A Peek In My Instagram

I love Instagram!  Yes, I know it's just one of the many photography applications but it's just my ultimate favourite among all the others.  I like taking photos of anything and everything and I also love the fact that I get to share it with everyone.  :-)

Take a peek in some of my last week's instagram photos. :-)  Enjoy!

This is from my brother and his wife!  They just got married last Saturday.  The mints are so adorably cute and the card is just lovely!  One word says it all! :-)  

Last Friday, Glenn surprised me with these white roses and a cute card.  Who is the sweetest guy ever? :-)  G.L.E.N.N <3

Japanese inspired wall decorations that I made for my parents' welcome back lunch :-)  Cute!!!

Glenn and I stopped by Paper Things after going to the Ice Fest.  Everything is just so pretty!  It would be so nice if our room would be adorned with these lovely home accessories!

Snapshots from the Ice Fest.  We had so much fun looking at all the ice sculptures!!!

Our Valentine's dinner date at home!  Hearts and reds overload! <3 It was such a lovely night!!!

The snowy day last week.  I think it was Monday? haha. :-)  Amazing view, isn't it? 

Mommy and Daddy's Valentine's day card to me.  Oh so sweet! :-)

One of my lunches!  Since I am the only one at home, I was the one preparing my food just like this meal :-) Garlic rice, Korean beef bbq shortribs and cherry tomatoes.  Yummy!

February is almost done!  I can't wait to share my February Photo-A-Day challenge!!! :-)

xoxo

Ida

I Am Currently

photo by me :-)

Obsessing over: 

Oh, Mishka.  I came across her blog through Sometime's Sweet and I just love reading all of  her posts.  It's like reading a book that you never want to put down.  As I read from post to post, I get to know her even more and it's just nice to read about someone else's life and relate to them.  It's like meeting a new friend. :-)

Working on: 

My presentation for this weekend's training.  It's really stressing me out and honestly, this is the first time that I don't want the weekend to come.  Why?  Because I have to go to work on both days... which means that I am going to work all week long.  Oh boy....   And I have to present in front of everybody in the office.  I can just see myself presenting with clammy hands and shaky voice. My oh my...

Thinking about: 

When I would take my days off in replacement to my work weekend. haha!  I am thinking of taking one whole day off and splitting the other one to 2 half days on 2 consecutive Fridays! :-) 

Anticipating: 

March 19 <3  It's our first anniversary!!! I am just so excited!!!

Watching: 
FRIENDS.  If there's a tv show that I would never get tired of watching, it would definitely be FRIENDS.  I have been a fan since I was in high school and until now, I still find it funny and amusing.  It's perfect for those days when you just want to unwind and relax.  Good thing Glenn persuaded me to finally buy the DVD.  

Drinking: 

Iced coffee!  I bet you have already expected that!

Wishing:
That our prayers will be answered and that my grandmother will be able to recover soon.  


xoxo
Ida

Treats from Mr. Postman

It was such a delight when Mr. Postman delivered me these snail mails yesterday.  What was even more exciting was the fact that these were from friends that I have just met in the blogging community.  :-)  I didn't receive just letters; I also received a lot of art goodies which I am really fond of!  Let's take a look at my 3 lovely snail mails! <3

Valentine's Artist Trading Card + Goodies from Karen Hess of Karen's Monday Musings.  I really loved the way that it was packaged.  The trading cards were wrapped so beautifully in a pink tissue wrap and a simple white ribbon.  I also love the valentine's themed trading card and goodies.  One look at them and you know that it's all about the L.O.V.E.  <3  I love it!

February Tag Swap from Elysia Lebedoff of Mischievous Crafts.  Oh boy!  It's overflowing with pinks and reds!  I love it!   It looks like there is a resemblance with what Karen gave me; they have been using the same scrapbook paper?  :-)  Pretty cool huh?  Well, I couldn't blame them since both swaps are all valentine's day inspired! :-)  She also gave me 3 lovely papers, pink and red ribbons, heart stick-ons and a lovely Valentine's day card!  I feel oh so loved!

