Hotel Buffet for only P480+!

We were lucky to have been able to reserve a slot for the dinner buffet at Renaissance Hotel in Makati for only P480 (~$12) + 10% service charge per person! They had this 3-day promo where food prices were marked down to 1994 levels! :)

Being a sucker for "bargain" or "value-for-money-treats", I readily made reservations and was lucky to have been granted a table for 4. We treated our good friends C and T (who are getting married on January 13) there.

The buffet selection was not as extensive as Shangri-La's nor Mandarin's but it was worth it nonetheless (especially for those who love buffet). I especially love the pork sinigang (I had 3 bowls of soup and veggies I think!) and their roast beef (I had to break my "no beef" diet!)! Their Japanese spread was rather disappointing... They also have a "decent" selection of desserts including an ice cream station. I can't remember though if they have a Chocolate Fountain... parang wala...

For me, the best buffet selection is still at Paseo Uno in Mandarin although I have yet to try Spiral at Sofitel Hotel and Circles in Shangri-La...

After tonight, I told my husband that I'll be staying away from buffets for a while because I just can't take in too much food!

Oh I almost forgot, Yaya L is back - she arrived last night, which explains why M and I were able to go out tonight with our friends! :) I'm so happy and relieved! :)

Hair Rebonding at Tony & Jackie

I finally decided to have my hair rebonded today. It's my first time to have a hair rebond and I was really apprehensive. My hair is not that bad actually - it's long and straight.. However, I noticed that eversince I gave birth, my hair has become frizzy...

After some research on the Internet, I decided to have my "hair rebond" at Tony & Jackie (the Korean salon at the ground floor of our condo). They have a P3k (~$73) promo for any hair length, which was quite a good deal already.

The whole process took approximately 4 hours! The rebond includes free haircut. The person who did my "new look" was Tony.

I was quite happy with their services. The texture of my hair has definitely improved a lot! :) As for my new haircut, it takes a while getting used to... Tony must have cut at least 4 inches from my long straight hair! :)

MBS Alumni Dinner

At least once a year, my schoolmates from MBS graduate school and I have a yearend get together.

This year, we had our yearend dinner at Claw Daddy's. It's my first time to eat there and I really liked the food!! :) I especially love the baby potatoes, assorted nachos with dip, chicken barbecue, shrimps and corn on the cob. Yum!

Christmas Gifts

As a kid, the highlight of my Christmas was opening presents from loved ones and from Santa Clause... Of course now that I'm an adult, the highlight of the occasion for me is being surrounded by family, friends and loved ones and being able to share my blessings with everyone else...

Nonetheless, I still get a thrill out of opening Christmas presents moreso now that I have Kyle. I'm more than excited to help him open his gifts and find out what he got for the holidays! :)

Kyle is very lucky to have received a lot of Christmas presents this year. Some of my favorites are the following: Old Navy Sweater from Ninang M, Fisher Price rubbershoes from cousin E, PJs sleepwear from Tita M, bathrobe from S, Osh Kosh B' Gosh jammies and shirt from Ninang L, Redbox Puzzle Blocks from Ninong E.

For the gifts that I got, my favorites are the Spa treatment card, watch, necklace and earrings I got from my husband! :)

Christmas Noche Buena

We spent Noche Buena with my family in our condo in Makati. My parents and siblings came to celebrate the occasion with us.

Our simple Noche Buena was composed of: buttered prawns, chicken afritada, ham, rice, Asian salad, fruit salad, assorted cheeses and macadamia nuts, chocolates and of course, the all time family favorite "Alex Franco cake".

For some reason, Kyle stayed up the whole night (as if he knew that we're celebrating an important occasion!). He didn't sleep till past midnight. He was just too happy to see his Lolo, Lola, Ninong E and Ninang L celebrate Christmas with us!

Thank you Lord for allowing us to spend Christmas together as a family!

Overnight Stay & Buffet at Hyatt

Since M and I were technically not able to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary together, we decided to stay overnight (with Kyle) at Hyatt Hotel & Casino in Manila. The only reason why we chose Hyatt is because M is a Platinum Member and he has free overnight accommodation which we can use.

Albeit new, the Hyatt in Manila does not have a spacious lobby like typical hotels in Makati. The buffet selection is also not that extensive probably because it also costs cheaper ~P1.3k compared to P2.0k per person for other hotel buffets...

I wasn't able to taste everything in their buffet selection because I was also busy taking care of Kyle (who was thrilled about his new surroundings). Nonetheless, these are the items that I loved and went back for several times:

- Grilled bacon-wrapped shitake mushrooms in teriyaki sauce

- Grilled bacon-wrapped asparagus in teriyaki sauce

- Hotel-made ice cream (their vanilla flavor is the best I've tasted thus far!)

All the rest of the selection were just "okay"... not worth raving about...

