oh joys!

I was out for most of the day. I just got home now (it's almost five o'clock in the afternoon).

Do you trust this face?

First I dropped off a number of things at my parents' house -- most are long overdue errands that I finally got around to completing.

Second I went to meet up with my bookseller friend who is also my main source for Moleskine, Field Notes, and Fashionary notebooks (and lots of rare finds in secondhand books). I got a Fashionary in pastel yellow to see if it and I will be a productive and creative pair.

My dear friend and I had a really good catching up and my spirits were definitely cheered (given my recent bouts with a few specific stressful situations). As I was window-shopping later in the afternoon I thought about what made the meet-up and the conversation so enjoyable and heartwarming, and this is what I wrote in my journal (written in a cafe during a quick break):

"What conversations between friends should be: enlightening, interesting, a mutual exchange of information, open sharing, relaxed, laced with genuine laughter (as opposed to mocking laughter or derisive laughter or making-fun-of laughter or fake/polite laughter), free comfortable exchange of questions and answers, sharing of ideas, without competition or seeking to impress to elevate status, no defensiveness, no suspicions, no careless criticisms, no judgements, no unkind or demeaning jokes, mutually supportive and encouraging. Time will pass and you won't feel it and you won't mind if you do realize that you have just consumed an hour just conversing."

So it wasn't much of a surprise that I was walking around the mall with a small happy smile on my face.  Even just one good friend can do wonders to raise one's level of optimism and satisfaction about life.

I next went to a bookstore and after much staring and lingering at the really expensive Derwent products locked inside the glass display cabinets, I approached a saleslady to ask how much the Derwent Waterbrush cost. I was thinking it would be perfect for when I need my art materials to be portable. It costs Php400 for a single brush! That's expensive. So it went on my to-save-up-for list.

However I did not leave the bookstore empty-handed because I found a decently-priced set of gouache. I've been wanting to try it and I did promise myself a little treat for the week.

Supermarket shopping was next on my to-do, but I just picked very specific items that I could not find in my regular supermarket. Hence I hoarded arugula and organic romaine lettuce and I got special fish steaks for my dad's birthday lunch on Monday. The rest of my grocery list can be filled in tomorrow in my regular store.

Last stop was to check Healthy Options for loose leaf tea as I am totally out. I have Earl Grey and English Breakfast but I've been craving for something fruity and not in a bag.

I have to say that this Saturday has been a joyful day indeed. And it's not even over yet -- while I fuss with my newly-acquired goodies I am also waiting for my sister to call and let me know if we will be having dinner out. But even if that does not push through, there is more than enough happiness spilled over from the morning and afternoon to get me through humming well into the night.

How is your weekend going?

books and grandmothers

I went on an short walk yesterday to clear my head and to get some air. I also decided to drop by the warehouse store across the street from my building which sells tons of overruns and other imported bargain items.

There was a section on second-hand books so naturally I browsed patiently as much as I could stand the heat (the warehouse was very poorly air-conditioned). I was rewarded for my efforts with three books at ridiculously low prices.

One was a copy of The Hero Within by Carol S. Pearson, a classic favorite among Jungian enthusiasts (I learned about it when I attended a Jungian Summer Class way back in the late 1990s). It's quite hard to find and when I chanced upon it in a bookstore it cost about Php600. I already have my own copy but I could not let this other copy go. So I bought it and gifted it to my sister who also has an appreciation for mythology and archetypes. It only cost Php69.

The second book is titled Sixteen Pleasures and it's a story set in Italy. I remember that I used to have that very same book many years ago but I never got to read it and then it got sold during a major clutter-clearing phase. It only cost Php59 so I thought of it as a second chance to read the book. I have also been lately gravitating to a lot of Italian (food, books, even the video game I am currently playing is set in Italy!) so I am indulging myself.

The third book is the best of them all at Php45 (that's roughly a dollar). It's a beautiful cookbook with beautiful illustrations on Mexican cooking titled My Abuela's Table.

Abuela means Grandmother. 

This inspired me further to keep on working on my own personal recipe book project where I intend to include my grandmother's own recipe. A few years ago she gave me a notebook where she had handwritten her own recipes for my own use. The notebook itself is falling to pieces so I better rescue the pages!

Have you had any lucky finds lately?

hey i'm back!

As luck would have it, the presentation I have been spending long sleepless nights on was postponed at the very last minute. It has been moved to next week so you can imagine my relief as I crammed the last few slides and panicked about anything that I might have missed to include.

During one of those sleepless nights I kept myself awake by drawing a wishlist on post-its and putting them around my computer screen like a frame. I also thought to motivate myself with the promise of these things if I do a really good job.

The day after I drew these, I received an invite from La Senza (as if on cue!), the lingerie store from where I want to buy new pretty stuff (see 4th post-it). They have a one-day sale the following day starting at 5PM only and they will be offering double the number of items for the same price. So for the usual price for a set of 5, you get 10. How's that for motivation?

And while I was at the mall I thought, why not check out eyeglass frames so I know how much to save up for in the next few months? Eyeglass frames, especially the pretty ones, usually cost about Php2,000 and above. The really really nice ones are branded (like Cynthia Rowley and Betsey Johnson) can cost more than Php10,000. I was only hoping for something within the range of Php3,000 and less, and preferably on sale. And I really wanted something as close to cats-eye as possible.

And then I found these and they only cost...

...Php350.

Need I say that I grabbed it? Plus a purple one that's not catty but it's thick-rimmed enough to be retro-flavored. Also at Php350. (For those interested, you can find them at Executive Optical in Megamall). The lenses were at a big discount so I got a double bargain. I also had my eyes checked and my lenses corrected for astigmatism (something about the curve of my eyes not being smooth so it causes blurry lines).

