On to a different matter, Georgia has been enjoying her new haircut (Yup, we went to the groomers last weekend) as of late and I did notice this. She seems to have an extra spring to her step and she has been eating a lot lately too. Yey, mummy’s happy. Haha.

Also, I don’t know why but I’m sort of feeling under the weather. I mean I’m still laughing and I’d love to eat some ice cream right about now but I’m nursing a tummy ache plus I feel sore everywhere (except the hair. Haha.). I’m turning in now and will hopefully be much better tomorrow.

Yup, random musings as of late and making to-do lists (mentally) it seems. Haha. By the way, I went over some of my files and found this picture of a fun night I once had (and I wasn’t feeling under the weather then at all). Yey for getting well motivation pictures.  Haha. This was a lot of fun and I miss these amazing ladies. That’s it for now.

P.S. I guess being sick makes me more random (and extra chatty) than usual? That’s my excuse for this post. *Cheshire cat grin*

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

It’s funny how the little things make all the difference at times.

P.S. I love vintage shampoo ads a lot! ♥

P.P.S. Yup, I know I say “amazing” and “awesome” a lot. Let’s be friends still. Haha.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

It’s actually quite insightful and I’m sharing it to everyone in the hopes that we can all learn something from it. The concept of Valentine’s Day isn’t solely about romantic love. For me (in general), it’s the celebration of love and all it’s forms and types. Cheers!

Love is its own law. Let love be your guiding principle. When in doubt, listen to your heart. Don’t allow mental concepts, beliefs, or assumptions that are not based on love to dictate your behavior.

The law of source. You are the source of love. The love inside you is abundant and eternal. You don’t need to beg, control or compromise in order to be loved.

The law of attraction. The more you focus on love and gratitude, the more you will be surrounded by love. If you complain, blame, and dwell on fear, you’ll attract others who are also resentful, angry, and fearful.

The law of unity. Love knows no borders and no boundaries. Love includes everyone and everything. Love takes no position, rising above separation. Find unity within by resolving the conflicts inside yourself and you won’t have to act them out with another.

The law of truth. Let telling the truth about who you are and what you are feeling and thinking be your foundation. Vulnerable self-disclosures allow for empathy and understanding. The more truth is shared the more love grows.

The law of consciousness. Love is a state of consciousness available only when you’re willing to relinquish your defenses. Protection is a barrier to love. Love cannot be given or taken but it can be shared. The vibration of love in you is often stimulated when you come into contact with one who carries it.

The law of forgiveness. Its okay to make mistakes. Very few humans are able to love perfectly. Forgive yourself and others generously and you’ll always have a second chance. Focus more on giving than getting and you’ll have much less forgiving to do.

P.S. I wish to do a shout-out (sort of) to my original Valentine/VALENTINEs. Happy Valentine’s Day Mum and Dad! I love you forever.

P.P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day to Georgia’s dada and to my little one as well. I love you, Georgia! ♥

(Beautiful Prints by J.M. Barclay)

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

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By the way, it’s already Valentine’s day in a couple of hours and I just got bitten by the bug. I’ll do a couple more love posts. Just brief ones because I found lots of pretty love things. Haha.

P.S. It’s never too late to make love cards for the people you love. They’ll appreciate it plus making these babies is a lot of fun! Get creative

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The illustrations are from a cool children’s book by Laura Ljungkvist about an enthusiastic parrot who visited his neighborhood and ends up making a new song.

I want a copy! Haha.

P.S. I picked the ones above in particular because I love cake and cupcakes (and other tasty bakery treats!) and I love art. Typical Pau. Haha.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

For those who haven’t heard/read about it, an earthquake with a 6.9 magnitude shook the Cebu-Negros Region (in the Philippines) yesterday, it was Intensity VII  for Negros and Intensity V for Cebu. It also brought about a Level 2 Tsunami Alert which caused a great deal of panic and emotional stress for everyone when there were reports of rising seawater after (Yes, we could still use some work with disaster management and information/update dissemination. Nothing wrong with working on some more improvements with regards to all of these things to ensure safety for everyone). We had a couple of quakes that followed throughout the day (one with a 6.2 magnitude) as well as aftershocks to be expected in the next couple of days.

