blogging tip #3.

how to resize badges on your sidebar.

ok so not all the badges you grab are the same size. isn't it annoying?? it makes your blog looks so messy. well it annoys me a lot. as you can see, my side bar is so neat.

you like???? so easy. all you have to do is add this little code in the html of each badge:

width="200"

 

right at the end before the /></a></p>. the size is in pixel, obviously it doesn't have to be 200 px. it can be any size you want. 

 

so on your blogspot dashboard, click "design" and click "edit" on the html of the badge you want to resize.

 

for example, this is the html code for the AYAZINE badge is:

 

<a href=" http://ayazine.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/updatedayazinebutton.jpg" border="0" alt="AYAZINE" /></a>

 

the default size of my badge is 200 px. let's say you want to resize it to 150 px, you add the code like so:

 

<a href=" http://ayazine.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/updatedayazinebutton.jpg" border="0" alt="AYAZINE" width="150" /></a>

 

and that's all there is to it! happy blogging!

 

still don't get it? leave a comment. want more blogging tips? click here. 

chambray for a crazy day.

i wore this on sunday at church. what a crazy day!! after church went straight home to get started on my macaroni salad for a birthday party. picked up my dad and sis at the station. ate so much. dropped papa off at my uncle's house in long island. then went straight to jfk airport to pick up my mom and dropped her off at her apt. ok i guess that doesn't sound so bad. but driving is not my favorite thing in the world!! especially van wyck expressway! not that it matters, but just to give you an idea.

but of course no matter how tired i was, i managed to have my pic taken. wearing my mister's supras.

cousins.

behind me are my cousin, ailyn and her bf, glen. they're visiting from canada. i guess good style runs in the fam because she was wearing something similar to my outfit and we have the same boots! how crazy is that??! and you see that army jacket she's wearing? i have a similar jacket too (pre-pregnancy so it still doesn't fit boooo) speaking of sizes. funny story about my outfit. as i was struggling to get my tights on in the morning. while sophie was watching. she started giggling and said to me "mama that's too small on you". ahaha. like thanks! btw, you have to check out ailyn's flickr. her photos are crazy!

what's with the hydrant.

one of the things i do is take photos of hydrants. i've been doing it for almost 8 years. why i do it? just because. well we don't have to have a reason for everything right? my brother said "someone, somewhere is doing the same exact thing" well i do hope so and i would love to meet them! here's a link to my hydrant blog.

second time's a charm.

yes i know this is very similar to my st. patty's outfit. what can i say, i love these pants and this was the perfect outfit for a conference. casual but not dressed down. i am also in love with my new bracelet that i got from one of the vendors at the conference. 

happy st. patty's day.

3 things why i'm excited about this outfit:
1. this shirt is actually the same as the dress i wore on thursday. i turned the dress into a top. i'm gonna call it drops. dress + top = drops?
2. and i got it for 5 bucks! yes 5 bucks! and that's not all...
3. i got my wide leg pants for 8 bucks! gotta love old navy.
i love the dress so much i have it in 3 colors! how perfect are green and navy for st. party's st. patty's day.
we had dinner at a korean restaurant, sik gaek. i love their korean pancake! the beef bbq! this place had a crazy interior, it feels like your in the market streets of korea. so if you're like my hubby who gets stressed out by noise, this is not the place for you.

bloggers day of silence.

 

http://www.forjapanwithlove.com/

a&a thursday.

awkward
- stinky elevator, but it wasn't me
- being on a full train with sophie and a guy offering his seat for us. only problem is he's all the way on the other end of car. thank you but we're good. really.
- another pedestrian saw my car dance move. yeah. note to self: stop being a wierdo
- having conversation with "adults" and suddenly becomes quiet. somebody say something like now. yes i still feel like a kid when i'm with my parents and in laws.
- not having cash when there's a big a** sign that says cash only
- gas indicator light on while on the highway. that was the longest ride ever. i was like don't talk to me and my hand were ice cold. at least next time i know how far i can go.

awesome
- sophie finally got her ears pierced!
- picking up papa from the airport
- my lola (grandma) turning 90
- skype reunion
- ipad 2. ordered.
- when a piece of clothing revives a lot of old clothes

i'm addicted to animated gifs.

“I’m a Dapper Dan man!”
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

“I think we’re just gonna to have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that, Ritchie.”
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

particularly this blog, if we don't, remember me. (i read about this website from cup of jo but i can't seem to find the original post) anyway, i wish this blog had some kind of archiving. i want to see everything!!! a lot of gifs are from my favorite movies. and so far all of them are from great, classic movies!
here is another awesome blog for animated gifs, from me to you. this one is mind boggling because not all graphics are animated but it feel like it.

spring fever.

can you tell that i'm so ready for spring. i've been wearing spring clothes already. and i need a haircut! should i get my bangs back or not? look at sophie eating costco froyo, so cute!

weekend at the meatpacking district.

i love this dress and the colors. i decided to wear it with a blazer because the news said it's going to be 50+ degrees. and it did but i totally forgot that we were going near the water. a bit chilly and so windy. good thing i wore tights. and i only wore it because we took public transpo. my original outfit was this dress, denim jacket and no tights! yikes!

