Blogging Beijing

After ages and ages of deliberately ignoring my blog, I finally found the courage to pay it a visit. I’ve been busy like crazy the past few months, hopping from task to task, that even one quick glance at this journal could not be squeezed in. :( Anyway, enough explaining. Nobody cares anyway. My absence is a biggie to no one but me. :) Let’s move on, shall we?

As I was browsing through my posts, I noticed I haven’t written about my out of the country travels, not even our honeymoon trip a year and a half ago! Well, it’s better late than never. So today, let me blog about Beijing. 

Rolly and I got married on the 8th of November 2012, and a couple of days after that, we flew straight to one of the most populous cities in the world, Beijing.  Having a history buff for a husband, it was a must that we set foot on the famous Great Wall of China. :)

We went to Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall. :)

Pardon the silly face. =P

This shot just had to be taken at the watchtower.  We're honeymooners, remember? ;)

Aside from the scenery, there are two things that I cannot forget about our Great Wall visit.  First is the hike up, second is the slide down.

See how 'secure' those cable cars look?! I was scared sh*tless!
But if you wanna go up to the top, be prepared for an adrenalin ride.

The slide down was much easier with the Toboggan ride! :) It looks pretty daunting but it's really not.
One person per toboggan. (Photo not mine, both Rolly and I obviously could not take a photo of each other here. Got this from Google Images.)

Aside from the Great Wall, there are many other spots in and around Beijing that's worth a visit.  Rolly and I also went to see the Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, the Drum Tower, Jingshan Park, and even Beijing Zoo! :)

By the way, ours was not a DIY itinerary.  We knew China was not as tourist-friendly as its neighboring countries, so we got a private tour for two that we had customized.  We got the services of a local travel agency (www.tour-beijing.com) to guarantee that we won't get lost in the city and that every second would be well spent. We were assigned an English-speaking guide who made us appreciate the trip much more, her name's Cady. :)

This is sweet Cady who never got tired of taking our photos! :)

So, will we ever go back to Beijing?  Of course! There are many places left unseen, a lot of other activities left un-experienced.  We didn't even get to try the street food!!! :( Well, let's just say we made sure there would be something more to go back to. ;)

Cheers,

Choco Peanut Pleasure

After the hundreds of cupcakes I made last Christmas season, I went on a baking hiatus. Napagod kasi.  Hehe.  But that was only until the end of January when the baking diva inside me started doing a SuperPoke, reminding me that I hadn't practiced in a month!  So off I headed to the kitchen where I saw an unopened jar of peanut butter waiting to be used in an experiment. Napakanta pa ako... 'Lily's lang talagaaaaa' a la Daniel Padilla.  Hahaha. =D  Now it's pretty obvious what I did next.  I started baking!  

First, I baked moist chocolate cuppies using a new recipe that has mayonnaise.  It's much better than my old recipe! The cupcakes are much more moist and delish.  The caveat, however, is the fact that they don't rise as much.  The choco cuppies may be smaller, but I think the flavor well compensates for the size. :)  I decided I'm sticking to this recipe from now on.  

Now let's go to the peanut butter frosting.  As usual I didn't want it to be more sweet and sinful than it already is, so I paired it with cream cheese.

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 8-ounce cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Directions:

1. Sift powdered sugar into a large bowl.  

2. Add the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until smooth.

4. Start piping! :)

Here they are, my Moist Chocolate Cuppies with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese frosting! :)
Choco Peanut for short! ;)

Cheers,

Hello 2014! :)

Bitstrips version of ourselves  =D

Today is the first day of 2014, and I'm in an inexplicably positive mood.  I dunno.  I'm just... HAPPY. :)

So, how did we celebrate New Year's eve, you ask?

