Coping with bff @ Papa John's SM City Fairview

Last night, I had the chance to cope with my highschool bestfriend Miles. It's been awhile since we last had a bonding moment and its great to know nothing changed after nearly twelve years.

She treated me for dinner @ Papa John's. I ordered Diablo Burst (w/c i didn't think was spicy, silly me!), she had her carbonara palate and we ordered cheese stick for an appetizer. I didn't get the chance to taste her carbonara but my penne wasn't really that bad. It has the taste of Italy where pastas are to be sour. The only downside (atleast for me) is it's chili flavor ( i ain't fond of eating spicy foods). The cheese stick was just so perfect. The dough is not overly cooked and the cheese has just the right taste. (can't find the word that suites ei? haha).  I would order from their spread of pizzas next time I visit them.

Anyway, its always nice to see your bestfriend not changing even if time flies extremely fast. She remained as 'makulit' as she is. I've known her since way back 2001 when I had to transfer to another  school for my secondary education. It has been a rough 12 years for both of us. Since we're always together during highschool, people always compare us to each other. We often had petty fights because of that. We even came to a point where we stopped communicating with each other because of some silly reasons. But now I am effin' glad we surpassed it all. I am thankful to have a friend who listens to my woes and laughs at my corny jokes..I'm expecting loads of 'lakwacha' with her this year. :D

Madge's Christening overview

Yes, my Baby Madge's Baptism is done. But I still wanted to make a summary of what really pushed through with the checklist I made weeks before the event. 

1.) Church - Yes, Sto. Domingo is our final choice

The Altar

Price:

P 1,500.00 = Individual / Special Baptism w/ 1 pair of sponsor free

P 2,000.00 = for the Godparents

          P 100.00 = per succeeding sponsor  ( Madge have 11pairs )

TOTAL:

P 3,500.00 - P 1,000.00 (discount)

=P 2,500.00

2.) Catering Service - Yes, we really had Stars n Sun as our final caterer. I loved the design of the function room.

Here are the foods they served and the decorated function room:

carbonara

stir fried veggies

shanghai

roasted chicken

beef with mushroom in gravy sauce

fruit platters

choco dips and choco fountain

mallows

biscuits

wafer sticks

red velvet cupcakes from Epicurean Cupcakes

cupcake tower, cupcake and bear souvenirs

juice fountain

i really love this!!

the friendly staffs

Price:

P 22,175.00 ( 250/head for 70pax + 20% service charge + 1,750 upgrade fee from pancit canton to carbonara)

3.) Function Room = uh huh! Sto. Domingo Function Room, St. Thomas Hall it is! :)

Price:

P 3,500.00

4.) Invitations - main invite layout from Rads, and another layout of the Godparents made by yours truly..

main invite, forgot to place the time

Godparents

invitations

Price:

Photo paper (water proof) = P 50.00

Ribbons = P 9.00/yard (9 yards thick one) P2.00/yard (3 yards thin) = P 87.00

Paper for envelope = (P42.00 per piece, 2pcs.) = P84.00

P 221.00

5.) Souvenirs - cute little teddy bear keychains in acetate boxes from Divisoria for P40.00 each

cute bears

Price

P 2,000.00

6.) Photo Booth = a so-so layout and super konting props, is what I got from a discouned online voucher. But their prints are great.

layout

me, sleeping Madge and hubby

Price

P 2,699.00

7.) Cupcakes = I got 60 pcs from Epicurean cupcakes, 25 boxed, for the Godparents and 35 not boxed for other guests, this also served as Madge's Baptismal cake. P50.00/pc

Price

P 3,000.00

red velvet cupcake (grabbed from Epicurean's fb page)

8.) Photographer / Videographer = Hubby didn't pursue with his friend so we got Kuya Boyet (BusinessWorld's photographer) instead.

Price

P 1,500.00

I am very grateful to the guests who spent their precious time to join Madge's baptism and I am super happy with the outcome of my much planned event. Now, I can't wait to plan for Madge's first birthday on November..:D

Expenses:

Church                    =    P   2,500.00

Catering Service     =    P 22,175.00

Function Room       =    P  3,500.00

Invitations               =     P    221.00

Souvenirs                =     P 2,000.00

Photo Booth            =     P 2,699.00   

Cupcakes                =      P 3,000.00

Photographer         =      P 1,500.00

TOTAL:                         P 37,595.00

Madge's Christening Checklist

Since January of this year, I busied myself in planning and preparing for my baby Madge's Christening, from looking for the best church, to the invitations, catering service, photo booth and souvenirs. I went from sulit to multiply market place and facebook to search for the best stuffs for my little pearl's big day. I even read online forums to give me a clue on what to do on her baptism.