Snail Mail, Fashion Sketch and Photograph from Debbie Cutie Face.  We met at Danielle Hampton's snail mail post and since we both love snail mails, why not send a mail to one another?  She also enclosed with the mail a fashion sketch which is very cute and a picture of two birds which she said is one of her most favourite among all the photos that she      photographed. And then I noticed that yet again, it's pink!!! <3

I am so ecstatic whenever I receive snail mails from my friends.  It's also a lovely feeling when I get to connect with other people that I meet through the wonderful world of blogging.  :-)  Thank you so much for your snail mails, ladies!  Each one was made with so much creativity and passion and I just love all the other goodies that you have sent me!!!  Looking forward to more snail mailings! :-) 

xoxo

Ida

DIY : To Do's & Inspiration Board

Here is a very easy and fun DIY, a To Do's & Inspiration Board! :-)  It's a bulletin board wherein the left side is for your to do's and the right side for your inspiration!  Some people are list makers and works so well whenever they have some inspiration in sight.  I am both as I am even more motivated whenever I see what I need to do and also I see a lot of inspiring things around me.  Because of this, I am here to share with you this DIY.  It will be able to keep you on top of your game and of course won't forget the million things you need to accomplish! *wink

You will need:

-cork board 

-printed scrapbooking papers or magazine pages

-pair of scissors

-ribbon or lace of your choice

-push pins

-other decorating things you might want to put in your board

Steps:

1 - Divide your cork board in 2 equal parts and decorate each side depending on your theme.  I cut different scrapbooking papers and placed them on the cork board using the push pins.  You could also use double adhesive tape for this but I just find using push pins so much easier in case you want to change your background often.

2 -  Use the ribbon or lace as a division.  

3 - Cut out cute giant To Do's and put it on the left side of your board.  I cut out mind using printed paper and layered them over a black construction paper.  Since my background has prints and patterns, the To Do won't stand out unless it's matted on a plain paper.  If you don't want to do the layering, you can always use plain paper. :-)  Post your to do's!

4 - On the right side, place your favourite photos or cut outs that inspire you. You can place anything and everything that inspires you and gives you a creative boost!  

And there you have it!  Easy, huh? :-)  And pretty cute too!!!

Have fun making your own!  Have a crafty Monday! 

xoxo

Ida

Because I love You...

Valentine's Day is one of my favourite commercial holidays and so I really try to make an effort in order to make this day extra special for my one and only love.  <3

Last Tuesday, 14th of February 2012, was the day of love.  I was really excited for it, but then it was also the day that my parents left for the Philippines.  You could imagine that I was really in a mixed emotions kind of situation. I decided to come to work a couple of hours late because of course, I wanted to spend a little more time with my parents before they leave.  Their cab arrived at exactly 7:30am and after our quick and emotional goodbye, I took a little time for myself to calm down and afterwards, finished prepping for the dinner.

Since we opted for a home cooked meal, I also wanted it to become special and so I added a little Ida touch into it.  I tried to decorate the dining area a little bit with lots of reds and hearts.  I also bought the Valentine surprise poppers. I tried my best to finish preparing for it with the oh so little time that I had.  At around 9:30am, I left and headed to work.

Everything was just normal at work and I was just getting so excited for the clock to strike 5pm.  Glenn picked me up from work and surprised me with the lovely bouquet of red long stemmed roses! *sigh* They are so gorgeous!  I loved the flowers! :-)  But I love him even more! <3 He also made me a very cute Valentine's day card.  He is just the sweetest!  He said that it was his first time to make a card for someone and it really touched my heart.  He is not really into these kinds of stuff, but because he loves me so much, he made one especially for me!  I really appreciate his effort in making it and the words that were written on it.  I know that everything came from his heart and that's why I love him so much. He says and does the sweetest things!<3

When we got to my place, he was so surprised because I decorated it a little bit.  We finished the extra touches like putting on the red table cloth (which was his idea, by the way!  He is so cute!), putting the flowers in the red vase and prepared the red candles.  I told him to rest for a little bit while I finished cooking soup and mashed potatoes and heating the korean bbq short ribs in the oven.  After a few minutes, dinner was ready.  We had candle lit dinner (but we opened the lights after because it was kind of dark. *wink*) and it was very romantic.  We really loved this home cooked dinner.  We didn't have to worry about being distracted by other people whenever we eat in a restaurant.  We had time for ourselves and we were able to cherish our moment together.  We talked about everything, reminiscing last year's valentine's day and how much we look forward to the next ones. :-)

It was really a romantic evening for us.  We were able to celebrate our love for each other.  Valentine's day is not about expensive gifts and clothes and classy restaurants.  It's about showing how much you love that special person and making this day even more meaningful by letting them know how much they mean to you.  It's about the two of you spending time together and just appreciating the love that you share.  It's about setting your differences aside and forgetting about the past fights and just keep moving forward with your loving relationship.  

