Decorating your home or office can be a challenge if you want to use real flowers and plants. Aside from the required efforts in keeping them healthy and growing, the costs incurred in buying fertilizers and gardening tools, there is a potential health hazard (in the form of allergies) in keeping real flowers or plants indoors.

Buying flowers for special events like anniversaries or weddings, especially on popular months, can burn holes in your pockets. From my experience, fresh flowers form a big chunk of the wedding expense.

Now there is an option to use real-looking, artificial flowers and plants. The company is called articialplantsandtrees.com, which specializes in planters, topiary, plants, flowers and trees, too. They use the finest materials including silk to create natural looking greens perfect both indoors and outdoors.

The company also offers free consultation and they guarantee a virtual guide on your decoration requirements. They have a toll free customer hotline and orders can be made online. They have been in the business since 1998 and this assures customers of the company’s good reputation.

Using artificial greens is also perfect to beautify gardens. The crafted silk plants will look the same no matter what the season is. There is less maintenance efforts needed and your surroundings will remain green and natural looking.

We were on our way home from the Sydney Fish Market when I spotted a row of colorful low-rise buildings. Even though they are pretty common here in Sydney, I still enjoy looking at these old structures. The vibrant colors put life to an otherwise boring street.

Do you see colorful buildings in your area, too? Have a good week everyone!

Click here to see more Weekend Snaphots.

On a sliding scale of 1 (wide awake) to 10 (already snoring) how tired are you today?

I slept past midnight last night and woke up very energetic. It might be because it’s the weekend and I’m at my happiest on weekends! I’ll definitely feel sluggish come Monday. So my scale is a 1. Yes a 1! Hee hee.

[source: That's My Answer]

When I was a kid, I admired men in police uniform because they automatically command respect. Nowadays, police uniform come in different styles and colors that you can’t immediately tell whether they are traffic police, the “real” police or security guards even. Some wear long pants and others wear 511 Tactical Shorts, I guess the latter is more for comfort and civilian wear.

I haven’t been holding (or rather using) my camera for nearly two weeks. We weren’t able to go out last weekend save for our church service and grocery shopping. This weekend looks even less promising because of my red eye. A vein in my left eye ruptured which caused a red patch to surround the eyeball.

It looks really bad. It’s like someone or something hit me in the head causing my eye to turn blood red. I was relieved though when I first read about it on the internet that it is not a cause for alarm and the doctor today also confirmed that it’s nothing serious.

But they all say that this could last for a week or even two. I miss going out with the family. Weekends are my favorite part of the week and I’m sad we’ll be trapped again at home this weekend. I miss taking pictures!

(Sago’t gulaman is one of my favorite Filipino refreshments. This refreshing drink made of shaved ice, cold water, caramelized sugar, sago pearls and jelly is a perfect treat during summer.

This is my interpretation of this week’s theme. Bow.)

Ang sago’t gulaman ay isa sa paborito kong inuming panlamig sa Pilipinas. Ito ay binubuo ng yelo, tubig, arnibal, sago at gulaman na bagay na bagay tuwing tag-init.

At ito ang lahok ko para sa tema natin ngayong linggo. Bow.

If you could work for any company in the entire world, what company would you want to work for?

I’ve always dreamed of working for the United Nations. I guess that dream went out of the window when I moved to the Information Technology field and worked as a SAP consultant.

[source: That's My Answer]

It can be challenging to rely heavily on bus tours while on a major vacation. It is because you are tied to be at a certain place and a specific time and going in huge groups can somewhat be bothersome.

In this case, it is best to rent a car. You can move around anywhere at anytime without the hassles of group tours. Usually, car rental companies have special offers that will give you big discounts on selected vehicle types.

Whether you are traveling in small or big groups, it is the flexibility of being mobile that makes renting a car a better choice when on tour.

Why do women need to carry so much stuff in their purses? Whatcha got in there?

My husband asks those questions ALL the time. Ha ha. I have my wallet, a small comb, 2 cellphones (one for use in Australia and the other to send SMS to the Philippines), a lipstick and chapstick, sweets, tissue pack, hair clip and my passport (only until I get my driver’s license converted)!

How about you, what do you stuff your purses with?

[source: That's My Answer]

If you are looking for a good deal on laptops or Macs, check out laptopbroker.com. They have a wide selection of items that are branded and brand new but the prices are really low compared to what is offered in the market.

The company’s website is pretty straightforward. You get all the required shopping buttons lined up at the header. The product description and specifications are quite thorough and apart from that they offer “Live” customer assistance just by dialing a toll-free number. I also like it that there is a customer review function available. This is good for those who would like to purchase but would want to first read customer feedback.

They also provide good Manufacturer warranty or Laptop broker warranty that assures buyers that the items bought does not leave their warehouse without one.

The company’s selling point is the price. Like the Macbook Pro that sells at $1,899.99 compared to $2,299.99! That’s a $400.00 savings that you can use to upgrade or purchase other Apple products.

If you check out their site, these cheap laptops are reviewed by their Expert Review Team. There are four technical guys who go through each product and make sure they only give you the most comprehensive reviews.

The guys behind this company are doing a pretty good job running their business. If I only have the budget to purchase my own MacBook, I’d definitely check out their site.