I made a rap song for my birthday boy.

Hello Pujo, maligayang kaarawan sayo! Ikaw ay bente-singko na ano bang plano mo? 

Kamusta d'yan sa Malaysia, nagsasaya ka ba? Dahil dito sa Pilipinas ako'y nag-iisa! 

Sa pagbalik ninyo ako ay may surpresa, di ka makakapaniwala sa aking nakita.

Munting hiling mo na sa akin mo lang sinabi, sinuyod ko ang buong mundo para sayo, pare!

Happy birthday sayo from Manila to Singapore, Manila to Malaysia, Manila to Vietnam.

Paolo, umayos ka d'yan kung ayaw mo masaktan! 

'Wag mo pagpapalit ang babaeng maarte! Ang babaeng maselan, pangalan nya ay Marianne.

Kahit pikon ka na sa aking kaartehan, pikon din naman ako sa lahat ng 'yong kalokohan!

Kaya quits lang, wag ka na chumarice d'yan! 

Umuwi ka na lang para happy na ako. 

Pagbalik mo na lang saka ko tatapusin ang FlipTop na ito!

Last but not the least, uulitin ko sayo, happy birthday, mahal ko.

Ito ay alay ko sa iyo.

BREAK IT DOWN, YO.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Happy birthday to the one and only person who hates the way I dress for "fashion" because he believes that I don't have to dress well to be beautiful. For him I am already beautiful. 

Happy birthday to the man who gets annoyed everytime I ask him to take photos of me but asked his mom to buy him a camera... for him to take better photos of me.

Happy birthday to the man who made my "dreamboy" a reality--singkit, maputi, (may braces), mukhang bad boy at kalbo. 

Click photos to zoom.

Happy birthday to the one who hates my Twitter because I tweet too much, even if we're together. 
Well after seeing these screencaps, I bet you will love my Twitter because my friends and followers greeted you using the hashtag of your name, #GianPaoloGancia. Especially these people:

Your favorite rapper Mike Swift...

And your forever crush Nicole Hernandez!


And after four long years, I got to edit this blog for public view. I made this in 2007 via Multiply and here it is, read the blog entitled 
Happy Birthday to My Favorite Person in Earth.


Happy birthday!!!
♥,
Naning

Photos by: Johngil Perez

Khara's Christening

First things first. Khara is the first baby of the group and the rest of the girls and I were so excited to see Phoebe and Ruffy's little princess join the Christian world. Though Kim, Jovy, Susie and Chel and I regularly see each other, it somehow felt like a reunion for us because of Phoebe's presence. Cha, Cheenee and Maan weren't able to make it but Paolo, Mon, Michael and Ruffy, Khara's dad, rolled with the good times with us.

And so we drove all the way to Antipolo. It was our first time to go there by ourselves, thank God for my phone's map feature which never fails to show us the way. Unfortunately, all of us were late so we didn't make it to the church. We headed straight to the reception instead, boo us, we were the first ones to arrive at the venue. Oh well, blame it to "Budget Lane".

Say hello to Khara and her gorgeous mom, my bestfriend, Phoebe. She is still sexy, I wonder how she kept her voluptuous body after giving birth! I must say, she's even hotter now. Definitely one hot momma!

The beautiful Ninangs cuddled our cutest inaanak who looked so cute in her pinkish lilac dress and her signature big ribbon. O diba, bata pa lang may signature look na. Obviously, Phoebe makes her little one a doll by putting big ribbons almost everyday and Khara doesn't mind having a headpiece at all unlike other babies!

With the little princess. I told Phoebe she must teach Khara to call me Momsy instead of Ninang! Or Mamang (Mama + Ninang)? Btw, Phoebe said I looked like Khara's mom because of the eyes. Well, well, well! :)

Us. Kim, Rachel, Michael, Phoebe and Khara, Paolo, me, Jovy and Susie. Photo by Mon.

Next level! From classmates to being kumares! I wonder what next chapter's gonna be. ♥

The boys had their own solo shot. Mon, Michael and Paolo. Our drivers boyfriends. Hehe.

Played with Khara. Her cake reminded me of my cake during my 1st birthday, with stars!

Floral prints + animal prints! 

3-4-5-6

I just love this "3-4-5-6" photo! The sequence is too cute! Haha! I know a lot of girls will get this. It's like, "Tara, picture tayo." and then "Sama ako." followed by "Tawagin mo si ano." until "Uy, girl, sama ka." and finally, "Pa-picture naman kami"! Hahaha!!! Got it? I know you do!

