CHRISTMAS LUNCH AT CHEF OF INDIA

My Christmas weekend turned out really nice.  Despite the short time we stayed in Toronto, Vince and I were able to visit a bunch of friends including my BFF.

The day before Christmas, Vince and I went out for lunch with Neil.  We drove to his apartment, parked our car, and from there walked towards Yonge Street. It brought me heaps of happy thoughts to be walking again on the streets of Toronto especially Eglinton Avenue East, and I swear, if fairy dusts had been sprinkled on me at that very moment,  my feet would have fluttered in a heartbeat and taken me straight away to Neverland.  Gosh, I really missed Toronto.

We originally planned on doing a dimsum buffet at Spring Rolls, but unlucky us, it was closed.  Nice thing about Toronto is that there are so many places you can go to within close proximity each other, that we only needed to cross the street for another restaurant, Chef of India.

The Three Stooges

When we got inside the restaurant, we were surprised (and absolutely delighted!) to find out that they do serve buffet.  It wasn't our first time to eat in that place but we never had buffet there in the past.  It was already past lunch time and we were all starving, so we indulged ourselves with various Indian dishes at the buffet table, including vindaloo, masala, pakora, buttered chicken, raita, mango chutney, pulao rice, and the likes.  Vince also ordered samosa from the menu, and I ordered mango lassi for drinks.

A little too fancy for samosa :) Tastes really good!

We left the restaurant with our tummies bulging and filled with sumptuous Indian cuisine.  We headed next to Tim Horton's to get my french vanilla fix, and then walked back to Neil's place, where we exchanged Christmas presents, and took some pictures by the Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah in his apartment lobby.

No animals were harmed in the making of my TNA winter jacket.
I don't know about Neil's Canada Goose jacket, though.  Hehe!

Julio at Julia, Ang Kambal ng Tadhana ☺ 

Nothing warms the heart and soul better than good laugh shared between friends.  Thanks for the wonderful friendship, Neil.  You know aylabya... xOxO!

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To read more foodie adventures, please click:  GASTRONOMY MONDAY

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NOCHE BUENA 2011

Thank you for those who commented in my previous post and shared how their holiday was.  Good to hear that albeit simple your celebrations were, you all had a wonderful time, and spent it with people you love and care about.  For those who celebrated Christmas alone, away from family and loved ones, or so-called members of SMP (Samahang Malamig ang Pasko), I know how you feel - been there done that!  I had my fair share of those Christmases wherein I just slept on them while I was living on my own in Toronto, and being the Filipino I am who grew up with Noche Buena, caroling, and Paskong Pinoy, I couldn't help but get a wee bit emotional too during those all-by-myself-Christmastimes.  Be merry still because Christmas comes regardless what our situation in life is, and the essence of the holiday is nonetheless to celebrate the birth of the Saviour, Jesus Christ :)

Speaking of Noche Buena, it was Vince and mine's first Christmas together as married couple.  We drove up to Toronto the night before Christmas eve, and had a delicious home-cooked Noche Buena with family (my in-laws).

One of the things Vince and I look forward to when visiting Toronto is the scrumptious meals his father cooks.  For this year's Noche Buena, my father-in-law cooked caldereta, oven-baked ribs, fried calamari, stuffed mushrooms, and fried potatoes.  

Presents were opened when my in-laws got back from church mass.  The two dogs, Calvin and Riley, got presents themselves from uncle Vince and auntie Karen.  Hehe!

Calvin was overly excited to put on the sweater we got him,
whereas Riley only showed a tad of what I supposed was curiosity.
After all, he was already feeling warm and extra cute on the red Santa vest he was wearing.

That's pretty much how my Noche Buena was.  I'm glad that I was able to celebrate it with Vince this year, and if anything I'm really thankful for (other than the fact that Jesus Christ was born to be my Saviour), it's that I didn't spend this past Christmas by myself ☺

What about you, guys?  How did Noche Buena turn out for you?  Feel free to share your Noche Buena story by posting a comment and if you wish to leave a link where I can visit you back, please do!  I will await your comments ☻

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To read more foodie adventures, please click:  GASTRONOMY MONDAY

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HOW WAS YOUR HOLIDAY?

Hello my dear blog pals!  I hope you all had a blessed holiday.  Thank you for the Christmas greetings you left here in my blog.  I greet and wish you all the same :)

You may have noticed that I was on stealth mode and unable to go online for the past days.  I have been crazy busy at work - much crazier busier than usual - as always the case before and after holidays.  Also, I have been dealing with blurry vision, which I hope resolves soon as it has really been a while now and bothering me a lot especially when working in front of the computer.  On top of that, Christmas came so I had to squeeze some shopping and gift wrapping in between, and ultimately traveled up north with Vince to celebrate with family and friends in Toronto.  While in Toronto, we visited our BFF, churchmates, and mga ninang, ninong, kumare, kumpare and inaanak.  So many people we wanted to see and spend time with in just a short span of time, therefore, I had to put off other tasks such as blogging until after the holiday hustles and bustles.

