Latin band search at Cafe Havana : failed

Hi folks!

It's been a while..Pardon me for not updating,  I'm quite glued right where I am now due to uneasiness.I'm kind of worried about my upcoming visa applications...Please pray  for me cause this not-so-good-sitting-on-electric-chair-like-feeling is really giving me a cold feet.

I've been busy though, to give you a recap...here's the how it's been (in random order)-----> I gave myself some ME time ( I've got footspa and facial finally : ) , went to the Mexican Embassy in Makati to inquire about the requirements needed for me to get a visa, attended my friend's Diaconal Ordination in Lipa City, booked our wedding cake supplier in Batangas City and went to Cafe Havana to check the performance of the Latin band playing there.

Since it's a lot to tackle let us focus first to the last one.

Alan and I really love latin music plus the fact that our crazy love story was born in a club where salsa and bachata is being played LOL.But, since we will be having our wedding here in the Philippines latin band or even mariachi band is quite hard to find here so when I learned about this latin band performing in Cafe Havana I immediately inquired.Hiring a latin band is just a nice-to-have for me but since I'm sure Alan would love it in case we can have a live latin music playing on our wedding party I gave it a try. I was able to contact the vocalist of the band through emails and she gave me a date for a meeting (April 27, 8pm) in Cafe Havana where they playing regularly during Fridays.

Friday, I've got the chance to drag BFF Charm to accompany me in Grenbelt 3 to watch them.Unfortunately, it seems like that the vocalist forgot about out meet up and even if I sent her an sms she don't even got the chance  to reply. 8:30, 9:30...and still no show...They started playing their first set and it seems she totally forgot about it... I can actually come over and remind her about our meeting but after hearing and watching their first set performance I've change my mind.It's not the latin music that Alan would like to have so instead of waiting we just leave the place and gone.. I know it's rude but I dunno why we just can't stay that long in a place with an awkward ambiance for us. I just don't wanna elaborate anymore...

So there... hiring that latin band is kind of  failure..

Cafe Havana is a Cuban restobar....I've been traveling in the Caribbean and some Latin countries but not in Cuba yet so I am not aware how an authentic cuban food taste like all I know is that I would still choose Mexican food than the food we ate there. I don't like the curry-taste-like they have that is not so inviting in my palate, but then having mojito is a plus...Well it's not cuban without having a mojito anyway.....right!

Here's a peek!

I tried their mangojito instead of mojito...it's a mango flavored one :D
So-so okay....

Calamares Ulos-it's like normal calamares
 but i don't want the taste of the sauce

Bistic a la Cubano- this one is not my type

Cuban Love Boat -this one is good! :)

it's the interior where we are seated...
those Cuban hats and cigars are tempting :P
Sorry for the bad quality of photos, i am just using my mobile phone here.

Hmmmmm....What do you think? 

Well, we decided to just make our own playlist of latin music....burn it and let the DJ do his job. 

Wait!!!did I already told you that sis Clai of Sssshhhhh.....Im thinking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is offering her awesome  singing talent for free on our wedding day (actually it's like taken by force yata LOL) so we'll just grab this great opportunity,it's like an early wedding gift (thank you sis! :D). Her music may not be latin but hey when you see one of her videos you could tell that she can make our party people alive and dancing teeheee! :)

PS. By the way the vocalist answered my sms around 11:30 pm and I'm about to hit the sack. :( Too late, I just ignored it.

Flower pen as wedding favor : teaser

Teaser? Engagement shoot?  LOL

click the photo for better viewing

Yay! i love them

Wanna have one? Venga aqui! (come here)! :p

Wedding: Save the Date

And because I am kind of busy and can't write mucho

 lemme just share to you our Save the Date doodle/photo.  :D

Taaaadaaaaa!!!

cute right? :P
please click for  better viewing :-)

This doodle was made by one of my favorite wedding supplier, 

and she is none other than Little Miss Paintbrush.

Hep hep! Before you react on how you see the drawing

I would like to share that the whole idea of this (drawing) is from Alan my Love. LOL

The only contribution I have  in making this Save the Date is the cactus thingy

 (to put some Mexican touch to match our theme)

and the calender part instead of just putting the date

(defensive but it's true..haha).

I'm torn between making it just into a normal Save the Date card,

 a ref magnet or print it just like a real photo in photo paper.

What do you think is better?

Don't be shy I am open for suggestions hehe.

Alright then, I need to park now...
Until next time folks!

