Family – Page 5 – Chasing Dreams

Never too late for “Merry Christmas!”

December 27, 2015December 29, 2015 RhizaLeave a comment

I’m pretty sure your Christmas trees are still up and we’re all still enjoying what’s left of the Christmas season (and the leftover sugar cookies). So I’ll just go ahead and finish this Christmas greeting I started drafting the day before Christmas, just before everything went full-on crazy I totally forgot about posting it.

That’s just how merry and special this particularly Christmas had been—two hands full, and no time for anything else other than wrapping gifts, adjusting to New York’s holiday rush, spending quality time with family, and chasing giddy toddlers who’ve had way too much stateside chocolates.

It’s my first Christmas away from our family in Manila and therefore have been missing them a lot, but even in the strangeness of this city it’s impossible to not feel home. Maybe because we’re surrounded by Filipinos who still very much uphold pinoy Christmas traditions. Perhaps because we are surrounded with so much love from our family here who have generously stretched their hearts, homes, budgets and schedules to accommodate us.

And then of course, home is wherever I’m with my crew.

This past week is filled with countless of moments where I just stop and marvel at God’s goodness and faithfulness that cushioned us on all sides, amidst the cold weather, the chaos that comes with living in suitcases all month, and the backlog of work I know I have to deal with later. ;) (Sorry for the unanswered emails, you guys.) Continue reading “Never too late for “Merry Christmas!”” →

Craftsmith Living Gift Ideas

November 22, 2015May 13, 2019 RhizaLeave a comment

I’m not kidding. When you step inside the Craftsmith Living shop in Salcedo Village, or see any of their pop up stores around the metro, you go away feeling more inspired than when you came.

Craftsmith Living is a concept store that carries thoughtfully curated home accessories, furniture, and artisanal items that have a Scandinavian and vintage influence in them. As an admirer of all things nordic, Craftsmith Living is surely high in my list of favorite brands in the local art community.

Each product in Craftsmith Living, they say, has a story to tell; some of which are sourced from other artists both local and abroad, and others designed and handcrafted in-house. This holiday season is a great excuse to go to Craftsmith Living and hoard items to give away as gifts! Continue reading “Craftsmith Living Gift Ideas” →

Cocoon Boutique Hotel for our 4th Year Anniversary

September 7, 2015September 7, 2015 Rhiza4 Comments

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This post might contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

Our fourth wedding anniversary celebration was our first night away from the girls since they were born. Now that I think about it, I don’t know why we waited this long! It’s not like the girls wouldn’t let us go—my Mom, who spent the night with them, reported that they didn’t even notice we were gone.

I realized that it’s mostly us (fine, me), and not the girls, who couldn’t get over the idea of spending one single night away, worried about what might happen, like, what if they looked for their Mommy and Daddy while we were away right? (Apparently NOT!)

Just us two

It’s funny how much thought went into planning this one-night getaway, to think we never even left our neighborhood! I realized that this decision-making exercise was a good reminder to us that as husband and wife, no matter how important the children are, marriage still ranks higher than parenthood in our list of priorities.

Spending extended quality time with each other is a necessary investment, not just for our relationship’s sake, but also for the kids—they are, after all, the recipients of our overflow of love for each other.

So off to our 4th wedding anniversary getaway we go, and thankfully, there’s a place we’ve always wanted to check out that is very close to our home.

Photographs from my phone’s camera, we didn’t bother bringing a big camera!

Cocoon Boutique Hotel

Hotel service and amenities

The Cocoon Boutique Hotel is as quaint as can be, something you’ll never expect to find in the chaos that is Quezon City. We’ve always eyed this place, having “toured” it the first time when we were helping a friend look for a hotel for their wedding. The interiors are thoughtfully decorated and carefully maintained, even the hallways smell good. :) The staff are very well trained and we felt treated like we were in a 5-star hotel!

Rooftop pool

We spent a few hours of the afternoon in the rooftop pool—my husband taking laps and me reading a book, later on joining him in the pool myself. D is a really good swimmer, and every time we look for a place to stay in, we always make sure to inquire about the pool. Cocoon’s swimming pool is not that big, only about 4 feet deep, with a small pool area for kids. It gets crowded easily, but we were delighted to have it all to ourselves while we were there. At night the pool lights up beautifully; in fact we planned to go back for a night swim, but with a nice little bath tub in our bedroom, we decided to just stay in.

Bath tub!

A deluxe room comes with a bath tub, something you won’t see in the usual hotels. Encased in a glass booth, you can either close down the blinds or pull it up so you can watch TV while in the tub. Such a treat!

