Many years ago before we had kids, my husband and I decided to somehow plant part our roots in Normandy. Neither of us is actually from the region. He is from Brittany, the next region over, and I am from the Philippines via the East Coast of the United States. We both like how …
Read more “Normandy — Vikings, Writers, Impressionism and More”
To celebrate the end our visit to the Philippines, we decided to spend a few days in Boracay — one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines. In 2012, Travel and Leisure named the Boracay the top overall island. There are some parts of the island that are super-developed and take away a bit …
I wanted to retrace the footsteps of my childhood, which meant a trip to the Paco district of Manila. As with everywhere in Manila, I do not recognize much of the place anymore with traffic and people everywhere…and I mean LOTS and LOTS of people. The Paco Park and Cemetery is where I would sometimes …
Erik Spoelstra, the Miami Heat coach who led his team to win the NBA Championships this year, and I have something in common. We both have mothers who hail from San Pablo City, Laguna — a town that’s about two hours from Manila. I wanted to show my girls where their maternal ancestral roots are …
The other day we went to to Intramuros, or the old walled city, where the hub of the old Spanish rule was when they ruled the Philippines. We met up with Dustin Ancheta who provided us a wonderful tour of Casa Manila, lunch at a nun-run restaurant Della Mitre, a visit to a wonderful store called …
After a long voyage to get to the Philippines, I feel very happy to be finally here. I must say that I was really doubting the soundness of my decision to bring my family to the Philippines as we were stopping at various airports for layovers and as we were going through the hassles of …
We are in the midst of packing our suitcases as we prepare for our summer adventure. This year, we are going to the Philippines, which I have not visited since 1999. The only time my husband, Richard, went was in 1995. My girls, Chiara and Ines, have never been but have heard many of my …
Read more “Summer Adventure & “Dog Daze of Summer” in Boonton”
I like birthdays. I look forward to celebrating my friends’ birthdays, my kids’ birthdays, my extended family’s birthdays. Even when I was a kid, I would get slightly disappointed when things did not go as planned for my birthday celebrations. Since I’ve become a mother, I have not really been focusing on my own birthdays. …
Read more “Birthday Musings – Almost Halfway Through my Forties”
I recently went to an exhibit at the MOMA to see the Claes Oldenburg exhibit. He’s definitely not one of the most popular artists we know today but he’s one of the better-known ones from the Pop Art movement. Here are some of his other larger-than-life works shown at the MOMA exhibit. A big part of the Oldenburg …
When I was in my 20’s and early 30’s (i.e. life before kids), I loved having brunch with friends. There’s just something about getting up late and lazily enjoying an indulgent brunch on a Sunday morning. Many of my close friends have shared personal and candid thoughts or musings over a glass of mimosa or …
Read more “Lost Art of Having Brunch (For Parents with School-Age Kids)”