The Pancake House

One of my favorite pinoy breakfast is tapsilog. That is the combination of tapa, sinangag and itlog. I've tried several of it from different restaurant and eatery. So far, the best of them all is the one that I had in Pancake House. During one of my Bella's check-up at St. Luke's, we were able to dine at their branch nearby, just a walking distance from the hospital and I actually came back for more.

This delicious dish comes with a high price tag though.

For a tapsilog that cost Php 195.00 (if I remember it corrected, I have to have another one to check?), i may have to think twice to enjoy yet another taste of it.

And of course, I want it served with a brewed coffee.

My sister was with me. She ordered another silog meal and I ordered a pancake for my Bella.

She wasn't able to finish hers though, which was a pain in the pocket since both silog meal cost the same price. Nothing special about the pancakes.  I like waffle more.

If you would want to have a nice, quiet breakfast, visit one of their branches today.

The growing up months

Ikalabing isang Buwan

Ikasampung Buwan

Ikasiyam na Buwan

Ikawalong Buwan

Ikapitong Buwan

Ikaanim na Buwan

Ikalimang Buwan

Ikaapat na Buwan

Pangatlong Buwan

Pangalawang Buwan

Unang Buwan

Getting a wax done down there?

I've been to California Nails and Day spa for the second time around. The first time was when I had my brazilian waxing. It is one of my body rituals during my Dubai days, I always went to a salon near our flat. The one taking care of me is also a Filipina so after the first time, I was no longer shy, and that became a monthly schedule for me. However, during my pregnancy, I had to hold off waxing down there until after baby bella is born. It will not cause me to go into labor, however, I do not want to be uncomfortable as my belly was a hinder already so I had to stop. It took a while before I resume again. That was when my Bella hit her one year of age. I was actually hesitant to start it all over again. I never tried it in the Philippines before and it took months for me to finally decided to do it again.

So why brazilian you ask? This type of waxing refers to a removal of almost everything or an extreme form of it, is the complete removal of hair. Its much better than shaving, it never itched on me and doesn't cause me razor burn. It also lasts a long time and eventually hair grows softer and finer.

I search for several spa, aside from this waxing, I also have my hair remove on my half leg and underarm, the ones that I have tried are facial care, lay-bare, posh nails and and yes, even reyes salon. however, I am still in doubt should I get their service for brazilian. It is important that you get it done with a professional one. A salon that practice good hygiene.  That's when I chance upon CNDS, an affiliate of CANS (California Advanced Nail & Skincare), they are the only one in the Philippines that follows California and Cosmetology  Standards so that's a plus already and they are much cheaper than Strip, another salon that I consider.

I was alone when I had it done. I called to have an appointment. The waxer was a professional one, she was not the talkative type of person. I do not want small talk during this time and she was fast getting it done so that lessens the pain. It is recommended to do waxing, 4 weeks intervals.

For my second time, I went again for an underarm and half leg waxing. I have to delay the B some other time.

The waxer will lead you to the small cubicle inside for privacy. She asked me to changed my clothes to their robe for easier access the the areas that needs to be done. If you will look closer to the photos, the wax has 2 colors, green and a dark one. The latter is the one they use for your sensitive areas while the former are for the less sensitive ones. Also, the person doing the wax has mask and apron that gave you peace of mind that they are really observing cleanliness in their area.

If you haven't tried it yet and is thinking of having one, you may have to ready yourself and for further queries, I got this reference for your guidance.

I write like Stephen King

I've been sitting in front of the computer for sometime now. My mind was blank though, I couldn't think of anything to write about today. I want some time-out on my Supplier Ratings. I still have few suppliers left to rate. I decided to stalked on some bloggers and chance upon Clarice, a n@wie (Hi Clarice, I hope you won't mind me reposting this). I read her latest piece and can't help but be nosy.

I write like will analyze which famous writer you write like. You just have to choose your latest blog post, journal entry, comment, chapter of your unfinished book, etc, then in just a few second, you'll get the result.

I posted my latest post and cannot help but be surprised to find out that,

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Stephen King is one of the bestselling authors of all time. He is an American author who is known for his horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction works. One of his famous novel is Carrie.

I am actually careful on how I write, I know I am not perfect on my grammar and wish to improve the style of writing as time goes by. One of thing that I have doubts about are the use of past, present and future tenses so I am on my trial and error when it comes to using this words.

I took up Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication - Journalism major course in college, not only because I hate Math, but because I can express myself more in writing. Its the thoughts that count anyway.

Also, during our 5 years in a relationship, Far-ouT have experience the venom of how I deal with our conflicts. I don't nag, I hate comfrontation and cat fights. I am quiet when I'm angry. Far-ouT doesn't like it. He said he would prefer me to shout at him, ask him questions, anything to make me talk. But I just couldn't. I refuse to say anything to him for days if I am really pissed. I ignore him like he doesn't exist until my emotion subsided. Then it is as if nothing happens. I don't bring up the topic anymore. I guess that's how I solve it. If I talk when I'm mad, I know I can say things that I would regret. And writing my thoughts keeps me sane. I type it, I write it, I even use my mobile phone to express my feelings.

I tried to speak up now that we have our own family. But I still have my moments of weakness and that's when Far-ouT set his "patience mode."

Joy San Gabriel Cupcakes

I was planning to get Joy San Gabriel again for my daughter's christening, unfortunately, due to budget constraint, I save her for another special event. My Bella first birthday party.

I was very careful with the details on how the cake would look like as I wanted it again to be something that our guests will look forward to see and taste.

