Family Affair

No, this isn't a Mary J. Blige post.

Then again, why. not?

"Family Affair" is one of those songs that fall under the "What?! This song is 25 years old now?!"

But I digress.

This post is actually about Toni's bazaar in Gateway this weekend. Mom, Dad and I went there today. As expected, the lines were long and there was a clamor for Toni's yummy cakes and Dubai chewy cookie. 

Because the lines were consistently long, we did our little parts to help out. Suddenly, Dad became a line manager, directing people in line and calling the next customer.

My duty was to buy food for the group, and pitched in with the packing.

Another successful bazaar for Sweet Tones! 

The family is so proud of her!

Who am I to judge?

But apparently, I can!

Honored to be part of the shortlisting jury for this year's Kidlat Awards. 

Watching and judging all the entries reminds me of my days of a young creative. And seeing the work showed me that creativity can really come from anywhere.

Sometimes, being judgmental can be fun.

Hello. Farewell.

To have a Friday Magic Madness song featuring Dolly Parton is apt, considering that she just passed away a few days ago.

But let's give her another kind of tribute.

The type that goes back to 1969, and features the unforgettable voices of Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand.

"Hello Dolly," was originally sung by Louis Armstrong in 1964, for the musical of the same name. It was one of his biggest hit songs, and even won awards in 1965. Then, in 1969, the musical had a film adaptation, and this is where his duet with Barbra came about.

If you listen to the lyrics, it could very well been talking about Dolly Parton. 

"I feel the room swayin' while the band's playin'
One of your old favourite songs from way back when
So golly, gee, fellas have a little faith in me, fellas
Dolly'll, never go away, promise you never go away
Dolly'll, never go away again"

She might have gone ahead, but considering the legacy she left, "Dolly, you'll never go away again."

SoMeone's excited

They say that Christmas in the Philippines officially begins on September 1. 

Or does it.

It's August 27 and you can already see this at SM.

Even n August, they've got it all - including Christmas - for you!

Parton is such sweet sorrow

Yesterday, the sad news broke that country legend and overall singing icon - Dolly Parton - has gone up the the great music hall in heaven.

Growing up, we'd hear a lot of her songs, from the iconic "9-to-5," "Jolene," and her ultra popular duet with Kenny Rogers, "Island in the Stream."

Undoubtedly, she was the queen of country music, and she inspired a whole new generation of country singers, most notable being Miley Cyrus.

From what has been said and written about her, she has a huge heart and was always generous with her time and talent. She nurtured and mentored young singers, and was happy with the success of country performers that came after her.

She's truly a legend, and that's why millions of people with always love her.

You will be missed, Dolly Parton.

Orange you surprised? Part deux

Seems like I"m having an orange moment.

After that orange juice discovery in One Ayala comes another orange discovery, courtesy of our neighborhood Daily Supermarket.

Bissin Orange Wafers aren't exactly popular - even known - in the Philippines. But I've seen this brand in SG, particularly in Valu$ store. I've never tried it back then, cause it felt like it was a knock-off of Nissin. 

Now that I've tried it, my opinion in the brand completely changed. These wafers are very light and crispy, and the orange filling has the right amount of tang.

No surprise that I'm going to buy more of these soon.

Basket case

During my grocery run yesterday, the person in front of me had a very eye-catching basket of groceries.

Two of our clients were in her basket - Gardenia bread and Nestle Yogurt.

In that case, it really deserved to be photographced.

Orange you surprised?

I've written about Jooz a couple of times here. It's that instant orange juice kiosk in SG that's been a staple and stop every time my travels take me there.

And surprise, surprise. Look what they have in One Ayala?

It's the same product, same format, almost the same price in SG. The name is similar, using "juice" as the inspiration. But this one drops the "i" and just says "Jucebox."

Was in a hurry, though, so wasn't able to try it.

But I'm definitely trying this the next time.

Meals with Mark: Follow the Curve

One of the activities that Mark and I decided to do more this year is to try restaurants in the South. 

After our trip to Aizu a few months ago, one realization is that there are a lot of interesting places to eat around his turf.

Yesterday, we tried one of his go-to places - Curve Coffee Collaborators.

Primarily, it's a supplier of coffee beans that also hosts roasting workshops. So, they have an intensive coffee selection. But they also have food, like pasta, sandwiches and rice meals.

We decided to have the chicken pesto and scampi pasta, plus the grilled cheese sandwich. They were all flavourful and filling, and worth the price.

There's still a lot of items on their menu that's interesting, so that just means we'll be back here soon.

FMM: Lead the (high)way

On today's Friday Magic Madness episode, we have one of those songs that made me exclaim: "What?! This song is 35 years old already?!"

It's a hit from Tom. Cochrane from 1991 called "Life is a Highway." We were in college when they released this song, and some of my schoolmates would play it in the CMC walkway on lazy afternoons. That's why this song always reminds me of college.

But for today's generation, they're more familiar with this ditty because of "Cars." It was remade by Rascal Flats and was used in the soundtrack, which made the song gain more traction.

I'm a fan of the song either way.

Virali-tea

So, there's a viral video about a HK Sprite iced tea recipe.

It's been passing by my feed for days, and even my friends are sharing the recipe with me.

