Trading my Polly Pockets for Measuring Cups

Like most girls, i loved playing with barbies as a little girl. As I got older, I graduated to Polly Pockets and for several years on my birthday, I would wish for the newest polly pocket to add to my collection. I would spend hours upon hours re-enacting scenes from my favourite book series, The Babysitters Club, as well as scenes from real life, as i knew it.

In my pre-teen years, I wished for anything Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren.
In my early teen years, I wished for the newest and most popular pair of kicks.
In my late teen years, I wished gatherings and time to celebrate with friends.
In the last two years, I wished just to spend time with my family.

This past birthday, I wished for the above.......... 

........and for a set of measuring cups and spoons.

Sis-in-law: what do you want for your birthday?

Me: measuring cups and spoons to add to our kitchen collection. 

Sis-in-law: no seriously, what do you want? it's your birthday! 

Me: seriously, that's what i want.^__^

It's funny how things change as you get older! This year, I spent my birthday picking up furniture, hanging out at Costco to find good books and an air conditioner, going around town to find free food/drinks that are offered on your birthday, and spending time with my family. And i was perfectly okay with that. :)

Have your birthday wishes 

changed through the years?

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If It's Free, I'll Take Three!

Last year, I started a tradition on my birthday where i'd try to get as many free things as I can from restaurants, coffee shops, and stores. If it's free, why not? :P Total value of free things I got in my adventure this year: about $125 but I only got to take advantage of $70 worth!




This one wasn't from a store and didn't require a coupon... i just went home to mom! :P
My parents are totally amused by this tradition of mine, they just laughed and shook their heads each time i came out of a store/shop with my next free item.... as if to say "man, we've raised such a cheap child" hahaha! 
HERE'S WHAT MY DAY LOOKED LIKE: 
BREAKFAST: If you sign up for IHOP's newsletter, they will email you a free coupon on your birthday for a Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity meal which consists of bacon, eggs, sausage, and pancakes with fruity topping. Besides getting a free meal on your birthday, they'll also send you a free meal after you sign up and again on the one year anniversary of when you signed up for their newsletter. Sign up for their newsletter here!
POST BKFST BEVERAGE: Before the mall was even officially open, I lined up for my free drink from Blenz Coffee. This is the easiest one to take advantage of on your birthday because you don't need to sign up for anything or print anything, you just show them your I.D and they'll give you any drink of any size, on the house. (Some franchises may not participate in the celebration so just ask before demanding your free drink)
NON-EDIBLE GIFT: Since I was already in the mall, I stopped by Sephora to pick up my free gift. Their birthday gifts are different each year and this year I got a 180ml bottle of vanilla birthday cake shower gel from Philosophy. To get this free gift, you have to sign up for a Beauty Insider card either online or in-store. All you have to do on your birthday is show them your card, no coupons needed!
LUNCH: If you sign up for Vera's Club newsletter, they will email you a voucher for $10 to use on your birthday! This year, i tried the "Ringo Starr" which is a beef burger with cheese and 3 giant onion rings. Sign up for their newsletter here!
PRE-DINNER BEVERAGE: You guessed it, back at Blenz again (different branch this time, hehe) :D THE NEXT DAY, DINNER: Since some places allow you to use your birthday coupon until the end of the month, I took advantage of my $25 free dinner voucher from The Boathouse. In order to use this deal, you must dine with 3 other people. I was surprised because even though the coupon said I would only get $25 off, they gave my whole to me for free ($32 value) and even gave me and my party free dessert to share! Sign up for their newsletter here.
OTHER DEALS I DIDNT GET TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF:

• Free beverage at Starbucks, must have a starbucks card. 
• Free ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Sign up for their newsletter here. 
• Free dessert or pasta at Boston Pizza. Sign up for their newsletter here. 
• Free burger at Red Robin. Sign up for their newsletter here. 
• Free fish & chips at Pajo's. Sign up for their newsletter here. 
• Free drink at Orange Julius. Sign up for their newsletter here. 
• BOGO ice cream at Cold Stone Cremery. Sign up for their newsletter here. 
• BOGO blizzard from Dairy Queen. Sign up for their newsletter here. 

What free things does your city offer on your birthday? 

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Philippines Pt.3: Serenaded.

When I was a little girl, i thought getting serenaded was the most romantic thing ever. I always dreamt that my future lover would throw rocks at my bedroom window and serenade me with his guitar while he was on bended knee. All i ever got was a song sang through a telephone by one boy i liked in high school. I didn't even understand what it was about... some Filipino song where the title reminds me of the word for eggplant. Romantic.

2 weeks ago, before my husband and I left the Philippines, we ate at a popular buffet called Saisaki where they have people going around to each table and taking song requests! I was too excited and flustered that I couldn't think of a song to request so I told the group to surprise us. They sang "Grow Old With You" :) It was nice but I have to admit, it was also a little awkward at times. What do you do while they're singing to you? Do you keep eating or do you just stare at them? I didn't know what to do so i just videotaped. haha!


  Have you been serenaded before?



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The Art of Jumping

I thought i'd take a break from the Philippines re-cap series to post some photos of one of my favorite camera past times: JUMPING. If you're a friend of mine, you know we pretty much have to do this in most major events involving photos. Here are my latest favourite poses...

levitation + mary poppins + air running.

 Do you have a fave jumping pose?



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Philippines Pt.2: Photoshoot @ Old Manila

Before our Manila wedding reception, we headed out into Intramuros (Old Manila) for a photoshoot with Tracey Heppner again. This was definitely different from our pre-wedding photoshoot here in Canada where we were by sand and water. Here we were by old ruins, which were beautiful in it's own way, but there'd be little children following us... waiting to ask for money, waiting for their chance to take something, or perhaps just interested in watching. I'd like to think and hope it's the latter!


