Can't Wait!

October 15 - mark you calendars! Two of my favorite stores in 1 building - that will make a serious dent in my finances.

On Being Yaya-less

The little girl’s yaya left more than a month ago. Since then, we had 1 new yaya but I let her go after two weeks, suffice to say, she wasn’t fit for the job. At the moment, I am not actively looking for a replacement since my parents’ helpers help us out.

The husband and I are contemplating whether we still need a yaya, after all, our little girl is turning 4 yo soon and she goes to school already. We just need a yaya to feed her (she can be really picky and fussy at meal times) and watch her. Being yaya less entails a lot of adjustment on our part. For one, I have to get up a few minutes earlier now to take a bath and get dressed, prepare the little girl’s breakfast and feed her. On days when the husband is not out running, he takes care of bathing the little girl while I put on my make-up and blow dry my hair. Then I bring the little girl to school and I go back home to eat a rushed breakfast. Most of the time, if not all the time, I’m 10-15 minutes late for work but my attendance is not monitored, so it’s ok. The husband picks her from school and then he brings her to my parents and they, along with the helpers, take over till I get home. Thankfully, we just live next door.

Come weekends and the husband and I don’t have a bazaar, I’m hands on with the little girl. I take care of all her meals, baths and watches her when she takes her mid day nap. Most of the time, I have errands to do so we either bring her with us or we leave her with my parents.

Like I said, it’s a major adjustment. But we’re doing great, plus, it’s less one person to deal with. And I really don’t like the idea of yayas tagging along because I feel like it’s an intrusion of family time. But then, that’s just me. I was promised a yaya by January, but we’ll see how everything goes. Hopefully, we won’t need one by then.

Where Can I Get This?

I was browsing for some decorating ideas and this bathroom caught my eye. The ladder type shelf is perfect for our bathroom. I wonder where I can find this here? Or should I just have our carpenter make one for us?



*sorry, I can't remember where I got this pic

Parking Spaces

I don't drive, but it's a pain when you have to look for parking, especially when the parking lot looks packed. I was surprised when on a recent trip to SM, I saw that they have these lights that indicate if there is an available slot.

Green light means that a slot is free (duh).

More Than A Biteful

I love these yummy pastillas because they're milky just like the old favorites. But it doesn't leave you bitin and wanting more because these are huge (in pastillas standards).

My mom knows how much I can eat in one sitting and when she went to Market Market, she bought me this box. As you can see, the box is only half full.

True Value recently opened at Trinoma and because of Saizen, I had to pay a visit. Nevertheless, there are so many great finds at True Value. I just find that their prices are a tad more expensive than other stores.

Anyhoo, on that trip to True Value, I made a beeline for Saizen. But even then, I managed to buy these:


The Boogie Wipes came in handy because the little girl has really bad cough and colds. She hates those salinase sprays and the Boogie Wipes were perfect for the job. Luckily it was also at 30% off so each wipe came out to about P14 each.

I like to wear cocktail rings, but most of the time, I don't get to buy them because they're always loose around my finger. With these Ring Snuggies, I can now wear those chunky rings.

Japan Love

I was happy to learn that there is now a Saizen store at Trinoma. I've read about all the good finds from this store and how it is much better than Japan Home. So being the shopaholic and bargain hunter, I had to visit it soon.

When the husband and I recently went to Trinoma, we made a brief stop at Saizen which is inside True Value. True Value finds will have a separate post : ) I instantly fell in love with the store because there is really so much to buy and at only P85!

Some items are kitschy -


While there are many great finds mixed in -






And what did I buy? Just one piece which is a small magnet box which can hold some pens. But what I like about it is the hook where the helpers can hang the kitchen keys instead of just placing it on top of the counters.

Updates On My Mini Projects

Whee! I can't believe that in less than a month's time, I have done more than half of my mini projects list. I am good! hahaha!

1. I had around 400 digital photos printed but arranged more than 800 photos in albums. FYI, if you have more than 100 photos printed at Kodak, expect a good discount. I saved a lot by doing this. 5 years worth of trips are now properly documented so in the event that my digicam bogs down or my laptop crashes (heaven forbid), I will not go crazy about losing precious memories. Mawala na lahat ng files ko, huwag lang ang pictures. hahaha!

2. My desk and dresser are organized and spanking clean. Everything is in its own place. Wish it stays that way from now on.

I expect to have my shelves cleared up by the coming week. But for the little girl's albums, I expect that it will take much longer. We'll see.

I guess it helped that I put small goals ahead of me, instead of just saying I'll organize our bedroom, I did it in batches. Desk first then dresser and shelves.

Black Out Readiness

I hate black outs, but what can we do? It's a fact of life here and more so when it's typhoon season. All over the house, I have flashlights on hand, including candles and matches.

