Another happiness :)

hello friendships!!!!

Super happy ata talaga si hubby kaya naman pinapahappy nya ako yehey!!! He is so happy that he sponsored two of the things I listed down in my previous blog post, i am such a lucky wife!!! :)

He personally think that I need a handy camera which I can easily carry anywhere, since he helped me to do a research for a good quality camera for my post 5 Impractical Wants, he got impressed with the many great reviews of FujiFilm X100S that made him decide to get one for me. 

Here is my newest baby :)

What's inside the box 

I think what made him help to decide so soon is because of our upcoming trip (wink),,, kailangan talaga din namin para di palaging bulky ang dala dala. 

And as a treat to our home, a heavenly scent na nakakaSus-Yal ang bango hehehee... :)

enjoy the holidays!!! Kung hei fat choi! :) 

Bar...Cel...On...A...Happiness

Hola Amigas! :)

We received a good news yesterday, it is about hubby's work that we've been praying for quite a while, as saying goes "Patience is a Virtue" indeed it is, being patiently waiting for something is a skill we mastered overtime :) and finally another God's way of showing His undying love for us, As always He never let us down, His plan is really the best. Thank You Lord. 

And as we celebrate this good news we are going for a short trip hooray :) we will use the allotted budget that I was able to save for the supposed trip last Christmas and now we felt that it is the perfect time to travel. :)

I am very much excited with this trip, another quality moments and adventure with hubby, getting lost in the streets, sightseeing, food tripping and taking out all the stress we had by exploring the place, cuddling and shopping (isiningit pa talaga ang shopping) i told you sobrang miss ko na ang mall hehehe. 

I will try to visit here and makipagkwentuhan whenever I can,,, Bye muna I need to fix pa our itinerary or maybe relax.basta.bahala na lang ang itinerary namin hehehe :) 

see yah! :)

Foodie: Pork Siomai

Hello Friendships!!!! :)

We just finished our yummy dinner :) 

This is not a planned menu, I have wanton wrapper, giniling and carrots in the fridge and that made me think to make pork siomai, I was unsuccessful the first time I cooked it maybe because of the wrapper I used,,, I believe in second chances :) so finally I did it right this time yiheee!!!

Ingredients:

wanton wrapper

400g giniling/minced pork

grated carrots

grated onion

1 egg

flour (others use cornstarch kaso not available sa kitchen namin)

salt

pepper

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly then wrap it in wanton wrapper. Put them all in the steamer and wait for 20 mins. Dip it in lemon with chili oil and soy sauce,,, hmmm sarap :)

here is the finished product :)

Super easy peasy di ga :)

Please share your success stories in the kitchen and your specialty, madami kasi kaming naattendan na potluck gathering medyo nauubusan na akong maisip na dalhin :)

5 Impractical Wants =)

Hello mga kapatids,,, How's your day? =)

My mind is very active on imagining beautiful things but very impractical to purchase, siguro pag sobra sobra na ang pera ko saka pa lang ako makakabili nito o kaya pwede one of them as a reward sa 52 week money challenge hehehe,,, sa ganito talaga ako pag feeling ko deprived este frugal ako hehehe,,,

1. Voluspa Candles

                                                                  photo source here
Super bango ng candles nila,,, I would really want to have this kaso pricey for a 500nok tapos candle lang pero ang heaven ng scent talaga, sarap ng ganito sa house, very relaxing at nakakasosyal ang amoy =)

 2. Clarisoni Mia 2

photo source here

I love cleaning my face as in mahilig ako sa facial wash and scrub, mahilig din ako magpafacial pero since ang mahal dito I didn't attempt to visit any spa parlor, actually I can categorize this as practical thing kasi mas malaki pa din ang savings kesa magpa facial di ba, kaso I have other things to prioritize kaya sa ngayon kamay ko na lang muna panghilamos,, pero sana mapag ipunan ko to,, I really want to have one.

