10 Must Try Desserts in Paris

There are so many types of of sweets in Paris. It is impossible to try ALL if you will just visit for a week.  Imagine mo ha, if you will eat sweets after lunch, during merienda, after dinner. On average you can only eat mga 3 a day. Or maybe ako lang yan.  Hindi ako ma-lafang. And it's also nakakaumay to eat too much matamis.

So if you find yourself in Paris anytime bukas, I'm sharing a few of my favorites. In MY OPINION, these are the top 10 desserts you must try while you're on vacay.

Invasion of Dreams

When you have OCD, sleep is the best cure. So, that's what I do. I make sure I sleep a good 8 hours every day. It gives me better perspective. 

However recently, my fears managed to creep into my dreams. I wake up feeling very tired and distressed. 

At least when I'm awake, I can distract myself or keep myself busy. When I'm asleep, I'm forced to watch my own horror movie.

I've had good nights. Last weekend, I dreamt Ted Mosby ( How I Met Your Mother) was my boyfriend. The bad ones involve blood. 

I have ask my parents to pray for me. I feel so helpless! Maybe something is bothering me that I am not fully aware of.

Last night I had no bad dreams. I think that's because my husband put the holy water from Lourdes on my head.

Do you have recurring nightmares too???

Troubled,

L

Pua Tiong Chiu 2015

This year I celebrated with my mini family, that includes one college friend, my brother and ofcourse my husband. 

I have learned in my many years of hosting parties that you don't need that many guests. You can have 20 boring people and the party will still be boring. 

Hosting a party doesn't mean that you have to entertain everyone. You can choose your guestlist wisely in such a way that the guests will entertain each other.

Sadly, most of my friends are OFWS and are all working abroad. I only have 2 ilonggo friends left in Manila and one had to work. Nevertheless, even with only 2 guests we had so much fun! My brother and Joy have known each other for more than 15 years. 

Sadly, my husband couldn't understand us so he felt out of place. That's okay. I wasn't bothered. I feel out of place everytime I am with his family and they all speak Chinese anyway. So weather weather lang di ba!

And the best part was, no one was on the phone. I really hate it when you invite people to your house and they spend most of their time texting. I have only experienced it once and I have never invited those people ever again.

My friends in Singapore celebrated the mooncake festival by lighting and hanging lanterns. How did you celebrate yours?

Sleepy,

L

Mooncakes For Family and Friends

Every year, my aunt from HK sends us mooncake. Now that I am married, I decided to follow her footsteps and also send out mooncakes to my other relatives and friends.

Marriage, I feel, makes me an adult and adults start or continue traditions.

So yesterday,  I went to Shoppers in Ongpin to buy all the mooncake I need to mail.

That night I called mama to tell her to expect her mooncake by Saturday. She said...

"I got really nice mooncakes from your brother. The lata is so sosyal. Very beautiful. It's from Shangrila."

I told her na talo ata ako because I just got mine at Shoppers lang for 500 pesos.

She replied, " It's okay, I expected that. Barat ka naman talaga kahit nung bata ka pa."

Kung alam ko lang na impress na sya sa lata, sana I just gathered all the mooncake tin containers at my Inlaws' house.

Tipid tipid,

L

Give Him Space And Sleep On It

Last night, my husband was upset at me. I forgot my Ipad charger and phone in Binondo.  AGAIN! 

This is not the first time I have forgotten stuff. In fact my mother said in Ilonggo..."If wala gatapik putay mo, nadula mo na ina".  In English, "If your vagina is not attached to your body, you will surely lose it."

Basta, I'm notorious for leaving stuff here and there. I'll share a story...

One time, My husband drove us through the horrible ROXAS BLVD traffic to drop me off at a company event. When we got there, I realized I left my wallet and he had to drive back to Unilever in Paco! 

Understandably, he is very sick and tired of this bad habit.

So, last night he just wasn't in the mood to tolerate it. He refused to pray with me and he just slept on his corner.

I just gave him space. I could've easily snapped too...but I was not in the mood. It was already 11 in the evening. 

We slept far apart.

At around 4 am, I felt him hugged me. I'm not sure it that's out of habit...like sleep walking.  

When we woke up this morning, he was already talking to me. It's as if nothing happened. 

I realize...lot of the small fights we have had, started from a small issue. One gets agitated and the other gets defensive. BOOM! WARLA! 

The quote of Harper Lee, "Things are always better in the morning" came to my mind. My shrink once told me that if I have my OCD attacks, I just have to pop in sedatives and sleep. She said, "Sleep calms you down and brings better perspective. It significantly reduces anxiety."