Of course there's the traditional NYE meal, or Media Noche as we call it.  The dinner table can't do without these different round fruits! :)  We had grapes, apples, oranges, ponkan and dalandan, we had a melon, watermelon, pomelo, and pear.  There were guava and chico as well.  Ooopsie daisies, don't count!  I knooow, these are only eleven.  The chestnuts didn't make it to New Year's eve because we already ate them a day ahead!  Hehe.  Oh well, there were ham, sopas, sandwiches and brownies to compensate. =P

At 10pm, Rolly and I went to church to celebrate  mass.   We wore our terno Universal Studios shirts because we served as lectors and we had to be in white.  We got back home 20 minutes before 12 midnight, and we just had to take this selfie! :)  Rolly's face was the same in all four shots!  Boooooring. =P  Hahaha.  Kidding, my love!

Excuse the photo quality please! =/

And then the clock hit twelve! HELLO 2014! :)

Fortunately, we had wealthy neighbors who did not seem to care about spending thousands and thousands of pesos on fireworks.  We were at the comfort of our own veranda sharing with them the same night sky and the same beautiful display of lights we did not spend a cent on.  Hehe. =D We were satisfied with our teeny tiny Roman candles and little happy & noisy torotots!  And of course, we didn't let the moment pass without the pangpatangkad new year juuuuuuump!  Oh yes, we firmly believe that we can still grow taller, even at 31 (Rolly) and 28 (me).  Hahaha.  Talk about optimism. ;)

Thank you for these photos Kuya Rolan (Rolly's brother)! :)  And for spending New Year's Eve with us! :)

It was indeed a happy New Year's eve for hubby and me.  But at the end of it all, after the firecrackers stopped setting off, after the night sky was cleared from all the lovely fireworks, we're back to reality.  Just Rolly and me.  Similar to last year's NYE, we ended the night (no, it was already morning ;)) by talking to our Father and thanking Him for everything He has given us in 2013.  He blessed us with so much, as He always has... a loving home, amazing parents whom He has kept healthy and strong, our brothers, our friends, our bosses, our job... this list could go on and on and on.  That's how great our God is!  In our prayer, we asked Him to bless our brand new list of things to accomplish in 2014.  Like last year, Rolly and I sat down and agreed on what we want to achieve in the next 12 months.  We know that as usual, God will hold our hand and guide us once more so that we could tick every one of these off the bucket list. ;)

Hmm, I just realized, I now understand why I'm in a super positive mood which I described as inexplicable at the start of this blog entry.  It's not inexplicable at all!  I am in high spirits because I am excited about what lies ahead this year.  I may not know what's out there for me and for us, but my faith tells me that it will all be good!  After all, it's God who has planned out everything, right?  All His plans are perfect... who wouldn't be delighted?  :)

So cheers to a blessed 2014!  Cheers to a brand new year, a chance for new beginnings! :)



Jumping for joy,

My 2013 #FOODstagram

At the onset of this year, one in my 2013's list of things-to-accomplish was to learn to cook at least 10 dishes. Remember that when we got married in Nov 2012, I had zero knowledge in the kitchen and I thought Jan 2013 was a good month to start (yes, I chose to wait for 2 months post-wedding before I realized I should learn, lest we'd die in hunger, hehe).  

Now 12 months has already passed, and last night, I counted the new dishes I now know how to cook, at least the ones which I captured and posted on Instagram.  I did twelve!  Yippee! :)

Clockwise from left:  Nilagang spareribs, Sinampalukan, Spaghetti, Pork Sinigang, Adobo, and Tinola.

Clockwise from left:  Chopsuey, Lechon Paksiw, Fried Tilapia, Tuna Pesto Fetucinni, Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw

Not all of these were a success though.  Just look at that massacred tilapia and the super masabaw pork adobo.  But as they say, practice makes perfect, and try and try until you die/succeed (hahahahahahaha)! =D  I know there'll come a time when I'll be able to serve that perfectly fried fish on our dinner table. =P

My #FOODstagram target for 2014?  Dishes like menudo, caldereta, afritada, and the like.  I don't know how you call these, but I prefer calling them mga masarsang ulam vs. the mga masabaw (i.e. sinigang, nilaga, etc.).  Hehe.

Oops, speaking of food, it's time to eat now!  Bye bye! :)


Cheers,