After a Busy Summer!

Hello Friends! It’s been a busy past couple of weeks for us here. Lots of things going on, like Matthew’s birthday and he’s back to school now. We started our second year homeschooling Mia, and my sister is back to the east coast! Hubs got sick and is doing some new projects with work, but now he’s got his energy back and we are settling into our fall routine!

I made a little charcuterie board for Matthews Bday, we had burgers (and fix ins!) ordered Mac and Cheese because the kids like it:) Hubs baked a burnt basque cheesecake and we got Matthew’s birthday cake from our local super market.

We prepared steak and lobster dinner for my sisters last night with us! YUM!

We’ve been enjoying Fall weather here, flowers and fall candles are two of my favorites decorations in my cozy house! The hydrangeas are from the yard and Dahlias from Trader Joes!

Mia enjoying one fall morning!

Have a great Tuesday night friends! About to relax here (watch an episode of Kdrama) then start preparing dinner! Talk later:)

Edmonds and Kachess Lake!

Hi Friends! We had a busy weekend visiting two places with my little fam and sister. We try to visit Edmonds,Washington every summer (it’s 50 min drive from our place plus traffic). We checked their farmers market, ate lobster rolls at one of the restaurants called MARKET, then walked around the beach park and watched the ferry. The kids played in the beach (Daddy too!). We got cookies and donuts at Edmonds Bakery to take home with us. It was a nice day! We really love their lobster rolls, and crab in a bag (fried soft shell crab)! I paired my roll with iced coffee!HA

Yesterday, we went to Kachess Lake again! We went there last month. I wanted to bring my sister to one of my fave Lakes that’s close to our place (another 50 mins drive). Enjoyed nature and swam in the cold lake!HA. The Lake was empty not sure why, people are probably staying indoors and avoiding the smoke ( we have fires around the area). The air quality yesterday was not bad at all! We enjoyed the warm breeze while we were there.

my little family

I hope you had a great and restful weekend friends! This is the last week of summer for us. Matthew will be back to school later this week and Mia will start homeschool.

I’m back to decluttering and simplifying the house.

Have a wonderful week! Stay safe:)

Back from HI!

Hello Friends! We are finally back home after our Hawaii Vacation. We were supposed to be there for just 10 days but we (kids and I got sick) on the day of our travel back home, so we decided to just extend for another 6 days. It was such a great time because my sisters were also there. It was a mini reunion for my sisters and I. Thanks to my sister and Bro in law for hosting and taking care of us. We spent the majority of our stay at Sheraton Waikiki and couple of days at my sister’s house. LOVE our room view of Diamond Head and Waikiki beach.

Thank God that the kids did well on our plane ride. I was anxious about Matthew, he did get antsy on our way there but all in all he did good. I made sure that both their iPads have kids shows that they like. Lots of snacks and little toys to keep them entertained. Hubs got some cheap toys at the Dollar store the day before we traveled.

We can’t wait to visit again! HI is always a fun place for us with their white, sandy beaches and sunny warm days! Till next time HI:)

Friday and my low spend journey!

Hello Friends! How are you all doing? It’s been a nice sunny Friday here in the Evergreen State. Doing some household chores and visiting Costco because Hubs wanted sushi for lunch. Our Costco is just a zoo every time we go there, doesn’t matter if it’s a Monday or Friday morning. Oh Well! At least, we can afford to go and get groceries:) We’ve been enjoying sunny days and get to have our afternoon walks with the kids, sometimes we stop at the park to play!

Costco Trip
Costco had their $6.99 per lb. crabs,so we got some.

It was my Brother’s Birthday in the Philippines this week, so the kids sang a Birthday song and blew out the candles on a cupcake for their Uncle back in PI! Happy Birthday to my brother, hope we get to see you soon:)

We watched another $2 summer movie this week.
Afternoon walks

Last week, the kids and I got to have lunch with my SIL and have coffee at Starbucks after (thanks to my SIL for the coffee treats!).

It got so hot last week that I have to wait for a few minutes for the car’s AC to kick in. 90F inside the car!Good thing our house is really close to the coffee shop.

Afternoon treat! Banana split:)

After 6 months of no spend in unnecessary things like candles,etc. I broke my No Spend challenge!HA and I got some (12) candles this month. I really don’t need any candles (especially since we made our own candles earlier this year), but my In laws gifted me money for Mother’s day and I decided to get something for myself. I did have to spend additional/use my own money because the gift money wasn’t enough to cover all the candles that I like.

I also bought an additional Yankee candle and 2 shorts/2 shirts during Amazon’s Prime days. The candle was super sale (the pic is so cozy looking!HA) and I really needed new shorts this summer season. I continue to declutter so I have space for my new candles and I’ve let go of old clothes too so I have room for my shorts in the dresser.

This would be perfect if there was a Dog in the pic!HA
I already burned it, perfect for Fall!So I will use this come fall season.
new shorts and shirts(the other one is in the dryer).

