Maps

I'm ashamed to admit that I only really learned how to use and actually appreciate a map during my pasyal with Ria and Kerwin. Yeah, in spite of having two maps on hand, we still got lost -- twice! But that was because the map that we had seemed outdated. Heehee!
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When they left Bangkok, I decided to buy my own map. So one Friday, when Aly and I were hanging out with my friend Jenn and her daughter Jianna at Asia Books in Siam Paragon, I browsed through the travel section and found this:
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Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok. "Alias the Market Map and much more". San ka pa?
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What makes this map so special (aside from the attractive graphics and colors)? It's a SHOPPING map!! I mean, how else can it catch my attention, right?

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aIt tells you where you can buy stuff! I used this when I bought Aly's party giveaways. It was really helpful! It also comes with a small booklet/directory for hotel and restaurant listings, places to see, more places to shop, etc.
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Kerwin said you should have at least two maps for cross-referencing. So I bought another one.

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aMy companions whenever I explore the city solo: my Nancy Chandler map + my Groovy map. Kulang na lang backpack at ako na si Dora! Haha!
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Ri and Kerwin, I already told you that I learned a lot from your trip, but you'll be happy to know that I actually practice what I learned! :) Sometimes, I would ride the boat to the Memorial Bridge (the green bridge) and walk to the Flower Market. Exercise and pasyal na rin at the same time. I would buy flowers for the house. Hehe! I rode the boat too going to Chinatown! Sometimes, I also take to train going to Siam. It feels kinda liberating to be able to go around the city on your own! No driver, no husband, no daughter; just me :) You guys were great teachers! It was a great experience. Thank you!

We Love Books!

There are days when we would just hang out in a bookstore all day. Our favorite: Kinokuniya at Siam Paragon. Once we enter, we all go our separate ways; Aly will go directly to the children's section, while Richard will browse through the business and non-fiction area. And where will you find me? In the cookbook section, of course!

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During one of our trips, Kinokuniya was having a sale. I bought these:
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Four hardbound books for only Thb600!! The two on top cost Thb200, while the ones at the bottom were only Thb100. I probably saved around Thb1,000. I first saw the Party Confidential book at National Bookstore back home. It was around Php1,200. Buti na lang hindi ko sya binili noon, or else ang laki ng pagsisisi ko. A great find, indeed!
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Richard always tells me that there are two things that we should never cut back on: food and books. This rule has done well for our little girl because she really loves to read! In this day and age of computers, ipods and all things digital, we are proud that Aly loves books and reading. Sometimes, she would just sit in one corner and read one of her books. Ugh, I dread the day when she will be hooked on video games and computers, but I know it's inevitable! I once received a comment from her teacher saying that Aly favors reading over other school activities. Her reading has really improved! She can now read the subtitles when we watch DVD's on our movie nights. Yey! Daddy Richard deserves a pat on the back for teaching Aly how to read and for making it a habit to read her a bedtime story every single night! Yey for the daddy!
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Anyway, back to our topic. We consider our book collection as an investment, and we plan to build a small library in our dream house. But the dream house will have to wait. For the meantime, this is where we keep our books.
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Our book cabinet.
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The top shelf. These are the books that we have amassed in the past year. Richard and Aly's books outnumber mine. I think I only have two here -- Shopaholic series pa!
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aThe bottom shelf, however, is all MINE! Nyahaha! All magazines! My treasured Yummy Magazine collection (Most of them I bought from the Philippines. I had them shipped here because I thought I was going to be bored. I'm planning to ship them again when we move back. Some were pasalubong from friends and family who came over), Instyle Magazine + Vogue (which I plan to dispose someday), and at the back I also have Cosmo (which I will dispose as well -- luma na kasi!), Good Housekeeping and Better Homes and Gardens.
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I also dream of having a cookbook collection which I will proudly display in my dream kitchen :) But I'm still waiting for my husband to buy me my first Jamie Oliver cookbook to start off my collection. *Hint*Hint*
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Now that I have shared our collection, it's your turn :) What are your treasured collections?

