Saturday Night

Before, a typical Saturday would consist of staying in all day and watching primetime tv at night. Occasionally, my girlfriends and I would plan to go to bars, but that doesnt happen so often. We'd rather gather together to gossip and watch dvds. (Oh how I miss those!)

Now, I spend my Saturdays with J. Cheesy much, but I always look forward to the weekend mainly because it's the only time we get to be together. :) I also love how Wednesdays signal that the weekend is very very near. :) So now, my weekends consist of eating out, watching movies, trying out new stuff and mainly, just eating out. Haha! We're such clickthecity and food blog fanatics and we're always on the look out for new culinary places to try.

Last Saturday, we were Makati-bound so we decided to food-hop in the vicinity.

Mom and Tina's
It's just 2 streets behind Greenbelt 5. The place is very cozy, the country-home-kitchen kind of cozy. And the food? You guessed it right, comfort home-cooked style food.

The cozy interiors will definitely make you feel at home.

His order, steak! We weren't so crazy about the mashed potato but the steak tasted divine, for its price! This dish costs around 300+ only. :)

My order, baked lasagna with chicken and spinach. This was my first meal of the day! *gasp* It's actually good but it gets nakaka-umay after a while.

Blue lemonade. Ordered their "Carousel" bottomless drink. It's a bottomless round of their different flavored (and colored) iced tea and lemonades.

This is what usually happens when we are too excited to dig in to desserts! Haha. This is a mango torte. Yumyum. There are a lot of desserts to choose from but we chose to share this because we'll be going someplace else for dessert.

Mom and Tina's Bakery Cafe is at Perea St., Cor. Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Chocolate Fire

I've seen this one just the week before and I immediately want to try it! I'm such a sucker for chocolates and when I entered this place, I would have drooled, but it's embarrassing. Haha. So I I just stood there in awe. Chocolate Paradise should have been its name ;)

Been eyeing on this! Two of my faves in one! And my my, those are really huge strawberries. Those that sell in the supermarket for P1000/16 pcs. Yum yum!

Oooh look at all that! The lady in the counter told me that taking pictures is not allowed (that I still don't understand why) but it's too late, I already clicked the shutter. Heehee.

My teenie weenie order: Chocolate dipped strawberry and blueberry! Yum :P J chose a hazelnut chocolate bark that they sell per gram. It's also delicious.

The place is 'covered' with huge posters of celebrities posing with chocolates in different forms and sizes. Most of them were sexy ones. Really creative!

Although I was really psyched getting my order and seeing all those chocolate, I don't know, the items were really, well, just fruits, nuts and candies dipped in chocolate and molded chocolates laid out presentably to entice chocolate lovers like me! Hmmm, I'd say there's nothing too special about the entrees. It's just the wide assortment that'll get you excited. :)

Chocolate Fire is at PDCP Bldg., Leviste St. cor. Rufino St., Salcedo Village, Makati

Til the next food adventure,

Nails!

I've always been fascinated by nails and nail polishes. Thanks to my mom who does her own manicure and pedicure, we have a complete set of "ticks" (nail cutter), nipper, brushes and other cleaning tools, plus an assortment of nail lacquers.

It was in high school that I learned to care more about my nails. Since we are not allowed to wear polish in school, I just grew my nails and filed them into a squoval. Round tips just doesn't look right on my digits. It was only during the weekends that I get to play with mom's mani-pedi kit. I'm proud to say that I can clean (with cuticle removing and all) and paint my own nails.

Funny how my first trip to a nail salon back in senior high made me want to own one myself, haha. I wish. And roughly 5 years after, here I am, working for one. :) Who knows, my dream might come true one day. *fingers crossed*

Back to my nail story...

French tips were the in thing then (still in now), so aside from the one-color coats, I learned how to do French tips on myself. Sometimes, my friends would also have their nails painted by me to save on mani costs! Haha. But I loved doing it on them because I do it better on others than on myself :)) But now that I don't have time to do it on myself nor others, I'm just glad I have the luxury, or rather, perk of having it done by others. :)

Fab YSL "Couture Nails" for the Rock & Baroque Collection

My take on the couture nails with wider tips ;)

Base: OPI Suzi Skis in the Pyreness

Tips: Orly (forgot the name)

Also back in college, I like to change my nail colors as often as I can. No more strict school rules! ;) This time, I think I'm changing it weekly, hoho. It's just so hard to decide when you have a wide array of colors to choose from. If only I can put them all at the same time! Last week, this was my pick:

Orly's Gumdrop! Yumyum :)

With some simple cutesy nail art

The Orly Sweet Collection

Will be visiting Nail-a-holics again this Friday... Hmm, wonder what my next color would be! :)

Til my next polish change,

Czarcole, the Schnauzer

Like mommies who like to blog about their babies, I like to blog about my doggies. :P

Yesterday, J and I took our shipoo Czarcole to a long overdue grooming session. My brother wanted him to have a Schnauzer cut and so that's what I had the doggie stylists done.

Czarkie at the backseat. Doesn't he look filthy? Can't even see his eyes anymore! :))

Had to cover the backseat with newspaper because he's a puke machine in transit! >< Had to clean up twice! I wonder if there's such thing as Bonamine for dogs. :|

Czarks while waiting for his turn at a grooming shop in Macapagal. We waited for hours :,( He behaved at first, but this spoiled little brat hates being caged, so he barked nonstop after an hour or so of waiting.

His toothbrush was labeled "Garote." Garote.... Czarcole.... What? :))

Finally, it's Czarcole's turn! :) I love how the stylists precisely cut his hair. Our wait is definitely worth it. We got what we wanted - a Schnauzer's cut! :) And it's actually cheaper here than in Cartimar. The whole grooming thing is just P300!

