Lunch at BonChon Chicken

One of the disadvantages of living outside Metro Manila is I can’t try new restaurant unless they will open a branch here in South. Don’t laugh at me if I say that I have just tried the famous BonChon Chicken. As I mentioned before I redeemed my J.Co Gift Certificate and I saw Bon Chon few steps away from J.Co store. My husband ordered Thigh Boxed Meal for P145 which include 2 pcs chicken (one soy garlic and one spicy glaze) rice and regular drink.

The chicken is tender, juicy, flavorful and super crispy and my son really loves the crispy chicken skin. I prefer the soy garlic chicken because I can’t take the spiciness and hotness of the spicy glaze. 

Update: After three weeks, we ate at BonChon again, we ordered Team BonChon Group Meal P645.  We're really hungry, I forgot to take pictures. 

1 Medium Chicken Box

1 Chapchae

2 Sides (Regular fries/Kimchi Coleslaw)

4 Rice

4 regular Soda/Iced Tea

J.Co Donuts

I’ve been reading and hearing good reviews about this donut but I haven’t tried it yet because the branches are too far from where I live. Actually, I have P500 J.Co Gift Certificate which is part of my May Winnings but it was only today that I redeemed it when I’ve learned that they have branch in Alabang Town Center.

It seems that this donut is really yummy because of the long line, as in hanggang labas ng store ang pila. I checked the J.Co Facebook page and wrote all the flavors that I want to try but unfortunately, not all flavors are available.

I ordered 1 dozen of Alcapone and 1 dozen of assorted donuts. It took me 32 minutes to finish my business here but I was still happy because I only paid P50 for 2 dozen of donuts.

Assorted Flavors: Berry Spears, Heaven Berry, Tiramisu, Don Mochino, Blue Berrymore, Choconuttzy, Oreology, Hazel Dazzle. 

On our way home, we ate Alcapone donut and my husband said, “ay ampaw” because if you will bite the donut you will see this gap. The donut is P42 per piece so I wasn’t expecting this.

In fairness, we like the Alcapone donut because it is soft and not sweet, unlike other donuts. As demand increases, I hope the size, quality, and presentation of the donuts will not suffer. I don’t think I will fall in line again for 32 minutes just to buy this donut. 

Blogging Days are Over

I started this blog last year so I’m blogging for 21 months only so I was really surprised when I found out that I’m out of space already. I checked my Picasa web albums and lo and behold, I already used the 99.98% of my free storage. I was thinking if my blogging days are over, of course, I can still blog but creating a post without pictures is not my thing. My blog name is Michi Photostory and there should be a photo.

I was sad at that moment because the only option I know is buying new storage for:

25 GB

$2.49 / Month

25 GB for Drive and Picasa

Bonus: Your Gmail storage will be upgraded to 25 GB.

100 GB

$4.99 / Month

100 GB for Drive and Picasa

Bonus: Your Gmail storage will be upgraded to 25 GB.

$2.49 per month is quite expensive for me because I’m a full-time mom. If I will upgrade my storage, I have to pay $29.88 a year + $10 for my domain; it is $39.88 a year. This is not my only blog; I have three blogs so if I will buy new storage this will be an expensive hobby and I guess blogging is not free.

I know there are still other options and buying new storage is my last resort. I searched the net for possible options and thanks to my dear readers for all the suggestions.

1. According to Ning of Nurse’s Diary I can use Photobucket. - I’m not used to Photobucket because I feel that it’s too complicated so I chose Picasa because I’m not techy. Picasa is user friendly and I can easily edit and watermark my photos. But this is a good option to upload photos on my blog.

2. It also happened to Joy of Joy’s Notepad so she bought new storage for $2.50 per month.

3. Jo of Sapphire Mommy suggested “asking my hubby to sponsor my hobby”. 

4. Tin of The Average Jane informed me to contact one blogger because it also happened to him.

I know I can’t just stop blogging because like I’ve said before this is my “me time” and blogging is already part of my life. I’ve been thinking about it and I guess I need to pay $2.49 per month just to continue my hobby but God is so good because I’ve found the answer.

Free storage limits

Picasa Web Albums offers 1 GB of free storage for photos and videos. However, files under certain size limits don't count towards this free storage limit. This applies to uploads for other Google product that store photos and videos in Picasa Web Albums, including Blogger, Google+ and Google Maps.

Free storage limits

Photos up to 2048 x 2048 pixels and videos up to 15 minutes won't count towards your free storage.

