this, the weekend report!

this weekend was some kind of a SOMETHING, if i ever could find a way to accurately describe it. its now late into the sunday night and i really still cannot get over the fact of how much fun i had these past two days.

first... i made new friends. was at my site till late at night since i decided to stay and keep richie company while his people had some rectification work done at the studio. also there were jay and claire, richie's long time friends. jay is a professional chef while his wife, claire, is an artist. they were there since claire's works will now find residence in the studio, sharing the stage with other art pieces my client purchased like the van tuico's and the giant acuna. i have met them once before and sincerely had a great time talking with them. the feeling was apparently mutual since not soon after they met me, they were already trying to set me up on a date, but that's another story... anyway! seeing them again, now with a new painting in tow, was definitely a pleasure.

i love meeting new people really since you never know what you will learn from them. with claire and jay, i got to learn so much about FOOD (love, LOVE food) and art (LOVE, LOVE art!!!) i also got to share some of my ideas on the subjects and to have two equally passionate people concur on my thoughts, well, it was very humbling :)

second... i tried new food in a new restaurant. richie and his wife karts were invited by their chef/ friend to sample the food at his newly opened resto in GB3 and managed to drag me along with them. the place offers italian american cuisine and prides itself of flying and shipping in the best ingredients the world can offer in order to set itself a notch above its competitors. they do this with such dedication that they even import their CHEESECAKES straight from the kitchen of the gramercy park hotel in NEW YORK!!!! talk about a real new york chessecake! that night, we had the chef do the ordering for us, something i should remember next time to do since no one knows the food better than the chef, right? we had LOADS of antipasti ranging from simple bruschettas to these artichoke hearts oozing with cheese! for the entree, we were treated to a burst of flavors from their thin crust pizzas, to their mushroom pasta to this slab of pork belly, slow roasted in BEER for 46 hours until the meat is practically falling off the bone! dessert was equally decadent with the infamous NY cheesecake and the best dulce de leche i have ever tasted in my life! at the close of this fantastic dinner, the chef told us of one dish they serve that i swear, made my heart skip a beat.... how does 25 grams of grilled US angus beef topped with ox bone marrow and foie gras sound? served with foie gras and roated garlic rice..... ??!!! the chef jested that the order comes with a complementary crash cart and a free pass to makati med :)

third... i went to a new store. GB5 now has a brand new ZARA open so no more need for you to cross all the way to glorietta to get your ZARA fix. i just LOVE ZARA. i love it o so much. true their merchandise is a bit on the pricey side but that has never stopped me from loving it still. everytime i enter, even if i know i only have the budget for tutuban, the place never fails to make me smile. its always a fantasy to enter and try on their clothes. i always go for the more unpractical pieces like the wool jackets and the blazers since i know there is no way i'll survive wearing them in this country anyways, thereby making the pain of not getting them less tormenting. today, i lusted over this utterly beautiful coat that just had the nicest details. one of the sales reps probably noticed that i was short of drooling over it that he coaxed me to buy it, in a joking way of course. wise ass me, not being able to hold back my frustration answered him back, if he could make it snow in manila, then i will buy 10 right now! "si sir naman.... " was all he could say.

FYI... for all those who care to know... SSI is opening MASSIMO DUTTI here very soon... :)


fourth... i watched a great movie. finally, after two fiascoes, the bad movie curse has finally been LIFTED with the absolutely fantastic experience i had while watching Eagle Eye! staring current hollywood golden boy, shia lebeouf, the movie tackles the modern paranoia of how we all can be surveyed as well as controlled through our dependence now on technology.

now, i really do not want to build up ur expectations but this movie really did it for me! from beginning till the very end, i was literally at the edge of my seat. there were even moments where i found myself biting my nails in anticipation of what was gonna happen next. i wont be an ass and ruin the movie for you people so just go and watch it for urselves and tell me if i was wrong. my kudos to the writers, kudos to the producers, and kudos to the actors.... this movie was truly the icing to what has been a fabulous weekend cake!