Pretty Paper And Things From Manila and Seoul

Would you believe I haven't transferred our Manila and Seoul photos to my computer? It's taking me a while to get around to doing our post-travel tasks. Work is taking a lot of my time lately that some days I go home a little exhausted. Last week though I started seeing friends after work. What a joy it was to see friends again. It helps a lot in going back to "our normal".

Yesterday, I spent an hour sorting out some of the stationery and knick knacks we got from our trip. These were all shared in my instagram (@ibyang) but I would also like to share it because it might be useful reference for some who will visit Manila and Seoul too.

As my love for stationery had been awakened, I kept an eye on stationery during our travel. Other than rekindling my childhood love for stationery, I'm now more appreciative of design and artwork. Maybe the Husband's "artist fairy dust" is working on me. 

Here are the ones from Manila:

Stationery from Papemelroti. Yes, buhay pa ang Papemelroti! :) They still produce the brown stationery they are known for but this time I found some Manila artwork on their paperie. I especially chose papers with Jeepney artwork. I also got a small Manila poster with "salawikain" written on it. I plan to frame this poster to put on display at home.

Stationery from Fully Booked. White pad paper with Kalesa and Sorbetes art. They're colourful and reminiscent of life in Manila.  The little sticky notes with flowers are Japanese-inspired art designed in America. 

Coffee-themed calendar planners from our dear friend Agnes. The moment we saw these, we were so amused because it is so Us! :) Grateful for friends who know we love our coffee.

Starbucks Planners gifted by friends Majo and Monet. Husband and I don't use these kind of planners anymore but we appreciate these ones still because we can add them to our stationery collection and use them for our creative projects. We especially love the book magnets that came with them.

Important men in Philippine history immortalized in stamps. These are used stamps but curated for selling to stamp collectors like me. I plan to frame these in order to preserve them. We found them during our visit to the Ayala Museum.

 An "I Love Manila" fridge magnet. This was the last thing I bought before I got on our plane to Sydney. We were already boarding when I realised we haven't bought a Manila fridge magnet so I went back out to the shops in NAIA 1 and bought this.

Here are the ones from Seoul:
Seoul is stationery haven! We found a lot of stores that sell gorgeous stationery and pretty little things.

Hanbok Card. One of the fanciest stationery I've owned. The design of the hanbok was embossed on the paper. 

 Paper and envelopes with dainty designs. It has my favourite art: dots, flowers and stripes.

 Note pads and Sticky Notes. The note pads came had Korean icons (palace, king, queen, N Seoul Tower) while the sticky notes had dainty-looking designs.

Stamp Stickers. I only bought a few. Two of them had Korean icons while the third one had Alice in Wonderland art.

Souvenirs from where we've been: a post card from N Seoul Tower, phone accessory from Hello Kitty Cafe (which we will convert into a fridge magnet), notebook from the Teddy Bear Museum and a pen from Mango Six Cafe (which will also be converted into a fridge magnet).

King and Queen Bookmark. Aren't they the cutest? It also has an "I Love Korea" embossed on them. 

It was a fun hour sorting all thru the knick knacks we brought home. I can't wait to use these pretty paper in creating our travel scrapbook. Ahhh but first, we need to sort out our photos. When will that be? I can't say but I hope soon.

Have a great week ahead!

Uniqlo's HEATTECH Shirts

After travelling to Asia in a span of two years, most of my winter clothing these days seem to come from three brands: Uniqlo, Muji and H&M.  In 2011, I did massive shopping at H&M and Muji but this year, Uniqlo was where I found a lot of clothing pieces I liked as they have good quality material at reasonable prices. I'm especially thankful to discover their HEATTECH clothing which generates heat and provides insulation too. Their HEATTECH range includes shirts, leggings, socks, cardigans, beannies and scarves.

I chose the long sleeve shirts for my first HEATTECH purchases. These are base layer shirts perfect for layering during cold season. The clothing material is soft, comforting and fits nicely on the body. 

I used them when we travelled in Seoul where we experienced 4-11 degree Celsius temperatures. Where I would normally have four layers of clothing, I survived the cold with just three layers and even had to ditch the scarf at times.

The next time I come across Uniqlo's HEATTECH range, I will try their other pieces such as the cardigans and scarves.

By the way, Uniqlo will soon open their first branch in Australia by end of this year. I'm happy that we will finally have one here down under, however, it will be in Melbourne which is a state away from where I am (and no we're not flying to Melbourne just so we can shop for Uniqlo stuff). But we'll never know, right? We might have one here in Sydney too in the future.

Discovered Inspirations: 10 Ways To Be Happy

A few tips to make our life happier. Thank God it's Thursday!

Image Source

Click SayingImages.com for inspiring quotes.

