goodbye august!

i love love lists!

snippets of things that I love

one: a spectator story

Whenever I watch reality shows or competitions or just about any feature in TV or magazine articles about awesome people, I often ask myself if I am content with being a mere spectator, a witness to things and not the performer on stage being applauded and at the same time criticized. I was born under the "Leo" sign in the year of the "Tiger". My stars say that I am one to love the spotlight. Let's see about that. When was the last time I had my magical moment? It will take some time to pick from my basket of memories. 

A few minutes back, I came across this video in mashable.

From mashable:

Kristin Chenoweth discovered a superstar during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday.
The Broadway star plucked Sarah Horn, a vocal coach from California, from the audience to sing a duet from the musical Wicked with her. The moment could have ended in an out-of-tune disaster, but instead, a magical moment followed. 

Oh, this is some beautiful story for Sarah Horn to share with friends at the dinner table, win her blog if ever she has one and most of all with his children and grandchildren .

two: yoga

via flowsurfyogasamba

I would love to go back to doing it. Seriously. I am so drawn to the yoga lifestyle that I am so afraid to fully embrace it. Weird noh? The beauty of yoga is so immense that I feel unworthy to be a recipient of its passionate and peaceful vibe. An example of its beauty: Did you know that Namaste (a greeting every after a yoga class) literally means "I bow to you".

From Do You Yoga:

 

Namaste is a way to “send out to the universe something good, something that makes sense in that instant, the possibility of a time when all strife, suffering and harm inflicted upon each other and other living things, will simply stop”.

Namaste, then.

three: Cafe Noriter

A nondescript hole is punched in a row of concrete walls somewhere in Taft. You have to go up rickety stairs to finally experience the magical place that is Cafe Noriter. :) If I were a scriptwriter, I would have written dozens of award winning stories in this place. If I were an artist, I would have created so many laudable art pieces while in the Cafe. If I were a student, I would have aced all exams having studied in a place such as this. Thanks Di for sharing this beautiful secret with me!:)

four: mornings in Baguio City

Mornings are most beautiful in Baguio City. These pictures were taken in an early morning visit in one of the country's cleanest public markets, the Baguio City Public Market. I love the smell of ground coffee beans. I love how people manage to be both chill and busy. I love the colors of brooms and mats and textile. And fruits and strawberries and all things sweet and wonderful.

five: breakfast

This is one of my favorite breakfast pictures ever! For more of breakfast love, blog hop to Before Nine. By the way, this is breakfast at PNKY, got to love the strawberries on the pancakes!!

six: oh books!

check out awesome people reading for the happy thought that we are in good company :)

Top: Pugad Baboy is two years younger than me!! Every year, I look forward to the publication of Pugad Baboy comic book and this was the last remaining copy of Pugad Baboy 25 in National Book Store MOA; I needed to bug the saleslady to remove it from display and wrap it with love for me.

Bottom:

Baht, Boots and Ghandi, a collection of travel essay. I love reading about traveling. And this book is extra special because it is authored by Filipinos. Let's hoard from the Filipiniana section!

Everything is Illuminated, my current reading material. I have no intentions of reading the book but reading about it here made me reserve a copy in good ol' Fully Booked.

seven: birthday gifts

My boss baked for me blueberry cheesecake. A colleague gave me a Little Prince watch with a sweet note. Oh! Thank you! And my most favorite gift of all is that which I asked for, haha! A yellow rash guard and a snorkeling mask from Alan. I now it's the -ber months already but take me to the beach, yow!!! :)

eight: one million march

 

I paused and raised my fist for this man last August 26 in Luneta. Napoles surrendered herself several days after. May the truth and justice prevail!

thank you for reading! :)

fun ranch

i love love my siblings (and niece and nephew too)!

Saturday.

And last day of August 2013.

 

The original plan was breakfast at Borough for Before Nine and then drop by Podium for a glimpse of the Instagram Project. But while on the shower, I heard the voice of my mother (which I haven't heard in months; my family is based in Cagayan Valley). My, my, what a surprise! My two younger sisters, Patis and Jessie Moo tagged along so the adult chillin' time turned to run-around-with-the-kids time. My sister wanted to go to Enchanted Kingdom (it's her birthday tomorrow) but the adult companions' rickety bones negotiated for Fun Ranch instead. Oh sweaty, happy day!

 Oh Happy Day!! :)

Saturday Sermon

i love love words!

via fresh gypsy

Monday Date

i love love the Philippines!

This blog has been awfully quiet. I have been obsessed with my Before Nine assignments that I forgot I have a personal blog waiting for the rants and raves and hopes and dreams to be documented. For the time being, while enjoying the last remaining hours of the month's last long weekend, here are some snapshots grabbed from Alan's instagram account. I never thought I will enjoy our Luneta Park date. :) Stories coming soon!

TAX NG INA MO

These kuya's were game enough to pose for the camera when I requested to take a picture of their statement shirts. There's another poster which read WTF which stands for Where's the Fund?

OH PIGS

 

I feel sorry for our porcine friends that they were used to symbolize those who have abused their power. These politicians are not pigs. They are pests. 