And now, 3 weeks before the event, I am so happy that I am almost done with all the preparations. (payments nalang ang kulang which has to be made on the day itself)

Here's a checklist of Madge's Christening:

1.) Church - Actually, I have 2 churches in mind; St. Peter's Parish in Fairview Quezon City and Sto. Domingo Parish in Quezon Ave., also in Q.C.
                   Why St. Peter? because we live near the place and it will be of easy access to us. And why Sto. Domingo Parish? Because most of the guests and the sponsors know the church and it will be hassle free for them going there.
                   In the end, I chose Sto. Domingo Parish, not only for the guests but also because they make me feel like a V.I.P. and I had discounts c/o Michelle Quezada (one of Madge's Godmothers). She works as a volunteer there that's why she knows the church people and she has really good access to the schedules.  hehe.

Price:
P 1,500.00 = Individual / Special Baptism w/ 1 pair of sponsor free
P 2,000.00 = for the Godparents
          P 100.00 = per succeeding sponsor  ( Madge have 11pairs )

TOTAL:
P 3,500.00 - P 1,000.00 (discount)
=P 2,500.00

2.) Catering Service - Originally, Max's Restaurant was the reception in my mind after Madge's Christening. Since Max's Q. Ave. Branch is just one jeepney away from the church, i thought it will be easy for the guest to proceed there after the baptismal ceremony. Besides, the restaurant already have their baptismal package (with invitations, souvenirs, etc.) so it will be a lot easier for me to plan for other important things for the event. But when they changed their baptismal packages, I decided not to get them. (medyo nagtaas kasi sila ng packages)
                   So, after searching the world wide web for a budget friendly catering service, I tumbled upon Stars n Sun Catering Service. (their website here) It was also referred to me by Michelle (again) and she stated good reviews regarding their service. So with no but's, I decided to have them for the baptism. I got the package worth P 275/head with complete set up, BOTTOMLESS fresh fruit fountain, and a free chocolate fountain with dips.

Price:
P 21,175.00 ( 275/head for 70pax + 10% service charge)

3.) Function Room = Sto. Domingo has a reception area which is usually rented for weddings and baptismal. The St. Thomas Hall's rate is P 7,000.00. But we're lucky enough that our caterer has a tie up with Sto. Domingo that's why we had the function room for 50% off.

Price:
P 3,500.00

4.) Invitations - To be honest, I had lots of designs I personally made for the invitations. But in the end, I decided to get the help of my officemate, Rads for the layout. I only had to buy the photo paper, ribbons and scented papers for the envelopes from National bookstore and printed it somewhere free. :D

Price:
Photo paper (water proof) = P 115.00
Ribbons = P 50.00
Scented Paper = P 80.00-P 100.00
P 265.00

5.) Souvenirs - when I saw the cute teddy bear in acetate box on an online store, I thought this would be the perfect giveaway for Madge's Christening. So when I got the chance to visit Divisoria, I looked for it and purchased 50pcs for 40pesos each. It's cheaper compared to the 55pesos online price. It's already complete with the ribbon and tag and acetate box.
                   The only thing which broke my heart is when I found out I'm missing one piece. I only got 49pcs of the souvenirs. Worst, I counted the giveaways at home that's why I didn't get the chance to get that one piece. I tried to text the shop yet they didn't reply.
                   If you're planning to buy from Divisoria, I advise you to count the souvenirs first before leaving the shop. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they only miscounted the stuffs.

Price
P 2,000.00

6.) Photo Booth = It was never my plan to have a photo booth on Madge's baptism. Not only that it costs too much and its out of the budget but I also feel this isn't necessary. but when I bumped to Ensogo's great deals and saw a Photobooth worth 2,699 for a 3 hour photobooth package, I grabbed it. (Ensogo's a website which offers discounted deals)
                   Iclique photo by Perfect Moments Photobooth (check rates here) gives us a very good deal of 3 hours unlimited shots with free standee, an onsite master, customized photo layout, backdrop, soft copy on CD and props. At first, I had a hard time contacting and communicating with them but they assured and confirmed me that they have already saved and scheduled May 18 for me.

Price
P 2,699.00

7.) Cupcakes = This wasn't also on my list but when I saw events which has cupcake towers, I feel I got to have it for my angel's Christening. Kim, an online blogger and a friend (also one of Madge's Godmothers) has an online shop (Epicurean Cupcakes) offering baked goodies specially made by her sister. They sell cupcakes for 50 pesos each piece, already with box and/or cake topper. There's an additional of 120.00 for the tower.

Price
P 2,500.00

8.) Photographer / Videographer = Of course, this would never be out of my list. We are lucky Fritz has a photographer friend who works in a photo shop. He only asked us for P 1,500.00 pesos for his fee and for the camera rentals. (He doesn't have his own DSLR so he has to rent from the shop)

Price
P 1,500.00

It's roughly 3 weeks before Madge's big day from now and I'm a super excited and a little nervous at the same time. :)

Expenses:
Church                    =    P   2,500.00
Catering Service     =    P 21,175.00
Function Room       =    P  3,500.00
Invitations               =     P    265.00
Souvenirs                =     P 2,000.00
Photo Booth            =     P 2,699.00   
Cupcakes                =      P 2,500.00
Photographer         =      P 1,500.00
TOTAL:                         P 36,139.00

Celebrating my 25th Birthday with mi hubby @ Orange Nest Hotel

Having an 8month old baby tummy didn't stop me from celebrating my 25th birthday. Originally, I bought a voucher worth 949 instead of 1900 for 2 persons with free breakfast in a suite at Orange Nest Hotel from Metro Deal for my baby shower. But since I realized we wouldn't fit in one hotel room, I just bought a 1br suite from the office for the event. Take note, Orange Nest Hotel Suite only fits a maximum of 5 persons.

