My true love gave to me

...a partridge in a pear tree! LOL!

This song is stuck in my mind for days now. It is like on auto repeat mode. It goes on and on and on. It does not help that my son sings this randomly too. Or maybe it's on auto repeat mode on his kiddo brain too? Hahaha!!

We can't deny it's Christmas. But I know a lot of people are still out there looking for the perfect Christmas gift to give their loved ones.

Well, here's one thing I would like to suggest as a gift for your man - a battlefiend map cufflinks.

If your husband, boyfriend, dad, son is into wearing cuff links, I think this is a nice alternative to the usual and common plain ones. What do you think?

I always say and believe, gifts must come from the heart. So whatever gift you get your loved ones as long as it's given generously, I am sure they would appreciate it. But, it gives you extra point if you give them something they like =)

Anyway, take it easy with the Christmas rush, okay?

I wish all of us a Merry and a Meaningful Christmas! Let's spread love and cheer to everyone around us.

All I want for Christmas

I just want one thing for Christmas - A new Macbook Air!



My old PC is almost dying. And it's literally asking for a replacement.

It would be nice to receive this as a gift. It would make my blogging life easier and chicer. LOL!

What's in your wish list?

My kind of bracelets

I haven't worn any jewelries for some time now. I just couldn't be bothered. I am so busy that I hardly have any time to look for my jewelries and see if it matches my outfit.

But today, I am in the mood for bracelets and cuffs. I am actually planning my Christmas Eve outfit and I want something on my wrist.

So I went to net-a-porter.com for online window shopping. Here are my picks.

Kenneth Jay Lane
22-karat gold-plated crystal snake bracelet
£279

Pamela Love
Navajo-inspired cutout brass cuff
£421

Aurélie Bidermann
Aphrodite enameled 18-karat gold-plated cuff
£925

One of my Idols

I know I mostly talk about Angeline Jolie here in this blog, but I have a lot of other girl crushes or idols.

One of them is Julianne Moore. She's classy and chic and gorgeous all the time. I can only wish I will look half decent as her when I turn older.

Photo from omg.yahoo.com

Julianne more is wearing a Calvin Klein ensemble here, an above the knee gold dress and plush cream coat.

Super gorgeous! I love her!

I wore this

In Paris, everyone seems chic.

At least that's my idea of Paris. Like I have mentioned in this blog before, going to Paris is half the story of the trip. The other half is the outfit you're going to wear while you are there.

Since I am not a fashionista and my budget is limited. I just try to work around on what I have.

That's me, in what felt like a marmot coat, projecting too hard. LOL!

They said the color black is like Paris' uniform. Everyone wears black. So I made sure to bring most of my black clothes like this coat and the knitted top inside.

But I also wanted some colors on my outfit so I used a red scarf and my skirt with some red color.

I like the result. LOL! Gotta love your own! Hahahaha!!!

Designing is a hard job

We have a project at hand and we couldn't seem to move forward. There are so many hindrances. But we're hoping we'll eliminate them one by one.

Okay, I am talking about interior designing a small condominium that we have in the Philippines.

It's recently turned over to us and our plan is to rent it to "balikbayans" or Filipino expats vacationing at home.

One of the hindrances I am talking about is that we are abroad. But I think we can already plan or design what we want or how we want our condo to look like.

I have looked at magazines and of course pictures online for inspirations. Here are some pictures I like from digsdigs.com





Interior Designing seemed like a fun and easy job, right? Nope! It's really giving us a hard time. Hubby and I couldn't agree on a single item. LOL!

I think we'd have more luck doing Paramedic Jobs than appointing ourselves designers. Hahahaha!!!

I think we are going to give this job (designing) to the professionals. Now, I hope I can find someone affordable.

Any recommendations?

ZARA: TRF Evening Lookbook

Been hanging out at FB. Thought I should make myself productive somehow so here I am sharing what's in ZARA's FB page.

TRF Evening Lookbook











I think I want to try wearing lace. I don't have that much unsightly muffin tops so I might be able to pull it off. Even half decently.

ZARA Woman November Lookbook

The problem with losing weight is you wanna shop and shop and shop. That's my dilemna right now. I want to shop for new clothes but I don't have the money for it.

I will just have to be content looking at ZARA's November lookbook. Here it is:

Too sunny for my taste

I lost another of my sunglasses again! What shall do with myself? I am so hopeless!

Thank goodness the shades I lost was my cheap sunglasses. I know I left it at home because I was scared it will be confiscated in Europe. The one I brought with me was the original one.

When I got home, I couldn't find it anymore. Did I lose it somewhere or did I just misplace it?

I need at least two pairs of shades. A dark and not so dark one. I use it to match the brightness outside. Unfortunately, I lost the dark one. And the weather lately has been so hot and bright it is giving me migraine.

