Random Eats II

My friend and I ate a Banoffe cake at Sweet Bella at Burgos Circle, The Fort while waiting for my other friend's birthday cake. We only ordered a small one because we were in a hurry. Hope we can go back there again and try more of their cakes and pastries. 

I am seriously turning out to be a dessert otaku.

A lot like Christmas...

I've finally finished decorating for Christmas. Shopping for it? Well, that's a different matter.

My theme this year was supposed to be handmade, but I ended up buying most of the gifts, as usual. But I did D.I.Y. some of the decorations this year.

I got the Merry Christmas bunting flags from the Ruffled blog. I just printed them out and cut little lines and threaded a measuring tape through it. I love the results, even though it doesn't look very Christmas-y.

A lot is going on in this picture. First the teacup which is from Japan Home Center. I bought it just because I loved the way it looked. Haha... The "Have a Wonderful Life" is by Papemelroti. Remember that store? When I was in high school, almost all my gifts to my classmates were from there. There's a yellow fabric ball at the right side which I made (more on that later) and the flower shaped thing is just an empty tissue roll which I pasted together. I'm still not sure what to do with it yet, but I'm leaving it as is for now. I might decide to paint it gold or whatever.

 

The pastel-colored tissue pom pom balls I made myself thanks to some tutorials I found in the internet. It's really easy to do, surprisingly. I just stuck some barbecue sticks and tied some green fabric on the base and put them on a vintage pink pitcher I had lying around. The photo props I printed, cut, and pasted are from Oh Happy Day. We turn into such photo whores during the holidays. LOL

Isn't the bunny cute? Little tip. I got this at Watsons last year. They sell stuff toys there too! But during December it's so expensive so you don't really want to buy one. But after the holidays, the prices suddenly drop! I think I got this for less than a hundred pesos! So you could say I started my Christmas shopping as soon as Christmas ended. It's so fluffy (!!!) that I wanted it for myself but I think I'm too old for this (huhu...) and stuffed toys + asthmatic kid me doesn't really mesh well. Sad.

I had a vision for this and I really don't know if I executed it well enough. It's basically four frames which contents I usually change depending on the mood (more on that later). I cut four squares of watercolor paper from my pad and painted them yellow, blue, red, and green. After that, I cut out the words using an Xacto knife (and a small Swiss army knife when I got tired) then put Christmas wrapping paper as backing. I still think it needs improvement but I'll let this one go for now and maybe improve on the design idea next year.

The coffee table. Not much happening here except where I randomly stuck some of the leftover Christmas flowers on a green glass pitcher. Yes, I have a lot of pitchers at home which I don't use for what it is actually supposed to be used for. LOL. Check out my collection! DVD box sets of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and BtVS (of course!), plus the romance novels (if you read them, then you can recognize what it is from the spines) and the remote controls! Yay! Haha... The stack of magazines are Yummy magazines (even if I don't cook) and decorating books.

Our only Christmas cushion cover. It's very glitter-y so I don't really like it much. Some of it gets stuck on you when you handle it. Oh well, it's just for a month.

Extra! I'm loving my current nail polish. Very holiday-ish. This was actually supposed to be a gift for someone but I changed my mind on what to give her and then I got bored and painted my nails. Haha...

And... ending this post with one my favorite wrapped presents for my Ninang. I love the Tiffany blue, silvery wrapper plus the red ribbon.

Now it really feels like Christmas season already. :)

Brown paper packages tied up with strings...

I love brown paper. Whenever I buy something and get a brown paper bag packaging, I try my best not to get any stain on them and hoard them like a shopaholic hoards groupons. I just knew that I would be able to use them someday.

Well, that day finally came. 

It was really a no-brainer. I needed to wrap some presents for Christmas when I came upon a weird shaped object. I was too lazy to make a paper bag (and too cheap to buy one!) for it when I spied my stack of brown paper packages. Lightbulb! I put the gift inside the ready-made bag from a certain bookstore then put a strip of paper and doily to cover the logo and voila! Instant wrapped present!

Some of the paper bags I had were too big so I cut them down flat just like I would a wrapping paper. Felt really proud because I was recycling as well as making really pretty and creative gift wrapping. I ever prefer it than regular Christmas wraps!

