Dear Boy

Yes! I found the "Dear Boy" counterpart to my previous post.

I did a bit of research this morning and I found out that these two letters were originally published in Chicken Soup for the Soul 3.

They're both really cute... it makes me wonder, if I were to write a letter to my future husband / boyfriend when I was still single, what would I say? Hmmmm.... Maybe it will also sound kind of like this...

image courtesy of kim-arts.com

Dear Boy,

I do not know who you are, or where or when we will meet, but I do hope it is soon.

I pray that when we meet and fall in love, you will love me, for me, and not hope for someone thinner or prettier. I hope you won't compare me to girls who may have brighter smiles. I hope that you will make me laugh, take care of me if I get sick, and be trustworthy.

I hope that you will remember that I prefer daisies to roses, and know my favorite color changes with my mood. Please know that my eyes aren't blue, they are gray, with flecks of navy.

Please know I might be too shy to kiss you first, but please don't be afraid to kiss me. I won't slap you or push you away. I'm sure your kisses will be perfect. When we go on a date, please don't stress about where to take me; what's important is that I'm with you.

Dear Girl

I found this cute and sweet "letter" on the other side of one of our scratch papers. Sometimes, you actually do get to find treasures among "trash", after all. :)

Dear Girl,

I feel that the time has come for me to have a girlfriend. I know you're out there somewhere. Don't worry, I'll find you.

And when I do, I hope that you will love me because I'm Derek, not because I'm Mike's younger brother. I hope you won't be embarrassed when my clothes don't match, or be annoyed when I want to watch the Lakers on ESPN, instead of Party of Five.

I hope that you will remember I play soccer, not football, and that I play midfield, not defense, and that every weekend I live with my dad.

I pray that you'll love me despite my tendency to forget birthdays, and if your parents invite me to dinner, please write their names really small on my hand so I can use it for reference.

That Eyebrow Trend

Eyebrow trend for 2012 is thicker, darker and fuller.

But even before that became a trend, I've always admired the well-defined eyebrows of Denise Richards

 and Brooke Shields.

They are 2 of the few women who can make thick eyebrows look sexy and feminine.



It is important to shape and maintain our eyebrows well as they serve as the frames of our face. Just like any work of art, our face needs a nice frame to enhance our good features and makeup.

When we first look at another person's face, usually, it is not that immediately obvious whether that person has unruly or well-maintained eyebrows, natural or tattoed eyebrows, etc. But the eyebrows definitely play a major role on the over-all impression you get of the other person's face and appearance... does the other person appear unkempt or pulled together? Does the person appear snobbish or friendly?

Chili Toyo-Mansi Noodles

It has been a looooonnnnngggggggg time since I've last had instant noodles! With all the bad reviews (health-wise) for instant noodles and other processed food, I've been trying to avoid them as much as possible.

Good thing that it's so easy to make my own instant noodles-inspired dish at home, so there's really no need to buy the MSG-filled instant noodles packs from the supermarket anymore.

My favorite instant noodles flavors before were Toyo-Mansi (soy sauce with calamansi- a local citrus fruit) and Chili-Mansi. So I combined them together to make my very own:

Chili toyo-mansi noodles topped with ground chicken, chorizo (chinese sausage) and oyster mushrooms. Yummy!

Recipe follows...

The Charming Duchess of Cambridge

How do you define CHARM?

I've always heard that a person is charming if you see that person grow more and more attractive in your eyes as time goes by.

There are some pretty women or handsome men whose looks, as Filipinos say it, are "nakakasawa". (How do you translate "nakakasawa" in English? Hmmm... Well, to translate the entire sentence, those are the beautiful women and handsome men who become less beautiful / handsome the more you look at them.)

For me, the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton is a charming woman.

Go Natural: Ilog Maria Honeymilk Lotion

The availability of affordable natural alternatives in the personal care segment has made it easier for me to shift to organic products, little by little.

Two brands I especially like are Human Heart Nature & Ilog Maria.

Here is one product I'm currently using- Ilog Maria Honeymilk Lotion.

What's written on the bottle:

Handmade in our bee farm from: bee milk or royal jelly, honey, beeswax, propolis; natural flower, herb & seed oils. Quenches dry & scaly skin to make it supple & smooth. We do not use emulsifiers so please shake well before using.

Sweet Indulgence: Baked Leche Flan

If you ask any Filipino- what is your favorite native dessert? The answers might be halo-halo, maja blanca, ube... and definitely, leche flan will be part, if not on top, of the list.

I love leche flan. In fact, if I remember correctly, making leche flan was my very first attempt in cooking. I was still in high school then. I didn't have money to buy the ingredients, so I had to make do with what was in the house. Instead of evaporated milk, I used Nido Full Cream Milk. Instead of condensed milk, I used Nido Full Cream Milk with lots and lots and lots of white sugar.

I then steamed the concoction... it did form into a flan, but the taste was very far from the other yummy leche flans I'd tasted. At the end, whenever I wanted to make Nido leche flan, I would put in scoops of Ricoa cocoa powder... only then did my family say that it's good. But still, it was not the original leche flan I wanted to make.

After those several episodes, I didn't attempt to make leche flan for a long time. I don't know, maybe I was traumatized? :P Or maybe I just thought it was time to move on to other desserts.

