Playing MUA :-*

(Not a tutorial. Wala lang.hahaha)



Been MIA for long, it just so happened that i forgot my password. #facepalm 


This month I was given the chance to play MUA to a dear friend (and one of her friends at that), talk about blind faith.hahaha Well, let's just say she/they were pretty much out of options really and fortunately (or unfortunately, only they could tell.hehe) on that particular Saturday I was free hence, the fated bridesmaid makeup gig.


I don't have the before photos. Time didn't permit. I recall all the weddings i've attended were all held in the afternoon. So the 9:00 ceremony was just impossibly early for me.heh But it's a good thing I'm used to rushing. Of course i didn't want to do a half assed job of dolling up my friend but I had to do all that was possible at a very limited time.whew Below are the 'after' pictures. Now go ahead, shoot me! Hahaha On my defense, I'm no pro nor am I a makeup geek. I just usually manage to paint a decent day makeup on for work.

My girls before leaving for Paco Park.

Opee at the reception. 

Caffe Bene

I love Eastwood on Sundays! Hehe So not crowded.

Coffee Time

Tea time. Tea flavors displayed at the counter.

Like most coffee fans out there, my go-to cafe is Starbucks. When almost every street corner in Makati (where I work) has one, it surely is the easiest answer to your caffeine fix. But I also made trying out other coffee shops before planner season starts, which is this November already,  a goal. So today's cafe of choice is ta-da... Caffe Bene. I would've already sampled their bingsu had the shop not been under renovation some months ago. And because I've been busy too I only got to come back now. A day before I start collecting SB stickers, which yay! ^^ 

Sweets galore: waffles, honey breads, and gelato FTW!

I know we should have eaten lunch earlier so that we'll have more space in our tummies for the waffles. I've seen pictures online and oh, they do look yummeh! But it's just coffee and bingsu for now. Pfft 

I got a regular hot White Mocha P145 

And because we eat with our eyes first (right?) she ordered a Large Strawberry Patbingsu. Patbingsu is a Korean dessert made of shaved ice and red/adzuki beans. Similar to our halo-halo. At Caffe Bene they offer them in different flavors and we're happy with our choice, not only because it looked great in IG but also because it truly was a winner in taste! And like a special halo-halo, it was topped with a scoop of strawberry gelato which, yay since a small order would of gelato would cost you P150. 

Their bingsu comes in two sizes - Large, which is big enough for two, and Huge, dunno how many can share it, though. 

Jessa's Large Strawberry Bingsu P230 was big enough for us. :)

We only got to try these but we'll be coming back for the waffles and mocktails. Soon. :D

Caffe Bene merchandise. Cute mugs and tumblers adorn one shelf by the corner. I like the hand drip set but it's pricey, around P3,000 and the lolli cups with straw.

Hand drip coffee set


Caffe Bene 
Eastwood Citywalk 2 
Open late:  M, T, W, Th, Su: 7:00AM - 1:00AM
F, Sa: 7:00AM - 3:00AM

Hello November! Our Post Halloween Sister Largey

New month, new schedule for my default weekend buddy - Jessa. Hehe So much for happy weekends as she'll say goodbye to her Sat-Sun days off, aww. Our girls, Jo and Krystal, have their own largeys so she's stuck with Moi! Hahaha 


Now off to Eastwood! er, She works in the area so this weekend's nothin' special, really. Heh My suggestion to zeh gels was to try #EastwoodTWDHorrorHouse however, (as mentioned above) we were the only ones available so we figured it'll be more fun if there's more of us so we'll make do with pictures (blurry ones at that :-P) na lang. And hopefully, we'll be able to go back the following weekend when the gang's complete uhmm, minus one since pregnant women aren't allowed. Also, I'm not scared easily but I'm very jumpy, more friends mean calmer nerves for me. :P

We were at Eastwood early but a crowd has already started started building up by the entrance. This picture was taken at the side, just before they discovered the better photo op spot. Heh 

At around 6 pm people have started lining up for the prison house. It was already drizzling by this time and in a few more minutes it would rain. I think it was good that we decided against going after all, Heh. 

The prison watch tower.

And side trips to the malls. Because you're never too old for the giant pumpkin, right? 

Fan girl mode. The hunt for anything CNBLUE. 

And our coffee time at Caffe Bene, finally! *huge goofy grin* 


#EastwoodTWDHorrorHouse 
Eastwood Central Plaza
October 31 - November 9, 2014 

Dong Won Garden Korean Restaurant

Hats that remind you of historical K-Dramas adorn one wall of the restaurant. 

