I Have Gerberas!

True! I now have these pretties at home, although the flowers have already withered but the mother plants are surviving.

I bought these flowering plants together with the stargazers and mums three weeks go. And I hope it will continue to grow, multiply and give us more more blooms in coming days.

Today's Flower

Monday Mellow Yellows

Macro Monday 2

 

Good Morning Friday!

Wake up and be mesmerized! See how the beautiful sunshine managed to outshine the heavy gray sky.

Get up, go outside and enjoy the beautiful morning brought by a very good weather in this part of the world. 

In few minutes I'll be leaving for work. The last working day of the week and tomorrow will be Saturday, time for my dearest Family. I do hope my boss will spare me and won't oblige me to have an overtime tomorrow.

Happy Friday Everyone!

SkyWatch Friday

Mums + Recycled Flower Pots

Remember my trip last week at Lim Ket Kai Mall, Plants and Flowers Garden Display Area wherein I bought flowering plants like Lilium Stargazers, Gerberas and Mums? So far after a week, they are still alive and flourishing especially the Mums. 

I actually bought 4 different colors of mums at P75.00 ($1.75) per pot. There were a lot of colors available for sale but I chose only four, the most I can afford and these were;

of Orange or Rust and Yellow Shade

Bright Yellow 

Lilac/Lavender Shade

and Red Maroon 

Hubby and I replanted them in another container. Instead of buying plastic pots we decided to recycle empty plastic water bottles. We have a lot of them at home because these were the used purified drinking water  bottles that our son had consumed.

 

Hubby cut the lower portion of the bottle (above the first ring) using scissors then bored holes at the bottom.

This is how the empty recycled pot looks like...

Recycled pot with garden soil...

 And finally the replanted mums in the recycled plastic pots.

Instead of throwing them away, these empty bottles were put into good use.

Today's Flower

Monday Mellow Yellows

Macro Monday

Blue Monday

Satti de Zamboanga

After I received my "travel order" to Zamboanga City, my birthplace, my hometown (thanks for the free trip), I immediately called up my older brother and told him that I am coming over and asked him to take me to a “Satti House”. The last time I had this spicy spirit kicking dish was years ago. I can’t really remember the exact figure, and I almost forgot that this delicious dish has ever existed. 

Spicy Satti @ P50.00 per serve

 

Satti is a local dish that is served with puśo (wrapped rice), sticks of roasted beef or chicken meat + overflowing with thick hot and spicy curry chilli sauce that is usually served early in the morning. You can rarely find satti available by lunch time. 

Anyway, we (my boss + 1 colleague) arrived on Tuesday July 30, 2013, 8AM on board Cebu Pacific from Cagayan de Oro City. My brother was supposed to picked me up at the hotel around 9AM and go directly to “Satti House”, unfortunately our schedule had changed, my boss asked me to stay for a while because were meeting one of our applicants and later had our lunch at Alavar Seafood Restaurant were we had the famous curacha.

The satti feast was slashed off that day. I thought I won’t be able to eat what I’m craving for during the trip because the only opportunity we had was on the first day, the 2^nd day will be devoted to main purpose why we went to Zamboanga, a whole-day business meeting and then fly back to CDO on the 3^rd. 

But guessed what? Good luck was on our side, because our business meeting host fetched us at the hotel early morning before the meeting and brought us to Andy’s Satti in Tetuan, Zamboanga City. All smile for me! Lol I thought I had a no-satti trip but I was wrong! Woot hooo!

Satti is really a famous dish to locals and tourists. From Christians to Muslims, students, workers to those who had hangover, satti is the most satisfying and energizing breakfast.  So if  you are in Zamboanga City don’t forget to try the spicy satti and I’m sure it will really perk up your day!

Food Trip Friday

Twigs + Blue Sky

I want to cultivate the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown.
~Kathe Kollwitz~

.

A very beautiful morning in Cagayan de Oro City today. Let's start the day with all smile! 

Have a Happy Friday!

