some polka dots i spotted...

A good run is a great way to energize you for the workweek ahead.

Have a great Monday morning workout!

Nike LunarSwift+2

pieces with a story

When we were furnishing our new house 6 years ago, my husband wanted our things to have a significance. This is why our domino tealight holder was not just of any two random numbers. It was of our wedding anniversary - May 4. We chose a 1997 Malang because that was the year our daughter was born. Our 2005 Baldemor was to celebrate the birth of our son. To my husband, our house needed to be filled with pieces with a story. And I guess that just jumpstarted all the stories that were to be created in our home. I can imagine looking back 10... 20 years from now, remembering where my son took his first step or where my daughter cried of her first broken heart. From the get-go, my husband taught me how to turn our house into a home.

Happy Father's Day to my uncharacteristically sentimental husband!

sweet nostalgia

After dinner at Cantinetta with my girlfriends last night, we walked to Bar Dolci in Burgos Circle. Little did I know it would end up to be a walk down memory lane...

I ordered this Bubblegum gelato - at first because of the amusing note on the flavor paddle: "sosyal na Bazooka". But as I savored each spoonful of my mini-scoooper, I was reminded of the Coney Island ice cream bar at Unimart when I was little. I would always get either bubblegum or orange with chocolate fudge and rainbow sprinkles. Yum!

Of course I couldn't eat at Bar Dolci without getting my favorite Salted Butter Caramel macaron. I've tried - not all, but a lot of - their sumptious and delightfully-colored flavors, but this is the absolute best!

The funny thing is that when I hear the word "macaroons", this is what still comes to mind...

Hope you enjoyed this short, but sweet, trip down memory lane!

Photos from my own BB Torch, shootfirsteatlater, R&R with Noel R.N. and Mom's Place. 

timeless tailored femininity

Ironic, right? Tailored, yet feminine? This is the essence of Katie Ermilio's Fall 2011 Collection. The lines are simple, elegant and clean with touches of bows and ruffles. It's remarkable how a ballgown can convey elegant ease. Truly, this irony of a collection is timeless and oh-so-tempting.

And they couldn't have chosen a more perfect backdrop: a luxurious space with the elegance of a grand piano, a plush couch, a glass chandelier, and the antique feel of the exposed furnace and the grandeur of sunlight streaming through the tall, wide windows.

I know this is a reposted photo. But it's a Katie Ermilio so shouldn't it be displayed with the rest of her collection?

Photo credits: From Me To You

Color Obsession: soft pink and lilac

Am gushing over the soft pinks and lilacs of these Central Park photos from From Me To You. Doesn't Central Park blossom so beautifully in the spring? I especially like the pink cape paired with black. So young and girly, yet very classy and elegant. Oh, and isn't the photo of that sweet elderly couple so endearing?

first day of school

My son (who is NOT the kid in this picture) started Kinder 2 yesterday. It's his second year in his school so I didn't think it would be emotional for him. But the night before, he prayed, "Dear Jesus... Please let me wake up very early tomorrow, before the sun is up and the sky is blue... Please let me not be shy. Please let me have a friend..." Awww, turns out he was feeling some anxiety and just wasn't showing it.

There is something about the first day of school that tugs at your heart as you realize your baby is growing up. Throughout the last schoolyear, I would get wistful watching Noah get down from the car, with his duffel bag slung cross-body, and walk towards the doors of his school. This vision of independence always came with melancholy because my little boy seemed like a little man going out into the big world (with a big bag) on his own. This week, what got me was the realization that he was just trying to be a big man this past month when he gave me a cheery "Yes!" every time I asked if he was excited to go back to school.

Today, I am loving...

Today, I am delighted by... these creative doors. I looove Patricialoves' chalkboard-covered front door which they use to remind them to always lock their door. Reminds me of the magna-doodle on Joey and Chandler's door on Friends. Great for phone messages, reminders and random drawings!

The open-pane door is from an old Martha Stewart Kids issue. A door with a window but no glass is perfect for a kid's room. It lets Mom peek in to check what her kid is up to and converts into a puppet theater... or a lemonade stand... or anything an imaginative kid can think of. The possibilities are endless! 

The door bumper also came from an old MSK issue. It's perfect for toddlers curious about doors. Keeps their little fingers from getting pinched. It's so clever because it's really just a tiny pillow with hair elastics on the sides to hook to the doorknobs and keep the pillow in place. And the polka-dotted fabric just makes it even more cute! :)

I love that creativity can transform something as ordinary as a door into something so delightfully extraordinary. Hope this opens the door for creativity today for you! Have a fun Thursday!