My Refrigerator Door

It was my birthday weekend  and nine of my college friends happily joined me on a trip to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. Twenty-seven years ago, it could have been a field trip for our History of Arts class as each house in this heritage town had a wonderful story to tell. These houses were brought piece by piece from their original location and painstakingly restored to their original glory. We wanted to spend the night in the comfort of one of the casas but they were already booked as early as February. I searched the internet for a nearby resort to stay for the night and found a nature camp called   Stella Mariz . We were given the only air-conditioned cottage in the camp where we cooked our own dinner and breakfast. Tracy, a culinary expert, took charge of the kitchen and fed us in style. Edward, my driver was assigned to the grill. The night was spent laughing at almost anything, watching the stars and lying on the sand. We were teenagers once ...

I've often dreaded my birthday, I feared getting old and I worried about the future. Thanks to those random quotes you find on the Facebook newsfeed, I've gotten over having blues and learned to savour the present. A few days before my big day, I celebrated like a seventeen year old. I went out to cheer for Barangay Ginebra at the Big Dome after which had my fill of burger, chips and beer in Borough . Naks Bagets! Ginebra Vs. Alaska Barangay Ginebra!  Chesca, Tiger, Sandro and Pia Post-game eat at Borough . Quarter pounder burger! Rina and Pia LA and Chesca Sandro and Tiger Seventeen again!

My friend Dinny Lazo dragged me to Soler Street in Binondo to look for chandeliers for our soon to open gastropub - Poppins . I was dreading the summer heat and Friday traffic so I psyched myself that after our search, we will be eating Sincerity 's famous fried chicken and I shall be able to buy Hopiang Ube from Eng Bee Tin . We found three lovely chandeliers that will go perfectly with the shabby chic interiors of Poppins, but we needed to contemplate which are the best two, and so off we went to ponder over fried chicken which we would choose. After consuming the chicken and fried rice, we were in our right minds again and decided on getting the black crystal chandelier and the white one with lace like shades. Binondo was worth the trip and perspiration, great finds and a winner chicken dinner. Vintage plates Spinach and Garlic Sincerity Fried Chicken Sincerity Rice Snaps of Binondo.

One of my favourite friends and bloggers,  Camille Cruz-Reyes  a.k.a.  The Hungry Lady   http://the-hungrylady.blogspot.com  had a late morning fitting at my atelier and I purposely had the next three hours free so we can have lunch and catch up. A block away from where I work is Bellini's in Cubao X. Owned by  Roberto Bellini  and his beautiful Filipina wife  Ma. Luisa , Bellini's is a "must go to" restaurant this side of town. It's a place to get away from the "it" crowd and eat real good old Italian food. There we went for some light lunch and happy talk. Bellini's Appetizer spread! Camille choosing from the menu. Camille had their Caesar Salad. I started with some bruschetta.. .. and had the Four Cheese Pizza. Camille and I got shy to pose by the Trevi fountain mural. Complimentary sweet wine from Roberto Bellini.