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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
FTFBadge
Every 24th of the month, we always celebrate our monthsary together. Last Wednesday marks our 3rd wedding monthsary, we decided to eat out and since hubby have been drooling about Bubba Gump, we decided to celebrate here.

Bubba Gump is one of our favorite restaurant, we tried this couple of times before during our monthsaries and our vacation at HongKong. The moment you enter Bubba Gump, you will be quickly transported to a southern style US restaurant that boast of a lot of decors that are old fashioned themed. I’m so sorry, I was not able to take pictures of the place, but check out my previous blog, same parin naman sila ng ayos eh.. Hehe.  The interior and exterior of Bubba Gump just captivates at an instant. It makes you escape your ordinary world into one that is exciting, adventurous and unique. Being at this place makes me imagine myself in an island where I could just throw nets and have the perfect and freshest catch. Amazing ambiance!

The restaurant was half-filled when we arrived. Not bad for a weekday night.  What I like in Bubba Gump is that you’ll just have to flip a metal plate in your table, no need to get tired while raising your hand. The best part of it, they respond quite quickly.

Don't bother me I'm eating sign!

I need assistance sign !

Anyway, since we were famished and excited to order our food (it has been a long while since we last dined here so we were pretty excited), we right away placed our orders and see if it is any good. We ordered for Shrimper’s Net Catch, the best shrimp steamed in beer with potatoes and fresh vegetables and your choice of Bubba Garlic Spice or Secret Recipe Cajun Spice.


Shrimper's Net Catch - Php 650.00

Hubby was craving for chicken so he opted to try their Chicken Cordon Bleu - a breaded Chicken Breast stuffed with Ham and Swiss Cheese, deep fried and served in warm Lobster Butter Sauce with mashed Potatoes and Asparagus Spears.

Chicken Cordon Bleu - Php 480.00

For our drinks, I preferred to try their Mango Sparkier - a great thirst quenching blend of Mango, Lemonade, Sprite and Orange Juice while hubby go for Southern Blue Lemonade which comes with blueberries. 

Mango Sparkier - Php 165.00 and Southern Blue Lemonade -Php 165.00

Their food may be pricey, but it’s all worth it. The portions are really enormous – the food on the menu is big enough for 2-3 persons.  But with the delicious taste of Bubba Gump’s food you might end up eating the whole meal by yourself. 

Over-all experience, we were satisfied with our orders, most especially the shrimps! Despite of high price, we still enjoyed our meals. It’s just the big catch. It should be everyone’s catch. The portions are really enormous – the food on the menu is big enough for 2-3 persons. Their service is excellent, the staffs are very fast, very accommodating and they really take time to listen to your requests. In Bubba Gump, it’s not just seafood, but we love to see and taste the real food! Anyway, this is a place that we will definitely visit again some other time, because I’m still not over with how the “I’m Stuffed Shrimp” blew me away! Weehhh….! Budget per person is around Php 300-1,000. So if you have budget, don’t hesitate to treat yourself to a great meal at this wonderful place.

Happy Married Couple  :)
P.S

 Don’t forget to have a look at the gift shop. It has a good collection of Bubba Gump branded t-shirts, golf balls and tumblers. Some beer mugs are definitely takeaways by the looks of them.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
2/F Greenbelt 3, Esperanza St.,
Ayala Center, Makati City
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
FTFBadge

 Yesterday, I ran out of ideas of what to cook for lunch (baon) today. We already had menudo and pork chop plus fried chicken all through the week, so I wanted to give my husband a reward by cooking another recipe from my list.  By the way, I found this recipe online which is really an easy one to cook.

Since I am free to make my own version of Pork Binagoongan, I will increase the amount of pork to my heart’s content. This version of pork binagoongan is a quick and easy one, promise! Less salty but nonetheless very delicious.  It is a sure fire way to boost your appetite so get the extra servings of rice on the ready. (#Yabang mode) Haha.  



