Nerds like me are rejoicing because it's a leap year and that means there's one extra day for work! Haha! I love my job(s) and 24 hours in a day / 7 days in a week is just not enough to do everything that I want and have to do. There was a time before when I tried to re-invent the wheel by sleeping 3 times in 2 days, and thus creating 3 productive mornings instead of 2. It worked, but it also ruined my body clock, I felt like I was floating from one task to another, and I couldn't tell 4am from 4pm anymore. Psycho-ness. Of course, I'm never doing that again.

Anyway, January has surely been a busy month for all, and just before it ends, I bring you the February 2012 printable calendar! I know it's the month of love, but sorry, I don't like hearts in my calendar. You can draw the hearts yourself, or make February the month of whatever-you-want-it-to-be. ;)

Enjoy! :)

Download the printable version here.

My mom created themed birthday parties for me every year, and I was the happiest kid. No matter how simple, I truly encourage all parents to have themed birthday parties for your kids--don't just do it for the 'milestone ages' (1, 5, 7, etc), do it every year! Pretty pictures will help them remember what a special childhood they had, and they will thank you for it later (thanks, Mom! ;P).

Last Friday, my nephew Kai celebrated his 4th birthday, and his ever creative Mimi/Mimy (Mommy) Noelle, created a magazine-worthy Little Indian Birthday Party for him.

Noelle created a teepee just for the party! 

Yummy veggie food. We had mini burgers and mac&cheese from Pipino, but Noelle prepared everything else + a make-your-own taco bar. Check out the "Indian Cider" above. I was teasing the kids "Uh, oh, you're drinking beer!!!" And they all shouted back at me, "Nooo!!! It's apple juice!!" And you can imagine at that point all I wanted to do was squeeze their super cute little indian cheeks!

Yummy crunchy apple sandwiches with granola inside.

Teepee and cactus table centerpieces

A make-your-own feather headpiece station for the kids

At one point, I lent Kai my camera and allowed him to run around and take photos. It's quite a cool thing to see his birthday party through his eyes!

Here's a peek into the little man's POV:1) Monix & Santi with the cake. 2) Watching the kids make headbands. 3) Mimi Noey with party guests Kiddo & Baby Cadey. 4) The food table. 5) Playing with the toy car. 6) Tito Ralph taking a photo of Kai taking a photo of him. 7) Daddy Luke. 8) Indian Cider.

Kai's S'mores birthday cake: Chocolate cake + marshmallows + Graham Crackers

Time to blow out the candles!! :)The aftermath (which was, like, 5 seconds after the candles were blown out!)

All the kids took home this make-your-own s'mores loot bag!

Happy 4th birthday, Kai!! We love you! :)

I am 29. Shiyet.

Today is January 28 and there are exactly 265 days before I turn thirty. <--That was a whisper.

Where did those 100 days go? Oh, I know. To my first 100 blog posts! ;) Hurray!

I began this blog so that I would be pushed to do something creative each day. So far, I think it has been working positively for me, but I realized that there are still a whole bunch of things I want to do. These lists are that which fill the little notebooks in my bag--things that I don't normally share with just anyone. Today, I wrote painted my 2012 dreams down in one comprehensive list, because as my friend Em said, "writing things down gets things done".

This is my list of Creative Goals for 2012.

52 things for the 52 weeks of the year.

watercolored this list using a 0 size brush

zoom in.

"I have trust issues," was the first thing I blurted out when we set foot inside the anti-gravity yoga studio at Centro last night. Hello, there is a reason why I didn't join the corporate world, you know! Hindi ko kaya yung "trust fall" sa mga team-building sessions!!!! Hahaha! But seriously, I am sort of ashamed to admit that I'm such a control freak. For example, I absolutely HATE it when I have a fever (thanks to a plant-based diet, that doesn't happen very often!) because I feel so weak and can't control my own body. So when Muffin invited us for a free anti-gravity yoga trial class for her pre-birthday celebration, I was scared shit. "Just let go," the instructor said. You can just say that; I can't just do that! But looky here, we've got snapshots to prove that I did learn to let go, even just for a night ;).

Happy birthday, Muffin!!! :)

Please know that Patty and I did this FOR YOU. Haha ;P

Patty, Me and Muffin

We took the class with our other friends Lady and Monique.

The inversions will feel unfamiliar in the beginning, but are not as difficult as they seem.

See, I did learn to let go. But I learned the hard way that too much swinging can be nauseating.

The fabric assists you in doing the usual yoga poses.

Muffin, the natural. ;)

Flippin' like she does it every day!

The birthday girl, blowing out her candle on a slice of vegan chocolate cake.We love you, Muff!!!

After class, we pigged out on healthy vegan food at Pipino.

