Baking 101

Hello everyone! I’m excited to share with you a new hobby that I’ve failed twice (and thought would never do again!!) but decided to try it again and not give up on it. I’m talking about baking!! I’ve tried baking twice, 2 years ago, but I suck at it and told myself that I would never do it again. Fast forward to 2020 when this pandemic hit us, everyone started being creative and started making money out of their passion. I swear, seeing choco brownies, dream cakes, donuts, oreo cheesecakes (you name it!!) being sold by my friends all over my feed makes me drool and crave for it every single time. I came to a point wherein I bought once a week something that I’m badly craving and realized that it’s very unhealthy for my savings. I realized that, why not learn how to do it in on my own? It’s actually hard to start without any equipment. I don’t have measuring cups nor whisker nor even an oven to use! Good thing is that I have an auntie who owns twice of these equipment and lend me her old ones. (If you’re interested in baking and would want to try it but doesn’t have anything to use, try asking for your relatives who has some spare). I started buying the basic ingredients and tried first the easiest recipes. 

First recipe was choco brownies. It’s supposedly a no bake brownies since I’m afraid of using an oven but it was already beyond it’s cooking time and it haven’t set yet. I decided to put it in the oven and set it for 5 minutes. My first attempt after 2 years turned successful because it tasted really good (even if my no bake brownies failed hahaha) Yaaaay!!! Here’s the recipe that I followed for my choco brownies.

On some days I visit at my Ninang’s to annoy her to bake with me. Hahahaha!!! I message her beforehand that I'll be coming with my ingredients with me. Even if she's always busy she always makes time for me. I always want to bake with her so that I can try different recipes because she’s my idol and she’s a pro! We planned to bake a S’mores cake but things didn’t turned out as planned and decided to make the most out of the ingredients that we had at the moment. We ended up baking banana cupcakes instead. Ang layooo sa s’mores nooo! Hahaha! But it smelled really good and tasted delicious! Here’s the recipe that we followed for our banana cupcakes. 

Lastly, I decided to make oreo brownies and nutty choco brownies. I purposely made it as pasalubong for my fam and my bf’s fam. It was the easiest no-fail that I can do para masarap naman ang pasalubong ko! Ahahahaha! As you can see I also enjoyed taking food flat lays lately and it’s also one of the reasons why I decided to start baking again. Got it from my Ninang!!

I hope you enjoyed this post and it somewhat inspired you to start something out of your comfort zone. There’s no harm in trying! Ask for help from the experts or learn from youtube tutorials if you really can’t get it. Baking will excite youuu!! I ordered some baking tools already and hopefully soon I’ll have my own oven! Any suggestions on what should I bake next?? Feel free to comment down below! :)

xoxo,

3 Dresses to Rock this Season

Hey guys! It's already half of the year and almost everyone of us is experiencing summer already! (Well, it's always summer everyday here in the Philippines because we experience a tropical weather.) I have started going out again (after months!!) to run errands and groceries and I couldn't be happier to see the world outside the four corners of our house. In this time of pandemic, one thing that I really miss when going out is dressing up! I was surprised to see people in casual summer outfits roaming around as well those in summer dresses! I couldn't be more excited to dress up in my cute summer clothes too while hustling in the grocery. Haha! 

My go to summer look would always be in bohemian dresses because it perfectly screams out my personality. I love boho prints so much that almost all the dresses in my closet are in boho and floral prints just like this one. I love the v-neck detail of this dress too as it steps up the whole look in a sexier level.

 Another go to summer piece that I love are short mini dresses. Living in a tropical country and experiencing summer all throughout the year made me appreciate shorter dresses. It gives me the feeling of being relaxed and it doesn't make me sweaty at all. It also accentuates the long legs making it look sexy. I also love the fact that short dresses gives a casual, chill and chic vibes just like this short dress above. 

Last summer look that I want to achieve is the monochromatic trend look. Dressing up in one color in an outfit sometimes seems hard and tricky. It's hard to play with one color but with proper outfit matching everything will look polished and sleek. Brown, white, black... I know these colors are the preferred ones in achieving the look but I'd like to see myself in a different one, in a silver dress. 

Remember, Summer dresses doesn't have to be expensive to be called beautiful. I can attest to that because I have a lot of good yet cheap summer dresses from online stores! Happy Wednesday my readers!! Stay safe and healthy!

xoxo,

My GCQ Story

Pizza, anyone?? I'm feeling (literally) full and happy since this week started because things were slowly falling into place. I'm slowly being able to cope up with my goals again. It's a long hiatus when I was in bukid actually. All I did was to free my mind from all the worries, relax and just enjoy the moment. I think this is my way of releasing my anxiety. Now that I'm back home I finally decided to start moving and continue working on the goals that I set for this year. As for my blog, I have prepared a series of drafts waiting to be posted. Mostly are topics about fashion and food! I'm also back on playing the piano and made a promise to upload a cover either on my youtube channel or IG TV before this month ends. :)  

Out of being productive and boredom, I'm happy to find new inspiration and ideas to try from Pinterest. Watch out for my next blog posts and see for yourself what I've been up to while being locked up at home. Cookie stuffed mallows in ice cream dip by yours truly! :)

I'm so fond of my mom's mini garden at home. She has this collection of mixed plants that she asked from different friends and people. She's collecting cactus and succulent plants and I must say that everything looks so cute! Napa photoshoot tuloy ako! :))

I miss dressing up too. I've been feeling myself lately and I couldn't be happier! I cleaned my closet when we got back home and decided to come up with an outfit to wear on a whole day in front of my laptop (while watching The King on netflix) Sayang naman ang mga pang-alis kung hindi magagamit. Haha! Wearing SHEIN from head to toe. Ahhh, I wanna go on a roadtrip with my friends alreadyyyy! 