So, anyweiz, I'm now back here in the States, and busy and blurry as I may be, I am trying my best to catch up on blogging as well as read your blogs and get back to all my blog pals who visited my blog and left some love through comments, support, pindots, hugs and kisses!  It's truly my pleasure to return those favors, if you would please just bear with me and my busy schedule and blurry vision for now :)  Thank you, all... and once again, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

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BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

♪♫ I've got to go home - Oh baby, you'll freeze out there

Say, lend me your coat - It's up to your knees out there...

I really can't stay - Get over that hold out

Ahhh, but it's cold outside! ♪♫

Black and white wool coat from White House Black Market
Black leather gloves from Danier
Christmas decor courtesy of my neighbor ☺

I pray that this Christmas, may everyone find food on the table, shelter over our heads, clothes to keep us warm, and Christ in our hearts.  A blessed holiday season to everyone! 

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For a sneak peek of what's inside my wardrobe, please visit:

WEDNESDAY APPAREL

And nope, they're not for sale :D

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LG DOUBLES THE SCREEN, DOUBLES THE FUN!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™ for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My job entails me to work on a computer and open multiple software at the same time, and having double monitor really makes it easier for me to be more efficient and multitask faster than when I only used one. I can never work now with just one monitor!

Now, don't you wish you can apply the same principle with your mobile phone, wherein you can have two screens and never have to quit an app or miss a text and just keep the fun going all at the same time? Well, wish no more because LG provides a solution with its new smartphone, LG DoublePlay™, exclusively available at T-mobile.

LG DoublePlay™ is like having two smartphones in one. It has dual customizable touch screens (3.5-inch main display and 2.0-inch secondary display) that operate independently or in tandem, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that will have you texting while simultaneously tweeting, uploading, downloading, surfing or streaming, all at 4G speeds!

LG DoublePlay™ is powered by Android 2.3 with access to Android Market. This smartphone also offers multiple text messaging options including Cloud Text and Group Text which gives users the ability to send and receive texts from a PC or tablet, or create group chats on the go for faster, more efficient content sharing.

And what more? With LG DoublePlay™'s 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, and 720 pixel HD video recorder, you can capture quality photos and videos and share them via email, messaging or Facebook.

So, all you social butterflies, go check out LG DoublePlay™, and see for yourself how this Android phone will keep up with your social life. How many hours do you spend texting or engaging with social networking on your phone? How do you think LG DoublePlay™ would change the way you text or interact with your social network? Feel free to reply via comment :)

SNORKELING IN BORACAY

Bummer!   That's what Pakoy probably felt when he realized he could not go snorkeling with the grown-ups.  While he was able to fit into one of the smaller life vests, unfortunately, we did not have a snorkeling gear for kids (because we did not ask if there was any available and we thought he was just too young for such activity).  So, Pakoy had to be contented to sit on the boat with Mama while the rest of us went into the water and amused ourselves looking at various colorful fish, including angel fish, which my sister, Mcdo (Pakoy's mom), described as "kamukha ng two-piece na suot ni ate kahapon" in reference to the black and white striped swimsuit I wore the day before ☺  We held smaller pieces of bread for fish to feed on, and when I did that, several big ones flocked on me all at the same time that I got scared and let out a loud shrill, to which Vince said, "Sabi ko na nga ba eh!"  *Just what I thought!*  Haha!

The current was kind of strong and we had to hold onto the rope and katig  so as not to be drifted away.  Knowing that Pakoy once jumped into a pool without any hesitation, we told him to stay on the boat and not even think about going into the water because the current might drift him away.  He was a good kid and did not give us a hard time on that matter.  He pretty much enjoyed watching us and listening to us babble how beautiful underwater was, and at one point, he blurted out,  "Mommy, yung puwet mo nakalabas!"   *Mommy, your butt is showing!*   Hehe!

Pakoy's Boracay series would soon come to end, however, his vacation did not end there!  Wanna know where he was headed next?  Stay tuned to this blogserye  to find out.  Adios for now ☻

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To read more of my Philippines 2011 vacation, please click:

THE ADVENTURES OF PAKOY-KOY

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To read more of my travel stories, please click:

TUESDAY TRAVEL

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WATERY WEDNESDAY

FLOWER POWER

After last week's two-piece episode, I decided that, for all mankind's best interest, I should clothe myself for this week's Wednesday Apparel.  Plus, I'm afraid I might catch some kind of virtual colds, pneumonia or any other yet unnamed virus brought on by exposing too much skin in the blogosphere, so you can all sit back, relax, and be assured that I'm putting on some clothes today.  Aren't we all relieved to hear that? ☺

☼ Floral dress

☼ Red and white striped bandeau from Aeropostale

☼ Silver charm bracelet by Swatch Bijoux

☼ Pink and silver flower wristwatch by Swatch

☼ Purse by Coach

☼ Silver necklace and earrings

☼ Sunglasses "borrowed" (and never returned) from the closet of my BFF! ♪♫ That's what friends are for ♪♫ *wink*

