Make it pretty

I prefer using liquid hand soap for several reasons. One, there's nothing to get soft and mushy with frequent use. Two, I can dispense just the right amount of soap I need so there's no waste. And three, I don't have to worry about the person before me not rinsing the bar of gunk and stuff that can get stuck on it.

The only problem with liquid soap is the dispenser that they come in. It's such a waste to throw them away when they're empty. Aside from being still perfectly usable (unless it gets broken for some reason), they're usually made of plastic which isn't biodegradable. So I've taken to reusing them.

But first, I try to make them a little prettier. I remove the labels then use scrapbooking plastic and foil stickers to decorate the body all around. Unlike paper stickers, these won't rub off when they get wet, which makes them ideal for the project.

But now, I have a different kind of problem. Unless our stores begin selling liquid soap refills, I'm going to have more dispensers than I know what to do with.

Valentine wreath

I know that it's a very late post, but I've been very late about a lot of home stuff lately because of the work load in my job. I'm still posting it anyway. As they say, better late than never.

When I took down our Christmas decorations last January, I told my husband that I'd remove the Christmas ornaments on them but that I'll be keeping the wreaths on our front door and kitchen door. My idea is to change their ornaments depending on the season or holiday.

For Valentine, I made little red hearts out of cardboard and outlined them with black glitter. I didn't have time to go to a shop to look for other Valentine ornaments though, but I hope to add more through the years.


My problem now is, it's already the last week of March and I still haven't replaced the hearts. Again, I haven't had the time to go shopping. I'm scheduled to have my monthly mall trip next Sunday and I hope I can sneak in the ornaments. I also hope that I can find something appropriate for summer. At least, the way our summers have been the past few years, I won't have to worry about replacing them until July!

O Tannenbaum

Or, The Making of a Christmas Tree

One note before I begin: all Christmas trees here in the Philippines are synthetic. No fir trees. There are pine trees in certain places but they're huge and left to grow freely—no pine tree farms. So, synthetic it is.

The tree we have right now comes in three sections. Except for the main trunk, all the branches are flexible—a boon when storing the tree because they can be bent close to the trunk. It's five feet tall and I place it on a round side table both to make it look taller and also just to make sure that our dog doesn't decide to 'mark' it as part of his territory.

The bare, synthetic tree.

After it's set up, the first thing I put on the tree is the star topper. It has lights and needs to be plugged into the first string of lights. The cable's too long and I have to loop it several times around the top and make sure the plug ends where I want the lights to begin. The plug's white too, which is irritating. I nestle the plugs on the joints of branches and the trunk so they're more secure.

The star tree-topper. That white plug has to be covered up later. Notice the mess of light strings—sure looks awful up close.

Then comes the most tedious part of the process: the strings of light. Just looping the strings around the tree creates line patterns which I don't like. So I use the 'in-and-out' technique, using green twist-ties to anchor the string where needed. This technique ensures that there are lights on the tips and the inner sections of the branches. It's tiring though. This five-footer uses four 100-bulb strings. So I don't waste time and energy, I test each string out of the box. When I plug a new string into the previous string, I test it again. When I'm done placing the string on the branches, I test it a third time. Have you ever experienced stringing lights on a tree just to find out when you're done that they don't work? It's enough to make a Grinch out of anyone.

A note about the lights: the Philippines is a big importer of very inexpensive lights made in China. I stopped using them several years ago for many reasons, which all boil down to the fact that the quality is terrible. The brand I use is quadruple the price but I don't get scratches from poorly molded plastic and even after being turned on for several hours, I don't feel heat from the bulbs. Oh, and I only use steady, clear lights. No colors, no movement, no music.

The final light test. I adjusted some of the branches after this shot to fill in those holes.

After a break to rest my poor triceps, I begin the fun part: the ornaments. I always use a very limited color palette and most of our ornaments are very simple too. Much as I love the many designs available in the market, I avoid ornaments that are easy to crush (and therefore difficult to store) or those that can rot (like our native ornaments made of twigs, rattan, abaca and other natural materials). I have silver, white, clear, red and gold ornaments in storage. Last year's tree was all gold and I didn't feel like having a white Christmas, so I decided on red and gold.

