100th post: recently enjoying

This being my 100th post, I dedicate it to things that are recently drawing happy doodles on my heart.¹ It seems stupid, this list, but I'd rather do this, than my normal daily blog posts², or blab about something negative (again). So here goes...

Two Things, or more accurately, Two Boys³

* Finnick Odair

Seriously how to say no to this guy? I cannot stop imagining him whispering into me, his and the whole of Capitol's secrets, and it's maddening! Insanely sexy!⁴ Really, Sam's lips and those dimples? Enough already. I will have that sugar cube!

* Jason Mraz

You cannot imagine the love I have for Jason. We go way back; when I was a high school sophomore, 11 years ago, I first heard this amazing guy, and has listened non stop ever since. It's insane but I had listened to his fifty or even more songs from 11PM til 5AM, non stop, no joke! I promised myself I would buy VIP tickets to his concert the first time he'd visit the Philippines, whatever the cost. He'd been here, twice, thrice already; it's sad I haven't seen him not once. I suck at keeping promises, I guess. First time, my favorite aunt, who was also everyone else's favorite aunt, even though not related to her, and just had considered her "aunt" like a family friend, her cancer returned, and it got bad. The money... I had to -- it was one of those decisions that break your heart whichever you choose. Other times were sort of the same. I wish he'd still visit, and when he returns, I'd be ready to buy his time; I'd probably cry (a lot) just hearing him live. I love this guy so much. So much.

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¹ Except for the fact that we'll be moving in to our new (and very own) house in just EIGHT freaking days.
² My excitement goes to my every blog post, related to design, interiors, and DIY.
² Except for the five boys (my husband, my son, my dad, my older brother, and my little brother) that are on top of my list, who I keep in a very special place in my heart, more special than Katniss and Peeta can ever find themselves into.
³ My dear husband, I am in no way cheating -- you still sexier. I intend to stay loyal. It's just the breeze; this Catching Fire obsession is harder to shake than you think.

design inspiration from The design sponge

I love design sponge! They are probably the best design blog out there! I don't remember how I got to them, but when I did, I just can't stop browsing! Like any other design blog, design sponge has a room for home deco, spaces & places, make-over/make-under, diy (OF COURSE!), and a whole lot of articles featuring other awesome persons in the world of design. You will get so full (or not) of wonderful stuff. Oh blissful living!

Design*Sponge is a design blog run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. Launched in August of 2004, the site updates between 6-8 times per day and was declared a “Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials” by the New York Times. Design*Sponge attracts a diverse group of devoted readers across the globe. Design*Sponge currently has 75,000 daily readers on the main site, over 127,000+ RSS readers, 405,000+ Twitter followers and 70,000+ Facebook followers.

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What I love about design sponge?

I have to give them credit for being different, when talking about their website design. The chalkboard and neutrals look so tame and yet so powerful at the same time. I've seen enough design blogs with all whites, nothing wrong with that. Look at mine! (Not that this is a design blog) But I think that fairly explains my love for anything white and in (popping) color. One funny thing though is, every time I imagine the sponge's website design, I see stars, no kidding! Probably the chalkboard whispers to me like it's night sky. Or something.

Why are there design blogs that show everything in the home page? Like a gallery of sorts, of DIY projects and what-not. Nothing wrong with that, either. But I like design sponge's better. It's a simple archive, the usual way of how blog posts were displayed, historically going down the page. Then, there's their menu. Very simple. Very straightforward. Doesn't overlap with each other (because you know, sometimes a DIY project can be a sneak peek, too! Or vice versa. Thus having both tags: diy, sneakpeek. Ahem. Guilty here.).

Click on DIY, and you'll be fronted with a list of heavenly, from easy-peasy to hardcore, crafting. You can also browse by either difficulty (*, **, or ***), or budget ($, $$, $$$$). I always find myself clicking on the easiest and cheapest of DIYs, because as much as I wanted to risk on these things, I just can't take a huge leap with all that money. Same with before-and-after, which features a bunch of make overs or make unders; which are also categorized by difficulty or by budget.

Another personal favorite is the sneak peeks of probably the most delightful spaces in the world. These btw you can view by ownership (own, rent), or by size (large, medium, small). Talk about convenience! So if you're looking for the perfect inspiration for your house, I bet you can find them in design sponge!


