Asian Secrets' Fine Lulur Indonesian Whitening Body Scrub & Soap

I am a sucker for liquid body soap / wash and body scrub.  Using them makes me feel "pampered" while taking a shower.  I consider bath time my daily 15-minute me-time, so I try to enjoy it especially with the use of soothing body cleansers and scrubs.

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Mom-Finds: Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids

Last Friday of the month:  Mom-Finds & Raves / Shopping


So it's that time of the year again...holiday gift shopping for family and friends... and kids are on the top of my priority list.

I posted a simple list last year, mostly composed of toys.  For sure, many of those are now sitting behind shelves or buried deep in their toy chests.  This time, I thought I'd share some "non-toy" items that I can recommend for your shopping list this year which has a longer shelf life, so to speak. And as a parent, I'd certainly appreciate receiving these for my kids... and not without violent reactions from the kids, heehee!  You know, sometimes, I just need to break that chain of toys, toys, toys! Don't you agree?

Aside from highly educational and entertaining picture and story books that always make for great presents, here's a variety of gift suggestions with different price points -- for God children, relatives, friends, neighbors' kids  and schoolmates:

GREEN SPROUTLETS

Eco-friendly children's apparel and accessories using mainly certified bamboo, organic cotton, and other sustainable fabrics such as soy or hemp -- ultra-soft fabric that is hypoallergenic too! Ideal for babies and kids with sensitive skin.

• For infants and kids, boys and girls up to 5 y.o.
• In onesies/bodysuit, tees, pants, blankets, and bip & burp cloth set --from PhP495 & up
• Modern, colorful design - being organic does not mean boring and neutral designs.

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Fun Friday: Cooking Biko with Pre-schoolers

Third Friday of the month:  Fun activities / Kids


Cooking with my two kids can be such a mess, can test my patience, and can also be so much fun. No doubt, as seen from some Mom-Cook posts, that "playing in the kitchen" is one of our favorite bonding activities at home.  This time around, I had a dozen more -- a class of 4-year-olds took turns in measuring, pouring, and mixing biko. 


For regular readers of this blog, you might be wondering why a food post is on Fun Friday.  Well, I'm actually sharing this "fun" learning experience of these pre-schoolers in making this sweet sticky rice cake -- a favorite Filipino kakanin (rice-based delicacy) called biko.

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Christmas Wish List: What Women (Wives) Want

Second Friday of the month:  Family Friday - Homemakers / Wives


For this Family Friday post, I have decided to focus on what women want for Christmas. Well, in particular, what wives want! The wife and the mother are what we call in Filipino ilaw ng tahanan - the light in their homes that guide the family.  And most often than not, their needs and wants come in last.

The holiday season is just weeks away and though I planned to blog about gift ideas for kids, I thought it would be more interesting to know what many married women have been dreaming of and wishing to have.

So here's what I asked my blogger friends.
Hope you can share with me your TOP 3 CHRISTMAS WISH -- it can be from the most expensive to the cheapest.  Whatever you like to receive as a gift from your husbands or family, or friends. I know we all want to have good health, hugs and kisses, well-behaved kids, etc... but I need you to share something tangible, goods or services that you want. Don't be shy! :)

And now, what the wives want (wish!)...

Eliza wants...
1. An all-day head-to-toe spa extravaganza - something for myself
2. A 2-week China-Tibet trip with my husband (no kid) - something for myself and my husband
3. A top-of-the line kitchen renovation - something for myself and my family

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Bridetastic: Online Wedding Resource & Community

I will be celebrating my wedding anniversary with J at the end of this month. It's gonna be our 9th!  I can still vividly remember the planning and details on the day itself -- how can I forget, I planned and orchestrated my own wedding!

Those days, online bridal communities were almost non-existent in our country, or maybe I was just not looking.  Bridal magazines were my indispensable bible. I only relied on American wedding sites like Wedding Channel, The Knot, and Martha Stewart weddings for tips and design ideas. In recent years, everything can be found online and joining wedding community sites became the norm.

Having been an on-and-off wedding planner for a decade since 1999, I had my share of truly memorable and fun celebrations, forgettable bloopers, elevated stress levels and newfound friendships. Planning can be really exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Aside from having a wedding planner, new couples can now be depend on online sites that provide a wealth of design inspiration and make sourcing vendors a breeze.

Enter Bridetastic Philippines!

Bridetastic is the newest online bridal community and wedding resource site for couples, and this wonderful site is the brainchild of couple Cathy and Jon.  Here's what Cathy has to say about why they created Bridetastic.

"When I was preparing for my September 2008 wedding, my first instinct was to search for wedding vendor reviews on the web. Unfortunately, this proved to be a cumbersome process since reviews were either scattered all over popular forums or isolated in a particular wedding couple’s personalized wedding site. 

After my wedding, I envisioned in creating a site that could better address the needs of a prospective bride. Reality intervened however and it wasn’t until late 2010, when I was on my maternity leave, that I finally gathered the resolve to start on the development of the site. Finally, after over a year and a half’s worth of sleepless nights, I’m ready to launch Bridetastic.com.ph. 

Bridetastic aims to be a trusted source of wedding related content generated by real brides. Among other things, we focus on aggregating authentic bride-generated reviews of their wedding vendors."

If you're a 21st century bride or groom, an engage couple, or just looking around for wedding ideas and suppliers, do visit Bridetastic. Better yet, join the community! Open an account in bridetastic.com.ph and connect with other brides and brides-to-be, share your experience and personal reviews to help future couples on their wedding planning journey.

Here's the best part -- Bridetastic has something in store for those who'll join until the 25th:

• Share the site with your readers and join Bridetastic's Share to Win contest
• Be one of 15 winners of fantastic prizes including a Cambridge Satchel! See contest mechanics here: www.bridetastic.com.ph/contests

For married women like me, let's relive our big day and help other brides create their dream weddings too! Join now, and look me up -- Mom-Friday on Bridetastic. :)


Related posts:
7 Random Things I Learned From Planning A Wedding
Of Diamond Rings and Weddings


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Foodie Friday: Baby Caramel Apples

First Friday of the month:  Mom-Cook / Recipe / Dessert

My little M has a major case of sweet tooth. One of her favorites is caramel -- be it the plastic-wrapped cubes, coating on popcorn, or the classic caramel sundae, she will eat them. I didn't know where she learned about caramel apples but she was bugging me about it for some time now.

I did attempt to serve her a twisted version and instead made her caramelized slice apples, hoping it would pass and meet her expectations. Suffice to say, it didn't fly.
"This is not caramel apple mommy! And I want on a stick."  Well, at least I tried. ;)

Now here's the real thing. Cooled are ready for the taking!

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Rwo Shur Foot Reflexology at The Reflex Zone

RWO SHUR Health Method of Reflexology, also known as Taiwanese-style reflexology, is distinctive for its use of very firm pressure that focus beyond relaxation to detoxification and revitalization.  This natural healing method was developed by Fr. Josef Eugster, a Swiss missionary in Taiwan, over 30 years ago.

Foot map illustrates the reflex zones on the feet

I became a believer of reflexology and acupressure after my first exposure to the methods when I was in high school.  We had a brief introductory course as part of our P.E. subject and I was instantly fascinated by this holistic healing technique of pressing reflex points for better health.

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