Checked Out Homemaker Furniture

Over the past few years we've bought furniture for our home. When movement was still restricted we got our beds from Our Home, Ikea and a manufacturer from Tarlac. They're both good and practical, but sometimes they don't have what we're looking for.

In the past 12 months, we expanded our search and got some stuff from Uratex and Mandaue Foam. Two good providers of foam based furniture (especially beds and mattresses). I've been looking for recliner chairs and chanced upon Homemaker Furniture.

I was looking for recliner chairs when I saw their page. I immediately looked at their website and saw some very nice options for recliner chairs. We already checked Blims at ATC and their options was limited. Ikea didn't have what I was looking for either.

Anyway, we finally visited their Paranaque branch. The recliner chairs were located just by the entrance. I immediately sat on one and felt very comfortable. They also had recliner chairs that doubled as rocking chairs.

I chose the recliner chair that has built in cupholders. Got it in charcoal gray to match the room where it will be placed. The best thing about it is they could deliver within the week. The joys of buying directly from a manufacturer.

The store probably has all your furniture needs. Go visit and see if there's something they can provide for you.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Buddy's in Paranaque in Back!

I'm so happy Buddy's Pancit Lucban and Longganisa is back in Paranaque! It probably opened the restaurant (not just kitchen!) in the past 5 to 6 weeks since we were in the area (near Paranaque City Hall).

They were available on Grab a couple of months ago (maybe last year?) and then suddenly closed. I felt so orphaned because Buddy's is comfort food for me. It reminds me of my Dad's cooking (plus he's from Lucban). I messaged them on FB to find out how I can order from other branches. It didn't work out.

I was hopeful they'll be back and told them to please come back 😅 The long hopeful wait is over and we promptly had some of our favorites delivered when we got home (had a gazillion adulting errands today). 

I got my usual, longganisa and hardinero. Yummy as always! Sweetie tried the burger and he said it's as homey as Dayrit's! Last I tried it was in Lucban, so I'll order it next time.

Buddy's Lucban, May 2009

The good news of having Buddy's back is they have a fuller menu compared to before. I have to try their pizza again (last time was in Lucban way back!). And I'm happy to see their fiesta meals. That's what I miss getting when I have guests from abroad visiting. 

Tried Sweet Ecstasy Burger

I saw a friend's post about a delicious looking burger. I immediately asked him where it came from. He said it was from Sweet Ecstasy, the yummiest burger in town.

Since he mentioned I could get some via delivery, I planned to try it. The plan got delayed, but we finally got some today. Delivery was prompt and complete.

Sweetie and I both ordered a cheeseburger since it's our first time. He got it with grilled onions, while I chose caramelized onions. The burger was thick and oozing with sauce. Miggy got the steamed burger and requested to separate the onions.

I also got buffalo wings and fries. I've been trying out buffalo wings from different places to find which one I like best (I still miss Don Henrico's!). 

Sweetie and I liked our cheeseburger. It was pretty tasty. It runs along the line of Shake Shack's burger, thick and oozing with sauce. I added a bit of ketchup since I like my burgers with ketchup. With the added sauce it was a bit messy to eat the burger the way I do (around). 

The wings and fries were okay. It wasn't too spicy and the fries seemed interesting to eat with onions and the ecstacy sauce. I expected it to be a bit bigger though. 

I was really full by the time I finished the burger and 2 pieces of wings. I just took a few pieces of the fries since I didn't want to be too full. I burned off the calories by puttering around the garden. Conked out after, haha.

Will I have it again? Probably. My burger loyalty though still goes to Dayrit's.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried Elite's Coffee

We chanced upon a cafe we haven't tried when we went out to have a haircut, Elite's Coffee. It's located on Dona Soledad Ave. and has a salon beside it. I remember trying it once via Grab since we sometimes get breakfast delivered. 

I definitely liked the longsilog when we ordered, but don't remember the coffee. We went to the cafe first before going to the salon since there was a line. Sweetie wasn't around when Miggy and I tried the cafe via delivery, so he enjoyed looking through their menu.

We just had a full meal at K-street, so we each just had coffee. The boys had a Spanish latte (hot and cold) and I just got a cappuccino. It was tasty. What I'd like to try next time is to dine at the cafe. They have an extensive menu. The cafe is also pretty spacious and a nice place to hangout. It just probably needs a bit more parking space

Have you tried this cafe?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried K-street

We're honestly holed up at home most of the time. Since I scheduled a family haircut day, we thought it would be nice to try dining at a new place. We saw an ad for a pad Thai place near us and headed there the other day. We thought it was located beside the Vietnamese place we tried. We were surprised to see a new nook of restos built before the area of the Vietnamese place. 

