I’m Falling….

You read it on magazines, you hear from friends stories, you even watch it on movies and TV series, yep, from all sorts of media, you learn of love stories gone boring, bearable, tedious, and dull. Some couples slip through to a stage where they find there relationship flat-lining into a monotonous routine that they settle for being comfortable and completely forget the sparkle that they used to have. They have long lost the butterflies fluttering in their stomachs each time they are in each other’s company.

After 5 years of wedded bliss and 10 years of being together, I’m so grateful that I can say that after all this years, my honey never fails to make me fall head-over-heels in love with him every single day. I believe that is the secret of our relationship and how we break tedium. It doesn’t happen without effort but we just love doing stuff for each other that’s why it doesn’t seem like any effort at all.

I’m also blessed with a husband who is such a hopeless romantic, but also as important as the grand gestures, he is also the type of guy whose small actions tend to make you feel really loved and cared for and pleasantly surprised.

I never really paid attention to it but this morning, I can’t help but smile as I open my bag and found my wallet inside. You see, last night, I took my wallet out of my bag and took it upstairs to the office desk and completely forgot it there. This morning, while on my way to work, I remembered and I panicked that I forgot my wallet. But, as I open my bag, my wallet magically appeared inside. That is just how my honey is, he always takes care of me and makes sure that I’m ok.

The other day, while I was on my way home, he called me up and said, “hey honey, do you want to go to the city centre?” so I asked, “why do you want to go there together with Bee to meet up?” to which he replied “no, I was thinking you can have a ‘me’ time and I’ll take care of Bee.” Isn’t he just the sweetest thing????

I cannot be grateful enough to have a hubby such as my honey. He never fails to surprise me, to support me and to make me feel secure. More than that, through the big and small actions, he never fails to make me feel loved! Thank God for him.

The Boutique Bed & Breakfast

A secluded escape that promises luxury intertwined with comfort sprinkled with liberal dashes of romance in a city not to far from the Metro, it was a promise too tempting to resist.

I’ve read mixed reviews about this quaint bed and breakfast and I’ve been curious for ages that is why, since we are in the Philippines for our 123rd monthsary, I’ve decided to surprise honey with a little trip to Tagaytay. I’ve booked the I Lust room by calling them, it was quite easy, just gave them my credit card number and voila! I’ve secured a night’s stay at their best room. I’ve also availed of their birthday package, this package includes a cake, candles, wine, balloons and rose petals to be scattered in your room. Very nice touch!

The B&B was quite easy to find, we arrived just before dinner. We went to the small room just at the back of the reception to choose the scents that we want for the room and for our toiletries. After sniffing fragrances and making our choices, we were taken to our designated room, the I Lust room. The first thought that went to my head was, “This is it?” Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really pretty room with an inviting king-sized bed at the centre topped with a gazillion pillows. It’s just that the expectation for this room has been so hyped up that I was looking forward to something more.

After dropping off our bags, we went downstairs to have dinner in the Hawaiian Barbeque and that was a big hit, hubby loved the fall-off the bone ribs, it’s a definite must try when you’re in the area. We forgot something in the room (I forgot what it was now) and hubby was about to get up to go back in the room to get it. Good thing I remembered that some hotel staff would be there arranging our room so I convinced honey to forget it, whew!

I pulled off the surprise, honey had no idea about it, he was very surprised when we entered our room and there candles every where and petals were scattered on the floor. The birthday package was really worth the penny.

The room in my opinion is a totally different matter all together. For starters it was a bit small, and I thought that the tub would be in a bathroom with a window that overlooks Taal, instead it was in one corner of the room opposite the bathroom. I’m not sure but there something about it that I find off. Maybe it was the fact that when later during that night after I got up from enjoying a hot bath, the cold air from the aircon (which was directly opposite the tub) gave me shivers, LOL! I also found the balcony too small; so small that during breakfast the following morning, the service trays were inside the room coz the balcony can barely accommodate the table and two chairs were we had our breakfast. Apart from being small, I felt that the concept of the room wasn’t translated enough. I kept on thinking, what made this room the I Lust room, there was no defining aspect, there was nothing in the room that suggests lust or passion (well apart from the book that was under the shelf which was about love and sex).

