Urban Sketchers Kyusi – Taal

December 23, 2023March 28, 2024

One of our most memorable trips this year was with Urban Sketchers Kyusi at Taal town, Batangas. In celebration of the 450th anniversary of Taal, the municipal government invited USK QC to “Guhit ng Pamana“, a sketch walk of the heritage houses during their El Pasubat festival. The heritages houses were all open for viewing. This was a delight for us interior designers (Hannah and I).

Hannah and I weren’t supposed to go actually. But when they said that the budget for the weekend trip was around 3.5k per person, it wouldn’t really put a dent on our wallets, so we went. Inggo was also there to accompany us but he slept all day at the hotel. Some sketchers opt for the day tour and went home after all of the activities. We booked a hotel named Paradores del Castillo for us three. We’re also thankful that USK QC rented a van so the travel time was smooth sailing. The photo below was one of the first architectural elements we found at Taal. Beautiful wrought iron gate!

We first had a brief introduction of the Taal town at the second floor of the city hall. They provided some local snacks – the one below is called tamales (but not the Mexican kind!). It was really good. The coffee they provided was barako coffee – also known as the liberica variant of coffee beans known in Batangas. We immediately asked the staff where could we buy this. They said they just bought it at the nearby palengke.

After that was sketching time! The photo above is my first painting for the day. This is Casa Maria near the plaza. Take note that we had around 16 heritage houses that we could visit and sketch. Hannah and I liked the striking blue color of the windows and the upper part of the house. We only had a few hours to finish to sketch because we had our first latag at Escuela Pia – the Taal Cultural center. This was also the venue for lunch. They served us local specialties for lunch – specifically tawilis.

Above is a photo of the largest church in the Philippines – the Minor Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours, also known as the Taal Basilica. We did not get to view the interior as there was a wedding. The rest of the day, Hannah and I explored the town with the other sketchers. We got to tour the Diokno ancestral house and managed to sketch the exterior at the karinderia in front of it. Mine was not perfect, I only noticed it after the photo.

A funny moment during this sketching session was when we managed to attract the attention of the locals. They were intently watching us and some even did a blow-by-blow of the painting process. They also said some morbid jokes, that some houses are haunted because someone was stabbed by a balisong. We heard that a lot on this trip HAHA.

As an interior designer I really appreciated the preservation of the heritage houses. We have so much culture that needs to be protected. We had our second latag of the day at a museum, then went back to the city hall after. All sketchers received a balisong from the local government. How cool is that?! After that, we went back to our respective hotels to rest. We had dinner at Don Juan Boodle House. Everything was delicious here!

Above – is the the second floor of our hotel. These are just displays of Philippine furniture. Sitting was not allowed sadly. Below – after our delicious breakfast and our trip to the palengke for pasalubong shopping, we still had time before our meetup with the van group. Hannah wanted to sketch another house, this was Villavicencio house. I didn’t bring any art materials this time around, but Hannah lent me hers anyway. So I had no choice but to sketch!

I really liked this house and the white bougainvilleas in their garden. Would have loved to see the interior but sadly it was closed on Sunday.

I only had one photo of our latag session and it was blurry! But most of the photos and artworks are available at Urban Sketchers Quezon City IG page. I could say this is one of my highlights of the year – travel, sketching, culture, food. I loved everything about it. Hoping that we could go back again next year so we could sketch the rest of the houses.

Urban Sketchers Kyusi – UP Diliman

January 17, 2023March 28, 2024

The last event of the 2022 is with USK QC at UP Diliman. Hannah and Shine were not able to join, but Kathleen (@deartoourhearts) was! She’s one of my botanical art friends in instagram, and apparently Aira’s classmate from high school. What a small world! We met up at UP Diliman, Sunken Garden.

I’ve visited UP Diliman a number of times before. This is where Inggo spent half of his life. He also accompanied me that day as a moral support/body guard lol. He was supposed to jog but changed his mind. When we met up with Kath, we spent our first painting session near the benches. We tried painting the whole sunken garden. I hated my fist painting HAHAHA.

