Weekend Food Tripping at: CAV Wine Shop/Cafe

Happy weekend food tripping!  Weekends are always great to sit back, relax and talk about the week's worth with friends and family.  I am very busy this weekend but nothing can stop me from enjoying the food that's served!  I call them "Blessings!"  

I attended an event with fellow bloggers and we were served food that literally calls for all my 5 senses.  Wonderful lunch at CAV Wine Shop/Cafe.

I've been in this cafe twice, both for events and their food and snacks never fail to put a huge smile on my tummy!  Wanna see?

Mini sandwich with ham and cheese

Beautynomist and my favorite, the Mini Cheese Pizza

(not sure the exact name but this tastes great!)

Imagine the crust of this pizza is the same texture as croissant

Iced Tea

Young Arugula Salad

Watermelon and Cherry Tomato Confit, Parmesan Crisp

I can defeinitely chow down 10 Parmesan Crisps!!!  Tastes like cookies!

Meuniere of Lemon Sole

Roasted Barley Risotto, Sprouts, Caper Mousse, Champagne Froth

A closer look on my favorite Risotto

And for dessert, Hannah knew how excited I am with this!

Flourless Chocolate

With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Rich chocolate brownie with Vanilla flavored ice cream on top that melts perfectly inside your mouth

I wasn't able to finish this though, not because I'm on a diet, because I was full!

CAV Wine Shop and Cafe

Bonifacio High Street
Quadrant 8, Fort Bonifacio Global Cito
5th Avenue Taguig, Metro Manila
Tel. no: (632) 856-1798
Shop hours: Mondays to Thursdays 11:00am to 12:00am
Fridays and Saturdays: 11:00am to 2:00am

Thanks Hannah for helping me take this shot, this is how a full and contented person looks like!  Watch out for my new nail art design!  A sneek peak...a bit stripey eh?  Check back for the tutorial soon!

Note on my really cute bracelet gifted to me by Shen 2 years ago?  Yup, I still wear it!  I love it!  Simple top from Forever21 by the way!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Readers' Corner: "What's The Deal With Expensive Polishes?"

I have been asked gazillion times on my take on really expensive nail polishes as compared to the inexpensive ones.  Aside from the yellowing and all those ingredients concern, in which I don't really look into detail on it as I always make sure to use a base coat to protect my nails.  One thing I learned over the week.  Expensive polishes do last longer compared to the cheaper alternatives. 

Take one example of my California Girls (Katy Perry) inspired nail art.  You can smile and click HERE to look back on the exact date I posted this and mind you, I've done this 2 days earlier before I posted this.  And I was busy over the weekend so I didn't get the chance to redo my nail art.  Take a look at my nails at present.  Oh before I do, here's my nail condition ---

1. Types the whole day at work and types after work for the blog

2. Type really hard and quick (my colleagues can attest to that)

3. Helps my mom cook at times for dinner

4. Dishwashing without gloves

5. Frequently washes my hands as I'm OC remember? Not to forget, I carry along an alcohol spritz and I love spritzing my hands with alcohol *lol*

In case you forget, here's my nail using Orly Nail Lacquer in Cotton Candy
(Thanks Sol for this)

 

And this was the "newly-done" design 2 weeks ago

Using the same base coat and top coat, here's my current ugly nails after exactly 13 days! You can literally see my nails grew approximately 1 cm longer.

Most of the drugstore nail polish lasts approximately 5-7 days depending on nail art design.  First sign of chipping always starts on my pinkie fingernail as pointed out on photo below.

The more expensive nail polish Orly lasted 2 full weeks without chipping!

If I may add, my nails has grown and it looks totally ugly, so please bear with it as I can't!  Hahaha.  Take a closer look on the photo below, the blue polish is starting to fade (as pointed by arrow) but the Orly Cotton Candy polish stayed.

I guess this post proved that expensive polishes do have some benefits --- Pigmented, Shiny and Long Lasting!  You do get what you pay for!  To some who find these polishes too expensive for their taste, no worries!  You can change your polish weekly like the way I do!  It's just a matter of preference!

Hope this post helps a lot of "wondering" readers out there! 