There were a couple of restos in the area. The pad Thai place was located on the second floor. Miggy chose the Korean place, K-street, so that's where we went. It was an odd hour and we were the only customers. The place was cozy and built for quick meals. We each ordered what we wanted to try. 

I got bulgogi, but it was strangely spicy (haha). I think they may have used a different sauce (one of the staff was new). It tasted good and I managed to finish the meal in-between gulps of strawberry lemonade. Miggy had the house special and Sweetie ordered the hickory barbecue. The meal was really filling and the good news is you can order their food via Grab or Food Panda. Maybe next time we'll try the bento meals so we can have some veggies. 

The nook of restos was interesting. We hope to try the other chicken place next time and we'll probably order from the pad Thai place one of these days (sorry, avoiding stairs for now). I wish the cafe will be open next time. Sweetie tried calling, but no one was answering. 

If you're from my `hood and want to try this place, here's the map to K-street: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XguqV46hJQZHkGNU8

#BeKind #StaySafe

New Eyeglasses

Miggy and I have been overdue to get new eyeglasses. Five years overdue! My eyeglasses frame broke while I had it on. We immediately visited an opthalmologist last week

It takes a week for my eyeglasses to be made. I've been using progressive lenses for almost a decade now, so I was happy when the shop pinged me this morning that our eyeglasses were available.

Got our new eyeglasses today. I selected a plastic frame since I've been using a steel frame the past five years. It's lighter and with the correct grade the world feels brighter. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tealive Now Open in Dona Soledad

Sometimes I feel the universe is conspiring to bring all my favorites near me! Tealive is one of my favorite milk tea places which I frequented whenever I visited Kuala Lumpur. 

I discovered it at KL Sentral. I usually got a room there because it's close to the office and after work I'd walk around to get some takeaway. Tealive had a stall near the escalator, so it's easy to spot. I'd always buy some and match it with whatever dinner I'd get for takeaway. 

They opened also in Singapore during the pandemic, but wasn't too accessible for me. I was so happy when a friend told me they also opened a branch in the Philippines. There was one in my city, but bit far. We would order once a quarter via Grab (delivery fees are expensive).

Anyway, I'm so stoked! Tealive now has a branch near us. If our village wasn't enclosed it would be walking distance from our home! Ah well, always good to have an excuse to go out. They opened last April 2 (quite obvious we rarely go out!). Ahhh, time for me to finish my drink and sandwich!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Mary Grace Now Open at SM Bicutan

One of our favorite places to eat is Mary Grace. It's where we eat whenever I have a check-up and we've dined at their other branches as well. So, we were happy to see it finally open a branch nearby.

We were on the fence where to eat brunch, but when we saw Mary Grace open we immediately decided to eat there. The branch looked very inviting. It felt like we were dining at someones home.

The staff were very kind and efficient similar to their other branches. I got the tapa, Miggy got tocino and Sweetie got a special plate. I especially liked the mango pickle this time (it came with the tapa). It wasn't as sour compared to other branches. Ah, a perfect meal.

We were so full so we skipped dessert. We just got a mini cake for takeaway before we went home. Tried the black velvet cake. It's so good! I had a reaction though. It probably has an ingredient that doesn't go well with my meds. Next time we'll ask if they add any alcohol to their cakes.

Mary Grace at SM Bicutan is open during mall hours (10am to9pm).

#BeKind #StaySafe

Checked Out What's New at SM Bicutan

I took a break this week from visiting the hospital for tests and doctor appointments. It get's tiring and I just wanted to stay home, do some sewing, tend to my plants and play with the cats.We went out today for some errands (adulting stuff). We also went to SM Bicutan to get a couple of things. 

We realized we have not visited the Sky Garden/Food Hall. It opened a month ago. It was a good time to visit since it's a weekday and the holiday crowd is gone. From the basement, we went straight to the third floor through the lift. Everything was bright and sunny when we alighted. The Food Hall was appropriately sized, probably easily filled-up during meal times and weekends. It had a number of food stalls. 

We decided to have a snack. I tried the burger at Burger Assembly. And Sweetie got some food from Tex Mex. It was filling and we liked the spacious, new hangout area. The outdoor seating area looked nice, but it was still quite sunny when we went. It would be interesting to witness the acoustic nights they've been promoting. 

