A Sweet Christmas 2014 :)

Hi Everyone!

I know everyone is busy with cooking for Noche Buena and prepping their homes for the family get-togethers :)  Cramming last minute shopping and tolerating the long lines at the cashiers especially at the supermarkets! But the Christmas spirit is there and ok lang kahit pagod ka na! there's a happy feeling that makes you feel better! :) 

Dear readers, thank you for all your love this year :) and thank you for still reading my blog despite of my "absences" :) I wish you all a "Blessed Sweet Christmas" :) May you and your loved ones have a joyful Holiday 2014 :)

And I would like to share with you a few treats from my favorite store! which makes me feel better here in SG :) Hihi :) Two small giveaways for Christmas 2014 :)

Giveaway I: Merry Cooking!

AKUT

- Kind to pots and pans with non-stick coating.

RATA

set of 3

Microwave-safe; heat food up to 100°C.

Freezer-safe.

Dishwasher-safe.

Key features

- The transparent lid makes it easy to find what you are looking for, even if the container is stored in the fridge or freezer.

- Several empty food containers can be stacked inside one another to save space in your cabinets.

- Suitable for storing everything from ham, cheese etc. to individual portions of food.

- Reduce food waste by storing your leftovers in a food container and reheating for another meal.

- Several food containers can be stacked on top of one another to save space in fridge and freezer.

Giveaway II: Merry Organizing!

BECKIS

set of 3

Key features

- Helps you organise socks, belts and jewellery in your chest of drawers.

- All three boxes fit side by side in MALM chest of drawers that are 80 cm wide.

- You can save space by storing the boxes flat when you're not using them.

Giveaway III: Merry Lamp!

LAMPAN

White

Light source is sold separately. IKEA recommends LEDARE LED bulb E14 200 lumen.

Here's the mechanics :)

1. Please follow my blog :)

2. Please follow and like my IG account: pandahoarder :) 

3. Please share at your blog and IG this giveaway contest :) you may do three separate post for Merry Cooking, Merry Organizing & Merry Lamp! :) please tag the IG account: pandahoarder and tag your five friends :) kindly use hashtags: cheapestikeaph 

4. 1 repost/share is one entry :)You may repost and share until January 5 :) Winners will receive their prizes on the end of January 2015 :)

Happy Holidays everyone! :)

 

Cath Kidston in Manila!

I'm a Cath Kidston addict as far as my husband is concerned. When I first step into a Cath Kidston store a couple of months ago, my heart leaped for joy! while my husband's heart almost palpitated haha :) mababaw ba if aminin ko, one of the factors of my decision to move here is Cath Kidston? Yes, mababaw... but yes, it's true. I love Cath Kidston!

And I'm happy for my fellow Cath Kidston fans/addicts that they will finally open a store in Manila on December 5! I believe the store is somewhere near Active Fun at Bonifacio Global City.

I would like to share with you some my latest favorite picks that we can also give on Christmas for our loved ones! 

I hope I can visit the Cath Kidston at BGC when I get home :) All those lovely brands are finally in Manila :)

Tea, Coffee, Pink and Brown

       

We are very happy to have a spacious flat :) but we want to make it more "us". I joked to Mr. Panda that I want to make our kitchen to look girly :) and he agreed! Since, temporary lang daw naman daw we can experiment haha :) Since, I'm into Cath Kidston nowadays! I have more reason to buy na! :)

Here are my inspiration for our chic kitchen :)

                                       


                                      

                            


                                        


                                       


                                       



                                       

What do you think guys? too girly ba? :)

Love at first sight with TWG

This is a super delayed post, pictures are even from my old company phone!

I would like share with you my first meal at TWG that started my love affair with this brand :)

Unfortunately, I can no longer recall the exact names of our orders! Because our following visits were more on teas and tea macarons :)

Mrs. Panda's foodie reviews:

4/5

- service and ambiance are excellent!

- perfect for cozy time with the hubby and my girl friends! :)

- price can be a bit steep

Will I go back? Yes! :)

SG HBD Flat Hunting!

When we decided to move here, our first concern is where will we live.... I was stressed for almost a week, researching and studying kung saan ba pwede. We preferred something near and anything clean. But the prices for places near Vivo city is expensive! kahit ayoko sana mag convert to pesos, napapaconvert talaga ako! A good friend who's based in SG for couple of years already advised us to get an agent. Yes, we will pay the 50% of the monthly rental but it will save us time and headaches. My friend gave me the number of Miss Jane Baybay Serrano and parang pinadala na ni Lord ang realty estate guardian angel to our way. Miss Jane told us with the budget range we provided mahihirapan kami near Vivo City. We also preferred a 1 bedroom unit mas malabo daw. She asked if 30-45 minutes travel time is ok with us. We said "yes" since sanay naman kami sa manila traffic, 30-45 minutes na train ride is ok lang for us. So HBD flat hunting here we are! 

