The brown room

One of the first things we conceptualized before we finally started decorating our home was the color scheme. We have decided that each part of the house would sport a different color palette or motif so that it would be easier for us to decide which furniture, décor and textiles to buy. We decided a black and white palette for our living room, the bathroom on the ground floor would have a beach motif, our bedroom is a display of various shades of blue and the kitchen is in natural wood and burgundy tint. When Mama Lita came here for a visit, we dressed up one of the guest rooms in brown and earth shades. However, during those times, we haven’t had any curtains made for the room. In anticipation of Ate Nicky and her family’s visit, we bought several curtains while we were back in Manila for our holidays. We finally found the perfect curtain that would go in each of the spare rooms.

Over the weekend, Honey finally managed to replace and install new curtain rods on both the spare rooms and we were able to drape the brown room with these beautiful curtains. I had to laugh when honey said “I can’t stop looking at the (brown) room, it’s just so pretty!” haha. I think Ate Nicky and her hubby would be very comfortable in here on their week-long stay.


Hopefully, we could manage to clear up and prettify the other spare room over the week, if only it’s not Honey’s month-end. Ahh, accountants and our month-ends. Stay tuned, we will be creating a green space out of the other room.

One lazy Sunday afternoon

We’ve been having a bright, sunny and warm weather here in Amsterdam for quite a while now and it is an opportunity we grabbed to have friends over, finish a long overdue project and prepare for the visit of families and friends in the weeks to come. As welcome as the great weather is, the activity laden weekdays and weekends this entire month or so has taken its toll and I really needed a relaxed day to just lay like broccoli and the gray and rainy Sunday afternoon was just the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Honey was still hurling around installing curtain rods and window blinds to the guest rooms. My poor honey, so I fixed him a snack first before selecting a movie I could watch while curled up in bed. I chose Memoirs of a Geisha.


I am very fond of this film coz I really like the setting of the movie, an old Japanese town and the characters performances are notable. The movie tells us a tale of a young child, who through circumstances, was exposed and soon became a part of the mysterious world of the Geishas. The movie revolves around her trials while growing up and her path to becoming a Geisha, her inspirations, her glory, her love and ultimately the fulfillment of her long desire. Zhang Ziyi, I think, is the perfect choice to play this part, she lends Sayuri’s character a beauty and grace that I don’t think any other actress could have. Gong Li also gave a distinguished portrayal of Hatsumumo’s character who was a conniving, selfish, jealous Geisha who was envious of Sayuri’s character and beauty. I have watched Memoirs of a Geisha several times in the past but I never get bored with it.

I haven’t read this international best selling book though but I am currently in search of a copy here in Amsterdam so that I could compare the movie portrayal and the novel. This movie was the perfect choice while relaxing on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I have a secret

Honey and I were on our way back here in Amsterdam from our emergency trip back home to Manila and while waiting for our connecting flight from Hong Kong to Amsterdam, we decided to stroll and explore the shops inside the Hong Kong International Airport. As we entered one of the bookstores, I chanced upon this book and remembered seeing it quite a few times in the past already. I even saw Samantha from Sex and the City reading this book in one of the scenes from the movie. I got intrigued and since we were still about to embark on another thirteen-hour flight, I decided I could use some books to pass time and bought it together with a romantic novel (Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux). The book was entitled The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

It has been over a month since then and I have finished reading the romance novel long since but I seemed to have forgotten about The Secret book that I have kept on my night stand drawer. I was rummaging through our bookshelf for something to read last weekend when I finally remembered about this book that I have been neglecting. So up I went to our bedroom and started browsing through the pages of this very curious book. It was very easy to read, chapters are short and messages were simple but hard hitting. It talks about how a person should be the master of his thoughts and ultimately the creator of his destiny. The ideas presented are thought provoking and uplifting. All in all, I think this is one book worth reading