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Archive for August, 2011

I guess, more moms can relate with me. The long weekend gives me more tasks than the usual. Thus, preparing foods as early as Friday makes my chores a little too easy. Helping me do half my work were my kitchen bff’s. Here’s the white moulinex meat mincer which makes it easier for me to prepare the lumpiyang shanghai…The pork meat, cut in cubes, as well as the rest of the veggies were ready for some grinding…easy-does-it, baby

And, while one dish is on the move, another kitchen helper is busy doing its share. Pork leg a-brewing in the pressure cooker. Sorry for the “dirty” photo backdrop. That’s the “dirty kitchen”, my own private Idaho

Hitting two dishes, er actually, Friday afternoon was spent batch cooking. I had wrap up the day finishing 4 dishes and two desserts. Batch cooking saves time doing other house chores.

Technology sure does make every homemaker’s tasks a bit more easier now than in the olden days. Where, I used to help my late mom fire up firewood so we  could cook our food. Yes, Luna, thanks to kitchen gadgets, life in the kitchen becomes less overbearing

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This post brought to you by Net10. All opinions are 100% mine.

Eldest daughter arrived for a week-long hiatus from the university this weekend. And, as we have foreseen, she was too ecstatic to see her brother’s new Nokia Smartphone. She was going ga-ga over the full features of the phone. There are 10 Good Reasons to love newer models of Smartphones these days. First, deciding on what brand to choose puts the lad searching endlessly on the net. Motorola, LG, Samsung, Kyocera were among the top brands in the market.

Glad that  Real NET10 customer proved to be of great help in letting us choose which package is the best for the lad. We have watched the Cute NET10 commercial which added more information and lead us to choose the unlimited service for call and text and even has allotted airtime for international calls. Airtime can be purchased online and even directly at the phone.

The daughter was teeming with envy last night, What Rob has to say was true. Phone package can be this good and letting this deal slips out can put other competitor to to shame. Amazing and satisfying deals are hard to find these hard out times. With a Net10 Unlimited, the lad is enjoying his brand new Smartphone.

The stormy weekend bids farewell to our planned city getaway. But, was glad that it gives me the time to fix this messy room “abandoned” by eldest daughter a week ago. Help, Clean House! There’s too much clutter in this small room.

The bed, in all its “unglorified ” state

And, uh, the daughter is drunk on clutter, sorry…books, school papers, unused bags and apparel…HELPPPPP!

THE AFTER MATH. As soon as typhoon Mina slowly leaves our country with so much destruction and landslides in the mountain provinces, this room quite made a little make-over CLEAN-UP

Boxes and boxes of unnecessary whatnots were spared to live in the storage room where it surely belong…

Did it look somehow cozy enough to spend forty winks?

The teenage daughter arrived home yesterday and was joyful enough to bury her tired back to bed last night. While the mom had aching back over the ginormous task

Had arranged her books and other bric-a-brac, as well as her small vanity and added this faux  blooms. It brightens up the once cluttered sunken room. Did it?

yellow blooms in a thrifted blue porcelain vase, a personalized old mug, and a recycled candle molded into an unused glass

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The hubs finished painting our front door last weekend. The door had been lifeless, ugly, with the natural varnish applied to its some 5 years ago had already tarnished.

I originally wanted a coffee brown color but hubs couldn’t achieved the perfect color I wanted. Geez. I wish I could have the talent like Danielle Hirsch of HGTV’s Color Splash, who’s talent in painting were too inspiring in beautifying every homes.

To avoid further debate on the color, I let hubby played on…no more Jokes…

…progressing…

…and, the final color? Please don’t ask me…It’s a mixture of 3 different Boysen QDE (Red, Brown, and, Black).

And, to show my appreciation for his 2-hour laboring on the paints…I gave him a glass of  fresh calamansi juice( his favorite) with lots of cubed ice That’s all he ever need to extinguished the flame brought about by the  spat over choosing colors

Forgive us, we’re normal couple who fought over silly things such as door painting

“Oh, sweetie, when are you gonna paint the mouldings?”

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Mellow yellow light illuminates mostly thrifted yellow stuffs here in our table nook…

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This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine. All opinions are 100% mine.

I should know mom knows best. The lad asked me just today if we could give them a new phone on or before his birthday next month. Weighing my options,which I don’t ,actually, I gave in. So long as he promised to stay away from online games and to prioritize more his study. He gave me a quick nod.

So, before jumping into another bombshell phone deal, I call a friend this afternoon who owns a small cell phone shop in the city and asked what phone brand is the latest in the market today. He cited familiar brands and the latest model on Smartphones which has camera ad video capability, music recorder, call and text messaging and data browsing capability. The lad was torn between Nokia and Samsung. Great!

