Sweet Nothings | Food, Travel, & Lifestyle Blog

Aside from my family's love for great tasting food, we also have a sweet tooth. :) And Brownies Unlimited is just one of stores that cater to our craving for sweets.

i ♥ brownies

You can choose from a variety of brownies and buy a single piece for Php 15 or have the pre-assorted packs which come in boxes of 4's, 6's, and 12's. My family usually gets the 12-pak pre-assorted brownies. I must say that all of the variants taste good, but Walnut Swirl is my favorite! :)

12-pak pre-assorted brownies - Php 142

(Choc 'o Chip, Rocky Road, Pebble Beach, Walnut Swirl, Kiss Kross, Double Fudge)

Another family favorite are the Silvanas. These meringues with butter cream icing coated with vanilla butter cake crumbs are really a heaven for me. I can actually eat up to 3 Silvanas if I'm not on a diet haha! :p

Silvanas - Php 27/pc, Php 150 (box of 6)

Gia enjoying her Silvanas

And the best way to eat these sweet treats is to match it with their iced coffee. I love their iced coffee! ♥♥♥

Iced Coffee - Php 55

Still haven't tried their cakes and cup cakes but I bet they're yummy as well. ;)

BROWNIES UNLIMITED
3F SM City Taytay

Last Monday, when we went to SM City Taytay to shop around. If there's one thing that most girls would love to shop for, it would be shoes! So after shopping for a few shirts, we went straight to the ladies' shoes section of the department store.

My mom was looking for espadrille wedge sandals but the styles didn't appeal to her style. After hours of searching she found one from Parisian. It was the last pair and though it was not an espadrille she still wanted it since it looked nice, unfortunately it didn't fit her well. Good thing it was a perfect fit for me. :)

I'm guilty of having a shoe fetish (just like my dad haha!). :p But I'm not so much into of flats. I just have a few pairs of flats, plus a few pairs of flip flops. I'm more into shoes with at least 3-inch heels. :) So just imagine how my eyes sparkled when my mom told me to just take the sandals since it was the last pair yipee!

Mine: Off-white Wedge Sandals from Parisian - Php 699

When I knew that Mark was leaving, I kept on praying that God would give us just a few more days to spend together. I was greatly hoping for him to still be here with me even just up to this day. But oh well, he really had to leave too soon.

He's been away for a couple of weeks now but I still haven't gotten over his absence. Ever since he left, everyday is just like one of those days where everything seems to remind me of him. Every song I hear relates to him. Everyday just makes me miss him even more...

Today marks our 6th year of being in love, and yes, I hate days like today, because they remind me of the one thing which I don't have. And I feel so sad for not having him here with me to celebrate this special day.

But then again, when I look back and reminisce about all our happy times together...

He loves doing this to me! :p

and look at how great our love for each other has become, despite all the bad things that happened, I start to feel fine.

Mark and I had been through a lot for the past years, been through every obstacle that we can imagine, had a million fights and sleepless nights, but we are still able to get past all of them.

Mark and I being crazy..in love! :p

And us being apart for so long has got to be one of the biggest challenges that we have to face. But I always tell myself that this distance should never be an obstacle for us. I just treat each day as if he will already be coming back home tomorrow. And just the thought of being with him tomorrow is enough to get me through the day. :)

It doesn't matter how far apart we are, we do not really need to see each other everyday to be in love. It's hard, well yes, it really is, but our love for each other is the one thing that gets us through each day. And his promise is what keeps me holding on... :)

No matter how painful this distance could be, no matter how long we will have to be apart, I take comfort in the fact that he will come back home, that we will be together again, that we will be able to hold each others' hands and fill the emptiness in each others' hearts. :)

I miss you so much Makoy! Happy 6th Anniversary! Looking forward to a lifetime of love with you! I love you! :)

Mark and I usually go out on Fridays and Saturdays when he was still here in the Philippines. But now that he's already in Qatar, I can no longer have weekend dates with him anymore, or at least in the next two years.

I already got lunch/dinner invites from friends, but I was still not in the mood to go out, so here's how I spent my first weekend without Mark.

