Ibyang
Ibyang

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iPhone Applications for Photo Enthusiasts

The Husband not so long ago upgraded to a new phone.  After three years of waiting for the iPhone 4, he finally acquired the phone he wanted.  I know that sounded quite weird–waiting for an iPhone 4 for three years when it only came out this year.  My Husband is a patient man.  When the iPhone came out a few years back, he said he wanted that kind of phone and more.  He knew that in the long run Apple would come out with an iPhone that would cater to all his needs.  And it did.  Patience is indeed a virtue.

Now that he has one, we are now experiencing and enjoying the world of applications and the ones we enjoy most are the apps for photo enthusiasts.

Here are a few of the Apps we like:

Hipstamatic iPhone App gives you the look and feel of lomo-like images.  If you are a Lomography enthusiast, you will love this as much I do.  You can choose your film, lens and and flash, just like you’re using a lomography camera.

Here are some samples of the photos we’ve took:

using Hipstamatic app

using Hipstamatic app

using Hipstamatic app

Diptic iPhone App lets you quickly and easily combine two or three of your photos to create a new image. The resulting photograph is called a diptych (if it is made up of two images) or a triptych (if it is made up of three images). Diptychs and triptychs have been used for many years in art photography. With this app, anyone can quickly and easily create diptychs and triptychs.  Buy this app here and you can make creative collages.

Some sample of the collages we made….

using Diptic app

using Diptic app

using Diptic app

 

Instagram app is an easy way to share your photos online.  Snap a photo with your iPhone, choose a filter to transform the look and feel, send to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr – it’s all as easy as pie. It’s photo sharing, reinvented. You can buy this app here.

Here’s a photo we took of a train station in Sydney.  We took this one while we were waiting for the train.  We used a filter to make it look like a lomo photograph.

using Instagram app

 

Incredibooth app is your instant photobooth!  Create photo strips wherever you.  A fun app you can enjoy with family and friends.  Buy this app here and start clicking!

Here’s a photo strip that my cousin and I took last Saturday.

using Incredibooth app

What about you?  Do you have any favorite photo applications?

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We Make Cleaning Fun

Gone are the days when we spend Friday nights at a bar dancing and hanging out with friends.  Now that we’re married, we normally get to dance to our favorite tunes at home while we clean and do household chores.

My Husband and I are no saints when it comes to household chores.  Some weekends, we are really too lazy to do anything.  Sometimes, we just want to sleep, eat and play games.  BUT we try our best to get up and spend an hour or two cleaning and de-cluttering the home.  In order to avoid pangs of laziness while doing chores, we turn to our love of music for inspiration.

This is my little work desk at home.  There’s the usual stuff on my desk such as my planner, mobile phone, iPod Touch, my Moleskine notebook (placed on the shelf) and any one of our cameras.  We have a secured cabinet for our cameras and lenses but there has to be one camera on my desk which I can grab anytime I need to.

cleaning time!

When we clean the home or do our assigned chores, the Husband connects his laptop to our mini-speakers and play our favorites songs via the iTunes. 

We uploaded the Remote application to our iPod and iPhone so that wherever we are inside the home, we can control the music of our iTunes Library in our laptop or computer. 

iPod Touch & iPhone 4 as Remote Controls

Other than our cleaning paraphernalia, we get our music ready so that doing our chores are more enjoyable.  While cleaning, we dance and sing to our favorite tunes.  Doing household chores is never that boring as we get to have fun while doing it.

What do you do in order to make your household chores more enjoyable?

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No Going Out, No Spending Month – The End

Yesterday, marked the last day of our “No Going Out, No Spending Month” that started on 8 August.  After 29 days (a total of 4 weeks), my Husband and I are so happy with how we managed this challenge.

For a recall on our No Going Out, No Spending Month Project, please read this first.


Results of Our Project

No Going Out : We didn’t attend parties.  We declined road trips.  We didn’t have dinner or coffee with friends.  No meet-ups with online friends. We didn’t watch any movies.  We only went to grocery stores to buy stuff based on a list (no more, no less).  We stayed home on weekends.  We didn’t hung out in malls.  I missed a couple of events in Sydney that could have been used for articles in my blog (I was kinda sad about this but I needed some rest from attending and covering events anyway).

