Looking forward to more pasyal in the future

I first showed you our fridge magnet display here. Pero ni-relocate ko na siya sa ibaba, malapit sa front door, late last year kasi medyo magulo pala sa mata kapag nasa may tapat ng kitchen counter. Hindi bagay sa 'minimalist' interior design ko.

Anyway, my son is currently obsessed with our small (pa lang naman) travel magnet collection. Palagi yan nakatitig sa magnets, kabisado na nya nga lahat. He's into places na kasi these days (he also loves looking at our world globe), napapanood sa youtube at ABC Mouse. Ang dami na nyang alam na countries/cities -- Paris, Japan, Malaysia, Africa, Arizona, India, Indonesia, Mexico, London, etc. -- and he would always ask us kung nakapunta / kelan kami pupunta sa mga yun.

Hay, sobrang sarap na sanang mag-travel ngayon! Nathan is already 5 1/2 kaya mas madali na syang isama at talagang interesado na siyang mamasyal. Kaso naman, kung dati eh time (and budget na rin syempre) lang ang issue, eto ngayon at dumagdag pa si Covid. It's now very uncertain kung kelan ba uli magiging safe ang mamasyal, ang pumunta sa airport at sumakay sa eroplano.

This year, two international travels na namin ang hindi natuloy/matutuloy. We were supposed to go to California last March 20 to attend my sister-in-law's wedding pero ayun at naghigpit na nga a few days before our flight. Tapos this July 8 naman sana ang uwi namin uli sa Pilipinas pero syempre hindi na rin matutuloy. Hay! Kung kelan pasyal na pasyal pa naman ako! Syempre hindi naman na bago samin ang pumunta sa California at Pinas pero I was looking forward to going to places there na hindi pa namin napupuntahan syempre (like Legoland!).

Kahit dito sa nga sa BC, ang dami-dami pa naming hindi nae-explore. Although unti-unti na nilang binubuksan ang mga public parks, ang hirap pa rin mag-enjoy kung nandyan pa rin si Covid sa paligid-ligid.

Tsk, so pano na nga ba? Nathan's very excited pa naman to buy more magnets. His goal daw is to full this whole wall with them.

When this pandemic is over, I will really make sure na mamasyal kami nang mamasyal kahit sa malapit lang. Sa totoo lang medyo tinamad din kasi ako the past years eh, mas ginusto ko na lang mag-mall palagi. Pero katulad nga ng sabi nila, we should invest on experiences and not on material things. Tama naman (pero material girl din talaga ako kaya hindi pwedeng walang shopping hehe). Tapos who would have thought na mangyayari ito, na mare-restrict sa travel ang mga tao. Ni hindi kami makapag-Jollibee sa Washington kaloka! (FYI, closed ang Canada-USA border sa ngayon at kung sakali man na lumabas ka ng Canada, kailangan mong mag-quarantine ng 14 days pagbalik).

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PS: I will buy at least two magnetic boards pa sana sa Ikea soon kaso hindi na available! Waaaaaaaaah! Gusto kong maiyak! Sana magre-stock sila. Sana talaga.

Fridge Magnet Display

We've been living here in our new townhouse for 3 1/2 months already and still, para pa rin kaming bagong-lipat. Hindi pa rin talaga namin naayos ang mga gamit, many of our stuff are still in boxes na nasa garahe.

If you will ask why, sige ang primary reason na siguro talaga ay katamaran. Nakakatamad talagang maghalukay haha! Kung tutuusin, we are ok na with all the things that we are using now kaya parang nate-take for granted na namin yung ibang gamit. Tsk, saka parang nire-remind lang ako ng mga yun sa engagement ko to excessive counsumerism. Ewan ko ba. Oh well, crammer naman ako. I have one month pa para mag-ayos kami ng bahay bago kami umuwi ni Nathan sa Pinas so I'll make sure na gagalaw na ako in the coming days. Ayaw ko namang abutan pa ang mga ito pagbalik namin sa August noh.

Anyway, since hindi ko pa maipakita sa inyo ang bahay namin, unti-unting parts/areas na lang muna. Let's start with our fridge magnet display. Haha, sa Pinas we call it "ref magnets" pero dito kasi they use the word fridge. I remember when we were in a shop in Squamish, I asked the salesperson for a ref magnet tapos hindi niya gets kung ano yun. Since then, sabi ko fridge magnet na nga ang magamit na term.

So eto na nga ang display boards ko ng fridge magnets. As I have mentioned in this post, nag-start na uli akong mag-collect ng travel souvenirs, including magnets.

I still have more magnets, di ko pa lang naa-unearth hihi.

