Happy Birthday Parties!

(#1 of a 6 part series on birthdays)

One of the absolute joys in my life is making my daughter's special day even more special. Every year we throw her a birthday party, something that I start planning for in December until her birth month, April. LOL!

We've had a couple of themes through the years depending on her current interests. Except on her first year, I picked the panda theme which is cute and can be an Asian theme as well.

Centerpiece was a small lantern, mini panda plush and a bamboo plant that guests can take home.

Yummy cupcake tower, cupcakes were a gift from one of her Ninangs.

Panda pound cake made by her Lola and the chocolate ganache cake made by another Lola! So yummy!

Lollipops in theme colors of black, white and hot pink!

She slept and missed a lot of things during the party, but she enjoyed it a lot when she woke up. We did the usual cake smash (cupcake smash in our case), blowing of the candle and opening her presents. Time really flew by, she is turning 6 soon! :)

Bow Tie Pasta in White Parmesan Sauce with Asparagus and Italian Chicken

Ingredients:

2 cups bowtie pasta cooked al dente
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into small strips
1 cup chopped asparagus
Italian dressing enough to cover chicken in a Ziploc bag
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp EVOO
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Marinate chicken in a Ziploc bag with Italian dressing for at least an hour in the fridge.

Cook pasta with salt to taste for 11 minutes or according to what the box says. Add the cut up asparagus in the last 4 minutes of cooking and drain together. Set aside.

On medium heat, brown chicken in butter and EVOO. Remove chicken. Add garlic and cook until tender, add chicken broth. Let it reduce for 2 minutes then add half and half, heavy cream, salt and pepper.

Let it boil a little then add Parmesan cheese while whisking constantly to thicken. Remove from heat then add chicken, asparagus and pasta. Toss and add salt and pepper if you want.

Serve immediately and top with more Parmesan cheese.

My 5 year old absolutely loved it!

We Love the Philippines: Our Top Things to Do in the PH

Philippines is my home, my first home. I was born and raised in Manila, the heart and soul of the country. When I had my daughter, I waited for the right time to bring her there. I thought at 4 years old she would be travel ready! It is an 18 hour flight! And I was right.

The flight was nothing less than perfect. She did not just tolerate the long hours...she enjoyed it! She was so excited. I even asked myself why I was so worried, Sofia has always been a good traveler even as a baby. I highly recommend Aseana Airlines, they are a Korean airline and we were all happy with their service. I was of course armed with things she can do on board: books, puzzles, small toys, Play-doh among other things. And of course snacks!

Traveling during the holidays I expected the worst. But my husband and I were so pleasantly surprised as to how smooth everything was. So here are our ten favorite things that we enjoyed while we were there:

10. Pansol, Laguna Hot Springs

Where else can you rent a house with a private pool filled with water from natural hot springs? It's cheap, therapeutic and a whole day's worth of fun in warm water from the mountains.

We stayed at Villa Corazon, great service, nice caretakers and definitely worth the price. This really takes me back to my childhood when my family used to rent a private resort around New Year's day.

The view from the pool where you can see the mountains from afar.

This is the main house with two air conditioned bedrooms and toilet/baths.

At one point she told me, "Mama, this is the life!"

Enjoying the day with her cousins from her father's side.

9. Visiting my beloved alma mater St. Theresa's College, QC

One of the things in my bucket list while planning this trip was to take my daughter to see my old stomping grounds. I grew up in STC having spent my childhood and teen-age years here. I never had a sister and the ladies I met here are my sisters. Lifelong friendships were born here. I was happy I shared it with my little girl.

A part of the high school grounds.

A newly renovated gym, I'm saying new because it wasn't like this when I graduated 23 years ago. LOL. I have no idea when they renovated.

One of my favorite places in my school is this pond which sits right in the middle of the main HS building by the Admin
office. It's so serene and relaxing.

8. Boracay Island

I really don't care what other people say about Boracay (the negative ones!), to me it's still the most beautiful beach and it's a reminder of my glorious 80's and early 90's childhood. It has changed A LOT since the last time I was here was 1993 (?). I did not have the heart to come back after my Grandfather passed away that year, it was just too sad not to see my Lola and Lolo welcoming us when we come to visit our ancestral home in Aklan.

I was so happy to share this beautiful place with my own family.

Hello paradise, we meet again.

My babies, both first timers in Boracay.

We stayed at the Henann Regency Resort and Spa, a place I cannot recommend enough. We got a family room which essentially has 2 rooms. Main room has 2 queens and a small room with 2 twin beds. It also has a large bathroom and TVs in both rooms. Our room was very clean and comfortable. The pool is literally right by our door and a few steps away to the beach. There are so many restaurants around us and the breakfast included is absolutely delicious and worth it! I like that the beach front is not as crowded and the water is as clean and serene as I remember it to be.

Lani Misalucha + Arnel Pineda = Wow

Last Friday we braved the after work LA traffic and trekked what normally is a 90 minute drive to Temecula from our home to watch Lani Misalucha's casino concert tour, "Voice of the Nightingale". With my Mom, kid and husband in tow, we were stuck in traffic for 3 hours! The tickets said that it starts at 7:30pm and we barely made it when we arrived at 7:20pm.

