Bolinao, Pangasinan

A quickie trip with the girls to catch some sun...

♥A

just the two of us

Just the two of us and missing our partner in crime we still pushed through with our annual Christmas night out.

Reserved a table at Straight Up Bar - another roofdeck resto and bar around BGC in Seda hotel. We are roofdeck obsessed at the moment or maybe, since forever! We just love the view.

Unfortunately, it was a rainy night. In between the time we had dinner and drinks we kept on moving in and out of the view deck area which is quite a hassle. We weren't able to settle down but we were able to talk a looooot! Drinks weren't that impressive and the food is just so-so. So yes, as much as we loved the view, we won't be coming back for more!

We didn't stay for long and just decided to spent the rest of the night at Starbucks near my former workplace in our favorite corner.

 

Welcome back and Happy birthday Pagz!!!

Quick dinner and few drinks at Bugsy's to celebrate Pagz's coming home (vacation for a month), birthday and of course to iron out the other details of our week long holidays together.

Vday = singles' nightout = girls' date-night

It's sort of a tradition for my girlfriends and I that we get to go out and spend valentine's day together be it the day before, the day itself or the day after. It is a must that we date and it is customary that we spend it with just the girls and daydream and plan and catch up or whatever.

This time I opted to take a time off work to spend more time with them and meet up with Aya later that night. Picking out a place... initially we planned to dance the night away. LOL However, our ageing heads kept on sticking out somewhere in between the time we are planning that we opted to just have some quality time together away from the party scene. Guess we're expiring soon! HAHA and in there goes the budget too. And so, in the end, we chose Borough in Podium. Aya highly recommended it and would love to be back with me.

Oh hell... It's Valentine's! Why didn't we call for a reservation? I don't know what to say. It slipped my mind. Being full at the time we walked it, we looked out for some other place to dine instead and promise to be back later tonight. =D Yes, quite persistent aren't we? Besides, patience is a real virtue!

We eyed out Casa Armas Tapas Bar y Restaurante just along the entrance of the mall. Think we were really that starved that we forgot to snap some shots together and the food. I really can't recall much of our food back there. We just had the usual, a platter of the special chef salad and croquettes for me, pasta for Ate Heidz, and chicken for Ralei. I'm really sorry, I can't recall exactly the Spanish dishes. Now I really feel bad about this, It's not that the food wasn't impressive it's just, the safe thing for us to eat. The place was nice except for the leaking ceiling at the staircase at the time we dined.

Then finally, a seat for four was freed in Borough when we checked it out for the second time.

And, now, we start the fun! (like we did not eat earlier??! yikes! overindulging indeed for the night!

Mac n' cheese

Grilled cheese and Tomato soup

Chicken cooked in chocolate plus green beans and sour cream sauce

It's a comfort food haven indeed! Mac n' cheese was really nice.. I died with all the cheese and calories in it! haha And Aya's favorite grilled cheese and tomato soup wasn't so bad. I'm not really a fan of tomato soup and trying this, I don't exactly had a change of heart but then again, I opened up for other options. While I find the tomato soup interesting, the chicken cooked in chocolate....well, it was really not my cup of tea. Although Ate Heidz took the liking of it. Ralei and I can't seem to wrap our heads around it's taste. It's fine for me but nothing so special. I guess it is something you get curious when seen in the menu.

We moved to another table later on.. and then, here came the drinks. They have quite a list! We decided to have two rounds of cocktails together before ending the night. I had my picks below...

Washington H Bomb

Serendipity 3

Washington H Bomb was a blast while Serendipity3 was lovely... ♥

Then finally to cap our night together..

Assorted baked cookies + Milk

Just in time when Aya arrived for another round of food and drinks, end my day with my girls...

Girls' little party

It was unfortunate that today's weather was not so agreeable. It was rainy and I wasn't able to attend my good friend's wedding. However, with this unexpected turn I was able to free up my time to sleep a bit more and rest before my pre-Christmas dinner with my other girls.

This year, we girls have decided to do something fancy... And since I was dying to try this place, it's a win-win for me.

Chateau 1771 it is. We arrived more than early and the place was the least busy at this time of the day.

I got my soup for starters.. Cream of mushroom it is.

And then I really had to try this entrée called Potence, one of their best sellers. Well, visuals with all that prep was impressive. It kind of gave the whole thing a kick.

But as always.. this is my favorite part.. dessert!! We had this slice of Coffee pie and it's so nice with a lovely cup of coffee as well.

And it's feels like we had it backwards. It's only now that we ordered our wine and mojito. Lol

I love the place at first sight and I loved it even more with how nice our food experience was just now. ^.^

Feeling it too early to call a night. We headed out to Baja Cantina. It seems like we always end up here whenever we are around the area. hehe but not before I get my hands on some pastries in the nearby Bizu.