We arrived in SG at 8:30am and we started our flat hunting at 1pm :) by the way, all units are 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms :)

S$ 2,000 / month    (Guide Price)

S$ 2.74 psf (built-up)

731 sqft / 68 sqm (built-up)

652 Hougang Avenue 8, 530652 Hougang / Punggol / Sengkang, Serangoon / Thomson (D19-20)

This is our first stop, we were ok with it. The owner is really nice and he offered to purchase whatever appliances and furniture since fully furnished dapat ang unit. But ayaw namin ang baba sana, the ground floor have hawkers and stores. Medyo magulo ang baba for my taste. Hindi rin ok ang view. But plus points na mabait 

ang owner.

S$ 1,800 / month   

S$ 2.50 psf (built-up)

721 sqft / 67 sqm (built-up)

123 Hougang Avenue 1, 530123 Hougang / Punggol / Sengkang, Serangoon / Thomson (D19-20)

Second stop, ok sa picture but in person medyo madumi. We need to move in 3 days sana pero mukhang 2 weeks ang kailangan to clean up the place. No problem for storage sa unit na 'to. Super dami ng cabinets. Sumikip na ang second room sa dami ng built-in cabinets.

The 3rd and 4th units are much much better :) but the fifth unit won our hearts! our new home deserves a post of its own :) 

I hope this post will help you guys if you're thinking of moving to SG.

Thirdy's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party!

A couple of months ago, kids and kids at heart were happy to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen. Panahon ko ang Ninja Turtles and there was even a time na ang school bag ko si Michaelangelo haha! :)  Hubby and I brought Thirdy with us and we ended up explaining every 5 minutes bakit nagsasalita ang turtles. His birthday was a couple of days away and he decided hindi na Dragons ang theme, TMNT na! Well, his party was very intimate naman.... he only invited 2 kiddie guests. Ganun ka cozy. Even if it's a cozy party, since gusto niya ang TMNT... I tried to stick to the theme with simple diy's and take out foods! lol :)

                   

                   

Thirdy's Treats Table :)

 

I found some TNMT play packs from Bf Ruins and shades on sale at ATC Metro department store for 10 bucks only!

 

Hubby cooked the fried chicken hihi :) 

Make you own hotdog sandwich :)

Thirdy's favorite cheese roll from Mary Grace and Garlic Sotanghon from Contis :)

TNMT googly cups!

Chocolate cake from Cielin's and placed some toppers and sparkling candles :)

                  

Cupcakes from Cielin's and placed some TNMT toppers again :)

                 

Design your own cupcake activity :) 

The cozy party lasted for 4 hours :) longer than a regular party. But our little sweetheart was happy and hugged with his chuuby arms for his TNMT party :)

EXpat Wife at SG!

Hello! Hello! Buhay pa ko! and I miss blogging badly :( sorry I just found time to blog. We finally settled to our new place. And this nice flat will be our home for the next coming months or years.....




We were super blessed because a friend recommended his friend's real estate agent to us. Miss Jane Baybay is heaven sent. She found us a 5 flats to choose from and we ended up with the 5th one! :) Thank you Lord talaga for the guidance of finding the right place for us. Our new home is quite far from Mr. Panda's office but we chose it for the following reasons:


- same train line lang. dulo't dulo nga lang but at least mataas ang chance nakaupo sya sa mrt
- the lrt is connected to the mrt line. 2 elevators lang.
- there's a covered pathway from the lrt to our building. every afternoon pa naman umuulan ditto halos.
- there's a 5 minute walking distance na community mall and hawkers :)




I'm trying to look at the positive side of things to fight loneliness. I miss my family :( but kaya ko 'to. This is for our future and I'm proud of Mr. Panda for getting this job :)


And I just want to share with you guys this view from our living room. There's a waterpark nearby ( you can see it sa leftside) and I hope we can go there soon! :) read some great reviews of the place.




Wish me luck with my new adventures and misadventures as the expat wife :)

Cath KIdston and Ikea Items for sale!