Breakfast

The food is not bad at all, either. Once again, something you won’t really expect from a “small” hotel. We had our breakfast in the rooftop, al fresco style, with a generous buffet of salads, sandwiches, pastries, DIY omelette, and a selection of rice meals.

We definitely enjoyed our stay, and while we missed the kids, it was a much-needed time for both of us, to enjoy each other, a king-sized bed to ourselves, soft 600-threadcount sheets that didn’t smell like milk, and oh my goodness, a full 8 hours of sleep!

Every year is a milestone and therefore worth celebrating

Marriage is a lot of work. It takes a lot of work reconciling differences, attending to each other’s needs, planning your life around each other’s lives and your children’s lives, and making time for each other when 24 hours is barely enough for everything else that has to be done in a day. D and I have our share of misunderstandings and lack of time for each other, but being married to him is an undeserved favor and a great blessing in every way.

He makes me happy no doubt (and you know I don’t use the word “happy” lightly), he makes me want to become a better person, he inspires me to dream bigger dreams for our little family, he keeps me grounded and draws me ever closer to God.

Marriage may be a lot of work, but for every good thing that this marriage has added to my life, the effort to make this work is, unequivocally, worth it. In hindsight, working this out with D is, I must say, relatively easy. I couldn’t have asked for a more understanding and kind-hearted and good-smelling partner (that’s right, he smells really good, and trust me that makes a lot of difference, LOL!) and I couldn’t be more grateful to God that I get to do life with this guy.

Happy 4th anniversary, Dear David. Four years down, forever more to go. Let’s do this! :)

About the Cocoon Boutique Hotel

Cocoon Boutique Hotel takes pride in its its environment-friendly interiors and amenities. Complimentary water for guests, for example, are stored in sealed mason jars instead of plastic bottle containers. The interiors are constructed with reclaimed wood and recycled materials. The roof deck houses potted plants and organic herbs both for sale and for use in cooking the restaurant’s food. These, on top of the top-class service and unique amenities you won’t find anywhere else, Cocoon Boutique Hotel is definitely worth taking a trip to the north. :)

I suggest booking way ahead of time. Cocoon Hotel only has a handful of rooms, and reservations run out fast.

Location and contact details
61 Scout Tobias corner Scout Rallos Streets, Bgy Laging Handa, Quezon City 1103, Trunklines: 632- 9212706 to 08 / Fax Number: 632- 4137281 / www.thecocoonhotel.com

For best rates, book The Cocoon Hotel via Agoda.

Who Takes Your Couple Photos on Date Nights?

August 13, 2015June 26, 2019 Rhiza2 Comments

It’s our fourth wedding anniversary today, and it’s that time of the year where I give myself an excuse to browse through photographs and memories of the past years with David. I was going to apologize for the throwback photos and the ants and the cheese that have been all over our social media feeds all day, but I thought, hey, I’m not really sorry. :D (Sorry, not sorry!)

The web is our backup

Today as I was taking a trip down memory lane, I realized that, que horror, I lost (or misplaced) a big chunk of image files from years 2010 to 2013. I can’t remember where I backed them up or if ever I did! The lost files include photographs from our engagement, my New York trip in 2010, our Boracay honeymoon, our baby moon at Canyon Woods, and other special occasions in between.

The good news is, most of Dawn & Rain’s photographs are intact, thanks to that 52 Project! (Whew!) And as a consolation, we have uploaded a significant amount of these missing image files here on my blog and on social media. The upload-worthy ones. (Double whew!)

You know those times when people cringe at you for posting too many photographs and status messages on Facebook? Well, this is one of those moments I’m soooo glad I ignored those comments and posted photographs on Facebook anyway. Instant backup memory! I’m still wishing we locate those missing files, but if not, I’m glad we have Facebook (and this blog!) as back up.

On going to great lengths to preserve memories

The other night my husband and I noticed how we have stopped taking photographs of ourselves (and essentially stopped preserving memories) since the twins were born. Back then we would take so many photographs of us together—coffee dates, mall trips, grocery runs, random moments, even as trivial as making each other coffee in the morning or cleaning up the house—regardless if we’re posting them or just keeping them.

The past year, well, not so much.

Back then, I would go to great lengths just to preserve fleeting moments together. And I will never regret the times I did.

That said, would you notice that those photographs above were photoshopped?

Selfies are ok for memory keeping, as long as they come with descriptive captions. But I like taking photographs in context—the setting, what we wore, what we did—which a selfie can’t justify, and two people on a date can’t possibly do without help from a third person.

