Shopping Find: Eno Craft Kits

As a teacher, I'm on summer break at the moment. And one of the things I had wanted to spend time on during this break is doing crafts. I've always been fond of crafting -- in particular, paper crafts. For the past few Christmases, I've made my own gift tags and gift boxes. I've also helped friends and family conceptualize and execute their invitations and party favors during special occasions. 

Crafting has been very Zen for me and I do enjoy being creative. So you can imagine how excited I got when I found these Eno craft kits in Landmark Makati! Depending on the size of the kit, prices range from P79.75 to P219.75. A card kit, for instance, contains 15 coloured cards with many small sets of decoupage, pretty paper and embellishments such as buttons, ribbons, flowers, stars and so forth. Since I don't really write a lot of greeting cards, I've decided to cut these cards into smaller pieces so they can serve as gift tags instead. These sell at P199.75 to P219.75. 

Apart from greeting cards, they also sell kits so you can make embellished gift boxes. You can use these to put small gift items like monogrammed key chains, earrings, necklaces and others. In one pack, you can make 6-8 gift boxes and they only cost P79.75. It's ridiculous! Super cheap! 

Eno also has these photo album/scrapbook kits, book covers and frames. Possibilities are endless! You can find all these and more in what I call the "wasteland" area of Landmark. It's on the ground floor just right by the escalators. There are lots of pretty notebooks, tin cans and kawaii items here. I'm sure these items are also sold in Divisoria but really, they're already quite cheap here at Landmark. Enjoy! :-)

Travel Must-Have: Malong

Aside from a first-aid kit full of medicine, an absolute travel must-have for me is the malong. Similar to a sarong, a malong is a "tube" skirt often made locally of batik. It's so versatile and it truly comes in handy for many uses! Namely: 

1.) As a budget traveler, I've had my share of gross bedsheets in hotels. My malong has saved me and have assured me of a good night's sleep as it acts not only as my security blanket which reminds me of home, but when worn, it helps to add an extra layer between me and the bacteria-ladened mattress and sheets!

2.) There are certain dress codes when you visit temples. Just put on a solid-colored shirt and don your colorful malong and there you have it -- a fashionable and comfortable outfit for a day at the temples. 

3.) For those long bus trips or boat cruises, the malong can act as a warm scarf or blanket which you can share with your significant other as you snuggle beside each other!

4.) When packing your stuff and you have fragile items, you can wrap your malong around it to act as a bubble wrap. Or if you're out of plastic bags, you can use your malong to separate the dirty or used items from the clean ones. 

5.) Finally, the malong can be used to cover any valuables that you have -- shielding gadgets and  electronics or what-not left at the hotel or during quick layovers in flights. 

When traveling, you want to make sure your luggage is light and easy to transport. It's important to bring items that are multifunctional. A malong certainly comes handy and you can get them as cheap as PHP 300 at Greenhills or Quiapo. 

Image source:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUW1JoeCoak6QW7PlU3Ed96wvsKct4pIBNh1-_y0odOD5aBFW38rg8mfnWmh_B_Co-lWFGwgh1LrLAhhDhR8E5EIhKxpUHqgGlnH1lLNx6M4qKrh4CI32F2cpfofqVG0Xz-Pj9XKQtdw/s800/tmcc-inual-malong.jpg

Top 5 Things I'm Loving Now - August 29, 2013

After many eons since my last entry, I had the urge again today to write and commit to resurrecting this blog! So many things have happened in the past year and a half -- so many new experiences, exciting finds, and things to share and recommend! Let me start with my Top 5 finds of the moment (read: discovered in the past week) as I sort and make a list of the other finds from the previous year! Here it goes:

Number 5: 8tracks App

Source: http://www.whathifi.com/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/2013/July/8tracks.jpg

 

I was able to load the 8Tracks app on my iPhone. But I think you can also get it from the Android Market as well as the Windows 8 App store. In a nutshell, this app allows you to listen other people's playlists. Think of it as a network of mixed tapes. You choose your music not through the artist or album. But rather, you choose your music based on your mood! You can also choose based on genre. Under the "Explore" button in the app, you can choose between 360 different categories. Some of these  random categories include "indie folk," "The Beatles," "badass," "break up," "2000s," and even "Bollywood!" You will be brought to another page that has another set of categories (around 12) to narrow it down. And from there, you are finally brought to the playlists that you can choose from! It's the best app for people who love music on the go but are maybe not too updated with what's new and what's hot. It's an excellent app to help you discover new music -- particularly those great but not-so-known indie artists. It's how I discovered my artists of the month: Ingrid Michaelson! 8Tracks is definitely an app that I cannot live without!

 

Number 4: Gavino's Japanese Mochi Doughnuts

 

 

Yes, cronuts may be the huge food craze right now in Manila. I like them too. But I am currently distracted after I discovered Gavino's Japanese mochi doughnuts. My husband and I were quite curious when we found their stall at Robinsons Manila. What ARE Japanese doughnuts anyway?!?? I was even more intrigued when I saw their price range. Mini mocha balls for only 15 pesos? Doughnuts for only 30 pesos? That's crazy cheap! We didn't have high expectations so just so we can say that we tried them, we got their Red Velvet doughnut and a small mochi ball with the hazelnut topping. My eyes widened after my first bite of the doughnut. Wow! It was pleasantly chewy, moist, not overly sweet and their topping was just delightful! Their topping tasted like the kind that would go on top of a cupcake! It was creamy and I could tell that they were quality ingredients. The mini mochi balls were just as great. Mochi and doughnut fusion? It does work! I loved them so much that we bought a half dozen of the mini mochi balls just for my husband and I. They were all great but the biggest stand out for me was the Almond Cream one. Delicious! I regretted not getting their doughnuts to take home as well. Living in Taguig, the closest Gavino branch to us is in Greenhills or Rustans, Katipunan. :-(

 

Number 3: Metropolitan Museum of Manila

 

 

Going to museums is an activity that my husband and I both enjoy. Whenever we travel, we make it a point to include visiting a museum as part of our itinerary. So it's such a shame when we came into the realization that here in Manila, we've really only been to two of the museums! I've been to the Ayala Museum twice and the National Museum just once. That's about it!

 

When the floods receded, we immediately made a plan of going to a museum that I've just read about in one of the local travel magazines. It's the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. This museum mostly showcases contemporary Filipino art -- may it be paintings, sculptures, artifacts or installations. With the Bangko Sentral, they also have a permanent exhibit of pre-Hispanic gold and pottery collections. When we were there, they also had a temporary exhibit titled "50 Years of Korean Contemporary Printmaking."

 

In comparison to the other museums in Southeast Asia that we have visited, the Metropolitan Museum is not bad at all! Definitely way better than Vietnam or Kota Kinabalu's museums. It was very clean and well-maintained! It has that distinct old smell though. I can't quite describe it. But the likes of CCP, the National Museum, and other old buildings here have that same scent. It's not completely bothersome. Just quite distinctive. As for the actual exhibit, I'm not exaggerating when I say that the museum completely restored my faith in the Filipino. I can't help but feel disappointed and frustrated after the whole Napoles, Pork Barrel scam discussion all over the news. After seeing the display of art and paintings by young artists (on the main floor), I was just blown away. Not only was their ability and execution impressive, but I was blown away by the depth and sophistication of their message communicated through their work! Very nice. I have to admit though, I wasn't a huge fan of the installations on the second floor. Some of them just went for the shock factor rather than wanting to educate. Otherwise, it was a nice hour and a half spent at the museum for the both of us. I hope that we, Filipinos, can support these cultural establishments more. Apart from my husband and I, there were only 3 other foreigners that were there on a Saturday. Quite sad.

 

The entrance is only 100 pesos per person. Cameras are not allowed inside. Their museum hours are: Monday-Saturday from 9 am-6 pm and closed on Sundays, holidays and every first Monday of the month.

 

Number 2: "Lie to Me" TV Series

 

 Source: http://chiasuanchong.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/lie-to-me.jpg

First off, let me preface that this series is now a goner. It ran from 2009 to 2011, leaving us with only 48 episodes in total. I just recently discovered this series, thanks to the recommendation tab on my Netflix app on the iPad.

 

The whole series revolves around the Lightman Group -- inspired by the real Paul Ekman who study people's faces and their micro expressions to determine whether they're telling the truth or not. Apparently, there's a science to it. So in the series, the Lightman group, led by the cheeky and arrogant Cal Lightman, investigates various cases from terrorist attacks to murder, fraud, etc. in order to discover the truth in each one of them. It's really like The Mentalist but somehow different. They're entertaining, just the same. And I can't get enough of series like these. Meanwhile, let me try what I learned from this series to check whether my husband is, indeed, telling the truth when he responds and says I'm not fat. LOL :-) 

 

Number 1: Royal Touch's Red Velvet Cupcake

 

 

My search for the best Red Velvet cupcake is over. This is it. I declare Royal Touch's Red Velvet Cupcake as THE best in Manila or the best that I have ever tasted in my life. Period. Or maybe an exclamation mark would be more suitable? :-) I couldn't ask for more. The cake is super moist and the icing is creamy. It's not very sweet. It tastes indulgent, alright. But not so heavy that I had that "ick," "I-shouldn't-have-eaten-that-cupcake-now-look-at-my-thighs" guilt factor mixed in there. Purrrfect! It's only 75 pesos. Go to SM Aura (basement) now and try it for yourself! I've had some "recruits" who got to try it and agree with me as well. It's not hype. It's not exaggeration. Believe me. :-)



 

Top 5 Things I'm Loving Now - May 1, 2012

If you’re an avid visitor of spot.ph, an entertainment and lifestyle website, you would be familiar with this format. In fact, I watch out for it every week. It’s a Top 10 list with random things that the writer is loving at the moment. It may be neat gadget, a yummy drink or popsicle find from their nearest 7Eleven or a cool event that’s happening in the metro. It’s as random as can be. That’s the format I’m trying to incorporate in this blog.



So here’s my very first Top 5 Things I’m Loving at the Moment. I really wanted to write about 10 initially. But in order to have more updates, I though I’d resort to 5...for now. ;-)


Number 5: Southern Blend Iced Tea from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

 For their tea of the day, I had the choice between the Southern Blend and Vanilla Ceylon. I was going to get the latter but it’s a good thing that I decided to ask the cashier what the Southern Blend exactly is. The cashier was going to enumerate it. But when he first said the taste of flower petals, I was already sold. I didn’t bother to hear the rest. I love Jasmine tea and Chrysanthemum. This shouldn’t be far off, I thought. Well, it isn’t. The drink is nice and refreshing. Just the right amount of sweetness and it goes down very smoothly. If you’re not a fan of tea because you don’t like the tannin aftertaste, that won’t be a problem for this drink. It’s not too noticeable. If you’ve been to Memphis, this drink is exactly like their Sweet Tea there. Really yummy!


The drink only costs P95 for the regular size. Pair it with the Triple Decker Cheesecake at P135 a slice like I did and you should be off to an indulgent and well-deserved afternoon treat!


Number 4: SM Bonus Liquid Floor Wax




Sorry the bottle looks icky. You can tell it's being used a lot! ;-)

 You probably don’t know this about me. But I’m really OC or anal when it comes to cleaning the house. Naturally, there are particular cleaning products that I lean towards that do the job as it should. Often, I have the mindset that the more expensive it is, the better it cleans. After discovering SM Bonus’ liquid floor wax, I was proven wrong. I always went for Pledge. It does fine but SM Bonus’ liquid wax does it better.


The purchase was an “accident.” Working for BDO, my husband was given Sodexo GCs after Christmas. Our only option for grocery shopping was SM Hypermart. And since SM, for obvious reasons, is loyal to their own SM bonus brand, they wiped out the other competition. That is precisely the reason why they don’t sell brands like Colgate, Pledge, and the like. Needing liquid wax badly at that time for my OC weekend cleaning, I was ‘stuck’ with the SM Bonus brand. And I’m glad I was. The SM Bonus liquid wax really does make the floor so shiny! I could almost see my reflection our wooden floor! It stays shiny longer too than Pledge. I can’t remember the exact price but I’m pretty sure it’s at least P20 cheaper than Pledge?


Number 3: “Decorate: 1000 Professional Ideas Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home” book



Source: http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/DECORATE-book1.jpg



I’m always fond of going to bookstores when I need to kill time. My recent find is “Decorate” by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick at the National Bookstore in the PowerPlant Mall. I’m sure this book is available in other stores and branches.


I say that this is one of the things that I’m loving at the moment because the book is truly inspiring! Upon skimming the whole book, it made me want immediately run home and redecorate! The book is loaded with pictures for inspiration and their design sense is almost Ikea-ish. The rooms they feature look lived-in and not like model homes (which often do not have televisions!) I mean, really, do you know anyone who doesn’t have a television or two at home??!?? They feature modern homes that still look homey. There are bits and splashes of colour everywhere and most of all, all the homes have character! These are not intimidating homes though. You can easily be inspired by the pictures to make tiny changes in your home that are inexpensive but will draw a lot of impact.


The book retails at P1,545. Decorate away! ;-)


Number 2: Ink eMagazines at http://www.ink-live.com/

I found out about this website from another blog that I frequent. It was one of the links that he included in his entry to forward us to an article that he wrote. Anyway, I became giddy as I explored the website. What a gem! And it’s all free! All you have to do is register, really.


In a nutshell, this is a website that allows free access to airline magazines. When you fly with Cebu Pacific, they have the Smile magazine right? Well, this is available here – back issues included! To top it all off, other magazines like TimeOut Singapore, Thomas Cook’s Travel, Jetstar, Air Macau, Holland Herald and 45 others! Upon registering, just make sure to click on “Update Profile” on the top right corner, then “Select Magazines” so you can add the magazines that you wish to have access to. Such excellent travel resource! In particular, I love reading those destination blurbs in the Smile magazine near the end. Each domestic and international destination that Cebu Pacific flies to has a little section. The contributor is a local of that place and they talk about their most favorite secret breakfast place, bar, best food recommendation, and the like. This is sooooo helpful if you’re the assigned itinerary creator in your trip like I am. ;-)


Although you can access this as well in any mobile device like your iPad, just a note that you really need a fast connection to access this. Otherwise, it’s easy to get frustrated. I wish that they would allow downloading of their issues straight from the website into the iBook or something. This way, you can access them and read them even when you’re offline or even if your wifi is slow.


Number 1: Golden Euphoria Cake from Maitre Chocolatier

When looking at any restaurant menu, it’s very rare to find the actual food serving looking better than it is in the picture. Especially when it comes to dessert.

Well, Maitre Chocolatier really did impress! Not only is their food better looking than their pictures but the cake that we had was truly amazing! I’m talking about their Golden Euphoria –Ferrero Hazelnut Cake. The name alone begs for high expectations already. And the ohhh the pictures! The actual dessert? Real orgasmic. ;-) Hahaha! The texture mixes smooth and crunchy really well. Chocolate is everywhere in different levels of sweetness and texture. Meant to be savored one tiny though indulgent bite at a time and definitely NOT meant for sharing! Trust me on this or else a fight might ensue! ;-) Hahaha! This one definitely made my list of Top 5 dessert of all time.

A slice of the Golden Euphoria costs P218. I’m trying to remember but I think we had to pay extra for VAT and Service Charge. Maitre Chocolatier is along Jupiter Street Extension in Makati. Coming from Makati Avenue, go to the Jupiter part heading to the MRT. It’s near the Starbuck’s there. Enjoy your orgasm! Oooops, I meant dessert! ;-) LOL

Like Visiting Grandma's House

When you ask people for a list of restaurants that exemplify Filipino cuisine, the places that are repeatedly mentioned include Fely J's, Abe, Sentro, and Cafe Juanita. I've eaten at Fely J's and Abe and enjoyed my meals there each time. I have yet to try Sentro. But as for Cafe Juanita, I finally had a chance to dine there over the weekend. Cafe Juanita also has a branch in Pasig, but we opted to go to the Burgos Circle branch in Taguig. So much has been written about Cafe Juanita in blogs, magazines, and newspapers. It was even recommended in the book, "Manila By Day." They were all rave reviews. Needless to say, we had really high expectations of the place. So in the end, were we disappointed? Read on and find out...;-)

My husband and I were very hungry so we ordered quite a feast. Here's what we had:

Juanita's Caesar Salad (we asked them to hold the croutons) PhP 275

Gambas Ala Jillo PhP 237

Two-Way Pork Adobo Ribs PhP 495

Yang Chow Fried Rice PhP 187

Sticky Toffee Pudding PhP127

And here are my general impressions:

1.) Ambience -- "Kitschy" is the most appropriate adjective to describe the decor and feel of the place. We've got feathers, antiques, embroidered linen, floral everything, and even some Christmas decor (in July!) It seems as if you're just visiting your Grandma's place. There's a ton of knick knacks in such a small place. But you know what? I really liked it. The place has character and the fact that it's like anyone's Grandma's house make it truly endearing. ;-)

2.) The place is a bit small. If you're one who gets claustrophobic, request for a table on the second floor instead. Or a table by the window with a view. We went on a Sunday and there were a number of people there. We sat on the first floor -- the table that's next to the bar and cashier. It wasn't a very good spot because first off, it was a little dark in the area. The place could really use better lighting, altogether. The spaces between other tables and chairs were quite small too. It seemed as if anyone could easily eavesdrop on your conversation.

3.) Service -- The waiters were very attentive. They fill up your glass with water without even requesting it. We didn't have to wait too long for our food too. In fact, I don't think we waited more than five minutes before the first dish arrived. I also appreciated how the food arrived in the type of meal course. For instance, the salad arrived before the main dish and the rice arrived together with our viands. Perfect! The waiters were trained very well! ;-)

4.) Caesar Salad -- Nothing spectacular, really. I think they scrimped on the dressing. The lettuce was nice and crispy though. At PhP 275, I think it was too expensive. The pricing is a bit strange, actually. How can their Caesar Salad be priced higher than their Gambas? If you're dining here, you can definitely skip this one.

5.) Gambas ala Jillo -- This one was served with mushrooms and about 8-10 pcs of shrimps. It was very scrumptious, alright. Definitely something that I would order again. You can tell that the shrimps were fresh and although it burst with flavor, the sauce wasn't overpowering. Two thumbs up! ;-)

6.) Yang Chow Fried Rice -- Ooooh, they were quite generous with the shrimps! And I loved how the fried rice isn't greasy at all. Their Yang Chow is tasty enough that you can eat it on its own and mild enough in flavor that you can eat with a viand too. The only down side is that for all the dishes that we ordered, portions are quite small. Realistically, they're enough to satisfy two people or one person with a hearty appetite!

7.) Two-Way Pork Adobo -- The main thing that this dish has going for it is the fact that the meat is very very tender. It melts in your mouth and you can cut it in smaller portions without the use of a knife! All you'll need to do is just poke it with your fork and there goes the smaller portions! ;-) It's the most tender Adobo that I've ever had in my life. But sad to say, it wasn't the best-tasting adobo I've ever had in my life though. I think my mother-in-law's Adobo is better. And in terms of flavor, I think even my Adobo could compete?!?? ;-) I think what the Adobo needs is more garlic. We need more of that zing. The flavor is too mild.

8.) Sticky Toffee Pudding -- I'm only going to say this once and you better listen well. Do not, I repeat do NOT leave Cafe Juanita without ordering this dessert! ;-) Oh my. I think I'm in love! ;-) It's a simple equation: Moist pudding + warm and sticky toffee + cold Vanilla ice cream = pure heaven! I loved the mixture between hot and cold. The pudding wasn't too sweet but when you bring them all together in your mouth -- all the flavors and textures -- WOW! Just a suggestion. If you're dining at Cafe Juanita with somebody else, don't bother offering to share it. No matter how full you get, you WILL be able to finish a whole serving on your own. Tell your friend to order his own! ;-) Hahaha!

In a word, I would describe Cafe Juanita as very homey. Their food has that homecooked "feel." Everything, it seems, is cooked with simple ingredients but done quite well. We were there on a Sunday afternoon. And it was just like we were visiting Grandma's house and feasting on Grandma's cooking. The true definition of "Comfort Food." Definitely an experience that we will revisit in the very very near future! ;-)

Note: I only used a camera phone to take the pictures. Sorry they're dark and blurry. Check out these other links for pictures of the location and their menu

OUR AWESOME PLANET

FOODIE BUDGET TRAVELER

CAFE JUANITA

Unit WS-2 Burgos Circle

Forbestown Center, Fort Bonifacio

Taguig City

For Reservations: 403-1952

A Website for all Music Lovers

You will absolutely love me for this great find! I mean, you won't have to download any music or purchase albums EVER for the rest of your life! You're not only freeing up your hard drive but as long as you've got WiFi or a good internet connection, you can listen to your favorite songs and albums whenever you want. If you're one like me who doesn't have a clue about current hits, this is also a best way for you to get updated. Find out what's popular and what everyone is listening to with just a click of the mouse. You can even create your own playlist and access it whenever you're online. It's like having a virtual iPod or iTunes without using up your disk space. As long as you've got access to Adobe Flash (iPads, unfortunately, can't run Adobe Flash), you may also listen to radio stations.

Alright. Did I hype it up too much already? ;-) I'm talking about grooveshark.com. You can get to the site by clicking THIS.

And I'm really not exaggerating about how handy it is for me. As a teacher, I use it to play music for when my students are doing work in the classroom. Music gets them in Zen mode and they actually end up being more focused. When we wrapped up the school year a few weeks ago, grooveshark.com came handy as well as back-up music for our classroom parties. I didn't have to bring CDs or MP3s. Best of all, I just had to click on the "Popular" icon on the left side and play away. The kids recognized all the songs and they enjoyed them too. For an "old timer" like me, it saved me some guess-work on figuring out what's 'cool' music nowadays...;-)

The only thing I wish to change about grooveshark.com are those annoying ads on the side. It has the option to remove ads but it's something that you'll have to pay for. It's something that you can get used to though. Not really something that's too bothersome since the ads really only stay on a box on the right side. They're not the pop-up type that just appear all over the screen.

It's important to note too that I think Grooveshark works on phones as well. iPads and iPhones don't and can't run Adobe Flash Player. But I'm sure other phones like Sony Ericksson, Nokia, and the likes should be fine with it.

IMAGE SOURCE:

http://quadrosneil.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/grooveshark.jpg

My Top 5 Free iPad Apps (at the moment!)

As you know, there are just too many iPad apps to sift through. So I don't think this is a definitive list of my Top 5 iPad apps of all time. Rather, I'm only sharing with you my 5 favorite free apps at the moment. Most of them require internet connection. But once you have that, these 5 apps can surely keep you amused for hours! Some of them are excellent utilities or resource tools as well. Here they are:

5.) Tap TV

Make your iPad a handy TV! With 17 channels to choose from, this app will definitely eat up a lot of your time. The channels are not necessarily channels you'll find on your television at home. Rather, the 'channels' include the likes of Documentary TV, Travel, Kids' TV, Best of YouTube, Silent Movies, Tap TV, and many others. My personal favorite is the Audio Books channel. Here they've got audio books of novels and short stories like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and works by Kafka, Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, O. Henry, Tolstoy and even Rudyard Kipling. So far there are only 30 audio books there. I really hope that they'll keep adding more.

To enjoy and maximize this app, you really need to have fast internet connection. Otherwise, the movies/shows will take a very long time to load and it will just end up frustrating you. Don't forget to have your earphones with you too!

