There is no way I can give up the passion, though, even with time constraints, so every year I set out to read as many books as I can and challenge myself to stick to the goal. Often, I fail on the reading splurge but what’s good is I can always try {and so can you! ;)}. This year, I have no grand plans about reading as many books, though. In fact, I am making it more achievable by aiming to read only 50 books this 2017! If you will do the Math, that’s equivalent to reading 1 book per week.
For my very first read this year, I chose this children’s book which my brother, Ken, bought as gifts for his godchildren for Christmas. One child was not able to get his gift and it left us with the opportunity to open and peruse the book. One page and I am hooked! I read this in one sitting since the book is comprised of only 110 pages!
Notebooks, I guess are so much like how shoes are for other girls, you can never really have too many. I guess I cannot blame myself as it has always been a source of simple joy for me to get a notebook {or two} whenever I visit a shop or a bookstore. I cannot help it, as they are such beauties and are most useful, too. You can turn them into a diary, a journal, a planner, a logbook, or a place to dump all the thoughts swirling about your head. The possibilities are really endless and the potentials of a new notebook is enough to make any paper-loving gal giddy with excitement!
My new Macata Traveler’s Notebook from CN Paper Crafts
I have been ogling at these beautiful traveler’s notebook on Instagram since late last year. I have been planning to go back to journaling for the longest time and what better way to inspire me to write regularly than the prospect of a pristine notebook. A traveler’s notebook seems to be a very popular choice amongst planner-loving folks because it is so much easier and convenient to use. The leather cover binds and protects the notebook inserts inside and you can use several inserts at the same time, one for each facet of your life {some planner mums have separate notebooks for their planners, recipes, finances, and the likes}. You can also easily replace used-up notebooks with new ones and use the leather cover for as long as you want. Some even exert loads of effort to prettify their traveler’s notebooks, adding charms, dashboards, inserts, beautiful stickers, and the likes.
At this point, I am sure you can pretty much sum up how much I love notebooks and imagine how excited I was to receive this beautiful traveler’s notebook from CN Paper Crafts! I was torn between the red one and this, but in the end it was the Navy Blue Macata that won me over.
CN Paper Crafts in a nutshell
CN Paper Crafts is co-owned by Nissan and her boyfriend, Christian. The shop recently celebrated its first anniversary and launched their project, #WriteBeautifully, a series of collaborations with Filipino bloggers. It was CN Paper Craft’s vision to make beautiful writing repositories to inspire people to write beautifully. They wanted to help preserve the art of analog writing, may that be in the form of note-taking, journaling, or planning, in this digital age. This passion for writing and creating, coupled with a fierce pride for local makers, has been the motivation of the CN Paper Crafts duo to keep on making traveler’s notebooks.
I got my Macata Traveler’s Notebook in A5 size about 2 weeks ago and I instantly fell in love with it. Isn’t it pretty? I love the color as well as its beautiful texture. The cover is made of synthetic leather, which is a thumb’s up for me, as I am squeamish about using genuine leather thinking of the animals who had to suffer just so the leather can be collected. This particularly cover, though, had the feel and the look of genuine leather. It even comes in various lovely colors and different sizes ~ A5, Standard, Personal, Field Notes, and Passport ~ to fit multiple purposes and needs. Since I have difficulty using smaller notebooks, I opted for the bigger one. I already have a planner at the moment so I was undecided on what to do with my new traveler’s notebook, but thought it would be perfect for hand-lettering practice as well as for bullet journaling which I would also like to explore. CN Paper Crafts carries inserts which can be purchased as a set or individually. They also have various types of inserts for you to choose from.
I simply love eating, I mean who doesn’t? I am also adventurous when it comes to food and would love to try different dishes as well as different cuisines. That is why I am excited when I was invited, along with mum blogger friends, Jem {of esupermommy.com} and Levy {of mommylevy.com}, to visit the newly-opened Al Qaysar Restaurant and Cafe in Ermita, Manila and sample their Mediterranean cuisine, as well as their other delicious offerings. I have not tried Mediterranean food before but I read somewhere that they are rich in olive oil, select seafood, as well as wheat and other grains, hence making them very healthy and ideal for anyone to try.
Dining at Al Qaysar in this busy street of Ermita, Manila is like traveling to another continent and the restaurant’s facade gives a very fair introduction of what to expect inside. The owners, the warm and gracious Ms. Let and her Sudanese husband, have a keen eye for details and they made sure to include a lot of Mediterranean elements into their beautiful restaurant.
Before trying out the many mouth-watering food in their menu, Ms. Let toured as around and among the many things that piqued this mum’s interest include the beautiful painting that adorned one of their walls, depicting a Mediterranean landscape complete with the desert and camels, the clean and organized kitchen, the charming washrooms, and most especially the tables to the right, which are designed for a more intimate dining experience for bigger groups of people. These are perfect for birthday celebrations or for business meetings. There are 3 different table set-ups and the dining patrons can choose from the more formal regular chairs, Japanese-styled lower chairs, and the uber comfy bean bags! We had the chance to sample each of these and the bean bags won me over, hands down! 😀
Oh well before I start babbling about how much I love our gustatory experience, here are the Top 5 Reasons why you should visit Al Qaysar Restaurant and Cafe in Manila:
