Headbands, scarves and bonnets

It was so cold in Tagaytay!  Thank God for our bonnets...



It seldom happens that we are complete.  My sisters (L-R)  Elaine, Citas, Me, Bhet, Banjie, Eunice and Evelyn

It was steaming hot, made even hotter by these scarves... 

It took me almost sixty years to wear a headband like this.  It's my first time... and it's all because of you, Elaine!

Thank you for our bonnets, our scarves and our headbands.  And oh by the way, thank you so much for my birthday video.  I hope I can upload it here. I would appreciate if you could help... hehe

Thank you for all the help, for all the motivation, for all the encouragements, for all the words of wisdom.  Most of all, thank you for the love that only a sister like you could ever give.

On your birthday,  I wish you all the best.  May the good Lord bless you with good health, happy heart, peaceful mind, and a bountiful life in the coming years. 

Till we meet again my dear sister ELAINE FLOR BALADJAY~KAPLAN!   I LOVE YOU!

For the Subversives

May 1 is Labor Day.  Rally dito, rally doon!

The heavy traffic and the rallies did  not stop us though  from celebrating my sister's birthday,  Beth Baladjay-Hugo,  in our own simple way. 

Eunice,  our youngest sister  and with my daughter Rein,   drove the four of us to Greenbelt 5 and feasted on  some subversive Filipino  food at the  Restaurante Pia Y Damaso.  It was our first time to visit this food stop  and definitely, we had no regrets.   The place was very cozy;  the wooden furniture and carvings reminded me of the old Spanish houses.  We felt like going back to the  old Spanish regime, drinking Tubig ni Maria Clara , eating kapitan Tiago's tinapa mixed in creamy pasta, Padre Damaso's  Paella Valenciana and Pork Belly with chorizo and chickpeas.  We also had a very subversive dessert ~ Ube Sansrival and Salvi's Canonigo. 

We never joined the rallies but we felt like having subversive stomach.  Good enough, we were in a subversive restaurant which served subversive foods ~ just like the celebrator who turned to be a subversive food lover!

Happy birthday  Sister!  May you have many, many more subversive food trips!



The table cover



The celebrator at the entrance of the Restaurante Pia y Damaso



The place, though a bit small, is very cozy.  The carvings and the furniture reminded me of the old Spanish houses



Paella Valenciana




Creamy Tinapa, Asparagus and Fish Fillet Pasta



Pork Belly with Chorizo and Chickpeas




Ube Sansrival

Salvi's Canonigo

The candle is now ready . . .

Make a wish . . . then blow your birthday candle!

 



Tubig ni Maria Claria ( a concoction of cucumber  and lemon juices with ginger )

Eunice (aka Princess Fish) and Rein Bael

Bhet, Eunice and me

 

 

 

 





 

The Legal Wife

Since I started writing blogs two years ago, I never had the chance ( or rather I was not that interested ) to write a review or to comment on a particular movie or TV series.   After I have seen all the episodes of The Legal Wife , a Filipino family drama TV series ( a teleserye)  which ended up recently as one of the blockbuster prime time shows of AB S-CBN,  here I am NOW, reflecting on the past scenes,  digesting all that has been said and done in every episode, spending time in determining  how effective the teleserye had been to me and to other Filipino viewers as well. 

The story revolved around  Monica Santiago ( perfectly played by Angel Locsin), her past encounters with her mother Eloisa ( portrayed by Rio Locsin) and how she tried to cope in an entirely new environment with her father Javier ( played by Christopher De Leon) and her two brothers Javi and Jasper ( played by Joem Bascon and Ahron Villena, respectively).  Through a set of circumstances, Monica met Adrian ( played by Jericho Rosales ), fell in love and married him but eventually turned out unfaithful to her and broke her heart.

The theme of The Legal Wife is very universal , timely and relevant.  It's all about the infidelity of Adrian  to his  wife Monica  in favor of Nicole ( portrayed by Maja Salvador ).  The story became more complicated when Adrian bore a love child with Nicole.  The presence of Max Gonzales ( portrayed by JC de Vera)  in Monica's life further complicated the relationships and  their characters were finally put to test by the challenges that push them to sacrifice their personal happiness for the sake of their respective families.  Mark Gil perfectly played the role of an ex-lover to Monica's mother, a disturbed business partner to Christopher de Leon, and a loving Dad to Nicole.  Matet de Leon also gave a very good supporting role as Nicole's honest-to-goodness best friend.

After running for almost five (5) months, the finale week became the talk of the town.  Every one seems so excited to see how the teleserye would end. 

Personally, and perhaps like most of the Filipino viewers, I wanted a happy ending .  I wanted to see that Monica and Adrian will live happily ever after together with their children in the end and Nicole will feel all the remorse after deciding to have an illicit affair with Adrian.  But I also prepared myself to see otherwise ~ that Angel and Adrin will finally decide to separate ways and live on their own.

