Mommy Fleur: February 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

Even during my dalaga days, I was in Tagaytay often. It was one of my happy places. Having a "thrify" boyfriend before, I know the cheapest restaurants, cheapest accommodations, cheapest way to gimmik and the entrance fee of the zoo, parks etc. Hell, I even know how to commute from Manila to Tagaytay and how to go around Tagaytay riding jeeps. If you know me, this is surprising because, maarte ako. I seldom commute and I am maselan in places where I sleep. But in Tagaytay, rak en roll ako =D

Anyways, we went to Tagaytay last weekend. Tumingin kasi kami ng lupa. So soshal to hear noh? But no, we just checked out a piece of land for somebody who's actually the one buying. Lol.

Tagaytay never fails to surprise me. Given that I was always in Tagaytay before, there were still new discoveries that I unveiled in this trip.

One, there's this restaurant near Sonya's Garden that served delicious Bulalo.

kumukulo pa!

the kubyertos

Fried liempo. Half order daw, good for 2-3 persons but look at it! Super plenty the servings!

Rice galore

We also ordered inihaw na bangus which was HUGE! Totally sulit for the price. I'm so sorry because I forgot the name of the place but this is located just along the road to Sonya's Garden. It's near the bend of the road. Clustered sila dun and akala mo turo turo lang. Our bill was 800pesos but there were so many leftovers. There were 5 of us pero ang dami dami pa din natira. And the view? Wow, the Taal Volcano was just like there beside us =)

Two, the more uncomfortable you are in posing for pictures, the thinner you look in the photos. Haha. This isn't connected with Tagaytay but I wanna share it with you. La lang.

Half of my butt was elevated from the seat. It doesn't look it but in actual, parang mababalian na ako ng likod. So worth it though. Parang 95 lbs lang ako dito!

Third, Rowena's Chocolate Crinkles.

They. Are. To. Die. For!!!! Ang sarap sarap!!!!! Not that sweet pero super chewy inside. I super love!
Priced at Php 250 per box

Fourth, Rowena's Cassava Cake.

Kakaiba itech sa mga other cassava cakes that i tasted. It has a top layer that super melts in you mouth. Yummy!

Lastly, I'm not particularly fond of pies. But my Aunt Judith and cousin Faye bought these various flavored pies in Rowena's. They made me taste it.

The ube pie was my favorite!!!

The mango pie was divine!!!

So ngayon, I'm a pie eater na! When I got home, I was so nanghihinayang because I should have bought those pies too!!!

Time for the outfit post!

Top: Forever 21
Shorts: Tiangge in St. Francis Square
Shoes: Red Espadrille wedge bought from my officemate =)

You guys, where have you been recently?

Share! Share! =)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

This Is Friendship

A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting beside you say " Damn that was fun!" - anonymous

Before I got married and pregnant, wait no, pregnant (then after two weeks) married [nagpapakatotoo lang sister lol!], hubby and I went on a lot of double dates with Janis and Mark.

You see, Janis has been my friend since like we were in diapers. We've been through a lot. As in a whole lot. More accurately, she's the one who went through all those things. I didn't have enough balls to go through what she went through. In short, goody goody two shoes ako. Boring. But if something really cool/scary/adventurous happened to her, feeling ko kasali na din ako. Epal amp! hahaha!

We all know it. We went through it. The "teenage rebellion" phase. Si Janis nga lang hard core. But I tell you, no matter what she did (maybe out of curiosity or just out of sheer adventure), especially if it's wrong, she never lets me try it. Hindi ako sinasama. Seriously. Feeling ko nga kaya ako matino (ng konti) dahil din sa kanya eh. It's as if she can try the bad things but me, I can just only watch and just listen to all the kwentos. Nevertheless, I found it so cool back then.

With all that background kwento, you should see her now. She's a great (and OC) mom to my inaanak and a wonderful and maasikasong wife to Mark. Nakakaloka! Hahaha! Motherhood can indeed change a human being!

Anyways, as I was saying, we love going out on double dates with Janis and Mark. For a year though, we had this petty misunderstanding that led us not to talk to each other for like almost a year. Good thing, one day, we just texted and ayun, okay na. We're weird I know but we've been friends for the longest time so I'm so happy okay na kami. So for Valentine's Day, we decided to watch the show at the 360 bar at Resorts World.