Back To Our Life In Sydney

We arrived in Sydney on the last week of April after three weeks of vacation in Manila and Seoul. As always, it was a vacation worth remembering, filled with love and warmth from family and friends, going back to our roots, reliving the things we love doing in our motherland and of course, discovery and exploration of new places and gastronomical indulgences. It was wonderful. It was beautiful. We left Manila with an ache for the people we will miss. We left Seoul with a longing to come back there again one day.

On the Autumn morning we arrived back home, Sydney welcomed us with the lovely Sun shyly peeking from the horizon with orange, pink and blue hues shining brightly around it. 

We have a lot to be grateful for from our vacation. In the coming days, I hope to sit down and gather my thoughts about it. On our first week back, I've been busy getting well from a cough I got on my last few days in Manila, sorting out our things and getting back to normal. This week, I started work on Monday and still chasing away a few more of my post holiday blues. 

While it feels like such a looooong workweek for me, I'm glad to be back at work as it has helped stabilized my equilibrium. I'm slowly finding my centre once again. I think there is no easy way of getting over a wonderful holiday. You just have to accept the ache that goes with it once it's over, move on with life and look forward to the next one.

Have a lovely weekend ahead!

Seoul, In Love With You Again

We come back to Seoul the second time around and it's like falling in love again. 

Seoul, you are wonderful and charming in Spring. Thank you for the breathtaking sights, the cold but refreshing weather, the happy smiles and delicious food. We haven't left yet but here we are, already thinking on when we'll come back to you.

This post will be updated once I've got some time. In the meantime, here are some photos from my instagram. For details, please check my story via my our instagrams (@ibyang and @keemps17) or my twitter page (@ibyang)

On Vacation: Hello, Manila!

We left Sydney on a rainy Thursday, had a stopover at Darwin (still in the continent of Australia) in the middle of the night and woke up on Friday morning seeing Manila come alive. Manila's beautiful in the dark from above. The city's full of lights; it's like a a pond full of tea lights. It was a great welcome after two years of being away from our first home.

Here are a few snippets of the first few days we've been here. 

We traveled via Australia's budget airline, Jetstar, so we arrived at NAIA 1. It was 5ish in the morning and our flight had the airport to ourselves. Going thru immigration, claiming our suitcases and customs was a breeze. 

We checked-in at the Remington Hotel at Resorts World Manila to rest there for two days. The Husband and I didn't have any plans of going anywhere except Metro Manila but we'd like to make sure we get to relax in the city. Checking in at a hotel upon arrival revived us and helped in letting the idea that we are on holiday sink in. 

In the two days that we were at Resorts World Manila, we were able to have delicious meals at Shakey's, Crisostomo and TWG; watch John Lloyd and Sarah's movie "It Takes a Man and a Woman"; and watch "The King and I" (the musical). We also had a bit of fun playing in the casinos.

We've been having wonderful gatronomical indulgences since we came here. Manila is slowly becoming a food mecca with many restaurants offering good quality food and getting more creative in presenting Filipino food. 

Manila Life. I'm trying my best to get used to life in Manila and not to compare it too much to the old Manila that I used to love and know. Manila is home and I will love this city no matter what happens. While the new things fascinates me, I can't help but say that Manila has changed so so much. 

Manila Heat. It is summer here and the temps average between 32-25 degree Celsius. We are not bothered by the heat as it is similar to the heat in Sydney when we have heatwaves. However, the humidity is thick and heavy and the air is polluted which we find quite a challenge. 

Manila Streets. The streets in Manila will never bore you. I'm fascinated by how the traffic works here  and how everyone just makes do with whatever space they can find on the highway. The bikey people terrifies me the most as they sneak up on you on both sides. I call the Pedestrian Lanes here "artwork" because no one honours them.

Manila Food. While we are never homesick for Filipino food in Sydney, there are still some things we don't have there. Also, we're discovering more new food offerings here so we buy one or two just to try. 

Manila Shopping. Manila is a shopping haven. They have so many brands here now and we're very much enjoying buying Summer clothes here.

Manila Rejuvenates. The first three days we've been here I made sure to spend time at the spa for a body massage, a nail spa to pamper my hands, feet and nails, and a hair salon to have my scalp massaged, hair spa and hair cut. When in Manila, make sure you do these! Services for beauty and relaxation are pretty much affordable and you have a lot of salons and spas to choose from. 

Manila Reunites. What makes our vacation always memorable are the special people we spend time with. Our family and friends are always worth coming home for. As early as now, let me say thank you to the warmth and time they have given us.  In our travel, they are our greatest blessings.

The Husband and I have been sharing our travel experiences via our instagram account. Follow us there if you want to see Manila in a different light (Husband's account: @keemps17 and mine: @ibyang). I also share some photos in my tumblr account Postcards on Air. You can also follow me at twitter @ibyang.