Toots on a Rainy Day!

I was about to go to sleep but I decided to take a little peek on my blog. I then saw from my right side bar that Moxie Fab World posted the winners for their rainy day challenge. I was curious to see who won coz I also submitted an entry a few days ago. And wow I was chosen as one of the winners! Yey! I'm all smiles now and I don't think I'm sleepy anymore. lol. Check out the announcement here. And here's my winning entry:

Front:
Inside:

What a fun rainy day. I got to meet up with my high school friends this afternoon too and it was fun. Thanks Moxie Fab World!

Sharing some of my projects

Been a little busy over the past week. After I gave a family friend an altered clock as a gift last week, they liked it so much that they asked me to make two more to give as a gift for their friend who's leaving for London tomorrow. I was flattered that they really appreciated my gift.

Safari Clock:

Rhianna's Clock:

She also asked me to make a small framed keepsake for her niece's friend.
And I also made these small gift tags to match the clocks and the frame.
TFL! Happy Weekend everyone!

Day 2 of our Ilocos Tour

So many pictures... I don't know which ones to share. Day one was mostly spent on the road since it took a very long drive to get to Ilocos Norte. Now moving on to day two. We had breakfast at the hotel first then took a dip at the pool.

Swimming with daddy:
And with mommy:

Now it's all three of us:

Later that day, we went around Ilocos Norte to view some of their famous tourist attractions. Lots of beautiful and historical places here. First stop... Marcos Museum.
Here you'll find some memorabillas and photos of former president Ferdinand Marcos. His remains used to be displayed here too but now they say it's just his wax version and not the real Marcos anymore. We're not allowed to take photos in his musuleum but we were able to take photos of his other stuff:

President Marcos' desk:

It was scorching hot that day so we got ourselves some ice cream to cool down a bit.
Next stop is over at the very beautiful St. Augustine Church or better known as Paoay Church. I must say this is one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen! It's also a part of UNESCO's World Heritage list.
After visiting Paoay, our next destination was at the Malacañang of the North. It was the official residence of President Ferdinand Marcos in Ilocos Norte.

My mom fell in love with the house because she's into antique looks nowadays. Just like this beautiful chandelier:
Look at the beautiful view of Paoay lake taken from the mansion's balcony:
Behind me and my sisters is a huge painting of the Paoay church:
Then off to another church. This time the Laoag Church- St. William's Cathedral is older than Paoay Church,as it was first built in 1590 by the Augustinian friars.
Across the street from the church is the sinking bell tower. It is considered the tallest in the Philippines but it sinks an inch each year because of its weight and sandy foundation.
That little door there is the entrance. And we were lucky enough to find the care taker and he showed us what was inside the tower. It was pretty dark inside, quite scary coz we had to climb a series of steps.
Finally we made it to the bell. But we were told this wasn't the highest part of the tower yet. I wasn't brave enough to climb the highest part anymore because the stairs looked unsafe.Little Marcie fell asleep while we were here. I guess she got tired from all the traveling. And when she woke up she started crying...

Aaahww... you poor little thing.

Also nearby was the Museo Ilocos Norte. It is a lifestyle museum that showcases the cultural heritage of the Ilocanos and the different ethnic tribes of Ilocos Norte.

Fashion then and now.... lol
Can you believe this used to be how a shower room looked like?

Our last destination for day 2 was the Sta. Monica Church or Sarrat Church. Built in 1779, Sta. Monica Church is considered the biggest church in Ilocos region. Sarrat Ilocos Norte is the birth place of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
In 1983, Santa Monica was the site of the grand wedding of Irene Marcos-Araneta, the daughter of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
You can also see the Torture Chamber Ruins here. Ok at first the name sort of gave me the chills considering it used to be a torture chamber, but when we went inside, the scene was actually beautiful!

Me inside a horseless kalesa (horse-drawn carriage):

Love the landscaping:

And after all the crying this girl was in the mood for some picture taking:
Make a wish:

Whew! finally finished this post. Sorry if it's photo heavy. I just had to share these beautiful places. TFL!

Holy Cow!

Holy cow! I didn't think this would be real but it actually is. :) I submitted to a DT call for Purple Cows a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in the team but a few days after the DT members were introduced, I received an e-mail from Purple Cows and they told me they would be sending me a 2-in-1 combo trimmer as a token of appreciation for me because of submitting to their DT call. They also asked me if I could be a guest designer for them in the future. Wow! That's great news. And unexpectedly, this afternoon, Mr. Air 21 rang the door bell and I was surprised to see a huge box for me.
I immediately saw the label Purple Cows on the box and that's when I knew I wasn't actually dreaming when I read their e-mail. lol.
Thank you Purple Cows!

Oh and I just wanted to share this simple altered clock I made. It's a gift for a debutante which my mom asked me to make as one of her gifts for the 18 treasures. I also made another clock for another birthday girl but wasn't able to take a photo of it because after I finished it, it had to be wrapped right away. Hehe.
Gotta go now to try my new trimmer. TFL!

I'm Back! (Plus sharing pics from day 1 of our trip)

****WARNING--- Photo heavy post!****

Whew! Is it May already? Sorry for being away for a while. We just got home last Tuesday night from our trip to the north. We got to visit Region I plus Baguio City this time. I am still quite tired from the short vacation but I surely enjoyed it. I'll be sharing a few pics from our trip every now and then. We took so many pictures, probably 500-800 pics a day! lol. Sadly we all felt sick after the long trip but it was all worth it, we're recovering now.

The weather was very cooperative too. It was bright and sunny during our whole trip (which explains why our skin got tanned). And when we finally arrived back home in Pampanga, a storm hit the country. Talk about perfect timing. Thank God we were back home already when the storm started.

We left home early Thursday morning (April 30) at around 4 am. We had to pick up my hubby from work first then headed off to our first stop, Manaoag Church in Pangasinan. It was around 7:30 am when we arrived. We heard mass at 8 and lit some candles after, to ask God to bless our trip.

We also bought some yummy native goodies from Pangasinan like their putong Calasiao which is one of my faves and kutchinta to match.
Then we headed off again to continue our trip. This time it was a very long trip. It took us about 4 hours until we reached Ilocos Sur:

And 2 more hours until we finally reached Ilocos Norte.
We stopped by at Tribeca, a local coffee shop which according to my research is dubbed as the "Starbucks" of Ilocos. My verdict... their drinks don't quite taste like Starbucks but their cakes and pastries are yum-o! I loved their blueberry cheesecake and carrot cake. Gotta have a piece of that if you do get there.

A few minutes later we drove to our hotel, Fort Ilocandia Resort. This is where we stayed for 3 nights and 4 days:

We checked in then headed off to our rooms to tidy up a bit. Then we rushed to the beach to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sunset.

And back to our room for a well deserved rest from a very long trip.
That's all for today. I still got more photos and stories to share in the following days. I hope you don't get too bored with all the photos and stuff. lol. Peace out!