Noah says...

We were listening to old music on the way to the mall one day. The playlist had Neil Sedaka songs including Run Samson Run. Noah had heard the song a couple of times already so he was singing along at the chorus.

I was surprised because later at the mall, Noah asked, "Why should the TV run? In Run Samsung Run?"

I wanted to burst out laughing but stifled it as best I could... 'Coz poor Noah... He was probably puzzled about it the whole time in the car and walking around the mall. :(

Photo from deliciouslyorganized.

Click here for previous posts from the Noah Says... series.

unexpected valentine kilig

I guess it's true that you can find love in the most unexpected places.

Or hearts for that matter. Notice the heart-shaped nostrils of my friend B's new baby Noelle?

I didn't expect that my most kilig moment on Valentine's Day would be when Noah held our front door for me and waited for me to step out before going out himself. He even opened my car door for me! It made me tingly all over [kilig] to have been the recipient of this unexpected gentlemanly gesture.

Hope your Valentine's Day was also happier than you expected it to be!

Photos are all from my Facebook news feed.

Postscript: Noelle, I so didn't expect I wouldn't meet you in person. I was anticipating your birth with so much excitement and trooped to your area, the South, so many times that I cannot believe I didn't get to see for myself those heart-shaped nostrils of yours & everything else adorable about you. I hope you are relishing your love-filled home away from home. After all, as your Mama says, home is now also where you are.

Noah says...

We were talking about the sizes of beds.

I said, "Ours is a king. [Your sister] Isabella's is a queen..." Noah tried to finish my statement, "And mine is a servant?"

Photos from annnniegirl.

Click here for previous posts from the Noah says... series.

my week of cuteness

My whole week last week was a mishmash of the cutest, most adorable things that made my heart go pitter-patter!

Day 1:

My niece was in the hospital for dehydration. :( But when we visited her, she was quite smiley, playing games on her iPad. I myself couldn't help but smile at the wallpaper in her room! Isn't this wallpaper the cutest?

Glad you're all well now Denise! :)

Day 2:

I was delighted to discover that Saizen Galleria now has a whole shelf of Sanrio stuff! Yes, Sanrio knick-knacks for PhP88!

I was sooooo tempted to buy the Little Twin Stars bags (that I have absolutely no use for). Awww... Kiki and Lala... Memories of my childhood...

Day 3:

Such cute colors all in one bangle! Reminds me of these yummy colors.

PhP280 at the Greenhills tiangge.

Day 4:

Ate with my friends L & T at this cute little restaurant, Stacy's, in Capitol Greenstreet in Capitol Hills.

The interiors were sooooo adorable!

Notice the pink rotary phone & fridge, the chalkboard panels & matroyshka print? Oh, happiness!

They actually had me at hello because that pink polka-dotted mug with popcorn, strawberry pretzels & marshmallows is what they greet patrons with. I was late for our lunch date and L & T resisted eating the sweet table treats just so I could see the pretty mug when I arrived. Such sweet friends, right? :)

I was also delighted to see my heart-shaped rice. :) Too bad I forgot to take photos of the striped paper straws that the drinks came with and the butter ball candies that came with the receipt. They really paid attention to the littlest details... like these ones...

The servers actually wore Cath Kidston aprons like those. And that picket-fence area is actually a play area for kids - with a mini garden set and toy bread in a gingham-lined basket. Is it obvious I was smitten?

Day 5:

I was still gushing over Stacy's so I decided to write a post about it. But I couldn't remember the new name of the Capitol Hills complex where the resto belonged. So I googled it and stumbled upon Our Awesome Planet's review of Stacy's. He called the interiors "Heima-inspired" so naturally, I clicked on the link and found the website of the cutest store! Heima sells the most adorable things too (washi tapes included)!

I want the chalkboards in all colors (they also have it in a mustard-looking orange and a navy-looking blue gray)! And I loooove the subtle tiffany blue button-tufting & seat-piping peeking out from the gray T-shaped chair!

Day 6:

I trooped to Rustan's Shangri-la Tower for Dwell Studio's End of Season Sale.

I was never a big fan of pink, but I guess all the cute pinks this week got me so enamored by the pink version of my chocolate Madison Dots bag.

