I hosted a baby shower recently and attempted my first diaper cake. If you’re a regular to this blog, you probably know how much I value presents with personal touch, the priceless gift of time that comes with that. “Cooking” a diaper cake seemed intimidating at the beginning. But I thought that this must be fun and it really was. Thanks to the free tutorial videos (don’t fall for those who ask you to pay for it) that psyched me that it’s doable in less than an hour. While I am not an expert in preparing diaper cakes, I’d like to share my first “baking” experience of this kind that it may encourage you to whip one in the future.

As it is, of course, a surprise to the soon-to-be-mommy, it pays to know what else she needs (in my friend’s case, she’s done with all the necessary shopping), her personality, and if she’s picky with baby stuff, so you can decide better what can be considered practical decors for the diaper cake. For this one, I needed the following:

64-piece newborn diapers
booties and baby figurine as toppers
thick and thin rubber bands
glue for crafting
baby oil*
baby shampoo*
scissor
round tray or any base (could be made of cardboard)
at least 2 kinds of ribbons (will be used to cover the rubber band lining)
stick-on crafty flowers

*you may use feeding bottles

1. Roll up the diaper and wrap it with rubber band.
2. Put around the baby shampoo the rolled diapers and wrap with thick rubber band.

3. After fitting the first layer with the base, proceed with the middle layer and use the baby oil as you work towards the third layer.
4. As an option, you may put in any of the layers the surprises (e.g. vouchers, toys, etc.).

5. Cover the rubber bands by ribbons. You may use thick ribbons to fully cover the bands and the diapers and to make it appear like a real cake. In my case, I preferred to play with different thin ribbons. Also, in anticipation that these can be utilized as scrapbook materials soon.

The photos that follow show how the diaper cake transformed as I added cutesy stuff little by little:

While the hearts were glued on the thicker ribbon, the other ribbon has the stitched style.

The green crafty pieces gave a good contrast to pink. Time to put on the toppers. You may also use bears and other toys, I opted for the (practical) booties.

Here’s how it looked from the other side. You can always position the not-so-perfect side at the back. Or put on other decors or items (otherwise known as concealers).

Then I remembered that I have cupcake wrappers that were tuned in with the colors, I put them around the cake and filled in the chocolates. It’s also a good idea to put real cupcakes around or tiny photo frames.

The baby shower was a success. Some of the guests scrutinized the anatomy of the diaper cake and our kittycat, Winello, was the most curious.

Visiting a souk (bazaar or market) is probably less appealing during the first phase of summer in Abu Dhabi. But it’s definitely a come-on when you think of this new age souk! Few minutes drive from where I live, the historic Central Market is now sporting a new look as it’s transforming into a hub of local food, crafts, boutiques, and traditional and bustling pieces rolled into one. Stories say that the old souk was greatly affected by fire in 2004. As for the idea of resurrecting it, I liked the part that they conceptualized the modern souk not by simply putting up a shiny establishment, and instead they retained the Arabic feel through its architecture.

Although The Souk is still eyeing its completion by the end of this year, it’s worth the visit because of the interesting finds inside it, a peek to its architecture, and the appreciation through your own senses that it’s a stand out in the UAE.

During our visit last weekend, we noticed that the available stalls offer arts and crafts products, antiques, cameras, jewelries, designer glasses (uhum, must be the season – an eye toy, err, cover is a must), chocolates, and a variety of dining choices ranging from Middle Eastern to Western dishes, not to mention the presence of gorgeous coffee, frozen yogurt and ice cream shoppes.

If you’re looking for edible gold-like cake toppers/figurines, you might want to check Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I enjoyed the free taste of chocolates which were kookily shaped as pharaohs and other trivial figures. I willingly accepted the discount card because I might become a suki (frequent customer), who knows? To start, we got a pack of spoon-shaped chocolates.

How I wish I were that articulate in reading Arabic, or even if I am (wishful!) I wish I knew how to use this sort of globe or compass.

The displays near the escalators, as well as the sculptures of deers (I thought we would find camels instead; but there were plenty of camel inspired souvenirs) and other antique cabinets are really attention grabbing. In a way, it felt like being in a modern-non-eerie museum.

While there are mahogany-like structured benches, the sofa and other booths with this traditional design and color were reminiscent of our Desert Safari experience… and of Baguio in the Philippines.

I absolutely liked how they put together the sliding roofs and walls to pave way for a better ventilation. As the architect accounted it, while the towers relate to distance and skyline, the souk and the lower levels are scaled to the pedestrian. An intimate sequence of streets, alleys, courtyards, balconies and colonnades dissolve barriers between inside and outside, with flexible sliding roofs and walls to enable control of internal environments, and to maximise potential for natural ventilation. Like a patchwork quilt of gridded modules of varying height, the scheme is a highly articulated composition that bridges and unifies two city blocks.

