My mother, the P.O.

P.O.? It stands for purchasing officer, but mom prefers P.O. so it sounds cooler. It was her who gave herself that title, no one else, so I guess with acknowledgement comes acceptance. Anyway, my mother finds joy in shopping, not just for herself, but mostly for my dad, my brother and me, of course and some times for her friends and friends of friends. And now, the tides have shifted and she has found her most beloved client. She proclaimed herself her grand daughter's P.O. (Hooray for me, the mommy). Above is a photo of Zia with her grandma, the P.O. Thanks mom! Keep on shopping! Hehe!

Yesterday's happy list

I finally set foot on mall grounds yesterday after more than 2 months of taking care of Zia at home when my mom obligingly took me shopping mostly for Zia's stuff. And here are just a few things that made it to yesterday's happy list:

This groovy looking elephant microbeads pillow was a steal at just Php 399 from the SM department store. It looks great in Zia's room plus the bold colors will definitely fascinate Zia.

Got some charming coasters for the house too from Papemelroti. LOVE. DREAM. LAUGH. LIVE

Even if the shopping day was for Zia, my lovely mom gave me a strictly Php 1000 ONLY budget for myself at Forever 21. And since we were pressed for time (had to go home to the baby), I decided to buy accessories instead of scouring for an outfit that fit the budget given to me.

And because we shopped quite a lot in Baby Company, they gave me my Mom Card for free. Hehe. I'm not keen on collecting points, but hey, it won't hurt having a rewards card.

My happy list doesn't stop at the finds I got from the mall, this was also waiting for me at home. Zia's 5th and 6th pair of crib shoes from Tot Couture (www.totcouture.multiply.com). Aren't they super cute? Can't wait for the baby girl to wear them.

Also part of my happy list not pictured here is the Milk Tea with Pearls 70% sugar I drank from Gong Cha and of course, the person who taught me to shop and shop til I drop, my mom, who now calls herself Zia's purchasing officer. Thanks mom! Zia says thanks Lola. Love it!

Why don't you make your own happy list? =)

Motherhood just got sweeter

I've been a mom for 2 months and 1 day today and each day that adds on to the next makes mothering sweeter. I actually never thought I'd get into the mother groove this soon - you see, I've never taken care of a younger sibling or a niece or nephew or even a pet - before our baby girl, I've never held a newborn or held a baby below 6 months. My mom pointed that out to me - that I was an instant mom the day Zia arrived - without any prior experience. And now, 2 months into it, I feel like I'm an expert. So far, I now know that motherhood is hard (thank you Mom for everything), but when you see your baby (crying or smiling), everything becomes clear - you'll do anything for her. Right now, it seems like a one-way love, but it doesn't matter - I just love being Zia's mom.

With our baby's smiles, antics and milestones, I can say with conviction, that motherhood is SWEET!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Contemplating Christmas trees

It's 68 days 'til Christmas and I seriously have to think about turning our house into a 'Baby's-First-Christmas-worthy' house. And what better way to kick-off my planning than by nailing the most important Christmas decor of all - the Christmas tree. Well, you might have read in one of my old posts that our first Christmas tree is gone - thus we have to get a new one, which we'll keep this time.

Anyway, being a very young family and having a house that is a mix of contemporary and quirky, I keyed in 'Modern Christmas tree' in Google and here are some interesting finds.

Wall decal Christmas trees - they're perfect for houses like ours without much extra storage.

A red tree which Zia's eyes will definitely feast upon since she's got an early penchant for the color.
Or the turquoise version which screams unique and cheery (I'm leaning towards this one).

Or the traditional green tree but slimmer and less branchy and leafy (not sure though where I could get something similar to this.

So there, among my many first orders of business after my maternity leave is to scour the malls and maybe Dapitan Arcade and Divisoria for that perfect tree for our little family - and of course for our perfect gift - our dear daughter, Zia.

Happy times ahead everyone!

Photo credits: www.about.com / www.architectlines.com / www.christmastreeforme.com / www.freshdesignblog.com / www.giftids.com

Yesterday was a day of many firsts

Just as the title says, yesterday was a day of many firsts for me. Allow me to enumerate and expound if necessary.

~ First time to leave our baby girl for more than 3 hours

People have been saying that I have to get used to leaving our baby girl for more than 8 hours so I won't have a hard time adjusting when I go back to work. Well, yesterday, Richmond and I were out for around 7 hours, so I guess that's a good start. But the whole time we were out, I was texting hourly and asking how Zia was doing. Hehe.

~ First Happy Lemon drink

Since I got pregnant, I've never had a sip of milk tea and I was always sad that I couldn't drink what has become sort of a fad drink. Though I still can't really drown myself with milk tea since I'm breastfeeding, I took a break yesterday and decided that 1 small order of Happy Lemon milk tea won't hurt. So how was my first sip - loved it to bits. Thanks for the treat love!

~ First Mochi Ice Cream experience

Try it. A kids fist sized ball of mochi goodness with ice cream inside. You'll wonder where this yummy treat has been all your life. =p

~ First movie date with rich since I gave birth

We watched Real Steel and it was a great 1st movie after around 2 months of hiatus.

