D.I.Why

That's the question in my head after 2 hours of trying to assemble this shoe rack.

But heck, was able to finish it and I'm very happy with the results.

It reminds me of my D.I.Y. days in HKG.

Where the heart is

Even if it's been more than 30 years since we moved out, my heart still skips a beat whenever I see our old house in Tomas Morato.

(The corner room was my room.)

There's really no place like it.

All about (Christmas) Eve

Because at home, Christmas shenanigans start early:

Can’t wait ‘til the clock strikes 12!

Crispy cravings

Had this intense craving for fried chicken and gravy this weekend. 

The default would be going out to KFC, Popeyes, McDonald's or Jollibee. But since it was a weekend, the idea of going out wasn't too attractive.

Good thing there's Crispy Fry!

We were able to whip this up in a matter of minutes. This is our home creation using Crispy Fry breading mix and Crispy Fry Gravy.

The fried chicken is perfectly seasoned and crispy. The gravy has this smokey flavour that can rival restaurant gravy.

Cravings satisfied!

Christmas Chill

It’s Christmas Eve, and the whole house is ready for Noche Buena. All the peeps have been made, so we’re just sitting by the gazebo, enjoying the company of family and some neighbors.

And yes, i’m not doing any last-minute Christmas gift wrapping! Woot!

So yes, Christmas is very chill this year.

And amidst the chill and calm of waiting for the day that Christ is born, I think it’s best that we wait for it in silence and reflection, and a Christmas Carol that embodies that.

Oh the beauty of a chill and silent Christmas Eve.

Tree-at

For reasons that escape me, we didn't put up our Christmas Tree last year.

That's why this year, we made sure that it was up and lit by November.

And now, almost all the gifts for the year are also under the tree!

Now, that's a treat!

At Seventeen

Nope, this isn't about Janis Ian's iconic song.

But don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of that song. Heck, it might be my FMM soon. It's just a Sunday, after all.

This post is about looking back 17 years ago when I had my next foray into adulthood.

On this day, in 2005, I was busy looking for a flat in HKG. Back then, I've checked out more than 30 flats but didn't find anything interesting. First, they were flats in Hong Kong Island, near the office. Eventually, I decided to look for one in Kowloon, despite the ridicule from my colleagues.

Eventually, I found - and stayed - in the same flat for almost 4 years. It was in Austin Road in Jordan, and it really was my home away from home.

That's when I learned that independence was really fun and enriching.

And I learned that truth, 17 years ago.

All you need is Lavender

Out of curiosity, I bought a can of the Bench Antibacterial Spray in Lavender.

Gosh! This smells so good! It has this very calm and spa-like scent that really fills the house. Imagine, I sprayed it in the living room, and I could smell it from my room on the 3rd floor.

Best part, it's antibacterial! So, it keeps the air clean while keeping it fragrant.

You gotta love that!

A Steak in the Conversation

Both Mom and Dad are avid and excellent cooks. 

Even as kids, both my parents worked wonders in the kitchen and made every meal time a special one. From Dad's special beef pochero where he would make an actual "pochero bar" where we could assemble the pochero the way we wanted to, to Mom's chicken empanada which she'd make from scratch.

They love food so much that we usually talk about food even while eating. Such was the case during dinner last Thursday.

After hearing the news of Alfredo's Steak House closing, we reminisced all the steak places we had easy access to when we were living in Morato. The most obvious one was Mario's since it was just 2 houses away from us. There's Alfredo's which was just 1 block away. Then, there was Tamarind Grill across the street.

The entire dinner was a conversation about steaks, so it sorta didn't come as a surprise when we had this for lunch yesterday.

It's Tuna Belly Steak! Smothered in butter and generously topped with toasted garlic. 

Our conversation must've been so intense that they couldn't get steaks out of their mind. And what the mind can conceive, Mom and Dad will achieve.

What a Cat-ch

Our compound has a number of resident cats. Some of them are owned by the homeowners, and some are strays that jump in and out at their own convenient time. 

But whatever type of cats they are, one thing is sure. These cats are SO CUTE!

Just like these 2 that I caught while walking around the compound.

This is Chase. The cat who just love to sleep in the middle of the road, unmindful of passing vehicles.

And Enzo. The fat cat who loves to interact when you stop and engage him.

Ah yes. Cats are so cute!

Katol Cool

 Since we have some plants in our garage, it's not unusual to have little insects flying around.

Due to this factoid, we always make sure to have Katol in the vicinity. 

And because having a Katol is now the norm, we thought of making the Katol experience easy and aesthetically pleasing.

Which led us to these:

A Katol-holder that's shaped like a wire cage, and a lighter gun to make the lighting of the coil easier.

Now, having a Katol at home suddenly feels cool.

Triple Double

The awesome thing about Kevin and I celebrating our birthdays just 1 day apart?

A 3-day celebration!

Yes, it's true. We had dinner for Kevin last Friday, then dinner for me yesterday, and tonight...

A street food get-together for the both of us!

This is a Sunday well-spent.

Double the fun

Thanks to the fact that my nephew, Kevin, celebrates his birthday just a day before mine, we always have an excuse to have a double celebration.

