Holy Guacamole!

It's been a crazy week for me and I've been looking for a little break, a breather to take it all in and reflect.

Last Tuesday was a holiday in our city, so I used that mini-downtime to create a nutritious and oh so yummy snack. I had no idea what to make, but a quick rummage in my fridge showed I had ingredients for my own version of guacamole, a Mexican dish. This dish requires a lot of avocado, a fruit that's packed with potassium, folic acid, Vitamin C, E, and K. Although it has a lot of calories, they're full of good ones that would actually help you lose weight, and not gain more (if eaten in moderation).

For this dip, I used:
1 Medium Avocado
Dash of Salt n' pepper
1 Medium Red Tomato (sliced)
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano/Basil/Tomato (if you have fresh cilantro - that would be better)
1/4 Teaspoon sweetened calamansi puree
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic ranch dressing
1/4 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

First, mash your avocado with your fork and season with salt n' pepper. Then add all the other ingredients, mashing and mixing as you go.

Check your fridge for toast. Check if you have a bit of meat too.

Eat that with your guacamole.

Satisfyingly great. Looks pretty. And best of all, GREEN!

The most beautiful food color - green :D

Try it and let me know what you think! xx

A Private Party at Cafe Sarree

Earlier in the week, we booked the upper floor of Cafe Sarree (a chic little establishment that I absolutely love - read post here) for a little family thanksgiving and an early birthday party for our wee one. We seldom ever get together as a family so we do our best to have a lot of gatherings when we ARE in one city.

Upstairs at Cafe Sarree

a little selfie attempt before everyone arrived

 

Awesome spread - we had almost everything from their menu
My favorites - beef stroganoff and lamb adobo


Some obligatory group pictures before digging in:

My husband's side of the family

with li'l sis DJ

And some more random pics when we started eating:

Magic tricks, pictures, and conversation

Father and Son

And best of all? I met Chef Sarree of Cafe Sarree who was warm, accommodating and very lovely!

With the beautiful and talented Chef Sarree

Their service was impeccable. We didn't have any problems in making a reservation at the last minute and sneaking in a couple kilos of lechon (at no charge!).

Thank you Chef Sarree, we will definitely be back for more! xx

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post*

Liebster Award: Spreading some Blogger Love!

I recently received an award, a Liebster Blog Award from one of the beauty bloggers I'm following, Shayne of Queen of All You See. This blog award aims to promote great bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Here are the rules:

You give a Liebster Award to bloggers whom you think deserves to have more readers because you appreciate their blog. You must link back to the person who nominated you. You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you. You must pick 10 bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers (in GFC) . You must come up with 10 questions for your nominees to answer. You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.

Here are the bloggers I'm nominating for the award (notice there are only 8 nominees):

1. Noelfy of Noelimits - Travel blogger
2. Mustachio of Mustachioventures - Another travel blogger
3. Allen Zan of The Allen Zan - Food blogger
4. Fred Aries of The Exaggerated Zeal - Food blogger
5. Gene-use of REAlity Bites - Personal blogger
6. Justinne of Babe for Food - Food blogger
7. Jo-ann of Food Wanderings in Asia - Food and Travel blogger
8. Cheryl Love of Whatever + Wherever - Food and Travel blogger


Here are my answers to Shayne's questions:

1. Describe your blog in one word:
Honest

2. When and why did you first decide to start your blog?
I started my blog back in 2009 to keep an online account of things that I'm interested in, places I've been to, restaurants I've visited, and food I've tasted. Unfortunately due to my uber busy schedule, I could not post regularly. This is the only year that I've posted consistently for about 5 months now. I hope I can keep this up, because I'm seeing an unusually busy life in the next few weeks ahead.

3. Who are your favorite bloggers/vloggers and why do you love them?
My favorite blogger is hands down Rose of The Londoner. She is living the best kind of life and she's not haughty about it. She's very down to earth, happy, grateful, very grounded and fiercely loyal to her friends. She is also unapologetically enjoying a carefree life while working hard as a freelance social media consultant.



Rose of The Londoner

 4. Do you like Thor aka Chris Helmsworth?
Ehh. He's ok.

5. What is your favorite high-end and low-end makeup brand?
I don't own any high-end makeup products, but if I could afford it, I'd love to have YSL's Touche Eclat.
My favorite low-end makeup brand is L'oreal and my favorite product is their Lucent Magique highlighting pen.

6. What boosts your self-confidence?
Being prepared all the time - I need to know what I'm talking about all the time (this is related to my job)

7. What's in your makeup bag right now?
Human Nature Perfect Coverage Mineral Foundation
Human Nature Body Butter Cream in Mango Passion
Human Nature Tinted Lip Balm in Flame Tree and Island Kiss
Maybelline Colorsensational in Summer Sunset
Avon ExtraLasting Lipstick in Always Rose
Stabilo Highlighter
Light pink untangler comb
Couple of pens
Taxi receipts
Rosary
Mother Teresa's image
Couple of hair pins
Colorful post-it notes

It's quite obvious I don't clean out my makeup kit, non?

8. What is your beauty philosophy?
Take care of your skin first, and eat the right kinds of food that will make your skin thank you

9. If someone gave you a million dollars, what is the first thing you will buy?
House and lot - for sure!

10. Suddenly there's a zombie invading your room, the first object you see on your right is a weapon. What is it?
Harry Potter's wand

Questions for my Nominees:
1. What is your three most favorite things to do?
2. Which actor/actress plays in the lifetime movie about your life?
3. It's your birthday. What's for dessert?
4. What are three blogs you read everyday?
5. What was your holiday wish list as a kid?
6. Do you have a former favorite outfit that you're now embarrassed of?
7. Who is the most interesting person you've ever met?
8. What is at the top of your bucket list?
9. What is the best and worst about blogging?
10. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Why?

I had a great time answering the questions from Shayne, and I hope YOU will find the time to answer MY questions. Looking forward to your response! Lots of love! xx