Summer turned five last month. I didn't make any plans for her birthday because Summer had made plans herself. The older this girl gets, the more she wants to take control of things. Of course, as much as she would like to, we don't just let her take charge of her life or let her have everything she wants. But we let her take over some things, like plan for her birthday celebration! Well...to an extent. She was pretty specific about her requests. She even drew them out so I would know exactly what she wanted and not forget. Thankfully, there wasn't anything in her list that was way Read More
Lately in C&V…
It feels like there's a thousand things going on in our lives right now and I've just been too slow updating the blog (huhu) so I've decided to make a quick(ish) round up of my favorite things, projects and happenings as of late... JO TURNS ONE The family drove up to La Union last week for Craft Camp PH and the day before camp was our Jo's first birthday! We didn't get to prepare a party but we did gather friends and family who were there the same weekend for lunch and cake at Flotsam and Jetsam Artist Beach Hostel. It was short and simple and was really just about doing something with the Read More
An Art Fiesta!
I think many of you parents who are reading this will agree when I say that celebrating a child's birthday represents another milestone reached, not only for the child but for the parents as well. Last month, my Summer turned four. Yes, FOUR! While it's hard for me to believe it has been that long, I also feel relieved that Kayo and I have made it this far at parenting. I'm not saying that we're experts or that we've done a perfect job but I'm thankful that we've managed to develop a strong relationship with our first born and that she's healthy, undoubtedly happy and astoundingly Read More
A Birthday Craft Party!
Crafts make me happy (duh)! And I have mentioned countless of times how making things in my own personal time, alone in my home, is therapy to me. But through the years, I have also discovered by joining workshops and, more recently, holding my own, how arts and crafts shared and done in a group setting can also be very enjoyable and fulfilling. So for my 31st birthday, I decided to gather together new and long-time friends for an afternoon of coffee, cakes and crafts. We held it at our very own space, Honeycomb: Manila Coworking , located in Edsa Beverage Design Studio, which Read More
Emma’s Donut Party
Our daughter Emma turned two on December first and we threw her a small party at my in laws' home last weekend. With a new baby in the mix, Kayo and I knew that we'd have our hands full and our pockets on the low around this time, but we really wanted Emma to have her own special celebration with family and friends so we started planning and preparing early, way before I gave birth. We decided on a simple, easy and inexpensive theme which also turned out to be lots of fun - a donut party! It's also something we were sure Emma would enjoy. As usual, I did all the party decor Read More
To Our Sweet Emma…
Dearest Emma, You have such an interestingly distinct personality. Papa and I are constantly amazed by you and who you are becoming... You are sweet and tender, but you're also very strong and brave. You're usually quiet, but you also love to sing and you're such an excellent little speaker. A lot of times, you have this serious look on your face but when you do smile or laugh, you light up the entire room! I love how you and your sister Summer have your own private little jokes and that you always make her laugh. I love how you adore Jo and how you always try to calm her down when Read More
DIY Zebra Piñata
My godson Vito turned five last Saturday and his Mom, Martine, put together an animal circus themed party for him over the weekend. Vito loves animals and one of his favorites is the zebra, so Martine thought it would be a great idea to have a zebra piñata at the party. I've secretly been wanting to make a piñata (Okay...if you know me, it's probably not so secret), so I gladly volunteered to make one for him! The materials I used are the following: big empty cardboard boxes, black and white crepe paper, black construction paper, white glue, white paint, paint brush, scissors, cutter, Read More
Surprises, Hugs and Kisses!
I love surprises! I also love giving people a pleasant surprise. That's exactly what my family and I did for my Mom on her 67th birthday. We, in the family, had all just come from a tough few weeks so my brothers and I really wanted to make sure she had a happy and wonderful birthday celebration. Our Mom most definitely deserved it!The week before, we started planning for a small surprise party for her. My brothers and I don't see each other very often so we did it all through text and over phone calls. We set it for the afternoon before her actual birthday which turned out to be a holiday. We Read More
Summer and Dylan’s Beach Party
My little ball of sunshine, Summer, turned three last Saturday. The next day, Dylan, my nephew and Kayo's godson, also celebrated his birthday. And because these two special days fell on a long holiday weekend here in the Philippines, my in laws decided to make a family vacation out of it and take the celebration to our favorite beach in San Juan, La Union. It was a great idea! It was also something we've never done before because we usually just throw our kids' parties at home, so everybody was pretty excited about it. We put together a simple double birthday party last Saturday right at Read More
Celebrating Kayo
Last Monday, Kayo celebrated his thirtieth birthday, so the girls and I did the best we could to make it real special. I wanted his day to start out with a big treat so I prepared him a peach waffle breakfast at home. We haven't made waffles at home in a while so we quite missed it. I was reminded of our first year as newlyweds when we did waffle brunch in our tiny apartment during the weekends. Summer really enjoyed watching them get cooked too. And what's a birthday without buntings? I admit I'm a little obsessed with them, so a few days before, I stringed birthday buntings Read More