As part of the room rate, the B&B also offers welcome drinks and a forgettable plate of espasol, some goodies were also found in the room (I wasn’t too thrilled about these either, it was a very small bottle of shing-a-ling and another very small bottle of hard yema). The room rate also include a mid night snack of hot choco and churros.

The following morning, we were served a Filipino breakfast, I ordered Tapa and honey ordered tocino, it was nothing special really, but the nice view made the breakfast more special.

I have mixed feelings over the Boutique. I really admire the plan, the idea is really promising and I believe that the potential could be great. I believe the exact words I told honey is that The Boutique’s concept is superb down to the room ideas to the service included in the rates of the rooms but the execution falls short.

So will I go back? Honey liked it enough to think of going back, but I told him, I didn’t feel that it was good value for money and I’d be able to get the same or even more for less.

Final Destination 5

Out of the blue, honey just emailed me yesterday saying, “let’s go on a date tonight” and honestly, I was thinking the very same thing. I love it how he can read my thoughts even when we are in our own offices nonetheless.

So we started planning and we wanted to watch a movie. Since we were disappointed with the last movie we saw, we are hoping that this time around it would be better. We decided that if we make it to the cinema by 18:50 we’ll watch Harry Potter again, but if not we’ll go for Final Destination 5.

Honey was stuck in a meeting in the afternoon so Final Destination 5 it was. The plot was more or less the same as the first 4 movies. Someone would have a vision that they will all die and he would freak out and save some of the people from the disaster that was about to happen that would have killed all/most of them. Although the plot was the same old one the movie was surprisingly entertaining. Think violent, gruesome, gory and gross. But because the scenes were so horrific and bloodthirsty, it was a little bit funny. I’m still impressed by the writer though, because although the plot is still the same, the details on each scene on how they would take each character out was really well thought off. Being the 5th instalment, I would have thought that by now the writers would have exhausted all possible means to create a ghastly way of killing off each character but they still managed to surprise me.

This movie is definitely not for kids, and needless to say this is not a movie that vies for awards or anything like that, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Cowboys and Aliens Review

This week’s date night, honey and I were trying to decide which movie to watch. As I browse through the schedule of movies, I was toying with three possible options. I was deciding whether we should see Final Destination 5, Harry Potter (I really want to watch it again!) and Cowboys and Aliens. A spark of memory flashed through my head as I recall the preview of Cowboys and Aliens when we were last in the cinema. I got excited coz the preview hinted of a very promising movie. You have James Bond and Indiana Jones in one film, what more can you ask for in a flick?

The film starts with a man waking up in the middle of a desert not knowing who he was, how he got there and where he was going. He had to defend himself against several cowboys, go to a village, again crush his fists on some more cowboy faces then Aliens appear in the skies and take some of the village people.

Now this is where we started to get disappointed with the movie. The movie started to move at such as pace that even a turtle carrying a backpack on top of its hard-humped back would still outrun it. At some point honey looked at me and said… “I’m bored.” LOL! Seriously, could the movie progress any slower?

After about an hour into the film, it did start to pick up the pace, but the lull that you have to endure before you get to the good stuff is a little bit too much.

Then I realized, this is the second Harrison Ford movie that we’ve seen that bored us to the point of slumber. The last movie of his that we’ve seen was the last Indiana Jones film. I kid you not I was asleep almost two thirds of the entire movie. This time it was honey’s turn to be rocked to sleep.

I think, next time Harrison Ford has a movie, we’ll really think twice, even thrice if we’re going to see it.

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

My honey is such a sweetheart, he told me that no matter how busy we both get, we should always make time for each other and he suggested we fix a day of the week for our date night. He thought Thursday would be the best day so for a couple of months now we’ve been having our date nights no matter what.