We all have read about earthquakes (and what they are capable of doing) at one point. When it’s actually happening, you just don’t know how strong it’s going to be, you worry about your family and everyone and you just want it to stop basically. From living out a typical day (no inkling of any dangerous calamities to transpire whatsoever) to things just starting to shake and then your brain suddenly utters a single word – “Earthquake!”.  I felt the floor beneath me moving, the walls were shaking – it just scares you. At that very moment, it can be quite hard to keep your wits about you.

I remembered thinking, “Is this really happening?”. A second or two after that, I basically picked up/told Georgia to come to Mommy (she was really scared) and did a quick scan of the space to scout out a safe space to take refuge in (in case it gets stronger and things start falling). I recalled saying to myself that my drafting table (when it caught my eye) isn’t sturdy enough to withstand falling things. I was also torn between quickly running  outside to check on my family and make sure they were safe.

Being here the next day, I am just very very grateful. Grateful to be alive and safe. Grateful that God was looking out for all of us and that though we had quite a scary quake, he kept us together.

P.S. Negros really needs our help right now, let us all pray for them =(

P.P.S. It really helps to educate yourself with regards to earthquakes and other calamities so that you can better prepare yourself for it just in case. I highly encourage everyone to read about quake drills and what to do lists, this is a good example. It’s always better to be equipped and ready  for anything, this helps you handle things a lot better. For more details about yesterday, here is an article.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

So, which portion of your brain is the dominant one?

P.S. If you aren’t that acquainted with this, here is a quick brief. When a person develops a dominance towards one side of their brain, they tend to have certain areas of interest and even characteristics in common. The left side (left cerebral hemisphere) of the brain is often thought of as the logical, thinking side while right brain dominant people are thought of as the artists and dreamers of the world.  I just want to make it clear though that this doesn’t necessarily mean that if one is dominant in one field, he is quite poor in the other – he simply has strengths in different areas.

Personally, I can’t entirely make up my mind if I am left or right brained. Haha. Yup, I know that I am in the design/arts industry and I tend to gravitate towards it more but I did come from a Science High School (and proud of it!) a few years back . Boggling right? A Science Scholar who pursued  Fine Arts. Haha.  I also find that I manifest things that are done in the left brain (this includes the part wherein they mentioned that Left Brained People tend to be dog lovers as opposed to Right Brained People who are cat lovers. It even made me laugh. Love you Georgia! ).  Anyhow, I’m settling on being a mixture of both but gravitating more towards the right brain.

P.P.S. Want to find out which portion is more dominant for you? Try out this cool test (it’s more of a creativity test really but it does the job), click here. It said that I am more right brained than left-brained. I guess I’m right with my initial assumption above. Haha.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

P.S. It’s painfully hot here at the moment, I mean the weather is pretty much like this all year round. I had a couple of errands and for the most part, a good day. I leave you with a picture of one of the awesomest sandwiches out there, it is in fact quite close to my heart. It may look like a bunch of leaves/foliage for the most part  but I love the dressing (it makes me smile everytime) and it is indeed delicious.  Haha.

P.P.S. I can’t believe it’s already February tomorrow! Wow.

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Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Suy) is a traditional Chinese technique which ensures that all things are in harmony with their surroundings. It is a complex blend of fine aesthetics, sound common sense and mystical philosophy. When literally translated, it means “Wind and Water” and these are regarded as akin to certain force, called ch’i (meaning breath, current or air). They say that having Feng Shui in the home, for instance, enhances happiness and prosperity.

My take on Feng Shui is geared towards simply being open-minded. As an interior designer and a user of spaces myself, I find it as a principle to be quite interesting and rich in context. I’m not entirely sure if I would observe it in my future space (I do love wind chimes and goldfish though! Haha.) but I do acknowledge that it works for some people and I am happy for them. Just focus on how certain aspects of it can help inspire you to grow/what works for you (and your spaces too!) but do not let it control your life and way of living entirely – I mean you can’t entirely go wrong with this  since it applies to a lot of other things actually. That being said, unto the forecast!

