MMF

With two long weekends in a row, most of us are left with plenty of “bumming time” on our hands, after feasting with our loved ones this holiday season. And what better way to spend our free time than to watch the latest local flicks airing on the different movie houses in the metro.

I’ve always made it a point to watch 2 to 3 MMF entries every year. As a frustrated filmmaker, this is one way for me to show my support to the local film industry.

So far, we have already seen 2 MMF entries, and I’m glad to say that we have gotten our money’s worth!

RPG Metanoia

The first Philippine Animation in 3D! The animation is way much better than when we first started. The musical scoring is great and I felt like I was watching a scene from Lord of the Rings during the fight scenes.  It is so refreshing to watch an animation with Filipino lifestyle and values injected on it.  Makes you proud to be a “Pinoy” after watching the movie.

DALAW

We’ve watched the flick, and forgot that it is Christmas! If you’ve seen “Sukob” and “Feng Shui”…you can expect a lot more startling scenes from this movie.  Don’t wait for it on DVD or you’ll miss half the fun of being startled by the screaming person sitting beside you!

Two more flicks are still on our lineup…”Tanging Ina…Last na ‘to” and “Agimat and Enteng Kabisote”.

I have had enough action and suspense from the first two movies that we have seen.  I now look forward for some good laugh this coming weekend J

ST. JAMES CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

         Ayala Alabang Village holds an annual bazaar every November, just in time for the Christmas gift shopping frenzy. I have been hearing about this bazaar for the longest time. But since I like to do my Christmas shopping way in advance, I never had an excuse to check it out, until now.

I have no work today. The kids are in school and hubby left for work. I know that FB will only keep me amused for a good 30 minutes, so I thought of spending my free time in this bazaar…and I am glad that I did!

A WIDE ARRAY OF GIFT IDEAS

What I liked most about St. James bazaar is the line up of unique items.  You will find  items seldom found in the mall or other bazaars, which sets them apart from the rest.

There are also imported and branded items that are being sold for a reasonable price.

A lot of gift items are already bundled in nice packaging, which I find very practical and convenient. Perfect for busy people who are always “on the go”.

PRICE RANGES

Most concessionaires are direct suppliers, so the prices are really competitive.  You can even ask for their calling cards if you would like to contact them in the future for your corporate giveaways.

You will find gift items for as low as 50.00 Php. And since this is technically a “tiangge” the shoppers  are entitled to haggle with the price, most especially if you are buying the items in volume.



Bought myself a gift... An instant sexy body for summer!



By the way, the Bazaar is not air conditioned, so I suggest you either go very early, or in the late afternoon.  Happy Shopping!



HOLIDAY WRAPS

Imagine being a “Jinky Pacquiao” or “Aling Dionesia” who can afford to shop in an Apple Store for Christmas presents for family and friends. A Mac book, Ipad or Itouch will definitely give joy to its receiver no matter how sloppily it is wrapped.  Reality Check: Most of us, are NOT that filthy rich! So we are left with no other choice, but to make do with our pocket’s reach, and use a bit of creativity to make our simple gifts look extra special.

Half of the joy of gift giving for me goes to the overall packaging. How a gift is presented, always makes it extra special. A simple and inexpensive gift can always be made surprisingly special, if it’s packaging is carefully thought of. It brings character to the gift, and reflects the good intention of the gift giver in making its receiver happy.





HOLIDAY WRAPPING STYLES

Here are a couple of holiday wrapping styles that you may find useful this Christmas season.

String Bead left over from your trees can be used as a ribbon accent and a substitute for cherry tie knots.  Cut the beads by two and then tie it in a ribbon.

  

I found a couple of coin banks that costs about 40.00 Php. Since the gifts that I bought for the kids can fit inside, I thought, why not use the coin bank as a gift box? The packaging doubles as an extra gift coz the kids can still use it afterwards.

  

WHERE TO SHOP FOR YOUR CHIRSTMAS WRAPS

 Nothing beats the rock bottom prices in Divisoria, Quiapo and Dapitan Arcade. But as we get closer to the Christmas season, the idea of all the hassle that one has to go through just to shop here, would make you think if the trip is really worth all the trouble.

I have found a couple of alternative shops here in the South, where you can buy nice gift packaging within budget:

Robinson’s Great Bag Sale in Pergola, BF – paper gift bags with tags are sold from 8.00 Php (small bag) 19.00 Php (large bag) and 29.00 Php (xlarge bag)

Pack-Away Multi Sales and Dough-it-All in Palaca St. BF Homes (located at the back of BF Market) – these shops sells native baskets, baking goods, food packaging, boxes and ribbons. Everything is discounted if bought by the dozen.

My most favorite box of all! I bought this from Dough-it-All last year  for just 11.00 Php

At the end of the day, all these nice packaging will most likely end up in a garbage bag. But before that happens, I would like to think that it made people who are special to me very happy…and that is more than enough reason for me to fuzz over with my wrappings once again next year…Ho! Ho! Ho!

