Frannywanny

We are officially ten months away from our big day and luckily, I still don't feel the pressure or stress that I have been bracing myself for since we started planning. I guess being connected to technology makes a huge difference. It was so easy for me to email my prospective suppliers, coordinate with my wedding planner, browse through sites after sites to get bridal gown ideas and even visit quite a number of YouTube pages to check out unique and funny wedding program videos. I know as the Big Day nears, I will start to feel the jitters and I look forward to the support and comfort that I will get from my friends online. It's amazing what technology can do, at a recent promo launch, I learned that technology can even make you a STAR! Of course, we've heard of success stories from Charice Pempengco , Arnel Pineda and the funny duo Moymoy Palaboy ... Well, Crocs and Magic 89.9 has partnered-up to launch the Crazy for Crocs promotion! This campaign comes in three parts ...

I'll always remember how you would make sure to bring me yummy snacks everyday after school... How you would support my ever-changing cravings by filling up our cupboard with boxes of my favorite cookies or chips up until our cravings go away...How you would put us before anything else...Thank you for fighting AVM for us... We love you very much... Happy Birthday Papa!!!

I remembered a recent interview that I've had with a friend. She asked me what I feel would be the food trend for next year -- I paused for a minute and told her that I feel that people would continue to go healthy . With the rising popularity of healthy food alternatives, organic veggies and of course the ever famous frozen yogurt , I told my friend that I feel that everyone will eventually catch on and live a healthier eating lifestyle in 2010. A couple of days ago, I attended the media launch of Figaro Coffee as they presented the Raspberry Chai Swizzle and the Cinnamon Chai Latte . Partnering with Monin syrup, the team created a new line of healthy drink options to customers who gives top priority to the nutritional content of their beverage. By introducing Chai , which actually means tea in many parts of the world. It brings back the century old history of drinking tea in India where Chai Masala originated. Chai tasting While listening to our friends from Monin tell us the ...

"Health is Wealth." This has been Papa's favorite saying every time my sister and I are down with a nasty cold or we would need to take a day off from school because of a bad tummy ache. He would shake his head and give us a stern look just so we won't see how worried he really was about our sick condition. Oh I totally dislike going to the hospital..the smell of sanitizers makes me nauseous and needles and blood give me the creep. Friends, a little boy named Mio was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia . It's a really nasty type of cancer that spreads rapidly, attacking this 5-year old boy's body f-a-s-t. His mom, Jasmine, is a former colleague of mine. Though we were just introduced once, I would like to dedicate this entry to call out to everyone who can help. Here are some ways on how we can give our love to Mio: 1) Financial help BDO (Banco de Oro) Savings Account # 0670385018 Account name: Charisse F. Espinar Branch: SM North Edsa B If you'd lik...

Presenting the newest baby in our household! SCOTTIE!!! A two-month old Pomeranian who, as of the moment, has not yet been potty-trained. He loves walking around our first and second floors, doesn't make much noise and immediately knows who his master (my dad) is. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!!

For weeks, I have been craving for sushi . Normally my cravings last for a week or two or even shorter for as long as I was able to successfully satisfy this. A look back at my past entries showed how often I crave for different things... from frozen Mango Torte to sweet delectable cakes and pastries to Filipino dishes to spicy Buffalo Wings , the list just keeps growing and growing! My sushi craving is probably the longest and most frequent which is the reason for the regular visits to the different Japanese restaurants in our neighborhood. Just recently, I was lucky to be invited to the media launch of Nama Sakana 's newest menu. This trendy restaurant located along Connecticut street in Greenhills has a Japanese restaurant at the ground floor and a cool Japanese-inspired bar at the 2nd level. Diners can also opt to sit outside by the Yakitori grill. Upon arriving, we were given a warm welcome and our server quickly ushered us to our table. We were served a bowl of Edamame (P...

Since 2006, my family has been an avid fan of the US reality show Biggest Loser . This show is presents a group of contestants who subjected to healthy food intake, rigorous physical training and a lot more challenges under the guidance of top notch trainers that in turn will encourage them to lose the most amount of weight and live a healthier, happier life as the winner brings home a whooping $100,000 in cold, hard cash! It was my mom who first broke the news that our favorite weight-loss reality show is coming to Asia! Luckily, Paul and I were invited to watch the auditions last Saturday at Fitness First Megamall . an audition participant being interviewed celebrity sighting! Ruby Rodriguez of Eat Bulaga ...and the line continues to grow This is a very exciting show as we will see fellow Filipinos shed off all those unwanted pounds and start building muscles for a more healthier lifestyle. Losing weight is hard and believe me it has been a lifelong challenge to always lose the fat ...