But of course, you can’t entrust your camera to someone who’s just passing by. In such a case, we like taking turns capturing each other’s photographs, within the same frame, after which I would merge them digitally.

Here’s how to do it, just so you get something actionable from this post:

It’s the same concept as cloning yourself in one photograph.
In our case, merging two photographs together, here’s how (except we normally don’t have a tripod, so we just make sure to take the photo from the exact spot.)

Make memories worth keeping, and preserve them!

Time flies, and there’s merit to preserving memories, whether through a blog post, a photograph, a journal entry, a twitter timestamp. I can’t count the number of times I relearned lessons, revisited milestones, or remembered God’s goodness through an old blog or some social media posts. Stuff I wouldn’t have remembered otherwise on an ordinary day.

I wouldn’t say go all out posting TMI on social media! I say, not too many details, just the essence of the memory, like the telling of a poignant story, in ways that would inspire and connect people (friends and strangers alike), while serving your own nostalgia.

Here are some bloggers who do storytelling and memory-keeping so well, if you want to be inspired—

My husband and I haven’t planned anything yet to celebrate today. He’s in school all day and I’m at home supposedly working, and I’m not yet sure how we would celebrate this day, except of course I know we will, and that there will be lots of photographs. (And maybe a little something special over the weekend too. ;) I can’t wait!)

Embracing Motherhood with Cycles and Cradle

August 10, 2015March 29, 2019 Rhiza1 Comment

I remember it like it was just yesterday, preparing for our twins’ arrival. Seven months into pregnancy, my husband and I started carefully disinfecting every nook and cranny of the house, and gently washing their first set of clothes.

As first time parents, ordinary tasks like washing baby clothes or hanging curtains in the nursery were sacred and emotional moments. We knew our lives were going to change forever, yet totally clueless about how much it actually would!

You can never be fully prepared for motherhood

The thing is, no parent saw it coming, how much love would overflow at the sight of a tiny baby you just met, how addicted you would be to the smell of your baby’s skin, or how much a little smile would change you, break you, wreck you.

Nothing would prepare you for the sleepless nights, the laundry that doesn’t seem to run out, the scare of a little insect bite or a low-grade fever, the endless packing and unpacking of the diaper bag, the crying, the feeding, the bathing.

The good news is, you get better at it somehow. You learn to decipher what your baby needs just by the sound of her cries. You know not to pack too many clothes or too many bottles. You know what brands of shampoo or laundry detergent to buy. You learn to deal with the bad days and make the most out of the good ones.

And you become appreciative of the fact that you don’t have to do motherhood alone. You get by with a lot of help from your family and friends, and from passionate brands who understand your need to give your children only the best.

Cycles and Cradle is in the business of partnering with mothers to give their children utmost love and care.

A company that was established by a meticulous and protective mother herself, Cycles and Cradle offers natural and innovative baby products—from laundry detergent to bottle cleansers, from baby wash and lotion to insect repellent and diaper cream.

We got our first set of Cycles mild laundry detergent products from our baby shower, three years ago, gifted to us by a seasoned mother who knew just what we needed to have as new parents. We’ve been using Cycles laundry detergent ever since, and just recently started using their baby skincare products under the new Cycles Sensitive line.

Proudly Filipino-made, Cycles and Cradle celebrates its 10th year anniversary this month, and we join the thousands of mothers and families whose lives were made better and easier by this brand’s commitment and vision to give our little ones only the best.

We couldn’t be more grateful.

Happy 10th anniversary, Cycles and Cradles! Thank you for being all around awesome.

Cycles and Cradle Baby Essentials

To know more about Cycles and Cradles, visit their websites and follow them on Instagram.

Cycles Laundry Detergent // cyclesbaby.com / Instagram
Cradle Natural Cleansers // cradlenatural.com / Instagram
Cycles Sensitive // cycles-sensitive.com

Sofitel Manila Staycation with Kids

July 25, 2015July 27, 2019 RhizaLeave a comment

This post may have affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

We couldn’t have booked a staycation at a worse time. The weather was horrible, a typhoon just entered the country, classes were suspended, and many parts of the metro were flooded.

We got ourselves booked at Sofitel a few weeks ago, long before weather forecasts showed signs of a typhoon. We looked forward to take a dip in the pool, enjoy the outdoors, maybe even watch the sunset by the Manila bay. None of these were possible during our stay, and yet somehow our Sofitel experience couldn’t have been better still. It was a bed weather kind of week anyway, and staying in is definitely a good idea inside Sofitel’s luxurious guest rooms and indoor facilities.

The story of my life—everything worked out together for good after all. Continue reading “Sofitel Manila Staycation with Kids” →