I also finally got some family time since I was practically imprisoned in my own home for days as I worked on the report. I took my family to dinner the other night and today I took my mom out to lunch and bought her a pair of sandals. I also could not resist this lovely bag on sale at 50% off. Besides, I used shopping points to purchase it so I did not actually spend any cash. ;)

Today and tomorrow will be spent cleaning the house and catching up on a lot of personal matters that have been put on hold while I worked. With my new purchases, I will need to see what I can, in turn, let go of for selling or charity.

Next posts : my beach trip last May and my photography workshop :)

a bit of a splurge on my first date

I went out on an Artist Date (one of Julia Cameron's Artist's Tools) which I actually did not do very well because I tacked on a few errands along the way and ended up trying to squeeze everything in one afternoon without getting caught up in the Friday rush hour.

In any case, the first part of the date was not too bad. I spent more than an hour browsing and I ended up buying these out of the, oh, fifty, that I wanted to buy.

I loved this author's first book entitled poemcrazy. That book helped me a lot in my poetry writing and got me through quite a few unrequited loves. This book is about the creative process which is a very timely subject in my life right now.

I love felt though I have yet to create anything out of the colorful sheets I have purchased three months ago. This book should get me started on something. Like coasters.

I've seen this book in the store a number of times and each time I check if it has been bought. Every time I would tell myself that if it is still there then I am meant to have it. This time I finally bought it. It was the last copy.

I treated myself to a super yummy lunch/dessert of peanut butter waffle which came with banana slices, cream and a swirl of plain delicious yogurt. I wrote in my journal while I ate, sitting by myself near a window in a small yogurt shop filled with happy families.

After the bookstore, the errands began : First a trip to the organic market to load up on fresh vegetables. Next was mailing a little token for a friend abroad. Next was paying the electricity bill. Last couple of stops were supposed to be buying dragonfruit at the fresh fruit market and checking art supplies in another bookstore but it was a little past 5pm and I didn't want to get caught in the mad rush of working people going home so I went instead to the taxi station and caught myself just as a wave of would-be passengers started to crowd towards the station. Good timing for me!

Next time I'll plan my Artist Date better and be less harassed. But for now I'm quite pleased with my loot. :)

breaking four days of silence

That's four days without blogging! That's how busy this week has been. I had to focus a lot of my time on work (the serious, money-making kind). I miss crafting and handmaking so bad!

I should be tucked in bed by now to be able to get up early tomorrow for more...work. But I have to do something non-work-y or I will just simply start getting unhappy. Hence I will do a quick post before calling it a night.

Last Sunday I had to run a few errands at the mall (mostly replenishing supplies for the Other Business) and my sister wanted to check out the hair accessories section which led to us buying a few pieces for ourselves. I am so vulnerable to impulse shopping when I am bracing myself for days of hard work with no creative time but fortunately, what I bought are actually very useful. Check these out...

I am also happy to report that my little indoor garden (grown from seeds) seems to be growing well. I added a pot of basil and it seems to be surviving.

Oh, and I finally was able to go to the supermarket tonight and I got an extra bag of flour because I just might force some free time into my very tight schedule to bake something, or two somethings. But I forgot to get some cream so the panna cotta will have to wait.

I dream of becoming a housewife (to a financially stable husband) and own an Etsy shop. I think I just might make a vision board for that.

knitting, step one

I bought these from Etsy:

And I might get these:

There is actually a knitting lesson offered in one of the malls in the city but when I visited, the store personnel were not helpful, friendly, nor warm. It was pretty disappointing. And when I checked the prices for the knitting products they were pretty high.

So I went to Etsy and found even better looking knitting needles at competitive prices, sold by people who are passionate about knitting and who ooze warmth even through their store pages. I really just can't feel comfortable paying my money to a store that does not seem to care. I'd rather wait for my purchase but feel good about it.

And for learning, I just might get this book:

I should be knitting by February. :)

Peeks At The Shop

getting back on track

I've been thrown off-track for a few days. Long story. But today I have slowly re-started normal life again.

Early morning trip to the market to get some fabrics and more sewing materials. Also finally got a crafting table instead of having to work on the floor or on the dining table.

On the way back home we passed a parade in waiting.

pretty please

I have always had some sort of grudge that shopping online is not a reliable or easy option for someone who lives where I live. Custom taxes will cost double your shopping or things get lost in the post office or post office employees will wrangle a bribe before they release your item. This is especially true if they realize that the items purchased are expensive or valuable.  And this is in addition to the much more expensive shipping costs.

I could also never avail of free shipping promos because my country is never part of that. (iTunes would not even sell songs or TV shows or movies to us.)

Currency conversion also puts me at a disadvantage. A dollar can cost me as much as 50 in my own denomination.

Okay, enough griping. I really started this post to share the bursting in my heart when I saw these pretty, pretty items from Anthropologie. I would have seriously purchased them if not for the above deterrents.

Extra Ingredients Measuring Spoons

Farmer's Egg Crate

Long-term Shakers

Lyna Butter Dish

Painted Amaryllis Measuring Cups

Perennial Mini Colander

Farmer's Market Basket

what i have been up to

Mainly shopping for materials and supplies for the shop. Will be getting a sewing machine by next week. My sis and I have been planning and working and listing. I sleep so soundly at night because I get very very tired with all the legwork and brainwork.

One thing for sure, this is not an easy task that we have set for ourselves. The details! The penny-pinching! The worries! But at the same time, there is also so much fun and there is always this strong sense of things happening because you just have to go out there and literally do something even if it is just to check every available design on cotton fabric. I think I am close to having visual overload from all the colors and shapes and prints.

We are less than two weeks away from opening and we have barely started on the actual creating and crafting. So much to do, and time sneaks by when we are not looking!