Family and close friends know that I don't like celebrating my birthday. Mainly because I'm not comfortable being the centre of attention, even for a day. That's why having someone to share the birthday spotlight is a huge plus.

Just like tonight. We had our usual garage dinner with some of our neighbours to celebrate our birthdays.

And while technically, I'm the one celebrating my birthday today, whenever people greet me, I can always point to Kevin and say: "It's his birthday, too." Then, the attention is deflected. Woot!

Double celebration. Double the fun!

No tricks, all treats!

While there isn't an official Trick or Treat activity in our compound - and it's the 2nd year that we haven't had it - that doesn't stop us from putting together something for the neighbourhood kiddes.

The kids are actually regular visitors here at home. They drop by for lollipops and gummies from our snack pantry. And seeing them drop by brings joy to everyone here at home.

This is going to be a Halloween surprise for them, so they're in for a treat!

Home-tel

As an avid traveler, one of the things I look forward to is checking into hotels in different countries around the world. 

One thing noticeable about hotels is that they have a distinct smell. 

The Hilton in Mexico smells distinctly different from NH Hotels in Spain. Stepping into Hotel Ibis in France, then the Hotel Accor in Germany, and you'll notice the scent is different. The Washington Hotel chain in Japan smells different from the Mandarin Orchard in Singapore.

Even in the Philippines, when we check in a Shangrila Hotel, The Peninsula Manila, The Marriott and Sofitel - each one feels and smells different.

Now, it's been a year and a half since we last travelled or checked-in a hotel, whether for a vacation or staycation. And it's one of the things that I personally miss - that distinct hotel smell.

But as they say, if you can't go to the hotel, bring the hotel to you.

Et voila!

One of my online discoveries - Hotel Scents! These babies can be used in a humidifier, or can be sprayed on linen, or used as an air freshener. 

We're currently using the Shangrila one, and it's legit! Suddenly, our home smells like the lobby of Shangrila Makati!

So, until we get to go on a vacation or staycation again, we'll make our home smell like a hotel first.

Grin and Bear Fruit

There are a lot of trees around our compound, and the ones near the gate - particularly the mango trees and the santol trees are very prolific around summer time.

Around April to June, it's normal to see our neighbours picking fruits and distributing it around the compound. That's why we usually have a steady supply of fruits around that time.

But it was only this week that I noticed that there are also a number of fruit-bearing trees in our part of the compound. Needless to say, I had to take a few snaps:

There's an atis tree which already had a few fruits. They weren't ripe yet, though, so we have to wait a month or two.

Then, there's a dayap tree that also has a lot of fruits on a regular basis. Our neighbours would get them for either juice or their cooking.

Maybe I should walk around the compound a bit more often to look for other fruit bearing trees. I'm sure there are still a couple that have yet to be discovered. Because seeing things like these make me grin.

Green day

While I've been able to avoid the "Plantito" trend during the past few months, it doesn't mean that plants don't thrive at home.

Last Christmas, I received 2 plant gifts, and they're growing pretty well.

This week, we have a new "plant baby" at home. It's Mamu's gift and he actually arrived last week. And he came in a really cool and monogrammed pot. Nifty!

Our house, and my day, just got a bit greener.

Getting Red-dy

This year’s Christmas celebration is much more scaled down than what we originally planned. But the love and the heart behind it is still as ginormous!

We decked ourselves in Christmas red, got together at home with great, home cooked and gifted food, and celebrated the coming of our Saviour the way we usually do. With love, gratitude, prayers and family.

From the Morales family in Cubao, plus the Moraleses in Makati, Atlanta, Layton and Barcelona - A Merry Christmas to all!

This post is rated PG

Parental Gourmet!

People who are close to me and our family know this fact. My parents are awesome cooks! Since they hail from Bicol, a province known for great food and even greater cooks, whipping up culinary masterpieces are part of their DNA.

My friends know this story: my Mom was a "Martha Stewart" when we were growing up. She would bake our birthday cakes, she would make empanada and "croquettas" from scratch, and she would make awesome Lumpiang Sariwa, and she would make the wrapper herself.

Then, there's Dad who looks at cooking as an art form. He would only start cooking when all the ingredients are already laid-out in the kitchen. He never scrimps on ingredients. He would make kare-kare from scratch (roasted and ground peanuts and not peanut butter), he would make great Paella, and my high school classmate from the US - Eric Hopkins - was amazed when my Dad prepared a DIY Pochero Spread for his visit to our house in Morato.

So you can imagine how wonderful meals would be at home when both Mom and Dad cook.

And the great thing about both of them is that they continue to hone their culinary craft. Even now, they still go to youtube, search recipes and try them at home. It's fun when you see their eyes twinkle as they watch a video on cooking, then next thing you know, they're at home trying the dish themselves.

Today was one of those days.

Dad was talking about this recipe for "Fried Ginataang Tilapia." I've seen him study the video for a few days already, and for lunch today, we had this:

Yes, it tastes as great as it looks.

I'm excited to see what other culinary experiments they do next.