carousels

It's been a whole year since my maiden post on this blog about how carousels transform a woman when she becomes a mother.

I've always been drawn to carousels.

I remember finding a quaint little shop in San Diego California that sold nothing but carousel music boxes. But they were extremely expensive so I didn't get one. Even though I've wanted one for a long time.

The weird thing is I only like the sight of carousels because I don't ever ride them. They make me dizzy since, as you know from here, I've got motion sickness.

I know it's not the fancy carvings that I like since my home design style is more minimalist than Victorian.

Even if it's got 'Louis Vuitton' carved on it.

It's really more the horse that I like. Because as you know from here and here, I looove horses.

So I've always liked the idea of having a carousel adornment in my home. Sadly, I haven't found the right one.

It's been a whole year since you started bearing with such sad musings or my unloving thoughts & letters and even my neurotic confessions. Thank you for listening to me whenever I was down in the dots (-er dumps) this past year!

Photos from polkadotshoppingbag and annnniegirl.

why i can't buy these rainboots

Am obsessed with this pair of Hunter Wellies (possible reasons are in this post here). But I cannot rationalize buying yet another pair of rainboots.

You see, I have 3 pairs of Plueys already. This was the first one I bought.

Then a year later, I couldn't resist buying a new pair and even bought the kids their own. Here are pages from one of Isabella's scrapbooks on our Plueys purchases.

Yes, that's only 2 pairs of Plueys. Problem is, in 2009, Isabella and I had the same shoe size. But since then, her feet have grown bigger so I got her Catstooth hand-me-downs. And that makes 3. Eeep.

I have rationalized their existence by keeping one at home, one in my car and one in the office for unexpected rain. Sadly, I don't have any other locations to justify the matte green Hunters above.

Unless I can justify this foldable boot from Redfoot. They're lightweight and waterproof with a fleece lining that will come in handy when it gets cold.

I mean, my 3 pairs of rainboots are too big & bulky to pack when I travel to a cold, rainy place. So I need this foldable one, right?

Haha! Even I know that's a flimsy excuse.

Photos from acupofjo, Redfoot and here. Most of the photos in the scrapbook pages are my own or from Plueys Manila. Since the scrapbook pages were never meant to be published, I'm not sure if there are other photo sources. So if you know where they came from, please email me so I can give due credit.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post.

a mother's Toy Story

Noah had been pining for Toy Story toys for quite a while. "I want Boody (he meant Woody, but this was over 2 years ago, so he couldn't make the "W" sound yet), Buzz Lightyear, Green Dinosaur, Mr. Potato Head, the princess - the pink one." Toy Story 3 hadn't shown yet, so they weren't available in Manila toy stores yet. So on a US trip that year, I made it a point to buy him Woody and Buzz even if they were too big and bulky to bring home. But the sheer delight on Noah's face when he saw his pasalubong was well worth my close-to-filled luggage (and the unbought bags & shoes that could have taken Woody & Buzz' place in my trolley).

Then he wanted to bring them to bed that night. They were HUGE compared to the usual action figures or cars that ended up under my back in the middle of the night. But I couldn't say no to sleeping with both of them - because it was sooooo adorable how he couldn't pick one over the other. After all, he was so attached to them that he wrote his name on their feet like Andy did in Toy Story.

Then a few days later, he came to me with a ripped Woody. His shirt got torn and stuffing was spilling out. My heart sank - thinking of how many toy stores I went to to find them, of how many packing configurations I tried so they would occupy the least space in my luggage, of how short-lived the delight was from this toy he had been asking for for months. So I channeled the home ec A+ student in me and stitched Woody up. When I returned sewed-up-Woody to Noah, he squealed, "Thank you Mommy!" 

Yes, a mother endures quite a few things to give her child a toy: a toy-filled luggage, a bad back & sleepless nights, and dismay at broken toys. But all this doesn't matter... as long as the toy gives her child happiness and delightful childhood memories he will keep with him long after the toys are gone.

Photo of Noah is my own - a page from one of his 2009 scrapbooks.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post.

some unloved polka dots

I'm not sure why. But these posts here and here about the Louis Vuitton-Yayoi Kusama collaboration almost turned me against polka dots. It could be because there was an overdose of spots in the styling. The wall, the floor, the dress, the bangles, the bag, the shoes. Way too much for my taste.

It might be the overdose because the same ensemble is not as bad here.

But even on its own, this almost killed me. I know Louis Vuitton loves to vandalize its bags. And I have been okay with it, until now. I feel like a Vernis Lockit was vandalized - and not in a good way.

And while this LV scarf looks more intentionally vandalized than the Lockit, I actually like it. Maybe it's the irregularity of the dots that I am drawn to?

Versus the uniformity of dots in this other scarf - which sadly, I find painful to look at. :(

I really don't know why. Maybe it's because I only like subtle accents of dots. After all, I've always been delighted by polka dot lining on bags, wallets and coats. Operative word: lining. Not as the central print. Maybe that's why even as early as this very first post of mine on polka dots here, I had not found a wearable dotted dress.

