Babies at a posh resto (a.k.a. DISASTER)

Super cute video courtesy of Olvarit baby food :) Adorable!

from DuvalGuillaume's site

proof of domestication

When I first moved to SF and became a bum housewife, I used to kinda cringe every time a good friend would remark, "you're so domesticated!". I honestly felt like a dog. Seriously. I was newly-married and newly-housewifeD back in late 2007 so everything was super new and exciting and new and exciting (since I did not know how to even operate a rice cooker before I became a "homemaker") so I kinda blabbed about my exploits in the kitchen and so on.  I felt a little diminished then, it's gross to admit now,  because a few months prior to moving to SF, I was a working girlie at a place where fashion was the numero uno concern and um...not the work (sorry God).

Fast forward to almost 4 years later and I think I've kinda grown to love the term. I just realized I've always loved tinkering around in the kitchen as a little girl (much to our cook's irritation since I'd B-U-G her daily for "tasks" in the kitchen. Fed up, I guess, she once evil-ly made me cut all the sili for a dish sabotaging my hands and sanity for hours. I still consider it as one of the earliest betrayals in my life. That cook Naomi. Tsk Tsk).

Ok so I'm babbling but anyway, I've always, always loved cookbooks. Prowling the BOOKSALE stands back in Manila, I'd come home with a book or two from heart-healthy dishes to mediterranean cuisine to whatever and pour over it like I would the back issues of Instyle or Vogue I'd also get (yes, I'd come home very poor too because those old mags cost A LOT back home).

So, on to proof of domestication---I yelped with glee when I finally got my two newest cookbooks from Amazon last weekend!!! Woohooo!!!

Gwyneth's is lovely, lovely, lovely and I kinda have been following Heidi Swanson since her early days so bought hers out of guilt (and semi-faltering-desire to go back to healthy eating).

I soooo wanna try the fish tacos recipe above! Can't wait! Will try to post my "experiments" here as well (for you, Virgy).

By the way, speaking of domestication, I saw this pic in Real Simple mag (which I subscribe too---proof of domestication #2). Had to laugh. Inspiration for when my future son is able:

Hahaha!!!

Is that you Elmo?!

So, elmo's red and cute and cuddly right?

He's actually SEXY AND cuddly in "real life"!hahaha!

Sunny Day!!!

It's ssssssso glaringly yellow here today in rainVancouver and I'm scrambling (and getting giddy!!!) to get out and enjoy the sunshine!!! I want to wear this:

via

ok fine...forgot about the preggers part..so maybe will wear flats instead (boo). :*

baby bump

"Babe."

Rich stopped me last Sunday as we were about to do an errand and I irritatingly said, "WHAAAAAT?!" Then my boy--with the biggest smile I've seen on his hairy face--pointed to my tummy. Yes, the beer-belly-looking one below:

OMG. Baby bump! :)

*Happifier*

Hot Mama's Boys!

Isn't there something so endearing about (cute) boys who are more than in-speaking-terms with their mamas?!

*sigh* Jake:

Nick L. (because I don't know how to spell his last name and don't want to google it) and his mom look like they're sibs:

So, ok, you get my point... inspiration time! I hope Piccs--if a boy--never forgets that his mom's his first love ever (I will not make him forget it but still)!

Speaking of mamas, why is this mom still so sexy?! Gisele Bundchen is my post-baby-body inspiration!!! *sigh* Goddess:

So I wonder how many hours at the YMCA do I need to get that body? 24 hours?! haha! I think I need to start lipo fund.NOW. (Note to self: Must grow hair and have blond highlights too!!!)


All pics except Gisele's were from www.splashnewsonline.com via http://www.theinsider.com/ while Gisele's was from wwtdd.com.

I love...

this online mag! God knows how I saw their first issue but I've been smitten since...

www.covetgarden.com <3

Aside from the gorg houses they feature (I swear I've vowed to be minimalist, maximalist and whatever-list each time they feature a minimalist, maximalist or whatever-list home!haha), the mag also has craft projects that are inspiring and that my inggitera-self covets (title plug!). It's a scaled-down version of lonny mag --which is kinda nice since I usually get frantic trying to absorb everything when I'm on a lonny rampage!:)

all this talk about DIY

..made me think of Martha and the gasp-inducing fact that she used to be a Chanel model!

