August 12, 2008

By Babot Joseph

By Heart2Heart | Homes and Interiors | 2 Comments

Thank you to Tita Babot for sharing her beautiful home with Heart2Heart. Tita Babot’s homes are so beautiful and cozy, neat and organized. Everything is in proper order and no clutter around.

Tita Babot does all her gardens herself. She buys the materials and plants needed herself and works with the gardener closely

Tita Babot is not an interior designer but she does everything herself. This house was already built when they moved in, so she just fixed some details like the walls but everything else she did herself

Dining Room

My favorite part of the house! What a nice cozy and charming kitchen! She even has her music playing in the kitchen! The nook in the corner faces the pool.

Very rare to find a COPPER range hood. Beautiful!

Family room

My next favorite part of the house- her bedroom! Everything is white!

It has a balcony on the side

Kids rooms

My favorite kids room – looks like a room straight from a Pottery Barn catalog

And I just had to include the photo of their new family member that was hiding under the kitchen stove -ADORABLE!

Previous Entry: The Joseph’s Second Home June 9, 2007

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August 12, 2008

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Maricar’s Bolognese Recipe

By Heart2Heart | Recipes | 3 Comments

Whenever we travel as a family, that is the only time we have the chance to brag about our cooking abilities. Mom makes her famous adobo which she learned from Lola Glecy, I make my cheese concoctions, Quits makes his special adobo rice from Mom’s leftover adobo 🙂 and Maricar makes her special spaghetti bolognese sauce.

My sister makes the best homemade bolognese sauce. It is the real thing! Not the “pinoy” sweet spaghetti sauce but the real Italian bolognese sauce. It should be easy to make, just a matter of preparing all the ingredients and mixing everything.

Thanks to Maricar for sharing her recipe with Heart2Heart.

1/2 kilo ground beef

2 carrots- chopped

1 1/2 stalk celery- chopped

2 big onions- chopped

5 pcs. dried porcini mushroom

1 cup chicken stock

2 cans (400 gms) crushed or whole peeled tomatoes

(preferably italian)

1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste (preferably italian)

salt

pepper

Procedure:

1. Soak porcini mushrooms in 2 cups warm water for thirty minutes

2. In a stock pot, saute onions in olive oil and butter – medium heat only

3. Add carrots – saute till carrots are tender

4. Add celery – saute till celery is tender

5. Add ground beef – cook till light brown

6. set aside all ingredients in one side of the pan – then saute the drained porcini mushrooms

7. Add tomatoes – cook till it simmers

8.Add 1 1/2 cup of the strained water of the porcini mushroom

9. Add the chicken stock

10. Salt and pepper to taste

11. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours in low heat

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August 11, 2008

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Discover Color at Rockwell’s Urban Bazaar

By Heart2Heart | Shopping, What's New at Power Plant Mall | 3 Comments

This rainy season; satisfy that urge to splurge at the Rockwell Urban Bazaar from August 15 to 17 at the Rockwell Tent.

This year’s theme: “Discover Color, Find your style”, Rockwell’s Urban Bazaar will showcase over 80 participating shops with a unique mix of women’s fashion, men’s line, accessories, beauty, home items and knick-knacks.

Raid the racks with clothes from exciting brands like Be, Cole Vintage, Daphne, Designer Soiree and V Clothing. And shift from work-wear to weekend wear with Lime, a fabulous line of comfy and lightweight jersey tops and dresses. Perfect for the active woman who needs flexible fashion to fit her lifestyle.

Adventurous stylephiles will also enjoy Tammy Tan tops and casual dresses in geometric prints and make a bold fashion statement. Tammy Tan’s playful yet elegant designs are sure to add spice to your closet and will let you stand out from the crowd.

Treat your soles with fashionable footwear from Ichigo, NJ Sneakers, Renegade Folk and latest footwear fad, Plueys Manila.

Plueys lets you enjoy stylish Wellington rain boots made from durable natural rubber with sturdy treaded soles and are softly lined for comfort. Its perfect from dressing up or even dressing down.

Guys can also enjoy a wide assortment of men’s line from Villareal and Munky, as well as tailored shirts and jackets from Navarro. Hip shirts and denims that fit the urban lifestyle can also be bought at Switch Nation.

