A Week To Go!

OMG, sorry for the lack of posts. My husband and I are very busy with work and of course, the upcoming first birthday bash of our little Zeke. It's finally (FINALLY) happening! I can't believe it!

The layouts turned up to be artistically made and I'm very thankful to Alezza. Without her, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do this:

THANK YOU TAGS

INVITATIONS

Aren't these adorable? Yes they are! If you want really amazing invitations and tags for your party, just shoot my nephew's girlfriend an email and she'll take care of you party graphic needs. She'll be doing my son's AVP and tarpaulin too.

BTW, we're changing suppliers for the printing services. We got a much cheaper offer at SSETT Digital Printing Services (they're located at South Supermarket in Lamuan, Marikina). For the invites: 3R costs 5 pesos each, tarpaulin costs Php 25/sq ft, and they'll give you good packages. Contact person is Xin. Drop by their shop for any personalized things you need.

Facebook also gave us the best help for sending out electronic invites to our friends who live far. Click on Create Invite then voila, you can do it invite-only style. I absolutely love it!

I'm so thankful that we live in a time where party planning is easier to do. I have immensely enjoyed prepping up for my son's party and I've met wonderful business contacts. Who knows, maybe I'll venture to kiddie party planning in the near future. :)

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

I know, I know. This book has gone viral and really, who wouldn't want to read what social media is referring to as "mommy porn"? And yes, I have jumped in and took the plunge down the erotica slide. I'm currently reading the third book of the trilogy and my my, for the first time in my life, I'm still undecided as to whether I love this book or not.

As you all know, this book was written based on a Twilight fan fiction by a British writer author (I almost said writer but hey, not to be rude or anything, I found the writing a bit upsetting so I'd rather say author than writer) and honestly, it's VERY addicting. Maybe because it gives you an inner glimpse in the world far beyond reality, a little introduction to what they call BDSM (Google it if you don't know the meaning).

The main characters (Christian and Anastasia) have a very complex and compelling relationship you'd think "how in the world did they end up together?" But that's the thing with this book; you have so many questions and sometimes, you can't get the answer. To begin with, Anastasia's a virgin and her first time involves the skillful and dominating Christian --- of course she'll definitely fall in love! Innocent people often fall prey to traps set by manipulative, egotistical alpha males (or females).

Alas, you'd still want to know how their (love) story goes so you'll definitely have to read Fifty Shades Darker (and Fifty Shades Freed). I'd bet this would be a blockbuster once it hits the movie screens. Or would it? Be the judge.

Cooking 101: Simple Shrimp Curry

Lately, I've been into Indian recipes and since my hubby is not a fan of too spicy viands or food, I opted to stay true to our Filipino heritage by incorporating the essential Indian curry with our naturally sweet gata.

Ingredients:
1/4k shrimp, deveined
1/2 cup coconut milk (gata)
onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
siling pang-sigang
1T curry powder
1tsp pepper
2 pcs siling labuyo
patis

Procedure:
1. Heat wok and add splash of Canola oil. Saute garlic and onion.
2. Add shrimp and cook until slightly orange. Avoid overcooking the shrimp as they tend to toughen up quickly. Pour in coconut milk. Stir until it simmers.
3. Add patis, curry and pepper to taste. Simmer some more until the sauce thickens.
4. Remove from heat then add chilis. Serve with rice.

Simple yet very gratifying. The addition of the chilis at the end process makes the dish less spicy, just right for my hubby.

Zeke's Photo Shoot at Pic-A-Boo, SM The Block

Finally, we got Zeke's pictures yesterday! As I've mentioned in my previous posts, we have gotten the services of Pic-A-Boo The Block to take our son's first (ever) photo shoot. Look at the sample outcome, isn't he so adorable?

I like their photographers ---- very patient with the kids and they'll really give you their full (100%) attention. The 30-minute photo session was really worth it and I so loved the output, all 90 shots. Maybe that's the reason why I had a hard time choosing the pictures to be printed! LOL

Pic-A-Boo The Block also gave me a huge discount as I've already accumulated 4000+ on the packages, I also have an instant membership card with freebies on my next photo shoot plus I get to have all the pictures in a CD (though it's not for printing, just for uploading). If you're interested, here's their pricelist:

I recommend you get the silk packages as it's really pretty in paper. The metallic was a bit too shiny for my taste. :) Have fun, mommies! I heard they have a promo this coming Father's Day so better check it out.