But the directors and the writers of the series seem to have decided to give freedom for  the viewers to come up with their own endings.  First, it concluded Nicole's decision to finally accept her defeat and have a new life with his Dad (played by Mark Gil).  It was followed by Angel's statement to her mother (Rio Locsion)  that she still loves Adrian and will fight for him.  The next scene created some complications when Angel seemed uncertain to live her life again with Adrian despite the latter's great desire to start all over again.  I could imagine how sad my husband has been when he saw Adrian almost leaving Monica.  But the final twist came when Monica gave back to Adrian his wedding ring, telling him that he can wear the ring again and will wait for the time that they'll be back to each other's arm.  The series simply ended with both of them smiling at each other from a distance  ~ no hugs and kisses!  It was OPEN-ENDED!  BITIN!!

Will there be a Part 2, or a sequel?  That I still do not know.

Below are some of the memorable scenes  and lines grabbed from Angel Locsin Official Page  relative to the ever famous teleserye . . . THE LEGAL WIFE which  historically broke some ABS-CBN's teleserye records.



the leading characters (L-R)  Angel Locsin as Monica, Jericho Rosales as Adrian and Maja Salvador as Nicole



This is how in love  Adrian and Monica  were before . . .



The much-needed assurance from an infidel husband . . .



Now tagged as the "best friend ng bayan" ~ Matet de Leon



NICOLE (Maja Salvador  on the left) :  Akin lang!  Aking lang!  Akin lang si Adrian!
MONICA ( Angel Locsin  on the right )  AKIN LANG ANG ASAWA KO!

How many times will you say sorry? And how many times will you forgive him?



The teleserye's by-products



As a legal wife,  I should say and am not afraid to say this!

How would you like it to end?  Scroll down and at the lowest portion of this page, there is a survey poll  on how you would like this teleserye should end.  Please vote and let's have it just for fun.  Thank you!

Thank you for visiting my site and I  hope to see you again.  Have a nice day!




 

Sunday AVID Fan Day!

Papa: Dalhin mo naman ako sa "The Rock" . Gusto ko kasi
makita yung mama na tumutugtog  ng piano😊
Me: Ok sige pagtapos natin mag church😊

That's the conversation that transpired between my father and  Eunice, my youngest sister.
 
At about 12:00 noon,  after church,  Eunice drove the three of us ( Papa, Bhet and I )  to  Power Plant Mall  in Rockwell Center, Makati,  for  our lunch and to see the man who used to play the piano somewhere in  the Mall's ground floor .   Most probably, Papa got confused with "The Block" in SM North and "The Rock" he was talking about.  If I am not mistaken, Papa first saw that man played the piano  about two  (2) years ago in Rockwell Power Plant Mall and since then, he has not forgotten him.



Power Plant Mall from the third level

From the parking area, we immediately proceeded to the  Mall's ground floor to check whether the pianist was there.  Unfortunately, to Papa's dismay, nobody was playing the piano.  Instead, two young women were there playing the violin and the electric organ. 

To lessen Papa's disappointment, we took our lunch at KULINARYA Kitchen , a restaurant that serves a fusion of European and Asian cuisine.




KULINARYA Kitchen, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati

On the left side,  Eunice ( in red and black dress) and Papa.    On the right side,  me ( in purple sleeveless blouse) and my sister Bhet.

 

 It was our first time to eat in this restataurant and good enough, it didn't fail us.  We were all happy and satisfied with the food we ordered .  Give all of these a try. I'm sure you'll love it too!






Herb Butter Pork Chop.  It's a pan-grilled sage and rosemary butter pork chops with beer gravy.  It is served with parsley butter rice and side veggies ( carrots, asparagus and corn )



Baked Bangus Belly.  It's a boneless milkfish with tomato-onion relish and topped with mozzarella gratin.  It is served with parsley butter rice



Salmon Sinigang in Japanese Miso.  It's a salmon fillet with Asian vegetables (eggplant, raddish, tomatoes, etc) in tamarind and Japanese Miso broth.  



Banana and Langka Royale is Kulinarya's signature dessert! Flambéed banana and langka napoleon topped with vanilla ice cream

 

After lunch,  Bhet, Eunice and I decided to do some window shopping and Papa opted to stay behind at the  KULINARYA Kitchen while texting with  his friends.  At about 2:10 p.m. Eunice received a text message from Papa informing us that he proceeded to the area where the piano was.  And then from the third floor, we heard the sound of the piano and this is what we saw ~  the AVID FAN and the IDOL!