But what I really hate is black outs in the dead of the night. Recently we bought a rechargeable fan. Not one of those that are so weak that you're better off with a paypay. Never mind the sore arm muscles later.



This particular fan that we got is a bit pricey, P2k ++ but it will be so worth it when we can sleep straight throughout the night. And no sore muscles for me and baggy eyes come morning.

I'm On A Roll

I ticked off another Mini Project of mine. I got these acrylic containers for my bathroom dresser. And what I like most about these is that they're also stackable so it's a great space saver. It just doesn't come cheap at P230 per piece at Handyman. Hey, you can get those stack of 3 plastic drawers for only P150.




They're all sitting atop my dresser and now I don't have to scrounge around through all the make up to get what I need. I'm thinking of getting a couple of pieces more for extra storage for my bangles and bottles of manicure. Hmm...

1 Mini Project Down

I feel immensely pleased with myself! lol! Because of my recent trip to Dapitan, I was able to organize my desk.




I know I said I was going to do before and after shots. But I was too embarrassed to show the world my messy desk. hee hee... Better you all think of me as a domestic diva! Not!

Dapitan Loots

I felt it was high time to go back to Dapitan to check on new items that they might have. And I was right! Look at some of my finds -

A set of desk organizers for only P500. I've seen similar organizers at Make Room and already 1 piece costs P500!

A toile print soap dispenser for P80. I love toile prints so this was a great find indeed. And upon closer inspection, I saw that the brand is Zara Home.

And Christmas is just around the corner and Dapitan was abound with Christmas villages. My mom has a Christmas village already and the little girl loves looking at each piece so the husband and I decided to start our own collection. We started with 7 pieces first and while I love what we got, I don't know how and where to store everything. But the look of glee on my daughter's face was priceless. All 7 pieces cost us a little over P2k.

Mini Projects

I swear that before the year ends, I will accomplish most (if not all) of my pending home projects.

1. Print pictures of all our trips and arrange them in albums. This has been on my To Do list since January this year. I considered Photo books for this project, but since I tend to have all the pictures printed, this option comes out too expensive. More so, since I want it hard bound so that it lasts through the years. I already finished one album this week, so I still have around 400 pictures (no kidding!) more to print. I’ve already gone through all the digital photos, it’s just a matter of bringing my flashdisk to Kodak for printing.
2. Same goes with my little girl’s photos. Dang, I have not updated her album since she turned 1 yo.
3. Spruce up my desk in our bedroom. It’s pretty much organized and clean, but this time, I’d like to prettify it a bit. I’ll try to do a before and after post.
4. Arrange the shelves in our bedroom. This is partly done already, I just need to get more organizing “tools.”
5. Arrange my dresser in the bathroom. No matter how I try to keep this organized, after a week or so, it acts as a repository for all sorts of things. Plus my cosmetics and creams are jumbled in a tray that most often ends up expired. You will not believe how much I threw out the last time I purged the counter. Makes me feel bad at the money I threw away too. Therefore, I will no longer buy more than 3 lipsticks (try and try).

Lately, I’ve been browsing through blogs dedicated to interior design and I’ve saved all those interesting photos in one folder in my laptop. Those are my inspiration photos when I have more time to do a full blown make over of our home. But definitely, that will not happen this year. Lol.

Travel Must Have

I recently hoarded these handy games because it's perfect for kids when you're on the road or on trips. It's something that will keep them occupied and to avoid the endless question, "are we there yet?". I kept a couple but I'm reserving the other games for gifts. Other games are Sudoku, Hangman and Sudoku Colors.

A Beautiful Thing on an Ordinary Object

We had lunch recently at Cafe Med and since I love anything that's blue and white, I took a photo of the table.

Juicer Fresh

A couple of months ago, we bought a juicer since we've been buying a lot of fresh juice. We've used it so often now and we combine different kinds of fruits and vegetables. This pic below, we used grapes, oranges and apples. The husband likes to put honey but I like my juice without it.

The other time, it was more like a vegetable juice since the taste of the celery and lettuce came out too strong.

This last one we made was made with just apples and oranges.

Life Is A Bowl of Cherries

Yummy!

Milkshakes at Home

My little girl loves chocolate milkshakes and she's been bugging me every weekend to make some at home. So I bought a tub of chocolate ice cream and fresh milk and mixed it all up in the blender. We used more ice cream than milk so it was really thick and rich.

Good Finds

Sharing here some of my recent finds from the land of cheap - Divisoria!

I was particularly happy with this "My Melody" can which can be used to dump, er, I mean store, the little girl's toys. Original price was P500 but we got it at P100 only. You surely can't beat that price!


