Valentine's Day: Handmade Red Roses

Red roses are one of the popular flowers given during valentine's day for it shows the love and passion towards your beloved. I know that not all ladies appreciate fresh flowers although they are beautiful and fragrant , they also fade away through time. With this, I created some roses made of felt cloth and tried to present it as a bouquet. I hope you like it <3

3 roses bouquet

6 roses bouquet

My First Plushie ... TOTORO

Hi there! Its been a long time since I last made a blog. I just realize this year ... no matter how difficult work is... we must find a way to relax and output our stress. For me my output was doing crafts for fun .

I first saw totoro in a movie "My Neighbor Totoro" that was made by Studio Ghibli. Totoro was cute and helpful to children. I'm very much excited to share with you my handmade totoro. I just followed the instructions I found that was made by cheek and stitch. You may refer to this website http://cheekandstitch.com/diy-totoro-plush-tutorial/ for the complete tutorial.

white, gray, black soft felt cloth with totoro pattern

Totoro hands and ears all stitch up

Totoro all stitch up

Totoro finish product

 All thanks to cheek and stitch for the patterns and tutorial. I was able to create my first plushie. It's not perfect .. but I'm happy I was able to finish it.

Chuck's Grub Fish and Chips

Chuck's Grub is a new place to enjoy fish & chips with a twist of beer. Intriguing isn't it? They use beer in their batter. I saw this store in the fb post of sm megamall. I was researching for something new to dine in for a date. The store is located in LG Sm megamall A , it was in between chewy junior and bubble tea.

We ordered surf &turf meal which consist of beer battered dory and beer battered chicken breast with rice. The meal was with garlic mayonnaise dip. We added 2 ice tea and 1 just chips ( jumbo fries sprinkled with herbs which is included in their promo unlimited chips). You see really liked fries that's whyI couldn't resist but order it.

 

Price: affordable

P99 surf &turf

P32 ice tea (medium)

P75 just fries (unlimited)

Taste: 

surf & turf - beer battered dory and chicken breast are soft,tender & easy to chew. Though at first glance you would say it looks ordinary. What makes it different is the hint of zesty beer whenever to take a bite it.

just fries- the fries were really big and "siksik" surely it was "sulit" for me since I'

m a big fan of fries.

Will I dine in again ? Definitely.... I'm looking forward to trying out their other products

 

Health: Enzyme

In a fast paced life style where everything is instant, we often neglect to take care of our health. There are a lot of people getting sick. There are a lot of cases of cancer and the life span of people are getting shorter. There are a lot of health and wellness products in the market that aims to aid our health. Unfortunately these products cost a lot and not everyone can afford it.

Last July 8, we attended the seminar of Fr. Carmona regarding an enzyme in DBTC (Kalentong, Mandaluyong). The seminar was held in the big chapel. Upon arriving at the guards entrance, we were asked to give a government issued ID to the guard for our names to be entered in their records so we would eventually be able to line up to receive the enzyme. We were given by the guard movie tickets with numbers afterwards we proceeded to the big chapel. The seminar started at 2pm and ended at 4pm. 

From the seminar I've learned that many illness were caused by dehydration. There were several illness that were discussed to name a few asthma, constipation, cancer, diabetics, vertigo, allergies, etc. It was also discussed that some illness / pain we feel on are body are ways signals for our brain to tells us that our body lacks water. For instance, when a part of our body gets inflamed, what actually happens is our brain signals our body to bring blood (55% of blood is made of plasma, plasma is 90% water) to the part of a body that needs water. 

DEHYDRATION --> IMFLAMMATION --> TUMOR --> CANCER

To further explain what is meant by the illustration above, I derived an excerpt from an article. 

"All cases of inflammation are caused by dehydration of the cells.
Sometimes inflammation directly causes cancer, like the match stick that starts the fire. In other cases, inflammation causes an already established cancer to grow more and spread more, which is more like pouring or feeding 'gasoline' on cancer's flame. At the same time, the body immune system can attack and eliminate small cancers as though they were foreign invaders" - from http://theinnozablog.blogspot.com/2009/02/dehydration-inflammation-cancer.html

Juicing Journey 3: Beet it v. 2

BEET IT v.2

2  carrots

1/2 lemon

2 apples

2 beets 

1 pack gynura

1. wash all ingredients
2. peel apples and cut ingredients small enough to fit the juicer
3. put the ingredients one by one in the juicer
4. set aside the produce in a container and store it in the refrigerator

Juicing Journey 2: Beet it!