Automatic resizing

All photos uploaded in Google+ will be automatically resized to 2048 pixels (on their longest edge) and won't count towards your free storage quota. 

Note: If you reach your storage limit when uploading from the Picasa desktop software, you'll only be able to upload at free storage sizes. Larger uploads will not be automatically resized to the free storage limit.

Now, I’m busy resizing my photos and deleting unnecessary photos in my blog. It was an arduous task because I have 500+ posts but I’m willing to do it than paying $2.49 per month. Now, I’m down to 89% so I can post photos again. I know time will come that I will need to buy new storage but not now and not anytime soon. From now on, I will resize my photos before uploading it.

Out of Space

I’m creating a post and uploading pictures and all of a sudden, I saw this notice

Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos. Upgrade storage

Photos are stored in your Picasa Web Albums account and are included in your 1 GB free quota for photos. Additional storage you purchase is shared between several Google products and is in addition to your free quota.

The only option I know is buying new storage which is $2.49 per month. It is quite steep for me. Any suggestions?

DIY Christmas Wreath

Christmas is just around the corner so now I’m starting to decorate our home. If you’ve been reading my blog you know that I don’t decorate as early as November but I notice that my son loves seeing Christmas decorations. Some of our neighbors have Christmas decors outside their home and whenever my son sees decors he always says “mommy, look Christmas lights”, “mommy, wow Christmas tree”, or “mommy, look happy Christmas” etc.

Last weekend, I bought this wreath for P139, I don’t know if it is cheap or expensive. I did not buy any decors because I will reuse my old Christmas ornaments. I’m not very creative so I just put flowers, balls and Santa Claus. I use 3M hooks to hang our Christmas wreath so I don’t have to drill anymore.

This is the first Christmas wreath at home because I usually put Christmas Stockings.

According to Wikipedia, “Wreaths are used as household ornaments or Christmas decorations to celebrate the birth of Christ. They are usually made from evergreens and symbolize strength, as evergreens last even throughout the harshest winters.”

Why Pierre Cardin perfume is the best?

There is no doubt that there are many perfumes in the market today. However, when you compare quality of the brand name perfume, you will see that Pierre Cardin perfume has taken a large percentage of the perfume market. However, even though Pierre Cardin perfumes have large companies as competitors, you have to admit that they have really done well.

There brand name perfume has spread around the world and you can find it in any country’s boutique store. This company is old, their first perfume was the best, and it is up to date. It is considered to be the best seller up to date.

History of Pierre Cardin perfumes

Pierre Cardin perfume was their first perfume and a person called Pierre Cardin launched it in 1972. This product is classified as their main fragrance. The company recommends this perfume for romantic wear. Pierre Cardin perfume is a manly, refreshing, subtle, and oriental fragrance. The best thing about this product is; it lingers for long. This means that you do not have to keep on carrying it everywhere you go. This Perfume has a blend of fresh and spicy notes. The main features of this perfume are

• Launched in the year 1972
• Classified as a manly fragrance
• Recommended for romantic wear
• Size 8.0 oz.
• Ingredients : fresh and spicy scent

The bestseller perfumes and colons for both men and women.

As you probably know, this company has many brand name perfumes in the market. However, several Pierre Cardin perfume  products were the best seller. Some of them are

1. Pierre Cardin black for men

This is one of the bestseller products. The first impression that it makes to anyone who has viewed it for the first time will love it. It has a bark color and it comes in different sizes,

2. Pierre Cardin for both men and women

As you know, this product made Pierre Cardin to be famous. This product was created in 1972 and up to now, it is still one of the bestseller products.

3. Pierre Cardin 2 for both men and women

This model is an update of the first Pierre Cardin perfume. This brand name perfume was released the other day and it has gained popularity among people fast.

4. The Pierre Cardin signe Eau De Perfume Spray for women

This perfume is the first choice women opt to take home. This product has a purpled bottle and a lovely bottle head. It makes this smell crepuscular, luminous, sensual and characteristic.

5. Pierre Cardin miss choc perfume for women

Even though this product is new to the market, many ladies are love it. This is the fresher, lighter and glamour new version to Choc de Cardin, which was launched in 1981. This perfume is very eye catching and has a feminine bottle design.

This is only a few Pierre Cardin perfumes that are the best sellers. NOTE: these are just a few brand name perfumes from Pierre.

Crisp’n Juicy Drummets

One of the challenges of having a school boy is preparing his school snacks. It is not easy because you have to consider some factors. I can’t just give him foods that I’ve cooked for lunch and dinner especially food with butter, tomato sauce and even soup. Most of the times I prepare food that he will eat even it is a store brought food like hotdog, ham and nuggets. Before you judge me, my son also eat chicken and pork adobo, fish fillet, steamed fish or shrimp, homemade meatloaf and many more in school.