3. Fuji Film X100S

photo source here

I am jealous to other bloggers na ang gaganda ng pictures. I want a camera na compact pero mala dslr ang output. Actually di ako techy kaya I just ask my husband to research for a good quality camera na cute lang hehehe,, pero budget wise e last on my list ito dahil mahalia sya hehehe,,, my phone camera will do at the moment hahaha! =)

4. Heima Sonja Desk ( a blogging desk)

photo source here

I just want a blogging desk similar to this and a nice and comfortable chair too, but because we have only a tiny space baka di ko maachieve ito kahit makakita pa ako ng mura. I realized na iba pala talaga pag may working table sa bahay kasi sa singapore yung room namin may table ako e, favorite na spot ko nga yun, i miss that table kahit simple lang yun we bought it sa isang furniture shop lang sa singapore nung 2007 hehehe bagong dating pa lang kami noon I remember na uso na ang laptop nun pero we chose to buy a desktop kaya namin nabili yung table na yun hehehe and it served us well until umalis kami sa SG iniwan na nga lang namin kasi di naman pwede madala hehehe,

5. Matstone Slow Juicer

photo source here

This is my most priority among the others because Health is Wealth ika nga. I really want to have this juicer, pricey(?), yes but I want me and my husband to be healthy. Mahilig ako sa juice e pero di ako mahilig yung fruits na kakainin pero pag jinuice na sya gusto ko hehehe ang arte lang ba hehehe,, problem lang is I need to order online at takot ako sa tax pag pinaship.

Kayo, any nice things in mind? Masarap din mag muni muni ng mga bagay na gusto natin, nakaka inspire din at nakaka happy hehehe...

Enjoy! =)

Dressy Outfits

Hello friendships! 

How's your week going? 

Our weekend was fun filled because of the birthday parties we attended. In a couple of weeks we will attend a wedding party, the couple got married in the philippines and they decided to have a party for us here in Norway, hence the post about dressy dressy hehehe,,, It is a semi formal event kaya may dress code (panicked!), buti na lang I discovered ASOS before pa which is my "go to" site whenever I need a dress. I only have a few dresses before which I didn't own now because I already sent some of my clothes in the Philippines including my old dresses. 

here is my first dress I've ordered in ASOS and my very first time to socialize with my new found friends here, I am really a shy type, I always wanted to stay in the corner para wala masyado makapansin sa akin ganun ako kahiya, basta nasa isang sulok lang me nakaupo kaya wala akong makitang maayos na picture ko ng outfit hehehe

photo source from ASOS.com

Di pa ako marunong mag ayos, no make up look/haggardness me :)

To complete the outfit,  i bought a black blazer to hide my mala legs na braso hehehe,,, 

I wore this dress last November for a bachelorette party. 

December has a lot of events to attend. 

During PP Christmas Party. For this outfit, I just bought the skirt for 150nok (what a steal!) and matched it with my old sleeveless red blouse and since I don't have enough confidence to show my braso hehehe I used again the blazer hehehe.

Christmas Day. We were invited to spend Christmas Eve with friends, I just found this simple dress for a discounted price of 150 nok in H&M hehehe happiness,,, 

New Year's Eve Party. 

I ordered this dress in ASOS, I was really looking for a red dress for new year and I am very delighted when I saw this lace red dress, classic lang and simple, madaling dalahin and comfortable, medyo tabachingching na ako dahil sa december ay food festival hahaha,,, 

With the beautiful dressy girls!!!! 

I was just surprised kasi the first time I ordered from ASOS I didn't pay for tax pero itong dress na ito may tax na akong binayadan. 

For the wedding party next month, I ordered this dress sana sana walang tax charges :) (fingers crossed)

photo source from ASOS.com

According to asos it will be delivered on or before Jan 29, any suggestions to complete the look? since sa isang function hall gaganapin yung party I will be needing a nice shoes for this, sana sana madala ko ng ayos yung dress at ok ang fit hehehe,,, 

have a great week ahead!!! :)

Pizza Lover???

