Design: Phoenix by Kenneth Cobonpue

  
  
I am just so enamored with Kenneth Cobonpue's designs. His most recent contribution to the field? Phoenix - the first bamboo / rattan / carbon fiber and steel car that will be introduced in a Milanese exhibit.

Image from Philippine Inquirer

The car evokes artisanship and promotes biodegradability, a complete turnaround from the usual car manufacturing characteristic that we know of today. The only question is about safety I guess. :)

Here's the whole article if you're interested.



    

Baby: On hiatus

    
Pardon the lack of blog posts during the past few days. I was busy with this one.

I promise I'll be back soon!


P.S. Here is my post on maternity series, just in case you were wondering what the "40" stands for.    
    
    

Design: Voyage Bed

  
  

Voyage Bed
Image from Kenneth Cobonpue

I first blogged about Kenneth Cobonpue (pronounce co-bon-pu-e) when I got inspired by the Le Petit Voyage crib to make a nursery mood board.

Le Petit Voyage Crib
Image from Kenneth Cobonpue

Cobonpue's Voyage Bed has been sought after by Brangelina a while back, and now, it's one of the main pieces of Maroon 5's Never Gonna Leave This Bed music video.

At $3,460 for a queen and $4,590 for a king, it's such a splurge. I'll just enjoy looking. :p

     

     

Crafts/DIY: Shamrock Origami

  
  
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 
I wanted to do some kind of shamrock origami, and I stumbled upon this cute looking finished product. Being a novice paper folder, I felt that the instructions found here took a bit of learning and practice. It was painstakingly hard for me, but maybe it won't be for you. Whenever I came across an unfamiliar fold name, I just did a search for a video on how to do it.

I used an 8" x 8" paper with a gift wrap print that I posted about a while back here.

FYI: This origami design has a lot of open sink folds, inside reverse folds and swivel folds. 




     

Love: Up, Up and Away

  
  
I love the movie Up. I mean, seriously, who doesn't? I think it's adorable.

So did these people...

James and Lynette (Engagement Photo Shoot)

Images from Wildflowers Photo via 100 Layer Cake

This Kid ("Russell" Halloween Costume)

Image via Derek Tacconelli

Bella Updegraff (Birthday Party)

Image by Wendy Updegraff via Hostess with the Mostess

Kiki Creates (Daughter's dollhouse)

Image from Kiki Creates

National Geographic (Real-life 'Up' House)

Image from National Geographic Channel via CNET

      

Design: Eames Rocker

  

Image from Herman Miller

I have my heart set on getting an Eames piece (or maybe a couple... hmm, maybe three) once we settle into a bigger home, which, hopefully will be soon. I am probably going to get an Eames Rocker for the nursery as our first Eames chair, as I showed you in an earlier post - Nursery Mood Board #1.

Eames molded plastic chair design was first introduced at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1948. The line has 2 basic designs - the side and the armchair, and each one has different base options, and different color choices. The Eames rocker is actually one of four base options of the Eames molded plastic armchair.

Image from Herman Miller

Here are some excerpts about the chairs from Herman Miller.

Product Story

A landmark design from Charles and Ray Eames, these were the first industrially manufactured plastic chairs. Their clean, simple forms cradle the body. Today's chairs are authentic original design with updated, eco-friendly materials and manufacturing and a large selection of base, shell, and color combinations.

More than accent pieces, they are comfortable, durable performers in homes, offices, libraries, museums—just about everywhere.

Image from Herman Miller

Colorful shells

In ten colors: aqua sky, black, greystone, java, light blue, lime green, red, sparrow, wafer, and white.

The shell is dyed throughout so the colors are integral and remain vibrant even after years of hard use. Mix, match, imagine a whole new look.

    
     

Baby: Diaper Bag

My husband and I had a "he said, she said" moment when it came to deciding what diaper bag to get. Initially, I was decided on getting the Tory Burch diaper bag. It's a splurge at $375, but I figured I can use it for babies #2, #3, etc. *wink*

Image from Tory Burch.

Tory Burch does not carry this style anymore. They have a newer one though, the Timmie Messenger Baby Bag, which is still priced at $375.

Image from Tory Burch

Our "he said, she said" moment ended when he said he will not carry a Tory Burch diaper bag because it's too girly. That did it for me. I already have a huge tote bag that I carry around every day, and adding another big bag that I need to look after will just make it harder.

So I told him to choose something that he wants to carry, and I won't get the Tory Burch diaper bag anymore. He found the Diaper Dude site, which carries stylish baby bags that daddies would like.

He chose this.