I love Glenn so much and I am just so happy that I have him! <3

xoxo

Ida

My Long Weekend List

via Ishtar Olivera

What is nicer than today being Friday?  Well, the fact that on Monday is the family day which only means that it’s going to be a long weekend!  Whohooo!!!

So, let’s talk about plans.  I have a lot actually.   But they are more of tasks that I need to accomplish during this long weekend.  Hihi!  

via Kate Brown Lee

Grocery Shopping.  Since my parents are away, I asked Glenn to accompany me to do the grocery shopping.  There’s not that much to buy anyway, but I want the pantry and fridge to be filled with goodies when my parents come back.  That way, they don’t have to do the grocery shopping… for the next week at least. *wink*

VIA The Beauty Department

Mani and Pedi.  I haven’t done my nails in weeks and I just find my plain unpainted nails a little bit blah.  I browsed online to check out some cute nail art and I found this!  I really like the pattern and the shades of red.  I have decided to do this pattern on my nails. J  Now, that reminds me that I need to stop by the dollar store to get the round stickers! 

via Pinterest

Inspiration / Bulletin Board.  This project has been pending for the longest time!  I really have to work on it.  I am so excited! J  It’s nice to have an inspiration board with lots of photos and colourful things.  I kind of have one at work, but then it’s an inspiration wall. I keep pinning lovely photos there and when it gets too much, my boss asks me to remove them because apparently, my work station is not the same as my very own canvass where I can do anything and everything I want.  Oh well.  

via Cornflower Blue Studio

I am planning on making the half of my board similar to this one.  I am a list maker and it is very time consuming to always list down everything I have to do.  At least with this, I can just post it over and over again. It’s like what Raechel Ray always says “Use it twice, chop it once!” but in this case, “Use it a lot of times, write it once” *wink*

via Flickr

Red Velvet Cake / Cupcake / Pops.  Yes I know.  I was supposed to do this last weekend but then we went to the airport, stopped by best buy, home depot, ate at a Vietnamese restaurant, I just got so exhausted and so lazy to even think about baking it.  Well, Glenn will be helping me do the grocery shopping tonight and then tomorrow, I’m set to bake this yummy goodness!

  

via Keeping the Kingdom First

 Clean & organize the house.  Since everybody’s back in the Philippines, this is my only time to actually “clean” up the house.  And by cleaning, it means that I can get rid off some stuff that I usually can’t get rid off especially when my mom is around. J  She always says we still need it for something so don’t throw it out yet.  Oh boy.

via Ana White

Laundry.  This one is easy.  Because it’s basically just putting everything in the machine and waiting for it to finish.  Folding won’t be hard too because its just my clothes anyway. J  And Glenn will be there to help me! *wink*

via Daisy Pink Cupcake

Welcome Back Mini Party.  My parents will be arriving next Thursday, the 23^rd of February and I thought that it would be so cute and sweet to decorate the house with cute garlands and lanterns and prepare a little something for them.  

  via Madeleine Roberts

Update Blog.  I definitely need a lot of catching up to do with my blogging.  A lot of memorable things happened already and I just want to share it.  I also want to do a little makeover on my blog to give it’s own flavour and identity.

VIA Jelena

Organize and Upload Photos.  Ever since Glenn gave me the camera, I have been taking shots after shots of absolutely anything and everything trying to be a good photographer.  So far, all the photos are just saved in my computer but I never really had the time to go over them one by one and organize them in folders.  Some still need a little editing on them and are ready to be uploaded.  After uploading the photos, what’s next?  Take even more pictures!

via Kaela Carrieres

11^th Month <3  Yup.  It’s Glenn and I will be celebrating our 11^th month of being so in love on Sunday, 19^th of February.  Because we have a party to attend to on that day, I am planning to cook a special lunch and dinner for him tomorrow since we’re spending the day together. Pizza and pasta? Or grilled pork and fried rice? Hmmmm…  

So far, those are the things that really need to be accomplished this weekend.  I think I can manage it… if I don’t get distracted with some other things like tv and going to the mall or whatever…But then again, if and when I get side tracked, Glenn is there to remind me to focus. Haha!  

What about you?  What are your weekend plans? 

Enjoy!!!