Sweldo Friday Group is out again and the night's restaurant of choice was Dong Won Garden Korean Restaurant. We decided to give this place a try because we have been going to the same Korean restaurant for more than two consecutive paydays already, it's time to check out other restos out there,hehe. The price was fair and it's in the same area, so off to Jupiter we went. :)

Table for four. 

The establishment doesn't look new but I wouldn't call it shabby either. It may be the minimal furnishings that gave it a homey vibe. We chose the tables in one of the rooms that I think were reserved for bigger groups but were still allowed to be used by us. We were able to sit comfortably, like when you're lounging around your own living room floor, heh. We took our sweet time deciding on what to order (we ended up picking the usual ones, though) and taking pictures which were fine with the servers (me thinks) given that they had more customers than they could handle. We were left alone striking silly poses in whichever part of the room we wanted. We eventually got tired and felt that we really were hungry by that time.

Burp! Taken after all the food had vanished. See how the throw pillows were strategically positioned to hide the evidence?.. hahaha

We originally intended to grill the meat ourselves this time since we always just let them serve our samgyeopsal ready to eat. But since it was a very busy night, everything was taking a little too long for their staff to prepare. Oh, did I mention that they were short staffed? There were just two waitresses on the day in question. About half an hour have passed and still the charcoal was not yet available? For a restaurant this size, and considering it's a payday weekend, you'd expect them to be well prepared to serve everyone, in a timely manner. We especially watched out for our dinner that night choosing to go light as we were planning to make room for this outing, so we were already hungry. They just had about a couple of tables with customers when we came. But when we arrived, more people started coming, too. 

Refillable banchan. I especially liked the salty & spicy potatoes. Don't know what it's called, though.

Our default order Jeyuk Bokkeum P300

Saeu Bokkeum (fried shrimp with chilli powder) P380

Samgyeopsal P300

FREE Chiggae! We ordered Dwenjang chiggae, assorted seafood with soy bean paste stew, but this one looked like Dubu (tofu) chiggae. At least it had clams in it. :P  We got this for free because we ordered 2 servings of Samgyeopsal but the price of Dwenjang Chiggae is around P250-P300, i think.hehe 

What we liked: 
Refillable banchan. I think ours were refilled at least twice. 
FREE stew (Dwenjang jjigae) since we ordered two servings of Ssamgyeopsal. 
They're open 24/7. 
They also have a food mart. 


What they could improve: 
Slow service. With (maybe) more than five tables and most were in big groups, they really had to hustle given that they only had two waitresses present. That may have been sufficient on a regular day, but on a weekend proved to be lacking.


photo credits: Tine, thanks a bunch! 



Dong Won Garden Korean Restaurant 
53 Polaris Corner Jupiter Street, 
Bel-Air, Makati City


Budget P900 for 2 It's always better to come in a group so the bill could be split between more peeps. 

Packing for a 2D/1N Weekend Getaway

packing light 

While I believe that I still have not mastered the art of packing light, i'm pretty certain I have improved. :) I was able to cram my stuff in a backpack and a small shoulder bag. We were given a checklist of "must" brings 

Things to bring:
1. Clothes for adventure tour, swimming, night and return attire
2. Mesh / lunch kit, water bottle, spoon and fork
3. Flashlight, slipper, life jacket (if any), shades, sunblock, off lotions and toiletries 
4. Jacket, Blanket/Malong
5. Digicam/Videocam, Cellphone 

and adding 'a few' more items wouldn't hurt, right?


The contents: 


Backpack: 
2 pairs of swimmies 
2 cover ups 
1 sleepwear (socks, jammies & a long sleeved shirt) 
2 board shorts 
2 tank tops 
1 tshirt and a pair of shorts for going home 
1 jacket 
4 pairs of undies 
flip flops 
towel 
malong 
Vinyl mat for lining our tent or for lounging by the beach 
many trash bags (for waterproofing my things) 


shoulder bag: 
my toiletries, meds and vitamins (in a plastic microwavable container to waterproof them)
camera, cell phone, flashlight (in a plastic container, too/ziplock) 
wallet, candies, snacks sunglasses 
water bottle 