Image from Diaper Dude

It's his style, and it really suits him well, and at $98, it's still expensive, but it's a huge drop from what I would get. Considering that he said he'll always carry it, it's a deal!

Now, if my husband is not around and I need to go somewhere with Baby A, I would probably just use my big tote bag, and stuff it with the Skip Hop Pronto! changing station in Black Geo. 

Image from Skip Hop

    

  

Help: Japan

  
  
It was early morning Friday when I found out Japan just had one of the worst earthquakes ever recorded. It was of 8.9 magnitude, and was followed by a horrible tsunami, and a ton of aftershocks with 6.0+ magnitude. One disaster after another was enough. But it didn't end there. It seemed that the worst was over, but now they just had a nuclear meltdown.

If you'd like to donate to Japan, Yahoo! has a comprehensive list of organizations that are working on relief and recovery operations in Japan.

    
  

Food: Toast Cups with Bacon and Eggs

    
 
Need a twist to your breakfast toast with bacon and eggs? Try this recipe. It's super easy to do, too.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 4 whole wheat bread slices
• 4 cooked bacon strips
• 4 eggs
• 4 cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters
• cooking oil spray
• dried chives
• grated mild cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray a cupcake pan with cooking oil. Gently press each slice of bread into the cupcake molds. Bake for about 3 minutes.
3. Arrange bacon strip into each toast cup. Add tomatoes. Crack one egg on top of the bacon. Do the same for each. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake again for about 10-15 minutes, or until the egg whites are set. Remove cups from cupcake pan and transfer into a plate. Garnish with chives and cheese. 

    

Love: Dyson Air Multiplier

 
 
It's been more than a year since the launch of the Dyson Air Multiplier, and I still love it. I am still thinking about getting it, but the price tag at about $300 is just too much.

But what is it exactly? It's probably the safest "electric fan" existing out there, because of it's bladeless technology. Safe for children.

Image from Target.com

Yes, Dyson, popularly known for their wide range of vacuum cleaners, has entered the fan business. Some stores, like Pike's Starbucks in Seattle (I think) also has Dyson's Air Blade, which I'm guessing uses a similar technology for drying your hands.

Image from Dyson

Their air multiplier technology actually does not use any blades, which causes buffeting. Instead, it uses pressurized air that goes through the circular slit around, which they claim "multiplies" air 15x without any interruption, hence, the air multiplier.

Image from Dyson

Are you a lover like me? 

     

    

Deals: Yellow Quilts

  

I've been looking for a yellow queen-sized quilt that would match the grey/yellow/red color palette of one of the rooms in our house. Here are some yellow quilts/coverlets I found. In the end, I got one from Target which was a fraction of the cost of the other brands - whoopee!

It matches one of the springtime bed linen designs I posted several days ago here. Yeah, it is calling my name.


West Elm's Hand-Blocked Saree Stripe Quilt and Shams

Quilt - $99. Standard Sham - $19.00 each
Image from West Elm

Crate and Barrel Nora Coverlet and Shams

Coverlet - $159 (on sale). Standard Pillow Sham - $24.95 each (on sale)
Image from Crate and Barrel

CB2 Marshmallow Bed Linens

Quilt - $189. Set of two pillow shams - $59.95
Image from CB2

Target Room Essentials Quilt Set

Quilt Set (including 2 shams) - $29.99

  

Crafts/DIY: Iron-on Onesies

  
  
My husband has been on the lookout for onesies with the "Little Miss" characters. He did not find any. So, he got onesies from Target at about $1.40 a pop (on clearance) and some iron-on transfer papers, and "Little Miss" images he liked and DIYed it.

He used iron-on transfer paper that can be printed on dark colored fabrics, just in case. Below are the results.

He enjoyed making them so much, he made some more... this time, Angry Birds style.

... and here's our favorite... (see if you can figure it out.)

Give up? It's "Comma, comma, comma, comma, comma chameleon". Cute eh?

   

Shopping: Baby Girl Clothes - Zara Kids edition

  
  
Shopping for baby girl clothes is so much fun I think I'll never tire of it. Here is one of my favorite stores and these are my choices for baby A.

Dresses

White/Grey embroidered dress
$32.90

Crochet Dress
$32.90

Dress with Elastic
$39.90

Dress with Floral Applique
$39.90

Floral Pique Dress
$39.90

Shirts & Bottoms

Long Floral Blouse
$25.90

Bermuda Shorts with Lace Ribbon
$25.90

Long Embroidered Blouse
$14.90

Poplin Capri Pants
$15.90

Shoes

Baby Shoe with Fringes
$39.90

Baby Roman Sandal
$29.90

Baby Punched Mary Jane Blucher
$39.90