My dress and the location of our photoshoot was a total coincidence! About 5 months ago, I started corresponding with a dress maker in Manila. I showed them a picture of the style of dress I wanted - one shoulder, ivory dress, and i told them to make it more "bride-y" aka bling it up! I had doubts as to what they would come up with b/c what if we have different tastes and styles right? I had no idea what the dress looked like until I tried it on for the first time when we landed in Manila. It was beautiful! It very much reminded me of a greek goddess - there was so much detail in the dress and the belt was my favourite - hand stitched with beading and jewels! Tracey did not know what my dress looked like and neither did I but it went so perfectly with the surroundings in our photoshoot site!





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Philippines Pt.1: Culture Shocked.

I'M BACK! Terribly jetlagged and missing the Philippines very much but happy to be home as well.

For my next few posts, I will be re-capping different aspects of our 2.5 week long trip to the Philippines. Many people thought that this trip was our honeymoon but it was really for our second wedding reception. I think it'd be a little awkward to go on your honeymoon with your parents, brother, and sisters. No offense to anyone that's done that. :P

It has been 10 years since my last visit to the Philippines so many things were surprising and new to me.

I have to pay to use the clean restroom
that has toilet paper???

Here are some other things that culture shocked me:

What countries have you been to that culture shocked you?

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My Wedding - A Look Back...

FOR PAST, SOON-TO-BE, & FUTURE BRIDES.
All photos were taken by our friend and photographer, Tracey Heppner.
To view more photos, read her blog post here!
Read our engagement story here!



 Our wedding ceremony & reception venue - UBC Boathouse in Richmond, BC

Herro! I'm still here in the Philippines but finally have some down time to put together a post. I wanted to reflect on my wedding planning process and the wedding itself so that a) I have something to look back on in the future and b) hopefully it will help those who are currently planning their wedding and those who will be getting married in the future.

DON'T PROCRASTINATE - If you're like me, you like to leave things to the last minute because you know you'll get the job done anyway no matter what but if you're planning a wedding (especially a wedding on a budget), you'll need time to carefully plan for things like DIY projects.

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT - Though it's your wedding, there are many others to think about and consider when it comes to wedding details, mainly.... PARENTS! They will likely want to invite so-and-so who invited them to their son's wedding as well as your cousin's second cousin's brother. Their taste is also likely different from your taste so you may have to come to a compromise... you may have to let your orange polka dot chair covers go.



  All of us including bridesmaids and groomsmen stopped in the middle of the aisle and posed for a photo, this was my pose. :P

STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF - This is so important! You don't want to look back at your wedding and think "that wasn't me at all" Even with the above point in mind, make sure the wedding is still YOU. It made me smile every time someone came up to me and said "this wedding is totally you guys" It's challenging trying to keep parents and other requests in mind while staying true to yourself but in the end it is worth it!





 details that were "us" one: my silver glitter TOMS shoes that matched our theme colors of gray & aquatwo: as most of you know, i have a clothing line called herro hachi - of course, it had to be incorporated into the wedding somehow. "herro?" pins were on all boutonnieres, my bouquet, and my bridesmaids' dresses. three & four: two of our favorite things - japanese snacks and bubbletea! a bowl of pocky sticks were at each table and bubbletea was served during "cocktail" hourfive: instead of photo booths, we had flip books vancouver at our reception! you get 6 seconds of video time and it comes out in a book :)

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES, especially on your wedding day! Know that not everything will go according to plan. Things will go wrong - at my brothers wedding reception, the audio didn't work, at my friends reception, her cake started melting and leaning sideways, at my wedding reception, it took 30 minutes for us to get our slideshow working. It's okay!

WORK AS A TEAM - I have to say that planning a wedding is really a test of your relationship with your partner. Many times my husband (still feels weird saying that) and I disagreed on many details during the wedding planning process. We also disagreed on what was worth spending money on and what wasn't worth it. Communication & Compromise is important! (Patience & Perseverance too :P)



 Our wedding reception entrance to "Thunderstruck" by ACDC

TAKE A MOMENT TO BREATHE - It gets stressful... really stressful. I had plans to lose weight for my wedding day but in the end, I didn't have time or energy to include a work out routine but i lost weight because of stress. Stay healthy and take time for yourself. Outings with your bridesmaids and close girlfriends are great for venting, laughing, crying, and just enjoying each others company. :)



 Instead of a cake, we had home made cupcakes made by our very good friend. She even made a bride and groom cupcake for the very top of the cupcake tower!

ACCEPT HELP - If you're like me, you like having control over most details because you want things done a certain way. During the wedding planning process, especially during the last few weeks before the wedding - you will need help! My matron of honor (my sis in law) was great because all I had to do was tell her what needed to get done and how I wanted it done and she took care of delegating and instructing others. She was also great at answering questions because trust me, days before the wedding, people will be asking you 13402983 questions and many of them are the same questions you've answered tons of times already. Make sure your bridesmaids are always in the loop so they can take the Q&A off your shoulders.

HIRE A WEDDING CO-ORDINATOR - If I were to do it all over again, i would definitely hire a coordinator to help from the beginning to the end of the wedding planning. If it's in your budget, go for it! It'll make your life easier and you'll actually have time and energy to enjoy the process. If hiring a wedding co-ordinator isn't in your budget, make sure you at least have one for the day of your wedding. Nothing worse than someone coming up to you at the head table and complaining that you've sat them at the same table as someone they don't like. ;)

So... ready to get married? :P

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