Category Archives: Home Sweet Home

Day Off

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This happened a few Saturdays ago… :-)

Watching in admiration as my husband takes over the kitchen, puts on my apron and cooks a dish we haven’t tried before. :)

It was Saturday and my dear husband had taken the initiative to let me rest from cooking. What a sweet treat! I love cooking for my family, but sometimes it’s also good to just sit down, relax and have someone serve you like a queen. :)

I’d say having this man take over my kitchen was like watching a cooking comedy show LIVE. He was imitating Emeril Lagasse the whole time he was cooking. We couldn’t help but laugh as he cooked. Feeling chef talaga! Sooo funny!

I don’t remember the name of this dish, but it’s chicken marinated in apple sauce, oyster sauce and red wine vinegar. It turned out really yummy! Good job, daddy!

Sofa Surroundings

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Sometimes a living room needs a makeover, and what better time to make this happen then during the fall time when it starts to cool down? Before the holidays are here take the time to revamp your space and discover sofa surroundings you will love. Your space will look like it’s brand new just from redecorating or adding to it. However, as opposed to buying brand new home elements and leather chairs, switch around décor pieces and furniture from around the home to save money. Developing a new decorative appearance will require creativity, but if you put your mind to it, it will look fantastic. Start using your imagination and develop a renovated chic living room area that’s heavenly.

End Tables – Change out your end tables to form a new look in your living room area and look forward to placing decorative pieces on the tables as well. Change up your table lamps by bringing a table lamp from another room in your home if you don’t feel like going shopping. Switching around décor pieces will create a brand new appearance that will give off the look that you completely redecorated when in fact you just utilized your imagination and decorative preferences.

New Pillows – Selecting new pillows for your sofa will create a fun new personality and often times, depending on the appearance of the pillows; they become a great focal point. Look for pillows that have bold designs such as chevron, zigzag, and geometric. Don’t forget about color and choose from pillow that will pull from the colors on the wall or the paintings on the wall. These types of pillows will stand out in the room and will also add comfort to your sofa for both your family members and guests to enjoy.

Coordinating Throw – Now it’s time to add a coordinating throw to your sofa surroundings. Find a throw that’s both comfortable and stylish looking. It will also be very cozy when it starts to get chilly, yet its attractive look will appear divine in your living room area. A soft throw that’s made of cotton, eco-friendly materials, or knit or crocheted fibers will add to a cozy space and your sofa surroundings will look very nice too. Now you have a complete space with the perfect sofa surroundings that you will enjoy from simply switching things around and using your decorating talent!

Sierra is a freelance writer who looks forward to blogging on her blog Ocean Dreams. She looks forward to relaxing in a cozy living room and focuses on her sofa surroundings to create a charming space.

Protecting Your Sofa from Stains

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Sometimes no matter how hard we try to protect our home furniture, they are still not 100% free from stains and spills.Thanks to our wonderful little children for their creativity! Hehe.

Having a leather stain or ink remover handy can totally free us from unnecessary panic when the inevitable happens. It’s always a great idea to have something that can help you address the problem right away instead of getting mad at your children over something they didn’t intentionally do.

Excited to Decorate for Christmas!

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Seeing these Radko ornaments reminds me that Christmas is just around the corner and I can’t wait to start decorating our home with Christmas lanterns!

Since my husband is more creative and talented in terms of decorating, he keeps himself busy setting up everything every year. From Christmas lights to Christmas tree, to lanterns, to figurines, to garlands, to ornaments – practically everything! I, on the other hand, work as his devoted assistant. LOL.

And to save money, we reuse our decorations every year and just buy a few additions. :-)

How about you, do you use brand-new decorations every year?

The Handy-Mommy

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If there’s a task inside my home that I dread to do, it would be anything related to plumbing. A clogged drain and toilet make me feel totally uneasy and panicky especially during typhoons.

Calling an emergency plumber is always the last thing I wanna do because of the expensive service charge. So as a result, we often resort to using drain-cleaning products available in the market. But the problem is, we don’t get always get a guaranteed solution and these products are costly, too.

So being smart, budget-conscious homemakers, what is left for us to do?

You’re right! :-)

Learn how to make a homemade liquid plumber instead of buying it from the store!

Here are the things that you’ll need for this simple DIY project:

  • Baking soda
  • Vinegar
  • Measuring cup
  • Boiling water
  • Small cloth

These things are available in every household. Make sure to keep a few basic tools on hand and know how to use them so you can save your family a few bucks. Now for the complete instructions on how to make this awesome homemade liquid plumber, click here. (Note: I have not tried this but I definitely will in case our drainage gets clogged again.)