Ingredients:

3 tbsp Oil
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 medium size onion, chopped
½ kilo Lechon Kawali
¼ cup Alamang
2 tbsp Vinegar
¼ cup Water
Ground Pepper and Sugar to taste

Procedures:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Saute garlic and onion until softened.



2. Add lechon kawali and sauté until light brown in color.


3. Add alamang, vinegar and water. Let simmer (do not stir) and cook until liquid is reduced.


4. Season with pepper and sugar if desired.
5. Continue to cook until mixture caramelizes.


6. Serve hot with rice.

This dish is a simple Filipino dish made out of crispy pork pieces dressed with bagoong sauce, a good dish paired with garlic fried rice but you don’t have, plain hot white rice is enough.  If you want to try it out, I must warn you as the flavours of this one are salty and sweet. Kakaiba noh! I put large amount of sugar on my pork binagoongan. (Mas type ko yung medyo matamis na maalat).  One small piece of pork will be more than enough for one heaping spoon of rice.  The smell will be also unpleasant for others, a piece of advice - cook with wide open windows and doors and have your range hood in full blast.


By the way, hubby and my officemates love the tastes. Ika nga nila “Magaling akong mag timpla ng lasa!” Yehey! (**Blushing again**)
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Monday, October 29, 2012 2
FTFBadge

 I informed Hubby that I’m craving for vegetables today for our dinner, para bang sawa na ko sa pork, chicken and beef na ulam namin.. So, I came home early to prepare our food, I searched in the internet on how to cook Chopsuey and also texted my dad for the procedures. 


Ingredients:

¼ lbs shrimp
½ lb boneless chicken
¼ cup water
1 tsp garlic
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup cabbage, sliced
1 pc of red bell pepper, sliced
1 medium size carrots, sliced
1 pc of medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½  cup cauliflower, cut to bite size
20 pcs string beans (more or less)
12 pcs of quail eggs (more or less)
3 pc of baby corn
Salt and pepper to taste



Procedures:

  1. Saute the garlic and onion. 

      2. Add the boneless chicken and sauté for 2 minutes.

      3. Add the shrimp then sprinkle some salt and pepper.
      4. Add the Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
      5. Add the carrots, cabbage, string beans, baby corn, red bell pepper and cauliflower then mix well.


     6. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.


     7. Dilute the cornstarch in ¼ cup of water then pour mixture in the pot. Mix Well.


     8. Add salt and pepper to taste.


     9. Add Quail Eggs on Top. 
   10. Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!



Presenting to you my own version of Chopsuey. 

As per my mother-in-law and hubby, the tastes is really good! Yehey! (**Blush**)
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Thursday, October 25, 2012
The past days have been tough because I was suffering from dysmenorrhea. I was not in good mood since Monday and my husband noticed it that’s why he makes sure that my mood swing will disappear. He requested me to cook him another dish (he knows I love to cook and by cooking my emotions change.. Para bang nag tra-transform ako.. Haha). I printed 20 different dishes to choose from, and I asked him to decide what dish he wants me to cook, he go for Beef Salpicao.

Ingredients:

3 tbsps Vegetable Oil
½ kilo Beef Tenderloin, sliced into 1 in cubes
½ tsp Chili flakes
2 tbsps Liquid seasoning
2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps Butter
1 tbsp Garlic, minced
1 pc Garlic, sautéed
Salt and Pepper to taste


Procedures:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté the beef over high heat for 2 minutes.

2. Add liquid seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Continue sautéing until beef is well-cooked.

3. When done, remove beef from pan and set aside. Using the same pan, add butter and sautéed the garlic. 


4. Add in the chili flakes and continue frying.

5. Add the beef back into the pan and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with sliced fried garlic. 
7. Serve hot with rice.

Presenting my version of Beef Salpicao.  

As usual, my husband and officemates really love the tastes. Ewan ko ba kung nagsisinungaling sila, pero mukha naman nagsasabi ng totoo.. Haha. Improving na ko! Yahoo!!!