As a former HKG resident, of course I had to try it.

Following the recipe on the video, the iced tea turned out a bit pale and light on the black tea flavour. So, I modified it and used 3 tea bags, and it made a world of difference.

The black tea taste is more pronounced, and the fizziness of the Sprite keeps it light and effervescent. Then, there's the kick of lemon after.

Some viral vids are worth paying attention to.

To calamansi is to believe

There's a potted calamansi tree at home, and since it's a fruit tree in a pot, I didn't have high hopes for it.

But lo and behold, seeing it this morning, it turns out that it's bearing a lot of fruit!

Now, we can just go out of the gate and pick a few if we need calamansi for juice or toyomansi.

Unbelievable!

Island living

The rains have been pouring non-stop the past few days, even Megamall has turned into an island.

Hope this lets up soon. I'm missing the sunshine.

Living the dream(er)

I've seen this video quite a few times already. It's an audition from the 2018 edition of "The X-Factor UK." Gosh! It means this video is already 8 years old.

This audition features a 50-year old singer named Jancie Robinson who did a rousing rendition of a very danceable ditty. (Two alliterations in a row!)

While she was being interviewed, there was a backstory about that song that she sang. Apparently, it was a hit song that was part of the soundtrack of both Robbie Williams' and Louis Tomlinson's lives. After doing research, it turns out that the song - "Dreamer" - was a song from an American group called "Living Joy." 

And guess what, Janice Robinson was the lead singer of that group.

The song reached number 1 in the UK charts, which explains why Robbie and Louis are very familiar with it. Looking at both videos now, Janice hasn't lost that beautiful voice and commanding presence on the UK stage. Whether it was "Top of the Pops" in 1995 or "The X-Factor UK" in 2018, she still has that power and presence.

No wonder her dreams - and dreamer - are still going after more than 2 decades.

Meals with Mark: Easy Aussie

In the continuing saga of "Where do we eat in One Ayala." 

 We've passed by Panco a few times, but haven't tried eating there. Panco is an Australian-inspired cafe that serves Australian coffee and Pinoy meals. Tried this at The Podium once, but haven't eaten here with Mark, so we decided to have lunch here last Saturday. 

 My go-to order here is the Salmon Cream Dip with pandesal.

This never disappoints. The creaminess and savoury salmon pairs well with the crunchy and soft pandesal. We also tried their rice meals - Mark having the charred longganiza and me having the fish tartare. They're both really good! 

 Looks like we have another winning discovery!

Send me one line

No, this ins't a Spyro Gyra post. But it feels like I'll have one of their songs as a Friday Magic Madness song soon.

This is about Toni's bazaar at One Ayala today.

Dropped by after school, and got there around 11am. And as early as that time, they already had this long line of folks wanting to try Sweet Tones cakes.

It's actually like this in a lot of the bazaars that she joins. And it's not surprising since the cakes are really good. Especially the Ube Bibingka Cheesecake.

Way to go, Toni!

FMM: Mx it up

While writing the title for yesterday's Mexican story, this song suddenly clicked and played in my head non-stop.

"Mixed-up World" is another catchy ditty from Sophie Ellis Bextor, this time from 2003. While it's not as overly popular like "Murder of the Dance Floor" and "I won't change you," this song is as catchy and danceable as the first 2.

And in true Sophie Ellis Bextor fashion, the music video was eye candy - filled with stunning visuals, great fashion, and signature moves.

Because of all these reasons, this song will suddenly be in the mix the next few days.

Mex it up

Since yesterday was a WFH day, thought of using my in-between-work-time doing something meaningful and memorable.

That activity is making Ham and Cheese Quesadillas for the usual Senior's afternoon merienda get-togehter.

It's memorable because quesadillas remind me of Tokyo and Mark. We would usually make quesadillas for Pinoy parties, like the GRIPS Hanami and birthday celebrations at IH2. It's meaningful because it's for the my folks and their friends.

Decided to use 2 types of ham - chicken ham and farmers ham. Also used 2 types of cheese - mozarella and quick melt cheddar.

The tortilla was brushed with a bit of butter, for that extra flavour and crunch.

And here it is!

Estoy ogrullosa de mi creacion!

Everything's coming up Rosie

It's one of those days when you wish there was a Target store here in MNL.

If they were here, I'd be there now, grabbing pieces from the Rosie Assoulin x Target collab.

Rosie Assoulin is known for her very feminine and fun aesthetic. She plays with colours, patterns, and executes them in sharply tailored pieces. And that DNA is easily seen in her Target collection.

The piece that caught my eye is this off-shoulder, button down denim dress.

It has a casual and classy silhouette, and the denim makes it easy-to-wear for every day.

Gotta find a way to get this.

Musinsa's scene

The Korean fashion invasion continues.

If it wasn't enough that we now have Top Ten and 8 seconds, Musinsa will soon be part of the Philippine scene!

The Ayala group is bringing in Musinsa, and understandably, their first store will be in Glorietta. I'm interested to see how big their store will be, and how much product they're carrying. If it's anything like their Seoul stores - filled with clothes, beauty products, and nutritional supplements, then they have the makings of a huge hit.

Question is: when will the bring in SPAO?