Rhiza

43/52: Those Fleeting Moments of Bliss

November 12, 2014July 21, 2020 Rhiza3 Comments

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week this 2014.

These are photographs from three Saturdays ago, the day after their birthday. (It turned out to be a weekend-long celebration, yes.) We took our twin flower girls to Tagaytay for their Ninang Joni and *ehem* Ninong Deej’s wedding, and had an absolutely lovely time.

We made a pit stop at Starbucks (the one in Tagaytay that’s overlooking Taal.. it’s beautiful!) before heading to the wedding venue, and my brother managed to capture these rare picture-perfect, frame-worthy family portraits that are making my heart burst every time I stare at them.

Needless to say, It was a beautiful day to celebrate love, and family, and God’s goodness.

I planned to take lots of photographs of that day. We prepped the camera, cleaned up our SD card, brought two lenses. But our little bosses had other plans. They pulled us around, threw a bit of tantrum before they had to walk down the aisle, refused to wear their headdresses—you know, the usual toddler stuff. Which made it impossible to do anything else, much more to take pictures.

So we let go of the camera and just basked in the moment. (Which is exactly what you should do, Mommies, when you happen to be in the same situation. LET GO OF THE PLAN and JUST ENJOY THE MOMENT.)

Still, I’m so proud of the girls for managing to walk down the aisle before (oops) falling asleep the rest of the ceremony. Here are some photographs from my iPhone, and from Joni’s FB feed:

Thankfully, because it was a destination wedding, the venue had hotel rooms / casitas that were made available for the guests. We took the (sleeping) twins back to our casita, and D let me attend the wedding while he stayed with the girls. He knew I needed a moment to see Joni “go”.

I love this girl! Although we haven’t seen much of each other lately, it has been such a blessing to witness a bit of her life, and how the Lord has brought her and Deej together. Finally. After all these years.

I picked a spot under the trees and watched the wedding ceremony from afar. Listening to the Pastor’s message and seeing the joy on Deej and Joni’s faces, I can’t help but think, oh wow, their life is never going to be the same again!

It’s going to be crazy beautiful, and it’s also going to be challenging. There will be mess, and fights, and major adjustments. There will be drastic transitions from one phase to another—one moment you’re just a bride and a wife, the next moment you’re a caregiver to a needy newborn baby who’s going to change your life forever, and the next thing you know, you have to learn to be a parent to toddlers who drive you nuts. (Well, I haven’t reached the other phases yet so I’ll stop here.)

And then there will be moments that will make you shed tears of joy. Sometimes you get to capture these moments in photographs, and you’ll treasure these remembrances forever. But most times there won’t be photographs; just fleeting moments of bliss you’ll keep in your heart always; moments when you know you wouldn’t want your life any other way.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

Bebeng’s Kitchen: Branding & Identity Redesign

November 11, 2014December 29, 2019 Rhiza8 Comments

One thing for sure, not only is Denise an amazing cook-slash-baker, she also has an awesome taste in design. Her Pinterest board of pegs and ideas was a design heaven, you can tell that she knows exactly what her vision is and the values she wants her brand to represent.

Logo and canvas bag / black wall / kitchen / wallpaper / jars / biz cards

After getting her color and style pegs, I made an initial color palette and started designing logo studies. I normally don’t share logo studies here, but I probably should. You know, just to give you an idea how my design process looks like in case you *ehem* consider working with me. Besides, I really love how these turned out. Continue reading “Bebeng’s Kitchen: Branding & Identity Redesign” →

Pink My Ride: Blog & Branding Redesign

November 8, 2014December 29, 2019 RhizaLeave a comment

I met Carmel in one of Martine’s workshops. With majority of the attendees being Moms, and Carmel being the youngest and the only single woman in the group, she was naturally easy to remember. As she was sharing her story and describing her blog goals and vision to the group, I remember seeing my younger self in her—more specifically, in her love for travel, and her passion to explore not only places but also life and new sources of inspiration. That’s why it made me really happy when she approached me to “tweak” her brand and blog design.

