What's a Birthday Girl To Do

While most people look forward to their birthdays, I actually dread the month of my birthday. First of all, I can't handle birthday greetings and I have only my Catholic school education to blame for it. You see, my birthday falls on The Assumption Day, a holiday for all Catholic schools so I was never exposed to the first and basic form of public humiliation, being called in front of the class so they can sing you the birthday song while secretly laughing and making fun of how awkward you look standing there. So if you happen to greet me face to face, please pardon my fidgetty hands, lack of eye contact, and idiotic verbal replies for I have had no training and experience. hehe

When I finished school, I did everything I can so that I will never have to work on my birthday. Needless to say, I was never at school nor at work on any of my 28 birthdays! This year was no exception, with special thanks to my manager and our scheduler for giving me the day off.

The boyfriend and our roommate were both working that day, so I had the entire day to myself. About a week before my birthday, I started planning out my activities.

So here's how I spent it...

Activity #1. Riding lessons. 

Eeep!! So exciting! For the first time this year, I woke up before noon for something non-work related. haha. Anyway, it is my personal goal to learn something new each year.

I had to make do with what was already in my closet and this was the closest to a cowgirl as I could get. LOL

Meet Billie! He was such a good horse during the 1-hr ride!

Overall, it was a great experience! We started by learning how to brush and groom a horse. It was harder (and messier) than I thought it would be. I had dust and hair all over my shirt and arms and jeans, and i had to pick horse poop off their horseshoes. haha. I also learned to trot after almost falling off the horse when I failed to remember that I was in a riding class. There I was slouched on the saddle, the reigns resting on my lap, a lazy smile on my face and eyes half closed enjoying the summer sun and then BOOM! the horse TROTS on the instructor's cue. I swear I probably had 50 mini heart attacks then. hihi

Activity #2. Dropped by at church to pray and give thanks!

Activitiy #3. Picnic at my favorite  park!

The pictures will tell you why it's my favorite spot in all of the city!

Activity #4. Spa treat!

A deep muscle massage is imperative, of course!

And last but not the least, to make it a perfect birthday... dinner date with Lauro! Forgot to take pictures though. I was too hungry to take pictures but it was at Talay Thai, one of our favorite restaurants in the city.

Happy 28, me!

We Bought A Fish

Actually, I, bought a fish. Though, I never really liked fish as a pet. I thought they were boring, incapable of doing anything interesting. I'm a dog person and have always had a dog. I like that they're so smart you'll forget they're not people. If you ask me, they're smarter than some of us and more sensitive than half the people you meet. Unfortunately, I am merely an apartment dweller and canine or feline friends are a no-no in the building. However, I miss having something to take care of and shower some of my affections to (the boyfriend is already neck deep and starting to mind my 'kakulitan' haha), so I decided to get a fish. The moment I stepped out of the pet store, with the fish in a bag in my hand, I felt like a 6-yr-old girl grinning from ear to ear.

Meet Mr. Gibb. I named him after my favorite Beegee, Robin Gibb, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. He's a fighting fish and that's about everything I know about it. Haha Iwill browse the internet though because I will be terribly heartbroken if I come home one day and see him belly up in his bowl. Excuse the mental graphic scene.





See ya!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

1st DIY Project: : Distressing Wood

If there's one thing I love, it's the look and feel of old, antiqued furniture. I wouldn't want my entire house (as if I have my own. lol) to have nothing but antiques though, but just a few great pieces here and there would be perfect! However, as rare as they are to come by, they are ridiculously high-priced as well!

I've been going to this unique shop that sells vintage furniture and honestly some of the stuff they sell look like they were only forged to look antique and they price them at $300! For a teeny-weeny side table! No way I'm going to pay that amount of money for a hand-distressed furniture! I realized then that what I CAN afford to do right now is to go to a thrift shop, get a wooden furniture for, say, $20 and repaint and antique it myself. Sounds like a plan. :)

I found this mirrored wall decor for $2.99 (notice that I chose a smaller piece to work on. I guess I wasn't as brave as I sounded. haha). I will save the bigger furnitures for when I'm already a pro.

This is what I did with it.

First, I sandpapered the entire surface. That's supposed to make the paint set well since I won't be using a primer (I don't know, okay, I just don't want to. LOL).

