Charmed Life of a Mrs Archives | Page 32 of 98

Long Weekend Treats

3 October 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, The Married Life

As a wife and home manager, I take care of the family’s social schedule and some weekends, it is a challenge to work out what we have to do, where we have to go and how we will squeeze time for relaxation. Weekends are never enough especially when you still have to do household chores you never get to do during the week like cleaning, washing laundry and ironing clothes. That’s why long weekends (in this case, a 3-day weekend due to a public holiday) are always a welcomed blessing.

Today is New South Wales’ celebration of Labour Day and we had a chance to do more with our weekend. Planning a 3-day weekend is so much easier compared to a 2-day weekend.

Sometimes, we’d go out of town during long weekends but this time, decided to stay in Sydney so we can do more with our free time and have a balance between socialization, play, rest and chores.

Time to Dress Up and Party. We kicked off Saturday with a lunch party with friends at Hard Rock Sydney. Dressing up does wonders to a tired psyche while being surrounded by laughter of good friends brings instant sunshine to anyone’s life.

A Little Reward to Make Myself Feel Loved by Me. The Husband and I went around the shops after lunch with friends and we decided to buy ourselves little gifts as a reward for the days and nights we’ve been working hard at the office.

Time for Us = Saturday Date Night. We’d usually have our coffee dates on Fridays but since it’s a long weekend and we were already out on Saturday, we hung out at Strathfield (one of Sydney Metro’s Korea Towns) on a quest to try out a new cafe (for coffee) and Korean restaurant (for dinner).

We found a stationery cafe called “My Sweet Memory” that serves delicious coffee and sells amazing and cute stationery.

Dinner was at Ce Ci Korean Restaurant where we had a Deep-fried Chicken in Spicy Sauce and Spicy Beef & Tofu Hot Pot.

Time for a Good Read, Health and Beauty. Our weekends will never be complete without a good rest and time for ourselves. I won’t function well the whole week without an afternoon nap either on Saturday or Sunday. I usually exercise inside the home but today, the sun shone so I was able to run outdoors for a bit. What I love most about long weekends? I get to have more “Me” time!

Time for a Naughty Treat. Another little reward to myself in the form of my favourite doughnut for breakfast. Knowing the I have more time for exercise, I let myself have a doughnut this morning.

Long weekends or not, I don’t think time will ever be enough to do everything we want to do. But with the help of a balanced schedule, a wife like me can make the most of what a family can do with a 3-day weekend.

Have a great week ahead!

This is also my entry to Toni‘s It’s A Wife’s Life Blog Carnival

The Husband’s Birthday Staycation

20 September 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 7 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Couples Reflections, The Married Life, Travel

It has been crazy busy at work for both the Husband and I lately that we cannot afford to pack our bags and leave Sydney for a few days. Going out of state would mean time to get things ready and travel back and forth. At the moment, time for non-essentials are a scarcity.

So we decided to have a “staycation” (meaning: vacation at home or in the city you live in) in Sydney for two days and give ourselves a break from doing household chores and pretend to be tourists in our city.

The Husband's Birthday Staycation (September 2011)

Our home for two nights was near Chinatown. We checked-in on Friday afternoon after work, dropped our bags and headed straight out to explore the lively streets of Haymarket and have dinner.

Dropped by World Square and checked out the shops there. We saw our favourite Meiji Chocolates at Miracle Asian Supermarket.

Chinatown on a Friday night looks like this (see below) and how we love it! It reminded us of Mongkok of Hongkong and Myeongdong of Seoul. This main street in Chinatown becomes a street market from 5:00PM onwards every Friday.

One of our usual hangouts in Chinatown is the DVD/CD store where we looked at DVDs or soundtracks of Korean Dramas.

The Husband captured my giddy reaction whenever I see a DVD or CD I like.

From our suking DVD store, we had dinner at Yummy Chinese BBQ Restaurant then went back to Chinatown and visited the biggest Morning Glory store I’ve ever seen.

Some of the stuff I got from Morning Glory: Banana Case, telephone-inspired hair ties and a pair of Elmo earphones.

Saturday, the Husband’s birthday, I took him to the Adriano Zumbo Lab at Rozelle. The Husband has a very sweet tooth and he loves to bake so I thought that going to Zumbo’s Lab would be a great treat for him.

I will write a separate post about our adventure at Zumbo’s Lab, in the mean time, feast your eyes on the hundreds of Macarons that we saw at the lab.

