Yep, Im alive.

After being sick AND moving houses, life has finally started to get back into order. I purposely didn’t request for my net to be relocated immediately as I so want to unpack ALL boxes and get our house into working order - and now it is, Im so proud of myself. Im still without internet so online life will still be erratic - but hopefully within the week, we can get reconnected. Online jobs need to wait (Im still feeling the rewards of hard work and luck from last month so Im taking it easy :D).

Anyhow, how are we doing? The house is smaller, more manageable, not scary. But as with all houses in the province, by 7PM all you hear are birds chirping. We are off the main road and have empty lots and cornfields as neighbors so it is silent. I have pictures!!! But life is extremely busy so that would have to wait :D.

How am I doing without a maid? Fine. No tantrums yet. Im innately lazy so I still feel sluggish - I cant believe doing all household chores can take up the whole morning! But we’re doing good. I have a cleaning lady/laundry woman/errand helper a few hours each day - she takes care of mopping the floors, buying some stuff at the grocery store a few blocks from us, helping me with boxes. There are still plenty of things we need - trash compactor bags being one of them because we have a problem with garbage collection in the city. So we need to really practice garbage segregation. I am actually buying different kinds of bags for different kinds of trash!

And so this ends my post for today. Let us see if I can do better tomorrow.

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I can’t cook to save my life, but I do know how to clean. And after Im done scrubbing and organizing everything in the house, there is one room that is going to be my resting place - the bathroom. I have a fetish for clean and nice-smelling bathrooms. My mom told me before that you can see the a house’s cleanliness (and its occupants) with its bathroom. When I was a kid, my mom told that it was the first place I go straight to, or look for, when we go to a house. So you can imagine my frustration when we got a very small bathroom when we moved out. You do not need to step to get to the bathing area from the toilet seat - that small! We have a very big room and if we just owned the place Id give at least a quarter of its space to the adjacent bathoom and give it a bathroom remodel!

If I can afford it, Id definitely have a very spacious bathroom. Id want to have a his and hers sink (so I can get my toiletries in order) and an adjoining room for the closet. (I like to find clothes at leisure!) My mom uses scented oils and candles in their bathroom and it smells so good, you can sleep on it. My mom has always told me to keep bathroom floors DRY! Of course a bathtub is in order. However I dont like the modern bathtubs these days. If I can have bath tub refinishing project, Id choose a clawfoot model bathtub. The clawfoot model is the tub of past times but I like it better because it fits the curve of backs really well - it helps that this makes me feel like a little lady in the Victorian times.

A corner bathtub is the most space saving tub. If you just need bath tub refinishing since you own one already - you can just think it over and get a whirlpool tub - a perfect way of relaxing after a hard day of work!

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When we have our own house Id like to have a kitchen similar to this:

It’s a French provincial kitchen. Look at how efficient the spacing of furniture are and the nice little kitchen countertop right in the center - it is going to be a great place for morning talks and coffee. I can see the kids hanging out there while I chop away ingredients for dinner (OK, I need to learn and LIKE to cook first, dont shoot me down for dreaming though :). Those hanging lights are awesome too. However, I need to be make sure that the counter stools I get will be sturdy as you know my kids can be rough all the time, they might even treat the stool as a rocking chair and boom, Im sure accidents are just right around the kitchen corner after that.

Im pretty sure Edil will like this style, Im just not sure of the color of the fabric but it is noted at the site that there are several fabric color options so there will no be cause of disagreements between us. However if you ask the kids (or Mommy for that matter), these will look great at a nice corner by the window, I can imagine them now doing crafts while I bake cookies (Now dont LAUGH! HA!) One in blue and in red of course:

Do note that they swivel as well so I can pretty much say the kids will entertain themselves just by that alone. Just looking for kitchen bar stools makes me so excited already, I wonder how it will be if it will be for our own home construction already? There would be no need for extra tall stools though - we are all tall in the family and wouldnt have a hard time reaching for the kitchen countertop (or bar).

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Im going to bombard you with posts about furniture today as I have been busy trying to make a house space efficient and flexible but still have a good sense of design. Ever since we moved out on our own, it has been pretty overwhelming yet empowering to be able to have full control over your house. Your own turf. So we are pretty challenged to make it as livable and beautiful as we can afford.

