So sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been sick twice already this month. One was the week long fever, and currently I have coughs. Maybe because of fatigue or the weather, I don’t know. I only know that I need to be healthier. I still have a lot of things to talk about, but I need to rest first. So see you soon, blog. I’ll come back.
Category: Personal
2018
It’s that time of the year again. (See last year’s review here).
2017 was a great art year for me. ♥
I met up with my group mates and friends from a previous art trade after a year. Everyone got along and we decided to name our group to January Girls because we all met in January lol. We met up a month later during Art Fair Philippines. This was also the time that we received the first batch of seamountainco paints. It was my first artist grade watercolor paints and I fell in love with it. ♥
After years of planning, me and my college block mates finally went on an adventure. It was our first time as a group to go on an overnight outing together. We camped, surfed, and laughed all through out the trip. ♥
Inggo and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary by having a staycation at Makati. We tried out most of the restos that piqued our interest there. There’s not as much food adventures as compared to before, because there weren’t any restaurant significant enough to blog about. But we did experience something new, which was the Coffee Appreciation Workshop at SGD Coffee.
It was also during this time when the January Girls started participating in bazaars! We changed our group name from January Girls to January Makers PH to make it look a lot more formal. So. Thankful. I learned so many things that only experience can teach. If you would look at the January Makers PH tag, you would see our bazaar journey. Our last bazaar looked like this and I’ve never felt any prouder for our group. ♥ I also met a lot of new people because of this. We shared our experiences and passion for art through art tambays.
I also did my first watercolor workshop! It was a terrifying but great experience for me. After that, I did the Inktober challenge which happened the whole October. It was the first time that I completed this challenge. ♥ I also now do commissions as well!
There are still so many things that I haven’t blogged about but are still noteworthy: my restaurant interior design project at Zambales, my current residential interior design project, my mural painting commission, my online shops, and documented art tambays with friends.
Even though this year is not good for me financially, I’m thankful that I got through it all. ♥ I had tons of Art & Adventures which I wished for last year. Here’s to another great one this 2018!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdUahdAHjQV/?taken-by=suffnirain
Birthday Month
April is my birthday month. ♥ I did a lot of things recently. Let me photoblog them below:
Art Tambays with my cousin. ♥ This is 90% seamountainco colors! The green is from Winsor & Newton Cotman.
Art in the Park weekend with Hannah, Ruth, Jean & Monique. ♥ This is my artwork during our stay at CBTL. The color I used for the hair is #Jeandigo.
2nd painting from Art in the Park. I was explaining to Ruth that I suck at other flowers (as shown here LOL). I must improve!
Inggo had some leftover photo paper. I printed these as postcard samples but the paper was too slim. They look nice, don’t you think ? ♥
Days after my birthday. I met up with Hannah at Serenitea. ♥
I’ll never tease Hannah about her androgynous drawings ever again! I tried painting a guy this time. It was so hard!
More floral practice. ♥ Left: Hydrangea that I tried to be detailed but got lazy LOL. | Right: I just let my IG friends guess what flower this is. The reference is a peony though!
Left: A gerbera painting that is “too light”. | Right: This is a “rose”. I liked the way the leaves look though!
Some paintings I did at a cafe nearby Inggo’s place. ♥ This is at Fecha de Cafe, Kamias.
This isn’t even 50% of what I did for April. (But these were the art related stuff). I availed every birthday promo that I knew of during my birthday. We tasted different cuisines at Madrid Fusion Manila & had a fantastic dinner at Izakaya Kikufuji, Little Tokyo. Did a lot of sketches during Holy week.
The January Girls are currently preparing something exciting. ♥ I can’t wait to blog more about it!
2017
2016 was such an adventure. I think despite what my Chinese Zodiac predicted for my year, I did the best that I could. But the Chinese New Year is not yet over!
I did a lot of things that I’m happy & proud of this year.
I went to a lot of places with Inggo – local and international. We got to bond with my side of the family in Batangas, had an international adventure in Singapore, celebrated our anniversary in Davao, and feasted on seafood in Roxas City. We got to eat at a lot of new restaurants this year.
I’m improving my art and I’m enjoying the journey of it. I got to meet like-minded individuals with the same passion as me in watercolor and art. I had art tambays with old and new friends that we introduced watercolor to. I got to exchange artist trading cards with new people.
I maintained a blog for a year! With entries every month! I didn’t know that I had the drive to edit photos & think of blog posts every month. This is a HUGE accomplishment.
