Gardening

Hello lovelies!

Have you ever planted a fruit bearing tree in a pot?  I have always marveled at photos I see in facebook of fruit-bearing trees (with LOTS of fruits!) in a pot. So when my son has a tree planting activity, I took the chance to buy one tree for our home. I bought balimbing trees for his school project and then I kept a kamias tree for ourselves.

We had a huge kamias tree at the backyard but it died. It used to bear around 5 baskets of kamias fruits every week. My aunt Bella had a steady stream of income coming from that tree.

I hope that this tree will bear as much fruits as our previous one.

Aside from the tree, I was also able to buy 2 mature strawberry plants with 3 runners. How lucky was that!

Here are the runners...

So we cut it from the main plant and planted it in a pot.

We placed the strawberry plants in the coolest area in our yard. We hope that these plants will bear us sweet and delicious fruits.

What are the plants in your garden? Share the link to your garden in the comment section so we could visit you there!

xo, Ails

Cravings

Hello lovelies!

I have been craving for some Trois Food House's baked mussels and crispy lechon since last night!

Now, tell me that I am not the only one!

XO, Ails

Perks of a Bella

Hello lovelies!

Last January, I bought myself a planner at National Bookstore because I didn't get to complete the "collect stickers for a 2019 planner / travel organizer promo" of Starbucks. Initially, I was looking for a dotted notebook so I could try bullet journaling but as I was browsing through the shelves, I found this cute planner for women!

It is a Belle de Jour (BDJ) Power Planner, which was designed to empower Pinay women to live their lives to the fullest. It has different covers but I chose this leather covered one.

I bought it because it has really cute and engaging pages. 

And on top of that, it also has a booklet containing some "Perks of a Bella." It has a card that you can present to affiliated shops to get discounts.

It also has 60 vouchers from various establishments.

With all these, the Php 680.00 cost of the planner is worth it!

Then yesterday, I was able to use my first voucher at Mc Donald's. It's a free McCafe Iced Coffee when you purchase any Ala Carte meal at any McDonald's store nationwide.

I presented my booklet to the McDo crew at (Hi-Way) Sta. Cruz, Laguna and he told me that he doesn't know about it so he called the floor manager for assistance. The manager told me that they didn't receive any memo regarding that promo so they could not help me. She even told me to try another branch. I pointed out that the promo coupon states that "from ANY McDonald's store nationwide." So I asked her if there's anyone that they could call and ask about the promo. She said "none."

So I told them, "Ok, wait. Let me just take a photo of this (booklet & card) here so that I can report this." Then she said, "Wait." She took the booklet & card and looked for another manager. The other manager knew about it and instructions were given. So they processed my order and my free Iced Coffee. BUT, they took my coupon. They told me that they have to present the coupon at the main office to answer for the free coffee they gave me. I wanted to argue, for the reason that I will tell later, but the free iced coffee (instant gratification) was all i needed at that time. So I just let them take my coupon. 

Here's my free McCafe Iced Coffee with my double cheeseburger.

The reason why I wanted to argue that they should not take my voucher was this. The booklet states that we just have to ask the store representative to write his/her name and signature, branch, total amount, and date of purchase at the back of the coupon. We should attach the receipt to the completed/signed coupon and keep it. Why? Because if I use 30 coupons by September 2019, I get 10% off my next BDJ Power Planner purchase. If I use 35 coupons, it is 20% off. But if I use 40 coupons, I get 1 FREE 2020 Planner! If I use 50 coupons, 2 FREE Planners will be given. I just have to keep all transaction records and send to their office via snail mail before September 30, 2019.

How can I complete at least 40 coupons if 1 was already taken away from me? I hope that this will not happen to any other Bella.

But I was and still am grateful for the free iced coffee. Thank you BDJ #PerksofaBella and #McDonalds! 

XO, Ails

Valentine’s Cards

Hello lovelies!

This afternoon, after work, I helped my son make some Valentine’s cards for his teachers. I opened my stocks of paper flowers for him to use.

He had fun combining petals and choosing micro beads for the center. 

These are his finished cards. The printed “Happy Valentines Day” message was from the Hey Bae - Valentine Collection from the Little Sisters Studio at the Creative Market.

His message for Ms. Jo is just sooo sweet!

How have you been preparing for Valentine's day?

xoxo,
Ails

BlythePH Christmas Party 2017

Hello lovelies! It's been a while.

For my return, I'll be sharing with you photos of these lovely girls and boys who attended the Blythe Christmas Party last December 9, 2017. Yay!

This was the 2nd time I attended a Blythe Meet up. The 1st was a Halloween Party. It was a very fun experience because I got to know more people who love collecting, customizing, sewing for and playing with Blythe dolls. I also got to know more about these cute little dolls.

We just met in a cafe inside a quiet mall and played with our dolls there. There were gifts and raffle prizes too!
<3 p="">

"Are you ready to see the pics?"

"Uhh... Yeah..."

Let's begin then!

 I made these crocheted cowls as give aways to the early birds because I ran out of time to make some more for the other girls.

I brought my Charlotte (Charlotte des Fleurs) and Enya (Lavender Hugs) to the party. Charlotte was wearing a Dolly Jane dress and a cute Marc Vandro headdress. Enya's lovely gown was from Vandro and her hat from Bambi.

My girls with Snoe (Snowflake Sonata) and a custom boy by Vandro.

Ms. Noreen's lovely girls

Cute customized girls ...

... with their customized brothers (or handsome boyfriends, I am not so sure which is true).

More lovely girls

And there's Merida (I'd like to call her that). These girls got thick and luscious hair. They're not stock but they are so beautiful. Michael takes real good care of them. He sews real nice too.

 These lovelies are rocking the crocheted reindeer hats.

We also met these lovely Santas. 

And... these Kenner Blythes...

... the grail dolls.

 Isn't she beautiful?

 Group shot of the ones who stayed behind until past 6pm.

This is me with my girls and the 2nd prize - Rainy Days outfit set. Yay!

And Vandro won the grand prize!  Dainty Meadow, a Middie Blythe.

These are more 'loots' after the party. Some are gifts, some are raffle prizes. The dress and blouses are from Vandro. The hat from Bambi. The headband from Charlie. The necklace from Nina.

These aren't all the pictures I took that day, of course. And there are more dolls that I wasn't able to capture. But these pictures are enough to show how much fun it was to play with friends and new acquaintances. 

Before the event ended, another meet up was scheduled. I hope I could attend the next one. It's a Prom. And there will be a Prom King & Queen! <3 p="">

Lovelots,

Ails