It's really hard to photograph him (because he's camera shy), but this is his "AFTER" look! Shaved on top, furry at the bottom :)) We had to walk him to MOA for being such a good boy and for waiting patiently. He just never gets tired of walking. Such a hyper doggie.

Just so you'll have an idea. This is how he looks facing down. He looks like an adorable rug!! :))

Side View! He only has hair on the eyebrow area and the snout!

At Cafe Med, asking for more Kofta! :) I let him eat almost half of my gyro fillings.

Feasted on Greek food as I was still hungover on last Wednesday's Greek-themed Spa Party at Nail-a-holics MOA. Heee. Just wanted to share with J some of the food we served during the event, and some more, only to realize that we can only take so much Greek. :)) Wasn't crazy about some other Greek dishes, just the desserts (Pannacota and Baklava), Gyros, Pita & Hummus :))

Til my next adventure,

4 Months Later... (Part 2)

So, I woke up last June 7 with sun-burnt, flaky, nognog brown skin when an unexpected text came from a then-potential employer whom I haven't heard from over the weekend because I was away in a far-flung deserted island. I was scheduled for a job interview when I was away, but obviously, can't make it so I pleaded if I we can reschedule it to Monday instead. Yes, I was still employed but I figured it wouldn't hurt if I extended my "unofficial leave" for one more day, just to explore other opportunities. If it works out for me, then good. If not, then I still have a job to come back to.

So, I got ready and put my best foot forward. Never mind the aching back which hurts even more every time it comes contact with my corporate attire. I went in at 1... and after around 7 grueling hours of waiting, tests, 4 round of interviews and severe hunger pangs... I made it! I made it to my second job! :) I never expected that I would be presented an offer sheet, right then and there, with an empty stomach and malfunctioning brain, at roughly 9pm. It was a bad time to make a such a big decision, but it would be plain stupid to refuse such offer. Not much big bucks involved, but this is the industry where I really see myself working... and growing ~the beauty industry. So that night, I took the risk and signed, without anybody's consent, not even my parents'.

High risks = high returns. Holds true not only in financial decisions.

During my first week, I was already exposed to a lot of things. Press parties, celebrity sightings, location shoots and all. I am constantly mobile - constantly learning, developing. Little by little, my tasks started to grow. People I work with were betting how long I will last with the company. Apparently, only a little can stay for too long. But it has been 2 months since, and I am nothing but happy. (I think I'm one of the few in the office who actually enjoys my work. Well, not all the time, because there are downsides too) Yes, I still get to drag myself to work everyday - but not that kind of dragging I did before. (I am a sleeper so I find it hard not to drag myself to wake up!) And man, two months did fly by so swiftly - unlike that one month I spent with my previous employer. (It felt like ages!) So they say, time flies when you're having fun.

I love this job. I want to stay in this job. I hope nothing will keep me from doing so, not even screams from the big boss.

4 months and a lot has changed. One thing hasn't, I'm still confused with left and right.

4 Months Later...

It has been 4 months since I last posted something out here and a lot has changed since, and I mean A LOT.

For starters, just a quick round-up from my last post.

Well, April 16 went well for my friend, Lennie (let's just skip the part how she got it all together.) It was their final requirement in fashion school to have their collection on the catwalk. I am not biased, but I think she showcased one of the best creations. We might have different opinions, but I love her avant-garde style.

Lennie in the limelight

*gave her black roses that night! :P*

The next day went well for me and J, too. We celebrated our second year in Tagaytay. Kudos to him for researching all that there is to do in Tagaytay, but what we mainly did was EAT! :)

First stop was Breakfast at Antonio's (for lunch)

Ordered their sumptuous burger! Definitely tops my fave burgers list.

J ordered something with truffle (oil).

Best blueberry cheesecake evaaah at Bag of Beans!

Ziplined at Picnic Grove (no picture!) but kept laughing all the way!

Checked out Nurture Spa (for future references, haha!)

Not too long after lunch and dessert, we tried Chateau Hestia.

The owners are German and their language really fascinated me. :)

Sometime in May... didn't really work out. But instead...

I HAD MY FIRST JOB. As a regular-paying employee, and not just some freelance shiznit who thrives on one-time-big-time rackets. I worked for a wedding photographer as a graphic artist. I was excited to land the job at first because I thought it would entail a lot of traveling (prenups and all), but sadly, I found out that couples do not opt for a June wedding as most of us expect. And I, on the other hand, do not like to opt for a job requiring me to remain stationary, in a very... controlled working environment, doing monotonous work. I am kinesthetic in nature, and not being able to move freely kills me. Not in a literal sense, of course. To cut the long story short, I did not like my job and my working environment. I felt underemployed (and not to mention, underpaid!) and I do not feel like I can grow from it. I dragged myself to work everyday, from Day One. I always looked forward to lunch break and 6PM. That's how unhappy I was.

I never got to sign a contract as a "freelance-trainee" with the events company. But I did receive a project offer... during Day One of Job One. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to scream "WHYYY NOWWW?" out loud. *Michael Learns to Rocks' 25 Minutes playing on the background* This is probably the reason why I did not like Job One - it made me miss a lot of opportunities. But maybe, this was also a blessing in disguise. The freelance job was not so glamorous at all, I was told. It was one thing I just cant do.

June 4 to 6 was one hell of an adventure for me and my friends. I won't go into details anymore. Caramoan is paradise, but somehow, getting there requires you to go through hell first. :)) But one thing this trip taught me is to take risks - which I did the minute I woke up the next day after I arrived.

(To be continued...)