Join Dainty Mom's Fabulous Giveawayssssss

Dainty Mom, one of my favorite mommy blogs, has just turned two years old! =) With that, Mommy Martine is giving out fabulous prizes for all of us.

One, she's giving out one custom blog header and badge design from Fancy Girl Designs. Fancy Girl Design is the favorite go-to designers of mommy bloggers because of her super pretty and cute designs. She was the one who designed my own blog face! =D

Two, she's giving out a Dwell Studio Photo Album and a WAHM eBook! You guys should see the Dwell Studio photo album. So sosy the design! This is perfect to put on your coffee tables for your house guests. And if you don't already know yet, Martine is one of the work at home moms that I look up to. It's not easy to be a work at home mom ha. Ako hindi pwede diyan because at home, lagi akong tinatawag ng kama ko. Pero si Martine, she can be very, very productive in the comforts of her own home and can take good care of her family at the same time. Kaya feeling ko, those who are pegging to be a Work at Home Mom the book, How To Be A Work At Home Mom, is perfect for you!

Three, for all you breastfeeding moms, she's giving away, a Latch a Babe layered nursing tank and a set of Baboobsies from I Love Sunshine Babies Boutique too!!


Four, she giving away TWO Manila Baby Shop Bags to three lucky readers.

And fifth, yes fifth na. She's giving away two jars of Charlie Soap from Going Green, an online eco store!


Whew!

Ayaw ni Martine magblog giveaway no?! Hahahaha!

It's so bongga because the Dainty Mom blog is two years old! So my dear readers, head on to her blog and join these fabulous giveaway. You know, it's not everyday a mommy blogger gives out, not one, but five giveaways ng isang bagsak!!!

Martine, you already!!!!

Congratulations and happy second year birthday to your blog! =)

This Kid Is It! --- Fruity Patootie Pipa!

Our featured baby in today's this kid is it is the daughter of the mommy behind the blog, Eleora.

Watermelon Dress: korean brand

Have your kids featured in the Mommy Fleur blog's This Kid Is It! =) You can email me the cute photos of your babies with a brief description and clothes credit. Open to kids 0 to 10 years old.

Because Filipino kids are just so adorable and fashionably fierce! =)

Anika's Cousin's 2nd Birthday Celebration

Last Sunday afternoon, Anika attended the second birthday party of her one and only first cousin, Gabo. Gabo is the son of Alvin's only brother and sibling =)

Here are some photos from that day:

Outfit of the day: Zara Baby dress, Stride Rite sandals

Outfit: Forever 21 top, Divisoria shorts, Forever 21 belt, Topshop sandals

So pogi!!!!

Happy birthday Gabo!! We love you!!!

On Bags and Closets

I love bags. Hindi lang halata because I don't include my bags in my outfit of the day posts. Nakakatamad kasi maglipat lipat ng eklaver from bag to bag! Especially for someone like me na dala ang buong Corregidor sa bag every single day!

At home, my bags are stored in one giant plastic case. The coat rack that I was using to hang my bags retired last year. As in bigla na lang siya bumagsak sa bigat ng mga dala niya and ayaw na niya tumayo #walangpakisama. And so ang mga bags ko, sama sama na lang sila dun sa loob ng giant plastic storage until my wish for a bonggang dressing room with lots of bag and shoes storage comes true.

Anyways, I was browsing Laureen Uy's blog. I saw her post about Eranzi, a luxury online boutique. I will not go into details because you can read it HERE.

Basically, Eranzi is an online bag store that sell designer bags at lesser cost. I immediately went to the site and drooled. Here are my peyborits: (all photos came from Eranzi)

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Madami pa sana yan eh kaso inawat ko na sarili ko kasi baka ma-uta kayo =) Lol!

Hay. Someday I will have some of you. Our budget now is allotted for Anika's education and our future house. Popondo muna ako ng bongga pero someday guys, I will see you again.

May sayad lang talaga ang peg.