Anyway, I went to google friendly-prices sunglasses and here are my top picks. All of these are replicas of the original.

Coach replica

Dior replica

DKNY replica

Rayban replica

I love all of the above. I can't wait to go shopping!

Oh my highschool life

Feeling nostalgic right now. Probably because I just had a mini-reunion with my high school classmates in Dubai.

It's always fun reminiscing our younger days - the crushes, the jokes, the teachers, even the exams and essays. I don't think anybody was fond of doing essays during that time. But we had no choice. We had to do it and do it from scratch. Unlike now, kids can just easily get free online essays. How charmed their lives are?!

High school was tough but when we look at it now, it was mostly fun!

My friends and I stayed until 4am just talking and laughing. We never noticed the time. If we did not have a planned itinerary later that day, we wouldn't have cut short our conversation.

To my friends in Dubai, thank you for your time. I really had a great time with you guys. Hope we will be able to do it again soon. Somewhere.

The list

Hubby blurted out this morning that he wants to put up our Christmas tree. I totally forgot about Christmas!

I am still getting over the jetlag from our EU and Dubai tour plus there's still the unpacking I have to do and hubby wants to start on Christmas already.

Stress!

Just kidding. I was actually thinking about the holiday already. I still have not thought of our theme at home. I have to start researching on that one soon. And there's the Christmas gift list I have to work on too.

One advantage of living away from home is that you don't have a long list of people to give presents to. LOL!

I only have a handful of presents to give actually. And it's a manageable list. There's a request for affordable hair replacement present, a toy car, an apple TV and lest I forget, a bag for myself. Hahaha!!!

I so wish we have a lot of money. I would like to go away for the holidays even for a few days.

But we've already spent so much during our recent trip so travelling again is not an option right now. We have to live within our means.

That doesn't mean that it's going to be a blue Christmas. There's no such thing in my vocabulary.

Christmas will always be a merry event in my family. We don't need to splurge. But we certainly won't skimp that much also.

How's your list so far?

Dubai stopover

We are back in Phnom Penh now. But before heading back home, we stopped at Dubai for two days and two nights.

I was caught off guard. I never expected Dubai to be so warm. And I am not talking about the weather. I was expecting it to be all buildings and nothing in between.

Boy, was I wrong!

We had a really fantastic time there. The weather was also nice making our walks very pleasant.

I knew Dubai is a shopping destination but believe me, we weren't able to shop a single thing.

Hubby wanted to buy the best headphones for noise reduction like this picture below but we did not have enough time for shopping.

It is so unfortunate as my friends tell me, they have the best prices for gadgets and their items are tax-free.

I was tempted to take a look at their luxury handbags. Fortunately for my hubby, I did not find anything I liked.

Or I guess I wasn't really in the mood for shopping too.

We were only able to visit several places and there are still so many places to visit and see in Dubai. It was definitely a case of "too much to see, too little time".

I promise to visit again someday. I would love to enjoy the rest of UAE and to experience tax-free shopping.

To live in Paris

Hi all! We are already in Paris. It's been amazing so far. There are some hiccups but nothing big to dampen our mood.

I love Paris! Everything looks beautiful and picturesque. When you take a shot, it looks like taken straight from a magazine or something. Really, it's that beautiful.

And the people look so chic, well, except me of course. Hahaha!!!

Yeah, seriously. These Parisians are the epitome of cool and chic. I love how they dress up. All in black. It's like a uniform. And the scarves. Oh, how they wear it well! My scarf looks awkward on me. It felt like I am being choked or something. LOL!

I asked my husband to look for a job here. I told him to find a job with a great employee benefits. Hahaha!!!

Well, Paris is not cheap. Everything is expensive. So to be able to live well, you need a good compensation and benefits. Right?

And then I realize, I could not live here. It's cold. Really cold.

Yesterday, I was already wearing what seemed like a very thick coat, a scarf, and a gloves but the chill still went inside my bones. Seriously.

I had to buy a bonnet from a souvenir shop even if it was expensive! It did not even match well with my outfit but I couldn't care less. I was freezing!

My friend said it was not even cold yet according to Paris standard. And I said, what? She laughed so hard.

I can't imagine what cold is like for them. I'd probably be wearing the whole house by then if the temperature starts to go below 8 degrees. LOL!

It makes me sad that I could not live here. But on the bright side, I can always visit if our budget allows us to. I will just have to work harder =)

Never too early

There is no such thing as early Christmas shopping. Some people even do it as soon as the Christmas ends. Really. I know someone who does it. And it's practical because usually prices right after the holidays are always hugely discounted. Examples are gift wrappers and Christmas Cards.

