Free Coffee at Caffe Nero

This UK coffee chain has opened it's shop in our centre, and so one Thursday early evening, the husband and I decided to give their coffee a try.  I had vouchers for the buy one free one coffee so in case we get disappointed, at least we know we didn't pay for two cups and instead just wasted our money on one...haha!

We ordered Mocha Frappe Latte and Caramel Frappe Latte.  What’s different about their cold coffee is that they have ready-flavored coffee in their chiller, which you just have to grab. You bring it to the counter to pay, and then they will blend it for you with ice.  I personally didn’t like it because it doesn’t have that texture, and it felt like I was just drinking cold, thick coffee.

Anyway, free coffee is still free coffee, so what the heck!  I still have two vouchers good until November so maybe we’ll try & order other variants they have on our next visit.

Quick Pick Me Upper

A compliment in the morning can always start your day with a smile.  Hearing people say how nice your outfit looks on you or how your make up blends well with your skin color can totally make your day.  But my most favorite compliment of all is hearing people (yes -- men, women & in between) say they love my shoes.  I get all cheery and giddy excited! (yep, i'm that shallow, too, haha!)

Yesterday, I wore my purple shoes from Zara to match my lavender top & black pencil skirt. But today, since I’m wearing my navy blue dress (which i got from Unica Hija from back home), I decided to break in my new pair of navy peep toe pumps from my favorite store, Zara.  Even before the clock hit 9:00 o’clock this morning, I already got 5 compliments for my new pumps. And you wouldn’t believe these people: they ask me if I get my shoes from the Philippines! Yes, they think shoes made from my home country are among those with nicest styles they’ve seen (whoopee!!)

my new 4.5 inch pumps :)

I just LOVE shoes!  If you’re a frequent visitor of my blog, you’ll know how wound up I get whenever there’s a new shoe purchase.  Double excited if I get them at a steal price. I may not have bought my first Manolo, Choo or Louboutin yet, but I promise to own a pair of each in this lifetime. Better check out the Brands For Less and see if there’s a treasure I can find in there :) 

Poor Yumi

fender bender

...is damaged again :(

For the first time since my husband started driving, he got into an accident he caused. It was last Thursday, a day before Dade's birthday party.  He was on his way then to pick me up from work. It totally freaked me out when I learned that he unconsciously swerved to the right lane and bumped the van in front of him because he fell asleep while driving!  Goodness gracious indeed! Thank God no one was hurt, and that the damage was just minor on both vehicles.  Thankfully Dade wasn't with him when it happened.  My Dad was in town then for a visit so he babysat the little one when Ryan went to fetch me.

We're so grateful we have a reliable insurance company that will take care of most of the expenses.  Once the car goes for repair in the shop, we will have a private car to use for 10 days or until the car gets all fixed, which is included in our coverage.  That saves us a lot of rent-a-car money so it's a pretty wise choice, I tell you :)

But still, the expenses and the traffic fine are ok with us as long as everybody's safe. To my husband's guardian angel, thank you for looking after him.  

Quick Catch Up

Trying to share some snippets of what has happened so far with our little boy. Now that he is officially a toddler, it was time for us to upgrade our reference book.  Goodbye, the first year...hello the toddler years.

i'm a What To Expect fan

We are suckers for Earth's Best products.  My little boy loves their cereal, teething biscuits, bottled food and toothpaste :)  I just hope our local organic store would bring in more choices for the consumers like me.

Despite Earth's Best being a proud sponsor of Sesame Street, our little boy is not particularly enamored with Elmo.  Just look at the expression on his face:

not too happy with Elmo

A few days later, this is what he did to the poor thing:

Dade, what did you dooooo???!!!

In other news, I went shopping the other day for a couple of new clothes for work.  I found this pair of shoes at a bargain price.

my new Barney-colored shoes, haha!!

from AED 195 to AED 170 -- how can you resist that?

Tomorrow is Dade's party here in Dubai, and I can't wait already (talk about being overly excited!) Stories are in order next week.

The Baby Model

Just wanna share our toddler's first modeling stint...haha!

The day after he celebrated his first birthday, our wee one was brought to the kids' salon for his first haircut.  Afterwards, we met up with my sisters and niece for a pictorial at The Picture Company.  Dade looked like a shaolin so I thought it'd be cute if he'd wear the Chinese costume.  Good thing he did because several days later, I got a call from our photographer about the happy news that his picture was chosen as the profile pic of The Picture Company in Facebook.

You can view the actual profile pic here.

The stage mother in me was over the moon!