The year of the Dragon symbolizes Feng Shui’s water element while the Chinese zodiac year of the Dragon exudes power and force. They say that the use of the following colors will attract good fortune for this year – dark blue tones, blue green tones and black. The yellow/cream color from the previous Dragon year (which was 2000) will work especially well with this year’s color palette. It will balance out the depth of the dark colors (i.e. black) with it’s own lightness and softness. Gold as an accent color will add a touch of sophistication (may it be through your wallpaper, dinnerware or stripes in fabrics).

They say that the use of this dynamic color scheme for this year will bring about an increase flow of positive energy and attract good health and success. Also, ceramics and wood are considered as good interior materials along with natural fabrics and leather textures.  Avoid metals except those in golden colors.

Check out the simple design board I made below to give you ideas. I wish us all an awesome 2012!

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

Below is another cool structure by Herbst Architects consisting of simple but well-made construction using timber and natural materials, it blends in with the existing environment. Made out of kwila (a popular hardwood appropriate as decking since it is quite durable, stable and has  a low splintering tendency) flooring and decking, macrocarpa (timber of choice  today because it is not treated with chemicals and is of high quality) interior lining and cedar board-and-batten clad for the exterior, the main function of the space isn’t mainly focused on providing too much convenience – the homeowners wanted things simple.

All in all, it is definitely a natural holiday home to retreat to from the busy city. I want one too!

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I had a hard time choosing which one is my favorite among all of them though. They are just all so brilliant and dashing and “secret agent” cool. *sigh*

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I had a late lunch and since I wanted something “meat free”, I decided to create some sort of concoction with the stuff I was able to find in the pantry and the fridge. It turned out to be really good actually. I made a mental note of said spontaneous recipe for future consumption. Behold, my button mushroom toppings! I added in some veg and some herbs and some awesome garlic (and a couple of secret ingredients. *winkwink*). So creamy in consistency and yummy!

But my culinary wondrousity did not end there. After a couple minutes, I thought of something else. (awesome!) I guess I decided to take advantage of how gastronomically inspired I was. (I’m joking with the statements above. I’m not really full of myself. Haha.) Lo and behold, amazing pancakes as an afternoon snack. I decided to try out this new pancake flour thingymajig and added in some blueberries and cranberries as well as some oatmeal and vanilla (Yup, and some secret ingredients). I paired this with some raspberry jam – I swear it was delicious! Gone in a couple of minutes. Amazingly, everyone was quite enthusiastic and cooperative with the eating. Haha. 

P.S. Look who we have here. Its the little one! Hi Georgia She decided to stretch out on top of my sketch whilst I was tinkering with it. Yup, on top of my drawing of all places. You are just the cutest Georgia Porgia ♥ I had to take a picture.

By the way, we are off to the vet tomorrow for her follow-up. She wasn’t feeling well early on the year and it was scary (Should I do a post on this?). Yup, a couple of x-rays, some stuff and we are slowly going back to normal I hope. If she appears to be a little scruffy to you (she’s certainly not alone. I feel scruffy too. Haha.), it’s because her doctor is putting bath/groom time on hold until she gets better.

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I’m inviting everyone who are in Cebu for Sinulog to drop by if you can and if you want us interior designers to paint stuff (works of art really. haha.) on you. I for one am not comfortable painting stuff on people’s faces but overall I’m sure its gonna be fun. Haha. We have been doing this for a couple of years now and proceeds will go to a beneficiary we choose. Pit Senyor Everyone! I wish you all an amazing Sinulog

P.S. January was just all over the place for me so far and thus the lack of entries. But you are all in my thoughts and I wish you all an awesome weekend.

P.P.S. Curious about Sinulog? or about our face painting event? For an overview (sort of), do click here.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I’d like to consider this year as a fresh start and would love to share this with all of you as well. It’s the lyrics of another personal favorite/best-loved song (it wasn’t  a song to begin with, it started out originally as an article from an awesome lady’s column) for many years now actually (I used to listen to it in the car after school) and I would love to use it as a guide for this year and the years to come hopefully. I wish all of us an awesome 2012! Enjoy!