I hope you like it 

like how Alan and I love them. :D

PS. I can't wait to write a post about Little Miss Paintbrush and the rest of our booked suppliers, oh just please bear with me..because your Pinay Mex right here is kind of lazy due to lack of rice consumption! -kiddin ^_^

Me and Mr. Crab : A crab and mango salad recipe

From my previous post I've shared to you how an alive crab been bad to me, so now I will tell you how Mr. Crab turned into a yummy dish.

This stall caught my attention that made me bought a kilo of  fresh crabs.

 one of them is not so nice, hit my hands by its claws and then made me wounded.OUCH!

For revenge....I'm the one who cooked them LOL

Cauliflower,carrots, green bell pepper

butter,oyster sauce,onions and garlic

Here's how:

• I boiled the crabs first for 10 minutes.
• Using the butter I sauteed the chopped onion, garlic,cauliflower and carrots together and then added the boiled crabs.
• I put 2 cups of crab's stock, a sachet of oyster sauce, a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of ground pepper, brown sugar and chili powder, covered  and simmered.
• To make the sauce thick I dissolved 2 tablespoons of flour in a little water and mixed it to the sauce while stirring.
• I put the green bell pepper, boiled it for 3 minutes and then FINITO. :D

while cooking

ready to serve

don't you think it's delish? :p honestly it is! :D

I made my own version of Thai mango salad to pair it with the crab...

I just cut the green mango into strips.

green mango

Here's how:

I just added chopped string onions on top of mango strips.For the sauce/dressing I extracted 6 pieces of fresh calamansi (lime) mixed it with 2 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce) and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. I poured the sauce on it and then topped it with ground peanuts and a teaspoon of chili powder and Taaaadaaaa!

my very own mango salad 

So can you guess what happened to my diet now? LOL but I ate it with my steamed brown rice don't worry haha.

note: both recipe are mine, I don't even know if the crab recipe ever exist but hey my experiment was great! I'm sure your palate will love it too....Try it! ^_^

Quick Pics week update

Okay so all my stuffs and stories are now hanging and all I can offer you now is a sneak peek of those stories I wanna share...Let me narrate it for you through pictures but pardon me for a not so good quality photos cause I often use my mobile phone's camera.....Please bear with me....

Here it goes...

So my niece finally out of the hospital and the doctor said she suffered from gastroenteritis with some dehydration. We are glad she's fully recovered now.

Isn't it obvious she can play with my shoes now?

A day before we admitted Meg (my niece) in the hospital I was so busy with my US B2 visa application.It was my first time applying b2 though I've been using a C1 visa for almost 7 years now. Normally my agency do it for me so I can't get of cramming and tension when I was doing it plus getting an interview schedule really requires a lot of  patience in waiting. You can't actually choose a date because you have no choice at all but to get the only date you can see in your monitor and a schedule probably made for early birds, you have to choose between 6:30 am and 7:30 am schedule (an hour difference?yay!). Can you imagine how many Filipinos are applying for visa here and so punctual and leave me these schedules? oh well lucky them but of course I took the latter one. LOL

now confirmed! finally.
Now, please pray for me.

I am working for a DIY pomander decor for a month now I guess  and it's not yet done.I am trying to finish and hoping I can share it to you soon..

I am stuck doing this. HELP!!!

I finally enrolled and started my Jeet Kun Do  class! Yey! and now I am loving kick boxing :P

for an affordable offer, why not? right? :P

Early this morning me and Mom went to the wet market to buy something for lunch and we saw a stall selling fresh and alive crabs. Craving hits your writer so I bought almost a kilo to prepare a delish seafood dish.Well, I guess this crustaceans realized that I am his predator and without a minute after I let them out of the plastic bag, grabbed my right thumb finger quickly using its claws and yes now I am injured! Pity me!

Spell C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S!

So there's the quick summary of my week...Hope I can blog for a more detailed post/story soon!

Oh well, let me start eating my late lunch first because I need to take a revenge with Mr.crab... Hmm I'll make sure I'll grab the claws first! LOL

Have a great day everyone!!!

Wordless post

The hospitalization of my niece made my passed 2 days occupied. I just hope she'll get better soon because her Tita is worrying mucho . :(

Early birds in the beach

Yesterday my Aunt and Uncle residing in Cavite came for a visit and early this morning suddenly got interested to have a dip in the seawater since it's like a decade ago since their last trip to the beach. My early morning gym session was cancelled so they dragged me together with my lil bro. Since I missed doing my cardio work out in the gym I swam instead.

I don't wanna miss writing this.

