Blessed

I feel blessed this very moment. To start with, I am home early on a Saturday night giving me ample time to tidy up my place and sit down to do what I want to do: blog, probably watch TV then curl up in bed later. More importantly, God has also gifted me with peace of mind which is exactly what I need now, in the next few months and for the rest of my life. (Very important!) In this state of bliss, allow me to share how awesome God is and most likely in the process He is blessing me so I can be a blessing to others. 

Purpose-driven life!

First off, I won a new phone in the company raffle! Woot woot! You see, I haven't bought a phone in ~ 3 years; the one I am using is either a hand-me-down or a mobile plan freebie and so now I have upgraded to a phablet (phone tablet), albeit an Android one but who cares "Beggars can't be choosers". 

I can now finally surf on the go and you guys can now add me up on Whatsapp =P.

You know what else makes this win extra sweet... Person A also won an ipad mini! Can we all say we're soooo blessed! 

Moving on to something with substance, we have obtained our Marriage License and completed the canonical interview with the Parish Priest of the diocese where we are getting married. 

I had so much fun during the interview with Fr. Milo that I felt kulang ang airtime! Groom and bride were interviewed separately and Person A wondered why he could hear me laughing when the questions were typically about your views on sanctity of marriage vows and procreation. Masarap lang makipagchikahan sa pari. No need to worry about the dreaded canonical interview, not intimidating at all.

With the legal and religious requirements almost done, we are ready to be married anytime we want to (read: elope). Maybe this is one crazy thing I can do in this lifetime.

After the very foggy drive, we stopped for lunch at Breakfast at Antonio's and had the best corned beef in this part of the planet. 

It's tasty, very soft (guaranteed tinga-free!), and so good with brewed coffee

And the German and French version of wasabi. Tastes like wasabi, right?

Breakfast food is always good while reading magazines and then finish off with a stack of pancakes. 

Speaking of brunch, I finally had the chance to see this book art at Fully-Booked BGC after lunch with friends last Tuesday. 

Holiday bliss: time spent with friends.

Back to food, here's for dinner tonight: tsukumen (dipping noodles).

Mitsuyado Sei-men's noodle place is worth the visit: food is good and the ambiance feels authentic. 

Lastly, my best pick me-upper for the week is this heap of white confection. 

This is my 40% finished wedding dress and when I put it on after the last time I saw it in July (it was during my lining fitting), I was floored. The executed drawing made my heart skipped a bit: I like the shade of white used, the simplicity of the design and how it turned out to be quite familiar yet refreshing at the same time. 

To quote Bart: "It's simple pero rock". Hehe please indulge my kilig. Now I totally understand why every bride is excited about THE dress. I can hardly wait to share my experience (after the wedding, promise!) and the awesome, talented designer who makes me feel very confident that the dress will turn out just as how I imagined it to be and more. 

Thank you Kat, Bart, Tita Merly and Person A (even though you had to isolate yourself in the atelier) for joining me this afternoon. 

With that, allow me to do a jump shot before I say good night.

Weeee!!!

I wish you all a blessed weekend.

The Week That Was

I snapped a lot of interesting photos from last week that I have decided to do a random share on the things that happened instead of the more useful beauty post I plan on writing.

Let's start with our professional his and hers.

That's us wearing our minion shirt for a company event and I finally have my very own ORANGE coveralls! Woot woot! Awesome his and hers. I love chic and classic fashion pieces (ala Lanvin, Gucci and Chanel... let's pretend that I have a wardrobe full of these... heck, I don't even have a single piece) but I feel the same level of kilig wearing coveralls and safety shoes. It's the thought that you can do "rockstar" geeky industrial activities when you're wearing these Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and more often than not you get to directly contribute to the community: in the past 6 years it's about producing fuel for the power plants to generate electricity.

My niche as an adult in this society.

Enough of the serious talk and let's move on to the icing on the cake. I had the opportunity to stay at Acacia Hotel (Filinvest, Alabang, Muntinlupa).

The hotel's selling point is the room. I was luckily upgraded to a Junior suite; there's a receiving area, bathroom with tub and 2 floor to ceiling windows with a gorgeous view of Commerce Ave and Palms Country Club. I also like the soft but firm bed and the very luxurious linens. The room is truly nice and spacious. Acacia can improve a lot on the food though - the quality is not as good as what you would expect from a 5-star hotel.

From hotel stay, we go to home stay. I flew back to Dipolog and took guests to Rizal's house when he was exiled in Dapitan.

If you are in Dipolog, it's worth the trip to head to Rizal Park in Dapitan to see how he spent his exile years and visit the quaint compound he stayed at. You can walk around the main house, his kitchen, the dormitory of his students, the trees he planted and with the number of insects buzzing around - you'd totally understand why he alloted time on studying them. You also get to see the photos of his ladyloves and a number of his clothes are on display. The sunset view is priceless, btw.

Then I decided to climb the Lovers Rock - where he famously pined for Josephine Bracken. I invited Person A to join me and do a death defying pose. One slip could result to a fatal fall: all for the glory of the profile pic.

Then I road-tested with the 'rents my just-discovered Miss Universe pose. Tsk. Tsk. Stop the meaning of this!?! Looks like I am losing it.

I'd like to leave you with our super fun jump shots with the Dapitan sunset.

