I Like Mine #totesbig

Here I am from the other side of the world looking at a fun thing that has been circulating on Instagram. For tote bag lovers like me, it's Cath Kidston #totesbig or #totessmall campaign! It's a chance to be included in an exhibition to be featured at the Cath Kidston's flagship store and win a Cath Kidston tote. Ladies, all you need to do is to take a snap shot of your favorite bag (big tote or small) and its content, then submit it on Instagram with the #totesbig or #totessmall.

I didn't really know if I'm eligible to join, but I guess not, so I took mine over here to my blog just to share.  It was fun and exciting looking at entries which inspired me to post my personal choice.

I am a big tote person with or without my kid's stuff mixing with mine. Luckily, the "mommy bag" days just ended recently since my little boys can bring their own bags already. So whatever is on display here, they're all mine. 

I prefer to carry everything in one bag than divide stuff into small pouches and totes. My Cath Kidston Large Dot Zip Bag is considered as one of my everyday bag. Here's how I got it. 

It basically holds everything I need: my personal essentials, from gadgets, my vanity kit, a notebook, and even a cologne bottle. Name it, just throw it in you're good to go. Not to forget, it's waterproof. Here in the Philippines, most of the time it rains, and my Cath Kidston bag makes me feel secure knowing that my things will not easily get wet both from the outside and in. 

The cute dots, the unique shape of the bag and the attractive shade of red makes it eye- catching. A lady approached me once and asked where I got my Cath Kidston mini dots... So I told her, it was a gift and it was purchased directly from: http://www.cathkidston.com/

A new Cath Kidston bag is on its way... it may take long but it's worth the wait.

The 3 o'clock Habit Continues

When I came across this snippet on Pinterest, I was amused that a person randomly thought  about it.

 Our  3am routine didn't really stop. Apparently my husband continued work with a schedule when he comes home at around 2- 3 o'clock in the morning. If I'm sleeping, he wakes me up with our small kitchen table ready with food. Just recently, he bought pizza. Sometimes, we crave for dim sum and Kowloon which is open 24 hrs is our answer to that.

Like any of our 3am routine, we start our conversation with the unusual stuff we encounter everyday, what made headlines, then it will suddenly shift to anything: food, "kilig" moments, future plans, love, making jokes and plainly just about life.

This routine makes our married life more special. It feels like this whole set up was intentionally laid for us. It's an extraordinary way to add spark in a relationship and it works. No expensive stuff needed, just some time alone in our house, and it doesn't have to be everyday.

photo source

 I was humbled by this pin. It made me feel blessed and more grateful because I am actually living the words in this small box while others still dream of it. But it doesn't mean it will remain a dream or a wish... if it's meant for you, the flow will just take you there. A different set- up perhaps, also as interesting and colorful like a 3am habit.

By the way, if there's something to change here, that is the underwear part, because I wear pj's :D

My Vanity Essentials

I call it vanity kit because it holds the essentials that makes a woman more beautiful and confident. Let's face it, even the simplest person will still have this so- called beauty kit in her bag. Whether big or small, a woman must have one. 

I stay at home a lot, so consider that I'm sort of a low maintenance person. I seldom get treatments both for skin and hair. "As much as possible", it's something I want to take hold of, especially as a stay- at- home mom. Well, priority are my children, but it doesn't mean that I totally forget about what my body needs. 

For now, let's concentrate on what my kit contains. I bet some of you are itching to find out. First off, I just recently got a Tracy Reese for Clinique pouch packed with goodies,  it is now my new vanity holder. By the way, this is not a paid post.  For a certain amount of purchase from Clinique, you'll get this pouch as a bonus. As always, it's filled with great samples from Clinique.

Clinique is my most trusted brand when it comes to skin care and make- up. I have sensitive skin that's why I'm very careful with the stuff I put on my face. A small drop may cause an itch, a swipe of cream might lead to a red spot. The day my sister-in- law introduced me to this brand, it's like an answered prayer, it was the solution to my skin problems.

Beautiful Lips: I don't wear "make-up", I rely on pressed powder and stuff for my lips. That's why part of my kit are lipsticks and lip glosses. It may look a lot but those colorful sticks you see is composed of 1 Clinique sample, 1 Careline Magic lipstick, 2 lip glosses, 2 lip balms. I make it a point to have at least 2 shades of lipstick in my bag so when an occasion calls, I have something to put on anytime. 