JANIS: Tingnan mo Nana sa paligid natin, puros mashoshonda! Ang mga ka-gimik na natin ngayon, matatanda!

I looked around and yes, tama nga siya! Puros oldies!

ME: Pero diba, ano gusto mo, ganito or yung nangyari sa atin sa Ascend? (Ascend was a bar in The Fort. We went there with friends to go gimmik but after 30 minutes of trying to enjoy ourselves, we ended up in a restaurant downstairs, eating molo soup. Seriously.)

JANIS: Eto noh! Hindi ko kinaya dun! Sumakit ulo ko sa lakas ng sounds!

ME: I knoooww!!! Eto na ang trip natin. We are finally growing up.

Amen.

Pictures from that night.

Janis & Mark in front of the Marriott Hotel

Outfit post: LBD from HK, Black shoes from Charles and Keith, the ever dependable Forever 21 sling bag

Thanks To Rajo!

One of my must read blogs is of Rajo Laurel's. He is one of our country's top designers.

Imagine my shock when I read one of his blog entries:

PACKING SHET!!!

I eat hotdogs with fried rice every freaking day!!! It's my favorite breakfast!

Tomorrow, no more hotdogs!!! So scary!!

If you want to read more about Damaging Habits, just click on the link.

Gow now!

Thanks to Rajo! Now I know!

Feeling the Love from Canada

I know it's super late but in behalf of Anika, I'd like to say a big thanks to Ate Eileen and her hubby there in Canada for these cute clothes and swimsuit for our darling little girl!

Old navy skirt, short, socks and swimsuit

Anika got excited with her Disney Princesses swimsuit.

ANIKA: Tatay!!! I can go swimming already! I have a bathing suit na!

ALVIN: Yes baby. Kaso masyadong sexy yan. Please wear long sleeves and pants over it okay?

ANIKA: Huh? Ano daw?!

Hehehehe!

Sugi Japanese Restaurant

I love, love Japanese food! As in super duper! Magkaka-amoebiasis na ata ako ulit sa kakakain ng tuna sashimi! joke! haha!

After Mama's gig at the Philippine Heart Center, we had lunch in Greenbelt 5.

ME: San tayo kakain Ma?

MAMA: Ikaw na anak ang pumili.

ME: Sa Sugi!!!!

MAMA: Wag dun, di ko type yung inorder ko dun dati.

ME: Tingnan mo to. Sabi mo ako pumili. Sugi na tayo. Pangit lang yung napili mong dish last time. Order something else na lang..

MAMA: Sige.

And so we ate there..

Sugi Restaurant in Greenbelt 2, Makati City

I ordered these fresh tuna sashimi

Mama ordered this delicious tofu steak with mushrooms

I ordered this Mango and Crab salad. Okay lang, I can do this dish at home.

And my favorite, Crazy Rolls!! California Maki with a twist! I super like.

Except for that gross insect that was crawling on our table (of all days ha. kung kelan kasama ko pa ang napaka-arte kong ina), the food that we ordered were delicious. Sana nga lang, the management of the restaurant were more reactive when we showed them the "insect". We reported it to them (super grossed out kami and mega react ako) and one of the managers went to our table and said, "Sorry po." while squishing the insect with the paper placemat and then left. Dyosme ateh! Nasa Greenbelt tayo. Mall ng mga mayayaman! Hindi ito Isetan or Tutuban. Greenbelt itech! (Though, the kind of place should not be an excuse for a restaurant to be clean and free from crawling things. Pang mayaman or mahirap, malinis dapat. Tama? Tamaaaaaa!!). Nakakaloka talaga the way they handled the situation! The people there needs training. Kung nasa Amerika tayo, big deal na big deal ito.

I saw a group of elderly shosyal women in the next table. I wondered what if dun sa table nila nangyari ito. Siguro nagtili-an ang mga yun no? =)

Anyways, I still recommend the restaurant. The food is delicious eh. But comparing to Nihonbashitei in Pasay Road, parang mas type ko Nihonbashitei. It's cheaper eh but with the same quality of food.