Nice weather..... We even saw fishermen who just came from fishing...and they are selling their freshly caught fishes.Of course we bought because men it's a very good deal! :D

early birds catches the worm

They call this fish pulang buntot (red tail). Sorry, due to the dim light of morning sun
we can't take a closer and clearer view using my mobile.
We paid only P100 for almost 2 kilos of fish. Great deal! :D

Holding the net pretending we caught them too.LOL

That's how I started my day but before we leave that very calm place my eyes leaned in those islets  few miles away and promised I'll visit them soon. Hey! it's more fun in Calapan City.

Yes those islets!

Beach Fiesta : Reception

We love to have an outside event, just right in the beach front, a dinner while the sun sets, sky is the ceiling, the stars, the sands and the ocean will join our audience. Isn't it lovely? :D

beach front

the rooms

In planning a wedding, the two top major suppliers that you need to book is the church (ceremony) and reception venue.It's easier to book the rest of your suppliers list if you have these two.

serene

Alan and I love the beach that's why we wanted to have our wedding fiesta by the beach and it will surely match our Mexican beach theme.Beach wedding is a nice idea but since we are both Catholic we still wanted to march in an old Catholic church's aisle so we just searched for a nice beach venue for a Mexican beach party instead. The difficult part of having a destination wedding is how you can find a great place but at lower cost. It took me days and weeks on sending and asking for resorts quotes in Laiya  and I must say it's kind of hard...Most of them are pricey and we are trying to find an affordable one. Until I've got answers from Taramindu Beach Garden Inn that got my attention.I believed it's the one we are looking for, it's not really affordable but a way lower than those rates of other nearby resorts.With a great ambiance plus we can have it exclusively on our wedding day, Taramindu Beach Garden Inn is the perfect place to celebrate.

celebrating marriage here with our loved ones is <3

I did an ocular in Taramindu  January 21th of this year with BFF Charm. Same day when we visited San Juan Nepomuceno Church. We met Argie Mendoza (resort's AE) there and she's really nice and easy to talk to. They actually have an event that same day ( a golden wedding) so we personally saw how a dinner set up by the beach there will looks like and that setting excites me more. Live band, buffet by the beach, fireworks, bamboo torches in a white sand beach is just great!

We officially booked the resort January 25, 2012 via bank transaction payment! And yes our beach fiesta will be there! Yey!

Note: Taramindu Beach Garden Inn's photos borrowed  here. Thank you :D

Where we will say I do....again?

Happy Sunday everyone!

As usual we will attend Sunday mass later because most of us wakes up late and there's not too much people during last mass that means we don't need to worry about getting space to sit ( we are normally late) *ashamed*. So for the meantime let me tell you about the Church where we will say I do again.

I've been sharing you about some wedding stuffs like our DIY projects, official monogram and theme but I never have a post about our wedding suppliers yet. So now let me start with you the Church where our wedding ceremony will be held.

At first I thought it's easy to find one but I'm wrong! My dream Church is Caleruega but since me and hubby  really wanted to have a beach reception and we don't want the Nasugbu beaches plus when I tried to book the date is already taken so we just planned to have it in my hometown (Calapan City) stress free and  a way cheaper ( because we don't need to worry about the accommodations of the guests). I inquired in 2 Churches here unfortunately there's no wedding schedules in our prospect date. We can't move it because my Mother in law can't make it earlier due to her job schedules, can't make it later because it's Christmas already. I  keep on searching, I even went to Puerto Galera with family to inquire but hey! I didn't know that all the churches in Oriental Mindoro is basing in the same schedule which is only during Wednesday,Friday and Saturday. For this reason we decided to have a destination wedding instead, a destination where not too far for our guests and of course where we can find a beach reception. Finally we found the perfect place, San Juan, Batangas it is.

Are you familiar where Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo ( Filipino celebrities) tied the knot? If not, that church is San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church and in that same Church we will say I do...again! Exciting isn't it? Well we did not chose it because we are a big fan it just that old church really is an amazing Church.

Alan and I fell in love even the first time we saw it in the web.

Last week of December last year (2011) I booked them via telephone and confirmed it January 21 this year when BFF Charm and I visited the church and did a resort ocular for our reception in Laiya.

Their staff specially Sister Ponie is really helpful and nice.I am really happy that we made the right decision and now I am so excited and can't wait until I walk down its aisle. :D

yours truly in front of San Juan Nepomuceno Church during our visit :)

with BFF Charm in Orange Restaurant in San Juan, Batangas downtown

DIY: Kids activity book

We actually wanted our wedding day  to be a "for adults only" event but since it's kind of impossible, we just decided to have a kids corner for them where they can eat and play.