I wasn't able to do that last year. It's already November, yes it's already November! Go check your calendar now if you don't believe me! LOL!

I really should start buying things and gifts for Christmas before things get hectic and chaotic.

I should start with cutesy cards like these ones.



I love giving out cards and I love receiving them too. Maybe I should try my hand at making DIY cards. But then again, I am not really that creative. So I better stick with the ready mades only. LOL!

Have you started with your shopping list already?

Zara Kids Lookbook October

I am looking for inspirations on how to dress up my son during our Paris trip. Since I have no experience myself of dressing for the winter, I have to resort to magazines and webpages of clothing store.

I got all the below pictures from ZARA. I love it. The boy in the picture is so adorable, just like my son =)

Gardening

This is for my friend who has taken gardening into the next level. She started with a few plants and now it's grown into a full blown garden. Her garden is a mixture of flowers and herbs. It's beautiful and inspiring.

I love gardening too. I probably got it from my mother. She had what you call a green thumb. Anything she puts in the dirt, it grows beautifully. I can only wish I had the green thumb. But definitely I got the love for gardening from her.

Anyway, my friend wants everything in her garden to be eco-friendly and natural. So she's taken a strong like to composing.

I told her I could look for composters and send her the pictures.

Well, here are what I found. It looks like they work almost they same so it's only a matter of design which suits her garden well.







For me, I vote for picture number 2. It doesn't look too imposing and I am sure it would look great on her garden.

Living Room Spaces

In my previous life, I must have been an architect or something because I do love looking at home designs particularly the kitchen and living room spaces.

It's one of my happiness "pills". It makes me smile and dream. And it inspires me.

Here are some pictures I got from houzz.com. They do have a lot of really inspiring designs that even prompted me to download their app on my iPad.

One day, I am going to have one of those beautiful homes.

contemporary living room design by orange county architect Laidlaw Schultz architects

contemporary living room design by vancouver interior designer Maria Killam

contemporary living room design by new york photographer Alexander Johnson Photography

Problem solved

From my research, meaning reading blogs on the internet, they say that color black is like a uniform in Paris. Almost everybody wears black especially during Fall/Winter time. There might be a slight variation of colors like gray, dark navy and even brown but nothing too loud.

If you digress from their color uniform, they would know that you are a tourist.

Well, now I know what to wear. The problem is I already bought clothes and coats in colors. LOL! That's okay though. I am a tourist, anyway. LOL!

And besides, even if I will be wearing all the designer clothes in the world or draggging trailer hitch behind my back, I would never be as chic as those Parisians. Have to admit that. Hahaha!!!

Nevertheless, I still went "looking" for black outfits at one of my favorite online store - needsupply.com

If I have more money, I'd definitely buy these so I won't stand out as tourist in Paris. LOL!

Here's my favorite looks, in no particular order:

If I were as skinny as this model, I am sure I would be able to pull this off too. Otherwise, I will look puffy. LOL!

This one is really catchy. I love it!

Simple. But I love the yellow boots. Or is that mustard in color.

I wish I can wear a skinny jeans.

I already have a dark navy trousers almost like this. Hmmm..maybe I can borrow this look.

This one is cute. But I sure would look silly in this. Hehehehe.

What look do you like from the above pictures?

Time to own one

Hubby has been wanting to buy a camcorder ever since I can remember. But I always stop him.

I really didn't see any point in buying a camcorder before. For one, we had a digital camera that also records video. And the quality was fair.

But now, I think I am going to change my mind and even convince hubby to buy a camcorder. LOL!

Hubby is using an SLR camera which doesn't have a camcorder feature. My digi point and shoot camera has a video capabilities but it's not working well now after my son dropped it.

So I guess it's time we have our very own camcorder and I choose this one:

A canon vixia hf200.

It looks very spiffy and the reviews I read are quite good (I always read reviews!). And the price is reasonable.

What about you guys? Do you have a camcorder? What kind do you have?

Appreciation

"Despite your busy sched at work, you still find time to help me at home. I really appreciate it. Hope you know that.

I just sent that text message to hubby a few minutes ago.

Really, it's been crazy at home lately. The chores never seem to end and I get tired. I am just but human. Sometimes I get so cranky and I forget to express my appreciation to people who are deserving.

My husband has really been helpful especially this last couple of weeks. So I am thinking, I should get him something. It's not his birthday yet but I just want to show him I really appreciate what he does for me and for our family.

I am looking at this sweetest day gifts for him and I am having a hard time choosing. LOL!

I am looking for something simple, sweet, not expensive and also something hubby would appreciate.

Maybe a Dad Clock?



Or an iPad cover?

Life is short. We should never forget to show our love and appreciation to the people who love us.