Yesterday was Thursday again so it was date night for us. We planned to go to a movie, initially we were planning to see Green Lantern, but hubby arrived later than expected and we wanted to have dinner with Bee first so we ended up in settling for the Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I’m glad we ended up watching this movie coz it was really entertaining. The plot was developed quite well. The story revolves around a scientist (James Franco) who is trying to develop a cure for alzheimers to help his father who is suffering from the ailment. He was testing the drug he was trying to develop on apes. The drug improved the intelligence of the ape massively, the ape had faculties almost that of a human. Little did the scientist know that the ape he was treating with the cure was pregnant and she passed on the effects of the cure to her baby.

The movie had all the ingredients of a good flick. It combines emotions, titillating scientific ideas, great special effects, a dash of action scenes and cute and adorable monkeys, what more can you ask for?

Honey and I really enjoyed the movie.

9 Happy Years Together, 4 years of marital bliss

I know it’s such a cliché to say that time flies but what can I say, it’s absolutely true. I still remember, oh so vividly, that faithful day that I’ve laid eyes on this guy , I was still a gooey teenager back then (OMG, I was still a teen when I first met him…. Geez….shivers!) and I know it’s another cliché but I never thought I’d be spending the rest of my life with him.

Looking back these past years, I couldn’t be more grateful. It was the best years of my life. I have been blessed with a man who not only takes care of me but loves me unconditionally in spite of all my flaws. I have been blessed with a person who is my person… someone I can count on and someone who, I know, will always be there come what may. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a man who puts my needs over his own. I always tell honey that he is a blessing and an answered prayer and I believe this is so more as we spend each day together. And if all these blessings were not enough, the generous father up there even topped it up by sending us an angel to complete our little family.

So, nine years down, and if these nine years is even a fraction of how our eternity together will be then I can hardly wait for eternity with my man (I keep on saying nine years which is when we started our relationship and not when we got married coz I see our wedding as an integral chapter of our love which began earlier). I’m not saying that the nine years has been perfect or that we are the perfect couple, we do have some arguments, oh yeah we do, and we sometimes don’t see eye to eye but all of these are like spices which further enhances the flavour of our love. We do have one golden rule though, we always make sure that we keep our fights clean.

And to my honey, my one true love, my strength, my refuge, my sanity, my life, I guarantee there will be tough time, I guarantee that one or both of us would want to get out of this, but I also guarantee that If I won’t have you, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life coz deep in my heart I know that you’re the only one for me (borrowed lines from our favourite movie). Love you so much honey! Happy Anniversary!

Monthsary 101

The 21st of every month is special day for honey and me. We celebrate our monthsary on this day. Although we have been together for quite a while now, the luster of this day hasn't faded, in fact it has gained more meaning and we are more excited to celebrate this day as the months passes by. This day is no exception.

Honey is not at home this weekend because he is facilitating a youth camp and since Charlie is still too small to sleep over at a camp, we decided that Charlie and i are just going to visit during the day and go home at night. So this morning, i didn't wake up with honey beside me which is always a strange feeling (that's why I never really liked it when he is on business trips). At around 7am though, he called me up on my mobile, i was a bit on the edge coz i just drifted back to sleep having fed Charlie at around 6:30. He asked me to go to the guest room to get a folder that he keeps in one of the closets there saying that he needs an information from that folder. I sleepily hauled myself out of bed and went to the next room. He asked me to open the closet and inside a bouquet of flowers was sitting in one of the shelves. And then he greeted me Happy monthsary.... I forgot I was sleepy after that. Now it made sense why it took him so long to come back to camp yesterday when he went back home to pick a couple of things that he forgot.



This gestures just make me fall in love with honey all over again. I am so blessed to have someone who showers me with love that overflows and who takes care of me to no end. When Charlie grows up and meets a man who is even a quarter of a husband honey is, then Charlie is so blessed, she will be loved and cared for and I will be at peace.

Happy 101st monthsary my honey! Love you much!

Look who's watching over me while I work

Honey and I had our valentines date on the 13th instead of the 14th coz we have an appointment on the 14th and to get away from the crowd. I requested that he take me to the movies coz I haven't gone to see a movie since I gave birth to my Bee and I really wanted to see Avatar.

