The WotWots!

My favourite baby cousin, Dashiell, will be turning 3 years old this coming 30th of September. He will be celebrating by having a private screening of Pixar's movie "Up". This will be a children's party, but Hubby and I were invited. :)

We went to the shopping centre yesterday to find a present for Dash. A little clueless as to what Dash really likes (kids taste changes so often), we rang Dash's Mum, my Aunt. :)

My Aunt advised that Dash likes Playhouse Disney and The WotWots. We were aware of what Playhouse Disney was, but we were curious on what the WotWots were. So we headed towards the toy section and hunted for the WotWots.

We were able to spot the WotWots - the somewhat strange (but cute) looking pastel pink and blue creatures. Instead of buying Dash a WotWots or Playhouse DVD, Hubby and I bought him a WotWots toy. The WotWots toy speaks and sings. Hubby and I were quite amused and played with the toy ourselves. :P

Can't wait to attend the kiddie party and see Dash's expression when he opens our pressie. :)

Please pray for the Philippines

The Philippines is currently experiencing extreme flooding in many parts of the country, brought about by tropical storm "Ondoy".

I first learned about the heavy rain through Facebook statuses from friends in the Philippines. I didn't know how severe the floods were until I saw News Patrol via TFC.

Floods chest-deep, people (especially commuters) stranded, people sitting on top of the roofs of their houses trying to stay above

water-level. I felt instant sadness and concern for those greatly affected by Ondoy.

Please help us to pray for the Philippines and for the Filipino people. Let us pray for the safety of the Filipinos, especially for our loved ones.

The Diary of Art's Wife - First Blog Award

I received this Blog Award from my fellow blogger Riza of Crayons n' Pencils. Thank you Mommy Riza!

Blog Awards is a fun way of connecting with other bloggers and building friendships/community.

Here’s the rules: before you put the link, you must remove the participant number 1 from the list. So that all participants up 1 level. Who was number 2 become number 1, number 3 was 2, and so on. Then insert your own links at the bottom (number 10).

1. Juragan Jengkol Menuntut Balas

2. Cilpilicious

3. Enno

4. boodee

5. Woel

6. Lyla

7. Mr. D

8. Jenny

9. Riza

10. Thea

I’m sharing this blog award to the following lovely people:

1. Jigi

2. Leah

3. Era

4. Peachy

5. Eds

6. Jan

7. Joanne

8. Anney

9. Jenjen

Blogs ng Pinoy

I am a proud member of Blogs ng Pinoy. :)

Blogs ng Pinoy is a directory of blogs made by Filipinos.

I was invited by Blogs ng Pinoy to become a member of the directory.

Why not, right? I joined without hesitation.

Vote for my blog please. Thank you. :)

Stephenie Meyer: The Host

I am a MASSIVE fan of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Since she released the saga, I have been her fan.

The only book I don't have is The Host, which is a somewhat sci-fi book. I definitely enjoy sci-fi movies, but I'm not sure if a sci-fi book will catch my attention.

After much consideration, I have decided to purchase this book. I have in fact, enjoyed her books so far. Plus, reviews say that even the non-sci-fi lovers will love this book.

So, I'm off to buy this book on my next trip to the bookstore.

Click here to read an excerpt from The Host.

Blogger Templates

Yipee! My template has now been updated. :)

Awesome (and cute) blogger templates can be purchased at minimal cost from Acornglue.com. I was able to spot my template from Acornglue.

I will not hesitate in recommending this site to you, as I had a simple and hassle-free experience with Sharnee (the maker of Acornglue).

Check out her work - I am sure you will fall in love with her templates! :)

Thanks Sharnee for my template. I love it!

Sophie Kinsella: Twenties Girl

One of my favourite authors is Sophie Kinsella. I have all of her books and I always watch out for her latest releases.

Of course, I have purchased her latest book - Twenties Girl.

Normally I bury my head in the book and finish the book in a day or two. However for the Twenties Girl, I have not lifted a page. I have reserved this book for our trip to Sydney.

You can read the summary of this book on Sophie Kinsella's Official Website.

I can't wait to start reading!

Loving Tigerlily from SurfStitch

Hubby thinks I have been a good girl (not making too many purchases), so he allowed me to spoil myself with swimwear from my favourite online surf store, SurfStitch.

I headed to one of my favourite swimwear brands, Tigerlily. I wanted something simple, something that will not go out of fashion. I opted for the Tigerlily Nueva Bikini.

Ordering from SurfSitch is easy and hassle-free. I especially love their inexpensive shipping charges. Not like other online stores which cost AUD25.00 to ship an item domestically!

Watch out for sales at SurfStitch, because they have some very good deals during their sales.

New URL and Signature

I have altered my URL and signature to coincide with my profile. Hopefully I will be able to change my header soon. :)

The new home of my blog is:

http://artswife.blogspot.com


And meet my new signature..