I liked the room where we stayed in because it was spacious and clean. The room temperature was "just right" and the shower pressure strong. Kyle enjoyed walking around the room. We all had a good night's sleep because the bed was really comfy! :)

What a relaxing way to unwind amidst the Christmas rush! :) Too bad we forgot to bring our camera! :(

Our Third Wedding Anniversary...

It's our 3rd Anniversary and my husband was supposed to arrive at 11pm today (or before 12 midnight in our house)...

Unfortunately, his flight got delayed so he will be arriving at past 1am (December 21)... I can't wait to see M!

For me, his arrival was the best anniversary gift ever! :)

On Leave for the Holidays...

Kyle's yaya went home today to Bacolod to attend her sister's wedding and spend Christmas with her family... She'll be back on December 29...

Today was also the start of my leave from the office since nobody will take care of Kyle...

I will be on leave from December 19-21. My husband will arrive on December 20. I can't wait! :)

New Additions to the Family

The Lord has blessed us with new additions in our clan:

My sister-in-law O gave birth to a baby boy named Enrique Gerard (see picture above) - nickname "Gerique" (I hope I spelled it correctly!)

My cousin M gave birth to another baby boy named Carlos Miguel - nickname "Migs"

My other cousin J gave birth to (yet) another baby boy last November named Franco (forgot his second name!)

Anyway, it's surely raining "men" with the addition of 3 new boys in the family...

Finally, Coffee Mangosteen!

I was finally able to order Coffee Mangosteen Cake from Pito. I got the freshly-baked cake from Market! Market! (meet up point)... I was very excited to taste the cake!

I was in a rather bad mood because of the lousy service I got from M-Tech ER doctors and staff, when I went there to have Kyle checked... I won't elaborate further on what happened since I already elevated the matter to the hospital administrator via a formal complaint against the very rude staff and 2 doctors on duty...

Anyway, back to the cake... I really didn't know what to expect since I have never tasted coffee and mangosteen TOGETHER but for some reason, I liked the combination! :) The cake tasted more like coffee with some mangosteen bits... I love the frosting which was not too sweet... The cake was a bit crumbly but I like it nonetheless!

I have decided to order 2 more coffee mangosteen cakes to give to my officemates for the holiday season.. I'm sure they'll be surprised with the "unusual" flavor... I hope they'll like the taste!

Pedia, Church, Mall

We went to see Kyle's Pedia today because he has colds and occasional coughs... The Pedia assured me that Kyle is OKAY... He probably has some "allergies" so she prescribed some meds for Kyle to take... As expected, Kyle gained some weight again... He's now 13.5 kgs (almost 30 lbs)! My baby's growing up so fast! :)

After the Pedia visit, we went to hear mass since today is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. It is a Holy Day of Obligation. (I hope my husband didn't forget to hear mass in Sydney!)

After Mass, we went to Glorietta and Rustan's to shop. Our first stop was at Jipan Japanese Bakeshop to buy Kyle's favorites - maple croissant, sweet potato cake and in-house bread. Then we proceeded to Rustan's where I bought some Christmas presents. As always, shopping was a pleasure in Rustan's because customer service is excellent! :)

We went home at past 8pm and Kyle immediately fell asleep.

Cupcake Conspiracy

Since I'm on the lookout for potential Christmas giveaways, I tried to order some cupcakes from Ana Lopez of Cupcake Conspiracy to "taste test" her products... I learned my lesson from Yumi's cupcakes the hard way that's why I decided to taste any product first before giving them out as gifts...

Anyway, I ordered Ana's best selling cupcakes namely: Chocolate Deception, Vanilla Lies, Berry Mysterious, Monkey Business and Apple Cinnamon Secrets...

The cupcakes were delivered in my office around 3pm and I had a hard time concentrating at work because I wanted to taste the yummy-looking cupcakes already! :)

Armed with a teaspoon from our office pantry, I tried Chocolate Deception first! What can I say? It was love at first bite! :) The cake was very moist and the icing divine (it was a tad sweet for my taste but it was DELICIOUS nonetheless!)... I knew that I have found THE supplier for my cupcake cravings!!! :)

When I went home, I immediately told Yaya L about the fabulous cupcakes I ordered! I ate my supper quickly and proceeded trying all the other flavors. My next "target" was Berry Mysterious, which was equally yummy (although I prefer a less sweet frosting). Then I tried Vanilla Lies, and the rest of the goodies. I also let Yaya L taste the cupcakes and gave Kyle a teeny weeny piece of Berry Mysterious cupcake.

Being a chocolate lover, my personal favorite is Chocolate Deception. I also love Vanilla Lies and Berry Mysterious. Yaya L on the other hand, loved Monkey Business and Apple Cinnamon Secrets... Actually, everything tasted good! It's really just a matter of preference but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the flavors... I can't wait to try her 2 other flavors: Red Handed and Candy Cane Confidential.

