At Home With MrsC

Would You Like To Go Clubbing With Me?

March 24, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 19 Comments

This year has me rekindling my love for books and reading. Kindle in hand, I am off to conquer my 2014 GoodReads challenge of reading 24 books this year. I’m off to a good start with four books down -Wicked in January, I Wish They Taught Money in Highschool and The Cuckoo’s Calling in February, and Fahreheit 451 in March. I’m also more than halfway done with The Lover’s Dictionary, and also with Losing It. The best part about reading, now, for me is my book club, as dorky as that may sound. It’s actually because of the book club that I’m getting to read all these different books.

The SBC and our BOMs

Is it just me, or am I sounding dorkier by the minute? SBC or Secret Book Club is, well, what our book club is called. Some friends of mine from high school started the club with a few other batch mates of theirs, and when I saw them talking about it on Twitter, I kinda invited myself to join. See, not only do I love to read, I like discussing the books I’m reading with other people too. MrC and I, for instance, can talk for hours about George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books. We also talked about The Hunger Games Trilogy and The Millennium Trilogy during and after reading all of the books. I’m lucky to have married someone who is the same brand of dork as I am.

Then came SBC, and all of a sudden I was surrounded by other ladies who are the same brand of dork as I am, too. I absolutely love it. We chat endlessly on WhatsApp about our current reads and what books to check out next, we swoon over book lists and hard bound editions, and a couple of us have already declared that we want George RR Martin to be our lolo. Sorry, SBC girls for calling you dorks, but, well…

Moving on. A BOM or Book of the Month is basically what the members of the club are required to read. For now, since we’re still a small group, we take turns suggesting new books. We’ve been assigning two books a month and we’ve been able to get by so far, which is perfect because that’s the same reading target I set for myself in GoodReads. I got to suggest a book for this April, and I’m a little ashamed to admit that I was the one who recommended Losing It. Haha! It was part of the reading list for the fiction writing class I joined earlier in the year, but I never got around to reading it. So I figured I’d suggest it as a BOM, and so far it’s gotten okay feedback from the others, so yay!

Happy hour book discussions (and gossip sessions)

We agreed to meet once a month in the Alabang area, since we are all from the south. Our first session happened earlier in March at Bugsy’s in Westgate. I actually didn’t plan on staying long, but believe it or not, Joei, Lar and I ended up hanging out until way past midnight.

The SBC: (Top) Iza, Me, (Front) Lar, Joei, Russ and (Not in photo) Balot.
Photo belongs to Joei. Click on it to read her post about SBC.

Lar and I are both mommies, and I think we enjoyed being among adults and talking about random things that evening. Joei is a lawyer and an amazing blogger. Her blog, Joei and Me is actually on the list of my favorite blogs from one of my Sunday Sevens. Russ is a marketing master, and one of my favorite writing clients of the moment (hehe, thanks, Russ). Iza is a coach at Futbol Funatics, where Little MrC is enrolled for the summer. Go check them out! Balot, who wasn’t able to join is that evening, blogs over at I Am Corporate Junkie.

Over the last couple of weeks, our group has grown and now includes my friendly friends and mom-bloggers, Michelle, Janice, Mille and Toni. My cousin Reena has also recently joined, as well as Joei’s friend, Koryn, and Iza’s friend, Yam. and So yes, we are very open to accepting new members, and if any of you would like to join the fun, send me a message on Facebook or email me at mrspcuyugan@gmail.com. We meet in the south, though, and of course we’d love to have you guys from the north come and visit our nice little neighborhood. Would you like to go clubbing with me?

I’m going back to reading now! What are you reading today?

Craving For Ice Cream

March 23, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 12 Comments

It’s been so hot outside, and all I wanna do is take a cold shower then sit in an airconditioned room with a fan pointing at me and eat ice cream. Or halo-halo. But I think ice cream wins over halo-halo. Right now I’m fresh out of the shower, sitting in an airconditioned room with a fan pointing at me. All that’s missing is ice cream. And sadly, we don’t have any in the freezer! It’s too hot to go out for some now. So I’ve decided to just blog about all the yummy ice cream scoops dancing around in my head. Seriously.

Here are the seven ice cream flavors I wish I could have right this very minute.

Merry Moo Dark Tsokolate

I am a chocoholic. When I first discovered this creamy, chocolate-y delight at the Salcedo Market, I was instantly hooked. As in, I didn’t want to share. To the point that I hid my pint at the very back of the freezer so that on one would see it. True story.

