Breakfast at Tootsie’s

It was the day of Vina’s wedding, June 28, 2008. She asked us to be at the venue early that day for make-up and pictorial. I usually don’t like attending weddings coz it can become stressful, tiring and simply a waste of MY  time. Peter counseled me about this numerous times until he finally told me something that I can accept. He said that the reason why I hate attending trivial events such as weddings is because it takes control out of my hands. I am a control freak. It’s one of my psychological illnesses aside from my bipolar disorder (which I healed years ago). I like to have control of my time, my stuff, my activities. And when I am invited to a wedding, it totally pisses me off since it’s all about them, their motif, their time, their whatever. And I hate it. But because this is one of my bestfriends we’re talking about, then I’m all for it. Well… ok, not all. You see, I want to make her happy while at the same time, make myself happy too. This is the Samantha (of Sex and the City) version of myself which only the closest of my friends know about me.  After all, one of my hidden mantras is to love myself first more than others. That’s the only way I can give love in the first place. Coz how can I give when I’m all empty, right?

Anyway, moving on, that Saturday morning, in order for me to have some semblance of control over MY weekend, I decided to leave the house extra early so Peter and I can have some alone time. I loved our Friday brunch so much that I thought of spending breakfast together in Tagaytay, somewhere we’ve never dined in before. 

TOOTSIE’s… this well architectured restaurant is located just a few walk from Taalena’s entrance. It doesn’t offer Taal’s view but it does have a roof deck overlooking the field and the mountains. They offer delicious meals for quite a hefty price (the huge bowl of salad was Php 245) but i’s all worth it. It has grapes, caramelized cashew nuts and greens…just what I wanted that morning.

I savored the time I spent with Peter that morning. I know that when we get to the resort, most of my time will probably be spent with Vina and our other friends. So I pat myself on the back for being a little bit selfish early that day. In my book, being with Peter is always time well spent. I just hope that we can have more moments like this the future. I’m always missing him so terribly the last couple of weeks. Sigh.

Brunch with Peter

I mentioned before in one of my posts that I have been watching AGAIN the entire series of Sex and the City.The other day, I finally finished Season 6. On this particular Friday morning with Peter, I felt like Carrie having her little brunch with Mr. Big. And it felt nice.

Very early in the morning, we we did our errands…  went to the bank to get me my dollars, sent money to my folks, paid some bills, bought myself this cute little golden bag which  I will use to match my golden gown for Vina’s wedding then headed to Figaro for brunch. It took a while to decide what we’ll get but  ended up ordering the same thing we always have — Pasta Ala Carlo and Chorizo Pasta.

It was a nice Friday morning. I hope we can always do Friday brunch. This will be my new T.G.I.F.

 :-)

Travelogue XXXIV: HONG KONG Day 2, Part I - Lantau Island

We are now on our second day in Hong Kong. For those who haven’t read my other two posts on this wonderful trip, read them first:  Hong Kong Arrival & Hong Kong City Tour. Anyway, we woke up early and made sure that we’re not late for this tour that we booked via Octopus Travel.

Our meeting place was at Harbour Plaza… 

On the way there, I noticed how so gigantic and futuristic-looking their buses are. Although, I used to remember a time in my childhood when 2-floor buses used to ply the streets of old Manila. I wonder whatever happened to those. Here in Hong Kong, they looked so awesome! Next time, I’ll try to board one.

 Anyway, we got there a tad earlier than the others. What can I say? I have always been a prompt kind of person.

 Click to see more of Lantau island.

Happy 30th Birthday, Baboo!

 It’s my Baboo’s birthday today! He’s already 30 years old!!! And can I just say what a wonderful man my hubby turned out to be! Heck, sometimes I think I don’t recognize the old Peter I used to know before, especially when we were just dating nine (9) years ago. He is sooo different now. It’s not that I forced him to change (because we know in any relationship, that always fails) but I guess I’m just so lucky to be married to a guy who always makes an effort to be a better version of himself each passing day. And I thank God for that every single day. I thank the whole universe for giving him to me.

This was the only picture we had together the whole time we celebrated his birthday last Saturday. I haven’t had my sleep for more than 24 hours then due my very hectic schedule at work and at home. And Peter just had a few hours of sleep in time to run errands for his big night. Little did we know that a storm (Frank) was brewing in the horizon and this would pose as a problem for our invited guests. Oh well… the party must go on… 

 Nevertheless, many of our friends still managed to come. Here, it’s the birthday boy with the pretty early bird, Koryn!  She arrived at the venue (Poquito Mas) at around 5:30 pm.  We were so touched.  Official buffet time was 6:00-9:30 pm. (Notice the weather outside? Does that look stormy to you? )

 The Mexican dishes served that night were so delectable! We had Sopa de Mariscos, Antipasto Potato, Coleslaw, Buttered Vegetables, Mexican Rice, Chicken Enchilada, Hot chili Corn, Pescado Splatino, Baked Macaroni, Garlic Chicken, Beef empanadas Nachos, Garlic Bread, Quesadilla, Roasted Lamb in cilantro sauce, Taco Pizza, Mexi Puff, and Mini Burritos. Yummy!!!

  And then our  other gorgeous and pretty girlfriends  arrived: (L-R: Me, Ces, Irene, Koryn, Jana)

L: Me and my Bora twin, Jana who I missed so much!!!!  R: With our bestfriends John and Ces

  With the beautiful (and tall) Koryn

This  is the whole gang who enjoyed the Mexican buffet that night: L-R: Emyr, Dok, Chi-Chi, John, Vicente, Irene, Ces, Koryn, Jana, Peter, Van, Mark

It’s so nice to know that no matter how many years have passed (almost 20 years for the Bulacan troop — Mark, Van, Dok & Chi-Chi; 13 years for John & Emyr; 7 years for Ces, Irene & Vicente; 3 years for Koryn) and no matter how far our locations are from each other, our oldest friends were able to come. Iba na talaga ang may pinagsamahan. As for Jana who I became friends with just this January during the Boracay Fundboard Cup, she already felt like an old friend to me. I actually consider her my “twin”. 

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A Sneak Preview Into Our Little Home: Part II

This month, it’s been a year since we transfered from Quezon City to Alabang. How quickly time flew by! And since then, we have done a few things to make the house more welcoming and relaxing…just the way we like it… a cute little townhouse that can be mistaken for a beach condo. Beach na lang ang kulang. Teehee. The initial redecorations / renovations are here including the before pictures. And here are the rest …

The facade, before & after

The corner after the stairs before and after:

Study room before: 

 Study room after:

 Master’s bedroom before: 

Master’s bedroom after:  

 
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