Friendsgiving 2013

I'm thankful for my wonderful and true friends. This year, we decided to have a get-together. And I'm hoping this would become a tradition.We don't get to see each other more often because three of them are living in different parts of the Philippines.

It was a two day get-together. Nov.29 & Nov.30,Friday was Videoke Night and Saturday was spent at the beach.The original plan was one of us will host the small gathering but because they were busy with work and I myself was busy attending to my family since they are typhoon victims it was changed last minute.

We ate, we sung, we drank and we shared lots of laughs. I'm looking forward to our next friendsgiving.

Yolanda

Today is exactly one month after the super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. My parents, brothers, sister, nephew were in Tacloban during the super typhoon. During that time, I was not worried because we get at least twenty typhoons every year and  somehow we know how to deal with typhoons. But when I saw the news reports, photos and videos in fb I started to panic and get  worried. It was the worst and strongest typhoon.My worries was tripled when I could not reach them through calls and texts. Nov. 8,my husband decided to go to Tacloban to check on them. Through the help of a Navy friend he was able to get a ride to Tacloban. I was not sleeping well I was so worried. Nov. 10, I received a text from my husband saying my family and relatives survived. Globe telecommunication was restored within the city proper only. Although our house was roofless and a few shattered windows still I am so grateful to hear that they are okay. It was decided to bring them here in Cebu and live with us temporarily for safety and health reasons. After 6 days, they finally arrived safely. Thank God! 
My husband who bravely went there experienced trauma,seeing dead bodies on the streets,the smell to the point that during his sleep he was dreaming of dead people he saw on the road and was screaming. Thankfully, after a few days he was back to normal.

When my family finally had a good rest, I asked mama what transpired on that fateful day. Mama said around 7am strong winds was felt. Rain was pouring also. Suddenly, our roof was flown away. Although, our house has an attic water was dripping everywhere. Windows were shattered. Our kitchen door was flown as well as the dinning table and chairs.Front door was about to give up too. The ground floor of our house was flooded. Trees was uprooted. Mama saw our neighbor's houses destroyed. They were all afraid. She feared that our house would collapse if the storm will not stop.Thankfully, the storm stop. Mama said they did not know that areas in downtown and San Jose was almost wiped out and that many died because of the storm surge. Until, they saw it on television. 

My heart breaks every now and then when I received news of someone we know did not survived. May their soul rest in peace.

Christmas is fast approaching already and I'm having a difficult time celebrating because of what happen. But I am forever grateful that I still have my family and I get to spend more time with them. 

I pray that God heal our land and give us the strength to overcome this tragedy. I also pray for those lives lost during the typhoon.

****If you want to see the catastrophic damage of Tacloban,here's a link of photos .Please click here. The person behind the photos lived in Tacloban and was there when typhoon  Yolanda made its landfall.

Why I'm Doing Yoga

via

I was complaining to my husband for a couple of days of a reoccurring back pain. My husband told me that if I want to have a healthy life I need to exercise. The last time I joined him for a jog I almost fainted after two rounds. This aching back made me realize that if I want to see my future kids grow up all the way through until they start having their own family I need to have a strong body to live long enough for them. After much researching I think I want to do a yoga exercise. I found a few beginner yoga poses to try in the internet and decided to give it a try. After a few minutes stretching and doing the poses I was relieved the pain was no longer bothering me. I've been doing yoga for four days now and I never felt better. To motivate me to do it everyday I think of the long term benefits of doing yoga which is more years to spend with my husband and future children.

Loving Gingersnaps

I was at a mall looking for gifts for my three godchildren and came across Gingersnaps. What made me take a look inside the boutique was actually their cute window display. I had a hard time choosing. All were pretty, the fabric, the designs, the colors.

My godchild wearing gingersnaps dress i gave.Her mom told me this is one of her favorite.

My godchild was giddy and immediately wore the dress.

For Christmas, this will be my go to place shopping for my seven godchildren. Here are a few of my favorites.

