What makes you happy?

I am embracing life’s simple pleasures amidst my pregnancy condition of being in a bed rest state. It is hard. But in the 4 months that I’ve been housed in our bedroom, I have found little things that make me smile, happy and excited. It’s not that hard after all. But it’s not that easy too…

I am on my 21^st week of my pregnancy and have gained 21 pounds already. The numbers are quite horrifying I tell you. I’ve been thinking of that all day yesterday after my doctor’s visit but she talked sense out of me and now I am okay. I used to be an active person doing things here and there, always moving, always on the go. But now, I am stuck in bed with no major movement at all.  I know I will probably gain more and more but like everyone would say, it’s all worth it in the end. I am just so enthusiastic about our baby. As I write this entry, I can feel little joyful things moving in my belly. I am overjoyed.

What makes you happy?

I can probably go on and on with my list because there’s just too much of it. But I just want to be grateful for everything, that I want to remember it through my writing.

- Mornings. Oh how I love mornings! Waking up early seems to feel excruciating but I am one of the few early birds who catches the early worm. 

- Sunshine. The sun is the most beautiful thing that hurts. It hurts as you squint your eyes upon its glorious brilliance and beautiful as it sheds lovely tears when you look at it as it sets.

- Breakfast. I am a very morning person and I am always eager during my first meal of the day. They say, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

- The Food Network. My husband Jules was so sweet when he decided to install Cignal HD for our viewing pleasure – in this case, mine specifically since I am home 24/7. What delights me is the food channel as I am a foodie myself. My favorites are Giada de Laurentis and Ina Garten. I love them both so dearly that I save most of their recipes that I will try someday.

- Visits. A friend, family, or anyone. Once our bedroom door opens, I am always on the verge of looking for who comes in. When you are at home most of the time, you feel joyful the most in the company of others. My favorite visitor would have to be Valiant, our nephew, who is undeniably smart and cute all together; and my sister Marki, who tells me mind-blowing stories.

- Yogurt and Granola. Its like Cookies and Cream. Enough said.

-  Salad and Greens. I know. Yuck right. But I love them. I’ve always been a salad eater. To basic vinaigrettes and those rich oil-based dressings – it doesn’t matter. My current picks are the Hearty Italian Salad and Asian Oriental with Mustard Dressing of Big Roy’s. They come in a nice take out box that falls in very much handy and resealable when you decide not to finish it right away.

-  Cookies. High-fiber ones. Or those with Oats at least. The last cookie I ate was Cranberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by my cousin Amanda who makes yummy cookies. I miss my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies though. Someday, I will get back on my baking.

- Blueberry Muffins and Cupcakes. Blueberries are good anti-oxidants. The muffin batter is bad. But they go oh-so-well together. I received a box of 6 muffins last month and I was so pleased by it. I sometimes eat it for breakfast with yogurt or snack on it on a lazy afternoon. Blueberry Muffins by Lorenzo’s Café are my favorite. On to Cupcakes - My favorite would have to be Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate frosting and Red Velvet Cupcakes. Who doesn’t love ‘em? When in doubt, always eat a cupcake. I know I have to stay away from Sweets ultimately. But there are just days when you feel like really eating them. I will try my very best to say goodbye from the deadly sweets as my weight is highly increasing. Boo.

- Cream of Pumpkin Soup. It has to be one of my favorite soups. It is full and creamy. One particular day, I craved for this soup and ordered it through my cousin Juni and I got the soup along with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Homemade Bread Chips that they freshly made. I had it for lunch and dinner. Period.

- The art of gift-wrapping. Youtube, Pinterest, Tumblr, name it, you get lots and lots of ideas of how to do it yourself and make things pretty.

-  Ribbons. During our wedding last year, we received tons of gifts from everyone. They were all wrapped wonderfully. Of course, I saved and salvaged all the ribbons worth recycling because ribbons are not that cheap anymore, most especially the pretty ones. I placed them all in a paper bag and just recently I organized them by colors using old brown folders. It’s always good to be able to recycle and reuse them one day.

-  Flowers. Fresh only. I always have fresh flowers ever since I received a vase one Christmas. I would fill them up with orchids, birds of paradise or absolutely anything that I can find from my Mama’s garden and would finally place it on my bedside table. Up to now, the vase is still alive although the colors are a bit on the lighter side already from the many years it has withstand time.

-  Bookmarks and Envelopes. This is currently my darling past time. I find myself awake at midnight folding my envelopes and tucking them all together. It’s addicting. It makes me happy and accomplished. I wonder what to do with all the bookmarks and envelopes that I have made through time.