Noon pa lang naga-apartment kami, sinabihan ko na ang asawa ko na gawan niya ako ng something similar to this (in white frame). Nakita ko kasi na may ganyan din sa house ng in-laws ko sa Califonia na ginawa daw ni father-in-law. So syempre oo lang ang sagot ng dyowa ko. Ayun, nitong nakalipat na kami eh narealize ko na aabutin siguro ng siyam-siyam bago ako magkaroon nito kung siya ang aasahan ko. Aside sa kulang sa time (syempre marami pa kaming dapat unahing gawin at ayusin dito sa bahay), eh hindi naman talaga crafty ang asawa ko. He's good with the usual manly fixings and repairs pero sa may mga kailangan ng creativity, medyo sabit siya lol.

Credits: www.leesheatac.com

Buti na lang I found this white magnetic memo board noong naglalakad-lakad kami sa Ikea. Naisip ko agad na pwede na ito for our fridge magnets.

We bought two muna for $22.39 (tax included) each. Shaiks, almost Php1,000.00 na pala haha. Maliit siya sa totoo lang at parang konti lang ang malalagay. Naisip ko na magdadagdag na lang ako ng boards habang papadami ang collection ko.

White as usual ang theme ng house namin kaya perfect siya.

This is a temporary location, I guess (patay, yari ako kay hubby!). Kapag nagdagdag ako ng boards, malamang ililipat ko sila. We have limited wall spaces so baka sa may bandang stair na lang.

We actually have a bigger refrigerator now that can accommodate lots of magnets kaso ayaw ko naman ngang maglagay doon. Some magnets are fragile (especially yung mga ceramic type) at tiyak magkakandahulog kung palaging nagagalaw. Tapos ang hirap pang linisan ng ref kapag maraming nakalagay. At ang kalat pang tingnan.

O siya, I hope to be able to show you more parts of our house soon. Please stay tuned. =)

"Me" Room and House-Hunting

Ahhhh, how I miss my "Me" room! Right now, I am still trying to reconcile myself with the fact that I'd probably won't have my own space anymore in Canada.

This was my special place in our previous townhome in Edmonton.

There's a new townhouse development in Aldergrove and my husband has an appointment to view the sample units on March 4. He registered on their website a couple of weeks back and eventually received a notice that phase 1 homes are already ready for selling.

You see, the prices of new townhomes and condos in Metro Vancouver have soared so high that ordinary residents like us can no longer afford them. Hence, Ford suggested that we try to look farther. That's when the idea of living in Aldergove came in.

Medyo malayo na yung place (trivia: the Kent farm in the TV series Smallville is a working farm in Aldergrove), mga 35 minutes to Surrey and about an hour to downtown Vancouver. Boundary na rin ito ng BC at Washington, US. To be honest, ayoko talagang tumira doon. I don't drive in Canada yet so feeling ko maa-isolate ako, but this is our last shot in owning a brand new townhouse in BC. If not, we'll end up in small-sized condos or 30-40+ year-old townhomes in Metro Vancouver. As I have mentioned on this post, my husband wants a "new" home. Hangga't maari, ayaw niya talaga ng luma. Kung sabagay, mahirap bumili ng old townhomes kasi kahit na sabihing renovated, wala na rin yun value later on. Lugi lang kami.

Pero kung kelan naman ok na sa akin na tumira doon, saka naman parang naging imposible. Among the 30+ units that will be sold, dalawa lang ang kasya sa budget namin. Two-bedroom lang yun ha. My husband is scheduled on the second day of viewing (at sa bandang hapon pa) so I am not expecting na maaabutan pa niya. Yes, parang hot pandesal lang ang peg ng pagbili ng bahay dito. The prospective buyer has to make up his/her mind the very moment na ma-view niya yung units and issue a check for reservation. Unahan talaga. Ready na rin ang units for turnover by April kaya mabilisan na.

Sabi ng asawa ko, "kung para sa atin talaga yun eh makukuha natin." I agree, kaso nalulungkot pa rin ako. I want to move na and really start anew. Ayoko ng magtagal sa current apartment namin. For sure, hindi na rin namin magiging option na antayin ang ibang phases 2-4 ng townhomes kasi tiyak tataas na ang presyo dahil sa demand. Hay, to give you an idea, halos doble ng halaga ng dating bahay namin yung target namin ngayon.  Two-bedroom lang yun ha.

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So there, imposible na nga akong magkaroon ng panibagong "Me" room. I'd probably set up an area na lang in our future bedroom for my stationery/arts and crafts stuff.

Pero sige, ok lang. I just want to have my own house again.

Our dining area -- March 2015

This is how our dining area looks like now.

I was happy I found a nice (and cheap) table cloth at Target. But how I wish our dining table has a glass top. Hindi kasi uso yun dito. I've researched and pwede naman magpa-customize. Pero ayaw ko ng i-attempt, malamang mas mahal pa ang abutin kesa sa presyo mismo ng table. Sa taas ba naman ng labor cost dito!

