Three Cheers for 3 Years!

It's a bit challenging to think of gifts for anniversaries-- especially my own anniversary with Mr. P. With all the DIY gifts that I've given him in the past years, it's quite a tall order to come up with something unique each year. 

Soooo.... what better way to give a new kick to cheesy declarations of love than an infographic! Haha. Here's to more years of love Mr. P! :)

Great Finds at the Global Pinoy Bazaar

Stepped out into the light today and woke up earlier for the Global Pinoy Bazaar at the Rockwell Tent! It was a refreshing break from piles of paperwork and terabytes of stress accumulated from the previous work week. This is definitely better than the last bazaar I went to (see previous post) because of the assortment of gift/craft/home ideas that I got. All of them, are proudly Pinoy products! What made it more exciting was the fact that most of the sellers were really friendly so you can chit-chat with them while scouring their stalls and get a bit of a background about their biz.

The bazaar is only until November 11, 2012 (Sunday) so I suggest you head out to Rockwell and support emerging Filipino brands! But come prepared-- there's an entrance fee of Php100.00 that's good for the entire day. If you're hungry, there are light snack booths in the tent but I suggest you opt to have dinner/lunch outside.

Of course, any adventure isn't complete without fun friends to accompany you! I went with craft buddy Keevee, her guy Miguel, and sister Sassja. Being with them was such a treat. Today, I realized what a small small world we live in because of the common-friend-network I discovered. haha.

I also got to bring home a stash of goodies from the bazaar:

Fabric and felt pencil case from Fab Manila, a funky printed Little K Crafts tickler, sweet & salty bacon chocolate chip cookie from Bird House Bakers, and a chunk of healthy goodness from Pannzian beach's malunggay oatmeal cookie.  

I definitely had a great time today. How about you?

Craft Crazy: Hip Pinoy Art + Food Fair & Craft Swap

(Photo Roll: 1) Hip Pinoy Entrance, 2) Hey Kessy's washi wonderland, 3) Felt It's feel-good finds!

My fun and crafy friends, my sister, and I went out on a sleepy Saturday afternoon to check out the Hip Pinoy Art + Food Fair in Katipunan Extension. When we got there, only a few people were shopping and there weren't exactly a lot of exhibitors in the fair. First stop was Felt It and we met crafter Celina-- who turns out to be my sister's friend! Their felt headbands are so adorable! I swear I'm getting something for myself soon! 

After we grabbed a few goodies for the niece, we went off wandering around and stumbled upon Mansy's booth--Hey Kessy. I was so psyched because I just signed up for her November Messy Washi Party and we've been exchanging e-mails. It was so refreshing to meet her in person and I was thrilled to know that we have a lot of common friends. Oo na, FC mode eto! Haha. When we knocked ourselves out silly ogling at rubber stamps, magnetic boards, and accessories, the girls and I ran to Banapple for the main event-- our 1st ever Craft Swap!

Each of us brought something crafty to share and we said nothing but "awwww", "cute!", "awwww" the whole afternoon. Of course, the best part of it all was being able to talk for countless hours about anything and everything under the sun! It's so nice to find friends who love the same things as you do. Keevee and I went to the same university and only got to know each other from work. We both met Erikka at the 1st Calligraphy Crafternoon at Pino some months back. We were missing Aya that afternoon, another friend of ours who we met at the same event. Thankfully, Sassja was there too to hang out with us and take our photos! haha.

'Tis definitely the season for crafts so I'm sharing with you some of the sunny steals that day:

Blue star printed washi tape and light green paper straws from Hey Kessy

Stylized wooden spoon and fork set + jute string from Keevee, A cute notebook, a roll of printed tape, scrapbooking accessories, and corrugated paper from Erikka.

And a sweet note to sum up the day!

Really looking forward to our next craft date! :)

Mr. Polaroid's Birthday

I call you Mr. Polaroid-- but ironically, you're not a huge fan of pictures. Oh the things I have to do just to to wrestle you to have a photo of us taken together! You're never one to bask in the limelight and get all the credit for herculean efforts. But today, I think that you deserve to be on center stage.