Overall, despite the many dramas in life, I got through it! And that makes me proud and swell in happiness. I’m sure that this is a hopeful year for me. Here’s to more Art & Adventures this 2017. ♥
Roxas City – Food
First of all, Happy Holidays! I finally had time to sit down & blog about our Roxas trip last month. While editing the photos, I thought maybe I should separate this entry into 3 posts. So the first one that I’ll do is about the food.
We bought our Roxas tickets just days after our Davao trip. It was a really good deal – around 1500php per person. That’s the price for a one-way ticket to Davao. Why here? Well, aside from being a good deal, we both love seafood and I researched that Roxas City is the Seafood Capital of the Philippines.
Once we arrived at Roxas airport. We took a tricycle to Baybay beach. Famous for their fresh seafood dishes.
One thing I didn’t like though, is that we took a tricycle outside the airport gates to go to Baybay beach. He charged us 50php per person each. In our future trips, it was only 50php for both of us. Maybe the city should enforce stricter regularization of prices? Sigh. The tricycle driver took us to his relatives’ restaurant instead of the famous seafood court. Since we’re there already, might as well eat here. Note to self, be firm with people.
Fresh oysters for 40php!
Meat comparison. HAHA.
Prawns for 240php
Lato salad for 80php. Lato is also called Sea Grapes.
Cat fish.
Our first lunch at Roxas was a pleasant experience. After that, we checked in our hotel. We chose Wallabies Hotel for our stay. It’s only a few minutes walking distance to the plaza. For dinner, we went to Cafe Terraza. It’s located at Pueblo de Panay, just a tricycle ride from Robinsons Place Roxas. After dinner, we learned that there’s a roundtrip jeep to Robinsons Place. I chose this place because we didn’t get to do a “dinner with a view/mountains/hills” at Davao.
This is the view. Not that nice in the photo. But it really pretty. With the fresh air & cool breeze lol.
Seafood karekare! 265php.
Baked scallops. 195php.
Iced mocha & blueberry cheesecake.
Inggo’s dessert. I forgot the name.
The next day, we woke up a bit late. We explored the plaza looking for a place to eat. We ended up at Spanggo – a Spanish+Ilocano restaurant just near our hotel. Apparently this place is famous for its pies.
Spanggo interior.
Dragon balls. 180php.
Palabok. 99php.
Beef Caldereta. 165php.
Bacon Meal. 110php.
The most delicious apple pie I’ve ever tasted! 55php.
Crumbly goodness.
Fried Halo-Halo. 85php.
After this huge lunch. We rested for a bit back at the hotel. After a while, we decided for some reason to walk to Baybay beach. Yes, walk. It took an hour, but we did it HAHA. It wasn’t tiring, since we got some refreshments at City Mall. And we enjoyed the scenery.
Baybay Beach at dusk.
For dinner, we decided to eat at Coco Veranda. It’s one of the top ranked restaurants on Trip Advisor. They have a huge board with the current prices of seafood, but I didn’t get to take a photo of that. Same with the other restaurants at Baybay, this one is also a cook as you order setting.
Clam soup.
Garlic crab.
Baybay at night. This is the seafood food court. We didn’t get a chance to eat there HAHA.
I got food poisoned the second night. I didn’t know from where though. So the third day was awful for me. Maybe it was from too much clams and oysters. They were so cheap here HAHA. Yes, they were fresh. It was too bad that we didn’t consider the season of other seafoods like the diwal – a native shellfish famous here, and crabs & shrimp we also not in season so they were not as cheap as we imagined.
But it was still a nice experience. Next post will be about the town.
Freedom
A lot of things happened within a month that I wasn’t able to keep track of. I’m so sorry, my blog!
We went to Roxas City last month (pending blog post for this). My grandfather died the same week as that. I filed my resignation a week after. Then I left my job last December 2 (after a year & 4 months there). No sadness, anger, or anything. Just… relief. “Finally!” and “I’m freeeeee!” came to mind. I went to the PIID Christmas Party, did some work for someone, bought a gaming laptop (partly for work also).
WHEW. So I was busy with life lol. BUT! Since this is supposed to be my “break month”. I need to do blog posts soon. Really soon. When I have the time. Sigh! Still so many things to do.
Sorry for the rambling.
Life, lately.
I was supposed to blog today but I can’t transfer my phone photos to my laptop. Sigh. And it’s already past midnight so… I’ll try to fix it later after work, hopefully. Speaking of work, this was my desk last week:
I’ve been making efforts on drawing again. That’s a good thing, right? Keeping up the momentum for myself. Though it would be nice if I could spend a whole day painting..
