Oh My Gulay!

July is Nutrition Month in the Philippines and every year, schools celebrate this occasion with activities related to food, good health, and proper diet.

The theme for this year's Nutrition Month celebration is "Pagkain ng gulay ugaliin, araw-araw ihain!" and its main focus is to encourage Filipinos to increase their vegetable consumption. By doing so, micronutrient deficiencies can be addressed and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes can also be prevented.

The Learners' Academy (aka my son's school) celebrated Nutrition Month last Friday with various classroom activities. Take a look at what my son's Kindergarten class did at school.

Huge smile from my eager beaver.

Teacher Love shows the kids what they need to do.

Yue's turn to do it.

The kids prepared vegetable salad and calamansi juice for their snack, with the assistance of Teacher Love and Teacher Erlyn, of course.

Getting ready for the good stuff. :)

A blob of mayonnaise here... 

some carrots there...

Yue has so many questions in between, lol.

Mixing the ketchup...

Mix, mix, mix!

Now my son was never a picky eater, and making him eat vegetables has never been a problem. But his reaction to the carrot was epic.

The face that can ignite a war, lol.

He dipped the carrot in the ketchup-mayo mix, and the taste he found revolting. Haha! He's not too fond of either ketchup or mayonnaise, which is kinda ironic since I love mayo while the husband loves ketchup.

A-aaaa!

He has no complains about the apple, though. 'Round here, he's the Cookie Monster of apples, lol.

And when Teacher Love announced that it was time to make their own juice, the little man was more ready to pounce on the calamansi.

Check out my son's hair, inspired by Siwon of Super Junior. But of course. ;)

More of squeeze, actually.

Left hand...

Right hand...

Both hands in action! Haha!

This was one activity my son really enjoyed. He loves Elmo's Magical Cookbook a lot and he seems to have developed a liking for Gordon Ramsay and his bad-ass, don't-mess-with-the-chef attitude, so it's great that he had the chance to take a stab at 'cooking' like Elmo and Chef Ramsay.

And don't be surprised to see the moms hovering in the photos. We usually stay outside the school premises during class hours, but Teacher Love allowed us to enter the classroom so we could take photos of the kids. 

Thank you, Teacher Love and TLA for letting us capture these precious moments. Can't wait for the next school activity! Anticipating August! :)

Sharing with Green Monday, Oh, Snap!

Sign-Up | Nexus 7 Giveaway.

The Nexus 7 Giveaway Event hosted by Mom Powered Media

Prize: Nexus 7 Tablet

The event dates: 8/16 - 9/6

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InstaMUG is instalove!

As a photo enthusiast and a self-confessed camwhore, it's no surprise that I'm also an Instagram user - and an avid one, at that. With the exclusion of Facebook and Twitter, this has got to be the most used app on my phone. Now almost one-year-old and with nearly 700 photos, my Instagram account has become an appendage to this blog, and posting photos has become some sort of daily habit.


Now if you think Instagram is pretty cool, here's something way cooler. Meet InstaMUG - the best thing that has ever happened to Instagram photos!

75 thumbnails + pink inner color.

Simply put, it's your Instagram profile come to life on a ceramic mug. InstaMUG gives a whole new meaning to coffee breaks and tea time as you get to enjoy memorable Instagram snapshots in between sips.

Mugged!

By default, InstaMUG captures the most recent 'look' of your Instagram profile.
That means 75 of your most recent photos as they appear on your Instagram. With the Thumbnails 75 option, you can choose the photos that will appear on your InstaMUG, at no extra cost. (75 photos on a white mug, Php 280. With inner color on mug, Php 300.)

Other print options are also available. The 4iG is a large print of four Instagram photos. (4 photos on a white mug, Php 250. With inner color on mug, Php 270.) The newest offering is the Mid, which is a mix of the first two layout options. With Mid, you get more photos at a bigger size. (27 photos on a white mug, Php 280. With inner color on mug, Php 300.)

Photo credit: InstaMUG

At present, InstaMUG ships within the Philippines only. The business is fairly new (they began operations last May only), and with the mugs now gaining attention and becoming popular, I'm pretty sure they'll be shipping internationally in no time.

Speaking of shipping, my first InstaMUG arrived in this state. I wasn't home when the delivery guy came, and a relative received it in my behalf. When she handed me the package, I heard a clinking sound and I had a feeling that something's wrong with my mug.

I guessed correctly, and the clinking sound came from the broken pieces of the handle. Luckily, the mug itself was unscathed. The little man was so happy to see his photos on the mug, but excitement turned to disappointment when he saw the broken handle. "Hindi ka pwede maglagay ng coffee jan, Mommy," he pointed out. (You can't put coffee in there, Mommy.)

I informed the InstaMUG team right away and Ms. Miracle was very apologetic, despite the fact that the courier should also be taking the blame. And with that, Ms. Miracle sent me another mug, this time with thrice the protective packaging. The tiny thank-you note is present, as always.

I like receiving sweet little notes such as this. To me, it's a sign of sincerity and being customer-friendly.

So now I have two InstaMUGs, much to the delight of the little man.