Edil likes wood furniture - barnished in cherrywood color. I have been looking for buffet furniture for the house so we can have some furnitures displayed and possibly some china as well - we have some nice lamps and frames we received from our wedding that will look good in a buffet table. However, Im personally looking for
buffet cabinets to be able to have some storage space as well. Buffet tables are so nice because it can serve as a storage space, table for party food (when you have parties) and a space for display as well.

The one on the left is so nice!I would like to get buffet table furniture for the new house we are moving into - there is a space where having one would be perfect. At eBuffet.com you can see both expensive and inexpensive buffet cabinets. I want a sleek buffet table bordering on contemporary design (it still needs to be wood though) and I have found plenty of options at their site. I like how the product description is very detailed with dimensions, wood and finish, and even how the table has been constructed. I need to let Edil see the designs on the site.

Make sure though that what you choose is appropriate for the space you have. Dont order things that are too bulky as you might regret it later on.

If you dont have space for buffet cabinets, a side table would be a better addition. I personally would like to have a sidetable by the entrance of the house, or by the hall towards the bedrooms or in between rooms (the wall separating them). I usually, upon arriving home, place my bag and keys on a table and sort through mail or look at my calendar and planner. That would be a good place to store them in, dont you think? Get a mirror above it and you will have an easy check on how you look like before you head out to the door.

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When I went to Manila last week, I finally had the chance to get all my personal belongings from the old house - this includes ALL the pictures, some lamps I dont want to part with and our wedding stuff (My gown, shoes, the memorabilia, etc). My personal stuff alone has filled the entire back of our jeep - so I know I had to do something drastic. So for the last two days, our living room has been invaded with boxes and pictures. I realized I had so many wedding pictures that need to be in frames! I have loose prints of my pre-nuptial pictures that can be displayed as well. I have decided to sell most of my stuff and vow to have my pile down to 50% by the end of next week.

I need frames for display. I still have Wedding Photo Frames leftover from my wedding. I used them to display marriages from our family during the reception and there were a couple of gifts for us too. I would need something like this:

That way I can display more photos in one frame. I want to give some frames to my parents and in-laws as well this coming holiday season.

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Finding, building and actually owning a house - these are the various states of hopeful thinking slash wishing we have been doing ever since we moved out on our own. We know that renting out would eventually do us no good - so it is definitely better for us just to buy one. Now, the thought of actually buying one (or even building one from scratch) sounds so easy, but it is something that takes years to plan and save for.

If ever we have the chance to get one though, Edil really wants to “design” the space and interiors himself. He is more into it than the structural side of things, which I am into. For example, I really am particular about a specific area being utilized and functional whereas he would be designing shelves and making things pleasing to the eyes.

If there is one thing Im particular about though, it would be the kitchen and bathroom. I want them to by MY areas, so naturally we would only be using Danze Faucets for it. I found this brand online, and I was amazed with all the selection of faucets they have! They have a contemporary sense of style that makes them a leader in the kitchen and bath industry.

Here are some of the selections that caught my eye:
Danze Opulence
Danze Sonora
Danzer Bannockburn
Danze Kitchen Faucet
Danze Sheridan Danze South Sea

I love their Danze Parma collection the most. Their style is very sleek, modern but still classic in a way. Id want their bidet faucets! They all can be bought online, have lifetime warranty, and has free shipping for orders over $99! Make sure you order from DesignerPlumbingOutlet.com!

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We have been living here in the province for exactly two month on the first of July. Im quite frustrated because the repairs to the house are slow because of lack of budget :). However, the next plan after getting the backyard and laundry area done is to repair the gate. Id really want to have mailboxes installed as well as I would not want to have our mail getting wet or landing somewhere else other than our house.

If we had our own house, Id be ordering personalized address plaques and house numbers for it. Id want to have our last name engraved and displayed (I’m proud because we own the house!) and a unique to display the address of our house. That way it can be easily distinguished.

