Face to Face

I wonder how these cats can manage to sleep with their faces only centimeters away from each other!

It looks really funny and cute :) 

Sleeping is serious business!

zzzz...

3-0!

I just turned 30 last Friday!  Wow, 3-0!  I suddenly feel so grown up :D

Anyway, I'd like to say thank you to everyone for the wonderful birthday greetings :)  Also, thank you to Crowne Plaza for the beautiful birthday cake.  We loved it.

Ice cold Kumo on a hot summer day

Summer is officially here!  It was so warm the other day that I wanted to see how fast it would take for ice to melt :D

I put a few ice cubes on the wooden bench outside and just watched as they melted.  It was a slow day for me so watching the ice was the highlight of my afternoon. Haha!  I'm kidding of course.

Kumo was keeping cool by just hanging out under the bench

but he got curious when he saw the ice.  It's really funny because he had his tongue out in most of the photos I took of him that afternoon :D

nom nom nom ice!

Love letters

Chinese New Year is over but I found my self thinking and craving for love letter wafers.  When I was living in Singapore, these yummy treats were everywhere during the CNY!  I have never seen them before so naturally I was very intrigued. 

Love letter wafers or "Kueh Kapit" are crispy thin wafers made from coconut milk and flour.  They are a lot like our barquillos except for the strong coconut taste and the auspicious words and symbols that are beautifully embossed on each wafer.  They are either rolled or folder into a triangle.

So pretty!  I'm not really sure why these wafers are called Love Letters, but a Chinese-Malaysian friend mentioned that there is an old rumor that these cookies were once used to hide romantic notes between lovers.  Isn't that just sweet? :)  

I love tomatoes!

Do you like tomatoes?  I love them!

Aside from being an excellent source of vitamins and anti oxidants, they taste really good too. 

Here I have 4 different kinds of tomatoes.  I rarely see the "pumpkin" shaped ones (also known as Heirloom tomatoes) so I make it a point to buy whenever I see them at the market.

These taste the same as the regular round ones but the skin is just a bit thicker.

They are quite interesting to look at too!  In fact, I have a small collection of Heirloom tomato photos :)  I scanned this photo above which I took back in 2002.

Perfect for making chunky tomato sauce for pasta!  Yum :) 

Places to love in Baguio: House of Waffles

[UPDATE 2/2/14: Place in now closed] Waffles for breakfast? Yes please!

I was so happy when we decided to have breakfast at The House of Waffles in Camp John Hay.  I'm not sure, but I think this restaurant used to be Country Waffles.

Golden waffle served with butter and maple syrup.

We also ordered a yummy Mexican style omelet!  It had jalapeno peppers, cheese, sour cream and tomatoes.  Served with toast and hash brown.  Our meals didn't come with coffee so we decided to drop by Starbucks which is just a few meters away from House of Waffles.

 

Iced coffee and juice.  We also bought a Baguio mug for our collection.  I was also looking for a sterling silver bracelet in the shop but sadly did not find a design that I liked.

Love the view :)

Things that make me happy

Just another list of random things that make me happy :)  Happy Friday, folks!

furry ball shaped cats!

Sleeping cat puzzle

Free pizza! Thank you CPK and HSBC :)

a box of the best fried chicken!

taking mirror photos

alien tomatoes

finding floral printed insoles at the P88 store!

Cape Gooseberries

Have you ever seen a cape gooseberry?  The first time I saw one was about 2 years ago at the organic market in Baguio.  I was immediately drawn to the beautiful cocoon like covering.

It says gooseberry on the label, but I later found out that gooseberry is different from cape gooseberry (thank you wiki).

Inside the shell is a small round fruit that has a waxy texture.  It's hard to describe how it tastes because it has such a unique flavor... It's sweet, tart and sometimes also sour at the same time :D

Empty shells.  They remind me of the cocoon collection I had before.

All picked :)

Stone Temple Pilots in Manila

Dear Stone Temple Pilots,

 Why did it take you guys more than a decade to visit us in Manila?

We are big fans here :)  As you can see, the coliseum was packed!

It was a really great show!

I just wished that your other songs such as "Big Bang Baby", "Lady Picture Show" and "Art School Girlfriend" were included in the play list as well :D

But thank you for singing "Interstate Lone Song"!  I hope I will get the chance to watch you in concert again :)

2 Months to go!

I'm getting married in exactly 2 months!  

I'm not sure if we're 100% ready.  I mean, every time we check our list something gets added!  I'm really excited, but I am also looking forward to the after party so we can finally relax :)

We dropped by our venue over the weekend to do some last minute checks.  I still can't get over how beautiful the place is!    So glad we picked this place!  Btw, we'll be saying our vows in this altar :)  Too bad we can't bring Nugget and Kumo with us since the 3 hour car ride would be too much for them :(

Thankfully, this little kitty said she will be coming :)

Sleepy Sunday

Lazy Sundays are meant for sleeping.

Please do not disturb!  Orange cat is busy sleeping :)

I find it really funny when Nugget sleeps like this!  It's like he really wants to be left alone.

The other day I took a sleepy photo of him and after a few seconds...

... Kumo jumped in for the pictorial

warm hugs for Nuggie!

No day but today (Rent Manila 2011)

I remember watching Rent at the Music Museum with my high school buddy in 1999.  Monique Wilson played Maureen.  Michael de Mesa and JM Rodriguez were also included in the cast.  I loved the songs and the production was amazing but somehow the whole play did not have a lasting impact on me.  I guess the storyline was too mature for me then (?).  Maybe I was a late bloomer :D

Erman has been curious about Rent so last weekend we watched 9 Work Theatrical's production at the Carlos Romulo Theater in RCBC.  We were lucky to catch the very last show of the season... And it was a really great show!  I think the performers were more emotional.  Some were crying by the time curtain call came. 

Rent Rocks!  

Btw, I know everyone loves Seasons of Love, but this one (Light My Candle) is my fave song in the play :)

Video from Rent the movie with Rosario Dawson as Mimi and Adam Pascal as Roger

9 Works Theatrical's cast singing "Seasons of Love" On ASAP.  Anyway, if you are looking for a cheap abelton push at musicians friend just click on the link :D

Big brother

Before we adopted Nugget, we had a beautiful gray cat named Cubi.

He was such a good-natured cat and adjusted to baby Nugget right away.  Too bad I can't find photos of Nugget when he was a kitten.

The two became very close.  They were always together!

Looking out the window side by side :)

waiting...

spying on each other's tummies...  (Cubi seems to be a bit bothered by Nugget's Tummy in this photo :D)

competing for space on my lap...

or just hanging out.  Cubi died in 2007.  We all miss him, but I'm sure Nugget misses him the most.

This morning my heart swelled when I saw Kumo and Nugget looking out the window together.

There were rough patches at the start but now Nugget is acting like a big brother to baby Kumo :)