TAGAYTAY (2015)

To escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, we decided to drive papa and mama to Tagaytay.  The plan was to have lunch there and some sightseeing on the side then back to Manila.  Unexpectedly we had to endure the worst traffic on our way.  Yes it was a weekend, but the traffic was far worse that day.  But anyway we arrived Tagaytay all famished but then again most of the restos we went to were all jammed.  We ended up having a late lunch in Max but can't complain because we got  the perfect view of Taal volcano from our table.  

 
The initial plan was to have lunch somewhere near the taal volcano then proceeded to Sonyas garden for snacks.  Since we were so full with what we had for lunch and also we are behind time, we skipped the plan of having snacks in Sonyas but we still went there for their spanish bread. 






















I have been to Sonyas garden few times before, but this place never fails to charm me every time I come here.  The villas, those pocket gardens, the greenery around, really fascinates me. They actually serve leafy salads freshly picked from their garden.  And this used to be my reason why I keep coming back to this place, their salad and their own concoction of dressing.  Today, aside from the ambiance there are more things you can do at Sonyas garden. There is a spa, shops for their breads and home decors  and of course a must tour around the gardens.

We arrived at Sonyas in the afternoon.  We toured papa and mama around the place.  It was crowded around that time because there was a wedding reception in one of the villas, we then decided not to stay long.  






We bought the spanish bread which is so good while its hot and we munched it as we drive our way home.

TIMBERLAND SPORTS AND NATURE CLUB

It was Nadines idea to have a post birthday treat for mama the moment they come home to the Philippines.  Although uncle Herming and Auntie Mayet threw a surprise party for mama on her 70th birthday but didn't suit for a happy celebration because papa was due for operation and mama was  anxious at that time. So Nadine came up with the idea with a birthday treat only with the families in Lagro and Katarungan while parents were vacationing in Manila.  

















Nadine chose Timberland for the said treat and outlined the itinerary for the whole day.  She considered the place because of the pool so the kids can swim and have fun, there was the karaoke for the adults, and  it was surrounded by nature, Nadine made sure that the oldies will feel relaxed while in the area.





We were in Timberland exactly around lunch time so we went straight to their buffet and feasted on the yummy lunch they served.  The food was good that hours passed and we were all going back and forth to the buffet table for food.  When everyone was done with the food, we transferred to the pool area to continue the chats while the kids headed on to the pool.  KuyaYon and Brett positioned themselves near the karaoke and alternately belted their voices to their song choice.  We later joined them.  Papa took his turn too singing the old favorites.  There were times that he was out of tune but it was all good.

Hemmed by breathtaking panoramic vistas of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges is a dynamic lifestyle hub where natural indulgences fuse with urban conveniences.
 
Timberland Sports and Nature Club is a first-rate private membership club that offers a wide range of activities and amenities for the entire family. It is just a 15-minute drive from the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City.
The club is situated within the masterplanned Timberland Heights, a vast 677-hectare resort town development of Filinvest Land in San Mateo, Rizal. 


 

The 9-hectare sports and recreational development has an elevation of 345 meters above sea level, affording a fabulous view of Manila Bay, Makati, and Ortigas skylines. From gourmet dining to poolside relaxation, scale the peaks of luxury in a postcard-perfect club setting.
 

NADINES 40TH BIRTHDAY

Another reason to celebrate this December 22nd is the 40th birthday of Nadine. Brett took charge of everything from planning to the execution of the surprise party. I was in charge though of the guests list on our family side. 

The event was held in  Moms and Tinas Bakery Cafe in Pasig. It was an intimate dinner with relatives, friends and colleagues of the celebrant. White themed party because everyone was asked to be in their white clothes except the celebrant.  Nadine doesn't know the details of the party all she knew was it will be the usual dinner with the family. 

Unfortunately during this time of year metro manila is in its busiest state. As expected the party started an hour late. And some guests came late.  But we achieved surprising the celebrant.  When she entered the room she couldn't believe seeing her co workers, our cousins some of her friends, family from Nabas were there, singing the birthday song.  It definitely touched her cos Nadine cried.  As soon as everyone got to their seats, Brett presided over thanking everyone who came, and asked for messages from ate Lisa, auntie Cherry a co worker and a friend for the celebrant and of course a message from Aaron who also lead the prayer so as to start with the dinner.  After dinner everyone enjoyed dancing to the 80s music. 



 






There are small details too that impressed Nadine.  In the candy table Brett had 4 picture frames of the birthday girl from each decade in her 40 years and significant event during that year.  First when she was a baby, when she was 10 she won as runner up to the Ms. Science in our province, 20th  her graduation from college, got married at 30 and in her 40 was a family picture with the family.   There was this tarpaulene too of her with some of the popular women of her age.  I also like the sketch made by Dondie of Nadines face and of course the flowering plant for centerpiece which some guests took home as token.

 


The party was a chance on catching up with our cousins and friends. It was lots of laughs and 


some cry time too especially for Nadine who I guess got emotional from the messages for her. It was a nice party.  Everyone had fun.

masquerade party

 

It was less than a month before the target party date when my cousin decided to push through with her plan of surprising her daughters with a super belated birthday party.  She contacted us for help so within that month span we did all the preparation for the said party.  Nadine took charge of contacting the suppliers.  So first thing first was to checked out some events place  and chose C3 in greenhills because of its accessibility.  Because of the limited time, we opted for some in house suppliers. 
Nadine and I made it sure that the celebrants will be a major part of the preparations.  So their inputs were important to us. We let them decide, and contribute ideas on how they want their party to be like.  Jillian and Mica wanted a masquerade party and it has to be black and red masquerade party. And we stick to it.





