A Dream Of A Vintage Wedding

Photography by: Three Nails

One of a woman's dream is to have a perfect wedding. This is one of the important milestones in a woman's life because this is the day that she will enter the family life with the man that she love and she want to spend her forever with. This day should be the perfect and the best day of her life and this should be the day where she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

My husband and I tied the knot in a simple civil wedding but we are still planning to have a church wedding ceremony after a year or two, and for me, this is the perfect time to plan for my dream wedding: The Vintage Wedding. 

I've searched for vintage wedding ideas for the invitations, venue, wedding favors, make-up, music, and of course, the wedding gown. Here are some of the inspirations for my dream vintage wedding. These are the minor elements of the wedding. I will post the major elements of a wedding in the coming days. 

A vintage-inspired wedding invitation with mad lib rsvp card | Paisleyquill

Tea-dyed escort Tags 

Vintage Books Centerpiece (I want this because I love books!)

Heart-shaped mint candies in bride and groom tin can for wedding favors

A tightly curled fiddlehead fern with peacock feathers boutonniere for the groom

Vintage Guestbook Inspiration: Antique display table with gorgeous stationery for guests 

Brown Program Booklets displayed in a vintage wooden box

Credits: The Knot, Project Wedding, Oh! so beautiful paper, Paisley Quill, Style Me Pretty, Three Nails Photography

Frugal Mom

When us, women start to build a family and rear children, there are a lot of things that we have to give up. One of those things is buying expensive stuffs for ourselves. I'ts not a sin to pamper ourselves sometimes but we can't help but think of our kids first before we buy something, especially if we're on a tight budget. We tend to just shrug off the urge to buy the thing that we wanted because we want to provide first the things that our family needs and put ourselves in the least position on our priorities. Though we have extra money to buy our stuffs, we still feel guilty if we choose ourselves first among our children's needs.

Because of this dilemma, I've thought of a frugal way to pamper myself with the things that I fancy especially clothes, shoes, and handbags. My remedy for this is visiting a local thrift store/vintage store or commonly known as "ukay-ukay"(in the Philippines).

Yeah, this may seem off but its not really that icky to use the things that were previously owned by others or "pre-loved" by others as it will feed our personal needs without feeling guilty, it is practical, and we can contribute in saving mother-earth, too. With proper cleaning and disinfecting of the things, it will be good enough to use it again plus, the things in the thrift stores are unique, we could actually find designer and original items, 50-80% below its original price (i actually found some c:)

These are some of the things that I bought from different thrift stores I've visited around the metro. 

Tips For Good Study Habits For Our Kids

Giving our child a full and good quality education is one of the crucial aspects in rearing a healthy and successful individual. It is important that we develop effective study habits for our child and assist him in his studies to improve his academic performance and enhance his learning abilities. We should check our child's work and study with him so we can monitor the things that he learn and provide him with necessary information if he have some questions that are not tackled in school. Studying with our kids also creates a bonding moment with our kids which helps in their school performance. Here are some tips in creating a good study habits for our kids.

1. Standard Study Time. Set up a regular time for studies and consistently, strictly implement it. This will establish our child's studying routine and homework habits. We can use an alarm clock or a bulletin board indicating a reminder of the study time.
2. Standard Study Place. Choose the study spot that is away from distractions like noise and television. We should also keep away things that could distract our child like some handheld gaming devices (psp, nintendo DS, etc.) and toys. Dont use the bed as the study spot because it may interrupt the child's sleeping habit since the bed is used for sleeping.
3. Standard Procedures. Help our child to plan the things that he needs to accomplish. Write down the things that should be done (homework, essays, research, reviews) so he can track the things that he needs to do and the things that he have accomplished.
4. Do the Homework. Some parents have the urge to just do the homework for their kids to get it done correctly without explaining to the child the procedures and the answers to the homework. We should guide the children in doing the homework so they would learn the answers and they'll have the idea what the homework is all about. We should teach the children some strategies in solving the problem and guide them to the answers.
5. Have a Break. Allow breaks between the study hours so the child could refresh his memory and will not lose focus. Long hours of study could be so boring and blocks concentration, and sometimes, it makes the child feel sleepy. Give at least 5-10 minutes break then resume after.
6. Be Organized. Teach the child to be organized and clean with the study table so his school stuffs will be accessible to him whenever he needs it.
7. Instill the importance of education. Talk to the child about the possibilities and opportunities when he did well in school. If his dream is becoming a doctor, tell him that he can make this dream come true if he will study hard.
8. Make learning fun. We can play word games and puzzles with our child after he have finished everything that should be done. This will make the child more enthusiastic with studying and it also help in the child's learning ability.
9. Standard Sleep. The child should have enough sleep because it is important for effective studying and memory. A child with lack of sleep will have poor school performance and dull memory.
10. Acknowledge. Acknowledge the child's effort after he finished everything that should be done. This will give the child a positive point of view about studying and will make him more interested. This will also boost his self-confidence. Proof read everything and help the child correct the mistakes if there's any.