Xoxo

Ida

Thursday Ramblings

Okay.  So, it's day 2 of me being alone in the house.  Honestly, it's quite a relief that it wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be.  In fact, the only thing that I don't like about being alone is the fact that it kind of takes a lot longer for me to sleep at night because I am afraid to sleep alone.  As you know, my sister and I share the same room and because of that, I sleep like a baby. :-)  I prefer sleeping without the lights turned on, but for this week, that changed.  The night lamp is on and I sleep on my parents' bed just so I won't be that afraid...plus of course, their bed is so much bigger than mine! *wink* 

So, let's see what I have been up to for the past two days of being all by myself.  Well, it's actually just in the morning and late at night that I am alone because just like everybody else, I have work. haha. :-)  And Glenn picks me up from work, go home and eat dinner together.  Going back to what I have been up to, hmmmm...

Well, In general, I realized that I can handle things by myself.  Well, of course I can.  But, coming from a  tradition Filipino family where my mom always takes care of me, you would think that doing household chores is so much of a hassle.  It's a good thing that my parents trained me well.  Even before moving here in Canada, my parents taught me and my siblings how to do the chores.  Even though we had maids to do the cleaning and cooking, they still taught us and they said that it's just a good thing to be prepared.  They said that there will come a time that we won't be having maids anymore and I just thought that it was ridiculous.  Until of course when we got older and we did the chores ourselves because it's such a waste of money to pay someone for a service that we can actually do.  Okay, so we have a person who comes by every weekend to do the general cleaning and all that.  But during weekdays, its all on us.  It's easy anyway.  Cooking and a little bit of cleaning. You just need to sacrifice a little of your time each day.  And that was fine.  :-)

I have realized the hard work that my mom always puts in our everyday living.  I always thought that it's just so easy.  But when I was the one doing it for the past 2 days, my oh my... It kind of gets exhausting. haha. :-)  I wake up a little earlier because I still have to brew coffee, prepare my breakfast, eat quickly because I still need to pack my lunch for work, wash the plates that I used in the morning and then do my daily routine.  Before leaving the house, I still need to double check whether I have unplugged the coffee maker, rice cooker, make sure the tv is turned off, lamps and lights are turned off, lock the doors and check again if I really did lock the doors.  My oh my.  

This morning, as I was in a hurry and I was too lazy to prepare rice and meat for my breakfast, I just had cereals and coffee.  I just added whipped cream and candy sprinkles on my coffee to make it look more festive and just to make me feel better :-) 

7 and a half more days until my parents' arrival.  Which means that I still have 7 and a half days of my 'Being Independent Training ".  I actually think that this is a good thing.  This will be my training for the future.  Of course when I have my own family, I will be doing these things for Glenn and the future kids.  Atleast when that time comes, it won't come as a shock to me because I know how to handle things.  I know how to do things around the house.  We won't need to pay a lot of money to have a maid and do chores. 

There's always something good in everything that happens.  Yes, they are in the Philippines now and I am here in Canada.  But the lessons that I am learning as the day goes by are things that I would not have been able to learn with them being here.  These are the things that we don't learn in school.  We actually have to experience life, make mistakes along the way and learn from them.  :-) 

 

I hope that you are having a lovely Thursday afternoon.  Just so you know, 12 more minutes until I get off from work!  Yay! :-)  I will be heading straight to Glenn's house to celebrate his parents' wedding anniversary.  It was supposed to be last Valentine's day, but Glenn and I celebrated the day together.  It's better to be late than never, right? :-)

 

And now, it's 11 more minutes! *wink*

 

xoxo

Ida

The Departure

Yes, you read the title right.  The Departure.  My parents and sister left for the Philippines.  My sister left last Saturday and will be returning on February 28; whereas my parents just left on Valentine's day and will be back on the 23rd.  That means I am here in Canada all by myself.  Okay, well not really alone because I have Glenn and his family and some friends who are looking after me; but you know what I mean. 


This was actually a last minute kind of trip.  Well, we have known for so long  that my brother is getting married on Saturday, February 18, 2012 but because of our situation last year, we told my brother that we won’t be able to attend his wedding.  Of course we wanted to go, I wanted to go.  But then, we just can’t.  And so until December of last year, I knew that we won’t be able to fly back to the Philippines in time for his wedding. 

A few things changed during the end of last year.  My dad finally got back to his feet and is now completely well.  No sleeping issues, no nothing.  Thank goodness!  He also was able to get a job in his area of expertise – accounting.  But even then, I still thought that there will be no trip because we were still in the process of moving forward and recovering from our past issues.  Late December, they have decided that they want to go back home even for just a week.  

