Karaoke Day!

Because it was Independence day yesterday, my boyfriend had the day off at work. This meant we had time to spend with each other! Yay! Since I really wanted to go sing at a karaoke for several days now, we decided to go to the mall where they had these booths where you can sing karaoke privately.

However, being the lazy people that we were, we ended up oversleeping and by the time we woke up, it was already 1 pm. I still had work to do, but I decided to do it in the evening instead.

I don't wear make up on a daily basis (Gah that'd be horrible for my skin!) except for lipstick which I literally cannot live without. However, on days when my boyfriend and I go out for dates and such, I make it a point to "beautify" myself. LOL! So anyway here's how I did my make up that day:

For this particular look, I decided to ditch my bloody red lipstick for the sweet and innocent looking pink one. Haha! I didn't want too look too made up since we were only going to the mall. For my face, I used Maybelline Smooth and Clear BB Cream. I love using BB creams since they're easy to use and they cover up blemishes on my face without going over the top like foundations do. I used to be very particular on Korean BB Creams but when I used Maybelline's version of it, I was surprised! It was good too! It was also a lot "lighter" compared to the Korean BB creams I tried out. Anyway, Maybelline BB Cream is my HG and go-to make up nowadays. I also applied a bit of powder to keep my face from "oiling" up.

For my lips, I used a combination of Nyx Soft Lip Matte Cream in Milan and Avon Extra Lasting lipstick in Vintage Pink. The effect is just the lovely shade of pink that I want. I don't wear blush-on a lot since I don't know how to apply them; I end up looking like a clown sometimes. However, this time I tried putting on a few dabs of it on my face. Not bad right? I used Avon Smooth Minerals in Blushed. I like Avon make up. They're not only affordable but they also look good on me. The fact that they're Filipino made is another plus. We should patronize our own products, right? :)

I didn't use any eye make up, but I did use eyebrow pencils to shape my eyebrows. I'm still learning how to do it though. Haha! I think my attempt on this one is not too bad.


Anyway, after I had my make up on and fixed my hair, we immediately set out to Cash and Carry mall. I was excited because I really, really wanted to sing out loud already. LOL! I don't know what got into me, I'm really crazy like that.

When we got into a booth, I immediately scanned the songbook for songs that I've been meaning to sing. Meanwhile, the boyfriend went ahead and sang like a drunk dude with the Black Eyed Peas' "Where is the Love?"

boyfie's song

Feel na feel ni boyfriend kumanta LOL

 Ivan, my boyfriend was singing with gusto even if he was out of tune most of the time. I could say the same for me, but hey at least we were the only people who could hear how horrible we were! LOL

My turn to sing!

When it was my turn to sing, I literally brought the house down! (or I think I did...) I bet Ivan was amazed at my singing prowess because I got a good score after my turn!

my score!

See what I mean?

I bet this only means one thing: I am destined to be a good singer...The whole world needs to know of my vocal prowess...LOL!

How did you guys spend Independence day? Do you love singing at Karaokes too?

Mantica at Gata weekend

This is such a late post, I'm sorry dear readers (if i have any LOL). But after weeks of delaying and delaying I finally have the time to blog again. I promised myself I would try to update on a daily basis, however it is just not possible considering how busy I am lately. Anyway, let me share with you me and my friends' latest weekend adventure aptly titled "Mantica at Gata"...sounds funny, right? But there's a story behind it...I'll share it with you guys later.

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS GONNA BE A VERY LOOOOONG POST...I HOPE I DON'T BORE YOU GUYS :))**

Because we now have jobs, my friends and I do not always have the time to meet up and bond together. Nowadays, it takes weeks before we can hang out with each other again. It was a lot easier to for us to "make gala" or go out and have fun back in College. Now that we're all grown up, all we ever do is work our asses off. This is why when my friends and I do meet up, we really make the most of it. Take for example this particular day with Larry and Vi.

