I'm excited to start a new series titled, "Settling In". My hopes are to share ideas and ways to help you settle into your new home and life in Manila, or abroad anywhere I suppose.

How many readers will roll their eyes if I mention the Kon-Mari Method? Trust me, I get it. I totally rode that crazy train and purged anything that didn't excite me (including my high school year books in hopes that we could pretend those years never happened. Spoiler alert: it doesn't work. :) I used the same approach with her methods, I took the philosophies that sparked joy and left the rest. The rigid rules, the purging, the constant fear of 'rebounding'- those didn't spark joy so I purged them. I have clung to the concept or surrounding myself with spaces that bring me joy.

One of my favorite canvases to create with is my home. We have such a unique experience living as expats in the Philippines and I want to bring that into my home.

One of the greatest adventures I have embarked on is making foreign the new norm. The inspiration for Pilipino Pantry came from this same nest of thoughts. Instead of comparing aspects of our old life and wishing we could find them here, put on your binoculars and search for a lokal alternative. I am willing to bet you will find one, it may even be better! We don't have Target or Ikea but we do have Landers, Mori, White Walls PH, Dapitan, Mandaue Foam, Market Market and so many other treasure troves.

My #3PinoyBoys are growing up and are ready to step up to some slightly more mature elements. I took it upon myself to 'shop my closets', stay within a very tight budget, and as much as possible shop lokal. I am pleased to share that it was all doable! (The bunso's room will come along next month.)

NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA BATH CAVE!

I wanted the boys space to represent their interests that allows them to feel comfortable and aware of their surroundings. Right now Batman is in the limelight so we played with the theme a bit. I have had the bat mask decals for over six months waiting to finally finish this project and I am so glad I did because a recent trip to Lander's gifted me the ultimate super hero yellow bath mat. Plus the third and final matching hooded towel for all 3 boys. I originally bought the hooded towels three years ago at Ikea and found the final towel to complete the collection at Landers. Manila really does have it all!

My eldest loves all things outer space and I have a thing for constellations. This was one of the ultimate moments where motherhood and personal interests collided. I downloaded the print from ETSY and printed at Wonderphoto at Ayala 30th. At some point I will update to a larger size printed canvas, but for now I am sticking to my budget! I already had the frame from an old print and just swapped them. The fairy lights I have had for months and never used; you can find similar at Quirks.

I had been eyeing this robot clock for months but never could justify buying another trinket for the house. Well, the budget and reason opened so I jumped at the chance.

I shopped my closet again and revamped this light box from CottonOn Ph and added a little reading light found from Daiso for 88php. They are fragile but what a steal!

When we moved into the house the vanity space grabbed me by the shoulders and begged me to turn it into a LEGO table. How could I say no? (Constellation stickers from Daiso as well).

The idea of toys being accessible makes sense to me. I am trying to steer away from my usual tendencies of hiding too many toys in baskets and instead, keeping the regular favorites always at a hand's reach. This toy caddy from Petit Mamon is perfect for just that, transporting toys to any location to be played with at any time! My boys currently have a nightly ritual of building towers with their Builder Blocks and then attacking each other with plastic balls. They even hide in the toy caddy for cover!

My own mother taught me a very important lesson during her visit last year, "Let your kids have their own treasure (junk) chest on their bed." Girls have purses to store collections of novelties, my boys have wooden crates. They love to store their current toy-on-rotation and go to books in their treasure chests. This little treasure chest has allowed them to feel ownership over their own space and items.

Dinosaur pillows from H&M Home over a year ago; Crate from Mori.Ph; LEGO Flashlight can be found at LEGO Store or Hobbes & Landes.

"Let your kids have their own treasure chest on their bed."

Having something physical to measure the boys growth is magic to me. Years of life can be summed up in just a few feet of fabric. Since we don't own our home we can't drawn on the wall and remember how tall Wells was at 3 years old. However, I can take this cloth ruler with me wherever we go.

My eldest loves reading so having his own space to dive into the pages of whatever world his imagination takes him to was an added bonus. I learned reading nooks don't need to be large, even just a few feet is good enough.

Wall Ruler is from H&M Home six months ago; Chair can be found at Landers (on sale too!); Star Map I picked up on a recent trip to Japan. You can find something similar at Daiso.