Lexie's Lowkey Birthday Celebration

Celebrating your birthday on a school day is fun!  You get greeted by the entire class, and your closest friends will be able to wish you a happy birthday.  But the downside of it is that you can't really do much on a week day.  By the time you clock out from class, more than half the day is already gone!  This is exactly how Lexie celebrated her 6th birthday yesterday.  Poor thing was left with no choice but to just make do with a simple celebration at Sugar Factory in Dubai Festival City.

I know Lexie was looking forward to a fun afternoon spent with the family so we chose the most whimsical restaurant we could think of that is closest to our home.

Lexie has always been fascinated with Paris ever since she stepped foot in the city of lights last summer.  When we got seated to our booth in the restaurant, the first thing the birthday girl noticed was the drawing of the Opera Palais Garnier Stage which was the last thing she's seen before leaving for CDG airport.  She even highlighted how lovely the boxes are in the balconies -- the very same ones she had physically been to when we were admiring the Opera's theatre area.  The restaurant's vibe is that of an American Brasserie with Parisian elements.  The art deco styling is love!

We ordered a plate each of Spaghetti Mix Seafood Newberg and Prawn Penne Louisianna Style 74, a Meat Factory Pizza and The Signature Sugar Factory Burger and added a goblet of Berry Bliss which we loved!  It looked like a magic potion with a dash of bright color and sweetness, and surprisingly, it was really good!

I also made sure Lexie got served a nice dessert so I picked out The Brownie, a gooey fudge brownie sandwich with vanilla ice cream in the middle and topped with candied walnuts drizzled with hot fudge sauce.  The Sugar Factory Team were so sweet they delivered it to our table with a fancy sparkler and birthday message on the plate.  

After our meal, the wonderful birthday doll asked where we'd go to next for more celebration.  When we said we'll head home after our early dinner, she replied with a "that's it??!!!" that made me and hubby feel guilty so we promised we'd take her to Legoland and Motiongate over the weekend.  

We capped the day off with a special birthday cake ceremony at home.  Dear daughter requested for a homemade chocolate cake and I happily obliged.  She was so happy she actually planted a big kiss on my cheek and thanked me for making her a cake she super loved!  My heart just melted.  

Avery's 3rd Birthday

I  can't believe our youngest child turned 3 this week!  Where has time gone?  It's as if we just blinked and poof, he's now a year older.  Our baby is surely growing so fast.  I honestly can't keep up!

To celebrate Avery's milestone, I baked two dozens of his favorite banana muffins and placed some animal toppers to decorate it with.  My trusty cupcake tower which I got from Manila was pretty useful for the occasion.  So colorful and celebratory!

We also waited for Avery to turn 3 so we can get our family our own Dubai Parks & Resorts Annual Pass.  We are super thrilled that we finally have our own passes to access all the parks -- Legoland, Legoland Water Park, Motiongate & Bollywood.  For their promotional price of AED 525/person, I really think that is quite a steal!  And we are super happy we now have a place to take the kids when they're bored!  Wee!!!

We collected our annual passes at Legoland so each one of us got to keep a cute Lego ID card with an iconic lanyard to boot.  Thankfully, I had the sense to get our online-bought annual passes activated in Legoland Guest Services!  We activated our cards at the Legoland Water Park which was where we really wanted to spend the day.  Our birthday boy even got a birthday sticker the moment we passed through the turnstyle gate.  So sweet!    

We all then got changed to our swimwear, slathered on sunscreen, rented a large locker & scrammed to get to the water.  The kids were so excited, I tell you!  

The most fun part for Avery was the Build A Boat section where he squealed and giggled building his boat and testing it in the water.  He had loads of fun watching his boat move!  

Lunch was at the Bricks Bites for some pizza, chicken nuggets and potato wedges.  It was all a blur as the older kids couldn't wait to head back to the water so quickly.  

By 5:00 pm, we called it a day.  We took a few snaps of our birthday boy before finally making an exit.  

What a great way to celebrate the birthday of a little boy we love ever so dearly!  The family had a fantastic time, and we will definitely come back. 