Because it was our rest day from our respective jobs (and we had money to spend), we decided to meet up for a bit of chitchat. We met at SM Megamall since it was the place closest to Vi. It was my first time to commute to SM Megamall by myself. To be honest, It's my first time to commute outside the Makati area by myself! It was a pretty scary thing for me since I have this constant fear of getting lost and kidnapped or killed or raped...or..or.. (okay I'll stop now, LOL).

So, As I said it was my first time to commute by myself outside Makati, and since I'm practically clueless about a lot of things, I got lost on my way. I got lost because of my stupidity. LOL. But good thing I was able to find the right bus right away or I would've panicked to death right there and then. Haha!

When I got to SM, Larry and Vi were already there waiting for me and complaining of how tardy I was. If they only knew what I went through! LOL

Larry and I (serves as an outfit of the day pic too! LOL

We then chatted for a bit. Larry was giving me a good dressing down as he recounted how horrible I was the night we went out at Izumi. He told Vi I was really crazy that night. You guys might want to know, but I really got drunk that night and also according to Larry, I went crazy. I promise never to get drunk again...maybe? LOL

After updating each other on the latest thing going on with our lives, I immediately led them to the Megamall Happy Lemon branch. I have been dying to try out Happy Lemon ever since I heard about it. I love milk teas and I have heard great reviews about this milk tea outfit. I ordered Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese. It was a fail order since I really thought it had milk tea in it. (okay, I clearly wasn't myself when I ordered It, blame it on the excitement, mmmkay?).

Larry had Aromatic Milk Tea with Pearl Sago while Vi had Milk Tea with Oreo Cookies and Cream. See? They had milk tea while mine was a fail order. I wanna hit myself in the head, really.

Okay, so how did it taste? To tell you the truth, I wasn't happy with my order. I didn't find anything special about it; in fact it tasted like Milo; the only difference is it had cheese and salt on it. It really disappointed me :(

"not so happy" Happy Lemon

Larry found his drink to be "so-so" while Vi said it really didn't taste that great. It was a not so happy Happy Lemon after all... :(

After the not so Happy Lemon incident, we decided to do a bit of "window shopping" haha! However, we did end up buying some stuff, a new gorgeous looking shirt for Larry, a character Tee for Vi and a new dress for me.

All the walking made us hungry so we went looking for a great place to eat. Larry wanted to eat somewhere fancy like Piadina while Vi and I were satisfied with eating even at Jollibee. However, we obliged to Larry's whims so we walked around till we came across KKK or Kainan sa Kanluran Restaurant. It turned out to be a great choice since the food was really gastronomically satisfying!

First thing you'd notice when you get inside is it's festive interior. The place literally looks like one big fiesta! It's distinctly pinoy too! Check out their jeepney-like cashier area!

it's a jeeney, no it's the cashier area! LOL

Next, you'll really feel at home since the staff are so accommodating and friendly. They were even kind enough to oblige to our request for a picture...LOL! We were able to find a table right away.

our table

Another endearing quality of KKK restaurant is its menu. They had quite interesting names for some of their food such as Beef ala KKK, Kaldereta ni San Miguel, Litsong manok sa gata, koko loko and etc. You'd enjoy reading the descriptions on the food too! We decided to order Litsong manok sa gata and catfish fillet with sitaw and KKK rice.

When the food came, we were surprised because of the generous servings! It was a meal more than enough for the three of us! We forgot to take pics of the food but Larry acted like the Paparazzi that he was and took random pictures of Vi and I while eating.

The food might look unnapealing to you but trust me, they were gastronomically satisfying!! A bit on the unhealthy side, yes...but who cares, really? :))

I like this pic, it makes me and Vi look like we were "icked" with the food :))

Larry only started taking pictures just when the food was almost gone na LOL

I want moreeeeeee! :( 

This was all that's left 

kailangan talagang magpa pic with the jeepney

After dinner, the guys and I were deciding on where to go next. We wanted to stay up all night just making chika with each other. I suggested we go to Glorietta, since they have 24 hour coffee shops there; also, it's near my place so I wouldn't have to worry about going home the next day. So off we went to Glorietta.