I don't know if being in quarantine made me slimmer or chubbier but I'm not really worried though as long as I am able to try and eat the foods that I am craving! I'm an innocent victim of how delicious this pizza is! I had it customized based on my preferred toppings. Plain 4-Cheese, bacon, chicken and green pepperon a thin crust. Yummy!!! Thanks Micah's Catering! I paired it with my favorite original and honey mustard chicken wings (which I wasn't able to include the picture here huhu). Sushi Bake and Yema Cake you're next in line!!! 

Munching carbs and sugar alternately. Ahhh, so good! I'll be back on track, promise! :P

What's your GCQ story?? Tell me about it on the comment section below! :)

xoxo,

Summer Dresses on a Budget

Dressing up, putting on make up, taking pretty selfies and the like are some of the few things that we, girls, simply do to make us feel good and look good. Personally though, I really feel at my best every time I dress up especially in long and flowy dresses. I mean, it feels like I'm mimicking a fairytale princess or what haha! Anyway, it's always a plus point every time I see dresses online on SALE for very affordable prices. Who doesn't love ON SALE items right? To tell you honestly, I tend to subscribe to mailing lists (especially to my favorite brands) to notify me whenever there are new arrivals or price drop. I just find it really convenient though. Another thing is that I'm a hoarder of coupon codes too! It really helps a lot especially during check outs! Finding an online store that feels like it's SALE everyday is actually a piece of heaven on earth for shopaholics like me. As of now, I'm in to finding cheap summer clothes that I can wear to my upcoming beach trips hopefully after GCQ is lifted in my place. If you're looking for summer clothes too just as I am you're reading the right blog.  

Prestarr is an online store that specializes on women clothes. It's all about modern, irresistible and of course, affordable clothing for women around the globe. I've looked in to their designs and has loved and adored mostly their dresses on the Dresses category. Some of the pictures here are the ones that caught my eyes. You can visit their website too so you can see their products for yourself! They have a lot in store like Blouses and T-shirts, Shoes, Cardigans, Bottoms and Outerwears. :) 

It's true when I told you that it feels like ON SALE everyday! You can now score cheap maxi dresses and a lot more from their website! Let me give you a tip, the ones in the HOT SALE section are their most classic and popular pieces on limited time with big discounts! Don't forget to take note of the coupon codes that you will see once you enter their site. It's my kind of holy grail after every check out!! :)

Leaving you with these beautiful dresses! Stay safe and healthy! 
Happy Shopping, girls! :)

xoxo,

Home by the Sea

What a refreshing morning it is! Ahhh, I can still feel the sea breeze and the sound of the waves while writing this post back home. I feel so lucky to have spent the whole ECQ period in my grandparents' ancestral house in Pagkilatan Batangas. Everyday felt normal as if I was really in vacation for the whole month of May. Living the simplest life, eating the freshest catch, exploring unseen spots and basically just relaxing by the shore and watching the sunset are some of the things that I got to enjoy and are currently missing now.

Freshly picked buko from our farm to suffice our thirst on a sunny afternoon

Every morning we used to eat fresh fruits from our backyard during our stay while during the night our meals would always consist of fresh catch fishes and shells. Ang galing na mangilaw ng 2 kong kapatid! Haha

Went on a morning swim (and shoot haha!) in the famous Kay Butas. The last time I went there was around 5 years ago yet still nothing has changed. The experience was still challenging for me because of the large and pointed rocks that we passed through but it was all worth it when I saw the view from the cave. It was windy and sunny at the same time. Sobrang beach vibes lang! 

Stuffed our table with fresh fruits and some of Bihiya's best sellers for our Mother's Day boodle fight celebration. Celebrated Mom's Day with 5 moms in one roof!

Was delighted to see an ice cream vendor roaming around Pagkilatan so I decided to buy an ice cream that was perfect for the scorching hot weather! // Also, I am happy that my tita decided to bake and try the newest craze, Ube Cheese Pandesal. I've been craving for it for the longest time and I'm happy and satisfied with the outcome. 

Can't get over with this filter! Instant cat eyeliner! // Beautiful Sikar shell found at the beach. Actually may laman daw sya sa loob na nakakain but we cannot manage to pull off so we just decided to bring it as a decoration. 

Famous Kay Butas Cave

Even if barrio fiestas aren't celebrated at this time of pandemic we still decided to prepare and cook for a small home feast. It was also the birthday of my grandfather who was suppose to turn 85 this year.  

I spent my mornings appreciating and watching my lola's blooming garden. I just really hope that I'll also have a green thumb in the future. 

I can't help but adore the clear seawater of Pagkilatan. I can see the corals and underwater plants even without my eyeglasses with me. 

Went on a paddle boarding on a really hot afternoon. Wouldn't do it again! Hahaha Muntik na masunog ang balat ko. More pictures on this post. 

Milo Ice candy on a hot weather // I don't know what this flower is called but it certainly got my attention! Found it in my tito's backyard. 

Another home feast in celebration of my Ninang's birthday

I already learned how to direct a boat!! Hahaha. It was fun and thrilling especially when I see waves approaching. Looking forward to my next boat ride. // Beautiful sunset from the beach

One of my favorite shot. Everything looks so calm and serene. I really hope that everything will be back to how it's suppose to be. 

Keep safe and healthy!  :) 

xoxo,