But before I could buy all those, Alvin must make me these drool worthy storage spaces for me in the house. You know actually, this is very easy to build. You just need a designer and a kick ass carpenter and you're good to go. Here are my pegs:

traditional closet design by orange county design-build Spinnaker Development

eclectic closet design by dallas interior designer Astleford Interiors, Inc.

closet design

contemporary closet design by minneapolis general contractor Erotas Building Corporation

contemporary closet design

That closet and bag spaces plus this storage space for my shoesies =)

modern closet design by los angeles closets and organization Lisa Adams, LA Closet Design

Libre lang ang mangarap, pagbigyan niyo na ako =)

Sunday Mass With The Sombrero

We went to mass in our village's church last Sunday. As you can see in the photos below, Anika's wearing a tutu over her leggings. That wasn't the outfit that I prepared for her. She was supposed to wear a dress. Kaso no daw. As in, "Nanay, no hindi!" "No hindi please!" ang drama ng lola niyo. She went to her closet and pulled out her violet tutu and tried putting it on. Yun daw ang gusto niyang suot. So I had to put leggings underneath kundi magsisimba siya na exposed na exposed ang panty niya lol.

We arrived early for mass. We got the plastic chairs and sat at the back of the church. Anika then saw a Barney bag being carried by a nanny who sat in the last pew. Ayun! Sigaw ng sigaw na "Barney! Barney!". Ayaw tumigil. The old lady, who I assume was one of the people serving in the mass because she was wearing a uniform like dress, kept giving her dirty looks.

Then the mass started.

We were shushing Anika. We kept talking to her and telling her that she's in the house of Jesus and that she needs to behave. Kaso bata eh. Everytime she notices again the Barney bag, she will shout "Barney!" pa din. So we moved our seats just outside the doors of the church as not to disturb the people inside.

Eh hindi talaga mapakali si Anika. She shouted "Barney!" again. The old lady turned around and shouted (in a low voice-- you know what I mean) at Anika. Wag daw maingay! Complete yan with hand gestures and scary face ha. Anika got really scared. She went to me and buried her head in my neck.

Grabe. Naimbyerna talaga ako. She's barely two years old lola noh! Kaya nga sinasama sa church para matutong magsimba eh! Bwisit. Ang swerte niya pinalaki akong hindi pumapatol sa matatanda. Kundi talaga..

Hay naku. Taong simbahan pa naman.

And so lumabas na lang kami ng tuluyan ng church and dun kami sa church grounds nagstay together with all the other parents with their toddlers.

After a while, Anika became irate because it was time for her morning nap na. I brought her na lang dun sa mga tiangge beside the church. She saw the bubble toy (yung parang sword?) then she ran towards her Tatay with it! Nakakahiya! Hindi pa bayad hahahaha! Buti na lang I brought money with me.

So ayun. Lahat na ng bata kalaro si Anika that morning. She was the center of attraction. Anika was enjoying blowing the bubbles while the kids chase after them. Tuwang tuwa ang Anika. Yan kasi ang gusto niya eh, playmates. Lots and lots of playmates.

After the mass, we took her to the parish priest who's our family friend. Bless siya kay father =)

Here are some photos from that day.

The two love of my life.

Outfit: Gingersnaps sando, Guess leggings, SM Department Store tutu, Stride Rite sandals

Outfit: Dress from the Karl Edwards bazaar, Top Shop sandals

Kayo guys, how was your Sunday? =)

Our Advanced Birthday Gift To Anika

We went to Toys R Us in Greenbelt last Saturday to buy a gift for Anika's only first cousin, Gabo.

While we were going around, Anika found this piano with microphone. She sat on it and began playing the piano while singing la-la-la-la-laaaaa on the mic. She was doing this so loudly that some of the customers went to where she was to watch her. She was so cute! So cute that we decided to buy that toy piano.

ALVIN: Tara Babe, bilhin na natin yan.

ME: Huh? Bakit? Anong okasyon?!

I'm kinda praning not to spoil Anika with toys. Educational ones, yes. Books, yes. Kahit ilan pa yan. Pero toys na toys lang talaga (especially expensive ones like this), ay, dapat may okasyon.

