Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

There, I've said it. I finally turned thirty last week. 3-0. I don't know how else to put it, because I don't feel any different. I do hope I'm a lot wiser though. As for the 2 other descriptions, I don't think I even remember how to flirt anymore and I don't feel like I'm thriving at all. -It's more like struggling. haha! I have been on this quarter life crises before and I'm back again. I wonder how long people usually get out of this??

Anyway, last year I opted not to have a party and I just celebrated it with my parents. But this year, with our new house and that fact I haven't seen my former colleagues for quite sometime after resigning, I decided to have a small birthday dinner / housewarming party. 

I used to make a big deal about about my birthday, but as I get older, I'm slowly realizing that it doesn't always have to be all grand. Spending it with friends and having fun is all that matters. Of course, not all those who are invited will show up and it can be a little disappointing but it happens. You just have to enjoy the moment.

I served my homemade salad, tiny pancake hotdog squares (It was supposed to be a hotdog wrapped in pancake but after 2 hours of trial and error, I gave up.), Spaghetti, Carbonara, Fruits and Cakes for dessert. For drinks, I bought my favorite Gossips Sweet Lips Moscato Wine. My guests arrived on time which was a surprise. I wasn't ready yet, so I panicked a little and wasn't able to take a proper photo of the food that was served.

Tiny Pancake Hotdog Squares

Homemade Salad

This is the most decent picture of the food that was served that night.

(No Sauce. No Cake)

My fave! Gossips Moscato Sweet Lips

(I can drink one bottle alone, but I won't because that's just sad.)

For music I created a birthday playlist on Spotify which we played while having dinner. For entertainment, I downloaded a couple of Just Dance videos on YouTube (since I don't have an X-box or Wii) 

2014 Birthday Playlist

We ate, we drank, we danced. It was a fun night even though it ended earlier than expected. I do hope they enjoyed their stay.

The early birds!

This is us socializing! lol!

Disclaimer: I may look pregnant but I'm not! it's the blouse! 

Autumn while watching us dance. 

(I wonder what she's thinking?)

Selfies with the Early Birds in my room

P.S. I still need to improve on my dinner party skills. There's always next year!

XXX, RM

Pet Blessing - October 6, 2013

You already know that I am a proud owner of 2 cute toy poodles named Summer and Autumn that I treat like they are my own child. -Very normal! I also work in Eastwood City, a very pet friendly place wherein they allow pets inside malls and other establishments. Eastwood City is also very popular for organizing pet friendly events. One of which is the Pet Blessing that is held every first Sunday of October during the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Animals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi

I already had both my dogs blessed 3 years ago but I decided to attend this event anyway. This time, I only brought Autumn with me. I attended the event with my colleague and her dog Hachiko, a Japanese Spitz and Pomeranian mix.

 

Upon registration, they gave us a free goodie bag and a coupon to claim their Baptismal Certificate 2 weeks after the event.(Yes! There is a Baptismal Certificate) The event started off with a Pet Parade, then a few activities such as awarding of the Best Dressed Pet. After that, performances from local singers and it ended with a mass and the blessing of the pets.

I was able to take a few snapshots of the event when there were finally seats available.

Here is Autumn looking terrified or tired. I don't know.

Strolling with their humans.

 At the bridge.

Pets of all kinds and sizes were there. Just look at this cute little black pup, Giant Great Dane and Mr. Grumpy Cat.

It was a fun and great day to spend with your pets. Although, it was a little tiring because the place was jampacked. There were no more seats available when we got there. It was extremely hot during the afternoon then it rained when the sun went down. But nevertheless, it was a successful event as usual.

Thank you to Eastwood City for proving pet owners events like these. I'll be there again this 2014 with Summer so that she can have her very own Baptismal Certificate.

XxX,
Rissa

Late Post: My ___th Birthday

Last October 2013, I only had a small celebration for my birthday. To be honest, I don't even consider it as a celebration per se, it's more of a luncheon really. It was only with my Mom, Dad, and Grandma (Mamang). We ate at Vikings in SM North EDSA (A buffet restaurant) which I had reserved 2 weeks in advance. I already learned my lesson to have a table reserved, because last June, we were supposed to celebrate my Mom's birthday there but it was full. 

You may not consider me as a buffet type of person but I haven't dined there so I thought it would be nice to try it on my birthday and check what the hype is all about. Plus, when you dine there on the day of your birthday it's for free. Nothing beats that! As long as you have at least one person that you're going to pay in full. 

