dogs and parks

i love love Quezon City!

hello trees and open spaces. :)

This afternoon, I saw an "open house" sign in a townhouse development in UP Village. It's close to where I currently live and it broke my heart to know that at this stage, I cannot afford it yet. *sigh* I have professed a million times my love for the city - and among the many things that I find so adorbs about the it, the presence of parks and wide open spaces and clear skyline are what top my QC love chart. Next to Cagayan Valley, Quezon City is my home.

A few hours before sunset, we took our little Angus to QC Circle to give him a barking break (he's throwing a fit because of the summer heat - rhyming words!). FYI, Angus is my sister's second child dog. Angus made his first ever blogging debut in Before Nine, check this out (*shameless*). haha!

Hello there beautiful skyline! The clouds can roam around freely without fear of bumping into an endless sea of skyscrapers.

These skater boys were so into, errr, skating! haha! They turned Quezon monument their playground, and I am pretty sure pareng Manuel, looking from above, doesn't mind. :) I was actually eyeing on an artsy shot of the bicycle and the rustic background - fail! :p

 Angus strutting his thang!!! Give it to me sexy boy!!

He kept on biting his collar - I think he hates it. We hated putting this on him too, it's his first time to ever be on a leash. (Reminder to buy him that which wraps the body instead of a collar, we felt guilty to put him through this.) But if we don't do this, he'll zip like a zipping train and tumble like a tumbling, uhm, whatever-it-is-that-tumbles - he took it from our side of the family, ADHD. Tsk.

It's his first time too to feel authentic grass - milestone!! Many joggers and park-goers mistook him for a mouse, seriously???

This is Dolores. She looks after Angus while my sister is away. :) 

Thanks to QC urban planners in the 1940s!

beetle

i love love mornings!

and daydreams about my future car, Molly. :) 

For our Easter breakfast Sundate (Sunday + date = Sundate!), Alan traveled all the way from the South and arrived in our QC apartment 7:00 am en punto. In case you do not know yet (plugging, plugging), we have teamed up for a blog site, Before Nine, which chronicles our love for morning (and everything else bundled with it, like, breakfast!) and almost every weekend (if budget and time permit), we make sure we have something to share in our happy site. For Easter Sunday, we chose a Filipino restaurant just walking distance from where I currently live. :)

On our way to the resto, we came across a blue Beetle, parked along the sidewalk. And then another Beetle, this time, yellow, parked several meters away. What the car lacks in utility, it definitely compensates with charm and character. 

We paused to have my picture taken, haha! 

I was seriously gunning for this look, the sleek (car) and the sexy (car and girl) - car show inspired:

via new top car

 but ended up looking like this:

 

the bayad-po-para-mama look

the wide-eyed-ang-liit-naman-nitong-sasakyan-na-'to look

 Moral Lesson: What I lack in utility, I definitely compensate with charm and character. Haha!

Hey, good morning! :)

pack and go

i love love places!

and prepping up for a vacation (let's pack and go!)

The Canvas. I had all the bedroom to myself this Holy Week break. My cousin and sister who I share bedroom with are comfortably and pleasurably vacationing in our hometown, Cagayan Valley and won't be back until after Easter Sunday. I chose to stay in Metro Manila for the long weekend to make time for my much needed muni-muni moment plus I felt too lazy to battle it out with the gazillion other commuters itching to get away from the city. And so on the eve of Easter Sunday (my nanay will kill me if she learns that I skipped the Black Saturday vigil), in advance celebration of the resurrection of the Savior and in celebration (again) of my freedom (from roommates!), I spread this pretty mat in the middle of our +20 sqm bedroom to lay out my gadgets+gizmos+must-bring's for my first official summer trip on the first weekend of April!!

The Suits. And because we live in the Philippines and summer is never really summer without the beach, I will be communing with the clique of Princess Ariel in enchanting Siquijor and Dumaguete!! *squeals in excitement* I am recycling swimsuits yet again (haha, scrimp, scrimp, scrimp) - except for a newly bought white and beige-striped top from Nothing But Water all these cradles of my sexiness (what the???) have been worn over and over again!!:) Except for the nasty belly bulge because of too much Pringles and rice intake, I have more or less maintained my desired level of sexiness. Haha! Tomorrow is gym day for a one-day beach prep - let us see if this last minute and futile attempt towards beating the bulge will work. As if! *sexy fingers crossed*

The Kit. I am super low maintenance and really, a sunblock and a toothbrush are all I need. I always bring and extra bag (from an ETC event last Christmas) which I load with beach stuff so I do not have to go back to our hotel room every so often. The organizer is a gift from Lyra two Christmases ago and it never left my traveling bag since then.