Here’s the current look of the food court. It can only get more impressive in few months.

We tried the strawberry waffle and nutella crepe from The Crepe Cafe. Surprisingly, they were light and not too sweet. We found another favorite! But if you really want to know, we’re now earmarking our visits to The Souk to try the tea house and themed coffee shoppes. The ambiance is really magnetic.

This is how it looks from the outside. I’m not sure if it’s the Asian in me, but it felt and it looked like that there was a touch of Japanese and/or Korean architecture in it.

But whatever it is, I liked the practicality and appeal of the combination of old Abu Dhabi with the modern age in this structure. Let’s see once this mall (yes, it is!) is in full bloom.

The Souk, Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Website: http://www.centralmarket.ae/souk/

We were going to Marina Mall when we noticed that something new was cooking at the Cornice. There’s a lot of activities happening in the open area near the beach, but we just really had to drop by because a sand sculpture showcase in Abu Dhabi was a first as I can recall.

(We took this close up shot just to see how deep was the hole of the eyes, only now I noticed that the nose would need a little fixing).

The sand sculpture festival was organized by Emirates Heritage Club. Last weekend, they have started bringing in 300 tonnes of sand which were sourced from the desert outside Al Ain (the so called oasis of Abu Dhabi). It is claimed to be softer and cleaner. Nine sculptors who came from Syria, UAE, Brazil, Holland, Australia, South Africa, Egypt and Latvia participated in the festival. We observed that some of them started touching the sand only when the weeklong festival was about to end. I assume that this is to avoid the running repairs which is expected because of the wind. The use of chemicals (as popularly utilized in the sand sculptures by the beach) was banned. Hence, they had to water the scupltures at least twice a day.

(It took at least three days to complete this replica of Fort of Al Jahili, Al Ain.)

Stalls selling clothes, CDs, toys, perfumes and souvenirs were also made available.

(The camel on castle was well conceptualized.)

(I wonder how the artwork turned out. It was two days before the end of festival when we visited.)

(An image of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I hope they made the strikes deeper and more prominent.)

(They have dedicated one area for the children to try making sand sculpture.)

(Here’s how a usual UAE structure looks like in the old days. Until now the hospitals, malls, and even public toilets and some establishments still adopt a percentage of this architecture.)

And here goes my two favorites:

The shepherd and his camels. I thought it’s an intricate work and it speaks a lot about the UAE’s history especially during the time of the bedouins.

(This is how it looks at the other side.)

People and the palm tree. I liked this sculpture a lot because I see the image of “bayanihan” (helping each other/teamwork) with the group of sand people as they were ready to plant a palm tree.

(The arabic scripture reads as “If you give me a plant, I will guarantee you a good future.” That was quoted by the founder of the UAE, the late President Sheikh Zayed.)

(A really good job from Ali Moualla, a sculptor from Syria.)

I think that the Emirates Heritage Club should carry on this festival again next year. While there are many activities happening in the UAE, the use of the sand itself in the showcase is very Middle East and it’s one of the activities they can position themselves better when it comes to telling the story of their rich culture and history. They should also strengthen the campaign so that more residents and visitors can benefit from this free exhibit.

I recently stopped by ADNOC Oasis, a convenience store chain owned by the biggest gasoline station in Abu Dhabi, and saw wooden puzzles being sold together with the globe version of the rubiks cube. I hardly see these nowadays that made me recall how puzzle was founded in the 17th century, i.e. when a London engraver and mapmaker mounted a map on a wood sheet and used it in teaching geography.

Once you buy them, you get to disassemble and reassemble the pieces. So I proceeded with the wooden airplane. I thought it’ll be easy; but it required much patience to fix it. Or maybe I’m slow. Hahaha. Hence, I didn’t want the wooden car to be “out of order”. I just left it like that. (*grins*). You want real adult puzzles out there? Try those pretty side tables and other items from Ikea (or its counterpart) that you need to assemble all by yourself unless you ask somebody else who has better inductive reasoning aptitude to fix it for you or you qualify for a free delivery and assembly upon meeting the purchase threshold. Until now I still can’t fix the paper lamp I got from them. (I once thought that I should have just begged from Ikea to sell to me that lamp on display. LOL.) Even if I’m so tempted to outsource its assembly, I’m still enjoying the challenge of putting together the pieces. I’ll share a photo when it’s done. I hope that’s soon!

May we all sustain the energy and inspiration needed in picking the pieces of the puzzle (it’s everywhere!) we encounter in our own lives.

Google did it again!

If you did love the technology of Google Street View, you’ll probably be excited about visiting the museums worldwide through your computer.  Google Art Project has taken zoomable shots of 17 museums (including the amazing Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid) across the globe.

