Christmas is really in our HEARTS! ♥

Halloween’s coming to town – (sounds weird) and so is Christmas. We’ve been very busy decorating our place with Christmas decors, and finally we’re done dolling up our place! We’ve squeezed in a little bit of Halloween decorations too – but not as much as the Santa Claus and angels scheme. :D    

My dog loves to sleep at this mini carpet 

Countdown to Christmas Day ♥

The Fridge

Christmas tree outside

The indoor Christmas tree

The place mat, cup, glass and plate

The door ♥

Stairs :) 

See - we also have a Halloween corner. hehe

Happy Halloween and at the same time, advance Merry Christmas! ♥

Mezzanorte in UP Technohub

If you’re looking for a place to pig out with your friends or simply a place where to have your snacks with your lovies, then this hub in UP technohub is a great place to visit. They sell almost the same types of foods you can find in Banchetto - from pastas, chicken, pica pica's down to ihaw ihaw's. 

But what really caught my attention was the way how they presented these tuknenengs. It’s not the usual color orange that you dip on vinegar but rather gourmet flavored tuknenengs that you dip on different sauces.  ;) At first, I was hesitant to taste it but thanks to my sister-in-law for buying enough food and I was able to relish how good it tastes. Well, on the other hand, I’d still prefer the usual way of eating the color orange flavorless tukneneng. :D 

Pesto and Marinara flavored Tukneneng

My favorite Takoyaki and Dynamite! ♥

My new and longer last name :D

Updating documents is really one of the most challenging tasks after the wedding. The hassle of falling in line and dealing with some of the government peeps s is such a tough thing to accomplish. SOME of them are not accommodating and unfortunately, every time I have to go to a government office, the person in charge of assisting me is really not friendly at all. 

5 months have passed since the wedding and I still do not have a valid ID that indicates my new and longer last name. I haven’t updated my expired license yet because I still don’t feel going to NSO to get an authenticated copy of our marriage certificate. (LTO needs it as a proof that I am already married) ♥ I hope changing my last name and status is as easy as changing it on facebook. Tee hee.

Good thing, my employer was kind enough to change all my information at the office; at least I get to carry my new name on e-mails and on the database. They also changed my name tag on my desk which I barely noticed.  

My old name plate ;) 

Loving my new name plate! I have lots of letter A's and R sound on my name right now. Katreenuh Ulcantaruhh. ♥ Love it! 

Experience with the famous tablet

Few years ago when the 1^st generation famous tablet was released, I wasn’t really impressed with it. I find it impractical and overly rated by the Apple fans. I didn’t appreciate how it looked, it’s bulkiness plus the functions are really limited. It doesn't have a camera plus the platform is complicated. I even told myself that I won’t buy any Apple gadgets – not because I am not a fan of it, but I find it really expensive and it didn't suit our budget at all.

Then Apple released an improved famous tablet – thinner and of course better version, and faster. It has a camera, and greater display. I wasn’t startled too by its design. Though I wanted to have one, but I know deep inside that it’s too impractical to get one.

Not until I have laid my eyes and touched the latest version of the famous tablet. The moment I’ve touched it and tried it for a couple of minutes at this appliance center, I have always told my good o hubby that I want it. I’ve always wanted a tablet but I never thought of getting an Apple tablet. It’s way beyond our budget.

 I can still remember, my hubby bought me a KingCom tablet that only lasted for a couple of months. I’ve always wanted a Samsung tablet – but since we were still saving for our wedding that time, we bought the Kingcom tablet instead which I thought has the same functions and speed like the other tablets. Hehe! Yes I was able to install games on it, but I had a hard time connecting to the Internet using the said tablet. So ending, I had to give it to my little sister, and after she used it for a couple of days, it eventually got busted.

And so Mark gave in and finally bought me the new iPad. *evil grin*

If we are going to compare the iPad 2 and iPad 3 – i can say that there’s no big difference at all. Only that the newer iPad has better graphics since it has retina display. You get to play HD games and view HD movies with the iPad. Too bad because Apple’s too greedy with their apps so you can’t install as much games as you want, because most of the great apps on the App Store has a fee. No wonder users would prefer to have it jailbroken so they can install the great Apps of Apple. So far I haven’t tried jailbreaking our Apple gadgets. I’m very much happy with their performance. Now I know why people go crazy about Apple products.

