playing house

I want this Bee :D

2008-08-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

I first saw this stroller at the Hobbes & Landes store in Bonifacio High Street and fell in love with it. It's just sooo adorable! I can just imagine Jorem and I taking Sky around in this fancy little buggy! Price is pretty steep, though, for something she'll probably use for only a couple of years or so... unless, of course, we have another baby - which is hopefully not too soon! :P

"The most compact Bugaboo stroller on the market, the Bugaboo Bee stroller is nimble with a one piece fold. The Bee is suitable from birth. The stroller features four independent foam-filled rubber tires with suspension. The seat is reversible so your child can see you or the world as they stroll in comfort and style..."

Bugaboo Bee Stroller Features Include:
Compact one-piece fold
Lightweight
Suitable from birth
Compatible with a variety of car seats
Four position adjustable seat
Extendable seat bottom
Excellent maneuverability
Adjustable handle height
Under seat storage basket

Dimensions:
Folded- 17 " wide x 12 " deep x 35 " long
Weight: 17 pounds
Weight limit: 37.5 pounds

One of those things that make me go "awww..."

2008-08-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Taken during Nimmy's first night in our new house. :)

Me, my tummy and my hubby

2008-08-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

the last time i had my tummy shot, i was only on my 5th month. and my friends were right, now that i compare the photos - i did look like i was just bloated hehehe. anyhoo, we were planning to do this on my 6th month, but since things got so busy we were only able to finally push through with this shoot last night.

these are a few of my favorites :)

sigh... i'm so blessed to have such a talented photographer for a husband. i can only imagine how much photos the baby will have when she comes out! :)

shoot that fly!

2008-08-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Had a handful of people over this afternoon for merienda, and since it was humid as usual, we had to open the doors for better air circulation. Unfortunately, this invited some unwanted guests at the dining table to join us for taco salad. We have two fly swatters in the kitchen, but it would have been so much fun if I had one of these:

(found in Apartment Therapy LA)

"...promises to get rid of our unwanted guests is called the "Fly Shooter." The website claims, "These are so much fun to use you might let flies into your house on purpose." We don't know if that's true but we love the idea that this fly swatter doesn't look like your typical fly swatting instrument. We got our friend to show us how it works. Basically the "Fly Shooter" uses a spring loaded trigger that works like a dart. Just aim and shoot and down goes the fly."

Everybody loves a softie :)

2008-08-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I have been talking about making these guys for the longest time! I even got them a book of stuffed animal patterns last Christmas but they've never used it... (ok, so the text was in Japanese. hahaha :D)

Found this pink doll's pattern in an excerpt from it's publisher's website. She's called Lucy's Monster. So cute! Kinda reminds me of the uglydolls we have here at home. I think she'll fit right in with the rest of the gang. heehee. :)

Anyhoo, I think i'll start gathering some fabric, buttons and stuffing so I can start practicing before Sky comes along. Maybe i'll even start by figuring out those patterns from that Japanese book I got. Or I'll just start with the Lucy Monster. Might be harder to learn Japanese. :P

Love LOOOVE Apartment Therapy :)

2008-08-13T03:19:00.000-07:00

Since we got into this whole moving houses thing, i've been (almost) obsessed with looking at websites on home interiors. This website just happens to be my FAVORITE of all of them. I practically visit it everyday since I found it. :)

Anyhoo, just gathered enough guts to finally send in a photo of our recent pet project and was pleasantly surprised yesterday to see that they actually posted it on their site! :D Woohoo!

Click HERE to see our page.

practical genius

2008-08-02T02:18:00.000-07:00

“Out of clutter,
find simplicity.”
-Albert Einstein

Presenting... the latest Catilo residence :)

2008-08-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

They say 3rd time's a charm.

After our 3rd move this year (from Cambridge to Lola's House and now to Treelane), we can finally say we have a home. And we love it!

So this is how we found it a month and a half ago

and this is how it looks like after almost a month of fixing it -
(ehem, drumroll please...)

(click photos to enlarge)

living room

dining room/kitchen

bedroom

view from the living room/ home office/ garden

Tadah! So wadaya guys think?! :D

Martha moment #01: a place for placemats

2008-08-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

While eating has been more enjoyable during my second trimester, I've also developed a new pet peeve: placemats that smell bad. It just ruins the whole experience. It's a good thing the ones we have are the washable soft/rubbery plastic ones so we can easily clean them along with the dishes after a meal. However, when piled together, they tend to stick and develop a certain smell even if they've been washed and dried.

This came to me after our first morning in the new Catilo house:

Yep, I rolled them into cones and stuck them to one of those steel thingies I found on the kitchen counter. Placed in a tall drinking glass, they even look like plastic calla lilies heehee. Now they don't smell and stick together anymore, and they look so much prettier! :P

Warming up

2008-07-31T23:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Welcome to the world of sheila turned martha. The year isn't over and it's already been quite eventful. I could blabber all about it but to sum it up, the chunk of our year has been comprised of three major things:

1) getting married
2) getting pregnant
3) moving houses thrice

It took a while for all these to sink in, but being forced to be home in bed for almost a quarter of the year helped accept these changes. For those who've known me for a long time, I'm quite the busy bee - and being settled down (and i mean SETTLED) isn't exactly what you'd expect from a person like me. How's it been so far, though? Different. You see, after getting married, I saw myself on the fast track still. Since Jorem (the hubby) and I are in the same field, I expected us to be shooting around, traveling, working and living in the city, finally free from my parents’ jurisdiction. Bwahahahaha.

(pause)

Ok, so it's not really how I expected things would turn out, but honestly - it's been great so far. :) Somehow, there's a certain sense of security and contentment in being settled down, a sense of peace and belonging and home. While there's truth to enjoying singlehood while you're still "free", marriage has given me a kind of freedom beyond single life ever did. I'm enjoying things I never thought I'd enjoy before (keeping the kitchen and bedroom clean, thinking of what new recipe to experiment on for dinner, buying monay for Jorem, growing an herb garden in the lanai, drooling over house stuff and baby clothes over shopping for my own closet, etc.). I never even saw myself staying in Imus after getting married. As far as I knew, I wanted to get out of here as soon as I could! But now we're here, and I can honestly say I'm loving it. :)

Anyway, I opened this blog because there have been so many things I've been discovering since I became Mrs. Catilo. Although I'm no expert in this particular field just yet, it's just nice to be able to share the perks and the quirks of being a wife and soon enough, a mom. naks!

Lastly, I just want to say that it's amazing how we keep trying to plot our own lives convinced we know what's best for us, when in the end God turns things around to show us He knows us better. And it's only when we submit to His will and let it prevail that we truly experience the joy of living our lives as it should be. :)