We have six kiddos in our entourage 3 flower girls and the 3 boys as bearers so automatically 6 kiddos. Maybe I will just add 4 more or less for the total count and hopefully that's enough, I don't want our wedding to looks like a kids party. :/

To keep them entertained we made a DIY work book with the help of our lovely indeed source. :D

Muchisimo gracias for this!
Alan sent me the printable file and I'm the one who printed and sewed it out.

See below our finished products....

I made only  8 pieces for the meantime

lovely made for <3

of course I put shells for a beach-y accents as always :p

1st page

2nd/middle

last

And that's another labor of love. :D

Aside from this we will provide them crayons, pencils and maybe some sand castle building tools too.

Hope it works....We need to keep them busy and happy so adults can partey- partey! Yey!

DIY edible bouquet

Hi there! :D

As promised here’s one of my updates.
I want to share with you my DIY edible bouquet.
Oh well I dunno why I do it while I'm on a diet (LOL). Actually I am thinking of an edible bouquet for our prenup shoot and this idea popped up my head...

Just a piece of cake…

coke is hidden on the side. haha

All you need is a small round styro (P4.50)

Ribbon

A pair of generic chopsticks/BBQ sticks

Macaroons (I used the one from Goldilocks) (P65.00 per pack)

Some leaves from granny's pots

Tooth picks

How I made it? Hmmm just see the picture  below and you’ll see how easy it is to make…. :)


Bon appétit! 

Just insert the chopsticks in the middle of the round styro.
 Wrap the sticks with the ribbon  and put the leaves somewhere
 in the middle while wrapping.

Stick the macaroons one by one using the tooth picks.
(sorry I don't have the photo of the inserted tooth picks around it before putting the macaroons on top)

There you go!

Hush! But to be honest 1 pack of macaroons is not enough.
I guess 3 more pieces needed...I just don't show the unoccupied space. :P  

Of course making it edible is useless if I will not gonna eat it! wahaha

I hope you enjoyed it! Because I do with matching cold coke on the side... :P

Good luck to my diet then! Yay!

Note:
I ate like 4 pieces of it and share the rest to my lil bro and my niece! They love it too! delish <3

New hairdo

Hey folks!
Been idle for a while...I have few updates about our wedding preps and I wanna write something about our booked suppliers but I just can't get off my ass to do it just yet. Well maybe it's the post effect of long weekend last week...

Lil bro and I actually bound to the mall now to watch a good movie, I just felt guilty for not updating this blog so before we leave i wanna share to you my new hairdo :P

I don't have a plan at all to chop my hair but I dunno what happened and I suddenly dragged my sister to the nearest salon for a hair cut and here's my hair now....

like or love? :D

Yes I have bangs now...just that and  make it trimmed  2 inches down....So far I love it! hope Alan too :)

How about you?...

Got to go! Will update soon promise!

By the way I took the picture in the supermarket where we headed right after my hair is done...:D

Pinay-Mex' Project Fit and Toned

Happy Easter everyone!!

Finally the long weekend is almost over and now  I can start with my Project Fit and Toned.

Yes, you read it right! Project Fit and Tone... Well if you are a follower of this blog I'm sure you're aware how I really wanted to lose weight. I once wrote a post aiming  a sexy body in 60 days which I guess it's kind of impossible and I even listed losing weight as No.1 in my  16 things I want to do before our Church wedding . I am  trying my very best to achieve such goal though I know it means exerting more effort and self discipline.

Last week I was in a lurking mode in the web when a post caught my attention. I've learned about the Project Fit and Toned support group initiated buy sis Rae's post : Project Fit and Toned Take 2: Square One and  without hesitation I emailed her right away  informing my intention of joining.I am now one of  them!We wanted to achieve the same goal in our own way and hoping this group can inspire and help fellow girls  too out there who wanted to have a  fit and toned body. 

let's do it together! :D

To track my progress easier I made a page in this blog for all my post and updates related to this project.This page will link you to my especially made Pinay-Mex's Project Fit and Toned site so wish me luck for this goal folks! LOL.

Currently we are 4 in the support group counting me and sis Rae of Scatterbraintures, sis Kim of  Coffee with Kim and sis Bee of Before I turn 25.

For those who are interested to join our group feel free to shoot me a message or sis Rae and let's do it together and go for the gold! :D

Note: Photo from http://michelletessendorf.com/