Got the pic from here! *slow clapping non-stop* for Martha!

DIY+IKEA= love

I'm such a frustrated DIY girl. Not only are my countless crafting books (I have all of Martha's, for example) a testament to that, I also had a phase of stalking following design blogs like this one or this and omg, countless more! My friend Myra and I once seriously discussed headboard making during one of our marathon Skype sessions. I even subscribed to Anthology mag during this "design-crazed" period. *cough* cough* I think I've got the creativity and the imagination and I sure as hell have the time but zzzzzzzzz...laziness steps in and ok..i see a book and i'm off to read it ASAP or do the next task (i have self-diagnosed thy self to have mild ADD). Ok I know I'm rambling but I've got a point, promise!haha :)
Ok back to that design-mania--of course I'm over it now. From time to time though, during these lazy weekends when husband is playing his NBA game (emotional screams of "Come on, Ref!" can be heard as I type this right now)  and I'm happily surfing away, I stumble upon my old blog haunts and SIGH, feel the love all over again! Take ikeahackers.net for example! Love, love, love! Here are some of my fave's:

imagine from a measly hanger (I had one of these bulky things) to:

this cool glass hanging thingy

or this amazing transformation of the ubiquitous lack table (in red)  to this fun bench:

There are more ambitious ones though like this one below from littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com (another amaaaaaazing site I absolutely love!!!):

*sigh* These images make me wanna go to the nearest IKEA and Home Depot and start a project! Maybe I WILL (crossing fingers now)<3 Ikea's already a haven for creative basics for a start-up fam like mine and who knew you could even make it better!

Ooh, I almost forgot! I did do a home project successfully!!! See below:

Ok fine, all it took was buying the decal from Wal-Mart and cleaning the  bathroom wall AND pasting (a long process that required patience, ok) but it's a start. :)

How true!!!

I must be very clever (considering the hairiness of the beard)!haha


image from one of the blogs I love 

Sunny-day killers!

If you live in a freaking cold place like I do (ahem..today's temp: O degrees), sunny days are God-sent. And I mean, really prayed-for, blessings from up above. My pulse quickens, I scramble for decent clothes and within five seconds have thought of where to explore, where the sunscreen is and yeah, tell a living soul (a.k.a. husband) my plans!:) Lately though, Vancouver's lovely sunny days have been wasted on me because of these two culprits:

That's what I get for getting such great books from our lib! I've lamented the fact that SF's Public Library is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay, 2,000 times better than Vancouver's but lately the choices have been a lot better so I am now a convert.

First book's really thrilling and the twist is awesome! I swear I literally had to alarm and un-snooze my phone just so I could ration off my reading. The story's about a mom who's suddenly thrust in a major murder thingy (amazon.com has better reviews, ok!haha) because of a look-alike. It's interesting and heartwarming and a character featured was the worst mom ever (which gave me an insight on what NOT to be!!!).

Next one by Curtis Sittenfeld (she's a girl btw) was the MAJOR KILLER of the two. I could not move away from the bed/couch/lounge chair whatever and I admit, I was still thinking of what was going to happen next while at mass or at COSTCO (it's THAT GOOD since COSTCO is my happy place). It's not a mystery or anything like the first book and it's totally fictional but it's oh-so-juicy! It's supposed to be a fictional life story of a US first lady who is 98% like Laura Bush!haha! I was super imagining her while gobbling up the pages so that made it more interesting.  When I lived in the States, I often wondered what the H was going on her head while her hubby did all those horrendous booboo's (I did watch Fahrenheit 911 after all!!!) and this offered a good insight.

Speaking of Bush, I remember how when OBAMA won, we heard cheering--wild and manic celebrations--on the streets of SF! I got goosebumps and felt like I was witnessing part of American history (ok, a very very small part). And of course the "BUSH" street sign (we lived perpendicular to BUSH St. in SF then) was vandalized and now displayed a hastily scrawled "OBAMA". Ok I digress...as usual!

I was super sorry to get to last pages of these books! I hope I score great titles again soon! <3

My 7 year old self's dream visualized

As a little girl and my sis can super attest to this, I used to take things apart just to see what was inside. Maybe that was the breeding ground for my inner chismosa (haha!) but really, I was super curious.  It meant broken thermometers (mercury's really cool), torn-apart Sony Walkmans (super super cool) and so on. I was disappointed ALL the time--seeing the intricate network of wires and whatever components because I imagined something cooler and more fantastic, I guess. Come on, I actually  thought Heckle and Jeckle were inside our blender chopping/osterizing stuff!  I let out little gasp when I saw these rad works of artist Mads Peiterson!

