Shopping loot from SM's mid-year sale

Now that I have kids, I find myself shopping for them most of the time. Gone are the days when the first place I'd check out in a mall is the ladies' section. These days, I head straight to the kiddie department (or home too).

I happened to be in SM the other day and caught the start of their mid-year clearance sale. I wasn't even planning on getting anything but went home with all these kids' clothes!

I totally love how they're so affordable and such good quality. To be honest, I practically buy all my kids' clothes on sale since I don't want to spend a ton of money on something they'll outgrow really quick.

In SM, I always check the BGS (Boys Got Style) and JusTees brands since they have the cutest shirts. And they always put their old stock on sale year round. So if there's a design I really like, I just wait a few weeks or months until it's discounted already. ;p

Anyway, check out my buys below all at P50% off!

Can you believe I just spent just a little over P1,500 for all these?! That's like only 1 dress in Gingersnaps haha!

Anyway, the SM Store's mid-year clearance sale is ongoing until July 6, 2014 in all branches. Hope to go back again this week for some more shopping! :)

Pineapple Crush

I'm currently obsessing over pineapples and love how they're popping up almost everywhere these days. From fashion to home decor, it's so fun and funky that I can't get enough of it! I don't know how long this trend will last, but here's some fruity finds I'm definitely crushing on for now :)

(L-R) 1. Topshop 2. Forever 21 3. Urban Outfitters

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throw pillow covers from Seek the Uniq: (L) jute sack, (R) plantation

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images from Pinterest & Etsy

one piece suit from J.Crew

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canister from Seek the Uniq

tank & cotton shirt from Forever 21

decorative glass cutting board
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So what do you think, are you a fan of this trend? :)

Big Guys Pizza

Hubby and I were running errands one day and had a few minutes to spare before picking up the kids. We had noticed this new pizza place in Presidents Ave. Paranaque a few weeks before and decided to stop and try it out.

Presidents Ave. Paranaque branch

The place is quite small and there's no air-conditioning. So we just decided to get take-out since the weather was quite hot.

After checking the menu, we decided to get their promo of buy one 10" and one 15" pizza for P499. We got the All-Meat and Classic Hawaiian flavors.

Shown below are their 4 sizes of pizza boxes: 10", 15", 20", 36". Luckily, someone ordered their biggest size while we were there, so we got to see the pizza up close. It was really BIG so props to the delivery guy who had to balance that on his motorcycle haha! ;p

Here's our pizzas:

15" and 10" pizzas

All-Meat

they only have thin crust btw

Classic Hawaiian

up close

My verdict? The All-Meat was a little spicy for me and I'd still go for Shakey's Hawaiian Delight anytime (my all-time fave). I guess their 36" pizza would be nice to have if you have a party at home. But if you have the Shakey's Pizzanatic Supercard, then maybe their buy 1 get 1 promo would be a better deal.

Goodbye Summer, Hello School!

We are officially done with the 1st week of school! I can't believe summer has come and gone so quickly. Now we're back to homework and baon and hatid-sundo. :)

Last May, we enrolled Sabe in a summer program in order to prepare him for school. Like I mentioned in my post last month, it was really a struggle for us since Sabe was really crying the whole time and didn't want to be left alone during the first few days. It took a while, but eventually he started to warm up to his teachers and began enjoying himself.

some of the activities during his summer classes

Watching him perform during the culminating activity made me so proud because I could really tell how much progress he made during all those weeks. From the scared little boy who didn't want to let go of me, he was now able to interact with his classmates and follow the teacher's directions.

Sabe as a cow during the "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" number

But I have say, we were anxious again during his official first day last Monday since he didn't want to wake up in the morning and was giving us a hard time dressing him up. He was very cranky in the car but all that changed the minute we got to school. He confidently went inside, greeted the teachers and walked to his classroom like a pro! We couldn't believe it! We were prepared for some tears but I'm so glad we were wrong. :)

he's always so excited to show us his stamp everyday after school

Miley, on the other hand, had ballet lessons this summer. As a mom, I really couldn't wait for the day I could finally bring my daughter to ballet class. I have to say though that I think she enjoyed making new friends more than the dancing itself. She would always be making chika her classmates and I'd always have to signal for her to follow the teacher haha!

To be honest, we weren't really expecting much from her dance recital since it seemed like she wasn't that into it. But I was really surprised when she gave a wonderful performance and was able to do all the steps. I'm so proud of her for finishing the program however she says she doesn't want to do ballet anymore. Swimming classes na lang daw! Ok fine! My ballet dreams are forever crushed haha! ;p

Miley used to be in the afternoon batch last year, but I moved both of them to the morning classes this year. They're still getting used to sleeping and waking up early (especially Sabe!). But I'm happy that any moodiness disappears once they get to school. And I have to be honest and say that I do quite enjoy the few hours of peace and quiet I get in the morning when both kids are at school lol! ;p

back to being the kids' driver

What about you moms? How was your kids' first week of school? :)

Sweet Treats and Snack Buffet by A Sweet Cottage

One of the things I love most about attending blogger events is meeting new people who share the same passions as me. And one of those people is mom, blogger and crafter Maricel Mendoza of A Sweet Cottage who provided this lovely dessert buffet set up during our Fringe Salon pampering day. Isn't it super pretty? :)

A Sweet Cottage was born when Maricel decided to transition her love for crafting into a business. She found herself with extra time on her hands after resigning from her job to become a stay-at-home mom, and through this business she was able to find a way to make good use of that time.

She specializes in event styling for children’s parties, sweet treats and dessert buffet setup and styling, and decorative fondant cakes for special celebrations. I just love all the details in her display. Everything looks so classy!

 She was even so nice to give everyone a little something she made herself. These owl cards are so cute!

Please do visit her blog to see more of her creations. I am now officially a fan of her work! For orders and inquiries, contact Maricel at +63917-8936700 or asweetcottage@gmail.com.