We stayed up until 3am on the small park/garden between Glorietta 4 and Glorietta. We didn't really notice the time fly by since we were having so much fun just talking with each other. Just like old friends, we gossiped and discussed a lot of random stuff including the transgender Miss Universe issue,which is Larry's favorite topic, LOL.

We also started goofing around and took pictures, here are some of them:

Larry looks so manly in this jumpshot :))

uhmmm

It was our turn to be papparazi for larry haha

the orange thingy behind Vi is actually a sculpture

We were having a lot of fun just goofing out, but then Vi suddenly felt something strange inside his tummy. He said "Omg, I think I'm feeling the effect of the Mantica and the Gata!" which means he wanted to poop! This is basically why this post is titled Mantica at Gata, haha! Larry and I were laughing so hard about this and then I suggested we hang out at Bo's Coffee instead since they were open 24 hours plus the barista was a cutie... :))

So we went inside Bo's; Larry and I ordered our drinks while Vi stormed the loo to poo (ooh, that rhymed!).

Back when I was living in Cebu, I've seen a lot of Bo's Coffee branches all over the city. However, I didn't really take that much notice to it since I preferred The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. When we tried it out that night, I was surprised, I loved their Matcha frappe-like thingy. I'm sorry, I don't remember what its name was XD

I ordered the Matcha frappe somethingy (sorry I don't really remember the term :( ) while Larry ordered the strawberry version of mine. 

 When Vi Joined us later (after a million years of being inside the loo) He ordered iced coffee thingy.

Vi's, mine and Larry's

Some paparazzi shots

yeah! we were there!

We stayed at Bo's till 5 something in the morning. Yeah, just talking about random stuff. Larry showed us his sketchbook which he filled with drawings of women in gowns. I think Larry plans on being a desinger someday XD

Larry's drawing

my attempt at drawing...sucky but well..maybe i should've put my number there for the cute barista to call, noh? LOL just kidding

Anyway, after Bo's we decided to go separate ways and go home. It was a fun night and I know we're all looking forward to doing it again.



How about you guys? How do you and your friends spend time together? :D Do share! :)

In the mood for noodles

Yesterday (and for several days now) I have been having this huge craving for Ramen. I think it might have started when I stumbled upon Go Ramen one morning. Keizo, the guy who owns that blog is just amazing. He's a Japanese born and raised in America by Japanese parents. According to him, he was a bit picky with food when he was young and he didn't like Japanese food since they sounded gross and foreign to him. His mother, who was disappointed with this, dragged him to one of them ramen shops on one of their trips to Japan. After that, he started looking at ramen in a different way.

Although Keizo has been in and out of Japan since he was a kid, it was only in 2008 that he began taking ramen seriously. In fact, in his 2008 trip to Japan, he toured Tokyo and tried out 14 different ramen shops in 8 days. After that, he decided to quit his job as a computer programmer in America and moved to Japan for good. Today, he manages Basa, one of the best ramen shops in Japan. Also, in Keizo's blog, he's been trying out old and new ramen shops all over the country. Last year, he has had about 600 years of ramen bowls alone.

Keizo's story is amazing for me in a sense. Although it might sound a bit stupid for some to leave a high paying job just to sell ramen, I think it is all about going for what really makes you happy. Yes, Keizo might probably earn more by being a computer programmer, but I think that he's really happy making and eating all the ramen he can . It's about having a dream and pursuing it. It's about having the courage to really make it work. For that alone, I put my hands up for you Keizo. :)

So, anyway, after reading Keizo's blog for more than an hour, I suddenly had this urge to find a ramen shop nearby and try ramen for the first time. For a person who professes to love Japanese food, I am a bit ashamed to admit that I haven't really tried eating ramen yet. For me, ramen looks the same as those Chinese noodle soups anyway. But after reading Go Ramen, I figured out they're really different after all.

