St. James the Great Bazaar 2010

How's your Christmas shopping coming along?  I'm dilly-dallying on this task.  Been feeling too lazy due to the rush and traffic that has been going on.  Really stressful!  Or, are you  one of those who have turned Christmas shopping into a career that by now you're pretty much sitting pretty?  Hehe.  Bummer! Talk about Christmas SPIRIT!!! 

Ok, I was all geared up to jumpstart my shopping at the St. James the Great Christmas Bazaar over the long weekend. Apparently, everyone else thought and did the same...

Think maze with hurdles, obstacles and stopovers.

The food area, at 11:00 AM!  Yikes! 

The shopping RUSH is officially here.

Santa's nook.  My favorite part of the bazaar - Locally-made Christmas decors, interspersed with stalls selling houseware stuff.

Scene from my favorite part of the bazaar.

Wood carvings:  Holy Family and Mother and Child. After 30 minutes of overtaking shoppers and jumping over hurdles, I finally found something to buy.  Bought these for two loving aunts.  Yay! 

Ceramic ducks.  Their ugliness grew on me.  I now see them pretty. Haha!  I swear, these ducks made me laugh out loud.  I'm sure the sales staff thought of me as cuckoo. Better yet, quack quack! Of course, something that makes me laugh is worth bringing home.  Mother duck and  3 ugly ducklings are now all on-display.

Stalls along the field.

The soccer/firsbee field converted into a  rest and play area. 

Parking was a major problem.  We parked really far far away.

I'm not so done yet with my Christmas shopping. To sum it up, only two were scratched out from the list.  Hopefully, I finish the remaining 100 this week.  Ha!Ha!

Mother's Heart Bead Necklace #4

First 3 Mother's Heart Bead necklaces posted in this blog.  Here's the 4th.

Made of Grass

Set sales aside (hehe), the pharmacy staff has never failed to amaze me.  Over the weekend, they broached the idea of sprucing up the store's one year old Christmas decor.  They must have found it boring, I thought.  No creativity. No pizzazz. 

Well, this was last year's decor...

What do you think? Har!Har!  The photo says it all. Need not say more.  And so, I gave in to the request but with an extra oomph-of-a challenge of course. Besides, nothing comes easy especially when it comes to talking about putting a one year old decor to rest.  No way!  Here was my declaration ... YES to sprucing up  the decor, but NO to any additional expense *said with conviction and a sheepish smile =D 

This morning, I saw this.

Looked like a box-load of trash!  Note: Nothing to be alarmed about.  This was found in our pantry and definitely not where the medicines are stored. But these ain't trash.  These are actually dried wild grass plucked by the Pharmacy boys from this nearby vacant lot.

Apparently, they are in the process of creating a nativity scene for display in one corner of the Pharmacy.

It is still a work in progress but I am speechless and in awe with their creativity, ingenuity and determination, despite the existence of a no budget mandate.  Aside from dried wild grass, the staff also made use of the year-long  bamboo stored in our  pantry.

These bamboo originally came with the floral arrangement displayed during the Pharmacy's grand opening last year.

 Now, I see wild grass in a different light.  To my Pharmacy team, BRAVO!!!

P.S. The boys are in the process of cutting more grass.  I asked for a box of dried grass for my own use as well. I think this can spruce up too the Christmas gifts I'll be handing out soon.

Family Portrait

O-M-G!!!  My instructions to Mother last night was to take and immediately send via email  a DECENT photo of the New York-based fam for submission to a government agency.

Not this way ...

LOL!!! HAY NAKU!!!  Only Adam (sister 3's bf!) and baby Richa got it right. 

Anyway ... meet my whacky fam.  Obviously, the whacky-ness comes from the matriarch in red ... who by the way is arriving in a jet plane soon.

MOTHER, don't forget the Kidston stuff please ...  I like this, this, plus ALL THESE! Connection-loud and clear! Nanu-Nanu!

Missssssssssss you guys. Hugs and kisses to Kitty girl, Mister NO, and RichA!!!

RE-SHOOT PLEASE!!!

New Mother's Heart Bead Necklaces

Early this year, my plan was to design a piece that gave tribute to my Mother and all Moms on  Mother's Day.  Something heartwarming, unique, yet fashionable and suitable for everyday wear. Thus, this gave birth to By Beaded Story's Mother's Heart Bead Necklaces -  three Mother Mary pendants  bound by a 5-beaded strand necklace that  may either be worn long (think from the neck down to the belly) or double loop as seen in this photo.

The production of these necklaces did not end as originally intended  on Mother's Day.  I continued on for the main reason that I fell  in love with the piece.  Now, it is readily available at Sonya's Garden and a few selected bazaars in Manila.

Recently, a handful of clients requested for a shorter version of this necklace.  They claim that the long ones do not suit their height.  As they say, "from the neck down to the knee and not the belly" :) So here you go, three out of five shorter Mother's Heart bead necklaces.  For the vivacious ladies I met weeks ago ...

