Real Homes

 image via apartment therapy

I am excited to have my own house and more excited to furnish it. 

A round dining table is on the list. Like the one above.

tidy kitchen. love the white cupboards and the hint of colors. very lovely. {image via apartment therapy}

and the outside...a bonfire area! I am so in love with this lovely home from apartment therapy.

here is another round dining table:

have you seen anything lovely today?

Bento # 4 and 5: tunaloaf and kid bento

I am on bento #5 ( the official count for the bento we bring to work). 

But there are some backlogs of bento that did not make it to the office but somewhere else. 

Since I made them, although not specifically for the office lunch, 

So I am posting them as well.

Bento #4:

the tunaloaf (cut-out and inserted a car-shaped cheese. I used small cookie cutter). 

The tunaloaf tasted like the local meatloaf here but more fish-y... 

(can't really find a word on how to describe it).

 the hubby informed me that the pineapple balanced the taste. I think it washed off the fish-y taste of the tunaloaf.

The verdict:  I wont have them again.

pizza spread sandwich, pineapple slice, oreo cookies, cheese+loaf combi shaped liked a car, cheese shaped like a fish, vanilla flavored wafers.

Bento # 5

two-cheese sandwich (italian cheese+cheddar), mango cubes, grapes

I tried to be creative here, thus the cut-out car shaped on the bread. haha. that's all I can say. It's a great lunch though. Lots of fruits. We love mango so much. I do.

same with the one above

and other bento delish!

 

(here is the cover of the bento box. cute? it's from one of those shows at Cartoon Network. He is Mac from "Imaginary Friends". )

 

 PB, chocolate cupcake (store bought) and cubed mango.

 We are having a good week so far. 

Non-bento speaking, we were able to pay off the rest of the 20% of our downpayment for the lot. It means we will be able to get the agreement for lot title transfer. The agreement is one of the documents that we will be submit to the financing agency for our lot +house construction loan. I can not be more excited. Even if the lady from the realty office informed me that we will wait for another month for the approval of our loan. At least it will be on the financing firm by then. I am happy that it did not wiped out our lifetime savings. I can not wait to have my own home. 

Thank you, God. For the Blessings.

Next blog will be about home interiors found in the net.

something like this:

image via apartment therapy

Bento# 4

I am thinking of crackers and pineapple. and maybe some leftover chocolate cake.

We might give the tuna loaf a try. 

Yes, a tuna loaf...not meatloaf. 

Imagine how people came up with this ideas. 

More processed foods for us to partake. 

I can not wait to have my own kitchen, much more my own house. 

It will be easier to experiment in the kitchen instead of tiptoes on mornings as I try to prepare the bento before going to work.

Photos tomorrow.

Good night.

Sandwich Bento Lunches

As promised....

Here are the promised photos of my bento accessories:

Bento #1: PB and Mango

 Bento # 2: Cheese Sandwich with fruits, sausages and grapes

Here's mine:

His Bento:

Bento # 3 : Chicken Nuggets and rice (eaten at home)

I have been obsessing on bento since 2007 and have accumulated lots of rice molds but I can not use them because rice during lunch is something we avoid. 

I only get to use my molders during weekend where we indulge on some rice because we allow ourselves to be convinced that we can lose the extra calories with all the organizing and computer activities we have on Saturdays and Sundays.

The hubby surprised me with a chocolate muffin when I woke up Saturday morning:

YUM!

We had a blast this weekend. Hope you had a great one too. 

Happy Father's Day to all Daddy in the world.

O.B.E.N.T.O

Not an acronym. 

I just want to emphasize that starting today, this blog will have another category: 

bento. 

Don't worry, there is no plan on making this a foodie blog. 

Just posting pictures of what I have done creative for the day and it seems that with my busy schedule and lack of flexibility to do what (living with in-laws is fun but it stops you from starting projects because you can not just leave unfinished projects anywhere) I want, bento lunch for the hubby is my only outlet. 

Today, I made my first bento for this year. I have menu for the week and hopefully get myself into doing them while catching up with my work and school that left unattended last week while I procrastinated. 

My inspiration? Biggie's flicker with numerous easy to do bento like this one:

image credit: lunchinabox

okay, i did not copy hers but the photos and creativity of using the ice cream molders on the egg is a genius! This gave me the idea to use my onigiri molds on egg...if I have time, i think.

Now...

If only the hubby includes rice on his diet...

hmmm..

what-do-you-think?

Obento overload

we went to the metro today for a dentist appointment and guess what we tumbled upon? 

new branch of japan dollar store! not Japan Homes or Daiso... 

Saizen! 

Imagine my delight when I found the cute food picks...and the small sauce container? and the mayonaise container with its cute banana spoon...the reusable food cups...sigh. 

Photos will be up tomorrow. 

I am so tired.

Bento Making, here I come. 