This hanging address plaque looks so regal and “Old England”! It has always been a given that whitehall products are a must for quality residential mailboxes, address plaques and sign which spell style as well. I love looking at the products that they offer. They just emit some class and sense of regality in them! I’d even get a special mailbox for display just because I so like the design!!!

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Anything can look good with proper lighting.

One of the thousand things needed to be done at the house is to install new lighting fixtures. We can do with the ones inside the house for now, but I think we need to do something with the outdoor lighting. We have so many ideas for our backyard that sometimes I get wistful and wonder when will we be able to put our plans into action when money is really tight these days. But I always try to keep a positive outlook and pray. I know things will happen if they are bound to. I just have to keep faith.

The kitchen needs to get some serious attention as well. The cabinets are falling off and I really want to install a dishrack with under cabinet lighting in one of the cabinets. The bathroom is small so with some good forecast lighting fixtures, Im sure it would look nice and be illuminated well. I would want to to use forecast lighting for the outdoors as well, specifically on the walls at the front of the house. I would like to get this one, along the lines of our love for wood:

This is an Aspen Outdoor Wall Lantern, perfect for contemporary houses. It has bronze patina finish and has white art glass.

If we have extra money, Edil wants to try and have ceiling fans for the dining area and living room. (They used these types of fans in their house). It will save space and be appealing design-wise. I am not really 100% into the idea but with a nice design for it, why not?

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Who wouldnt want a place near the beach? Getting a prime condo unit in Florida where beaches are everywhere can even be considered as a major accomplishment already. Now, if you can get a place in the Apogee Condo South Beach place, you will be in heaven!Apogee South Beach’s waterfront location is prominently placed at the southern tip of South Beach and designed to be the most elegant South Beach condo building. With only 68 residences, these mansions in the sky start at around $3 million and top-out at roughly $10 million, ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet.The ocean, Port of Miami, Fisher Island and downtown comprise the unbelievable views, making this piece of South Beach real estate extremely valuable. Watching a mammoth cruise ship passing through government cut is a daily occurrence from an Apogee balcony. Or perhaps a luxury yacht or a boat from the Cigarette racing team can be viewed humming along in Biscayne Bay. A prime view is invaluable for any condo in Miami Beach, and Apogee South Beach has it!

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Alphabet

Originally uploaded by Adore_Vintage.

Oh wow, Look at the wall!!!

I want white walls on the house.
Actually, me and Glo were discussing interior decorating a few days back. She was telling me I had the style of a guy! All the things I kept pointing was bare and minimum with a lot of lines. I told her I have feminine taste really, but I really want a modern house with splashes of color - take for example, a white house with white walls and colorful accents. Knowing me, Id change colors each month depending on what I like at the moment.

What are your interior decorating ideas?

I also am in love with these Hansgrohe faucets:

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Im getting so excited with our house move. We still need to finalize so many things but yes, we will be moving out at the end of the month by hook or crook! Im actually anxious already how we will start decorating. I know our first year will be very basic - we will be slowly filling up the house from scratch but it doesnt stop me from dreaming! I have two very active kids ages seven and below so I need to keep breakables away from their reach. You know my love for Christmas villages last Christmas right? Well, I discovered the products of lilliput lane! I can now fulfill my wish of creating a village in my house! My mother-in-law loves the lladro — these are really nice classic figurines.

Now all of these are from the UK Gift Company. It was originally founded in 1858 to serve as the traditional China and Glass Store supplier for the Church and soon expanded. I actually love their willow tree products - so nice! This was discussed during a post in one of the forums I frequent and I fell in love with them right away! Id definitely collect The Willow Tree Nativity and The Willow Tree Wise Men!

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So Edil and I were talking again about the impending move next year. We are going to start looking for houses by December and we even plan to hold a garage sale so that whatever we earn can go the rent of the house we plan to get. I just told him we need to have a separate room for the kids, we need our privacy too. We are thinking of getting them bunk beds so that it will save space too. So much plans next year which involves money!!!

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Ack, our kitchen sink has not been improving at all. It has been six months and we still dont have the fund to have it repaired. I am hoping to replace all sinks with vessel sinks, in the kitchen and bathroom, before Christmas so at least our house guests will not see the bad state of our house. Any suggestions how I go on about doing that?

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