We decided to just buy the tickets when we get to the cinema thinking that Avatar has been showing since December so most probably we'll be the only ones left who hasn't seen the movie. To our surprise, we arrived 15 minutes before the screening that we intended to get into and it was sold out. I was really disheartened and we almost didn't push through with watching coz we had to wait for another 3 hours and I didn't want to be away from Bee that long. But Honey convinced me to go and watch the movie.

While waiting for the next screening, we decided to eat first and that's when Honey remembered that BK sold thermos that featured Edward and Jacob. So we dropped by BK and we were told that they don't have it anymore. Through Honey's persistence, the guy checked from their storage and found one last thermos... yey!

So now as I click clack away from my laptop, I have this guy watching over me hehe.

Thanks Honey for Edward.

Final Trimester Begins

I can’t believe that we’re on the final lap of our pregnancy. The last two trimesters have been pure bliss. The past six months that baby Bee has been in my tummy is a journey honey and I will cherish forever.

During these first two trimesters, honey and I have kept ourselves busy with trying to prepare as much as we can for our little angel. We have already been shopping for some of Bee’s need when she comes out. We also started researching for child care assistance so that there will be a smooth transition when I come back to work and of course we started preparing for the documents that we’ll need if and when we decide to bring someone over from Manila (and OMG, it is a tedious process). With the help of plurk and online friends, I’ve also read (and still is reading) some of the books for pregnancy and childcare that they have recommended. I’ve also contacted my health insurance and they have arranged for a child care specialist to visit me for two weeks after I’ve given birth (kraamzorg in Dutch). Honey and I also managed to secure a spot in a birthing class, finally. We also chose the colour palette for the nursery and we’ve made a list of the things that we need to buy for our baby and also for the mommy and daddy bag.

Indeed, the first two trimesters have been very busy, nonetheless fun, for honey and me. And as much as we cherish these past six months, we’re so looking forward to the last trimester of our pregnancy.

The last three months, we’ll be busy with attending the birthing classes (which starts on the 17th of September), painting the nursery, processing the papers for our nanny, shopping for all the things in our list that we haven’t bought yet, and preparing mentally and physically for the coming of our little one.

It’s undeniable that the first six months have been a blast for honey and me but I so look forward to this last trimester and ultimately the time when honey and I will be able to hold our little Bee in our arms.

3rd Wedding (8th) Anniversary, and we’re off to Rome!

(via)

Three years of marital bliss and 8 wonderful years of being together, now this occasion needs to be celebrated with a bang. This thought kept running through Honey’s and my mind when we were trying to plan for our anniversary get away. We wanted to celebrate in a place that is also special, if not as special as the occasion is for us. After considering a lot of factors and our circumstances, honey and I finally decided that the perfect place would be in Rome, Italy. We also settled for a date that is less than a month earlier than our anniversary thinking that on our anniversary, I’ll be 30 weeks pregnant and we’re not sure if I’m still up to the task of walking around to explore a beautiful city.

Looking back, I can’t find the words enough to express my gratitude on all the blessings that God has showered upon us. And as tiring as the last weeks have been, the downpour of blessings have been undeniable. More so, I can’t thank God enough for the love, happiness, peace and all the other wonderful gifts he bestowed upon our marriage (and our relationship) over the years.

Honey and I are excited to explore a famed city that we’ve never been to before to celebrate our special day knowing that next year, we’ll have a little angel tagging along with us.

Finally!!! After weeks of waiting, we’re heading off to our trip. After weeks that have been crazy busy, a week of lounging in the pool, lazily strolling to witness the famed sites and feasting on authentic Italian feast is a much welcome relief.

