been there!

it was a tiring and a busy weekend after we set foot in making another string of memories to our ilocos tours. we left manila 5am of mar 27, and it was a rapid 7 hours drive excluding the 3 stop overs we made. we use the SCTEX highway to avoid the merging traffic at Concepcion and Oliver was so amazed to drive on a 120 speed...this is one GMA project that i can only be happy for! i hope this highway would be extended up to La Union pretty soon..weee!

by the way, we were with Manang Linda, Tatang and Tonton -- and the main intention of this trip is to bring home Tatang so he can get enough rest at the countryside while he is recuperating from recent eye surgery. though travel is secondary only to this trip i assure i got at least a taste of something new this time and as promised last week i'll bring home lots of pics and i hope you'll get a little something from this short, short vacation :)

SCTEX is a 30min drive to Tarlac from NLEX, Toll Fee P69.00

Amburayan River bounds La Union and Ilocos Sur

an afternoon walk at Amburayan River just before sunset...

saturday, mar 28 we drive at Poblacion to sightsee the sundials and visit the churches of nearby town and drive further north up to Candon City. we had a flavorful and genuine ilocos cuisine lunch at Bistro Candon and our day ended at the shoreline of Becques (Tagudin).

first Sundial was located in Tagudin Ilocos Sur

San Agustin Church (Tagudin), Sta. Lucia Church (Sta. Lucia) & St. John Sahagun Parish (Candon City)

Bistro Candon is located along National Highway right after the city proper of Candon City, must try are the Ilocano dishes like Sinanglao, Bagnet, Dinakdakan, etc...price range is P200 up and serving is good for 2-3 persons --would love to go back and dine here again!

Tonton and Tet at Becques, then at Ambalayat before we cross the river...

come sunday, mar 29 time to go back to manila...we left tagudin around 3pm just in time for us to catch the beautiful sunset at San Juan, La Union. we stopped by at San Juan Surf Resort to do some occular visit so we can bring friends soon :)

San Juan Surf Resort

beach este photo enthusiast...hehehe

i took a photo that would make me remember my MIL's backyard over and over again...

it was short but we had such a great time, oh! and i am happy to find Marsha's Delicacies at Candon City...love it!

driving north...

will be driving north by early morning of friday (mar 27) and is expected to be back manila by sunday evening.

well, to tell ya this trip is one of the unplanned trips we have because Oliver and I talked about spending most of the summer with my family this year. but still, i still get a little excitement going back to ilocos for the nth time. i miss my MIL's backyard :)

what to do during the 3-day visit?
1. Oliver will start talking to contractors for the house renovation and plot the official start date, he plans to buy the materials too.
2. will be spending a day at a lagoon resort...that is if there will be no intrusion, lol!
3. planning to visit Candon City and dine at Cafe Bossa or Bistro Candon or Twinkle's ",)

4. take an afternoon walk near Amburayan river
5. bring home lotsa pictures from this short vacation...

first lagoon resort in Tagudin

tell you more of this when i get back, i'll sign off over the weekend....

march 22, family day

ideally weekend should be spent with my family at cavite but since we only get to rest on saturday and sunday it's very impossible for us to drive south regularly plus it's tiresome for my girls (Bea and Shen). so normally, we would visit cavite once a month or if there's an occasion that requires our presence.

last saturday we finally had the chance to visit home again (after a month and a half), saturday was all spent at home and a short visit at Ninang Elo at Mark James Hospital where she was admitted last week due to a bone fracture. sunday, we drive at Paseo de Sta. Rosa with Tatay and Nanay, Sam also joined us after we pull her out from her church rehearsal for Palm Sunday. my intention of course to go to Paseo was to buy a pair of jeans from Levis outlet and luckily i chance to get a good deal. i was hoping we could dine at Kanin Club but ended up with Sam's fave fastfood (Chowking). after a quick walk around we decided to go home, enough of our Sunday's pasyal :)

we brought home boiled japanese corn, kalihim (from a panaderia in Paseo), pineapples and cinnamon roll from Bag of Beans pasalubong for Che and Paolo (btw, my sister decided to stay home, himala!..hehehe)

our weekend pics --

Lolo and Sam

Sam with Lolo & Lola

Ninang & Sam

and finally us!

fresh from BOB, P270.00 (6 pcs)

another shoe over the weekend...