I chose the color turquoise because I'm hanging this mirror on my bedroom wall. The theme there is white and turquoise. I got the spray paint set at Michaels. They carry tons of Martha Stewart products!

This is after I painted it. Love the color! I only applied two coats of paint so that the paint looks "faded" in some areas.

Next thing I did was sandpaper the edges to give it that aged, distressed look. I'm tempted to sandpaper inside the egdes but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I'll just go for the subtle vintage effect for now.

I added a tiny yellow vase, snipped a flower from my bathroom vase and voila! It is now pretty enough to be part of my bedroom. :)

Next time it will be a real furniture I'll work on. Can't wait for summer!

Sweet Spring Surprise

I arrive home from my night shift still shivering from that cold walk from my car to the building entrance. I think again about what I was thinking when I gave up the basement parking and let Lauro have it. I remind myself again that I already took the bigger room and the bathroom so he should at least have the indoor parking. You have to be fair, I tell myself. This soliloquy will probably go on until summer arrives and I no longer need to brace myself for that freezing 30-second run.

I remove my favorite navy blue sweater and hung it in my coat closet. If I wasn't such a lazy person I would have taken the time to bundle up in warmers, put on a scarf and a thicker jacket. Then I wouldn't be shivering now. But, me doing that is like acknowledging that it's still winter and I won't do that.  I remove my 3-year-old pair of leather gloves and kiss them. They never fail me--not once. I have lined them with fleece gloves last winter and I have never needed a better pair since. After changing into my favorite pambahay shirt and pyjamas, I poured myself some chocolate milk and I sit at the breakfast bar. I like to sit there and think. Mostly I just stare blankly and wait for Mr. Sandman.

I stare at my chocolate milk and wish it was hot cocoa instead. If only a cup of hot chocolate doesn't require boiling and waiting and stirring, my shivers would have been gone by now. I can't drink any more so I pour the rest of the milk in the sink and I start heading to my bedroom. Crawling up in bed underneath all those sheets and blankets and comforter sounds even better than hot chocolate.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, just as I reached for my bedroom door, I see something. Sitting there on the window ledge, is a potted miniature orchid. And I know just who it came from. I then remember Lauro telling me he'll get me a houseplant I can take care of for spring. A warm feeling washes over me and I laugh. Suddenly I'm not shivering anymore.  I sit on a chair next to it and put my feet up on the ottoman and stare at the mini orchid in front of me. It will get my by these last days of winter. A potted flower to remind that spring, along with its warmer weather, is coming soon!

I think about how I must be favored by the gods for having been given someone so sweet and thoughtful. I think about all the things he does for me and how he never forgets about me. And now I think about how glad I am I let him have the basement parking. It may not be much, but if every day I feel inconvenienced because outdoor parking is, undeniably, a pain in the arse then that's just perfect. Let me get soaked when it rains. Let me shiver in a snowstorm trying to scrape the car windows. Let me be umcomfortable. I want to do things for him too. :)

Bathroom Conundrum

Pristine and all white, or audacious and bold colors?

That was probably the most difficult part of our moving process--deciding on my bathroom theme. It did not matter that I have bare walls in my furniture-less bedroom, and the living room and kitchen can have the same old, ratty rugs and curtains for all I care. But my bathroom has to be the best room in the house. It's my only indulgence in life. Okay, I'm lying. That and Tim's coffee. lol

I don't know but I just have a thing for bathrooms. It's my favorite room to check out and admire when visiting a friend's house and the deciding factor when choosing an apartment. I want a bathroom I would be comfortable living in if it's the last living space on earth. lol

I spent the first couple of days in the apartment just setting up my bathroom. It was the first room I cleaned and shopped stuff for.

Finally, it's done and I must say I'm happy with the color I chose. Turquoise, but not quite. Aged turquoise, if I may call it that.

Here are some pictures of my bathroom.

 The lighting, or quite possibly the camera setting, made the color of the ceramics look powder blue but I swear they're that "aged turquoise" I'm telling you about. Believe me please? LOL. I found them at Walmart, after I've finecombed all major home furnishing stores in the city. I never would have thought Walmart would have what I was looking for--and way cheaper too. 

This guy! This is my Hedwig. Cutest thing I have ever owned. It was on sale when I bought it at Urban Outfitters.

Look at him!!! How does he not have a Pixar movie!? 