BEET IT!

1/2 lemon
2 sugar beets
1 pack of spinach
2 carrots

1. wash all ingredients
2. peel apples and cut ingredients small enough to fit the juicer
3. put the ingredients one by one in the juicer
4. set aside the produce in a container and store it in the refrigerator

Review: Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate

Details on the product:

A line eraser with 10.5% Vitamin C.

• Clinically-demonstrated to improve overall skin texture, tone and radiance while reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles
• Provides anti-oxidant protection and exfoliates skin to reveal healthier-looking skin
• A customer favorite

*From http://www.kiehls.com

Price:  P3,850.00

Packaging: dark tinted bottle ( to prevent light exposure) , hygienic 

Appearance: the product looks like a white liquid

Pros: 

• Minimize pores & Appearance of lines
• Doesn't feel sticky
• Light 
• Smooth

Cons:

• Price ( you really need to save up to be able to avail of the product )

What's good about Kiehl's store is that they will give you a sample of the product for you to be able to test it on your skin. I was able to try out the product because of the sample. I will definitely buy this product because I was very impress with the results. I hope they will have a sale on October :)  

Good job Kiehl's!   

Juicing Journey 1: Red Detox Juice

RED DETOX JUICE:

4     carrots

2     cucumbers

2     sugar beets

1/2  lemon

2    green apple

Instructions:

1) Wash all the ingredients using water

2) Cut all the ingredients as small as it would fit the juicer. Peel skin of ingredients if it is not organic. ( In my case it was applicable to the green apple.) Peel skin of lemon. 

3)  Put the ingredients one by one in the juicer.

4) Mix all extracted juice and put aside in a container. 

Tips: If you are not going to consume the juice immediately you may freeze it in ice cubes container.

Device: Hurom slow juicer

Supplier of ingredients: Organicus ( Robinsons grocery )

Taste: The taste of the celery is dominant in the juice. Maybe next time I'll add more apples to make it more familiar to my tastebuds.

It was able to yield 1 liter of juice.

The Adventure Begins... in the road of juicing

Many people abroad turn to juicing to became healthy the natural way. I've read a lot of stories on how juicing changed the lives of people from a facebook page named juicingvegetables and this became my inspiration to start this journey. As they say you are what you eat ... if you eat junk food (fastfood) you are giving your body more reason to get sick. Getting sick is not an option for me since my work is demanding and involves a lot of stress. My family is depending on me for our cost of living so instead of spending money on luxurious things, I would rather save it up to invest on items that will benefit my whole family. We only have one body and it won't always be young, strong and energetic. We must take good care of our health so that we can support our family.

I've been eyeing for hurom slow juicer for such a long time. It's a juicer that can yield a lot of produce from a few fruits or vegetables without sacrificing the vitamins and nutrients. I hope this will be an instrument for my parent's to get healed from their illnesses.

Hurom slow juicer

========================================================

| Fruit / Vegetable  |    Quantity |  Price (in PHP) each  |       Yield          |

========================================================

|Orange                         5             20                               700 ml           |

|Apple                           4             20                                700 ml           |

========================================================

There is nothing more tastier than freshly squeeze juice, with no sugar and preservatives to provide the body with nutrients it needs. For now I just started with simple juices, next time ... I'll try combining different fruits and vegetables. Chow for now ....

[Foodtrip] Pepper Lunch

Last May 26, 2012, I had a girls' day out with my best friend. We spend the day catching up since a year has passed after we had time to bond. We decided to have our dinner at Pepper Lunch SM Megamall branch. We went in the store and lined up on the cashier. The staff was very accommodating and recommended us with their best sellers. We ordered Terriyaki Beef Pepper Rice with Egg (P285),  Beef Pepper Rice (P215) and added the bonus meal which includes drink and mashed potato (P60 per meal). After paying for our meal, we were assisted by a courteous staff to a reserved table. 

Terriyaki Beef Pepper Rice with Egg
From the left: mashed potato, terriyaki beef pepper rice with egg, terriyaki sauce

Terriyaki Beef Pepper Rice with Egg
Taste: 5 out of 5 (Delicious)
Price: P285  (its a bit pricey but worth it)
Servings: Very Satisfying
Will I repurchase: Definitely YES!

Mashed Potato
Taste: 5 out of 5 (Delicious)
Price: P60 (included in the bonus meal)
Will I repurchase: Definitely YES!