To make you even more chic and stylish are accessories from Buxani, Fuddy Duddy, Get Happy, Temp Station, BBB, D!luxe Jewelry, Bags in the City, De Roca Bags, Veronica Manila, Gypsy Holiday and Tonic.

And finally to make your shopping extravaganza complete, indulge your taste buds in new and exciting food booths outside the tent.

So rush to the Rockwell Tent to splurge and spoil yourself with this year’s Urban Bazaar and even get a chance to win raffle prizes and enjoy Samba performances by Escola de Samba de Manila – the first and only Samba school in the Philippines!

For inquiries you may call 898-1702.

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August 10, 2008

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Summer Palace

By Heart2Heart | Foodie | 3 Comments

I have been hearing many good things about Summer Palace, so as soon as my good friend, Rina, invited me for lunch, of course I moved all my appointments and had lunch with her and Suharto! 🙂 Thanks guys for always inviting us!

Apparently Rina was craving for the prawn salad with cornflakes, which became my favorite too. Mom and John always order the prawn salad for me when we eat in Shang Palace ( Shangri-la Hotel Makati ) but this one had cornflakes!! YUMMY!

Benny and Soraya joined us and they took care of ordering as they are regulars in the restaurant. EVERYTHING was very good!!! Make sure you look for Nancy and ask her for the specials not found in the menu!

Xiao Long Bao – I was surprised to see this as it is very hard to find in the Philippines. It was quite small, taste it okay. Still not the real real thing but it is close

Prawn Salad with Cornflakes! Our favorite!

Steamed cod fish in soy sauce – VERY GOOD!!!

After all that, we still had Peking duck! Wow!!!

I was already full by the time the Peking Duck came – but the 2nd way was also very very good!!! Deep Fried with Spicy Salt! Make sure you eat it with the sauce.

Edsa Shangri-la Hotel Manila 1 Garden Way, Ortigas Centre Mandaluyong City 1650, Philippines

T: (63 2) 633 8888 F: (63 2) 631 1067

Summer Palace

Phone (63 2) 633 8888 ext. 2738/2739

Hours Open daily for both lunch and dinner. Open at 9am on Sundays for a dim sum breakfast.

Location Mezzanine Level, Tower Wing

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August 10, 2008

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Limited Edition Pianegonda Collection

By Heart2Heart | What's New at Rustan's | One Comment

LUCE

Franco Pianegonda’s creativeness has no limits: inspired by the haute couture of the 50s, the Italian artist thought and realized a collection that represents the highest Pianegonda’s luxury.

It’s the exclusive Luce collection, characterized by the evergreen allure of the natural stones that give life to a new sophisticated and feminine line of jewels, combining contemporary creativity and geometric avant-garde trend.

Extended volumes, round spaces, abundance of materials and width of the shapes, make all the surfaces of the jewel shine of pure light. A warm brightness captures with magical emotions the glance of those who admire the jewels and expresses the whole fascinating personality, the beauty and the energy of the woman who wears them.

The natural colours of stones interlace, mix and alternate like a colourful outbreak of light: a stone rainbow that, combined with silver, represents the maximum expression of Pianegonda’s splendour.

Amethysts, topazes and natural quartzes harmoniously underline the brightness of these design works.

PURE LIFE COLLECTION

Inspired to the Oriental effect, the Italian artist presents the exclusive collections in silver and pearls.

Unique, elegant and sparkling design: Franco Pianegonda gives life to the most classic of the gems, interpreting it according to the brand’s characteristic style. The new creative path is created and the pearls are the symbol of the new artistic and interior way of the designer.

“Pearls embody the mystery and the beauty of feminine world”, says Franco Pianegonda, ” they

are moon’s symbol linked to water and they represent the feminine creator: pearl is woman and

life. It is unique and precious, known to embody perfection, mystery and pureness”.

Here they are “Life” and “Pure Life”: the purity of rhodium-plated silver joined to the precious yellow 18 carats gold and to the water fresh pearls creates elegant games of light.

The new lines with pearls propose gourmette and rolò chains, branded and gold circles and thin silver sticks where the pure white pearls are set in perfect harmony of shapes.