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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Isn't it amazing how a person, who was once just a stranger, suddenly meant the world to you? Today, we celebrate our 3rd wedding monthsary, Yihiiii! Kilig! For the past three months of being married with Ian, I realized and learned a lot, like we are transitioning from one life season to another. Well, this is the most exciting phase of our married life yet we still need to discuss it every day.

I remember when we were preparing our big day, there are some people told us that it’s so impractical to start and build a family without being this or that, without having this or that, etc. etc. etc. Para bang nananakot sa pagkakaroon ng asawa.. Hayz! But hearing those words, I was even more encouraged to go ahead and beat the odds; now, three months later, we beat the odds all right because God loves us and not because we’re some perfect couple straight from fiction.

Anyway, today is our day. So no more negative thoughts and let’s just focus on the positive vibes. 3 months of being married and 75 months of being together is incredible! I remember my husband’s personal vow during our wedding, he said that our wedding date is the most important, memorable and perfect date, why? because “7.24.12” means, 7 days of laughter and happiness, 24 hours of fruitful life and 12 months of intimate love. O ikaw ba naman malilimutan mo pa yung “7/24/12”? For sure hindi na..

Three months after our wedding, there are lots of things that we accomplished. We rented a house for the two of us, we bought major household furniture, we traveled abroad, we already know how to budget our expenses, or in short, we already know how to be independent and living together on our own as husband and wife.

Whenever I get home before Ian does, I maximize my alone time by watching television or prepare some food at the kitchen while I wait for him that's because I imposed upon myself to never pay attention to anything else when we're both at home. We watch television together and curdle each other during commercial break, but there are times when the tv is on, it only means one thing: Ian is busy reading Manga Online and I’m not. He never has idle time, that’s my man. Sya na ang pinaka busy tao gabi gabi..:p

There are also times that I would like to watch movie at Cinema One or Teleserye, but I can’t because my husband gives his full attention watching basketball game.. Gggrrr… Ang masama pa nito, hawak pa nya yung remote control! Sometimes, I told him jokingly that I am also the owner of that television and for that reason, I also have the right to watch whatever and whenever I want to. Syempre, conjugal property na yun. Haha. Pero syempre, wala parin akong magagawa, General sya eh, Kumander lang ako..  

But at the end of the day while lying on our bed, we prioritize conversations. We ask each other what happened on that day, we also discuss some issues about our relationship, our future plans and what I really love to do is we pray together before we sleep. I lead the prayer while he response. We prayed Our Father, Angels of God, Prayer for Healing by Fr. Fernando Suarez and our own personal prayer. After that, Hubby will kiss me 4 times on my lips while saying, “Good Night”, “Sweet Dreams”, “Sleep Tight” and “Iloveyou Honey”.

Every morning, I wake up early, say a simple prayer, give my husband (still sleeping) mornings kisses and prepare our breakfast and baon for lunch. As soon as he wake up and before eating our breakfast, he will kiss me on my lips and whisper “Good Morning”. Ang sweet db?! Nakakawala ng pagod yung smile nya every morning samahan mo pa ng kiss! After our breakfast, we do our assigned task; hubby will wash the dishes while I collect all waste in the trashcan and put it in one garbage bag. Hubby will get our towels while I prepare his clothes to wear, and so on and so forth. But what really makes me feel so kilig everyday is that hubby always put my engagement and wedding ring on my finger while saying “Take this ring as sign of my love, loyalty and fidelity” then kiss on my lips. Kilig! Super dami kong gustong i-share with you guys but I think kulang ang 1 column for this one but I promise I will post our other bonding moments in our home.

Okay, pahabol lang.. Hihi.. Here are the activities that we usually do during weekends, every Saturday we are schedule to clean our house then movie marathon and on Sunday Ian and I will fold the washed clothes (We do our laundry every Friday Night) and last but definitely not the least, we attend the holy mass.

