She eventually married one of our high school friends last year. On her birthday last December, her husband surprised her with a cute cake shaped and decorated like Minnie Mouse. It was one fun and memorable birthday for the new husband and wife.

Our friend showed us the Minnie Mouse cake pan that he used, and it was indeed shaped like Minnie Mouse. He told us that these cake pans are available from Wilton in different characters and shapes, and it can be purchased online. Cakes are made even special with these customized pans, because it takes more time, effort and thoughtfulness to bake a cake in your loved one’s favorite character. Whether it’s from Disney, Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, Marvel and DC Comics, Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, or simply just different shapes like animals, cars, and guitars – there is surely a cake pan that will tickle your loved one’s fancy – and taste buds.

For battery operated mp3s, I can just change the batteries with a fully charged one, and you have a fully operational mp3 player. That’s why I purchased rechargeable batteries and Samsung YP-T6X MP3 Player Battery Charger (B-9700). My brother has an mp3 player also, and what amazed me is that he has an AC to USB adaptor, and he can charge his mp3 player without a computer. That’s his on-the-go charging solution. Until recently, I found out that the new model of Samsung mp3 player, the Samsung MP3 YP-P2, have its own Samsung mp3 USB travel/car charger as its accessories and is sold separately.
Now, even if I travel long distances, I don’t have to worry about low batteries. I equip myself with extra batteries, an AC to USB adaptor or USB travel/car charger depending on the situation I’m in.

My grandfather suffered from a stroke four years ago. For a year, his right hand is semi-paralyzed, making it difficult for him to use or move it. He was very fortunate to recover completely. It would have been dreadful if anything bad had happened to him, since it was unexpected.

Being unprepared during emergencies, most of the time, leads to tragic happenings. My grandfather survived, which is a great thing, but my grandparent’s savings was almost depleted. We were lucky that we had enough financial resources to pay for the hospital bills and medicines, but a lot of people suffer financial challenges after going through and surviving a critical illness.

It is now essential for families to get a critical illness insurance quote to know what insurance plan best suits your needs. The critical illness insurance is intended to help people through the financial difficulties associated with survival. It pays you the face amount of the policy if you die, but more importantly pays you the same amount if you survive a critical illness. As early as possible, before any emergency happens, it is important to ensure that your family is well equipped financially for any unexpected incident that might happen.

Even though the pin straight hair fad has long been gone, many women with wavy or curly hair still desire to have the perfect, straight hair. A lot of chemical hair straightening treatments are available in salons, however, most are expensive and damage hair in the long run. Furthermore, chemically straightening your hair does not allow you to try different hairstyles such as ponytails, buns, braids, and long loose waves. Even tucking your hair behind your ear is a no-no.

A handy or home hair straightener, more commonly known as a flat iron, is a cheaper and more versatile alternative to chemical straightening. A flat iron is designed to straighten your hair in just a few minutes by using heat. Flat irons nowadays have more features. Some have interchangeable plates for straightening or crimping in different widths, while some use ionic action to protect against damage by sealing in natural oils and moisture and promotes longer-lasting hair color.

The advantage of these flat irons is that you can bring and use it anywhere, its versatility, and it’s only temporary. You have the freedom to still experiment with different hairstyles. However, be careful in choosing – pick those that have hard ceramic coatings that are sprayed in layers and baked on since tend to perform best and cause less damage. Less expensive units usually do not have ceramic heating elements and some may have a paint-like coating that gives the appearance of ceramic plating. These cheaper coatings wear off very quickly and cause more damage to the hair.

Whatever iron you use, hair damage is inevitable. Nothing beats your natural hair that is well taken cared of.

Cooking for our loved ones and guests is an enjoyable and pleasurable activity, but it can also be tiring. Kitchen ambiance and design is important to make cooking stress-free, and the right kitchen furniture plays a big factor. Here are a few kitchen furniture ideas for choosing the right kitchen cabinet, the most important furniture in your cooking haven.

Kitchen cabinets is important because aside from functioning as a workspace, it also incorporates storage areas for kitchen utensils, small appliances, linens, china and silverware; spaces for big electric and gas appliances such as a refrigerator, oven, stove, or dishwasher. Smaller electrical appliances such as a coffee maker, oven toaster, or juicer are usually set at a counter top. Find one that suits your cooking requirements, since too many drawers become confusing and are sometimes left unused. Make sure that the drawers, appliances, and your workspace are positioned in such a way to keep your movements at a minimum. This saves time and energy.

Choose a material that suits your budget and the kitchen motif and design. Wood kitchen cabinets with granite counter tops are expensive, but exude elegance and give a sophisticated look. If you are on a budget, you can choose cabinets made from a combination of plywood, particle boards, or medium density fiberboards. These cabinets are designed in such a way that the outside is made of wood, and the less expensive materials are place on the inside, thus, preserving the classy exterior.

After our room was renovated, my mother in law purchased new curtains for our windows. Then the following month, she purchased another set. And she also purchased curtains for the den and kitchen. I told my husband jokingly that his mother is a certified curtain addict; that after sometime, our house will be covered in curtains.

The curtains she bought were actually pretty and go well with the wall colors. The only problem was the ones installed in the kitchen. Despite its lovely design, it makes the kitchen darker and a little gloomy. I tried looking at the mall for a substitute and found tailored window valances instead.

