How perfect would this be after swimming on a summer afternoon?

The colorful, indigenous textiles in the Philippines inspire me. I love that the fabrics support an ancestries old tradition; that they are made by artisans on antique wooden looms, not machines; and that those artisans are mothers supporting their families.

I bought several designs of fabric from Anthill Fabric Gallery in Cebu and a couple more from Silahis in Old Manila. I thought the bright, bold patterns would be perfect for Amelia. I couldn't wait to get home and start sewing!

This is me afraid to make the first cut

the first dress

the bib is reminiscent of tribal necklaces and pompoms add whimsy

I love how the 3-button closure on the back mimics the pompoms

To learn more about the weaving process, see Anthill's Weaver's Story.

A big thank you to Tita Annie Lim, co-founder of the Anthill Fabric Gallery social enterprise, for hosting and to my cousin Alessa Libongco, founder of Life After Breakfast and co-owner of Pipino Vegetarian, for taking me along!

Once upon a time I wore nothing but heels. The higher the better. I had a heel for every occasion except athletics, but only because high heel sneakers weren't available yet.

When flats became a trend 5 years ago, I thought it would slink away to a dark fashion corner by the following season. Wanting to participate but not invest, I got a pair at Ross Dress for Less to get me through 1 season. I couldn't wait for this trend's end but it never came. Flats refused to leave and they may be here for good. Quel dommage!

When I saw the writing on the wall, I relented and got a pair of classic, gold flats. That was 1 pair long ago. Recently, however, my shoe purchases have been all flats. There are so many lust-worthy pairs out there and I'm all for them. But how did this happen? When did I become a flats girl?

...Oh, right. Maybe since I've had to carry
all at the same time. Handbag optional.

Happy Friday, loves!


baby illustration from http://www.mywallpaper.org/cartoon/baby-girl-cartoon-clip-art

Amelia's room is finally finished! I used some old, some new, and lots of gifts to furnish the room along with a few things we picked up on our travels. It's bright, colorful, and a little wordly ;)

The quilt was handmade by Aunt Remi in Seattle. Cool Bear was a gift from Uncle Roy in San Francisco. The silk elephant was from L'Indochine boutique in Manila. Lion was a gift from Aunt Julie in San Diego. Bedding from Serena & Lily. Table lamp and rug from Land of Nod.

One of Amelia's first shirts, from when she weighed only 4 pounds, hangs with artwork from Uncle John and 4-year-old cousin Hoops. I'll let you figure out who made which. Haha. The Cordoba blocks were a gift from cousins Hoops and Winter. The wooden horsie was a gift from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Denise. Storage bin from Land of Nod.

play area

Our ocean friends turtle and seahorse were souvenirs from El Nido Pangulasian. Blabla mermaid was a present from Flola and the alphabet quilt was handmade by Grandma Judy from when we celebrated Amelia's 1st birthday with an Aloha Mermaid Party in Oahu's north shore. Quilt rack from Pottery Barn Kids.

A hand-embroidered ottoman serves as a table. It came from the Hmong Tribe in Thailand, transported to Manila via L'Indochine boutique, and then flown to California specifically for Amelia's room. It's kinda the crown jewel piece of the room, right?

Lots of people to thank on this wall :)  Grandma Joyce, Aunt Ricci, Aunt Rizza, Uncle Nicco, Aunt Julie, Uncle Clifford, Aunt Jan, Uncle Sriram and Aunt Vasavi. Book ledge from Ikea.

Dolls from Bali, Kyoto, Shanghai, Los Cabos, and Cebu. Sales of the Sara doll (far left) from Bali benefits the non-profit Yayasan Kasih Peduli Anak, which provides shelter, care, and education for street children. The Isabel rag doll (far right) from Anthill Fabric Gallery in Cebu is made from scrap fabrics. Its proceeds benefits the Handcrafters of Mary Enterprise, which trains mothers how to sew in order to provide for their their families.

The dresser is a hand-me-down from Marc's old room. I planned on making it fancy with lavander glass knobs and a new coat of paint until I realized that this thing is completely under Amelia's radar. If I make it nice, she'll want to open every drawer and empty them out. So it will be status quo until she grows out of her remove-everything-from-its-place phase. White ceramic garden stool from Ross Dress for Less.

tutu from Aunt Ricci

Hi, Ameles!