Divisoria Queen

Divisoria's one of my happy places. It goes neck to neck with Powerbooks, Zara and baby sections of any department stores. For somebody who doesn't know how to commute, it can be pretty hellish to go there though right? Ang hirap maghanap ng parking! Kaya madalang lang ang punta ko. Around twice a year max.

Anyways, Anika will be having a birthday party on April. I immediately thought of Divi for the party favors and game prizes for the kids. I dragged hubby, my cousin Faye and my mom to Divi last weekend. It's been a while since I last went there. I was surprised because beside my favorite 168 Shopping Mall, there's 999 Shopping Mall na din pala!!! With parking floors pa!

And, since we were there like 830am, we didn't have a hard time looking for a parking place.

see?

And since we were super early, we decided to eat breakfast muna at the food court of 999 Mall.

MAMA: Oh my god anak! Tingnan mo 60 pesos lang dalawang ulam na!!!

She turned to the Chinese people selling the food..

MAMA: Ako. Tanong. Kahit. Ano. Dito. Ulam. Dun. Sa. Sixty Pesos. Ok?

VENDOR: Opo!

Mama turned to me with big eyes! Ang mura!!!

Mama cannot get over that this fish and squid with rice only costs Php 60. And it was delicious ha!

Anything basta dalawang ulam, 60 lang. Surprisingly, given the price, masarap siya. Ma-pirate nga tong mga chinese na itech na magcanteen sa office

Large area of the 999 Mall food court

After eating, I briefed my companions (especially Mama)

ME: Guys, concentrate ha. We're here to find loot bag contents and game prizes for Anika's birthday. This is our priority. Saka na muna yung other things after natin makumpleto yung mga dapat bilhin. Okay.

Okay daw.

Kaso my mom kept on stopping (and screaming) kasi ang dami ngang mura.

Like these 10 peso per pack clips that I told you about in my previous blog entry. Ang daming binili ni mama. I dunno what she'll do with it!

My cousin Faye found these uber cute scissors and puller. Mahal daw yung tunay nito. haha.

We went around. Medyo we found the items sold in 999 Mall expensive so we went to 168 Mall beside it. There I was able to buy a lot of things! Prizes, piñata, toys and other stuff. My mom found this home decor stall and made pakyaw these parang incense burners.

Ang tagal niya..

ME: Ma, why are you so tagal? What are you buying?

MAMA: Eto mga incense burner! Super cheap! Sosy looking pero 50 pesos lang. Teka, binabalot pa nila isa isa

ME: Ilan ba kasi yang binili mo?

MAMA: 25 pcs anak.

ME: What?! Ba't ang dami?! Aanhin mo yan?

MAMA: Pangreregalo ko yan sa pasko.

ME: Pasko?! Ma! Katatapos lang ng Valentine's Day! Ang tagal pa ng pasko!!

MAMA: Che! Wag mo akong pakialaman!

Kaloka ateh! We finished shopping by 2pm. While we were on our way to the car,

ME: Ma, dapat di ka muna bumili ng christmas gifts. Hindi naman napapanis yan eh. Nandyan pa din yan pagbalik natin dito like sa September. San mo ngayon itatambak yan lahat eh ang liit ng condo mo?

silence.

MAMA: Onga noh? Hayaan mo na anak. Pangreregalo ko na lang sa mga birthdays nila.

Hehe.

When we were leaving, super dami na talaga ng tao. Kaya I strongly suggest you go to Divi ng maaga.

Jampacked na ang parking! It's great that 999 Mall has parking na. It's safe so you can shop without worrying kung nandyan pa sa pinagiwanan niyo ang kotse niyo. Yun lang, ginto ang parking fee! Php 50 for 2 hours then 20 or 30 pesos every succeeding hour. We paid around Php 120 pesos from 8:30am to 2pm.

I'm so tamad na magbulatlat ng mga birthday party loots ko pero here's an idea of how much I bought.

We will be going back there again because sa tagal namin sa Divi, kulang pa din ang pang prizes ko =c

I also bought these basic black hair ponytails for me and Girlie and these cute hair pigtails for Anika

Pero, what is a trip to Divi if you won't go to....

JUANA!!!!

The Juana store has been existing since I've started going to 168 Mall. They sell very cheap but nice clothes. If you don't or seldom repeat wearing the same clothes, these are perfect for you! Php 250-300 lang the tops and Php 400 for the dresses!