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Every Detail Counts: An Afternoon at Heleyna

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"Who are the people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood..." is the song that comes to mind when the girls and I go on our little studio visits. In our own way, we are trying to learn about the different things that the people in our circle and community do to contribute beauty to others and help improve people's lives. The most recent studio trip we took was just dreamy. It was at Heleyna Bridal owned and run by the talented Janina Saspa. We met Janina at Kendo and she had, at one time or another, become playmates with the girls and I simply adore her work which I follow on Read More

Little Makers at Hey Kessy Pottery

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I always find my kids making things -- whether it be cardboard tube dolls, a shoebox spy gadget or a simple string of beads for accessories. It delights me and I support it. I admit, though, that encouraging them to be makers means I have to be okay with all the mess. I'm working on it, promise. At the same time, I'm also always on the lookout for ways to help cultivate their creativity not only at home but elsewhere. There's only so much I can teach them, really, and I'm discovering that learning new things alongside them makes for really memorable experiences. So every few weeks, we go on Read More

Museum Day!

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Clean white interiors, neoclassical architecture, ample natural light, a rich and colorful heritage -- these best describe our experience of the newly opened National Museum of Natural History. My sister in law, Martine, and I took our kids together on a little field trip a couple of weeks back with the hopes of discovering a little bit more about the history of the beautiful country we live in. We went on a weekday and arrived early, just a few minutes before opening, so the queue wasn't bad at all. The visit did not disappoint. Kids were completely awed by the gigantic "Tree of Read More

Best Days: Project Life 2017

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I didn't get to scrapbook during International Scrapbooking Day last Sunday, but I was able to start working on a flip through video of my 6x8 2017 Project Life album which I'm sharing at the end of this post. Our family shared many beautiful and strengthening moments together last year. It's definitely uplifting to look back on them. Even more so when you see it all laid out before you in words and imagery. I can't help but be thankful for life, my husband, kids, friends -- everyone and everything! So as a belated celebration of Scrapbooking Day, I'm sharing some of our best moments Read More

An Afternoon at The Artisans Workshop

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My daughters and I do a lot of art at home. We try to work on one new project each week but there are days when we feel the need to change it up and go elsewhere exploring in search for fresh inspiration. Kids feel cooped up at the house too -- in fact, just as much as I do! So when I found out about Papemelroti opening up an art activity space at their main branch in Roces Ave, I immediately put it in our schedule to go! The Papemelroti Artisan's Workshop is a creative haven set up in such a way that anybody can come at any time (within shop hours, of course!) and choose from an array of Read More

Areté

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It was Pablo Picasso who said, "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." By dust, I would like to believe he meant the troubles and concerns brought on by daily responsibilities -- to step out of the monotony and allow ourselves to be inspired. It makes a lot of sense to me. That's why, along with mani-pedis and full body massages, I've considered art museum visits a self-care activity. And on my birthday a couple of weeks back, as a treat, I declared a "family art museum day" and visited the new creative hub of Ateneo University. It is called Areté, which, in Read More

2018, Let’s Go!

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I always find it difficult to write a year-end post because I never know how and where to begin. But I'm giving it a shot this time and even made a linoprint for the occassion. There's just too much to be thankful for and celebrate. Our party of five had a pretty good year with just the right amount of bad to make it exciting. We took a lot of "field trips," learned a little more about how the world works, learned to sing new songs, took a lot of pictures, met a lot of good people and admirable artists, travelled and made art together. We've also had to go through losing possessions Read More

Emma’s Amazing Fifth

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We didn't throw Emma a party this year but when we asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, she said she'd like to "go to the woods" and see her cousins at the beach. By the woods, she really meant Baguio, and the beach where her cousins live is at San Juan, La Union. The last time we went up north was three months ago so it was just about time we visited again. We spent a day in Baguio and instead of staying there for the night, headed down to LU where we stayed for three more days. The trip turned out to be really great! The weather was perfect. We got to catch up with friends. Read More

Magic And Meaning

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A week into Advent and we've been busy! In keeping with our family traditions, the girls and I made an Advent Calendar to help make our countdown to Christmas memorable and meaningful. We set aside an afternoon at Kendo to work on it together. I must say, this year's may be my favorite one so far! Just like what we always do, we made use of stuff we already had at home: an empty cardboard box, assorted board paper, markers, washi tapes, ribbon and crepe paper. I took care of creating the little compartments inside the cardboard box (which turned out to be a lot trickier than I had imagined!) Read More

All Good Kids

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Last Friday night in Cubao Expo, Nobody Clothing launched their collaboration with our daughters, Summer & Emma. It was part of their collection titled "All Good Things" and its ultimate message is the appreciation of "the simple and rare occasions that make a marked difference in our lives: The end of a long journey, perfect opportunities, shared victory, a beautiful day, seeing shooting stars..." The idea to involve the girls came out of this desire to just do something purely fun and different. It was not intentional, but a clear contrast came out of the girls' drawings, Read More