this was taken at the highline park in the meat packing district. i have been wanting to go here since august!! seriously. i love parks esp the ones in the city. there's something magical being in place with lots of greens and at the same time surrounded by buildings. almost like a secret garden where the buildings are like the high walls. this park's different though because there's no trees. plus it's winter so all the plants are brownish. but it's got a great story and history. when people ask me what the highline is, i get all excited. and i tell the whole story and they're like hmmm ok. like they don't get how amazing it is. hubby is so lucky to be working a block away from here and he doesn't really care for it much. you can read more about the amazing highline here. 

our day started out like this. read more about it and check more photos here.

pray for japan.

i was shocked to hear about what happened in japan. today i'm devastated. my heart is crushed and i feel small and useless. and stupid for having a good weekend, missing church and having time to blog. i've been staring at the computer for a while now and i'm at a loss for words. i don't know anyone in japan but i can't help imagining losing a loved one or suddenly being homeless. i know it's like million miles a way and it all feels like a bad dream. like i'm screaming "make it stop" but i'm on mute. and tomorrow when i wake up it will not be over. i can't stop watching or reading the news. my heart goes out to japan and will be in my prayers.

"god is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." psalm 46:1-2

- text redcross 90999 to donate $10
- google person finder: 2011 japan earthquake
- and if you haven't seen enough already. here's another video.
- interesting article: japan earthquake shifte coastline maximum of 8 ft
- articles on how you can help: cnn, yahoo
- satellite images of japan disaster

up inspired floating house,

this is so cool! from national geographic's new shoe "how hard can it be?" read more about it here.

a&a thursday.

awkard
- when someone asks me to check "something quick" on the computer and they stand there and tower over me waiting and watching my every move. all of a sudden i can't spell or type. like gosh it's called my personal space and your invading it
- pretend tap dancing like crazy with sophie and not hearing someone walk in
- talking to hubby on car speaker phone with other people, asking me why i'm running late from outlet shopping. i think i turned 3 shades of red. and no, he wasn't mad but he knows he better not do that again.
- paying for your items and realizing they're buy one get one 50% off, i mean you have to get another one. duh?! but then you realize they're such a good deal. i'm talking about jeans for $6. that takes care of all the teenagers in our fam. and then saying sorry for holding up the line
- looking through the costco coupon book while shopping and realizing it starts tomorrow. no wonder i got some crazy looks

awesome
- papa arriving on monday from philippines with goodies. specifically my 2 inch elastics for my skirt projects
- my vintage polaroid camera (spirit 600). thanks ate!
- old navy clearance and $6 jeans
- day 4 of learning the guitar and i can play the intro of linger
- linger - how awesome is that song
- this is the last time i promise - my vintage loafers! yeyah!
- latest obsession: lego
- how about this new look of my blog?!

post 30 for 30 shopping.

and i'm talking about outlet shopping! and as you can see behind me, my sis and i did some damage at old navy. but unfortunately - or rather fortunately, they're for our nieces and nephews in manila. i got 2 graphic tees - ny giants (finally) and the who for $2 each!

a must watch video. amazing.

yesterday, 5 years ago.

one of our many anniversaries. yeah i pretty much make everything an anniversary including the day we met, we started "officially" dating,  and then there's the unofficial anniv, the church wedding..... this pic was from our civil wedding. you can read the funny story about this pic here. but wow look at us, we were like babies in this pic. i was 25 and j's 26 at that time. and now we have a three year old! and i'm turning 30 (aaaah, insert panic attack here). happy anniversary, babe!

ebew: polka dots

top: banana rep, skirt: target, shoes: nine west

so this is why no one takes photos at night! but we (me and angel) really wanted to be part of the everybody, everywear: polka dot! scored this skirt at target for $12! top and shoes are old from my working days!

my 30 for 30, done + new blog.

 

so the winter remix is over. i can finally wear my other clothes! i think i can hear my clothes calling out my name!  after the challenge, i felt like i had a whole new wardrobe. my old clothes brought back to life. which is why this year's spring cleaning was a lot easier. like i knew which clothes were staying and going. i've also come to a decision of continuing posting more outfit pix and fashion related topics on ayazine. so to make things simpler, i created another blog for my diys and sophie. yey!

day 30: awkward and awesome.

 

cardi: h&m, jeans: express, shirt: ae, boots: famous footwear, belt: h&m

awkward

dad-in-law talking about his annual prostate check up and making jokes about it

sophie telling everyone that it's that time of the month for me in her on way. and by in her on way i mean "moma's got a boo boo in her butt" or "mama's wearing diapers" i know tmi!

with that said - hormonal imbalance and pigging out 

so while i was waiting for our car being oil changed, i went for the single serve coffee and machine and of course i placed the coffee thingie backwards. when i pressed the brew button the whole packet came out straight to my cup with the wrapper still on. ooops.

and then...holding my bag, bagel, my really hot coffee finally with no lid in a full waiting area. yes i had no seat and i was soaking wet. 

awesome

i can't stop talking about it, my new old shoes. i can't wait to wear it tomorrow.
last day of remix! i miss other clothes!
ipad 2 finally released!
staycation next weekend at the maritime hotel in meatpacking district
spring cleaning. done.

blogging tip #2.

how to make your own button. 

you see the "grab a button" on the upper right side of  my blog? well i am going to show you how to make one. it might sound complicated but it's super easy.

