Grocery List

Don't you just hate it when you're all set to bake cupcakes but realize that you don't have eggs in your ref?  Or when you're craving for a sandwich but you're out of bread?  Me no likey.  That's why I have this in the kitchen:

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A grocery list and a pencil (upper right hand side of the photo) so we can easily jot down stuff that we need before they run out.  Notice how I placed my grocery coupons right next to it?

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I put my grocery list on my ref.

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It's made from recycled paper too!  I use Aly's old worksheets and her old notebooks for my grocery list.  

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I never go to the supermarket without a list because I end up buying stuff that I don't really need and miss the stuff that I really need.  It keeps my budget on track and my life much easier.  Now I can happily cook or bake whatever I want, whenever I want :)

Mini Speakers

When I'm cooking, I like to listen to music because it gets me in the mood.  But when the range hood is on, I can barely hear the music from the living room.  I would have wanted to get an iPod dock for the kitchen, but the one that I had my eye on was kinda expensive.  It would require a major purchase so I had second thoughts.  Buti na lang my sister got me this:

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Mini speakers in purple.

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Terno!  Because underneath that red sleeve, my iPod is really purple.

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It ain't Bose or Harman Kardon, but it gets the job done!  I use it not only when I'm cooking in the kitchen, but  also when I'm ironing clothes.  Heehee!

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Thanks, Ange for the speakers!  Love them! :)

Something To Look Forward To

In about three years, we will be the proud owners of a condo unit at Global City :)

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Richard signing the papers.

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Our very first home -- a  nest that is truly ours.

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We visited the model unit during our last vacay.  Oh, how I wish our unit will look like this!

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Aly likes it here!

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I love the bathroom!

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The place is not that big (one bedroom only), but it's going to be OUR place -- not rented or leased!  And this space will be filled with happiness and love.  I can't wait!

Lumix

Having a DSLR is great but let's face it: do you really want to carry that heavy thing around in case a Kodak moment hits you?  While it can fit inside most of my bags, it's still heavy and bulky...definitely not my idea of an everyday camera.  Richard gave me a camera phone, but with 2 megapixels?  You can't really expect much.  Plus, it sucked in low light conditions.  

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Since our last camera purchase was two years ago, I think it's time to get another one.  I want something that I can put in my bag, doesn't weigh a ton, not necessarily super high tech (I can use my DSLR if I want to be more artsy), but can take blog/brag worthy photos.  I originally wanted another Canon, but the model that I want is waay out of my budget.  My cousin Koy convinced me to look into other brands.  So thanks to Koy, I found the One.

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Say hello to my new friend: the Panasonic Lumix F3.

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This 5,000baht beauty is a steal for 12 megapixels.  It came with a free 2gb memory card, a card reader and a protective sheet for the screen.  The best thing about this is it costs half of the Canon cameras that I was looking at -- the cheaper ones at least.  Plus, thanks to my 1Card, I got a 5% discount aside from the freebies. I'm happy, Richard's happy and so is Aly (she likes it better now than our old Sony).

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Let's see what this baby can do, shall we?

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First photo ever taken by my new baby, thanks to the sales guy.

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Taken by Aly at MBK, right outside Powerbuy.

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Thanks for my new camera babe!  I love it!

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The camera has different settings i.e sunset, portrait, action shots, etc.  This is on food setting.

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Candlelight setting.

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Normal picture mode.  And yes, we like to take self portraits now.

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Aly, smile for mommy!

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Glad that she knows how to operate this...so she can take mommy's picture too!  Heehee!

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Banana nutella bread.

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Smile, Koy!  I love this pic.  Koy is so cute!

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Ice cream cake.

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She loves the new camera too :)

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We love you, tita Angel!

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Aly interviewing tito Jof.

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Speaking of interview, my Lumix can take videos too!  Yipee!

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My 32nd Birthday

My birthdays are always special because of Richard and Aly.  This year, though, was extra special because Angel, Jof and Kokoy were here to celebrate it with me.

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First gift of the day: roses from Aly.

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She told her dad to buy these for me.

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Party decor. 

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Richard told me to relax and take things easy on my birthday so he suggested that we should just eat out.  But I chose to cook instead.  Do I like to torture myself?  Not really,  I guess it's just not the same when everything's home made :)

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Lechon.

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Mang Tomas and Hoisin sauce.

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With the exception of the store-bought lechon, I prepared the easiest dishes that I can think of: roast chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, potatoes with cheese, spicy bacon pasta...

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...and lasagna.  Most of these dishes were prepared/marinated the night before so I only had to bake/roast them the next morning.

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The ate cake: a gift from Angel, Jof and Kokoy.  I was super kilig when they brought this home.  Though the cake has long been finished, I will treasure this forever :)

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Another "present" from Aly: my birthday tower, made from stuff that she found in her room.

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She moved it to the dessert table for decoration.  Btw,  I also made brownies using Jamie Oliver's recipe -- sinfully delicious!

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The other goodies that we had were: chocolates, almond chocolate cookies and my favorite strawberry caplico :)

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Ofcourse, no birthday will be complete without the hubby's present!

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According to my Designer Handbag Wishlist, (yes, much to my husband's horror, such a list does exist.  He doesn't want to see it, though.  Haha!) this year is Gucci :)

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Since I've been a good girl, I got another gift -- a new digicam!  Yay!  Even manong in the background is happy.  Heehee!

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Opening my present at home.

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Gucci ladies web hobo.

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My three birthday cakes:

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The ate cake...

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Swensen's Ultimate Choc ice cream cake -- layers of vanilla and sticky chocolate ice cream!

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And the orange marmalade glazed butter cake from Chatrium, which was waiting on the dining table for us when we arrived from our gift shopping.

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It was a great birthday!

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Thank you, Richard, Aly, Angel, Jof and Kokoy for making it a great one!  I love you!