Creations with important dimensions and volumes, combinations of silver, gold and pearls make these jewels an authentic expression of feminine beauty, creating splendid effects of intense light.

GOLD PASSION

Innovation news for 2008: the exclusive Gold Passion collection, in rose gold and rhodium-plated silver.

A line that bewitches and charms, astonishes and fascinates: Franco Pianegonda reveals the secret of his collections, creating jewels that enclose the mystery of happiness.

The jewels of the Gold Passion collection embody the union between the precious 18-carat gold with the copper pink nuance and the pureness of the shining silver 925%, which encloses the spirit of the jewel in a warm embrace.

The main characteristics of the line are the carved shapes, which are the workings of an artisan craftsman. The necklaces are characterized by the exclusive double role chain and by rose gold locket charms. These lockets are carved with the eternal declaration of love, like the word “Love”, which portrays a guarantee of perfect quality and preciousness of materials; like the word “Pianegonda”, which encompasses the beauty of a bouquet of bloomed roses or the perfect geometry of Pianegonda hearts.

The large rings, the bracelets and earrings play on the asymmetric geometries of all these themes proposing wide dimensions and voluminous shapes. Every jewel is surrounded by a frame of twisted silver, that gives solidity and thickness and which encloses the spirit and brilliance of the creation, thanks to the chromatic contrast

MYSTERY

Franco Pianegonda launches the Mystery collection, whose jewels are characterized by locket charms with the most varied shapes and dimensions. Each one of these jewels is created thanks to the brightness of rhodium-plated silver titled 925%.

The necklaces distinguish themselves by the exclusive twin silver chain that is an innovation in Franco Pianegonda’s creations. In each precious charm lockets where low relief themes are sculptured.

The four designs proposed are: circles harmoniously linked with each other; the Pianegonda logo sculpted as a spectrum of each other; roses and hearts coined into the two faces of the circled lockets.

The rings are created with a rigid twined mesh while the necklaces, the bracelets and the earrings are characterized by rolo and gourmette chains.

The collection exalts the sophisticated woman, who loves elegant luxury, one who can never resists something chic and who is able to interpret the jewels with charismatic skill and self-confident charm.

ETERNITY

It is the collection dedicated to a woman who owns a strong, dynamic and independent identity, who is the protagonist of her own life and reflects her feminine side in the Pianegonda heart.

The necklaces are characterized both by a thin mesh and by a double gourmette chain and many small hearts are graved on the heart charm.

The bracelets are created with a double chain gourmette and many small hearts characterize the plate.

In this line is introduced one of the best news: the bangle bracelet, an accessory of pure design that expresses the emotion of perfect Pianegonda style. The earrings are heart -shaped and the huge-dimension rings complete the line in perfect style totally chic.LOVE

Love collection: it is a light that makes the soul shine.

The new “Love” collection is born from the creative mind of Franco Pianegonda: the new collection unveils the secrets of his creations by perfectly depicting the true meaning of happiness.

The perfect symbol for a day that all true lovers await is Valentine’s Day. This collection is dedicated to everyone who wants to express his or her love by offering his or her loved ones an exclusive jewel.

A thin mesh intertwined with a delicate union of three engraved hearts characterizes the necklaces. These hearts, which are linked to each other in a harmonious manner, represent the indissoluble and eternal feeling of love.

All in accordance with Franco Pianegonda’s style, the bracelets are presented in various sizes and dimensions and all characterized by several groups of engraved hearts created in rhodium-plated silver and diamond-cut finishes.

These jewels become symbolic leaders in the Franco Pianegonda’s silver collections, thanks to the delicacy they express, that the designer dedicates to a woman. The jewels are created for a woman, aware of her sensuality, which is able to give and receive emotion through a splendid love jewel.

Previous Entry: Pianegonda June 30, 2007

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August 9, 2008

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The Sum of Its Parts

By Heart2Heart | Arts and Culture | No Comments

Tracing the evolution from pigment to venerated object

Don’t expect to see only beautiful paintings hanging in this show.

