Contemporary Center Table and Shelf

I am looking for a shelf/center table like this one. I saw this from ThisNext but unfortunately the link it points to is already unavailable.

I like it because of its contemporary design. I love the dark wood and glass combo.  I like it also because it can serve as our dvd storage on the bottom area while the top one will serve be for the magazines.

While browsing the website, I also saw this pretty lounge red chair.

It looks great as an accent chair. Don't you think so?

Little Special Gifts for Her

When it's Christmas time, I always have a difficult time choosing what to give to a certain family member, friend, colleagues. Maybe it's the pressure or maybe it's from so much choices available also.

But this time, I prepared early. I just hope that the people I am giving gifts to will appreciate my effort.

Here are some of the things I wrapped, mostly for myself. LOL!

Crane and Co. for J. Crew Sketch Note Cards

Liberty Crystal Braid Bracelet from J. Crew

Vintage Pajama Set from J. Crew

This quilted cover is a special gift for a special someone. I hope this will be put in good use :)

Chader Coffee Table

I have been trying to find a center table but I couldn't find one to my liking. I want something modern, preferably glass or something with steel.

I tried checking online sites of Philippines furniture shops but the ones I see are mostly wooden center tables or if it's glass, it looks so cheap.

Of course I want an affordable center table but I don't want to buy something that I also don't like.

I asked hubby to help me out. Guess what? He found exactly what I had in mind. He told me to check Neiman Marcus online.

Huh? What did you say? I asked him?

Do you need bass amp to hear me? He countered?

No thanks! I just did not expect you'd find the one I was looking for in that store. Here it is:

Jonathan Adler "Chader" Coffee Table

This is perfect for our small condominium. The only problem is that it is way above our budget. Can you guess how much is this?

Well, if you're ready to part with $1,789, then this beauty is yours. Insane, right?

Oh well, we really can't have it all. Maybe I should go back checking the Philippine online stores. LOL!

Thread Count vs Design

They say that a good sheet, or pillow case should have at least 300 thread count. Or is it 400 thread count? Haha! I forgot.

But whatever. What is important to me is the design. I don't like flowery sheets or anything that has a lot of colors. I just like my bedsheets and pillow case in one plain, solid color. Sometime an accent here and there does not matter, as it's not overcrowded.

My tendency is to choose plain white but I also have light brown and a light purple color.

Here's my kind of bed linens.

Photo from Neiman Marcus

When it comes to car seat covers, I also like plain solid color. The other day, I saw some cute subaru seat covers, like below.

Simple but really nice

I guess getting older has something to do with my color choices lately. But I am really liking it. 

Tea Convert

I used to be a coffee drinker. Well, I still drink coffee once a day but I am more of a tea drinker now. I drink it like it's water. Maybe even more now after I shifted drinking green tea to oolong tea.

Oolong tea has a milder taste compared to green tea so it is easier to gulp big amounts without feeling like you're drinking grass. LOL!

My oolong tea are all loose. I don't brew big amounts because I like my drink to be warm all the time. What I do is put a teaspoonful of loose tea in my mug and pour hot water. Once I finish the first mug, I just pour another hot water.

What I don't like though is sometimes I get to "eat" the loose tea because I don't have the infuser or the filter! Hubby told me to buy one ever since but I was just hard headed. I thought I could live without it. But now that I drink tea like a fish, I should really buy an infuser.

So I am now browsing over the net and I am looking for a nice tea infuser or a filter. My husband said, while I am at it, I should also look for prestige medical uniform for her cousin. Okay, but I told him I will do it later. Teehee.

Here are the tea infusers I liked on the internet:

Heart-shaped tea infuser. Isn't this so cute?

Tea mug with infuser. I love the color! 

 For purple lovers, here's one for you.

 Robot tea infuser. I am tempted to buy this but I know my son will only play with it.

Moving

The joy of an expat! When you are not moving to another city, you are moving to another apartment.

Two weeks from we will be moving to another apartment here. This is going to be our third apartment in what will be our 4th year in the city. Not bad! LOL!

What I love about our new apartment is that it is new and of course everything is new inside the apartment. Our current apartment has socket holders almost falling off. Hahaha!!!

I also love the flat TV and the little knick knacks they have at their kitchen.

I am going to be busy in the couple of weeks. But I am excited as well.

Moving to a new place or house always makes my heart skip a beat. In a good way though.

Accent Mirrors for a Glamorous Room

I am so in love right now. Look, what I found - Ethan Allen Glamour in the form of accent mirrors. They are so romantic and beautiful!

I have always loved homes with accent mirrors. They brighten up the room and they instantly add character. Below pictures spell class, glamour and sophistication.

They may not exactly fit with the modern and contemporary theme I was thinking for our condominium in Manila but I just have to find a way to incorporate this look somehow.

