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Oh well, Dowell!

Since I'm dying to get a Samsung Galaxy Tab, I called the Globe hotline and asked if I'm qualified to avail of any reward offers. The customer service representative checked on the current offers and responded that I can either avail of P100 monthly bill rebates or this:

Dowell Griller
Image from Abenson

I know my monthly bill isn't much and I'm not even hoping to get a high-end phone for a reward. I was actually expecting to shell out cash for the Galaxy Tab, but to be offered an eletric griller for another 24 months lock-up of mobile service is quite odd. Why bundle a kitchen appliance with call and text (and BlackBerry) services?!

I'm thinking of giving in to the offer just so I'd have something that can give me a good laugh everytime I see it. I like cooking anyway.

THE Sofabed

I thought we would have a hard time finding the perfect sofabed for the condo, but lo and behold, it's the first piece ever bought for Project: Perfect Pad:

THE Sofabed

Upholstery is made of suede-like fabric. The armrests are removable which makes it a perfect piece for limited spaces like ours. Under the seating is storage space. The color is, err, brown. Heehee.

We bought it from Our Home (SM North EDSA The Block branch). 

Got Keys!

After more than a month, I went again to Taguig for the turnover of our condominium unit. We were finally handed the keys to our new unit! Yehey! I'm liking the progress of this project.

Now that we have uncontrolled access to the unit, we're in the process of finalizing the plans for the rest of the renovation - additional cabinets, shelves, and other construction work. Only after then can we start bringing in the furniture. If my calculations serve me right, we'll be able to move in late May or early June. There may be some delays since we'll be out of the country for two weeks. Should there be decision-making roadblocks, they will have to be put off.

The standard fixtures are already in place like the kitchen cabinets, shower head and sink. The floor treatment and electrical wirings are also done.

Due to my excitement, I forgot to bring my external flash. So, I had the impromptu challenge of a flash-less indoor shoot. Apologies if the pictures are a bit dark or under exposed.

Allow me to show you the pictures. I'll be presenting the spaces the same order I did the first time we got to see the unit. (The link opens in a new window so you can view the before-and-after pictures easily.)

Rest Day Recipes: Breakfast Salad

Tagging along with Shi and her no-rice-and-meat diet has its benefits too! My taste buds have been reacquainted with the refreshing experience of devouring vegetables. And with that, I chose to have salad for breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. This could be the end of breakfast-less mornings.

breakfast salad

Coffee Mugs

Earlier today Mama and I went all the way to SM Fairview to see if there's anything we can get from the three-day sale. We headed straight to the home section and I immediately browsed through the mugs and found this: 

Ecology coffee mugs - bubble design 

It came in four other designs, but since I have a penchant for uncommon modern designs that can easily fit in contemporary style, it wasn't too difficult to pick this one. I'd gladly serve my guests coffee with these mugs.

Moving on to another mug story - I'm having a hard time describing the shade of blue I want for the bedrooms of the condo unit. I've always coined it as the "Twitter" blue. As I went through my stuff in my room a few days back, I chanced upon a mug that I received (from my college friend Jamie) as a gift years ago. First thing that came into my mind, "Exactly the shade of blue I want for the bedroom walls!" Now all I have to do is show Tina the mug.

Tina, if you're reading this, here's the shade of blue I've been telling you about:

Rest Day Recipes: Pesto Linguine

Last week my parents and I had dinner at Grills and Sizzles where they served eat-all-you-can steak, pasta and salad. The pasta they served that night was pesto penne, which inspired me to learn how to cook pesto. So I searched the internet and found a simple pesto recipe.

Turnover Today!

Today's the turnover of our condo unit! The mother and the interior designer will be checking on the unit later to see if the standard fixtures are in place and if everything is in order. We'll then start shopping and bringing in stuff after today.

Meanwhile, here are the designs and layouts submitted to us by Tina, our interior designer:

The receiving area

The dining area

The master's bedroom

The second bedroom

The final look may be quite far from these samples. Although I do want the walls green for the living-dining area and blue for the bedrooms, the colors depicted in the pictures are not the right shade. I'd prefer olive green and sky blue. We'll also pick a different style for the furniture. I want a rustic feel to the rooms; something that goes with wrought-iron accessories. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of items from angelo:HOME.

We'll see how everything turns out.