One of my mommy friend in school suggested Crisp’n Juciy Drummets so I bought one pack for P69 (6 pcs). We’ve tried it and we really like it. It is crispy, juicy and flavorful. It is now a new favorite in our house. 

One more thing, it is so easy to prepare. I just put it in the oven toaster for less than 10 minutes and after that I have crispy and juicy drummets. It is also healthy because I don't use any oil to cook this. 

Have you tried other flavors?

JT’s Manukan Grille

After visiting Our Lady of Lourdes church we immediately went to JT’s Manukan Grille. I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant of the famous actor Joel Torre but their branches are too far from our place but not anymore because we saw one branch on our way to Batangas.

You will pass Taal Vista hotel, Shell Station, and Petron Station. The branch is quite far from Tagaytay Rotonda so it is not surprising that the place is almost empty on Saturday night.

We ordered pecho P92, paa P88, baticulon P40, rice P20 and kansi broth P30. Rice is not included if you order chicken just like in Manokan Country in Bacolod but Manokan is much cheaper. 

My husband loves JT’s Manukan chicken because it is tender and juicy. My son and I like their baticulon (chicken gizzard). Now, you don’t have to go to Bacolod to taste chicken inasal because we have JT’s Manukan Grille here.

P.S. free wifi inside the restaurant. =)

Candle Chapel

Two weeks ago we went to Tagaytay after our quick visit in Manila Memorial and since then my son keeps on begging us to go to the mountain (Tagaytay).

Monday

Ethan: Mommy, after school, let’s go to mountain

Me: No, we can’t go there we don’t have a car.

Ethan: Let’s wait for daddy. Ok?

Me: Ok

**after three days of waiting**

Ethan: Mommy, after school, let’s go to mountain

Me: No, we can’t go there we don’t have a car.

Ethan: Let’s ride tricycle. (parang taxi lang?)

Me: No, we can’t ride tricycle. It’s too far. You ask daddy.

Saturday Morning

Ethan: Mommy, let’s go to mountain.

Me: Why?

Ethan: let’s go to mountain…its cold there…there’s snow (kelan pa nagkasnow sa Tagaytay?)

Me: You ask daddy.

My son was consistent so his daddy gave in and we went to Tagaytay last Saturday for joy ride. We dropped by at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church. Aside from Caleruega my husband always visits this church. There’s  a Candle Chapel here near the grotto.

grotto

P5 per candle, my husband bought pink, blue and green candle. Pink is for health, blue is for harmonious relationship and green is for success. He did this also when we went to Liliw, Laguna. Then off we went to JT’s Manukan for dinner.

P.S. malamig na sa Tagaytay. =)

Put the Philippines in the Psoriasis Map

Photo Source: PsorPhil Facebook Group

FYI: “125 million people worldwide have psoriasis, yet psoriasis remains a largely hidden disease”

If you have psoriasis or if you know someone who have psoriasis, click here and enter your name and location. Be counted and share your story to raise awareness. 

Misleading

I went to Saizen last weekend to buy the usual stuff such as kitchen towel, toilet paper, facial tissues and others for P88. I really buy this stuff in Saizen because it is cheaper compared to local supermarket. I was at the counter when I saw this DVD for P50, I read the label “Cartoon Craze presents Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur”, there was a different language but I thought this is an English DVD with subtitle but to my disappointment Daffy Duck is not speaking English and I can’t really understand the language maybe Japanese.

My son is still watching this cartoon but I really feel bad because I wasted my P50 for this. Well, charged it to experience. 

Ghirardelli: Triple Chocolate Cookie

My son was asking for cookie and milk yesterday but we don’t have stock of Oreo at home then I remember the box of ready mix cookie that I also bought. I’ve tried the Triple Chocolate Brownie mix last time and it became an instant hit to my family. I’m expecting the same thing when I’ve tried Triple Chocolate Cookie of Ghirardelli. 

All I need is an egg, butter and 1 pouch of ready mix. Combine all the ingredients and bake for 11 minutes.

As expected, my son enjoyed his cookie and milk moment. If you still remember my post, I baked best ever chewy chocolate chip cookies before and both have the same taste (IMO), nagkatalo lang kami sa chocolate chips, Ghirardelli chocolate chips is much better. Hehe! 

Now, I really appreciate ready mixes because I can bake something during my lazy moments.