Thankful For Being Alive

A7.1 magnitude earthquake hit our region last Oct. 15. I was sleeping when it happened. My husband and I ran as fast as we could to go outside our rented house. I was so afraid and shocked. It was a traumatic experience and we were not sleeping well for days especially during night time due to the strong aftershocks. I fear that our house would collapse on us. Thankfully there were only a few cracks on the surface unlike those of living in Bohol (the epicenter of the earthquake) wherein houses, roads, ,bridges and historical churches were totally destroyed, and many died. It was heartbreaking. 

We are  doing okay now but our people especially in Bohol are in need of help.  Various organizations are doing a lot to help our people. If you want to help please click here a  complied information on how to help

I  thank God that my husband and I are safe and still have a roof over our heads to sleep well and have something to eat. Everyday that we are alive is a gift and should be live to the fullest.

Four Favorites

Lately, I have been learning how to cook from scramble eggs and tofu to simple stir fry veggies. I think, I kinda improve my cooking skills. Aside my cooking I'm interested to learn how to bake.I imagine myself having a weekly baking activity. Here are some of my kitchen wishlist. I want these for my kitchen! 

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer- I love the color of this mixer.Blue is one of my favorite color.

Convection Oven.- from baking healthy cookies, muffins to roasting.

Muffin Pans.

Measuring Cups and Spoons.

Hope to share my baking experience in this blog. Happy Tuesday!

Inspiration Monday

I made this hand lettered on an ordinary paper the other day. I display it where I can see it everyday as a reminder.

If life is pressing you hard, don't get discourage instead put your faith in God. Something to inspire as you start your week.

Happy Monday!

New In The Shop!

I made a  few single strand bracelets made on elastics. Perfect for layering or wear them alone.Check them out.

buy here

buy here

buy here

More items will be added in the coming weeks.

{DIY} Paper Fans

Can't believe Christmas is fast approaching already! Days are flying by. Today, I want to share how to make paper fans and use them in wrapping gifts. You only need art paper/s, scissors and glue.

Instructions

1. Fold the paper in half. 
2. Cut the folded paper.
3. Fold it again in half. And then cut the folded paper. 
4. Make an accordion fold. Then fold it in half.
5. Glue them together. I used hot glue because it will hold them together best.

Have fun!

Four Favorites

October is finally here! And it means cooler weather. Lately, the weather this days is unpredictable, rain showers at odd hours. This is why i don't like to go out much because of the rain and flooding. But this is the perfect season for layering all your favorite pieces of clothing. Here's what I'm loving right now.

1. Chic Tweed Coat.
2. A scarf  from Shop Ruche to keep you warm.
3. This J. Crew Dark wash pants is perfect for everyday wear.
4. I love stripes and this J.Crew stripe sweater is on  my lust list right now.

A Dose Of Inspiration

Happy Monday!

Claim To Have A Super Blessed Life

I'm mostly at home now a days since I resigned from my corporate job. Their are days I ask myself if I made the right decision to just quit. I love my job until my department I was assigned to hired  new supervisor. At first we were fine until she started attacking me in a personal way. I am not saying that I am not open to learning something new from her. But from the time she was my supervisor I never felt her support, her mentoring, she keep on assuming on a lot of things even my fb posts. I started feeling stress. It was difficult dealing with her. I don't want to stay long and lose my respect for her so after much thought,conversation with hubby and prayer, I decided to quit. No regular job means no benefits,no salary and with the monthly bills to pay it scares me and have cause anxiety attacks. But with faith in God , He will provide and open new doors for me. I'm claiming his blessings.

I'm using this faith declaration of Bo Sanchez's book, How Your Words Can Change Your World.

"I declare I'll have a super-blessed life! I claim a life of amazing abundance. For the rest of my life, I shall receive more love and give more love. I shall experience more joy, greater generosity, dreams fulfilled, financial increase, open doors, new opportunities, divine connections, supernatural appointments, great miracles, answered prayer and exponential growth. In Jesus' name!"

I hope you'll find this faith declaration helpful in your own life. Happy Friday!