Thank you to everyone for making Amelia's room so special! And a special shout out to Uncle Tom for installing the book ledges and baby-proof gates!

I'm super excited about tomorrow's blog post! It's been long in the making and my summer project is 99% complete, which is good enough to blog about haha. Stay tuned.

Next week is a busy one and we're all looking forward to my niece Jaya's visit!

I'm helping my sister and her friend plan a 1st birthday party, which is coming in a month. And I'm taking you along for the planning process. This week I'll show you the table setup.

I love their summer peach festival theme! It's for a little girl and the theme is a perfect compromise between a baby party and an adult party, which is what 1st birthday parties really are. It's sweet, fun, seasonal, and delicious.

I won't ever recommend decorating every inch of a venue because you can drive yourself crazy setting up, it's going to cost more than you'd like, and no one wants to clean that up afterwards. The best way to have a wow moment is to pick 1 area and pimp it out. The dessert table is the best place to do this. I like to focus energies on making a variety of cute desserts and drinks and adding unique (i.e. not factory-churned store-bought) touches to make it special and memorable.

Because I'm a super visual person, I need to have a literal picture of the dessert table for a few reasons. First, it helps me make sure I've considered everything in planning the table. For this party, I put a ton of stuff on the first board that we gathered on our pinterest page. What you see here is the second board, which has been adjusted after we saw the venue and discussed with the planning committee (hehe). Second, having a visual becomes our checklist days before the party. Third, it can be a guide for someone outside the planning committee to help with setup. I created this on Illustrator because I like everything on 1 page and it's the program with which I'm most comfortable. What can I say? I like efficiency.


Next week I'll show you the chalkboard signs I'm making. I'm pretty excited about them.

Have a great weekend!

Ingredients: raisin walnut bread, cream cheese, apple slices, and lemon to keep apples from browning.

Spread cream cheese on the bread.

Place apple slices on top of cream cheese.

Voila! I told you it was easy. Just be sure to use kinda fancy bread. This won't be as good on plain old wheat bread.

APPLE SANDWICH - way better than it sounds

Ingredients: almond butter, chocolate chips, granola, apple, lemon to keep apples from browning, and a cookie cutter.

Slice apple horizontally and core it using the cookie cutter.

Spread almond butter on apple slices.

Add granola. I used cherry vanilla granola because I like its pink color and it even tastes good. Sprinkle in chocolate chips.

There you go! By the time we ate our picnic, the granola has softened the tiniest bit in the almond butter, making an almost nougaty filling. This turned out much better than I expected.

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Our picnic of homemade sandwiches, assorted cookies, watermelon, Pirate's Booty, and coconut water

Your view if you came 4 hours early  and got a spot on level ground.

I've used my Banago beach tote as a purse, a diaper bag, a picnic basket, and a shopping bag and love its bold graphic pattern.

This super simple design is beautiful.

My Lagu beach blankets have seen several beaches, pool and parks already, and they're still in mint condition.

I plan on making Amelia some clothes with the fabrics I bought.

Our family trip to El Nido Pangulasian was a dream come true. The days were full of activities that we were only too happy to partake in. We snorkeled, paddle boarded, windsurfed, island hopped, hiked, rock climbed, kayaked into lagoons, fed jack fish, and swam with sharks all in the breathtaking beauty of Palawan's crystal clear waters and limestone cliffs.

On to my favorite place to stay in wine country, The Carneros Inn, where we had dinner at the FARM.

Roasted bone marrow with scallop crudo, vadovaun, carrot, acme levain and micro cilantro.

Market oysters. Carnaroli risotto with Maine lobster, preserved meyer lemon and parmigiano-reggiano.

Prime filet with potato rosti, morel mushrooms, braised greens, duck pate and pinot noir sauce. Liberty Farms duck breast with roasted strawberries and rhubarb, crushed favas, hearts of palm, coconut and sesame puffed rice.

Alaskan halibut with miso baby shitake, tapioca, sugar snap peas, dashi, shishito peppers and togarashi. Lemon & rhubarb dessert with white cake, honey buttermilk ice cream, rhubarb variations, lemon curd and honey foam.

What a fun day. Let's do this again!