Spying the Garden

' Thought of checking out the garden this morning, after the strong rains last night. 

Look what I found...

My oregano is still thriving, in spite of frequent cuttings!

My favorite plant in the garden! 

This bird's nest fern seems to grow by the inch every minute!

A basket full of pillows, waiting to be put back on the chairs.

Yay!  my Singapore jasmine is abloom again!

Water-filled candle holder.

Japanese bell, a gift from our cousin, Ate Tonette.

Falllen flowers from the strong winds last night.

A centipede...

And another one...

And a curled-up one!

Lastly, I spy a girl, enjoying a book in the cool Tuesday breeze!

How about you?  How's your Tuesday?

I Do...

Weddings these days are major productions. There are so many creative planners out there who continue to amaze me with their wonderful ideas!  One of  my favorite blog is called 100 Layer Cake.   It's a very unique wedding planning resource blog.  I promise you that it will make you want to get married all over again!  If you're like me who loves celebrations  in style, this one is for you.  Check it out and enjoy! 

I would love to hear your thoughts!

I'm One Month Old!

1 month

22 posts

and endless inspirations

to come as I get closer
to 40 and beyond...

i didn't know i will get hooked
on blogging
and i'm glad i did!

whether you have been a quiet follower
or has kindly shared your thoughts
i'd like to thank you for visiting!
please continue to drop by
and pass on the inspiration!

irene

 

Book Review

I have to admit I was not a reader when I was a child...and I realized that partly, that's the reason why I didn't grow up to be a good writer.  So I promised myself that I will do my best to bring up my children as voracious readers.  And I'm happy that Bianca and Raphael both turned out to be readers, and good writers too!  I should give credit  to our family's two simple rules that molded them to be book lovers.

 

1 of 2 book shelves in Bianca's room

(1)  One-TV policy.  Yup!  Even at this time and age where practically most children have their own TV in their bedrooms, my children grew up not owning a TV.  We had to watch TV together or take turns.  So when there's no TV, they always turn to books!  Now that they are used to having books over TV, I am more lenient, and we now have 3 TVs in the house, but still not in their own rooms.            

Rapha's bedside book shelf

(2) Books are necessity, toys are luxury! They can ask me to buy books for them, but they have to wait for birthdays and Xmas or for family and friends to gift them with toys. And it worked pretty well. They now keep their own little libraries and we continue to build our collection with books from all genre.

Rapha's bookshelf in his room

Here are some book shelves I found very unique and interesting!  I wish you will have the time to enjoy a good book this weekend!  I'm starting Word Snoop by Ursula Dubosarsky ( a recommendation by Bianca and Rapha!).  Gone are the days when I read the books first to see if it's a good fit for them, now it's my kids who read first and then they'll tell me if I will enjoy it.  Maybe it's never too late to improve on my writing and Word Snoop should do the trick!  Happy reading! 

Photos via 1 & 3 designsdelight 2 stylehive 4  dyscario 5 anyways.us

Modern and loving it!

Years, years ago, my first take on design and decorating was achieved with a country look for our first home after getting married.   Then after living in Indonesia, I became a huge fan of Asian tropical.  Who does not fall in love with teak wood and anything Balinese?  Then I started to be fond of the laid-back, all-white, feminine interiors.  And in between I fancied vintage too!  And I thought it will stay that way for sometime.  But I was wrong... just this week, it looks like modern has taken center stage!  I love the clean lines.  With modern look, various shapes and texture seem to marry together and create a striking but subtle elegance.  Now Iwonder how long i will be on this phase.  For the meantime, here are some of my finds.   Enjoy and I should be posting more photos of this kind soon!  Happy weekend!

Glass, steel, wood and concrete...so different on it's own but put together, it's seamless!

Love that pattern on the carpet!

Sharp , defined, clean lines from the walls, to the stairs, to the table!  Love it!

Exposed beams, polished concrete floors and an exceptional ceiling treatment.  PERFECTION!

Travertine, travertine and a stand alone bath...what else would you need?  And oh, did you notice the very sleek fixtures?

Photos via mulimrahman

MUJI Manila by September!

