Satchel is Love!

My first memory of using a satchel bag was when I was in first year high school.  We call it flap bags back then and mine had a whole flap covering the large bag.  It was a red plaid satchel.  That was in the early 90s.  So imagine my joy when I saw the satchels making a come back these days - when my high school memories are already oh so far away lol.  

To cut the long story short, of course I got not one but two satchels.  Okay fine, three including the 11 inch green one in transit as of this moment.  I got the cobalt blue and the gold metallic one.  I just adore these bags.  They are very functional and can be carried as a sling bag or a shoulder bag.  Too bad I didn't get one with a handle.  I heard that this one is called a batchel.  

We all know that Cambridge restarted this trend in satchel bags.  Everybody fell in love with their fluo collection.  Of course not everybody can afford the brand when the price ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 pesos. Thank God we have the treasured shoe and bag artisans that can make Cambridge inspired satchels in all the colors and prints that you can think of.  This is bag heaven! One of the stores that sells these locally made satchels is J's Beauty Touch.  They competitive prices and proudly pinoy made bags that I really love.  You can check out their Facebook store at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Js-Beauty-Touch/167750709927867 Happy shopping girls!

Raven's 4th Birthday Bash

 Finally, my little boy's 4th birthday bash is over! It has been one week since the party, but we're still hearing good feedback from our guests and relatives and friends who viewed the pictures online.  It was really worth all the party planning stress!  Here are my supplier ratings and stories.

INVITATION - 5 stars! the invitation was made by sis bernie07mickey of SP.  it was simple yet captured the theme of the party which is Disney Cars.  It was so nice of her to do the layout for free for SP moms.  It was really a big help to someone like me who has no knowledge on Photoshop! I just bought red envelopes from National Bookstore and printed Ferrari logos on sticker paper to seal the envelope.

VENUE - 4 stars! okay namang ang Mang Inasal Cavite City branch kasi malinis ang restrooms, super lamig ng aircon sa function room and maayos ang chairs, tables and ambiance.  nabawasan lang ng 1 star because of the stairs. Napansin ko nung bumaba ako ng middle ng party ang daming footprints sa stairs.  Siguro kasi it was raining yesterday and panik-baba yung guests and crew.  Pero overall, satisfied client ako.

FOOD - 3 out of 5! masarap ang food sobra kaya lang nadisappoint ako medyo ang tagal iserve.  i totally understand kasi nga sa quality control nila dapat mainit ang food na iseserve pero yung ibang guests ko after 25 minutes pa nakakain.  ang dami ko rin kasing guests so nagpadagdag pa ko ng food kaya medyo natagalan.

HOST - 4 out of 5!  Joyce was the host. crew sya and I love her! Taglish sya so plus point yun kasi naiintindihan ng anak ko ang sinasabi niya. she can control the crowd and lively naman. 
CAKE - 5 out of 5! Supplier was Conching Sabale Cakes.  It was a 3d Lancer cake.  Super sarap ng chocolate cake and yung guests ko na kids nasa harap lang ng cake staring at it! super natuwa sila sa cake

CUPCAKES - 5 out of 5! from TJs cakes.  pang 4th year ko na to order from them and masarap talaga ang cupcakes nila and super affordable.  I just ordered 30 pcs cupcakes and bought the boxes separately from Dolce Vita.  The cupcake tower is the same tower I used last year.  Talk about savings!

PHOTOBOOTH - 4 out of 5! Bonus Photobooth ang supplier ko.  The quality of the paper was so nice.  nabawasan lang ng 1 star kasi di natupad ang 30 minutes na stop time. tuloy tuloy sya muntik na kami di magkaron ng family pic sa photobooth kasi nung nagpunta kami sa booth e last 10 minutes na daw  Nevertheless, Lawrence Bonus the owner was so easy to talk to and very accomodating.  We will surely book them for Raven's 5th birthday!

PRIZES 5 out of 5! Handicrafts Atbp is the supplier ng mini stools and baskets.  It's my 2nd time to order from them and they never fail to deliver.  The quality was superb and everybody loved it! It really motivated the kids and adults to join the games dahil ang ganda daw ng prizes.  Sis Grace and Sir Jojo are so accomodating! You can't help but to order again.  Actually, I am eyeing some of their promos for Raven's 5th birthday already!

GIVEAWAYS 5 out of 5! Supplier is lets personalized it.  I love the body bags and kagulo ang kids super natuwa sila pati adults gusto kumuha hehe.  Ang giveaways ko sa adults pala beanie stuffed toys from Toy Kingdom and cars pens.

PHOTO VIDEO SERVICE - Click and Shoot no ratings muna kasi wala pang output pero super satisfied ako sa pre birthday shoot ng baby ko. ganda ng shots!https://www.facebook.com/pages/ClickShoot/125851587499738

OUTFIT - 4 out of 5! my outfit was done by Y Tailoring here in Cavite.  Sulit na sa 400 pesos per polo. nabawasan lang ng 1 star kasi medyo maluwag sa akin yung polo or baka nag lose ako ng konting weight dahil sa stress before the party lol.  Raven's outfit was from Disney Store in the US courtesy of her Ninang Diane Tapawan.  His 2nd outfit was just a polo shirt bought off the rack at Bossini Kids.

I hope I didn't forget anybody.  See you all next year for Raven's 5th birthday party.  As early as now, he has a theme in mind.  All I can say is yee-ha! :)

Merry Christmas!

I know that my greetings are really late, and I have tons to blog about.  I have been really busy with work lately and with the 4th birthday of the little one coming really soon - I'm almost choking!

