[the SUDOKU junkie i love]

When I received these last VDay, I got all giddy inside. 

[1D for PENSHOPPE]

Jill was all hyped-up one afternoon viewing this short video clip.

[dressed-up mobiles]

Two Saturdays ago, we found ourselves going back to the Greenhills bazaar mall to accompany my eldest to her meet-up with a classmate for a school requirement. Since I was, at that time, on a search for an affordable but quality phone case with a nice design, we decided to explore the e-gadgets selling area at the 2/F, right above the fashion market, the one near the Promenade.

Our first stop was the row of stalls across the stairs. Lots of design to choose from the displayed wares but what caught my eye was the one with the Eiffel Tower design.

for the iPhone

[ferris wheel]

Last Sunday was MOA day for us. After an early lunch at ITALIANNI's,

[no green-eyed monster]

A relative once took notice of my daughters' closeness to their father. She said that it's a good thing since it's so rare for dads to be openly loving & doting to their children.

It didn't come as a surprise to me when I heard that & I felt not a tinge of insecurity nor jealousy. In fact, I felt happy for the girls. I know of some kids who are wanting of affection from their parents but  my girls are getting their dose of love from their dad effortlessly. 

Here are a couple of pictures I have taken of the three of them walking together, their backs to me. Since I am almost always a step or two behind them when we go out, I am able to capture these moments. 

[window dressing]

Holiday season will be here soon & I am getting ready to dress up our windows. I have a reliable "mananahi" of my Roman shades & curtains. After she got all the measurements needed to come up with a new set for our house, I hied off to Divisoria the next day with my daughter, mom, sister & brother-in-law to buy the materials.

We took the car this time  because we anticipated the difficulty of lugging our purchases if we took the LRT.

Arriving at Divisoria a little before 12 noon after hurdling the horrendous traffic, we had lunch first at the food court of Tutuban Center Mall. After which, in less than 2 hours, we were able to buy everything in FUEGO.

On our way back, I took the chance to IG some architectural landmarks.

[hardbound BIEBER]

For days on end, the birthday girl & I have been looking for this BIEBER auto-bio book, JUST GETTING STARTED. Yes, the Belieber wants JB's book as her birthday gift!

Several bookstores after (Fully-Booked BHS, National Bookstore M!2 & SM Taytay branches), we finally found a copy & bought the last piece at Powerbooks (Serendra). 

[M!2 store finds - part 2]

My youngest & I wandered around the mall, window shopping mostly at Market! Market! last Friday. While at the Gift Market (G/F), we found these items, most of them practical things to have around the house:

Flower vase made of soft plastic which holds your fresh flowers when filled with water

[COLOR PEG series : BEIGE]

BEIGE brings to mind feelings of warmth, comfort, and security. It is often described as natural, down-to-earth, and conventional, but brown or beige can also be sophisticated. - Color Psychology

Most people find beige boring but I don't agree. Beiges or browns bring out the warmth & sophistication in a room. Just look at these nice beige spaces I found:

source

[nature's lovelies]

I must admit. I am no green thumb. When we did the landscape of our front yard, the plants I picked were just those green blade-like ones, horse tails & bamboo trees. Very  Japanese. No blooms, no frills.

Three years later, as expected, I have bought 2 sets of horsetails because the original batch had to be replaced since they just dried up & withered away. And the bamboo trees? Well, they have grown not as healthy as before, so I am planning to have someone replant them somewhere else. =(

Two weeks ago, I bought these three orchids & placed them in our balcony. The minute I saw how pretty they look arranged in-a-row, I got smitten. ;)

[shiitake & nori wasabi]

After getting Jill a haircut, the 2 of us had an early dinner at Tokyo Tokyo. My youngest had her favorite beef misono while I tried these:

[KOOLSTIX]

Tired of the usual ice cream in a cone? Well, here's a novel way of eating the cold treat-in a wafer roll at only Php 25 a piece!

We discovered KOOLSTIX in SM Taytay when Jill asked me to buy her one. Since I wanted to try it too, I bought 2 capuccino ice cream in dark chocolate & original flavored wafer rolls topped with candy sprinkles & chocolate syrup.

Felt like a kid again after tasting it. ;) I liked the combined flavors of capuccino & dark chocolate.

Because of its simple ingredients, I think one can DIY this at home by using STIK-O's (or the street-hawked, biggie barquillos) with any coffee-flavored ice cream &  with the topping of your choice. Just squeeze in the ice cream using a pastry tube or a plastic condiment dispenser.

What do you think? ;)

[SOLENAD 2]

Have you been to SOLENAD 2?

This cool stop-over in Nuvali Sta. Rosa, Laguna has shopping & dining reasons for you to come back.

We passed by Solenad 2 at Nuvali, Sta. Rosa en route to my eldest daughter's college dorm one Monday morning. We came from the Bench outlet shop at Paseo de Sta Rosa to buy her good friend K's birthday gift & stopped by here.

We've been to this place before & have tried dining at the Toast Box, Army Navy Club & just recently, Sumo Sam. There are also milk tea shops, salons, day spas, & shoe stores to look into. For food staples or hardware needs, Robinson's Supermarket & True Value are just nearby.

Definitely, a one-stop lifestyle mall for you to go to on weekends with your family. 

[NEVER look away]

A distraught father had to rush to his hometown because of a family crisis: his son, 18 years young, took his own life & was found dead at home. This came as a shock especially to the father since the last time he got in touch with his son was just days before & he wasn't aware of anything that might have bothered him.

The father is someone that hubby & I personally know. He is an engineer based in Manila while his family is in the province somewhere in the Visayas. His wife, as far as I know, stayed at home. So, what went wrong? I suppose the boy was in a serious dilemma but either his parents were too busy to notice or care about it or the boy just wasn't close to his parents, enough to confide in them.

This comes to mind a recent heart-to-heart talk with a daughter. I found her in tears & asked her why. She then poured her heart out about the concerns that have been stressing her out. I began to cry myself affected by what she's been going through, something that I wasn't even aware of all this time I was with her. I thought it best that my hubby join me in the talk so I led her to where her dad was. She then told us how the pressures of schoolwork have gotten into her. We then told her to go easy on herself & just  do  things as they come. She has so many fears & insecurities but we reminded her of how she was able to surpass all the difficulties she faced before because of prayers & hard work. After our talk, we saw & felt how comforted she became after she unburdened her problems to us. What if she found no one to turn to & confide in? Or she found someone but ill-advised her?

[tea TATTLE]

I finally had a sip of the milk tea newbie this side of town. I have been seeing the mall ad for quite some time now. Glad I finally tried it. Today.

After doing the groceries, I went to TEA TATTLE & bought the Okinawa-flavored milk tea in grande size. It cost me Php 70 for this, complete with the black pearls.

[SARIWON]

After a long time, the four of us were able to go out for dinner again on a Friday evening. We tried Sariwon Korean Barbeque at the BHS Central at BGC.

INTERIORS

[polished]

My girls bought this nail art kit in Fully Booked at BHS.