Author: mickijosue

Coffee Sans the Stain

| mickijosue

Those who know me are well aware that I love iced coffee and milk tea. No problem with having a little kick from caffeine every day, right? Wrong.

During my routine cleaning and check-up with the dentist, he asked me, “Do you smoke?” I said no. Then he followed with, “Do you drink a lot of coffee?” I gave a guilty smile and he finished the interrogation saying, “Your teeth have noticeable stains.” I knew of this fact–that coffee stains your teeth–but it never really bothered me until someone actually called it out. I then knew that okay, eventually I might consider undergoing a teeth whitening procedure some time in the mid future.

I guess, it’s really fortunate that I’m surrounded by people who are into health and beauty because I was handed a simple product that solved my tainted teeth. In just a month, I got my pearly whites back. I was quite impressed, to be honest.

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Teasers from Our Prenup Shoot with Ian Santillan 

| mickijosue

I’m feeling really excited about the photos from our prenup shoot with Ian Santillan. We shot in the ballet studio I spent most of my weeknights in, Ecole de Ballet Manille, and in PNR (Philippine National Railways). We haven’t seen the rest of the pictures and we won’t see them until our wedding day but here’s a compilation of the teasers Ian has released over the past few weeks.

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Pilates 101

| mickijosue

My first encounter with Pilates was when I was about 15. I was undergoing a summer intensive program with my then ballet school, Ecole de Ballet, Manille. I recall it to be one of my best summers ever. We had class everyday from nine o’clock in the morning to twelve noon or even one o’clock in the afternoon. Each day of the week we trained with a different mentor aimed at helping us hone different skills and techniques for dance.

One of the mentors we worked with was Victor Ursabia. At the end of our first class, he taught us some core exercises that were very strange and new to us. The exercises were very different from the usual crunches and leg races we were accustomed to but they surely hit the sweet spot – the stomach muscles. He explained that these were Pilates exercises that he adapted for dancers.

After that, I had no encounter or exposure to Pilates. Though I would hear about it from a friend or two, and it was something I did want to try sometime, I never came to a firm decision to actually take a class.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I found myself myself in a nearby Pilates studio called Pilates Manila. My parents decided to enroll because they were told Pilates could help solve or alleviate some aches and pains they had been complaining about. As to how exactly this is possible, I have yet to find out. I eagerly joined them to get to know more about the exercises and how these could further enhance my body strength and range of movement.

After completing just my third class this week, I came out of it challenged and more engrossed in this new form of exercise. Based on the first set of movements I learned, I would describe Pilates as a set of strengthening and stretching exercises that focus on awareness and dynamics of the mind and body. What makes Pilates interesting to me is the needed  consciousness of mind to be able to deliberately activate the right muscles to perform a certain set of movements. The most crucial set of muscles in all the movements is none other than the core. I discovered that if I didn’t deliberately activate the right muscles, most especially my core, I could not perform the movement well and had much difficulty OR I’d end up straining myself. It’s as much a mental activity as it is a physical one.

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Must-Have: One-Step Shampoo and Conditioner (All-natural too!) 

| mickijosue

I live a busy life with each day filled up to the brim. There are so many things I want to do but there’s never enough time! I do my best to make time for things at the top of my list and squeeze in whatever else I can manage. Yet, even with my best time management skills at work, some activities are well,… compromised.

Truth be told, my hair is usually the victim of my lack of time. I don’t put a lot of effort into my daily hair regimen. I’m a wash-and-wear kind of girl and my hair makes it through the day in a ponytail if it’s really not at its best. There are times when I skip conditioner (yes, I know this is a beauty sin!) to lessen my total prep time by about 5 minutes. If my hair said it hates me, I would completely understand.

Luckily,  I found a solution to this unfair treatment towards my reddish brown locks. My sister-in-law let me try Epoch’s Ava Puhi Moni  Shampoo and Light Conditioner and to this day,  it’s been,  by far,  the best thing for me and my hair!

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Pasta Firsts

| mickijosue

My fiancé likes to cook and well, I don’t have any sort of relationship with the kitchen. I knew I had to learn or figure out basic meals soon because our future and survival would depend on it (haha!). So, to expedite my learning process, he took the opportunity to teach me some pasta dishes these past two weekends.

I must admit I was reluctant to cook but when we started, I realized it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. My fiancé’s siblings joined us making it a team effort and turning it into a fun activity. We put on some 90’s music and cooked away!

I think my trauma for cooking stemmed from two events when I was in grade school. There was a time  I cut myself while chopping followed by a really unforgettable encounter with raw, uncleaned fish. I only got over these two memorable instances because the last two family cooking weekends have masked the past. I think I’m more open to learning more recipes now and I can start building a new relationship with the kitchen and cooking.

For those wondering what we cooked, or what I learned to cook, we did two kinds of pasta dishes: truffle cream mushroom pasta and pesto shrimp pasta. Let me share with you my fiancé’s invented dishes. I say ‘invented’ because he cooks without exact measurements and just adjusts ingredients based on his judgment of taste.

Here’s a picture of our first dish, the truffle cream mushroom pasta. It’s basically aldente pasta mixed  into rich, creamy sauce with truffle oil, two kinds of mushroom, and a few cubes of mozzarella to give the sauce some stretch.

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Coffee Conversations

| mickijosue

My love for coffee began in college. It kept me sane and alert especially on days wherein I hardly slept the night before. I’d look forward to that jolt after my morning’s first sip. It makes facing the daily grind a little more tolerable and it turns the dazed beginning of a new day into a pleasant unraveling of possibilities.

My fiancé introduced me to coffee alongside dessert. Instead of being a daily catalyst, this experience transformed coffee into a concluding rite to every meal. I learned to love the battling duet of sweet indulgence and bitter satisfaction.

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Wedding Preparation Tip: DIY Prenup Make-up

| mickijosue

Last week, I wrote about our prenup shoot at Casa San Pablo. I mentioned in the credits that we managed to pull off the shoot with DIY make-up and styling. For those who are considering the DIY path for their prenup shoot, allow me to share with you how I managed to look decent in the pictures (haha!).

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Prenup Shoot at Casa San Pablo

| mickijosue

When Poch and I were looking for wedding venues, we chanced upon a garden reception that was featured on Bride and Breakfast. It looked like the kind of place we wanted – rustic, simple and intimate. So we scheduled a trip to the venue for the following weekend.

When we arrived at the destination, that immediately concluded our search. We fell in love with Casa San Pablo instantaneously and we did not consider any other place anymore for our wedding reception.

Casa San Pablo is a bed and breakfast situated along Colago Avenue in San Pablo, Laguna. The 2-hectare recreational site was the brainchild of Boots and Ann Alcantara. The couple envisioned a place where people could flee from the busy and fast-paced life of the city and appreciate the peace, silence and simplicity of the local rural scene.

What makes Casa San Pablo unique is that everything about the place tells a story, from the food and furniture pieces, to the room design details. Boots and Ann took inspiration from their travels abroad and from the many characters in San Pablo. The soul of Casa San Pablo is built upon these experiences and encounters, all of which have been carefully translated into different parts of the compound.

What truly captured us was how the place felt like home from the first time we set foot in the open garden. We were greeted by an array of pine trees, lush flowers and a quaint brick and wooden house – the kind that looked as if it popped out from a storybook.

Our prenup shoot with a good friend, Mario Mundo, captured the beauty of this little haven in San Pablo. Here are some of my favorite shots of us in Casa San Pablo.

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