When my brother, Ian, went to the Philippines for vacation a few weeks ago, I asked him to buy me some things and these are the goodies he brought back to Europe.



It's been a long time since I've had most of these food and, since I got pregnant, I've been craving for them.

1. Piknik - I snacked on this a lot in high school and ketchup is my favorite flavor. It's sour, salty with a hint of sweetness in it, just the way I like it!

2. Bottled Milkfish (Bangus) in Oil - This is my favorite fish. I eat it fried, grilled, in soup, cooked and packed in oil just like this one. I eat it however it is prepared. My favorite part, though, is the belly. OMG, I'm salivating just thinking about it.

3. Curly Tops - When I told my mom and Ian to buy this for me, they laughed. They must have thought that, of all the things I want from home, this is what I ask for. It's been my childhood favorite and it still tastes the same. With all the Godiva and imported chocolates we have available here, nothing beats Curly Tops for me.

4. Cloud Nine - I never liked this chocolate, I don't know why. This is actually for Mike. For some reason, he really loves it. Every time we go home or when either my parents or Ian send us something from the Philippines, this is never absent.

5 . Goldilocks Special Polvoron - Ah! This one I have been craving for the most. I can remember when I was still in my first trimester, I dreamt of Goldilocks popcorn and polvoron. I was so ecstatic that Ian will be bringing it back from his vacation only to hear from my mom a few days ago that they didn't buy it together when they went shopping. So imagine my surprise when I opened the package this morning and saw a pack of these sweet delights. It was the first thing I unpacked and ate. Haha! Bless my brother for not forgetting!



Aside from food, I also got some Johnson & Johnson products that I couldn't get here like the talcum powder and cologne. Maybe a store sells it here somewhere but they are very hard to find. They do have J&J products here they call Natusan and that's what I'm going to use for B, but they only have bath gel, oil and lotion variety. Zwitsal is more popular here, I think, because I see a lot of it - at least they have the complete collection.



And look at this cute native handbag! I swear, I squealed when I saw it because it was just too darn cute! I'm definitely going to use it this summer! The pad of scrapbook sheets for B's album was also one of his gifts that I thought complemented the handbag in this picture so I had to take them together.

I got more stuff but they're not from Pilipinas so they don't fit in this post. Let's just say that it's a big box of Christmas, Anniversary and Balikbayan presents all in one.

I'm one spoiled sister, aren't I? :)

Thanks so much, bro! I love love love the stuff you sent us. But I love you more!

Now that I finally have a breather from all the chores, home improvements and baby preparations, it's time to give this blog some lovin' and a boost of regular updates. So for this week, I'm hosting a "Just Because" Blog Giveaway!

The first item is this Dutch Blond Amsterdam home organizer. It's perfect to give as a present or for personal use. It has 8 colorful postcards inside and pages of illustrated week overviews where you can write appointments and such. It makes home organizing so much funner! Housewives, girlfriends, mothers, women in general will love this.




Of course, what use is an organizer without a pen? So for my second item, I'm giving away this pink polka dot pen from my favorite Dutch shop, Hema.


That's not all! I have one more thing to give away but it's a mystery item. I will post a photo of it on my flickr account once the winner receives the package. I don't want to spoil the surprise. :)

So here's what you have to do. Leave a comment and tell me something nice and happy. It can be a quote, a poem, about your day, a picture, a simple greeting, anything really.

This will run until Sunday, February 28 and I will randomly pick the winner at 8 p.m. (my time) with a blog post to follow thereafter.

I hope you have/had a great start of your week!

Happy Monday! <3

xoxo,
Gracey

P.S. Please make sure to submit your email address in the email field of the comment box so I know where to contact you should you be the winner, otherwise I will have to choose the next name.

Yup! The fruit obsession is still on. Featuring my Food Friends design budget notebook/organizer from Paperchase where I keep all our receipts and jot down expenses and grocery lists. It's pretty handy and it makes me giddy every time I have receipts to tuck into the plastic pockets and lists of groceries to write down. It makes budgeting a lot more fun!

While cleaning up my desk and boxes of craft supplies, I came across the wooden green apple I used as paperweight which will soon take residence in B's room and a felt pincushion I made several months ago. I forgot about them and thought they could use a little "fresh" air. They complement my food organizer and apple pen well, don't you think?



What have I got? A swann and smerlin purchase I made last weekend so the lovely Odette could celebrate her 100th etsy sell which I was so lucky for because I did not only get the Airmail Cotton Label and the Lime Check Masking Tape made with Japanese washi paper that I paid for, she included the Party Flags Cotton Label too!



