Samantha's Mc Donald's Party

After months of preparation for the bratinella's fourth birthday party, finally ... it is now over. Party was a huge success! With all the guests happy and with all the take home loots (and balloons), I am sure they had a great time.

The party girl had a blast too! She enjoyed the games, the food (of course, by Mc Do) and the people who lovingly attended to celebrate her fourth birthday party. Though I've decided the party theme (Strawberry Shortcake), heard no qualms from her. As a matter of fact she began to love the theme when I slowly introduced the character to her early this year. Hahaha! Wala sya nagawa ... obviously, furstrations ng Mommy ang Strawberry Shortcake. Why? I find this theme kasi so girly-girly! All pink...and really pretty! Hahaha! Glad that my kiddo not into any particular theme, di nya feel sila Barbie, Disney Princesses or HS musical. Hehehe! Kaya, madali na influence ng Mommy to have the Strawberry Shortcake theme. (but i think, if she saw the Mamma Mia! months ahead, baka ito pinagawa theme sa akin! lol!)

I don't have any party ratings, I don't intend to post any. As I promised to hubby, will just relax and enjoy the party this year. "Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be ..." Though medyo kina-career ko ng konti sa preps, but party itself...dedma na sila. Just happy with the results. So far, this is my cheapest party ha! Thanks to my blogging raket, I was able to raise almost half of my party cost from this business. Hahaha! Note, in three months lang ha!

Anyway, thanks to all my suppliers for making it happen. Adworks (Mye) for the Invites and thank you tags, Kitchen Kraft for the cakes, Melisse of Perfect Pixels for all the tarps, Divisoria for all the toys and stickers. Tried and tested na talaga sila. And to my new-found great suppliers (uulit pa ako!): Party Time for the decors (super na-rush sa pag-set up), Howell for the nice photos, Mc Do for accommodating all my request (love ko to!), Sheila for the director's chair (hmmm...prompt naman delivery nya kaya ok na. lol.). Over-all it was a huge success. Seeing everybody happy, worth every cent! Labor of love talaga.

Please bear with me for the picture overload. Hundreds of nice photo shots from Howell (of Abie) and I am having a hard time choosing the best photos. Hahaha!

Pre-party pictures: Samantha at her cake, the party tarps and themed-prizes bought everywhere (ie: SS sippy cups, fans, coloring book, stickers, pens, lunch boxes, wallets, books etc.), director's chair (madagascar and strawberry shortcake) as party tokens. -- borrowed Madagascar print from Bela. Thanks abie!

Party time Fun: Kids and adults had so much fun playing the games prepared by Mc Do. Think the parents enjoyed the game (and loots) more. See the competitive (and fun) side of moms and dads -- all to win a prize!



and more fun games like pabitin, pinata and mascot dance

and with Samantha's party guests ...

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who shared their time with us and making Samantha's day truly special. See you all next year!!

LV happy again ...

Just a quick post...want to share my source of joy this week! :)

LV EPI NOE Bag in Yellow… my first love since college.

purple lining inside-- a pretty contrast!

The impulsive bag-shopper in me bought this bag at a great steal! You see, I never thought I'll buy a bag this year. BUT, one look at this baby and I immediately fell in-love... the color just perfect! Yellow Noe with purple lining. Love the contrast. It is sooo vibrant and stands out. What I love about this bag, LV discontinued this color since 2007. Making it more exclusive and rare to find color. Really perfect. And with the amount I paid, really worth it! I must say, best buy among all my LV bags.

insurance quotes

For the past three years now, I am not bothered with any auto insurance quotes . The bank handles all the insurance policy renewal and I just get billed after every renewal. No worries, right? Actually, I prefer this type of arrangement with my bank. No need for me to get several auto insurance quotes from different insurance providers, no need to submit any documents or fill up any insurance forms. No need to haggle for premium payments or discounts. Everything taken cared of. Including my personal term life insurance. For a working mom like myself, I prefer this kind of set-up. No hassles, no worries, no missed payments and no fuss. The bank handles all my personal finances. From investments to settlements of loans. Making life easier for busy mom like me. Instead of spending my time worrying about it, I get to spend more quality time with my family. Much better, don’t you think so?

birthday treat

Despite our busy schedule and meetings last Tuesday, Hubby and I made sure that the birthday girl gets an extra special treat from us to celebrate her fourth birthday. It was a simple birthday treat for the bratinella and looking at the pictures below, I am definitely sure she enjoyed every minute of it.

We had dinner at T.G.I Friday's Galleria wherein Sam ordered her favorite fried macaroni and cheese balls. She also got special treat from T.G.I.F : birthday jingle from the crew, purple ballooon and ice cream!

Sam here excitedly opening her birthday gift, a strawberry shortcake watch.

Her treat started with fun rides and games at Tom's World. Together with hubby, they both enjoyed the basketball booth and the animal ride... as a matter of fact, she had a blast with all the fun rides. Then we let her pick her birthday gift from Toys R' Us. After choosing and going around the toy shop for about twenty minutes, she ended up getting puzzles which she addoorres, by the way.

Vegas Vacation

My bestfriend from Vegas called me the other day to tell me she'll be home this Christmas. Finally, after three long years ... we will see her again. The last time I saw her was during my one week vacation in Vegas. She offered to tour me around the city and invited me to stay with her than stay in posh hotels las vegas. Of course, I jumped on her offer since it would mean more bonding time (and wifey talks) for us. Hahaha! Anyway, I am extremely thrilled with the good news. I think this will be her first time to be home for the holiday season with the kids. I can't wait to prepare our barkada Christmas Party. With our good friend Nette here in Manila, it will definitely be a blast.

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

Happy 4th Birthday my dear Samantha!

You are truly a heavenly blessing ... you mean so much to us,

as you continue to shower us with so much joy and happiness.

We love you so much!

*picture above taken at 12:03 am as birthday asalto. We surprised her with a small birthday cake and a gift.

travelling to New York

Travelling to New York? For efficient, reliable and affordable tour within the city and its surrounding suburbs Newark Airport Shuttle is the best way to go. I was able to personally experience this during my business trip on the east coast particularly on my three-day stay in New York. From Newark Airport, I already availed the service of Go Airlink shuttle for hotel drop off. Truly I must say I was very happy from my online reservation booking, to airport pick up which is on-time service and courteous drivers. For the city tour, I also availed the tour package which brought me to the famous NY landmarks like Statue of Liberty at Ellis Island, NY Historical Museum, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and World Trade Center. Of course, the tour would not be completed without driving to the shopping district of NY like Times Square, SoHo, Madison Square Garden, Chinatown and Macy’s. I was able to buy most of my shopping loots in Macy’s particularly bags and shoes. I must say, this is the best part of the tour. On my last day in NY, the airline shuttle was prompt to pick me up from my hotel. From JFK airport, my next stop was Las Vegas for a holiday break with my high school friends. I’ve always wanted to go back to NY. The invite from my aunt from Fresh Meadows still open, and we are looking forward for a family trip here probably few years from now. Hopefully will have enough budget to over our foreign travel. If we are lucky, the travel might be sooner than we’ve expected. Really hoping and praying …