Moodboard: Living-on-a-High Living/Dining Room

I was awarded Ms. Moodboard by my students last Teachers' Day as I always require them to have one. I am a believer of putting all your ideas in one place. It doesn't matter if you will create a hodgepodge of an image. That's how you know if the design will work.

Someone very close to me asked me to design his one-bedroom condominium unit. As the space is small, we had to plan the space strategically. His unit is in one of the topmost floors. I have already made my schemes and I would like to show you my favorite among the two.

P.S: I am not an interior designer. I only do this for people who are very close to me. I believe in professional courtesy. If you have a place you want done and we are in no way close to each other, please contact a licensed interior designer. 


The Space

The space is a one-bedroom condominium unit located in one of the topmost floors of the building. The site is at the busiest city in the metro.

Strengths

• The bedroom has a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city. 
• The unit comes fully-finished once it is turned over.
• It has high ceilings.

Weaknesses

• There is no window in the living/dining/kitchen area.
• The space is small. 
• The bedroom has space for one occupant only. 

The Solution

• I reconfigured the bedroom to make it bigger and to accommodate a bigger bed and a bigger closet. 
• I designed a customized bedroom door to avoid a space-consuming standard one.
• I rearranged the recommended furniture for the living/dining area.

The Moodboard

This is what I envision the living/dining room area to look like.

• Light grellow (green+yellow) walls all over to make for a sunny room. This is essential to compensate for the lack of natural lighting.
• A wall-mounted table to act as a dining table for two. The TV will be mounted on the wall as well to save space.
• Three tall mirrors will be put on the walls to emphasize the height and to give an illusion of space.
• A two-seater sofa bed for emergency sleepovers. 
• A teal (or any striking color) pouf to give a pop of color to an otherwise very neutral room. It can also be a coffee table if you put tray on top of it or it can also be an additional seat. 
• A sunburst mirror to bounce off more lights.
• A bamboo rug to differentiate the living from the dining area. Bamboo is essential as the owner is asthmatic and may be allergic to other kinds of rug.

There's my vision for the living/dining area. I will be posting more on the bedroom soon. 

Why I decided to be a stay-at-home mother

Many people find it hard to believe that I have chosen to quit my work to be a stay-at-home mother. "Sayang pinag-aralan mo". "Malolosyang ka sa bahay". "Ano na gagawin mo?"

I can't seem to answer them. Not because I don't have an answer. It's because I have so much to say that I don't know where to begin. This poster summed up what I wanted to say perfectly.

Mocktails

from Cathe Nadal's Facebook page. Photo taken during my college friends' get together in our house

As a Muslim, I don't drink alcohol. I don't know why my friends find that hard to believe. We are known not to eat pork but the no-drinking-alcohol part always comes as a surprise to some.

Every last day of the year, my family stays up together to wait for the midnight. We used to do that to celebrate the New Year and Papa's birthday. But since Papa is gone and we learned that celebrating New Year is haram, we started scrapping the idea of a New Year. This year, we just took advantage of the season to dress up, display our cooking skills, and take pictures as a family. I have to admit, it was so much fun not having to stay up late. By 10:30pm, we were all in bed.

(I have to remind everyone that this no-celebration-thing is my family's choice. Nobody is forcing it down anybody's throat)

Anyway, back to the original intent of this post, the mocktails. Mocktails is a coined term. Mock cocktails. A fake cocktail drink if you will. The practice of serving this every family get together was my older sister's idea. All the fun without the hang over.

Must haves: soda, sparkling juice, grenadine juice, lime juice, coconut cream

Directions: The fun thing about this is there are no instructions! Just mix whatever you want to mix. Experiment. Drink. Be merry :)

WARNING: This is very addicting and fattening.

ANOTHER WARNING: No need being defensive. Or judgmental. The first time we had this, people were becoming concerned as to why we were drinking alcohol. Us, defensive. Them, judgmental.

Have fun with your drink!

Thankful Tuesdays

I hate being a lazy blogger but there are times when planning for an entry is too time-consuming that just thinking of what to write is becoming a zzz-fest for me. However, I know that I have a lot of story to tell. Enter a new segment on this blog, Thankful Tuesdays :)

I have written before how I am so contented and happy where my life is now. So much so that I find it unbelievable how somebody who used to take things for granted can be receiving much at present. Thankful Tuesdays will feature things that I am grateful for at the moment. It can be something as big as having my daughter (yes, Laika was born on a Tuesday) or as shallow as a cheap find in the mall. 

I am thankful for my wonderful family and in-laws. I may not be one to celebrate Christmas or New Year (yes, I have stopped celebrating New Year this year), but the season gave us a reason to get together with the people who matter the most.
 

My daughter who just turned 16 weeks last week. I am thankful that she is the jolliest baby that I know (although she has been fussy this morning because of colic). As early as 15 weeks, she has been showing progress and I feel like I cannot catch up with her. She can now pull herself to a sitting position when you offer her a hand. She also wants, nay, insists on standing up every chance she gets. Strong bones, baby. All milk coming from momma.