And the best part is that each cupcake costs only P20 (~$0.50)!!!! What a bargain! :) I hope Ana doesn't increase her rates for a looong time!!! :) I'll surely recommend her goodies to friends and family...

In the meantime, I'll start making my order list lest Ana ends up getting fully booked after her bazaar at SM Mall of Asia on December 15-16! :)

My New OB...

I have a new OB! Her name is Dra. Mae Syki-Young. She's the sister-in-law of Kyle's Pedia.

She seems good and I like her personality. :) She's also pretty and dresses up well (as if it matters)... :) For some reason, she reminds me of Kris Aquino (in a good way)! :)

Btw, just in case you're wondering, I am NOT pregnant! :) I just went to see the OB for my regular check-up. :)

Working Lunch

I seldom stay in the office for lunch since I normally go home to feed Kyle. I am lucky because our condo is just 3 kms. away from my office...

However, today is an exception. I had to stay in the office to work because I'll be leaving early later to see my doctor. I really miss Kyle. I'm sure he misses me as well because he's so used to our daily routine where "mama" goes home for lunch to nurse him and put him to sleep...

Now, I'm alone in my desk eating soup and sandwich from The Big Chill...

Hay, I can't wait to see my little boy in a couple of hours...

Kyle Meets Brian

My inaanak Brian arrived from the US recently to spend a couple of days here with his relatives. He's the newest addition to the Oconer clan. He's exactly 4 months younger than Kyle.

Brian is really cute! I think he was still suffering from jet lag but he was game enough to meet his relatives, who were all too excited to see him! :)

I'm glad that Kyle had the chance to meet his cousin. Hopefully, we can visit them in the US some time in the future.

To Noreen, Martin and Brian, have a safe trip back to the US! Joel, I'm sure you miss your family already! :) Merry Christmas! :)

Piece of Cake

I ordered cupcakes from Piece of Cake for my parents 40th Anniversary celebration yesterday... I really don't know if what I ordered was part of a "bad batch"... I would like to hope so especially since I've read good reviews about Yumi's cupcakes from Anton's blog ("Piece of Cake Gourmet Cupcakes by Yumi Castrillo"), Lori's blog ("Cupcakes in the Courtroom") and the Philippine Daily Inquirer ("Royal Treats").

I actually ordered 3 of her bestsellers to make sure that "I won't go wrong" - Chocolate Truffle, Scarlett O' Hara and Princess Di.

Unfortunately, aside from her getting my orders wrong, (I was only given 6 chocolate truffles when I ordered 8, and 8 Scarlett O' Hara when I only ordered, 6), I think her billing computation was also wrong. On short notice, she also changed the agreed pick-up time, which really scr*wed up my schedule the following day. :(

I could live with the above shortcomings but what really threw me off was the disappointing taste of the cupcakes! I thought there was something wrong with my tastebuds but since EVERYBODY in the family (including the yaya) didn't seem to like them, I guess our verdict was unanimous....

In fairness, the cupcakes were moist and not too sweet but the frosting was "something else"... It's like eating butter literally (eeewww!). I cannot taste the white chocolate (if there was any) in the white chocolate buttercream because it's all BUTTER, BUTTER, BUTTER! Even the chocolate truffle frosting tasted like butter! I'm not sure if this is really how it's supposed to be but I hope she can improve on her frosting because her cupcakes taste fine...

While I know that it's unfair to compare her cupcakes to Sonja's cupcakes since their products obviously have different price points, I really can't help but say that Sonja's cupcakes are WAY BETTER!!

The only saving grace of Yumi's cupcakes is her packaging, which was cute and pleasing to the eyes.... oh and the customized labels she prepared as "toppers" for the cupcakes...

Lesson Learned: On important occasions, just order the "no fail family favorite" Alex Franco cake, to make EVERYBODY HAPPY!!! :)

My Christmas Wishlist

Since Christmas is just around the corner, I have decided to come up with my Christmas wishlist... this is actually for my husband who's probably "clueless" as to what to give me for the holidays...

This list is in no particular order... and I will update this from time to time:

1. Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup - I'm really a MMU convert and I can't have enough of these products! :)

2. Cheap Mobile Phone - for my other SIM Card

3. Small bag/container for my camera and new mobile phone

4. Spa treatment gift certificate

5. "Big" wallet that can contain all my cards, pictures, etc.

6. Digital Scrapbooking Software

7. Lea Salonga "Inspired" CD

8. Batteries for my Gucci watch

Hmmm.... I suddenly realized that there's actually very few items that I want... My husband is luck that I'm a low-maintenance-kind-of-gal! ;)

Christmas is just around the corner...

I'm more than halfway done with my Christmas shopping and wrapping... all thanks to my reliable yaya Libeth who helped me wrap the gifts! :)

We've set up our Christmas Tree as early as first week of October, much to the excitement of Kyle!

I can't wait for Christmas to be here... Moreso, I can't wait for my husband to be home! :)