Davao 2016
We celebrated our 8th Anniversary in Davao! So happy that I got to travel again with him for the 3rd time this year. ♥ Again, the main reason for our travels is for the food. My cousin’s family kept on mentioning that Davao has the best seafood. Is it really? Image heavy post ahead!
Breakfast at NAIA 3. I think this is a new food court. Glad that they’re improving the facilities bit by bit.
Lunch at Hukad, SM Lanang. Love the pendant light! I think its inspired from Puso rice?
Guess how much this is? Baked scallops for 150php!
The waiter suggested this dessert to us. Delicious!
That night, we decided to eat at my cousin’s family’s highly recommended place: Ahfat. After googling its location, we discovered that Ahfat 1, 2 and 3 are located at the same complex HAHAHA. We ate at Ahfat 2. Here are some of the stuff that we ordered:
Seafood hotpot for 250php! SO CHEAP. Filled with sea cucumber and various seafood. ♥
Inggo ordered this Bacon roll out of curiosity. Surprisingly good!
Slipper lobster!
We attempted to visit the Aldevinco Pasalubong Center after. Sadly, it closes at 8pm. But we discovered that there’s a night market nearby. The Roxas Night Market is just a few blocks away from the pasalubong center. There are ukay ukay, bags, and food stalls. Got to try genuine gelato for only 35php for 2 scoops! I didn’t get a clear picture but it was so good!
Freshly cooked buchi for 3pcs / 30php! They had choco, ube, and monggo filling. We both loved this ♥.
Buko and Avocado shake priced at 50php.
We went to the night market twice. This is the famed Mang Danny’s durian ice cream. 6 scoops for 30php I think? We braved the long line for this.
A discovery like this is what makes wandering so much fun. Traveling without any expectations is better than being disappointed. I’m glad that it’s the same for him. ♥ We went back to the hotel after that to rest. What they say about the taxi drivers are also true. They’re all honest and actually grateful when you let them keep the change. Kudos also to the help desk of Red Planet for answering my questions in their app.
For our second day, we went up to the mountains to visit Malagos Garden Resort and the Philippine Eagle Center. With the help of google and the Red Planet staff, we opted to commute rather than ride the taxi. Saved us a lot of money!
Lunch at Malagos Garden Resort. They were renovating so we got 50% off their entrance fee. Lucky!
Tuna sashimi for 150php.
Why did we go here? I heard that this place won awards internationally for their chocolate. This one is their hot chocolate. A bit bitter, and fruity.
We found this funny.
There’s a bird sanctuary inside the resort. You could feed the love birds! ♥
I find birds funny looking. Look at the lower right bird! Parang ready mang-aaway HAHAHA.
We then went to Philippine Eagle Center after. It’s located inside the Davao City Water District. Entrance fee for the Water District is 5php, while for the PEC is 150php. Worth it since you’re contributing to the conservation of our national bird.
After PEC, we took a habal habal back to Calinan and rode a van that will take us back to Davao City. We decided to try out the Crab Buffet somewhere in Roxas street.
Before.
After.
Blugre coffee the next day. They’re famous for their durian coffee.
What I bought for myself from the Malagos farm. Chocolate tablea for hot chocolate cravings!
Airline – My aunt taught me that its cheaper to buy airline tickets months before your flight. If there’s a seat sale, grab it since its a good deal already. So for the tickets, we got it for 50% off during a seat sale of one of the airlines here in the Philippines.
Hotel – As for the hotel, well, we booked one a month before our trip HAHA. There are a lot of choices of hotels in Davao with a reasonable price. We chose Red Planet as our hotel. Good price, comfortable room with the basics (bed, hot/cold shower, AC). We found the app pretty useful too.
How to commute to Malagos Garden Resort & Philippine Eagle Center:
- Take a cab/jeep to Bangkerohan. (Taxi can take you straight to Malagos, need to negotiate though).
- Ride a van to Calinan for 40php. (Travel time around 30-45mins)
- Take a tricycle to Malagos for 10php / Habal habal for 20php.
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Looking forward to our next adventure! ♥
Twenty six.
I just turned another year older as of writing. ♥ And I won’t go to work later for the reason that I just want to be happy on my birthday. (Sigh!) Here’s an artwork that I did for a watercolor group. Quickly doodled on my Monologue soft sketch book. They’re a cheaper alternative to Moleskine, around 300-350php. (edit: I found out that they’re around 470php now! Grr!) A lot of PH artists recommend this notebook, so I bought one out of curiosity (and when I finally found a store that has stock). After using it for a couple of artworks, I love it! I want to hoard more. ♥
Singapore 2016
Inggo and I went on an adventure a few weeks ago. It wasn’t our first adventure together, but this trip still had many “firsts”. So let me list some: first overseas trip for me, first overseas trip together, first time to go to a 24 hours open mall, first time to eat a banana-looking and delicious tapioca Thai dessert, first time to go home solo.
