[the MOMMY BLOGGER friends I make - Em & Maggie]

I met them the same way I did with Aimee, Ging & Marsy - thru their posted comments on my blog. I returned the gesture, visited their blogs then added them to my list of daily reads. From this initial exchange, a series of 'friendly connections' ensued. We are now FB, Twitter & Instagram buddies! ;)

[what's on our CHRISTMAS tree]

Basic white.

This has been our tree for 3 Christmases past. I love this simple palette since it's so easy to change color motifs for the ornaments. But since I am more into neutrals, gold & silver have been easy picks for me.

[a farm around the house]

Remember the camote (sweet potato) tops that I made into a breakfast smoothie? Well, this is where we got them, with compliments from our friendly couple caretakers in our village.

[store finds: DIY LETTERS]

I have seen them before during one of my M!2 visits. I even mentioned this to Mommy G because I know she might want these for one of her craft projects. So, I had to go back to get some, blog about it & share with you guys. ;)

The girl who was manning the store allowed me to get some snapshots & answer queries.

Anyway, here they are :

6" @ Php 35.00

[a mommy DIRECTIONER?]

With 1D music forever streaming inside our home, day in & day out, I think I am slowly turning into a Mommy Directioner, if ever there is one. ;)

Here are the signs...

I have their music on my playlist.

[a breakfast smoothie]

I learned to make a veggie-fruit smoothie when I attended a raw food seminar 3 months back. The recipe I got from that workshop called for a lot of ingredients. So on my first time to try this, I just made do with what was in my pantry.

I had 3 on hand - camote tops, papaya chunks & banana slices. The camote tops came from our friendly village couple caretakers who tend a small vegetable farm nearby. We are given our share of their harvest, free-of-charge! ;)

The veggie-fruit combo,

[health & beauty loots]

For me, reaching the age of the 4-0's meant dealing with dark spots, wrinkles & unwanted body fat deposits. Guilty of not having a beauty regimen before, I now have to make up for lost time & get preventive maintenance to avert further damage. Good thing, these Avon products that I got from my SIL could do this for me.

[store finds: JAPANESE KNICK-KNACKS]

Have you been to a store & experienced paying for items that add up to a thousand pesos because you can't resist picking them up? Well, I did one time when I discovered Saizen & after that I controlled the shopaholic tendencies so as not to hurt hubby's pocket! =P

But I guess there's no way I can avoid going to this place because it induces those happy hormones when I spend my time there.;) And so, I came back 2 weeks ago.

Their Robinson's Metro East branch is rather small but there was still an overload of cute, practical finds at less than a hundred pesos each:

wooden cafe stencil for your foam-topped cappuccino

[christmas streets]

Coming from The MET Park somewhere near MOA where Kirsten attended her friend's debut party, we took the Ayala Avenue & BGC  routes & saw these lit-up center islands. A yearly thing, the Ayala group really never fails to add to the holiday cheer with these Christmas street light installations.

[store finds : UBE JAM, COOKIES & COFFEE]

When in Baguio, the Good Shepherd Compound is a never-miss place for anyone who visits.  When we went there last weekend, it was teeming with tourists (as always) who queued up for those famous ube (purple yam) & strawberry jams to bring home or give away as "pasalubongs".

Up close,  the goodies we took home :

Yum-O! ;)

*Good Shepherd Compound

15 Gibraltar Road

Baguio City

[store finds: PCC DAIRY PRODUCTS]

My daughter & I bought a bagful of milk products from a store at the PCC (Philippine Carabao Center) inside the UPLB campus. She has been raving about the chocomilk that's being sold there which she says is delicious. 

After a quick trip to the in-store campus, take a look at what we bought:

[the long & SHORTS of it]

If only I had long, shapely legs *sniff*, then donning these  pair of chic, dressy shorts would be a breeze.

crochet

gold waistband