Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Weekend Tidbits


Snapshots from a lovely weekend that was...


 Wicked Crafts at the Mom Pop Up event (more details in a separate post soon!)


Breakfast at Ally's All Day Breakfast Place.  Hon-some and I still dream about that French toast with strawberry cream cheese.


Dinner with my family at The Cake Club by Manila Diamond Hotel:  Orient Pearl tea, Beef Pastrami sandwich, cheesecake, gooey chocolate cake, and truffle fries :)


And with these, my summer vacation has come to an end.  It was a fun one, with most of the items in my summer bucket list crossed out.  I'm back at work, gearing up for the first day of school.  Will still get crafty on weekends, of course.  Gertie awaits, you see.  For now, have a wicked week. :)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The One About Gertie



Since getting married, I have been wanting to have a sewing machine.  My mom and I have a manual Singer sewing machine at home - which I still love and which I had my mom swear never to sell it - but since moving to a box of a home, there was no way that lovely sewing machine was coming with me.  As I type this post, I am already feeling sorry for it -- gathering dust with no assurance of ever being used again.

Anyway (cue to put on a happy face)!  I had been planning on getting a small, compact home sewing machine since my last birthday (February) but life keeps getting in the way so the idea just kept being pushed back.  And now life is cooperating and I have this beauty sitting at home.


The Singer 160 Limited Editin Sewing Machine


It was a bit way out of my budget but it met all of my considerations:  automatic needle threader, stitch width selection, easy buttonhole, and a super easy bobbin set-ter. :)  I was not particularly looking for a lot of stitches (this has 24!) but out of all the home sewing machines I have surveyed, this had a blanket stitch.  And I need that for my felt food projects.

I love that Singer came out with this model.  It's a limited edition sewing machine to celebrate Singer's - what else? - 160th anniversary.  It looks very vintage (and you know me and my love for old, lovely things) and I love it to pieces because of how it looks.  And works, of course.







Notice the hand wheel?  It's functional!


By the way, I haven't been able to take pictures of my sewing machine just yet.  Because of space constraints, I only take the machine out of the box when I need to use it.  Otherwise, she goes back to the box.  Sad, I know.  Oh well...  In the meantime, all the images are from Google.




Now, I keep calling her "she."  I was going to name her Love-A-Lot after a Care Bear (and yes, I do give names to my favorite things.  My bone folder is named Joan Boner because it's a name Boy Abunda keeps greeting on The Buzz so there.  Hehehe!)  But I felt she needed a vintage-y name.  Lola?  Rose?

And then I stumbled upon this and I knew it was meant to be.

So, lovelies, meet Gertie.  She and I are going to have the time of our lives. :)

Monday, July 22, 2013

Weekend Tidbits






Went to a Hong Kong Disneyland-themed birthday party yesterday.  Sharing you tidbits of the awesome set-up that blew me away...

(Took the photos with my phone so they may be a bit grainy.)






 The centerpiece.  Guests can munch on the munchies!


 The photo booth


 The stage


 The prize and souvenir station


 Food booths!  Corn dogs, Potato Corner, squid and fish balls, and ice cream!


 A kiddie salon


 The cake






 Cupcakes






 Wonderfully made styro crafts




And Hon-some with his party favor. :)

The weekend that was. :)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Wednesday Nugget



Enjoy the July showers, nevertheless. :)


Monday, July 15, 2013

The One About the Knitted Coffee Cozy


Another knitting project completed (as if ang dami!)!  Hahaha!  I wanted to make something simple since I was going to be following a knitting pattern for the first time.  Also because I wanted to be kinda OC and make sure all my stitches are neat, even, and tight. And because I had a coffee tumbler that looked kinda black-and-white sad, I gave it a pop of color.  Pink, nonetheless!





The tumbler is the one that I usually bring to work but since I'm on the last stretch of my summer break, I haven't used it yet with my cozy on.  So I just delight myself with looking at it while it's on display in one of our counters.

Now my fingers are itching to knit again... :)

Happy crafting!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The One About the "Me" Day

Allow me to begin this post by declaring that I looooovvvveee "Me" times.  I mean, who doesn't?  A pocket of time to do anything that will please your heart?  I'm all for it.  Luckily for me, the pocket of time that I managed to spend on myself would fill that pocket to its brim.  That's because I devoted an entire day to permit my heart to sing. :)
 
My "Me" day started with a big, big, big - okay, I should've used "hearty" - breakfast at Early Bird Breakfast Club in BGC.  Unlike some people, I do not have a problem with eating alone.  In fact, I love it!  To eat alone is to think clearly, to savor each bite, and to celebrate the time that is mine.









I ordered the Full English Breakfast and, boy, was it filling!  It had two strips of bacon, two eggs, grilled tomatoes, two servings of toast, one English banger, potatoes, baked beans, and mushrooms!  I'm still dreaming about it as I type this!  I love the fact that the restaurant had wifi and since I went on a weekday, it was very quiet and I was able to read while enjoying my breakfast.






 From Early Bird Breakfast Club, I walked to The Mind Museum.  When The Mind Museum first opened, I got turned off by the exorbitant entrance fee.  And then I found out that teachers like me get a huge discount!  So from P600, I paid P150 only.









(The token T-Rex shot.  Haha!)


Again, since it was a weekday, I had the place almost all to myself!  The nerd in me was super happy!

After the museum, I walked (don't you just love how everything in BGC is accessible by walking?) to Fully Booked -- my happy place!!!  I took my time browsing through all the aisles and, because I'm not really on a self-imposed book ban (woooshooo...), bought a craft book!  Weeee!!!

Anyway, I was still full from breakfast come lunch time so I fixed myself something at around 2:00 pm.  And then I kicked back and enjoyed the silence in our little home. Okay, that and I read, did a little knitting (second project finished!  More on that soon!), and watched Desperate Housewives!  Hahaha!  Told you I don't like watching TV.  That explains the backlog on the few shows that I do watch. :)

Have a good day, lovelies... :)




Thursday, July 4, 2013

The One That's Uber Exciting!


Here's something I've been excited about these past few weeks...




Yep!  You read that right!  My small, happy, crafty biz, Wicked Crafts, will be at the Mom Pop Up event!  I will be doing - what else??? - arts and crafts for kids.  I hope to see you there!!!

 

Monday, July 1, 2013

The One About Ally's All-Day Breakfast Place



 
With Maginhawa Street in Quezon City being declared a food hub, it was just a matter of time before an all-day breakfast place opened in the area.

And it did!  Well, not exactly.  Ally's All-Day Breakfast Place opened along Malingap Street which is just a bump away from Maginhawa Street.  Anyway, Hon-some and I were in search of a good place with good wifi access when we stumbled upon Ally's.  We were really after the free wifi but we left the place with happy tummies too!

To start off, this small gem of a restaurant has bright and cheerful interiors!  The place is infused with delightful yellow and orange hues!










 Their food was yummy and the helpings were filling!

 Beef tapa


 Mushroom and asparagus omelette!


Hash brown nest with egg


It's a happy place to be in.  And by that I mean it's perfect for meeting up with family and friends who also adore breakfast food like me or for "me" times when you just want to be wrapped up in what you're reading while enjoying a plate of pancakes.  Or even coffee and their homemade cupcakes.

With the fun restos opening up in my neighborhood, QC is the place to be. :)