P.S. They also have tips and tricks and other gifts! This being my favorite. Constellation table runner. TOTALLY PERF!

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Here be my favorite sneak peeks. Well, ok, not my favorites. But, seriously! How can you choose from everything when they are all so amazing?
Here are my favorites out of JUST the first 3 pages.

* Oh Joy! Studio Tour




* A Mediterranean-inspired Spanish beachhouse




* A Brooklyn Prop Rental Studio




* An Oasis of Warmth and Style in Minneapolis




* A Jewelry Designer in Brooklyn




* An Eclectic Philadelphia Loft




* An Interior Designer's Tiny Studio






I know these are too much, but (it's not impossible that) I like everything. Also, isn't it obvious? I'm a sucker for spaces with bright hues and pops of color. Probably why we bought a blue-and-white chevron patterned sofa, and two tone cream rug, despite the fact that we have the messiest kid around. Good luck, my dear husband, with the cleaning! I'm also absolutely smitten over unique pieces and layers and layers of patterns. Adorbs!

A lesson in patience

Because I love kids, I never thought parenting would be this hard. When giving what he wants won't do him good, and not giving what he wants would upset him, I realized it takes a whole lot more than providing and having fun. My little boy is now two going "threenager", and I'm having doubts as to whether I can really do this. Not that I won't, because I will; I don't have any choice. But what I'm trying to say is...

Lately, there had been more crying than usual. And not just crying, but really ugly cyring, with all the wailing and kicking of feet and flailing of arms. It's annoying that you want it to stop, but you can't without giving in. Or you could wait until 30minutes til he stop on his own, and hope to best he still likes mommy. It's really hard -- being patient, staying patient, being consistent. I am almost always impatient. It's almost always easy for me to lose my temper. I am also (a lot of) a crybaby. Sometimes Most times, I think I am emotionally unfit for this job. It also most certainly doesn't help when everyone's (sort of) putting you to blame.

I double nurse my kids, btw. Meaning, I still breastfeed both my daughter, who is now seven months, and the said boy. Yes, you got that right -- I breastfeed a 2 and a half y/o boy. Please don't judge too easy -- I wish I can explain myself. There's more to stopping than using force. You see, breastfeeding, it has become my defense mechanism. When the boy's crying, breastfeed. When the boy's sleepy, breastfeed. When the boy wants something else that you can't ever give (like sharp things and those kind of plain no-no's stuff), breastfeed. It's like a new motto: when in doubt, breastfeed. It never fails. He would stop crying, he would love me even more. And while he feeds, I would explain the things he can and can't, or should and shouldn't do. And he seems to be listening.

But I won't deny; I agree I'm probably at fault. I have heard from people that the idea of nursing them is what's making him jealous of his baby sister. By jealous I mean, when I'm at home, there would be times when he doesn't want me to hold his sister. He will allow it if we (both my boy and I) will be playing/taking care of the baby girl, but if I'm totally going to ignore the boy, no chance will he let me do that. I get him though -- I work full time from 8 in the morning 'til 12 in the next morning. No, actually, I don't work straight on those hours, but currently we're living too far away from work that commuting takes up most of our time. My boy probably misses us a lot; you can just imagine how hard it is to go to work without upsetting the little man. And his puppy eyes and cute widdle voice don't help when he begs "mommy don't go to work please?". He would say things like watching Korean TV series (because that's what he knows I enjoy watching), or playing pretend (because that's our favorite game -- "I be the monster, you be the shark"). I seriously am close to becoming a ninja, with all the sneaking out of the house, or a secret agent working on how to trick him into doing something else than closely watching my ever move.

What I'm trying to say is... I know it's hard, but I will do this. I'm not complaining, though I am hoping so bad to learn as quickly as possible -- this patient thingy really gets me. We still have to figure out how to react to his mood swings, and to his, for lack of a better term, "unnecessary wants". And there's going to be more drama than I ever thought. But my little boy is an amazing kid, and becoming his mommy is a wonderful experience. Knowing that I am his favorite person in the world is 'aww'-able enough to make me want to be a better person. With cups of coffee, comforting hugs from the hubby, and loud tickle fights with the kids, I won't give up; PARENTING, we got you. You are so going down!



P.S. I am only trying to write as positively as I can. But no, I'm not pretending to be okay. All I know is... I want to, and I should be for my kids.