Better half tag

I've received this tag from Niko and I was intrigued if I'm able to answer all the questions. I've realized that I know most of the answers to them but some of them I was uncertain and had to ask honey while we were having breakfast. Turns out my guesses were correct. This was a fun tag to do.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
~ Eurosport or CNN

2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
~ mango chili dressing

3. What's one food he doesn’t like?
~ New York cheesecake or any fish dish he doesn't recognize

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does he order?
~ orange juice or iced tea

5. What shirt size does he have?
~ medium to large, depends on the brand

6. What shoe size does he have?
~ 11

7. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
~ bacon and eggs

8. What would he eat everyday if he could?
~ mangoes and atis

9. What is his favorite cereal?
~ choco pops (does it count even if he really doesn't eat cereals he just buys them for the free toy hehe)

10. What would he never wear?
~ he’s very adventurous with what he wears, so he wears pretty much everything.

11. What is his favorite sports team?
~ real madrid, manchester united (football) & cavaliers (NBA), we both really liked Ginebra (PBA) before.

12. Who did he vote for?
~ I don't think he voted the last elections.

13. Who is his best friend?
~ Me, of course

14. What is something he does, but you wish he wouldn't do?
~ stay up really late. (he's a nocturnal creature hehe)

15. What is his heritage?
~ Filipino

16. You bake him a cake, what kind of cake?
~ he really likes the prunes-walnut cake and the mocha mammon cake that I make for him

17. Did he play sports in high school?
~ yes, basketball, table tennis

18. What could he spend hours doing?
~ surfing the internet, watching movies and organizing stuff!

19. What is the unique talent that he has?
~ organizing, and he’s very good with directions

20. What's his type of coffee?
~ he rarely drinks coffee but he would chose fraps if and when he would.

How about you, how well do you know your better half, give the tag a try and see how you do, oh and if you decided to do the tag, please link back here, i'd love to see your answers.

94th Mensiversary @ Ron Blaauw Restaurant

As I have mentioned time and time again, one of the things that I really love about honey is that he has this moments when he completely catches me off guard and surprises me with something that he knows I’ll really like. The way we celebrated this month’s mensiversary is a classic example.

We are one of those cheesy couples who always makes an excuse to celebrate our love for one another and mensiversaries are simply perfect for us, we always look forward to this day of the month. It can be as simple as a kiss and a hug or can be as elaborate and as fancy as the dinner we shared last week. The night before, honey already told me that he’s leaving work early, drop by the dentist and pick me up for our date. He was at the office at 5:30pm and we drove somewhere close to his office. The moment I saw this quaint shop in the middle of a charming neighbourhood, I asked him, “how on earth did you know of this place?” I even teased him and told him “maybe your taking on budget…” I cut myself midsentence when I saw the name of the restaurant. This well known place could never be a budget meal.

For this month’s mensiversary, he took me to Ron Blaauw restaurant. This renowned restaurant was awarded with two Michelin stars and serves French and International cuisine. It is located in the heart of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. It was really a surprise for me coz honey remembered that during restaurant week here in Amsterdam, I tried to book us a reservation but they were not able to accommodate us.

The interior of the restaurant was very homey, the tamed lights were very romantic and the seats were very comfortable. But with a restaurant of this calibre, the highlight is definitely the food. We were seated at the couch to enjoy our aperitif, of course in my case it was orange juice and we were served with a wide array of appetizers that are so exquisite, the most memorable of which is the crusty bread which looked like charcoal black burnt pieces of thin bread but when I took a portion and dipped it to the butter-like accompaniment, I found it very nice, the bread was crunchy and the butter complimented it well. Honey favoured the shrimps in cone. Before we were seated on our table, we browsed through their menu and decided to have the 8 course meal, I was a bit hesitant to order that at first because it sounds a lot but the maitre’d assured us that the servings are small enough for us to enjoy all the courses. Once the dinner started, plated works of art begun parading on our table. All the courses were prepared exquisitely with the freshest ingredients one could ever imagine. The creativity of the chef and his staff was evident with each plate that arrives. The entire meal was like a well orchestrated concert where each course builds up and prepares your tongue for the crescendo of taste that is yet to come. The dessert parade was like the perfect punctuation to a well thought of dinner.

The price that we paid for the menu was definitely worth the fair that was served. This dinner definitely goes down as one of the best mensiversary dinners we’ve ever had.