I am not really a pizza lover but my husband does. Pero gusto ko yung sausage stuffed pizza ng Pizza Hut saka yung New York Finest ng Yellow Cab but we can't afford to dine dito sa dalawa when we were college, we had a memorable valentine moment naman with Greenwich, etong si husband maabilidad talaga alam nya di ako pede magutom hahaha,,, may pa contest dati ang greenwich sa mga texters yung parang dudugtungan yung I Love Greenwich because... may naalala ba kayong ganito? mga year 2001 or 2002 to hahaha!!! etong si husband n bf ko nun since limited lang ang budget nya aba sumali hahaha kaya nagka free pizza kami hihihi eto yung part ng buhay namin as a couple na striving at surviving hehehe, sana ganyan lang kasimple ang mga problema hehehe. 

A few months back may nadadaanan kami pizza resto dito since hindi ako masyado mahilig sa pizza talaga deadmabels lang sa akin until ung 1 day na yun na nag aya ako dun hahaha pero kasi kinuwenta ko pag sa ibang resto kami mas mahal un ang hindi ko nasabi kay hubby at hinayaan ko sya umorder aba pagbalik nasa 400 krone (approx 2900 pesos) ang binayadan daw nya wahehehe super inis ako kasi ang mahal ang iniisip ko kasi oorderin nya yung maliit lang ayun ang dami tuloy natira sayang sana sa dating resto na lang kami masarap na sulit pa kasi nasayahan ako hehehe,, kaya after nun ayaw na ni mark sa pizza na yun hehehe pagkakain sa labas kami palagi joke ung Dolly Dimples heheheh. 

 Pero etong Grandiosa super love ko hahaha ang mura kasi actually 42krone (approx 310 pesos)lang sya pero nag popromo sya sa mga grocery store na 2 for 50 which is 25 krone (183 pesos) lang hahaha,,, 2 nights na yan ang dinner namin di ba pwede na pag tinatamad ako magluto tapos ang budget friendly pa hehehe (peace hon hihihi) 

Hooray for a budget friendly treat!!!! Happiness!!! :) 

Money Saving, Bonding Moment and Mind Exercising :)

Hello gurls!!!

I posted the other day about the 52 Week Challenge, I decided also to do a smaller amount version of it aside from the 50 increment and I called it Palengke Challenge where I will save an increment of 10 Krone from our weekly palengke budget :) Because of these 52 week Money Challenges I need to think of how can I save in many ways. 

One way is to have a fun/recreation which is a "saving friendly" like board/tile games etc. 

Rummikub is a tile game that will really exercise your mind, and another fun way to bond with your loved ones, unlike movie marathon and staying online on internet it doesn't require much electricity o di ba you can save pa at the same time your having fun.

here's an explanation from wikipedia

All tiles in play must be arranged in sets with at least three tiles. The two valid set types are called runs and groups.

Runs are composed of three or more, same-colored tiles, in consecutive number order. For example- red 6, 7, 8 and 9. A 1 may not follow a 13.

Groups are three or four same-value tiles in distinct colors. For example- red 3, blue 3, black 3 and orange 3.

You can rearrange the set of tiles na naitira na himdi katulad ng scrabble na hindi mo pwede baguhin yung words. Tapos yung unang makakaubos nung tiles nya yun ang winner. Pakiresearch na lang kung magulo hirap ako mag explain hehehe,, may nakita din akong online game ng rummikub if you want to try, I've tried din online pero mas masaya pag with family or friends saka para maachieve din yung saving-friendly recreation hehehe. 

Aside from this, I also implemented a zero spending weekend/day once in a while in order for us to achieve our goals. :)

And if I am tempted to buy something I will look for a good read on savings sa internet, basta mga tips on savings bet na bet ko yan. 

Any other suggestions on savings and budgeting? 

Enjoy the rest of the week!!! :)

After Eight

How's you're weekend Friendships?

I am now a certified coffee lover/drinker  unlike before that I only drink coffee once or twice a month. My husband makes the greatest coffee ever hehehe seriously yes, ansarap sarap ng kape na gawa nya even if I ask the exact measurements of coffee, creamer and sugar iba pa din pag sya yung nagtimpla, and... I like it better with my current favorite mint chocolate...After Eight. 

