Frannywanny

"I'm so DONE with all my yaya dramas!" This is one line that I've been telling my family since Yaya D left us . I realized that no matter how nice or kind you are, you are never assured of their loyalty to you. I can't believe that my twins are barely a year old and we've gone through 3 nannies already. My friends actually told me that I have a pretty normal yaya count as some went as far as 10 nannies in the span of a year. Unbelievable. Indeed, good, loyal and honest helpers are hard to find. That said, I made a resolution to train my kids to be self-reliant as they get older. Doing small household chores until they graduate to doing bigger things. Personally, I grew up without a nanny and I think I turned out okay. In fact, I find it even better as our small family of 4 became really close with the absence of a nanny. My parents have been very hands-on since Day 1 and helping out in the house never felt like a chore but rather something that Pan and I i...

The Chinese cuisine is probably one of the most varied types in the world. We all know about the Cantonese-style dim sum or the fiery hot Szechuan-style dishes but there's also Beijing-style, Shanghai style and the one that's closest to my heart... Hokkien-Style . The reason is simple, my ancestors came from Amoy (Xiamen), China which is the province of the hokkiens. Thus, I can speak Hokkien (our dialect) and grew up eating Hokkien-Style dishes which were lovingly prepared by my mom or my kongkong. Hokkien-style of cooking makes use of a lot of vegetables and seafood. This is because Xiamen is located at the Southern portion of China where it has direct access not only to its neighboring provinces and countries but to water resource as well. Given that, I feel that each dish gives a very comforting taste and feel or maybe it simply because it's the kind that I would also link childhood or home memories with. Some of my favorites are my Kongkong's Kiam Peng, my mom...

Truth to be told, I have never been one who loves to shop. In fact, my sister would often tease me that I "shop like a man" because I would just go in a store, get the items that I need and be out of there in less than 30 minutes. I guess, it's also because I have the tendency to decide fast so I pretty much know what I need and that's the only thing that I'd make sure to get. However, since I became a Mom, I would catch myself buying random things from clothes to accessories to bibs to utensils and more. I know I also have to stick to what we need but whenever I'd spot an opportunity to buy the things that my twins love, I am always ready and willing to do so. Be it their favorite rice cracker snack or another bottle or nipple for them to use, my weakness has been matchy matchy clothes for my twins which, believe me, is so hard to find! The same goes for sales and discounts. Paul and I are always on a look out for sale promotions as it's really not ...

Last Friday, Paul and I went on a Mommy and Daddy date. Thankfully, we were able to drop the twins off at my in laws who willingly watched over them while we went around town to do our errands. On our way home, Paul and I decided to drop by The Peninsula Manila as we remembered that it was the opening day of our friend G's MaArte at the Pen . We've been wanting to go since last year but as I was already asked to be on house arrest about this time last year as I was already on my last trimester with my twins then thus I had to wait one whole year to be able to check it out. Admittedly, Paul doesn't always like accompanying me to fairs like these as he knows that the items being sold are mostly for women and since I'd need some time to go through each booth, he normally ends up being super bored or sleepy...or bored AND sleepy. Luckily, I was pretty confident that he'll enjoy checking this year's fair out with me as they got a section dedicated just for men. ...

Sweet dreams are indeed made of these. It's the kind that comes in pretty copper tin cans and when you open it, nope! it's not your grandmother's sewing kit, but a mouthwatering chocolate inception-like cake. It's chocolate over chocolate over chocolate over more chocolate. Don't believe me? Read on...  I first heard about Le Sucre Lab's Chocolate Dream Cake (Php. 475) from @masarapba on Instagram . It's this funny, super duper witty yet completely anonymous Instagram account that gives you the lowdown on the yummiest and not so yummiest food in the metro. You get honest-to-goodness reviews that's written in a really funny tone. I haven't met the person behind this handle yet he/she/it (yes, the account once claimed that it's actually a plant) but I've tried some of the recommended items and I was really impressed with her taste. From Tender Juicy Chick n Cheese Hotdogs to which Paul can't understand why I suddenly came home fr...

It finally happened. Yaya D left us last Sunday. After 8 months of being our helping hand in watching over my twins. She left. The downside? She left without a proper notice..much less without even saying good bye. *sigh* My pride and joy ♥ ♥ ♥  I won't lie. My heart sank when I read her vague message of her telling me that she won't come back from her supposed 3 days day off as she wanted to rest some more. Her excuse? She got a really painful lump in her throat and according to her, it's making it really hard for her to breathe. Well, I asked my brother-in-law E who's an ENT to look into this week ago when she first complained about it and he saw...nothing. Absolutely nothing. A quick check on her Facebook page over the weekend also saw her singing her heart out with her boyfriend. For somebody who has a lump on her throat, it's amazing how she can still belt out those high tunes. Well, at first, I panicked. Then I felt really sad. More than the frighten...

Sardines is probably one of those canned goods that I don't think I'll get ever tired of having. That and corned beef. Oh, and also some real good luncheon meat. It has been my fallback food on days when I'm just too lazy to think of what to have for lunch or dinner or when I'm feeling extra picky about the food that's on the table. I personally like my sardines with sunny-side up egg. Regardless if it's the one with tomato sauce, chili tomato sauce or olive oil, I'd happily go for any of those. So, when I got a bag filled with cans of sardines, I wasted no time and I started cooking. I've been wanting to experiment with sardines for a long time now. Other than to just saute this with garlic, onions and to served is as is, I wonder if potato would go well with sardines too. Here's my personal creation using the basic croquette recipe which I jazzed up a bit more to complement the sardines that I have on hand. One thing that I love about this di...