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’97

Wear sunscreen.

The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded.

But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are not as fat as you imagine.

Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Sing.

Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.

The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults.

If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives.

Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t.

Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t.

Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.

Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.

Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it.

Dance – even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions., even if you don’t follow them.

Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old.

And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

P.P.S. I’d like to ask a favor from all of you. Please do pray for my mom, we continue on with our battle. She has a challenging procedure and we will be at the hospital on the third. Thank you.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

P.S. It’s a little treat for all of you. I hope you love it as much I do. ♥
P.P.S. I’m off to bed now. It’s already morning! Haha. Happy New Year Everyone!!! Yey!

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

But you can still check out my article with tips if you’d like. Yey! Haha. You can also find the rest of my Christmas Photography in the article as well. For part one and two, click here and here consecutively. Fanks!

P.S. I know I’ve been talking about this a couple of times already but please do extend a helping hand for the Victims of Typhoon Sendong. I cannot stress this enough but they need all our help. It makes me teary thinking what they are going through, to have lost all that they worked for (some their whole lives) in just a flash (plus while they were sleeping) and having to stand up and start over again. Sometimes we can’t appreciate the food we have on our tables or the numerous clothes we have in our closets while they have trouble figuring out where to get their next meal and praying hard that it won’t rain because all the clothes they have left are the ones they are wearing. There are different drop centers in the metro and I heard that LBC offers free shipping for the goods  (they need clean drinking water, blankets, clothes, etc.) you plan to donate (however, I still have to confirm this). You can also volunteer for Red Cross if you have time and the resources to spare, click here. Thank you!

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

Tasteful comfortable furniture

Although this may look like an obvious choice, it is often taken for granted and overlooked. This is because; the type of cafe furniture that an eating establishment has can attract or repel customers. Despite limitations in budgeting, if a cafe owner is willing to look around they can be able to find just the right kind of furniture they are looking for and at the right price. The main idea is not to be in a great hurry in this area. The furniture must also be suitable for the space provided to ensure easy movement for both the cafe staff and their many customers.

Targeting a specific niche

When opening a cafe, it is essential to have the ideal customer in mind. This is the person who will be able to appreciate the cafe surroundings and service enough to be able to afford to keep patronizing the cafe at will. The quality and quantity of the offerings at the cafe should be affordable and economical to their ideal customers. They should also be in a geographical location that is easily accessible by many of their niche customers. In the hospitality industry, it is easier to focus on acquiring business from a specific niche customer class than targeting all customers in general.

Interior design

The layout of the cafe chairs and cafe tables is very important in determining whether a first time customer becomes a repeat customer. This is because, many cafes are rather cramped and this impedes movement and compromises on personal privacy. This problem can be forestalled by using a creative layout for the furniture keeping in mind easy access to and from the establishment, easy access to and from the sanitation facilities, and easy access for waiter movement between their many customers. Since space is a premium when it comes to cafe layout, creativity is a bonus when it comes to cafe design.

Color selection

Colors say a lot about the personal taste of the cafe owner. A beautifully designed cafe with special emphasis on color co-ordination talks about an owner who takes the time to create an unforgettable setting for his current and future customers. It also talks volumes about the quality of food that will be served at the cafe. Although the main objective of visiting a cafe is to eat and drink, it is also important to do so in settings that are comfortable and visually aesthetically appealing.

Lighting choices

Cafes ideally should operate virtually around the clock and the type of lighting provided can make them habitable or not. This becomes apparent during the night time because being a public place, the ability to see clearly becomes very important. On top of seeing the kind of food served to them, customers also like to be able to see their surroundings clearly. Lighting can also make a cafe appear cozy and comfortable or shabby and drab depending on the type of lighting devices and their positioning within the cafe.

