Gifts

Christmas party with Highlands friends in 2008: getting gigil with the big*ss Toblerone that I got in the exchange gift.

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I love presents! I love receiving them, but not as much as I love giving them.  I take gift-giving seriously and I savor the entire process: making the list, purchasing, wrapping and handing them over to the recipient.  I have to admit that the first three steps can be quite stressful at times, but seeing their reaction always, ALWAYS, makes everything worthwhile and I'm glad I caught some of them on cam.

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My SIL Lani's birthday in 2008.  We gave her a digicam.

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My sister Angel, Christmas 2008.  We gave her a Billabong backpack for everyday use.

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My brother Jof just woke up, but he had a big smile on when he saw the paper bag.

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My brother Mick always wanted a Mick Jagger shirt and I found the perfect one for him.  Glad that he liked it too!

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Still on Christmas 2008: mom's reaction when she opened her gift.  We gave her a peppermill which stands proudly in her kitchen.

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Dad tried on his shirt right away.  Woot woot!

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My MIL, mama Lilia, loving her new Lacoste shirt.

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A pleasant surprise for ate Gelyn, my mom's helper.

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Christmas 2009: Aly opening her gift from mommy -- Polly Pocket set.

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And her gift from daddy -- Barbie table set.  Happy girl!

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Christmas 2009: dad with his gift from mom -- a Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite Brooklyn MM.

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Aly opening her gift from lola Aple and lolo Bernie: a Barbie house.

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Speaking of gifts, I am so glad that I'm finally done with my Christmas shopping!  I told the hubby last night that starting today, I refuse to do any more shopping because I want to be relaxed in the days to come (we'll be flying to Manila for the holidays soon!).  Yeah, right!  Less than 24 hours since I said that and I'm already making plans to buy new make up.  Haha!  

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The pile of stuff that we bought in the past couple of weeks.  Most of these stuff are bilin from family members back home.  Everytime I see this pile, I get kinda nervous because I don't know if I have enough room in our luggage for these + three-weeks worth of clothes.  Yikes!

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Gifts for Aly's classmates all wrapped and ready to go!  She can't wait to bring them to school.  Heehee!

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We're also done shopping for gifts for each other.

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Aly with her gifts from mom and dad.  Yes, they're all hers!  Richard and I always try to make Christmas extra special for our little girl.  She deserves it because she's been really good.  I also love how most of the stuff on her wish list are books so we got most of her gifts from Kinokuniya (the ones with the red wrapper beside her).

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Richard's gift: a Suunto Vector.  It looks so sexy on his wrist :)  I love!

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And for me...well, it's waiting for me in Manila (ordered it from my ninang Penny a couple of weeks back) and I'm going to place it here:

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...on my ears :)  I can't wait!  Thanks in advance, sweetie :)

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Happy holidays!

Daddy's Birthday

Yesterday, 20 May, was daddy's birthday and he celebrated it Bangkok style. Well, I don't really know how they celebrate birthdays here in BKK but what did I mean when I said Bangkok style? It's a whole day of shopping ofcourse with a nice dinner and ice cream cake!

After breakfast, dad and mom went to the gym for a little exercise, while Yan and I waited at the playground. Dad always starts his day with a morning jog and before he came here, he was worried that he won't be getting any exercise for two weeks so he was happy to know that we have a gym at the fourth floor. I wasn't able to take their photo in the gym so I took their photo by the pool instead.

When we got back to our apartment, Yan surprised her lolo with a birthday gift!

It's a new cap!

After lunch, we headed to MBK for pasalubong shopping. Dad bought himself a new pair of Rayban shades at 30%, and mom got Emporio Armani shades at 50% off! They also bought shirts for my brothers (they liked the vintage shirts that I bought for them during my last trip so they asked mom and dad to buy them more). My sister Angel's one and only bilin was a psp so we also looked around for the best deal that we can get. Most of the stalls in MBK will give the same price for most of the items there (shirts, bags, belts, watches, psp, etc.) so you really need to haggle. Buti na lang expert dad ko tumawad. Not only did we get big discounts but we also got lots of freebies! Galing talaga ni dad! Hehe!