I also got some assorted doo dads for the little girl's various arts and crafts projects.

The ribbons were so cheap at P100 a roll. I need these for our little business.


And of course, refrigerator towels which we always use in our kitchens. And they were only 5 pcs for P100. You can just imagine how much profit department stores make on these items.

The effort and time it takes to go to Divi is so worth it!

Spotlight on Vinegar

Another kitchen staple is vinegar which has so many uses outside of the kitchen. So far, I've only used it to de-clog our kitchen and bathroom sinks and to clean the little girl's sterilizer.

Here's another article which I copied (credits below):

Kitchen Remedies: Besides adding zest to salad dressings, white vinegar is handy for many cooking tasks.

1. Adding a few tablespoons of white vinegar to the water when poaching eggs helps the whites stay formed. Add a few tablespoons to the water when boiling eggs, and if any shells crack, the whites won’t leak out.

2. If your leafy veggies are wilted, soaking them in cold water with a little vinegar can perk them right up.

3. After chopping an onion, you can eliminate the odor from your hands by rubbing them with a bit of white vinegar.

4. When cooking any vegetables from the cabbage family (like broccoli or cauliflower), adding a little vinegar to the water will perk up the taste and reduce the gassiness they can induce. This also works when cooking beans, making Mexican food a far more attractive option.

Cleaning House: Vinegar can help with a variety of cleaning tasks, since the acid acts as a disinfectant and an odor neutralizer.

5. Clean and deodorize the garbage disposal by mixing equal parts vinegar and baking soda and putting it down the drain. After letting this fizzing mixture sit for a few minutes, flush out the drain with warm water for a clean and stink-free sink.

6. The steam from a boiling a bowl of vinegar and water can loosen caked-on food and get rid of odors in the microwave, too.

7. One of my favorite vinegar remedies and my personal weapon against fruit flies is to set out a small dish of white vinegar and some smashed fruit, covered with plastic wrap with some holes in it–the flies crawl into the trap, but can’t get out.

8. If your stemware is cloudy from the dishwasher, wrap the glasses in paper towels soaked in vinegar, let them sit, and the cloudy deposits will rinse right off.

9. There’s no need to use bleach on tile grouting when you can let vinegar soak on it and then scrub with a toothbrush.

10. Bring lightly scuffed or dirty DVDs back to life by wiping them down with some vinegar on a soft cloth.

11. If you have water condensation marks on your wood, just rub the piece of furniture with equal parts vinegar and vegetable oil to remove them. Make sure to rub with the grain, and then invest in a set of coasters.

Cleaning Clothes: Vinegar works magic on upholstery and fabric, too.

12. If a child has an “accident” on a mattress, clean it with a solution of vinegar and water. Afterwards, pour some baking soda onto the mattress, and brush or vacuum the residue once it’s dry.

13. Spraying vinegar onto deodorant-stained shirts before the wash can remove the discoloration. It’s also great for fighting mustard, tomato sauce, or ketchup stains.

14. Adding a cupful of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing machine can freshen up bright colors and give you cleaner laundry. Acetic acid won’t harm fabrics, but it dissolves the soap residue that can dull dark clothing. It also acts as a fabric softener, a static reducer, and a mildew-inhibitor.

15. Vinegar will also loosen chewing gum stuck to car upholstery, rugs, and carpeting.

Outdoor Solutions: Tough enough even for the outdoors, vinegar can function as a car cleaner and an organic pest remover.

16. If your car still sports a bumper sticker from two elections ago, remove it by spraying the decal with white vinegar to saturate the area, and the sticker will peel off in a few hours. (You might need to spray it a few times.)

17. Wiping down your car windows and windshield with a three-to-one vinegar-water mixture can keep them frost-free in the wintertime.

18. Kill weeds and crabgrass growing in sidewalks and driveways by pouring vinegar onto them. A half-and-half solution of vinegar and water can even kill garden slugs if it’s sprayed directly onto them.

19. To extend the life of cut flowers, add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the water in their vase, along with a teaspoon of sugar.



Pet Protection: There’s no need to use chemicals near pets when vinegar can handle most cleaning and bathing tasks.

20. Wipe out itchy ears with undiluted vinegar to keep dogs and cats from scratching at them.

21. Cats avoid vinegar, so to keep them from scratching furniture or sitting on certain areas, spray a vinegar solution onto the spot.

22. For outdoor areas, soak a sponge in vinegar and place it in the forbidden area to keep cats away. If kitty likes to mark his territory, spraying the area with vinegar can help eliminate the smell and deter recurrences.

23. Vinegar also gets rid of skunk odor. Soak the animal with a half-and-half vinegar and water solution, and then rinse with fresh water. (not applicable here)

Take from here. And photo taken from heinzvinegar.com