January 2, 2012
For years, we’ve spent New Year’s eve checked-in a hotel. This year, we decided to donate our vacation fund to the survivors of “Sendong” and celebrate at home instead.
Spending the holidays at home was also fun. We played Taboo all day, ate lots of cookies and chocolates, and watched movies. We also followed some of my grandparents’ rituals to attract good vibes and good fortune for 2012. The only downside of being at our place was that the firecrackers startled Dylan, but once he was up, he was OK. In fact, he had fun watching the fireworks… we all did.
The food:
For luck, my lolo and lolo used to prepare something sticky, something sweet, something round, something long (noodles), something red, something savory, round fruits, and some coins of prosperity!
Aryanna's favorite: golden tikoy
I didn’t want to slave in the kitchen for New Year’s so I cooked beef bourguignon in the slow cooker. Sorry Julia Child but it was sooo good and super easy to make too! I’ll share the recipe with all of you soon!
NYE dinner: beef bourguignon (for something red and savory) and brown butter pasta (for long life)
New Year’s day brunch: bacon and and silver dollar lemon pancakes! Mmm…
In keeping with the "round" theme, Tom whipped up silver dollar pancakes. So yummy!
The table settings:
New Year’s eve dinner
A pop of red and touches of polka dots
The only stemware you need for the New Year! LOL
New Year’s brunch
For luck: red and green colors and polka dotted table cloth, plates, and glassware
Ringing in good vibes:
Torotot
We watched the fireworks from the penthouse of our building. We are lucky to have a panoramic view of the city!
Boom!
Boom!
Sparklers for Aryanna!
Our very happy New Year:
Dylan woke up before midnight so all of us were able to watch the fireworks!
With my babies!
The boys in my life
Dylan loved the colorful fireworks. He was also fine with the loud noise from the fircrackers but he had a death grip on my neck the whole time! Haha!
Look up!
Happy New Year!
In the end, wherever you are or whoever you’re with, making the best of the holidays and being grateful for all your blessings are what’s important. Life is what you make of it.
Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all an abundant and amazing year!
Shopingero/shopingera, who did you spend New Year’s eve?
December 31, 2011
I want an auspicious 2012 so, I made a checklist to ensure I follow some of my family’s (mostly my grandparents’) New Year rituals:
The beef bourguignon is already in the slow cooker (yes, I’m not slaving in the kitchen this time), the bubbly’s chillin’ in the fridge, and I’m all pumped up for an amazing new year!
Shopingero/shopingera, what are your New Year’s eve traditions/rituals?
December 30, 2011
So my daughter introduced me to PopBooth.
Download for free! PopBooth.com
Aryanna: “Check out this PopBooth app, mom!”
Me: “Cool. What is it?”
Aryanna: “It’s a virtual photo booth.”
Me: “Ooh! I love photo booths!”
Aryanna: “Let’s try it!”
Me: *posing* “Say cheese!”
Aryanna: “What are you doing?”
Me: “Uhm, posing?”
Aryanna: “Mom! Don’t be corny. Don’t say ‘cheese’.”
Me: “I want nice pictures, eh!”
Aryanna: “Boring.”
Me: “Let’s switch sides then. This is my angle.”
Aryanna: “Boring.”
Me: “Well, at least put me inside the frame!”
Aryanna: “Boring.”
Me: “Ayoko na!“
Aryanna: “Mom. Mom. Mom. Just let go. This is going to be fun!”
At home. Our very first "PopBooth".
At the grocery. Who bought all the fresh thyme???
Lunch at Kenji Tei. We're hungry!
Beauty day at Henri Calayag Salon.
Shopping at Adora. Playing dress-up is fun!
OMG! That was so much fun!
Sometimes we have to listen to children with an open mind because they can teach us a thing or two. Kids teach us how to not take ourselves too seriously. They do not put the same value on saving time as we do; they live for the moment. They teach us spontaneity.
Parents teach life skills and prepare kids to be adults some day. Children have a way of teaching us how to be young… to be free.