(Another favorite, Ophelia in Tate Britain)

While I prefer seeing the pieces in person just like our visits to Museum of the Filipino People/ National Museum of the Philippines and Museu de Macao, I can say that I immensely enjoyed navigating through each work of art online. In fact, I didn’t notice that I already created seven (7) artwork collections, which I named as follows (just click the link to view): Architecture and Landscape, Still Life, People and Portraiture, Historical Accounts, Symbolisms, Statues and Collections, and Favorites. I suggest that you create an artwork collection and label each painting/work of art that you like as you see it. You may put temporary labels since you can rename it anytime. That way, you do the bookmarking of the good great pieces based on initial impression. Your own “collections” or I’d rather call “albums or photo sets” are shareable.

(The Artist’s Mother, Louis Eysen in Alte Nationalgalerie. I liked how they hanged the books on the wall.)

(Whirlwind, Fillipp Malyavin in The State Tretyakov Gallery)

Since online viewing of these works of art is attractive, one of the initial calculated risks is the possible decrease in number of visitors to the museums covered by this project. However, Google Project Art actually aims to augment the marketability of visits to the museums by encouraging us to appreciate art by making it (digitally) accessible. As we do our walkthrough of each museum, i.e. navigate the website, we will notice the added information though the video, audio and biography. After some extent of appreciation, they hope that the viewers will be more enthusiastic to see these in person. If we have the means, why not eh (*thinks about plane tickets*)? But as of the moment, I am more than pleased about the quality viewing I got. I think that it was an enriching and well-spent manhours I had today. I had an art feast.

PS. Whether our own national museum (of the Philippines) will be covered by something like this in the future or not, please take time to visit it first-hand.

Credits: All images were screencaptures  from Google Art Project website.

I have moved in to a new flat which is nearer to my work place and covers a more economical lease agreement. Hence, one of the things that kept me busy as I returned from my vacation was the packing (and unpacking, ugh) of my stuff. I could have done it before I went on holidays to the Philippines, but I just did not want to stress myself that time. Anyway, moving out and in was a breeze. Thanks to my employer who recommended the movers who were very reliable when it comes to shifting stuff. If you are based in Abu Dhabi and need the same service, let me know.

(Yes, that’s the cocktail photo that I took from the food photography workshop.)

We held the housewarming plus the joint birthday celebrations of friends last weekend. We realized that we did miss each other sooo much because it has been so long since the last time we randomly gathered. Since some of us spent the holidays in the Philippines, we did not have our usual pre-Christmas party. After the chatter over very good food, which were all “outsourced” by the way (i.e. I did not cook any, even the desserts, heehee), we felt so re-energized although we practically consumed our energy in laughing over trivial stuff (politics, personal lives, etc.) and well, eat, eat and eat.

(We had sisig, dinuguan, caldereta, embutido, palabok, turbo broiled chicken, adobo, and cheesecake.)

By the way, I have done a little rearrangement of the living room to accentuate it with Filipino decors. But overall, I think that it turned out to be a fusion of Asian look.

These musicians and ballerinas are being sold in Bayti (Arabic term for house) in Marina Mall. I particularly liked these because they are made in the Philippines. Yehey for more Filipino products in the UAE! Remember the Lolo Jose lamp?

(Here’s Sandy Iggy from the sisterhood of traveling Igorota joining Princess Leia and R2-D2 from Star Wars from my online exchange gift partner and the Philippine Jeepney from upto6only.)

(My dear friends-visitors ransacked my DVDs. Hahaha.)

(Another ballerina guarding the digital photo frame. And yes, that’s me on it.)

It was definitely the most fun weekend of my January. I wish all of us a great February. Things can only get better.

One of the many interesting China-related articles in the latest issue of Newsweek talked about the possibility that Mandarin will take over English. The analysis was prompted by the current positioning of China in becoming the world’s economic leader in the next few decades. In a separate article, The China Threat, Goldman Sachs made a strong calculation that it will happen by 2027. However, it has been opined by the author, John McWhorter, that English would be here to stay.

“With another roll of the cosmological dice the world’s language would be Tagalog.”

If we must recall, Latin being the language of the church and science dominated for a number of centuries. However, English phase by phase took over in response to a definite need. What dictates a linguistic power? In the UAE, it helps when an expatriate speaks (and reads) Arabic. However, it is not an ultimate necessity in surviving the business. But in our day to day interaction, work and off-work, we had to adopt some purely Arabic terminologies side by side the use of English in order to express ideas which are new and/or because of its association to a concept. For instance, to more effectively promote the concept of sustainability, the government and expatriates working on it had to adopt the flagship of Estidama as the official word (an Arabic word which means sustainability). The acceptance of something, at times, would involve acceptance of the word.

