[lalaloopsy]

This is too cute to be ignored. :)

Meet LALA LOOPSY, the dress-me-up doll. She has button eyes, stitched mouth & pink round cheeks. Her head, arms & legs are movable.

[DIY origami envelopes]

Getting into the holiday rush to buy gifts is no longer my thing. Not that I'm a grinch but since I stopped working & became a busy SAHM, giving money to relatives has been more practical & it gave the recipients the leeway to buy what they want. No more 'unwanted' gifts.

I ran out of those red Chinese envelopes (ang pao) so I thought of making my own. I remembered I bought a pack of origami paper from Fully-Booked & decided to use them. Then I looked for online tutorials on how to make origami envelopes. I chose this easy one from Martha Stewart Living.

Here's the fun way to make them :

1. Grab the materials you'll need. You can use any square-cut paper, pair of craft scissors or sticker that you want. Be creative, the choices for your materials are endless .

[hearty snacks]

I recently discovered 3 hearty food items to snack on:

PRINGLES multi-grain variant in classic & sour cream & onion flavors.

I am glad that I can now enjoy my favorite potato crisps with less calories. It has the look & taste of tortillas but yummier.  Despite being multi-grain, I think I will go easy on this as it is still junk food. 

DEL MONTE FRUIT SNACKS in pine-orange & tropical mix flavors.

 

Get your daily fruit fix anywhere you go because the fruit cocktail is now in convenient stand-up pouches or doy packs. 

[apron strings or hard hat?]

Which will it be -

apron strings

source

or hard-hat?

source

This has been running through my head ever since I received Wednesday of last week a text message from a former senior colleague. He is back in the company where I was last connected with. He asked me if I am presently employed. I told him "no" & then he hinted at a possible re-hiring. Another former boss who is now with another property developer wanted me to apply in N a couple of years back but I declined. I recently asked (thru a friend) if I can now take up that offer he gave me before. He said I can.

Honestly, the thought of going back to work is enticing at the moment. On days that I feel I am all-cooped up at home, doing the chores, looking after the needs of husband & the girls, etc., I have this silent wish of working & wracking my brains again as an architect. Aside from these concerns, it doesn't help that others think my professional license has not been put to good use since that day I decided to be a SAHM. =(

What will REALLY make me decide to go back to work?

[mommy maggie & her cake pops]

Her blog postings of her cake pops got me all curious & craving for them. I thought they were too delectable to pass up.

So, I ordered 3 boxes for my youngest daughter's potluck share in her school's Christmas party. Maggie & I agreed to meet up & do lunch a day or 2 before the party.

After numerous text messages, we finally saw each other today at Sbarro, Megamall.

From the Kultura store just across the restaurant, I  went inside Sbarro & saw her waiting for me with the cake pops boxes with her.  We ordered pizza & pasta. No pictures were taken of us nor of Sbarro as we were too caught up in our 'chikahan'. We let each other in on our individual lives by talking about our families. One thing we had in common - we both lived in Sampaloc some years back.

[oh, Christmas trees!]

What's up with your Christmas tree? ;)

Holiday decorating & tree trimming are my most loved things to do. When the -ber months set in, I would get busy surfing DIY, interior design & home decorating websites or browsing around home section/store displays for inspirations. 

If you've been following this blog - silently or otherwise ;)- you've probably seen how my white tree evolved from having gold & silver ornaments with black touches to its most recent scheme - with birds & snowflakes.

For this post, I have asked a good number of my relatives, friends & former classmates/schoolmates to let me showcase their dressed-up trees which they have lovingly & creatively put up in their homes. 

So, here's the round-up :

VIVIEN's : blue & gold

[my food version: Jamba Juice's steel cut oatmeal & spinach cheese wrap]

Jamba Juice in BHS Central has become a favorite food stop for us ever since we tried out the place a couple of months ago. We keep coming back for more of their yummy smoothies, wraps, oatmeal or fruit & yogurt parfaits.

So far, we've tried (& loved) their smoothies (banana berry, razzmatazz, strawberries wild), spinach cheese wrap, smokehouse chicken flatbread, steel cut oatmeal & organic granola parfait.

[the once-chubby girl turns 18]

I had this girl in my late 20's. She was one big baby for her petite mom to carry.

just a little over a year old,
when sporting a pout in pictures
was still unheard of then

[TACLINGS, anyone?]

A gourmet fair was on-going that day we were in M!2. While waiting for their daddy, my girls asked for  something light to eat.

We passed by  a line of tables selling sweet pastries. Because we wanted no sugar rush, we looked further & chanced upon these crunchy taco bites called 'taclings'. 

[our B&W kitchen]

This is our main kitchen. 

To have that modern peg carried over from our living room, I went for the black & white scheme plus wood & stainless steel.

Here are the things we did for this kitchen :

*I used glass mosaic tiles for the back splash because I liked a play of patterns. Since a solid black granite top would have that clean, sleek look always, I chose black & white to match it.

I looked into several home depots around the Metro until the tile hunt ended at Wilcon Depot, Libis.

Wilcon is a go-to place for designers, builders & homeowners. This store carries a wide range of brands & designs of architectural finishes to choose from. For the mosaic tiles, I went for PICASSO.

*We installed a stainless steel backsplash for the stove for effortless cleaning & to go with the finish of the hob & range hood (LA GERMANIA).

*We commissioned our reliable finish carpenter to do the kitchen cabinets instead of getting from kitchen cabinet system suppliers/installers. It would cost us an arm & a leg to get the latter.=( For the cabinet door handles, we got them from Hongkong Hardware at their Shangrila Plaza mall branch. And the see-thru panels? We opted for frosted or textured acrylic ones in lieu of frosted glass. Same look. ;)

*I displayed the kitchen tools by hooking them up in a stainless steel curtain rod.

*The twin-tub kitchen sink (KOHLER) is in stainless steel brushed finish. The dish drainer & liquid soap dispenser came free with the sink.;)

*The gooseneck-type faucet goes well with the kitchen sink, so it was what we bought. I would have gotten the chef's tap, the one with the flexible hose & spray nozzle but then, it's more expensive. We bought all our faucets from the HOME STORE branch in MC Home Depot BGC located at the back of Starbucks.

So far, our kitchen is still in good condition save for the granite counter top since there are already some stain marks on them.

The supplier's technical rep who inspected it told me that we have to install a new one because the stains can no longer be removed. =( Is this for real? Does anybody know if the stains are really irreversible? If I take the guy's word for it, then this will now be added to our things-to-do-around-the-house list. The financier & the pointman has already been alerted!;)

[SOY healthy]

After doing the groceries, I rewarded myself with a light & healthy lunch.

This is where I dined the other day. I love the green & natural wood schemes they used for this compact dining space at SM. Refreshing! ;)

It was my third time to be here. Their healthy meal offerings are too hard to resist especially since I am now watching what I eat.

[store finds: WORLD CITIES PILLOWS]

After having our facials done at Skin Story, my sister & I made a quick stop at the home section of Robinson's Metro East. I was looking at throw pillows & spotted this. 

These are pillow fillers made of light canvass cloth with famous world cities graphic prints. 

[store finds : TEES & BLINGS]

My girls were able to get cool stuff at sale prices last weekend at M!2. There was an on-going B1T1 promo at both TEAM MANILA & DIVA.

*Team Manila tees at BUY ANY TWO for only Php 800: