My hubbydubby goes to Pinas ✈ / Matthias meet Philippines 😊

Finally! we are home.. hmmm !!! or should I say I'm HOME!! hehehe! 

I know its already late to post this but, I want to share you guys what my hubbydubby likes when he was here in Pinas 😊 

Anyway! "It's good to be back" and a "Welcome" word for my hubbydubby Matthias :) I know how excited he is to see my home country and meet all my family and friends.  To cut the story short, here are some of his 1st time pictures he did when he was here for a vacation :) hahahaha

at Dubai Airport, having coffee while waiting for our next connecting flight

At last!!!! MABUHAY HAHA

first time @ hundred islands

first time to ride motorboat 

into the bat cave :)

He loves Sabado pati narin Linggo :) Jollibee!!!!!

He likes to say "Pabili nga po!!!!"

first time to eat BOY BAWANG and now his fave chichirya lol!

First time to sleep @Makati Med  due to his boils! (nagkapigsa!... :) hahaha

first time to drink San Mig Light! and now his fave Beer 

first time @ Manila Zoo

first time @ the beach .... hahaha ! nah! maybe first time to wear life vest!! hahaha

well that is SUHA :) first time to eat SUHA!! :) hehehe

first time with the lovebirds! hehehe :P

first time with the crocodile!!!!! :) he said I'm not scared! hahaha

He ate chicken feet, adobo, ginisang gulay, paksiw na bangus, at marami pang iba... :) tried andoks chiken and piritong galunggong, bagoong at wasabi! hahahaha   (sad no pictures with that)

and finally!! meet my whole family!!!!

How his bag looks like  :)

I missed him so much!! can't wait to be with him!! ( grrr! waiting for my interview schedule takes too long! God please give me more patience!!!).. I remember how he cry in the airport when he left... I know everything will fall into it's right places in Gods will!! so for now i will just wait and wait and wait. I so lab you hubbydubby Matt!!

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Bohus Fortress - Kungälv, Bohuslän, Sweden

Bohus Fortress

A happily ever after for me :). I so love castle they are so stunning and rich in history. Look at this ruins of Bohus fortress, still standing tall after almost 700 years of it's era. The walls looks strong and brave made out of grey stone and bricks. It was under renovation when we went there :( little bit sad but at least Matt and I we're able to check and roam around the place *wink!

Whenever we went to Gothernburg, we always saw this fortress from the highway. We've never been there although we've always passed on it so many times ( hmm how many times I did went to Ullared?? *counting!!) hahahahaha :)

when we get there, the Castle is under renovation so what we did is just roam and check the outside views :)

My Big day... My Wedding in Swedish style 😊

Yes!!

I could't wait to do a blog post about my wedding day and share everything with you guys 😊

"Kärleken är tålmodig & God. Allt bär den, allt tror den, allt hoppas den, allt uthäadar den"

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

New International Version (NIV)

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. 

My wedding is a traditional church wedding and I'm glad that Matt and I is Catholic, so it's easier for us to choose the church wedding. Marrying in other country is quite confusing for me because of lot of rules, regulations and guidelines to be considered off.

Our wedding took place at Västra Tunhems Church. 

The church is located in Vänersborgs municipality in Västra Götaland country. This church is really beautiful with medieveal touches. I fell in love on the ceiling with paintings, the altar and the pulpit. It remind me the old Betis Church/Parish Church of St. James the Apostle in Guagua, Pampanga. 

Let me just share you guys, before you can get married in Sweden, specially if you're not a Swedish citizen you must first apply for a marriage licences and they called it Hindersprövning. Just set an appointment or simply visit "skatteverket" (swedish tax authority) to file for a marriage licence. Don't hesitate to ask everything because they're willing to help you. It will takes a week before you get a result just make sure that all your requirements is original and updated. We did that and it took I guess ...hmmm 3 weeks before we received the good news and it was "approved".

Anyway, after that we arranged to meet the priest of the church and discuss to HER our wedding plans. Yup! Her...In my surprise, our priest is actually a woman and it really amazed me :) We ended up sitting with her having coffee for well over an hour, and we talked to her about everything from how we met to what marriage means to us. It turned out wonderful. She was warm, friendly and very accommodating. We like her instantly and how we felt comfortable saying her our love story and plans together. We decided to have mixed English/Swedish ceremony because most of his relatives and visitors are pure Swedish.

Inside the Church. The Priest gave us her advice, said her prayers, sang psalms asking God for her blessing.

You may now kiss the bride!!!

In Swedish wedding, there are a few things that are a bit different. First, I noticed that before the wedding, everyone assembles outside the church and walks arm in arm to get into the church. As I arrived in the Church, they let me stay in a small room to have my last minute retouch. :P . Second, Matt and I walk down the aisle together. I don't wear garter belt (yung nilalagay sa legs ng bride). I didn't insist to have/wear it because people would might just be little freaked out if they saw Matt rooting around under my dress searching for that garter belt  and throw it... hahahaha

When the wedding is over, everyone filled out in the same way we went in, arm and arm again 😊 lol!, they waited us outside the church. They individually congratulated us and took some photos before going to the reception.

The reception was held in Särestad Bygdegård they called it community center, we rented the whole place and with the help of my creative mind Lol! hehe I was able to make it much more like a wedding reception. Yup! I decorated it myself, I do research online hehehe. (click here for my DIY giveaways)

I did my table arrangements and decorations. I know it's simple but for me its perfect 😊 

"I did a few DIY projects that I found over the net (see picture above). Matt and I did all the planing ourselves, with the help of his family. His mom was the one who made my wedding dress. I made about 100 tissue flower and pompoms in different sizes, they build the table arch and I decorated it with some plastic flowers, violet Christmas light and vines. I wrote all the addresses on our invitations and sewed a linen flower for wedding dress"😊

My cake is missing Lol!! still on the fridge!!!! 😊  oh my princes cake Lol 

I like princess cake and I requested it as my wedding cake 😊 It's home made and so perfect!!

Matt grandmother played Nyckelharpa

It was very structured and very formal dinner, SKÅL!!! 😊

My wedding favor 😊

I also altered a few wedding tradition I knew like opening our gifts in front of our visitors and we cut our cake together. I skipped throwing my bouquet.

Because my family and friends from the Philippines couldn't make it, we're planning on having another 2nd wedding when we come home. It'll be fun to see what come up with for my Pinoy style wedding ehehehe. I know the difference were so many, but in the end, the wedding are still the same. It's about bringing out the families together, with his relatives and with his friends. The fact that they spend their time to share the special moment with us. Thank you to every single person who was involved in making our special day more incredible than I ever could have dreamed of... SkåL!!!! 😊 hehehehe

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Creative Mind : How to make D.I.Y Wedding Cookie Favors / Giveaways

Omg! 4 days to go and it's my BIG day!! :) I'm a bit nervous and stress. Decorating and finding a nice idea that I can added up on my big day is really mind-boggling. I keep on searching and searching over the net on how can I make my own wedding giveaways... :) and I just want to share you guys... what I did!! :)

I called it DIY (Do It Yourself) simple and not so expensive wedding favors, take note!! it's personalized favors that I did all by myself hahaha...The cookie I use here is homemade. I baked it and yeah I'm proud of it and it turned out good and tasty :)

yeah it's me Baking! :)

Anyway, doing this kind of project allow us to create our own personalized favors and touches that can be applied in any way we can imagine specially for our special day, for shower, a party or whateverh. All you need are some basic items and a LITTLE CREATIVITY. :)

What you need are some basic item such as:

1. Small colored paper bags (If you know how to make it, that's good )
2. Scissor
3. Glue
4. Decorative tape (they are very cute) Check this out for your idea about the tape.
5. Small Tag
6. Make your own wedding message and print it (download template here) since my wedding motif is lavender color, I choose violet (Lila) for my message template.
7. Lastly is your goodies you want to put inside the bag (cookies,brownies,chocolates .. etc) I choose the Pepparkakor cookies (Swedish Ginger Cookies)

Windmill of Love :)

Windmills!!!!! What comes to my mind is Bangui Windmills in Ilocos Norte I know I haven't been there hehehe but I'm pretty sure that I will visit it if time permits. One of the best tourist spot up in the north (Philippines). Anyway, I know it's not literally called windmills like the Old fashioned windmills that I saw now. Because those giant Wind turbines in Ilocos which I think use generators to convert energy of the wind into electricity, while the old one here I saw do mechanical work, means no generators. 

Windmills always fascinating me, specially when they are big and old :) I love them! It feels like I'm living in my own farmville with lots of lotss!!!! of windmill hahaha 

Oppps I saw something !! Is that a windmill?

Seriously, I've always seen it from afar whenever me and boyfriend went out driving and I can't remember how many times I've said it to him "can we please drop-by on that windmill and have some photos?" hahahaha!! and finally he say OKEY!! LOL happy kid :P

It was so wonderful.!!

I'm Free!!! :)

This is Riddargardskvarnen, a pristine mid-nineteenth-century windmill :) A remarkable structure sight along the road. What I've read about it is that, before it was run as a flour mill and is now maintained by the local people since the owner died . It is open to public and they allowed tourist to wander around the site. What a great experience to see it up close :)

Windmill at Gammlia Museum at Umeå, Sweden

They  have also wind turbine along the road (they use it for electricity i guess) 

That's for now guys!I hope you guys like my pictures until next time of adventure I'm gonna look and find more old fashioned windmills !! :)

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It's Winter Season - Grästorp, Sweden

Winter is my favorite season 😊  the last time I felt this was year 2010 and after 2 years. 

SWEDEN I'm back!. 

If you want to check my old post check here 👉  My first Winter Experience. 

Snow is one of my childhood dreams and even if I already experience how it feels like before, still I'm longing for it.

View from our window

Yesterday, I was so happy to see the first snowfall this winter 😊. I spend hours watching and enjoying the beauty of it outside our window. I'ts one of the few things that I considered truly magical and amazing.

first snowfall this year 😊

I really love the white snow and walking down the path of snow flakes makes me fulfill my dreams and happiness 😊, a truly winter white Christmas for me. 

Another year of snow and another year of thick clothes and socks.

I say yes! :)

I'm ENGAGED :)

After almost 1 year and 10 months of dating, through up's and down and been in long distance relationship ( LDR they called it).Finally and formally!! I say yes :) 

He gave me this 18 k peridot ring (our birthstone)

I know he proposed to me online before and now he did it formally in front of me. I'm overwhelm, overjoy to show it to my family and i know they're happy about it. I'm so lucky that i have found him and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him :)

Me and my man, Matt are now engaged!! we're so excited to enter in this new and wonderful chapter in our lives. I'm not getting any younger and Matt's too. I couldn't be more excited!!

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Tjolöholm Slott - Halland, Sweden

My boyfriend and I always plan for an unusual things to do everyday and visiting old castle is always on top of our list 😊. Since we visited Gräfsnäs Castle and  Läcksö Castle already we come up to look for another one and that is Tjolöholm Caslte in Halland,Sweden.

Tjolöholms slott, Halland

The Castle is open to the public throughout the years and you can check on their site for some calendar activities and some exceptional dates when they are close HERE IS THEIR SITE 👈

What a lovely facade!

We went there yesterday because of their traditional large Christmas Market called Julmarknad på Tjolöholm and this year is their 26th year. For a days, small shops and food seller from different part of Sweden visit there to sell their food delicacies and unique works. They also offer some free taste of their products which I really really like 😂  meats, cheeses, jellies, candies, nuts and julmust and many more. 

We really like this different flavors of fudge yums!😋

Gräfsnäs Castle Ruins - Sollebrunn, Sweden

Me standing in front of Gräfsnäs Castle

The second castle we visit is Gräfsnäs Castle. This castle is very old. Originally built in the 16th century and according to an old tale/legend, this castle is cursed by a woman that was badly treated by the landowner. She cursed the castle that no family would own it for more than three generations, and cursed was laid upon it that it would burn three times with 100 years between each fire and so it did happened 1634, 1734 and 1834. They say after the fire in 1834 no-one bothered to rebuild it again and it has been a ruin ever since.

Läckö Castle - Kållandsö, Sweden

Me at Läckö Slott  (visit their site) Amazing structure and they called it as "A pearl in the shores of Lake Värnern" in Sweden.

I am a big fan of an old castle (any castle) and it always fascinating me :) Europe castle was indeed amazing they're so beautiful with rich culture and interesting stories to tell. It always gave me this great feelings about my childhood dreams and happiness.

To cut the story short,I promised my self that someday I will have a chance to see all the castle that can be found around in Europe (haha yeah right! I know it is a big dream at all) but who knows!