Sunday Morning In Tagaytay With Mom & Sis

My family and I made an impromptu trip to Tagaytay today just to celebrate life's little victories. I'm not too keen on waking up really early in the morning on a weekend but i'm not for passing up some quality time with the family so I willingly got up for it. We heard mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church first then our breakfast at Breakfast at Antonio's followed. I would have wished for my dad to have joined us but he already left to go back to work last week. Oh well, next time!

It was my first time to try Breakfast at Antonio's and I must say that I wasn't over the moon about the food that were served to us. I was expecting their meals to be exquisite from all the hype that they're getting. I'm not going to review their restaurant anymore, i'll just have the photos below speak for themselves. Truth be told, I was not impressed with their food, service and I think their prices are really steep. If you happen to like Breakfast at Antonio's, good for you! But would you be so kind to brief me why and share with me your favorites? I'm willing to reconsider and swallow back my lackluster first impressions.

Anyhoo, here are the pictures of our trip earlier. Disclaimer: this post is photo laden so if you're not ready to stuff your eyes with photos of food and our faces, this post may not be for you. :)

Here's my sister and my mommy

That Eventful Weekend!

It's been ages (10 days to be exact) since my last blog post and just to give an update, i'm still alive. I'm so alive that i've been taking in projects from here and there like there's no tomorrow. I somehow feel bad that I promise to make this a lengthier post to make up for my absence here on blogosphere. It's just that I have been into so much lately that blogging or even breathing, for that matter, could be such a chore. I haven't even been checking my social media accounts that much and I feel so behind with everything that's going on. I didn't even get any memo that the UAAP cheerdance competition was held yesterday.  I heard that UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe did awful. In fact, they placed second to the last according to the news. Imagine, SECOND TO THE FRIGGIN LAST! That's just unacceptable for a team that has the most number of cheerdance championships won. Oh well, gone are the glory days but regardless, I won't ever get tired of chanting "Go USTE" for my dear UST! Winning teams, we'll get you next time!

In retrospect, I just realized that despite the stress and all, I was still able to go on shopping sprees, at least three times within ten days! Oh my talk about stress shopping! I splurged on a route that I would rather take on any given day rather than go back to binge and stress eating again. Speaking of which, I also noticed that I lost weight. I somehow feel lighter and my clothes fit better. I'll have to consult Mr.Scale to validate that though because it could be the mirror. Let's cross our fingers and toes for that one. Also, I was able to finish a book, it's my first of author Emily Griffin and the title is Where We Belong. It's about secrets and how these secrets, no matter how little, will always find their way to reveal themselves. Alongside keeping secrets, the book also conveys how keeping secrets weave our lives with a web of lies that further complicate our relationships, career and all other things that truly matter. I'll give it a thumbs up, it's one of those engrossing I-can't-put-down-unless-I-really-need-to-pee books. For the record, it's a breaking one for me as it was my first time to finish a book in two days. On average, I usually finish a book of 400 pages in about a week, depending on how many hours I can devote to reading at night.

Last Saturday, I spent the whole day driving for my mom while running some errands and the whole night baking 100 cupcakes to be served in a birthday party the following day. I usually do not accept orders as i'm not a legit baker more so knowledgeable of the cupcakery business. It's just that I couldn't say no to a friend who's done more than enough favors for me than I did for her. She just loves my cupcakes and would love to share its goodness to her guests. Ehem, pardon the lack of modesty right there. Anyhoo, I did agree and took on the challenge only for the love of my friend. Too bad that I didn't get to take photos of the finished cupcakes as I was in a hurry but picture this, my friend requested that I bake her 100 dark chocolate cupcakes topped with blush colored frosting. The cake itself was very basic yet the turnout was elegant as I placed some edible pearls on top of the swirled frosting. I baked the cupcakes the night before then frosted all of them on Sunday morning. One major mishap of the list of mishaps that I had yesterday: the frosting was quite a last minute decision as I originally intended to frost the cupcakes using boiled icing. Unfortunately, the icing didn't reach stiff peaks after an hour of relentless beating. It just wouldn't come to form no matter what I did. My fingers even had blisters for holding the beater too hard. I was at the verge of tears as it was past 9am and not one cupcake was frosted! I was already panicking as the cupcakes needed to be picked-up at 12nn and I had to get ready for a date with my cousin who I will be meeting at Ayala Triangle Gardens at 11am. At that point, I could only say a little prayer to all heavens. I also texted my cousin to wait it out a little as I was going to be late, for sure. Then, a light bulb abruptly turned on in my head. Well, a lightbulb that lies somewhere had to because I didn't have a choice lest I want to ruin my good friend's birthday to her disappointment! Why not make swiss meringue buttercream frosting, I thought?! Yes, thank God the cupcake fairies didn't forsake one bit! I just softened 3 bars of unsalted butter and whipped it with the boiled icing that I already made and voila! A very yummy turnout! It was one of the best frostings I ever made, in my opinion. I told you, a little prayer and know-how would always come in handy!