It started to rain so we looked for cover. I found a cluster of birds of paradise under the pavilion area and started painting those. I really liked this one because I got to do negative space painting. My talented friend started another painting, this time she painted the library:

Then it was latag time! Sadly didn’t get some pictures. I had a lot of fun that day. Inggo and I walked all the way to Maginhawa after. Plein air and landscape art isn’t really my thing I’m still game for future events! I think that I’ll learn something from joining more of this type of events.

Bini Album Showcase

January 12, 2023October 1, 2023

Multiple events made me unstable/depressed (not diagnosed) last year, which led to me buying 3 VIP tickets to Bini’s album showcase concert. I wanted to be happy so I spent money. No regrets. Bini is an all-girl pinoy pop group. I love all of their songs. Plus their vip ticket was around 1250php, so it was really worth it. We got an album + random photocard + a poster.

It was held at SM North Skydome. It was a good thing we went there immediately after work. The rain was pouring!

The fandom name was Blooms. I was a baby bloom. I LOVE their songs “Na na na”, “Lagi”, and “Feel Good” – I can sing them by heart. But I couldn’t memorize their names and faces at first. Inggo and Hannah weren’t blooms. The goal was to convert one of them into a fan. It was also Inggo’s first concert experience — not sure if it was a good or traumatic experience though HAHA. The energy of the other blooms singing the commercials while waiting for the main program tired us out. It was a good thing that this concert had chairs.

After the event, I finally managed to memorize Bini’s names HAHAHA. Can I also just say that the SM Skydome acoustics were great?! Finally happy that I could hear them live.

Next up, hopefully, is an Alamat concert HAHAHA.

Murals

January 1, 2023October 1, 2023

I assisted Hannah (@hmb_urger) on her mural projects this year. One was in Tagaytay, and another one was just in Metro Manila. The Tagaytay one was an experience. Inggo accompanied us and offered his cooking skills for the trip. We stayed at Hannah’s client’s house over the weekend.

We were planning on having bulalo, but surprisingly we couldn’t buy beef at the grocery. It seems like you have to buy from the butcher or palengke, but this was a few towns away from where we were. Actually, I’m not even sure if we were in Tagaytay?! The landmark was Twin Lakes, we were in Amuyong, Cavite. Huh.

It was a whole day of painting for us. We first sketched the design using colored chalk and started filling in the colors one by one. We both had one wall each to sketch and paint. Thankfully Hannah gave me a cheat sheet/print out of the design. Also since we couldn’t find any beef we took a picture with a cow instead:

The Metro Manila one was a quick mural. I assisted once again painting the flowers. I should also note that we attempted to do a mural last April, but went to Starbucks instead due to the heat.

Overall it was a fun experience. Will definitely assist again! If you want to check out the finished murals, please check our her instagram page @hmb_urger

National Museum of Natural History

December 29, 2022December 29, 2022Leave a comment

May 2022 was a busy month.

Our exhibit “Natural Heritage in Focus: The Philippine Flora and Fauna Art Exhibition” at the Upper Courtyard of the National Museum of Natural History ran from May 24 until October 3, 2022. This is in partnership with Philippine Botanical Art Society and Philippine Fauna Art Society in celebration of National Heritage Month and International Day for Biological Diversity. We went to the exhibit opening last May 24, 2022.

I went to work in the morning that day and bragged about the exhibit opening to almost everyone in the office HAHA. I was proud of myself and my officemate Trisha as we both got accepted in the exhibit. This was a juried exhibit where 3 botanists judged our artwork based on accuracy and talent. After work, Inggo fetched me from there, and we both went to NMNH in the afternoon.

Hello to Lolong! One of the largest crocodiles in the world.

It was our first time to visit the NMNH after renovation. National Museum visits are now free to public for a long time now, but we didn’t have a chance to visit because its too far from us. When we got there, we were treated as VIPs in the exhibit opening. It was a wonderful experience. Ms. Bing’s speech, even though I’ve heard it numerous times already, had more impact at that time because it felt like all of her hard work came into fruition with this exhibit. I also got to finally meet Sherilyn again! Here are some photos of the exhibit opening. Thank you to Inggo for being our photographer!