It took me a while to decide on a shower curtain. At first I wanted a solid design to make up for the subtlety of the color scheme. That way the color turquoise will visually occupy the room. But in all the stores that I've gone to, this was the only one I could find with the shade of turquoise that I want so it had to be this one. (Argh.. again, the colors look powder blue-ish than they really are.)

Amazingly enough, I spotted this lone painting at an aisle and could not believe how spot on the colors are. I was on a roll at Walmart that day. lol

And will you look at this... prettiest plastic flowers I've ever seen. I bought this at the local thrift store for ONLY... *drumroll*... $1.99!! Yep, *gasp!* is right. lol

 It's amazing the things you find at thrift stores. Like this makeup-applying-girl's bathroom must-have which I got for just $4! Seriously, they sell these for 50-something bucks at other stores.

And this vintage-design vase that only cost me 99 cents. CENTS, people. Cents!

A bathroom must have a radio.One must sing in the shower. lol

This is a tweaked wall art. It was actually a single poster of Audrey Hepburn, you know, those Warhol art photos. I added a little pizzazz and cut them into 3 different posters, glued them on black cardboards and secured them to the wall with purple crystal push pins. I love looking at it, although sometimes looking at her makes me feel like I'm a dowdy mouse. lol. She's just so, so beautiful.

 These baskets make the room feel more like home. A touch of mom. :)

And last, but not the least.. the final detail..

TSARAANNN!!!

A distressed chair!

Would you believe that this was just someone else's piece of junk? Well okay, I guess it does look like it's seen  better days. lol. But I was so thrilled when I saw it that I was incredulous that someone had wanted to get rid of it. The boyfriend just happened to stumble upon this at our apartment's basement refuse and he thought it would be a nice 'project' for me. Turned out, it cannot be made more beautiful than it already is. It is as antiquated and as rustic as I want it to be. 

 Well, that is it I guess..a photo tour of my bathroom which I probably won't ever redecorate lest I get sick of the color turquoise. :)

Love Day

As long as everybody's posting pictures of flowers and professing their undying love for each other on facebook and instagram and probably everywhere else, I am doing the same! Yes, I'm just cheesy and mushy like that. :)





I woke up that day to the sight of fresh tulips on my bedside table. My favorite flower in pink and purple, and with the apple green colored leaves, it is the exact color scheme we were thinking of going for for our wedding. I just couldn't stop staring at them coz they're too pretty to not have eyes staring at them until they wilt and die. But, it was 12 noon when I woke up and I've gotta get up and eat and get ready for a whole day of datin' and lovin'. Lol

Of course, I had something for him as well. Nothing fancy, but it took me hours to finish it. I baked him a personalized cupcake and though I did not enjoy the process, I was satisfied with the end result--- a Grammy trophy cupcake for the best boyfriend in the whole world. It is indeed cute, yes?




The baking part however wasn't much fun. Too many steps, too many stuff in front of me and too many things that went wrong (including the taste). Lol. Needless to say, I won't try baking for a really, really long time.

Anywho, we planned on watching The Vow but before that we went to a kids' science museum which, albeit expensive for what it's actually worth, turned out to be a lot of fun.

We went out with Itine, who lives with us and this is her floating head. Lol



This is Lauro showing off his non-existent biceps.


And this is me levitating.. No tricks I swear to you. Lol



There was one weird exhibit there where you squeeze a plastic bulb and you guess what that gross smell is. I got underarm, Lauro got feet and Itine, hands down, got the best one-- anus.

Then we headed to McKelvie's and stuffed our faces with steak and seafood.

And look what I found on my scallop. :)



At the movie theater, the whole place was packed and we ended up getting crappy seats--2nd row from the screen. I'm surprised I didn't go home with a stiff neck. What I went home with instead are puffy eyes coz either it was a real tearjerker or I'm just a sucker for sappy movies. :)

All in all, it was a pretty nice valentine's day. As always with my sweet and thoughtful and just about perfect fiance. Okay, go ahead and throw up in your mouth while I bathe here in my mush. Haha :)

Hope you had a good one! Ciao.

Joining the Bandwagon

            Yep, this is me losing the battle against outfit posts. haha. I'm never really that crazy about clothes and fashion but it's fun to play dress up once in a while. 

          This is what I wore to a children's party that I helped organize. I wanted to wear something fun and bright and, well, ain't nothing brighter than the color orange. ha!