Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad

How was your Christmas Celebration? I hope that you were able to have a wonderful celebration!

As for me, I had a great time with my family. We stayed up till it was December 25 and greeted each other then followed by opening of presents. I feel so blessed with all the gifts I received this Christmas and I also feel blessed because I was able to spend the entire day with family (without having to do school work or errands).

For Christmas Dinner, my father decided to treat us in one of my mom’s customers. (Background story: My mom’s business caters to restaurants, hotels, and other food establishments. She delivers fresh fruits and vegetables.) The restaurant’s name is Tapella. It is located at the ground floor of Greenbelt 5. Tapella serves modern Spanish dishes. Their signature dishes are tapas and paellas.

So guess what we had…. J Yup, we did order paella and also other dishes. My father went ahead and ordered Croquetas Variadas,  Pollo Moruno con Couscous, and Rabo de Toro. Croquetas Variadas are croquets when translated in English. Inside these croquets are ham, salami, and mushroom. The mixture of the ham and salami together with the mushroom tasted good and different from the croquettes I have tasted in the past. Pollo Moruno con Couscous is Moorish Chicken on Couscous. The chicken was lovely. It was juicy and flavorful, without overpowering the chicken flavor. I have heard of couscous but haven’t tasted it before. It’s like rice but not quite. It has a different mouth-feel and taste. The Rabo de Toro was also good. My father picked right. Rabo de Toro is ox tail cooked in wine herbs. The first time I bit the meat, I was able to taste the wine immediately.  The wine made gave the dish an extra kick. The meat was tender and cooked right.  

Croquetas Variadas

Pollo Moruno con Couscous

Rabo de Toro

My mom ordered the Paella de Cocido. Cocido is a type of stew that is based on meat. And it did taste like it. The paella was yummy! I’ve been craving for paella and this dish satisfied it. J

Paella de Cocido

My brother wanted calamares, so he ordered Calamares a la Romana. The description of this dish is “Fried squid, Mediterranean way”.

Calamares a la Romana

Then there’s me, I wanted pasta that evening so I looked for pasta dishes in the menu. I didn’t find a lot of dishes, perhaps this is because the restaurant was Spanish J. But I did order Canelones Vegetal or vegetable cannelloni. It was so good! I thought the dish would taste rustic and earthy because of the vegetables, but it wasn’t. I loved it. It was covered with cheese, I did not know what cheese it was but it was not salty. It complimented the pasta really well.

Canelones Vegetal

It was such a great evening because of great food and great company. Next time, I would like to taste their tapas and other paellas. J

-DOT-

For more information check out: http://www.tapellarestaurant.com

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Heart-felt Christmas

Heart-felt Christmas

        Well, it’s the most wonderful time of the year again! And I’m sure that most of us are done with Christmas shopping and whatnot . I’m also pretty sure that currently we are busy with parties left and right…

      

        In preparation for Christmas, I pondered upon the thought of “what gift do I give people that would show how grateful I am for being a blessing to me?” (what a pretty long thought J). One of the things that came to mind was to list down what I think a specific person needed. So I did, I listed the names of all the people I am to give gifts and beside it I wrote the thing I would buy for them. BUT not everyone on my list had a gift listed. SO, I thought of making hand-made stuff. I made a penholder/bookmark out of felt cloth. I had excess felt cloth from my last semester of preschool practicum so I made these. It’s not only a bookmark/penholder but the colors have meaning.

felt craft

[Yellow for heaven, because God has a prepared heaven for us and has a wonderful plan for each of us; Black for sin, because each one of us are sinners and because of this we are separated from God and His plans for us, Red for Jesus’ Blood, because Jesus, God’s only Son, paid for all our sins; White for clean, because of what Christ did we can be reconciled with God if we choose to; and Green for growth, to know what God’s plans are for us we need to read and grow in God’s word. J]

        Not only did I make these bookmarks/pen holders, I also made cards!! J I love making cards especially when I have cute and artsy materials. Thankfully, my cousins from Canada gave me these pretty foam cut-outs and also these sparkly sequins. I used scrap items such as old wrappers and old papers as backgrounds and base of the cards. I also used rubber stamps that were given to me.

Stamps, board paper, foam and glittery cutouts, wrappers

Here are some of my works:

Christmas Cards

Mini cards/ gift tags

        I believe that when we give handmade or handcrafted items they deem to be more heart-felt because the gift took time and effort. So, if your thinking of something different or are low on budget you may try making things. Just be creative and enjoy! J

-Dot-

 Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

You know it’s Christmas (season 3)

You know it’s Christmas           

Hello December! Today marks the second day of December and you know what that means… It’s time for my “You know it’s Christmas” blogs! Hopefully I get to post more blogs this time :D. So, if you know and recommend a good place or great buys or delicious food for Christmas or related to Christmas comment away or send me an email and I will try my best to try it and blog about it J. Oh! It must be within the Philippines… specifically in Metro Manila for me to visit it since I commute J. But I do welcome suggestions! J Have a wonderful Christmas Season! Here’s to season 3 of “You know it’s Christmas”!

-DOT-

Photo was edited by writer, original candy cane photo from: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf79677796.tip.html,  if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

You know it’s Christmas when...

A taste of Filipino Christmas

            I am truly sorry for not being able to post the past weeeeeekkkkssss (yes it was that long). J I have been teaching preschool kids these past weeks so I was tired and busy. But the long wait is now over….