The Lit. I do not own any apple product except for Fuji apples which I consume right away (nyahaha) but what I do have is an old-fashioned journal from SBC where I will jot down my hopes and dreams in life while listening to the waves and gentle whispers of the wind (naks!). I have yet to decide on what book to bring - I always bring books when traveling and 99% of the time, I never get to progress after the first chapter. No other gadgets to bring but my trusty ol' G10 Canon camera and its charger of course. 

The Closet. There will be a lot of white's, flowers, colors, most especially pink! Let's make the outfits loud and happy. There are some can't-travel-without-them-clothing though: my red wide-legged Mango pants, a hand-me-down from Tita Sandra (it is so soft and so bohemian - would you believe I had it since college?) and a soft cotton-jean preggers pants from Calliope - nope, I am not pregnant (as if!), I call it my preggy-pants because it is garterized and expands whenever necessary. Most ideal outfit for a dinner buffet!!! :)

The Luggage. My pink+violet Adidas duffle bag is still with my sister and while I love the space, lugging it on my shoulders is a nightmare. This time, I am using my Nike backpack and I will move the mountains to make sure that all my five-day-vacation must bring's will fit in here. And I always bring extra bags for pasalubongs and then laundry.

What's inside my bag? All these and more. I want to fast track the days until Friday!!!!!! I am more or less 95% okay with my packing agenda - just a little bit more toiletries like shampoo, baby wipes, etc. and snacks - the eternal PRINGLES of the spotless belly - but these are minor items only. Next step, hold my breathe and wait for amazing things to happen in Siquijor and Dumaguete!! That and informing my boss (and convincing her to approve my VL) about my pending absence in the office (but presence in life - nyahaha!!)

Excited!!:)

14 Intentions

image by Giovanni Roan

The weekend prior to the Holy Week, my nanay and Tita Epong joined me and the rest of the pilgrims (love the word - pilgrims :p) to a visit to fourteen churches (all in one day!) organized by Barefoot Travels. My plan was to pray for one intention per church but given my ADHD and how enchanted I was with how beautiful and grand and absolutely breathtaking these places of worship were, I realized I prayed for at least five intentions only: 

one:   for our family to unite in strength

two:   for guidance in the decisions that I make in my life

three: for my sister, Isabel - she's graduating already, that she may find God's great plan for her

four:  gratitude for all the blessings (and opportunities to travel)

five:   for the victims of torture and injustice, that they may find solace and peace in the Lord and that the Almighty Father protect all of His children from any harm

-and they are good enough for me. Hello, Jesus has other billions of children, He deserves his own moment of silence once in a while. :)

snap shots .
 

Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage 

(Antipolo Cathedral)

I didn't know birds still exist, I thought they were extinct already - haha! And they soar at the heavens to welcome the new day, greeting the guardians of the Cathedral a good and blessed morning.

 San Geronimo Parish 

(Morong, Rizal)

 San Ildefonso de Toledo 

(Tanay, Rizal)

San Alfredo de Alcala Parish 

(Pakil, Laguna)

The most opulent of all the churches that I have been to - rich in details and even with its age, the Church has retained every evidence of fortune and power.

Nuestra Sra. De Guadalupe Parish Church

(Pagsanjan, Laguna)

Sta. Maria Magdalena Parish Church

(Magdalena, Laguna)

Magdalena Parish has a spacious open ground which Metro Manila will kill for (with all the condominium developments sprouting from the ground like mushroom - they're eating up ground space and even the skyline!). These kids were enjoying their Azkal moment, barefoot and all in the park by the church.

It reminds me of our little chapel back home in Cagayan Valley, where I used to serve in (yes, I was a choir member and then a reader and then I grew up and didn't know what happened - haha), it was adjacent to a basketball court where all the good times happen, probinsya style: the court is a venue for, of course, basketball tournaments, dancing competition, beauty contests, meeting de avance and every Tuesday and Friday, it gets transformed into a market. :) I miss home.

San Gregorio Magno Parish Church

(Majayjay, Laguna)

According to our primer, this is a National Cultural Landmark and was used as a headquarters of the American during the war. It is the most beautiful, most enchanting, most heart-tugging "I live here my Child" -says-the-Lord Church - ever. I dream of getting married in a small chapel only, but this Church makes me want to reconsider. :) Once you step in the church, it is as if an entire choir of angels are singing and will lift your spirits to high heavens. The stone-facade wraps the faitfhul in soothing cold. Magiging mabait ka ng wala sa oras. :)

 San Juan Bautista Church

(Liliw, Laguna)

In my senior anthropology class in college, my group mates and I chose Liliw, Laguna to be the subject of a particular research about God-knows-what. I recommended the place complete with detailing its richness in history and its being oh-so-unique estate/village-planning but my real agenda was, mag-shopping ng maraming TSINELAS!!! 