For days, I have been craving for pasta... Oh how happy I was when our trusty helper prepared a huge serving of the good ol' spaghetti for me to bring to the office one day. Pasta ranks definitely as one of my top comfort food. This is together with Sentro 1771's Corned Beef Sinigang and Cibo's Potato Chips . I haven't had lunch yet and I'm starting to feel my stomach growling... what better timing that to receive an email from Delifrance announcing that they have two new additions to their pasta line up. click to enlarge

It's no secret how much I love Mexican food . I love nachos and I will forever be a huge taco and burrito fan. Of course, there's nothing like having a Margarita party that my friends and I would normally have after a hectic work week. I'm pretty lucky that there is one good Mexican food stop available within the neighborhood and another one that's located in Paul's hometown in Pampanga . Well, three is definitely not a crowd and I'm adding one more to my list of favorite mexican cantinas. This one is strategically located near my workplace making it highly accessible at any time. I received an invite to try Agave Cantina at the Shangri-la Mall . While I'm not new to Agave as I have dine at their Eastwood branch a couple of years ago, I still said yes as I am curious if their menu has changed from my last visit. What a Feast! Agave's Chris Maier and Mat Tee took care of ordering for us making sure that we try out their best-sellers. Here are some of th...

August is a happy happy month! First, I finally turned a year old as publisher of my two beloved magazine titles . Second, it's Papa's birth month and we're so excited to give him our birthday surprise (which I will disclose in a couple of weeks) . Lastly, I was chosen as Nuffnang's Featured Blogger for the month of August and I am truly in cloud nine :) Yipeeee!! I pray and hope that this will be the start of bigger and better things to come! :)

Who would have thought that America's well-loved doughnut factory, Krispy Kreme , will someday team up with every kid's favorite cookie, Oreo ? Well, they just did! To celebrate Krispy Kreme 's 72nd anniversary, doughnut lovers and chocoholics can now unite and enjoy this yummy crunchy creation! I was lucky enough to receive a box of the new Chocolate Kreme Cakes and I enjoyed biting into the soft cake-like doughnut topped with chocolate creme and sprinkled with crunchy Oreo bits. This is definitely a feel-good sweet treat! There's no news yet if this will be a regular mainstay in the Krispy Kreme menu board or it will just be available for a limited time only but my best advice is to head to your favorite Krispy Kreme store and enjoy this delicious creation NOW! :) *thanks to Krispy Kreme and GMCI for the photo

Sonsi's Alaminos Longganisa (Php. 125) Thanks to Anton for the heads up. I found another yummy food stop near the office. Sonsi's House of Longganisa Imagine a place that offers all types of longganisa coming from the different provinces in the country. Craving for sweet longganisa? Get the Pampanga or Cebu longganisa. For those who wants their longganisa with a bit of spice and garlic, order a plate of Bacolod longganisa. For my first visit, I went with their best-selling longganisa -- the Alaminos longganisa meal . For only Php. 125, you get a generous serving of crunchy longganisa slices, garlic rice and fried egg. For those who wants more than longganisa, Sonsi's has a lot more to offer. This is also a great place to unwind with friends over platters of longganisa and a cold bottle of beer. Cheers! Sonsi's House of Longganisa is located at Madison Square Pioneer, Pioneer street, Mandaluyong City.

Paul and I have been extra busy the past month that I was actually looking forward to spending one whole day just with him. Thanks to my sweet colleague who handed me two free cinema tickets to watch GI JOE , we drove all the way to Greenbelt 3 to catch the 430PM screening. Ask me about the movie and I'd say it was nice despite the fact that I slept through 80% of the story. Still, I woke up just in time to see Duke saving his beloved Anna from the bad guys. Not bad huh? ;) Sorry GI Joe but for me the highlight of the evening was actually dinner. Since we rarely get to go to Greenbelt because we are so comfortable dining and dating around Greenhills, I know I have to make our visit worth it. We were both craving for local Filipino dishes and I was ready to settle for either Cafe Bola or Recipes even if I've tried both in numerous occasions. Then Paul insisted that we go to Sentro 1771 . I gave him a huge huge hug and picked up my pace before he changes his mind. Inside Sentro...

Lookie, I just received an email from Magic 89.9's DJ Mo Twister! click to enlarge Well, here's a great deal! Tune in to his show called Good Times with Mo from Mondays to Thursdays, 6 to 9 AM and share your juicy, brilliant thoughts with him. You may also call me at 6310899, email me at goodtimeswithmo@yahoo.com, or text Magic 899 to 2968. If Mo liked your ideas and comments, you'll get the chance to treat your barkada or even your entire office to a Delifrance French Dip Roast Beef Sandwich Party!! Now here's a good reason to wake up early every morning! :)

July was a crazy month for me, it was time for our 2010 Strategic Planning and this entailed spending long hours brainstorming, more hours getting the plans approved and at least two entire weekends spent to prepare for the actual presentation. I didn't realized how bad my stress level was until a colleague asked me over lunch how come I look tired. I just told her that I have a lot of things on my plate right now but she continued by telling me that this was actually the first time she saw me this stressed out. Oh no...the last thing I want is to let stress overcome me. Yipes! Not good at all... I guess it's time to relax and pamper myself to a couple of hours of full body massage, a mani/pedi treatment and maybe a facial? I've been wanting to get a facial for as long as I remember. It's just that I'm really not that comfortable having my face touched my someone I don't really know that well. I shared this info with a close friend and she gave a wonderful solu...

First Female President of the Philippines Corazon C. Aquino January 25, 1933 - August 1, 2009 photo source: http://pinoywired.com/2008/03/27/prayers-for-tita-cory/