Day 7:

The Bitbit The Rabbit Plush Toys I ordered from Spinkie arrived! I bought them as gifts for 2 adorable babies.

But I secretly wanted to keep the plush toys for myself. Even through their plastic container, they looked so soft & cuddly.

Oh, it was such a delightful week! All these adorable things, as Heima perfectly put it, "made my senses smile & my heart flutter". Happiness!

Photos are my own and from Heima & Spinkie - edited on my iPhone with the free Instapic Frame/Collage app.

Oh, in case you didn't notice, the colored words throughout this post link to more happy, adorable things! Happy clicking! :)

what's adorning your door?

What adorns your door at Christmas?

This Christmas, our doors aren't adorned with store-bought wreaths. They are decorated with paper parols (Christmas lanterns or stars) that Noah & Isabella made!

Noah brought this home from school one day. He was so proud saying "Teacher didn't help me one bit!" So he hung it on his bedroom door...

And made new ones...

... to hang on my bedroom door...

... and Isabella's door...

They're actually quite easy to make...

Isabella made a parol out of paper boats...

... and we hung it, and two more of Noah's parols made from the adcube, on our front door...

Every time I enter the house, or any of our rooms, I can't help but smile at the homemade Christmas parols adorning our door. Sure beats any store-bought lantern! :)

Photos are my own and from annnniegirl.

kitchen counters that count

I don't cook so I've never needed a huge kitchen counter (is island more apt?). But after seeing how this family gathers around their kitchen counter - laughing, talking, sharing everyday precious moments, I am now re-thinking the need for such a counter. Maybe kitchen counters are not meant just for moms who cook, but also for families that share moments that count.

Photo from pinkwallpaper.

Click here for a previous post on my undomesticatedness.

some polka dots i spotted...

Pat of 101gramsofeyecandy sent me a goodie bag of her printed items way back in August. The label plates were so pretty...

... that I couldn't bring myself to waste use them. Until her Candy Shop opened and I realized I could get new ones anytime I wanted (and at affordable prices at that!). I started with organizing Noah's activity books. They used to be bunched together on a shelf with a bookend. But since they were mostly thin books (spines weren't thick enough to have a title), Noah couldn't tell them apart and was never enticed to use them. So I segregated them like this...

And he now picks out the books according to the activity he wants to do!

Using these materials...

... and by placing the nylon cable ties (which I got from Japan Home Store) on just one side of the labels, I turned the label plates into a sort of door on my silver magazine file rack. So Noah just opens the "door" to pull out his activity book.

After Noah's label plates were done, I (took a deep breath and) used one of the non-kiddie pretty, patterned label plates from Pat for my things. And of course, the first one I picked was the pretty polka-dotted one!

Love how our shelves look now with these pretty label plates! Thanks Pat!  

To get your own pretty label plates and browse other printed eye candy via The Candy Shop's online catalog, just email:

Photos are my own.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted... series. Watch for tomorrow's post here on what's inside my box of photos.

P.S. Someday, I'll tell you more about where that Matroyshka doll set came from. :)

Mommy Mondays: things I would have missed

When I was working, I didn't think I was missing much. I figured the kids were in school anyway when I was at the office. By the time I got home, they had already done the "chores" - homework, dinner, baths. And I was left with the moments that mattered - the "quality" fun bonding moments with them before bed. I thought I wasn't missing much.

But now that I'm on sabbatical and am around all day, everyday, I discovered there are things I would have missed, had I been at work.

Like seeing Noah enjoy his after-school karate class. Had I been at work, I would not have seen how much he was smiling through the session. Sure, my mom would likely have told me that his stance was really good for a beginner. She'd probably have told me that he learned to block or kick that day. But I would not have seen him beam with pride at the punch he just blocked. How his eyes danced with delight at each stance. How the corners of his mouth would turn up ever so slightly when he was pleased with his move. These things I would have missed had I been at work.

Last week was no exception. I picked up 15-year-old Isabella from school and I had to wait awhile because, as the guards had explained, "Napasarap sa paglaro!" (She was having so much fun playing!). Turns out, Isabella had been busy chasing a friend around the waiting area. I loved that that incident showed me she was still a kid. It was a side of her - that child-like side - I would have missed completely because she would be her quiet, glued-to-her-iTouch teenage self again at the house.

