When I get bored...I click buy button

The great thing about not having to go to work anymore is I get plenty of time to relax and chill with my belly.  My daughter is off to summer camp for a week so I pretty much have all the time to myself during the day.  I even allowed her to do her artwork on me and her "brother balloon" last night.  Here's how my big bump at 30 weeks with Madison's work.

I am harboring a huge baby in there, side profile only as I am not ready to show off my popped button

It really is bigger than what one can imagine, I just did a half profile on the first pic,lol

I am suppose to be studying for another specialty board exams before I pop this baby out.  I hear the UPS truck outside and I know right away he is coming to my door.  I hesitate to open the boxes for a moment, I cannot afford to be distracting myself away from my books.  Bah, I am getting a little sleepy as I skipped coffee this morning, I think I can take a short break. 

Of course, the bad thing about having all the time to myself at home with my pc is....I don't ever skip online shopping.  Here's my loot this week.  I went a little crazy buying summer dresses for DD.  From $58 to $14.95, I got a little carried away.

Too lazy to take it out of the bag for now, but they are sun dresses

I have decided we would go visit my DH's family in New Jersey this Christmas and as soon as I thought of it, I figured, why not get ready for the cold weather.  Really, I need another pair of boots...I only own about a dozen...I think.

"Air Michelle" boots from Cole Haan and moto jeans for DD

They are over the knee, suede, wedge boots lined with shearling. 

I would model this shoes for you later when I can actually manage to balance walking on my own two feet.  I can hardly walk in flats.  The boots are normally $295 and I got them at a deal of $89.  I tried them on and they are so warm on my legs all the way down to my toes...just had a little trouble getting out of it as I can't reach anything past my knees nowadays.

Yesterday my DD was practicing taking pictures of herself with the timer on the camera and have to post it. It's a little blurry but I can't help smile at how big and beautiful she's turning out to be.

with Troy

And one with my head a little cut off

My inbox says, I have two more shipments this week.  I am hoping one of them is the hospital maternity gown I ordered.  Who would have thought I would be excited to wear a hospital gown.  Why not, I missed out on wearing a nice one with my first child and I have pictures to prove how ratty I looked after being in labor with her for 21 hours. 

Ok, I have to get back to my books.  Studying about fetuses without brains are not so great but I have to do whatever it takes to add a few more initials after my name.  I hope everyone is having a great summer!;P

Race Course Winnings

Let me share with you my latest shopping spree, thanks to my race course winnings.
Every year, we get treated to an evening in the Worcester Race Course. This is courtesy of one of the suppliers where Dearest Husband works.
A select few, together with their spouses/partners  gets a VIP treatment in a hospitality suite with good food and drinks and some money for betting.
And as always, we all end up with a very good time.
It is such a delight to cheer for one's horse especially  if it wins at the end.
And I am proud to say, I always do very good with my bets. I always win in every course, usually the first prize.
Last year was the best although this year I also fared  very well.
And I'm sorry that I have no pictures to share as my excitement for the evening made me forgot to document the night's event. Although I wore a Cynthia Rowley black jumpsuit paired with long heel strappy sandals and a big clutch.
The weather may not be so good as the case these days anyway but it wasn't too cold plus the exciting atmosphere was all that mattered.

So what better place to spend my winnings than in the beautiful Scottish Capital, Edinburgh?!
I really love this city and would always address it as the best city I have ever been to.
With its stunning architecture - perfect combination of the old and new, striking views, civilized people, wide roads, arrays of shops, several attractions, bagpipes, kilts- it is no such wonder that given the opportunity, I would gladly settle down here.

As Dearest Husband was auditing their Scotland depot, Little Girl and I decided to travel with him.
The weather was also good to us so we were not all wrapped up  unlike in our past visits.
While Dearest Husband was busy working, Little Girl and Mummy ventured the city by foot with the help of my phone's navigation app and we ended up in Princes Street- the shopping capital of Edinburgh,  a long stretch of high street shops with the impressive view of the Edinburgh Castle and the Princes Street Gardens.