this is what i got from Robinson's mallwide sale last weekend, a ballet flats from Celine which cost me P599.00 (dunno what's the original price so i cannot tell how much did i save for this pair). anyway, it was Oliver who decided for me to take home this shoesee..it's cute!

btw, i also got a blousy from GWS which is Oliver's pick too :)

in mustard!

my new lovelife...

i'm not a techie person as you all know, i don't invest so much on gadgets and the like...they just come in boxes unanticipated and impromtu. it's like the 80GB iPod i got last Christmas from my big boss and now this Nokia E71 was by accident too. big boss was selling it 50% off so i did not waste anytime, send my intention and presto i am the new owner of this high end device :)

Smart Simplicity

E71 Specs, Accessories, Downloads, Support and Software

Gola and more!

Oliver is not a so Gola fan not until we found this place that sells various Gola items (men's shoes, flats and bags) at bargain basement priced. items sold here are those pulled out from outlet and shops, mostly displays so some of them don't come in mint conditions but still very wearable and stylish. Oliver is so picky when it comes to shoes but you see he recommends friends to buy here :)

oh! before i forgot they sell brands like AND1 and Keen to name a few...

he got this for P400.00 only (brandnew without tag)

P995.00 (brandnew condition with tags)

Store House located at A. Mabini St., San Juan Metro Manila

Directions: coming from Shaw Blvd. enter A. Mabini St going to Wilson St. (Greenhills). you will pass PUP San Juan and Summit Realty signage (left side of the street). this is the green gate at your left before you reach C.M. Recto...you would know that the store house is open if the gate is widely open :)

there is no store name or signage outside, store hour is daily from 9:30am to 6:00pm

Shen-Shen's 6th B-day!

it's our Shen-Shen's 6th birthday last Mar 15 to be exact so Oliver and I gave our big girl a small party at home...she borrowed Bea's birthday dress and our Bea wore her favorite green tee. Shen and Bea were so excited with the Coffee Crunch cake we brought from Red ribbon...it was an evening of fun!

at the end of the day, before Oliver and I went to bed we reflect how this canines grew with us particularly Bea --she was my little darling and will forever be Dadi's girl :)

happy birthday Shen!

parties and sweets...

fresh from last saturday's activity...

at Euan's 1st birthday party at Acacia and at Greenbelt 5 Makati where we head through right after partying...

this is Thea

and now this is Chimmy...

moi, ana, lene and jingky

my sample LO :)

sweet indulgence at Classic Confections

Classic Confections Menu here

lead scare over havaianas...

Oliver had already mentioned this to me over the weekend but because i'm a huge fan i did not pay attention and i remember me saying it's all black propaganda probly by it's competitors in the market. maybe not until last night when he was saying this to me again that havaianas kids was already pulled out from stores and outlets due to high lead content. oh my, oh my! what had happened to this adorable flipflops? people may misconstrued that everything has this, but news says "several havaianas models only"...you gotta read this fellas!

RP recalls Havaianas after US lead scare
03/06/2009 12:26 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - The local distributor of Brazilian-made Havaianas footwear has pulled out from the market some footwear models after the United States reported that they had high lead content.Terry S.A. Inc. however said that this does not mean that the recalled footwear had been tested positive for high lead content in the Philippines."For the interest of public safety and the welfare of Filipino consumers, we have removed the products that were recalled in the US. The same style that we carry here... we've recalled them from the shelves," Anne Gonzalez, Terry S.A. Inc.’s managing director, told GMA News reporter Mariz Umali in an exclusive interview.The US government had recalled several Havaianas models after it found out that the amount of lead used in them exceed the federal standard.Among the recalled models were Baby Estampas, Baby Pets, Kids Apple, Kids Fairy, Kids Flores, Kids Lighthouse, Kids Monsters, Kids Surf, Baby Letrinhas, Kids Sports, Kids Candies, Kids Fun, Kids Love, Kids Sereias, Kids Speed, Kids Lucky Bug, Kids Pets, Kids Rock, Kids Slim, Kids Wonder Woman, Kids Small Flowers and Kids Tropical w/Kit.The product’s US distributor, Alpargatas USA Inc., has even offered replacements to consumers who had already bought such products from November 2008 to February 2009.Terry S.A., however, has to make the same offer, saying they would verify first if the products sold in the country came from the same batch recalled in the US.The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has ordered Havaianas representatives to submit a sample each for the models being recalled to undergo test in the Bureau of Product Standards.The report said the DTI would also take necessary actions if proven that the flip-flops contain high lead content. "Ito po ay ating ide-destroy. Ibig sabihin hindi na ito maaring i-resell pa [We’ll destroy the products so they can’t be resold to the market]," said DTI Undersecretary Angel Pelayo. - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV

old friends inviting...