At the end of the day, economic power does not equate to linguistic power. However, culture and change are interlinked.

On a lighter note, I think that most of us would want to be multi-lingual. If anyone would have the means and interest, why not include Mandarin, eh? (Regardless of the probability of this being the most powerful language in the future.) Right now, I am more interested in learning Korean and French (attribute that to the movies I consume), and okay, Arabic, too.

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While I have Philippine jeepneys (souvenir type; thanks to those who sent it to me as Christmas gifts!) in my living room, a portion of it has been “invaded” by China already. You remember this snapshot which I previously shared through this blog post? I had it framed within 30″ x 40″ and is now hanging on the wall.

(This is the same photo on the frame, except that the watermark bears my real name. I liked it a lot because it makes me feel that I’m standing at the middle of everything and nowhere.)

A visitor to my house can effortlessly point that an Asian dwells in it. There’s a fusion of Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian pieces.  And well, there is a resident Choc Nut and occasional smell of our very own adobo.

Since I wanted to be an important part of the history (heehee) of my friend’s son’s childhood, I attempted to create something which would qualify as one of his firsts.

After drafting patterns, cutting, stitching, stuffing and so, here comes his first ever personalized toy.

(I didn’t make the pair of shoes. But I had it included when I did the packaging. I used the notecard which Glenda gifted me, the one with dog illustration.)

Don’t we just love anything stitched/handled with warmth and care?

I didn’t expect that half of the mission in Glenda of Oodles of Goodles’ entry to my birthday/blogoversary giveaway pertains to me.

(Each notecard comes in set of five)

Hers is indeed an atelier, with these pretty notecards and bookmarks as testament. I think most of the people in my generation fancied and had a collection of stationeries and other artsy writing pads. Though I’m over that phase, handmade stuff are getting me since last year. I’ve been checking items from paperatelier and I was particularly eyeing two:

(a) The gold organza flower note card because I find it so elegant. When I met her personally, she really is.

(b) The shutterbug goes vintage notecards because they are so me, with the camera print as the main reason. I remember telling Glenda that I liked this set a lot during the first few days it became available in the shoppe.

Having these carefully crafted notecards is one of the reasons that revived my love for (cursive) writing.

Much thanks, Glenda!

Last weekend we checked the Talking Art Louvre exhibit in Emirates Palace. Louvre Abu Dhabi is one of the cultural development projects of the government. The first universal museum in Middle East is set in Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. Under a two-year-old agreement, Abu Dhabi will pay France $555 million for the use of the Louvre’s name, as well as for art loans, special exhibitions and management advice. The 260,000-square-foot museum is expected to open in 2013.

Like in last year’s Picasso exhibit, photo taking was not allowed. Louvre exhibit started with a film which showed the setting up of the universal museum, followed by the guided tour to 19 works of art (which include standing bodhisattva from the second to third century A.D., a Chinese white marble head of Buddha from the Northern Qi Dynasty, A.D. 550-577, a 16th-century polychrome painted copper ewer from Venice, works on Christian religious themes, including a Bellini “Madonna and Child” from the 1480s and a 16th-century sculpture of Jesus from Bavaria or Austria) bought over the last 20 months for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, as well as loans from the French national museums.

If you have a chance, don’t miss this one. The guided tour is free of charge, but reservation is required. You may send an email to artsabudhabi@tdic.ae or call +9712 690 8230. The exhibit will run until August 29, 2009 (11am and 630pm sessions daily) at Gallery One in Emirates Palace.

***

Since I was with visitors-friends from Dubai that night, we checked some unrestricted areas in the hotel before the exhibit begun. These portraits of the sheiks will welcome you at the main entrance.

If you’re visiting UAE, don’t be surprised to see photos/portraits of sheiks in the offices, malls, roads, and other establishments.

To correct most of the people’s perception, Emirates Palace is actually a hotel (for me, it’s a palace, period heehee). The president/ruler of UAE lives in a real palace. (UAE has nine emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The latter as the capital city/emirate).

I don’t mind looking up to this ceiling whenever I visit here.

During my first visit I couldn’t believe that the lobby, ceiling and the leaves of the palm trees are gold-plated and that chandeliers were made of Swarovski crystals.

No wonder that the price of the items in the bars and cafes are so goldirrific. Just like the pricing in the seemingly underwater restaurant where we took lunch last time.

This so called Palace cake is so expensive. Hence, I had to savor it to the tiniest visible trace of glucose. But it’s absolutely delicious.

Of course, we were regaled by the irregular shape of chairs.

After we were done with the at least 60-minute guided tour in Louvre exhibit, we did catch this gorgeous lady playing harp.

This is a mural at the second level showing the entire Emirates Palace Hotel.

Next: Emirates Palace at night