Friends (just like the sitcom title)

I had such an eventful week, and a very tiring one too! I feel happy nonetheless, I got to hang out with different groups of friends - and this gave some color to my otherwise monotonous day to day routine- i missed all my friends during my confinement in one of the offices located in the outskirts of Pasig haha. I did however, spend a bit too much! I have to stop myself the next time I'm tempted to go to the mall during a sale. haha. Learning how to control my impulses, has always been difficult for me. At some point, I was so tempted purchase so many accessories from a store :O I know being financially responsible (and simply stingy) is part of being more mature and independent, but it's just so damn easy to give in.

I was fortunate enough to have been able to attend the 54th Manila Fame - an exhibit where all the top local accessories, furniture and other home furnishing companies feature their products and present them to potential buyers (for export). And since I love everything beautiful, I had to attend and see. My friend, Cham who works for CITEM, is one of the organizers of this event and she invited us (super thanks!) to see the awesome Filipino products featured there. We went around and bought accessories (mostly native) and to admire the different themes of the exhibit. Took the photos below using my iPhone. (only a few since we were technically not allowed to do so. oops.)

With my pretty friends, Cham and Ducky <3

Mood Indigo (our new favorite term!) - ocean, calm, serene. I would like my future house to take on this theme. 

Graffiti - mostly colors that pop out, it's very eye catching!

Loved this store! So many things to look at. 

Naturalist - earthly tones. 

The exhibit closed at 7pm, we decided to have dinner then to nailaholics for hand/foot spa and to just catch up with what's been happening to each other, gossip and joke around. I think that all three of us (maybe not Cham) have entered quarter life crisis, searching for some sense of fulfillment when it comes to our careers, and trying our hardest to figure out how the heck we're gonna do that. Oh, we're all still single too! haha, as to why, click here . (YES, I read this to make myself feel better- excuse me for being conceited) haha. 

We call the color combination Mood Indigo! 

I got home past midnight, and I had to go to work the following day, I was so tired but it was soooo worth it! (considering that we havent seen each other for months). We're planning to see each other again for our yearly Christmas dinner/bonding. haha (not that we're that far from each other, but our schedules won't permit us to meet regularly). So I really cannot wait!:)

Since, I had been talking about friends, I just would like to post some photos:

With my new found friend, Charm :) This was the Galleria sale where I bought some things which are very useful and a SWIMSUIT, a swimsuit!  in October! when there are a lot of typhoons ! I really don't know why I bought one also, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. haha

Cable Car + Kyss with my girlfriends. We so badly wanted to play beerpong! Sad that we, non-beerpong tournament competitors, were not allowed to. haha. 

With Charm and Grace, we came from a bridal expo! Cos cham is getting married, it's so exciting and seeing all the beautiful bridal stuff in the expo multiplied my excitement ten fold! I seriously can't wait to help her with more planning. :D 

With friends getting married, being content with how their progressing with careers, taking masterals, having that sense of fulfillment and having things turn out exactly the way they planned - or even better, is making me a tad bit envious (I am very happy for them, and I love all of them) but it makes me think what the future has in store for me, and I hope, with every fiber in my being that it will be just as good. But there is no way of knowing what's in store for me, and so I go back to this phrase every time:

God is good. And I trust in His plan for me. 

Official Business Trip to Visayas:D

Meet the gang:

John (in white) - Key Accounts Officer

Jerry (in orange) - Executive Assistant to the President

Myself :D - muse. wahahaha

Jenny (in brown) - Key Accounts Officer

I was kind of hyped up when I found out that I was going on my first provincial trip for work. Especially since I haven't been to any of the provinces that we were going to visit. I was so giddy cos imagined the trip to be extremely fun and exciting. Well, it was a little bit. But man, was I tired.

Our first stop was in Cebu.

We had to proceed to work immediately but one of the highlights of our day would be our lunch in Casa Verde, price is very reasonable considering the size of the servings. And the food was really good also.

This was Johnny's food. but I think I ate most of it. Did I mention that I loooove shrimp?

Our flight got delayed for a couple of hours so we took this opportunity to drop by Magellan's cross and the Sto. Nino Church!

We visited the Sto Nino Church to take pictures and pray for a while. It's a very nice Church, the architecture is great, both inside and out. I love their chandeliers too, fancy! :)

After working with Cebuanos and talking to them or transacting with them inside the malls, I've realized how gracious and kind they are. And they have such a happy disposition, it's amazing. All the people I had to work with there were so pleasant and they made the trip more fun. :D So I was a bit sad that we had to leave so early.

Random photo. I just wanted to post it cos it looks nice :)

C'est dommage but we could only stay in Cebu for 2 days. We had to fly out on our third day to meet our schedule.