And so I decided to use it for my 25th birthday bonding with hubby. The room is ok. It doesn't look like a suite for me, its actually more of a standard to deluxe room (didn't reach my expectations).

The Facade

Orange Nest Hotel is located at Malate Manila. The place is suited at a residential area and is near many 'carinderias'. It has its well known coffee shop which is Kape Pilato that offers different mixes of coffees and yummy cakes.

Kape Pilato

The hotel doesn't have a decent lobby like the other hotels. The staffs didn't welcome us with a warm smile and we even had a hard time requesting for a ref inside our room which is supposed to be automatically there.

Anyway, upon entering our room, I felt really disappointed. The room didn't look like a suite...at all! It's small. A double sized bed, cabinet, 24 inch (or smaller) LCD TV, will welcome you.

4th floor lobby

4th floor's mini veranda

Toilet and bathroom with hot and cold shower

laundry room like-area, Fritz's smoking room

Due to budget constraint, we packed some food we can have for our dinner and brought foods from the house.

Fritz ordered me a slice of chocolate cake...

ugliness ng preggy-ness

Another thing which broke my heart is the breakfast!! eerrr!! I regret paying the room service fee! My pancake menu was ok, hubby's Filipino breakfast is good, but my gawd! The coffee wasn't even hot and my ICED tea was merely a tea minus the ice. It took us more than an hour for our breakfast to be delivered in the room.

A pancake, slices of apple and pear, hotdogs and my iced tea.

adobong baboy and manok with fried egg and fried rice

the lukewarm coffee

All in all review?
*The place wasn't really astounding
*The receptionist wasn't friendly
*The staffs who delivered our breakfasts were nice
*HOT coffee should be HOT and ICED tea should have ICE
*Room service is always late!

Im glad we had a great bonding time amidst all the 'kapalpakan'

Baby Shower (Fernandina 88 Suites Review)

I chose Fernandina 88 Suites for my baby shower last October 28, 2012. I got a GC from my office worth 50% off its original price. A deluxe 1 bedroom suite with free buffet breakfast for two for only P1,999.00 instead of P4,000+.

Before I even decided to choose Fernandina 88 Suites, I made sure that I can have my party here, with no corkage fees for foods and drinks and up to 10:00 p.m. allotted time for guests. That's why I was a little disappointed when the receptionist had to call my attention about having a party inside the room when they allowed me to have my baby shower when I asked them beforehand. My hubby and friends tried to bring liquors inside the room and the guards didn't let them in. They had to call me from our room and I had to talk to the receptionist and tell him I wasn't informed we cannot have beers inside the suite for they allowed me to have a party. (of course I know its their SOP yet I made this up so as  not to spoil my baby shower..hehehe)

Okay, over all, I am still satisfied with their services. :)

I had the deluxe 2 bedroom suite because they said no 1br suite is available that time. I thought I would have the other room for free yet, they locked it. Clever. hehe.

Upon entering, the living room with the sofa bed (yes it is a sofa bed) and T.V. will greet you. Here's where we held the baby shower. 

On the other side is the kitchen and dining area. I think utensils are by request. They don't store their kitchenwares inside their cabinets.

The cabinets and drawers don't have anything inside..the ref is full of foodies and liquors (w/c of course is not for free)

The room is actually big for just two persons. It's spacious that hubby's friends got to do their bonding moment here.

Medyo magulo na kasi I forgot to take pictures before the party started and before the guests arrived.

without the lights

with the lights

The toilet and bathroom is okay with all the toiletries good for two.

clean with hot&cold shower

The buffet breakfast wasn't really extra special. The typical hotel breakfasts were served. (American and Filipino cuisine). What made it really nice is the suuuuper accommodating staffs who welcomed us with warm smiles upon entering the Roof Deck Bar and Restaurant. We were lucky we're the only guests having breakfast that time that's why we had a good spot.

Solong solo namin ang resto

buffet table, a spread of all the yumminess

fresh fruits, veggies, breads and pastries

 pineapple juice, mango iced tea, cereals, eggs

like most buffet breakfast tables, they also offer cooking your preferred egg

hubby not liking me taking his picture..:))

I don't really drink coffee so I ordered hot choc to complete my meal. Like some other breakfast buffet, Roof Deck Resto and Bar don't offer the hot choc on the free breakfast buffet so I don't have much of a choice but to order it.

All in all, I really had a good stay at Fernandina 88 Suites.