Tea with my Newbie

Afternoon Tea with my Gemma

With a couple hours spare, I pulled the bestie away from her very busy motherly duties and took her out to her first afternoon tea experience. I found a small, quiet hotel restaurant just off Belgravia. Nowhere too concealed; although... my Gems somehow managed to get swallowed in by the streets of Victoria and get herself lost. Beyond shadow of doubt, she found her way! 

Distant from the daily stresses of life, we sat & enjoyed the moment. Served with unlimited tea, a selection of finger sandwiches, scones and enough sweet nibbles to keep us chit chatting away. A care-free, chic way to begin the week and with my favourite company =)

"A bit of stardust blown from the hands of God"

Saturday 2nd July was a very special day; my precious little wonderful, Alaya Chanel Apan (my best friend's baby) was finally baptised. The day was blessed with lovely, warm weather perfected to set the occasion. Babygirl made her presence into Our Lady of Lourdes Church with her beautiful Sarah Louise ivory silk robe with a laced overlay. It was a quick and pleasant ceremony surrounded with close friends and family. I was most delighted to attend this wonderful Christening day but even more gratified to have been given the honour to be one of the godparents.

The proud parents & godparents of Alaya Chanel

Gemma, Mark & Alaya

Alaya, Sean & I

The reception followed soon after at a nearby hall and as successful as most Filipino party usually are, there was food. Plenty of it! A buffet of Filipino cuisine & desserts; you were certainly spoilt for choice.

It was a great day for the little one indeed. Thank you Gem, Mark & Alaya for letting me be a part of it. I love you guys x

My precious God daughter, Alaya x

"May the Lord give His angel charge over you, to guide you in all your ways" 

-Psalm 91:11

Congratulations

This post I dedicate to all those I know who took on their PGCE course 2010/11. After a full-on year of hard work, stress and commitment, it must be at your relief to finally say, 'its over'. Technically it isn't, as you still have an amazing journey ahead of you; a responsibility of a lifetime. As I've watched many of you through your course experience, all your hard work has definitely paid of - you're all going to make fantastic teachers. A special acknowledgement goes out to my other half, who to passed his course; I couldn't be more proud of you!

On celebrating their wonderful achievements, I pulled together a gathering at Grace Bar & Restaurant in Piccadilly. Brought by some old familiar faces which was a special touch to the occasion. We drank, we ate, we drank some more... it was a great evening indeed =) Again, well done and all the best throughout your teaching careers.

"Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted." 

~ David Bly

Father's Day Fun

Sunday 19th July: Ohhhh "Happy Days"... so much for a fatherly one though hehe. For a long time, I had plans ready for my old man for this time of the year. However, my Dad had an unforeseen duty to whisk my Mum and his sister away for the weekend, somewhere around England. Although, he wasn't with me, I still felt the need to celebrate, especially that I was so looking forward to it. My boyfriend & I went ahead with the plans and I'm so glad we did. Spent Sunday afternoon at the Refuel Restaurant at SoHo Hotel. I was recommended this place by a dear friend of mine, as she often dines there for tea. We, however, opted for the lunch menu, just because our tummies were in a deep pull for a packed out meal. Indecisive with the menu as the choices were all really enticing, it took us quite a while. 

Both dived into our salmon ceviche, spring onion, fennel in soy dressing for starters (Salmon has now become a huge favourite for us, too delicious). Followed by a fancy pork dish for Sean and chicken for me, both complete with roast potatoes & vegetables. Now, desserts were an experience in itself. For those sweet toothed people, their sticky toffee pudding was absolutely divine. But I have to give my credits to the Eton Mess that I had which hit every single taste bud possible.

 

The day did not end so quick as we had reservations for the private cinema at the hotel to watch Thor 3D. I know its a bit late but that is because we waited for this showing. It was fitted with leather seating complete with popcorn ready and waiting to enjoy the movie. I had the greatest time. Stuffed and very very happy. Thor was fantastic too!

Needless to say, my everdearest father still deserved a treat. He works so hard even though he's a retired man and his guidance & support is the source of my life; such a daddy's little girl. Treating him to a much needed spa day topped with a Senseful Creations card =)

SENSEFUL CREATIONS // Father's Day

Handmade card 'Shirt and Tie' inspired idea.

Half Term Antics

Ahhh... the peaks of working within school grounds and receiving regular breaks which I have now learned, are very necessary to keep staff members sane; just general time to recover. This half term, I decided to stay on English soil. Though I'd often rather ship off somewhere (who wouldn't?!) instead, I spent some good quality time with some great people. Solely worth it!

