M Cafe: Chill Place in Makati

 

M Cafe at night

I met up with two of my best friends at M Cafe in Greenbelt 4, Makati a while ago. Inasmuch as I wanted to spend more time with them, I had to call it a night at 11PM since I have a nine o’clock meeting tomorrow. It is hard to meet up with my friends now—we have our own to-dos that we can't drop the way we do five years ago. During those days, we easily painted the town red even on a Monday.  

Doing things we love to do:
 Joel- drinking booze; Iza- lighting a cigarette; and I- posing for the camera

M Cafe was chill and I liked its steady vibe. Alcoholic drinks—cocktails—were expensive for me because I am usually at and prefer places with less than P100 a bottle of beer. I still got a cocktail drink—the retrospective shooter. I paid P350 and it was served in doubles. Each glass had bourbon whiskey, lychee juice, and piece of lychee. For as long as you are not there to get drunk—which I absolutely don’t recommend—one order is enough to last you two to three hours of steady chatting and sipping. 

Iza's Cosmopolitan

On way to M Cafe

A restaurant near M Cafe

Art Instillation at M Cafe

A street in Makati

Photos by Paulo Subido

Engagement, Proposal, and Ring

I am engaged! No ring had to be given or proposal to be done for me to have an engaged status—I am that easy. :)

I was engaged last year. Being engaged—in my book—starts at the moment when two people have chosen to be with each other for the rest of their lives and decided to marry some time in the future. And we—my boyfriend Paulo and I—started talking about getting married since 2011, because we love each other. I so love him that I want to spend the rest of my life with him—may be as his friend, wife or number one fan. Basta tabi kami lagi.

I never wanted an engagement ring from Paulo. Because one, it is pointless to spend for; two, it is unnecessary; and three, it is overrated. My only focus is on us and making our relationship work. I am practical like that.

Paulo asked his brother to take photos while he proposed.

I don’t want to be contradicting, but Paulo proposed recently. I was really surprised. We were at an outdoor concert and he was acting weird. I wanted to go home already but he insisted on waiting for his friend's turn to perform. Suddenly one of our favorite songs played. The next thing I knew, he was down on his knee and formally proposing. It happened so fast; but it was still sweet, beautiful and fun!

The proposal happened—this is what I tell my friends about the ring and proposal—because I am lucky to have an awesome fiance who wants me to have and experience everything in life including owning an engagement ring and being proposed to. Again—for emphasis—the proposal is not needed because the wedding will push through with or without the ring. But, hey, the ring is really beautiful. Magrereklamo pa ba ako. :)

It's an heirloom engagement ring- that makes it more special

Accredited Wedding Caterer: CVJ Food Catering

A way to cut wedding expenses is to opt for the accredited caterers of your chosen venue. Aside from offering a competitive cost per head, packages offered already include other wedding must-haves like the bridal car, cake and pair of doves, and is also flexible. In our case, we were able to include a 100-seat ceremony set-up for free, since we are not getting the bridal car, couple backdrop, torch entrance parade (no need for a grand entrance) and pair of doves. 

Last Sunday, we attended a food tasting in our venue—L'Orchard Garden—hosted by a known catering restaurant called CVJ Food Catering. Food tastes good—I loved the pasta alfredo and tinapa parcel—and the account manager was easy to talk to, so we decided to stick with them.   

CVJ Food Catering Tinapa Parcel is tasty and refreshing 

 

By choosing an accredited caterer of L'Orchard Garden, we were able to cross out additional five items in our to-do list: wedding ceremony set-up,  flower decorations, professional sound system capable for a acoustic band, garden lighting that looked wonderful in the photos, and three-layered fondant cake.

L'Orchard Garden: Our Wedding Venue

L'Orchard Garden is simple, charming and welcoming; perfect for the intimate garden wedding that we are aiming for. From the moment that Paulo (my fiance) parked his car inside the garden, I immediately liked the place. And when I found out that venue rental fee is within our budget, I liked it even more.

The garden is under renovation. I can't wait to see the improvements on July

It took us a number of venue oculars before we were able to lock down L'Orchard Garden. But after weighing all our options, L'Orchard Garden appeared to be the most practical choice. 

It has all the five characteristics—aside from being within our budget— that we were looking for for our practical wedding venue which are the following: 1) convenient—located in 105 Camelot St. Kingsville Court II, Antipolo City, it is just a 30-minute drive from Eastwood; 2) enough parking; 3) well ventilated—when we visited the place, it was around 11 o'clock of a summer morning but it did not feel hot at all. The mango trees strategically scattered in the garden provided a cool and refreshing shade against the sun; 4) charming and romantic; and 5) photogenic.

Look how cool and shady it gets

Also, Richard and Rocky—the account executives—are both friendly and accommodating, not like the one in the adjacent garden. 

Filipino Artist: Jef Cablog

One look at Jef Cablog's artwork and I immediately became a fan. His paintings are full of life; and I felt that so much energy and passion was put into each of the pieces. Jef Cablog's technique is very unique—the first time I've seen such play with colors. 

 

When I went to Jef Cablog's first one-man show, "Birthmarked", last March 7, 2012, I had a hard time maintaining a straight face. Why? His paintings successfully brought me to the place of the Cordilleras—where life is simple, people respect their elders and peers, and nature is well-kept.  So much different from Manila—where I stay most of time—magulo, makalat, maingay at mabaho. I felt sad with this realization. At the same time, seeing Jef Cablog's skillfully done and very detailed paintings made me feel overwhelmed with different kinds of emotions—my usual reaction to great creations.

I have to thank my boyfriend, Paulo, for inviting me to Jef Cablog's show. I feel so lucky that I was given an opportunity to not just shake the hand, but to have a real conversation with a very talented Filipino artist and his equally humble and down-to-earth family members.

Jeff Cablog's parents

Jef Cablog's family

 

 

More about Jef Cablog

Photos by Paulo Subido

IPL Underarm Hair Removal

I have always wanted to permanently remove my underarm hair. So when I got an email from a group buying discount site on Intense Pulsed Laser (IPL) hair removal worth only Php300 (USD6.97) per session, I said to myself, "Oh wow, cheap laser! I want! I want! But what's IPL and why is the voucher being offered per session?" and off to Google I went...  

That was six months ago. I bought five vouchers. Now, I enjoy one to two months of absolutely hairless underarms, but the soonest that I see a hair growing, I need to have an IPL session again. 


Can IPL permanently remove hair?

In my case, the answer is no. Although I hope through time it can. I read on some websites that IPL is a permanent way of removing hair. I had five IPL sessions already; my last  session was a month and a half ago; I have to get another IPL session soon.

IPL works differently to different people. My dermatologist said that I reacted positively to the laser treatment. After my third session, I barely had hair on my underarms. For some people, it reaches up to ten sessions before they can see an improvement.

Do you recommend getting an IPL treatment?

Yes. But buy from the group buying sites worth Php300 to Php400 only. I got mine from CleverBuy.You'll need a session every two months, so that is just a total of Php1,800 a year. With regular IPL, you can wear your favorite tube or halter top and flaunt your shoulders and arms anytime. 

Where did you have your IPL treatment? 

Dermaesthetics. The place is ok. It's clean as how all clinics should be; nothing spectacular with the facilities and people.

Hair free kili-kili!