I didn't get to enjoy my meal too much, since I had to find a couple of things on my photo baul for another adulting task. I had to wolf down my burger, since it was getting late. After eating we went to the other building for our home needs list. Wanted to get home immediately, but we got caught in DS traffic. Well, we managed to get half of what's on our list. Will try again another day, hehe. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Adulting is Not Fun, but Fulfilling

There's something we've been trying to do for our home for almost two years now. We tried outsourcing it twice. The second set of folks made us feel they were just juicing us. We decided to do it in our own.

Mae from our homeowners association told us just to hire someone to do it for us. We told her it seemed we couldn't find someone to trust and it's been two years since we tried to get it done. The process is indeed tedious, so we set a goal to really work on the task.

After getting the requirements from the utility provider via email we gathered the documents needed. This took awhile since we had to coordinate the paperwork and visit our barangay hall a couple of times. 

Today took us around our city. Luckily, JM the customer care person from the utility company was very helpful. He gave us a key tip to resolve the issue. He also helped us with a future project we need to work on.

After visiting the utility company we headed to city hall. I'm so grateful that our city hall is so efficient, we finished getting our cedula and requesting a document in under an hour. Everyone we needed was still around even at the last hour! Yay!

I'm really tired now, but I feel fulfilled. We hopefully saved over 20k if we continued to outsource the task. Who knows, maybe we'll finish the whole task by mid-November. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Fiesta is Not the Same Without Mom

It's the time of the year when we have our parish fiesta. It's been years since we went and it's not the same without my Mom. She knew everyone and where to go, so we always just followed her lead. We didn't go last year since I wasn't ready yet. 

It was raining off and on the whole day, but the sun came out in the afternoon. We decided to step out and check out what was going on. Some neighbors shared what they were selling and we were curious. I think it only rained in our area since the park was surprisingly dry. 

The new playground was full of children playing. I was happy to see that since it's empty during weekdays. The kids are lucky because during my time we only had a few swings, a slide, monkey bar and a see-saw. Miggy used the same set which was dilapidated by the time he was born (haha). They opened up a new area and installed new playground sets. 

I honestly don't remember the last time I was able to visit during our parish fiesta. The field was full of sellers, much more than the last time I was able to go with my Mom. There will probably be more people tomorrow since there will probably be more activities too. 

We didn't bump into a lot of people we knew. I used to see a lot of my Mom's friends before. They'll probably be around tomorrow, but since I'm still taking antibiotics I'll probably stay home. We wore masks when we went and didn't stay out too long. We just bought some merienda and said hello to a few friends.

Happy fiesta everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe 

It's Like Our Second Home Came Nearer to Us

I lived in Singapore for a decade. As a creature of comfort I eventually found a couple of places that became go-to places for me and my boys. One favorite resto we frequented was Old Town. I first tried it in Kuala Lumpur. I always visited it at the airport while waiting for my short flight back to Singapore. 

It eventually had a branch in Singapore. It was located near our dentist, so, of course, that's where we would eat after getting our teeth cleaned (haha). My Mom also loved drinking milk tea and liked it a lot. I was happy when we saw a branch opening near our home. We immediately went to try it during its soft opening. 

The menu was surprisingly more expansive than the one in Singapore. We were set to do some errands, so just had breakfast (aka merienda) food. The branch certainly got the look of the branches in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, so it brought back some good memories. 

Here's a glimpse of Old Town's menu at SM City Bicutan, they basically have food for different times of the day:

They opened a month ago, so operations should be efficient by now. We just tried another newly opened restaurant, but should visit Old Town again soon. Wangfu opened recently too, but I'd be over the moon when Nanyang opens too. How I wish they'd bring Spotlight here too, or at least open a store that sells fabric, sewing and craft materials too. 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Forgot to Mention that Flying Tiger SM Bicutan is Now Open!

I think it's been a month already since Flying Tiger opened a branch at SM Bicutan. I've been there a couple of times and it just slipped my mind to share the news! I think the only week we haven't visited SM Bicutan was when it was raining so bad due to the typhoon. We were cooped up at home the whole week and had to postpone all our appointments. 

Anyway, as I happily shared last July, a branch of Flying Tiger was going to open at SM Bicutan. It opened a few weeks ago and I was able to visit it a couple of times since August. The branch is spacious and I think a bit bigger than the one in ATC. It has the same maze-like layout, so it's best to start from the right side. 

The store has a lot of knick-knacks, useful desk and kitchen items, and decorative items. Items being sold I think change weekly (or a lot of stuff get sold out fast). I've visited the nearby branch almost every week since it opened and this week they're selling Halloween items already. If you find something you like, better to buy it immediately because it may not be available next time you come back. 

Go visit and have some fun!

#BeKind #StaySafe