So, next time you are your husband get into a fight. Give him space and sleep on it. Not sleep on top of him ha! 

Feeling better,

L

Prizes For The Mooncake Dice Game

The typical prizes for a Mooncake  Dice Game are the following:

1. Mooncakes

You can get small mooncakes from Eng Bee Tin Deli and premium ones from Shoppers, S&R and even Shangrila Hotel! 

The cheapest at Eng Bee Tin is a pack of 4 bite-size pcs for 55 pesos. They also have pack of mini mooncakes for 80 pesos. Not bad di ba!

2.  Hopia

There is a hopia set specifically for the mooncake dice game, I saw at set today at Diao Eng Chay for 1,550 pesos.

3. Money

Everyone's favorite prize.

Excited,

L

How To Play The Dice Game for the Mooncake Festival

Last year, we got a bit confused with the mechanics and that confusion significantly slowed down the game. Honestly, it got a bit frustrating because it took us a while to mentally process each throw.

So, this year I decided to simplify it for the game master- ME! 

The only thing I need to remember is the number 4. 

To keep it simple and easy to remember: The number Four (4) will govern the games.

CHAMPION: six 4s

Six 1s, pwede rin pero to keep in line with the simplified theme, 4 nalang.

PUBLIC DISPLAY OF GRATITUDE

My father is a very helpful man. In fact, he's too helpful for his own good.

My father has sent many to school. Some made him proud while some made him feel disappointed. He lent money to many people. Some used it well and paid him back while some squandered the money and purposely forgot their debts.

His helpfulness made us feel resentful in the past. He helped many people and yet his own family didn't really enjoy a life of "abundance." We were never in need but I also never felt we had excess. Growing up, we never owned a car even if we own an auto supply!  I never once in my life felt rich. So, I really wondered why give the "little excess" for others to enjoy. 

I saw the many abuses that came with a helpful heart. I became very wary of people and their intentions. I'm not very close to my relatives because I have seen the burden they have imposed on papa.  I only maintain a very small circle of friends.

Sometimes I wonder why papa helps people even if it's not a guarantee that he will get anything in return. Occasionally, I wonder if he is trying to secure his place in heaven. I also hypothesize that there is a void in his life that he is trying to fill. 

I never really understood papa...until last week. 

One of the people papa helped was Marlon. I call him "Nong" Marlon as a sign of respect. He was a scholar of my father's foundation.  He graduated medicine in UP Manila and completed his internship in PGH. Now, Nong Marlon is married and is a doctor in the US.

Our Time Under The Sun

Over dinner my brother told me...

If you compare the average lifespan of a human being to the age of the earth, which is 4.55 billion years old, you will realize that our lives are so insignificant in the whole scheme of things. 

And yet, our desires consume us and our problems make us feel it is the end of the world. Mathematically, that's impossible. 

At best, you can do something brilliant (or something stupid) and several generations will remember you. 

At best, you become a memory.

My brother is so smart noh? And yes, we talk like this.

If you have the most basic understanding of astrophysics, you will realize that the cosmos is older than the earth and even bigger than we can ever imagine. The universe is so vast. I'm 100% sure there are other lifeforms out there. 

Putting things in perspective, our lives with all its joys, worries and problems, are so fleeting and insignificant. 

99.9% of us will most likely die without the world's population knowing our names. 

King Solomon said...

A New Hobby

The first time ever I had my make-up professionally done for a party, I literally fell in love with myself! If you are friends with me in Instagram, you will feel my overflowing self love.

I swear, I didn't want to remove the work of Eli Santiago off my face! I just wanted to look that fierce forever! 

And so recently, I've been trying to learn how to do my own make-up. 

Thankfully, I got a lot of make-up stuff from my mom and my friends on my birthday. That's a good start!

I also got myself a BUILT Cosmetic Bag that's made of neoprene. I got this from www.beautymnl.com. So just incase I spill my creams, it'll be very easy to wash because the bag is stain proof.

I'm still missing a primer and a very good quality eyeliner. And I need to learn how to put on those fake lashes. It's a hard and really useful skill to learn, I tell you! 

I hope to attend a make up workshop soon! I've been on the look out for postings but so far, there are no classes. Hey! If you hear anything, message me!

Getting dressed for dinner,

L

Listening is for Professionals

Many people ask me, "How come you read people so well?" 

I'm not psychic. I was just trained by my friends in research through Focus Group Discussions and various other research methodologies.

