My Rainbow Unicorn Sugar Fantasy Party at Cozy Cup

Guess who just had a birthday?

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Yes. That’s right, I did! 🙂

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And I am now officially a quarter-of-a-century old! Can you believe it?

It’s funny how I’ve managed to keep my birthday a secret for so many years now that even my closest friends don’t know when it is anymore. Haha! But as much as I wanted it to remain that way, I reckoned that not a lot of people are promised to reach this far in life and so it must be celebrated! 

For months, I’ve been secretly planning my birthday on Pinterest… And in the process of doing so, I found myself pinning everything rainbows, unicorns and sugary stuff. 

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The only place that came to mind where I wanted to spend my birthday was at Cozy Cup

Because:
1. I love milk tea. And I know most of my friends do.
2. The size of their shop is perfect for an intimate birthday party.
3. The place is perfect for photo ops!

I wanna thank Anjo for bringing my birthday vision to life. She definitely went above and beyond of what was expected.

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Aside from decors, she provided mason jars in place of plastic cups for our milk tea. Not only did it look cute for photos, it was eco-friendly too!

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She also provided jelly beans for giveaways…

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And a birthday cake sparkler! It’s like she read my mind! The photo above is grabbed from Instagram.

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This gorgeous kek is the best birthday cake I’ve had so far! I’m still very much obsessed with it! You can order this from Tedts’ Diner

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My cute unicorn cupcakes are also from Tedts’ Diner. Thank you Ate Tetet for throwing them in pro bono! You always make the cutest pastries! #proudambassador

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I also ordered a bunch of colorful marshmallow pops from Miwoos because I know my boyfran luffs dem marshies. Thanks Milou for going out of your way to personally deliver them to me at Cozy Cup! 

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And last but definitely not the least, I got about three dozens of adorable rainbow sugar cookies from Choux. Nica did an incredible job with the sugar cookies and packaging. So impressed!

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Yes, it was a sugar-laden birthday party and guests had to be immune to diebeetus to enjoy all the delicious cavity-inducing, Instagram-worthy goodies.

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I’m elated to share this milestone with people who I’ve literally known for ages (some of them I’m friends with for about two decades now) and I feel so blessed to still have these people in my life. Glad they showed up. My birthday wouldn’t have been fun without them.

And as much as I also wanted to share this momentous event with all my “bestest” friends (Gikgik, Ellen, Epi, Denny, Rosa, Dee, Nicholle, Ritz, Jade, Kara and Beajai–I miss you all so bad it hurts), they no longer reside in Iligan. 

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I must thank my boyfran for helping me make this dream rainbow birthday bash possible. He is so awesome in many, many ways.

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And of course, I thank God for adding another year to my life. This is the best birthday I’ve ever had! Laus Deo! 


I’m wrapping up this post with a montage made by the best boyfriend in the weeerlddd.

Do you want to have a rainbow unicorn party too?
Contact the following people for price quotations:

  • Anjo of Cozy Cup for Venue and Event Styling: +63 917 331 3626
  • Tetet of Tedts’ Diner for Cakes and Cupcakes: (063) 223 8336
  • Milou of Miwoos for Marshmallow Pops: +63 915 520 5836
  • Nica of Choux for Sugar Cookies: +63 927 216 4481

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 13: Blugre Coffee

Brewing since 1998, Blugre Coffee is a coffee shop chain based in Davao which is known for exotic durian coffee blends. 

Why Blugre Coffee has made its way in Gensan is no surprise as one of the major franchisees is the power couple, Manny and Jinky Pacquiao. 

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Walking into the coffee shop, I was caught off guard by a strong whiff of durian aroma lingering in the air. To be blunt, the scent was a little bit off-putting because I am not particularly fond of durian… However, it was bearable. 

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While Blugre Coffee specializes coffee, they serve pastries, desserts and other hot and cold beverages as well.

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Too full for anything else, we just had some iced latte for a little afternoon pick-me-up.

And although I was never a fan of durian, I braved myself for one of their durian coffee blends: Durian Arctic Blast… Which I painfully regretted.

Well, at least I tried. Let’s face it, it’s not for everyone. I read awesome reviews about it though and is certainly a hit with all the durian lovers out there.

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Blugre Coffee is a great place for study, work, hangouts, or meetups. You don’t have to be a durian connoisseur to be here. When in Gensan, visit them at Robinsons Place or at JMP Building

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 11: Tong Yang Shabu-Shabu & Barbeque Restaurant

On the fourth day of our vacation, we took a roadtrip to Gensan…

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Located at SM GensanTong Yang Shabu-Shabu Barbecue Restaurant is heaven-sent for all the buffet and hotpot lovers out there.

