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Get to know me through this simple alphabet.

A – Ateneo (I definitely enjoyed my college experience!)
B - Baon (you might not believe this, but I’ve been bringing food from home since nursery. I still bring baon to work!)
C – Chai Tea Latte (my fave CBTL drink)
D – “Destiny” (a cool Zero 7 song I discovered through the TV show Roswell)
E – Elephants (I like this shot I took in Singapore)
F – Four (I love the fact that my parents bore four kids—two girls and two boys! How’s that for symmetry?)
G - Graziella (the name of my first best friend in grade school)
H - House (I dream of living in a quaint little house with a garden/backyard my kids can play in)
I - Irritable (sadly, I think I get irritated by the smallest things!)
J – Jared (one of my all-time favorite guy names—I think all boys christened with this name are gwapo!)
K – Kathryn (hands down, the best sister ever. I can’t believe it’s almost a year since her family left for Canada!)
L – Luzviminda (the name makes me LOL because it’s so Pinoy)
M – The M on my palm (as a kid, I really thought it was shaped like that because of my name. Haha!)
N – Nice (I’ve got a mean streak, but I try to be good as much as I can )
O – Oz (my nick for Australia, a gorgeous country I’ve been to thrice. I can’t wait to visit again, especially since my brother lives there!)
P – Piano (I used to play classical pieces, and I regret not being able to learn the different chords)
Q – Queen Bee (somehow, I’m glad we didn’t have one in high school)
R – Ruth (my second name)
S – Skydive (it’s on my “things to do before I die” list)
T – Travel (I can’t not do this at least once a year)
U – Ugly (what I think of my legs on bad days)
V – Volleyball player (I was part of our batch team, but I was mostly a benchwarmer. Hehe!)
W – “Walking on Sunshine” (a song that brightens my mood instantly)
X – X-Ray test (it’s strange ’cause I didn’t get the results from the last one I took)
Y - Yodel (I like singers who kind of yodel like Chris Martin and Ryan Kirkland of Between the Trees)
Z - “Zombie” (I can belt out this Cranberries tune on karaoke)

Fill in the letters and let me get to know you too!
Mimi

Posted in Bond, Girl!, Candy | 3 Comments »

Hi, Candy girls!

Last weekend, my guy and I headed to Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna to participate in this year’s TNF Trail Run. What made it extra special was that it fell on Chinese New Year / Valentine’s Day!

As per our tradition to carbo-load before a race, we drove a little further to Tagaytay so we could have an early dinner at Hawaiian BBQ, one of my fave restaurants of all time. Their spam rice and barbecue ribs are the best! The cool, refreshing breeze and the nice view made it even more worth it.

After just a few hours of sleep, we headed to Nuvali at the crack of dawn together with our friends for the start of the 11-km trail run. The race itself was challenging but fun! The Nuvali trail did not disappoint as we ran across hills and corn fields, crossed shallow rivers, and saw a majestic sunrise.

At the end of the race, couples had to cross the finish line while holding hands. The girls were even given roses by the organizers. This definitely beats an ordinary movie-dinner date! One of my friends ran the race together with her parents who are more than 70 years old. They were given a special award and a standing ovation when they crossed the finish line. They’re amazing. I hope Roland and I will still be running together at that age too!

So how did you spend your Chinese New Year / Valentine’s Day? Hope you all had a blast with your loved ones!

Angel

Posted in Candy | 5 Comments »

Right about now you’re probably busy finishing a million papers and projects for school, and gearing up for finals too. Hang in there, Candy Girls, it’ll be summer vacay before you know it! Then it’s one blissful day outdoors after another.

Strictly speaking, I don’t have summer vacations, which is a pity since I truly love being outdoors. For me, heaven is a sunny day spent outdoors; wide open spaces all around and loved ones beside you. I had exactly that just the other day, when my guy surprised me by taking me to this year’s hot air balloon festival. All he told me the night before was to wear flats and that we’d be outdoors. I love surprises but it drove me crazy not knowing where we were going or how I should dress! (yes, i do obsess about stupid things like which flats or what bag to use, and how much makeup is appropriate. but i do obsess about important things too. that’s why i hardly sleep. for this outdoor day, i chose a really old pair of flats, a small saddle bag, and no makeup save for gloss)

Here’s what had me smiling all day:

Awesome seeing tons of kites all at once. I wish we had a nearby park where I could fly a kite and let my fur kids loose.

They had several air shows. I hope I get to try this one day. The propellers allowed them to whiz by so fast, it looked like so much fun!