Now if all else fails, it is time to call your friendly plumber in the neighborhood and keep your fingers crossed that his office provides 24 hours plumbing services.

SIDE NOTES: Adding plumbing and carpentry to our homemaking skills would be cool and sexy, don’t you think? I want to be a handy mommy! Hehe.

The handy mommy!

Homemaking 101 for Beginners

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One of the things that I am passionate about is homemaking. Aside from making every effort to serve sumptuous meals for my dear family, I am also on the lookout for items that can improve our home. With a little creativity I picked up from regularly watching TV shows that focus on making everything lovely in the home (i.e: The Nate Berkus Show, Martha Stewart Living, $100 Makeover, Outdoor Living with Jamie Durie, The Bath Crashers, etc.), I realized that it really is possible to make a beautiful home on a budget.

So how do you keep your home a welcoming place to be? Here  are a few things that I learned and discovered a long the way:

  • Declutter! Declutter! Declutter! – Seriously, this is not an easy task and this is not something you can accomplish overnight. So to avoid stress, make a decision to deal with the mess per room (or per part if you have a big house) one day at a time.  The key is to let go of the things you don’t need and use.
  • Re-arrange Your Furniture – Do not be afraid to experiment. After all, it is your home. You can do whatever you want with it. If it doesn’t turn out great, you can always revert it to its original arrangement. LOL.
  • Be Resourceful! – I know, I know….not everyone  is gifted with creativity (myself included). But there are many available resources  that you can read and see online that can help squeeze out those creative juices you never thought you had. Trust me,  there’s nothing that we can’t learn by TRYING. There are tons of how-to articles and videos available online. DIY projects are awesome!
  • Be Creative! – While saving for that sassy tropical wall decor or that pricey abstract metal wall art that you are dying to hang in your living room, why not ask your kids to do finger painting? I’m sure your kiddos will be delighted to see their artwork hanging on the wall. :-)

Finger painting is a great activity for kids.

  •  Learn to Recycle – Recycling is not just environment-friendly, it is also budget-friendly. I’m sure we can always find something around the house that we can restore or recycle. That old, ugly sofa in your garage? You can have it re-upholstered for a few bucks! Just keep looking. :-)
  • Be Organized & Stay Organized – Keeping things organized in our home is a major challenge. As homemakers, we should bear in mind that keeping things organized is not a problem that we can only address once and it’s gone forever. Read my previous post for some tips regarding this matter.

Hope you find these tips helpful. :-)

 

Happy Atmosphere

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Outdoor patios decorated with globe string lights are always so lovely to look at! They give a happy and welcoming atmosphere around the house. They make you feel like it’s Christmas all year round! :-)

Globe string lights

I personally love hanging out at a garden or an outdoor patio during out-of-town trips. It’s the best place to relax, breathe some fresh air, read a good book, play board games and socialize.

Dressing Up Your Windows

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My mom-in-law has the nicest curtains in her home. Her windows are always dressed up like a woman wearing her best evening gown — charming and simply elegant.

I wasn’t particularly fascinated with curtains before but when I started dressing up our windows with these new trendy curtains I bought from SM, I got convinced that they’ve made a huge difference in our home sweet home! Since then I’ve been buying new curtains when I have some extra money.

Don’t be afraid to experiment on different valance styles, swags and drapes too!

From The Curtain Shop

Toy Storage Bins

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As a mom, there are tasks at home that you’d rather do on your own even if you have a helper. Agree? :)

In my case, sorting out my kids’ toy storage bins and organizing their stuff (books, DVDs, school supplies, etc.) are my most favorite things. That’s why last year, we came up with this nice home project that I designed myself.

Ta-daaa!
My kids’ closets and toy bins rolled into one!

We just removed the lids off the bins.

The two cabinets on top are meant for electronic and special toys.

The blue closet is my son's and the pink is my daughter's.

It was constructed for two weeks and we waited a few days for the paint fumes to completely go away before I started organizing my kids’ stuff. And yes, we also ended up going waaaay beyond our budget during the whole construction process.

But I think it was worth it. :-)

Kitchen Makeover Project

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I have a couple of home makeover projects that I will be starting soon. Our kitchen is going to be my major project this year as it badly needs renovation. I need to let go of some furniture we don’t really need in order to come up with a spacious, trendy kitchen. Hopefully our budget will be enough to have some cupboards and shelves installed right above the sink.

Needless to say, I have tons of de-cluttering to do!

Next project is a minor front yard makeover with the help of some new patio or deck furniture. I am soooo excited!

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