Here's a run down of a couple of things that this Little Miss got up to:

• Dinner with my chicks at "Hi Sushi, Camden". Apparently, its a well-known restaurant according to my friends but I've obviously been missing out. Now, let me put out there that my boyfriend lives in Camden and I couldn't believe how deprived I was from this area. I must have mentioned it before on previous posts but I have a new found love for Camden. Yes... this experience at this restaurant was sensational. Platters full of favourite sushi rolls and hot nibbles were to die for BUT only made to the third round. Their company was a laugh and full of mischief. Closing our evening rambles with a glass of ice chilled baileys and 90210. Bliss!
• There's always one friend out there... although you don't always talk or hardly see them, you never question their existence because you know they'll always be there. That's my Mimi - its been an extremely long time since I've seen this girl of mine. Despite that time and distance, on meeting & greeting, felt like I only saw her last week. We caught up over a number of drinks on the roof top terrace at "The Big Chill" in Kings Cross. Minutes turned into hours, life complaints turned into jokes. I love this chick toooooo much!
• Fact: Favourite cuisine at the moment is Greek. Long running so far but tummy tingles for other cuisines can be easily persuaded. Sean & I were hungry after, so had a nice, fulfilling dinner of freshly prepared meats at "Karavas", a local Greek restaurant in Camden. Yum-meeeeee!
• On fiddling around our busy schedules, a priority was to see the best friend. A night in, us couples, chinese take-out, general rif raf about whatever. Oh and playtime of course with my precious baby girl Alaya, who is growing up too fast.
• Possible highlight of my weekend was the hen night of my friend, Dipika. More excitingly, my very first attendance at one. Yay! The evening was held at "Kenza Restaurant & Lounge" by Liverpool St. It was an astounding event; the venue itself was extremely alluring with its petal dropped staircases, Arabic decor together with flowers and floating candles. I don't wish to reveal too much about the evening but lets say it was very seductive! Belly dancers, snakes and truly amazing food; Moroccan and Lebanese authentic twist. Divine!

Although a week could never be enough, maybe not so productive either but I had a fantastic one. I cannot wait for the summer holidays. Now, that's a different story.

(I have a couple of photos I wish to include with this post but my hard drive is being a little difficult with me but do stay close)

Huge hello to those who have joined me, thank you for following <3 

British Luxury

Half term finally made its arrival and started with a bang! Friday was hardly much of a school day for me. It was the school's Patronal Festival (St. Philip Neri) and together with a Mass and Awards Ceremony, the school provided a fine dining experience for all the staff members. It was a lovely experience; lots of mingling, laughter & unlimited wine... where could anything go wrong?!

The following day, I had a pleasant start by having traditional afternoon tea with my half at 'The Montcalm' hotel, just off the top of Park Lane. The venue was absolutely refreshing, contemporary and luxurious. We started of with a glass of bubbly (more alcohol... can you believe?) but soon served with finger sandwiches, scones and a selection of pastries and sweet goodness. For the many hours of chit chat we did, the non-stop tea was just perfect and necessary.

 

 

We finished off our day watching the Hangover Part 2, which I found really awesome. Its solid comical set-ups were hilarious and left me in fits of laughter. In all honesty, I still favor the first one though. 

 

Well... looking forward to more fun this week. I will keep you updated my dear followers. Till then, take care and toodles xoxo

Race for Life 2011

After two months worth of training, the day finally arrived: 21st May 2011. Doing 'Race for Life' for the second time. First experience was a thrill, this year round... I had the urge to run without stopping (pah... like the 5k wasn't hard enough lol). Unfortunately, the day before, I started coming down with flu-like symptoms which was a little upsetting. Nevertheless, I pulled myself together for this event; on a natural high from all the motivational messages from everyone - I was more than ready!

Blessed with a beautiful day, Regent's Park was heaving with participants, supporters and PINK (lots of it!) Like before, it was an amazing atmosphere; knowing that all the girls and women were there routing for the same reason, the same cause - to help beat cancer.

I did the run on my own this year and managed to complete it in 33 minutes. I was disturbed by an earlier headache so to my disappointment, I had to stop twice. I fought through till the finish line (the relief, I tell ya) but had the greatest time. Straight into the arms of my boyfriend who supported me the whole way through. I also wouldn't have been so successful without the support from my friends & family - you're always so amazing. For those who donated - you're wonderful and thank you. I've managed to raise my target AND beyond which is fantastic news and makes every muscle pain I'm paying for right now, absolutely worth it.

Whilst I recuperated, we celebrated and had a nice little picnic in the park, watching the others fall through to the finish line. Then, later that evening, I was treated with a lovely candle lit dinner by my love: rocket & salmon starter followed by a parma ham omelette with rice & seasoning. Delicious!

--RACE FOR LIFE 2011--

in memory of Estrella Daludado & Nilo Gasmin

May your souls continue to rest in peace. You're forever missed.  

 "Together we will beat cancer"