So before you throw away those paper bags, why don't you try making use of them? Just hoard some of those ribbons you get from past gifts or even old shoelaces, etc. and tie them up with a paper flower as a topper. It will surely end up as one of your favorite things too.

Bed Romance

This is kinda embarrassing, but I think I have one heck of a girly bedroom. It's not all pink, but it's kinda - for a lack of a term - princess-y. I would argue that it's not really my fault, because I hired an interior decorator to make my bedroom and I wasn't there the whole time to approve of everything. I wanted a relaxed, romantic, vintage-y type of room so I guess it is quite close to what I said. I still love the look that makes you feel like you're sleeping underneath a blooming cherry blossom / sakura tree... but the brass four-poster bed (shown without the matching white gauze curtains) was maybe a little too much.

 Sleeping Beauty's bed? LOL

It has its pros... For one thing, it was raised very high and there was a lot of space below for plastic storage boxes (seen on the photos) and in case of earthquakes, you can hide beneath it (hopefully I don't need to do this). I also hang a lot on the curved designs/brackets of the headboard, like ponytail holders, cloth headbands, necklaces, bags, etc. I also used to hang clothes on the bars when I take photos to sell them online.

Wall mural (yes, it's not wallpaper!)

But... I felt like the bars above gathered dust that trickled down to me. It was also a space-eater - physically and visually. You can't get from one side of the room to the other because the footboard blocked you from just vaulting over.

Work in progress... I sat on the cushion as I watched my computer monitor.

Slept like this while the bed was being done... not bad, actually.

I wanted to change it or modify it for years. I finally got around to it last month and I am absolutely loving it. Now I can see more of the mural behind the bed and I get an unobstructed view to my computer monitor from my bed - which, added to my bluetooth mouse means more laid-back viewing! Yay!

Finished product!

Now that my bed is done, my next step would be to shop for a new closet, which is harder than anticipated. And also, expensive! Sigh. Why isn't there an Ikea here in the Philippines yet?

Treats for kids

I gave out Halloween candy for the first time this year. Halloween trick or treating was never a big deal when I was a kid, although I do remember us neighborhood kids going to houses and not getting any candy from our neighbors. But we did have some memorable horror house stories... Well, that's a different thing altogether.

But now as an adult, it's somewhat exciting to give out candy to kids - especially if they're full on wearing costumes and looking adorable.

I wanted to do something more creative, but as usual, I ended up preparing things at the last minute. Halloween is really becoming a big thing (well, at least here in Makati) that a lot of people were buying candy at the aisles of Landmark supermarket days before.

I bought three boxes of those candy gummy worms and packed them individually. (I might have snagged a couple of worms for myself while doing so...) I originally planned on tying the plastic bags with orange and black ribbon but it kept slipping up so I got the idea of using the decorative tape I had lying around somewhere. Finally put to good use!

My cousin and I took pictures of the kids but I won't be posting them. For one thing, I wanted to protect the privacy of the kids and parents. We didn't exactly get their permission to post them on this blog. Number two - there aren't any good shots. They all ended up looking like those horror pictures where everything is blurry and their eyes are glowing. No there's no monsters in our condo. It's just - kids sure move a lot.

So I end this post with me and my cousin's photos posing with the Halloween decorations they put up in the Club floor. 

Yay! I got a free cupcake!

Hope you all had a great Halloween and be safe during the following holidays. :)

Random Eats

I don't think I'm cut out to be a food blogger. For one thing, I always forget to take a picture of the food before taking a bite out of it. Another is that I don't eat out that much - one of the advantages/disadvantages of living near a mall is that you eventually decide it's better (and cheaper) to eat at home when it's only a block away.

But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good meal or snack away from home. Here are some of the places I've visited the past couple of weeks.

KITCH CAFE

 Mango cashew cheesecake (Php 85) See what I mean about taking a bite before taking a pic?

My cousin's irish mocha cheesecake(Php 85)

Cousin and I just dropped by on this little hideaway and decided to try their cheesecake for our merienda. It was very good and the price is very reasonable. The place is so quaint and very cozy. I have to go there again and bring my friends with me the next time. I'd love to try out the other items on their menu, too.