I love you, Aryanna!
December 28, 2011
New Year = General cleaning
Cleaning is not my field of expertise. I grew up suffering from asthma so my parents discouraged me from doing any house work. Thank God Tom doesn’t mind doing it. I’m the luckiest wife!
What I am good at is facilitating people (read: ordering them around. LOL) to do the job!
In preparation for the New Year, we need to make room for new things, adventures and opportunities in our life.
So far, here’s what we’ve done:
1. Cleaned the rugs, pillows, and sofa
I have a pool of general cleaners that I call every quarter to help maintain our home. This time, I called ASC Cleaning Services (contact nos. 337.2957/0996.6605263). They offer the following services: shampooing of bed, mattresses, sofa/chair, carpet/area rug, car interior, and general cleaning and sanitation.
I recommend them as they are fast, affordable, and efficient. If you want to use ASC’s services, they will take on work till December 31.
ASC sent two workers to clean our sofa and rugs. It took them only 1 1/2 hours to get the job done!
Aside form brushing and vacuuming the sofa and rugs, they also sprayed them with some sort of antiseptic.
Industrial strength vacuum cleaner. Warning: Majingay itetch!
They washed our rugs with soap and water. They can do this inside of your living room.
They used the same vacuum cleaner to dry the rug.
They also cleaned our throw pillows for free! Thank you!
Meet “inspector” Dylan!
Ang daldal lang ng anak ko! Haha!
*Loud sound coming from the vacuum*
Dylan: *Runs out of the room to the patio* “Da vacuum… Loud… Da workers!”
Translayshun: Ang ingay n’yo! Nagising tuloy ako!
Dylan: *Touches the damp sofa* “Da sofa… Wet… Basa… Da vacuum.”
Translayshun: Bakit n’yo binasa ang upuan ko!
Dylan: “Da vacuum… Loud… The workers.”
Translayshun: Ganoon? Ginising n’yo ako? Ako naman mag-iingay ngayon!
2. Cleaned the floors
We’ve got workers doing minor renovations in our kitchen right now (I will post the reveal of our newly renovated kitchen soon.) I also asked them to re-grout our tiles to give them a fresh look!
Manong did a great job!
3. Dust off light fixtures, ceiling fans, and shelves
Look up, look down, and clean all-around!
4. Organize paperwork, mail, and magazine subscriptions
Lord, help me. Digital is really the way to go!
5. Sort out clothes and accessories
I am proud to say that my whole family is detached to our wardrobe. Really! We have no qualms about sorting out our clothes to make way for new ones. If only we can finally have a garage sale, we’ll be clutter-free in no time.
Aryanna's stash (from left): Store, keep, throw... sell.
Cleaning up the clutter, physically and emotionally, was liberating. Clinging on to things or relationships that are not working can drain one’s energy. Best to infuse life with a clear mind and an organized space to attract good vibes and hopefully, good fortune!
It’s time to look ahead to a clean and organized New Year!
Remember: Start strong, start beautiful, just “start”!
December 27, 2011
“At Christmas, all roads lead home.” — Marjorie Holmes
I believe that wherever you are or whoever you’re with, home is where love and laughter exist. Christmas is in everyone’s heart.
Christmas at Maison Epperson
The food:
Hot cocoa + Candy cane = Christmas in a cup
We received so many blessings this year that another roast turkey was in order.
Thanksgiving part 2! Tom roasted a Butterball Turkey for our Christmas eve dinner.
Turkey stuffing: roasted chestnuts, sausage, onions, fresh sage, heavy cream, and sourdough bread
A Christmas miracle!
I don’t know who bought all the fresh sage in the market but that’s just not right! Haha! Tom and I searched high and low for the herbs for two days and with no luck. Thank God for the kind soul who gave us fresh sage for our turkey stuffing! We love you! #youknowwhoyouare
Sharing sage is caring!
Snack at the park: Bonchon chicken wings
Assorted cookies as snack... breakfast... lunch... dinner... midnight snack.