Definitely one of the highlights of this year! ♥

Daluyong Opening Night

November 9, 2019August 7, 20201 Comment

A few months ago was my first ever exhibit at Pineapple Lab. Inggo and I went to the exhibit after our work. What we didn’t expect was the heavy traffic since it was a Payday Friday. So we walked from my office all the way to Rockwell Guadalupe.

There’s not much else to say, really. I felt proud and giddy when I saw my paintings up on the wall. I wished my bbs good luck, and we went to Rockwell for dinner. I bought an XL watercolor pad as a reward for myself. And then we went home.

I think its because I’m just writing this now that I can’t remember all the details of that night. After a month in Pineapple Lab, I had a Lalamove driver pick up my paintings. Nobody wanted them, so I proudly display them now on my office desk.

Las Casas Quezon City

February 3, 2019August 7, 2020Leave a comment

A day after Christmas, Inggo and I went to Las Casas Quezon City. The reason is that I saw an appetizing food photo from a friend on Instagram and asked him the resto’s name. He highly recommended this resto to us and pushed me to get a reservation asap lol. And I did! On this blog, I will write about the interior. Check out Inggo’s food review here.

This place was previously a mansion that was sold to the Las Casas group. They are famous for the resort Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan where they take old houses around the Philippines and rebuild them on their grounds. Any damage found on the houses, they do their best to repair or preserve it.

Dining area.

Art nouveau inspired foyer.

Sitting room that’s not open to the public when we visited.

The focal point of the sitting is a beautiful Amorsolo portrait. Must be the previous owner?

Ceiling design with wood carvings.

Wood details near the stairs.

Mosaic detail on the wall panels all over the ground floor.

Stairs.

Second floor houses the function rooms. More art nouveau inspiration with Alphonse Mucha paintings / concealed doors.

Gustav Klimt replicas of his works “Mother and Child” and “The Kiss”.

A peek at the back of the building.

Fishermen art installation near the pool.

They’re building additional houses for future use. Apparently they’re planning on making Las Casas QC a boutique hotel.

I find it a bit weird that the interiors of the main building is in French style, yet the rest of the buildings are in Philippine style. But nevertheless, we had an amazing yet expensive lunch here. I look forward to their boutique hotel offerings in the future.

% Arabica

September 3, 2018August 7, 2020Leave a comment

Last month, Rico’s Lechon finally opened a branch in Manila. We’ve tasted the original Rico’s Lechon in Cebu way back in 2013 (when I wasn’t blogging yet and the food blog was on hiatus at the time). So when we heard the news, we immediately scheduled a trip to BGC.

But before going to the said restaurant, I asked that we stop by first at a coffee shop that’s recommended by people I follow on IG lol. We attempted to try this cafe the last time we went to BGC, but we learned that they close WAYYYY TOO EARLY on weekends.

I present to you, % Arabica!

This Japanese coffee shop specializes in Arabica beans. They offer their drinks with either a Blend (two different varieties of arabica beans) or a Single Origin which comes from one source. You can learn more about them on their website.

You can buy your own beans here!

We ordered a tall Single origin Spanish Latte (190php) and an Americano (150php). I asked what’s the difference with a Spanish latte with a normal one and the barista said a spanish latte is sweeter. How’s the taste for us coffee lovers? Hmmm. The interiors look nice though!

The Japanese Minimalist aesthetic. ♥

Wood. White. Soft lighting. ♥

The second floor offers benches only and an exhibit of their beans from around the world.

Will we come back? Unfortunately, no.

SGD Coffee Appreciation Workshop

December 15, 2017August 7, 20201 Comment

Last Sunday, Inggo and I went to SGD Coffee again. They offered a free coffee appreciation workshop because it was their first anniversary. ♥ It was on a first come, first serve basis. We were lucky that we got a slot for their 4-5pm class.

♥

The coffee lab.

What I picked. Sadly this wasn’t chosen as one of the three coffee that we tasted that day.