Valentine's Day 2015

Husband & I aren't really big on Valentine's Day.  Well, we used to until we had kids.  Not that we are no longer romantic individuals because we still very much are.  It's just that we have become more closer and more loving to one another after we traveled together last year, and we do not need Valentine's day to re-validate our relationship's status.  I must say that the trip did us a lot of good and helped us re-explore our relationship.

Anyhoo, so even though we didn't do the usual stuff most couples do on V-Day, we did make an effort to celebrate in our own little way.  Last year, we did a cheesy, quiet dinner at home after the kids were tucked in bed.  This time, we went malling to find presents for our little ones from Baby A and had dinner Bollywood style at Gazebo.  

We ordered our usual fare, and of course, the Garlic Nan and the Buttered Chicken hit the spot! Super yummy!

yummers!

dating, hehe!

I also had cream-based Caramel Frappucino from Starbucks while we were moving from one shop to another.  I wish I stuck with my favorite coffee-based favorite because it tasted really blah and I hated it.  Eeeww.

at 31 weeks :)

I managed to convince my hubby that I needed a present this year because I was feeling low lately with all the stress at work and at home.  He obliged and got me this:

sweet medium Robin egg blue :)

I don't normally ask for presents because I'm the one who's used to giving surprises to my family.  But I do welcome small treats from time to time, and this bracelet is surely one of those I particularly appreciated receiving from dear husband.

lovely piece

Capped the day by getting two dozens of doughnuts for the kids.  Here's my firstborn with his heart-shaped Boston Creme.

cutie boy

How was your V-Day celebration?  Hope it was fun and memorable, too.

BFF’s Surprise Bridal Shower

Last weekend, my cousin and I hosted my bestie Beth’s surprise intimate bridal shower at NStyle DIFC.  We thought it would be nice to do a nail spa-themed shower since the bride-to-be is fond of having her nails done on a regular basis.  Yes, she is more kikay than I am!

We had two weeks to prepare for the shower.  I booked the nail spa for 8 girls for a mani/pedi session.  The preparation for the simple decors was done in less than a day (banner & cupcake toppers).  Sugar cookies were made by dear husband, and balloons and bride-to-be fancy props including helium balloons were sourced from Party Centre.  Cupcakes decided the last minute so I rang Sweet Indulgence who I know can pull it off.  Sarj also got Beth an ube cake which is her ultimate favorite.  Everything was matchy-matchy to the nail spa, thankfully!

props & decors

sweets corner

It was a fun surprise but before we could all start the celebration, Beth was literally 50 minutes late, lol!  We were supposed to meet her at 4:00 pm but she had a not-so-nice day dealing with errands and client meet ups that she totally lost her cool around 3:45 pm and almost turned around to go home.  Thankfully, she had come to her senses and decided to still come despite her annoyance & frustration over her very tiring day.  When she arrived, we were already being pampered while two were actually done and just waiting for her to arrive. The nail spa treat was just perfect to end a very stressful day!

the Queen's majestic seat

fancy schmancy bling

We ordered a Shellac French Mani/Pedi for Beth plus a voucher for an aromatherapy massage for when she returns from their Scandinavian Trip for the wedding & honeymoon. 

We did two games during the shower.  First off was the “Advice Game” where guests had to write down their advice for the bride-to-be, and the other is “Down The Memory Lane Game” where the bride-to-be had to explain the relevance of certain phrases, names or words that remind her of her colorful love life.  Some friends had chipped in because I forgot 3 important names that were part of her love life story, haha!

She blew the candle on her birthday cake and then started opening her presents.  That was the most fun part of the evening, hahaha!!

the birthday girl

ultra fun day for our dear friend

We capped the day off by having dinner at Dome Café where we were treated to a 50% discount, too.  How awesome is that!

happy, pampered girls

When we were bidding Beth goodbye by her car with all her goodies and balloons, she started crying and I guess that’s when everything had finally sunk in.  I’m glad she was happy with her surprise, and that she was touched by our little treat :)