We actually had a lot of discount. Aside from my food being free, senior citizens who are above 75 y/o get a 50% off the buffet rate. My Grandmother being 88 y/o was able to get that discount. Both my parents are senior citizens as well but they were only allowed to give a 10% senior citizen discount to my Dad since I have to pay at least one person in full. I guess that's fair enough. 

I forgot to bring my camera. All photos were taken via my Mom's Ipad. It's not that there will be a huge difference since I only point and shoot anyway. 

Per usual, they sing to all the celebrants and give them a complimentary cake. My Dad, being himself wanted to leave as soon as he was done eating. I wanted to wait for the waiters to sing me a song but they started a bit late and were still practicing when we left so I just had my picture taken next to the birthday banner just for the sake of it.

After having lunch, I stayed in the mall to have my license renewed and went home. That was a my day. No Big Hurrah. Check out my photos below.

What I Wore:

Missy Halter Dress (Bought it 2 years ago and it still fits! I love it because it hides my belly bulge)

Heatwave Peep-toe Pumps

Dorothy Perkins Bag

XxX,

Rissa

LATE POST: Richmonde Lunch Buffet

Last Christmas, my mom received a lunch buffet gift certificate for two at Richmonde Hotel. We have forgotten about it until I saw it in my desk while I was cleaning it last month. It was about to expire this year and we wouldn't want it to go to waste so I had a reservation made at Eastwood Richmonde Hotel last Sept. 21.

Their Lunch Buffet is available from 11AM-2PM only. We arrived at the hotel at around 1:30pm and thought of re-scheduling because it was already late. However, the receptionist said they can still accommodate us so we stayed.

(People always spell my name wrong. It's supposed to be spelled as Rissa)

The place was very quiet. Only one table was occupied when we arrived. The Chef greeted us and walked us through the food choices. The options were limited but I very much liked their Lechon. It was very crispy and not greasy. Their steak was also really good! We had it cooked medium rare and they served it at our table.They also served a complimentary milk tea.

From what I remember, and this is not all of it...these are the food choices available.

1. Spaghetti with red/white sauce and nachos for the kids.
2. Lechon
3. Tenderloin Steak
4. Tempura
5. Thai food (soups, salads, dimsum)
6. Japanese food
7. Rice
8. Mini cakes and pastries
9. Fresh fruits
10. Halo-Halo
11. Ice Cream

 (This is where they placed the cakes, pastries and fresh fruits)

Their food is nothing extraordinary except for the Lechon and the steak that I liked very much!

(Sorry, this is a terrible picture of how my plate looked like)

 (My mom enjoying here ice cream a little too much)

  Mother liked the display at their receiving area so we had a picture taken there as well.

The place is more appropriate for business meetings / luncheon rather than parties. But all in all it was a nice place to have lunch and just chill.  We stayed there while waiting for the screening of Insidious 2. :)

You may visit their website at http://www.richmondehotel.com/eastwood-richmonde-hotel/

Samsung Gadgets

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/dJ25F6w-J1/

Got a new gadget from Globe this August. It's the new Samsung Tab 3 and Samsung S Duos bundled for only plan 999. It goes well with my Samsung digicam.

I really think it's good deal from Globe. The Samsung Tab 3 7inch is worth Php 9,100 and the Samsung S Duos is worth Php 7,790. The plans comes with Unli Data, 101 free texts and 100 consumable. I don't really call or text much but I surf most of the time so I think it suits me.

However, there are some downside to this promo. I've had problems with the Tab's software during it's second week and the unit won't turn on. I can no longer return it to Globe since the 7 day warranty replacement has already passed so I have to take it to Samsung service center in SM North. Everything was covered by the 1 year warranty so I didn't pay for anything. Everything is working fine now. However this time, it's the Samsung S Duos that's having some problems. The hotspot router won't seem to connect my other devices. Went to Globe again to have it checked and they advised me to go to the service center again to have it fixed. 

I know it's such a hassle. I would be furious at Globe if the service center isn't near my place but thankfully it is so I don't have problems going there. I don't know if it's just me that got the defective unit or if its the same for all but I'm really disappointed with Samsung. Or probably because it's one of their cheaper models that is why it has some problems.

All in all, it's a good deal but I wouldn't recommend techie people to buy this tab and phone . It runs a bit slow compared to the I-pad and I-pod Touch that I'm used to. I'm not a techie type of person so this stuff doesn't affect me that much. As long as I can surf the net and play some music, I'm good! Plus, I only got it for free so I can't really complain that much. I just hope I don't encounter problems passed the warranty period. :s