I invited my boyfriend along with my search for authentic Japanese ramen here in Manila. I could try the one at Teriyaki boy but, then again it wasn't authentic enough for me. I remembered seeing a string of Ramen shops in Pasay near the Mall of Asia (MoA). I wanted to try that out but my boyfriend insisted we go to MoA instead. Okay fine... (bummer)


When we got to MoA we spotted Kimono Ken, a restaurant offering authentic Japanese dishes. It's been in the country for five years now and its first branch can be found in Blue Wave. It also has other branches located in Shangri-la Makati, The Podium, and in Quezon City. Anyway, we tried it out since I saw they had ramen in their menu.

The place was cozy, the staff were quite nice too. We find a table right away and were seated immediately. I ordered Shoyu Ramen while my boyfriend had Negi ramen. We also had gyoza and Coffee Jelly ice cream.

SHOYU RAMEN

Shoyu ramen is soy sauce-based ramen soup characterized by its clear broth. The broth is based on chicken and vegetable stock added with a bit of soy sauce to give it a distinct tangy taste. It's garnished with Naruto (fish cakes), Chasyu (sliced pork), Nori (seaweed), egg and vegetables. To be honest, I couldn't taste chicken in the soup but shrimps! The soup was filling and the noodles firm. It was quite a big bowl and I got so full halfway already.

NEGI RAMEN

Next up, we have the Negi ramen my boyfriend ordered. He wanted something spicy so I suggested he try this since the menu sated it was a spicy ramen. The soup was a bit peppery in taste. I don't like spicy soups but I tried it out since it looks so delish. It wasn't really super spicy though. Ivan liked it and ate with gusto. He hated the negi though (Welsh onion).

GYOZA

What is ramen without Gyoza? So we ordered gyoza to eat along with our bowls or ramen. Gyoza are Japanese dumplings and they're filled with pork and cabbages. We both loved it!

and lastly, what is a good meal without dessert? We simply couldn't forget that right? Boyfie and I ordered coffee jelly to take out any meaty ramen aftertaste.

COFFEE JELLY

So what's my verdict on Kimono Ken? Well, overall, I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The service, the ambiance was nice. The food was great and delish and were given in generous proportions. However, I still feel like there's something missing. Maybe I should give those ramen shops I've seen in Pasay a try so I could do some comparisons. Will I come back again? A big YES to that! :)

Hibernation: over

I haven't really posted anything relevant in a while (uhm like over 5 months?) and that's because I have been lazy and uninspired lately. I feel like there's nothing really much to write about since I live a pretty boring life. Everything I do is just routine and I don't wanna bore people with that. But lately, I've realized, I wanna do something about that "boring, routine life" that I lead. I wanna break free of that.

I want to write about my thoughts. I want to write about my opinions, my feelings, my passions. I want to write about everything--no matter how silly or irrelevant it is. I want to channel out my emotions into my writing. I want to immortalize my ideas into words.

Writing has always been one of my passions. It was a dream that started from reading my cousin's essay in her school paper. Her essay inspired me. It moved me. It made me dream. It made me believe. Maybe, part of the reason why I decided to lie low from blogging is because I wanted to write about meaningful stuff just as my cousin did. I felt that my kind of writing is just so "shallow" compared to hers. However, I now realize that I don't always have to write in a formal manner. Writing is a form of release anyway. It is one of the ways one can de-stress. I don't always have to be so scholarly...I'd just have to be me...after all, this is my blog...everything in here has to be about me--my thoughts, my opinions, my everything.

Feel free to read my silly and sometimes meaningful posts. I may not always aim to please you, but I assure you, what you read is all ME.. :)

A haircut to forget

Ever had that feeling when you want to do something different about your hair or to your looks? Was there ever a time in your life that you wanted to look a certain way so bad that you obsess over it? Well, I have. 

There was this time in my life when I was soooooooo over my long, thick, curly hair. I had my hair up to my butt then, and It took me about 5 years to grow it that way. I know having long, thick hair looks beautiful on women, but when you've had the same hair for about 5 years, it gets kinda boring at some point. One day, I decided to do something about it.