Had I been at work, I would have missed these subtle little things that speak volumes about my kids. Big realizations about their character from tiny observations that only a mother will notice. Yes, there are many things I would have missed had I been at work. So I am ever so grateful I am not missing them these days.

Working moms, don't fret. It isn't necessary for you to be there every minute. What I realized is the importance of observing an everyday, mundane moment. So make sure to reserve one or two of your VL (vacation leave) days for following them around on a normal day. The rest can be used for actual vacations or family trips or the necessary PTC (parent-teacher conference) or school program. But make it a point to take a day off to do nothing special and just observe your kids go through their usual day. I am certain you will witness those subtle little things that mean so, so much.

Photo from pinkwallpaper.

Click here for previous posts from the Mommy Mondays series. Watch for the downinthedots version of this post here tomorrow. 

Simple Trick: Magazine Christmas Trees

Is it okay that I still haven't put up our Christmas tree if I made this one out of an old magazine?

It's actually quite easy to make. In fact, I did it while watching a DVD. :)

I started out with an old Preview mag. A 200-page magazine will make a tree as fat as mine. So pick a thicker magazine if you want a fatter tree (but I read here to not go over 250 pages. Not sure why.).

I folded the upper-right corner of the first page so it meets the inside seam and makes a fat triangle like this...

Then I folded the page again to form a thinner triangle...

Then I flipped the page so the back of the thin triangle page is facing me...

Then made a crease with the bottom flap like so...

Then inserted the flap inside the triangle...

... to make my first Christmas tree page...

I repeated these steps for a couple of pages, then realized there was an easier way to get the excess flap inside the triangle!

I "opened" the thin triangle and folded the flap before "closing" the thin triangle again...

And voila! A new Christmas tree page!

Around halfway through the magazine, this how it looked...

And once all the pages were done, I did the same to the cover pages. But to "seal" the tree, I tucked the flap of the back cover inside the front cover's triangle.

Learned this simple trick from my DIY-expert friend C (who got this idea from the Martha Stewart). C used one of her son's activity books and I think plans to spraypaint it in gold or silver. Pretty, right? 

But if you are like me, who can't reach spraypaint levels, I suggest you pick a magazine with more brightly-colored pages than white ones with text. Or pick a completely white book for a white Christmas tree like this. 

Oh, and one important thing you need to do before you start folding is to break the spine. I didn't do this so my magazine's spine is visible on the backside of my tree. To break the spine, open the magazine out fully, fold it back so the covers touch and crease the spine. Do this at different parts of the magazine. Then... fold away!

Photos are my own, edited via my iPhone's pixlr app, and from here and here.

Click here for incredibly amazing artistry created out of also folding pages of a book. Click here for previous posts from the Simple Trick series.

pumpkin colors

I've always been drawn to the sight of pumpkins. I think it's the huge pop of orange brightening up the supposedly scary holiday. So it's no wonder these pumpkins made me smile - with colorful cartoony faces painted on the fun, orange gourd!

Though it turns out, painting over the orange still draws me in. Okay, I guess it isn't surprising that I would be captivated by these colorful, patterned pumpkins...

Don't you love their fun, Mexican pinata vibe?

What about the restrained pops of color & pattern on these white pumpkins?

 
Even purely white pumpkins look gorgeous!

Who would have thought white pumpkins could look this sophisticated?

Now what do you think of these black ones?

Turns out, with some paint, tinsel, glue and twine, Shannon of NYC Taught Me brought some punk to her pumpkins!

I'm not sure I'm ready to bring this punk aesthetic to my home. But I don't mind a black pumpkin for an interesting vase...

And to my dear friends & family in New York & New Jersey (where the top pumpkin photo was actually taken), I wish I could send you these pretty white pumpkin candles to help out during the power outages going on now. Stay safe. You are all in my prayers!

I guess it doesn't matter if pumpkins are orange or not. I'm still quite enamored by them in any color!

So orange or not, pumpkin or no pumpkin, have a happy Halloween everyone!

Photos are my own and from elizabethstreet via nyctaughtme & here, here, here and here.

Click here for my previous post on my farm-to-table pumpkin experience.