The current Lopez Museum exhibition The Sum of Its Parts features pieces from the Lopez Memorial Museum collection which have undergone or are slated to undergo conservation procedures. These are the works by Felix ResurrecionHidalgo, Juan Luna, Pacita Abad, Nena Saguil, Juvenal Sanso and Claudio Bravo. Also included is contemporary artist Jonathan Olazo’s installation work called “Healing Achiles” taking off from the “Diaphanous Series” of his father Romulo Olazo which the latter began to develop in the late 1960s through printmaking.

At the opening, husband and wife curator Eileen and Chit Ramirez, museum director Cedie Vargas, Mrs. Olazo and Romulo and Jonathan Olazo

The young Olazo’s installation consists of three sets of works: large-scale paintings, light boxes with pictures of the staff, and Mouse Traps. The paintings, borrowed from his father, were exhibited circa early 80s in a one-man exhibition in the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

He said “I learned from my folks these paintings were stocked in my grandfather’sbodega in Pasay City, for almost a period of 20 years. Just recently, my folks had gotten very excited over a survey of Dad’s body of art work, and had begun initial salvos to recount and go over their storages, and hence, they ‘discovered’ these paintings, cast by Dad as a landmark output that can easily highlight his almost forty year artistic career. The find was marred though by the state of the paintings: very dilapidated and almost decaying in a degree beyond recognition, all of us were dumbfounded and shell shocked. What we have at the most are documentations of the pieces via catalogues published, and we were prompted with the challenge of what can be done to salvage these paintings, or at least arrest its pending deterioration.”

The Lopez Museum‘s conservation team fumigated and installed the pieces.The installation itself is a visual statement alluding to states of rest, a position of surrender to conservation processes. By sharing weathered art objects crafted by the hands of his fellow artist and father, Jonathan brings up questions about how art gets treated and conflated with value through the workings of institutions, collectors, viewers and cultural workers.

The exhibit aims to make the viewer aware of how various agents in the art world – from the artist, the institutions and the audience themselves – participate in the transforming an art work from pigment to venerated object.

The Sum of its Parts exhibit will run until September 30, 2008 at the Lopez Memorial Museum, ground floor Benpres Building,Exchange Road, Pasig City. Museum days and hours are Mondays to Saturdays, 8am-5pm, except holidays. For more info, call 631-2417.

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August 8, 2008

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Fantan Bread

By Heart2Heart | Yummy! | No Comments

When you first try this bread, you will not believe that it was something that was heated from the freezer because it tastes like it was freshly baked. It is called “Fantan” because it looks like a fan. What an interesting shape of bread and it is so good. Try it!!! Look for it in the frozen section of Rustan’s supermarket where they store the pizza crusts, frozen french fries and other frozen breads.

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August 8, 2008

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Sofia Turns 18!

By Heart2Heart | Celebrations | 2 Comments

Thank you so much Peter and Elena for making us part of your daughter’s debut. What a grand celebration! The night was full of entertainment and surprises for Sofia!

This is the first non-Wharton/Penn Club or Rotary event that we have attended with Peter, so it was a nice change to see the other side of Peter. It was nice to meet your children who take very much after the two of you. We are so happy to share this evening with you and for bringing us closer to you through this very important event in your life.

And to the very lucky debutant, Sofia, Happy 18th Birthday!

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August 7, 2008

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A Letter from Australia

By Heart2Heart | Recipes | 4 Comments

Heart2Heart is always so happy to receive emails from many viewers and readers. Sharing with you an email from Gia from Australia.

Thank you to Tita Bettina Osmeña and to all those who share their recipes with Heart2Heart where many can learn new cooking ideas and simple recipes which they can easily make themselves.

Hi there,

I am a Filipino living in Sydney for almost 5 years now. And I just want to say you have no idea what your site has done for my social life here!

I have always been asked by my friends here to cook Filipino food and I’ve found your site to be a source of really good recipes that showcase our food but with a twist that the Westerners can appreciate.

The Iberian Chicken recipe was such a big hit that, as I type this, we’re off to a winter lodge today to celebrate Christmas in July and by special request I am making Iberian Chicken – for 27 people!!!!

Thank you, thank you so much for your site. Please keep the recipes coming because it it such a wealth of information specially for someone like me who never cooked even a boiled egg until I went overseas.

More power and keep the recipes coming!

Regards,

Gia

Previous Entry: Iberian Chicken from Bettina’s Kitchen July 1, 2008

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