Lexie’s 2nd birthday party

Dear Daughter turned terrific two last April, and while the in-laws were in town for a visit, we thought a nice party would be quite appropriate.  My Dad had promised to pay for the party so lucky us!

family photo

We decided to go for a simple, intimate party at a café because to be honest, we couldn’t be bothered to go full party mode with our busy schedules. 

Theme

This year’s party was vintage carnival themed and hubby and I worked on peach and mint green colors as our motif.  Our accent hue was gold which worked well with the pastels.  We also incorporated some chevron to the theme.  Of course, there are vintage elements to it such as carousel, ferris wheel and elephants. 

I liked how our ticket invites turned out because they looked really vintage.  Hubby was able to download a font that worked best with the look we are aiming for.

vintage-y invites

Fortunately for me, my friend Gayle’s daughter’s baptism had the same color motif for her party just a few weeks before Lexie’s so I was able to borrow some items that they’ve used.  My SIL also bought for us a ferris wheel cupcake holder from Manila which I super love because it was perfect for the theme! 

For the centerpieces, we made circus tents out of cardboard paper and blew some peach balloons wrapped in peach tulle that were stuck on mint green vintage-y looking Ikea garden pot holders. 

dainty centerpieces

I wanted a carousel so badly but didn’t have enough time.  I did come up with a solution to incorporate horses though.  I super glued two horses on a paper straw I bought for Lexie’s party last year and painted the horses in gold.  I stuck them on a rectangular styro in different heights and laid the big marshmallows in front of them. 

marshmallows guarded by golden horses

The thing I enjoyed working on the most was stamping Lexie’s name on the wooden utensils.  That was really fun!  Yaya M helped, too :)

wooden cutlery - personalized by moi

Venue & Food

cafe party venue for a change

buffet style merienda

snack box for the kids

yummy desserts

I tried to look for an appropriate coffee shop around town to hold the party but with the limited choices we have here in Dubai, I ended up booking with Dome Café in the DIFC.  I’m glad I did because they were very accommodating with my requests plus they also worked on my budget which I truly appreciated.   We ordered club sandwiches, pizza, chicken nuggets and carbonara for snacks and chose chocolate brownies and carrot bites for dessert.  Dome Café also served chilled apple and orange juice.

Sweets Table

the sweets table

The thing about parties now is that people expect you to have a sweets table as a focal point of your celebration.  While I do love it, I must say it is not very easy to pull off especially when you are relying on yourself to DIY everything.  Thankfully, I’ve had help from dear hubby. 

All pompoms were ready made which my SIL bought in Manila.  The mint green backdrop we borrowed from Gayle, and so are the papers used to make the accordion decors.  She also gave me her left over medium sized doilies that I used for the sweets. 

The mocha cake and vanilla cupcakes were made by our dear friend, Ditas as a gift to our little darling.  Unfortunately, since Ryan was very busy he was not able to make sugar cookies for the party. 

uber yummy mocha cake & vanilla cupcakes

Special thanks to dear Papa (my FIL) who helped us put together the decors on the day.  He was a lot more patient than Ryan, and was really enthusiastic in helping out.  I wish my husband inherited his patience from his father. 

Program

Believe it or not, we never held any program for the party at all!  It was super laidback for everyone.  We just hung out and chatted with our guests.  No fancy games.  We prepped giveaways and lootbags for the kids which we handed out before they left.  The children entertained themselves by running around huge balcony of Precinct Building 5. 

give-aways

lootbags

It was a lovely day all in all, and we are thankful to those who took time to join us.  Credits to our dear friend, Armil who took wonderful photos on the day of the party.  

Resurfacing With Good News!

Has it really been months since my last post?  Damn!  Can’t believe time flew by without me updating this blog. 

Anyhoo, this little missus has been quite busy the past few months.  So much has happened, and the best thing is that most of the stuff that have transpired were good news.  First off, WE ARE PREGNANT!  Yes, we’re having baby number 3 and in a few more months, we will be officially a family of 5! 

we found out when we were in Venice! what a perfect gift!