They asked me if I wanted to go.  Of course, I do.  But  I had issues with my vacation days at work as well as in the financial area.  My parents said that if my boss would not allow me for a month of vacation, then maybe even for a week will work just fine.  Yeah, if it’s just about the wedding and seeing my cute little niece, then a week is fine.  But then, for a $1400 plane ticket to the Philippines, and don’t forget the pocket money, one week just wouldn’t do.  If I will take  a trip there, I want it to be a real vacation.  I want to go to the beach, tour the whole country and not worry about my bank account.  I don’t like to go there and come back and have regrets of not being able to visit all the places I want to go to, do all the things I want, eat my Filipino food cravings, etc.  So, I think you get the point.  I was just being realistic and practical here. 

So, there you go.  After they have confirmed that they will be going to the Philippines, of course, all the shopping began.  We bought gifts for everybody.  I got so crazy shopping for my niece, Chelsea.  She is turning 8 months on the 19^th and so I got her gifts for all her birthday months that I’ve missed.  I did a little DIY on her gifts and you can find it here. 

Oh well… So yeah, as their departure date got nearer, they became more excited and I was kind of having mixed emotions.  I am glad that they will be able to attend the wedding and see my brothers and other relatives, but then of course, I will be left alone here.  Instead of buying a plane ticket to go there, I just gave  my brother a monetary wedding gift.  It’s not really a lot, but it’s still something. J  I also gave my sister and parents a little something because I also wanted to buy a lot of stuff from back home because its way cheaper there. 

Going back to the departure story, we all went to the airport to accompany my sister.  While we were waiting for her boarding time, Glenn and I were still able to stroll around the airport.  I didn’t want to think about their trip too much because it just makes me sad.  And so, to divert all those sadness, we just took quite a number of photos! 

When it was time for her to board the plane, we just hugged and said our see you laters.  That’s it.  There were no tears because it was just a quick goodbye.  If we stayed there longer, there probably would have been a lot of waterworks.

When my parents left just the other day, it was a different case.  They just rented a cab to take them to the airport.  I had work that day and so I couldn’t accompany them.  When the cab was there, I accompanied them to the lobby and I told myself I wouldn’t cry.  But then,  as they were putting their luggage in the trunk, I started to shed a tear, which turned out into a burst of tears and sobbing.  We just hugged each other and they said they love me.  I wasn’t even able to respond to that because I was crying so hard. 

I watched as the cab started to go and I just waved at them.  I went back upstairs and of course, called Glenn and cried even more.  After he was able to calm me down, I just started to work on my Valentine’s day surprise (which will be in a different post *wink) and did it pretty quick as I needed to go to work.   

The world won’t stop just because they left, right?  On the bright side, 7 more days until my parents will arrive! J

Xoxo

Ida

Wednesday Colour Splash : Fernando Volken Togni Illustrations Edition

Let me introduce to you  Fernando Volken Togni.  He is 28 year old illustrator who graduated advertising in Southern Brazil and is the person behind these amazing illustrations!  I was so amazed by his works and his style is just superb.  Because of this, I knew that I just had to feature him for today's colour splash post.  Welcome to Wedensday Colour Splash : Fernand Volken Togni Illustrations Edition.

I can still remember when I was still in university studying industrial design, I had a visual communications class wherein we studied about the importance of visuals in everyday communication.  Whenever we had design plates and we were tasked to illustrate something, my mentor always advised us to always just use the basic shapes.  Of course it would look so elementary, but then visuals are supposed to be simple.  They aren't supposed to be so intricate because people might not understand what you are trying to portray by your very complicated choice of shapes and objects.  The simpler, the better.  The main objective of visuals is to be able to let your audience know what you are trying to portray.  This means that by just looking at the illustration, BAM! You know what it means!  It's not supposed to be a puzzle wherein there are a lot of interpretations for it.  That is different.  That is art.  :-)

Browsing through Fernando Volken Togni's illustrations amazes me at how simple and basic shapes can be combined together in coming up with something so spectacular.  It's like one illustration tells the whole story.  It's in your face already.  One look at it and you get the meaning and story behind it.  Wow.  Just scroll down and be the judge. :-)

I really love that he just used the basic shapes and portrayed everything in their simplest form.  Another thing that I really love are the colour combinations used in each illustration.  He was able to capture the emotion of the certain theme or subject that he wants portray.  <3  Everything is just so alive and bright and  has a lot of flavour to it. :-)

I hope one day I would be able to find my own style just like he has his own. :-)  Any thoughts or comments about today's post?  I would love to know about them!

Have a great Wednesday!

xoxo
Ida