Samantha Devlin is an interior designer working within the hospitality management industry. She advises her many clients in the hospitality industry on the most fashionable designs for cafe furniture. These include the proper settings for specific styles of cafe tables and matching the most suitable cafe chairs.

P.S. Thank you very much to Sachin of Adage Furniture for sharing this to us and to Samantha for her tips. I hope you found this article helpful (for any of your present and future design endeavours). Have an awesome week everyone!

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

“Lou Lou Who: I’m glad he took our presents. You can’t hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, beacuse it isn’t about the… the gifts or the contest or the fancy lights. That’s what Cindy’s been trying to tell everyone… and me. I don’t need anything more for Christmas than this right here: my family.”

“The Grinch: It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.
Narrator : The the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
The Grinch : Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…
Narrator : He thought
The Grinch : …means a little bit more.”

Merry Christmas to you and to your families, Everyone! ♥

P.S. This may be the awesomest Christmas I ever had to date. I am very very grateful for the gift of family and loved ones!

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.

We all love to shop for presents during Christmas for our families and friends. Though this gift guide is posted just a few days into Christmas day, I highly encourage doing Christmas shopping early (slowly buying gifts throughout the year and getting them ready for December is a good idea as well) to avoid the hustle and bustle, as well as the stress and long lines at the counter and having more options available.

These are just ideas for presents you can get for the people you love. I love personal gifts and those out of the ordinary. I also love presents with an artisan feel to them, they have a lot of character in my opinion.

Details:

1. Handmade Fleur de Sel Caramels (1/2 lbs. in a Mason Jar)

- I’ve been eyeing these for some time now and unfortunately they are sold out already (*sniff*). They would make an awesome gift, melt in your mouth caramels hand wrapped in natural unbleached parchment paper. I tend to associate Christmas with getting scrumptious baked goods in festive packaging (cupcakes and apple pies!).

2. Colorful Vintage Seltzer Glass Bottles

- Something perfect to add to your collection plus they are really pretty.  I love vintage bottles! These babies were found in a flea market in Paris, France. Check them out here.

3. Decorative Pear Pillow

- For something cutesy/plush and definitely whimsical. They are adorable gifts for both adults and kids. They are also handmade (Coolio!). You can find them here.

4. Mug by Hangyu Kim

-Jazz up the mug present option with this. It is incredibly clever and cool. Borosilicate glass and porcelain handles. The handles are detachable and thus drinking coffee wouldn’t be a boring event anymore. Awesome sauce!

5. Primitive Bunnies

- I always have this affinity for old school stuffed animals. They have more character and will be an awesome keepsake for your child. They can also be used as decor for a nursery or a child’s room. They are made from natural fabrics and you can find them here.

6. Botanicals

-This is a cool gift for friends or people who love plants (Trivia: I love terrariums! ♥). You can even make these on your own as well and they wouldn’t require a great deal of care at all.

7. Versailles Fluò by Selab

- I love these pieces, truly eclectic pieces that you can add to your China cabinet. They are made out of fine porcelain and they remind me indeed of Versailles. I love the pop of color!

8. Gourmet Chocolate Bars

- I love these! They come in chic designs and awesome flavors. A truly classy present, I’d love a couple of these babies. Premium Belgian couverture white chocolate infused with ceremony grade matcha green tea. An awesome balance of bitter and sweet.

Your options are quite endless actually, that’s what I wanted to point out with this post. I wanted to inspire you in some way to go and look for more original presents. The recipients will really appreciate the thought.

More importantly though, let us not forget though that presents are simply secondary to what Christmas is really about. A really awesome gift is to help out others by offering your time (join a feeding activity or spending time in an orphanage or a nursing home), that is simply priceless. )

Merry Christmas Everyone!

P.S. It would be awesome if we can help out the victims of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. If you have extra time, money, food, clothing, do share them and drop them off at designated drop off areas all around the metro. Thank you!

P.P.S. I read this posted around the web, “Convert your fireworks and parties to food, clothing, etc. for the Typhoon Sendong victims in CDO and Iligan”. It is a good thought.

©2012 The Sea Green Journal. All Rights Reserved.