The Castle Terrace

Just a few of Edinburgh's impressive architecture

Edinburgh Castle sitting in a hilltop - with a 360 degree view of the Scottish Capital

Stunning view from the Princess Street Gardens

The Scottish Monument

Harrods of the North - Jenners. Already a shopping institution in Edinburgh since 1938

Jenner's grand Victorian interior

One of the very many things one can do in Edinburgh is witch hunting.

Witch shops such as this  are common.

Last year with my parents at Edinburgh Castle during a very stormy weather forcing the Castle to close early at 3pm.

Sale was the word of the day at Princes Street. Most shops were into massive sale.
Of course, I could not help to indulge myself with some shopping especially after a very good night at the race course the Wednesday before.
 Here are some of my good shopping finds:

A black Maxi dress from GAP I've been fancying for weeks. Originally priced at £49.99, I bought it at £7.99.
Incredible isn't it? Only 2 weeks ago I was almost on the verge of  buying this in its green colour  because it was half price. Good thing I waited. 

Bright Pink Jumpsuit from River Island bought at £5 from its original price of £50. 

A denim gilet by Red Herring of Debenhams at 50 % off

I must say the fantastic sale prices must be exclusive to Edinburgh since the same jumpsuit  above, although on sale now  is still  £10 from our local River Island shop. I could not also see any Zara sandals here at £5 where in Edinburgh there were just too many.
I also extra treated myself today to a new pair of sunglasses from Jil Sander. I opted with a brown accent on the frame  as my current Hugo Boss is  solid black.

Jil Sander sunglasses

So there we go, I already have had too much shopping.
I can't wait to escape to France now especially as our summer here is just so gloomy and wet!!

Have a very good night everyone.

Let's Have A Princess Party

Just stopping by to post pictures from the party.  It was a hit.  I love, love celebrating my DD's party no matter how crazy it gets. I am so busy nowadays I hardly have time to read any blogs much more write one so I'll keep the writing short and simple. Here are some highlights from Saturday's blast.

The princess tower held up!  Yay!

My dessert station...took a lot of hard work but it paid off, everybody thought it was done professionally! Sweet.

Now on to the animal tour towards the environmental village

Just one of the exotic birds this rescue center adopted

My brave DD had a thrill for the day.  Amazing!

I don't think I could ever have the guts to do this

Back to our party room after an hour of fun tour to start eating

One thing that I make sure during my parties...plenty of food to go around for everyone! Some pancit, spaghetti, pork bbq and turon -- Filipino food!

Some body art for the kids compliments of my dear friend Nelly

My 5 year old showing off her arm

My family

Oh it's so good to be a kid

I have so many pictures to show you how fun this party was but I'd rather keep it to minimum to avoid letting anybody deal with anything beyond boredom. lol

I hope everybody had as much fun this weekend as we did!

London Trip and Barrio Fiesta 2012

We've been to London over the weekend. We left Thursday morning when our place was so dark and rainy. A few minutes after, I was updated through Facebook that our town had been flooded!
It was a heavy downpour with constant thundering. I can only shudder with the thought.
Thunder and lightning always scare me. I would close the windows and cover the mirrors right away.
I am glad we were away but I was also worried with our house although Dearest Husband assured me it is very unlikely we would be flooded.
And he is right of course!

Dearest Husband was auditing one of their London depots so we decided to go with him as I also needed to go to the French visa centre Friday morning.We are going to Paris end of the month, that is why.
Schengen visa application is not new to me.
My old passport contains several Schengen visas due to my previous work -  from the outrageous 1 week multiple entry to 1 year, ironically both from Germany. All business visas actually. In fact my first Schengen visa was from France.
(Update: And I've got my passport back, wow! That is the quickest visa application I ever  have had, lodged on Friday mailed back to me on Tuesday!)