Sleek Review

I've finally got one of my dream palettes, the Sleek I-divine palette in acid. Sleek is actually a UK brand and is not available in the Philippines BUT you can find a lot of online sellers in Facebook and Multiply which distribute the brand, from blushes, lip paints, to eye shadow palettes including this one. This is really my favorite among the others and i got mine from Hot Boutique By Carmella in Facebook. I love how the shadow sticks to the skin and stays there for hours. It is not easily erased by oiliness or sweat.

The colors make me Colorgasm! *drool*

Swatches

I tried to imitate the Nicki Minaj Super Bass Look Using the palette and I'm Really impressed with the palette's intense hues. When I applied it i thought it was kinda light and unnoticeable but when i took a photo of it, the colors are so intense, i was really surprised and excited!

I am looking forward to creating more looks with this gorgeous palette. For now, I'll practice more on "super bass" look and will keep you guys posted. :)

Carl's Summer Class

I've enrolled Carl last month in Special Education Institution in Pasig City, a school run by the government for special children who can't afford to go to a private special school. I'ts great that there's a school like this  for poor Filipino special children so they will have access to the kind of education that they need. The tuition fee for a year is only 300 pesos. The shoes, notebooks, books, and PE uniform are all provided by the government. The school accepts Hearing impaired children (just like my Carl), Autistic children, children with down syndrome, and children with learning disabilities (dyslexia, to name one). The teachers are graduates of  BS education with special education major, and are all friendly and approachable. The school has a security guard and never let the children go out of the school premises if not picked up by the guardian. This Summer, the kids are taught how to write, to perform activities of daily living, to do some house chores (within the scope of the child's capacity), and to socialize with other children and the society. I'm planning to transfer Carl in a private school if our budget permits but as of now, I'll just let my son enjoy this school and the privilege of studying for a very affordable price. I'm so thankful that there are teachers that are willing to give education to these children in exchange for a modest salary. You are like an angel to parents who have a special children because without you, who will impart knowledge to the child aside from us parents? KUDOS TO ALL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS!! 

The Modern Day Sisa

Sisa is the fictional character from Dr. Jose Rizal's Noli me Tangere (Touch me not) written way back in the 1800's. The book was written as a way of protest against the spanish friars in our country. Sisa, one of the popular characters in the book, is a mother of two boys, Basilio and Crispin, and the wife of the abusive gambler Pedro. Sisa is described as a mother who considers her sons her only treasure. She would often anticipate when they return home as she would prepare their favorite dishes. She remembers each son's features and when alone, remember moments when her sons were with her. The children were working as sacristan in the church when apparently, they were accused as thieves and later, they were nowhere to be found. Sisa then succumb to insanity. She roamed about and was recognized by the limping Basilio. As she has not recognized her son, a chase ensued and ended when Basilio fell off the tree to catch his mother. When she finally recognizes her son, Basilio had fainted. When Basilio woke up, Sisa had died.

Today, a lot of mothers are agonizing, crying in pain as they lost their children due to kidnapping. There are news that there are people lurking around searching for women who have newborn babies. They would offer the woman some cash and groceries, and "help" the woman in carrying the child. When the woman is unaware, that's the time the suspect would runaway with the child, leaving the helpless mother alone. Another story also states that there are men in a van who are looking for children playing on the streets. When the children's parents are unaware, they will get the child, ride in the vehicle, and drive away. Based on the police investigation, the kidnapped babies were possibly being sold to couples who have no children. Other children possibly were kidnapped by the syndicates to be made as beggars on the streets.
No one could possibly explain the pain of losing a child except the mother for she carried her child for nine months, showered the child with love and affection, cared for the child, built dreams and aspirations for the child, and of course, because that is her child. A mother, without all the riches in the world will still be rich because of her children's love. She considers them as her treasure, her valuable possession, just like Sisa who've gone insane because her children were taken away.


Credits: wikipilipinas

Summer Love

In time for the summer, I played with my palette to create a look that suits the summer season. I used mostly Golden hues, orange, bronze for the cheeks, and golden bronze color for the lips, mostly from sephora palette. You can wear this during the day or night, when you go clubbing. :)