Next challenge was how we will have that masquerade ambiance.  Lots of ideas but we have to consider the budget.  When I saw the place, I noticed the neutral colors around and the ceilings were high.  So I thought red and black were perfect. My thought was centerpieces should have some height to serve as blockage to an all neutral surroundings and somehow will give emphasis to the high ceilings.  So since it was a masquerade ball, I had to incorporate masks and feathers to the centerpiece.How to achieve this I thought of using tall vases, then use twigs to make it taller and also serves to hold the feathers. My initial plan was to make at least 3 layers of feathers but then I was short of feathers, Iwas satisfied with the height of the two layers.Then put the red masks on top as if they were just there watching. kinda creepy ha.  Tables were kinda huge so I had to add more stuff.  Picture frames were perfect.  I painted them black and white put masks and feathers on it.  Black and red necklaces were added too.

To neutralize the colors in the table, I put some short red feathers  in a shot glass and arrange the red souvenir boxes in the table too.  The back drop was simple.  Black and red masks were hang in the curtain and was highlighted with red lights.  We also made huge masks which we put in the platform and the other one was in the entrance just so the guests will be reminded of the masquerade ball. What was written in the welcome board was an instruction on where the guests will get their masks, which we put  in a twig tree beside the board. 

Next concern was the day itself. Flow of the program etc.  There were flaws. This usually happens when everything is impromptu.  Some materials like the avr, cds were given like an hour before the party. Photography, people behind this came late. The host doesn't have the list of the names of the participants. This is because the celebrants were still revising their lists til the start of the party. Even the lists of the guests were given like at the start of the party. I have given all the instructions on  what where how they would do in every party of the program but then everyone was like doing his/her own thing.  The husband and wife team of Rosel and   Eric were a big help throughout. Yes there were flaws but then everything turned out fine. Seeing the celebrants and their friends enjoying the party was a good sign already.  Positive feedback from the suppliers and the manager of the place was a better sign. So  patting my shoulder for a good job but could be better if only ....

GIRLS BONDING

After 7 years I was about to meet one of my girls, my best buddy from  high school  Nanet had been living in dubai for work.  Nanet and I hit it off maybe because we are on the same wavelength.  We never take life seriously, if its us together its just craziness and laughter.
We already planned way before she arrived to meet up.  When she came home though she was faced with many obligations and was prioritizing all the important things to do. So we just have to wait until she has the free time.
When she called to meet up, had to drop the appointment set on that day and headed to Vikings north edsa.  I think we were both eager to see each other because she kept on calling on my way there.

 Rose my bestfriend in college has to be there too. I actually introduced the two and  they somehow became good friends too.  

As expected, the moment we saw each other we were already laughing.  We can throw sarcastic jokes to each other and just laughed it off.  We were laughing at how we look like. Throwing jokes like how we aged a lot and so on.  Whats good about my girls is they  can take jokes, we all have this sarcastic humor and we can be just ourselves when we are with each other. Somehow we were getting the attention of others in the place because of our laughter.  But its us, like I said its craziness to the maximum when I am with these girls.  We in fact agreed that time that nothing had changed, we still act like kids.  Maybe life should be lived this way..just be kids sometimes. 

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SOCCER THEMED PARTY

Labor of love. This best describes Arrons 6th birthday party. Everyone made an effort for Arrons birthday party wish.

  

Months before his birthday Arron had in his mind how he wanted his birthday to be like. The theme changed from mickey mouse adventure to a soccer ball themed party.  He assigned each one of us to a certain task for his party.  Nadine and I were in charge of the desserts.  After a thorough planning we decided to go for cupcakes, brownies, cookies, cake jars, fondue and lollipop cakes and of course candies and chocolates in our list for the desserts. Our next concern was how we would want our cupcakes to look like, how we going to make our soccer cookies, how and what flavors to serve and doubted ourselves if we can actually do them all at very limited time.  As planned we started baking three days before the party. So Thursday night we started baking the cookies. This one was no sweat.  Next day we couldn't figure out what to use for the cookies if to glaze or top it with fondue. We tried both and opted for fondue. So the whole day Thursday until Friday I was making and designing cookies with the fondue.  Yes it took some of our time. Friday night was a birthday dinner for the family. Coming home though was again continuation of work.  We stayed all night baking. We continued  the next day. Everyone was doing his/her task for Arrons party and we were all having fun doing the preparation.  Time was running and it seemed like we were not finishing a thing. By lunch time there was still a jar cake to do and the lollipop cakes was not forming like lollipops..funny right.  The invitation was at three afternoon.  One pm there were so much things to be done.  But then luck is on our side by 2:30 everything was set.

 

Guests started coming around this time.  Then the games for the kids started.  It was good to see that everyone is having fun.  After the games food was serve, the usual kids favorite spaghetti, chicken, and spring rolls on their plates and buffet snacks for the adults.   A soccer game was shown while they were in their tables.. It was a delight to see the friendship formed among Arron s pre school class. They were like in their own world busy talking, playing, running around with their happy faces.  This is why I can say that the party was a success.  I saw happy faces, 

contentment and guests smiling and laughing.  The last guest left around 9pm. 






















It was an awesome party..for my part it was a joy when Arron personally said his Thank you for helping him with his party.  Such a good boy.

 
Post script:



By the way the party didn't end here. Soon as the guests left we started preparing again for Arrons birthday celebration with his soccer team the next day.  Its was not as busy anymore.  The party was set the next day in sunken Garden UP.  After Arrons game his team mates were treated with cupcakes candies cookies nuggets and chips.