Shiela's inviting us?? well, this is quite a surprise after being distant for roughly 3 years or more. truly we never had any ill feeling for each other even during those times that we don't say hi and hello... maybe it was a time off for both of us that gladly we both respect. anyway, she is inviting Jingky and me to her Euan's 1st bday party on Saturday, Mar 14. most likely i will be attending this since i have nothing on my sched yet unless last minute changes....see ya there!

Euan's Happy Feet invite

happy birthday Tatang!

mar 7 - it was Tatang's 82nd birthday last Saturday (i hope i get this number correct, he was born 1927...hehehe) so Oliver and I find some time to visit him at Makati where he had been staying for almost a month now. btw, he undergone eye surgery last Feb and still being treated by specialist at Manila Doctors.

plainly we bought him a bilao of pancit Lucban at Buddy's and a choco cake from Goldilocks. we joined them over dinner and left around 10pm with packed baon (pancit) for midnight snack...lol!

happy birthday lolo! --from bea and shenshen :) :)

Double Dutch choco cakeeee :)

Tatang and my Leoncio

what i have to say...

i was never good in saying goodbye and the like maybe because i hate send-off, i hate the thought of it even if it meant good for some people...last week of feb i have to do this page on our project scrap book for Len. for all ya know Len H. had already tendered resignation after 3 years of struggling to be the best employee she could be...kiddin aside, she thinks this chapter of her life needs a new beginning. oh well, she would be missed and i am wishing her a better life outside Limketkai :)

my simple message for her...go girl!

drift ur car man!

we were there! and i was so jumpy watching how each driver move his wheels...it was a different Saturday afternoon for me. well, probly this would be just the start --now that Oliver knows where to hunt this team of drifters we would definitely keep coming for more adventure and fun!

i would love to see Pia Boren on this event soon!

at the Castrol Edge Drift Underground (ATC)

little Thea's 1st birthday!

we received the invite for Thea's 1st bday mid February and i was even questioning Rhoda why Thea's birthday will be celebrated a day in advance...well, tradition is ok to have a late party rather than advancing the occasion --perhaps Thea is an exception because her birthdate falls on Feb 29, which means she essentially gets to celebrate her birthdate every 4 years.

anyway, it was an ICS party..hehehe, our girl groupie is complete (with bf's and hubby's) except that Jingky have to miss this pretty occasion (will tell her story probably later)...all aboard girls! it's a well spent Saturday afternoon for bonding and chitchats :)

h-a-p-p-y b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y T-h-e-a!

pretty Thea

her birthday cake

our ICS family

my souvenir pic with my inaanak -Nicole!

our furry folks!

finally after the busy month of January and February, we had the time to bring our furry housemates to Tiendesitas for their grooming session. though this has been long due in our to-do list we keep on skipping this not until Bea starts to get that itchy feeling during bed time and ShenShen starts to get a little stinky...hehehe, masters are too sluggish and irresponsible!

after two hours of waiting, people at Tiendesitas can't help but adore my two babies...they look so so neat and smell like fresh laundries. later that evening, we took them to Boni High to get plenty of fresh (?) air and treat them both over their favorite burger McDo.

enjoy our babies weekend pics...

Shen gets in first, very behaved acc to the attendants..

next was our adorable Bea, "notorious"!

Shenshen with momi and dadi

at Boni High green grounds...

"m" my day!

we got a fully loaded package from Vancouver during the mid of February, it's from my brother-in-law. Oliver's sibling got their share of coffee, COFFEEMATE (really huge containers!), some canned goodies, and toiletries. my in-laws have even a lot more since almost half of the item sent to us was addressed to Tatang & Nanang. the nice Gap shirt and Old Navy jacket did not disappoint Oliver at all...it's BNWT! and i got myself a number of packs of this candy-coated pieces of milk chocolate with the letter "m" printed on them...munch munch :)

M&M's Chocolate Candy