Le me thinking of getting a cute haircut

I was thinking of getting one of those cute Korean-like hairstyles; specifically a curly bob with bangs. I was also thinking getting it colored to a deep shade of red. I could already envision myself in that kind of hairstyle. I imagined looking so chic and classy with it and that particular thought lingered for a long time until I eventually became so obsessed about it. 

So off I went to the parlor. I chose one that offered affordable (read: CHEAP) haircuts since I was on a tight budget at that time.  

As I entered the parlor, I was greeted by this chipper looking  hairdresser. He (he's gay, okay?) asked me what kind of haircut I want and I told him "Just cut it short, but leave some bangs on" I told him I wanted full bangs since I wanted to look cute like those Korean girls with their short bobs with bangs.

"Cut it short Le hairdresser!"

 Le hairdresser chopped off my locks and did a few snips here and there. 

*snip, snip snip* went his trusty scissors

*snip, snip, snip* it went some more

After a few minutes of witnessing the brutal murder of my hair. Le hairdresser showed me the final result of my haircut:

Le horror!

I did not look like the cute, chic Korean model in my mind. I looked horrible. Le horror! I could not even imagine how I was supposed to go out of the parlor looking like that. My hair looked like it was fashioned out of a cereal bowl. My life was basically over.

Le fuck!

I felt like I seriously wanted to go into hiding forever.

Got a haircut horror story? Why not share them? :)

of rain and cuddles and every little thing that's nice

The weather was somewhat chilly when I woke up this morning. I felt cold too since the electric fan was blowing full blast thanks to the stupid roommate. (grrrr) Anyway, when I looked up the window, I saw that it was raining so, maybe it explained why it really felt cold (Like,DUH!). 

splatter, splatter the sound of the rain on my windows go

 I don't really like the rain because I hate getting my clothes wet when I go out. Okay, i know some of you might be thinking: "get an umbrella, duh!" But hey, you can still get wet even if you have an umbrella coz of they wind! And besides I don't like getting my shoes wet, too.  But there are a few things I like about the rain:

FREE HUGS!

It is usually cold when it rains and I know most of us look for a blanket or something to hug on to when it is cold. I love the rain because I get free hugs from my bofyriend! HAHAHA!  

hugs are the best when it's from someone you love <3

HOT SOUP

Whenever it rained, my mom used to cook hot soup for us. This could be chicken noodle soup, chicken macaroni soup, egg drop soup, mushroom soup, crab and corn soup AND ANY KIND OF SOOOOUUUUUPPPPP! I love soups especially creamy soups. But what makes soups extra special is when they're served on rainy days. A steaming bowl of soup is enough to fill and warm you up on a cold, rainy day.

a bowl of chicken macaroni soup or any creamy soup is heaven!

 HOT CHOCO, YUM YUM!

Aside from soup, what other better way to warm your tummy than to drink a mug of hot choco? Hot chocolate is best served with marshmallows on top.. Ooooooh just thinking about it is enough to make me drool. LOL! 

a cup of hot chocolate to warm the tummies

 ICE CREAM *_*

 Okay, some of you might really find it weird but I crave for Ice Cream every time it rains (or gets cold). I find it weird too, but I don't know, Ice Cream tastes better for me when the weather is cold too! HAHAHA. One time, I bought an entire 1.5L tub of ice cream just for myself. It felt *wonderful* lol

yummy ice cream

I CAN WEAR JACKETS!

Let's face it: in a country with a tropical weather such as the Philippines, wearing a jacket makes one look out of place. Also, although wearing jackets look "cool" to some, it can get pretty hot inside it. This is why I love the rain, it gives me reason to wear my jacket and not look stupid or out-of-place since everyone else wears jackets, too! :D YEY!

Jackets keep you warm on cold, rainy days

How about you guys, what do you like about the rain? :)

Oh, and yes, all images in this post were made by me. Thanks to Microsoft Paint..LOL