I had to work on the 24th so I had literally no time to help prepare the Noche Buena feast.  We mainly had take outs and cooked some of the traditional food.  We had chicken, cheesy garlic potatoes as side dish, mom baked crema de fruta and cooked baked spaghetti.  All the other food were ordered from nearby restaurants.  Thank God that the mall is open until 7 PM that day, and it's only 10 minutes away from our house -convenience at its highest!

Raven stayed awake the whole day and did not even take a nap so I had to have him open the gifts early.  Indeed it was super early - like 7 in the evening.  I did this because I know that he will be so grumpy by midnight, and I will not be able to take decent pictures of him opening the gifts.  I need good pictures since I create an online album yearly to thank those people who gave gifts and well wishes during the Christmas season.  Needless to say, the photo op was a success and he smiled all the way.  He received 21 gifts from us, relatives and friends.  He was dead tired after opening and tinkering with all the loot, he was already asleep at about 8:00 PM.  Too bad we didn't have the chance to attend the midnight mass.

Here are some of the pictures of the little one with his Christmas loot.  You might be surprised that most of the gifts were clothes.  Well, we requested for it since we are stuffed to our knees with toys.  We don't have much storage space, and we all know that closet space is easier to find since kids outgrow clothes very fast.

Raven meets the Power Rangers!

Like most of the kids his age, Raven likes watching cartoons.  Out of the 7 cartoon channels that we are subscribed to, he especially likes watching Cartoon Network because of Tom and Jerry, Chowder and Power Rangers Samurai.  Imagine his delight today when we went to the mall and found out that there is a Power Ranger Samurai Meet and Greet at SM City Bacoor.  After ordering our late lunch at Pizza Hut, we went down to the activity center and registered for the meet and greet.  The organizers even gave out Power Rangers party supplies to the kids.  My son is squealing with delight as he waits for his turn to have a picture with the complete Power Rangers gang.  It was a wonderful Sunday for the family.  Here are the scenes from our rainy but exciting Sunday.

 Raven posing like the Power Rangers!

 Late lunch with the family at Pizza Hut.  Tried the lasagna pizza and it did not disappoint us!

 Took my Juicy Couture bag for a spin this rainy Sunday afternoon.

 Photo op at SM City's Christmas backdrop

The organizers gave away Power Rangers loot after the photo op.  The little man is delighted!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.  Like many of you, Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year.  When December comes, everyone seems to be a little nicer, more generous and loving! I wish that they continue to do so even when Christmas is well over.  Anyway, I have done my share of Christmas shopping here and there.  Mostly on malls and bazaars. I love shopping at SM Malls nowadays because they have a new line of christmas gift wrappers that I adore!  I love the patterns, and most of all it's free! During weekends,you have to endure long lines on the gift wrapping section, but for me it is worth it! As you know I am a work at home mom now, and I just squeeze in a little time every weekend to do some shopping and decorating.  So far, my Christmas list is half-way done, and I have at least 2 more weekends to complete it! Here are some scenes from my shopping and decorating weekends.

 Raven helped put up the Christmas tree.  He loved the lights and the glittery decor.

 First round of Christmas shopping.  The gift wrappers from SM are adorable! I love the polka dots and stars!

Second round of Christmas shopping done the other day.  The Guess gift bag is for my little one.

 When I was out shopping, I found these ballet flats on sale.  They were 50% off so I decided to take two pairs.  They are really quite a steal, and I am addicted to flats ever since I became a mom.  Maybe I am always too tired to wear high heels! lol I took the beige one our for a spin yesterday, and it is a perfect compliment to my Fendi satchel bag in the same color family!  Plus it is 101% comfy!

Additional gifts for Raven. 

pre=birthday shoot

It's a mere 2 months before Raven's 4th birthday, and we had a pre-birthday shoot last Saturday with Click&Shoot.  This photo and video service is owned by friends, so we basically got the their service free! For this pictorial, I only paid for the studio rent, which is way too little compared to what I would've paid a photographer.  We had a 1 hour shoot, and it produced almost 50 good pictures.  I was secretly praying all the time that Raven would cooperate with the photographer, and he did! He was so fond of her Ate Jell and Kuya Teej that he followed all their instructions.  The plan was to take pictures of Raven in a race car costume, and one casual wear.  It was a success, and I would like to thank the photographer for her patience and good way with kids.  You can check some of their works on Facebook.  Just click on this link to go to the Click&Shoot page.https://www.facebook.com/pages/ClickShoot/125851587499738  Sharing some of the pictures.

Back in the Workforce

I am now a certified work from home mom, and I am loving every minute of it.  I never thought that this would be possible.  This is a dream job for me! I am working, but still I can supervise my kiddo.  Thank God for a friend who referred me to their US based company.  Basically, our job is to provide support and customer service to car dealerships in the USA and Canada.  I don't know much about cars, but training really helped.  I am now on my first week of training, and I am enjoying every minute of it.  Although I am a bit stressed out when I encounter unfamiliar terms like piston rings or crankshaft.  Thank God somebody invented Google!

 Oh, and I also got my first paycheck today via PayPal.  Although it is not much since it is only payment for 2 days or 12 hours of work, it feels so damn good to have your own money again.    As you know, I have been a stay at home mom for over a year now.  It's also an exciting fact that we are paid in US dollars.  I am a PayPal newbie.  I am a blue star ebayer, but I normally do my transactions via Globe Gcash and bank deposit.  Well, something new to learn and tinker with.  I really hope I don't get too familiar with PayPal since it is so tempting to use it for online shopping!  I promised myself that I will only withdraw from my account once a month, and save up for the future.  The little one is starting real school (err meaning not play school) next school year, and it ain't gonna be cheap!

I know that working will all the more set me back with updating this blog, but I will really do my best to keep you updated.  Now that Christmas is just around the corner, I promise to share with you my good finds in the malls and bazaars.  Until next time!