- Jules and Pregnancy. I have to admit. People around me are extra pleasant and careful. I love it. Especially how my husband treats me. He tells me I am beautiful despite my weight gain and my pimples and always wants to sleep very close to me that at times I have to push him away because my tummy is getting bigger and it is very hard to sleep already. He also annoys me at times when he bullies me and calls me ‘mother hen’ or ‘warrior’ for having broad shoulders and would compare me to the Olympians we see on TV. Yesterday, he went for a quick trip to Cebu and back and as he was on his way there, I sent him a text message saying, ‘I love you’. He replied ‘I love you both’. It totally made my heart melt. Isn’t that the sweetest thing?

- Camilla. She is my Papa’s niece and she is just the most precious thing ever. My Papa emailed me a photo of this cutie-patootie baby and he tells me that I should get the photograph printed and should place it on my bedside table so I would see it all the time. The sight of her makes me smile.

-  Power of Prayer. God listens all the time. I know a lot of people have been praying for my baby and myself; and I will always be grateful to them for such kindness. I in turn pray for family and friends most of whom are taking various exams; and to people whom I don’t know as well. Just recently, I joined the whole world in praying for the Philippines as flood was all over major towns and cities and was really bad. There will be better days. And God is always amazing!

-  The gift of laughter and bedtime stories. Jules and I talk about his day and mine before going to bed and we end up talking a lot. Sometimes, he would tell me horrible stories and some juicy ones. Laughter is the best medicine. And when you and your loved one laugh together, nothing compares to that wonderful feeling. It is priceless. The stars were definitely meant to be…

Have a Happy Weekend! 

Pretty in Pastels.

Who doesn't love this Color Palette? It reminds you of Cotton Candy and Bubble Gum. 

My favorite Martha Stewart punchers and my crafting gadgets all  came in handy as I was making these pretty and dainty bookmarks a few weeks ago. And again, I am not marketing them as they are not for sale(Although my Mama has already told me to consider it). I usually hand it out to cousins, nieces and friends who come by and visit me at home. 

The memories of my childhood slowly catches my eye. I can vividly remember the birthday parties with all the food carts all lined-up in its colorful glory. There was a Cotton Candy cart with plastic buntings on top, then there was this fish ball cart and lastly the Dirty Ice Cream cart all colorful and bright. At the end of the buffet line are the give-aways all piled up waiting to be distributed by the birthday celebrant. Inside it were a mix of all the good things. All the Big Boys, the Frutellas, Wafer Sticks, Smarties Chocolate Candies, Nips, Cloud-9, Hiro and so much more. All bright and beautiful things. 

Pretty in Pastels is inspired by the Kiddie Parties back then when I was a kid. And ultimately, by the Cotton Candies and Bubble Gum madness. 

I love Blue.

All things bright and beautiful.

Blue, Pink and Simply White.

Pink and Lavander.

Pink and Simply White.

Lavender and Simply White.

When life throws you a lemony yellow...

The actual size of the Pink and Blue Bookmark. 

Do traces of your childhood memory inspire you to do lovely things? 

Au Naturale.

I am stuck in bed for pregnancy health reasons. I started my cross stitch craze during the first few months but eventually gave up on it, I found it too boring and sad. I also am putting all the photographs of our Pre-Wedding Ceremony and finally am 99% complete. 

A month ago, I got my Martha Stewart punchers from the States. I decided to give it a go as I tried making paper decors from scratch until I finally put together a beautiful bookmark. I came up with this Color Palette as my very first ones. Brown, Cream and Simply White. I used Brown Folders and Cream and White-Colored Board Papers. My essential tools are as follow - Scissors, Ruler, Pencil, Glue Stick or Double-Sided Tape. 

Up to this very day, my bookmark craze hasn't gotten over me and my time. I am in awe of almost all my creations as if I am marketing these lovelies or what. I am simply making them out of boredom and am planning to give it away to cousins and nieces who are still schooling to somehow inspire them as they flip the pages of their books and what not. 

Here are some of my Au Naturale Creations. Inspired by the Trees and Autumn Leaves. 

What do you think? 

Life simplest pleasures in a bookmark.

DIY Paper Envelopes with Liner

I've been making my own paper envelopes lately. Ideas and inspiration comes from the wide array of lovely sites I stumble upon the internet. I particularly wanted to re invent the simple paper envelope and make it more appealing with a liner to prettify the whole ensemble. 

This is what you'll ever need for this project. Consider them your best friends at the moment. 

A good quality Glue Stick or you can also make use of a Double-Sided Tape for sticking purposes. A mighty Pencil. Sharp Scissors that can cut layers of construction paper, and lastly for this particular project, a Brown Construction Paper. 

Photo via Google

What do you do with a piece of Paper Bag? I say, cut out the lovely pattern and make use of it. In that way, you have recycled and reused the item.