Although my husband and I dream of having three kids, we never expected that we would get pregnant this soon.  The plan was for us to conceive in 2016 after our intended trip to the US.  I guess God has better plans for us.  I had a late ovulation last July, and found out mid-August that we are expecting :)

We are doing things a little differently this time.  We plan not to disclose the gender of the baby until the d-day.  We figured since we already have a boy and a girl, our baby’s gender does not matter much as long as he/she is healthy.  It’s just funny how Dade wants a little brother in contrast to Lexie’s wish for a baby sister.  They fight about it and it is too darn cute, haha!  Little did they know that we already know what they’re gonna get, and we are not gonna tell!

So what else is good to share?  Ah, yes, after almost 6 years, hubby and I were finally able to travel as a couple again.  It was worth the wait, I tell you!  Super happy that we’ve made the leap and finally went ahead with the trip because with the recent news of our pregnancy, it will take years for us to travel again by ourselves.  All thanks to my little sister, Bern, hubby and I were able to fulfill our dream of going back to Europe and city hop for 3 weeks to 7 different countries.  I know, lucky us, right?  Will tell more about our trip in my next posts. 

Other good news to share: the kids’ good health, a trip with bestie last June which deserves a separate post, a visit by the in-laws last April, Lexie & Dade’s respective birthday parties, and hubby’s thriving career on sugar cookies making.

Watch this space as I start depositing fun memories on this blog again.  Cheers everyone!

My Mobile Phone History

My current mobile phone is being reformatted for I don't know what.  All I know is that my iTunes keeps asking for a password for an Apple ID that isn't mine.  Such a headache!  Thank goodness I'm not doing it (thanks honey!)  So while I wait until it gets fixed, I thought I'll stroll through memory lane and look back at the units I've had that were held preciously by my hands :) 

I first had my celfone when I graduated from college in 1999.  Yes, you can mentally calculate how old I am now.  But age is only a number.  I still feel 20, you know, lol.  Anyway, I digress. 

The first celfone (or mobile phone which is how it’s called here) that I had is a Nokia 5110.  At that time, it was the ultimate digital mobile unit to have – handy and eye-catching with its bright cover cases that you can interchange as you wish.  I got it from Globe Telecom in Glorietta where I applied for my very first post-paid line, and came with the plan so I got it for a reduced amount.  It was Daddy-sponsored and came as a gift when I landed my first job. 

sunshiny yellow

As Nokia monopolized the market then, they released several units to cater to their growing market.  In 2001, I changed my unit to an 8210, and that was around the time when Cameron Diaz who portrayed Natalie Cook in Charlie’s Angels used it in one of the fight scenes (“I like that guy!”).  I bought my unit from Greenhills, and it was the first time I have ever made a purchase that big from my hard-earned money. 

handy dandy unit 

In 2003, Smart Telecom started introducing postpaid plans to ram up their sales.    They gave away free mobile phones according to the plan you book, and they automatically give away a free unit within your plan range upon renewal.  The plan is for 2 years and was just perfect!  I queued at The Podium in Ortigas for a Nokia 3650, which was one of the first camera phone units.  I gave the line to my Mom while I kept my Globe Telecom postpaid number. 

round keys -- cute!

When I arrived to Dubai in 2005, mobile phones were like the cheapest commodity here.  Even office boys have the dandiest units in their hands, and so I decided to make the change and go for another Nokia unit which series escapes me.  It was a nifty mobile phone that fitted my pocket perfectly.   Bessie B accompanied me in Al Nasr Square to buy the unit at a much cheaper price than from the malls.

In 2007, hubby and I took the plunge of going in the dark side.  I opted for a Sony Ericsson Z750a, the fliptop type.  And you’ve guessed it -- I got it my favorite color! 

girly-girly phone 

For years, I’ve used this phone until I tried Blackberry because of its messaging app, BBM.  I got one for myself which had a trackball, and as expected, broke after a year or two of use.  I eventually upgraded for a Blackberry Bold 9700 that my Dad gave me money to pay for, and I loved it!  For years, it was my loyal companion. 

loved this phone so much!