SkyWatch Friday

Oh My Cacti!

Last Sunday Hubby and I went to plants and flowers gardens located at the West Bound Terminal in Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City with main purpose to buy garden soil, because we wanted to re-pot the flowering plants that we've bought at Lim Ket Kai (will be posted soon).

While exploring the area I landed in a garden with a lot of orchids that were flourishing with colorful flowers. I was so attracted with them and decided to enter the garden, curious what more it offers. To may surprise the garden was bigger than I expected and inside it has a vast collection of cacti. Yep! there were lots and lots of cacti displayed that definitely made me awed! 

From large to small potted cacti of different shape and form, they were all there. I wanted to take home one or two of the cacti, but hesitated because hubby will surely disagree. I already tossed P1000.00 a day before for gerberas, stargazers and malaysian mums, enough na muna yun!

 

I wonder how much they were, I never bothered asking, mahirap na! 

I settled in photographing them instead, regretting not having my DSLR with me I could have taken more high resolution and clearer photos. Aarrgh!

Next time, I make sure to bring her along with me when I visit the garden. After all the owner was nice enough to let me take pictures, I'm sure she will let me take some again.

Photos taken using Samsung Galaxy S2 Smartphone.

Water Fountain at SM

While rain is still devastating parts of Metro Manila and some Luzon provinces brought about by the southwest monsoon (habagat) intensified by Tropical Storm “Maring”, the Southern part of the Philippines particularly in Cagayan de Oro is luckily experiencing bright sunny day today. Although "Maring" had left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, still rain continues to pour. I hope and pray that our kababayans in the Metro and in Luzon will stay safe. 

Meanwhile, I'm sharing to you this water fountain located at SM Rotonda. I seldom see the fountain working but last Sunday because of the SM "3-Day Sale", it was showing its grandest. 

Sorry for the "not so" bright photo, because I only have with me my smartphone and that time it has a low battery life "sad" :(.

Water World Wednesday

The Lilium Stargazers

Yesterday I got to meet these lovelies at Lim Ket Kai, where plants and flowers are displayed and for sale as part of the Cagayan de Oro City Fiesta Celebration on August 28. Hubby and I happened to passed by at the area after my appointment with the doctor and saw a lot of beautiful flowering plants displayed including gerberas, orchids, mums and pretty large blooms of stargazers. Accordingly, most of the flower plants on sale came from Davao City.

 

Lilium Stargazer is a hybrid Oriental Lily and are known for its fragrance. Stargazer was created in 1974 by by Leslie Woodriff, a lily breeder in California. This cross breed lily was named Stargazer because the bloom faces toward the sky.

Stargazers are available in pink and white, white and yellow colors. I only saw two colors yesterday but the vendor told me that there were yellows but were already sold out.

 

I wanted to buy the full grown plant with blooms but it cost about P350 (approx. $8.0) per plant, too expensive for me. So I settled getting the seedlings instead at P75 (approx. $1.7) each. 

I bought the pink and white, white and yellow seedlings and hoping to grow it well and soon watch them bloom in my front yard.

Today's Flower

Macro Monday

Zamboanga's Best: Curacha

Two weeks ago, I, together with my boss + 1 colleague went to Zamboanga City (which is also my hometown) for a business trip. Even before the scheduled trip the two of them had always talked about trying out the well-known Curacha in Zamboanga. Of course, as one of the locale in the only Latin City of Asia suggested for a lunch at Alavar Restaurant. 

   

from my instagram

Curacha (not the babaeng walang pahinga) is actually a local Chavacano name of a crustacean with cross breed of large sea crab and lobster characteristics.  Also known as the spanner crabs or red frog crabs, and are only found in the deep waters of Jolo. The Tausugs of Jolo call these sea creatures as “Kagang Pamah”, it has red-orange color which stays the same even when cooked. 

There are different ways to cook Curacha but the best one I tried is the "curacha with alavar sauce". Just like what we devoured at Alavar Seafood Restuarant in Tetuan, Zambonga City, at P700-P1000 per serving (defending of size) and is already goof for 2-3 persons.

