Color it summer!

Zara summer prints to love.

The hunt is on!

T ransform your home and add a touch of fun with these pocket-friendly finds in Dapitan Arcade.  Know more when you read my article in the new online magazine Positively Filipino (April 17, 2013 issue).  Here's the link.

Heavenly whites for the dining table.

Up for crabs!

Make mine Al Dente, please!

Soaring high!

Blending colors

You are my sunshine!

All natural.

Wicker hampers with great embellishments.

Colorful treatments for the garden.

Light my path.

Go green!

Old bottles become garden lamps.

Faux topiaries to add color to a  nook.

Quiapo and Binondo revisited

So, my friends and I finally set out to rediscover Binondo three Saturdays ago.  My husband who was driving for us surprised us by heading towards Quaipo for a quick stop at two famous stores along Carlos Palanca Street (formerly Echague Street ).  First  stop: Kim Chiong Tin Hopia Factory.

For me, no trip to Quiapo is complete without hopia from Kim Chiong Tin, the hopia of my youth.  I grew up knowing and loving it even as I lived miles away from Manila.  My late father who used to frequent Manila at that time never failed to bring home a box or two of this famous Filipino pastry, the hopia monggo,  filled with a generous heaping  of mung bean paste.

fresh, hot and  flaky hopia monggo

How can you miss ( and  ignore ) Kim Chiong Tin's next- door- neighbor, the timeless Excelente Ham? Sliced, bone-in, boneless or scrap ham, the savory smell  pulls you to its premises.

More eats on the rack:

I wanted to scour the whole stretch for some cookware but we hardly had time. Then I saw this boy, " chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping on your nose... " and my thoughts wandered off to many Christmases past.. Suddenly, I was missing my mother and my mother-in-law who both loved  freshly-roasted chestnuts.  I went nearer to smell the aroma and reminisced for a moment. Those were the days.

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On the same stretch: some familiar  Filipino breakfast fare. Must be prepared with fried rice, of course.

That's only a fraction of  what Quiapo is all about.  I shalll be back soon to check out what's new in my favorite beadshop,  go to Quiapo church and buy some stuff at Quinta market then pick some handicrafts at  Ils- de- Tuls  ( Ilalim ng Tulay).

As to our main destination  Binondo, we  explored  Ongpin Street, bought foodstuff and ate to our heart's content.

Healthy options:

Eureka!  Braised duck cooked on the spot.

Voila! A veritable feast.

More familiar Binondo scenes and chow:

natural charms and crystals

Bargains and haggling at 168.

Easy- does- it summer cooking!

I'm  doing a lot of cooking lately. Well. I have to - summer is officially here (the hot season is on! ) and my children get hungry very often (sigh!). I have to make sure there's always something to  chow down. Nothing really fancy, just simple and easy-to-whip-up dishes. No matter the heat, it's always an adventure to be cooking in summer and getting a little creative in this area..

Barbequed baby back ribs with homemade bbq sauce paired with fresh veggie salad and  corn & carrots

Hot spinach dip with melted mozzarella cheese

Fresh picks: marble potatoes from Baguio

Buttered marble potatoes and parmesan chicken lollipops & wings

Potato salad with mayo-dijon mustard dressing

Sharing with you two easy-to-follow recipes today.

Hot Spinach Dip 

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh spinach
1 small white onion, minced
 garlic, minced
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly -ground pepper
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
olive oil

Scenes from Holy Week

Palm Sunday: the start of the Holy Week and the Feast of the Entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

Take up your cross and follow Me (Matthew 16: 24)

I am the Light of the World ... (John 8: 12)

He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness...

... but will have the light of life.

Altars of Repose: Christ in the Blessed Sacrament

                                  Top left: Mary the Queen Parish Church, San Juan City 
                                  Mid left : Santuario de San Jose, Greenhills, San Juan City
                                  Lower left : Aquinas Church, San Juan City  
                                  Center: Pinaglabanan Church, San Juan City 
                                  Top right: Archbishop's Palace, Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City 
                                  Mid right : Mt. Carmel, New Manila , QC
                                  Lower right: St. Therese of Child Jesus & Holy Face, New  Manila,  QC                   


Thirst -quenchers after the mass:

Balut, penoy ...

Fresh, hot bibingka for the famished.

Musings on Good Friday

It’s not Easter yet but I received my Easter present  ( or should I say Easter message?) early ... on Good Friday!

I’ve been missing my best friend who passed away last December and this is my first Holy Week without her. Normally, at this time of the year, we would be comparing notes: what activities we were going to have, the seven churches our families would visit for the  traditional Visista Iglesia and where we would spend Easter Sunday and how.

Days before her passing she asked me to pray for her. I still keep my promise and pray I would for her every single day. Yesterday was no exception and as my family and I made our first stop for our Visita Iglesia, I talked to her like she was beside me and asked her to pray with me. In my heart and in my mind I knew she was there praying with me as I was praying for her, for her eternal peace and for the healing of her loved ones, especially her two boys and her husband. I said the same prayer ( along with other petitions ) in the seven churches that we  visited.

I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes. Dearest best friend forever Malou appeared in my dream last night. She was at a party and was waiting for me. I came and she looked at me and smiled. Everyone was dressed in white. She was happy eating grapes, smiling and telling me  how good the grapes were. In an instant my dream shifted to another scene: it was pitch- black around us but  here we were still talking about things. She suddenly points to a framed picture by the stairs and tells me as if reassuring: “maganda pala doon! “  I looked at the direction where she was pointing and I saw this picture of a lady with a ray of light around her, no, not just an ordinary ray of light but a beautiful, radiant, bright ray of light. 

I knew then my dearest best friend forever is really HOME and she is happy.  I am happy knowing that she is happy but I cried still because I miss her so.

The bright ray of light in my dream  pretty much looked like this: 

Taken at Pinaglabanan Church in San Juan City:
our first church for Visita Iglesia

Remember this?

In one of my  posts, I mentioned that I was so looking  forward to something.

The photo (above ) was a teaser to my blog’s image header courtesy of one of my dearest BFFs,  Isel M who owns and manages Work Area in Cagayan de Oro City  ( click the link and check it out for your printing needs).  We tweaked the original design a little bit ( after countless exchange of e-mails ) and now, it’s finally showing!  

Thank you, dearest bff, for your love and patience!