Fast forward to 2011.  du have opened a DIFC Business Account for all employees in the centre so I availed of their promotion of an iPhone 4s just months before they launched iPhone 5.  I signed up for a business plan that gave me a free unit with monthly 10GB data package and 100 minutes of local and 100 minutes of international call.  Perfect for my lifestyle and plus the cost was completely covered by my monthly mobile allowance.  I didn’t give up my Etisalat just yet as I am still keeping that number even though Lexie had smashed the blackberry unit that I loved so much. 

crossed the dark side.  IOS, finally!

I loved my iPhone case that dressed up my unit.  It’s a Kate Spade one that my cousin bought from an Apple Store in UK.  Love that airmail design that gets frequently complimented by colleagues and friends!

old school style

Last month, my Dad came over for a 22-hour layover in Dubai before he went to Manila for his holidays.  You can guess what he got for me as a pressie – an iPhone 5S!  Grateful as I was for the new phone, I did miss my 4S though because of its capacity.  My 4s was a 32GB while my 5s is just 16GB.  The old phone was inherited by the husband.  He wasn’t happy though as he wanted an Android one to tinker with.

so elegant & classy

My iPhone 5s case is this:

perfect for my phone

all happened thanks to Aramex!

Just beautiful!  And the words spoke to me.  Ordered this from The Every Girl.  Lovin’ everything about this case, I swear! 

Counting the units I’ve owned thus far, I’ve had 9 units in 15 years.  So on the average, I change my unit every 18 months.  Not so bad compared to others who change whenever a new one gets released.  Now I wonder what my next unit will be.  Nuninuninu….

Our Special Vday Celebration 2014

I know it’s been a month since the heart’s day but please indulge me.  It’s just that this year’s celebration was quite extraordinary in the sense that it was treated like an ordinary day with a little extra effort filled with love and appreciation. 

Hubby and I have long decided that Valentine’s Day is not for us.  Sure, we do dine out but only for the heck of it.  We don’t go all the way with fancy dinners in Michelin star restaurants with me receiving a huge bouquet of red roses with a gift to boot.  I used to receive fancy flowers from him before we had kids but all that has now changed.   Both of us realized how expensive flowers are and how this whole shebang is a commercialized celebration to convince people to spend horrendous amounts on dinners and roses.  We decided we are not gonna fall for that.  We will celebrate Vday how we want it to be – lowkey, private and memorable just as we like it. 

So on the eve of Valentine’s Day, we ate at Romano’s Macaroni Grill 2 hours before the clock struck 12 midnight.  Quiet, delightful and kids-free, haha!

super late dinner

The next day was spent rough housing and playing with the kids.  They were so delighted with the balloon that Dada got for me from Party Centre.  I even caught the two of them kissing the owls!  So adorable!

Dada & Mom :)

Finally when the kids were asleep, we had our chance to have our planned Vday dinner.  Our evening celebration was inspired by The Every Girl.  I whipped up Barefoot Contessa’s Spaghetti Aglio E Olio while hubby prepared the roasted chicken.  

i can cook, too, you know!

dinner is served

We popped open a bottle of wine, plopped ourselves on the rug, and had dinner in our living room while watching ‘About Time’.      

For dessert, we had Lindt chocolate-dipped strawberries.

not the yummiest strawberries but definitely made sweet by Lindt

And I got this for a present, surprise, surprise!  Haha!!

Pandora Interlocking Hearts 

My husband is not the romantic type when it comes to film screening but he sure knows what movies I would typically like.  He picked out our film for that evening, and I must say it was the perfect choice!  If you haven’t seen it, I recommend that you do.  It’s all about finding the one, building a family, appreciating life, and knowing which ones matter the most.  Very timely.   

I loved how our evening ended with a beautiful conversation talking about our family life, our plans for the future, and our dreams as a couple.  It was all about love, love, and more love.  Our celebration may not have been the typical run-off-the-mill type but it was quite memorable to me.  I loved every bit of it, and I hope next year’s would be as intimate and meaningful as this one.  Probably a picnic by the beach you think?  

Camel Ride

9 years since i came to the sandbox, I finally had the courage to ride a camel!  

at Al Ain Zoo's Children's Park

I have always been scared of riding the camel because of its height.  Apparently, it wasn't as frightening as I thought it would be.  I'm just so glad i overcame my fear!  Next time, I'll do it in the desert when we go for a desert safari adventure :)