Sebastian’s Mango Sansrival

This is a new discovery, and something I might never have tried if my friend Glaiza of Moomy Musings didn’t get a cup too many at yesterday’s Mind Museum event. I really would not have gotten this for myself because I don’t like Sansrival. I find the taste of butter icky. But this was just really good. Rich and mango-y with lots of cashew nuts. And no one does creamy ice cream the way Sebastian’s does! I wish they would come back to the south. They used to have a kiosk in Alabang Town Center, but now I think the closest branch is in MOA.

Merry Moo Sea Salt Caramel

A week after I got my pint of Dark Tsokolate, I was back at the Salcedo Market, this time for a pint of Sea Salt Caramel. I first tried this a couple of years ago, and I’m surprised at how much I love it. I’m not really a caramel fan, and my friends and I were actually just talking about how they love Bannoffee Pies and I don’t because I’m not a caramel lover. But this ice cream flavor, I super love.

Dear Merry Moo, why don’t you have a branch in Alabang???

McDonalds Hot Fudge Hot Caramel Sundae Duo

Okay, here’s another caramel-flavored thing that I like. I could never say no to McDonalds’ sundaes. They are just too good, and remind me so much of drive through escapades with my siblings when we were younger. We didn’t have fast food often growing up, and so when we first started having a driver pick us up from school (which was just inside the village, a few blocks away from home) we would get him to take a detour to the nearest drive thru, which was outside the village. Then we would eat quickly in the car and have the driver throw our wrappers in the garbage bins outside so mom wouldn’t find out. Fun times!

I am very OC about this sundae. The caramel MUST be on top. And I like it best with a side of fries. Hello, fatness!

Coney Island Cookies and Cream

Do you guys remember this flavor? Coney Island was such a favorite of mine growing up. I really loved their BUbble Gum flavored ice cream and their Eskimo Rolls, but nothing beats their Cookies and Cream. I have yet to find a replacement for this, but I would say that the closest is Selecta’s Cookies and Cream Overload.

Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

I love ice cream and I love cake, so an ice cream cake really is just the best of both worlds for me. I think I could finish one all by myself if I really let myself go crazy. Oink.

Blue Bunny Mint Chocolate Chip

I was supposed to get a tub of Blue Bunny for my birthday, but then I asked for so many other things so I decided I could forego this. If you shop at S&R you would know that Blue Bunny tubs are giant sized, and since no one else likes mint chocolate chip ice cream at home, I would have had the whole tub to myself. I wouldn’t mind, obviously, but my waistline would. And my blood sugar too, most likely. So I guess it was a good thing I decided not to go through with it. But now, I’m thinking of getting one and making it last all throughout summer. Do I have that much self-control, though? That is the question!

When my Loli was alive, she used to tell us that it was okay to eat ice cream in the morning because it’s made of milk anyway. Haha. I miss Loli. And now I really, really, really want ice cream.

What are your favorite ice cream flavors?

One Last Second Grade Baon Week

March 20, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 1 Comment

Home stretch is finally here!!! We’ve officially got only one week left for this school year, and I am so proud of Little MrC and I for surviving our first year of school lunches. I never thought we could do it, but we did. I feel so happy.

I originally thought that because this would be the last baon week for the year, it would be more special. I’m sorry, I was wrong. I honestly just want to be done, I want summer to be here already, and so my final baon week is simply ordinary. Also, after giving it a lot of though, I have decided to put a pause on the baon planning over summer, first so that I can build some excitement for the coming year, and second, because I don’t always pack lunch for MrC. I will still be sharing a featured recipe on each Thursday of the week, though, so there still is something that you can look forward to each week.

If you’ll notice, my grocery list and menu plan has specific brands of food, particularly in the snack portion. That’s because I’m finishing up whatever I still have on hand here at home. Also, I’ve decided to make use of some kitchen friendly friends to make life simpler. For the breaded pork chops, I’m using McCormick Season’n Fry. For the chicken teriyaki, I bought bottled Kikkoman roasted garlic marinade and used that instead of making my own from scratch. Twice I’ve placed ready to fry options into the menu – Bounty Fresh Top Torikatsu and Century Smoked bangus belly.

My recipe for this week is a typical Filipino dish, pork steak, that our old helper used to make with a twist. The twist is that the dish is a little sweeter than your normal pork steak, and the soy sauce is watered down, resulting in really pale meat. Honestly, not everyone likes it. My dad thinks it tastes like soap. My brother and I love it though, and we would have this for our packed lunch many times when we were little. So, I figured it would be a great packed meal to use for my little boy’s last lunch in school as a second grader.