Here are the easy steps:

1. Look for an envelope that you are willing to copy. You can always get a lot of patterns online but on my part, I made my own. You can always copy mine if you wish.

2. Trace the outline along the construction paper.Be careful to be accurate with the measurements.

3. Now, you can start cutting the outline from the construction paper.  And fold all the edges together and seal them with glue or you can also use a double-sided tape.

4. Take a piece of the beautiful pattern from the paper bag and cut along an approximate size that can fit into the envelope and make some steady measurements to create a liner. 

5. This is what you'll get - the finished product from front and back. 

It's all about creating little pretty things that make you smile. And who doesn't love personalized items anyways? 

Have a happy weekend everyone! 

DIY- Small Paper Envelopes.

Been doing a lot of crafting lately when boredom strikes me at any time of the day and night included. At times, I find myself yawning into the deep cold night but still carefully cutting the edges of my dainty bookmarks which I will be posting soon. 

And when my bookmarks are finally done, it would be so sad to just place them in an ordinary paper envelope or perhaps a little plastic. Rather, I thought of making my own paper envelopes from scratch. It would make the bookmarks even more prettier with a lovely packaging. 

I started to experiment on small coin envelopes. I was so inspired by the finds I came across Pinterest that I am going to share it with you.

 For the easy tiny envelopes tutorial please click here.

Here is what I made for our dear friends who recently got married. Just a simple coin envelope with just a minor decorating from paper punchers. 

 1. Make an outline of a small coin envelope that you can get online or might as well do it yourself. 

 2. Choose a specific paper or board and draw an outline along it. 

 3. Cut along the outline and fold the edges. Carefully glue them together to make an envelope. You can also try using a double sided tape. 

 4. This is how it should look like after sticking the folded edges all together. 

5. Decorate it with a little loveliness. 

I specifically used my Martha Stewart punchers. I love them so dearly and have been using it for my bookmarks as well. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone! :)

My new lovelies.

I’ve always been fascinated about how the beauty of teapot evolved. From the early centuries of how the Chinese would use porcelain kettles and wine pots for their export and trade industry down to how the early Europeans would gather on a cozy afternoon for high tea and finally to the modern and lavish tea parties nowadays.

My collection started early 2010. Back then; I just had 2, that of the Vintage and Shabby kind. I would have to say I am exceptionally in admiration of the Vintage looking ones. I actually lost count of how many teapots I have now. Some I would get from trips elsewhere, and mostly come as gifts from special people. Some would just give an actual teapot and oftentimes they would surprise me with the complete tea set. And it keeps on growing...

A few days ago, my sister in law Lucy and her daughter Juliana surprised me with these two lovelies. And yes, they are of the shabby kind. I am a happy child!

Oh the simple pleasures of life!

Little creatures.

Ever since Kane passed away, I dread pets. I ultimately cannot stand them any longer. For the reason that sooner or later, they will pass, and by then too much feelings are involved making it so unbearable and heart-throbbing.

One day, I went to the Mini Forest. It is located at the center of our city, right across the Police Station to be exact. I was out there to look for indoor plants. In this tiny little corner with just a makeshift table to stand all the glass containers in place, I saw vibrant and amazing creatures. Fishes. Oh how I was amazed just looking at them! I bought 2 for just P10.00 each. I totally forgot about my plants and I didn’t care less. I was more ecstatic to have 2 little creatures to call my own again.

When I got home, I carefully placed them on my bedside table along with fresh flowers nearby. I kept staring at them and all those qualms of having a pet again suddenly went away. I named them Tiger and Snow.

They died right before I left for Guam.

I then bought a fighting fish just to keep me company in my tiny apartment. I named him Tryst. I entrusted him to a friend as I was already leaving the island. He passed away last year just before I got married. He was a fighter. He jumped off his bowl twice and still found him alive.

When I finally settled and came back home, my love for fighting fishes grew. I would give them away as gifts and bribes to my little nephews and my favorite cousin Zoilo. I have 6 fishes that are sheltered in my bedroom at my Mama’s house as I write this. Oh how I miss them all most especially to the overgrown Damon who seldom swims nowadays.

The first pet I had in Guam but didn't survive much longer. Little did I know of chlorinated water and such. I actually killed this $2.00 fellow. 

My dearest Tryst. A favorite pet I must say.

The overgrown Damon that melts my heart all the time. He is so big that he almost cannot carry himself up to swim. 

A least favorite of mine. No name.

The 3 stooges! Who would have thought Mayo Jars would make as lovely fish tanks?

The newest amongst the bunch. No name. Lovable though. He swims when tank is tapped. He reminds me of Damon. 

I tried breeding them once. I failed. 

They are simply adorable. You all should get one. It doesn't cost much at all. 

Have a lovely weekend!