____________

excess: the photos we have taken during our meal is trapped in my mobile phone :-( i can't seem to transfer it on my laptop.

5 months and getting bigger

This week marks the end of my 5th month of pregnancy and my, oh my, what a journey it has been so far. Over these past five months, I have realized more than ever how blessed I am. As I have mentioned time and time again, this has been one smooth sailing pregnancy and our little baby Bee is not giving mommy any difficulties at all, added to the fact that honey is with me all the way making these entire pregnancy a breeze…

Honey and I have read in one of the many weekly updates that we receive from fabulous pregnancy sites that Bee’s hearing us loud and clear now and this is the perfect time to start reading to her, so every night before honey and I go to sleep we read 2-3 stories from the illustrated stories of Jesus, one of the children’s books that we bought while vacationing in Manila. I’m so thrilled to receive the illustrated fairytale book that I’ve ordered online so that will be the next book we’re reading.

My baby bump is becoming more obvious now and I’m finding dresses, skirts and leggings more comfy to wear. I sometimes feel some fluttering in my tummy but I’m really not sure if that really is baby Bee moving, but honey and I are sure looking forward to the time when we’ll know that the movement is really Bee. Although I'm really not worried coz our midwife told us that my placenta is placed in such a way that it serves as a cushion so it might take a while before I can really feel the baby's movements but she assured me that when the baby's kick is strong enough, i'll definitely know it. I also noticed that my shoes are getting tighter, looks like it’s time to shop for a new pair. We also ordered a maternity belt coz I’m starting to feel my tummy getting heavier and I think I’ll need all the support that I can get.

This week we’re choosing colour palettes for the nursery that we’re preparing for the coming of our little princess. I’m leaning towards a purple and pink palette, although, the freshness of apple green seems to be a nice idea to. We’ll see what honey and I will come up with.

We are also signing up for the birthing classes being offered in Amsterdam, honey and I are really looking forward to it coz it will not only discuss breathing techniques and the process of giving birth, it is also a class specially designed for expat couples because it will discuss the technical stuff that we need to undergo like how to register the baby, how the Dutch medical system works and all sorts of information which should settle most of the questions that have been bugging since we knew we were pregnant.

Wow, I can’t believe how time flies, we’re already on the halfway mark of this pregnancy and as much as I love being pregnant, I am also excited to finally reach the end of this pregnancy and hold our little angel in my arms. We’ll get there soon enough!

My very own Personal Chef

From the moment I discovered the magic that is baking, I have started drooling over the Kitchen Aid stand mixers. I would imagine how much fluffier my cakes would be, how much faster I can whip up frostings and how easier it would be for me to knead my bread (special my pandesal which our friends here always request for). I have my mind set on having one and I even listed it on my Christmas wish list . However, after checking the prices on line, I was surprised. A kitchen aid model which costs around $250 in the US would be had here in Europe at around €450… what kind of conversion is that?!?

During Christmas season, honey kept on insisting that he’ll just buy me the Kitchen Aid but being the wise shopper that I’d like to think myself of, I told him to hold it off and I’ll do some more researching. After combing the internet far and wide and browsing through reviews upon reviews of stand mixers available in the European market, I have concluded that the better alternative for me is to get a Kenwood mixer. There are reviews that even go as far as saying that KAs available in Europe are not as good as those in the US, this I’m not sure of. I was so surprised when I learned that the specifications of a Kenwood mixer are much better than that of a KA and it’s cheaper. Apart from that, all the reviews for Kenwood have nothing but good things to say about the product, how durable and versatile it is. The only edge KA has over Kenwood is the variety of funky colours. I am more than convinced so I told honey I found the mixer that I really want.



Without much prodding, honey and I ordered the product online and last thursday, honey came home with a huge box in tow. We’ve finally got our very own Kenwood Chef Classic. I immediately popped in the DVD included on the package on the player and honey was amazed by the range of things this chef can do. We can buy additional attachments to even increase the range of what our chef can do in the kitchen, it’s simply amazing.