Always a sucker for sweets.. and as promised to bring home some cheesecakes I got this wrapped up and since the crew at Baja were ever so nice, they offered to keep the cakes refrigerated until the time we opt to leave.

We surely love this place because we can have as many mojitos or margaritas we like and the nachos are forever lovely!

Certainly we just had our dinner and.. what? we really love the nachos here and can't resist it. Also, this time we did try the fries as well. hmm.. I still vouch the nachos on my number one here with all that dollop of toppings! =P

Drinks, food and our never ending stories.. At times like this, I really don't know how to explain our endless conversation. It just happen plus the fun. We reminisce, we plan, we day dream and we taunt each other to laughter. Time well spent indeed, just the way to de-stress from work and enjoy the weekend.

And finally, to end the night.. a remake of our photo from a year ago. LOL

♥A

FT Christmas party '13

Last night was a blast... well, not really a blast since we all feel so old! lol

We booked in a condotel for a night sort of just across Palladium, the venue of the party. We met up in the room and did some catch up before dressing up for the party.

To be honest, I feel a bit out of place in it since I'm only crashing in the party. I can't really explain it but.. yes, we did try to mingle a little. But to no avail, thank goodness Ralei was there as well.

The party ended even before midnight and even before then we were ready to cap the night off. How old did this make us feel?? We were thinking of trading a whole night of drinking and partying for a cozy time together huddled in our room with the intention to binge on chicken and anything we crave at the moment.

We head back to our room.. changed into some comfy clothes and decided to walk out for search of some food and we ended up in Jollibee in line with some burgers, chicken joy, spaghetti and the likes.

We took our takeaways and ate together in front of the TV while talking and laughing the night's events. And somewhere in between, I dozed off! So embarrassing! And in my defense, I haven't had a decent sleep yet after work that morning. Lol And they were teasing me about it because we were in the middle of a conversation. XD Thank goodness I don't snore and quote-unquote from them, I sleep really like a girl would or should be. This made me laugh even harder! I'm embarrassed but then I know they understand and we've been sleeping together from trips to trips since college and the couch was really comfortable and I'm slouching comfortably in it.. can you blame me?? =P

So yes, girls on the loose were good girls last night! We capped the night sobber!

♥A

PES at 51

This year was different. Instead of attending it with Ayesa I was able to coax the girls to attend with me. It was every bit a thrill. And guess what? This year was prettily distracting I wasn't able to catch much on anything discussed since we can't help but talk. This year's was conducted in InterContinental Hotel. Nice! But I still like it better in BSP. I just don't know, maybe it had grown into me.

The plenary session was interesting though we weren't able to attend the whole thing with that overlapping time something like one started late and the other started on time and it was a mess coming from one session and jumping to another one in the next room being the latter was in the middle of the discussion while the former ended late. That sort of thing if you get what I mean. 

And among the sea of strangers, academe, professionals, and government officials, we met some of our former professors. And I don't want to talk about it at all. *defensive*

It ended pretty much early with the cocktails being hold off for it's budget to be donated to the Yolanda victims. It's pretty nice a thought and would've loved to be able to help more myself given the chance. Well I tried but maybe not hard enough and I'm feeling guilty about it.

We checked in at Prince Plaza II Condotel this morning and we can't wait to spend more time with ourselves giggling and talking about the day's event. It is nearby the shopping center and pretty much accessible to all modes of transportation. We checked in before the conference and just returned afterwards. We had so much plan before like partying all night but it all burst into nothing when the day ended drained with the information overload we had and tired from endless walking. The room was compact. It's neat and not so spacious somewhat like a studio type where you can find everything in one place and there's not so many space to move from. Nonetheless, it is comfortable, clean and the interiors fills in pretty nicely.

Once settled in, as promised, I went on to Facetime Pagz to plan our Boracay trip next summer. Wiii! I can't wait and it's what? 5 more months of waiting!

why so serious Pagz when we're making faces back at ya! lol

It was a lengthy conversation and we're feeling comfortable with the bed while starving. Well, we gotta move it's not like the food and drinks will crawl over to us. So we said our goodbyes for now and promised to call back later once we've done some shopping. We went back to the mall to hunt for food and ended up buying Shakey's chicken and mojos set, then off to the grocery for snacks and beers. That's when my phone pinged that I received an email....And that! Pagz booked us the flight going home from Boracay at his expense! Yay! I can't believe he's spoiling us like that! LOL Thanks though. haha

Back at the hotel, we ate our supper, referring those chicken and mojos, then went straight to the roof deck to check out the pool and to have some drinks. And this nailed my obsession for roof decks, at least for the time being. 

The pool closes at 11pm and ideally we can't stay up there after the pool closes for usage but luckily, thanks to Ate Heidi's charms, we were able to stay out for a longer while. We tried to call back Pagz up there but failed with bad reception in the area. Oh well, we'll talk soon and truth was, we're also chatting through facebook so what's the difference? 