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As we came in, my jaw dropped to the floor. We were greeted with long tables filled with a wide array of fresh and delicious food selections all ready to cook and eat. 

I’ve been to some eat-all-you-can buffet restaurants before but I’ve never seen anything like this.

You are given the freedom to choose your raw ingredients for cooking which can be a little overwhelming especially if you’re a first-timer like I was. They have vegetables, seafood, meat, noodles, sides, broth, sauces, condiments… You name it, they have it all – from appetizers to desserts!

One of the great things about Tong Yang is you can always come back for more food if you want to. Yes, everything is eat-all-you-can within the given three-hour time frame. 

For only 299PHP/person for lunch buffets from Mon-Fri and 399PHP/person for dinner buffets from Mon-Fri and lunch+dinner buffets on holidays & weekends. Where else can you find a great deal as such this??

Too bad we were prohibited from taking close-up food photos though. Boo. Sad panda 🙁

It is also worth mentioning that they have unlimited tap beer (just add 65 PHP for beer-all-you-can), soda and fruit juices.

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Please excuse our cluttered hotpot table. The left side of the table is for grilling and the right side is for stewing. I really like how you can make two stews at the same time. Really cool.

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We were given sticks of butter for grilling. Don’t be shy to ask for more if needed. The butter complements the food well and makes everything taste richer. Genius. 

By the way, a shoutout to our official tour guide and photographer for that day, Jed Reyes. Thanks for the treat Kuya! By the way, he’s an awesome photographer. You can check out some of his amazing shots here.

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Kuya Jed observing my boyfriend as he makes sinigang for the first time. Thank God for Tong Yang’s free WiFi. None of us knew how to make sinigang so we just googled for recipes online and made it on the spot.

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WADAYAKNOW. It was delicious-o!

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We really had an amazing dining experience at Tong Yang. I definitely would love to come back here when I can. I suggest that you come here famished. And do bring friends and family with you because food is always better shared 🙂

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 7: Classic Savory

Just a real quick post here while I can still sneak in some time to blog before I leave for CDO today.

For Day 3, we had our brunch at Classic Savory – SM Lanang branch.

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I’m not a fan of Filipino-Chinese food at all. But after constantly being prodded by some friends to try Classic Savory’s chicken, I raised my hands as a sign of surrender and decided it was finally time to give it a try.

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Behind us is a photo collage of Manila during the 1950’s. It proved to be a nice distraction as we waited for our order.

The loose top I wore here made me look 20 pounds heavier, I know. Too lazy to liquify myself on Photoshop. Also, I didn’t care to fix my hair that day. Bah. Haha.

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Our order came earlier than expected. Which was a good thing because we were really hungry already.

I got myself a value meal that came with a piece of chicken thigh, slivers of fish fillet and some gravy on the side. My boyfriend had a similar order. Just with a different side dish. I forgot what he had. And I don’t know why we didn’t take a photo of his order. It totally slipped out of our minds.

Anyway, the fish fillet was tender and delicious. I like the sauce that it came with. It was creamy and it complemented the fish fillet really well. I just wish there was more of it though. 

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The chicken proved to be the star of the meal. Marinated with their special secret sauce, it was delicious to the bones. Although the chicken wasn’t done perfectly (it was dry and a tad overcooked), I still enjoyed it for its timeless taste nonetheless. 

Would I go back? Yes, because I would like to give their chicken another try but most likely from another branch. Hopefully, it’ll be juicy and tender as they claim it should be. Also, I need to have a platter of their fish fillet all to myself!

Click here to check out other food items from their menu. Prices usually range between 150 to 250 pesos. 

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 4: Dinner at Tsuru Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

Tsuru Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar is the longest running Japanese Restaurant in Davao. It is actually named after Japan’s sacred bird which is revered as a symbol of happiness, longevity, loyalty and good luck.

Luckily for us, Tsuru’s literally just a few steps away from where we were staying… And without even thinking, we just walked ourselves right in for dinner. 

I don’t know about you but my boyfriend and I LOOOVE Japanese cuisine. If you’ve been following me for quite awhile already, I think that should be very obvious by now. 

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Located along J. Camus street, it’s just right across the entrance of People’s Park so it’s pretty hard to miss. It shares the same building with a Vietnamese restaurant named Hanoi.

