HOORAY for PNO (that's Parent's Night Out y'all!)!!! We don't really take a whole lot of time apart from our little one but were honored to celebrate our friend's special day! I've known the groom since college (9 years ago!) and met his now wife at our wedding 2 years ago. They are a beautiful couple and everything about their day was just perfect!

This video doesn't do it justice but here are a few clips from yesterday.


Glenn + Terri from Melissa on Vimeo.


So.much.fun! We played bocce ball (well, we played it wrong but whatever...), took pictures in the photobooth, mingled a bit and then hung out in the rocking chairs and watched people dance. It was nice to listen to the officiant talk about what marriage means and to hear it again made me smile. Our life isn't perfect by any means but its the learning, growing and maneuvering through life that makes all the difference. <3

My fave look from this video:

Hat: Forever 21 // Sweater: Forever 21 // Riding Boots:  OLD- Audrey Brooke (similar here) //Moto skinnies: Target (sold out but similar found here) // Lip: Cherry Bomb by Wet n Wild 



(*this is not a sponsored post)

1. A day and a half without AC is BRUTAL. Not for myself, but for a toddler. I did my best to keep her entertained as we sweated through it, eventually moving the party into the cool waters of the bathtub. I don't know how my parents did it growing up in the Philippines. Props to them!

2. Social Media can be so misleading. Shiny, happy pictures of life and accounts of only the best things. I think its important to remember that no life is perfect and we have to love and recognize the good and bad of everything. Life is hard. You get up, do your routine and go back to sleep. Day in and day out. Its finding the little gems in our day that keep you going.

3. Forever 21 has some really good workout clothing! I'd ordered their capri pants online but it wasn't until I attended a friend's baby shower last weekend and was near a F21 that carried the athletic line, that I was able to feel the rest of the line. The tops are well constructed, the pants aren't thin and the jackets and sweaters are durable.... not to mention more than half the price of other athletic lines!

4. After two years of not working, I decided to get back out there and get a job. For now, I'll be working part time but I feel that's what I can handle right now. Before I had my little one, I thought i'd be able to bounce back quickly and get back into work with no problems. I even told my cousins that I didn't think I could be away from work... But I had a couple of issues post-partum and then getting the hang of motherhood was a little bit of a challenge. Now, I'm finally ready to put myself out there! And I get to do something I love doing... shopping!

5. We've had a lot going on lately: Lily's First Birthday, our second wedding anniversary, wedding festivities for a girlfriend of mine and my hubby and his friend have a new business venture. Needless to say blogging has been on the bottom of the list. But we did get to take an impromptu trip to Sausalito last weekend! We loaded up our little one and hung out at the Cavallo Point Hotel. It was a tad windy but gloriously warm. We watched the marine layer descend on San Francisco and Lily was so excited to see people fly their kites. It was a much needed getaway!

Happy Frrrrrriday! You know when you have some weeks where you have everything down and its absolutely going your way? This was one of them! I got my workouts in, I managed to keep the house in (mostly) working order, and had a little energy to hang with the hubby and get out of the house and actually do something!

Method of making time work for working out:
I've committed to working out three days a week for now so I picked Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. These are the days that my blogs post so I have free time at night to get an hour of working out in.

What I'm doing:
I'm alternating between exercises found on the Tone It Up website and hitting the gym for some cardio. Running is difficult for me at this point because I have a pain in my tailbone which I'm assuming is from labor and delivery. The eliptical is a lower impact activity so I'm sticking to that for the time being.

How It's Going:
I really like the exercises and you can even download a printable and take it with you. When I workout at the gym, I have a copy of the exercises with me so I know what to do next. At home, I'll plug my laptop in and workout in front of it. Still trying to find our Google Chromecast so I can wireless-ly connect the internet.... I'm still having difficulty keeping up with some movements but I'm hanging in there! I did the Mermaid workout last week and MAN was I sore! I think I'll do it again as my Friday routine. I like to switch up the different areas so my body doesn't get used to doing the same exercises on the same days.

Nutrition:
 Since I don't follow the Tone It Up Guidelines, I just try to eat better. We make breakfast burritos at home so I'll have one of those in the morning and alternate with a smoothie on the days I don't workout. We try to keep plenty of fruit in the house as snacks (the hubby will go through 2 bunches of bananas on his own lol) and I'm trying to drink 2 of my 40oz. HydroFlask bottles of water a day.
I have broken down twice while out and bought a cookie at Starbucks...it's a habit i'm trying to break!

Fitness Fashion:
It's been over a year since I'd worked out last and the fitness fashion has totally changed since then! There are so many cute outfits/shoes/accessories out there that are budget-concious! Here are some of my favorites!

Mother's Day is just around the corner! Here are my top pics for last minute gifts. There is a little bit of everything in here that for pampering you mom or momma-to-be from quick gifts to some luxe items...

Things mom's love:
1. Perfume: I love perfume! Having a few on rotation can change the feel of an outfit or even moods. My favorite scent is D&G Light Blue.

2. Soft and fuzzy things: I really like the Restoration Hardware throw in this list. Its perfect for snuggling up while watching a movie or reading a book (after the kiddies are asleep because let's face it, when does a mama snuggle up during the middle of the day! LOL!)

