There’s a quaint little home furnishings’ store just across our neighborhood here in Cubao, called 9th Liberty Home Accessories Co. I first learned about them through the February issue of Real Living (my favorite local magazine for home interiors!), and upon discovering that they were just a five-minute drive from our house, I made plans to visit.

It’s a place after my own heart, as you can see! The owners, Steph Yutuc and Chen delos Reyes, are the artful entrepreneurs behind this beautiful concept store. Their stellar combination of talents, coupled with their love for home styling, resulted in a business that is truly inspiring, both for them and their clientele.

Here are some of my favorite spots in their store.

The view from the entrance: A large “9″ greets you as you enter into a picture-perfect showroom. I think my brain looks like this on most days.

Their workspace (where designing, conceptualizing, client work, etc. takes place) is located on the second floor. You go up those pretty steps (in pink, no less!) to get to the pretty workspace.

I especially love their chairs, which are all bespoke and upholstered in the prettiest of fabrics. Depending on the model each chair retails from anywhere between Php6,000 (a simple desk chair) and Php14,000 (that’s for a large, luxe armchair). My favorites are the Alyssa chair (Php7,020) and the Daisy chair (Php10,680) . I also love the Lisa bench, but didn’t get a photo of it! (You can view it here on Facebook.)

While their candy-sweet and chic chairs are undoubtedly their signature pieces, 9th Liberty also sells other pieces, such as console tables, side tables, decor, accessories and wall hangings. I love how everything is dutifully arranged in vignettes; I was just clicking away the whole time I was there! It’s no surprise that the place is often rented out for photo shoots, such as pre-nups and solo portraits.

Actually, my main reason for visiting 9th Liberty was to see if they could resurrect a precious piece of vintage furnishing that had been in my possession for the past four years! My mom had been carefully holding on to this wooden-base, hand-carved lamp, which was from her teenage days in Magallanes Village, where she and her siblings grew up. She passed it on to me, figuring that I could somehow use it.

I really wanted to find a purpose for it — it’s such a pretty piece! Originally adorned with a top-hat style shade, this lamp was begging me for an upcycling, but I didn’t know how to go about it.

This lamp would actually be placed in our bedroom, eventually, as part of a window vignette. I had to decide between color schemes and fabrics, but I also had to consider Ton’s preferences, too, since he would have to live with the lamp, haha. We decided on a lovely combination of turquoise and salmon pink, thanks to the lovely swatches presented to us by Steph.

The result: Something that made me giddy all over!

I call her the “dainty lamp.” She’ll blend in well with our home, which is currently undergoing some major “upcycling” in all areas. My mom was super pleased with the outcome, and even thanked me for preserving her beloved lamp. (Awww, thanks for giving it to me, Mom!) I hope to be able to pass this on to my own daughter (if and when you give me one, God!)

Fact: The Dainty Lamp is actually 9th Liberty’s first upcycling/restoration job. So yay! They’re actually splendid at it.

Thanks, Steph and Chen, for having me and the family over several times at your store, and for the amazing job on the lamp. I’ll be back for sure with more ideas!

Visit 9th Liberty Home Accessories Co. on their website. You can view current updates on Facebook, and also follow them on Instagram. Store hours are by appointment only.

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We had a bad day. Yes, collectively, as a family. We. I cannot begin to describe the stress level of that scenario.

I’d rather not re-live the blow-by-blow moments, so I’ll summarize the key aggravators:

Strike 1: We had to drive to Makati — the central business district here in my city — and it was bumper-to-bumper traffic on all routes. Yes, even those “secret” back routes my dad or my husband’s dad told us about. (I had a blog client to meet up with, which is why we had to go into the CBD.)

Strike 2: Our car’s brakes malfunctioned en route to Makati. We chugged our way with the hazard lights on from Mandaluyong to a gas station in Don Chino Roces Avenue, until we found a mechanic who wasn’t on lunch break. (It was high noon when this happened. Read: Sweltering hot. No, I’m not talking about the mechanic.)

Strike 3: We had to wait two hours for the car to get fixed and up to safety standards… and we had our son, Vito with us. This is probably the highest level of inconvenience, since the last thing that Ton and I wanted to happen this day was to have our car break down while Vito was with us. And it did. Was the universe conspiring?!

We should have been out of the game by then, but no: Witchy Wednesday wasn’t done with us…

Strike 4: Vito peed in his pants. Hasn’t happened in months, but he probably didn’t say he needed to “go” because the gas station bathroom looked like the last place a kid would want to enter. (Yes, he is my child! I hate icky public toilets!) Luckily, we had an entire outfit in his bag, so he was able to change out of his soiled clothes. Poor kid!

I have to hand it to my husband and kid though for not getting pissed off. I was actually the one stressed the whole time! Ton very calmly supervised the repair of the car while Vito and I waited it out in the gas station convenience store. He took Vito to the restroom and washed and changed his clothes. He patiently drove me to my appointment in Salcedo Village, and waited for me in Seattle’s Best. Ton was my hero today. I love you, babe!

We braved the heavy traffic going back home, knowing that the day could not possibly get worse…

… and at our doorstep, newly delivered was this:

Thank you, Selecta! You sweetened my  sour day!