And, lookie here? There's more! It's been a while since I got a pretty little package in the mailbox so this was a really sweet treat. I guess I'm spoiled because I know her, huh? I'm so lucky to have a very sweet friend like her. She knows exactly how to make me smile. But, really, head over to her shop and check it out! She sells baker twines, handmade lunch cards, vintage buttons, cotton labels and cute tapes. Happy shopping! :)

I want to bounce, bounce, bounce around the house. I feel so elated it's making me high. The caffeine-withdrawal effect is taking on a totally different route. I'm suddenly more hyper than usual.

One reason I could think of this sudden change is the bright sunny weather we're having today. It's been dreary, wet and cold for the past weeks which I actually loved, by the way, but the sunshine perked up the energizer bunny in me. And I like it!

I've recently received two surprise packages in the mail. Surprise because I really wasn't expecting them. At all. Maybe these also explain my hyper-bouncing mood as well. Eeeee!

Dyanie sent me a package of crochet and sewing sundries with a handwritten letter. I was expecting a postcard from her, but instead, she sent me more than that. How thoughtful of her!

And, there's the mixed cd from Nicole with a letter sent with hugs and a lollipop (of course, Mike ate it - lol). I absolutely love the songs! I'm actually listening to them right now for the nth time!

Thank you so much for the lovely mail surprise! *bouncing hugs to you both*

Ah, so much catching up to do!

I'm so way behind posts. There are lots, and I mean LOTS of things I want to write about but simply don't have the time and energy to. I hope to catch up though and get back to regular posting because I think this blog needs a bit of lovin'. It's just really been a busy week.

Last Tuesday, I received two lovely packages from Japan. The first one is from my creative swap partners, Xena and Jim.



They both made me this clock using an Oya Stone which is said to be a kind of tuff created 20 million years ago. Amazing huh? What's more amazing is that they decided to part the stone and give it to me, as it was a souvenir they bought in one of their out of town trips earlier this year. With their combined creative talents, they were able to whip up this clock. I'm really really touched by this gesture. Such generosity and ingenious talent they shared to someone they only know by name. Thank you so much, Xena and Jim! I will treasure this clock. I'm planning on hanging it in my craft room when we're done working on it.



Aside from the handmade clock, they also sent me some Japanese snacks, beads, paper craft materials and notebooks. Love them all! Thanks again X & J!

The second parcel is from Ivy, who I have been doing swaps with since December last year. This time, we decided to do a theme swap, which is one of my favorites. Fruity!



I love all of the stuff she sent me. It's all so fruitilicious! I couldn't help but gasp ooohs and aaahs while opening the box. They just look so yummy! By the way, the Apollo Meiji chocolate was so good! <3 strawberry + chocolate!



She also included some non-fruity things like the flower interior lanterns, ribbon, mini fan, incense and decoration balls. She forgot that we agreed on doing the fruity theme and bought some "flower" stuff. But I love them all the same! Thanks for the great stuff, Ives!

It was definitely a good mail day. I'm looking forward to more days like that! Haha. I love getting mail. :)

This is what I sent to Caryn for July's Creative Swap. Since she celebrated her birthday on the same month, I included some extras for gifts.



I made her this necklace and a pair of earrings. Wasn't able to make decent pictures of them, though. This is the only one that looks okay. Maybe she will make a photo of them. (I'm still using my phone as camera since my lens broke. I might buy a new lens soon!)

I really had fun putting these together and I'm glad she likes them. Can't wait to receive mine! :)

If you'd like to join in our next swap in September, you're very much welcome. You can read about it here.

As much as I aspire to, I'm not really in the mood to write these days. I'm enjoying crocheting more granny squares (I want to finish the blanket!) while we're watching movies in the evenings. My days are nothing out of the ordinary - I just do my usual stuff.

The movies we watched since last weekend:

- Batman Begins
- Knocked Up
- August Rush
- Bourne Ultimatum
- Legends of the Fall



I also discovered these miniature food cuteness in an model kit store downtown. I've seen Re-Ment stuff on some websites I visit and on flickr, and wished I had them, too. I don't really know where to get them online so I thought I'll save it for when we go to Japan or US. When I saw them lying on the bottom glass shelf among the boxed vinyl Tokidoki toys, I just knew I couldn't leave the store without them.

Now, I'm on the hunt for the furniture pieces! The collection begins!



These postcards came in my mailbox recently, except for the Normal Rockwell painting on the top left which was the first postcard I got via Postcrossing. They are my favorite among the 16 cards I received so far. The cutest one, though, got here today all the way from China. I guess you know which one I'm talking about. I can't get enough of kawaii things. They make me all mushy and childlike. I love it!



These, too, was a colorful surprise which came all the way from Japan. Thank you, Caryn, for these origami paper goodies! I will definitely use them in my future origami projects.