The smile on my daughter's face whenever she gets to sit on her Tiny Tots Baby Dock Seat. Words cannot explain how happy she gets when she is seated. Although there are times when she needs a break and being confined on the seat is too much for her, I am thankful for the few minutes of bliss that I see.

My cheap finds from Dapitan Arcade. Of all the things I bought, I am most in love with this P100-cake stand and the three-pieces-for-a-hundred-peso porcelain plates.

How about you? What are the things you are grateful for?

Birthday and Anniversary

Today is my husband's 30th birthday and tomorrow is our 2nd wedding anniversary. Let me reflect on our two years of marriage because I cannot possibly sum up his thirty awesome years of existence here on earth in just one blog post.

Our marriage is not an uncomplicated one. We've had bumps here and there. You can say I've had my most thrilling roller coaster ride in this game of life because of him. When we first got together, it was a big, big adjustment for both of us. We were not ready in the sense that, a week before our wedding, neither of us knew we were going to get married. It's a long story and I would rather keep it private. What I am ready to share is the awesomeness that Saud Basman is.

When we got married, on the first three months of our togetherness, we lived in a small studio apartment. So small that we cannot buy a decent dining table as it will not fit in the room. That was my husband's dorm room when he was single. But since we got married unexpectedly, we had to live there temporarily.

We also don't have a car when we first got together. That was our first big buy. A second-hand sedan. Up to now, we are using the said car. We have also experienced buying groceries and as we were to pay in the counter, we had to remove some items as our money in the wallet is not enough. Saud taught me to laugh through it all. We always tell ourselves, "one day, this is the story we will be telling our children and we will just be laughing it off. That we had to return items in our shopping cart because our money is not enough. That we had to use a car with a busted light because we cannot afford to have it replaced". And you know what, he is right. Alhamdulillah (thank God), all those things are a thing of the past.

Just last week, my sister and I were talking. The topic went to contentment in life. And I told her, we, Saud and I, are at a point where we are happy. We have a happy family, our parents love us, Laika is well provided for, our siblings are at peace, nobody is sick, we get to eat well, we have made a home that is comfortable for us, there's nothing really we can ask for. We may not be rich but we are blessed. I can't say Alhamdulillah enough that day. I wanted to cry as I am not a good Muslim and yet He has been blessing us too much. We wanted a simple life and He granted it to us. I have found a partner who is really very kind and very selfless. He won't even buy good clothes for himself unless I tell him he deserves it. I really could not ask for more.

Saud is the greatest love of my life. My biggest rock. My shoulder to cry on. My bestfriend. My partner. Happy 30 years of your awesome living. I love you very much. Thank you for giving me Laika.

Mrs. Talia Basman goes back to work

photo source If only...

Wow! This blog has been ignored for far too long, huh? That's what happens when you're a new mother who has just gotten back to work. Imagine me in the office, calling up Laika's Ate Sharon from time to time with my other hand pumping for my lovely daughter's milk. Phew!

Good thing that is now a thing of the past. Uh-what now? YES! I am now a full time stay-at-home mother. I have just resigned from my work. I felt juggling my being a new mother and having to work to be too much. This is just me. To all the working moms there, I salute you.

Anyway, back to the few weeks I was at work. How was I able to manage? Three things: Sharon, breast pump, play cot.

Yup, in addition to our wooden crib, we had to buy a pack-and-play so that Sharon can still watch over Laika while staying in the living room.

I also got by by pumping in the office. But then, I noticed my milk supply dipped as I am too lazy to pump frequently. Bad, bad practice. I had to use my Spectra double electric pump to ensure that I get the most milk.

Good thing I am not working anymore. I still need to pump every now and then when we have to go out, but at least I am readily available to Laika now.

Laika's 8th week

Hi, Laika!

You are 8 weeks old now which means you are almost two months old which means my maternity leave is almost over :(

I hate the fact that I have to leave you for more than 8 hours because I have just started enjoying being with you. You see, you are now responsive to people around you. You can recognize me and your daddy as you smile more when we are with you. And I just noticed, you are such a talker, aren't you? Here's your response when I asked you, "ano'ng napanaginipan mo?"

Aside from babbling and cooing, you are also smiling and laughing now. In fact, one time, while you were sleeping, I heard you laugh! What a joy it was to witness!

Speaking of sleeping, I think you are a shy person (despite being talkative around us) as you have the tendency to sleep (or fake-sleep) when you are with people you are not familiar with.

I also love it when I play nursery rhymes and you start babbling as if you are singing along to the music. You specially love the song Baa Baa Black Sheep. But when I play some Surah, you are lulled to sleep. Anyway, we are not rushing you. You have many, many more years to study about Islam.

One time, when I saw that you were sleeping, I started praying Isha. I was surprised when your bottle got out of its place and you were shouting as if you know you have to get my attention. Crying is not your first instinct in those kinds of situation. In fact, you are not a crybaby at all which is surprising to me. I don't know why I even expected you to be one.

I hope you continue to be a good daughter. We are very blessed to have you.