Our next stop was Ilo-ilo, where we met with our boss! He knows the best local restaurants and he loovess to eat! So we had A LOT of food. hihi.

Well hello, Ilo-ilo! It's a pretty province. With a lot of good food.
In front of Buto't Balat, one of the best local restaurants. These are John and Jerry. Trying to be merry :D haha

That night, 5 people ate 3 platefuls(like above) of oyster, 2 pots of kare-kare, 2 servings of liempo, sizzling bulalo, fried/breaded gizzard and bicol express! They were all really really good. I had to stop eating or I was going to explode!

Ilo-ilo is such a quaint town. A lot of old churches. But unfortunately, we did not have the time to visit them, i would have loved to. but oh well. We didn't get to do much there because of our tight schedule (besides eat, cos it's probably the only thing you can do after 7pm). But it was fun, You get to experience culture through food and talking to the locals. I really wanted to stay in Ilo-ilo for a while and go to the nearby Churches and museums but I had work to do so.... our next stop was Bacolod.

From Ilo-ilo, we took a boat (Supercat?) to Bacolod. At the port of which, I met Andre!!!!

Andre and Andrea!

He was such a cute old lazy doog! He sniffs bags when commanded to do so. But 80% of the time, he's just lying down somewhere.

The boat ride from Ilo-ilo to Bacolod took a little more than an hour but it was very comfortable; spacious, comfortable chairs, television (we watched White Chicks! but bitin :|) When we reached the Bacolod port, we got off the boat and when I entered the taxi, I realized that the pouch where my chargers are has been stolen! I was pretty upset because I checked my bag just before we got off to ensure that I had all my things, and I did. However to exit the boat, we had to pass by the "economy" seats area, where I think someone just reached into my bag and took the pouch(I had a Neverfull and so it dint have a zipper or whatnot. stupid mistake.). So when I got into the cab, it wasn't there anymore. Good thing they were just chargers. But still, i needed it for my phone and all.

So that experience dampened my spirit for a few hours. Until it was time to eat again :D heee. We had to work in the afternoon and ate dinner at Palapala after.

Palapala! It's sort of like Dampa.

Johnny Bravo with the Mameng fish.

Oh, this was the reason why I was sent to these provinces. I had to conduct product and brand presentations to the different personnel. Fun, a bit tough since most of them tend to forget that I don't know bisaya :D But getting the chance to work with people who have different cultures in their environment is such a learning experience. I came home dead tired but the trip was well worth it.

LAST: JUST TO GET BACK AT THEM!

I was so grumpy after our flight from Cebu to Ilo-ilo because these two won't stop taking pictures of me while I was sleeping. and the flash (THE FLASH! they dint even remove it:|) of their cameras kept waking me up! So here you go, John and Jerry! haha

it all comes down to food.

DESSERT COMES FIRSTTT

I have a habit of taking photos of the food I eat (or my friends'). I have collected a few already so I am sharing it here. And of course, dessert comes first!

When my friends and I went to Davao a few months back, we ate in this restaurant called Lachie's and they have the most amazing desserts! Better than Conti's or Banapple or any other dessert places I have tried in Manila. And Marvin sent us some treats from there a few weeks back. I got a slice of choco-vanilla cheesecake and an almond square. They were gone in a second!

Choco-vanilla cheesecake and almond square from Lachie's Davao.

amazing what you can do with chocolate and CBS. looove. with mallows, biscuits, fruits, bacon (or bacon!!), and what not. haha!

i love these tiny polvoron cupcakes with white chocolate on top. They have a store beside my office in Pasig. Quite pricey (at 35 a piece) but aren't the adorable angry bird characters worth it?

FINE DINING

My friend, Creselda, had this event for her school and she invited me to be one of her guests. It was a five course meal and it was nothing less than delightful. I got several servings of the dessert. but sshhhhh!

Puree of garlic roasted soup with black olive crostini and grilled prawn.

Grilled pork medallion and sweet potato mash

Banana walnut muffin, vanilla ice cream, butterscotch sauce with a hint of cream cheese.

SINGAPORE FOOD LAH.

Too bad I did not get a chance to try food from the hawkers when my girl friends and I visited Singapore a month ago. (I dint get to take much pictures either! was too excited to do so) But we did get several things right: Eat crabs at Jumbos, Universal Studios and Chinatown (loved Chinatown! went by there all my three days in Singapore. yes, I'm cheap like that!)

Clark Quay

black pepper crab

chilli crab

Be careful tho, they have this side effect that keeps those eating from talking for a whole hour.

LITTLE NOOK SOMEWHERE IN MARIKINA: Cafe Lydia

Cute ambiance, good food, big servings and relatively cheap.

this, if I remember correctly is chicken parmesan

beef salpicao

fish fillet with a tomato based paste on top with mozzarella on top. (yummy if you like tomatoes, which I don't, so it was a bit sayang)

I eat waaay too much! and I know I should cut down. But it's just to big a temptation for me to be able to resist!