FURRY FRIENDS

My daughter Justine with Happy

While browsing through some old photos, I was taken aback with the realization of my daughter’s strong resemblance from me – the innate liking for dogs. Well, we are not actually the first from our family. I have Aunts who treats dogs as if it were their own kids. I guess I should not be too surprised to have passed on this trait to my offspring.

For some strange reasons, I always get drawn to dogs. They are like magnets and I cannot contain myself from going near them, most especially if they are very cute (I try to stay away from the viscous looking ones as much as possible).

The following photos are just some of the furry friends that I have met in my travels. I was lucky to capture some of them in a photo. I hope you enjoy their pictures, as much as I did when I met them.



A Rottweiler that my sister and I met in Baguio, way back in 1996.



My Auntie Cora's Shih-tzu Roxy



Lovely Eskimo Dogs from Ottawa



Scooby Doo (Great Dane) from Mont Tremblandt, Quebec



  

This Burmese Mountain Dog seemed to have posed for me on this picture. 






JT’S MANUKAN GRILLE – “namit gid” (really good!)



JT's mural displayed on the heart of his store

                                                                                                                                                                 Being an artist always has its perks. Most especially if you have already created a very good reputation in the industry. Anything with your name or face on it will sell “like pancakes”.  For a renowned artist like Joel Torre, creating novelty to his restaurant business is definitely inevitable.

I have heard a lot of good stuff about JT’s Manukan Grille, owned by actor turned restaurateur Joel Torre.  It was just today that I have finally gotten to try it.  The store’s ambiance is NOT at all fancy – no airconditioning! But I guess this is the ambiance that the owner wanted to capture so that he can entice people from all walks of life to try his Inasal.

Chicken Inasal

 JT Manukan Grille boasts for its servings of authentic Bacolod Inasal. The setting is like that of a carinderia” (cheap local canteen), but  the irony of it all is that, most diners drive in with a car!

When we tasted the store’s specialty – Chicken Inasal, we immediately understood why the store is being patronized by a lot of people. Their chicken is so good!  It is charcoal-grilled upon order, thus it is tender and juicy, not all dried up unlike the other Inasals that we’ve tried. 

The best part is that, this hearty serving portion of meaty chicken just costs 85.00 Php…not bad huh?

For those of you who want to try JT’s Manukan Grille, it is located in Granada St., Barangay Valencia, QC. Just 5 minutes away from Greenhills Shopping Mall.

STARBUCKS PLANNER..the sticker craze begins tomorrow!



My Starbucks Planner Collection

Hubby and I shared our usual cup of Americano after lunch, and were updated by the perky Barista, that the sticker collection for the 2011 Planner starts tomorrow – November 3, 2010. I got so excited when I heard this! I guess I will be bugging hubby to frequent Starbucks until that 2011 Planner is in my arms.  Until then, I will have to endure the long sleepless nights from all that caffeine!



When Starbucks launched this promo way back in 2007, I have never let a year pass without completing a Starbucks planner card. Acquiring a planner has always been a year ender goal for me…my hubby even tolerated my “planner paranoia” and would even help me collect the stickers.



The Planner that started it all. 2007 Edition

I had the planners stashed away in the safety of my office desk. Even if they are already outdated, I just couldn’t bring myself to dispose it…they are just too nice to write on … more so,  be thrown away!  I have not realized that I actually started a new collection, until now. Next to my “Avon Umbrella Collection”, I guess the planners are not pretty bad.

   





2008 Edition



2009 Edition



  



2010 Edition. Dog Stickers c/o my daughter Justine :-)



FRUTTI FROYO FROZEN YOGURT

While waiting for the long order queue in Army Navy, I can’t help but notice the colorful store right beside it – It says Frozen Yogurt. It sounds healthy and definitely looks yummy.  The long wait for our greasy burgers almost made me want to skip lunch and head right towards dessert!

We made it through lunch, and headed to Frutti Froyo to put our curiosity to an end.  The kids and I liked the store’s concept of “create your own yogurt serving.”  Everything is self-service, and you get to have fun, filling up your own cup. First, you get to choose your yogurt. There’s Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry to name a few. Then, you get to choose from the fruit selection. I was delighted to see some fresh strawberries and blueberries on the line up. Next to the fruits, is the syrup, which I skipped to cut back on calories. Then last but not the least, an array of toppings to choose from! There’s oreo, marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanut kisses, candy sprinkles and a variety of nuts to choose from.  After having fun putting all the goodies into our cups, we had our cups weighed, checked out, and enjoyed our personalized frozen yogurt.

                                                                                     A cupful of this yummy treat costs about 100 Php. You get your money’s worth because a cupful of this is already good for two.

For those of you who wish to sample Frutti Froyo Frozen Yogurt, their store is situated in Commerce Center Bldg., Filinvest Alabang, just right beside Army Navy.

TRICK OR TREAT

Come late 1990’s, the traditional  “Trick or Treat” from foreign countries have slowly invaded the metropolis.
 