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Oh look, a minion! I kid. The interior design of the restaurant is traditional Japanese with a contemporary flair.

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The cozy ambiance of the restaurant makes it so hard to not feel at home. And I must mention that the wait staff here are courteous and attentive and the service is very good and prompt. 

Okay, food porn abruptly starts now.

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For our appetizer we had Beef Ramen which was topped with nori (seaweed) shreds, slivers of green onion, naruto fish cake (the one with the pink swirl) and a few slices of beef.

Though I was slightly disappointed because I did not find soft-boiled eggs in our ramen (come on eggs don’t cost much and we paid good money for this) and the beef slices were a bit tough… But the soup itself was rich and flavorful that I completely forgot about all that. This probably has to be the best ramen I’ve tried to date (flavor wise)!

As for our main dish…

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I believe we had what’s called Chirashi (I’m sorry we lost our receipt so I’m not really sure). But basically it’s an assortment of sashimi arranged artistically on top of a bowl of sushi rice.

It has ebi (shrimp), tamagoyaki (omelette), kamaboko kani (imitation crab meat), maguro (tuna), ika (squid) and some other fish meat (that I can no longer identify) as well. 

All I can say is… It is DIVINE! I could eat bowls of this in one sitting. Sweet and fresh… Oh, I wish I can fully describe in words just how delicious this dish is! Two thumbs up! That’s all I can say.

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And to end this dinner with a bang, we had Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream for dessert. Creamy and succulent… UGH. I wish I have gallons of this sitting in my freezer. I hope I won’t have nightmares about this ice cream tonight.

I highly recommend everyone to check this restaurant out. Price ranges from 200~300 pesos. And just so you know… Every 15th and 30th of the month, Tsuru offers an eat-all-you-can grand buffet. I’m having a headache just thinking about it. *sigh*

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Oh well, I gotta go. Writing this post has made me hungry. Bye for now!

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 3: Lunch at Chicken BonChon

After that not-so-good breakfast, we booked ourselves at D’ Counter Pensione (we got our bags back of course), freshened up and took some much needed rest… And before we knew it, it was already 2 o’clock in the afternoon and we should go out to have lunch already

We didn’t know where to grab our lunch so we thought to just to go to Abreeza and decide when we get there. But one thing’s for sure though, we wanted something fast, convenient, affordable and preferably something we never had before…

And Chicken BonChon just fits the bill. 

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Chicken BonChon is a fast food chain that originates from South Korea. And as the name suggests, they primarily serve chicken but they do have other food items on their menu as well. Such as salads and rice meals that have nothing to do with chicken at all.

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Chicken BonChon has a global cult following on their crispy, less greasy (I won’t say non-greasy) double-fried chicken.

Let’s see if they get us to join the bandwagon…

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My pink hair has faded into this ombre color. I digress. Waiting for our chicken thighs and kimchi. 

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Jalmukesumneda! Learning some Korean table manners won’t hurt anyone.

We got the 3-piece chicken thigh ensemble for 185 pesos (exclusive of the rice and kimchi). It is a tad pricey for a fast food meal… But since my boyfriend and I shared it, I think it’s not bad considering that a 1-piece chicken meal from Jollibee is around 70~80 pesos minimum.  

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The thighs were paper thin crisp and glazed with their signature soy garlic sauce (we had the spicy version) that everyone seems to go bananas about. And truly, the sauce itself is delicious. But the chicken, hmmm not so. It was bland to the bones. And just to counter the lack of flavor, I was hoping they’d have some gravy or dipping to go with it… But there is none. In all fairness though, the chicken was moist and juicy.

I guess I just had my expectations so high up that I got really disappointed. 

But frankly, we came for the chicken and not the sauce. So I don’t think we’d come back here anytime soon. Sorry guys. Not jumping on this bandwagon.

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 1: The Laguindingan International Airport Experience

WARNING: May take forever to read.

For those who don’t know yet, Lumbia Airport will eventually cease to operate for commercial flights and has transferred all of their day flights to the spanking new Laguindingan International Airport (LIA) since June 15.

Now, since our departure date and location was moved from June 18, Lumbia to June 17, LIA… One of our major challenges for this trip was how to get to the new airport without getting left behind our 6:45 AM flight (check-in time is 1 hour prior departure time).

I know what you’re thinking…

“Iligan-CDO bus trips are available 24/7. So that shouldn’t be a problem if you wake up early!” Yes that’s true. But once we make our stop at Laguindingan, then what?