4.) AllRecipes

Not sure what to make for dinner? Install this app and you'll end up with a thousand and one ideas at the very least! ;-) You can filter the thousands of recipes in this app by choosing the meal course, the main ingredient, the cooking method, and even your cooking time preference! Once you've chosen, sumptious pictures of food items that fit all of your preferences will show up side by side on the screen. Tap on the picture and from there, you can find the recipe, calorie count, and reviews of people who have tried the recipe. Some recipes are tweaked to make them better. They're all documented there too. I suggest that you do read the reviews before trying a recipe. The contributors aren't necessarily chefs or professional cooks, etc. The reviews will give you an idea of the ingredients that you can leave out, which ingredients there are too much of/not enough of in the original recipe, and so forth. Nonetheless, this is an excellent starting point. I imagine you will find lots of recipes here that you can include in your repertoire. ;-)

3.) Paper Desk LT

This is only the lite version of Paper Desk. That one's free. But if you'd like to upgrade, it'll cost you a mere $2.99. It's very cheap, but frankly, the lite version on its own will do. There's already so much that you can do on the lite version alone!

So what is Paper Desk? Do you know of Smart Pen? Well, this app will allow you to do everything that you can do on the Smart Pen. It's kind of like an interactive notebook. You can record audio on there, take pictures, type up notes, write actual notes on the screen, and/or combine any or all of these into one file. It's an app that you can definitely use during meetings or if you're a student, during lectures. You can save the file right on your iPad or email them, move them to your Google Docs, or print them! It's real handy. And for someone who's neither a student or one who goes to meetings either, I just use it to write my "To Do" lists. ;-) I'm sure anyone can find other uses for this very helpful app.

2.) Houzz

Looking for interior design inspiration? Once you've installed Houzz, you can browse through close to 150,000 photos of beautifully designed homes. Whatever your design sense may happen to be, you're bound to find lots of inspiration from these pictures. The photos are categorized by the type of space. From powder room, staircase, landscape, kids' rooms, home office, porch, closet, and of course, the usual bedroom, bathroom, living room, and dining room -- they're all there! Aside from photos, there are three other sections that you can look at as well. There's one on Ideabooks. These have articles and more pictures(!) to give you tips and suggestions on DIY projects that you can do, assistance on how you can choose the right paint colour, how to choose a theme, and so many other topics under the sun. They're categorized as well so it's really very easy to browse through.

If you live in North America (ie: Canada and the United States), there's also a section on Professionals that you can get in touch with to get the job done. From architects to general contractors to interior designers, you can find their contact info here as well as samples of their work. There's another section called "My Houzz" where you can create your own Ideabook article. I haven't explored that one yet. I think it requires you to register.

1.) Tune In Radio

Pick any city in the world, a random station from the list, let it buffer, and within seconds, there you are -- listening to live radio streaming! Aside from location, the stations are organized too by music genre and there's also a separate category for sports and talk radio (the AM ones, I assume). It's a great way to beat feeling homesick in my case. I listen to Calgary radio stations, alternating between Up 97.7, 98.5 Virgin Radio, and Kool 101.5. when I'm doing my chores or simply want to listen to music while surfing the net. If it weren't for the Manila heat, I could swear it felt like I was back in Calgary again. You can hear the advertisement on the radio -- know which places are on sale, be updated on the news, and find out about upcoming events too. Not all of the radio stations on the list do this, but there are some that even specify the song that you're listening to and show a picture of the album it came from right on your iPad screen. It's super neat! The very reason why it's number one on my list! ;-)

Have you got other neat (and free!) iPad apps to share as well? Please leave a note in the message section. In the mean time, I'll continue to keep my eyes open for more neat apps. Enjoy and install away! ;-)

Image Sources:

http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/049/Purple/79/11/d5/mzl.ztemqhwz.480x480-75.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.shelterpop.com/media/2010/07/houzz-app-ipad-iphone-590kb072710.jpg

http://st.houzz.com/simages/84087_0_8-6587--.jpg

http://cdn.ilovefreesoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/tap-tv-337x450.jpg

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