Coffee bean grinding!

Smells good already. ♥

Cafe Lipa. Bacofo. Verve.

To appreciate coffee, we first smelled the freshly ground beans & described our first thoughts about it. It was funny because I had similar views with an older classmate while Inggo had similarities with the millennials.

After that, we smelled & tasted the coffee with hot water at different intervals. It was interesting! Some first impressions during the smell test were intensified with hot water, while some disappeared completely. But it still depends on the person.

French press. ♥

After that, we tried the french press method for all types. We also got to smell & taste a fourth coffee – which is their SGD coffee blend. ♥ Our group is not biased in any way, but we all loved the SGD Coffee HAHA. We also got to try their lemon bar and buttercream bar to pair with their coffee. I liked that it enhanced or complements their coffee instead of overpowering it.

Overall, we learned a lot during the workshop. We also got to experience grinding, weighing, and using the french press for our selected coffee. I also realized during the workshop that I like dark, bitter, chocolate-y tastes compared to light, sour, acidic/”sinigang mix” types. But I also like sagada coffee because of its woody, balanced, familiar taste HAHA.

Congratulations to SGD Coffee on their first anniversary! Here’s to many more to come. ♥

SGD Coffee + Commission

December 4, 2017August 7, 20202 Comments

A few weeks ago, my friend commissioned me to make her a watercolor family portrait painting as a gift to her husband. I gladly accepted since she was a close friend way back in elementary. I wanted to paint outside of the house, so I asked Inggo to accompany me to Maginhawa.

We had lunch at Friuli Trattoria because we were thinking of having coffee at Negative Space Coffee after. Unfortunately, the cafe has closed operation. I was distraught because this was my favorite coffee shop in Maginhawa! I didn’t even had a chance to blog about it properly huhu.

So we decided to look for another cafe around Maginhawa. Then I remembered Tricia Gosingtian’s blog post about her adventure around this area where she recommended a coffee shop called SGD Coffee. Thanks to the internet and google maps, we easily found our way there HAHA.

Coffee round 1!

We ordered the SGD Black (120 php) and SGD Cold (175 php) for our drinks. Inggo also wanted a snack so I ordered a Lemon Bar (65php) for him. The place was packed full but we found a corner space on the second floor.

We were amused with the plating for the lemon bar. (ehem, /r/WeWantPlates). We’re not coffee connoisseurs, but sagada beans is our favorite Philippine variety because this one has a smooth, non-metallic, and not burnt taste. But it will still depend on the coffee shop. The drinks here were good! It has the same taste with other shops with sagada beans, but this one is much smoother.

Progress.

My table setup: watercolor pouch, power bank, and my seamountainco set. ♥

I also liked the interiors of the store. It was an old house converted into a coffee shop and learning center. I loved that it had large windows bringing in natural light inside. Perfect for me since I needed it for painting.

Another view of my table setup: Seamountainco set, portable mixing palette, and my w&n cotman set.

I also decided to paint another portrait of my friend because of our conversation. She mentioned that I made her a portrait when we were in Grade 6. Sadly, she lost the portrait due to constant moving. So I made a new one for her. ♥

We shared this plate. ♥

While doing the second painting, Inggo ordered food and drinks. He ordered the Longganisa (220php), Cappuccino (145php) for him, and Flat White (145php) for me. The food was really good and filling! I liked the runny egg yolks mixed with the etag and black rice. The veggies were also delicious. I think these are all Sagada products.

Coffee round 2!

His cappuccino had cinnamon powder on top instead of the usual chocolate powder. He said his drink was good. I don’t usually drink flat white, but this was also good. You could still taste the smooth sagada brew in it. The only pet peeve I think is that they serve hot drinks on glass cups. But that’s just my preference.

Finished! ♥

Overall, we had a good time here in SGD Coffee. It’s the perfect place for art tambays with the natural light. The food and drinks were good, although a bit expensive for the student crowd. They also teach everything about coffee, so do check out their Facebook page and website for more details.

Is this my new favorite coffee shop in Maginhawa? I’m still not sure.