Most people cling to food whenever they feel blue. They say that eating somehow makes sad people feel better. So I spent the weekend by having a scrumptious feast with my family! Haha! :p And here's what we had for lunch:

First on the table were Crabs in Coconut Milk, which is definitely our family's favorite! Every time I eat crabs I am reminded of Mark. This is one of Mark's favorite too, but he seldom eats this unless I separate the crab meat from the shell for him!

Crabs in Coconut Milk

Next is the Cream Dory Steak. Whenever I ask Mark which of my dad's specialties his favorite is, Cream Dory would always be in the list. May it be steak or with tofu in sweet and sour sauce, may he be on a diet or not, cream dory will always be a hit for Mark. My dad knows how Mark loves cream dory. There was one time that he prepared a separate dish, a whole fillet, just for Mark, while the rest of us just had to share on what's left! :p

Cream Dory Steak

We also had Sinigang na Maya-maya sa Miso. I don't usually eat fish with soups, but this is Mark's favorite especially if he's on a diet.

Sinigang na Maya-maya sa Miso

If there's one thing that Mark can eat in huge amounts when he's on a diet, it's seafood and fruits! So I bet this Squid Steak will definitely appeal to Mark's taste. :)

Squid Steak

We also had some fruits for dessert. :) Whenever Mark comes over our house, he would always ask for some bananas when he feels hungry. :p

Bananas, Atis, and Oranges

The feast continued up to merienda...

Mark could be so strict when he's on a diet, but can also be so craving and would eat anything, just like any other guy, when he's not on diet. Oh, I can just imagine him eating these mouth-watering dishes! :)

Pancit Malabon

Mark always helps me whenever we grill pork barbecue at home. He would always have a taste test and get a stick or two as we do the grilling. :p

Pork Barbecue

Mark doesn't always get to eat 'kakanin' in Caloocan. So whenever he's in our house and we have 'kakanin', you would always see him eating a lot of it, especially his favorite Biko. :p

Puto

Kutsinta

And for dinner we had another set of irresistible treats which I'm sure Mark would really enjoy. :)

Squid Tempura

Cream Dory Tempura

Buttered Veggies

At first I thought all these food will somehow lessen my longing for Mark, but oh well, these just made me miss him more! :) Wish you were here Mark! Can't wait for our next food trip together! :)

...a little too often, and a little too much!

Everything seemed to have happened too soon. I can still remember Mark telling me about how he was able to get a call from someone offering him work in Qatar. He took the offer and within just less than 2 weeks, his papers were processed. Until finally he was all ready to go.

Just days before he left, I already had my mind set that he will be away for a long time. I already have accepted the fact that we will have to be apart. But I never thought that it would be a lot harder!

I stayed in their house last Friday and spent the night with him. Saturday morning came and I accompanied him to the airport. It was the loneliest Saturday that I ever had! I told myself that I won't cry, but my heart broke the moment I saw tears rushing down from Mark's eyes when we had our last hug and kiss. And up to now I still find myself in tears everytime I remember that very moment. :'(

It's been just a few days since Mark left, but it feels like he's been away for years! I miss him so much! Not being able to see him, be with him, and hold him as much as I want have got to be the hardest things that I'd ever have to do. But missing him gets a lot easier everyday knowing that even though we are another day further from the last time we hugged and kissed, we know that we are another day closer to the next time we will.

Since Mark left, he has always been telling me that things will all be fine. That we just need to believe and have faith in Him. That we just have to be strong and know that we will still have each other no matter what. And this is what really keeps us going.

Mark, now that we are miles apart, I won't be there to take care of you. So please take good care of yourself, for me, ok? And always be good! Don't forget to pray. Don't worry about your mom, I'm here for her. :)

I love you so much my boy! Come back home soon! :D

It was my mom's birthday last August 5. Since her birthday fell on a weekday, we just had a simple dinner at home. On our way home from work, my dad and I bought some food for dinner.

We bought Pancit Malabon along Ortigas Avenue. We just had the smallest 'bilao' which is good for 4-6 persons. We first thought it wouldn't be enough for us since the bilao was just like the size of a usual plate, but we were surprised to see that the pancit was overflowing. The serving was generous and the taste was just fine, but it should have been more tasty if they added in more salt. :p

We decided to pair the pancit with pork barbecue. Good thing we were able to pass by a barbecue stand on our way home. The barbecue was good. The meat was tender and I love that it wasn't even charred at all.