Davao (still) Delights!

I've been going to Davao ever since I was about 9 years old because my grandma (my mom's ma) used to live there.

My late Tito Ben was based there with his Davaoena wife and they took on the task of taking care of my lola (who used to live with us) after she had her hipbone replaced due to a bathroom accident.

I'd always thought I'd relocate to Davao when I got older. I always gathered good memories after each visit.

But for now, I'm thankful for the recent trip with Spanks, using discounted tickets I had booked while we were honeymooning in Palawan.







My cousin (whom I consider to be the one I'm closest to) treated us to an overnight at Pearl Farm, and hosted us during our entire stay. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Substitute for Sagada

And so because Spanky's biking competition in Benguet didn't push through due to Typhoon Juan, our Sagada trip was also postponed.

We were both getting antsy at home, making a fuss over the littlest things, when one day, Spanky said, "Punta na lang tayong Pundaquit!" After an impromptu call to my dad, we were on a road trip (at last!) the following day.

I'd been to Zambales countless times, of course, owing to the fact that it's my dad's home province. And on the way there, in Olongapo, I would always see this roadside cafe boasting of jumbo tacos. Spanky had eaten here before and I was happy to have a nice, crunchy one for breakfast.


Then finally, the beach! The sand's not crystal white or powdery, and it could do with a bit of cleaning up, but for me, Pundaks will always be home. For the first time, we weren't traveling with the whole clan and we weren't used to the peace and quiet. But soon, we were reveling in the view, away from the internet and the traffic, talking about this and that. It couldn't get better than that.

The waves were so huge and surfers came out to play. Spanky and I tried our hand in body-boarding, and we were panting mad from fighting the waves.

The following day, we went back to the beach with our boards and before we knew it, we were swept farther and farther away from the shore. No matter how hard we kicked our way back,we made little (while I made none at all) progress. Spanky waved to the fishermen on the shore (had my foolish pride and I didn't want to ask for help), and they gamely donned fins and pulled us back to safety.

It was the first time it had ever happened to me though I had always been aware of Pundaks' traitor of an undertow. Must be more careful next time.


Then we started our journey back to Manila, not before stopping by this small carinderia in Subic, offering Bicolano dishes. As Spanky wrote, they had the "Best Laing. Evarrrr."

We stopped by at the SM mall in San Fernando, Pampanga, and shared a Razon's halo-halo. Then we met up with our friend Alain and finally watched The Social Network over huge tubs of popcorn and soda.

We were still full when the flick ended, but we couldn't leave Pampanga without a last food hurrah. So we headed to Jun Jun's Bibingka and Barbecue for some charred meat goodness and brown-colored rice.

And oh, we caught a glimpse of Marian and Dingdong exiting the resto.

Birthdays and Sick Days

Last month, Spanky and I celebrated my birthday with a lunch buffet at Yakkimix.

It was fun to load up our plates with jap food and grill-ables such as salmon, salted beef, mushrooms, and other yummies.

And of course, we didn't forget dessert.


Then we went to UP to digest the meal.

The Chucks were Spanky's Christmas gift 5 or 6 years ago. The brown Vans were his wedding shoes.

Ended the day with a nightcap at home with a few friends.


* * *

Fast forward to today--me, down with ze snifflez. I don't know why but the common cold renders me weak and useless. I feel debilitated.

I didn't have the energy to do the groceries so I settled with what we had in the ref. I surfed the net and found this Spanish Potato Omelet recipe, which I tried with carrots, basil and dried malunggay.

Then I made some instant crab and corn soup.

When Spanky woke up, he found out I was feeling under the weather and took over the kitchen.

He made me the ultimate comfort food--arroz caldo from scratch.

Plus a thermos of calamansi juice to wash it all down.

Kitchen Experiments

Spanky and I recently attended a wedding reception, which served yummy ham and cheese croquettes. So one day, Spanky decided to make a ouido recipe that involved tuna and cheese.

It was difficult shaping the mixture into croquettes so instead, we formed it into patties...

And topped it with parmesan. It was gooood.

Next, Spanky roasted some marshmallows in the oven.


Until they were burnt and puffy.


Blended them in cream, milk and vanilla ice cream.


And voila! Roasted marshmallow shake!


(Taste Tidbit: We found out later that marshmallows were tastier when roasted in fire, instead of in the oven.)

Pundaquit Weekend

It was one of 'em long weekends and Spanky was free so decided to join my family for yet another trip to our default beach--Pundaquit, Zambales.

The van was cramped with my mom, 2 brothers, 4 pamangkins, and 2 yayas. Spanky and I stayed at the very last row. When we got to Pundaks, the normally ankle-deep river was overflowing so we had to ride bancas.



And when we got to the house, midmorning merienda was served--the usual kakanin plus two sweet surprises: ginataang bilo-bilo and binatog, the snack which I had dreamt about 2 days before.




Lunch was bought from the shore when one of the fishermen came in from the sea. We didn't have a proper stove; all our meals were cooked barrio-style.

And the rest of the weekend was just filled with whatever caught our fancy.


At sunrise, Spanks, dad and I walked 6 kms. to town just to buy freshly baked pan de sal.


Beach basics.



The twin islands yonder.



The boat ride that never happened.



We'll be back, Pundaks.

Pegged Photos

While I was gone for almost a week, Spanks made his own DIY on the living room wall. And yup, it was inspired by our trip to a certain resto.



By using twine, wooden pegs and a wall hooks, he made a unique photo display. it's a fresh spin on the usual framed photos tacked on the wall.

Any way you look at it, it's quite pretty.

Like banderitas for the fiesta.

Drawing on Our Bedroom Wall

The walls of the Master's bedroom (which also doubled as my home office) was looking bare. I was thinking of hanging framed photos. Or sticking on decals, which were ultra-cute but also quite pricey. So I thought of a way to combine both design ideas.

With wewilldoodle masterpieces as inspiration, I grabbed my black marker and bravely drew a tree...

with photos as leaves.

It was really fun to draw on the wall.