** If you want to get a copy of the book, click here.

Homecooking: Cabagge Stir Fry and Chicken

Aside from learning how to cook, I started to adapt a more healthy lifestyle. For some time now, I stop eating red meat and chicken. So for tonight's dinner, my husband and I had chicken and cabbage stir fry. Hubby is a meat eater so I still cook something for him other than veggies. And now for the recipe.

Cabbage Stir Fry (Serves 2)
Ingredients

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tomato, diced 
• leaves of tarragon
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• salt & pepper to taste

Procedure

• Heat olive oil in a frying pan. 
• Saute onion, garlic, tomato and tarragon until fragrant.
• Add cabbage, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Cook and stir occasionally , until the cabbage wilts  and the water it has expelled has almost evaporated.
• Transfer contents on a bowl and serve hot.
• Enjoy

For the chicken. The chicken pieces was first marinated for 1 hour before frying. For the marinate  combine the soy sauce, pepper, salt and lemon juice.

Since I don't eat meat I can't tell you how it tasted so I asked hubby, he said that it was delicious and flavorful. I think it was delicious because he almost wiped out the chicken.

Four Favorites

Bed weather today. Grey skies and about to rain. Meanwhile, here's what I'm loving right now.

Lately, I'm learning how to cook. I've been trying my best to work my way around the kitchen. And these printable recipe cards are timely. I can write down the recipes on these cute recipe cards.

Will cook dinner for my husband. This one looks delicious and something we both will enjoy. We are lately adapting a healthy lifestyle.

Something to read on a gloomy Tuesday. I look forward on having our own house soon.

How lovely to have these tea set. Coffee or even water will taste special in this pretty cup.

Keep safe and dry everyone.

Friday Lunch

Since my best friend had to leave late in the afternoon (she was here for work), we decided to have a quick lunch at Abaseria Cafe. Abaseria is one of my favorite place to dine out,authentic Filipino dishes,friendly vibe and tucked away in a quiet neighborhood. All around the place are art displays, house decors,trinkets and accessories and local delicacies that are for sale.

Our yummy little feast: I was hungry that I forgot to take pictures the rest of our food. 

Monggo soup with gata (coconut milk)

Adobong bangus belly

Looking forward to having this time with my friends. Until our next lunch date.

Date With Girlfriends + Gusto Urban Cafe

This week is all about food and friends. I have been eating a lot the whole week. My best friend is in Cebu for three days for work. In between the busy schedule, we manage to catch up as well as the girls . We went to  Gusto Urban Cafe  located at Calyx building in Cebu It park  for our lunch fix.
Here's what we had for lunch.

Four Favorites

A few things online I have been wanting.

To wear. Simple and all black ensemble.

To buy. Statement necklace to go with the all black outfit. (This is currently sold out).

Pretty Storage Containers. I really need these for my documents, crafting papers & photos. 

Learn calligraphy in a correct way.Strokes,movement,how to hold a pen.

Happy Tuesday!

A Dose Of Inspiration

via pinterest

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. Over the weekend I was feeling bummed and down because I was worrying a lot of things and impatient of how my life was turning. It reminded me of the verse about that in whatever situation I am I should be thankful and never stop praying. 

Snippets Of Life: Date With My Girlfriends

Since I left my corporate job, I rarely see my girlfriends. I was happy when despite their busy schedules they took a time off to see me. We had endless conversations, updating each others life. It was a good way to end our week. I thank God for having them.

With Dianne last Tuesday at Cafe Sarre,Cebu

With Mariam & Dianne at Coffee Cat,Cebu

Hope you had a good week ender! 

DIY Recycled Cord Organizer

I wanted to buy those cute and colorful cord organizers, but when budget is an issue, one can come up with a way where one can get what you want in a cost effective manner. With the use of tissue paper roll/carton I was able to come up with a cord organizer.

Materials:

Scissors, Tissue paper roll

Washi Tape

Cover the entire tissue paper roll with washi tape and your done. So easy and simple.

Neat way to keep cords organize

Do you have any recycling ideas you may want to share?