1. pick an image you want to use and resize it. it can be any size but i recommend not going over 200 px  for the width since most buttons are going to be placed on the sidebars. you don't want to take over someones blog do ya? beside the smaller it is the faster it is to download.

2. upload your image to photobucket. after uploading, if you click or rollover your image, you will see a bunch of codes for sharing under the photo like this:

 we want the html code so copy that and paste it in a new word document easy editing.

3. it should look like this:

<a href="http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/?action=view&amp;current=badge-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/badge-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a></p>

4. now change the text in red ink to your website and name of your blog like so:

<a href="http://ayazine.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/badge-2.jpg" border="0" alt="AYAZINE"></a></p>

 5. now copy your code and paste it twice and put this code in between:

<textarea cols=”15″ rows=”4″ wrap=”VIRTUAL">

so it should look like this:

<a href="http://ayazine.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/badge-2.jpg" border="0" alt="AYAZINE"></a></p>

<textarea cols=”15″ rows=”4″ wrap=”VIRTUAL">

<a href="http://ayazine.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n627/ayazine/badge-2.jpg" border="0" alt="AYAZINE"></a></p>

and there's your code! whew! that's all there is to it! i told you it might look complicated. i hope you find this helpful and happy blogging!

running on happiness: the most important questions i've ever asked.

so katie from running on happiness is doing a little q&a.  
Q: What is your middle name?  no middle name. is that wierd? so i've been using my mom's maiden name which is dominguez.
Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?  i wanted to me an astronaut and downgraded to pilot. ahaha.
Q: If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be?

1. i'd go with world peace too.
2. have all my fam and best friends in one state.
3. hmmm tough one. i think i'm going to save this one when i need it.

Q: If your house was on fire and you could grab only 3 things before leaving, what would they be? after my daughter and hubby of course.

1. max and ponyo.
2. my folder that has all our passports, ssn cards and stuff.
3. my hard drive.

Q: You wouldn’t be caught dead, where? ufc fight??
Q: If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be?  jem as in jem and the holograms. ahaha.
Q: Who was the last person you hugged?  sophie and j. yey for group hugs!
Q: What do you think of when you hear the word "yellow"?  this oxford shoes! and i finally know it's from urban outfitters.

day 29: spring cleaning.

shirt: target, jacket: ae, cargos: old navy

so like i said, i've been spring cleaning. a little early? why the heck not. i was going through sophie's baby clothes. i just can't let go! awwwwww they're so cute and all the memories. i am actually going start the quilt project finally. it shouldn't be that hard. i also found a lot of her old dresses that i can turn into skirts.anyway this outfit was actually inspired by one of angel's outfits here. i can't believe it's day 29 of the 30 for 30! i actually had so much fun, definitely a learning experience.  next time, i'll be wiser picking my clothes.

day 28: oil change + nerdy glasses + burger king.

shirt, pants: old navy, shoes: gap, nerdy glasses: nephew's

so i spent my morning getting our car serviced for oil changed. and let me tell you there were a lot of awkward moments while i was waiting there. but i'll save that for thursday. the place was actually by my old work. awww i do miss working but hey i like being home better. i miss dressing up for work the most. my heels. i was always dressed to impress. lol.
i stopped by burger king for sophie's happy meal on my way home and omg their fries are the b.e.s.t. with mayo mm-mm-mmmm.
so how about the nerdy glasses? i like it. it's actually my nephew's. ahaha. gotta get me a pair like asap. they're so cute!

day 27: headband.

cardi: ae, tank: jcrew, skirt old navy, tights: banana rep, flats: gap

day 26: microwave run.

top: h&m, jeansL express, flats: gap, scarf: gift

saturday. so for the longest time, we've been using our microwave with a broken handle. i mean it's working and everything but it has no handles. yes, i am the one who broke it. so finally we bought a new one!  brand spanking new microwave. not that i use it a lot. i read somewhere that even after using it your food continues to react. like inside your tummy. yikes. don't want that inside me and definitely don't want that for sophie. so as much as possible i heat things up the old fashion way. and no microwavable stuff in this house. but here are some things i need a microwave for:
- for softening ice cream, i hate scooping hard ice cream! put it in the microwave for 10 sec and it comes out perfect
- grilled cheese, 30 seconds
- tempering chocolate just like ina garten

m.i.a + vintage find.

2 words, spring cleaning. i also tackled the oven. definitely not my favorite. it's my first time to do it and man it's a lot of job. i feel like mike from dirty jobs. where did all that grease come from?? gosh! thank goodness for easy off - that stuff really works. so the house is a mess since sunday so no time to post outfit pix. but i promise to have everything uploaded by tonight.
but i have the most exiting vintage find! i scored myself a new pair of shoes! my father-in-law's old gucci loafers. i am in love with it! ahhhhh, i even took a break from cleaning up just to post this. i'm so excited! perfect timing since 30 for 30 is about to end.