I will leave you this photos from great bento sites:

image credit: Biggie's blog, "Lunch in A Box"

- you can find all bento-related topics (which includes food safety and recipes)

image credit: Kathy's blog, "O'bento Lunch"

- according to her blog, it is for kids. I assumed ( i did not read her entries but ogled at all those photos she has) the posts are about cute and kid-friendly food layout designs of bento.

image credit: Andrea Peach's blog, "Obento Obsession"

-simple, easy to prepare lunch/bento. I'll probably visit this site more often.

image credit: Kaoko's blog, "Kitchen Cow"

- she's one of my favorite. She's from the Philippines too. And she once did me a favor, bento favor: she bought (since I can't go to Makati Area) me my first bento accessories/utensils and even sent it to me at the office (of course I paid for it but going through the hassle of buying it for a total stranger is almost a saint to me). 

image credit: Mrs. Pikko's , "Adventure in Bento Making"*

( I call her such because she refers to her husband Mr. Pikko, and can't find her name anywhere as of writing this entry)

-I wanted to join the contest for this one but I think its impossible, living far far away from her place. Glad to have at least few from that loot earlier. Great blog, plenty of practical tips.

That's all folks. 

If you want more sites, just visit their blogs and look into the blogroll.

Plenty of sites there to visit and learn from. 

Good night.

B.A.S.H.

I am excited with my new project. 

A birthday bash for a sweet tyke. 

I have been searching the web for design, themes and other activities for the celebration. Our connection is just as bad as the weather: unpredictable. So this is a short entry. 

By the way, have you seen the new template designer of blogger? if you haven't, check it now. It made changes on templates,etc easier. Sad that it came three days late, huh? after all the changes I made. *grin. 

I am going to give you the links of those who are also looking for birthday inspiration for kids:

• teddy bear theme by imprintables 

 

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• scooper party (ice cream party) by katelandersevents 

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• different party ideas by celebrationsathome

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• car theme by thoughtfullysimple 

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• craft party by party obsessed

 

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• fine little men party by fine little day 

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• modern train party by Project Nursery

 

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• robot party by domestic charm

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• mario party (i prefer to call it "wii"-inspired) by my sugar shack

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• lizard/critter pary by shim and sons 

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• picnic party by love ink everyday 

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• pirate party by munchkin designs

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•  another car theme party by gallery me

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and the best source of all: P is for Party. (she has a wonderful list of sources) 

Miss Christie, thank you.

I am glad with the internet. everything is easier.

Errand

I am going out early to pay bills due this week. I wish there is an easier way to pay my bill without going to the mall. Sigh. The atm machine downstairs is so unrealiable. Always down when you need it. 

The tutorial I promised is still waiting to be edited. I have been sleeping a lot lately. Too tired to do something else once I got home. I am hoping to improve on that area.

Happy to find time to blog here.

What Brings You Joy?

For me, it can be a cup of coffee

Image credits: coffee 

A simple gesture such as holding my hand

Or

 Sweet embrace 

Sometimes, accomplishing simple things like banner for my blog and "grab my button" widgets.

Finally. It was done. Had me test my patience for a night. Thinking what went wrong with the button. I am excited to post the tutorial. But I will give it a rest for now. Promise I will be posting it tonight. 

It's Monday. Smile to the grouchy person next to you, Who knows, you might brighten his day.

Unleash the Artist Within: Blog Button

Now that I am down to two blogs ( in case you missed the update, I remove at least three blogs from the public view so that it will be just two active blogs left for me to tend) it is easier to update. I mentioned the other day that I will be posting my chicletor blog button. Here is my simple blog button ( I am hoping to improve later and change it into more presentable one):

I created this using paint. very basic. I hope to have it up later. I promised a simple how-to for this one but finished the drawing late so you have to wait until tomorrow for the tutorial.

It is already past 11 o'clock here so I have to call it a day. Till next time.

***

Update:

I am having trouble with the image. It is too large when viewed as image and eats up space and too huge as a chiclet. I will continue working on it later. good night.

Fun and Finds

Here are the wonderful things about my week:

Sunday morning, I woke up with the smell of coffee and my favorite breakfast prepared by the husband

I could not resist a frugal find: 50% the price of this bag (cost: P650) and this one:

cost: P400

 

cute/recycled to-do-list pad from papemelroti (cost: P 15)

 lotions and clear mascara from Avon 

Cost: Lotions- P145 and P 179

Clear Mascara -P 129

 

 free print download from erinvaledesign

I had a wonderful week. My blog button will be posted sometime tomorrow. 

Have a good night sleep.

Something To Talk About

My other blog, "Something To Talk About" has been closed starting this day. 

The chatbox was spammed and I got into the mood of tweaking it, hoping for a facelift. Unfortunately as I try every template found in the net the codes gets messed up and have to revise it so many times until I hit delete button and all link, codes, buttons were gone. That was the time I realized that the blog of 139 post have to take its final rest. 

Although it will still be kept on my archive, it will no longer be "live" to other bloggers.

To all those who read and supported the blog,  

This is my new and active blog. I am not sure though if technology topics and other reviews will be made here. I will try but no promises will be made.

Chiclet and Coffee

Done with the facelift of this blog. I am off to do something else: Chiclet!

Chiclet or Blog Button. 

Those sweet little shapes with the blog titles on them. Usually followed by a scroll box containing the codes that you can exchange with other blog owners. Who wants to be in a blogroll in lieu of the small pretty shapes with my blog title? I want mine like this:

 

aren't they lovely? I will definitely have one. I'll try tonight. :)
Good thing I found a tutorial here and another one here.

I will post my version of tutorial once its done. Have a great weekend.