Went back to the hotel for a nap (we woke up at 6am just to be at Zumbo’s Lab before 8am), then went out around two in the afternoon. This time, we hung out at Pitt Street area. Very late lunch of Burritos from Guzman Y Gomez and Pad Thai from Thai Riffic at the Westfield Dining Precinct.

Followed by a good stroll outside Westfield. Went in and out of shops, played at the Apple Store, took photos of street art and incidentally came across Mario and Luigi.

A quick coffee break at Becasse Bakery (went back to Westfield Dining Precinct) before we attended mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

We had plans of going to Darling Harbour or The Rocks for dinner but changed our minds. Instead of going to some posh restaurant, we bought take away KFC and went back to the hotel and had a quiet dinner while watching TV and just enjoyed being together. Indulged ourselves with dessert of Zumbo’s Macarons and green tea.

Our decision to stay in even on the night of Chris’ birthday has brought us to a few realizations. Nowadays, we do treasure moments being at home, just having quiet nights, occasion or no occasion. We appreciate traveling as much as we appreciate being in the comforts of our home. We love spending time with relatives and friends as much as we love having moments to ourselves. It’s all about balance especially when life is hectic with things to do, people to see and goals to accomplish.

On Sunday morning, we went back home and immediately faced the chores that await us but the two-night break we had, even if short, was uplifting and precious.

The Lifestyle Changer

21 August 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 7 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Deep Thoughts, Tech World

The minute I learned that tablets are coming its way to consumers, I knew that life will never be the same again. While others may see that tablets are a fad, I see it as a lifestyle changer–literally something that will change our lives.

It has changed my life in lots of ways even if I don’t even bring it with me wherever I go. Even if I own one, I mainly use my tablet at home and rarely bring it with me to work.

There are so many tablets to choose from nowadays and it’s a matter of matching your needs to the kind of tablet that’s right for you.

So how did it changed my life?

Travel Buddy. We usually turn to the Husband’s smartphone for help when it comes to google maps when we travel but with the tablet having a bigger screen, it was so much easier to look at maps and find our way.

Connectivity. Once connected to 3G or WIFI, the tablet has been very useful in being connected to loved ones wherever I am. At home, I don’t need to open my computer to tweet, email or reply to a message in facebook. No more logging on or off. A touch of a button or a tap on the screen of my tablet and I’m online.

My Library. It’s been awhile since I’ve bought a real book or a magazine. I love that I get to save storage space in the home now that I have a digital storage for my books, magazines and even Archie comics (yes, I still read Archie comics until now!).

Kitchen Reference. A few have asked me, “Do you memorize the recipes you share on your blog?”. And the answer is, “No.” Even if I write my own recipes, I can’t remember them all especially if I don’t cook them all the time. Again, no need to open a computer, all I have to do is use my tablet and voila, the recipe I need appears right there and then. Very convenient too for searching for recipes online.

My Entertainment. While I’m cooking, I switch to youtube and there’s instant entertainment for me. No need to open the TV. Having a few minutes of “me” time in the afternoon while I sip a cuppa? I switch to music and listen to my favourite songs.

Health Partner. The Husband installed some Yoga and exercise apps and it was very useful. No need to play videos on TV or play Wii Fit on days when I’m busy. I tap on the Yoga apps and you’ll find me doing some Yoga positions and exercise repetitions in the lounge room. The apps I use: All-in-One YOGA HD, Yoga for iPad and PoWorkout Trim & Tone.

A few has asked me if it’s worth getting a tablet. I believe the reason why people ask that question is because they see this gadget as a fad and not as something that will be part of their lifestyle. I believe that it is up to the consumer to make any gadget worth their money. It’s up to the consumer how they will maximize the use of any gadget they buy.

As for me, I thought hard on why I needed such an item and made sure that it is not just a want but also a need. Now that I own one, I’m making the most of the tablet I bought and use it for making my life better and productive.

The Sweetest Things

8 August 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 8 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Deep Thoughts, The Married Life

It’s Monday once again and for most of us, it also means back to the daily grind of tasks and responsibilities. So how are you feeling this morning? I know that the usual feelings on Mondays are denial, sleepiness, crankiness and laziness (anything else?). I sometimes have a variation of all these emotions every Monday morning but I try to snap out of it as quick as I can because I want to arrive to work cheerful and ready to be productive.

I catch the train every morning to work and during my 45-minute transit I try to come up with some mental exercises to wake my brain up and bring out the positivity in my spirit. Every morning, I always think about the happy things that make me feel blessed.