If you’re planning to get one – make sure to buy a case and screen protector too. With its price, its design is really prone to scratches. Invest for a protector – ( a screen guard and a good case)  I bet you don’t want to see tiny marks and scratches on your iPad. It’s painful to see one. Hehe. We both our screen protector at Games and Gadgets at Php 999 and it’s really worth every penny. There are cheaper versions, but once you stick ‘em , you can see the bubbles. Ours is 100% proven scratch proof and it’s as if it doesn’t have a screen protector at all. ;) 

Overall rating with the new iPad - 5 glistening stars! ♥ - minus the hassle that iOs6 gave me. LOL!

Tada!!! 

Pushing the boat out for the Christmas season

Halloween’s not yet over but we've already started decorating our home with Christmas adornments. This is our 4^th Christmas together, but this Christmas is going to be more memorable since it’s the first time we are going to celebrate it as husband and wife.

We have no definite plans yet how to celebrate it but we know for sure it’s going to be a blast. And Since we are both working on a US firm, surely wouldn’t be a holiday for us; most especially that Christmas day’s going to fall on a weekday.

Yet, we are both planning to take an early leave on December for his birthday and to push the boat out for the holiday season.

Unboxing the o great Baul where we keep the Christmas decorations ♥ 

A glimpse of our Christmas tree. Hello there Mr. Santa ♥ Just enough for our simple abode.

If you're looking for a place where to buy unique and overly cheap Christmas decorations, you might want to try visiting  any Uniwide stores. Surely, you'll find a good buy that would suit your taste, motif and budget. Price range of decorations is 5php to 200php. Not really bad as compared to the actual mall prices. ♥

Our weekend getaway at Tagaytay

Hubby and I didn’t have the chance to go into a real honeymoon like other couples. The day after the wedding, we immediately went home to fix our things and ornate our room. The honeymoon we have we have been planning for a couple of months already gets postponed from time to time, and up to this moment which is nearly 5 months after the wedding we still don’t have a firm location where to have it. Gee, I bet you can now imagine how home-buddy we could be. ;)

2 weeks ago, we had the chance to go out of town – (but with my mom) and visited our place in Tagaytay Greenville. It was such a fun experience and it brought back the memories, because this is where my husband courted me. This is where it all started, so our place in Tagaytay will always be memorable for the two of us. 

Enjoying the weather ♥

Did you know that we both love praying together. ☻ It makes our relationship stronger. We visited the Little Souls Sister and asked the sisters to pray for our petitions. 

My hubby opening the door ;) -- obviously 

We also went to Bag of Beans - which is our favorite restaurant in Tagaytay. 

Think Pink ☻

In color psychology, pink is a sign of hope. It is a positive color inspiring warm and comforting feelings, a sense that everything will be okay.  

http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-pink.html

I love pink, don't you think? ☻ 

There's something about color pink that makes me feel really giddy. I feel more beautiful and sexier (hehehe) if I wear any shade of pink. 

See for yourself ♥ 

And yes, even my meds are color pink. Perhaps the doctor realized that I am into color pink. ♥

Sweet simple surprises

I love cooking for my husband whether it is simple or complicated dishes. But what I love the most is to see him enjoying the dish I have prepared for him and seeing him smiling with my sweet simple surprises.

Here’s my latest sweet simple surprise note I wrote for him when I prepared our breakfast while he was washing the clothes.  

This is how my husband wants his sunny side up cooked. He want's it gooey. :D The chocolate drink in the hello kitty glass is his favorite drink. And yes, he doesn't mind if he uses my hello kitty glass ♥

My husband is not the typical person who would surprise me with chocolates and flowers with matching violin and candle light dinner. He would rather tell me what gift he’s planning to give me to be sure that I would really love it.

If my husband is not the typical guy who enjoys surprising me– I am completely the other way around. I love surprising my husband with sweet simple gestures. By leaving him a note, giving him candies (yes!) , buying his favorite chocolate drink but before he sees it I let him close his eyes first and so much more.

Surprises make him feel more loved and I love it whenever I see him smiling. I love it how he hugs and kiss me after surprising him with my sweet simple gestures.

So if you’re a wife or a girlfriend who has a husband or a boyfriend who is not fond of surprising you, don’t get upset. Instead, why don’t you do the things that you want him to do to you? Who knows, he has bigger and better plans of surprising you. ;)   

My first attempt of cuter fingernails

Ever since I was a little girl – I’ve had pudpod fingernails. It has been a part of my dream to grow long nails – but unfortunately, my nails are too small and its shape is not appropriate for long finger nails. I would envy girls who get to keep their nails long and clean at the end of the day. There was a time when I tried not to cut my nails for more than a week to make it longer, but at the end of the day, I am left with no choice but to cut it since dirt’s are coming inside. Imagine, short nails with libag in it – that’s why my husband teases me every time he sees these black dusts inside my nails.

