TOPAZ HORIZON

This was shot last April and now it's out. I'm a featured personality on Northern Living magazine! Here's a behind-the-scenes look:
Having my hair and makeup done by Lizzie Oren. We talked about the Chiz-Heart love affair. That was the hottest topic back in April haha.

Since we have no yayas, I asked my sister to look after Iñigo while I was at the photo shoot. Thanks, Jacqui! It was also very sweet of Inquirer Group to put the TV on a kiddie channel so Iñigo wasn't so bored. He did lose interest eventually so Jacqui brought him to watch me have my photos taken.

That's me dancing to entertain Iñigo. I wore my Karimadon wrap dress and Pedro gray pumps.

That's photographer Dookie Ducay telling me how to fix my angles and my smile.

That's a super bored super baby haha.

And here it is!
The photo that made it was the one of me wearing my Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and Zara pumps. My face was also Photoshopped, in case you know how I really look like haha. Hindi ko kamukha si Cristine Reyes. Sabi ng boss ko dati, "Wag ka na umangal!" Haha, I'm not complaining! I just want to look like me even if Cristine Reyes is prettier than me!

Anyway, you can read all about how I feel about blogging and writing and mommy fashion and living in the Metro North in the June issue of Northern Living.


Check out Northern Living's Facebook page on how you can get a FREE copy!

Thanks, Northern Living! I am so thrilled to be in your magazine!

Remember when I said that this year my word is simplify? Then remember when, as a result of this simplification, I went through my stuff and gave away tons of stuff to my sister and niece? Well, under all my stuff, I found my brand new, unused and still redolent of leather Cole Haan tote.

Yes, I had forgotten about it. So yes, I really should simplify my life! Who forgets bags they just bought?! Crazy wasteful woman.

I'm so glad I found it again. It's no longer available in stores now because I think this was from the 2011 summer collection. My friend Dada bought it abroad for me some time ago because it's a lot more expensive if you buy it here.

It's so cuuuuute! So bright and happy and so Pinoy! It's like a coño bayong haha. It's very roomy, too. It's now my diaper bag. I like how the coated canvas resists dirt and the wet. So perfect for my busy mommy lifestyle!

Sorry no real photos of the bag. I find the boy in the photos much much cuter. Sooo adorable! He and his brother and their father are making my weekend happy. Hope yours is bright and happy, too!

Since the start of 2012, Vince and I haven't gone on a date. A "just us" date. A romantic date. A date that allows us to flirt, eat food at a leisurely pace. Nope.

Then last week, I remembered I had bought coupons from Deal Grocer, a really good deal for a lovely lunch at Lu (or more popularly called as LuLu) at Rockwell. I had bought it as a surprise gift for Vince, for our 5th wedding anniversary. But when that special day came along (April 18), I was very pregnant and very tired and just couldn't imagine going out. But I'm no longer pregnant! So Vince and I had an impromptu date last week.

Look at how happy we are haha!

We left Vito at home with the yaya. Vito naps around noon so we figured he wouldn't miss us. We literally stole away for lunch! But we brought Inigo along since I'm breastfeeding him. He's 4 weeks old here. Ya, so it still wasn't a "just us" date but since Inigo slept throughout lunch, it was easy to pretend Vince and I were "alone." Haha!

While waiting for our food, we perused the books on the shelves.

We started with pumpkin soup.

This Napoleon salad was a revelation!

We had the basil-strawberry shake. The basil's strong herbal taste was a jolt at first but this quickly became quite refreshing!

This is a goat cheese-and-mushroom open-face sandwich. It's very good but I shouldn't have had it with the salad since they taste almost the same.

Vince had this chorizo pasta dish. It was very tasty!

Oh, this cheesecake is divine. I dunno what that sauce is but it definitely added a sublime freshness to the creamy dessert.

Yum yum yum! I want to go on a date again. Where should we go to next? We haven't been out in such a long while, we really don't know which restaurants are great to visit!

... from the blogging world is this cutie:

Say hello to my second son, Iñigo Julian Amper Sales. As with tradition, the very proud Papa Vince wrote about the birth (which happened almost 2 weeks ago) over at my mommy blog.

I've been, quite understandably, up to my eyes in new maternal duties. It's harder this time around because I have a newborn and a super active (and whiny) toddler. Plus, we had to let go of the new yayas (see previous post) because their medical exams came back and both tested positive for tuberculosis. So newborn plus toddler plus no help whatsoever equals mega-exhaustion!!! Hence, no blog updates.

But we're slowly getting the hang of it. And we hired a new yaya (with a clean bill of health!) so I think I can start blogging again. See you around here soon and thanks for still being around! Mwah!