the canDIshhh tales

I love kitchen appliances, who doesn't!  Hahaha.. I'm sure there are a handful that don't - but believe me when I say - that kitchen appliances nowadays are functional, efficient and very compact!  Kitchen appliances serve one purpose and one purpose alone - and that is to help us prepare meals faster and more efficiently. Gone are the days that you need a complicated equipment just to be able to prepare crepes for your family.  It used to be that you'd need a pro crepe maker!  But now - look, they have a crepe maker that is very handy and perfect for the home.  Crepes everyday?  Why not?! We were then taught to make one - and here I am, in action.  Hahaha!! Making crepes is easy with this Severin Crepe Maker .  This retails for P2,195.00 - not bad right? Here are some other Severin products! This is the Severin   Raclette Party Griller (Php1,895.00) I would have loved this but it would make my home smell a bit stinky b...

French food they say is the very good.  I honestly don't remember being blown away when I ate steak in Lille, but I was young then - but it was very good!  I was told by my friend Cubie to make sure to have an authentic French meal.  She reminded me of this during the trip. On our first night in Paris, we decided to look for the restaurant that was recommended by our Airbnb host.  The restaurant is called Le Beaumarchais - it's french bistro that serves quality food (according to our host Delphine) the ingredients are fresh, the staff is friendly and the price is not so expensive.  Plus - it's just a few minutes walk from our place.  We decided to give it a try and walked to the bistro. When we got there, the place was starting to get full.  We were greeted by a staff - I was surprised that he was nice and accommodating.  We then told him that we were the guests of Delphine - his face lit up immediately and showed us to a quiet corner. ...

Kids' bag are always worn out - that is if you use them often.  My kids' backpacks are used everyday when we shuttle back and forth to my mom's place.  I make sure to wash them weekly, at the least.  But then in my experience, the colors of the bags fade, the shape is destroyed or it's just breaks.  My mentality now is to just buy cheap bags, I mean since they break too anyway, right? I've been noticing Beatrix NY bags in magazines.  Why?  Because they're so cute and trendy.  I like too that it looks clean, structured and functional.  I was one of the lucky few that was invited to the launch of Beatrix NY Philippines, to see the product in action. Beatrix NY was brought in by the husband and wife team Dex and Louren Sy.  They have years of experience handling brands like Beatrix NY, so it's no surprise that they were the ones who brought it to our shores.  The launch was held at Aruga by Rockwell and it was such a perfect set...

After our lunch at Burger and Lobster SoHo we decided to take a walk.  And walk we did, I honestly had no idea where, but we walked.  I was glad that I wasn't navigator that day so, it was just follow where everyone else was going.  I was just pushing the stroller with Kailee in it. We then walked this food street, I honestly forgot the name.  And then we came across this chocolate store on the corner.  But it wasn't the chocolate store that caught my eye - it was the doughnut store next door called Crosstown Doughnuts. I am a sucker for doughnuts and so I decided to check it out.  The shop was small (for my standards) so it was a bit crowded inside.  I decided to wait outside, but it was taking a while.  And then I saw a lady behind the counter wave at me and invite me in. The smell of the shop was marvelous.  My eyes were treated to so many different doughnuts.  I was too excited and happy that I took too few pictures.  For...

My SIL (Sister In Law) told me that her friend recommended that we eat at Burger and Lobster.  I researched and found a branch near our place, but the it didn't have reservations.  Since I was with my in laws, my daughter and my pregnant SIL - I looked at another branch that was willing to take reservations.  I saw that Burger and Lobster SoHo accepted reservations during lunch and dinner for parites that are more than 5.  Perfect!  So I sent them an email. I had to send them another email because my first email didn't go through.  I corresponded with Alan and he was really nice and funny.  They had two lunch seatings - one is 12:30 - 2:30 and another is 2:30 - 4:30.  We only had 2 hours to gobble up everything we ordered, that's their condition with reservations.  I thought 2 hours were good enough, so I booked the 12:30.  I was also told that they only gave 15minutes waiting time, or they'll give away my table if a walk-in party of...

(I wish I can make this image bigger, if I made this image bigger, it would be grainy) This is my favorite photo of Jacob.  I love it so much that I've used it as my profile pic in the past.  Jacob has been with us since 2005.  He would have turned 10 this year, and I was excited for that.  Jacob is not my baby, he is my little brother.  I was very drawn to him when I first saw him.  I took care of him when he was given to us.  Jacob made me love dogs more (Jenna made me like dogs) and appreciate their loyalty. When I got married, I took Jacob with me.  He was my protector, then he became the protector of the house.  My Panget loves him too because he was always alert and barking.  When I had kids, he protected them too!  He was very protective of Kailee and Connor with house guests.  He would sleep outside of their room and play with them.  He has a temper you know, but with Kailee and Connor he was very gentle ...

I have this habit of hearing Sunday Mass.  I make it a point to go every Sunday, if I can't - I attend the anticipated Mass the evening before Sunday.  Whenever I travel and a Sunday is included - the first thing I do is look for a Church.  Yes, I am weird that way.  I don't find it an excuse not to hear Mass when I'm away.  I usually hear Mass in English - well, most of the countries I've been - I've been lucky enough that they have an English Mass.  Well, except for three instances - one was in Japan and the other was in Bohol where Mass was said in Bisaya and most recently in French! I find that Mass is being celebrated the same but the *feeling* is different.  Take for instance in Hong Kong and Singapore, Mass goers were disciplined.  They sat on pews very organized not picking where to sit, it was the same when I heard Mass in Singapore.  They slowly filled up one pew after another.  In Tokyo, Japan - it was sporadic.  I gu...

Two years ago, I learned of the convenience of having a mobile/pocket wifi whenever I travel.  In Japan, where roaming fees are exorbitantly high - I was told to rent a mobile/pocket wifi through an online company.  I was at first hesitant, but then the need to be connected outweighed the hesitance and so I did.  And it was such a good decision.   I was connected we all were connected, my Panget, his brother and my sister in law + all their devices.  This way - I didn't need to pay for roaming fees.  All I did was turn my smartphone in airplane mode and turn on the wi-fi, voila - I was connected 24/7.  It was so convenient that I did it again when I visited Osaka last year. This year, while planning for a trip to Paris - I was also looking for the same thing, a mobile/pocket wifi.  I asked the sister of a good friend who is based in Paris, but she had no clue what I was talking about.  So, I searched and searched but to no avail.  I...

My Panget looooves hotpot themed restaurants, even if he says that its a waste of time since you practically cook the food yourself.  He loves it because he just sits and eats.  I am the one who cooks for him.  He just tells me which food he wants and I will just get it for him and cook.  Lucky guy, right?  ( Please feel free to tell him that when you see him! ) I have been seeing feeds of Four Seasons Hot Pot city since February, it's the distance that makes me think twice.  We're at the opposite ends of EDSA.  It's quite a travel to be honest, but two weeks ago - an opportunity presented itself and the timing was super perfect!  We were already scheduled to be in Makati during the morning so after this Makati thing, we went straight to Four Seasons Hot Pot City at SM by the bay! Traffic was non existent - I guess we were still early.  I was impressed with the amount of time it took us to get to MOA.  The parking lot was so bare - i...