Thanks for asking me this query and I enjoyed this experiment!
Now time to get my nail polish remover and start another nail art design!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Something New: The Portable Pick-Me-Up

Gone were the days when roll-on are meant for underarms!  When it comes to eye cream, a few are consistent with application as the extra step is just too much for busy people.  That's when companies start to listen to lazy consumers *ahem..me!* and create products for our convenience.

The first eye roll-on I've tried is from a drugstore brand Garnier Light Brightening Eye Roll-On.  Would you believe my favorite skincare brand Clinique has finally came up with their own version!

**photo courtesy of Clinique

The New Clinique All About Eyes Serum De-Puffing Eye Massage has instantly cooling rollerball that deposits a liquid gel-serum to help massage and refresh puffy eyes on contact, reduce the appearance of dark circles and brighten.  The best part?  This is said to be non-irritating!

I've used All About Eyes Eye cream and this same product was created by the same original dermatologist.  Unique ingredients Amentoflavone and Humulus Lupulus Extract are included which has soothing properties to make the eye area calm and let's not forget the de-puffing ingredient --- Caffeine!

 

Allergy Tested 100% Fragrance Free, Oil-Free, Non-clogging.  Dermatologist Tested, Ophthalmologist Tested.  Safe for contact wearers.

New Clinique All About Eyes Serum will be available July 2010 at Clinique counters nationwide and at www.clinique.com for suggested retail price of Php1,800 (approx $39.00)

Have you tried this?  How do you find it?

Do you think its worth it for me to purchase?

Keep smilin'

Stay happy!

Tech Report: Cherry Mobile's Press Conference with John Lloyd and Kim Chiu

Good Friday everyone!  There may not be electricity still at home but hey!  I'm ready with this scheduled post!  I was going to report about this right after the event last Saturday but my weekend was packed so here we are!  I'm almost a week late on my reporting!  As always, better late than never right?

When the wonderful people from m2comms invited me for this event, the email entitled "Cherry Mobile's Press Conference with John Lloyd Cruz and Kim Chiu" really got me!  I wanted to meet Kim Chiu in person!  *laughs* Yup!  It's Kim Chiu because I've seen John Lloyd in person way back!  

The event was held at Annabel's Restaurant, Thomas Morato.  It was timed at 12nn and the time conscious Nikki got there 11:45am!  I was able to salivate on the food available for guests!  These, can't wait for weekend food tripping! 

Yummy cupcakes and brownies

Fish and Meat

Pastas and more Meat

My favorite Lasagna!

Salad

I was seated together with the lovely people from traditional media.  I've met a lot of good writers and editors!  I want to thank Butch for being super nice to me as I literally can't find a single familiar face and he made me feel welcome and part of the crowd!  I learned so much about traditional media and entertainment news! *laughs*  Butch was also the one who told me to register as I may win the raffle!  Thank goodness for him as I did win!  That's why I was able to take this photo with Kim Chiu and John Lloyd Cruz --- the endorsers for Cherry Mobile.

The event started by introducing Big Screen Box Office King John Lloyd Cruz who told us his favorite Cherry mobile phone is the Q5i. "I love the sound of the Q5i - with my packed schedule, it really helps when I can sit back and enjoy my favorite tunes whenever I want to in fantastic sound quality," enthused the multi-award winning actor, "the Wolfson Audio chipset of Cherry Mobile Q5i makes listening to music with clarity and crisp."

I had my jaw dropped when Ms. Agnes Conopio, Cherry Mobile's Marketing Head, states that the favorite mobile phone of JLC only costs Php3,490 (approx $76.00)!

A couple of minutes after, John Lloyd introduced Cherry Mobile's  newest endorser, one of the most sought after young actress Ms. Kim Chiu!  She is seriously pretty on television and in person!

Kim Chiu showed to us her new favorite phone.  The Cherry mobile X90 Blush! "X90 Blush blends into my kikay kit (beauty kit) easily with its chic swiveling slider design.  Blush is a mobile phone and accessory in itself.  Girls like me will have a hard time going out of the house without it, because of its girly and stylish look, which makes it distinct from the other mobile phones."  Kim added.