I hope you have a great Friday evening friends! Take care:)

Woodland Park Zoo

Hi Friends! Happy Sunday:) Last Friday, we went to Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle together with my In laws. Hubs had a day off, so it was a family affair. The kids had been wanting to go back to the Zoo this summer, so we did! We got there early and it was just perfect weather because its was not too hot and less crowded. The kids had fun getting close to the animals and it was really special to see their reactions. Riding the carousel was a treat in the end, my kids always love this ride. I’m savoring summer moments like this with my family! Thank You Jesus:)

Have a goodnight friends! Talk Later:)

Lake Kachess!

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday:) Today we took a little road trip. We went to Lake Kachess (1 hour drive from our place) so it wasn’t so bad. Hubs and I were talking last night that it would be nice to go swimming this sunny weekend. It got 91F this afternoon. Of course, the campground/day use that we wanted got full when we arrived. Luckily, they allow cars to park on the side of the road. It was great because it was close to the water, and we got a perfect shaded area and amazing view!

We wanted to get some Popeyes chicken and have a little picnic but too bad they were closed (their website did say it’s open!). That was frustrating. We ended up getting fried chicken from the local Safeway, and taco time tacos!HA

It got so hot on our way home so we treated ourselves with Starbucks! It hit the spot:) I always get the Vanilla Oatmilk latte, I don’t like very sweet coffee drinks!

I hope you have a restful weekend friends. Stay safe:)

Birthday Dinner!

Hi Friends! Happy Sunday:) Earlier tonight, we had an early birthday dinner for my SIL. We had Pork Ribs BBQ, mac and cheese, corn bread (Hubs baked). My SIL also requested that I make sweet and sour fish (escabeche). So this morning, we went to our Asian market and got Red Snapper to use for dinner. The dinner was yummy, Ribs were tender and flavorful (my DIL ordered from local BBQ place) and the Escabeche turned out crispy and great (I used Panlasang Pinoy recipe).

Happy Birthday to my SIL, Julia! Thank You for being such a great and generous Auntie to the kids:) We pray the Lord’s blessings and protection over you!

Our Asian Market is always busy on the weekend, they have more Chinese and Korean products here and hardly any Filipino products. I ended up snagging some Filipino chips that I plan to share with the kids!HA. Our Major Filipino store is 45 minutes away from us. We do visit there like once a month! I got some Korean noodles like the Chapagetti( Hubs and kids really liked this).

I got some hydrangeas from the garden this afternoon! They’re all really pretty right now:)

Have a great Sunday evening friends! Take care:)

First time in the movie!

Hi Friends, last week we took the kids to the movie theater. Regal Cinemas are doing their $2 summer movies and our local Regal is participating. We really don’t take the kids to the movies these last couple of years because lots of the movies are not appropriate for young kids. So last week, we watched Clifford the big red dog (I have no idea when it was released?!HA). Hubs was able to join us, so it was a family affair!

The popcorn was more expensive than the tickets!HA. The kids were surprisingly well behaved the entire 80 minutes.

So for this week again, they had Paw Patrol showing so we watched it (minus the Hubs) and the theater was jam packed! I guess Paw Patrol is really popular!

After the movie, I was puttering around the yard and took pics of my hydrangeas (roses too). They’re so pretty right now!

Mia and I baked banana bread yesterday, so we enjoyed it with milk and coffee for me! YES to homemade goods!

Have a great rest of your Wednesday friends! Take Care:)

Family weekend Fun!

Hi Friends! Happy Monday:) We had a fun weekend with my little family. We visited a beach that wasn’t very close to us just so we could get out and enjoy the sunshine. We checked out Juanita Beach in the Kirkland area. It was really nice! The water was clear and they had a nice boardwalk and park that the kids liked. What a nice cozy area! We decided to visit Shake Shack after the beach because it was like 10 minutes away and we’ve never been to Shake Shack here in WA (we’ve had it in NYC and Vegas) and we really like their burgers (I personally don’t care for their milkshakes).

This past Saturday, we also went to Costco to get their frosted coffee and sushi but ended getting some other things(UGH! Prices are so ridiculous, I don’t think it will go down anytime soon). We enjoyed our sushi and coffee (pizza for the kids) at our local park. It was a nice little afternoon picnic:) Thank You Jesus for a great weekend!

It’s been a busy Monday afternoon here friends. Mia had her dental appointment close to dinner time. I made Filipino soup called Pork nilaga before her appointment. We will have an early night as Hubs is also very busy from work today.

Pork Ribs soup

Happy 4th of July!

Hello Friends! It’s the 4th of July holiday here in the States. I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends, eating well and staying safe. I thank God that we are living here in America, despite the crazy things going on in this country I’m still so grateful that my kids were born and raised here. God Bless and protect her!

This morning we attended our city’s parade and fun activities. It was hot and crowded but the kids enjoyed it, so it was worth it for Hubs and me to go! HA.. We had hotdogs and milkshakes to celebrate, and invited my In laws. We are just relaxing right now and enjoying Korean drama (we are watching Celebrity).

Take Care friends!