----------------------
Beyond Yoga
3F Il Terrazzo

Tomas Morato Avenue corner Scout Madrinian St., QC

+63-917-5BEYOND (0917-5239663) or (02) 921-6070

inquire@igobeyondyoga.com

Pipino

39 Malingap Street, Teachers Village, QC

(02) 4411773

pipinovegetarian@gmail.com

Tucked away in a little spot along busy Katipunan road is a room filled with every girl's delight. Enter the driveway on the right side of the original Banapple shop and find a red door that opens up to the office and showroom of three lovely entrepreneurs: Niña Lazaro, Iya Misa and Mewa Martinez.

These pretty ladies make up the House of Garnet, a group of companies and designers with products that are proudly 100% Philippine-made. The name fits them perfectly, as Niña, Iya and Mewa all celebrate their birthdays in January, and Garnet is their birthstone.

The House of Garnet opened last Tuesday, and I visited their shop to check out the merch!

Shoes by Niña Lazaro

Coverups by Iya Misa

Bag stuffers and dust bags from LoveMyBags by Mewa

Visit the House of Garnet at 225-G Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.

For sure, you'll find something for your moms and girlfriends

that will make perfect gifts for this coming V-day.

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House of Garnet is giving away

some goodies to lucky readers!!!

a pair of shoes from Niña Lazaro

 +

Bag Dehumidifiers from LoveMyBags 

+

Gift Certificate worth P500 from Iya Misa

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How to enter:

1. Like these 3 pages on Facebook:

Nina Lazaro Shoes :: LoveMyBags :: IyaMisa

2. Tweet this: 

Support local design! #HouseOfGarnet is proudly 100% Philippine-made! t.co/RKRql8LK via @alessandralanot

Send in your entries until Friday, January 27!

Good luck! :)

Update: Giveaway is CLOSED!

Congratulations to the winner, Aya Dalumpines!

My travel dreams this year: Sagada, Batanes, Taipei, to experience a white Christmas, maybe a Hong Kong or Bangkok shopping trip, and more of Palawan. Crossing my fingers and hoping I get to travel with Peej around Southeast Asia this February, too. In between work and watercoloring, this is all I think about.

Download the mixtape here.

Lazy weekends are a rarity, although on second thought, so are going out and catching up with friends. Maximizing momentum, I hopped from one get-together to another last weekend, tried some new restaurants in the city and revisited old favorites.

Lunch with Mom at Lusso, Greenbelt 5.

I had the mediterranean sandwich.

 Chef Ed's birthday lunch at Nomama.

Kawawang birthday cake: Apple pie dumplings with yogurt.With PJ, Star, and Tish

Surprisingly, they've got lots of vegetarian options!

Ruben, Olive, PJ, Star, Tish, me, Ed and Bernard

Late lunch with Muffin and Peej at Orale in Fort. Muffin had the taco salad, while PJ and I shared the veg burrito.

Dinner at Le Bar in Sofitel with Ding, Bud and PJ. They've got a new vegan dish: pesto, potatoes, and ratatouille-stuffed capsicum!

Lunch with GK kids at Pino.

Our friends Cristalle and Jing got married! :) Check out the lovely bride workin' her gorgeous wedding gown made by Rajo.

 High school friends trickled in to join the party at Table 30:

Kate, Lala, Gin, Nina, Marielle, Muffin, me and GiselleHogged the photobooth for a minute. Of course, Peej and I had to take a prom pic pose! :P

How wonderful it is to receive gifts even after the holidays.

Thank you, Em! I can't wait to use this! :)

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Lusso

Greenbelt 5, Makati

Nomama

Scout Tuazon corner Scout Castor, Quezon City

Orale

Fort Strip, Bonifacio Global City

Le Bar

Sofitel Philippine Plaza, CCP Complex, Pasay

Pino

39 Malingap Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City

I decided to celebrate the new year with gold nails, and then a few days later, I got bored with it. So i took some washi tape, cut up some strips, and while marathon-ing the Spartacus series on DVD with Peej (yes, we girls can do two or more things at the same time), I experimented with a chevron pattern!

Started off with a pink layer...which turned out to look like tsinelas from afar, so I decided to add one more layer, in orange.

I waited for it to dry for half the normal time (because I'm impatient like that), and then peeled the tape off. Although, I had to wait for a couple of hours before doing the second color.Ta-dah! Nails so fun, you feel like you're back in high school.

Kulang nalang may glitter/gel pen doodles sa kamay!

Here's a sneak peek on a project I'm working on with fellow crafters Macy and Mikko. Do check out their blogs!

I've been getting a number of e-mails asking me about my watercolor process and tools. Here are the materials I used for this particular project:

This was part of Patty's birthday gift pack to me, but I just opened it now! I was actually saving it to design her wedding stuff. All I can say is, expensive watercolor paper is life changing. I love it!!

Textured and perforated sheets. For some reason, textured paper makes your watercolor go a loooong way: you don't have to use as much and still get rich results. The tear-out pages make it so much easier for me to scan my work.

I used a Sakura brush and Sakura paint palette all throughout. Didn't mean to be so matchy-matchy!

Watercolored Typography: Courier New, Bold.

Happy Friday, everyone! :)