If I may add, one thing that caught my interest about this phone is the menstrual tracker!  *laughs*  So guys, not for you! :P

After the event, I stayed a bit because I wanted to take a photo with these two "hot" celebrities!  JLC was busy with an interview with Jobert.  I was really patient!  If you are waiting for someone as handsome as him?  Not a problem!

My hard work paid off when the lovely people from m2comms were kind enough to give us "bloggers" the time of the day!  They actually helped us in coordination with the people on having our pictures taken with the celebrities!

Thanks to Ian and Cecille!  Sad to say, I wasn't able to take a shot of Cecille due to my excitement! 

Because of these lovely agency staffs plus the photographer, these photos were made possible!  Check out my dreamy look!  *hahaha*  Why in the world wasn't I looking at the same camera as JLC????

Thank goodness I was able to take as hot with Kim Chiu (whose last name sounds like Tiu) *lol*  She was kind enough to give me the time of the day even though she was bombarded with media people!

Group shot with the rest of the bloggers

I haven't used any Cherry Mobile phones, I actually gave my "winning" phone to my dad as the functions are quite simple to use.  I believe Cherry Mobile came up with a high end model that works just like Blackberry and Iphones.  I can't say these phones are bad just because they were Made in China, my Mom-in-law actually owns a China Made phone that's dual sim, touchscreen with TV, which was gifted by Mr. and Mrs. Askmewhats and its still working up until the very moment for the past 3 years!  I guess its the way we take care of them too?

Do you own a Cherry Mobile phone?  Or any China Made Phone?
Love it? Hate it?

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

AMW Reviews: Garnier Light Brightening Scrub Wash

Right this very moment,  I am not writing in my "crib" and I am not happy about it!  The transformer from our compound blew up and we don't have electricity for almost 2 days.  Talk about living the primitive life!  And if I may add, no electricity means no water as we solely depend on water pump which uses electricity.  We are checked in a hotel and trust me, this ain't vacation!  I love staying in a hotel and sleeping in late but looks like it's not going to happen as I need to wake up early for work.

Am I complaining?  ......

Yes! 
Am I unhappy?
No!
Nothing to do about it!

So let's get back to regular programming before I go into "nerd" mode about our electricity down here!  *laughs*

As you all know, I love doing product reviews but there's so much products out there and my poor face can't handle a lot of products!  Thank goodness for family!  Family, aside from being your support system, are also there to help you do product reviews *winks*  So here's me channeling Mr. AMW for a facial scrub he finished up!

Garnier Light Brightening Scrub Wash

Garnier Skin Naturals Light Brightening Scrub Wash says ---

With pure lemon extract polishes away dull skin and helps even out skin tone.

Mr. AMW says ---

Pros

• cleans the face really well
• skin feels squeaky clean and bright after washing
• smells great
• oiliness lessened
• inexpensive

Cons

• the spots are still there after finishing up the tube
• may be drying to dry skinned individuals
• may cause allergies to some sensitive skin

Overall

This is a type of scrub were you don't love nor hate!  It works well on the "brightening" and "cleaning the face" department.  When it comes to lightening the spots, it may take a lot of time and you may need to complete the whole system (toner plus  moisturizer).  That's why this review is a bit incomplete because Mr. AMW only uses this and does not want to use any moisturizer at all!

Tips 

• for normal to dry skinned individuals:  use this scrub once a week or once every two weeks depending on your skin 
• for oily skinned individuals: can use once to twice a week 
• do not scrub hard
• stop using if allergies and skin irritations occur and give this to friends who will make good use of this

Will I repurchase?

No, not meant for me.  Hubby says he found something better!  Will let you know his HG facial wash/scrub soon.

Where to purchase and how much?

At groceries and department stores for less than Php100.  Will get the exact price one we have electricity!  *lol*

Hope this simple review helps!  I have another willing tester who tried the Garnier Light Cream SPF15 for the past months!  Will report on it as soon as I get the chance to interview her! :)  Watch out for it!

Have you used Garnier Light Brightening Scrub?
How do you like/dislike it?
I'd love to hear from you!

Keep smilin'

Stay happy!