I think that this is a pretty kid-friendly dish, but still, let me know if you get to try it and if it works for you. Here are this week’s downloads:

Baon Plan for March 21-27

Grocery List for March 21-27

So excited to be taking a break from my 5AM kitchen routine! Hooray for summer vacation!!!

Starting The Day Right at Acacia Hotel Manila

March 18, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 19 Comments

If you follow me on Twitter, you would know that I rarely wake up early on weekends. The boys usually allow me to sleep in on Saturdays, and on Sundays especially, since I’m up real early on school/work days to prepare breakfast and packed lunches for them. I only get up early on weekends when I have work, or for something very special, which was exactly the case last Saturday when I got together for breakfast with my amazing mommy blogger friends, Janice and Millie. This breakfast date was several weeks in the making, and I’m super happy that we finally pushed through. Making it even more special, my wonderful friends at Acacia Hotel Manila hosted us on that fine morning, and I was so happy to once again experience the incomparable warm hospitality that this hotel offers.

The girls and I got together at 8am, and we were seated at a nice and bright table by the window. Angie from the hotel’s F&B team was there to welcome us, and to make sure that we all had our much-needed cups of coffee. After a few minutes of chatting, we went off to the buffet tables to get plates and plates of yummy food. I let the two ladies go ahead and explore the breakfast selections while I had a second cup of coffee and read the hotel’s March to May newsletter, which they were kind enough to furnish us with. These actually get mailed to me at home, too, but I don’t think I’ve seen this latest one yet. I was excited to read about the new bar that just opened at the topmost floor of the hotel called Tree Top. I’m definitely adding this to my list of date night options.

Saw this, too, on our table! Super well-deserved!

A great activity that’s happening soon at Acacia Hotel is the Acacia Junior Chefs summer program for kids. These are a series of cooking classes for kids aged 6 to 12 years old, taught by the hotel’s culinary team. Oh what I wouldn’t give to have my little boy prepare food like this for me every day! The fee is Php6,000 for 10 cooking sessions, and enrollment is ongoing until March 21. To register or for more information, you can call the hotel’s Marketing Department at 720-2000.

Here is the list of classes for the Acacia Junior Chef Summer Program

So finally, my turn came to go and see what was available for breakfast. Compared to my last breakfast experience at Acaci, this one was a bit more limited for me because, as you know, I’m skipping meat with feet for Lent. But let me tell you, the ham and bacon were really calling out to me. It took a ton of self-control for me to say no. Instead, I went straight for the fruit table and loaded up my plate with the sweetest melons ever, some yogurt, a couple of pastries, a breakfast roll and some cheese to go with my fruit. I also picked up a super yummy zucchini and mushroom omelette, which I have been craving for since! To wash everything down, I had a glass of kiwi juice, which was super yummy and refreshing.

Apparently my appetite has gotten smaller since I started on this Lenten diet of mine. While this is a good thing in general, it also meant that I was already full after my first round at the buffet! I wasn’t going to leave without having some danggit soaked in vinegar, though. So when Angie informed us that the buffet would be closing soon, I really got up and got a plate of dried fish for myself. Without rice, mind you.

It was already a perfect morning, when suddenly the Acaci staff made it even more memorable by surprising me with a belated birthday cake with matching song number! Oh my gosh! I was not expecting this, and I found the gesture to be super duper sweet. This isn’t the first time that they so generously became part of an important celebration in my life. Remember when they surprised MrC and I with a cake during our first wedding anniversary? Seriously, Marla, Angie and the rest of the Marketing, Guest Services and F&B Teams, you guys never fail to make me feel special. This is why I keep coming back to Acacia.

Thank you, Millie and Mike of Lightworkz Photography for this photo!

Thank you, Angie and the rest of the F&B staff! You guys are all so nice!

I had a fabulous time with Janice and Millie, and I am so happy that they got to try one of my favorite places in the south. I am actually already planning to do this again soon with other mommy blogger friends and readers. I would totally love to treat you all to a taste of the south, and of course I am excited for fun bonding moments and lots of chikahan. I really hope we get to do this, and I will keep you all posted in case this blogger dream of mine comes true! I’d like to know, though, are any of you up for a date sometime soon? Please say yes!

Disclosure: We were generously treated to this breakfast buffet experience by the wonderful people of Acacia Hotel Manila. However, all opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone, and not influenced by anyone or anything. The Acaci Restaurant at Acacia Hotel offers an Asian and International Buffet daily for breakfast (6AM – 10AM), lunch (12NN – 2PM) and dinner (6PM-10PM). For reservations, you may call 720-2000 or 588-8888 loc1911 or email enquiry@acaciahotelsmanila.com. For the latest promos and updates about the hotel, follow them on Twitter and on Facebook.