I discovered it on my husband's birthday dinner, sobrang busog na busog ako kaya we ordered coffee tapos may kasamang mint chocolate, ay sabi ko bagay pala sila, later on we found out na After Eight pala yung sinerve sa amin dati. 

This thin mint chocolate is separately packed, medyo nakakasosyal ang packaging at hindi nakakahiya iserve pag may bisita, like after ng meal then you can serve coffee with it, o kaya sa tea party pwede din..

I am enjoying more our after meal coffee session because of this...

Try nyo din baka magustuhan nyo combi ng coffee at mint,,, nakaka fresh kasi =)

Have a great week ahead everyone!!!

PS. Thank you Diane for always encouraging me to blog. mwahugs!!!

What I Got This Christmas

Hello friendships! How's your weekend?

Since we set our goal to save more, we agreed (hmmm that's what I thought) not to buy expensive gifts for each other this Christmas and for the past months I've told you that we have a matured perspective on spending my husband's hard earned money. 

Since I do the budgeting, he lets me hold his payroll atm and he will only borrow it when he needs to top up his bus card which happens once a month. My husband is an old fashion when it comes to his earnings, he follows the traditions where the husband submits everything to the wife, that works for us and might not work for other couples, different home has different ways on what will be the best for the family. And the day he borrowed the atm was the time he bought his gift for me. My gift for him was just a simple sweatshirt wahehehe,,, although I looked for something with good quality I still felt a little guilty and embarrassed when we opened our gifts. 

Who would have guessed na bag ang laman nung box na yan, kala ko damit lang din :)

meet my first burberry bag Haymarket Check Bowling Bag, My husband knew that I love handbags than shoulder bags, kaya love ko talaga ung mga speedy type, I noticed that the handles are longer than the speedy, and the texture of the bag is also thicker than speedy, it holds up in shape better than speedy din, I haven't use it pa but speedy is lighter and the pattern is more classic. As for the brand and price, hindi nagsasale ang LV unlike Burberry kaya hindi masakit sa dibdib pag nakita mo na bagsak presyo yung binili na bag, sa burberry naman may opportunity naman na makascore ng super sale na bag di ba, masaya din un. 

Together with my speedys for comparison

Medyo mas like ko ang dust bag quality ng LV

Honestly ang saya saya ko (please dont judge me) hindi din talaga biro ang maging housewife, setting aside yung pagging idealistic ha pero gusto ko lang mag vent out ng mababaw lang naman siguro sa iba hahaha pero "namimiss ko na ang mall" hehehe promise, coming from Philippines at Singapore na kabikabila ang mall sobrang miss ko na hehehe,,, kaya din siguro nirewardan ako ni husband ng gusto ko kasi mahilig talaga ako sa bag kahit wala akong sapatos at tsinelas lang ako, kahit wala akong ginagamit na relo (may phone naman katwiran ko) kahit super sale ang damit ko, kahit hindi ako updated sa gadget at sobrang laos at bagal na ng phone ko, basta mahilig ako sa bag, college pa lang ako palagi akong naghahanap ng good quality at unique na bag, talagang nagsasave ako ng baon ko makabili lang ako ng bag na maayos, di ko makakalimutan yung iniyakan ko ung bag na nilaslas yung gilid nung nakasakay ako sa jeep one ride lang naman ako from dorm sa morayta at tup sa taft kaya doon lang talaga, tapos sa school ko na lang nalaman na sira na pala, walang nakuha pero iniyakan ko ung bag. 

Alam ko hon na nagbabasa ka ng blog ko,,, Salamat ng marami, I appreciate everything, every single day na magkasama tayo, kahit walang mall hahaha basta't kasama kita... :)

PS. may mall naman dito pero iba yung mall sa Singapore at Philippines hehehe,,,pati tinda iba, way cheaper sa SG at PH tapos magagand pa, pero kasi window shopping eh solve na ako hehehe,,, dito kasi sa H&M lang ako masaya hehehe,,, kung very affordable ang body shop sa sg, dito e sobrang mahal, kung sa sg e pang gift na un pasok sa budget dito e hindi ewan ko nga kung bakit :)