I have to say though that I love this thin polka-dotted bangle. And while I kept everything yellow so far - for an objective comparison (so we're not swayed by color), I do love it in black & white as well.

Like I said, it almost turned me against polka dots. Almost, but not quite. I am still a fan of polka dots. Just the subtle, less conspicuous kind.

Photos from LVoe.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted series. Click here for previous posts from the Today, I Am Unloving... series.

dear home-service pedicurist

I had a jam-packed weekend recently and had no time to go to my usual nail salon at the mall. So I called a home-service nail salon I had tried twice before. I was pretty satisfied the first two times because they weren't obsessed with turning your feet pink. Their cuticle remover was a white liquid and not the common pink one at cheapo parlors (yes, I think "parlor" is more apt). They also didn't try to put merthiolate on my toenails or that thing they call "foot blush" in some parlors. I had watched the pedicurist like a hawk the first two times so I could immediately stop the use of pinkening products, if they tried. Since they didn't those two times, I thought I could relax on this latest appointment.

I was wrong. The pedicurist put merthiolate on my toenails when I wasn't looking! I was going to a wedding that evening so I was quite horrified! As you know from here, I am allergic to nail polish so I couldn't hide my merthiolated nails under polish. So the pedicurist spent more time trying to "erase" the pink from the merthiolate than the pedicure itself.

It's too bad because there's something relaxing about having your nails done at home. The nail salons I frequent get pretty full on weekends so I usually have to set an appointment way ahead (all the time at Nail Spa in Shangri-la Mall) or if I decide to do a walk-in (usually at Dashing Diva Power Plant Mall), I end up waiting a few hours until they have a free slot for me. Even during my long-awaited appointment, having so many other people around you, somehow takes away from the pampering (I did like the Nail Tropics hidden inside Rustan's Shangri-la Mall because they had only 2 chairs. But I haven't tried it on a weekend so not sure how hard it is to get a slot.). I imagine home nail service could keep me from having to deal with filled-up parking lots, or rushing to get to my appointment (because for some reason, I'm always late). I prefer to have my nails done when I want rather than when the salon can accommodate me. Plus, I imagine napping would be possible at home - without fear of my valuables getting stolen while I'm asleep.

So dear home-service pedicurist... please don't assume everyone wants pink feet. I really wish I didn't need to watch your every move, ready to stop you from putting pinkening products on my feet. I wish I could relax just as much as I do at my usual nail salons when you do my nails at home. After all, my room is intrinsically more suitable to relaxing than a mall, right? I sure wouldn't mind dreaming away while you scrub, cut, clean & massage my feet into a non-pink dreamy state.

Photo from annnniegirl.

Click here for previous posts from the Dear... series. Click here for ocmominmanila's review of a particular nail salon. 

a little something for our country

I won't pretend to be the most nationalistic Filipino. I'm not (though I did get teary-eyed during the National Anthem of one of Isabella's school programs after getting back from linving in Singapore for work). Like most of you, I recognize both the good and the bad about the Philippines.

But today, on the anniversary of Philippine independence, let's all do a little something for our country. Whether it be to go on a Philippine History Tour like Carlos Celdran's Intramuros one (which I found to be very enlightening as it was a very different point of view from what I learned in school. I also discovered from his tour that the ceiling details of the San Agustin Church is painted, not sculpted.)...

Or schedule a trip to local sights you haven't been to. It's sad that a whole year later, my Lakbayan score from here is still a C. I haven't added any new places to my online map that charts how much of the Philippines I've visited. To think, I got my HKIA Frequent Visitor card this year. Shameful!

Or add to the viral itsmorefuninthephilippine photos and hashtags to promote Philippine tourism. Did you know that BBDO, the brilliant advertising agency that developed the campaign only developed those three ads in their website here? The photos here, here and others you may have seen were all created and shared by regular Filipinos!

Or watch a Pinoy movie or TV show (I hear GMA News TV has brought a lot of substance to Philippine TV). Or listen to OPM music. Or buy from the many Pinoy entrepreneurs these days. Or read Before Ever After, Filipina Samantha Sotto's internationally-released novel or Pugad Baboy, which is now on its 23rd compilation. Or laugh out loud at Pinoy humor.

Or even just eat Pinoy streetfood like fishballs... the cleanest of which, I believe, are in UP because they go beyond a 'no double-dipping' rule with a tiny paper tray and squeeze-type-bottles as sauce-holders (so double-dipping is not even possible).

Or teach your child a new Filipino word. I think I'm going to teach Noah the word "kalayaan" today.

Let's all do a little something for our country today.

Photos from here, here and my facebook friend D's wall.

when life gives you lemons...

This is the original quote from Dale Carnegie. It's about making the most out of a bad situation.

It's funny though how many have made the most out of this quote.

Squeezing out a cute one like this...

Or a witty one like this...

Even a mean-spirited one like this...

And a practical one like this...

And finally, a hysterical one like this...

But really, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade or lemon bars or a lemony mixed drink. After all...

Happy Monday!

Photos from here, here, here, here, movihome, here and here.