Michi Photostory

I’ve been delaying my travel posts because of the pandemic but now I will try my best to finish this series because I really miss traveling. This is my way to combat my “travitude” and to reminisce our past trips because I don’t know if it will happen again in the near future. 

Two years ago, we had a chance to visit Elverum, Norway. This city is just two hours away from Oslo, you can either take the train or bus. It just so happened that my sister used to live in Elverum so we had a reason to visit this place. We don’t have an itinerary but we were able to visit few tourist spots including Glomdal Museum.  

Glomdal Museum is one of Norway’s largest open-air museums with 92 antiquarian buildings. This museum unfolds the culture and history of Solør and Østerdalen since 1911. One of their responsibilities is to document the culture of the Romani people/Tatars. 

The place is big so there are so many things to see and to do; both indoor and outdoor. You can visit the different buildings and houses scattered around the area. The museum park houses 92 buildings from the period of 1612 - 1940. 

You can see the Street School, Stone Building, Schrøder Shop, Petershagen Tavern, Playground Farmstead, Tynset Farmstead, Water-Powered Plants, South Sami Settlement from Engerdal, Rendal Farmstead, Stor-Elvdal Farmstead, Åmot Farmstead, Elverum Farmstead, The Tent House, Solør Farmstead, Finne Farmstead, Croft, Cabins, and Houses from the Forest and Summer Pasture Dairy Farms. 

You can also stay indoors and explore the permanent and temporary exhibitions. For exhibitions, you can check Latjo Drom, Hedmarking, Form, The Gallery, Military History, Old Country Doctor, and the Pharmacy. The last three exhibitions are located in the Stone Building, a long walk from the main building. 

Latjo Drom is the first permanent exhibition that was opened in the spring of 2006. It shows the culture and history of the Romani people and the traveling people who have been part of the Norwegian society for more than 500 years. 

Hedmarking is made to present the people in Hedmark, who they are, their differences, and challenges living in a diverse society. 

Form exhibition displays the different artifacts from their region and other collections that were created by their craftsmen. It is about the changing trends and impulses, the taste and pleasure of the craftsmen that were influenced by the leading cities in Europe. 

The Gallery is a temporary exhibition about what happened in April 1940, it was the time when Hitler attacked Norway but the King refused the German ultimatum. 

The Military History exhibition provides an overview of the 1000 years of military history from Viking age up to the modernization of the Armed Forces. It emphasizes the development of weapons and fortresses during the German invasion. 

The Old Country Doctor and The Pharmacy is where you get an insight into medicine, common diseases, health issues, and how doctors travel and treat their patients in the past. 

There are English translations on each museum so even there is no museum guide you will understand each exhibition. I suggest you visit this place during summer so you can do more activities like feeding and tending the animals. Kids will also enjoy the playground tavern. But since we visited during the second week of April and the ground was covered with snow, we just do some craft activities inside the museum. We can also take home our finished Easter Craft Projects. 

At the main building, you can buy some souvenirs or eat at Cafe Anno, it was lunchtime but there are limited food selections so we just ate waffles, bread, and coffee. Then we went straight to Norwegian Forest Museum which is 20 minutes walk from Glomdal Museum. 

110NOK - Adult 

50NOk - Children 

80NOK - Students/Seniors 

160NOK - 1 Adult + Own Children 

270NOK - 2 Adults + Own Children 

90NOK - Group of 10/per person 

+40NOK - including Norwegian Forest Museum 

Museumsvegen 15, 

2406 Elverum, Norway

Last year, when community quarantine started, my husband bought fries and mojos so if we are craving for chips, we can cook them at home. We just buy a pack of fries depending on our budget and what is available in the supermarket. If you’ve been reading my blog, you will notice that I’ve been sharing Great Earth products and this is the fourth one. It just so happened that we only visit Landers for the past several months so yun lang naman ang option and so far, satisfied naman kami sa mga natry namin. 

And because of that, two months ago, I also bought this Great Earth French Fries. One pack is PHP116.75 for 2 lbs. I have cooked this last week because I want to test our new Philips Air Fryer HD9270. Yey, I’m so happy that I already crossed it out on my wishlist. I will post my review in a separate post. 