He took the broken mug, which now holds his pencils, crayons, and markers. As for the other InstaMUG, it's now sitting beside me as I write and filled to the brim with my favorite Korean coffee.

Want your own InstaMUG?
Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!
And of course, they're also on Instagram (@insta_mug).
You'll be surprise to seed celebrities who are proud owners of InstaMUGs, too!

Product/s was sent to me for review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.


Sharing with InstaFriday, Photostory Friday, Simple Things and Great Finds Sunday.

Foodie Goodie | Mer-Nel's Chocolate Cake.

Best. 

Chocolate cake. 

Ever.

If you're  from Los Banos, or a UPLB (University of the Philippines Los Banos) student/alumni, or a resident of Laguna, I'm pretty sure you're familiar with this heart-shaped cake. I know, too, that my claim of Mer-Nel's being the best chocolate ever would go uncontested.

What began in 1996 as a small business to support their family's needs has flourished to become a household name and a very popular brand of cakes and pastries. From a humble little bakeshop, this business of Ms. Merle and Mr. Nelson Balicao (guess where the name Mer-Nel's came from, haha) has grown big, and continues to grow bigger.

Aside from the original store along Lopez St., in Los Banos, Mer-Nel's now has a restaurant and function hall located along South Superhighway, and a branch at SM City Calamba.

Mer-Nel's Place
#65 National Highway, Brgy. Maahas, Los Banos, Laguna. 
+63495361145 +63495364544
mernelsplace@gmail.com

Shared with Food Friday, Food Trip Friday, Heavenly Treats, Yummy Sunday, i Heart macro, Pink Saturday, Blue Monday. 

Join | Sassy Steals Giveaway!

WELCOME TO THE SASSY STEALS GIVEAWAY!

Jenn's Blah Blah Blog and Diva Fabulosa have teamed up to bring you this awesome giveaway! Special thanks to Sassy Steals and all the other fabulous sponsors!

One lucky reader will win this fabulous Sassy Steals Prize Pack, as seen above. This wonderful prize pack is valued over $350.00! Event will run from Friday July 27th at 12:01am EST until Thursday August 2nd at 11:59pm EST.

Check out all of these amazing handmade products!  Who wouldn't want to win this adorable prize pack?  I know I do!

About the sponsors:

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We love handmade and small business and we strive to help promote them through Sassy Steals.

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Free blogger sign-ups for the first 100 bloggers! 

Join us for this fun summer giveaway for Beezer Playhouses and get a FREE Facebook entry.

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Project BB Cream | Missha Signature Wrinkle Filler BB Cream.

Just as my stubborn pores paved the way for me to use the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, this same dilemma prodded me to switch BB creams as well. Although the clay mask did a great job of taming my pores and returning them to their usual invisible state, I decided to use a different BB cream brand for the time being. From Etude House Precious Minerals All Day Strong (my favorite BB cream from the brand Dara endorses), I switched to Missha Wrinkle Filler BB Cream, which I discovered through an online beauty forum.

Aside from the praises and positive feedback, what initially drew me to this product was its lovely packaging.

Lovely, just lovely.

With its elegant color and intricate design, you'd think that it's perfume. Come to think of it, this BB cream's packaging actually looks better than most perfume bottles. This one is made of plastic, though.

Chocolate swirls!

Even the BB cream itself is pretty. See that swirly pattern inside? The beige part is the BB cream, while the white part is the wrinkle filler. It looks a lot like Hershey's Hugs to me. Oh, yum!

I'm #21 (Light Beige) in Missha.  Comes in #23 (Natural Beige), too.

Here's how it looks like when squeezed out of the bottle. There's still a distinction between the wrinkle filler and the BB cream. It looks a tad runnier than the Missha Signature Real Complete BB Cream, but the gel-like consistency makes it quite easy to spread out and blend.

My face has a lighter complexion than the back of my hand. :)

The BB cream and wrinkle filler, which appear as separate entities, blend together to cover all sorts of imperfections on your skin. Silicone elastomer, the active ingredient in the wrinkle filler, targets pores and fine lines to smoothen the skin and give it an even, moisturized tone. I love the velvety feel it leaves on my skin, and the amazing coverage it gives without looking ghastly or cakey.

The Missha Wrinkle Filler BB Cream has an SPF37/ PA++  Other brands go as high as SPF50/PA++, but 37 isn't so bad. At least it's way better than the Signature Real Complete's SPF25/PA++.

The scent of this BB cream is pretty remarkable, too. It smells really, really good! Fragrant, almost perfume-like, but not too strong or overpowering, the scent actually lingers quite a bit on your skin.

What I love:
- Classy and elegant packaging.
- Easy to blend and build-up.
- Fragrant scent.
- Medium to full coverage. (Depending on the extent of coverage you need.)
- Doesn't dry the skin.
- Doesn't make the skin oily. (Well, I don't have oily skin to begin with.)
- Impressive staying power. (Six to eight hours at the very least.

What YOU might not like:
- Limited shades available. (There's only #21 and #23.)
- It comes in one size only. (That's the 100mL bottle, as pictured above.)
- The price. 