In my past life, I spent many hours sitting across a 2-way mirror, listening to people talk. After each session, we would discuss their statements and behaviors. The goal was to find the tension, the insecurity, the joy and to capture all of that into one strong insight. 

Mooncake Festival 2015

Mooncakes are all over Ong Pin again! I can already feel the start of the mid-autumn festival.  Technically we do not have autumn here in the Philippines but kebs! I still feel like celebrating! 

The Mooncake or the Mid- Autumn Festival will be on Sept 27, 2015. That is a Sunday!  

Filipino- Chinese celebrate this occasion by giving mooncakes to one another and by playing a DICE Game.

In many schools, the teachers will share the Legend of the Moon Festival. I will give you a quick summary.... Para if someone asks, you know di ba! 

There are many versions of this story but this is the one I remember 

Once upon a time in the ancient China, there were 10 suns. The 10 suns caused so much heat that the people and their crops suffered.  

Then a hero named Hou Yi shot 9 out of the 10 suns. 

The queen of heaven Wang Mu gave Hou Yi an elixir that will make him immortal.

Instead of drinking the elixir,  Hou Yi presented the elixir to his kind-hearted wife, Chang E  for safe keeping.

One day while Hou Yi was out hunting Chang E was left alone in the house. A man named Peng Meng barged in and demanded that Chang E hand over the elixir to him. Refusing to give the potion but knowing she couldn't  win against Peng Meng, Chang E drank the elixir of immortality. The moment she drank it, she flew to the sky and towards the moon.

When Hou Yi came home, he learned of what happened to his wife. He was full of anguish and cried out her name. In the throws of anger and tears, he looked up to the sky and suddenly a figure of Chang E appeared on the surface of the moon.

From that day on, he started offering her favorite food to the moon, hoping that even from a far he can still show her his love. When people saw this, they followed what he did. The tradition continues until now.

Charrr! Story of love and sacrifice!!!!

Anyway, I'm planning to throw a weekend party for the Moon Cake Festival. I'm hoping my parents and friends can fly to Manila. I plan to have my own simplified version of the dice game, which will include shots and lipsticks on the face!  Last year, we played it without alcohol, na-borlogs ako!

I'm also giving away moon cakes ofcourse! 

Happy Monday,

L

PS> Iba ang mooncakes sa space cakes. Even technically pareho sila sa space.

Easiest Way to Bake a Rainbow Cake

Hey look at my merienda today!!!

I've actually been itching to make a rainbow cake for the longest time now. However, the thought of all the bowls and pans that I'd have to wash after baking, gave me nightmares.  

Pero today, I suddenly had a brilliant idea. Siguro bored ako at puro clouds na naman laman ng utak ko.

I decided to use a cake mix instead of making a cake from scratch. And, since I don't have 5 round baking pans, I got a pack of 6 disposable aluminum pans nalang for 108 php.

Hey! This is a  great activity to do with kids! And Hindi ka maloloka sa kalat at huhugasan!

Here is the no brainer recipe.

What you need:

2 Boxes of Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix

6 eggs 

2 cups of water

1 cup of vegetable oil

5 food coloring 

Prep:

Preheat oven to 170c 

Grease aluminum pan margarine 

Line each pan with baking paper

How to make the Colored Cakes

Mix cake mix, water, oil and eggs for 2 minutes. --- Yes!!!! eto lang!!! DI BA!!!!

Separate batter into 5 bowls. 

Mix in color. One color per bowl.

Pour colored batter into each aluminum pan

Bake for 30 mins. 

Tip: 2 pans at a time 

Cool for 1 hour

Frosting

Just buy a can of whipped cream!

Easy nga e!

Done!!!

And the tira tira, you can make into parfait pa!

Getting fat,

L

First Wedding Anniversary Dinner at Ninyo's Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge

I'm not really a sucker for romance but I love celebrating just about anything. I even threw a party when I got dumped. Oh di ba!

So it goes without saying, that our first anniversary was a bonggang bongga celebration! It was not just a one day  event. It went on for many days until we hit food coma. And I arranged nearly all of it. My husband just bought me a gift. It's okay. My party planning skills are far more superior than his.

On the eve of our wedding anniversary, we had dinner at Ninyo's Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge in Quezon City. For those of you who know me, you know that I rarely leave Makati. But Ninyo's is always worth the drive.

Ninyo's is  a secret garden in the city. The moment you step in, you feel as if you are no longer in Manila. It was actually named as one of the most romantic restaurants in the metro.  This is the best place to have your first date, to propose and yes, to celebrate your first wedding anniversary!

(Photo from Ninyo's Facebook)