• For an ordinary trip to the mall, I use Clinique's Chubby Stick in Mega Melon. It is a moisturizing lip colour balm, keeps lips soft and smooth and it makes lips look like it has lipstick on. It has a natural effect with bit of color.
• For a day time event or gathering Clinique's Long Last Glosswear with SPF15 is perfect. Like the Chubby Stick, the shade is close to natural but this has an extra gloss which gives that "plumped lip" effect.
• For night time or for an occasion that requires me to dress up, I rely on a real lipstick. The beauty of "samples", you get to see and experience if a certain shade of lipstick suits you. I fell in love with Clinique's A Different Grape in an instant. It may look dark, but once applied, it settles between a lighter shade of burgundy and rose. Not only for night, I've been using this a lot lately.
• When it comes to lip gloss, I have 2 choices. On a more affordable side, Nivea Fruity Shine and for the real deal, Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm. Both serve the same purpose: color and care but Burt's Bees is more organic.  I've run out of Burt's so I shifted to Nivea for the mean time until I can buy the other one.
• Careline Magic Lipstick. Take it from the label, it does magic. Also perfect for regular use. I use my Nivea lip gloss over it, love the effect.
• Lastly, EOS in Summer Fruit. This is all about treatment. If my lips goes super dry, I just apply EOS and I'm good.

Crazy Eyes:
Not much of an eye make-up person, but I still have a few ready in my bag.

• Avon eye-liner
• Ever Bilena eyebrow pencil (which I need to replace soon). I have thin and short eyebrows, this is the only eyebrow pencil I use, gives great result.
• A sharpener
• Eyelash curler
• Mascara
• and tweezers
  

Health Care: They're all in small containers. With hand sanitizers, I'm after the scent, but when it comes to protection, I use alcohol with moisturizer. Hand cream is essential because I work and wet my hands most of the time with chores and handling my children. A throat spray... My husband's aunt gave this to me. Ilog Ni Maria Farms throat spray is the most effective of all the treatments I've used. Relieves pain and itchiness in minutes.

Others: Still considered as essentials. These are more of quick solutions on certain situations. For example, a button from a shirt fell and we're not at home, a safety pin will temporarily put things back together.  A phone cord hair grip is my basic hair accessory, my hair remains smooth and it doesn't let the hair get tangled. My pressed powder and lenses for my phone and iPod are just extras.

Before I came up with the theme for this post, I was actually pondering of sharing the stuff "inside my everyday bag". The things that I didn't include here is my wallet, a tiny coin purse, my phone and iPod, a medicine pouch and Kleenex wipes which are found separately in my tote bag.

The main essentials which the Tracy Reese pouch carries will do. It is a big pouch, that I don't need a bag organizer, these items are small in size by the way. Everything can magically fit without making the main bag feel heavy.

I hope, with the details I've shared, it is going to be useful and helpful for the ladies out there.  At least as added options to your kit.

A Mother's Thoughts

Quite a while since I've made updates for all my blogs. It's been a very busy 3 months since school started. Having kids brings me back to my younger days, especially when it comes to school issues. 

My eldest is already a 3rd Grader. He's 9 years old and he is at an age for us parents should make our children feel that we're there for them 100%. A stage to give more patience and understanding. At this point, I look back at my childhood when I was once my son's age. It's amusing at times, because I get to reminisce, it is also a bit of a challenge when my son asks me questions which is obviously inspired by the things he sees everyday or stuff  he rarely encounter. 

Questions of why? how? I personally handle it by relating my answers with what's really happening in reality. The practical side of the reasons why & how we do things in life. That's my approach, it makes things easier to explain and for the kid to understand.

In a few years, I will have a teenager to look after. Those innocent questions out curiosity will expand deeper as he age in towards adulthood. I trust that my husband and I are going to be able to guide and teach our children (both boys) to goodness, and that includes never to make a girl cry or be the cause of a broken heart. Always make people happy, to be more of an inspiration to others.

 

photo source

Van de Graaff Generator At The Mind Museum

As a pre- Mother's Day celebration, my husband and I took our kids to the Mind Museum. It was my first time to visit the place and it was Frankie's 2nd. I've been curious of what this museum has got to offer. I've seen pictures and have read posts about it. Finally, I was able to step inside one of Manila's most visited museums.

It was a fine summery Saturday morning. We opted to go early to beat the crowd, thinking that it's Mother's Day and a weekend everyone's going to be out celebrating. Tickets were at 450php per head which was good for the whole day until the museum closes.

When we got inside, we were greeted by Aedi (idea). Aedi gave a short message on what to expect and see inside the museum.