Goodies from Nuffnang

This morning my Dad sent me an SMS saying that I received a package. I was very curious to find out who it was from because I hadn't placed any orders online, and I normally get deliveries at my work address. Dad replied with "We love bloggers. Nuffnang." - YIPEE!

I kept thinking all day on what the contents were. When I got home, Dad gave me the package and I opened with much enthusiasm, as if it were Christmas.

I really love getting surprises. Through all means - mail, post, email, etc. It makes me feel special. :)

Look what Nuffnang sent me:

Some Redken hair products, Leggo's Italian Beef Casserole sauce, John West tuna and beans, Spring Valley Juicy Tea (Apple and Pomegranate), and a $10 Coles Group and Myer gift card!

Thank you so much Nuffnang for the wonderful goodies! xoxo

New Mimco Acquisition

Since I have been good lately (decreasing my impulsive buying habit), I decided to reward myself with a new Mimco acquisition. Of course, I seeked approval from my Hubby first. :)

Here is my purchase.

I love that it is a good size and is simple as well.

I was able to purchase this leather wallet at an excellent sale price (because of Mimco's mid-season sale). Check out Mimco's website, you still might be able to grab a bargain! :)

GMA in Australia

Hubby and I took a short stroll at a shopping centre the other week. It's one of our ways of unwinding, especially during hectic weeks. While sitting at the food court, look what we saw on the computerised Directory.

GMA Cable TV being advertised!

It was really strange seeing it being advertised in an Aussie shopping centre, but it was definitely great to see!

I'd love to see TFC (The Filipino Channel) being advertised too! :)

Japanese Goodies

Machiko, my former Colleague (my current Colleague's [Mark] girlfriend) came down to Melbourne from Japan for a one week visit. I didn't get to see Machiko much, except for a 5-minute hi and goodbye at Max Brenner. During the week she was here in Melbourne, Mark took the week of to spend time with her.

When Mark returned to work the following week, he asked mt to check my drawer. Look what I found!














Yipee! My favourite lollies from Japan! [Take a look at the cutely-shaped lollies]

It became my favourite Japanese lollies earlier this year when Mark brought some to work from his Japan trip.
Thanks Machiko for the yummy (and dearly missed) lollies from Japan! :)

Nuffnang Australia

I have been converted. I saw a post from my friend, Ate Jigi's blog about Nuffnang.

Nuffnang is a blog advertising community. Their ads are seen on 100,000 blogs by 3 million people daily. For more information please visit the Nuffnang site.

Glad to be part of this growing blogger community! :)

Revisiting Sydney

Spring has arrived, yay!

There are lots of things I'm looking forward to this spring - warmer weather (seems like we've had cold weather all year), beautiful flowers, birds chirping. But one extra special thing I'm really looking forward to - our visit to Sydney!

I haven't been to Sydney since November 2007, which was with my family and my hubby (fiance back then). This is the first time that hubby and I will visit Sydney on our own (well, almost. My cousin and her bf are also visiting Sydney same time as us). This is our birthday celebration for hubby. :)

We're so excited, we have already booked accommodation, dinners and a performance for our stay.

We'll be staying at the Old Sydney Holiday Inn. Basically, we were sold by the amazing roof top view of the harbour bridge, the harbour, and the Sydney Opera House. It is located at The Rocks, which is an ideal location - close to shops, restaurants and the famous landmarks.

One of my pressies to hubby is the performance we will be seeing - "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare at the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. When I purchased the tickets online for the performance, I also purchased the Gold Show Plus Package, which gives us the below:


A 2-course pre-theatre meal (per person) at one of their Gold Partner Restaurants:
Aria
Bilson's Number One
Cafe Sydney
Kable’s (Four Seasons)
Wildfire

2 x interval drinks (per person) at their Theatre Bars,

and our choice of:

1 x voucher for The Essential Tour (per person) OR
1 x Parking voucher (per transaction)

We chose to have supper at the Aria Restaurant (because Matt Moran is our favourite chef on Masterchef Australia), and selected The Essential Tour of the Sydney Opera House. Hubby has already gone for a tour of the Opera House but I haven't. I really want to take the tour, and hubby doesn't mind going again.

We have also booked at a couple of restaurants which my Colleague highly recommened - The Guillaume at Bennelong, and at the Cafe Sydney. I really can't wait to dine at these places because not only am I excited about tasting their meals, but seeing the magnificent view! All restaurants have the views of the harbour and the Opera House.

Another thing we are thinking of visiting is the Taronga Zoo. Although hubby has already been there, he doesn't mind visiting again. Maybe combine the Zoo with a cruise back and forth? We'll see as the date comes closer.

Hopefully we are able to meet with relatives and friends during our short stay in Sydney. It will make our visit even more special. :)

I'll end this post with some images of the locations we are visiting. Thanks for putting up with my excitement. :P

Old Sydney Holiday Inn

Cafe Sydney

The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare play)













Aria Restaurant

Guillaume at Bennelong