What our ornaments lack in shape, they make up for in texture. There's matte, shiny and glittery.

The problem with using mostly ornaments on strings is that the tops of some branches can look bare. This happens when the ornaments hanging from the branch above don't quite reach the branch below. For those bald spots, I have silk flowers on plastic stems which I just lay down on the branch.



Et voilà!

The unlit Christmas tree on the round table. The tree skirt will hide the stand, the switch of the extension cord and the table.

Hmmm… some of those branches need more adjusting. But all in all, I'm satisfied with this year's Christmas tree.

Just because

Aren't they pretty?

I saw them in the warehouse of a gifts and novelties importer a couple of years ago and though I really had no use for them (at least not as liquid containers), I still bought a whole bunch just because I liked them.

I'd been wanting to buy some ever since I saw them in the home section of the department store I frequent, but I knew I wanted to buy a lot and the department store's price was a tad too high just for colored glass. At the warehouse, they cost only a fourth of what I would've paid in the department store.

Now they're all together on a tabletop in the living room. And when the sun shines through them in the late afternoon, they fill the spot with lovely colored rays.

Pin me!

On the wall in front of my desk at home is a 2 ft by 3 ft corkboard where I pin anything and everything I (1) want to keep in front of me all the time, (2) don't have a proper place for, or (3) have a place for but don't want to bother with immediately.

Anyway, I was staring at it earlier, thinking that I really have to clean it up—transfer the telephone numbers and email addresses, get a folder for the newspaper clippings—you get what I mean. And also that I really have to get some prettier pushpins and replace the yicky cheap plastic ones I currently have there. Who says utilitarian has to be boring, right?

So I went surfing and looked for some unique and whimsical pushpins. Here's what I found:

People-shaped aluminum pushpins
CB2 from Crate and Barrel


Etched nickel silver
ByJacob's


Pewter
Jim Clift Design


Colorful pushpins designed for children
Cottage Classics Design


Japanese-inspired wooden toadstools
Loloko

Dream dinnerware

All that discussion yesterday about dinnerware got me thinking (again!) about ours. What exactly do I want our dinnerware to be? Of the four everyday-use sets we have, it's the fiesta pattern—the pattern's real name is "Diablo"—that I like the most. I'm not exactly a pastel and small flower pattern kind of girl. The thing is, I do get tired of seeing the same pattern year in and year out, which is why I tend to rotate the small stuff in the house. Dinnerware, place mats, shower curtains, towels, bed sheets, table runners… you name it. If it's easy to change, I will change it. (I'm like that with scents too.)

The closest to an ideal dinnerware set for me would be several stoneware sets (I'm strictly casual) of one model made by one company in all its different colors. So I went surfing and I actually found it: Fiesta, made by the Homer Laughlin China Company. They have more than a dozen colors! Oh wow! I'll be able to mix and match to my heart's delight!

Now to find it here in Manila, find out how much, and schedule the purchase (depends on the first two, of course). Oh, and figure out how to tell the hubby. Leaving you now, humming happily…

Dinnerware rotation

In those "10 things every woman should have" email lists that keep getting passed around, one of the items is "a complete set of dinnerware for 2 dozen people." I am going to fail that one. What I do have is seven sets of dinnerware, good for four people (starter sets) to a dozen. (It's a good thing we don't have large dinner parties at home. Here in Manila, it's so much easier just to have those in restaurants.)

One set is the Christmas dinnerware which we use from the first Sunday of Advent up to Three Kings Day. Two sets are real porcelain (my mom's, or was it my grandma's?) which we hardly ever use because they're not microwave-safe (one even has gold trim—imagine what'll happen if that gets in the microwave!).

The four remaining sets are safe and convenient for everyday use. The wheat design is what my family used before I got married. The fiesta-colored plates are a wedding gift. The Corelle set is a gift from my sister. And the fourth set, I got from exchanging my credit card points before closing the account.

Just as I rotate shower curtains (read Quick bathroom facelift), I also rotate our dinnerware, though not as often as the shower curtains of course. Some years, I change sets every three months or so. The whole of last year, we only used the fiesta pattern. Depends on my mood, schedule, and (even when I have the time) whether I want to bother taking the new plates and place mats out, washing them, and storing the just-used set.