“Airports always have shuttles and taxis. DUH.” Sure there are smart ass… But what if there aren’t? It doesn’t hurt to be extra cautious you know.

My boyfriend and I originally planned to take a taxi from Iligan all the way to the LIA and shell out about 1300 bucks (OUCH). But I am lucky enough to have a friend who was going to drive his way there because he also had an early morning flight to catch on the same day as ours. And so we hitched and donated 200+ for gas (imagine how much we saved!) and got to the LIA much earlier than expected. 

And thank God for woman intuition because I was right. Although there were a lot of “habal-habal” queuing along the highway, there were no taxis nor shuttles in sight. Taxis and shuttles aren’t available until when the sun’s up. So if you’re catching an early morning flight and have a huge luggage, I don’t recommend that you take the bus. Hire a taxi. That’s the only way to go if you’re commuting from Iligan. At least for now.

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This is how the airport looks like at 4AM from the parking lot. Don’t be fooled. While it looks huge from here, it’s really a lot smaller than it looks like. 

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Going in. The airport is very clean and looks aesthetically pleasing. It is a huge improvement of the Lumbia Airport. I do hope they keep this up.

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Despite arriving early, the queue was already very long. Notice how the line ends outside of the building.

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Look how SUPER CROWDED and CRAMPED it is inside! Superimposed with the troll meme face is my friend “he-who-should-not-be-named” by the way. 

Imagine, all the people in the photo above, including us, are just the early morning domestic flight passengers. I can’t imagine how more crammed it will be once the LIA accommodates international flights. But I’m pretty sure they will expand by then as there is soooo much free space around the airport (unless the funds for expansion are “pocketed” if you know what I mean).

And because it must be said, I find that the 200-peso terminal fee is quite unjustifiable since LIA has horrible service. Chaotic queues, grumpy customer service assistants, clueless airport personnel, poor air-conditioning, no ATMs, cash only transactions (I prefer to just swipe my debit card for a faster transaction thank you very much) and the list goes on… Just be ready to get upset in short. I seriously doubt if anyone working there was ready for LIA’s soft-opening. Although, I do commend them for their baggage handling service. My Mickey Mouse suitcase was properly cared for. I’ve been very particular about this especially after what NAIA did to it (read story here).

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After all that chaos and a few security checks later, we just had to sit down, relax and have our morning beverage at Seattle’s Best Coffee.

Beside Seattle’s Best Coffee is Kenny Rogers which I didn’t bother taking a photo of since it was still closed.

Also, what I didn’t bother taking a photo of was the passengers’ lounge area since all I wanted to do at that point was to find a seat for the three of us and just rest. It was a challenge to do because not only were the seats insufficient, there were a lot of inconsiderate asswipes taking the entire bench space for themselves to sleep on. JUST WOW. As if they were the only ones who didn’t manage to get a blink of sleep. LIA security personnel should tell these selfish people off! I know I should’ve complained but if I leave my seat, someone else will take it. Lucky for them I just let that slide that day but next time I definitely won’t.

Another thing I don’t like about LIA was the smoking area. Badly thought-out. Every time a smoker comes in or out of the smoking area, the lounge area just reeks of cigarette smoke. Like what’s the point then? Somebody better do something to fix that!

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Boarding for Davao (“he-who-must-not-be-named” friend not included). Surprised to see a small plane.

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Touchdown from Davao. Surprised to see a big plane.

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I still stand by my opinion about their great baggage handling service. My suitcase is still in a good condition thus makes a happy me.

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When it was time to look for a shuttle… I spotted LAX. LAX is short for Laguindingan Airport Express. Their pick-up and drop-off point is located outside Seda HotelFare is 249 per head. For contact numbers and more details read here. For people bound to CDO from the LIA, you’ll find that link very useful as it includes a list of transport services and other helpful information. 

But then we’re not bound for CDO, so we took a different shuttle (which I wasn’t able to take a photo off since we were super busy tugging our things). And to drop us off along the highway, together with other people, we were charged 25 pesos each.

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And voila, this was our stop! THANK YOU LIA for your pre-mature opening and lack of preparedness! No waiting shed, chairs, whatsoever. I DEMAND a shuttle terminal/bus stop here with an air-conditioned lounge area plus free WiFi access; and no, that is not too much to ask!

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More than an hour has passed since and we were STILL standing and waiting here for a bus to ride. Buses that passed by were either already full or there just wasn’t enough room for the both of us anymore. No luck. Obviously, my patience was running thin at this point.