Floral dress: Forever 21 | Necklace with floral ribbon pendant: From Mia | Brown peep-toe boots: Le Donne (not in the picture) | Bag: Longchamp (not in the picture)

Welcome to the Christian world, baby girl! Be a good baby to your mommy! All your pretty ninangs will watch over you! See you again the soonest!

♥,

Doll-y Crave

I grew up playing dolls. My sisters and I had more than 30 dolls, complete with dollhouse, catalogs and/or magazines, computer games and other stuff. I can't describe how the dollhouse looked like (it's older than me, it was given to my sister when she was 6). All I know is that it looked like a pink luggage and when opened, it becomes Barbie's house. We also had (Takara) Jenny in our collection including "Charm Up", Jenny's walk-in closet filled with clothes, accessories and shoes.

Takara Jenny

Barbie

Jenny and Barbie were my favorite toys. Jenny used to be under Mattel's license just like Barbie so you can never tell the difference except for the fact that Jenny looks more Asian (5'3" in height with round eyes) while Barbie is more Western. But whatever, I love them equally, it's just sad that Jenny no longer exists in the market and unfortunately, they got burned during a fire tragedy which turned our whole house into a damn big ashtray.

I called the dolls Barbie-cue since then.

We may no longer have dolls at home but I always make sure I still have other Barbie merchandises like bags, slippers, pens and even makeups! I check out Toy Kingdom and Barbie stores, and I get Barbie apps for my iPhone too like:

Barbie: Fashionistas and Barbie: Doll'd Up Nails

Barbie: I Can Be and Barbie: A Fairy Secret

Just when every girl dreams to be a  princess, I dreamed to be Jenny or Barbie--not the one made of plastic, FYI. I'm now thinking of resurrecting a Barbie doll collection again, if only I don't need a bigger space in my room because it's really filled with stuff now. I got so inspired with what I saw in the market now:

Barbie I Can Be - Movie Star

Barbie I Can Be - Chef

Barbie I Can Be - Pet Vet

 Barbie I Can Be - Doctor

 Barbie I Can Be - Lifeguard

Barbie I Can Be - Computer Engineer

Barbie I Can Be - Car Racer

 Barbie I Can Be - News Anchor

and last but not the least...

Barbie I Can Be - Ballerina

SEE THEM ALL HERE.

You already, Barbie! You already! You made ALL my dreams come true--from becoming a movie star to simply becoming a ballerina. OMGAAAAH! I am so proud of you. I hope Jenny still exists now because for sure, she'll be proud of what you've achieved too. Hahaha! And congratulations for getting back with Ken too!

♥,

PS: Expect to see more Barbie posts from me in the future. XOXO!

Mango Tree Bistro

As promised, I'm blogging about what we ate in Mango Tree Bistro (MTB) last Sunday. I love Thai food, it's got the perfect spice. I don't eat much spicy food but Thai food makes it easier for me to savor the hot flava.

Photos by my ever supportive sister, Ate Mai.

Phad Thai Jay, Php 230

Phad Thai is a must if you're dining at a Thai restaurant as it's one of the national dishes of the kingdom of Siam. Phad Thai is a stir fried rice noodles with mixed vegetables and tofu in Phad Thai sauce, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime. A single order is good for 3-4 persons, depending on the person. MTB serves a good Phad Thai, it's even better than People's Palace's version.

Grapow Salmon, Php 380

Grapow means holy basil or Thai basil, therefore, Grapow Salmon is a pan-fried salmon with garlic, fresh basil and red chilies. I am a big fan of fish and trying this one made me a bigger fan. I liked the way how they fried the salmon, it's lightly toasted but still juicy. It's got an awesomesauce too!

Gai Tha Krai Yang, Php 280

Something that kids will love if ever you're going to dine there with youngsters. Gai Tha Krai Yang, a grilled Thai herb chicken with lemon grass, is an alternative to fried chicken. It is also served with Northeastern Thai dipping sauce which tastes like a combination of sweet chili and fish sauce. It gives the chicken a whole new taste once dipped! 

 Gai Satay, Php 250

Gai Satay or chicken barbecue is served with peanut dipping sauce and papaya pickle. It tastes good as well, juicy and tender.

Yum Mamuang, Php 220

One of my favorites from MTB! This is their traditional green mango salad with roasted grated coconut and crushed peanuts. It can be eaten spicy or not, depending on your preference. We preferred to eat it in its "usual" state without crushing the red hot chili pepper. I love, love, love the crunchiness of the peanuts and the juiciness of the green mango. Sweet, salty, sour all at the same time!