Or so we thought....lol. The theater was still (almost) empty when we arrived. I gave my Mom the "I told you so" speech, I knew it wasn't going to start on time! Come on! This is Filipino time at its finest! But I am not one to get irritated with things like this, as long as we arrived safe and sound, late or not, everything's okay and the show goes on. It started at around 8:20pm.

As part of my husband's Mother's Day gift to me and my Mom, he got us tickets to see Lani Misalucha at Pechanga Resort and Casino. Thank you boo! :)

Lani Misalucha did not disappoint. She has a powerful voice, a voice that made me realize why the 3 hour drive and the steep hotel reservations I paid for that night were all worth it. Haha. Seriously though, she can control that voice like no other! I was in awe, amazed and proud that she is an OPM artist with a world-class talent. How I wish I saw her during her Vegas days. Her special guest was Arnel Pineda, another talented guy who joined the band Journey a few years back as their lead singer. He sang a lot of 80's rock ballads, but my favorite was their duet, a classic OPM song "Maging Sino Ka Man".

Lani can also crack jokes and play with the audience which made it more fun and overall a great show. Once in a while, I like watching American artists and shows, but I know I will never get tired of watching and supporting Filipino artists. I always get emotional, it takes me back...way way back...lol!!!

This is not the first time we watched a show at Pechanga Resort and Casino, the first one was Gary Valenciano's concert last February. Another awesome show! Gary V. is truly timeless!

That was how we spent the first part of our Memorial Day weekend this year. :)

In Response to: How Do You Cook Your Adobo?

A dear friend of mine, Connie of Connie's Notebook asked this question: How do you cook your adobo?

Here's how I cook mine:

• pork shoulder and chicken breast (I don't know how much though! LOL, approximately 3 pieces of pork shoulder cut into small cubes and 1 1/2 chicken breasts -- skinless and deboned)
• one whole garlic crushed (sometimes I even put more! I love garlic!)
• 1 cup vinegar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup water
• 1-2 bay leaves 
• peppercorns or black pepper

***I also use pork butt or pork belly sometimes.

I put everything in a pot, boil for 10 minutes and then simmer for another 30 or until tender. I like mine with a little sauce so I don't let it dry up. Serve with hot steaming rice and a side of tomatoes and cilantro salad! YUM!

Simple? Yes. But adobo is a very tricky dish for me to make, which is why it's the only dish that I actually measure!

What about you? How do you make your adobo? :)

Studio City Farmer's Market

***This is a late post and has been sitting in my drafts for 6 months. LOL.

I accidentally found this market online while searching for a vendor for Sofia's 2nd birthday. Once again, this is why I love living in LA. So many things to do, so many places to go!

This market is open every Sunday 11-2pm. Parking is a downside, but if you're early, you can park at the Chase Bank lot or at the CBS Studios lot.

First stop was the train ride around the market and side streets. ($3/person)

I'm not sure if the kid enjoyed this or not. She wasn't at all excited during the ride, lol. As for me, I don't think it's safe. It's kinda old and rickety, definitely not a smooth ride. I would skip this and just take the kid on a real train ride at Griffith Park.

This one she was really excited about! Her first real pony ride! As soon as she saw the ponies, she started jumping frantically. Not scared at all! It was $4 a ride. The saddle has a back support and has a seat belt. I think it's pretty safe (?). The ponies just went round and round and did not go fast at all. She definitely enjoyed this ride even if her face doesn't really show it. Haha.

 My daughter is a sucker for petting zoos. She absolutely LOVES petting the goats, pigs, rabbits, llamas, chickens etc etc. This is not the best and cleanest one we've been to but it's a close second. She had so much fun getting to know the animals and brushing their fur.  As expected, getting out of the petting farm was a struggle because if I actually gave her a choice I think she would rather live there than come home with us. I love that they have a "hand washing station" where you can wash and clean your hands with plenty of water, soap, paper towel and hand sanitizers. E Coli is an absolute NO NO! :D

There were other attractions at the Market for bigger kids like a giant slide and a pirate themed bounce house. Food stalls, flowers, fresh produce and other random things were also sold. It wasn't that crowded but was still busy enough.

We grabbed a breakfast burrito and sat down at one of the tables that they set up in the grassy area. Definitely a family environment and a fun Sunday place to go to with the kids.

Studio City Farmers Market
Ventura Pl  Los Angeles, CA 91604

(818) 655-7744

I Want to Blog, I Really Do

Hi. I did not mean to go on hiatus for so long. The best explanation to this is, I was busy. I kinda really was, or still am. Last post was January, and today is July 1st. There's no other excuse I could really think of. LOL. I do want to blog! I really do! At night when I am stalking Ikea for furniture I know I can't assemble or looking at ideas on Pinterest  that I will never have time to make, I keep thinking of blogging about things that I did actually do. But alas, the lazy bug bit me, and it lasted for 6 months.

I'm not going to promise that I will be blogging regularly because that's like promising my child that we'll be going to Disneyland every year. So no! But I have intentions to blog regularly. :) It's not a promise, but that's what I'm aiming for.

I will be back...(not promising that either! :)