But thank heavens a van driver (who did not intend to go to Iligan) drove us home along with some other people bound for Iligan. We were only charged 85 pesos each. Real good bargain that one.

If you’re bound for CDO, you barely have anything to worry about since shuttles like LAX are readily available. But if you’re bound for Iligan, it is HIGHLY recommended that to have a “sundo”, lest you want to suffer like we did.

I know this vitriolic post is getting very long already and so I have to abruptly end it as writing this has drained all of my energy. 

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With all that said, I’m just glad we came home in one piece and survived LIA!

24 & 2 Part 2: Human Heart Nature

Just a block or two away from Little Miss Funnel Cake, we spotted a Human Heart Nature branch and we just had to walk right in.

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Human Heart Nature is a chain of stores in the Philippines that sell natural and organic world-class goods at very affordable prices.

Their products are ethically-acquired and are not processed with any synthetic chemicals.

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From personal care to pet care, they got your basic and furry needs covered.

What I love about this company is that they source their raw materials and manufacture their products here in the Philippines. So if you buy their products, you are not only helping the local economy but you are supporting the local farmers as well.

Another thing that I love about Human Heart Nature is their eco-consciousness. They ensure that their products don’t become toxic once released to the environment and they have a recycling program where 100% of the proceeds go to Gawad Kalinga.

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Oh, hi there! 

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Spotted! My boyfriend slobbering over bars of chocolate…

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My boyfriend asked me if I wanted one so he could get one for me but I knew it was him who wanted one really badly. HAHA! 

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We got the dark chocolate one. I didn’t get to eat much of it though because I was having a very bad cough that day. Please don’t judge the forehead. Hehe.

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Boyfriend holding a bag of coffee. 

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Here is a closer look of it. Don’t you just love the packaging? It was really nice of them to brew us some of this coffee so we could sample it. It was really good! I recommend that you pick this up should you bump into one of their branches that carry this.

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Picked out a bottle of Sunflower Beauty Oil for myself. It’s one of their best sellers. I already tried it and it’s amazing! I use it as a make-up remover, hair serum and under eye moisturizer. Once I’ve emptied this bottle, I plan to drop it at this branch for recycling and purchase another one.

By the way, Human Heart Nature has awesome customer service. Should you be unhappy with any of their products, you can return them for a replacement, refund or credit.

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They also have other merchanise such as t-shirts, bags and more!

To know more about Human Heart Nature and their products, I suggest that you visit their website by clicking here. They’re all about the good.

24 & 2 Part 1: Little Miss Funnel Cake

How ya’ll been doing? I hope everyone enjoyed the summer. As for me, I am still in disbelief that May is almost drawing to a close because I don’t want it to end. So far, this month has been the greatest! I just turned 24 and my boyfriend and I just turned 2. All is good super awesome!

And in celebration of my 24th birthday and our 2nd year anniversary, we went to CDO for a food trip and first on our itinerary was Little Miss Funnel Cake.

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Little Miss Funnel Cake is a cozy dessert shop located at AB Santiago Building, Velez and Gaerlan Streets.

As the name suggests, they are known for their funnel cakes. Frankly, I had no idea what a funnel cake was and so I did my homework… And it’s actually just batter poured through a funnel and deep-fried onto hot cooking oil until it turns golden brown. I learned that by watching this cooking video right here.

I’m all about good food at great prices… 

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So this is the place to be! Nothing above 70 pesos! Ridiculous.

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Mango Caramel Funnel Cake and Deep-fried Oreos were calling my name so that’s what we both had.

I really like watching how my food is made 🙂

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Oh, did I mention that I dyed my hair pink? What do you guys think? 🙂
I digress.

Now to the delicious part of the post…

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Mango caramel funnel cake, topped with tidbits of fresh mango, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a drizzle of caramel syrup. Although I do wish I had a bigger scoop of ice cream but it doesn’t matter… T’was gooood.

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Deep-fried Oreos, also topped with powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream then drizzled with some chocolate syrup. Now I know these deep-fried Oreos look rather unappealing in this photo as the ice cream has already melted into a sticky soup here… But I swear that it is an artery-clogging treat that you should not miss!

While I would not want to have these everyday myself for health concerns but they’re really good to have every once-in-awhile.

I highly recommend that you visit Little Miss Funnel Cake and try these goodies especially the deep-fried Oreos! And I guarantee you that you will not regret it!