BULGOGI BROTHERS

Admittedly, I wanted to go here because I just finished watching an episode of Running Man. Those Korean variety shows really make me hungry for some Korean food/barbecue. I've been meaning to try out this restaurant in Greenbelt since I saw the poster for it and last week we decided to go for it. We ordered the special set with the heart shaped patties and the dish served above and it was so filling! It was a good thing that there were three of us because from the pictures it looked like it was small, but when the food came we were unsure whether we could finish it or not! The heart shaped patties literally melts in your mouth, like wow. Next time I go there I'm going for the bibimbap.

CAFFE TI-AMO

Gelatos pretty popular these days and I always love going to Caffe Ti-amo for a little ice cream for dessert. I have a hard time finishing the big cups, so I always get the smallest size. Anyway, the ambiance alone is enticing enough to try one of their many flavored gelato.

***

KITCH CAFE

Unit G-14 Sunvar Plaza

Pasay Road cor. Amorsolo, Makati City

www.kitchcafe.co

BULGOGI BROTHERS

Greenbelt 5, Makati

CAFFE TI-AMO

Greenbelt 5, Makati

My Top Five: TV Couples

Whether it's to the tune of the laugh track or Lighthouse songs, characters on television manage to fall in love and make us tune in every week. I'm a sucker for those shows - the one where there's a couple who have so much chemistry together and every episode you ask, "will they or won't they ever get together?". These kinds of love affairs last years, but as one of the people on this list said - that's what epic love is all about.

So here is my Top 5 couples from television shows that I ship. I know that there are probably a lot more out there, but I haven't watched every show in existence so... this is just mine.

(In no particular order)

1. Logan & Veronica (Veronica Mars)

The couple that I didn't see coming when I first saw it and the couple with the most adorable ship name - LoVe. And what's not to love? These two may snark their way through life, but there comes those moments when they're together and show that, really, they're just marshmallows on the inside. Aww...

2. Buffy & Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel)

If there was such a thing as epic love, this couple would be it. They've literally been to hell and back, almost caused the world as we know it to end, came back from the dead (twice!) and their story is far from over. This butt-kicking heroine and the vampire with a soul still have a lot of 'baking' to do, but we can wait because we know they'll eventually end up 'cookies' together.

Honorable mention: Buffy & Spike (what?)

3. Luke & Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)

 WATCH! Luke & Lorelai moments

I remember the time when we just moved in and we haven't gotten cable yet and this was all we watched on dvd. Our lives and meals were consumed while talking about the people on Stars Hollow, especially the relationship between Luke - the laid back owner of the local diner and Lorelai - the fast-talking single mother and manager of the local inn. Lorelai's daughter Rory also has her share of love affairs, but it's the Luke & Lorelai storyline that had us rooting for happy ever after all the way.

4. Ross & Rachel (F.R.I.E.N.D.S.)

 WATCH! He's her Lobster

A classic - the dork and the popular girl. It takes years after the awkward years of high school and college (and weddings!) before they get it right, but when a person's your lobster, you'll just never going to let go of each other's claws.

Honorable mention: Monica & Chandler

5. Lois & Clark (Smallville)

WATCH! Clois "I Love You"

What brought on my current fascination about tv couples - Clois. I was already a fan of this team up since the show starring Terri Hatcher and Dean Cain, but Smallville's re-imagining of this legendary couple blew me away. The first few seasons were hard to go through because of, ahem, you know... but it was worth it to get through the rest when these two finally get together.

Now that I've finished writing this, so many more tv couples come to mind: Penny & Desmond from Lost (The Constant couple), Chuck & Blair (Chair) from Gossip Girl, etc. So what's your favorite television-based ship?

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

So I guess by now everybody has watched or read Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement address. While I'm not an Apple user, I respect the man and his works.

RIP Steve Jobs. Here's to the changes you made and continue to make in this world.

Waiting In Line

Amidst my seclusion the past weeks due to my Smallville marathon (more on that later), I found the time to get my bills paid. Believe me, if only I could pay it through online banking, I would have never stepped out of my condo. But it was just at the corner, literally, so it wasn't so bad to go out and get a little exercise. (Hah!)