This is my life now, this is my happiness. I love every detail in my life at this moment and I thank the Lord our God every day for giving me this life that I dreamt ever since. I’m so blessed to have Ian to train with; he’s assertive and humble, and also very aware of God as center of our marriage. Thank you Lord for all the blessings that we received and will receive. And if you will ask us, “What lies ahead, after marriage? We simply say, we don’t know…. What’s important is we’re facing it together with God on our side. “

Dearest Honey, we just turn three months today. It may sound cliché but it really feels like I have known you forever. Thank you for tolerating my nonsense and most importantly, thank you for always being there. You provide a listening ear whenever I needed one and you are a wonderful confidant. Every moment spent with you become a piece of precious memory because I treasure every moment with you. You are the man beyond my dreams, the man I would marry again, the first one I think about when I wake up and the last one I think about when I go to bed. The more time I spend with you the more I find myself deeper in love with you. I love you and I love us together. Thank you for always pushing me to pray and get closer to God. You are the bravest man I know.

Thank you for everything.. iloveyou!



Happy 3rd Wedding Monthsary Honey! Iloveyou so much!
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Monday, October 22, 2012
Ian and I are really adventurous couple.  When you say “Adventurous” it means a kind of a traveler one or they go somewhere in the place that they can see some things different even though it’s hard to find it. They will do their best to find what they want and sometimes these people are not contented with one place. Oooppsss.. KAMI YUN!

Other than Photography, Travel and Running, we really love new adventure, new challenge and new things that will strengthen our relationship as husband and wife and so, we decided to pay for a “BIKE”. I know I got masses of lectures from our family about our plan in getting a “Bike”, masama daw ang mag bike sa babae, lalo na sa akin na may plan to get pregnant SOON! (In God’s Will!).

I know how to use Bike because when I was a kid my father taught me how to balance myself in a bike, very supportive Dad. I remember one time when I’m so nervous to turn my bike on the left then I fell.  My father shout and says “Anak, tayo.. Kaya mo yan!” When I heard his voice, I know from that incident happened that I need to be strong, conquer my fear and stand up to achieve my dreams while my parents are there to support me.  

Last Saturday, Hubby and I went in Raon to upgrade our song book with latest hits (You know that my husband really loves to sing. Haha.) then we headed at the other side to purchase a cheaper bike with good quality of course; prior to that, we already finished canvassing few weeks ago.  

My Hubby’s early Christmas gift!

Ian chose Mountain Bike, while I chose Classic Bike (Korean Chic). I prefer this type of bike because of the basket, the color and the style. Haha.  Parang girl na girl ang dating pag nakasakay ka sa bike na to. :p

Meet Spark and Atom!

We don’t have car and the taxi within the area is so hard to find that’s why we decided to get our bike the following day, Sunday. So here is the challenging part, we woke up early and ready our things to get our babies; we arrived at the store by 11am and decided to drive our bike from Manila to Makati. What???!!! Drive as in Magbi-bike kami simula sa Manila pauwi sa amin sa Makati! Haha. At first, I can’t imagine to do that thing, that’s crazy you know. Daming sasakyan sa kalye and we don’t have safety gears to protect ourselves and syempre ang pinaka worry ko is masakit sa hita yun but I saw my husband’s confidence and makes me believe that we can conquer this challenge. Pahirapan talaga kami, mauwi lang mga babies namin.. Waahh..

Ian led the race while I was following him. Another challenge that we experienced was the bad weather, Yes! There are times when the rain started to fall, so we need to search for our temporary shelter and wait for the sun to come out. Hayz! Pahirapan talaga! But you know what, I really enjoyed our drive, it was our first time to experience that. Para narin kaming sumali sa Extra Challenge! Hehe. Thank God, my husband knows the short cut route that’s why we traveled Manila to Makati using our babies for 1 hour.  

Are you ready?