Aly's 6th Birthday Preps -- Loot bags

Aly's birthday is only four days away! Last weekend, we were busy preparing her loot bags. Take a peek at what we've done so far.
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Aly's goodies. I bought them from Chinatown and carried them all by myself! They must have weighed 20 kilos or so. I don't normally carry heavy stuff so it was truly a mommy moment for me. Hay...the things mommies will do for their kids!
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Choosing the loot bag contents was easy. I completed it in less than two hours. But finding the perfect loot bag? That was a different story. It took me two trips to Chinatown in two days. Why was it such a challenge? #1 they had very limited paper bag suppliers there. Kung plastic bag, sobrang dami but paper bags are very rare. #2 if you do find a supplier, you have to buy a minimum of 100 pcs, but I only need 24! Aly's class has only 21 kids, but I'm preparing 24 sets so I'll have extra just in case.
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On my second day, I was finally able to find a paper bag who sells for a minimum of 50 pcs. My friend Jenn said that I can just save the extra bags and use them for Christmas or Halloween. Thanks for the tip, Jenn! :)
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So was my problem solved? Not exactly...the color that I wanted (pink) was too big and I don't want Aly's loot bags to look half empty. Then, the ones that I would have settled for (red and natural color), were too small naman! So the only one that was exactly the same size as the sample that I brought was this...
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...black. Not very children's party-ish, huh? But then I remembered the Minnie Mouse headband that I bought for Aly and I had an idea!
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I decided to put white polka dots and a red ribbon to make them look a bit more festive. I used white sticker labels. Too bad they didn't have red.
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Father and daughter at work. Can you see Aly's headband? That was my inspiration for the loot bag design.
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Aly's birthday preps was a family activity.
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Aly was very hands-on with the preparations. She was the one who filled up all the bags! All 24 of them!
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Here's the loot bag with the red ribbon.
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The contents of the loot bag are: friendship book (it's a hardbound notebook similar to a slumbook), pencil case with pencils and eraser, stamp set, stickers, noisemaker and some of Aly's favorite goodies.
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It also has a note. It reads: Hi there! Thank you for joining me on my birthday ! :) I hope you like the friendship book that I prepared with the help of my mommy and daddy. Fill it up with photos of your favorite friends, and have fun decorating with stickers and stamps! Write or draw anything and everything with the pencil and eraser kit. All these are included in your loot bag, together with some of my favorite goodies. :) To give you a head start, I hope you don't mind if I filled up the first page! Enjoy! Love, Aly.
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Aly filled up the first pages of the friendship books herself! Yes, all 24 of them!
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Hands-on talaga!
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aWe also printed some of her photos and placed them on the books. We also plan to decorate the pages with more stickers.
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Our little girl has really gone a long way! Just the other day, she was asking her daddy for a pink ipod! A pink ipod!?! I tell you, I was shocked! Richard was surprised as well because all he managed to say was "we'll see, ok?". But later on, her dad and I just laughed about it.
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Hay, she's growing up fast and I don't know if I should be happy or sad about it, but one thing's for sure: I'm very proud of my daughter :) I love you, Aly!

Krisan in Red

Arrghh...I'm becoming addicted to Picnik! This is what happens when you have a lot of spare time. Here's another photo that I edited.
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aPhoto was taken by Alyannah using her Sony digicam. I just had to crop it a bit. Ang galing ng big girl baby ko no?
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Expect more Picnik-edited photos on this blog!

Red Velvet Cupcake

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Matagal na akong naiintriga dito sa Red Velvet Cake na 'to. I was attracted mainly to the color. I mean, it's not often that you come across a red cake, right? I've been tempted to buy this cupcake many times. Kaya lang, it was quite expensive (Thb85 each) so everytime I'm about to make a purchase, I would always change my mind. Heehee!
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Well, I finally gave in to temptation, so I bought it. My verdict: it wasn't as good as I expected. It tasted like a bland chocolate cake. Oh well, at least now I know. My curiosity has been satisfied, too bad I couldn't say the same for my tastebuds.

Krisan's Photobook Project

Speaking of photos, something arrived in the mail the other day...

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...my photobook! Yipee!!

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Christmas Vacation 2008.

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Front.

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Back.

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aNow I have two. When my first book arrived, I was too excited to see it so I forgot to take a photo. I only remembered after I ripped the package. Hehe!

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Inside the Chiang Mai album.

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Inside the Christmas Vacation album.

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I planned to create an album for the hundreds of photos that I have stored in my laptop, but I didn't want to just put them in a cheesy designed off-the-rack album. Sayang naman that my husband bought me a dSLR if I will just keep the photos in the computer. So I searched online for a photobook supplier in Bangkok and I found Photobook Thailand.

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Everything is done online so you don't need to transact with anyone. Given the language barrier here in BKK, this was my primary concern. Baka hindi kami magkaintindihan at iba yung lumabas sa photobook at sayang lang yung bayad ko! What I love about this site is you do the layout yourself. You just need to download the software, and it's super easy to use! Parang you're using Windows Movie Maker lang. When you're done with your photobook, you just send the file to them, pay thru credit card, then they will mail it to you in a few days.

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I just wish I knew about Picnik before I ordered them para mas may arte ang pictures. Oh well, next time then. By the way, one photobook has a minimum of 40 pages, and it should cost you around Thb1,400. Oh, and they ship to the Philippines too! For free I think.

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I will bring my photobooks when we come home so I can share them with you :)

Walang Magawa

I've been trying to stay away from the mall to avoid making impulse purchases so lately I just stay at home and surf the net all day. I landed on this cool website where you can edit your photos. I picked one of my favorite wedding photos and experimented with different effects. Take a look.

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Original photo.

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Focal black + white effect.

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Color boost effect.

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Focal zoom effect.

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Lomo-ish effect.

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I wish I had Photoshop, but it's pricey and even if I did have the money to buy it, I don't think I will have enough patience to learn it. This will do for now. Try it with your own photos! Check out Picnik. Registration is free and you don't need to download the software because you edit your photos online. Enjoy!