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The birthday boys

The month of May is a very special month for our family. Two of the most important boys (men? haha) in my life celebrate their birthdays this month. My dad on the 8th and my younger brother Manu on the 13th.

We celebrated with a Sunday lunch at home with our relatives. My dad’s family brought lots of food and I made birthday cupcakes for the celebrants.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and Rainbow Sprinkles

To the two special boys in my life, happy, happy birthday. To Manu, good luck with your review. I know that you will do well in the board exams later this year. You have been and always will be the genius of this family. To Daddy, keep up your daily exercises and you’ll be up on your feet soon. I love you, guys!

And this cupcake’s for my mom. Belated Happy Mother’s Day to the best mom in the world. I <3 you!

Macy

I hit Greenbelt 5 with the Candy Crew a few weeks ago, and Roch and Angel were pointing out all the cool restos. Among them, it was Damaso that quickly piqued my interest. And that’s where I went one recent Sunday afternoon.

Love:
-The Filipiniana Noli and El Fili theme. The dishes’ names are playful riffs on the novels’ characters, and the decor is a nice mix of Now and Then.
-The pasta. The one I had was quite filling (good serving) and pretty tasty.
-The desserts. I had a hard time choosing just one (I wanted 3!), but I am trying to be more healthy after all, so I settled on the Wicked Simoun. I’ve said this about my dog and I’ll say it about this dessert: Bad boys can be oh-so good!

Delight:
-The toasted ensaimada and hot chocolate. Never has a plain-sounding dish tasted this gooooood. I singed my tongue trying to down the hot choc because I wanted all of it right away. Greedy? Yup. Worth it? Definitely.

Could be better:
-Tubig ni Maria Clara. It was quite refreshing—water with cucumber and ginger—but it had a strange aftertaste I wasn’t too crazy about. But that’s just me.
-The prices. The place is comfy and cozy, but the food’s a bit pricey. Not for pigging out then

Love their hot choco!

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As a child, I grew up being made to perform in front of my parents’ friends and our relatives. At four years old, my mom dressed me up in this frilly dress and made me learn how to dance to Lambada. Hahaha! Imagine a tiny girl swinging her hips to a song she doesn’t even understand. When I learned how to memorize songs, my mom bought me a multiplex (!!!) of One Moment In Time and that became my performance piece for family gatherings (I think I still have the tape at home. Haha!). When I grew older, I took piano lessons and tried to perform for parties at home (my brother was much better than I was, though.). I still try to play sometimes, but I haven’t had much time.

So, it’s no surprise that I get thrilled when I watch kids perform. There’s this different energy about them. You don’t see them getting frazzled or over-thinking themselves. They just take the stage and make it seem like play time.

I’m sharing two precious videos of kids performing. I love that both are ten-year-olds, but are singing jazz standards. Haha!
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We celebrate Earth Day all over the world on April 22, and as a Virgo, I’m definitely an earth sign bearer who’s protective of the planet. My friend Becky recently sent me Martha Stewart’s Going Green Checklist (with 101 ways to get started), and I was excited to find out that I was already doing some of the tips!

Leave only footprints when you travel
Unplug electronics when you’re not using them
Skip the elevator and take the stairs
Print on both side of the paper
Reuse Ziploc bags
Don’t charge your cell phone overnight
Pick up litter

Why don’t you download this list and try to accomplish everything too?

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Taking the cue from Mimi’s latest blog entry, I’d like to share a few photos of my favorite subject—the sky!

If you look through the photos I’ve taken with my cameras, you’re bound to found one of the clouds, the blue sky, a sunset, and other variations. Name it, I have it.

First row: A sky full of clouds in Sta. Elena; Clouds that looked like cotton in Subic; Sunset at the April fashion ed shoot
Second row: My favorite time of day: dusk; Cotton candy clouds in Batangas; A pretty parasol with a sky backdrop also in Batangas.

How about you? What do you love taking pictures of?

♥♥♥,
Macy