Thank you and Goodbye, 2011! Hello, 2012! --

It's the last day of the year!


And I'm only just making my lists!


5 Favorite Movies of 2011
1. Tangled
2. X-Men: First Class
3. Captain America: The First Avenger
4. The King's Speech
5. Bridesmaids/Kung Fu Panda 2



5 Favorite TV Shows
1. Doctor Who
2. Storage Wars
3. Thundercats
4. Batman: Brave and the Bold
5. Octonauts <-- thanks to N for recommending this!



5 Favorite Magazines
1. Yummy
2. Real Simple
3. Every Day with Rachael Ray
4. Food Network Magazine
5. Family Fun



5 Best Purchases for 2011
1. Hotel Vouchers for Mactan Shangri-la (excellent deal at an excellent price!)
2. Accor Advantage Card -- lots of hotels all over the world (we're actually staying at Novotel, an Accor hotel when we go to Singapore in January)
3. My sewing machine -- granted, I haven't really used it as much -- it's still nice that I have one
4. Our new pillows -- brand: Canadian and it's so nice!  I think it's the same thing used in hotels?
5. My Kate Spade Museum Mile Small Louis -- I never thought I would like a black bag -- but this one is so, so nice!



5 Favorite Places in Iloilo
1. Madge Cafe
2. Starbucks
3. Lamesa Grill -- love, love, love the weekday lunch offers
4. Plazuela de Iloilo -- it's great to visit in the late afternoon
5. SM Hypermarket -- just because there's Leylam Shawarma in the Food Court


5 Favorite Websites
1. Facebook -- yes, yes.  I have succumbed.  
2. Book Depository
3. The Season for Romance -- check out the calendar section to see all the new releases for the month
4. Babble.com
5. Shine on Yahoo 


Also, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and the Philippine Stock Exchange.



5 Things That Made Me Go "Wow"
1. Yesterday's dinner at Stavros
2. All the cool functions on the Kindle app (love the highlight -- love that, when you check out the book on Amazon, there's a section that features the popular highlights by readers.)
3. The iPad 2 -- I am actually thisclose to getting one.  I am just waffling between this and the Samsung 7-inch Tab.
4. Cost of clothes at SM -- was planning to update Anya's wardrobe and was surprised that some cotton dresses can go for as much as 800 pesos!  Expensive!
5. Kimchi Rice -- so, so delicious!



5 Discoveries for 2011
1. Asos.com
2. Zinio -- not really a new discovery -- but love what it offers and the excellent price points
3. I can bake nicely! =^_^=
4. Lorraine Heath!!! -- it's funny because I actually read Waking up with the Duke first!  (It's the last book in a trilogy.)
5. Globe's Load Tipid Plan -- it's actually a very practical plan that can (potentially) save you a bit of money.  Load never expires but accumulates each month -- there's no bill shock because you set the cap of how much load you get each month.  (If it's an especially busy month, you can just reload using a prepaid card.)




5 Favorite Romance Novels for 2011
1.  Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath

 
2.  Unraveled by Courtney Milan


3.  Romancing the Countess by Ashley March


4.  Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer


5.  Dangerous in Diamonds by Madeline Hunter




5 Happy Thoughts from 2011
1. Pot-luck lunches with R, F and their kids <-- F gifted us with a pot of Callos for Christmas.  Yummy! 
2. Making Chocolate-Banana cupcakes with whole-wheat flour
3. My kids are in a great school, run by an amazing family with teachers who genuinely love (and openly profess their love) for teaching
4. M. Uygongco finally opened a bakeshop (Maridel's)!  We had dessert there last night.  3 words: Coffee. Chip. Pie. 
5. Family.

5 Things I am looking forward to in 2012

1. Singapore in January!
2. Wicked in Singapore in January!!
3. Sherry Thomas's new series (she took a break in 2011 and didn't publish anything) -- the first book comes out in May.
4. My Kate Spade planner for 2012!  -- I stumble upon someone selling hers at a super-discounted rate.  Who am I to refuse? ^_^
5. Anya's turning 3 in March.  And Seth is "graduating" from pre-school.