Sunday, June 30, 2013

Show me your favorite Art - BLOGGER SERIES

I'm so excited to share with you today the second post of the BLOGGER SERIES!
I thought of doing this to get a glimpse of some of the 'personal' stuff of my favorite bloggers, and this time around, I wanted to see what their favorite ART is in their homes!

And to be fair, I always start this series out by sharing mine.
I have two favorites. For different reasons - both personal, but on different levels.

The first one is this painting I got during my last trip to the Philippines, my home country.

Sitting pretty over our mantle



I think you can guess why it's a favorite of mine. Aside from the vibrant colors and unique scene, this painting always reminds me of  HOME and not to forget where I came from. It instills in me the sense of 'belonging' still to my native country though I live thousands of miles away.

The second one is a new favorite.


"Blue Pitcher"

I love this not only because my 2nd grader painted it, but I actually love the way he used and played with colors! I was just so amazed my son could paint something sooo beautiful. I will cherish this as long as I live. :-)


And now, for my favorite bloggers art!

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of POWELL BROWER AT HOME.

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"Wilma"


"This is a simply gesture drawing done by my brother, artist Michael Powell.
He gave my husband and I this drawing last year for Christmas.  He's one of those 'starving' artists and struggled to find something to give us for Christmas, when I told him something he could make would be perfect.  Christmas morning we opened this up and almost cried. In about 5 minutes, he was able to capture Wilma, our beloved bulldog, perfectly.He even framed it with mirror and wood! This is by far my favorite, sentimental piece of art in our home." - Bethany

If my brother gave me anything like that, I would also pick it as a favorite, what a touching story, and what better way to SEE LOVE than thru his art!

This next two bloggers also evoked the same sentiment I had with my painting - the thought of home...

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 This one is from the incredible DIY-er, Cristina of "REMODELANDO LA CASA".


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"Bogota"


 "Yes, it's a print, my husband got it framed, and that was long time ago even before I knew him! It is a picture of the "Bolivar Square" which is located in the heart of the historical area of Bogota-Colombia, the country we originally came from, it's special to my husband because he used to play in this place when he was a little boy. I don't have those same kind of memories but I like the print, the frame and the color, brown is one of my favorite colors."- Cristina


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And this one is from my fellow Pinay Blogger and treasure hunter, Charmaine from MY BESTFRIEND CRAIG
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"It was tough choosing one because I love art but this nude painting is my priced possession. It is by a national Filipino Artist, Solomon Saprid. It used to be in my bathroom at my parents' house and when I moved here in the United States, my parents gave it to me. I love how it reminds me of home and my childhood." - Charmaine

The next one doesn't evoke personal sentiment but ingenuity when an old window and art is united to form one smashing display.

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"Distressed, Formal, Industrial - all working together to warm things UP!" - Kim

Other people love art because of the feelings they evoke or a reminder of something important in someone's life, check out these beautiful art from these ladies...

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One my favorite & sweetest blogger, Marty from A STROLL THRU LIFE


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"Old man praying"

" It is a copy of a famous painting “Old Man Praying”. I found this and the antique frame about 40 years ago and it has hung in my breakfast area ever since. It is a constant reminder to give thanks for everything. It is definitely my favorite piece of art. " - Marty


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And of course the ever-gracious blogger & weekly host of  " Make It Pretty Monday",
Kathryn from THE DEDICATED HOUSE
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"My reason for loving this is the feeling it evokes. Time to stop and take a leisurely stroll through a garden. A slower pace of life. Utter bliss." - Kathryn

Some bloggers choose art they personally made! And this one from 
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Ging from FORTY WEEKS AND THEN SOME is a perfect example!

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"Beaches"



"My favorite artwork in my home is this custom bus roll that I made. It is made up of names of our (my husband's and mine) favorite beach destinations -- those that we've already gone to and some that we would love to go to in the future. We are both beach buddies by nature, and it seemed to be the perfect theme for our very own bus roll. " - Ging

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The last blogger contributing to this post is one of my favorite artist/painter/blogger, Kerry of Design Du Monde.

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Here are some samples of her beautiful works.

"Bluestocking Babe"

"Remembered Blossoms"

Aren't they amazing?! And she's got so much more at her Etsy store - Kerry Steele Fine art!

Anyhow, I was so curious as to what would be her favorite. Because let's face it, for an amazing and talented artist like her, surrounded by all these beautiful art, choosing a favorite must be hard right? Well, she surprised me with her favorite, because it wasn't one of her works...