Needless to say, I was not able to use all of them.haha But i'm more than pleased when I didn't have a problem returning all of them in the bags when it was time to go home na. And I had more things since the clothes I wore when I left home were not light. I had denim shorts on and I decided to go home in slippers instead of the rubber shoes I was wearing the day before. It may be trivial but definitely an achievement for me. hahaha 



Disclaimer: this is not a tip, just my realization. :P 

Next Post: Dong Won Garden Korean Restaurant

Avon Pink War 2014: Walk & Run Against Breast Cancer

from Avon Philippines facebook page

It's the day! I'm really terrible at preparing for important things, that much I could say. I was (yet again) sleep deprived, having only managed to catch about 3 hours of sleep. The assembly time at SM MoA was 4:30. We wanted to at least get there by that time just so at least we could warm up before the gun start. Well, apparently that's a target set too high. (sigh)

I was already having coffee at McDonald's Cainta before 4 am, Jo and I were supposed to meet at 3:50 to catch a cab there and then pick up Vea along the way. The thing is, our girl is still on her way out of their subdivision, hence, the rush. To make the long story short, not only did we miss the assembly time, we arrived just in time for the 10K runners to start. There goes our warm up time, too, so we just managed a few stretches before we ran. Err, jog, hehehe.

We registered for the 5K race this time. Only because that's the shortest distance available, hah! And hey, we finished right? So we'll definitely be trying it out again, I think we're still a lot of bananas away from trying out 10K, though hehehe.

What were waiting for us after the run:

Zumba party with Regine Tolentino, Solenn Heussaff, Kris Bernal, and Rocco Nacino.

Top - with my office friends.

Bottom - with elementary/high school friends (tibay.hahaha)

Freebies!:

The Avon loot bag. The content of which could easily go over the registration fee. Sweet, eh? ^^

Vita Coco

Keychain at the Skechers booth. This booth is more popular than it's neighboring health check booth.

Soleus booth and a health consultation booth. 

I don't know why, but I think I wasn't as tired compared to my 3K Energen run. (yabang.hahaha) Well that's what I thought until I woke up from my supposedly short siesta which apparently took more than 6 hours. :-P I woke up at around 9 pm on Sunday feeling sore.

So there, reminders for myself: sleep WELL before the day of the run; leave early and have a proper warm up; and be consistent with my daily exercises.

Breakky with zeh girls at Adobo Connection. The downside: well they do serve hot coffee, it's just that this particular Sunday they're out of hot drinks. Our savior? The neighboring 711. ^^

* photo credits: Vea, because pics I took from my phone weren't clear enough :'( (I tinkered with my phone cam settings for a bit and I was only able to return it to how it should be just now. Yep, darn!)

Registered: Avon Pink War

Finally! After being postponed for several weeks we got to register. :-) This is just my second run and I have mixed emotions about it.hahaha 

When we joined the Energen fun run, Joanne and I ran the 3K race. Yeah, we're such babies we know. And my plan is if I join again my next run should just be the same distance, to get the hang of it first. I'm still so intimidated by the additional 2 kilometers. I don't exercise except for the stretches that I manage whenever I wake up early (at 9:30). Jo and I finished the 3K race just a couple of minutes shy of the half hour mark. Pat on the back, as if it's something to be really proud of.hahaha That put us at the higher 40% of those who participated in our category. However, with the additional distance, I'm afraid that we would have to sweat it out some more. Another 20 or 30 minutes, perhaps? Ottoke? ("What to do?" in Korean) 

5K it is! Because that's the shortest distance available. hahaha

Well, we'll have to wait and see come October 12. Aja! 

AVON Pink War (Walk & Run)
 – October 12, 2014
SM Mall of Asia
5K/10K

Weekend Eats: AngNewNo Arts. Design. Cafe

One more resto crossed out.hihi This weekend's tipid restaurant of choice was AngNewNo arts.design.cafe - a three storey building along Manila East Rd. I thought the place was hard to miss because of it's signage as seen in previous images from the net. However, it's now partly hidden by vegetation. We went past it because we told manong jeepney driver that we're going to Balaw Balaw another popular restaurant in Angono, and I hope we get to visit that one, too soon. ^^ 

Outside seating. Ideal for a hanging out on a chilly night. With coffee, or a bucket or two to keep you warm.hehehe 

Now back to AngNewNo. We came at lunch time, around 1 pm I think, and there were only two groups dining. Well one actually, since the two men on the second floor were downing buckets already.hehehe I so like the ambience of this place. I think it has the same relaxed feel even when patrons flock for a drink or two at night. Their music choice was something to our liking, too - covers of Bruno Mars, Lorde, and the likes' songs. (I just don't know about the guys though.hehe Meann and Daleth, the mommys to be, were with their respective beaus.) 

