Deck the Halls

I think it’s both funny and amazing that the Christmas season in the Philippines starts as early as September.  Once the “ber” months hit, you can definitely count on gift bazaars being scheduled every weekend, Christmas songs being played throughout the mall, and holiday decor popping up not just on store windows, but even on major roads and thoroughfares.

In my mom’s house–the house where I grew up–it is Christmas already!  The tree has been busted out (although it is currently waiting for the team of  ”experts” my mom usually hires to do their magic), the reindeers have comfortably found their places on our living room console, and the tableware are now all holiday-themed.

My mom always does a great job of making our house festive and Christmas-y! Growing up, my siblings and I had the best Christmases because my mom always went to town with the decorations.  Even as an adult, and after I moved away from home, I would always look forward to spending the holidays in the house where I grew up, and seeing what theme or motif my mom would have for that particular year.  One year it was all about Christmas balls.  Another, it was a golden Christmas…Just thinking about it brings the widest grin to my face .  We really created a lot of fun Christmas memories .

Foodie Friday: Gino’s Pizza

To celebrate his birthday, my colleague A decided to treat our entire team to some Gino’s Pizza.  I had never eaten here before so not only was I excited to try out a new restaurant, but I was also looking forward to having some honest-to- goodness, freshly-baked brick oven pizzaaaahhh…  From the pictures, I’m sure you will gather that Gino’s did not disappoint .

Mommy Style

I have to admit, when I was younger and single, I really enjoyed and was very “masipag” to dress up.  Whether I was at home or out, I’d make it a point to put on my nicest clothes and to make every effort to make myself look “pretty” (except for putting on make-up—that just never was my thing).  My younger sister C used to call me “Where’s the Party” because I’d wear dresses with full on accessories, even if I was just lounging in our living room, while she preferred to be clad in her comfiest sweats or pajama pants.

Is it vanity?  I’d like to think not.  I prefer to say that looking good makes me feel good, and its not necessarily because I think I’m beautiful at all.  Nor does it have to do with impressing anyone either.  In all honesty, I can say my main motivation for dressing up is really how it makes me feel—it puts that extra spring in my step, and makes me feel ready to conquer the day ahead.

The Weekend That Was

I know this post comes a bit late since it’s already Tuesday evening, but I just wanted to share some snippets of our fun weekend

As usual, we kicked Saturday off with brunch.  To spice things up a bit and deviate from our usual, we decided to head over to Ayala Triangle, to try out the restaurants there.

After an unsuccessful attempt to get a table at Chef Laudico’s Bfast, we finally settled on MOMO Cafe–and I’m glad we did!  First of all, the restaurant was empty, and we practically had the entire place to ourselves.  A was free to roam the space without me feeling apprehensive about her bothering another customer, or bumping into items on the aisles.

Foodie Friday: Cerchio

So my colleagues and I have decided to make Fridays a little bit more fun and exciting by trying out new restaurants in our area.  Although I know my tummy will probably start complaining, and I run the huge risk of increasing my already thick waistline, I really love discovering new eats, and am looking forward to all our future foodie adventures .

Today’s choice was Cerchio, an extremely classy, modern, Asian-Mediterranean fusion restaurant, whose interiors were designed by the famous Almario sisters–the same talented duo behind Romulo Café, and Thai Pan.

Musings of a COO: The Introduction

Allow me to explain.  No, I am not a Chief Operating Officer, as the title of this piece may imply, but for those of you who don’t know me, I work for a family business, and that officially makes me a COO—Child Of Owner.

Since my work is inextricably tied to my life, I thought that this blog would be a good venue to share bits and pieces of the things I love about my job. And I can honestly say, despite the challenges, I really DO love my job, and am grateful for the opportunities I have everyday to do such noble work.

The Brunch Files: Cafe 1771

To say that I live for the weekends, is an understatement.  After a long and hectic work week, there’s nothing I look forward to more than two days of rest, relaxation, and spending quality time with the family.

Saturday for the H and I usually means brunch.  It’s kind of a carry-over tradition from my NY days when my gal pals and I usually kicked-off the weekend with brunch in some chi chi village restaurant.  I love, love, love having brunch!  It always brings back good memories and makes me feel quite glamorous and sophisticated .  It’s also such a “Sex and the City” thing to do.  Hahaha! Although when I have A in tow, it kinda makes the experience a bit more wholesome and PG-rated

Today, the H, A and I decided to go out of our usual neighborhood to meet Ninang M at Cafe 1771 at El Pueblo in Pasig.  This was our first time to eat there, although the H and I are regulars at its sister restaurant, Sentro.

Happy 50th!

In honor of one of my most favorite movies of all time–Breakfast at Tiffany’s–which just happens to be celebrating its 5oth anniversary this year, I thought I’d blog about every woman’s must have closet staple–the classic LBD.

Photo Credit: shopspreehere.com

Tuesday Happy: Bargain Books

Some people collect stamps, action figures or comic books.  Others collect shoes, bags or watches.  I collect children’s books.

My love affair with children’s books began when I was a student at NYU.  One of my electives was a class on early childhood literacy.  It was then that I was introduced to the world of Caldecott’s and Theodor Seuss Geigel Awards, to the works of Tomie de Paola, Shel Silverstein, and Eric Carle, among others.  Every week, we were presented with a slew of books that we discussed according to their content, their illustrations, and their age-appropriateness.  Through this class, I was able to familiarize myself with and appreciate the works of many authors and illustrators, and it enabled me to start building a library of my own.

From then on, I was really hooked on collecting books–alphabet books, story books, lift-the-flap books–you name it!  I joined book clubs and availed of discounts, I always made abang whenever Barnes and Noble would go on sale…I even asked for books as Christmas presents–that’s how much I love them!

        

           

 

The Escape List

In her article in the Philippine Star today, Lucy Torres-Gomez asked, “What is your own little escape?”  That simple question got me to thinking, and inspired me to come up with this next post.

I really love to travel .  When I was little, my mom used to work for Pan American Airways (then evenutally, United Airlines) so my family was very fortunate to have had multiple (free) opportunities to “go see the world”.  And boy, did we take advantage of it!  I remember getting to visit my cousins in the States very often–not just during summers, but during semestral breaks as well because of my mom’s travel benefits.  We also got to go on junkets with her to Korea, Guam, Hawaii and Hong Kong.  When I got older, we took several trips to Europe as well.

Travel for me is not just associated with spending time with family–both immediate and extended–but also with educating one’s self and learning about the cultures of the world.  By exposing myself to a variety of people and customs, I have learned tolerance, appreciation of others’ uniqueness and  acceptance of points of view that are different from my own.  I guess that’s the reason why, as an adult, travel continues to be an imperative in my life.  Travel opened my eyes and gave me a different perspective about life and the world in general.  I can only hope that the H and I can provide A with the same opportunity as she grows up.