The sage advice my mother gave me

It meant little then, until I became a mother. Then it meant everything.
BY INA AMOR MEJIA

As a young girl, I had a constant daydream about myself as a mother. I feel like I was born with the desire to have children, and my expectations of that looming destiny never waned. I even knew what sort of mother I would be. All of it hinged on an image of myself, babe in arms, with every hair in place, feeling serene and content. This had a lot to do with my mother, Annabelle.

A Birth and A Death

Eight years ago I gave birth to my son, and witnessed something I will never forget.
BY INA AMOR MEJIA

I don't tell this story. It's one of those things that you keep in the deep parts of your mind but never forget. I was at the hospital about to give birth to my son. It was day three and my amniotic fluid was running low, Jamon's movements were starting to hurt. The contractions were moderate but I wasn't dilating. I would end up having a C-section with my doctor doing two things---delivering my baby and removing a dermoid cyst that might have been there since I was born. But this story isn't about me or my son.

How to have a massage

Your therapist knows what she's doing, but do you? BY INA AMOR MEJIA

ACHEY MUSCLES, STUBBORN KNOTS. You're sitting at your desk trying to get some work done, but your body is yearning for a massage. I feel you. Over here, the usual scenario is I call Anna, my years-long massage therapist with magic hands. An hour or so of her signature dry shiatsu massage and I am fixed. Other days, my husband and I go on a massage date to our favourite Chinese reflexology place on the other side of town. Either way, it's the same massage, every single time. And every single time it works wonders. When you've found the right therapist or massage place, the rest is really up to you. Here are a few lessons I've learned on how to get the most out of your massage...

Coconut Oil: A Daily Habit

How to easily get the benefits of this superfood everyday.BY INA AMOR MEJIA

WHEN COCONUT OIL took the world by storm a few years ago, I remember feeling a bit of a fond indifference to the health trend. I'm from the Philippines, one of the world's largest producers of coconuts and its byproducts. So I thought awesome, finally, but also, tell me something I didn't know. I spent childhood weekends playing under those tall skinny trees, I grew up on food using coconut milk, and I knew the nutty scent of the oil by heart. The irony is, it was never really a conscious choice to make coconut oil a daily habit. 

Well that's changed, A LOT... 

Agenda: Munich

5 Must-Dos in the German city.BY IGOR JOSIFOVIC OF HAPPY INTERIOR BLOG

FOR OUR SECOND POST in our travel series Agenda, I asked Igor Josifovic of Happy Interior Blog and Urban Jungle Bloggers for a quick Munich itinerary. Igor is an interior blogger, a seasoned traveller and a plant lover after my own heart, and he calls Munich home. There's so much more to this city besides Oktoberfest, and Igor shares some great ideas to enjoy the Bavarian capital. Cheers! - Ina

5 Must-Dos in Munich...