A couple of weeks ago, I was over the moon with my loot from Ikea and Cath Kidston. Unfortunately, i have to let go of them because we're moving and Mr. Panda suggested that I will buy  na lang in SG and iwan ko na lang daw dito sa Manila. Nag overluggage ako ng 38kilos from that trip!!!!!! But the husband have a point and I don't want to bring them there (when I can pack my mang tomas bottled sauces and ufc ketchup instead) i will buy my ikea and ck stuff na lang ulit....and sell my first loot.....


Paging my fellow Cath Kidston lovers like ahem Miss Leah :) please help me dispose them! :) i posted the prices at my IG account: pandahoarder

selling the clifton measuring set for P1,499

set of 4 classic mugs for P2,100

and other ikea items! :)

free shipping for mrs.panda readers and discounts! just ask me :) and i'm more than willing to negotiate with you :) Thanks! 

Moving to SG

Hi Dears!!!


I'm sorry I was MIA for a while. we are moving to Sg in a couple of days because the husband got a very nice offer.  And i will probably be busy for a couple of weeks. Kalokers lang, hindi ko pa nga napopost ang vacation namin dun. Aalis na naman kami. And ang dami ko pa drafts sa folder ko to post.


please pray for us and wish us luck :)




love.
mrs.panda

SG & MY 2014: V Hotel Lavender

Mr. Panda and I had a very very fun trip a couple of weeks ago with our couple friends :) 5 days trip for Singapore and Malaysia(Legoland!) Ang saya talaga! sa sobrang saya gusto ko bumalik the following month --- meaning October. Save muna ulit! haha!

My Cath Kidston Loot :)

I'm back! I'm back! I love SG! SG holds a special place in my heart because that's my first out of the country trip in the early 90's. But now I have more reasons to love SG! Cath Kidston is there! First Cath Kidston store na nakita ko. And hindi ko alam meron dun! I was jumping up and down when I saw the store :) :) Miss Leah, i know you'll love this post :)

 

this sight made my heart jumped! :)

A lovely day today!

When I learned of the death of Robin Williams, I was shocked and baffled. A man of great sense of humor, laughter and compassion died due to depression. Why? A couple of minutes, I understand why. Not because you're smiling and making other people laugh means you're that happy.... even people who supposed to have everything in life are happy. 

A close friend of mine is an orphan at the age of 29. Her father died when she's a few months old and her mom who means the world to her struggled to the Big C for a couple of years. She got pregnant unexpectedly in the midst of all her problems. But whenever I ask her if she's ok, she's as positive as a 4 years old child. 

An old friend have traveled all over the world and graduated at the best school. Got supportive and loving family and the best girlfriend. He emailed me a couple of years ago and told me he's sad and I haven't heard from him since. I tried to look for him but even his family doesn't know where he was. I only hope and pray he's safe and sane.

Sometimes, I don't know why I'm sad. But I always find a reason to be happy. Let's fight depression and help others. Maybe you're also helping them save themselves.

A very Japanese-y "K" Day!

Hello! Hello! I hope everybody is safe and sound at their homes or "offices", it was raining cats and dogs the whole evening here in the south and I saw sa news na may earthquake pa :(

Today is a blessed day again for us! Everyday is a blessed day naman, more blessed lang today :) Thirdy's Kumon Teacher informed us he's in junior kinder na! he passed his exam this afternoon with a perfect score and 10 minutes lang niya ginawa! ang galing :) the exam was a surprise and Thirdy did very well :) so proud of our little cutie! (yes, cutie -- he fondly calls himself cutie...gwapong gwapo sa sarili niya e) The owner congratulated us and told us she will give the certificate probably next week... Ipapaframe ko yun talaga!!!! ibang level ang patience and determination namin with his kumon assignments pag wala sa mood si Thirdy gumawa e. Hours of encouragement to finish one worksheet. Thank God na worth it naman :) Thank you Kumon ATC too! We heart Kumon ATC!

Another Japanese K that I love is Kimpura :) Authentic Jap Food na uber yummy :)

California Maki

Chicken Teriyaki

Yakiniku Teikoshu

Gyoza

Gindara Teriyaki Teikoshu

Ebi tempura

Mixed Fried Rice

Buko Sherbet

Peso Power:

4.5/5

Mrs. Panda's Foodie Reviews

- the food is super yummy! hindi ako mahilig sa Jap food usually but Kimpura is LOVE! even the sweet dilis! iba talaga :) :)

- the servers are very prompt

- i love the ambiance too :) na kahit sa sushi bar ok lang sakin kumain :) 

- 4.5 because may ibang food na pricey :) but sulit naman

Will I come back? YES!!!!