I have only tried manicure once (that’s the day before our wedding day), and the rest, are only nail cutting. I do not clean my nails (as in the professional way, with the nipper, pusher and cuticle remover) but I do cut it once a week. I do not even apply nail polish since I like it simpler.

However, last week, I tried to apply nail polish to ornate my fat and pudpod nails. Surprisingly, I am happy with the results and I feel like changing colors every day already. Good enough for a beginner like me. ;)

At times like this, I want to be an ambidextrous so I get to apply nail polish that easy on my left finger nails. hehe

Touch of Beige - looks elegant ;) 

My DIY crackling nails! 

My husband's latest Game

My husband’s a big fan of basketball – (well most guys do); he knows each team down to the retired players and he could name every basketball shoes of these players by just looking at it. Sounds crazy to me, but I think it’s pretty normal for a guy to familiarize himself with these things most especially that he’s into it.

He’s a great player too. He used to be a part of a basketball team during his younger years, but for some reasons he had stopped playing.

To carry on his passion for playing this sport, his first impulse after we got the XBOX is to buy the NBA2K12. I really don’t know what’s with this game. I have seen the previous version, but I don’t get it why guys go gaga over this game. The ball toss looks endless – and the stunts are just the same. Except that the transition and graphics are much better for the newer versions. (a girl’s point of view though).

Maybe it’s like how ladies go crazy with shoes and bags, I suppose. I just don’t get it how my husband could play this almost every day for long hours, plus he has a couple of basketball games too installed on our iPad and iTouch. Looks he’s really addicted with it.

And to surprise him – I brought him to Toy Kingdom last October 5 (well, if you’re a gamer, then you would be familiar with this date) to get the newest and freshest version of NBA. Well, what more could I expect from a basketball lover like him, of course he was really happy it.  The smile on his face was priceless and he looked very excited to play with it.

As expected, he disregarded his previous version and is now focusing MORE to this newer version.

He was drafted! 

As an apprentice’s point of view of the latest version of NBA, here are the things I have noticed:

Pros:

Has access to retired team players (Yay, my husband gets to use his favorite basketball player Penny Hardaway)

Has access to new players like Justin Bieber, and Mayweather. Ahaha. From singer and boxer to being a basketball player, how is that?

Has greater graphics – if you think that NBA2k12 has good graphics, then this one’s much better

Has faster transition

And since JayZ is the producer of this latest version, expect to hear a couple of songs from the DVD. Rhianna, Cold Play, and JayZ himself have tracks on the DVD too. Mind you, La Vida Loca which happened to be our grand entrance song is also included on the playlist

Cons:

. Whenever my husband plays the “My Player Version”, there’s a part where it freezes and even if you restart the game, the issue would still occur. We did a research and found out it is a glitch for Xboxes with 4GB memory. Due to the size of the actual game, the hard drive’s having a difficult time reading the DVD and the only way to fix it is to upgrade the hard drive of the console.

Err, upgrading the console would mean shedding thousands again, and I am quite against it.

If you're interested to purchase this game - you can get it for P2,100 at any Toy Kingdom outlet. There are some stores that offer it at a much higher price. The price tag on our DVD is 2,400 - but we were able to get a discount when we bought it. 

Visit at Yexel's Toy Museum

Last weekend – we went to Yexel’s toy Museum to celebrate Enzo’s birthday celebration. Enzo is hubby’s ever cute and intelligent nephew. He never fails to amaze me with every words and sentences he says. He has a very good command of English (yes, he speaks English so fluent – but he sounds cuter whenever he speaks in Tagalog already. Hehe.

Yexel’s toy museum is located in Las Pinas City, at the back of SM South Mall. If you are from down south – then you must be familiar with Pilar Village. This is where the museum is located. The façade of the museum doesn’t really look like a museum after all. It’s a 3 story-house with a super homey feeling - that is currently in renovation; and the only thing that made us think it was the museum is because of the guy standing outside wearing the Toy museum shirt.

The overall experience was really a blast and was really worth it minus the sweat (some parts of the museum doesn’t have an AC) . Entrance fee regardless of age is 300.00. To Yexel, Kudos to you for opening this to the public and for bringing back the child in us. Kudos to the peeps who assisted us and took much effort to take lots of pictures of my family. 

If you're a toy lover or simply young at heart, then this place is really for you. Overall rating experience: 5 stars! ;) 

Mr. and Mrs. A ♥

Strike a pose hubby! 

Look how cool my in-laws are! :) 

With my sister in laws

Enzo -  hubby's adorable nephew

Hi there woody! ;) 

The funniest family on EARTH, literally! 

Famous actors and actresses who already visited the toy museum

Me, as the Iron Lady :D