During the four weeks, we made 1 exception to this rule and that was when we attended a Christening reception of my longtime friend’s daughter.  It was very fortunate that the reception took place at a restaurant two blocks away from our place.  We sneaked out of the house for only two hours.  What drove me to decide to attend even if we are going thru this project was that it is more important to be there for friends, even if only for a while. 


No Spending : We didn’t spend!!!!  I mean, we didn’t spend on things we didn’t need like clothes, shoes, bags, gadgets.  We didn’t even spent for car petrol.  We spent for the usual groceries and bills and didn’t go over our budget–it was actually the opposite, we were able to save a couple of dollars because we became conscious of sticking to our budget.


Rest : We were able to rest, as in really rest.  Our days spent at home were so relaxed.  We didn’t think much of time (or catching up with time).  We were able to catch up on much needed sleep. 

We Feel Healthier :  We’ve been cooking and eating at home more since there really is no reason to eat out.  We’re now back to our usual meals that consists of more veggies, fish & fruits.

Other Things: We were able to de-clutter our home and we were able to catch up on our photography projects.

Challenges, Strategies and Realizations
Our strategies and realizations are based on the challenges we’ve gone thru during this project. 
 
Challenge 1 :  Busy, hectic long days at work.  Incidentally, the Husband and I had the busiest four weeks at work that resulted to going home late.  The temptation to dine out after work is so huge.  Can you imagine being all tired and hungry and then going home and still prepare food? 

Our strategy:  We did batch cooking (cooking in bulk) every weekend so that when we arrive home during weekdays, we’d only heat up dinner.  I also try to go home early every chance I get so I can cook dinner at home.  Another thing we did was bring crackers to munch on while we’re inside the train going home.

Realization:  Batch cooking not only saves time and energy but it saves us money.  It doesn’t make us dependent on eating out knowing that there is food at home.

Challenge 2 :  Food cravings (with an “argh!”).  Whether it was because I’m hormonal or the Husband misses a certain food, this was one challenge for us. 

Our strategy:  We didn’t linger in places that offer our “cravings of the moment”.  My Husband and I talked sense to each other whenever we’d have cravings.  We gave each other support and pep talks in getting over one’s craving especially when what we’re craving for was something unhealthy. 

Realization:  The great thing we learned from overcoming this challenge: whatever big or small project my Husband and I get into it really helps when we work as a team—an optimistic and “sees-the-positive-effect-of-a-challenge” team.

Challenge 3 : Sales (both online and in malls).  There are sales everywhere, anytime of the year.  There are several good deals that come out every day.  My Husband and I are members of online websites that gives big (like 70% off the original price) discounts.  We receive emails of these online sales everyday.  This challenge isn’t as difficult but when one sees a good deal, we know that it can be very tempting.

Our strategy:  Simple…whatever email about sales we received, we deleted them right away.  We didn’t open it anymore. 

Realization: A few realizations, (1) We have no urgent need for any material thing, we have what we need inside our home and in our lives; (2)  When we are determined not to spend, we don’t get tempted; (3)  We shouldn’t spend on stuff just because it is on sale [believe me, if you missed it, it will go on sale again, probably on a much lower price].

Challenge 4 : Dinner date on a (AUS)$20.00 budget.  We underestimated this challenge.  We forgot to take into consideration that we don’t usually eat fast food, that we also need to order drinks and that we also deserve to have dessert!  Yes, we can find small restaurants or decent stalls in food courts that offer meals cheap but there are times when I would really like to be served a good meal.

Here’s a summary of our cheap $20-dates ($20 x 4 weeks = $80.00):

13 Aug (Fri) = $0.00
I invited the Husband to a coffee date so we used my coffee “me time” money of $10.00, hence, we decided to go home after coffee since we’re not hungry yet.  We had dinner at home instead.

20 Aug (Fri, our monthsary) = $26.40
Since it was our monthsary that day, we hung out at Chinatown and had streetfood dinner.


Korean Rice Cake (small)=$5.00; Chicken & Prawn Dimsum=$5.20; 2 Pork Buns=$4.00; Pork (Shanghai) Dimsum=$5.00 and Bottled Water=$2.20(the cheapest bottled water we could find) 
Total = $21.40


Then the Husband saw Japanese Cakes which said he misses already and we thought, we haven’t had dessert yet.  So we bought 3 pieces for $5.00


27 Aug (Fri) = $12.50
I wanted Sweet and Sour Pork for dinner so we went to the food court of Myer and had Chinese food.  Food courts in Australia have the food on sale when the clock strikes 5pm (some of them earlier).  Some meals are usually half price.  So my Husband and I went to the food court at 5:30pm. 