Read: Homemade Fried Chicken and Mojos Potato 

If you don’t have an air fryer, you can follow this cooking instruction. But even I don’t have an air fryer, to save time, I will just deep fry my fries in 6-7 minutes, no need to bake it in the oven. 

1. Fry each batch, turning frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the fries are a pale blond color and limp.

2. Remove with a mesh skimmer to the baking sheet lined with paper towels 

3. Increase the heat of the oil to 375F. Fry the potatoes again, in batches, turning frequently, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Using the air fryer, I just cook this for 13 minutes at 200C. Then I add my favorite flavoring which is cheese and sour cream, this is my usual order at Potato Corner. I’m glad that I can prepare my own fries at home and much cheaper. When I first cook this, I followed the cheatsheet guide so I cooked the fries for 15 minutes time, the result is a little bit dry so I reduced the time to 13 minutes. I suggest you download a cheatsheet and try it, then adjust it according to your preference. Don't forget to take note of your own settings. 

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I am starting to explore the flavors of Italy and one of my favorite Italian restaurants is Amici. What I like about Italian cuisine is, they only use few ingredients so their dish is very simple but flavorful. Archestratus said, “Flavours should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings.”. Italian cooks are after the quality of the ingredients and not the quantity. 

Anyway, last week I prepared “Italian Baked Eggs” for our breakfast. I started cooking this way back in 2011 but this time, I tried a new recipe so I don’t have to saute any ingredients. I found Jamie Oliver's recipe, I just replaced some ingredients because I don’t have fresh cherry tomatoes and basil. I used all my leftover mozzarella cheese. 

Read: Baked Egg Recipe 

Italian Baked Eggs 

Olive oil 

4 large eggs 

4 cherry tomatoes 

Mozzarella Cheese 

Dried Basil 

1. Preheat my oven to 250C (full whack) 

2. Lightly grease my baking dish with olive oil. 

3. Add eggs. 

4. Slice my canned cherry tomatoes and put them around the eggs. 

5. Place my mozzarella cheese cubes. 

6. Sprinkle salt, cracked pepper and dried basil. 

7. Drizzle some olive oil. 

8. Bake in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes. 

9. Serve

My mistake is, I just turned off the oven after 10 minutes and I did not remove the baking dish from the oven. My two boys were still sleeping pa kasi so ending, naovercooked yung eggs but still we finished this dish pa rin. The yolk should be runny and not like this. 

Last week, my father-in-law celebrated his birthday and his birthday wish is “pasta with clams”. I remembered our favorite pasta in Amici which is Spaghetti ai Tesori del Mare, it has clams, mussels, and scallops so I suggested to my husband na ito na lang potluck namin. We always order regular size but they also offer grande or gruppo. 

There is no Amici in our area and the nearest branch that I know is in Alabang Town Center, I checked online on how to order and I’m so happy when I found out that I can order online. The day before my father-in-law’s birthday, I went to their website and placed my order. Spaghetti ai Tesori del Mare Gruppo is PHP1,720 with complimentary bread (6 pieces only). Ordering online is so easy. 

1. I created an account first (Cara Mia). 

2. Browse the menu and add to cart 

3. Choose if you want local delivery or store pick-up. Since we live outside Metro Manila, we chose store pick-up. Choose the branch where you want to pick-up your order. 

4. Choose date and time. Lunch time ang kainan kaso the earliest sa choices is 11AM so yun pinili ko.

5. Click Check-out 

6. Enter your contact information. Then click continue. 

7. For payment, you can choose online banking, cash on delivery, and credit card payment on delivery. I chose COD. 

8. After few minutes, we received a call from the branch and they verified our order. You will also receive a confirmation email. 

Since Cara Mia is also located in Alabang Town Center, I also ordered cake. I availed of their March Madness promo which is 1 whole cake + 1 Gelato Pint + FREE Gusto Privilege Card for PHP1,500. I was checking their cakes and hindi ko na makita yung Sansrival sa choices, yun pa naman unang cake na natry ko sa kanila dati. 

You can choose Ube, Midnight Dream, Pistaccio Ciocolato, Mango Magnifico, Sea Salted Honey Crunch, Chocolate S’mores, Coffee Honeycomb, Creme Brulee, and Strawberry Shortcake. We have tried the Midnight Dream before so for a change, I ordered Pistaccio Ciocolato PHP1,020 and for the gelato, we ordered our favorite which is Ferrero PHP380. So it seems like that we paid PHP100 for the Gusto Card but you can also buy the card online with a freebie for PHP1,000. 