*slow clap* slow clap! amazing! If only I could draw then, I wonder how I would have represented what I imagined what was inside a stereo! :)
fantastic pics from this site

Why weren't these around in 1979?!

So future spawn is now 4 months (168 days to gooooo!!!) and of course, the crammer that I am, I know the "baby area" won't probably be ready until I give birth or baptize my twerp so I wasn't really looking for stuff until...I *gasp* saw these:

 Sweaty palms alert!!! Gorgeous! I can imagine said spawn trying to creep out already! Of course it's not available in Canada (what's new).  So after having mustered the acceptance that my little one won't have a rad crib, I saw another fabulous one: 

Super cute! Crib, changing table and play house all rolled into one dream package.  It's called "Nina's House" by this genius named Dave Keune and I waaaaaaaaant it (note to husband). It can so easily be transformed if spawn turns out to be a boy (red paint...firehall!)

I love love love! I wonder with the abundance of crafty manong karpinteros in Manila who can conjure anything you desire as long as you have the dough and the picture why no one thought of this!  (I've been staring at Nina's house too long and I think if I had it I might just try to play in it myself.UH OH). Haha!



pod pic from this gorgeous Aussie site: http://www.ubabub.com
Nina's house pic from www.davekeune.com/product/ninas-house and babyccinokids.com/2010/07/22/ninas-house/

Maternity Wear

Because 3/4 of our stuff are still in SF (let's pause for 30 seconds to lament this fact), Rich and I are still kinda stuck with the same stuff we packed last October a.k.a. "a month's worth of clothes". That was THE PLAN. Go back to SF after a month and get our stuff. Of course it's been 4 months plus and still no clothes(which reminds me,  thank God I over-packed and totally betrayed him as we pinky-swore to just pack just "a month's worth" of clothes!) :)

I'm totally missing my clothes and my dresses and my shoes...which brings me to the topic of maternity clothes (promise there's a connection). I figured I wouldn't have to buy anything anymore since I have dresses galore but of course, those said dresses galore are in another country. Since it's winter, I kinda have to clothe thy legs too so I've been wearing and wearing and OVER WEARING my boyfriend jeans since the only other pair I brought were skintight skinnies which have refused my legs entry since last week! So, I finally succumbed and bought my first pair of maternity (*gulp*) cargo pants! Woohooo!

please excuse the dirty mirror!haha!

I think it's a little too big (wishful thinking) but I'm liking it (sort of). *sigh* It'll be a challenge to find maternity clothes here in Canada because:
a.) amazon.ca totally stinks (NO BABY DEPARTMENT)
b.) old navy/gap canada DO NOT carry maternity clothes (WHY!??!)
c.) this is Canada. :)

Hope I find more choices! I miss shopping in the States AND MANILA!

{space for tears here}

Relationship tips from Obama

Why not?haha!

“Sometimes, when we’re lying together, I look at her and I feel dizzy with the realization that here is another distinct person from me, who has memories, origins, thoughts, feelings that are different from my own. That tension between familiarity and mystery meshes something strong between us. Even if one builds a life together based on trust, attentiveness and mutual support, I think that it’s important that a partner continues to surprise." --Barack Obama




lovely quote from alkeemi via a cup of jo and even lovelier pic from http://www.celebswedding.com

*Bliss*

More pics soon!!! This little one in the pic tired me out today but I'm happy as can be :) Fat cheeks!

Oh Canada!!!

When we were still in SF discussing our move to Vancouver with people, they'd often say:
a.) "Wow, Vancouver's beautiful!"
b.) "Nice weather"
and some very shrewd practical ones would say, "Free insurance!" and then silence. That's it.