What we ate: Sweet and Sour Pork with rice=$4.00; Fish Fillets & Chicken with Veggies and Rice=6.00; Bottled Water=$2.50. 

2 Sept (Thurs) = $28.50
I left work late and I wasn’t able to have my coffee “me time”.  The moment I met with my Husband, I was so hungry.  I wanted to just sit down and eat anything.  Since I didn’t use my weekly coffee allowance, I added that to our $20.00 dinner budget.  Then we thought, “Pizza!”.  So we went to Pizza Hut and shared a large Meatlovers Pizza and Chicken Wings.

Grand Total of Dinner Expenses for 4 weeks = $67.40 (not bad huh?)

Our strategy:  We just had to be creative.  And we just had to find enjoyable places that serve good food in Sydney like Chinatown on a Friday night. 

Realization:  (1) When you’re creative, things become fun!  While we were looking for food in Chinatown, we felt like we were contestants in Amazing Race with a challenge and all.  We really had fun!  (2) It doesn’t hurt to spend a bit more to get quality food.  We may have saved a lot and it can be fun finding cheap eats in Sydney but in my heart, I believe we deserve a weekly treat more than $20.00 for all the hard work we did.  So next year, we plan to increase our weekly dinner budget (that has yet to be decided).

In a nutshell:
We are so happy to have managed this project well.  One of the best learning we’ve had during this period was that it is okay to say “No”–no to spending and going out especially when we think that it is not worth spending money on things we don’t need or going to events that we know will happen again and again.


Some tips if you want to do a project like this:

1.  Commitment and teamwork from the whole family is very important. 

2.  When planning this project, don’t just focus on saving money. Focus also on the values that each family member can learn from this project.  If you have little kids at home, this would be good practice for them.

3.  Try doing this for a week.  Then next time, do it for two weeks.  The following year, make it three weeks.  That was how my Husband and I started.  That’s why it wasn’t too difficult when we made this project official for four weeks.

4.  This project would be easier if the family members (or at least one family member) cook.  When there are home-cooked meals at home, there would be less (or nothing at all) reason to dine out.

5.  You don’t have to take away some important things to each member of the family.  For example, we never took our coffee “me times” and weekly dinner date out of the equation.  Those two things are not just about loving coffee and food but those are things that keeps us sane throughout the week.  There are some activities that you can still do, you just need to make the rules clear.  Also, this project is meant to teach values, not deprive a person.

6.  Make your own rules as each family is unique.

To end, We would like to thank everyone who supported us and wished us luck on this project of ours.  I hope you learn a few things from our experience.

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No Going Out, No Spending Month



A Project of the Mr & Mrs
From 8 August to 5 September, the Husband and I will officially have a “No Going Out, No Spending Month”.  Last year, we hibernated for three weeks right after our parents left for Manila.  We called it “hibernation” but in actuality, we avoided going out and rested our pockets from spending.  It was the first time that we were able to observe not going out for three weeks.  In earlier years, we have tried this project for a week…then two weeks…then last year, three weeks.  This year, we are officially tagging this as one our household projects and we’re leveling up to four weeks (!!!).


Let’s Define Things, Shall We?
No Going Out means no parties, no eating out, no dinner out with friends, no road trips, no movie dates.  We will still go to work (just had to clear that hehe) but we will avoid hanging out at restaurants and shopping malls after work.  Also, no overstaying in supermarkets.  My Husband and I sometimes have dates inside Woolworths on Friday nights and before we knew it, we find ourselves at the counter paying for stuff we don’t need yet.

No Spending means we will only spend for the usual monthly expenditures like groceries, bills and maintenance/repairs in the home (if ever something does come up).  It is very critical that we stick to our budget for four weeks so we have both agreed that we won’t shop for unnecessary things (read: things we DON’T REALLY NEED) and we won’t give in to sales (which is usually the culprit–those freakin’ tempting sales).

Reasons That Turn Into Goals

We want physical rest. Initially, we planned this project for the whole month of June because we thought it would be great to re-charge in the middle of year and at the same time get ourselves ready for the 2nd half of 2010.  However we had to postpone it because my mom arrived in June for a short vacation.

