what's your number?

Numbers play an important part in our lives; guiding our days, weeks, months, and years.  They also tell us lots of other things like our age, cholesterol count :(, weight, and size!!!

While talking about our next blog entry, a follow-up on our “dress me up with my love” post, Tata asked me a simple question.  “Why did you decide to have a dress made this time, instead of buying one like you usually do?” The answer was easy.  I told her that this time, I wanted a dress that was made to fit me, instead of my trying to fit into a dress. I didn’t want to carry several sizes into the dressing room to see which one would look best on me.  I didn’t want to guess if I was a size 6, 8, or 10. I just wanted to be my size.

I also wanted expert advice on how to dress for my shape.  Here are the top 3 things I learned from this experience:

1.  Separates rock! 2 pieces are better than 1!

2.  Create a figure 8! Emphasize my waistline.

3.  Accentuate the positive! Show off my 2 best features: my shoulders and collarbone.

The dress is shaping up to be just as I had imagined.  And as luck would have it, the color we chose for my skirt matched the dress code color card (a new wedding trend?) that was sent together with the wedding invite.

    

Richie's sketch for my outfit :)

Looking forward to wearing this dress 2 times on the following dates: 11.27.12 and 12.21.12!

anna

4...3...2...1...

For some, a tattered 40-year-old gown might equate to junk that should be cleared out. In my sister’s case, it boiled down to a potential profit of 100 bucks at a garage sale. Luckily, I dropped by said garage sale and for 0 pesos (also known as theft), and with a panicked survivor’s instinct, I rescued my mom’s castoff gown from the 1970s.

Yes, I saw the cloth was torn and frayed in many parts, but I also saw that it had once been very beautiful. And as I slipped it on, I was surprised to discover that it fit me to a T, just as though it had been made to measure. All it needed was some TLC. So I tagged along with Anna and asked Richie if she could work her magic.

When Richie oohed over the crinkled silk and floaty design, I knew my mother’s gown was in good hands—and that it could reach its version 2.0 in the care of someone who saw what I saw: a sentimental bit of style that was dusty, damaged, and priceless.

tata

    

happy hallow's eve

When I was seven years old I came up with the idea that everyone in my trick or treat group had to dress according to one consistent theme. At that time, the easiest one to pull off was “things on a farm,” so as our merry band of candy hunters gathered together, we had a bunny, two fruits, a bird, a scarecrow, and a few farmers in our midst. Looking back, I realize that was pretty extreme for a second grader but for some reason, it just felt right to plan out our costumes that way. Since then, Halloween has always been a big to-do for me. I even used to joke that it was my national holiday!

So when I discovered that Anna was just as into costume themes and ideas, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. I love how she gets a thrill out of setting everything just right—and how doing so isn’t stressful, and just flows naturally. I actually have a very all-or-nothing attitude towards Halloween these days (to do anything half-way would not do it justice!). And since I haven’t had the energy to go full throttle, I’m glad I can live vicariously through her amazing creations.

So in honor of one of the most fun-filled holidays of the year, allow me to share a few snippets from Anna's greatest hits collection. Hope you enjoy your candy and this “Halloween Retrospective”:D

Trick or treat!

tata

 

yummy mommies

Here’s the honest truth: I only ever have to plan meal menus when my parents and older sister are abroad (the time I lived in NY hardly counts as dinner always meant something I could eat in one bowl with a fork). The rest of the year I dabble at whipping up side dishes, experimenting with desserts or merienda, pulling together streamlined potluck events, and dreaming up dinner party and come-for-brunch menus. 

So when Yummy’s newly christened editor-in-chief Liz Yap asked me to profile different moms and their grocery, menu planning, and meal preparation habits, I approached the assignment as an archeologist would. I went deep into the wild, observed, and processed my findings.

I wanted to cover a broad spectrum of make-it-happen moms, and was lucky enough to have four fab friends give into the pressure of being my subjects: a single mom slash hip grandma, a mommy to a huge brood of five, one who needs to factor in the special needs of a child with health concerns, and a busy executive assistant at a pr/advertising firm.

 I was in awe of their many little tips and tricks and as I said on the Yummy contributor’s page: coming up with family meals is part military operation, part magician’s touch! But my favorite part was discovering that there really is no “right” way to go about things and (as all of the subjects were relieved to hear) it’s all about finding what works best for you and your brood. (So to all of your one bowl + fork cooks out there, be not ashamed!)

Incidentally, Anna was one of my originally reluctant subjects. And of course, I’m making—I mean, asking—her to share some of her thoughts on the matter again here. Thanks, Anna! And thanks to Krissy, Jing, and Zara—the other yummy mommies who so kindly let me into their hearth and home.

Tata 

P.S. Here’s what Anna has to say :)
 

Thank you, Tata, for this feature. It actually made me think more about how things work at home, since at this point I really have been going by feel.  I learned to be more grateful for the people who help me get everything done, and it showed me that we’re all just trying to make things work in the best way we can.  I loved the tips from the other moms, and how the common denominator is that all of it is done out of love. I don’t claim to be a fabulous cook, but I can rely on thoughtful and fun details like cookie cutters shapes for sandwiches and Japanese soy sauce containers so my kids feel their meals are happy thoughts from mom. 

(Check out the full feature entitled "Feeding the Fold" in the October 2012 issue of Yummy magazine!)