"Fontainbleu"



"I have tons of my own art and work painted by my grandmother but I always admired this landscape. The story is just the kind of romantic thing that I love. My great-grandparents lived in Paris in the 1920s and my great-grandfather knew the artist, who was a bit down on his luck. Basically, my great-grandfather won it in a poker game since the artist had nothing else to bet. The scene is the forest of Fontainbleu". - Kerry
Suprised?! Well I was! 
Love all the works shown here, and it goes to show that, "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder" - and to add on to that, "to the HEART of the beholder too"!

Thank you again ladies for sharing all these beautiful pieces to us!!! Thank you too for your amazing support !!!


Have a Great Week!!

Friday, June 28, 2013

little and BIG Changes

Lately, there have been a bunch of changes in my  house and my life.

Some have happened already...

BEFORE

AND NOW

BEFORE

AND NOW


... and are relatively minor.

Some that are yet to come...

BEFORE

AND HOPEFULLY IN A FEW MONTHS

But the one big change in my life right now would be a NEW JOB.


You all know that I am a Pediatrician by profession, and this week, will be my last in my old clinic.
 I will be moving to another clinic, closer to home and with that said, you all know the difficulty and excitement that comes with a new job.

I LOVE BEING A PEDIATRICIAN.

I can' see myself doing anything else other than what I do now.
And I will most certainly miss ALL MY PATIENTS. Some of them who could drive up to my new location, will follow, but for those who can't, my heart aches...




Being a Pediatrician, I believe is one of the most unique field in medicine.
We don't just 'see' patients, we become part of their lives... we see them from birth and onwards,
thru each childs ups and downs we cheer and we sympathize along with the parents.


I always say this to all my patients parents and gaurdians,
"I will never do or give anything to your child that I would never do or give to MY OWN"
This has been my mantra and will always be, and I hope with this new chapter in my career, despite my heartaches right now, my passion continues!


Besides my patients, there's another group of people I'll miss - the office staff!!!!
Thru my 3 years in my old clinics, they have been accommodating, patient , hard-working and very welcoming. I will miss the camaraderie and even the mundane routines that come with familiarity. So to  them, a BIG THANK YOU!

Hope you Have a Great Weekend!

Would love to hear your thoughts! Please share away...

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Design details of the Disney Fantasy - Part 1

We spent 8 glorious days of our vacation 3 weeks ago aboard the marvelous DISNEY FANTASY.




To say that this ship is a marvel, is a real understatement. 
But before I give you the low-down on my top 10 for this cruise (that's another post all together)
 I'd like to share with you the beauty that is this ship - the Disney in the details...

Let's step outside first on the upper deck where all the water fun is.

And when Disney does fun, it does it for the whole family!

Aquaduck- biggest water coaster at sea!
Rode this baby 2x and the kids even more!

Mickey's Pool & Slide

Donald's pool is underneath the deck behind hubs - a bit deeper than Mickey's pool

For the little ones


Water sprays and showers on the Aqualab for everybody
 One of the things I loved about this cruise was that there was a lot of things that were 'Exclusive for Adults', including the pools!

Satellite Falls

Satellite Sun deck
Quiet Cove pool and bar

Now let's head off to the beautiful Atrium...

Peacock theme from floor to ceiling

This Peacock Chandelier has 60,000 swarovski crystals!
This is the first space that greet you as soon as you step on to the ship!


love the blues and greens

Check out this stone floors!
Different brass murals all around the room

One of the many sitting areas




Love this lighting!

Where we watch all the LIVE SHOWS!

Where we watch the movies

Love this panelling!



Interactive pictures everywhere!

The attention to detail doesn't stop there. Check out the rest rooms!!!


Contemporary Mickey

Art deco Mickey

Yes, this mosaic tile art is inside the ladies room in the EUROPA!

Italian Mosaic Tiles - gorgeous!

Yup, it goes all the way in! Take note too, the door to this one is circular. ;-)

And finally, let me share with you our stateroom...

What our room looked like as we walked in...


Bunk bed for the kids at night...

And this is AFTER we were IN IT! LOL!

Sorry for the mess!!!
The split bathroom -  Image courtesy of Browniebites.net
That's it for now! Lots of pictures today, I think you can see how excited I am to share this with you. Next time, I'll share the different Restaurants in the ship!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

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