~ First time to use the Breastfeeding Station (not to breastfeed, but to pump)

Since we were out for a couple of hours, I really had to pump. Luckily, Eastwood Mall had a nice and quiet breastfeeding station where I could pump privately. I was conscious at first since there were 2 other breastfeeding moms, but I got into the groove shortly and pumped away.

So there, that was my day of firsts and I loved my day yesterday, but it actually made me look forward more to the time when we could share many firsts with our baby girl. Can't wait! Lovelier days ahead!

Living in Full Color

Life wouldn't be as fun without color. Just some eye candy to usher the weekend, but not just any other weekend - rather payday (SALE) weekend! Enjoy!

Photo credits: www.zazzle.com / www.happyhues.tumblr.com / www.weheartit.com / www.apod.nasa.gov / www.dinodirect.com / www.fashionpaparazzis.com / www.helablog.com / www.yearofthecupcakes.blogspot.com / www.peppersoriano.com

Have a colorful weekend everyone! =)

Christmas overdrive!

Christmas has become an even more special occasion with the arrival of our baby girl and because this year will be her first Christmas, decisions on how to decorate for the little one must be made. This year, Christmas decors will go overdrive in our home. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking lots of color, ribbons, holly or maybe lots of reds since Zia seems fascinated with red. A trip to Dapitan Arcade and Divisoria is imminent. Here are just some of my inspirations for this year's Christmas decorations for our home.

Don't you just love Christmas? =) I know I do, more than anyone I know. =) 74 days to go!

Photo credits: www.debbiesthemes.com / www.about.com / www.canvasandcopy.com / www.depositphotos.com / www.naturalinteriordesing1.blogspot.com / www.trend-dir.net / www.us.123rf.com

Milky Way

I have been breastfeeding our baby since the day she was born and now that I have past the drama and accepted that it could sometimes be tiring, painful and difficult, it's about time I blogged about it. Even if I've only been breastfeeding for 1 month 3 weeks and 4 days, I already feel very fulfilled - our daughter is getting stronger by the day because I nourish her.

It's great how young parents today are preferring practices such as breastfeeding, baby wearing and many other things that aren't necessarily modern when it comes to child rearing. There seems to be a going-back-to-basics revolution among young parents - especially among young moms. It's also good to note that hospitals are backing up this revolution - the department of health has stressed the importance of rooming-in within 4 hours from the baby's birth to promote bonding between the mom and baby and to establish breastfeeding early on.

I guess I could say that after the many tears I've shed at the start, I am now enjoying breastfeeding our daughter. Anything that will make her healthy and anything that draws her closer to me, makes me happy.

So if you're a mom-to-be, breastfeeding is the way to go. Why? Well according to the Internet,

Photo credits: www.lactivist.co.uk and www.supersoft-solutions.com

I'm a bag lady

It's almost Christmas and since it's the season of giving and receiving, it's high time I start thinking of the things that I would love to receive this year (or buy for myself if no one obliges). I'm normally a shoe kind of girl, but since most of my heels are still spanking and I've given them a rest for the whole time I was pregnant, my default second category is bags. I'm actually happy with another Longchamp Le Pliage because it's really more ideal now that I have Zia's stuff to tow as well, but since this is just a wish list, I turned first to Tory Burch and here are some bags I wouldn't mind carrying around everywhere.

And if Santa's really feeling generous (not that I'm pushing it), I wouldn't mind having this too.

Hey, it's just a wish list anyway. =p What about you guys? Have you thought about your wish list this Christmas?

Style Thrift Tip #2: Go for carry-alls, they can go from day to night with the proper attire plus it's more functional.

Pretty pretty pleats (please)

More than ruffles and all the frilly stuff, I've always loved pleats - especially pleated skirts. The pleated skirt could be so many things - it could be feminine, vintage, prim and proper, romantic and playful. What's not to love about pleats? It's a bit harder to iron, but that's just a little sacrifice for fashion. Photo credit goes to www.stopstealingmylook.com

Style Thrift Tip #1 Rummage through your mom's closet for lovely vintage pleats. Found lots in mine. =)

Hello again, Animoto!

Just a little something I made for our baby girl using Animoto. =) Someone's inlove with the little one.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Can you blame me? =)

Kitchen Makeover Dreaming

Just a quick post on another project I have brewing - not in the near future, but someday before I turn 30, I hope. =) I want to redo our kitchen. Why? Well, I think we've done a pretty good job with the rest of our house already for a starter family, but the kitchen has been left behind, maybe because my husband and I aren't cooks or maybe because it's relatively expensive to redo a kitchen. But this will be in the pipeline soon. For now, here's just the look I want to achieve for our kitchen, never mind the SMEG refrigerator since it's kinda the Rolls Royce of retro style refrigerators (thus, costs more than I could ever afford). Lots of whites with bursts of color here and there would make me wanna eat more or maybe pick up a cookbook and start learning a recipe or two.

Photo credits: www.hookedonhouses.net and www.gizmodo.com

Isn't it a lovely sight? Must work hard to earn enough to turn our kitchen into a flurry of yummy colors. Noted.

She's Daddy's girl

He was the first to hold you when you were born and at that moment I already knew --

you're daddy's little girl.

It makes my heart smile when I see your daddy holding you in his arms and smiling with such love and pride and joy. And although I know you're mommy's girl too, I'm happy to say that you're daddy's girl and I can't wait for you to know all the great things about your dad.