Since my family is half American and half Filipino, our meals were divided as follows:
Christmas eve dinner and brunch were American(ish)-style…
Bacon and cheese frittata
(Photo taken using Instagram)
We went all out Pinoy for Christmas dinner…
Aling Nene's pork BBQ #thebest #alltimefavorite
(Photo taken using Instagram)
Family time:
Playtime at the park
How sweet it is?
Beauty bonding with Aryanna
The best board game in the world!
Taboo = ROFL with the fam
(Photo taken using Instagram)
Santa Claus came to town!
The fashion… or the lack of it. Haha!
Name that jammies
Like what I said before, tradition vetoes trends!
Aryanna's all-day pajama style!
The Christmas table setting:
The theme of our table setting this year was “12 Forever” — a bit grown-up but always child-like.
Plato-platuhan
Touches of elegant gold + Juvenile prints = 12 Forever
Fun and festive plates
Kyoot!
For hot cocoa and coffee
The Epperson's signature bow napkin fold
Miss-match glassware
Carabao horn flatware
Christmas brunch table setting
Give love on Christmas day and all-year round!
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a family all wrapped in each other.” — Burton Hillis
Shopingero/shopingera, how was your Christmas?
December 11, 2011
The Epperson’s Christmas tree saga continues…
Aryanna: “Our tree’s nice buuuuuut, it’s lacking something.”
Tom and me: “We know. Candy canes.”
Aryanna: “So when are you going get them?
Me: “Soon. We’re so busy.”
Aryanna: “So when?”
Me: “Next week.”
Aryanna: “When exactly? Like Monday? Tuesday?”
Me: “Aaaaaaaaaa!”
You get the picture.
She is never going to shut up about the damn candy canes! Haaay!
Eto na, Aryanna!
Real candy canes
Sweet!
Tip: For a fun and festive Christmas tree, leave the decorating to your kids!
Gingerbread + Candy canes = Fashion + Food
Tah-dah! We’re almost done with our tree!
Sana wag kaming langgamin! Haha!
Tip: Leave the plastic on the candy canes if you don’t want an army of ants attacking your tree!
I have to admit, our tree is looking festive and kyoot! Malapit na ma-achieve ang Fashion + Food + “Where the Wild Things Are” peg!
November 30, 2011
The last two years were very productive for the Eppersons. Tom and I worked on several personal projects to express our creativity and just to have fun!
One of the projects that my husband worked on was his “CITY” exhibit. It took him almost two years to complete this. Between his commercial work, shooting for his books (Star’s ‘The Philippines Year Book 75th Anniversary’ and ‘Ichigo and Mr. Roboto’s Batanes Adventure’ — to be released next year!), and working on my book (‘Fashion + Food’), he went around the metro to take photos and to make art. He would work on his images for hours, sometimes days. It was a tedious process but the results are brilliant. He captured the busy construction work around the city and deconstructed them beautifully. In my opinion (of course, I’m biased), this is his best work yet.
I can’t wait for everyone to see it! For now, here’s a teaser:
TOM EPPERSON: CITY
By Lian Ladia
“A culmination of relations between art, technology, product design and popular culture, Tom Epperson crosses over disciplines, coming from a commercial background towards a fine art perspective. His meditations on the urban landscape of Makati City is reflective on the pictorial layers of asphalt, cement, or cranes that seem to mimic painterly abstractions in his recent photographs.
A photo collage by Tom Epperson
A pragmatic photographer and subscriber to Film camera’s and the “zone system”, Epperson’s viewpoint towards digital photography only changed a couple of years ago, he mentions, “The soul has left photography, there is no reason not to take a good photograph technically nowadays”. Epperson’s deconstructions of familiar scenes in the metropolis seem like ambulatory explorations of utility and design. His photo collage work, “City” visually conveys a sense of texture, abstraction, and an invitation for immersion. It chronicles the complex relationships between natural systems and human intervention, piecing together the fractured logic that informs them both. His images of contemporary landscape with equal measures of documentation and metaphor, bypasses glamour to encompass the meditative details of the psychology of urban life.”