The Missha Wrinkle Filler BB Cream sells for Php 2100 here in the Philippines. It's sells for a lot less in Korea at KRW 29800 - that's around Php 1094 when converted. Thank you to my ever-so-wonderful husband, who is a good provider - makeup and cosmetics, included. :)

Winner of the 11th Sure Beauty Awards, Best BB Cream.

Oh, and here's good news for those who want to give this, and all other Missha products a try. If you're in Korea, there's a huge sale happening until the 31st, and you can get this Wrinkle Filler BB Cream at 30% off!

For those in the Philippines, all you have to do is print this voucher to get a 15% discount on ALL items! Limited vouchers available so try to take advantage of this great opportunity when you can.

#BBAliveTourPH | Tickets, please!

The Big Bang Alive Tour in Manila is still three months away, but would you believe that the VIP seats are sold out this early?! Even a great number of the Lower Box seats have already been taken!

And so before I end up standing at the back row near the fire exit come concert day, the little man and I went straight to SM City San Pablo, as soon as his class ended. The goal was to score five tickets for my friends and I.

I managed to find five available seats at the Upper Box. Not the seats that I wanted, but for now it'll do.
I didn't purchase the tickets outright and had them reserved instead. I still have three days (the last being this Saturday) to claim the tickets, and I'm hoping those seats that I originally wanted will be available again.

Reservation, success!

Sharing with Wordless Wednesdays all over. 

Win This Bag GRAND FINALE!

Welcome to Our Grand Finale of

Win This Bag

Sponsored by

HipSwap

Hosted by

Sidetracked Mom’s Blog

And we're here. The final run of the Win This Bag event. We've combined weeks 5 and 6 into a two-week long giveaway, which will give you enough time to accumulate as many entries as you can.

You'll have from 7/24/12 through 8/6/12 to send in your entries! If you can remember to revisit your favorite blog to claim your daily bonus entries, you’ll have a huge advantage (2 weeks worth!) over the rest of the competition!

But before we announce the Grand Finale bag, here are a few words about our sponsor who made this entire 6 weeks worth of giveaways possible!

HipSwap is a mobile and web marketplace that connects buyers and sellers locally and nationally. It enables people to discover what’s inside the most fabulous closets, homes, and shops in neighborhoods and cities across America. HipSwap currently offers delivery service in Los Angeles and New York with its iconic pink delivery van.

Also, be sure to swing by the HipSwap blog to check out their ever popular post on how to spot a fake Louis Vuitton bag!

So, far HipSwap has generously supplied us with a Fendi Spy Bag, a Louis Vuitton bag, a white leather Tod’s hanbag and a Gucci Hobo Bag! Are you ready for the brand that will be featured in our Grand Finale?!

This week, you have the chance to win 

an authentic Chanel tote worth $1,300!

This beige quilted leather Chanel tote is a one-of-a-kind find. 

It features a black leather trim and large "CC" on side to make it easily distinguishable as the one of the world’s most prestige designer brands.

Dimensions: 11" x 10" x 5" with 7" straps. Estimated Value: $1300

This beautiful handbag was provided by the amazing DoubleTake Consignment Boutique of New Jersey.

The DoubleTake Consignment Boutique first opened its doors in Short Hills, New Jersey in 1992. From day one the store has been packed with women who understand the advantages and value of consignment shopping. DoubleTake only accepts the highest quality & current designer clothing and accessories and has been recognized as a unique clothing boutique where huge savings can be realized.

How to gain entries in this giveaway:

There is only one mandatory entry option; and that is to create a free HipSwap account. However, by entering on this blog through the Giveaway Tools widget below, you have the opportunity to gain a large number of bonus entries! You can complete as many or as few bonus entries as you’d like but remember, the more you do, the better your odds of winning! Plus, once you are following all of your hosts, entering each subsequent weekly Win This Bag Giveaway will be even faster & easier! As promised, you’ll find additional bonus entries to claim for having entered our previous weekly Win This Bag Giveaways!

Good luck!

Giveaway begins on 7/24/12 at 12:01am EST & ends on 8/6/12 at 11:59pm EST.

Open worldwide.

The Giveaway Tools Widget will load below this line. For those of you not familiar with Giveaway Tools, it is VERY similar to Rafflecopter but has been said to be a faster & easier way to enter giveaways. Let me know what you think! As always, thank you for visiting my blog and entering our giveaways! Good luck to you!

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This giveaway is open to entrants worldwide 18 years of age or older, except where prohibited by law. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received. This promotion is no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook and is Facebook-compliant. To qualify to win, you must complete, at minimum, the mandatory entry on the Giveaway Tools form. All entries will be forwarded to our sponsor for the purpose of randomly selecting a winner. Winners will be notified by email from a HipSwap representative. Winners will have 72 hours to respond or risk forfeiting their prize. Prize may re-awarded solely by the Sponsor’s discretion. Prize fulfillment is the sole responsibility of the sponsor. The Rebel Sweetheart may not be held liable for Sponsors who do not fulfill prize shipments. The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. We reserve the right to publicly publish winners’ names and/or likeness. By entering this giveaway, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.