The good stuff

Sukiyaki for work! I'm starting to love cooking as much as I do baking. And my work is kinda perfect because I am handling the cooking line. So I get to test the recipes for our demos! tee hee I'm sharing the recipe for it below.

And of course, my first love, Baking!

Candies from Malaysia, they're almost too cute to eat!

SUKIYAKI RECIPE: (I got it from a site also but had made some changes)

Sukiyaki Ingredients:

1 medium-sized white onion, minced

1/2 kilo beef, sliced paper thin

7 squares tofu

Spinach

Sotanghon (or vermicelli)

Vegetable oil

Sauce:

5 cups hot water

1 square beef broth cube

12 tbsp sugar (or more if you want it sweeter)

15 tbsp soy sauce

1. Fill the steamboat with water and cook the sotanghon noodles. After the noodles have been cooked, drain them and place in a separate bowl.

2. While waiting for the noodles to cook. Dissolve broth cube in hot water,add sugar and soy sauce. Mix well then heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Set aside.

3. Put on low heat. Pour in 3 tbsp of oil then fry the onions until golden brown. Place it in one side of the pan.

4. Fry the beef until it is barely pink (add some oil if necessary). Once the beef is cooked, set it beside the onions.

5. Place the tofu on the remaining space on the pan. Pour in the sauce. Once it's boiling add the spinach then let simmer

6.Serve with noodles.

Summer Lovin' in Davao & Bataan

Because this is the first summer since we we all started working. And since we're all young and free and independent young adults. And since it's already summer. We decided that we all needed to have some fun! :D

Our first trip was in -and I quote Kat- "DAVAO BEYBEEHH"


Our Davao trip was the sequel to the North Luzon trip we had around the same time last year just before graduation (i can't believe it's been a year!). It being completely unplanned made added excitement to it and besides I really needed a break from my crazy work schedule. We booked our flights 2 days before and none of us had any idea what the plan was until several hours after we landed (except cesar who planned everything haha). Still in my office clothes, we arrived around 9pm and checked in to our room, had dinner and ate the bestest buttered chicken ever!

On saturday morning, we went to the market to buy Durian, its strong smell lingered inside our room the whole day and I just loved it. absolutely loved it. We left the comforts of our air conditioned room and beds to (what else) but hit the beach! :) Samal Island, about a few minutes from the coast. After which, we had dinner at Lachie's (I fell in love with their choco vanilla cheesecake. I have never ever tasted any cheesecake that good in my life. OA ahah. but true.)

The next day, we were supposed to go to the crocodille farm, but none of us wanted to see crocodilles so we went to like an uphill place, talked over coffee and listen to our new found friends tell ghost stories. boo!

Kat and I. Nice photo, right?

Kat, Cesar and Kayla having fun by the shore.

Reuel and Kayluh. When the boys said they were gonna take care of lunch, I though we were gonna grill. haha! but canned tuna paella was delicious too! :)

Sunny doing a hand stand and Cesar (I'm not sure what he's doing) :P

It was a super short trip, I wish we could have stayed longer and done more. But Monday arrived too fast. Maybe next time :D

BATAAN WITH KAY, EPZA AND KWIT.

At a lovely beach with my lovely ladies

More recently I had another beach trip with my highschool friends. I was completely unaware of the beautiful white sand beaches and coves in Bataan. I was expecting that we would be visiting a place that was more.. humble.... or at least something less perfect. BUT Bataan was just beautiful. We went to Camaya Island and since our host, Epza was friends with the owner(?) we got a slight special treatment. Speed boat, hotel suite, personal butlers, mouth-watering lunch and anything we wanted. It was crazy.

just before our feet hit the powdery white sand.

Our hotel suite common area

by the pool

lunch by the beach?

Everyone was having a great time and for a moment there, while we were sipping juice and having lunch on our table by the beach, we felt like the girls from Sex and the City haha!

Before the day ended, we went back to Epza's house in Bataan where her Mom also has a restaurant. It's pretty unique, each group or customer can get a nipa hut where their food will be served. and the food. was. just. HEAVENLY.

Aurora's restaurant

I'm not sure if I'm gonna be going out again for the rest of the summer because I'm saving for a trip in June. But I've had two amazing ones and I'm quite happy already! So maybe i'll just amuse myself with baking, plants and my dogs for the rest of the season. I'm also starting to learn to cook, so that's another hobby to kill time with. Or maybe I can just continue being a workhorse. haha

But honestly, more than just visiting the places, I'm glad to have gone there with great friends. and simple get togethers near our places of work would be good enough for me. for now.