I've started 2008 with the Corelle Forget Me Not set with green and lavender place mats. Let's see for how long this time.

Natural aroma diffuser

Do you have pottery inside the house? The kind that's glazed outside but unglazed inside? (And no plant in it please!)

If yes, then you have a perfect opportunity to make any room in your home smell absolutely wonderful with almost no effort! Just pour an entire bottle of home fragrance oil (most come in .3 fl oz size) inside the pot. That's it.

Clay is porous, and the oil will be absorbed by it. But since the exterior is glazed, the oil will not seep into the base and ruin your table, mat, cloth, or whatever you have the pottery on. And the scent will last for about two months. No need for tea lights, and no danger from an open flame.

The day after

Three Kings Day (officially, it's called the Feastday of the Epiphany in the Catholic Church) also marks the last day of the Christmas season for most Filipinos. In its most shallow sense, it means that's when we take down all our Christmas decorations.

And that's what I have to start doing tonight.

• Remove the ornaments and lights from the tree and dismantle it
• Remove the ornaments from the wreaths on the doors and take them down
• Remove the ornaments from the garlands on the banister and screen and take them down
• Walk around the house and pack up all the decorations I put all over the place
  
• Wrap each piece of the creche in bubble wrap and put them in their box
• Change the runner on the buffet table
• Wash the regular dinnerware and change the Christmas-themed one we've been using
• Take down the capiz parol outside the house and return the security light

Obviously, this list is for my use because I might forget something otherwise. And it's going to take me the whole week since I can only do it at night when I get home from work.

Anti-slip rubber

I first saw a version of this rubber mat on the dashboard of a friend's car. It was an itsy-bitsy piece and she said that it allowed her to place things on the dashboard—like her glasses and mobile phone—without them slipping off every time she braked. So when I chanced upon an entire roll of the material, I immediately bought it. Then I placed it in one of my kitchen drawers where it stayed unused for several months.

Then I had a slight problem with my wooden bedside table. We usually keep a pitcher of water there at night without a dish or tray to put it on (I know, bad thing to do), and though there is a table cloth, the water soaked through and the wooden veneer eventually warped. I didn't have time to have it fixed right away and I remembered the rubber mat. So I cut a piece to fit the table top before putting on the table cloth. My idea was simply to keep the water from soaking through again.

Then I discovered its other advantages: it kept the cloth from slipping and bunching in awkward ways, even when I actually push against it with either my hands or my book. The cloth just doesn't move! And it cushions noise. Now, even when my book bangs a little on the table when I put it aside at night, you can't hear it. Great when my husband sleeps ahead of me.

Now, I've placed more of the mat on my buffet table in the dining room, and the runner doesn't move around and dishes don't make clacking noises when you put them down. I want more. My problem is, I don't remember where I bought the roll. Sigh. Hoping for serendipity to bless me again on my next shopping trip…

Pure gold

I'm not exactly sure why, but I don't like having too many colors in my Christmas tree. For the lights, I only use the yellow ones—not red, green or blue, and no way to multi-colored lights. For the ornaments, I also tend to stick to the more traditional colors (no green, because I only like forest green and that's already the color of the tree): red, white, gold, silver and clear. Part of the reason is practicality—if I follow the "in" color every year, then that means I'll have to buy new ornaments every year (we-ell, I do, but it's more to augment and add on to my existing ones, not to change the entire stock!). But I suspect that the other part of the reason is that I'm just not confident in my ability to mix so many colors. So the most colors I've ever used is three.

This year, I went all gold. But different sizes—the smallest is an inch in diameter (and that's not counting the garland, which is made up of 1/4" beads)—and different textures. I love textures. I've got matte, glittery, and shiny (there's one that looks like a mini mirror ball!) ornaments. Then I stuck in gold satin flowers on those branches that look bare because they're a little to far from each other.

Textures. I just love how they reflect the lights oh so differently.

Quick bathroom facelift

Shower curtains!

They're inexpensive so it's easy to build up a collection, and they're easy to change. I've about six now, rotated between two baths. The patterns and colors to choose from are just wonderful. Grab one every now and then when you're out shopping, especially when they're on sale.