The first thing we saw was The Majesty of the Universe area. It was the most visited when we were there. Maybe it's because most of us are curiously in love with knowing the universe and visitors are automatically pulled at this section of the museum.

We watched a short film. I enjoyed the whole clip because I was opened to new information about the solar system, space and the whole universe.

My eldest son, is very fond of science and experiments. He went back to see the T-Rex that's made up of real fossils. How cool is that?!

The highlight of our visit was to experience Van de Graaff generator for the first time. My son was scared seeing the hair of the ladies who went ahead of us go up. Something that he can only see on television shows and movies. Later on, he became comfortable. He has short hair, but you can see hair at the top part of his head raised up.

If The Majesty of the Universe is the most visited, the Van de Graaff generator holds the longest line. These are just few of the wonderful things seen at The Mind Museum. It sure is a place for learning both for the kids and the young at heart.

SEE: How Van de Graaf Generator Work

10 Years

I can't think of a better title to this post but the digits itself that marked another milestone in my life.  5 years ago, I was just day dreaming of the future with my other half. Where will we be on our 10th wedding anniversary? It's normal to think ahead and see yourself how you like it or the way you plan it.

I'm proud to say that in our 10 years as partners, all I can think about are happy memories. Sure, we had our down times, especially when we were still starting... And these turned as motivating factors that brought us to where we are at the moment. We are also surrounded by people who help us go through adversities--- our parents, our siblings and friends, the added colors to our rainbow. 

Thru certain situations, unforgettable moments, down to the most embarrassing experiences, together,  we've matured, we respect each other even more. We learned to meet in the middle when it comes to decision making. We shrug off anything that can cause an argument. We compromise and sacrifice. If there's another thing to be proud about, it's the fact that my husband and I work everything positively because we do things together. We're always together.

Because we know we have each other, we've learned not to look for contentment and happiness thru material things or live life around money.  But we still surprise each other in our own creative ways, just like what happened a few weeks back...

We didn't have a grand celebration for our 10th year, but my husband arranged lunch with a few people at Conti's. It was kinda a surprise for me too... and yes, I was shocked because I really thought that we're not going to prepare anything at all. We opted to keep things simple and discrete because we're presently preparing for something more important. So my husband reserved a function room, had food prepared and a short video presentation was shown. The video was composed of the times from the moment we got married up to the present with our 2 kids. 

10 years may look short and young but I gotta say... we feel that we've  lived and achieved more than the number of years that's indicated, or let's just say we're on the right track.

We have a 3rd grader.

We have a toddler who can say thank you and please...

We have a lovable Beagle named EMO.

We will be moving to our brand new place which is now our own to decorate.

We are planning to get an SUV and restore our old Honda Civic...

I can bake!
We travel as a family.

My husband's career is growing...

We both have white hair. lol! (now, that's aging)

We're all healthy.

What we did not have 10 years back, are the ones that make our life now beautiful everyday.

As we land on our 10th year being married and as we head towards our 14th year of being together, my husband and I both learned how to be flexible towards anything life will throw at us and will remain grateful and humbled for the small, simple moments that's given to us (forever...).

Wrapping Up Summer 2014 at Punta De Uian

Summer 2014 was one of the best we have ever experienced.

1. We opened the season with a 4- day visit to Baler.

2. Enjoyed an all-day fun swimming at my parents' pool.

3. Subic has always been part of our summer journey, and it's such a blessing to pay this place a visit every year.

4. As always, Punta De Uian, Zambales has been the go- to resort for an all- in beach experience.

In all our years as a traveling family who loves the beach, this was our first time to visit 3 beach destinations for summer.

Punta De Uian is like our home in Zambales. Anytime we want to go to the beach, I don't know, there's this connection we have with that place, we automatically go there.

One of the things that we enjoy along the way to Zambales is nature itself. We appreciate the things we don't have in Manila. Like these 2 Water Buffaloes. I know it's normal for it to take a dip, but this was my first time to actually see 2 huge water buffaloes cooling down in a clean river.

For the rest of my story as we end Summer 2014, let the photos below describe the reasons why Punta De Uian is also considered as home...

 With my other half whom I shared an incredible summer with and who made everything possible.

Mornings at Punta De Uian

 Sunset after the rain

View of our villa by the lagoon reflecting the fiery colors of the sunset.

The most relaxing view for this season, the islands of Camara and Capones.

Our lovely family picture at Punta De Uian (taken by: Noah)

"Uuwian ka namin talaga palagi Punta De Uian."