June Photo A Day Challenge Recap

Joined fatmumslim’s Photo A Day Challenge for June, my 5th continuous month of participation!

Project 365: June 2012 Recap

Half of the year has gone and 182 photos completed!

Project 365: I <3 Watching Live Shows! (Day 182)

Today we aired the show I watched live last June 14, the Promil I-Shine Talent Camp featuring Dimples Romana, Mateo Guidicelli and Xian Lim. It was so much fun to watch live and on air this morning!

Project 365: I <3 concert tickets! (Day 181)

THIS IS IT! I got my ticket to Maroon 5!!!! My friend Peaches and I are big fans and decided to watch this time in Patron! It was also pretty cheap… so waaaahhhhhh! I’m so excited to see my ultimate crush Adam Levine!

Project 365: I <3 Anniversaries! (Day 180)

Happy anniversary to mom and dad! It’s their 32nd anniversary! Dad gave mom flowers that morning and my mom was so thrilled she asked to have a pictorial with it! Haha!

No More TomKat!

The world is a buzz about the news that powerhouse couple Tom Cruise and his wife of five years Katie Holmes have decided to split.

I am sad to see this couple separate! They have the cutest off spring and I like how they were together.

Concert Scene: Rock of Ages The Musical

06.23.2012

I make it a point to watch atleast one theater performance a year and for 2012, I didn’t want to miss out on one of more popular Broadway hits that has now made its way to Philippine shores Rock of Ages.

The musical was in town for a short run here in Manila produced by top theater group Atlatis Productions and headlined by Fil-Aussie MiG Ayesa of Rockstar INXS fame.

Rock of Ages is a rock/jukebox musical set in the Los Angeles Sunset Strip during the 1980s were rock was at its best and featured the music of rock legends back in the day like Bon Jovi, Journey, Styx, Poison, etc.

The story revolves around a young man Drew Boley (Nyoy Volante), a struggling musician who works in a bar called the Bourbon Room owned by Dennis Dupree and the narrator Lonny Barnett (Jett Pangan). Trouble stirs with the arrival of Sherrie Christian (Vina Morales), a young girl aspiring to be an actress who Drew falls in love with, and the threat of destruction of the bar by Hertz Klinemann and his son Frantz to rebuild the city into something cleaner.

In order to save his club, Dupree invites back rockstar Stacey Jaxx (MiG Ayesa) and his band Arsenal back to the club to generate more popularity, since Stacey first became famous in this club. On opening night, as Drew opens the show for Arsenal, Stacey and Sherrie have sex in the men’s bathroom, much to the dismay of Drew.

The plot thickens as Stacey dumps Sherrie immediately after their little tryst, Drew gets discovered by a record producer and shuns Sherrie, and Sherrie joins a strip club down the street called the Venus Club. Demolition among the strip goes on despite protests led by city planner Regina (Aisa Siguerra).

The musical boasts of their star-studded cast featuring top theater and musical celebrities in the Philippines. I personally enjoyed the performances of MiG Ayesa (who is perfect as Stacey Jaxx), and Aisa Seguerra and Jett Pangan who provided comic relief for the show.

The main leads Vina Morales and Nyoy Volante delivered a stunning performance with their powerful voices. Vina got me with her rockhard abs but I felt she was a little old for the character. I was impressed with Nyoy’s vocal ability to rock it out since I was so used to his slow ballads, but I found he and Vina lacked a certain chemistry together.

Over all, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. It was funny and sentimental in all the right places and the soundtrack was just so familiar that I found myself singing through a lot of the songs.

I am so glad theatre has made its mark in the Philippines! The shows are all sold out so I was extremely lucky to have scored these seats together with my friend Sitti.

Here we are after the show with Aiza Seguerra (third from left) who stars as Regina, with Sitti (beside me, 2nd to left) and her friend Juris (2nd to right) who are in support of Aisa who is also part of their ASAP sessionistas group.

Food Trip: Cookbook Kitchen

06.24.2012

I always enjoy a good meal where my family can have a lot of choices and choose their favorites.

On our usual Sunday’s out, my family decided to go to Eastwood Mall to spend the afternoon. Since we’ve eaten in most of the places inside the mall, I suggested we take it further to the restaurants outside the mall, but within the vicinity of the commercial area of Eastwood City.

The restaurant I suggested was Cookbook Kitchen, located at the ground floor of Eastwood 1880 Building.

Its amazing at how the food industry grows especially if the food is really good. It spreads like wildfire through word of mouth and through popular food bloggers. Cookbook Kitchen had its early beginnings deep in the heart of Mandaluyong just behind our grandparents house as a simple family-owned restaurant. And by word of mouth, it became popular because of its good food and homey ambiance. And now it has expanded to open its branches in highly populated areas like malls.

Cookbook Kitchen is famous for its home cooked meals, and caters to the palate of those that just want to eat good old comfort food with a slight twist.

We brought Tiffany, our three year old alaga, with us and I was concerned that the restaurant wasn’t so child-friendly. But upon looking at the menu and consulting with the wait staff, they had meals that kids would like. Tiffany chose to have an order of fries served with Honey Mustard sauce and a plate of spaghetti with Italian sausage.

Tiffany loved it, although she found the pasta a little bit too spice so she stopped after a few bites.

For mom and I we decided to share a meal which included their best selling dish Parmesan Encrusted White Fish, which is served baked on a hot dish and served with rice, and their Pasta Al Adobo one of my favorites.

The fish was good, although mom and I found it a bit too ‘runny’ and swimming in the oils underneath the cheese, but its good. The pasta is a take on the classic Filipino food the Adobo (pork cooked with soy sauce and vinegar) and was good as always although I found it lacking in that spicy kick.

Dad went for their shrimp potato salad and their famous pork steak with honey mustard sauce.

The salad was presented beautifully however dad had to ask for more dressing since it wasn’t enough, but he enjoyed the pork steak very much.

My sister tried their pumpkin soup and their Chicken with Zucchini, one of their new dishes.

The soup had the right amount of kick and I liked they topped it off some mozzarella cheese. The chicken took some time to come out, but it was worth the wait. I took a taste and found the chicken tender and grilled just right.

The restaurant was great for a family lunch and I would also suggest it for a dinner date. It was a bit expensive according to dad because it was per plate.

COOKBOOK KITCHEN

1880-A Bldg., Eastwood City, QC.
709.3593

Project 365: I <3 Mr Grey! (Day 179)

Be still my heart! Yes, Sir Mr Grey!

Project 365: I <3 S&R! (Day 178)

The ultimate shopping blackhole. I just passed by to grab some personal items and other items!