We also ordered Gai Gratiem (stir-fried prawns with garlic and pepper sauce), Php 250, Tom Yum Goong (spicy Thai prawn soup with lemongrass, lime and red chilies), Php 280 and Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai (chicken fillet with eggplant in green curry), P380. I super recommend all these!!! I swear by it, it's just that my sister failed to take photos of it (or I guess she did take some but wasn't able to post-process them). I'll get back at it when I have the photos already. Or I can order them again and be sure to document them in my cam.

L-R: Mango Tree Cosmopolitan, Mango Tree Bellini, Dirty Sexy cocktails.

Dad ordered bottles of beer, Pale Pilsen to be exact, and gave us a nod to order our cocktails as well. Mom did not get out of her comfort zone and just ordered her usual pineapple juice. MTB offers more cocktails like Mango Tree Daiquiri, Sangria Sparkling, Chili Martini, Mental Martini, Maldita Margarita and Fili-Piña to name a few. We're definitely coming back to try all of these cocktails. All Php 250 each.

Mango Tree Bistro's Chocolate Mousse

This restaurant has definitely one of the nicest staff! I asked the RM if they have some "surprises" for celebrations like a surprise song, a dessert or something. I told him that my parents were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary and he gladly whispered, "Wow! Okay ma'am, let me see what I can do!" and after a minute, he said they're already preparing something sweet. I knew it, a cake perhaps? And then he zoomed out out of nowhere with a goblet in his hand and said, "Happy 30 years of love!" Awww such a sweet RM! Thank you, just in case you'll get to read this!

I'm giving Mango Tree Bistro 4 out of 5 stars! Food, ambiance, cleanliness, staff and location. VG, GV!

Mango Tree Bistro is located at the 3rd level of TriNoma (beside Power Books and across Coffee Bean). For more information, call 585-5460. Like them on Facebook too!

30 Years of Love

"The greatest gift you can ever give your children is family."

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary last Sunday. I am so happy and proud that I am blessed with a loving family and that we're all still together until now. I have friends who have single parents and I have friends who come from broken families so I somehow know what it feels like to be "incomplete". It's also not surprising to hear couples breaking up and/or filing annulment or divorce these days. So I must be really thankful that my parents just reached another chapter in their lives... together. 

After hearing the Mass, Ate Mai and I planned to bring them out for lunch for a little celebration. My parents don't like going out on Sundays because for them, it's the only day in the week that all of us get together at home and they would rather spend it there instead of splurging outside. And yes I already mentioned it, they hate splurging. They hate splurging their hard-earned money for my shoes, for my Ate's food and for Marriz's clothes. Hahaha!

So we convinced them to step out of the house for a little surprise. We had a late lunch at Mango Tree Bistro (my choice). I like Thai food (next to Japanese) and I miss People's Palace in Greenbelt but I cannot obviously bring them there, otherwise, Dad won't drive and won't let us drive the car. So Mango Tree Bistro it is! Plus, I've been eying on it since it opened here in QC so it's my chance to give the restaurant a try!

A candid photo taken by Dad. It's funny to look at! All I can remember is that we're choosing Margaritas and boom, we're LOL-ing!

Mom and Dad. Happy 30 years! ♥

Meet my family! Ate Mai, Marriz/Miming, me, Dad and Mom.

I'm a Daddy's girl. I look up to my Mom. I love my parents more than anyone else!

The dining staff gave them a complimentary chocolate mousse! Look at them, so sweet!

And we ended up eating them!!! Such bratinellas!!!

SPOTTED: Taking notes about the food we ate which I will blog soon.

Tres Marias, Margaritas! Mai, Ming, Marianne.

We really had a great time in Mango Tree Bistro. They have a very friendly and accommodating staff! I have a new favorite restaurant nearby now! Special thanks to the restaurant manager who was cool enough to take our family pictures and for the mousse, of course!

Daddy's girl.

With Mom. I know I will look like her in the future! :P

We did a little shopping after lunch. We strolled around the mall and got hungry after a few hours again. We craved for some frozen yogurt for dessert but Red Mango's kinda crowded that day so we had a "cool" time in The Golden Spoon instead.

Decisions, decisions.

This is candid. And stolen. (Look, Ate Mai stealing a scoop from Ming's!)

Congratulations, Mom and Dad! We really had fun. I love you.

PS: Keep up the good work--loving each other. ♥