            If you ask me what is a symbol of Filipino Christmas I could say the parol (star lantern) or the belen (manger), but if you ask me what food symbolizes Filipino Christmas… I would say bibingka and puto bumbong. There are no direct English translations for these yummy Filipino Christmas sweet. It might just be called rice cakes but in the Philippines there are various types of rice cakes. These two particular rice cakes are mostly available only on Christmas.

            Bibingka is made from rice flour topped with salted eggs, butter, and toasted coconut. While puto bumbong is made from a sticky type of rice called pirurutong, this makes the puto bumbong purple. It is then cooked in bamboo tubes by steam.

            A few weeks ago I was able to eat puto bumbong from Via Mare. This was after going around the mall looking for Christmas decors. Eating this made me feel that it was Christmas already because traditionally puto bumbong would be sold alongside bibngka every simbang gabi (Christmas night mass). It was freshly made when I ate it. It was topped with toasted coconut and brown sugar. Oh boy did it taste good! It was warm and sweet… such a perfect treat J.

bibingka

the purutong being placed in the bamboo tube

off to be steamed

finished product :)

            So if ever you find yourself in the Philippines during Christmas don’t forget to try puto bumbong and bibingka. J

-Dot-

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

You know its Christmas (season 2)

Hello everyone!

For the next days, weeks, and month I will be blogging on my “You Know it’s Christmas…” series. It’s now on its second year! J I hope you will enjoy the next few blogs J.

I also hope you would enjoy the Christmas season no matter where you are in life. I pray that despite all the business or craziness or festiveness of the season we will never forget why we have Christmas.

Advance Merry Christmas J!

-DOT-

picture was taken from ricekrispies.com :)

OH My Goodness!! (A Crazy late update)

OH My goodness!! (A Crazy late update)

Oh my goodness… do you guys remember my last update on the Christmas blog series, entitled “You know it’s Christmas when…”? Yup, the last update where I greeted everyone a happy new year….

Well on that blog I did say that the camera I used to take pictures of the U.P. Lantern Parade got stolen. It’s still stolen BUT I found the memory card! Yey!! So this blog is to show you some pictures during the lantern parade. It was so pretty and colorful! Hope you enjoy!

BTW, I will soon be posting a blog entry that’s so special. J

-DOT-

College of Mass Communication

Asian Institute of Tourism

College of Engineering

The college of Fine Arts' theme was under the sea

photos were originally taken by the writter.. photos may be used but please ask permision or at least acknowledge the source :)

You know it’s Christmas when... IT’S Christmas!!!

You know it’s Christmas when…

 

You know it’s Christmas when... IT’S Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone across the world! As the song goes… may your days be merry and bright. I also pray that we not forget the true reason for the season Jesus Christ.

Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for me… thank you for being my Savior friend and everything.

God bless everyone! May we all be grateful of what we receive this Christmas… may it be a simple letter, a hug, a kiss, a new car, new clothes…

In everything and in anything we must always be thankful.

Below is a favorite songs of mine.

Grateful by Julianne

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Dot


photo from:http://vintagemetalart.com/shop/images/christmasornaments.gif

You know it’s Christmas when... {UP celebration}

You know it’s Christmas when...

          Another sign of Christmas for me is when the University of the Philippines (Diliman) or U.P. celebrates the Christmas season with various activities.

          The first activity, or the opening ceremony of all the events for the Christmas season, is the Pagilaw [ pagilaw means “to light” in Filipino]. During the Pagilaw, lights from different college buildings are lighted to signify that it is the start of the Christmas celebration in U.P. The next activity is the Karol Fest. This activity is an amateur choir singing contest among student choruses, wherein they sing various Christmas carols. The finals of this contest will be held at the Asian Center GT Toyota Hall of Wisdom in U.P. at December 13, 2010, 4 pm. Everyone is welcome to this event. Simultaneous to this event is the Pagandahan ng Belen contest. It is about making the best manger scene or the belen out of recycled materials. The winners of this contest will be announced on the day of the most anticipated Christmas event in U.P. … the Lantern Parade!

          The Lantern Parade is the main attraction/activity that culminates the celebration of the Christmas Season. Each college and some organizations have a theme and they show their theme through lanterns, floats, and other things that light. I love watching and being part of the parade because of the beautiful lanterns and floats. This is open to everyone! [This makes it even more fun]

          Here are some reminders and tips on the Lantern Parade. The parade starts at 4 p.m. of December 17 at the Academic Oval (Acad Oval). Be sure to go early because the Acad Oval would be swelling with people at around 5 pm. As they say the early bird catches the early worm [such a cliché], if you come early you are not only guaranteed with a good view but you also get to park your car easier.  Bring your cameras, but make sure you keep it safe and near you at all times. Same goes to children because the place will be field with people it is best to hold on to children. Bring some snacks and water because the parade can go on till 8 or 9 in the evening. If you forget your snack or water do not fear! There will be food kiosk or food vendors around. After the parade… stay for some fireworks. Don’t forget to enjoy and have fun! J

-DOT-
P.S. I will be updating you guys on the happenings regarding the UP Christmas Celebration :D

reference: http://www.upd.edu.ph/~updinfo/index144.html
photo source: http://www.coolwindsresidences.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/lantern-parade.jpg