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Saturday 28 July 2012

London Olympics 2012: Right At Our Doorstep



The London Olympics opening ceremony, the two hour showcase of British history made me feel lucky to be able to call this place my second home. I have been living here for over 10 years but I only learned so many historical facts in the last 2 hours. Kudos to director David Boyle ( Slumdog Millionaire)


The inclusion of the NHS nurses made me feel luckier and more proud, being a an NHS nurse myself. I wonder why they did not include Florence Nightingale being the pioneer of nursing in the Crimean war when she was British as well.


They were more keen to include Mary Poppins.

I think the inclusion of James Bond with him and the queen jumping from the helicopter signalling the queen's arrival in the Olympic stadium was brilliant.





. We were not lucky enough to score tickets for the opening ceremony or any games for that matter but are more than lucky to score ticket to get into the Olympic park for a day during the Olympics. It will be good enough for me to be able to savour the Olympic vibe, something to write home about.

The London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony was a spectacular production, brilliant as the British would say. To quote Sebastian Coe, London Olympic Chairman, "I have never been more proud to be British"  even if I'm only British by passport and citizenship.


Images via the web

Saturday 7 July 2012

Daphne x Bench Home Scents



I have always loved home scents as long as I can remember.  Scented candles are always number one on my list with Glade and Yankee Candles being my favorites. They are fire risks though and over the years I have tried every alternative from plug-ins, potpourri, gels and oils but they seem to lose the scent in just a few days. With plug-ins, they can be very strong and give me headaches. It was just in the last year that I discovered diffusers and I found that the scent never fades even long after the bottle is empty. I have been using Ambi-Pur since then.

I got really excited when I found out that Daphne Osena Paez has collaborated with Bench to produce home scents in diffusers. I have been wanting to get hold of Daphne's products from her furniture line, jewelry to linens. It just so happens that my Tita was coming back to the UK and among the three, it's the diffusers that is the lightest and easiest to put in the luggage, not to mention the cheapest.LOL.



They come in three scents,  Homemade Lemon Tart, Acres of Lavender and Mint and Jasmine. I was a bit cynical and was wondering if it would be up to scratch with my Ambi-Pur. The first few minutes I was not convinced but after half an hour, the scent started permeating the whole dining area and everytime I pass by, I can readily smell it even up to the lounge area. I was happy and that was when I decided to open the rest.

Acres of Lavender in the master bedroom.


Mint and Jasmine in the toilet and bath.

Though still can't decide whether to place it on the sink or above the toilet.

And of course, Homemade Lemon Tart in the dining/lounge area.


I guess I will need to have some more sent over because I now want it in every nook and cranny of our house. In the guest bedroom, the stairs landing and the hallway. Not to forget the kitchen.


Daphne Home Scents, highly recommended by The Stage Mommy.

Available at all Bench stores.




Friday 6 July 2012

The Little Girl's Room

The search for the Princess bed is still on but this time we have moved on from toddler beds to big girl's beds. We thought it would be a waste when she would only be able to use it by 4 or 5 years old, maybe 6 really but due to health and safety, manufacturers only recommend up to 4 years old which she will be in 4 months time.

I was thinking that a proper single bed would be too big for her, so we will be settling for a what they call a "shorty divan" which is only 175 cms of which the regular lenght would have been 190 cms. It would be a bit grown up bed for her but with some imagination and inspirations, I am sure we will achieve a little girl's bedroom soon. 

 Since her bedroom walls are already painted green, we are opting for a pink and green theme. Here are some inspirations from the web.

Below is more pink than green. I am gearing towards the top one.

I had her bedroom walls painted green because I wanted to stray away from pink. I felt like we have had enough of pink already but at the end of the day, here I am picking pink again. Little girls and pink, I think they will always go together.