chair love

while staying with friends in SFO last year, i fell in love with an IKEA chair they owned that sat quietly beside their silver-satin sheeted bed.

in true IKEA fashion, it was a simple chair with clean lines. didn't look like anything out of the ordinary. but once settling your tush into it, you would NEVER want to get up. firstly because you needed to exert extra effort to hoist yourself out of it due to its shape, but more importantly, because it was just so damn comfy. perfect for reading or typing away on a laptop (when i still had mine *sob*).

i was obsessed with getting one for myself and day dreamed about it. no need to punch-in-shape the tower of pillows supporting your back while reading in bed, or sweating up a storm (ew) in a plush leather lazy boy (though i'd like to get me one of those one day too) to icky for Manila weather, or tossing and turning on any other chair to get into the right position. i remember a night months ago where i scoured the net looking for it and figuring out ways to get it into Manila at a decent cost. i had let it drift away into my wishlist of "i-wants" and forgot about it as other curios and daydreams quickly replaced it in my head.

driving (ok.. not driving.. hitching) to rehearsals with a friend the other day, we drove by a small side shop where my friend said in passing "oh look.. a new store selling furniture...". i looked out her window as the stoplight turned green.. and saw an "IKEA furniture" sign stuck on the door. WITH MY BEAUTIFUL CHAIR SITTING PRETTILY IN THE DISPLAY WINDOW. i flipped!

needless to say, i stalked them online yesterday in hopes that they would have web presence and to my delight, they did! i got a response and pricequote from the sellers today and am pleased that it wasn't as extravegently priced as my interior designer friend had ceiling-ed, and much closer to the price i estimated.

i have since then, reshuffled my list of priorities of things to purchase when my income becomes steady and abundant.

excited!!!!

pride on the line!

back in february, a friend and i had a sarcasm-laced exchange about smoking.

while the initial phase of our friendship literally evoke smoke-filled days of bar-hopping and hanging out with cigarettes and booze in tow, we were at that very moment, non-smokers.

he went almost ten years before lighting up again. and after another half year of smoking heavily, stopped again.

i on the other hand, have had a more erratic relationship with smoking. i've started and stopped smoking almost as much as i've started and stopped dieting - which is, ALOT. just in the last year, i've stopped and started 3 or 4 times? and this isn't just holding out for a few days then breaking down and lighting up.. i've stopped for months and even years at a time, before again, breaking down and chain smoking like crazy. not that it makes too much of a difference, but i do feel the length of time one can stay away longer says, well, a little bit more about your will power. just a little bit more :)

long in the short, he doesn't believe i've stopped for good. in fact, he doesn't believe i'll last three years. me and my smug attitude pushed it to five. while there's a small amount of money at stake, my pride is on the line!

all of THAT aside though, i've totally convinced myself that i've stopped for good, as a result of my declaration to live a healthier life this year. so far so good - 6 months and counting with no cravings.

check in on me again if you know i'm harrased at work, or partying on some beach somewhere.

wish me luck :)

cupcake crazy

i was channel surfing recently & i chanced upon this lady guesting on martha stewart. she has this book called "hello cupcake" and was showing martha some of her creations. they're basic cupcakes but they create things using other candies ontop of the cupcake base. perhaps i'm going crazy due to sweets withdrawal but i was super tickled when i saw it, that i had to google it myself. i'd buy the book just to see the pictures! CUTE!!! kinda like "ace of cakes" for cupcakes :)

if my products weren't in danger of being eaten before being sold, i would totally do this as a business!

(photos credited to Alan Richardson of Hello, Cupcake! www.hellocupcakebook.com)

SUNFLOWERS


POPCORN


RETRO GAMES: MARIO & PACMAN


TV DINNER


SEASIDE THEME


HORSIES


YORKIES


ALIENS & CORN on the COB


SLUMBER PARTY


STARRY STARRY NIGHT


(right photo): BAGEL with LOX & CREAM CHEESE


SPAG & MEATBALLS