I must admit that I used to be such a “sucker” for this event. Who could resist dressing up their little ones in all these fancy costumes? The bonding time spent with your kids scouting for Halloween stuff and the fun of being around them and all other kids dressed up in these neat little costumes is more than enough treat for us to relish through out the years.

One Halloween, I remember seeing a kid, trick or treating wearing nothing but underwear, and painted pitch black from head to toe! He definitely stood out amongst his cute fairy companions! And who would’ve thought that garbage bags stripped and woven in a wire frame could turn out to be a spectacular wings for a black fairy?  I remember seeing all of these in the annual Halloween Costume Contest organized by Festival Mall, Alabang. They just keep getting better with this every year!

This year, while scouting for some halloween great finds, the kids and I had a blast when we visited Toy Kingdom in Mall of Asia. Their Halloween items is the scariest amongst all the toy stores that we have checked out so far.

   

For those of you seeking for some thrills this Halloween , I have listed  a couple of Halloween Activities going around in the metro that the kids can engage in.

Festival Mall, Alabang

Under the Sea Halloween Costume Contest – Oct 31, 2010 1:00 PM

Trick or Treat Parade – Oct 31, 2010 – 5:00 PM

Alabang Town Center

Hoots and Howls Halloween Party – Oct 31, 2010 3:00 PM

Howl O Ween Pet Party – Oct 31 , 2010 4:00 PM

Greenbelt 5, Makati

Trick or Treat at select stores – October 31, 2010 5:00 PM

SM Mall of Asia

Nickelodeon Scarenival – October 31, 2010 3:00 PM

Market Market

Fang Tastic Halloween – October 31, 2010 1:00 PM

                                                                                                                  

TROLLS

A true child from the 80’s can identify with these dolls, what they stand for… and will definitely find these dolls cute.

When I brought my set of trolls home, my kids were initially disgusted and considered me weird for liking the dolls. Their cousins also had the same reaction and will not go near the dolls.  I have to explain to them that the doll brings good luck to those who stroke their colorful hair.

The genius behind Disney’s Toy Story creatively inserted the appearance of these dolls in a train, which basically appeals to the parents, more than anything, who are watching the movie with their kids. That scene tickled the fancy of my kids and eventually accepted my trolls a bit.

I did some research, and much to my surprise, Troll dolls actually originated in the 1950’s and was created by Thomas Dam. These dolls became a big hit in the late 1980’s and early 90’s.

I guess the troll’s popularity stopped in our era.  But then again, it has reclaimed itself by becoming an icon of the 80’s childhood memories!

HOW TO KEEP YOUR SANITY DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

The Christmas count down begins!

Christmas has always been everybody’s favorite time of the year.  The only downside of this is that Christmas can also be the most toxic time of the year for most of us. Before you know it, your calendar is already swamped with Christmas parties, family get together and all sorts of activities.

So before you find yourself drowning from the overwhelming Christmas intoxication, here’s a few tips to keep your sanity during this season:

1. Create a Christmas Calendar of Activities. You need to start with your prep schedule as early as Sept and no later than October. Rather than cramming it all up in just one day, break it up into several days. It will be less tiring for you and you will enjoy the activity in the process.  Posted below is a sample calendar that you can follow.

TARGET DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY	STATUS
30-Oct	7:00 PM	KID'S TRICK OR TREAT
31-Oct	8:00 PM	GO TO CEMETERY
1-Nov		SET UP TREE
13-Nov		BUY GIFTS FOR KIDS
20-Nov		BUY GIFTS FOR RELATIVES
26-Nov		BUY GIFTS FOR FRIENDS AND OFFICEMATES
27-Nov		WRAP GIFTS
28-Nov		SET UP CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
4-Dec		SHOP FOR KIDS' CLOTHES
18-Dec		SHOP FOR CHRISTMAS MEAL

2. Create a Christmas list. You might want to include the budget that you have for each individual on your list and stick to that budget when you shop. I have repeatedly gone overboard with my budget by adding little knick knacks to my gifts. You will really save a lot by sticking to your list.

Take note of the interests of the people on your list. And categorize them.  By doing so, you can plan your trip to the mall accordingly.

Also, if you are keeping a list, you will be able to buy items in bulk, and as the case in most “tiangge”, you can get bigger discounts for that. The amount saved for these could go to your gift packaging.

FAMILY MEMBERS	AGE	BUDGET	INTERESTS
FRIENDS
KIDS
OFFICEMATES

3.Do take time to wrap your gifts nicely. Instead of wrapping the gifts one by one, I normally get a gift bag. This way, I just need to put in the item, seal and tag.         

       

I like Ayala Mall’s free gift bags promo every December. I try to dine and get my groceries and other stuff as much as possible from Ayala Malls during this time. This way, I get to collect as many free bags for my gifts.

With this simple preparation, you will be able to save yourself from all the stress, and enjoy the season with your loved ones.