With freebie: choose from Sea Salted Honey Crunch, Coffee Honey Comb, 1 Tub Gelato, 2 Pints Gelato, Ube Cake Mini, Pistacco Cioccolato mini, or Midnight Dream mini. 

* On every whole cake purchase made through the website or hotline number, get a P200 off discount code to be used on your next purchase made through the Cara Mia website! 

*10% off on your total purchase when you buy products in-store. 

* 15% off on your total purchase on your birth month when you buy products in store. 

* 20% off on your total purchase on your birthday when buy products in store. 

The following day, my husband went to Alabang Town Center to pick-up the order. He was in the mall before eleven but the opening hour is 11AM pa. When he arrived at the restaurant, unfortunately, the orders were not ready yet so mga 11:30AM na siya nakaalis. Late lunch tuloy kainan namin. 

I have no idea na pwede palagyan ng Happy Birthday yung cake so nag-effort pa ko na gumawa ng cake topper. Pinalagyan pala ni hubby ng birthday greetings so sayang pagod ko sa DIY cake topper ko. Waah! 

Well, when it comes to the taste of the cake, same with Midnight Dream, okay lang. The taste is good naman but it is not something na uulitin namin. But we always love their gelato so inuulit-ulit namin ito. Though hindi pa namin natry lahat ng flavors. 

Trivia: Do you know that gelato is healthier than ice cream? Yes, gelato has fewer calories, sugar, and fat compared to ice cream. They are more expensive compared to ice cream but they are more creamy in texture. 

Personally, I prefer gelato, mas gusto ko talaga texture niya, yung kahit galing freezer, makakain mo siya at hindi mahirap i-scoop. Melt in your mouth without a brain freeze feeling. It is good but expensive. Hehehe!

We are living in our townhouse for the past decade and I can definitely say, we are completely satisfied with our present residence. We are just a family of three so we don’t need a huge one. Reminiscing our normal lives, my husband used to travel a lot because of work and my son spent more hours in school so, during the day, the house feels empty. I thought that our tiny house is enough for us so buying a new property is not a priority.

We have no idea that this virus will change the way we see our own home. After being confined in the four corners of our shelter for the last several months, it made us rethink the kind of house that we want to live in. All of a sudden we realized that we need a bigger space and we want to have our own quiet corner for school and work.

Thinking back on the preCOVID19 days, we just wanted to renovate some part of our house but during the pandemic, we let go of the idea of home improvement. Instead of renovating the house, we started dreaming of a new dwelling place. It is easy to say “we want to buy a new house” but with our present situation right now, we had second thoughts. 

We even read one article in Bloomberg “A Pandemic is a Terrible Time to Buy Real Estate” so there are so many questions in our head. Is this the best time for house-hunting? Is it a wise decision to invest in property during a global pandemic? Can we afford to buy a new home? Should we wait after the pandemic? 

Investing in a new property is never an easy decision especially now that we are dealing with uncertainties. We know that foods, drinks, health, and job security are more important than buying a property but our desire to move to a more comfortable home is also important. We weigh the pros and cons, we think the worst-case scenarios and we used a mortgage calculator to make sure that we can afford to pay for our property. 

After contemplating for one month, we finally bit the bullet and we invested in a new property last year. Buying a new house in the midst of a global pandemic is either a smart or dumb decision that we’ve made but there is no harm in taking a risk again. Thirteen years ago, during the financial crisis, we also invested in our present home. During that time, it was a big risk because I just recently resigned from my work, and living on a single income while paying rent and mortgage is a challenge. But looking back, it was the best decision that we made because we are no longer renting. 

Now, we took a big leap and bought a new property. You may be wondering why we did it? Well, after being trapped in our home for several months, we accepted the fact that COVID19 is not an easy battle. And because of this, I’m pretty sure that we need to stay in our house for the next few months. No travel trips for us but we can use the money to invest in property while the amortization rate is low. Even after the pandemic, we already prepared ourselves that we may not have any travel trips because we have our new priority. Nevertheless, we can’t wait to move to a bigger house so we have more space to move around even there is a lockdown. 