We want rest from eating out.  We want to stay away from restaurants for awhile and just observe eating in.  Sort of like a detox.

Exercise the discipline of not spending for unnecessary things.  Last year, one of the things that we learned from not going out and spending for three weeks was the things we have are the things we need and there is no need to buy things just because it is on sale.  Sometimes we want a certain item is one and found out that it is on sale, we immediately think “We’ve got to buy this, it’s on sale already!”  But the truth is, we don’t really need it.  This doesn’t happen all the time but this project is a good reminder to my Husband and I to always count our blessings and always ask ourselves “Do we really need this?” before purchasing stuff.

We want to de-clutter our home.  We have the usual weekly de-cluttering at home but we’d like to do more de-cluttering in the next four weeks.  We plan to sort out our clothes and shoes, pack up some of the things we don’t wear or doesn’t fit and give them to church.  We want to box up some things that we don’t use in the meantime and store it properly.

We want to finish up on our photography projects.  We will take this opportunity to finish up on two events we’ve covered. 

A Bit of Preparation

1.  We checked our calendar and made sure we don’t have family or friends who will be having parties. 

2.  We informed friends about it.  We also announced the project via twitter and FB.   It is of great help when people around you know that you have a project like this.  We really appreciate all the positive reactions and support we got from friends (thank you!).

A Little Provision

The Husband and I are still entitled to a little breather and small pleasures.  The last thing we want is to splurge and pig out as soon as the project is over.  So we have agreed:

To have dinner at least once a week —take note: with a budget.  The dinner should not be more than AUD$20.00, and that covers both of us (so that’s AUD$10.00 per person).

That I’ll still have my weekly coffee “me” time.  I will work on a budget of AUD$10.00 or less per coffee date with myself. 

That the Husband is also entitled to coffee “me” times when at work.  His coffee at work is only AUD$2.00-3.00 a cup so in a week, he will only spend about AUD$10-15.00, which is about the same cost as my weekly coffee time.


A Feeling of Excitement
The moment we decided to make this project official for four weeks, we had a bit of nerves about it.  Who wouldn’t, right?  Four weeks of avoiding temptations seems kind of overwhelming.  But we are really excited about this project.  We have faith in each other (teamwork to the max!) and in this project.  We are very positive that we can do it because we really want to rest most of all. 

Wish us luck!  Since this is an official project, I will be taking notes and will share on how things turned out for us.




Thanks the Husband for the very cute logo he created for this project.


 


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Good Food & Wine Show (Sydney, 2010)

The recently concluded Good Food & Wine Show in Sydney was a blast! 

It was my husband and I’s first time to attend this awesome event and we’re so glad we shared this experience with my mom.  For weeks, I’ve been so excited to attend this show at the Sydney Convention Centre and it didn’t disappoint at all.  Not only were we able to discover and taste culinary delectables, we were also able to watch two celebrity chefs in action.

We arrived at the venue at a quarter to 10 on Sunday morning.  We were the first ones to enter the venue and we got on to exploring right away.  The Husband bought a Good Food and Wine Show Granny Trolley, his way of gearing up for the shopping that awaits us (how cute!!!), and a Wine Glass with Wine Glass Holder (a pink one especially for me!) so I’m all geared up for all the wine tasting ahead.  How thoughtful, right?

I love the clever concept of the The Wine Glass Holder because it keeps your wine glass insulated and has a strap so you can wear it around your neck for easy mobility.  It also helps you avoid losing your glass.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

What’s in the Good Food and Wine Show?  Other than an opportunity to taste food and wine, you also get to discover appliances and knick-knacks related to cooking, plus there are stalls for magazine subscriptions, all for discounted prices and lots of give-aways.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

On the first hour of the morning, we were able to walk around and took photos of the place conveniently but after lunch, there was very little space to move and the hall looked like this…jampacked!

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

Nevertheless, it was still fun.  The event organizers provided a Show Planner and Map to help people maximize their stay and in getting their way around the place.

The best experience of the day was having to watch celebrity chefs and Masterchef (Australian Reality Cooking Show for Amateur Chefs) hosts & judges Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.

I am a fan of Gary Mehigan.  I’ve seen him once when I was at the Vivid Sydney at the Rocks just a few weeks back and I was happy to see him in person.  To watch him on a show and do what he does best was such a great pleasure. 