In this Visita Iglesia, San Juan Bautista Church was our 13th stop, the second to the last and by this time, we have already established our intimacy with our Creator, shed some tears and uttered our prayers of requests and thanksgiving. After lighting some candles in the adoration chapel, I hurried my tita and nanay to...sorry Lord...go TSINELAS shopping!!!:) Actually, I joined this trip FOR THIS! Haha! Of course, I am just joking - this is just one of the perks of the trip, promise, Lord. :)

But first, the Church - San Juan Bautista has the most picturesque landscape.:)

San Bartolome Church

(Nagcarlan, Laguna)

The last stop. Every brick a history. :)

You are magnificent, my God.

Have a blessed holy week!!

Complete List of Churches:

Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Antipolo)| San Geronimo Parish (Morong, Rizal)| San Jose Parish (Baras, Rizal)| San Ildefonso de Toledo (Tanay, Rizal)| Nuestra Sra de Candelaria (Mabitac, Laguna)| San Pedro de Alcantara (Pakil, Laguna)| Santiago Apostol Parish (Paete, Laguna)| San Juan Bautista Parish (Kalayaan, Laguna)| San Sebastian Parish (Lumban, Laguna)| Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe Parish (Pagsanjan, Laguna)| Sta. Maria Magdalena Parish (Magdalena, Laguna)| San Gregorio Magno Parish (Majayjay, Laguna)| San Juan Bautista Parish (Liliw, Laguna)| San Bartolome Parish (Nagcarlan,Laguna)

Visita Iglesia 2013 organizer: Barefoot Travels

Manila FAME

i love interiors - all things that beautify the home..

(here are some of the pictures we were allowed to take at the MANILA FAME this March 2013.)

Free passes from the real estate company somewhere over the rainbow. Giddy!! 

Dale Mathis Studio Inc.
One of the few exhibitors which allow taking of photos. "We'd love for people to know us - share us in instagram, facebook...", said the jolly manager.

from HWPilipinas

“Surrealism meets mechanicalism. A merging of old and new, industrial and civilized."
This is the world of Dale Mathis. It is a world where metal, glass, construction bolts and pistons are all simply artistic tools. Where working gears bring movement to masterpieces. Where machines are muses.”

Chairs!!! I needed to beg just to have their photos taken. :) Lovely Chairs.

From the colorful world of RONAC in Greenhills to Manila FAME - Secret Fresh. I saw them too in the Art Fair Philippines last month. Sometimes, I want to cut open the brains of these artists and see what are going on in their super genius brains to create the unthinkable. :)

Vito Selma, Cobonpue, Ito Kish, Casa Ligna, Betis Craft - these big guns were the main crowd drawers in the exhibit. I wanted to take pictures just to make sure that I have a keepsake of the beauty and talent and craft I have been a witness to that particular Saturday afternoon but there was a strict no sketching and no taking of photos policy. The event inspires to create. And to support Pinoy craft and artistry. I am a fan. :)

Wednesday Sermon

super YES!!

via Suelas

One Saturday

photo essay

Black Soup Cafe + Art Space
When Uan Met Sally

The crazy plan was to spend the entire Saturday from wholesome breakfast to wasted dinners. I think age is catching up on us that we only lasted until sunset in UP Sunken Garden with the view of the Bulwagan ng Dangal (the Main Library, of course). It was a happy, lovely, artsy, Saturday! The breakfast story is already featured in here (hello Cafe Quezon!!). The rest of the day story is continued here. :)

Black Soup Cafe + Art Space

blue door and mustard wall

 

 poster revolution

love 'em: wallpaper. lighting fixtures. teapots. dvd's.

Pigeon hole: reminds me of my UP Diliman days. College of Arts and Letter subjects. Blue books and papers submitted in pigeon holes.

Channeling Genius: Christmas gift in March + Crafty Crochet + eye glasses for the reader

While the girls and Paul were gossiping and in the heat of chit chat, I stepped outside to take pictures. There were lovely chairs in the backyard and I snapped and swooned and swooned and snapped.

These chairs were featured in the recent Manila FAME in SMX - I wanted to boast, "But I saw them first two Saturdays ago under the heat of the summer sun!!".

pasta overload

class pictures!!:)

When Uan Met Sally

think gypsy. think bohemian.

think me (haha).

hand-painted door

charmed ceiling.

abby's claim to being gorgeous. :)

if you think you're gorgeous, ring the bell.

the day's finale was the sunset at sunken garden.

never fails to tug the heart.

UP heart.

credits to Bernard Kaibigan for the photo. :)

thank you Universe!:)