We went back to the apartment for dinner. We had Mom's super yummy adobo, and ice cream cake for dessert.

Yan, lolo Bernie and lola Aple are wearing matching Lacoste shirts.

Happy birthday, dad! We love you!

Our First Visitors are Here!

The original domestic goddess (kanino pa ba ako magmamana?) and my daddykins have arrived, but our reunion was not as dramatic as I thought it would be because we were late! Their plane landed earlier than we thought so poor mom and dad were waiting at the airport for two hours. Yikes! Sabi nga ni mommy hindi pa daw ako nagbabago kasi hanggang ngayon late pa rin ako palagi. Hehe! Nevertheless, we were all happy to see each other. They were probably relieved that we finally got there. Haha! But seriously, when I saw my dad's warm smile from across the crowd, I immediately dashed towards him. I'm just super happy to see them!

First, we went back to the apartment to unpack. Mom brought me pasalubong like magazines -- chismis and Kris Aquino's magazine -- so I can be updated. The only english mags available here in BKK are Instyle and Cosmo but they're expensive! THB300-500. That's like the amount I spend for magazines in a month in Manila! They also brought polvoron -- yum! Goldilocks never tasted so good! Gosh, I miss all the goodies back home. I was thinking last night that when we go back, the first thing that we will do is eat Filipino food like dinuguan, pancit palabok, sisig, kare kare! Mom also brought Yan's supply of cheezwhiz, and I made bilin Kraft cheese as well. Another expensive item here -- one small pack is like THB100, which is like half the price lang in Manila. My bestfriend Pat also sent me grocery bags from Rustan's -- thanks, Pat! I almost bought Baggu or Envirosax online but I was having second thoughts because they're a bit pricey (due to shipping cost!). Yeah, I'm trying to do my part in saving the environment by saying no to plastic!

After mom brought out their pasalubongs, it was our turn to bring out our gift for mom.

Belated Happy Mother's Day, Lola! I love you!

Now, Yan and lola Aple have matching pearl earrings.

After a quick snack (we ordered burger and sandwiches), we headed to Paragon Mall.

I told my brother Jof that dad bought a car here and he almost believed me! Then I sent this pic. Syempre hindi na sya naniwala. Hehe!

Only men can appreciate cars talaga. Nagpakuha rin si Richard ng pic.

And another car here.

Then we went to Paragon Department Store where mom and dad bought shirts at Lacoste.

Grabe, ilang oras pa lang sila dito nag shopping na agad! Kanino pa ba ako magmamana? Hehe!

We also went to the Gourmet Market to buy groceries. Mom will be cooking dinner for us -- yey!! Missed mom's cooking so I'm so excited!

After that, we had dinner at MK Gold.

Happy to have mom and dad here!

Watch out for more pictures of mom and dad's Bangkok vacation!

Krisan Gets a Taste of Serious and Intense Shopping at Siam Paragon

The 50% off sign at the train station got me all fired up so I was inside the mall in no time, dragging Alyannah with me. Good thing my girl is trained in these situations being my constant shopping companion. We arrived at Siam Square at exactly 12:00 noon so we thought of eating lunch first. We need lots of energy for serious and intense shopping! So we head first to the Gourmet Market at the ground floor.

I love the Gourmet Market! It has food everywhere! Cakes, breads, chocolates, ice cream -- the list goes on. It also has a supermarket, restaurants with different kinds of cuisine and a food court.

My idea of heaven -- endless rows of dessert!

YUMMY!!

There are so many cakes on display that it was hard to choose just one! So I settled for this stall, Ms. Sasa, because they had a promo -- buy 3 cakes get 1 free! Cool!

Yan got an Oreo cake...

...while I chose praline cake, new york cheesecake, and almond praline cheesecake.