This is just one of the six photos (with limited edition of five prints per image) that Tom will be exhibiting at Now Gallery. Show starts on December 3.
Now Gallery is located at Unit M05 Mezzanine Floor, Ecoplaza building, 2305 Chino Roces Ave., Extension, Makati City
It’s a must-see exhibit! Please visit Now Gallery.
Tom Epperson’s “CITY” will be shown starting December 3 at Now Gallery. Tel. no. (+632) 555.0683. Visit http://www.nowgallery.net/artist_detail.php?artist=Tom%20Epperson
November 25, 2011
Ayala Land marked the beginning of the Christmas season last week by launching its lights and sound show called Spectacular Spectrum at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.
The lights and sound show was created by lighting designer Voltaire de Jesus and composers Jazz Nicolas and Mikey Amistoso.
Ayala Triangle Gardens
I brought my kids, our helper and nanny so I could take photos of them. My helpers loved it! I'm printing copies to send to their families.
Beautiful lanterns light up the park!
"Christmas Spectacular Spectrum"
The lights and sound show introduced for the first time inflatable stars and gobo lights along with the usual energy-saving LED (light-emitting diodes) string lights, meteor lights, laser lights and fog machines.
Dylan: "Lights, mama!"
The colored lights change to white lights every hour. So festive!
Magnificent meteor lights!
My babies!
With my darling Dylan. He loved the show!
MUST: Froyo! This was my nanny's. I can't eat junk food yet. Sigh.
Bring the whole family. It’s a beautiful show and admission is free. It is held daily from 6-9 p.m. until Dec. 30.
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Click here to vote
November 12, 2011
Yes, I’m still in the “Christmas tree” phase. You will not hear the end of it till I’ve semi-completed the decor. I’m actually surprised with myself that I haven’t gone all out on decorating our tree. Normally, I would buy EVERYTHING and by the day’s end, we’d have a Christmas tree on steroids. Could it be that I’ve gotten older? Hell, no! I believe that this new found patience comes from experience. Knowing me and my family, we’d probably get tired of our decors before the holidays are over! So, WE (yes, our whole family) decided to build our tree slowly and beautifully.
We're not "dreaming of a white Christmas" anymore — we made it a reality!
(Photo taken using Instagram)
Working on a family project like decorating a Christmas tree is not easy especially when you’re an Epperson because we are bull-headed individuals — each of us have our own minds, style, opinions, and wise-cracks. We eat “Survivor” challenges for brunch! Seriously, it takes a lot of patience and love to agree on what COLOR of tree to get! LOL
Here are tips on how to decorate your own Christmas tree together with your family:
1. Listen to mom. All the time. The end. I’m joking.
2. Happy wife = happy life! I’m not kidding.
3. Choose a theme that reflects your family’s style.
4. Listen to kids, they have great ideas! We all decided that our theme would be Fashion + Food (both of which we are passionate about) + Where The Wild Things Are (our all-time favorite children’s book and we dedicate it to our baby Dylan)
5. If you can’t decide, divide the responsibilities. In our case, Tom and Aryanna decided on what color of tree to get and I took care of the trimmings.
6. Decorate together. There will be no glitter throwing at each other. Those sparkly specs are evil!
7. If you have small children, make your tree kid-friendly. Leave the heirloom pieces for when they grow-up.
8. Have fun! It’s just a plastic tree! The true essence of Christmas is spending time with your loved ones.
You’ve seen our white Christmas tree from my previous post, it’s time to reveal the accessories!
Fashion + Food + Where The Wild Things Are = Holiday style
Fashion: I treated our tree like a LWD (little white dress). It’s a great canvas to add accessories.
This floral ornament with a drop-pearl detail reminds me of Coco Chanel!
Every little white dress (and white Christmas tree) needs chandelier accessories!
Food: The Eppersons are big on baking cookies during the holidays. What better way to decorate our tree but with gingerbread!
This is me.