Three strikes, plus another heaping… and then a pile of ice cream. Ice cream that I didn’t buy, and was too much that I had to give three tubs to my sister-in-law who lives in the apartment beside us.

Thank you, God. Thank you, Selecta people. You have no idea how great I feel now.

How was your day? I hope that despite its sourness (if it was crummy, like mine) that it ended on a sweet note somehow.

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In fact, Smart Parenting’s Wilkin’s site was brimming over with inspiring accounts of mom’s love — a great a reminder of how unconditional a mother’s love is. You can be inspired by these stories from this link: http://bit.ly/YH4ZrU

As a culmination to this story-writing contest, Wilkins chose one story submitted by a mom, and turned it into a TVC mini-series. It’s really rather sweet: Watch for Alagang Wilkins: Mom Knows Best on TV!

Show your support! You can log on to the official Alagang Wilkins Moms Microsite, or on this link and see why a mother’s love is truly the best. http://bit.ly/145KnYB

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Welcome to a new look here on Dainty Mom! How do you like it?

It’s really such a blessing to be able to blog here. Ever since I attended Holly Becker’s online e-course, Blog Boss, I’ve been nothing but focused on making this blog better, more streamlined, more inspiring. As I’ve discovered, it’s not been easy to keep on blogging. It’s long, hard work to keep up an online home. I actually did think of quitting, some time back. I was upset at the blogging world; I was disenchanted by the intrigues; the horror stories about terror bloggers; the “craze” surrounding the world of the mommy blogger. It was an ugly time for blogging, and I was actually in a rut.

The other week, while I was talking with my brother about the new look and new direction of my blog (and about my previous feelings about blogging), he affirmed me. “Ate, you have a community because you never gave up.”

Huhuhuh! Thanks, Kiddo!

I never expected myself to get out of my blogging rut, but I did. When I started to get inspired again; when I began to dig deep and start mining for inspiration again, I couldn’t be stopped. I devoured everything I could from blogging classes and writing workshops. I started to learn how to use Photoshop (one of my goals this year); I began to take more photos; I began to take more time off for things that made me smile.

I even tried designing! Here’s what I was playing with for the new look:

My first-ever “brand board” for Dainty Mom, during my blog class…

My first-ever mock-up, which I found too messy…

My second mock-up, which I found lacked some kick still…

Of course, me being a perfectionist, I wasn’t going to rely on my limited design capabilities, so I called on my ever-faithful partner-in-blog design, Patricia of Fancy Girl Studio, and gave her a long list of things I wanted, along with these studies. Sure enough, she got what I was looking for: Perfection. I love it!

I’ve been longing for a cleaner, more refined looking site that would really give a better “frame” to my new love for graphics and taking photos, as well as creating stories. Pat nailed it with this design, which had elements from both my studies. I especially love the font she used for the new logo — it kills me with its prettiness!

What’s new?

This blog makeover really marks some milestones for me. First, it comes at the start of a new venture in my life: I’m finally re-launching my professional services through MartinedeLuna.com, my erstwhile business website. It’s been untouched for quite some time, mostly due to loads of self-reflection about the freelance services. After copious amounts of reading, studying, online webinars, and yes, lots of cafe lattes, I finally decided “Yes; yes, I still want to pursue this business.” And, as Dainty Mom is and has always been the “window” into my world as a work-at-home mommy, this blog will continue to serve its purpose as a storefront to those who want to work with me on blog consulting, small business solutions, and writing services.

There are some changes as well to the direction of this blog. Thanks to my lovely mentors and “inspiration guides”, I’m focusing on the things I really love here: Family & Marriage, Motherhood, Home & Design (new!), Blogs & Writing, Currently Loving (reviews, finds), and Working at Home. These are the things that really make me tick, and I would be dishonest with myself if I didn’t write about them proudly and passionately!

Also, I will have a new section, called “Bliss Notes: Scribbles from the editor,” which is an idea I had while attending the Decor8 course. Since part of my purpose equation in life is to help women (moms, bloggers, biz owners) be the “editors-in-chief” of their lives, blogs and businesses, I thought it fitting to have a section on my site where I could write a good, old-fashioned editor’s column. My teachers Holly and Irene have always said to approach a blog as an “editor-in-chief,” and it makes so much sense to me to do this! So, watch out for this new section: It’s still in the works.

Well, it’s just like everything else in life, right?

Thanks to you reading this!

Going back to what my brother said about never stopping: Well, that really is why I’m still blogging. I blog because I am part of a loving community of mommy bloggers, of mom business owners, of creative, passionate women writers. Together with some blogging friends, I even conceptualized an event that would get me — and lots of other women — to blog with purpose. (It was a huge success, we’re gearing up for another one that’s bigger, better!) Thanks to Blog Inspired, to my family, my friends, and to you, dear readers, I’m more motivated than ever.

To those who come here when there’s a new post; who open up my newsletter; you send me emails telling me about your lives as moms; my family and friends: Thank you! I’m overwhelmed by the love this space and community has brought my way. And I know I’ll keep on “keeping on”!

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