Topic: Christmas

Treat of the Week: Marshmallow Mocha from Subspace Coffee House

23 December 2011   Team MJ   No comments
Marshmallow Mocha from Subspace Coffeehouse

The verdict: It perks you up like a coffee yet is sweet enough to have as a nice treat when taking a break from the holiday shopping and traffic madness.

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Wrap it up

22 December 2011   Deepa Paul-Plazo   2 Comments
Gift 1

One of my favorite things about Christmas is wrapping gifts. I love paper, color, pattern and creating things with my hands; it’s in the soothing satisfaction of wrapping gifts that these pleasures mingle. Neatly cut strips of tape, pristinely folded corners, carefully coordinated color schemes, ribbons curled or tied into bows with just the right amount of spring—the pleasure of getting these little details right makes my toes curl with satisfaction every time.

Living in Amsterdam, I’ve learned that gift-wrapping is a free service that comes with purchases not only at Christmastime, but pretty much all year round. While ringing up your purchase, most store cashiers—whether at a big department store or a tiny mom-and-pop shop—will ask you if it’s a cadeau, or gift.

I’m not usually one to have my presents wrapped (that’s like… like cheating!), but when the offer came from the lady behind the counter at Tangram, a tiny gift shop on the Herenstraat crammed with quirky design goods, I caved in. Not only did I leave with two quirkily wrapped presents, but also with an easy, inexpensive and inspiring gift-wrapping idea to share!

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Holiday Beauty

15 December 2011   Katrina Ramos Atienza   No comments
Sparkle like a Cullen

Christmas parties! Reunions! Face-stuffing! The holidays are all so busy, festive and fun – what better season than this to showcase your gorgeous face? Take advantage of the good cheer (and hopefully good lighting) with amped-up holiday beauty. Try these:

Line them up

From Liz Taylor’s dramatic winged eyelids to Twiggy’s emphasized waif eyes, liquid eyeliner guarantees you’ll make an impact, wherever you go. You can do a little retro line or go all-out Cleopatra. I know most people are scared of liquid liner, however, so keep a few tips in mind: rest the heel of your hand on your cheek to steady it as you apply the liner; start with a thin line and light pressure as close as possible to your lashes and then add/thicken from there; and choose a liquid liner with a slim, precise applicator. I prefer the kind that comes in a pot with a brush than the pen applicators, which tend to smudge on me. My favorite is Avon ExtraLasting Eyeliner.

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Out with the old, in with the new

13 December 2011   Deepa Paul-Plazo   2 Comments
christmasballs.feat

I love decorating the house for Christmas! I’ve loved it since I was a kid, and I’ve come to love it even more now that I have my own home.

My first Christmas in my very own home was in 2008, the year after I got married and moved to Singapore with my husband. I was thrilled to finally be the one to call the shots (moving up from bunso to lady of the house!) and I went on a Christmas décor bender in Landmark, my bargain mecca, with all the boundless enthusiasm and dewy-eyed wonder of the newly wed.

Fast forward three years later, and… well, I began to think I’d outgrown the packaged set of matching red and gold ornaments we bought in that first holiday frenzy. Our tree started to feel too coordinated, not special: more like a Christmas tree you’d find at a dentist’s office than a tree that could be cherished over the years, growing its roots deep into the memories of our young family.

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Fasyon holiday gifts

08 December 2011   Katrina Atienza   No comments
Fasyon holiday gifts: J Crew military jacket

It’s the season for Christmas parties and holiday wishlists are circulating like crazy. With friends and family practically begging you to just tell them, dangit, what you really want for Christmas, here’s the perfect chance to ask for fashion-y items to kick your New Year wardrobe into high gear! Don’t be shy – you’ve been good all year, so be specific with the pegs and visual aids (I put my wishlist up on my blog for the world to see, ha!). Or, conversely, you may be the one doing the shopping and you don’t quite know what to give your stylish tita (or boss or niece or friend). Here are some Kris Kringle themes to consider.

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Project: Gift ribbons/bows out of magazine ads

30 November 2011   Carmina Esguerra-Co   1 Comment
magazine ribbons

Some people can wrap gifts beautifully, but I am sadly not one of those people. No matter how much effort I put in, gifts from me still look a bit shabby, and it’s become a chore to have to do this every year. But then I found a way to make it fun for me, and turn the shabby into some sort of statement.

Three years ago, I started this project because I didn’t get to shop for Christmas gifts and wrapping supplies early enough. So I toyed with the idea of wrapping all my gifts in reusable or reused materials. The best discovery of that period was this tutorial for making gift bows from magazine ads.

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From –ber to BRRRR!

22 November 2011   Deepa Paul-Plazo   1 Comment
Photo1.feat

Moving to Amsterdam has certainly put the BRRRR! in the –ber months. Though it’s technically not winter yet, it sure seems that way to me—mainly because the sun sets earlier and earlier each day, and it gets dark (I mean really dark) so fast.

Combine the darkness with temperatures ranging from 0-5ºC (maybe 8º if you’re lucky) and the Twilight Zone-ish fog that’s settled on the city lately, and nights can become crippling.

Luckily, the Dutch are the masters of gezelligheid, one of those hard-to-translate words (like our kilig). Gezelligheid roughly translates to a warm, quaint, or cozy nice atmosphere; my most basic understanding of the adjective gezellig is “cozy.” Making things gezellig is a national expertise, and for good reason. My crash course on gezellig (learn it fast or freeze!) has taught me five things that are essential for coping with the long, cold, dark nights.

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  • Column: Wanderlust Life

    • Freelance writer Deepa Paul-Plazo lives in Amsterdam with her husband and cat. She travels, dabbles in creative pursuits, and swings wildly between having way too much and not enough free time. More »

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