Of course I donned my apron and baking mittens during the weekend and had a little baking frenzy at my kitchen after all my chef and had some getting-to-know to do… For our first adventure together, we made some blueberry muffins and japanese cheesecake. I must say, I couldn't be any happier with its performance.

Bigby's

I have fond memories of Bigby’s. The first time I dined at this quaint but charming resto was way back my auditing days when a colleague and I flew all the way to Cagayan de Oro for an assignment. After our very long inventory taking was over, we asked around of a restaurant they could recommend and Bigby’s was the unanimous recommendation so off we went and had our very late lunch there. I remember the food being really good and the attendants were very warm. Upon knowing that we were from Manila, they even gave us a complimentary slice of cake with sparklers and all to welcome us. How great is that?

After hearing that Bigby’s has finally hit Manila, I needed no more prodding, I told honey we should dine there once we go on holidays to Manila. True to my word, I hauled honey to the resto and we were both impressed by the ambiance, it was very homey and the couches were very inviting. I completely forgot that they offer very big servings and so when honey and I an appetizer and main course for each of us. I ordered the Tijuana Quesadillas and honey wanted to give their Squiggly Rings a try. For our main course, we both ordered the belly buster. The food is as good as I remembered it to be, the servings were huge and the attendants were as friendly as ever. The ribs in particular were excellent, it was tender and juicy and falls off the bone. The food we ordered was just too much for us he took most of it home with us. I even told him that we have to save room for the midnight dream cake but as it turns out, there was no more room in our tummy. Oh well, we will definitely be back and next time we’ll know better. We’ll bring the entire family along so we can all sample the goodness of this place.

This place is definitely a must try.

Heavenly Scents

While cooking dinner last week, I heard honey opening the door coming home from work so I dropped the ladle and went out of the kitchen. The moment I stepped out of the kitchen door, there he was standing in the dining area with a red box in his hand. He told me, “I have something for you.” It was a perfume, so I asked him why he got me this. He said, “Oh, nothing, I just remembered this perfume from Tita Z and she loved it and I thought you’d like the scent. And besides your other perfume is half empty now so might as well get a new one.”

Sheesh, I didn’t even noticed that the other perfume I was using is already half empty. How blessed am I to have a husband who looks after me like this. He does a lot of tiny gestures that make my heart flutter and of course he is also Mr. Grand Gesture who makes my tummy somersault.

I couldn’t believe how heavenly the scent of the perfume is the moment I opened it. I’m not sure though if my giddy heart had any influence on that.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I remember honey and I saw the first Transformers movie while we were on vacation in the Philippines and the brilliant effects and fast-paced story kept us at the edges of our seats. No wonder, honey was very keen on taking me to the movies for our last week’s date. Personally, I didn’t like Transformers (the animated series) I preferred Voltes V, but as it turns out, honey was a fan. He even gave me a gist of his favourite episodes.

We decided to see the 6pm showing of the movie (being the 2nd IMAX screening of the day) rather than the normal screening at 5pm. We were stunned by the very long queue that greeted us. It was free sitting so everyone was trying to get ahead of everyone to get a good seat. As I didn’t want to get squished we just decided to let the bulk of the crowd to go ahead of us before we went inside. Luckily, we still managed to get great seats.

As expected the special effects were spectacular. The movie didn’t have any dull moment in it, it was action packed, comic reliefs were right on target and all the action scenes would make you hold your breath. Oh and my favorite autobot would have to be Bumble Bee, I feel giddy each time Sam calls him "Bee"... so cute!

Honey and I enjoyed the movie immensely and if you’re looking for an enjoyable film for the family, this definitely should be one of your options.

A very delayed Father's Day Post

I really wanted to make honey's very first Father's Day as special as it can be because it's his very first. I ordered a gift for him online a couple of days before and I also bought a cute card where I'll write him a letter. I thought everything was going according to plan. However, when Friday come and went without me receiving the package, I knew it wouldn't arrive in time for the special day (and up to the time of posting this, we haven't received it yet!). I was so frustrated but thinking that there’s no point of making a big fuss over something that I can’t control, I just focused on beautifying my card.