Comments: 

• I love the taste of the terriyaki beef pepper rice, the flavor is rich, the beef is easy to chew and the rice smells and taste good.
• The mashed potato is soft and overflowing with gravy. It taste so delicious and comforting after a whole day of walking in the mall 
• The ambiance of the place is great for people who would like to bond over food
• The staff of pepper lunch are very polite and accommodating. I would like to congratulate them for doing a great job keeping the customers happy. I'm sure many customers would come back to the store. 

[Foodtrip] Adobo Connection

Eating out has been our form of bonding with our loveones. Around last week we ate at Adobo Connection Shaw Blvd Branch. At first I was excited to eat at the said restaurant since it was featured in the TV. My mouth was watering from thinking if it was worth the effort to go out of my way to eat there.

We ordered two meals, one was ginataang adobo and the other was Kuya's mixed fried adobo. These was part of the kanin all u can meals. The meals we ordered were more or less from 109-119 pesos.

The waiting time for the food just took 10-15 minutes. As the meals were serve, I was excited to take a bite.
The servings of each meal compose of 2 - 3 pieces of adobo made of chicken / pork.

Service: Great (crew was welcoming and accomodating)
Servings: unsatisfactory
Taste: it literary was ordinary "lutong bahay"
Price: P109-119
Will I come back to eat again?: no :(

Comments:

On the ginataang adobo, it would be better if  there were more servings, more ginataang sauce and additional labuyo to add spiciness to the meal.

On the kuya's mixed fried adobo, it would be better if there were more servings, if the adobo was marinated longer for the taste be absorb better by the meat.

I hope they improve their products, I felt it was a waste of effort to go out of my way to eat there and  the meals wasn't worth the money because of the servings and taste.

[Me & U] Two Mugs for soulmates

Weddings, anniversaries, monthsaries , valentines... Having trouble finding a gift? Worry no more ... >.< 

There's a shop that has a variety of couple items great to give to these various occasions.

   

I found "Me & U shop" in sm megamall while  trying to find a unique gift for a wedding. From the first time I saw the shop it immediately went in my mind that I would be able to find a gift suitable for the wedding. I was already attracted immediately with the display of the shop. I find the concept of the shop very unique. 

There were many items to choose from ... couple tall glasses, couple pillows, bedsheets, couple shirts, couple mugs, pendants and rings.  Out of all the items I've opted to buy the couple mugs. 

Price: P750 + 

Packaging: The mugs are securely pack in a box with me & u seal. There is no need to gift wrap the mugs since it is good enough to give with its cute paper bag.

Product: The mugs looks beautiful and thick ( makes it look sturdy) . I love the message on the mugs, just perfect for a couple in love (*",*)

Branch: SM Megamall

cute paper bag

caution! fragile mugs inside :P

bears not included with the product

bears not included with the product

bears not included with the product

[Tous Les Jours] rose fresh cream cake

Rose Inspiration Fresh Cream Cake - Filled with Hand Picked Strawberries from Korea. Perfect Balance of Strawberries and Fresh Yogurt Cream Icing topped with Natural Strawberry Powder. - TLJ 

Ever since TLJ opened its shop in SM North Edsa, I was intrigued with the cakes and breads. It was one of the items in my checklist I would like to take a bite of . During the time when my mom's birthday was near I've considered TLJ as one of my choices next to mango tart of tea republic followed by red ribbon and goldilocks cakes. Since my mom is also a pastry chef, I've opted to chose a cake that's very unique, affordable and beautiful.


My mom was very impressed with how the cake was shaped into a rose. She even wanted to go to TLJ to watch how the cake is made. 


Price: P498 (affordable)
Flavor: strawberry chiffon cake
Design: Rose cake
Icing: Yogurt cream topped with strawberry powder (rose part) and green tea powder (leaf part), droplets of water made of gelatin
Packaging: The cake was pack in a cute, secured, easy to carry box. 
Extras: The cake includes 2 candles and a white long plastic knife. There is no more need to worry about forgetting an item for blowing and cutting of the cake yey!
Branch: SM North Edsa


What I like most out of the cake is its unique design, it must be tedious to shape a cake into a rose. The strawberry chiffon was soft and fluffy, it wasn't dry which is good. Although the taste felt ordinary to me (maybe because I grew up  having a mom who bakes cakes >.< ) . The yogurt icing is very delicious and I can't get enough of it. 

Thank you TLJ for coming up with this cake! 

It brought a smile into my mom's face and made my mom's birthday unforgettable.