But once in a while, I still get a craving for leche flan. And it's really expensive to buy leche flan in restaurants! A very small leche flan in Max's Restaurant (the least expensive one among those included in the Top 10 leche flan list) would cost around P50.

So I decided to give leche flan another try. But this time, I wanted it to place it in ramekins to make it more classy. So I googled if I can make leche flan via baking. And as it turned out, yes, I can! :)

Monopoly Deal Craze

Everyone's crazy about Monopoly Deal!

When you go to coffee shops and desserts places during weekends... what do you see? Groups of people playing Monopoly Deal.

Last March, when I wanted to buy my own Monopoly Deal, I hopped from one toy store, department store, hobby shop to the next and it's nowhere to be found! Out of stock! The supply cannot meet the demand.

I ended up asking my brother-in-law to buy my set in Hongkong... even there, he had to take an extra ride in the subway just to find it. (Awww... thanks, Victor!)

Having a Coke with You

I am the happy owner of this vintage Coca Cola collector's bottle. This bottle was given to us to commemorate the 100 years of Coke in the market. Ain't it cute? :)

Seeing this bottle reminds me of this sweet poem by Frank O'Hara. I've heard the title of the poem before, but I only got the chance to hear the actual poem from the movie "Beastly". I watched the movie "Beastly" on my Qatar flight from Paris to Doha (stopover), so of course, the movie and poem evoke good memories for me. :)

Read it here:

City of Lights

Sometimes, a picture can paint a thousand words... 

Paris and all the memories it holds for me... can be summarized in this one picture.

Missing Paris.

Photo taken by me.

Curry Couscous with Shrimp & Zucchini

I love the couscous in Cyma... it's flavorful and I feel like I'm eating healthy! But of course, with the prices in Cyma, you cannot eat there often.

Couscous is definitely healthier than white rice and pasta. I got the information below from Wikipedia:

Couscous is among the healthiest grain-based products. It has a glycemic load per gram 25% below that of pasta. It has a superior vitamin profile to pasta, containing twice as much riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, and folate, and containing four times as much thiamine and pantothenic acid.

In terms of protein, couscous has 3.6 g for every 100 calories, equivalent to pasta, and well above the 2.6 g for every 100 calories of white rice. Furthermore, couscous contains a 1% fat-to-calorie ratio, compared to 3% for white rice, 5% for pasta, and 11.3% for rice pilaf.

Recycled LV Paper Bags???

I chanced upon an online seller who sells LV (Louis Vuitton) paper bags. People actually pay for them?! I am not judging anyone but I just find it... WEIRD.

Then, I went on Google (Ms. Google again), typed "LV paper bag" and found several more sites selling LV paper bags and boxes!

picture from ioffer.com

What's the value of an LV paper bag if there's nothing inside? Is it just so you can show everyone you have an LV at home?

You're My #1: Switzerland

This is a re-post from my tumblr site with some revisions. :)

Switzerland definitely deserves a space in my blog/s!

I haven't had the chance to be around the whole world (yet?!). But out of all the countries I've been to, Switzerland is so far my #1.

I remember asking my mom when I was younger, "Why is that country called 'Sweetzerland'? Is it cause everything there is sweet?" Indeed, it is a sweet, sweet place to be.

Rice Crispies Treats

Kellogg's Rice Crispies Treats (Crispy Marshmallow Squares) with my name on it... literally! :)

I haven't eaten it as I'm saving it for a rainy day. Well, today is a rainy day! So should I eat it today? :) Let's see... :)

The packaging is just so cute! Written on the bottom part is "A wrapper you can write on!". So it's really designed to be written on and shared to others.

I'm just not sure if it's available here in the Philippines though as a friend of mine gave it to me from the US.

Have a safe rainy day, everyone!

Bucket List: Plant A Tree

Last Saturday, we passed by Nuvali in Sta. Rosa on our way to Tagaytay.

And I suddenly remembered... how is the little tree I planted there almost 2 years ago? I hope it's now tall and strong!

Tree Planting

Tumblr

Reposting from my tumblr: switiepuff.tumblr.com

I'm A Fan of Phan!

Amazing! How to curl your hair without heat!

Another great tutorial by Michelle Phan.

I hope I can do this! Gotta try this soon! :)

Fried Oreos... Double The "Goodness" :)

Fried Oreos

Just two easy steps:
- dip Oreos (any flavor would do!) in pancake batter (vanilla flavor is better)
- deep fry

It's a quick and tasty dessert / snack!

Contributes to easy weight gain also! LOL! :)

Hello Ms. Google

Well, here I go again giving the blogging thing another try...

I was debating with myself whether to resurrect this blog or just to start with a new one. Reviewing the contents of this blog and remembering the hours I spent composing my entries here made me decide for the former.

What's making it hard for me to maintain a blog? I've always loved writing, but I guess I'm just not that cyber-talkative type of person who likes to post everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I eat, drink and think on Facebook (and I don't even have a Twitter!)

But I do admire and appreciate people who post their helpful reviews / experiences on their blogs.

Some of my friends call me Ms. Google, and thinking about it, how many times have I went to Google to look for information about something and found a helpful blog entry about it?

Looking back on my entries, I rarely post reviews. Maybe it's about time I post more reviews to help others. Or maybe just helpful information.

In the meantime, maybe I should just start being more cyber-talkative.

Let's see how that goes...