Summer

Summer is here! Time for the kids to play outdoors instead of being cooped up indoors playing Temple Run or Draw Something. Time to let them play, explore & learn.

We went on a picnic with friends in Ateneo last August and Noah tried to fly a kite. But it wasn't windy enough to keep his kite up in the air. He did have fun exploring nature and playing with friends; he even climbed a tree!

I love the Ateneo grounds. When Isabella was young, we would go on picnics in the High School field, the Bellarmine field or the place around the Meron Lagoon. This particular picnic with Noah was some other place in the Ateneo College grounds, but because of the new buildings, I'm not exactly sure where it is anymore. It was actually nice because there's parking, an open field and benches shaded by trees. We just brought some food and banig mats and we had an instant picnic! We always bring a kite, and sometimes even a bike, in case the wind doesn't cooperate.

I can't wait to try kite-flying again this summer!

I can already imagine the glee on Noah's face when he is finally able to keep his kite in flight.

So what outdoor activities do you have planned for your kids this summer? Are you planning some piko or hopscotch?

Or maybe just going to the playground to get on the swing?

Am thinking of trying this block of ice activity from nyctaughtme. I figure it would be a fun activity to cool down on a hot summer day (apart from maybe, Johnson's Baby Cooling Powder & Bath).

Armed with the new Johnson's baby daily sun protection lotion, I have no qualms letting Noah play and explore under the sun this summer!

It is going to be a fun, fun summer!

Photos are my own and from nyctaughtme. 

coffee foam art

Isn't this the cutest cafe latte? New York City-based artist and barista at The Breslin, Mike Breach, uses the foam atop a cup of espresso and milk as his canvas.

He can etch just about anything.

He even made a portrait of his friend's dog! And it does look like the real dog here!

They say that aside from looking pretty, latte art is a sign that the milk has been properly steamed and that your drink was made with love. Wouldn't you just love such an adorned cup in the morning?

Have a beautiful morning!

Photos from here via acupofjo.

Click here for previous posts from the Art series.

my pretend closet: mixed-color shoes

I have been smitten by this shoe from Zara. But it has eluded me. I didn't find it in the Zara stores in Hongkong and here in Manila, by the time I got to Zara, there was one last pair in stock - and it wasn't in my size! And maybe because I can't have it, I've been wanting it more. I looove the pop of yellow! And how it's paired with gray snakeskin because as you know from here, I have been captivated by gray & yellow lately. I like the mix of beige and black - a design sensibility that took me a while to love (see related post here). See? It's turned into perfection in my head!

Thank God for the mix of colors in these Pierre Hardy shoes I found during my pretend-shopping spree (read: surfing)... 

  

And this Manolo Blahnik with a mix of apple green and warm neutrals...

And this SM Parisian by Rajo Laurel. This one actually eluded me too last year. But I did get the purely black version. And though mine doesn't have the pop of the purple & gray combination, I have been loving how comfortable they are! Surprisingly, I can run in them!

But of all the mixed-color shoes I've spotted this season, I am so thrilled that the one that didn't get away was this particular shoe. Zara Hongkong was so fully-stocked with this that my friends K, C & I all bought ourselves a pair each!

I find them uber sexy! And I just looove that of all the mixed-color shoes in this post, this is the one in my non-pretend closet!

Photos from pierrehardy, here, here, here, here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the My Pretend Closet series. 

Noah says...

Noah and I were talking about him learning to drive. I told him I'd been driving for (aaagghhh!) 20 years. As if telling me that was no big deal, he said, "That's little [less] than prison years."

And when I asked how long prison years took, he answered, "100 years." Ah, so that's why 20 years was nothing!

Jeesh, "prison years"! Where does he learn these terms?

Photo from annnniegirl.

Click here for previous posts from the Noah Says series.

be yourself

Just a few quotes to remind you to 'be yourself'.

This one is from Dr. Seuss.

This one's sort of by Kurt Cobain.

Is there a quote you love so much you'd wear it around your neck?

Or display in your home?

The truth is, I'm a painting fan. It never occurred to me to display words-to-live-by in my home. I bookmarked these quotes primarily for Isabella. I thought they were appropriate during a teenager's journey towards self-discovery. I figured the journey could lead to self-doubt. But I should have known my Isabella, who was always feisty and strong-willed even as a child, would be one self-assured teen. Because several weeks ago, I told Isabella I was going to do this thing (I think, it was 'microwave some queso de bola' or 'wear the Uniqlo rainjacket we both had'. I can't really remember.). She said she was going to do the same. So I teased, "Am I your idol?" And she said, "No." Pretending to be offended, she said, "I'm an individual!" I should have known Isabella would always BE HERSELF! :)

Photos from annnniegirl, i'mjustsaying, here, here and here.