Seeing this chopper brought back happy childhood memories for me, memories of spending weekends in the province and visiting my dad where he worked.

The atmosphere was so festive, just like a high school fair or theme park. So festive that I scarfed down 2 hotdogs, a snow cone, a KitKat ice cream drumstick (!), and gallons of iced tea and water, without worrying I’d be spoiling my appetite for dinner (it wasn’t spoiled at all, i tucked into a burger dinner with gusto, hehe!). I was looking for fish balls and cotton candy but they didn’t have any.

Loved the wide open field. Waiting for the balloons to set up at this point.

One of my fave balloons had huge hearts all over. Yup, am a sucker for Valentine’s! But only because I take it as a day to celebrate with all your loved ones—friends, family, fur kids.

My other fave balloon, with the rainbow stripes.

They had a lights show in the evening, with fireworks

I also got to celebrate Valentine’s with my fur kids (a walk in their fave airconditioned mall!), my friends (we visited Nash and her newborn!), my bro (a table for two foodies!), and my whole family plus my guy (we were so many we took up two rows at the theater!). Meet our Three Marias—Sophia, Marga (guess she doesn’t like paparazzi), and Bella. We heart Percy!

Posted in Candy | 7 Comments »

I love my long locks! For as long as I could remember, I’ve always had hair past my shoulders. Every time I’d get a haircut, I made sure it would only be a trim or cut up to thee inches max. I’d let the hairstylist put layers and attempt to give it body, but I’d never allow any of them to cut it short. To some extent, you could say that my hair is my security blanket–I can’t leave the house without making sure every strand is in place, and having ugly cut bangs obliterates my good mood.

Just recently though, I got bored with my long locks. As I was looking through a Glamour UK magazine (one of my favorite reads!), I read that the short ‘do was in fashion. Since summer is fast approaching, I thought, “Why not have a fresh new look?” After contemplating for weeks and searching for pegs online, I booked an appointment with my trusty salon and took the plunge!

That’s me and stylist Nimfa Ferrer of La Manila Salon just seconds before she cut my hair. I love the way she cuts my hair because it always grows nicely. The second snap is a shot of my sandals and cut hair on the floor. I was a little worried after telling Nimfa I wanted a short cut (well, shorter than usual), and I think I may have even cringed after hearing the first snip. But look at how good it turned out!

In case you’re wondering why I included photos of Kelly Osbourne and Goo Hye Sun (Boys Over Flowers), it’s because the former celebrity was actually my peg but it’s the latter who most people are saying I now look like. Do you agree? Goo Hye Sun could well be my distant cousin. Haha!

Candy will be featuring salons that give great cuts and treatments in the next few months. Is there anything you want us to focus on when we do the story? Just leave your comments below!

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day, Candy Girls!
Mimi

Posted in Candy | 2 Comments »

Hi, Candy Girls!

Last weekend, my guy and I ate at a quaint, cozy restaurant in Serendra called The Healthy Kitchen. As the name suggests, the items on their menu are mostly made up of healthy stuff!

Here’s what we ordered:

Chicken Spinach Pasta (made with whole wheat noodles) and Lory’s Multi-grain Pizza—the base is made of low-fat Alfredo sauce, topped with turkey bacon, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, and lots and lots of mozzarella cheese! Who says healthy food has to be bland and boring? We were stuffed after this meal!

For dessert, we got the Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie, made with dark chocolate chips and multi-grains. It was sooo good! The only thing missing was a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Our healthy dinner served as our carbo-loading for the next day’s Condura Run for the Dolphins! Here’s a mash-up of our photos from the event. Last year, we ran 21-km for the whale sharks or butandings of Donsol, Sorsogon. This year, we ran 10-km for the dolphins of Pamilacan Island, Bohol. (It’s not that we love dolphins less. It’s just that we had less training this year! Hehe.) My sister Liz joined a marathon for the first time too. She ran 5-km—so proud of her!

After every run, it’s a must to replenish our lost energy by drinking lots of water—and having breakfast, of course! We ate at Pancake House. Check out this tall stack of mini pancakes with cream cheese and honey orange syrup. So much for all the calories we burned! :p

This weekend, we have another marathon, but this time it’s an 11-km trail run at Nuvali, Laguna. Roland and I signed up for the couples run! Hehe! Wish us luck!

Have a Happy Valentine’s Weekend, Candy Girls!

Angel

Posted in Candy | 2 Comments »