Muji is one big eye candy!  While living in Singapore, I would visit this store once in a while, without any list on hand.  I would always end up getting something because the merchandise speaks to you and you begin to create a need.  "Oh, I need this extra small retractable eraser when drafting...and I should get this container which I can use when travelling..and these little pouches are sooo cute..and so on..."  And how can you go wrong with their personal care items, stationery and specialty food items?  But one thing that I like the most is the clean, fresh look of the store!  I can stay in that store for hours!  I always take home bits of inspiration with their interior and merchandise.  Now I'm just glad that it will be accessible again...can't wait!  Another reason to go to Bonifacio High Street!

No Homework Please!

Rapha cut this out, planning to send it as an attachment to a letter to his school's headmaster. (I wonder if he will actually do it?!)

"Yay!!!  Hooray for no homework!"  These were the words of Raphael, my son, when he read the article on "Stolen Childhood:  The case against too much homework."  (Philippine Star August 22)  We read the article together and in between, Rapha would close his fist and say "Yes..that's right!"

My heart breaks every time I need to remind Rapha to do his homework, especially on weekends.  I hear whining, shrieking, stomping, I see rolling eyes, and all of Rapha's crazy facial contortions!  Sometimes he looks like he's having an epileptic attack!  Coming from an international school, my children were used to a "No homework policy on weekends."  But having chosen to send them to a traditional school now, I do not have a choice but remind (more of nag I guess!) them always to do their homework.  Sometimes I wonder if things would be better if my children are still with international school.  Is it going to be more quiet at home?  Are they going to be more well rounded?  Will they be better global citizen?  But then again; I know, I see and I meet a lot of fine Filipinos who are graduates of the same school where my son goes and I cannot help but admire, how good people they have become.   And then I just have to believe that we made the right choice in sending him to his current school.

As parents, we only want the best for our children.  And most of the time, the road that leads to being  the best requires sacrifice and discipline.  And I take it on myself to do the things that the school cannot teach, but the home can nurture.  Homework is never a favorite in our home, but my kids know that it is something that needs to be done as responsible students and at the end of it, they know that playing and relaxing is equally valued in our home.  I can only pray and hope that they find balance of work and play with our family movie nights, game nights and lazy Sundays.  And oh, not to forget our bedtime reading time, junk food day, one-on-one dates, pillow fights ...and the list goes on with the 'must do' as a family.  And this time, I'm glad to hear no complaints!

La Femme

I kinda married early, and never got to live on my own.  When I saw these photos, I thought this is how my house would have looked like if I had the chance to live on my own before getting married.  But don't get me wrong, I have no regrets, my husband and I had our own little nests that we fixed and decorated together.  It's been five houses in the last 15 years! Five beautiful lovely homes with my loving husband! I am so blessed!

WHITE.  FEMININE. LIGHT. FRESH. INSPIRING...

TGIF!

 

Terrace by the master's bedroom. 

This rocking chair brings back memories of myself, breastfeeding Raphael...

 Dainty old thermos and a Peranakan coffee cup.

They still use these kind of coffee cups in some of Singapore's old kopitiam.

Love the details...the embroidery, color and tassel.  Boho chic! 

Here, it adds color to an all-white bed sheet.

 

You'll dream of the beach with this sea shells dream catcher! 

Hangs prettily by my herb garden.

  

My antique bench turned sunny yellow!  

This is the first thing that welcomes my guests when they enter the house.

 

Marble solitaire...an all time favorite!  I move things around the house quite often, but this solitaire is a permanent fixture on the coffee table.

Just a bit of randomness around my house to end a busy week...and be reminded that I am so blessed with a lot of beautiful things and people around me!  It might not have been a perfect week, but there's just too many things to be thankful for!  Enjoy your weekend!

Busy Bee

Bianca and I love the book "Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.  It is such a wonderful novel about mother and daughter and the transcendent power of love.  We thought it would be nice to work in a bee farm and "send our love to the bees.."  (If you read the book, you know what I mean.)  Well...it happened yesterday!  The family went to Ilog Maria and finally got to see up close a real honeybee farm!  There were rows and rows of bee hives, and in the workshop we saw raw propolis and beeswax! 

(1) Bianca and Raphael posing by the sample frame that holds the honeycomb
(2) Slabs of beeswax   (3)  Propolis   (4)  Honeybees on a honeycomb frame

On the way to the farm, Bianca snapped some photos of wildflowers. 

She has a knack for flowers and her photos always turn out beautiful! 

I love this cosmos flower with the bee!

Look at these purple flowers, they look like they're glowing!

One more stop for Bianca's coffee cherries!  She said it's like the cover of her Starbucks planner.

What did you do last Sunday?  Have a happy week ahead!