 More tables on the second floor. 

Jo lounging around the second floor outside seating area.

They have a third floor but it was closed during our visit since there aren't that many people at that time.

Our food! ^^ [Sorry fo the pictures, though. I was hurriedly snapping away because everyone (especially zeh boys) was already very hungry.hahaha I didn't want to cause any 'more' delays, you know, hungry people = grumpy people.]

Set A Sisig + Veggie Pastel + liempo 500

Set E zesty chicken + Sweet and sour pork P525

* Set Meals include a pitcher of iced tea and a platter of rice good for three persons. Upgrade plain rice to AngNewNo fried rice (P85), fried rice with alamang and pineapples, for an additional P25. 

I have to come back to this place and try their other pizza (P160 - P220) flavors namely Itik Pizza, coffee starts at just (P60 for an espresso - P160 for the frappe I think), desserts, and maybe even some cocktails (P85 - P150), too. So who wants to go? ^^ 

What we came here for: Tinapa Pizza P165

Cheese, tinapa flakes, and itlog na maalat makes a good pizza. Just the right mix of salty. Yummy!

AngNewno arts. design. cafe 
Manila East Rd., Angono, Rizal 
Budget: P500 for 2 

Weekend Eats: And we meet again, Mr. Kabab

How many times have I planned on coming back? I can't count na.haha I would often suggest eating here when I would meet someone around the area. But because we often meet up at Megamall, that's where we usually had meals, too. Not that I don't enjoy the food options there, it's just that since the one time I tried this place, I have always wanted to go back. :-) And since I no longer work near Ortigas, opportunities are rare. 


Well this weekend, I finally got to go back, yey! We were supposed to hang out at one of my friends' house but we had some errands to do first. We registered for the Avon Pink War.


We quickly finished the registration at Chris Sports and then headed to Pearl Plaza. It's just a short distance. And since it's around lunch time when we got there, it was easy to convince them to eat somewhere else. Unless they're willing to spend at least a good half an hour waiting. 

Budget for 2 P500 - P600. Aside from their ala carte offerings, they also have budget meals: the Selfie P149 and the Groupie meals P1,499 / 6 persons.

Now the food. Mr. Kabab offers affordable Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Cuisine. These were what we ordered: 

Sizzling Burger P175, Sizzling Keema with Pita (instead of rice because keema alone was filling enough, and who wouldn't want room for desserts, right?) P175, Sizzling Chicken P180.

Special Beef Chelo Kabab P180 and Special Chicken Chelo Kabab P175. 

They have a Sunday Special treat - buy 2 Special Chelo Kabab meals and you'd get (I think) P90 off. It was a good deal but since we're after trying out different dishes we stuck with choosing two different meats. Not to mention that neither Jo nor Krystal wanted to yield, hahaha. 

While waiting Jo had a question about the names, like what's keema or chello? Always the curious kitty, eh? I only knew that keema is minced meat (the sizzling beef giniling looking dish up). And i just Googled what chello is, hehehe. Chelow Kabab (Persian) is the national dish of Iran. The meal is simple, consisting of steamed, saffroned basmati or Persian rice (chelow) and kabab (dish of pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables roasted or grilled on a skewer). Chelow kabab is served with the basic Iranian meal accompaniments, in addition to grilled tomatoes on the side of the rice, and butter on top of the rice. 


We had the place all to ourselves since it's weekend and this resto's located near office buildings hence, the leisurely atmosphere. We even moved to the tables at the other end for desserts, the view was nothing special though. hehehe

In the chiller: cakes, canned fruit juices, Sola Iced Tea, baklava, and fruits w/yoghurt.

They're now offering coffee, too. But we were only in the mood for cake, maybe next time. 

Lava cake P100, Yoghurt shake P70, Red Velvet cake P100.  We didn't enjoy the red velvet one but oh, we loved Lava cake. Served warm, not hot, with runny chocolate filling that's not too sweet oozing out it's no wonder it was all gone quickly. We should have ordered two of this instead. hehehe

Someone's checking out Chris Tiu in a magazine. Fangirl hehehe 

2/F Pearl Plaza, 8101 Pearl Drive
Ugong, Pasig
Budget for 2 P500 - P600