For this morning, my list consisted of The Sweetest Things that I have shared in Instagram before. My Instagram account (follow me at @ibyang if you have an account and let’s share photographs!) has been a repository of random photographs that immortalize special moments of my life. It’s an easy, user-friendly iPhone app that instead of just sharing minute details here in AWCL, I just upload a photo in instagram and voila! I get to share a significant part of my life in a split second.

Moving on, here are some Instagram photos that immortalized some of The Sweetest Things that made my heart warm and tender.

One of my BFFs in the Philippines gifted me with these cute grooming set and a Rizal mug. According to her, she immediately thought of me when she saw this Korean/Japanese-looking grooming set because she knows I love anything Korean. It was also very timely that she gave me this because I was on the lookout for a grooming set that I could always bring whenever I travel. This grooming set is now part of my travel make-up bag.

She gave me this Rizal mug years ago since she also knows I’m a Rizal fan. This mug not only reminds me of my love for Rizal but most importantly, this reminds me how much my BFF and I love coffee.

One of my College BFFs is another person who knows me so well and always seem to give me the cutest, useful things. This year, she gave me a pair of winter slippers with heart designs (she knows I love the heart symbol).

And this winter season, she gave us the biggest surprise by knitting beanies for us. Yes, she not only knitted a beanie for me but for the rest of our gang. So sweet of her and the beanies are sooo cute and colourful!

The Husband’s high school friend whom we got to spend time with in April when we were in Manila gave us these lovable His and Her key chains. The lips of the boy and girl key chain are magnetic so everytime they get close, they “kiss”.

I got to spend time with my youngest cousin two weeks ago and during dinner at their place, he hugged and kissed me all of a sudden. I asked, “What was that for?”. He replied, “Nothing, I just want to.” Awwwww. That was simply a precious moment. I’m glad that even if he has grown up to be a big boy now, he never forgets to make “lambing” (be sweet). No matter old he gets, in my heart, he will always be my baby cousin.

My High School Barkada (friends) have our own facebook page and that’s where we get to plan our get-together(s). A few of us are living abroad now but thru our page, we get to update each other with statuses and photographs. Last week, a few of them decided to have dinner on Friday night and all was planned thru comments in facebook. One of our friends also tweeted about it so when I saw the tweet, I messaged back and told them that I will call them during dinner…and I did. It was lovely to hear their voices. It was a comfort and joy to know that even if we’re miles apart, there are no walls and awkwardness. The minute we heard each others’ voices on the line, we picked up where we left off and it was instant fun and laughter. Below is a photo of my coffee date with them before I left Manila.

It’s always a treat when there’s cake at home and it’s always wonderful when the Husband makes the effort of baking it. On Saturday night, he baked my favourite Vanilla Cake enveloped in Buttercream Icing and topped with Pink and White Sprinkles. Not only does the thought of having a Husband that bakes my favourite cake makes me feel loved, I’m happy that I get to bring a slice of his cake with me to work, to enjoy during my Monday morning tea.

Wishing you all a week filled with sweet moments! Happy Monday!

AWCL turns Four Years!

17 July 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 10 Comments Category: Blog Life, Charmed Life of a Mrs, Deep Thoughts

Five years ago, I started blogging via my Multiply site and then a year after, a few months after I got married, I officially created “A Wife’s Charmed Life” (AWCL). Since then, it has been a great ride of sharing experiences, thoughts, gastronomical and travel adventures through writing and photographs, meeting friends and somehow creating a community of bloggers who share the same interests as mine.

Last year, this blog has gifted me with the opportunity to be a part of a Filipino newspaper here in Sydney called “Ang Kalatas“. From my little world in the blogosphere, I also now share my life experiences through my column “Life Down Under“.

It has been truly a wonderful journey of writing and sharing photographs that I’m still enjoying enormously and I will continue doing so no matter how busier my life gets.

I’m grateful
…for every story you share back with me
…for every comment, question and email you sent my way
…for the “likes” in FB and retweets in twitter
…for the links back to my blog entries
…for every appreciation you’ve let me known
…for recommendations, tips and leads so I can share it via my blog
…for spending time in my little home in the blogosphere.

If you have passed by AWCL, thank you very much! And if my story and photographs have made you smiled, made you feel good or let you learned anything, the honour and pleasure has always been mine.

Cheers to more years of writing and sharing!