Rustic and chic

Pretty

Simple and classy

Square yet so feminine

For sure, I could find something like this in Manila. I am so hyped up about this renovation. I can't wait!

Inspiration Board for a living room renovation

Living room is my middle name. Yeah, I am crazy about any living room ideas, living room design and living room themes right now.

We're renovating our 2-bedroom condominium and my main focus is the living room area. For me, a living room is the "face" of the house. I want this area to be pretty and cozy because we're also going to rent out our condominium when we are not around.

Anyway, I am busy browsing over living room furnitures right now. Here are some of my favorites. I don't know which theme to pursue yet but I am leaning more towards contemporary and chic.

All pictures are from thisnext.com.

I wish we have a huge living room area. I love the idea of this long benches.

I am all for a clean look like the above. But with a toddler in the house I think this spells disaster.

Hayworth Large Sofa JohnLewis. I so love this one! And the color is just perfect as well. I am just not sure how my husband will like this.

Jessica McClintock Watercolour Sette. I love something with a feminine touch too. But same with the above, I am not sure if this will pass hubby's seal of approval. It might be too "girly" for him.

Eero Saarinen Style Womb Chair. I love this as an accent chair! And red is my favorite color.

Strollers for a Pain-free travel

I was chatting with my brother earlier. I asked him about their recent trip to Hongkong Disneyland. He said it was fun but his poor shoulders were too sore from carrying his 2-year old daughter. Hahaha!!!

I already warned him before their trip that they should bring a stroller. In Hongkong, you can bring the stroller inside the train. It's pretty convenient to bring strollers everywhere in Hongkong.

I asked him why didn't they bring one? Well, it was a little bulky and they thought they might not be be able to use it as much.

Well, they got it wrong.

I suggested to my brother that next time they travel together with his daughter and nephew, they should bring a double/twin stroller. It would make their life easier.

Indie Twin stroller in seagrass green

in red

I had to include this picture. The kids look so cute with those chubby legs. LOL!

I remember, I never leave home without a stroller before when my son was still under three years old.

Cool Kitchen Aids

I am actually sick right now but I cannot sit idly. I don't know what wrong with me! I just couldn't force myself to rest.

Anyway, I saw some cool and cute kitchen wares over at thisnext.com. This place is one of my favorite online hangout. I just love looking at the new products over there.

Bottoms Salt and Pepper Shaker. Soooo cute!

Magic Spice Wand. I love this! I can put my ground cinnamon and use it to sprinkle over my coffee. I am sure my son would love to use this as well.

I could use this Droppar Spice Jars for my steak seasoning and other spices.

Swiss Measuring Spoons. Isn't this too cute?

And last but not least, this transparent toaster is so neat. And it looks easy to clean.

And there will be lights

Are you in love with chandeliers? If yes, welcome to the club!

I don't know when this love of chandeliers developed. One day, I just realized I love looking at them. Whenever I am in the home depot or malls with furnitures and lighting fixtures, expect me to be stuck there for a good 30 minutes to 1 hour.

My husband is amazed I could remain standing just gazing at chandeliers. Well, he is missing a lot. That's for sure.

My parents built a second house in the province when I was already in college. When they went to Manila to buy the chandelier, I made sure it was my choice that was bought. LOL!

I remember I chose a traditional one. The dreamy type. Well, that was my obsession then. Something like out of the movie set.

But now, I am into simple and modern type. Oh, I am still in love with all them - art deco, traditional, etc. In fact, I am still drooling over these bathroom chandeliers I found online.

Simple but I love it!

Art deco, anyone? Reminds me of those lavish homes I see on magazines.

Modern. This is me now.

Delicate and pretty.

This one is for the fun and quirky homes.

This was the type I told my parents to buy for their second house. Haha! They loved it though! And to be fair, it looks good on the house and it's still working up to now.

My taste may change over time but one thing is for sure, I will always love chandeliers.

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?

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?

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

Perfect gift

Have you ever received a gourmet gift basket? I haven't. Well, I have received a gift basket before but it wasn't gourmet. LOL!

I want to buy a gift for my husband's officemate's wife. We're invited to the party this weekend and I think a gourmet gift basket is just perfect.

Before I go check the local groceries here, I have checked gourmet gift baskets online first.

And my, what beautiful choices they have! I so want one, or maybe two for myself. LOL!

A Beary gift basket. I am sure my son would love to receive this.

Ladies in the house, can you resist a Bath and Spa basket like this? I sure can't.

Mrs. Fields Cookie basket! Anybody would be so thrilled to get this.

Starbucks basket! I so wish they could deliver here.

Tazo tea basket. I love tea, so can I have one basket of this please?

I hope I would find something similar here in the supermarkets. I think gift baskets are the perfect gift.