I searched the internet and it led me to Euro Rich Foodtrade Corporation, a company that started by two sisters who love to travel and eat fine foods. They love to visit Spain and Italy and because of their food adventures, they started a passion project so other people can recreate European foods at home. They believe that every person deserves to travel the world through their taste buds. Thanks to them we can now buy authentic European foods in the Philippines. 

I love the idea and I’m glad that I discovered this online shop because even I’m stuck at home, I can experience other cuisines too, kasi puro Korean, Japanese and Spanish foods na kinakain namin so for a change, Italian cuisine naman ang iexplore, Euro Rich is indeed a home of the finest European gourmet because you can buy a lot of Italian products from Mazza and Dolce Vita company. You can buy rice, pasta, specialty creams, dairy, olive oils, seasonings, sauces, canned fruits, bottled foods, and other cooking essentials that you need. 

Actually, at first, I was hesitant to order because of the shipping fee so mga ilang days din naka-add to cart sa akin. I’m thankful for the PHP100 shipping discount, shop voucher, and 15% cashback, nacheck-out ko na rin. Of course, I ordered extra virgin olive oil and I added grated parmesan cheese, full cream milk, mushroom, cherry tomatoes, and risotto.

Items are all well-packed and arrived in good condition, pati yung canned goods nakabubble wrap pa. With regard to expiration, matagal pa so you can still store it for a long time. If you are looking for Italian products, you can try this store. I will order again kapag may promo ulit. Hehehe! My son liked this milk too, so sulit siya kasi mas mura sa present milk namin. 

Actually, I was having second thoughts pa nga kasi baka masira lang ito sa delivery but fortunately, nadeliver naman after 3 days (J&T). The food products are inside the insulated bag + bubble wrap + box so everything arrived in good condition. But I hope gayahin din nila ang San Miguel Frozen store na may ibang courier kaya frozen pa rin yung food kapag dumarating. 

Anyway, I already tried the cheese and okay naman. I hope sipagin ako magpizza this weekend, parang madali lang kasi yung recipe ni Chef RV. I’ll update this blog post kapag natikman ko na. 

Moving on, this year is the second time that we will be celebrating Easter at home. I’m not complaining because I know that it is better to stay and be safe. Maybe COVID19 is teaching us the real meaning of Easter and how we should celebrate it. It’s not about the eggs, chicks, or bunnies, it’s about the lamb. We should be reminded that Jesus is the reason for this holiday, He died, buried, and raised after three days to give us new life, direction, and opportunity to start over again. 

Sharing the Done For You Graphics that I’ve created for this Easter Holiday, 5 Bible Verses that you can use for your social media accounts. It is ready to post or schedule, you can add your own logo using Canva. Get the files here. You can also print these JPEG files on cardstock, resize the file depending on your preference. (see the samples below).

He is not here; He has risen! Luke 24:6 

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. Romans 6:9 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. Revelation 1:17 

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 

If you have kids and you are looking for an activity, you can download, print, and cut this Easter Coloring Card. You can add few pieces of crayons if you are planning to give them to someone. Get the printables here. 

For kids, eggs, chicks, and bunnies remind them about Easter. Eggs and chicks represent new life while bunnies are born in the spring, the time when plants and flowers start to grow. If you are looking for Easter cards, here are printable cards that you can use as cards, gift tags, or basket stuffers. Three designs on one page. You can use this not only for Easter but whenever you need it because the messages on the cards are not just for the Easter holiday. It is also available in my shop. 

You’re a good egg 

We carrot about you a lot 

Some bunny loves you. 

You can print this using cardstock, photo paper, or sticker paper. 

If you want to teach your kids about Easter, here is The Jelly Bean Prayer by Charlene Dickerson. You can buy jelly beans, M&M’s chocolates, or Skittles as a treat. You can download this free printable here.  Free for personal and non-commercial use only. The PDF file is A4 size. 

Red is for the blood He gave 

Green is for the grass He made. 

Yellow is for the sun so bright. 

Orange is for the edge of night. 

Black is for the sins we made. 

White is for the grace He gave. 

Purple is for His hour of sorrow. 

Pink is for our new tomorrow. 

An egg full of jellybeans

colorful and sweet,

is a prayer, a promise, a loved one’s treat.

How are you going to celebrate Holy Week?