3. Sunnies: It's bright out there! Protect her eyes with some cute sunglasses! You can splurge or head to places like Forever 21 that have some luxe-like shades on a budget!

4. Jewelry: No need to go out and buy the Hope Diamond. There are really cute pieces that won't break the bank out there.

5. Fitness gear: For the mama who is into looking good while working out, get her some new kicks or a new outfit or a wearable like a FitBit.

6. Heels: If you can splurge, get her a pair of coveted Christian Louboutins. Those red soles will make any woman feel sexy!

7. Hip, Comfy T-shirts: I am all about comfy t-shirts lately. You can dress them up or down and look fabulous!

9. Comfy shoes: A mama is typically on her feet all day. Getting her a pair of cute flats or even some running shoes will help her tootsies when she's on the run.

10. Make-up: If mama has been eyeing the newest make-up palette or has been talking about getting a new skincare line, snag it for her! She will appreciate you helping her feel her best in anyway she prefers.
If you don't do gifts, here are some simple ways to show mom you care:
1. Take her on a picnic. Pack up some snacks (and the kids if you can't get a sitter) and venture outside for a picnic! Since Spring is officially here in most parts of the country, Sunday should be a nice day to hang out, play with the kids and do some cloud watching. If the weather isn't great that day for you, make a pillow fort and camp indoors!

2. Do some sightseeing around town. We did this a couple of weeks ago. Venture to the Zoo or walk around your metropolitan area and just take it all in! We have pretty neat art displays around our Downtown and Midtown areas so we loaded up our little one in the stroller and walked till we couldn't walk anymore.

3. Be the mom for a day: Take the kiddos and let mom have a day off so she can take a nap or just sit and collect herself.

4. Make her a cocktail (and dinner!): If getting out is impossible, make her a nice dinner and a cocktail and sit on the patio when all have been put to bed. If anyone happens to wake up, let her sit while you check on the troops!

5. Make something for her: A silly card, print out pictures...Get creative... It'll show you put some serious thought into a gift for her.

6. Tell her you love her: Need I say more? :)

To all the moms out there, hope you have a Happy Mother's Day...

I've shared this post at:

Happy Monday! I thought I'd switch things up a bit and start a new series called "Make It Mondays" where I show you my DIY projects.

This week, I'm showing you a super easy project that you can do with Ikea picture frames and some brass corners (and little teeny nails). I got the idea when I read through a DIY frame idea by Courtney at A Thoughtful Place. She used painters tape to create her corners and they turned out fabulous!

Here is her finished product (link to her blog post can be found here):

After seeing this, I thought about it more and wondered if they sold brass corners. Through some digging around via Google, I found some really cute brass corners! When they came in the mail though, they had no nails to go with them. I had to scour the internet once again and after visiting a few hardware stores that didn't sell that small of a nail, I found them online.

The frames I used were RIBBA but I just checked the IKEA website and they don't carry the size I have which I believe is an 11x14 and they also don't carry the color black...

 First, I glued the corners to the picture frames to keep them steady when I was going to add the nails in. I used a rock hammer to nail in the nails because a full sized hammer was way too big.


The nails were really delicate so if I hit it too hard, they bent.

 Then, I'd have to pull them out with pliers. I did this quite a few times. Each corner had 2 holes, 6 total. I only hammered in the first two on the front of the frame.


Pulling these little nails out was super tricky too. The frames are made of compacted wood and were somewhat tough to nail through but I did it!

 I've been in a slight funk the past couple of weeks and I'm blaming the lack of working out in my life. Pre-baby, I was able to workout without much thought and after I had my little one, with nursing all the time to lack of sleep, working out became non-existent in my life. Nearly a year later, I've struggled with being able to workout whether it be due to lack of time, being tired or just being plain ol' lazy. A girlfriend of mine is getting married this year and had chosen me to be a bridesmaid. It didn't really sink in that I needed to get up and move my tush until I tried on my dress. It's just a little snug around the mid-section. Otherwise, looking in the mirror, my mid-section is rubbery, my legs have shrunk and so has my tush. SADFACE.

Now that baby is sleeping without nursing every 2-3-4 hours, the hubby suggested I dust off that gym membership and start up again.

The first week (last week), I primarily stuck to cardio and did some light free-weight work afterward. But after only a week, I became bored. So, I'm researching things to do.

Prior to this, I also haven't been eating the greatest. Weekly Friday baking of cookies, micro baking experiments... it all adds up!

The last few days, I've been doing exercises with Tone It Up, a lifestyle plan created by two super cute trainers. I'm still in the beginning stages and haven't committed to purchasing it but am really liking the workouts they do. They have a program that you can buy into that gives you a full nutrition plan, grocery list and workout plan and their social media community is super supportive. They post weekly workouts in video or a downloadable .pdf. If I'm working out at home, I just plug in my computer and do it that way or if I go to the gym (like today), I print out the pdf and take it with me.

Here is what I'm doing today! (Courtesy of Tone It Up)


I hope to do a Friday check-in here and post my progress from everything to exercising to what I eat to how I feel.

Here's to getting my booty back!