Let's Save Challenge

2013 for me is all about Challenges. I was challenged to adjust in a new place (where I have to wear jacket everytime when I am outside even during summer hehehe) new career as a SAHW (Stay At Home Wife), a new career that challenged me in a lot of ways like budgeting, entertaining myself, working on our daily menu, inspiring the husband and most important is to still look good on my pambahay outfit (hahahah)

For a single income household like us, savings should not be neglected and we can not "relax" on that aspect, focusing on budgeting is a main thing, it is harder than the time when I have my own income but I think I still did a pretty good job on that :)

For food budget we saved a lot from my home cooked meals, coffee dates at home, movie dates at home, fridates were lessened due to some badminton activities.

For clothing, I didn't buy often like when I was in Singapore, but I was working back then that's why clothes are in "necessity category" for me, same thing with shoes and accessories. 

Last year we were able to reward ourselves for a trip on which I saved a travel fund from July to August for our September trip, We were supposed to travel for Christmas holidays as a gift for each other but we decided to save that money for the meantime.

This week I saw some of my friends on Facebook including Diane shared the link 52 Week Challenge of KuripotPinay I was inspired to do the challenge and told my husband to make a spreadsheet for me, it is just the same with what she is using but since we received the salary once a month my husband added the amount to be saved per month. A few months are still easy to save pa but the latter weeks will be tough on which I plan to deposit on a monthly basis.

I am very excited with the outcome, as for where we are going to use the fund as much as possible I don't want to spend it on luxuries (on second thought I can set aside a small portion for it hihihi) but mainly I want to put the fund on worthy things because 68900 kroner can pay 12 months ammort of our condo o di ba ang galing, but now I will focus on how to make this possible. we can do this!!! :)

Maybeline EyeStudio Natural Impact

Hello friendships!!! 

There was a lot of christmas parties I've attended last year, I am a blouse/pants/shorts kind kaya everytime I heard semi-formal or there's a dress code I get panicked agad, luckily my ninang gifted me a curling iron kaya if you will noticed naka curled ang hair ng lola nyo mostly hehehhe,,, hair(semi checked), sa dress naman I was lucky to find a mega sale hehehe alam nyo na kuripots aketch (checked), make up... yan eto na hehehe,, I only own 2 lipsticks, 1 brown eyeliner, compact powder, lipgloss,, actually I am happy na kaya lang gumana ang pagka arte ko kaya I asked my friend how can I achieved yung natural eye makeup, parang eto lang sa pic hehehe

yung para lang maenhance di ko naman pinangarap yung smokey eye kaya she told me to find ung mga earth color na eyeshadow, and I did find this Maybeline EyeStudio Natural Impact, I was very happy kasi sobrang cheaper sya sa pangarap ko na Naked pero kasi hindi naman talaga ako mahilig at marunong kaya nagsettle na lang ako dito saka 4 colors lang sya di na ako malilito pa at may instructions pa saka mainly reason talaga is nagtitipid ako hehehe,,, magastos pag December!!!! 

That night when I came home, I tried it na agad,,, I carefully followed the instructions at the back

But sad to say, sobrang naging messy nya na parang di nadefine each color,,, I was very disappointed, such a waste of money sana dinagdagan ko na lang ng konti yung pinangbili ko at bumili na ako ng better quality hayzzzz,,,, Heniweys okies na din, I just used ung 3 or 4 na eyeshadow para di lang masayang but still not happy with it wahehehe,,, 

no 1 lesson learned hindi lahat ng pagtitipid ay ok. or dapat di na lang ako nag inarte pa, powder at lipstick lang carry na,,, hihihi,,, no 2 lesson learned wag masyadong maarte hihihi,,, :)

Happy Midweek Friendships!!! :) 

Happy New Year 2014!

It is Day 4 of 2014, I don't have new year's resolution to share with you as I didn't plan to make one. I have a lot of lessons learned and experiences in 2013 that I can hold on to face all the challenges, adventures and blessings for this year,,,very much excited for the wonderful things ahead of us :)

Thank You Lord for a great 2013,,, I am praying for Your continues guidance and blessings all throughout the year... Love You mwah! 

God bless us all!!! :)