Click Read More for the rest of my post.

My Mom's Famous Cheesy Bacon Meatloaf

So how's everyone doing on a Sunday? Apart from the obligatory attendance at church, there has got to be something that everyone's up to on their rest day. For me, I usually dedicate my Sunday paying homage to the two things that I like to do on my spare time: cooking/baking and reading. 

This Sunday is the usual any given Sunday that doesn't call for a visit elsewhere aside from church. It's one of those days when I would rather curl up in bed and practically do nothing but my flesh and soul aren't up for that today as I, together with my mom, decided to make her sought-after Cheesy Bacon Meatloaf! Uh huh, sounds so yummm, right? I consider my mom as one of the formidable home cooks in the kitchen and the best at that. She's an untouchable in that discipline which explains the number of people ready to make a beeline just to get a taste of her dishes on family and corporate gatherings. She just loves to cook and wants nothing else but be able to do so when time permits. She gains happiness in serving good food to her loved ones and make non-profitable returns. This is a prime example of her not thinking too lofty of herself and rather play smart with her priorities in life. People have been prodding her to put up a catering business and operate it alongside her office career as a fall back when she retires. But my mom decided not to. She's very stubborn sometimes to not give in to the dictation of others and that's one of her many qualities that made her a successful careerwoman. She knows if it's right to devote time and money on certain things and has mastered the art of timing. Being a force to reckon with in the workplace on weekdays and running a household on weekends are just her non-negotiables at this point. Putting up a business necessitates sheer dedication, which, she has to steer clear from at the moment so as not to sacrifice anything important in her life.

Today, my mom is very generous in sharing her Cheesy Bacon Meatloaf recipe with me/us. It's one of my favorites that I squeal in delight just thinking about it! It's cheesy and it has strips of bacon, how could it possibly go wrong? It doesn't crumble when sliced as compared to others' and is best paired with mashed potato or potato salad and red wine. Oh my gosh the feeling I had when I took my first bite was like heaven had come to me! The meat was juicy and delicious, all points covered! The smell of Christmas literally permeates in the air of our home right now. Today happened to be too mundane that it has to be spruced up with something special so my mom thought of making something that she cooks only during special occasions. I promise you, it's really good that the recipe has to be placed in a vault and get locked up until such time when my mom is ready to put up a food business. But then again, she's being generous and she doesn't want to earn anything from it(i'll convince her to think this decision over). A huge smile on my face as I take a bite out of it is enough recognition for her. Click Read More for the recipe. 

Sunday Grace

Hi Friends! So how's your Sunday coming along so far?

I am sharing with you a wonderfully written song that is truly dear to my heart. I first heard this when I attended a worship service in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia and it moved me in ways that I couldn't exactly decipher. I feel His love and mercy upon me whenever I listen to this song that's why this has become a staple in my music playlist. 

The title of this song is One Thing Remains by Jesus Culture.

No matter how many times we fail the Guy up there with our ways and with our means, his faithfulness & love remains and never falters. That's how amazing of a father He is. I hope that you enjoy this song as much as I do. 

A blessed Sunday to us all!

Stay Happy,

Khaye :)