Today, I am loving...

I have always been attracted to barnyard or horse-stall doors. Probably because of my love for horses (see related post here). I guess that's why this photo of a split-door has been bookmarked in my "pretty-folder" for a while now. I think it would make an interesting backdoor. I imagine it can work just as well as the open-pane door here as a kid's puppet theater or lemonade stand.

I've also bookmarked (& posted here) this actual barnyard door that's used as a bathroom door.

But I never imagined you could repurpose an old horse-stall door like this.

Today, I am loving... these repurposed horse-stall doors.

I love the character & charm that these old horse-stall doors bring to the room. The details are just gorgeous!

And I love the idea of partly concealing a bar or groceries. I also think that putting them on sliding rails - rather than a regular door with hinges - adds to the allure. And of course, the pretty backsplash of that bar is to-die-for! 

Today, I am enamored... by these repurposed horse-stall doors!

Photos from annnniegirl, i'mjustsaying, heritage and designsponge.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am loving... series.

Lego Tales: Lego Moleskine


The release of the limited edition LEGO Moleskine notebooks this month inspired me to start a new series on anything & everything LEGO. Growing up, LEGO was my most favorite toy. My brother was my playmate so those colored bricks were the most gender-neutral toy we could both enjoy. We created so many original things (as opposed to merely following the instruction booklets they came with) out of our LEGO bricks. Aside from the dogs here and here, I also remember building a pinball machine. I even recall that our mom's sister challenged us to make a robot out of every single LEGO brick we had (likely, to get us to clean up our LEGO mess) and we fashioned a giant one with so many moving parts! That's what I loved about LEGO - the possibilities were endless with a child's playful imagination.

True to LEGO's playful essence, the LEGO Moleskine notebooks have a real LEGO brick embedded in the cover to spark one's playful side. Moleskine puts it perfectly, "As a platform for free expression, you can arrange words, sketches and thoughts like building blocks and construct a world of your own." As the colorful inside cover reads, "Think With Your Hands."

Actually, the notebooks do NOT come with mini-figures like these (What they actually do come with are stickers and a rear expandable inner pocket. They come in both ruled and plain, in 2 sizes. I spotted them in Fully Booked Power Plant last week for less than PhP2,000.).

But I just love the idea of putting mini-figs on the embedded brick.

I wonder if Noah will notice if I take one of his Toy Story mini-figs? Hehe.

Photos & quotes from moleskine, here and here.

Color Obsession: purple & yellow

I am totally loving the colors of Spring 2012! This particular one is from Madewell's lookbook. And while I'm not sure I am bold enough to wear a purple top & yellow pants together, the combination is certainly catching my eye.

Though the turquoise & spring green are looking lovely too, am really referring to this lady's purple & yellow nail polish.

This - even though I can't even see the dress - I find really sexy.

And here they are again in the 3.1 Phillip Lim Spring 2012 Collection - this time, a pale lemon yellow with lavender.

And again in J.Crew's Collection - with a pale lavender purse & a marigold skirt.

Ooohh, I am so excited to start wearing these Spring colors!

Photos from Madewell, annnniegirl, vogue and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Color Obsession series.

first dance

Isabella is going to her very first dance tonight.

For me, it's somewhat like 'prom' because she's going with an escort.

She's going with a friend (who I have met many times) but I still can't help see it as her first date.

The odd thing about these unnerving teenage milestones is that timelines seem to blur. Somehow, I am seeing 14-year-old Isabella as she was when she was a little 5-year-old, way too young to be going out with a boy. And at the same time, I am seeing her as perhaps, a 25-year-old, way into the future, on her wedding day! I find myself wishing I could turn back time because Isabella seems to be growing up too fast. But at the same time, I am hoping that where this growing-up leads - her wedding day - will be the beginning of the happiest, most love-filled life.

My dear Isabella, I know, I know I am making this bigger than it actually is. It's just a dance, hardly even a real date. And while this day proves that my little girl is no longer a little girl, I hope you can enjoy the night with the same childlike quality you've always had as a little girl. Just dance, laugh and have a magical night filled with glitter!

Oh, and please always remember this love advice of mine here. Because I want your very last dance-partner in life to make you happier than anyone can ever be.

Photos from annnniegirl.