When I got to the bank, I remembered why I hated going there. Two words: long lines. I went to two different branches and it was the same. Why is it that whenever you go to banks it seems that the tellers always go on a break and there is only one remaining?

I decided to make good use of my time, and let out some frustration in the process. And I came up with this little ditty. 

We fall in line to give them our money

Try to avoid looking at each other's eye

To reveal how much is your worth

In dollars, nickels and dimes.

Tell me when my number's up

Tell me when it's my turn

To meet that girl who's in front of this line

Who'll take what's mine with a smile.

Eventually, it ended up in an art journal entry.

...Yeah, I'm still figuring out this art journal thing. My gesso basically turned into rubber so I wasn't able to paint the background. Not satisfied with it at all. But I figured art is an evolving thing so maybe I'll revisit this for some improvements later on.

Speaking of improvements, I already made some on my previous entry:

Just added a few sunflowers I cut out, but it looks marginally better, right? I think it gives it a more uplifting, optimistic look. But... it still needs... something. Ah, well.

By the way, for more of my emo writing - my alter-ego is at Quilled Thoughts. Please be kind. :)

My Dara Lightstick

Thanks to the joint efforts of OhDara, WeLoveDara, and Oh My Goddess (Dara's Korean fansite), I was finally able to get my hands on one of these nifty Dara lightsticks.

Off Mode

On Mode

It didn't come with batteries so I couldn't test it as soon as I got it. For those who don't know, it uses A76 batteries - 3 for each light so you have to buy six in total. You can buy these at hardware stores and they cost about Php 47 a pack with 2 batteries. In total you spend about less than Php 150.

I'm also trying to think of a way to store the lightstick. It only came wrapped in bubble wrap and even though the light is made of durable plastic, I am still thinking of making a box or something for it. Does anybody else have an idea there?

So now in addition to my Blackjack lightstick, I have this one. So cute, right? I don't know when I will have the opportunity to use it. Maybe MAMA? Haha... I wish. Or maybe I could just wave this around while watching this oh so sexy CF teaser of Dara for Nikon.

Product ♥: Powder by Kamiseta

If you've ever been to Kamiseta, even if you're just passing by, you've likely got a whiff of their powder scent that is present in all of their stores.

I've always been curious about that because, hey, who wouldn't want to have a house smelling like that?

So today I went over to a Kamiseta store and chatted up the sales attendant at the cash/wrap about the scent. She said that it was the owner's preference and that it was a specialized air freshener. I can't remember what company she told me it was from, but I gathered that you can't buy it from department stores and supermarkets. Too bad. (They're totally missing an opportunity here LOL!)

But I did buy myself one of their scents - Powder.

 Powder (Php 249)

From the Kamiseta website, it says that it's "a refreshing mild scent inspired by the natural freshness of fine powder." It certainly is that!

Well, if I can't have my house smelling like it, at least I do. <3

Doodles

Some people have a difficult time drawing. I'm one of those people, believe it or not. Maybe because I'm a Virgo, but I always want my drawings to be perfect. Stupid of me. I can't be Michelangelo or Da Vinci overnight (if ever).

It's only lately that I realized that it's okay for your sketches and drawings not to be realistically-drawn. Even if it's two dots for eyes and a curved line for lips, it's still okay.

So here are some of my recent sketches which I've scanned (yeah, I'm still having fun with my scanner!) and colored using Photoshop. Color really improves everything! Haha...

The before pic of the first pic. I actually copied it off from one of my Japanese magazines. Sorry to the original artist. I just used it for learning experience. :)

Other before and after sketches:

 

LOL! The hands look like she's wearing gloves!

Doodle away!

I've got a feeling

I'm still sucky about doing these art journals. I'm now thinking that it's just scrapbooking without the pictures?

I just finished watching the anime Beck and reading its continuation in the manga. Despite my current love of K-Pop, I initially was a rock fan due to my older brother's influence. Watching Beck made me revisit that and I've got this song from the Beck OST stuck on my head. Originally by The Beatles, I've Got A Feeling is just really upbeat and mellow at the same time. The contrasting lines of the song just fits what I'm feeling at the moment. Yeah, your life has its ups and downs... but everybody does. Just chill.