After eating, we went up to the shops. You will find all the luxury brands at the ground floor - Gucci, Cartier, Emporio Armani, et. al. No use wasting our time and energy here since we can't afford these brands anyway, so we went straight to the department store where Lacoste was having a huge sale! It was a crazy sale -- I got flip flops for 600 baht. The roundneck shirts were only 1,000baht. We got Yan 2 shirts for only 700 baht each! Richard went on a spree! We probably spent more than an hour in that single area (but I only got a pair of flip flops because nothing would fit me!). You'd be nuts not to buy anything! If my dad were there, I know he's go on a spree too! He really knows a good buy when he sees one.

All that shopping made us hungry so we went to McDonald's for a quick snack.

Got myself a Paragon Prestige Card -- 5% off on all the shops in Paragon, the Emporium and The Mall. Now, I'm a certified Bangkok shopper!

Siam Paragon is actually a high-end mall -- why would they think of putting a Lamborghini and Maserati showroom inside if they didn't think their customers could afford it? But the place is packed! And they're not just window shoppers because almost everyone is carrying a paper bag. Now I know what the website meant. Lintik mag shopping ang mga tao dito! Serious and intense indeed!

Surprise for Richard

To celebrate my husband's promotion, Yan and I decided to give him a surprise. So, after doing the laundry, we headed to Central Rama 3 to buy things that we need. Even with a sprained foot, the call of shopping is hard to resist! Besides, we have a good reason to shop today -- it's for Richard!

First, we need to get him a gift - something that he can use everyday when he goes to work. I've been wanting to give him a new wallet. I just can't make him part with his old one because he said it's his "lucky wallet". I'd tell him that his wallet might scare the luck away because it really needs to be replaced. Yan and I went to Lacoste because Pat's mom, tita Baby, told me that the Lacoste here is way, way cheaper than in Manila. It is cheaper, but I didn't like the styles available so we decided to go inside the department store and look for perfume instead.

Choosing a nice perfume is a lot harder than I thought! I'd ask Yan for her opinion, but she she likes all of them! Not much of a help there. Besides, Richard can be a bit picky when it comes to his perfume. Aside from his wrist watches and Lacoste shirts, he also collects perfume. Once when we were at the airport waiting for our flight back to Manila, we hung around the duty free shops. I gave him a couple of suggestions for perfumes but he bought a different one instead. So scrap the perfume idea.

Looks like we'll just have to stick to the Lacoste shop to be safe. Besides, I know his size so it shouldn't be so difficult. Yan and I finally decided on giving him a black belt. I remember he mentioned to me the other day that he needed a new one. Great! So we have something that he can use everyday, and it's something that he will like.

Next stop is the supermarket at the ground floor. I'm planning to make cream of potato and leek soup (Richard is a soup person) so I need to buy leeks and chicken broth. I also have pork tapa (I had to maximize the only condiments that I have at home -- soy sauce and vinegar!) that's marinating in the ref and ready to fry. So, tonight's menu will be, cream of potato and leek soup, pork tapa and steamed rice. Yum!

Of course, no celebration is complete without dessert. Yan and I bought ice cream cake at Dairy Queen. Apparently, Thais seem to have a thing for ice cream cake because they have it everywhere you go -- Baskin Robbins, Haagen Dazs. Magkakatabi pa ang mga ice cream shop dito.

Now that we have everything we need, it's time to head back home and wait.

Alyannah fell asleep while waiting so when it was time to give the gift to her dad, medyo may sumpong pa sya that's why she won't smile in the picture.

Thank you, Yan! (may sumpong pa rin)

The smile on his face says it all...

Time to bring out the ice cream cake!!

Looks good!

This ice cream cake is named "cool pizza". It was Yan who chose this one.

Ice cream cake monsters!

It really doesn't take much to please my husband. He's mababaw! Even a small surprise note written by Yan tucked inside his bag is enough to make him happy. But he deserves more than just a note. He works hard for our family, and he always makes sure that Yan and I get the best in everything. For that, he deserves only the best from me and Yan. We love you, sweetie!