In the afternoon we went to Westfield London.
Sale was the word of the day. I ended up buying several items from L'Occitane and a few swim wears for Little Girl at  GAP.
I also decided to visit Louis Vuitton to inquire about the heat stamping of my initials on my handbags.
I also wanted to know if it is possible to put a shoulder strap on my Speedy 35.
We did not know we were in for a very disgusting customer service. The sales ladies were rude.
No one seems to know their products and they don't seem interested with their customers.
Dearest Husband was furious and so was I.
The humid condition was also of no help either. As it was 27C outside and with no air conditioners inside the mall, it was just pure torture.
I hope the London staff will come to their senses and manners soon or else they will be out of work before they would even realize it as I also heard a story of a lady who was also ignored.
She was so angry she stormed off to the Gucci shop across and purchased the biggest handbag then paraded it back at Louis Vuitton to let them know they just  lost a sale and a client to Gucci.

Friday afternoon and we went to Old Spitalfields Market.
I have always wanted to come here and I was very glad we did.
It was fantastic especially as they have Friday Fashion Market. Array of stalls of independent retailers and artists were around.
I was lusting after some silk scarves but unfortunately it was for wholesale so I did not stand a chance on that.
In the end I settled for a sleeveless summery top.
Restaurants were also abundant and I enjoyed my Thai lunch as Dearest Husband with his Indian meal.

steamed rice, green chicken curry. spring rolls, salad and apples, what more can one ask for a hearty lunch!

A stage was also set for ballroom dancing participated mostly by the elderly. It was a beautiful sight to watch.

The nearby streets of Old Spitalfields Market is a haven for vintage enthusiasts.
Shops selling vintage sunglasses, boots/shoes, dresses, denim shorts/jeans, bags, belts, scarves and even fashion jewellery are just everywhere.
One shop was also into auction.
The neighbouring Brick Lane is a must for Indian food lovers as it is famous for curry houses.

We also had a drive around Central London particularly  Tower Bridge  so that I can snap a photo of the Olympic Rings.

Saturday came and we went to the biggest Barrio Fiesta in the Filipino International Community.
It is organized by the Philippine Centre in partnership with ABS CBN so Philippine celebrities were flown over to entertain the UK based Filipinos.
I was not particularly into the celebrities, I was more into the spirit of the Barrio Fiesta.
Fiesta or festival is a cultural event in any Filipino lives and we have different reasons for this celebration like showing gratitude for good harvest, commemorating significant events in local history but mostly it is to celebrate the feast day of saints. The Philippines is a  predominantly Catholic country after all.
Philippine fiestas are characterized by overflowing food, joyous music, games and contests.
And this what perfectly describes Barrio Fiesta.
There was a stage for entertainment.
Various Filipino restaurants that offers Filipino dishes originating from the various regions of the Philippines. Assorted stallls for exhibitors showcasing varied products and services to the Filipinos away from their native homeland.
It was such a joyous gathering for all Filipinos not just from London but all over the UK.
Some came in coaches as far as Wales.
Sunday was the culmination day as understandably most are still working on a Saturday so it was no surprise to see the number of people trebled on Day 2 and we were among those.
The weather was also on our side because although there was a thunderstorm and flash floods in the midlands and some parts of the north but the capital was basking in the sunshine.
21C  of lovely weather with  hardly no rain nor wind.
Just fantastic.

Filipino ice cream on the road or home made ice cream made of coconut milk peddled from the street carts.

A true Filipino best - Ube (purple yam) ice cream. Perfect for the day's sunshiny weather.

Day 1 crowd with the exhibitors stall on the background

Day 1 crowd with exhibitors stall behind

Just among the many known home grown Filipino restaurants

Filipino food we grew up with and love

Assorted Filipino delicacies

Day 2 crowd

There was also an area for fun fairs were Little Girl had so much fun in the bouncy castle.

Day 1

Day 2

And Mummy and Little Girl must of course pose for the camera!

Over all we had good fun in this year's Barrio Fiesta especially because the weather was good to us.
My tummy was definitely happy with all the lechon paksiw, sisig, crispy pata, dinuguan  and Filipino hotdogs that I had.
Little Girl was obviously enjoying the fun fair and Dearest Husband with another experience  of Filipino culture.
We came home on Sunday at almost 11pm because the Wimbledon traffic jam delayed us for an hour but still we were in good spirits.
Until then Barrio Fiesta 2013!