I told my friend I can not afford to be under phone contract as my previous contract with a telecommunication giant sends my bill as high as Mt. Everest on surcharges. Don’t want my teen to go through all that. We were looking for one which is free from activation, reactivation or termination fees. Don’t want to be enslave where everything you need can be easily found on Straight Talk.where contract is not binding letting you choose the plans best for your needs.

Remember this scarf I accidentally cash in yesterday for P15 pesos? After throwing the idea of not using is on my neck…

…thought, I might use it as an accessory in our couch. Its color palette of reds, blues and greens (the color of Christmas, e?) adds a thousand life on the dull monochromatic seat.

It’ll surely stay there for a while until I could cook up other ways where to use it.

The other thrifty find yesterday was this cloth placemat which I rummaged under piles and piles of “Ukay-ukay” items.

Were it not for this embossed leaf-art designs, I should be snubbing the mat. But, who should be snubbing a ten-peso stuff? P10? Right.

Thought it was time to replaced the peach cloth which were remnants of my mom’s flowing silk dress. After several years of being exposed to all year-round wear and tear, it ought to be replaced sooner.

Er, the cheap find were a little too short for the table. Doesn’t matter. I left both ends to dangle on the sides for a nice view of the applique-esque cloth.

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Ms.Burrito’s

  Nshima Servings’

Included in the recent weekend finding thrifty adventure were these duo of wooded frames I bought for P100 (about $2.30) each. Thought some of the printed photos stacked in the shelf would necessitate a good accessory lest piles would grow a mountain.

Er, frames needed a wall to be hang. Which wall? Haven’t figured it out, yet ^_^.

Concluding the weekend bargain hunt was this native summer hat I bought at a gasoline station where I saw a man selling native baskets and assorted hats. Bought it for P60 (about $1.40). Tried to haggle the price at P50, my bid was declined. I guess, its sends a signal that the thrifty hunting day is over. Next time again

P.S.  -Check out the b/w sequins table liner for P100 HERE.

          -And, the 70% discount or more on the items HERE.

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Hate to say goodbye to my good old but very durable two-burner gas stove. Yes, the classic Standard gas stove. It’s a wedding gift. Imagine using the small household appliance since 1995. Whew! That’s a lot of years cooking our foods:

Sans rust build-up on its body, the unit still runs good. Except, the flame on the other burner wouldn’t be maximize. The hubby told me a couple of times already, sooner, it will wear off due to age. The rust will get into the small pipes which carried gas off to the burner. He further added, I should be buying a new one and it would not even hurt my budget. A new double burner gas stove costs as low as P900 (around $21) depending on the brand.

I had better (worse, as in hubby’s side^_^) idea for its replacement…

Been eyeing a freestanding gas range complete with range hood. But, I can’t. First, budget won’t allow me to have it. Then, the limited space in our kitchen allowed no more big and bulky appliances. What an excuse:)

Contentment is the key to happiness. Isn’t it? Citing the budget and the space, I came upon this “dwarf” La Germania Compact range.

Price at P11,048 (around $263), it’s the closest I can get to owning one which has the capability of a full oven. It has two automatic ignition burner on top which is the perfect replacement for the old gas stove. Then, it has a compact oven (run on gas, too), same as the size of the brand’s conventional free standing model.

And, since it is too compact, it can be place on top of the counter or a durable small table, hence, the moniker, TABLE TOP OVEN.

Now, I have “few” of my wishes came true for this year. I shall not bother coming to my brother’s house to use my mom’s 70′s gas range^_^ for my bake needs. Yey!

Ooopppsss! The unit is still in storage, waiting for the hubby to fix the table where it would sit ^_^.

Sharing this white unit @

Last weekend’s errand cum family day cum shopping earned me a couple of thrifty finds. Jeez! Many shops were offering huge discounts. Tempted. Yes, I am. Not in a way that I have to go overboard on my month’s budget. Hence, “frugal buy” still RULES!

And, so, after we’re done at papers and stuffs and the “major package” was ready for shipment, hubs and me browse around the Abenson branch hoping to buy get inspiration on their home fixture display. Then, when I am done with, I saw this black/white table liner on the sale rack. I LOVE SALE!

For a mere one hundred pesos (about $2.40), I took the plunge…

Thought it matches my late mom’s white crocheted heirloom, which I have salvaged in the storage some months back and now found a new denizen here in our dining table.

Then, yesterday, it’s time for the thrifty table liner and few old wedding gifts for a frugal tablescape parade when two friends came for a little chat.

Dinner wares were wedding gifts in 1992, flat wares were thrift finds as well as the goblets and the blue dessert plates which when I haggle (Oh, I do haggle a lot ^_^), I got them for ten pesos each ($0.23). Say woot!

With an Old World charm, the blue adorned plates were indeed, thrifty treasures:)

Ready for a toast and a tea, anyone?

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 Praying for your speedy recovery Sally