Our heart jumps as we reach Makati, we take our quick merienda along the way before continue our journey. This incident is one of my most memorable experiences I ever had.

We’re turning three months this Wednesday and I am proud to say that OUR LIFE NOW IS AMAZING!



P.S.
Thank You Honey for your early Christmas gift! J iloveyou!
Next time try naman natin mag Bike from Makati – CCP – Makati ha.. :p
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Thursday, October 18, 2012 1
Wedding cord symbolizes lifetime unity or everlasting union of the bride and groom when they officially become husband and wife, meaning walang iwanan! It is also symbol of marital protection while the loops formed signifies their love for one another. It also means that you will now have to walk at the same pace towards one direction.

We wanted our wedding cord to be personalized and perfect for our travel theme wedding. I searched online for the possible suppliers who specialized in doing customized wedding cords. I inquire some of them and they send their proposal and sample but I was not surprise or amazed with their works. Sorry pero meron talaga akong hinahanap na bagay samin. OC bride talaga noh..

Accidentally, I clicked “Project Dream Wedding” website and saw some samples of customized wedding cord. I filled-up the inquiry form at the FB page and that same day, I received a detailed proposal from Eyzel. Wow! Ang bilis talaga, and very detailed pa yung email nya. Eyzel is a very nice and accommodating person, she is the owner of “Project Dream Wedding”, and she started her business after she got married to Angelo. She want to translate her desire and love of creating wedding cord and accessories to all the brides who wants to have a personal touch, elegant and thematic wedding accessories  I really admire her passion in doing personalized things for wedding, ganon ata talaga after you got married magiging interested ka na sa pag aayos ng wedding ng iba.

The prices for her personalized wedding cord are very affordable and high-class. Here are the price lists that she gave to me.

Wedding Cord* (Free Shipping Nationwide)

P500 = all acrylic beads / synthetic pearls
P600 = acrylic/synthetic pearls + glass beads accent
P800 = all glass beads
P950 = glass + crystal beads accent
P1,100 = crystal + glass beads accent
P1,300 = all crystal beads/semi-precious stones

Notes:
- includes initials, trinkets and box for safekeeping.
- customized according to your wedding theme and motif.
- Additional 100.00 for detachable Rosary cord (2 detailed Rosaries that can be detached from the centerpiece)

Since I really love her works, I filled-up the official order form that will serve as our contract then right after that she gave me her account number for me to deposit the 50%DP. I really don’t know her personally, we only transact via but working with her is so easy. Ang bilis nyang sumagot sa email and text if you have other queries or clarification about your order. I just give her my idea and then she executes it on her own, malawak talaga yung imagination nya. Ang galing!

Here are the details I sent to her:

Motif – Pink and Purple
Wedding Theme – Travel
Freestyle or Rosary Cord – Rosary Cord
If Rosary Cord, cross or crucifix? – Crucifix
Type of beads – All crystal beads / semi-precious stones
Initials – “R and I”
Color of Trinkets – Any will do, just use the best that complement our motif.

So after exchanging emails, finally I receive our customized wedding cord four months before our wedding. Yehey! (Photos credit to CD Worx Multimedia)

Brooch at the center

Baggage trinket with "I ♥ travel" encryption


A combination of our main motif, Pink and Purple. Plus our Initials too!


Wow! Amazing! I really love our wedding cord!

US wearing our customized wedding cord ♥
Suggestion to all engage couple, add a personal touch to your wedding. Unleash the creative side of you, and then you will realize how fun it is to the things you love. 



Wedding Rate: 5/5



Project Dream Wedding
Website: http://projectdreamwedding.blogspot.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/projectdreamwedding
Contact Person: Eyzel
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
“It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.”

“ Home is where you can be silent and still be heard..
When you can ask and find out who you are..
Where people laugh with you about yourself..
Where sorrow is divided and joy multiplied..
Where we share and love and grow..”

