My 33rd Birthday

For my birthday, I told Richard that I only wanted 2 things: a day of pampering at the spa and a new bag.  He offered to take us on a weekend getaway but my heart was already set on my birthday wishes.  An overnight stay at a pool villa by the beach didn't interest me.  All I wanted was a 90-minute massage and a mani-pedi.  I didn't want anything else.  Oh yes, and the bag, ofcourse :)

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It was a simple celebration -- no birthday banner, no decor...but the lack of birthday decor and ambiance was made up for by Richard and Aly's surprises.  And they really made sure that everything was perfect for my birthday.  They were waiting for me when I woke up and gave me birthday cards with the sweetest messages ever.  I was definitely treated like a queen!

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All dressed up for my birthday :)  Aly said we were wearing special clothes because it was a special day.  Heehee!

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Look at my big girl baby!  That skirt is actually a dress that she's never worn.  The top part was a bit tight on the chest so I made her wear a shirt and cinched it with a belt.

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I love that she's wearing black, which she doesn't normally wear but since it was a special day, she didn't object to it when I chose her outfit.

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The hubby doesn't need any guidance from me.  I always thought that he's a good dresser -- one of the things that I love about him :)

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One more photo from the waist up to hide all that we need to hide.  Heehee!

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On our way to Gaysorn to pick up my new baby a.k.a Richard + Aly's big birthday gift.

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It was a quick shopping trip because #1 my feet were starting to hurt -- haven't worn heels in a long time!  But that's ok because I had a "tired feet" spa treatment scheduled later in the day, which brings us to #2 the spa awaits!

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Dressed down for the spa.  

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I wanted to try out the other spas in Bangkok, but I still ended up with my suki, Green Leaf Spa, since it's just an elevator ride away.  I didn't want to waste precious time by getting stuck in traffic.

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I got a pedicure...

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...and a manicure with paraffin dip.  Special talaga dba!  But my hands needed that -- badly!  Overworked na kasi.

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Tried on metallic nail polish for a change...channeling Chanel's Graphite nail polish.   

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Flowers from Richard (top) and from our S.A Khun Waraporn (bottom).

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Birthday cake and card from Chatrium.

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Terno sa card!

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Birthday cupcakes from Cupcake Love.  We got ultimate chocolate (for Aly), red velvet, carrot and white chocolate macadamia.

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Aaaaannd my new baby :)

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Prada Tessuto Gaufre Nero

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It's #32 in the LA Times 50 Signature Bags list.  Oh, if I could have at least 5% of the bags on that list, I'd be one happy cow. :)  Sweetie, if you're reading this, please refer to the list for future gift ideas.  Heehee!

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It was a great birthday!  Thank you to friends and family who greeted me on Facebook.  Big hug to Richard and Aly for making my birthday extra special.

My Dad's Watch

Not so long ago when I was single and living with my parents, I loved to raid mom and dad's jewelry box borrow stuff from mom and dad.  One of my favorites is dad's Baume & Mercier Linea watch, which is now officially mine.  Heehee!  

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I had it cleaned and polished at the watch clinic at Central Chidlom.  I wasn't being pa-cutesy when I said watch clinic because the shop is really named Watch Clinic by Trocadero Group.  They have great service there.  The staff can speak and understand English :)  One time, I saw one of their clients bringing in a Chopard for repair.  If she trusts them with her Chopard, then I'm confident that they will do a great job with my Baume.

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Anyway, after a three-week wait, I was finally able to pick up my new baby :)

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My Baume & Mercier Linea.  Thanks, dad! :)

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Wait, I want to share before and after photos of the watch.

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Before: notice how the gold plating on the bezel had already faded?

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After: it's now good as new!

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Before: the band was riddled with scratches, which is mostly my fault because I can be careless when I wear a watch.

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After: goodbye scratches!  Hello new watch :)

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I love how wearing this watch makes me look "mayaman".  Haha!  Thanks for the watch, dad!  I love it!

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Watch Clinic by Trocadero Group is on the 3/F of Central Childom.

Richard's New Baby

Richard and I are still kilig over this because it's not everyday that you get a watch as a gift.  During our last trip to Manila, my dad gave one of his watches to Richard.

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Vintage Rolex, baby! 

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I have the best parents ever!  Thanks, dad!  We love you! :)

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!

Mother's Day

Aly was really excited about Mother's Day.  I would sometimes catch her whispering something to her dad, and when I'd ask her what that was about, she'd say it's for Mother's Day.

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The night before, Aly warned me not to go inside her room because she has a surprise for me.  When she woke up the next day, she told me to go back to bed so she and her dad can give me their surprise.  Saying that you have a surprise doesn't exactly make it a surprise anymore, does it?  But Aly's cute like that and I really appreciate her effort.  So what was the surprise?

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Mother's Day cards 

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In this day and age of computers and electronic everything, we still make it a point to give each other cards on special occasions.  I like to look at them when I'm feeling sentimental.  Aly and I both have a keepsake box for the cards/notes/letters that we have received.

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After the wonderful breakfast made by the hubby, we heard mass, then had lunch at the steak place near the church.

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Neil's Tavern

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Richard had the pepper steak.

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 Aly and I had the char-grilled tenderloin steak.

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It was soo yum!  Aly said that according to her taste level, her steak was excellent.  I was impressed!  She really loved her steak.  She told me and her daddy that she wants to eat there again.  Heehee!

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Thank you for the wonderful lunch, sweetie + babe!

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From Neil's Tavern, we made a quick stop at Central Rama3 to buy my gift.  Then I went to the salon for an afternoon of beauty treatments -- hair cut, color, mani+pedi.

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Don't be deceived, my hair's not straight.  This is just from the blow dry.  I wanted to get a Brazilian blowout, but my salon didn't have it.

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My new FitFlop Electra with OPI nail polish in St. Petersburgundy.  I love!

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It was a great day!  Thank you, Richard + Aly for making me feel special.  I love you both!