Our Wedding Video

Another shameless plug :)


Or click HERE. :)


The only thing I asked for our onsite was the song--Wait Till You See My Smile by Alicia Keys. Other than that, we had no meetings, no previous talks, nothing. My bad--I would have wanted more pine trees and mountains in the video and less of me in curlers, but that's fine, we still love our onsite! :)


The song came to me while driving home from work one day, and when I got home I called Darwin and made him listen to it. He also liked it and gave me his dance of approval (he smiles when he agrees with something, but gives off a little funny dance move when he REALLY loves your idea--hahaha).

So here it is, the Same Day Edit or Onsite Wedding Video by Threelogy. :)

Enjoy!

Darwin and Andrea's Onsite Video from Andrea Mago on Vimeo.

The Backyard Farm Birthday Party!

We love a good birthday party! 

You know we're way out of the rainbow bread and hotdog era when there are children's parties out there looking like THIS and well, like this:

(Pardon the photos, these are only screen grabs from Facebook with the owner's permission heehee :p)

Our friends Cara and Chinggoy recently threw the first birthday party of their cute chubbywubby son, Alonso, and the theme was Farm!

The props, the food, were all thought up by Cara (with help from her cousins)--you know how a well thought-of DIY party makes my heart all mushy and warm! :)

sign board and stacks of hay added the unexpected touch!

fake chicks

lemonade served in drinking jars make excellent replacements to the ordinary plastic cups

Top: what is a farmer without her boots? :)  Above: A pail of flowers will add a pop of color; serve bottles of water in a tin pail

the kiddie table is lots of fun with bright plaid tablecloth and a bunch of toys 

The birthday boy in front of his red barn 

Affordable Weekend destinations

While spring cleaning my photos, I came across two memorable places we'd gone to in 2010. The first is the Inn at Cliffhouse  in Tagaytay, where I spent the Holyweek with my mom and brother.

The Cliffhouse Inn is composed of four rooms, all located below the restaurants Firelake Grill and Buon Giorno! We got the Minot's Ledge Suite--very spacious and comfy and just the way I like it! I'm an American home kind of girl (incase you didn't already know heehee) and the interiors were absolutely perfect. :) Soft and fluffy sofa, telescope-inspired standing lamps, distressed wood and fluffy accents. 

The little Nantucket-inspired corner makes all the difference :)

Fresh OJ to start your day

plush teddy bears to take home with you

the cute breakfast nook by the lobby

a little welcome gift sure to please the sweet tooths ...sweet teeth :p

And then there was Langham...our new favorite hotel in Hong Kong... My husband and I love it for the club floor (which comes with the usual club amenities like breakfast buffets, internet access, tea time and cocktail hour) 

This one has awesome interior--very European-inspired, so I feel like Blair Waldorf sometimes.

their table setting is so pretty, you'll want to eat all the bread on the basket

The waitstaff serve you coffee the way you want it! I had a nice frothy cappuccino for every morning that I was there. :)

Their breakfast mainstays are continental and eastern asian cuisine

Vintage Andrea Blog :p

Oh My Gosh, look what I found.

My blog from the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009! Check out the link!

HOLY COW! :) 

Antonio's again and again and again

There are some habits that are hard to let go of. 

For Darwin's family (and my mom's), it's Antonio's Farm, and they've been loyal clients since 2003. They go for almost any reason--Christmas, relatives are in town, first date, anniversary, business meeting, it's a nice day outside, New Year, you name it. 

They were even the very first clients to close down the entire establishment way back in 2003 to celebrate their birthdays. 

What's awesome about Antonio's is that their service is consistent,  their food keeps getting better, and the decor is updated almost every year. 

the foyer where the family pictures of the owner hang on a vibrant red wall

their floor tiles complete the look--the main dining hall has a quaint charm but still vibrant

Squid Ink Rolls with butter

hard and black outside,  then soft, warm and chewy on the inside.

Bone Marrow (yes! that's gourmet "bulalo") with bruschetta

Their greens before the real deal are always a treat in themselves!

Dalandan Juice: a favorite since 2002!

the spices and sauce for their STEAK!

rack of lamb 

Porterhouse to perfection 

They have the best souffle for me :) Loved since 2002--just like the dalandan juice hahaha

yum.

added this shot I took from Christmas 2010

Cute and Dainty and Punchy

I wouldn't get caught dead wearing this but I like it ❤

Photo via GLAMOUR

Packaging is everything.

Imagine going on a first date and you look like this:

Sorry...I just had to put this in hahaha. :p

Wouldn't it be nicer if your date sees you looking like this?

Appearance is so much more important than you think. My former boss said, dress for the position you want, not the job you already have. 

I wanted to bring this up because I stumbled upon this website, IDSGN (after my friend Govind Daswani showed me THIS website called Lovely Package)

IDSGN had a showcase of the previous year's award-winning packaging. Wouldn't some brands become more attractive if they improved on their packaging (and not just slightly, but significantly)?

 Just though I'd share and inspire you guys, too! Foreign Branding Firms have been doing an awesome job, taking cues from the art world (art deco, art nouveau, conceptual art, etc) in making breakthrough packaging for products.



It would be nice to go grocery shopping one day and find these on our local shelves:

And the cutest one (which won the contest):

From Lovely Package:

We;re sure to recycle these bottles after use!

delicious content AND packaging

Plantable packaging...how cool is that???

Pretty paper packaging that is too cute to throw away after tearing.

70% chocolate, 30% cute