Tuesdays with Normi

Tuesdays. It’s an unusual day of the week to go out with girlfriends but for some reason, Normi & I keep seeing each other on Tuesdays. Totally unintentional, in fact I just thought about it now. Reminds me of Mitch Albom, who learned life’s greatest lessons on Tuesdays (with Morrie, yes!), except that I’m not seeing an old terminally ill professor.

Instead, I’m seeing an old friend whom I happen to journey this mommy life with.

Normi announced that she’s pregnant with baby number 2 on Facebook the day before we saw each other, and our usual Mommy date became a celebration of sorts. We pampered ourselves with a pedicure at Dashing Diva, and had our afternoon coffee at Cafe Breton. Correction: coffee for me, crepes for the preggy. No caffeine for you, little one.

Tuesdays with Normi

tuesdays-with-normi3

Tuesdays with Normi

Normi and I have come a long way. We grew up in Sunday School together, shared an apartment in our heydays, got engaged on the same month of the same year (September 2010, woot!), got married in the same year (2011), and now.. traversing this motherhood together. Having been friends with someone that long, it’s beautiful to witness another person grow inside and out. Conversations become more matured, and dreams become more for others than for ourselves.

It’s rare finding such friendship, and I’m happy to have this one with Normi.

That said, you know what else was birthed from these Tuesday afternoon dates?

We launched a mommy blog and called it “This Mommy Life”

One Tuesday afternoon, after rambling for hours about our new “career” as Moms, we went home and launched a blog for new moms like us.

Continue reading “Tuesdays with Normi”

Robert + Kristina: Shabby chic & made of awesome!

I first gushed about this wedding HERE, but here’s more (uhm) gushing. And lots of photos.

Robert & Kristina's Wedding Invitation

If Robert & Tin didn’t ask me to design their wedding invitation, I probably pulled their arms and insisted on letting me do it. Thankfully, they asked even before anyone was hurt. :P

It was an honor, and definitely my pleasure to do this project.

I already said in that post how special these two are to me, and how beautiful their Martha Stewart-inspired wedding was. In fact, their wedding made it to Bride & Breakfast’s wedding blog. :) Here are some photos I grabbed from B&B, taken by their official photographer Daniel Lei.

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

Robert & Kristina's Wedding

To show more details of their wedding invitation, this was my final design mock-up:

Robert & Tin's Official Wedding Invitation Mockup

See that poem written at the backside of the photo strip? That’s my favorite part.
Click to zoom.

Wedding Suppliers: Photographer: Daniel Lei Studio | Ceremony Venue: The Mango Farm
Videographer: Marvin Barbarona | Catering: Josiah’s Catering | Flowers & Styling: Vatel Manila

Wedding Rings: Matus Jewellery | Wedding Gown:  Renee Salud


cd-logo-smallI offer wordpress, logo, and branding packages for creative people who dig dreamy and minimalist designs. I also design stationery and invitations for weddings, birthday parties, and events. Feel free to message me if you like what you see. Read my Design Process to know more. Or view my Design Portfolio to see some of my work. Let’s create something beautiful!

Taking A Trip Down The Memory Lane

I did say I was going to upload more photographs of Memory Lane, that quaint little cafe in Tagaytay my friends and I visited last month. Well, here they are.

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

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Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Owned by Jolina Magdangal, Memory Lane reminds me of Hansel and Gretel’s house of candies, except you can’t eat its floors and walls. With its retro vibe and vintage collection all over the place, Memory Lane surely is as eye candy as it can get!

I don’t have much to say about the food. We only ordered some cheese sticks and kebabs out of courtesy, just because we spent too much time taking pictures and we had to consume the 100 peso parking fee.

Tagaytay is known for its food strips, and surely there are countless of restaurants in the area that offer better and cheaper food than this one. But what’s worth the trip down the Memory Lane is the place itself, coz it seemed like it was built to be a tourist attraction / romantic getaway / barkada hangout more than a specialty restaurant.

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Memory Lane Tagaytay

Then again, what’s worth the trip anywhere at all is the people you’re trippin’ with. So if you’re planning to come see Memory Lane, make sure that you bring along a camera, lots of stories, and people who make you smile. ;)

Memory Lane
Magallanes Drive, Tagaytay City
+63917-8581950, +63922-8298487
Memory Lane’s Facebook Page

The great surprise inheritance from Lolo Bob

Earlier this year, when we found out we were pregnant with twins, we thought that it was a miracle because we didn’t have twins in both our lineage. Although being able to conceive twins (however way they were conceived) is still as miraculous as it can get, we realized later on in our pregnancy that twins actually run in the family.

Specifically, in my Dad’s side of the family.

Apparently, we have a couple of distant relatives in my father’s side who have twins.

I’ve always been thankful to have inherited my Dad’s genes, but now I realize that these chubby, choleric genes I carry are actually twin-bearing genes too! Thanks, Dad!

I wish Dawn & Rain could have met their Lolo Bob, the genetic reason why there’s two of them. But I’m glad that death couldn’t get in the way of them knowing him. Someday we’ll tell them stories about their Lolo and they’ll know that they’re part of a line of brilliant, charming, twin-bearing, Jesus-loving people.

Happy  birthday, Daddy/Lolo! We love you.

Our baby shower, part 1: Showered with lots of love.. & calories!

It all began with my husband wanting to throw me a surprise baby shower with our church family, except that he couldn’t handle the pressure of the preparations so he ended up spilling the beans to me himself. I love that he tried, really, but I was glad that he told me because I didn’t want a surprise! If anything, I wanted to be able to pick what we’re going to wear (LOL) and be part of the preparations.

Everything turned out well, after all. :)

So I did as much as I coulddesigning invites, giveaways and stickers; ordering paper straws; browsing Pinterest for ideas; hand-lettering labels, you know, stuff I can do within the confines of my laptop and desk. But my involvement was little compared to my dear fairy godmothers‘ labor of love.

I don’t know how to pull off throwing a party without Mae. She did a great job organizing the whole thing—making sure that we get the items in my wish list, inviting loved ones and friends, putting the program together, and filling the venue with pinterest-inspired paper pompoms, cupcake labels, japanese lanterns, and buntings. Hands down! It was the prettiest baby shower ever.

Fresh (of Josiahs’ Catering), who once did magic on our wedding day, got carried away once again and made a little desert heaven out of our little party. There were too many deserts—cupcakes, macarons, eclairs, meringues, cream puffs—I wasn’t even able to taste everything! That is, besides the fact that my husband was watching out my sugar and calorie intake, LOL.

Ivy helped with souvenir print outs and setting up my baby registry while she’s doing her own wedding preps.

I have the awesomest friends.  Continue reading “Our baby shower, part 1: Showered with lots of love.. & calories!”