ALVIN: Sige na bilhin mo na. Birthday naman niya eh.

Onga naman. It'll be her birthday the week after next. And besides, parang ayaw na din niyang kumawala dun sa piano eh =))

She was all over the place when her Tatay was assembling the piano. She kept exclaiming "Wow!" and "Ohmaygad!". So cute!

Here's our future Alicia Keys =)

Hahahaha! Akala mo marunong eh no? =)

 

Dearest Anika,

We hope you enjoyed our gift for you. Hopefully, your interest in music and singing will not go away. I promise I will enroll you kay Ryan Cayabyab. Sana he's still there when you grow up. Frustration kasi yan ni Nanay mo eh. I love singing but singing seems to dislike me.

Well, whatever it is you will pursue in the future, do not forget that Nanay and Tatay are behind you all the time!

Advanced Happy Birthday!

We love you!

Outfit of the Day: Reminiscing Thursday

I miss travelling.

As in, I seriously miss it.

My dad worked for Philippine Airlines for more than 20 years. Luckily, his benefits extended to us, his kids. Libre pamasahe namin. So while me and my brothers were growing up, we would go to all these nice places around the world that some kids only get to see on TV or read  in books. And then, since our tickets are free, chance passengers kami most of the time. This means, we have to wait until the last minute to see if there are free seats. The benefit of this is that, almost always, the free seats are in the First Class (now Business Class) section only. So hindi sa pagmamayabang (libre nga lang tickets eh!), we were often in First Class during our travels. 

Pak na pak di ba?!

But there are also disadvantages of a free ticket or being a chance passenger. I remember one time that we got stuck in Malaysia en route to Amsterdam (where my dad lives). Stop over ang Malaysia. The flight from Manila to Malaysia was not full so naka-gora kami. However, the flight from Malaysia to Amsterdam was full... for two days!! Kaloka! We would wait sa airport the whole day to make bantay if there were possible flights where we could ride. I got so bored that I asked Papa if I can just go back to Manila. He agreed and put me in the first flight back that he can get that day. That very same day, naka-kuha naman sila ng flight papuntang Amsterdam. Lekat na yan. Aka ata ang malas eh. May balat kasi ako. Lol.

It also helped that my dad was assigned in various countries -- Vietnam, Dubai then in Europe. We'd go to these places every summer and semester breaks.

Hay. Those were my most unforgettable moments growing up. My dad, brother and I running after a train to take us from Rome to Florence (thanks for the correction!). Then getting stuck along with other people in between carriages. (Don't ask me. I dunno how that happened. Haha!) The fantastic and awesome rides in Universal Studios and Disneyland in Californina and the Disneyland in Paris. Walking around to look for a hotel at 1am in Venice. Being all made up to see the Pope in Rome. Going in and out of the casinos in Las Vegas. (We got so tired that we sat on the stairs of one of the hotels, with our token cups in hand, to rest. Some old lady were putting tokens on our cups. Pulubi lang ang peg. Hahaha.) Going around Paris in two days with Sher. Watching "live shows" in the Red Light District of Amsterdam. Hihihi. Going around Austria to make aliw myself because Papa was in a meeting the whole day.

Oh my God, there were so many memories and I thank my Papa for that! I wish I could give the same experiences that I had to Anika. Kaya nga eto, todo kayod sa trabaho.

Kelan kaya maka-travel ulit ng ganun?! The last time I went for a very long vacation was in 2004. Four months akish sa Amsterdam. Ay, tuwang tuwa ako dun to a point na ayoko na umuwi. But I had to find work and a career. It was very hard to find legal work there. Ang hirap makakuha ng work permit because their government makes sure that their citizens are made priority in hiring rather than the foreigners. Sana ganun din dito sa Pinas ano?

Osha, nakwento ko na buhay ko.

Here's what I'm wearing today:

Outfit: Dress from a Karl Edwards Bazaar, Cardigan from the Noel Bazaar, CMG wedges

Happy Thursday everyone!

This Kid Is It! --- Mimay the Adorable Rocker

Our featured This Kid Is It! is the daughter of Nani, the mommy behind the blog Mamee Nani.