She wanted to keep her logo, but if you are an avid follower of Carmel’s blog, you will notice a slight but significant difference in the logo’s typography and tagline. ;) We redesigned the layout of her blog and refined her brand board. She wanted her site to be minimalist, with lots of white spaces to bring more focus to the content and the photographs. She wanted her online space to grow with her and to look more composed and matured. Continue reading “Pink My Ride: Blog & Branding Redesign” →

42/52: Not-so-Terrible Twos

November 6, 2014July 21, 2020 RhizaLeave a comment

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

As if those photographs from their second birthday were not enough, here’s more! These were taken after their birthday party, that’s why, yes, they’re still wearing their birthday dresses. :)

Rain, sweet Rain. This girl is full of antics and sweetness. Lately she likes playing “pretend sleep”. She would take her blanket and pillow, arrange them on the floor, lie down, say “night guys!” and close her eyes to (pretend) sleep. Often she would take a break from playing, come up to me or to her Daddy just to give us a hug or a kiss, and then go back to what she was previously doing. It’s totally random and soo heart-melting! And sometimes we would tell her to hug Dawn, and she would go to her sister and give her a hug and a bonus kiss. Such a sweetheart! <3

Dawn, our charming diva. This little girl practically learned to sing even before she started talking. She imitates dance moves and actions, and sings along whatever’s playing on TV. The first time she sang “I Cast All My Cares Upon You” (the whole song) on her own—it made me tear up. I mean, who sings “I Cast All My Cares Upon You” at 2 years old right? At night when the lights are out, we would hear her quietly singing to herself until she falls asleep. She rarely kisses us, but when she does.. let’s just say it makes up for all the times she won’t do it. :)

Dear Dawn & Rain, It’s been a blast being your Mommy and seeing you grow, and being around to witness your milestones. I used to be so scared of being a mommy, but thank you for making me brave, and for making this motherhood-thing all sorts of awesome. :)

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

The Daykeeper 2015 for Dreamers

November 2, 2014May 31, 2020 Rhiza6 Comments

I sometimes wonder how other Moms “chase their dreams” (or if they still do.) As a 30-year old working Mommy of twin girls, it’s been more like, “chasing deadlines” and “chasing toddlers” around here the past year.

When we’re younger, there was a lot of room for trial & error, and career shifts, and spontaneous road trips, and impulsively bought plane tickets. But as we grow older and little lives are suddenly dependent on (and affected by) the choices we make, we find ourselves taking more calculated steps. It’s not that we’re being uptight, we’re just trying hard to be responsible. We become more mindful about how we use our time and money, and whether or not something is a worthy investment. Passions and priorities naturally shift. Either we set aside our dreams for later, or we learn to chase new dreams—ones that are more for our family than for ourselves.

So maybe the chase slows down a little when we become mothers, but one thing for sure, we never stop dreaming. Continue reading “The Daykeeper 2015 for Dreamers” →

The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part2

October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 Rhiza7 Comments

We dreaded the second year because of the much anticipated “terrible twos”. We have been warned, and we’ve heard the worst. And while I’m beginning to wonder what’s so “terrible” about this stage, we thought we should drown our fears with excitement and bravely say “bring it!”

And so we planned a little party to welcome this “dreaded” year, and boyyy was it fun!

We decided to have an intimate gathering of family and just a handful of friends. The program was simple: Hang out, enjoy good food, and take lots of photographs to show the twins when they’re older. By keeping it small we get to save up their birthday money to buy them stuff that they really need. I couldn’t be any happier about our “less-is-more” choice.

The Theme: Twinkle twinkle little star

Having a small party didn’t stop me from indulging in a little DIY and designing some invites and souvenir tags. I can’t help myself. :) We picked a theme that the twins are very familiar with. If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll remember them singing and dancing to “Twinkle twinkle little star” a few months back. Dawn can sing it a lot clearer now!

So twinkle twinkle little star, it is. (They are our stars, after all.)

DIY alert: We found these wooden star clips at National Bookstore’s scrapbook section, and a friend, Sam, helped me make these paper stars. Thanks Sammy! :) Here’s how to make origami paper stars. If I had more time, I would have done these elaborate paper stars too!

The Venue: The Royal Piccadilly

I am so happy to have found this place. I first heard about their rainbow and ombre cakes. Scouring the web for an intimate party venue in the Quezon City area, I chanced upon some blog reviews and learned that they’re accommodating parties in their quaint “British-inspired restaurant” in Katipunan. My husband and I checked them out and booked right there and then.

We loved the place at first sight! And we loved it even more when we arrived on the day of party, seeing what they’ve setup for the twins.

Can’t take enough photos of that dessert table!

We only provided the souvenir tags, origami stars, and that window frame with little stars on it (which served as the dessert table’s backdrop). Everything else—the dainty props, Japanese lanterns, pretty and yummy treats, and the customized cake—are provided for by The Royal Piccadilly. You guys!! <3 Continue reading “The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part2” →