MOTHER'S HEART 1

MOTHER'S HEART 2

MOTHER'S HEART 3 

Few new designs

I owe my multiply site a lot of updating.  Since this bazaar happened, plus 2 trips (with only a week apart) to Sonyas Garden for stock replenishment, and  more bazaars coming soon, I no longer found time to take photos of new designs. More so, upload these photos in multiply and facebook. Not even post a quick blog.  Some new designs have even already been sold, leaving me with no reference for additional stocks.  With fingers crossed, I hope I'll remember.

Anyway, I will not let these few new designs pass me by this time and I am so eager to share these with all of you :)

TALA

 

TALA-NEST

BEAD CLOTH 

More designs are lined up for shooting.  Hopefully, I'll be able to accomplish this task real soon.  For the meantime, please feel free to visit By Beaded Story's facebook site.  I have made a PROMISE to giveaway bead cloth necklaces to 3 lucky LIKERS once the site reaches 50 likes :)  Press the LIKE button ... I need 6 more.  Cheers!

Another year older

THANK GOD for friends like Patti J. who is tremendously an expert in busting away the bugging depression that stems from the horror of aging and make you see THE LIGHT instead! You see, I have long ago made a stand that my birthday, the day itself, must be celebrated in hiding.  Sort of a selfish ME-time considering that all other days are spent with everyone else existent in this world.

Last year, my day was celebrated shopping in Woodbury Commons with Mother, Sister 3, and Sister 4 ... absolutely far far away from the Manila crowd. 

The years before that was all about taking a one day leave from work, pay my doctor a visit at St. Luke's in Quezon City and shopping in Greenhills ALONE.

This year, I saw myself in the pits of depression months before my day arrived.    Nothing major to worry about.  Again, it was only all about aging.  Until Patti J. sent this encouraging message in Facebook saying, Let not depression nor anyone steal your blessings from A to Z =) That ended it and I was back to my usual self.  Somewhat resolved in celebrating the day in hiding once again.

But to an expected turn of events despite the deliberately HIDDEN birthday notice in Facebook,  MOTHER posts her greeting, then the rest of the world remembers/discovers. Haha!  Nevertheless, I give my sincerest THANKS for the warm greetings sent my way.  I have resolved (I hope!) to be a bit more sharing with special moments like this from this time on.  After all, another year older is a blessing right?!

And so, this year's birthday was spent indulging myself with my non-changing HIGHS and "unusual" FINDS ...

It was a SHOCK to see a family of IGOROTS (parents, 3 children, and grandma who smoked a pipe) walking along the side street of Bellevue Hotel in Alabang.  Due to my frequent missing camera and fast changing color of the traffic light from red to green, this is the only photo I was able to capture --an Igorot boy who carried along a dog in his "back-pack" basket and  was protected from the drizzle by a pink umbrella. For reference purposes, click on this link to get an idea on how the family  exactly looked. 

Christmas is in the air, and I haven't began my Christmas list yet.  Newly delivered POINSETTIAS at Bufini, Alabang Town Center. I'm wishing for one!  But then again, I've declared months ago that I've got a doomed thumb.

I blame it on my parents for having me exposed to the world of MASSAGE at a young age.  Think 7 years old. When in Tagaytay, I go for Divine of Sonya's Garden.  But on my birthday, it had to be Hannah of Mandarine Alabang Town Center.

Tranquility and Nirvana at Mandarine ...

It is a fact that BAZAARS fall under my HIGHS. Tina C. of Zonta Alabang personally invited By Beaded Story to be part of this year's bazaar.  But since the date fell smack on my birthday, I skipped on this one. Maybe, next year.  Nevertheless, I dropped by ...

And enjoyed!!!

J. Bond strolling along the kids area of the bazaar.

Boy, I wanted to bring home a HERMIT CRAB.  Best fits my description when celebrating birthdays -- a HERMIT!  Seriously, I was thinking to buy a bunch for my  nephews and nieces for Christmas.  But we've still got a month to go and  I was definitely doubting myself if I could sustain and mantain breathing crabs! So, I made the decision to forego of the idea for now and buy the crabs A DAY before Christmas instead.  Haha!

Would love to have a wooden NATIVITY SET someday... when storage concerns have already been resolved. 

Speaking of storage.  Yo! Universe, I need this ....

I hear you MOTHER and Sister 4 too, BAG again!!!   Yup, I am addicted to bags in all shapes and forms.  So here's my birthday gift to myself. A set of 3 bags from Casa Amarillo- small, medium and large :) These 3 shall be used as my pack-sell-and go luggages during bazaars.

The bus that cruised along the streets of Ayala Alabang. 

Wow!  In Alabang ... Manila ... Philippines ...Year 2010!!!  

Don't you think it's cool to have a Jollibee  greet you when you arrive home?  Hahaha!  Yum-burger!!!

 Again, thanks guys for the greetings!  Mwah!!! xoxo
                      
                                                                                       Trixie