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

The show we watched at the Celebrity Theatre was entitled “Your Place or Mine” which is a 45-minute cooking show by Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.  I’m not much of a fan of George but he is a great chef as well and I like him too.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

  

Together, Gary and George make a very entertaining team.  Not only did we learn a few recipes and cooking tricks from them, they made the show really fun–they made us laugh and dance.  As judges in the Masterchef show, they sometimes appear strict but on-stage, they are really approachable, funny guys.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

The Celebrity Theatre had a big TV screen on stage so everyone can see what Gary and George are doing while they cooked and for close-up views of the food.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010



I remember they made pasta then turned them into tortellinis.  Another dish they made was baked prawns on a bed of Hommus.  They baked bread too.  And they made this dish that has beetroot as a main ingredient but I forgot what it was called.

After the show, George went straight to the Good Food Magazine stall and made a cooking demonstration again.  I didn’t watch this time as I wanted to get on with my shopping and going around.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

We had lunch somewhere else as we had to meet up with friends.  We went back in and went straight to the Nespresso stall to watch a demonstration of the Nespresso machine and for free coffee.  Chris wanted me to see how the machine works. 

Years ago, we planned to buy this machine for our home but I’ve been delaying it.  Chris already got me Nespresso cups and saucers but I said, “let’s wait awhile before we buy the machine”.  However, after attending this show, we finally decided on what Nespresso to buy in the future.  Now we are just waiting for the right time to buy it.

Good Food and Wine Show 2010


After coffee, we went around for a taste of more food.  The last order of the day was to buy wine.  We went to a several wine tasting, boy did I have so much fun.  Other than the taste of the wine, we wanted a good deal from sellers because we were buying in bulk.  We discovered Beelgara wines and bought two bags of wines from them.  Since we bought wines in bulk, they gave us two wine bags.  The wine bags are insulated to keep wine cool.

Good Food & Wine Show 2010

We went home with all of these from the show….

Good Food & Wine Show 2010

Two of these food magazines were free while the other two came from the two grocery bags we bought.

Good Food & Wine Show 2010

We bought two grocery bags for only AUD$15. The products inside those two bags where fixed and the total value of both bags were AUD$189.  Since you are buying it from the Good Food and Wine Show, it was only AUD$15.  Such big savings! 

Good Food and Wine Show 2010

What we paid AUD$15 for— From Left to right (from top row): bag of caster sugar, small bottle of olive oil, small packs of condiments and spices; 2 jars of pasta sauce, cans of tuna, a jar of chicken soup; packets of chips, biscuits, peanuts and dried cranberries; samples of coffee and tea; bottled green teas; dog and cat food; small tube of whitening toothpaste, smales tubes of suntan lotion and Nivea facial wash and Blistex lipgloss; cleaning products and wet ones.

It was a long but fun day.  We learned a lot from the celebrity chefs plus we get to bring home lot sof goodies, some free and some bought at discounted price.

I look forward to attending next year’s show.

Some Tips:

1.  Book your tickets early.  The earlier you book, the better seats you will get on the Celebrity Theatre Shows and more freebies.  The later you book, you might not have a chance to watch a celebrity chef cooking demo.

2.  Be early to avoid crowds and get more freebies.  In the afternoons, most freebies are gone and there are long queues for free wine/coffee/food tastings.

3.  Bring a granny trolley or your own grocery bags if you plan to buy lots of stuff.  You can also buy the Good Food & Wine Show granny trolley bag.  It’s good quality bag and can serve as a souvenir from the event.

4.  The event’s Show Planner and Map is your best companion.  Get it from the information booth as soon as you arrive.  It lists the schedule of cooking demonstrations, exhibitors and their corresponding stall number.

5.  Be prepared.  Check out the Good Food and Wine Show website so you know what to look forward to.

6.  Have some cash with you.  Some exhibitors don’t have and EFTPOS/Credit Card system so having cash with you will surely make your shopping more convenient.  There are ATMs in the convention center but since there are a lot of people, there is also a long wait to withdraw money.

7.  Bring your own or buy your own wine glass.  Most wine exhibitors don’t have wine glasses for wine tasting.  Having your own wine glass is a must if you will attend this show.
 
8.  Be discreet in taking photographs.  Not all exhibitors like people taking photographs of their products.  If they ask you to delete the photos you took of their store or products, delete them.  It’s their loss anyway.

All photos by Chris and Ivy Sanchez, Copyright 2010
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