I just hope someday TLJ will have a branch in SM Megamall or Shangrilla so that it will be more accessible. I would surely continue buying cakes / breads from TLJ for the next occasions that would come. Cheers! >.<


How about you what was your TLJ experience?

[Etude House] AC Clinic White Trouble Bubble Cleanser

It was on August 24, 2011 when I finished consuming my nu skin foaming cleanser. It was time for me to switch to another facial wash, because I believe that our skin becomes immune after using a skin care product for a long time. I was also trying to find a skin product that will work for my skin. At that day before going home from work I passed by Etude house (SM Megamall branch), accompanied by my boyfriend. Originally what I wanted to try out was the Dr Tony |AC bubble wash from Tony Moly. Unfortunately it was out of stock since many were purchasing the said product. I then decided to go to Etude House since it is a sister company of Tony Moly. At the store the sales lady recommended that I try out AC Clinic White Trouble Bubble Cleanser. She explained that all the skin products of EH with the word "trouble" are formulated for skin suffering from acne. I didn't think twice and bought the product.

front view

back view

See the bubbles on my hand.. that's what the product look like when you pump it out

Pros

• Affordable
• It cleanses the face gently
• You would really feel a fresh feeling after using the product
• No allergic reaction. No burning sensation. No itchy reaction.
• Affordable
• Packaging is very nice, hygienic. 

Cons

• Just be careful not to let any bubbles go near your eyes. Sometimes it makes me rub my eyes.

Price: P378 

My sister and I love this product and are looking forward on how it would help our skin fight acne. Hoping for results ... (fingers crossed). By the way so far we only consumed a small amount of the product even though it is now Oct. 10, 2011. I could say it's "sulit" or getting more than what you paid for.

[Skin Diary- Day 120] August 24, 2011

Let the pictures reveal the difference

From left  to right: Forehead. Right cheek, Left Cheek

Day 94 versus Day 120

Day 94

Day 120

Day 94

Day 120

There are some improvements on my right cheek. This is the last time I used nu skin foaming cleanser. I will be using another product in order to find what will suit my skin. 

[Food] Curry Rice

Ottogi Curry Hot

Pork Curry Rice with carrots and potatoes

I always have wondered what curry taste like. I've been seeing curry in k-drama's, j-drama's and anime out of my curiosity I finally decided to cook my very first curry.

Where to buy: grocery store; Wang Mart, Bel Air, Makati
Price: P77

Here is the instructions on how to cook curry:
http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/09/korean-curry-rice/

Comments:
- Easy to cook
- It took 40 mins - 1 hour to finish cooking the dish
- Taste: spicy and delicious

It's up to you if you prefer to use pork or chicken as the main ingredient.


Thanks Aeris Kitchen for the easy to follow recipe !

[Food] Beksul Stuffed Pancake Mix

Beksul Stuffed Pancake Mix

Back view Instructions are all in korean

yellow pack- pancake mix; red pack- dry yeast; brown pack- filling

my  first stuffed pancake

What is Hotteok? Hotteok is a popular street food in Korea and can be described as cinnamon and nut-filled pancake.

Where to buy: Any korean supermarket. Wang Mart in Belair, Makati
Price: P106


Here are the english instructions on how to cook the pancake.
http://saraaahsays.blogspot.com/2011/04/hungry-for-hotteok.html

Just replace the word "brown packet" with yellow packet in step 3.

Comments:
- Easy to cook
- It took 30 mins - 1 hour to finish cooking the pancake.
- Delicious
- Sweet
- heavy on the tummy


Thanks saraahsays for the recipe!

[Skin Diary- Day 94] July 29,2011

Let the pictures reveal the difference. 

From left  to right: Forehead. Right cheek, Left Cheek

Observation:

• New pimples are appearing 
• Old stubborn pimples gets smaller and less inflamed 
• The product controls oil very well.

Day 14 versus Day 94

Day 14

Day 94

Day 14

Day 94

Is my skin getting better or worse? Honestly I'm getting impatient with the result. I'm hoping to achieve clear skin.

[Skin Diary- Day 14] May 11,2011

I'm still in purging stage... new pimples appearing but at least old pimples are getting smaller.

From left  to right: Forehead. Right cheek, Left Cheek

Observation:

• New pimples are appearing
• Old stubborn pimples gets smaller and less inflamed
• The product controls oil very well.

Day 5 versus Day 14

Day 5

Day 14

Day 5

Day 14