The avid fan and the Idol... from the 3rd floor of the Power Plant Mall



The avid fan and the Idol from the second floor of Power Plant Mall




a closer shot of the avid fan and the Idol.  By the way, out of admiration,  the little girl in colored shirt gave her loom band to Idol and he wore it as he played the grand piano...



Before we left, we had a photo shoot with the Idol

PAPA, himself, is a pianist.  In fact, he was our ( my siblings and I including our children now )  first piano teacher. At present, he also plays the piano in one of a popular piano stores in SM Nova.   Until now, at 80, he is still teaching piano lessons (home service) to a few.  But today,  on a Sunday,  PAPA at 80  is an AVID FAN and  it was such a wonderful feeling to see how happy and delighted  he was! 

Another Sunday Fun Day!  Once again, thank you Princess Fish!


 

Free as a Butterfly

I've been to most of the butterfly gardens around Metro Manila and nearby suburbs but so far, nothing can compare to our butterfly experience in Bilar, Bohol's HABITAT. 

HABITAT is the center in the province which is aimed at increasing the butterfly population and at the same time provide money to the local economy of Bohol.  More than the amazing life cycle and believe it -or-not trivia about the butterflies and its allies, we enjoyed the guided tour inside  the  butterfly habitat  and the tour guide himself whom we found so hilarious and amusing!

As soon as we stepped in the HABITAT, we were greeted by a young man, most probably in his early twenties, and said to my son-in-law (SIL) :

     Tour Guide:  From what country are you, Sir?
     
     My SIL :        From  UK.

     Tour Guide:   Oh from YUKI  ( for UK). . . . That's LABLE! (  for lovely)

We all burst into laughter !  But honestly, as a Filipino,  I felt so proud of our Boholano tour guide despite him looking  so short and frail  in front of my more than six-footer  British son-in-law.  From that very short conversation,  I came to know that he's familiar with  the terms commonly used by the different nationals.   In fairness to him, he spoke in English FLUENTLY  and WITH SO MUCH CONFIDENCE, despite his marked Visayan accent,  all throughout our tour inside the garden,  not to mention his  knowledge on butterflies and his incredibly huge sense of humor.  For our direct interaction with these lovely flappers,  he easily  caught butterflies for us as if he was their best friend  and later used them as props for our picture-taking.    More than that, he has equipped himself with some camera tricks and cheerfully volunteered himself to be our camera man inside the HABITAT.  

For a minimum fee of Php 50 per head,  the landscaped flowering gardens soothed our senses.  Our guided tour which lasted for about more or less 20 minutes  undoubtedly provided fun and education.   Moreover, our direct interaction with these short-lived but lovely,  colorful flying  creatures  and our candid photos completed our awesome butterfly experience.  Honestly, this butterfly experience made me love Bohol to the bits. Don't ever miss this encounter  should you decide to visit the province anytime soon! 

Here are some of our candid photos inside the HABITAT.



At the entrance of  HABITAT Butterfly Garden



Colorful butterflies begin with less colorful caterpillars.

 



  Colorful caterpillars, on the other hand,  grow up to be  less colorful butterflies



The Pupa Stage  (AYAW TANG-TANGA ANG PUPA!!! ~ Do not touch the pupa!!!)



Butterflies live as short as 7 days and as long as 21 days.



Wear perfume to attract butterflies!



MARIPOSA,  which I believed to be the biggest butterfly,  is not true.  The fact is,  it is a MOTH.



Catch a smaller one for your ring, Rein!



Believe it or not . . . this is the first time I touched a butterfly.



Joe looked intently    at the butterfly as it perched on his point finger .. .



Joe, how does it feel to be wearing  a real butterfly for an earring?  You seemed to be enjoying the experience... hehe



A cool shades  for Joe... hehe

 


Butterflies will really make you smile...



Yeheeeeey !!  HAWAK-KAMAY!    For once in our lives,  we were  FREE AS A BUTTERFLY!

Wait, Rein!  Don't fly away and leave Joe behind!

Lovely flowers soothed our senses . . .

I really wondered what this wooden frame is doing here.  Did it do justice to our family picture?   hehe

 

And wait!  Before you go,  do not forget to have a taste of the homemade Madamme Butterflies  Ice Drop.  I tell you, it's one of a kind  especially their mango and chocolate flavors.  You'll crave for it when you're back home.

 

 

Home made MADAME BUTTERFLIES natural fruit ice cream.  It's a bit expensive ( 35 pesos each ) but yummy and delicious.  Promise, you will ask for more... hehe

 

Do you want to experience the same?  You can request your  hotel to include in your tour package the trip to the butterfly garden.  You can also  log on to www.tripadvisor.com Simply Butterflies Conservation Center for more inquiries.

Thank you for visiting my blog site.  I hope to see you again in my next travel blog.

 S M I L E !  God loves you!