It’s been a while since I’ve last written to honey so I knew he’d like this card a lot. And the moment I saw this adorable looking card, I knew this was what I was looking for. This post is late coz I didn’t want to take chances of honey peeking here and seeing the letter I wrote for him.

I am sharing with you now what I wrote on the card and as expected honey liked it a lot!

"To my Honey,

Another chapter of our love is about to unfold and we are about to face a daunting experience, but every fibre of my being is full of excitement and optimism that with you by my side, this will be a part of our journey that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

I’m filled with joy as I think of how lucky our little angel is going to be having you as a father. If s/he will receive even just a morsel of the love you have shown me throughout these years, then s/he is gonna be loved like no other child has been or will ever be loved.

You have been my rock all these years and having you by my side have made me stronger and made me want to become better in everything that I do. I have no qualms that you will be the fortress that protects our child, a light to our precious gift and an inspiration for him/her to become the best person that s/he can be.

I wanted to make this day, your very first father’s day, special for you coz I know, without a doubt, that you are the best Daddy in the whole world.

Bee and I love you so much!"

Angels and Demons

(via)

I’ve been wanting to watch Angels and Demons for weeks now, but somehow, going to the movies gets bumped off by other more pressing (or other not so pressing) matters in my weekend to do list. Finally last Saturday, for our week date, honey took me to the movies.

It’s not surprising that there is so few of us inside the cinema, after all, the movie is on its third week of showing. It made the ambiance of watching the film more conducive for me though, I never liked a cinema that is packed. I must say that I liked Angels and Demons (the novel) better than The Da Vinci code which fuelled my excitement to see the movie. I was curious as to how the makers are going to fit all the exciting portions of the book into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. The movie was enjoyable although, if feel that there were certain important areas in the novel that weren’t fully developed in the movie. Of all the cast of characters, I liked Ewan McGregor’s portrayal of the carmelengo the most, I think he really gave a convincing performance. As expected, there were deviations from the novel and I think that a person who watched the movie without reading the book first will be more entertained, and completely clueless as to the ending. .

Although I’ve enjoyed the novel immensely, I was a half expecting to be disappointed with the movie as I was when I watched The Da Vinci code (the first Dan Brown novel translated into film) but to my surprise, I did enjoy the film and can say that it’s definitely worth watching.

Meat Haven and Holy Cow Chop House

Honey and I, we both love our meat, and given the opportunity, we are willing to sample a good steak. Honey, more than me, is in a quest to find the steak the best steak for him. See, honey’s criteria does not only grade the steak itself but also the condiments and side dishes that goes with it. So far, if my memory serves me right, the top two steaks on his list are the one that we had at Planet Hollywood in Dubai and the steak from Wilma & Albert here in the Netherlands.

During our holidays in the Philippines, I told honey we should try the steaks here in Manila as well, only thing is, there are just so many restaurants that we want to try that is why trying out steaks take the back seat. However, after visiting my very friendly OB-Gyn, my sister A, honey and I had our lunch at Robinson’s Place Ermita and while looking at possible options where to dine, I saw Holy Cow Chop House. The restaurant looked so inviting and I remember having read great reviews about this restaurant so off we went and grabbed a seat. For starters, we ordered calamari and nachos, both were really good. For our main course, my sister and I had the Tiger Prawn and Steak Platter while honey ordered the Rib Eye Steak. I really liked the mushroom sauce that was served with the steak, although the tiger prawns were a bit bland and dry for my taste. I think the steak that honey ordered was a real winner, it was tender, the juice oozing with beefy goodness and cooked just right (you see honey and I prefer our steaks to be well done but still juicy) and the matching side dishes and mushroom sauce perfectly blends to the creaminess of the meat. Paired with a tall glass of lemonade, this is one satisfying lunch. Too bad, all of us were too stuffed to order dessert, next time.

(calamari)

(honey's steak)

(tiger prawns & steak)
Although Holy Cow’s steak didn’t make it to honey’s list of favorite steaks, their steaks are definitely worth a try. I know we will once we’re back in Manila.