DIY Filipiniana Wedding Favors

My parents purchased crates of wine and shipped them to Manila for our wedding favors. We decided to dress the bottles in Filipiniana using native material. Rosmer sketched the design and created prototypes using regular white bond paper and paper towels. Then, Manang Azaneth (our kasambahay) helped me drape the bottles in sinamay and abaca cloth that I got from Divisoria to experiment. My enthusiastic lola also contributed by sending abaca twine and "wood" buttons from Iloilo. So far, here are the fruits of our labor..

Rosmer drew these. At first, we were going to let the girl bottles wear ternos (butterfly sleeve dresses) but he thought it would be more fitting if we used a panuelo design.

Rosmer made this using paper towels from the kitchen and a purple highlighter.

Manang Azaneth and I made this using tape, left over string, and bond paper.

Finished products.... err almost finished products! The girl bottle still needs some tweeking.

More of You and Me, Less of "Them"

People always ask how it feels to be married and I reply,"It's the same as when we were boyfriend and girlfriend except now we can't hide or avoid each other's phone calls." And, when it's night time we sleep under the same blanket.

Lately, it's just been the two of us (plus my nursing textbooks). I used to complain to my mom that I missed hanging out with friends. My mom's response was,"Well you can't hang out with friends once they have husbands and/or children to take care of!" Very true. Currently, I don't think I could handle the drama some friendships bring plus juggle my schoolwork at the same time. It has also been increasingly difficult to keep tension out of the classroom when 95% of my classmates are females but I'm learning how to separate my personal life from school (read: don't be too close to anyone or else you'll be susceptible to their drizama hah!).

Socialization with Rosmer is enough for me. It takes a nurse to understand a nurse and trust me, the nursing lifestyle is terribly hectic!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year!

Rosmer and I spent the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 on a roadtrip around Northern Luzon (mostly Pangasinan and Ilocos, some parts of Zambales) with my mom, my aunt, and her husband. The trip was really random. I didn't think my mom was serious when I suggested the idea to her.

Our main destinations were Vigan, Pagudpud, and the Hundred Islands in my lolo's hometown in Alaminos. Along the way, we stopped by Chavit Singson's Baluarte, Hidden Gardens in Vigan, Malacanang of the North in Paoay, Ferdinand Marcos' Tomb in Batac, Fort Ilocandia, and the Bangui Windmills.

The drive wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be because my Uncle Abe is a jokester and my Aunt Linda had lots of jokes to tell. For the most part, we didn't even listen to music in the Fortuner. :)