I tell you, our version of sunset bursts of colors and is gorgeous. World class!

Another possibly busy week ahead but the weekend reminded me that family, friends and a dose of childlike disposition make life beautiful.

Awesomeness!

Random Sunday Story

With everyone rushing to get things done before 2013 ends, I am again caught up in the year end rush. God made it extra special for me this year by teaching valuable lessons along the way. It's a tough life but I always remind myself that God  has the best plan for me and whenever it seems like the end of the tunnel is nowhere in sight, I just need to trust because he is molding me into the best person I can be.

Enough of the cryptic negativity and let me focus on the things I am grateful for.

I am again back in the Japanese food game and this time around it's a no brainer. I've always been a katsudon girl but Yabu's Tonkatsu is the bomb. 

I love that the meat is very tender and everything on the tray pairs well with the non-oily and delicate meat: miso soup, the sesame sauce, cabbage with wasabi sauce!

My addiction now amounts to Yabu twice a week... and it just opened at Alabang Town Center, I can feel it's gonna be downhill from here... at least for my waistline.

Oh yeah, best to play PvZ while grinding the sesame seeds.

Then I had the chance to visit Marriot Manila, I say posh. Perfect for those who love the urban lifestyle. Impressive lobby.

I am also impressed by the room albeit small for its price. The bed is plush and since the facility is still new, the bathroom is very enticing and so I tried the bubble bath.

Aaaahhhh... heaven.

Since the month of September is my birthday month, I'd like to say thanks to the sponsors of my beautiful flowers.

Red roses as a get well soon on your birthday present.

Then pink, white and green for my official birthday bouquet, my favorite.

Look at how beautiful the blooms are.

Yellow bouquet from friends! 

Very refreshing.

And because I can't get enough of flowers, when the bouquets have wilted, I dropped by Dangwa and with PhP240, I was able to get 6 dozens of green buttons and filled 5 vases at home with greens. 

Literally.

Flowers can effortlessly beautify a home.

What goes well with green? Try red!

After yoga tonight, I had this for dinner.

Fresh strawberry smoothie. Tastes like strawberry ice cream without the guilt: fresh milk, fresh strawberry and minimal sugar. 

Just to make sure that I am trying to balance the tonkatsu calories, here's the grocery basket today.

Woot woot! Cheers to a healthy week for all of us!

Wedding Wednesday: The Ring

Person A's wedding ring is finally in our possession after months of window shopping, deciding what we want and dropping in and out of the local branch of the jewelry shop to try it on. Being the low EQ person that I am, I asked him to wear it and our conversation went like this:

Me: *with all the excitement in the world* Try it on! Try it on!

Person A; *tries it on*

Me: Ay! Di ka na kid... adult ka na *pouts* mukha ka ng adult....

Hahaha! I always see us as kids ... more of childlike and seeing the ring on him is a bit bittersweet. Then again, I will finally put a ring on it and that is the best feeling in the world. :P

Allow me to share the criteria we used to choose our rings. Unlike most couples, we thought of "spending" on our wedding rings since we will wear it for the rest of our lives and it is a symbol of our marriage. 

Or yeah, we just like pretty accessories.

1. For the gentleman: Person A wants a simple band, with a little classy design and it has to be well-crafted.  

2. For the lady: I want something that complements my engagement ring: brings out the design at the same time stylish enough not to be drowned by the main diamond.

3. The same metal as my engagement ring. I plan to wear both on my left ring finger and probably stack a guard ring for the engagement ring. Ho-hum! -(",)-*wink* stackable rings!

4. Well-crafted - it shows easily where there are weaknesses in the make.

No offense to the local industry but generally, a lot can still be improved on the craftmanship as well as if you weigh "cost per (weight and quality of material used)" it doesn't come close to a Blue Nile or a Tiffany's ring.

Blue Nile has the cheapest ring for the quality and craftmanship whereas if you are willing to shell out more for a heavier and extremely well-made ring, you gotta give it to Tiffany's. Also, stock comes in gold, white gold, platinum and different sizes from 3 to the biggest. Overall, I find Blue Nile value for money.

And so, here are my picks from both jewelry shops.

Blue Nile Twist Diamond Ring - perfect for rings with prominent engagement ROCKS.

Blue Nile Pave Pink Sapphire - if you are in the mood for some delicate colors. 

Blue Nile Baguette Diamond - I consider this very classy. This pairs well with the baguettes on my engagement ring. Hmmm... we'll see.

Blue Nile U-Prong Seven Stone Diamond - can easily drown an engagement ring but maybe very pretty worn on its own.

Tiffany's classic milgrain band.

Tiffany's 3-row sophisticate.

Tiffany's channel set - classy baguette and round diamond design. Perfect for those with long, delicate fingers.

Tiffany's Lucida - one ring anyone? The weight and make of this ring is unbelievable. Awesome.

Like all the elements of your wedding and eventually marriage, the choice of wedding band is a team decision. We opted for separate designs that symbolize our relationship as well as fits our individual style. 

I am still in the process of getting my ring. There are days that I want this, then there are days that I want but what gets me more excited is the moment that I will physically hold the ring and the thought this accessory which I will wear for the rest of my life will be a symbol of my happiness.

I am keso, I rest my case.