This area is still a work in progress. We still lack the bench seat cushion. Sa Pilipinas na lang ako magpapa-customize pag-uwi namin. Kulang pa rin sa curtains kasi wala pa akong mahanap na bagay at sakto.

The throw pillows at the bench were actually just 'borrowed' from our living room. We need to free our couches kasi from those bulky pillows para hindi hassle sa baby. I'll buy na lang later on.

Our house interior is so monotonous - mostly white and beige and turquoise/teal. I like it that way.

Christmas in my Me Room

I was feeling blue today so I decided to cheer myself up by fixing my "Me Room." Yep, I have my own room in this house. Actually it's more of a 'work/craft area' where I store all my nonsense (but kawaii) stuff like pens, papers, and other stationery. I have a huge shelf here (I'll have to show it to you later, when it's already filled up haha!) and a computer table. I also have a white couch which can transform into a bed in case we have additional house guests.

The theme of the room is white and pink but since it's only fifty days before Christmas, I decided to temporarily replace the pinks with the reds.

This couch (or sofa bed) was bought in Ikea. 

It now looks Christmasy noh? And oh I really really love my Hello Kitty Santa! I feel a lot better now.

We only have three bedrooms in this house and I know that in a few years, I would have to give this room to Chicklet (unless we move to a bigger home?). We have a guestroom but we have to reserve that for guests, especially my in-laws who I know will often come to visit us (they are just 3-hours plane ride away). So for the mean time, let me enjoy my Me Room first.

Our (still bare) guestroom

We've already had a total of three sets of visitors since we moved here in our town home six and a half months ago (January 24, 2014.) First, were my in-laws Daddy, Mama, and Cecille last (January 30 - February 20), then Tatay, Tita Che and Ally (June 4-8), and just recently Auntie Ely (August 7-11).

And they of course stayed in our guest room which still looked the same since day 1 haha!

We have three bedrooms in the house so we have a spare room for the guests. Too bad I still wasn't able to fully furnish it. Pregnancy happened, you see.

As of now, the bedroom only has an Ikea bed, side table, and lamp. I originally wanted a 'grander' set of furniture for this room but then my in-laws arrived just six days after me moved in so we had no time to scout for a better bed. We can't let them sleep on the floor, right?

Though very simple, I still like how our guest room turned out. I'm very fond of 'white' furniture nowadays because it gives the illusion of space. Maaliwalas pang tingnan.

I am hoping that we can make a bit of improvement in this room before we accommodate our next visitor/s (which I doubt). I am planning to add curtains, accent chair, wall frames, and a bit of other decorative pieces for it to look homey.

Haha, plans... plans! Andaming plano! I am praying for more energy, enthusiasm, and money! :)

Our powder room

Our house until now is still "bare." To be honest, I am having a hard time finding the "right" furniture (and other stuff) for our one-month old home. Had we been in the Philippines, I could have finished the whole interior in a few weeks since I knew na where to find everything that I want and need (we renovated our family home in 2010-2011 and I was in charge of the reconstruction and decoration). Here in Edmonton, I feel that I am limited with my choices. Plus I find the prices stiff.

To cut the story short, I am not yet prepared to give you a grand house tour. It will surely take a while before I can show you the every corner of our humble townhouse so lend me your patience.

For now, allow me to just share to you some bits and pieces of our Casa Blanco that are 'presentable' enough.  Decorating one's home is always a work in progress so expect some changes in the coming days.

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I already showed you my blogging area. Now let me introduce our powder room which is located in the main floor.

Our house has 2.5 bathrooms (.5 = powder room), by the way.

We chose the 'purple' theme because it was our wedding color motif and since then, we've adopted it as our official couple color

I must say that I am now gearing towards minimalism (or is it just because we lack a lot of home things?).

Our spacious powder room has tons of blank walls that I can play with. Hope I can find nice frames soon.

Introducing my new blogging area

Hello! I am pleased to introduce my new blogging area...

I never planned on having a desktop computer in my work table (the husband wanted us to have one in my 'Me' Room so we no longer have to move the laptop from the first floor) so half the space was consumed. But I realized that it's ok. Less space, less clutter right?

Speaking of table, this was bought in Ikea. I originally wanted a bigger white table but I had to consider the size of the room so I settled for this simple and petite one. We also got the chair from Ikea. It is technically a dining chair but I felt that it's a perfect accent to my white-themed 'Me' Room. And it's very comfortable to sit on!

I have yet to figure out how to use this new computer (and Windows 8) but I'll get there. I am glad that after four months, I now have a computer of my 'own' again.

I'll show you the rest of my 'Me' Room as soon as I am done organizing it. Hope it turns out well! =)