I should have taken it as a bad sign that no one--and I mean NO ONE--ever mentioned the shopping which was so unlike the reaction when I announced my move to the States years ago. Glorious squeals of "Target!" or "Barney's" or "Ooh! Outlets" rang in my ears until my flight TO SF. :)

By the way, items a.) and b.) are kinda true although I HAVE YET to find the weather nice as in really nice (meaning, 80 degrees). Ok back to shopping. I was super happy to read the post yesterday on  fashionista.com about "Northern American brands Worth Obsessing About". Hmmmmm...I read the title not once but twice. Could it be Canada?! Woohoo!  Of course I knew about Lululemon's Canadian beginnings and Roots, etc but I never really really heard of uniquely Canadian brands!  Below are the two I'm super excited about:

First of, Obakki. I like their neutral colors and seems perfect if you want to start a "uniform" system --something I think I might adapt once I become a mom and no longer have the time to even blink. Haha! Their store's nearby so I shall go!

Next, ooh! Joe's. My friend Mona raved about their clothes before and so I just had to see. I'm going to Canada Superstore (yes, our version of Wal-Mart here) tomorrow to peruse Joe's aisles sans the hubby who was agonizingly with me the first time I went.  So until Target reaches our shores (2013, come already!!!), it'll be Joe's for me (I think).

P.s. Typing "Target" a couple of times made me miss shopping in the States. *sigh* must.get.US.VISA!

Images from Fashionista.com 

Eating damo

When my sis and I were young, we did a lot of "pretend play". Instead of faking the lives of princesses or queens living in grandiose castles, we pretended we were living in the slums (that's what you get for watching a LOT of Pinoy TV in the 80's). I would be a labandera or a jeepney driver's wife (with 8 kids) and she would be some destitute laborer or something with a good-for-nothing-husband. Anyway, we would pretend we were eating grass instead of the juicy, red yummy Purefoods hotdog we would be served for breakfast or some lousy root vegetable found on the street (yes, it had to be FOUND on the street) instead of oh-so-crispy bacon I'd devour as my first meal. It must have been a pathetic sight--believe me--and I'm sure whoever witnessed that weird make-believe session rolled their eyes till no end. So, I thought of those days when I had these for my snack earlier today:

did i finish this plate?

Yup, for the love of Piccolo, that's baked kale chips and sweet potato I had there. Correction: BURNT kale chips and soggy kamote. I wanted a nutrition-packed snack but I guess didn't read the fine print that it would also taste like freaking brittle dead leaves  (and smell like F*rt) and wet paper. haha!  So did I finish the plate? I so did (slathering soggy paper/potato with non-fat butter). I guess I have to search this blog or good ol' Martha's for more non-toxic recipes! I couldn't help but smile imagining what my 4 year old self would have thought if she knew her older self would eat the very gross things she fake-ate before!

Blogging Redux!

Yup, I did it again... (channeling some Britney right now).. this is my Nth attempt at blogging and I'm smiling as I type this wondering:
a.) how many more times will I start a blog AGAIN? (this is the last...promise)
b.) how often I'll even remember to blog  (everyday!!!) 
c.) if the zara sale will still be on tomorrow when I plan to go... (mild ADHD, i probably have it. "MILD" ok?!haha)


Well, this is it! I swear on my beloved purses that this is THE BLOG that will last (I'm making a sign of the cross right this very second.yes, while typing).  I owe it to a very talented person I truly heart who made my header (who know who YOU are, person!) and I owe it to a friend or two (yes you, Camoe) who've forever pestered  urged me to blog, blog, blog! I also want to blog for life for my friends whom i miss sooo much,  my sis who's on an adventure herself  (i'll post some recipes and some much-needed cooking tips.haha), my niecey who is sadly at that stage of her childhood where she's realizing her tita's not THAT cool. I intend to change that, missy. And of course, I wanna do this for me lest my stellar memory fades someday (there is an expiration date to this wonderful gift that remembers stupid things but never did retain the countless algebraic formulae etc I desperately needed in high school) especially since I'm breeding a spawn I'll call "Piccolo" for now. 


Which brings me to the title of this  blog: Two Vertical lines.  The pic below was taken last November 26, 2010 when I came across two such lines that shocked me into a realization that just went SPLAT! on my face: I'm going to be a mom! For those of you who know me all too well--you know sweaty palms + feet were also part of the equation. haha :) 

Then I realized, we're often faced with lines in our lives that we cross each day as we journey into life. Two vertical lines can connote the roads (or  lanes) we trek on each day as we head to work, shop, and other must-do's in our lives. Two horizontal lines can be the ones you just signed to seal your marriage or your new job and so on.  So, read on with me as I tackle my line duos and as you cross your own. 


*kiss*