Blouse, Denim Skirt and Boots: SM Department Store


Have your kids featured in the Mommy Fleur blog's This Kid Is It! =) You can email me the cute photos of your babies with a brief description and clothes credit. Open to kids 0 to 10 years old.

Because Filipino kids are just so adorable and fashionably fierce! =)

Mesa Greenbelt 5

Nang ma-iba naman, we tried eating at a restaurant that we haven't tried yet in Greenbelt 5. We notice every weekend that Mesa Restaurant is always full. So last Saturday, Alvin, Anika, Girlie and I ate there. We discovered bakit fully booked sila all the time! =)

I love the eating utensils of Mesa.

Anika tweeting while waiting for our food lol!

One reklamo I initially had is super bagal ma-serve ng food!!! Grabe! My big intestines were eating my small intestines already sa gutom!

But when the food arrived naman, it was so delicious that I forgot I was inis earlier!

Baked Tahong with Cheese. One of the best I had. Php 150

Crispy Boneless Tilapia. This was really yummy! Php 290

Sinigang na Salmon Head. This was really thick and uber delicious! Anika and Girlie loved it! Php 240 The photo above is just a portion only.

Sisig with Egg. Not really the best that I had pero pwede na din. Php 180

Turon with Ice Cream. OMG ang sarap sarap nito! And it costs less than Php 100 (if I remember correctly ha). The bananas inside are mashed with langka. It tastes so good with the ice cream!

All in all, I recommend Mesa Restaurant in Greenbelt 5. The food tastes great and the prices are affordable. Imagine, ang dami naming order with me and Girlie ordering fruit shakes pa, our total bill did not exceed Php 1,300!

That's what I call a great dining experience! =)

Masa Greenbelt 5

Ground floor Greenbelt 5

Legaspi St. Legaspi Village

Makati City 

(02) 728-0886 

Outfit of the Day: No Look Pose Wednesday

Good Morning everyone!

I'm kinda puyat now because Anika kept on waking up last night. And then she started coughing then threw up ng wagas. Buti na lang I was able to put her on the floor before she made suka. Wawa naman. Apparently, she has colds. Sipon siguro yun na gusto lumabas kaya ayun nagsuka.

I told Girlie to give her Vitamin C twice a day and pump up on liquids. This is a lesson I learned from my dad. That and eating apple will take away any sickness.

ME: Pa, ang sakit ng tiyan ko eh.

PAPA: Princess, kain ka kasi ng apple.

ME: Pa, sakit ng ulo ko eh.

PAPA: Princess, kain ka kasi ng apple.

ME: Pa, I don't feel well.

PAPA: Kain ka kasi ng apple eh.

Lol! I thought all the while he says that only to me but when me and my siblings got older, we discovered that he tells that to the three of us! Ang cute! Hahaha.

Moving on to a completely different topic, I wanna watch Hunger Games na. Everyone's raving about it! After watching the movie, I will read naman the book because they said that it's really good daw. Ayoko nang unahin yung book. I get disappointed kasi with the movie if I read the book first eh.

Second, do you know that I haven't watched The Vow yet?! Kamote talaga. No time to watch movies with Alvin nowadays. Ang dami na tuloy nakalagpas.

And third, have you guys seen already the Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie trailer? Ang bitin eh no? Kamoteng movie trailer yan. Pang-atat. Hahahaha!

Anyways, here's what I'm wearing now:

Outfit: Forever 21 dress, Wacoal bandeau, CMG wedges

I so love dresses with pockets!

It's really cold in our office so I wore the cardigan that I bought in a bazaar over the dress.

While waiting for Alvin to get ready (coding ako so Alvin made me hatid to the office), I took photos of Anika. So weird lang because she deliberately doesn't look at the camera. And then I realized, ginagaya niya pala ako when Jekjek takes my outfit of the day photos. I don't include kasi my face sa photos because wala pang make up so kung san san ako nakatingin when I'm being photographed. Ayan. Na-pick up ni bagets =)

So adorable!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!