 

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

 

Ping Medina (hot Pen's dad - sure, I had to include this :p) was among the many celebrities we saw in the #Million People March - this is the right use of influence. Being popular for a good cause. I wanted to protect him though, from the hoard of ladies swarming over him for picture-taking - daughter instinct. :) As if he knows me, haha!

Morning Has Broken

i love love breakfast!

this is a before nine entry

MARVEL BOY| image via Cat Juan

 

We had a lovely breakfast date this morning somewhere in San Juan which I will be writing about in the next few days. It was featured in the Philippine Star Magazine insert several Sundays ago. What's funny is that I never got to read the entire feature; the heading read "Now Open for Breakfast" and that is good enough for me. While waiting for our dessert, I read clippings and magazine write-ups proudly framed and displayed on the restaurant walls. Most of the dishes that these foodies were raving about or the best sellers are not on the breakfast menu. The restaurant only serves them for lunch and dinner. I thought I'll just come back here soon to try other meals. This morning, my heart was all set for a breakfast date. And I couldn't be happier.

 I asked my date if he felt like missing out on experiencing the "best sellers" given that most of our dates happen in the morning in keeping with the theme of this blog. He said "a little". My heart took a dive and drowned in the sea of brokenness (whatevs, haha!). Breakfast food is highly exclusive. It is defined by a particular group/type of food which when served on the table you just know that it still is morning and you have a long day ahead of you (except when you're in an all-day breakfast restaurant and having your meal at four in the afternoon).  How do I explain it? Normally, we do not eat sinigang for breakfast. That's a lunch and dinner meal. Same thing with fried chicken and adobo - they are not for the morning. How so? They are just not. Period. What makes a breakfast food? Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Pancakes. Tuyo. I feel so frustrated that I cannot get my point across. It's the whole "missing out" issue that's bothering me. Be it about meals. Or about life.

But I love breakfast. Even if sometimes the meals become repetitive, the experience is all unique and beautiful that I will never exchange it for the world. For the record, this is not a foodie blog. It appears to be so because it features restaurants but what we are really after is the breakfast experience - Anton Diaz of the Awesome Planet and the rest of the equally-equipped food bloggers out there can take care of all the food evaluation. I simple want to sit back and sip my hot chocolate drink. Sit and sip. Oh yeah. 

The image above is the creation of designer+illustrator Dan Matutina grabbed from Cat Juan's blog. How is it even related to this post? Here are screen shots from Cat Juan's interview with Dan (first name basis, lakas!:-p):

 

I love him already (for the complete write up, blog hop here). I love mornings for reasons I have stated a million times and that love has spawned happy breakfast assignments almost every weekend. I keep a list of breakfast places in my sunny yellow notebook and I drag family and friends, but most of the time, Alan (he is this blog's official photographer too) to try them all out.

The breakfast meals get repetitive at times; restaurants add their signature/personal twists to make them more exciting but most of the essential ingredients are the same. I love breakfast the way it is. All familiar and comforting. All happy and hopeful. We're missing out a lot of "best sellers" I know, but we are gaining the friendship of the sun and an extra long day for waking up extra early.

This post is really for my 27 year old self: Hush now, my dear. Quit fretting. Fear of missing out sucks. Fear cripples. Find your life's recurring theme and stay loyal to it. So you've missed the awesome lunch and dinner meals, but what did you get in return? Lovely breakfast experiences. Beautiful ones. Wonderful ones. So hush now. And enjoy your breakfast. ♥

a before nine entry

baguio city happy list

i love love places!

Baguio City, Philippines

August is the best month ever! Reasons for it being the best month ever are as follows:

1. It is the birth month of an extremely fine and fab lady. (aherm)

2. It has the most number of holidays in a given month this year. And the August Gods placed the holidays next to weekends so we have our ultimate favorite next to chocolates - long weekends!

3. It is the gateway to -BER months. Not so Christmas but not so summer either. What do you have? A design-your-month-the-way-you-want-to-season! For me, my August theme this year is "perfect-for-coffee/champorado" season or what you call the - RAINY season! (how so original) You see, I just bought an umbrella tonight and the purchase needs to be justified. Haha!

There you go.

Moved by reason #2, the first long weekend of August saw me chomping breakfast meals for Project Before Nine: Baguio Version Part 1 and strolling along Session Road feeling so free (naks!). I hope to do a separate post about this trip but for the time being, please indulge me with my excitement over doormats I bought from Baguio City public market (Php100 for 3 pieces). I will be using them as background for my creative direction (nyahaha!) - so pretty! 

This time, they cushioned and cradled my Baguio kuripot happy shopping list.

White and Orange Mat Lay Out

Mt Cloud Bookshop Goodies
still wrapped in this picture. A book, a notebook and a bookmark. This is one of my favorite places in Baguio City - the Hogwarts to my Harry Potter. :)

Chili Powder
because I am a spice girl! :)

Romana's Peanut Brittle
no-fail pasalubong

Strawberries 

overpriced and not-on-season

Navy Blue with Sprinkle of White Lay Out 

unwrapping Mt Cloud Bookshop Goodies

Santa Claus in Baghdad

for a different perspective

Pretty Notebook

because my dreams and life's game plans need to be documented

Floral Bookmark

you can't have too many

Happy August!

Happy Rainy Days!