Joy and I met again for the second time around to discuss the details of the cake. She is still the same accommodating person I met the first time. She also brought with her a sample of strawberry shortcake.

Prior to that, I already sent her a photo of the cake that I wanted. Minus the rubber duckie candles.

On the day, when I visited the venue few hours before, she was already there preparing but I wasn't able to see the cake since I was still busy with other stuff.

We have chosen her coffee caramel and strawberry shortcake. The former were the ones that we have ordered during our wedding and I was looking forward to tasting it again.

I like the way she made the name of my daughter, very cute and of course, i love the taste of her yummy cupcakes.

The 3D rubber duckie designs were much better than 2D ones, but it still looks ok, nonetheless. The cake topper was cute. She did not charge for me this as she said this would be her gift for Bella.

If you will look closer though, there were cupcakes that were deformed. Maybe it was accidentally touched and made it that way.

 Some Icing on the cupcakes also has air bubbles.

Joy drawn me her sample of the cake that she will make. I didn't elaborate further as I know, she will not disappoint me. However, just few details were not met. We discussed that there would be 2 characters, duckies and froggies, however, the latter were missing from the cupcakes so some have no designs. That made me sad. I also requested for white baking cups, but she used silver instead. Nevertheless, the over all look of the cake was very nice.

If you are one of those that is very detailed and very much concerned about the look of your cake, I'd have to say I like her mini cakes more.

When it comes to tastes, there would be no doubt about it. Be it cupcake or mini cake, Joy San Gabriel cakes are truly delicious.

DIY Centerpieces

I was planning to do my own centerpieces in line with my bubble bath delight theme. I didn't avail of Verleo's flower centerpieces and tried to make them change it to balloons instead but I was left with the option of empty fish bowls. Going back, when I was buying the stuff for the centerpieces, I called my AE to give me idea on how big the fish bowls are, she counted 6-8 golf balls size approx. So I both styro balls with those sizes. On the day, they have brought smaller ones which doesn't fit the rubber duckies. Fortunately, they immediately send the replacement, it was still a bit smaller but it fitted the duckies inside plus few styro balls.

It wasn't bad, was it? It was my first time to Do It Yourself.  To add a little bit more, I added a few blue stones that may look like droplets of water. By the way, Styro balls represented bubbles.

While waiting for the foods to be served, I included goblets full of M&Ms, c/o Far-ouT, bought all the way from Dubai.

Cheers!

However, accidentally, one was broken by their staff, I had no choice but to do something, so I had one table set with the smaller bowl then I just placed the rubber duckie on top.

And this is the how it looks like. Balloon centerpieces were provided by another supplier.

I hope to DIY more stuff for future events to save more on our budget.

Verleo Catering, the verdict

During my preparation, I already mentioned the menu that Verleo will prepare for us for Bella's first birthday party. Food is the one thing that guests will really remember during events. I was hoping I won't go wrong with choosing the correct supplier for this events. I usually don't repeat same supplier, I am the trial and error when it comes to suppliers. For the events that I prepared, no major boo boo supplier so far. I read a lot of good reviews for Verleo and I have nothing but high hopes from them that  that they will make Bella's party a success.

I was very clear with all my details prior to the event. My bubble bath delight theme needs to be followed according to plan and I can say that Verleo did not disappoint me. They were able to incorporate the under water ambiance that I wanted.

As you can see from above, I have chosen royal blue and aqua blue for the table cloth and yellow for table napkin whilst a little lighter blue for the children's table.

Verleo have low-priced packages, though they are not flexible with the viands to choose from. The packages that I have chosen excludes seat covers for the chairs, how bare it would be if it will only be monoblocks hence, I paid additional 10 pesos for each seat cover. Initially, they were charging me Php 20 but since I will not be getting their flower centerpieces and plan to DIY it, I haggle with my AE, thanks to my persuasive skill, which is so poor, it was lowered at Php 15, then they gave in at  Php 10.00 at the end.

I also would like to include Fresh Lumpia in exhange for a viand that I didn't like from the choices, unfortunately, it was another Php10.00 per head. The total amount was still not bad after all. I can say that I didn't went wrong on choosing Verleo. Most of our guests were raving about the foods.

From left to right: Roast Chicken, Plain Rice, Fresh Lumpia,

Baked Macaroni, Crunchy Fish Fillet with Tartar sauce. I also ordered Elar's lechon through them

Below: Salad Bar and Mango Crepe.

They were able to deliver their service up to my expectation. The foods were great. The waiters were attentive and courteous. One thing though, what I just didn't like was the set-up they made in the salad bar. The reason I got this one is because I was thinking that it will be nice to see a salad bar in addition to the buffet table, however, they just have the salad without the bar, it was placed in a table.

I was actually stressed on the latter part of the party, most of the foods were already finished and there were still guests coming in. My AE assured me that they have 10% buffer on the total guests so I wasn't worried, however, I was seeing the buffet table getting empty with foods and it made me so nervous. Maybe I just miscalculated the guests that we have invited or maybe most of our guests loved the food and keep coming back for more? Well, I do hope everybody was satisfied at least.

Kids meal is a different story as there were a lot of leftovers. Not because of the taste, it was good too, nothing fancy though, but kids were lesser than expected.

From left to right: Hotdog with mallows, Chicken drumstick, Spaghetti with meat sauce.
Below: Choco Cupcake with sprinkles

Both the adult and kids foods were serve with 2 rounds of iced tea. But I guess the waiters were nice enough to give more to our guests.

I would have to say Thank You Verleo, for a job well done.