I wish I could sing it live just like what Beck did at Greatful Sound. How cool was that?

Natural Perm

You don't know how many times I've been asked where I had my hair permed. It gives me a some sense of satisfaction to say that my hair is all natural. Well, except for the color. But, yeah. I have natural curls.

But I didn't always like it. There's still a part of me that wishes I have that long, straight black hair that is often seen on ads and commercials. Relax, rebond... I've tried all these and have the token hair straightener that is now gathering dust at the back of closet somewhere. I know that people who have straight hair and can't maintain a curl have the same dilemma. We always want what we can't have.

It's a good thing that over the years I have learned how to 'embrace the curls', as I say. It's much easier to maintain than suffering from the heat because I can't tie my hair into a ponytail lest the rebond/relax will be damaged.

I'm no expert, but what works for me are:

1. Shampoo especially made for curly hair. Also, conditioner. Lots of it. I used to use the local Sunsilk brand but they discontinued it. Now I use the Herbal Essences one. It really does make a difference. When I use a regular shampoo, my hair is a little straighter and the curls look limp.
2. Mousse or a curling lotion/milk. I've been using this brand Monea Curl Defining Milk and it works for me. I just spread it on my hands, scrunch it on my wet hair, and then leave it.
3. Fine toothed comb. It's weird, but what I discovered is that my curls are more 'organized' when I use a fine toothed comb on my wet hair. That is, after using the wide toothed comb to untangle it first. My hair looks straight at the beginning, but when it dries it forms the curls. But since it was combed finely, it's a more ordered messy look. (Huh?)
4. And for my latest discovery, this video which works if you have time to set your hair. I found myself doing this for the past few weeks and I never get tired of it. Sooo easy (no hairdryer required!) and I love the curls it makes.

.

The people at my house looks at me funny because of the before hairstyle. They're kinda used to it by now. They know I usually do weird things with my hair when I get bored. Haha...

Front view

Ate Nan told me my hair looked like something from Amaya.

 The back view

But the after is worth it.

I'm smiling on the inside. :)

I read that this technique also works for those who have stubbornly straight hair so, why not? It's so easy and you don't need hair dryers and all that stuff. Embrace the curls!

Book Review: New York To Dallas by J.D. Robb

So cool that even books have trailers these days. As if I wasn't excited enough. I was calling bookstores and actually went there everyday (the perks of living a ten-minute walk away from the mall) just in case they already have the book for sale.

And, finally, they did! I spazzed in the bookstore. True story.

New York To Dallas is the latest In Death novel. The 33rd! Wow. I can't believe I've been reading this series for so long now. I think I was still in college when I started! But I don't regret reading all of them and it remains my favorite series ever.

Protagonist Eve finds herself facing a previous antagonist - her first one from her rookie days. The culprit has escaped jail and now set his sights on her for revenge. The case brings her back to the past, both from that case and also from her own childhood which dregs up uncomfortable memories for her and her husband, Roarke.

I admit I may have been a little spoiled about this book. I blame myself because I was reading the reviews and tortured myself with the teasers. That's why when the twist happened, I was already braced for it. Was it worth it? Hmm...

I tried hard to resolve my feelings about this book. It was a bit heavy for me, which is understandable because of the subject matter. The humor is also not as prominent as with the previous novels. I think it's because the New York 'crew' wasn't in the book that much. I missed Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Truehart and Baxter. That's why when a character was brought over to Dallas, I was so happy that it sort of felt like home again, like what Eve felt.

It was just different. Not bad different, but just different. I think that it was a necessary journey that Eve had to take so the story could move forward. It deserved it's own book so I understood why this book had to be written. Will it be my first pick when I get the urge to read an In Death novel? No. Not right now. But it may be further in the series when I want something a little more emotional and revisit Eve's journey.

But now that it's over, I am now looking forward to the new book. It looks really fun from the synopsis and you can bet I'll be bugging and stalking the bookstores once again.

Authentication shot!