 “Bless this house as we come and go
Bless this house as the children grow
Bless our families when they gather in
Bless this house with love and friends.”


Weehh.. I’m so excited to write this post, because it’s all about our home sweet home! Actually, this is not our OWN, we just rent it. Probably and Hopefully by next year we will start investing our money to buy a new home that we can call our OWN! Medyo nagbabayad pa kami ng mga kautangan namin.. Haha.

So for now, Ian and I really enjoy our home. It’s full of love, excitement, adventure, kulitan and lambingan mode, etc.. I got this quote from Sarah Ban Breathnach “Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need.”

We’re turning three months this October and I’m so proud to say that we already invested some major furniture and fixtures for our home. At least ngayon, masasabi ko na talaga na amin yun, and galing yun sa pinaghirapan namin! It’s so overwhelming when people say that they admire us because we had the right decision to live on our own, be independent and start our own family together. At first, it’s so hard because we need a lot of money for the rent, for the furniture, for weekly grocery, for the utilities bill, etc. but you know what, I believe that God help us to achieve our simple dream.

Before our wedding, we already decided to leave Manila (Ian’s home-place for almost 20 years) and transfer to Makati then right after our wedding day, every night we talked about our plans in life. We resided at Manila for one month and on September 1, 2012, we finally move-in at Makati.

Our first investment is Washing Machine, we purchased it 3 days after our wedding, why washing machine? Because we knew that after our honeymoon trip in Singapore and Malaysia, we will have lots of dirty clothes that need to wash-out, medyo tinatamad lang maglaba.. Haha. But of course, nakalutang pa utak namin from wedding and honeymoon db?!

Then this week, while having dinner I noticed that we already have Refrigerator, TV, DVD, Sofa, Computer Table, Cabinet, Mattress, etc.  Wow! I can’t believe it! I even cried out when I saw our home. I was so happy and everyday, I want to go home early, relax at the living room while watching our favorite teleserye. We can do whatever we want to do and not to be anxious about something. In our home my heart can laugh without shyness and this is also where my heart’s tears can dry at its own pace.

So here are some pictures of our so called “Home Sweet Home”

OUR GATE



OUR LIVING ROOM







OUR DINING AREA



OUR KITCHEN





OTHER PHOTOS

Hubby's Computer Table


Love Love Love ♥♥♥



Simple Description of Our Home:

♥♥♥ There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. ♥♥♥ 
♥♥♥ In our home there was always prayer ♥♥♥
♥♥♥ God is at home ♥♥♥
♥♥♥ Home is any four walls that enclose the right person. ♥♥♥

My other term for our Home: 
  • House of Love
  • The House That Love Built
  • Livin' in a House Full of Love
  • No Place Like Home
  • A Place to Call Home
  • This is a House Where Love Dwells


Sharing with you is powerful prayer for Home.

Prayer for the Home
By: Edgar Guest
________________________________________

Peace, unto this house, I pray,
Keep terror and despair away;
Shield it from evil and let sin
Never find lodging room within.
May never in these walls be heard
The hateful or accusing word.

Grant that its warm and mellow light
May be to all a beacon bright,
A flaming symbol that shall stir
The beating pulse of him or her
Who finds this door and seems to say,
"Here end the trials of the day."

Hold us together, gentle Lord,
Who sit about this humble board;
May we be spared the cruel fate
Of those whom hatreds separate;
Here let love bind us fast, that we
May know the joys of unity.

Lord, this humble house we'd keep
Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let Thy love and let Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place.


I believe that there’s no place like home, because it is my safety harbor from the storm, my cozy haven safe and warm and of course no matter where I choose to roam, there’s just no other place like home. 

And lastly, having someplace to go is home, having someone to love is family and having both is a blessing.



Note: Still under renovation and bongang bongang makeover.. Hehe..
(more pictures to come like our rooms pag medyo ayos ayos na..:p)

Suggestions are very much welcomed! :) Thanks!
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