Valances are like mini-curtains since they do not cover the entire window. I bought a lavender double-layered valance with inverted pleats that exudes a neat tailored work. It also has beautiful bow and button detailing. At first, I was worried that my mother in law wouldn’t like it, but the moment I showed it to her, she removed the kitchen curtains and replaced it with the valances.

At present, the windows in our living room have pink scallop-style valances with stripes and tassels. My mother in law’s new addiction is obviously my fault.

I inherited my allergies from my mother, who has a very sensitive skin and prone to skin allergies. I have allergic rhinitis which causes me to sneeze a lot during the early morning and before going to sleep, as well as skin allergies. My daughter, at such a young age, has allergic rhinitis and sensitive skin too. Since the hot climate triggers her skin rashes, we decided to install an airconditioner in our room.

The downside of an airconditioned room is that pollen, dust, and molds can be stuck and confined inside the room, which would also trigger allergies. That is why we saw the need to buy an air purifier. After reading several air purifier reviews, we were able to narrow down our choices to two brands and models.

We based our choices on the ability to eliminate allergens and odors, not just its aesthetic quality. Panasonic F-P15HU2 uses a dual-filter system, HEPA and activated charcoal, and it easily eliminates dust, pollen, mildew, and other allergens as well as smoke and unpleasant odors. We considered this model since we know that the brand is tried and tested. Another is Surround Air N-Lite 5000 Multi Function HEPA air purifier, because aside from getting rid of allergens and other pollutants, it has a germicidal UV lamp that prevents the micro-organisms from breeding inside its filter, and a practical light function.

We value our family’s health, that’s why we don’t hesitate to spend if it means giving our child the necessary protection that she needs.

Back in college, my roommate’s aunt is opening a grill restaurant near our village, and she was assigned as the “restaurant manager”. For weeks, she was pestering us – showing  their proposed menus, restaurant designs, entrée prices and so on, all of these while we were studying for the finals. The opening day came and as a show of support, we all went to the new restaurant to sample some of their dishes.

The food was great, but there was one problem. The service was too slow. After closing hours, we were hanging out at the restaurant’s kitchen while our roommate was doing inspections. We asked her why it took a long time to serve the food. She answered that the chef and other cooks have to manually chop the herbs and spices needed for the dishes. One of our friends suggested, “Why don’t you purchase an electric spice grinder or a grain mill? It will save you a lot of time.”

Our roommate took his advice and purchased  spice grinders and a grain mill for their restaurant. The Waldner Biotech Silence grain mill effectively grinds all kinds of grains like wheat, oats, rice, rye, or barley, as well as oilseeds. It led them to open a small bakery as a part of the restaurant, which attracted more customers.

I love shoes. I have multiple pairs of sneakers, running shoes, walking shoes, flip flops, pumps, stilettos, flats, and sandals. I even browse the internet for the latest shoe trends. Every time I buy a new pair, my mom would tell me the same thing: that I already have a lot of shoes, some of them I only used once or twice. I haven’t noticed until the time my roommate and I bought a shoe rack and my shoes occupied two-thirds of it. I even have a lot of shoes left at home, most of which are accumulating dust! That was the time I considered doing something about it and finally organizing my shoe collection.

Selling my shoes or not buying a new pair was not an option for me, but I don’t have a big closet space because I also have a lot of clothes. I initially thought that  closet storage solutions were impossible. Until I opted for a tiered shoe shelf and individual shoe boxes I bought at the mall, which can fit at the wide bottom shelf of my closet. I started by sorting out my shoes based on usage – those that I wear everyday or occasionally, I placed on the shoe shelf. Those that are seasonal especially the delicate stilettos and pumps, I placed in individual shoe boxes and stacked them neatly at the back of my closet. Of course, a few pairs were left but most of them were outdated styles anyway so I just placed them in a shoe rack and stored it in my mother’s house. I plan to get them after our new house is constructed, in which I explicitly advised our architect to install a large shelf for my shoes inside the walk-in closet. Finally, I’m about to have an appropriate shelf for my future Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks.

Overdone makeup is unpleasant to look at, looks artificial, and makes you look older. Leave the heavy makeup to the theater and learn how to apply natural looking makeup to give you that flawless and glowing skin. Applying natural looking makeup is fast and easy, perfect for women who are on the go and do not have the entire morning to prep themselves up in front of the mirror.

A natural look is achieved by using colors that complements your skin tone. Start with a clean, moisturized skin and use a concealer with a yellow base tone to hide imperfections without adding color. Put on a foundation that matches your skin tone, it should seem to disappear when applied while effectively giving your face a flawless complexion. Earthy tones are recommended for eye makeup – beige, brown, gold, or plum for eyeshadow and brown and charcoal gray for eyeliner. If you want to keep it light, you can skip the eye shadow. To choose a blush color, look at yourself in the mirror after you exercise. The flush on your cheeks is your natural blush tint. Find the blush that is close to that color. Finally, put on a pink or clear lipgloss for a more natural finish. However, if you have pale lips, it is better to apply a little lipstick in pink or rose shades, and then add a final coat of lipgloss.