I didn’t get to take a lot of pictures because my digicam died and its charger is broken. Eep. But I don’t mind. Live for the experience, right? So here are some photos that I took from my digicam (before it died) and my phone. Picture heavy post ahead!
First agenda when you arrive in Changi Airport: Get a tourist pass! We got the 3-day pass for $30 each ($10 rebatable). Worth it!
We stayed at V Hotel Lavender. It was a good decision since its just beside the MRT.
Lunch at a Kopi Tiam/ Hawker center beside our hotel. Chicken rice is a must in Singapore. ($7.50 in this kopi tiam. Comes with soup and a veggie viand. Delicious!)
It was the weekend before Chinese New Year. So there were a lot of celebrations around the country. This one was at Bugis. I love that there’s only 1 red lantern in this shot.
We didn’t do the touristy route on this trip (a.k.a. Universal Studios / Sentosa / Night Safari). We did have an itinerary though! It was: go to our preferred places (Bras Basah complex for me, Funan mall for him) and eat the recommended food. That’s it. I love having a lot of time for exploring. And I love that its the same for him. That’s why sulit na sulit ang Tourist Pass samin. We don’t stress over the itinerary and just go with the flow. We were supposed to get off at City Hall station but we were too tired from walking from Orchard road. So we just rested and went all the way up to Marina Bay station. HAHA.
Nasi Goreng seafood at Kampong Glam Cafe, Arab street. Looks simple no? But it was full of flavor.
Late night snack at a random hawker center after exploring Little India. Didn’t like the noodles used here but I love that it had oyster bits.
Bras Basah complex. Will do a separate post about it soon.
Funan Digitalife Mall. Near City Hall station. For all your computer needs.
Thai for lunch at Funan. Green curry with chicken for him. Tom Yum Goong for me. It was so spicy + delicious! The surprising item was the dessert. I thought it was pineapple with milk so I didn’t touch mine. But he said it wasn’t so I took a bite. SO. DELICIOUS. I’m still craving for it! After further research, it’s cassava with coconut milk.
We ended up exploring Orchard Road after Funan. For what reason? He wanted to eat at Ippudo.
I don’t remember the name of this. What I remember though is that this is $6 for 4 pieces of delicious meat and onions. HUHU.
Teh Tarik menu. Research the differences between “O”, “C”, “Susu”, etc. for your preferred drink. Teh is “tea”, Kopi is “coffee”. 🙂
Every drink I had in SG was delicious. ♥
Last breakfast in SG. Kopi “O”, Kopi “C”, and Kaya toast. This was beside our hotel. We decided to eat here because of the name – “Heavenly Wang” HAHA. But the food is good. A bit expensive though.
Some tips we learned during our stay:
- Get the tourist pass card! It’s worth the money. Plus you won’t get stressed out when you miss your station/stop. Just ride again HAHA.
- Take the MRT and bus. I’m pretty sure you won’t get lost. SG is a commute friendly country. There are maps inside and outside the station (map for MRT, map of the vicinity) plus the bus schedules are also posted there. If not, you can still ask the MRT staff for help. Also, they have free maps everywhere! I grabbed 3 in Changi HAHAHA.
- Some stations are nearby each other. If you have a problem riding a lot of stations to change lines, just WALK. (Example: to get to Bras Basah from Lavender. You have to ride the green line to City Hall, change to red line to Dhoby Ghaut, then to Bras Basah.)
- Wear comfortable clothes. It’s a hot country, yea?
- Get a sim card. We got one in Changi. It was $15 for 5 days with data. Very useful in case you need to google bus schedules, store locations, operating hours, etc.
- In our opinion, don’t bother going to the malls and restaurants. They’re expensive! Just go to hawker centers / kopi tiam for food. As for shopping. Souvenirs (keychain/bag): cheapest at Bugis street. Perfume/chocolates: Mustafa centre. Art materials: BRAS BASAH COMPLEX. Computer stuff: Eh, they have the latest stuff here but prices are comparable with Philippines. As for clothes: Bugis is the “cheapest”. But “cheap” in SG is $10-$20 = 340php-680php.
- Take advantage of the GST refund. Read more about it here.
Sigh. Thank you to Inggo for bringing me to SG! I had so much fun. Especially since its with you. ♥ (CHOS AHAHA). That’s all for now. Art hoard post coming soon!