I also remember my big brothers made the same dish when we visited them years back in Zamboanga City, we just bought the crab at the flea market and cooked it with the alavar sauce. Yep! Frozen “alavar sauce” are also sold per kilogram, so you can enjoy the same dish at your very home.

Food Trip  Friday

InstaPic: HP Year of the Snake Flash Drive

Finally! I made used of the P1000.00 voucher given to me by Lazada last month after writing an article for them.

Last week I placed my order thru their website. Followed the instructions on “how to use the voucher” emailed to me by Lazada, three days after the package arrived on our doorsteps.

 

 

Curious what I got? 

An HP 32GB USB Year of the Snake Gold Design mobile flash drive! Woot hooo! 

A special edition flash drive with eye-catching snake design that said to give good luck to whoever uses it. Hmmm.. I hope so hehehe

With a price tag of P1,059.00 that means, I only paid P59.00 when the item was delivered. And so far this small item is doing great and I'm giving it to my one and only husband. :)

Shopping with Lazada is really convenient.Visit the their website and make use this  PHP 300 Discount Voucher code: LZDbrDgr for A MINIMUM WORTH of P3000 PURCHASE.

Peach to Pink Flower

Brought these flowering plant from Bukidnon last March. I do not know how her name, but the blooms are considerably pretty. I thought it will not survive in the extreme heat of the city, but it did as long as I maintained her place in a shady area in our front yard.

If anyone knows her, I hope you'll let me know.  For now I'll call her the "peach to pink flower", because the petals are of shade near to peach and light pink.

Today's Flower

Monday Mellow Yellows

One Beautiful Morning

"The secret to living happily is to not look at the morning as just another morning that has sprung up due to the rotation of the earth. 

Happiness will come when you believe that this day you will create and experience something beautiful."
~ Gary Dwight ~

 

Photo taken while waiting for a ride at the jeepney terminal of Terryhills. Yep! I am commuting these days because, I'm not in the right condition to drive myself to the office because of a whopping tummy at 20 weeks.

SkyWatch Friday

Pot Fountain

Water flowing from the mouth of a clay pot, at the main entrance of Garden Orchid Hotel in Zamboanga City, where we stayed last week during our official business in the city.

Taken using my Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone. The ever reliable gadget with built in camera that always comes in handy when I'm too lazy to carry with me the bulky Canon 60D DSLR.

Water World Wednesday

Lazada Philippines gears up for next wave in online shopping

Filipinos are taking over the online shopping scene in Asia! According to an online consumption study conducted by Nielsen, Filipinos are among Asia-Pacific’s most active online shoppers.

That’s not all there is to know about online shopping in the Philippines. Filipinos are reportedly the most savvy at filling up their virtual shopping carts, as 72% of Filipinos use the Internet for product research – bagging the title of being the most active bargain-seekers in Asia, what with the exponentially increasing Internet penetration in the country.

Lazada, the #1 e-commerce site in the Philippines is geared to handle the demand for making products easily available. It recently acquired a 6000-square-meter warehouse facility that processes orders as efficiently as possible.

With more than 20,000 products on its website, Lazada.com.ph is the ultimate digital shopping destination, where shoppers can avoid long lines, heavy traffic, and cumbersome product handling. For added convenience, Lazada even offers free shipping and next-day-delivery for Metro Manila orders, as well as multiple payment options such as Cash on Delivery, Paypal, credit card,  ATM transfers via Megalink, and BDO installment plans at up to 24 months.

Not only that, but attractive deals, promos, and regular flash sales pique the interest of Filipino shoppers online, appealing to the “bargain-hunter” mindset.

Are you part of the digital revolution and exercising your right to shop? Here’s another savvy deal for you: just sign up on the mailing list and get a PhP 200 voucher to use on your next Lazada purchase!

For more information on discounts, promotions, and updates, visit www.lazada.com.ph, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LazadaPH), add us on twitter @lazadaph.