Also, please check out Janice’s post about our morning here, and Millie’s post as well, here.

My Summer Plus Size Closet Essentials

March 16, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 17 Comments

With only two weeks to go before school officially breaks for the summer, the kiddo and I are officially, already, feeling the heat. My nasty pink rashes are proof of that. Yup, underneath my shirt I look like a pretty pink leopard. Or half human-half pig. It’s a good thing pink is my favorite color. But anyway, that is not the point of this post!

With summer comes lots of family swimming fun, vacations and other activities. One sure way to beat the heat during these fun times is to dress appropriately. This was a total challenge for my plus-sized self growing up because there were only a few stores that sold larger sizes, and most of them were quite ugly, too. Sorry, I’m just telling the truth! I always say how happy I am now that these amazing plus size stores have popped up online, in malls and in bazaars. We no longer need to dress in tito shorts, in lola prints and in nightgown-looking dresses just because there is physically more of us to love than your average Filipina. One of these days, I promise to look for photos of the silly clothes I had growing up, and I’ll post them here. That’s what happens when a skinny mom gives birth to a chubby child. But that’s okay, I love my mommy anyway.

So, now that summer is here, it’s time to switch the stuff around in my messy closet again and unearth my favorite plus size summer pieces. Here are my closet essentials for the season.

1. Maxi Dresses

I am probably over-sharing, but maxi dresses are great for those days when you’re preparing to get a wax or to shave your legs. Tell me that isn’t true.

Some of my favorite maxi dresses. Both are overruns I bought super cheap in Subic.

2. Shorts

A comfy pair of shorts plus a cute breathable top is great for a relaxing summer afternoon. I would wear this to hang out with friends, a quick grocery trip or a day at the pool.

On the left, shorts by Erzullie. On the right, shorts by Ward88.

3. Short Skirts

Short skirts are great in the same way that shorts are great, but with the added perk of being girly.

The skirt on the left is from Moda Plus. The one on the right is from Ward88. And yes, short *na yan* for me hehe!

4. Dainty Printed or Pastel Skirts

Cute florals and prints are great for the summer, as are pastels. I love skirts that go below the knee paired with a nice top and sandals or ballet flats. These are nice for summer date nights, trips to the mall or to the movies.

Mint green skirt from Marks & Spencer. Floral skirt from Debenhams.

5. Summer Dresses

Yes, maxi dresses can be summer dresses too, but I just had to give my favorite beach dresses their own line. K, moving on…

Summer dressing in El Nido with my friendship, in a green Daisy Fuentes dress from Big Deals, and summer dressing in Boracay in a grey People Are People dress.

6. Cute Beach Cover-ups

This is a must for any beach trip. Sometimes I wear maxi dresses over my swimsuits, but they take forever to dry. That’s why I’d much rather have a nice cover-up.

The one on the left is from Cococabana and the one on the right I got from a beachfront stall in Boracay.

7. Tankinis

I love tankinis! One-piece suits may be nice, but I hate how it’s so hard to pee when you’re wearing them. I also am not the type to wear a bikini, though I know a few plus size ladies who are so comfortable in their skin that they do. I just never did, not even when I was a few sizes smaller. I’m a little bit of a manang. Hehe.

As you can see, I love tankinis with skirt bottoms. I got both of these from Big Deals in Alabang Town Center.

What are your favorite summer outfits?

This post has been submitted to the Pinay Curvies Swag Link-up Party!

Color

March 14, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 8 Comments

It took me a while to decide what I wanted ti use as a subject for today’s 48 Weeks photo. The theme is color, and, well, I have so many brightly colored things at home. I have my collection of lipsticks, assorted books and notebooks wit colorful covers, markers, gel pens, crayons, and the list goes on. Today, though, I woke up missing my crochet hooks, after I realized that I hadn’t made anything in a long time. After pulling out my crochet supplies, I remembered just how colorful my set of hooks are, and so right there I figured out what I wanted my photo to look like.

Shot with a Sony TX10 camera and post-processed on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

So, these are my crochet hooks, plus a teeny tiny cupcake I made today. I’m a little bit annoyed that my frame cut off the tip of one of the gold hooks on the right. I didn’t notice that until after I had uploaded the image, and I don’t want to have to re-edit. Oh well. Should I have put sprinkles on the cupcake?

So this photo challenge has really become more of a study in framing and photo composition for me. I’ve used our point and shoot camera in all except one of the photos. But let’s see, I still have 42 weeks to go. Hopefully I get to shift to the SLR soon.

What brings color to your life today?