This is how life on a Friday night is supposed to be. Carefree, stress-relieving sesh with friends/family or whatever, a good company over drinks. It's a plus that we have privacy and a good spot to lounge.

 We ended the night taking turns in the shower and as always calling over for some food delivery. And this never fails, hangover food in our books spelled "Yellow cab's chicken bbq pizza, chicken buffalo wings and pumpkin soup". It seemed weird that our supper only consisted of chicken and mojos while we cap our night with pizza, chicken and some soup. =D

All in all, it was a draining day with the seminar, exciting that we're on to the beach next summer, and amusing that we ended up skipping on the party scene tonight different from our initial plan.

Now, tomorrow is another day.. can't wait! xxoo

the real fun starts now! finally!

I was welcomed with warm hugs from the girls, Ate Heidz and her relatives, her cousin Clea and Ate Cynthia, Clea's mom. It felt like three years ago were so long. It was when I first visit Ate Heidz's province with her almost the same time as now. It was an awesome short trip and fun too with all her relatives.

Anyway, we went home first for me to settle a bit and to eat some as well. Ate Cynthia cooked a lot and was really warm as always. After a bit of unpacking, I changed to some fresh clothes and really wished I can do some shower. Fail! So my eeeky list goes on, sleepless, smelly, and dirty? I've been wanting a shower since I rode that bus. Anyhow, we're heading to the beach now so who will care? Nobody would know but us. XD I packed my prized Absolut vodka bottle securely in my tote bag with some of my things and bags of chips for cover up then we picked up the pineapple juice in the jugs. We were all set so off we go to San Juan beach where Soul Surf event will be held at.

Thing is, we knew there will be a lot of crowd but we're complacent the nearby stores and restaurants will be willing to sell some ice but they don't with the swarming people around I knew it then. We tried to holed up with some nearby stores but none would even share a tube or so. While Ate Heidz is willing to walk until the next nearest store wasn't really that near anymore I did insist that the only chance we had was to check out the 7eleven I saw on our way which I sort of was insisting minutes ago. And there, the last two bags of ice. We get to buy one and almost missed it. Still lucky us! Now we can have our happy time.

We settled by the shore along with the other crowd and I did my fix of pineapple vodka. Pineapple vodka in paper cups by the shore, classic!

I hate to be the one urging the young ones to drink but really I didn't, we didn't. We just offered but we didn't force any. Plus I think they're of legal age to drink. It's their choice to get wasted cause I have a whole bottle waiting to be consumed tonight! XD *bad Ate* We did go that way for a couple of hours. Drinking, munching chips, talking and taking in the scene. Pretty much my kind of night, I believe. The music ain't that fun for a while so we drowned it with our laughs and endless conversation. We watched people and try to spot some one interesting. Well, I didn't catch any and Ate Heidz and the girls caught one but the group he's with left early. It's not as if we're going to do anything about it. hmm.. maybe if they really want to but not really.

I love laid back time by the beach. I don't know but there's something with the salty smell, the feel of the sand in my toes, and the sound of the clashing waves by the shore that makes me love it more.. that only this kind of place did to me. I love the starry sky that I don't get to see in the city and I love the refreshing breeze that struck my tangled hair seamlessly. It's reassuring for me in some way that life beyond my reality exists. I always find the beach as my perfect escape from my reality.

Late that night, the event was starting to close in and we're still in the hype of it. More blasting music and the thrill of getting soaked by the rising shore. Yes, we have to move further up for us to keep dry. It was fun like that! But some people, or let's say some guys, were so disgusting I don't want to think about it.

And this photo was taken by Clea! hah! We were caught of guard but it's fine by us. I'm still trying to remember which song was playing when this was taken. And since I was busy tapping on my mobile I think this was the time I was replying on Ralei at her comment. Gah! We missed her a million folds at this moment. And it was amusing to poke fun on her when tagging her with all our facebook updates and truly she hates me like that. XD

We stayed on until the crowd thinned and the music stopped playing. When it was just us and a couple of groups sticking by, Ate Heidz and I were on the deep end of our conversation. It was as planned, loosen up, relax, talk, drink and talk more. It's how we operate and we knew it even before we started. And just then we were interrupted by this guy which we weren't willing to entertain. And he just don't get it! So everything went down south and we started to play it cool until he get lost. And it was already at dawn when we're able to get rid of him. *sigh* at hours wasted with him. Oh well, the night was fun and now we have something to talk more about. hihi some stories to share with Ralei back in the city.

Morning light is sipping and this was the view we're left on. Not one a pretty sight and I found it interesting to catch this man sleeping. He might have been partying really hard last night! XP

I attempted to take a dip but was nearly washed out just by just standing near the water so forget about it. I'm not ready to face some action having consumed glasses of pineapple vodka, sleepless and smelly. Now this was our queue to go home.

sloshed and happy! xxoo ~♥A