This photo was taken at the famous Floral Clock in Niagara Parks, Ontario in May 2010.   Coincidentally, I was wearing a floral dress and a somewhat floral wristwatch too.  The brown signature purse is my very first from Coach, and there is a funny, memorable story behind its purchase, which I hope to share on a separate post.  The sunglasses?  Ahhhhhmmmm, I think I already made it pretty clear above as to their whatabouts.  Hehe!  However, as to their whereabouts, ahhhhhmmmm, they fell in the river while I was whitewater rafting last year *Toinks*  If I haven't lost them, I am sure I would have returned them back to the rightful owner by now ☺ The charm bracelet and the wristwatch are from Vince given to me on separate occasions  ♥  And although not seen in the picture, anyone in the right mind would of course assume that I wasn't barefooted there, so I thought I'd mention that I was wearing a pair of Havaianas, which is again a gift from Vince ♥

Okay, beautiful amigas, that's enough vanity from me today :)  Ciao!

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For a sneak peek of what's inside my wardrobe, please visit:

WEDNESDAY APPAREL

And nope, they're not for sale :D

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ABC WEDNESDAY

GONE FISHING !

MBBC-Toronto Fishing Trip 2010

Have you ever gone fishing? ;)

I have.  When I was still in Toronto, one of our church activities that I dare not miss was the annual fishing trip.  We would usually do it either on Canada Day or Civic Holiday, at a park/campground by Little Lake Barrie, Ontario.  There had been a lot of people attending this annual fishing trip, and the highest number of attendance was about 100 people.


Participants would be grouped together to form teams composed of 8 to 10 members, and would be designated a pontoon or a boat.  There would be a leader of course, and each pontoon/boat would have someone who knows how to swim.  Ehem :D

Vince and I were on Pontoon #9 last year :)

Each pontoon would get a fishing kit complete with lines, hooks, sinkers, bobs, lures, scissors, pliers and baits.   A couple of rods would even be provided for each pontoon.   So, all you would need to bring is your fishing license and happy spirit!  Teams would compete against each other in terms of which pontoon gets the first catch, the biggest catch, the most number of catch, and the loudest pontoon of them all.   It gets more fun and exciting every time we would hear someone shout and laugh, implying that someone got a catch, and then you would start to feel the pressure to work double hard on your fishing rod and lines, so you could have a louder rejoicing than the rest.

Dr. Valencia performing "wormectomy" on a poor  fish.  LOL.

It could really get frustrating a lot of times because you could move from one spot of the lake to another and let your bait stay in the water for half-an-hour or so and not get a single bite, whereas, the person whose line sits next to you would get a bite every minute, faster than you could even say, "GO FISH!"  And to think, you were fishing on the same spot and using the same bait???  LOL.  You would begin to wonder that you probably got the not-so-appetizing part of the worm, and that is why fish have been evading your bait.  Haha!

Little fish.  Big Smile.

Anyway, it's a common knowledge to everyone in my church, that I am not a very successful fisherman, and should not consider fishing as a career.  I never got the biggest catch award, or the first catch award, or a member of the pontoon with the most number of catch.  One thing everyone in the church knows though is that I can laugh and scream so loud effortlessly, that every year, I won the same award - The loudest fisherman of them all.   Hehe!

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366 BLOG PHOTO CHALLENGE | WEDNESDAY WHITES |

ISLAND HOPPING IN BORACAY

If you have been following my blogserye, The Adventures of Pakoy-koy, you would remember that our pint-sized hero, Pakoy, was promised by her Tita Mae and Tito Vince a big day after the first in Boracay.  To be true to our word, we arranged an island hopping tour via banca  the following day.

Whachathink of Pakoy sporting his "Cyclops" sunglasses?

Pakoy and the grown-ups were equally excited to board on the banca  we rented and to commence our big adventure for that day.  Pakoy was already familiar by this time with traveling by water as this was not his first time to ride a boat.

Island hopping off we go!

Pakoy and the rest of our family had a good amount of sightseeing while on this island hopping escapade.  Check out the photos below to find out some of the sights and attractions Pakoy laid his eyes on:

The controversial Boracay hotel apparently owned by Manny Pacquiao

High-end, pricey villas/cottages/hotels in Boracay

Tourists on similar island hopping tour and water activities like the Banana Boat Ride

First stop of this island hopping tour was at the Puka Beach where rare puka shells are found.  Feel free to click on the link to know what we did in the Puka Beach :)

After Puka Beach, we continued on the boat ride and pit stopped at a snorkeling spot.  Do you think Pakoy was able to go snorkeling with the adults?  Hmmmmm...  Stay tuned to this blogserye  to find out the rest of the story!  Ciao for now :D

♪♫ 'Cause you feel like paradise, and I need a vacation tonight ♪♫

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To read more of my Philippines 2011 vacation, please click:

THE ADVENTURES OF PAKOY-KOY

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To read more of my travel stories, please click:  TUESDAY TRAVEL

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WATERY WEDNESDAY | ABC WEDNESDAY |