From left: Aryanna, Dylan, Tom
Maison Epperson
Where The Wild Things Are: I chose dripping berry branches to represents a magical forest!
The glittery berry seed branches and reindeer are for our baby Dylan!
Ooh…this is a bonus! I am not fond of D.I.Y. projects but I couldn’t find a silver flower to add to our tree so I made one! It’s not exactly a flower but the clusters of small-sized Christmas balls strung together and tied to the silver leaf, did the job! Watchutink?
Got Christmas balls?
We had a family meeting again this week and discussed what decoration was lacking on our tree. So far, here are some ideas:
1. Buy gigantic silver balls to add scale to our tree.
2. Hang candy canes to add color and, according to Aryanna, “kiddie-fy” it. I’m bracing myself for the army of ants! Haaaay!
3. Add garlands. Aryanna suggested pearls, an homage to Coco Chanel. Aww…she’s really my daughter!
4. The biggest debate is: to put a star or an angel on top of the tree
Tom: “Where’s the star?”
Aryanna: “Stars suck.”
Tom: “Oh, what do you want? A Barbie?”
Aryanna: “No! An angel.”
Tom: “An angel Barbie?”
Aryanna: *rolls eyeballs* “Better than putting Ken.”
Me: “Ken and Barbie!”
Tom and Aryanna: “Pffffft!”
A friendly reminder: Please vote for me for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Awards 2011 as the BEST LIFESTYLE BLOG. I’m competing with other blogs from different countries in Asia. Tayo natin ang bandilang Pinoy!
Vote for me!!!
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November 12, 2011
Since Aryanna’s “incident” with Santa Claus five years ago, plus moving into a condo, we’ve pretty much given up on the idea of having a big Christmas tree. We traded our 10-ft. green plastic pine tree to something more practical — a 3-ft. pink Christmas tree. We were contended with our minimal holiday decor (one tiny tree).
Things changed this year. Ever since Dylan rocked our world, the Eppersons agreed that we needed to make Christmas more magical for our rug rat — we decided to invest on another gigantic plastic pine tree with trimmings and all!
Since Christmas is really all about the kids, Aryanna and Tom (my third “child”, haha!), took control of what color of tree to get. They both wanted a White Christmas. Good start.
Me, I’m just the shoppingera, a mere peon in the family. LOL!
Here are my finds:
White Christmas tree from SM, Makati
Our new 8-ft. white Christmas tree
I was lucky to find the perfect Christmas tree! I found a deconstructed white plastic pine tree! Compared to the umbrella-type trees, this is far easier to store and clean.
What I love about it:
•Each branch connects to individual rings attached to the tree trunk, making it easy to store them in separate plastic bags or boxes and easy to clean too! I mean, how does one really clean one whole gigantic Christmas tree?
•The branches are color-coded and numbered for easy installation. It took our family 10 min. to put the tree together. Ang bilis!
•The plastic leaves came in different sizes. It gave texture to the Christmas tree.
Easy assembly
Guess who’s Santa’s little helper?
The Finnster!
What is it with babies and boxes? Our dahling Dylan played “car, car” while we were assembling the Christmas tree.
Vroom...vroom...
Like a moth to a flame
Dylan: "Light mama, light!"
Thanks to LED lights, I won’t have a heart attack every time my baby touches the bulbs!
Tip: If you are buying Christmas lights for your home, use LED (light-emitting diode) lights. You get all the beauty for a fraction of the cost. They use 10% of the energy that traditional strings of lights would use. This will save you a bundle on your electricity bill. LEDs are reliable and do not produce heat like the the regular bulbs.
Let there be LED lights!
I bought 80% of my Christmas tree ornaments from Crossing Department Store, Shangri-La Mall. They have everything you need to decorate your home this coming holiday season!
Silver and white ornaments
Our Christmas tree is still a work in progress. I don’t want to go all out in one go. So far, this is what we’ve worked on. I want to slowly build our tree simultaneous with making memories with my family in each coming year.
I’ll update you guys on what we’ve added to our tree soon! Tune in!