No, I won't use the "You're the best..." line that you make fun of (because you're expecting it). Instead, I'm just going to say THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU.

Let's face it, you always know how to make a speech major speechless. :)

20 and Awesome

 

When we meet special people in our lives, we can't exactly explain when or how it happened-- it just happens. That magical moment that transforms the most mundane to the most magical and that they say, becomes history. 

Growing up, I never imagined being close with my siblings. We were worlds apart. My memories of this little one vividly revolved around lashing temperamental outbreaks at them and not even caring what they did or what they liked or who they hung out with. Little did I know that this indifference would transform into a beautiful friendship in the years to come. It was that moment, as she recounts, when I held her hand one time when we were strolling in the mall as kids, that made all the difference. She felt that somehow, in that little gesture of comfort-- she was loved.

Fast forward into the future I realize that between the two of us, I am the most loved. The tiny tot with the raspy voice has become the voice of reason I listen to everyday. It's amazing how much we learn from one whose years are behind us. I am most loved because she taught me to be patient and understanding. From her, I learned that discipline and compassion can co-exist. 

Dearest Sassja, I wish that you soar higher and dream bigger in the years to come. May you have all the blessings that your heart desires and truly deserves.

Like Katniss Everdeen at the reaping, ten times over, for you I would still say "I volunteer as tribute".

Love always,

Ate Trinna

 

Backlog: Calligraphy Crafternoon

Photo Roll: Instax-ed memories of the crafternoon session with the girls and Alessa, Erikka's photos of us, Fozzy Castro-Dayrit giving us tips on using flexi nibs

My new job and I are in a whirlwind romance. Things have been happening too fast, too soon. But I tell you, it's been a blast ever since my first day. More of that later.

I promised myself to make things different this time around-- to make an active initiative to promote having a WORK-LIFE balance. So I dared myself to be a part of something I've always wanted to do: be a part of Alessandra Lanot's crafternoons.

Crafternoon sessions are merry gatherings of crafty people who want to exchange craft ideas and/or learn new tricks. Many might say that these afternoon parties are somewhat "Grandma" interests, but I dare to accept this and say "Yes, I am a very grandma person at age 24".

Good thing that my new found friend and craft soulmate Keevee was game enough to sign up with me. So we headed out to Pino Resto Bar in Malingap for a delightfully geeky time! It was a bit gloomy that day but everything turned into a burst of color when we met our craftmates for the day: Apple, Erika, and Aya!

I didn't get to bring my own pens for the day so I was really lucky that Scribe Writing Essentials put up a mini booth at the venue. Though the dipping pens looked wonderfully vintage (and felt so intimidating to use!) some of the girls and I opted to get a J. Herbin 1.5mm nib calligraphy fountain pen for beginners!

The beginner set came with 5 cartridges in various colors. How cool is that?

As someone who doesn't really write in script, I enjoyed and appreciated how beautiful letters look when written in calligraphy. I was so amazed that I could really write well with this. Now I really want to get fountain pens to use for signing office documents! Haha. The handouts that Alessa gave out that afternoon also helped us practice our "skills". She handed out various worksheets and typefaces and I discovered that I loved writing letters in small caps more than the elaborate upper case letters.

At the end of the session, Alessa asked us to post our "finished products" so we can see the fruits of our labor(?). We all panicked a bit when we were handed out sheets of paper but took everything in stride as we continued on with our chika session while we were at it!

Can you guess which one's mine?

The best part about that day was not just learning a new skill, but meeting funky new friends to have crafts with! I'm really looking forward to our next crafty date!
  

Ais-ing on the Cake

I absolutely LOVE birthdays. So I was so excited when the team decided to do a surprise for Ais. Unfortunately, everyone was so busy yesterday (her real birthday) that we didn’t get a chance to do anything special. It’s my 1^st surprise for someone at work and I’m glad she was all smiles. 

Happy birthday once again Ais!