when I get a new housemate, it's Eanna's Yaya who just handles the introduction and Q and A portion. Too tired to repeat all the house rules, what the tasks are, what the expectations, etc etc.

Yup, I got a new household help. And I really hope this one's gonna last. Please, at least 1 year!

Read More

Appetite Magazine

It's been a while since I last bought food magazines (I prefer searching online or buying books instead), but the latest issue of Appetite magazine whetted my, ahem, appetite.

I love the recipes, I love the feature stories too. It's a must-buy for all you food lovers out there. check it out!

Read More

Current Online Reads

Aside from my Tumblr fix and Net-a-porter weekly online magazines, here is my current favorite online read:

A simply luxurious life, while full of the concept less is more, luxuriates in the decadence of high quality, complementary style and an appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us in decor, fashion, nature and people themselves.

This site is like wow. Lots of inspirational entries: from fashion, to food, to home design, to anything lifestyle. Plus I love reading about the reflections and insights. Must read!

Read More

Reminiscing: Injuries

Now, that nasty little cut (thanks to that nasty pair of scissors) I had last Friday was really something. It was not painful, it was small (but blood poured like crazy), but I had this dizzy, giddy-like feeling the whole time. It made me remember all those times when i had little cuts and bruises during my childhood. It also made me remember the time when I hit my shoulder very hard when I fell off the balance beam (gymnastics training). That "scarred" me in such a way that I could never perfect my freestyle position of my arm when swimming. I know, I should have gone to the doctor, and probably would have recommended that I use a rotator cuff brace.

My shoulder would've healed properly. Oh well, that's water under the bridge now right. Maybe next time, I should be more conscious when an injury happens to me, to the hubby, to the daughter (I hope not please!). Now at least I know that when shoulder injuries happen, it is best to use something to help it heal better, faster.

Read More

Heavenly Slippers

The first time I wore the Rustan's slippers during my La Mer facial in Shangri-La Makati, I fell in love. It was heaven for my feet. And so now that I had the chance to get myself one, I didn't hesitate...

Little girl wanted her feet to be part of the shoot too. Hehehe.

Read More

Scent for the Soul

I love this candle. I love the scent. Thank goodness I got this months back. Truly, a scent for the soul.

Read More

Of Buying Stuff Now

I must admit that other than having more savings and personal fulfillment, part of the reason why I went back to work is to reward myself without the guilt of using the husband's moolah. Yes, my dear lover has no issues about this whatsoever, but I know that at the back of my head I shouldn't be spending that much because it's only him who earns income.

And so in my one year of being a housewife I have curbed all (ok fine, most) of my appetite for big ticket stuff and lived simpler. Believe me, I didn't have a hard time -- maybe because I never lived beyond my means in the first place.

Zoom now, I'm back to work and of course, earn a couple of bucks. I rewarded my little daughter, my "secretaries" at home, and planned to reward the hubby when he's back (shoes or htc desire 2.2 perhaps). Then of course, I want to reward myself as well.

Yet here's the problem. Much as I want to get something I have longed for since early last year, I couldn't bring myself to click the "Purchase Now" button. I already typed in my credit card details, because this is really a once in a lifetime moment where I get this chance to purchase it, but no... I chickened out.

My thoughts? It's expensive. It's more than the little girl's tuition already. You know, those guilty-feeling thoughts.

Did one year of being a housewife truly altered my spending habits? I mean even while doing the groceries, I'm still very conscious unlike back then when I was working (before I stopped).

Is this is a good thing?

My husband must be sighing with relief.

Oh well. We'll see.

Read More