I am a McDonald's kid since 1991(or '95 maybe) but I do enjoy ocassional Jollibee feasts. So I was home-alone the other day and realised I haven't had any cash with me (genius). I went to jollibeedelivery.com and hoped they accept online payments. It was a long shot but I was very surprised that they actually do!
"Yey! I am not going to starve to death! Not today!"

I am very sure their website just went through an upgrade because I used to complain how crappy it was.

Yes, all mine. Heyy, what can I do? They have a 200-peso minimum.

I heard our friend, Den, was performing in a cafe in Libis, so, Fifi and I decided to tag along. A Ukelele-themed cafe sounded really cool!

It's a Friday Sweldo Night and you can only imagine how tough it was to get from Makati to Libis. But since we really wanted to see our friend do her thang, we gave into the x2.2 Uber surge and just hoped for the best.
We arrived after about an hour which I think is not so bad.
(If you're curious, our Uber trip cost us P479.)

It's an open mic night so everyone was welcome to play and sing along. Den and her friend who sang with her were really good and so were the other 2 seemingly regular performers that were there when we came. I haven't seen her played in a long time and I loved it so much! I'm starting to want to learn playing, too.

(Credits to Uke Box Caffe on Facebook for all the photos)




The place is small, but enough for a few barkadas and families. There are Ukelele's hanged on one side of the wall (which are for sale, I think, so lucky you if you fancy any).



They have really cozy nooks with bean bags and coffee tables and I think it's really nice and comfy and beautiful! But because I'm a total genius, I didn't bring my cam and haven't gotten a picture. I wish I can find a restaurant just like it in Ayala or BGC!
We got there practically starving and wanted to get everything off of their menu. Their menu was, rather interesting though, to have Ramen.





We were also very lucky to hear this talented young lady who even played an original piece. Lovely!
It's such a very inspiring sight to see people sharing their beautiful talent, doing what they love doing.

Uke Box Caffe is a fresh new restaurant that I would argue every music lover will love. Aside from coffee, sandwiches, and ramen, and other delicious blended drinks, they offer free jamming sessions every weekend nights, Ukelele Workshops (on a schedule) and lastly, customised Ukeleles!

The place was very difficult to find on Maps so if you need to find them, go visit them on Facebook to get directions.
It's just across Eastwood Pulis Station to the left. Don't trust me 'cause I'm directionally challenged. You're better off looking at the map on their FB page! :P

Uke Box Caffe
187 Village Center, E. Rodriguez Ave.
Bagumbayan, Quezon City

I'm fat. Hence the new name, Little Miss Figgy. I've always been fat... but was never THIS MUCH.
I've been (slightly) in denial for 2 years. As months went by, I have unconsciously redid my wardrobe just to suit my shape. I wear baggy blouses and oversized shirts, avoid sleeveless tops, stopped wearing jeans, and most of the time wear black. I've (still) unconsciously followed every workaround in the book.
(I wasn't the fashionista kinda gal, so what I meant was I used to wear fitted shirts and pants. Now I can't.)



But there's no denying, my eating has gone beyond control.
It all started when one day at work, I was assigned to a dreadful project, and all I did for fun was to eat. I never liked sweets that much, but during those dark days, I seek comfort in food (chocolates mostly). I never felt guilty because all I was thinking was I deserved it. Little did I know, for an entire year, I was stress-eating. Then it just went on and on after that.

Suspect # 1 - 3 bags of this per day per week(?)

Suspect #2 - I eat everything that came in this flavour

Suspect #3- Any chocolate will do.

And more... They're all guilty.

Many started to notice, and no matter how people try to either sugar coat or be blunt about it, hearing anyone say, "My god, you've gotten fat" never left a good feeling.
It's been 2 years now and you'd think hearing people call me fat every now and then is something I can get used to, but that's not the case. (And neither can other people, so do everyone a favour.)

It nudged my self-esteem down more than I thought it could. I stopped taking pictures. Avoided bumping into relatives and old friends. Tried wearing make up to feel better about myself.
¡Qué horror!

I never said I was skinny! Haha! It's probably hard to tell but I don't have a lot to compare. I don't really take pictures often, apparently. And of course I don't want to post the very ridiculous ones. L O L.

Then I figured: Acceptance is always the first step.
We're not stopping there. I'm not going to just live with it. First, I must accept that yes, an extra 18 lbs. is indeed a big deal, and from there I can start working my way down. I'd argue it applies to everything, actually. You can't fix what you think ain't broken! You dig?

1) Exercise 2) Eat Healthy 3) Sleep early.
The steps are easy, it's the motivation that I lack. That's extremely hard to work on when it's just more fun and easier to eat out with Ian every day and night.

The first of May. It's a new month, it's a new day. I am yet to shed a lot of those extra pounds, and it's not happening while I sit down here and type, is it? So, first thing tomorrow morning evening, I'm gonna hit the gym pool like a madafaka and keep you guys posted with this "fitness journey".

6 00 PM in the summer

And with that I leave you... as my #FitnessWitness!
See you in skinnytown, betchaz!

"The only person that has to believe you can--is you.
Everybody else will just have to see it for themselves."

Does this look familiar?

I like to believe that I don't like teleseryes. Not that I'm trying to be cool or anything but I just think my heart couldn't handle the drama. (Oh, the irony!) Breaks my heart. Call me crazy but it affects my real-life mood!

So here's a confession:

I am going to a place far away from home, and I needed Ian's help to get there safe, or get there at all.

I am going to

One Saturday afternoon we went out to Rockwell for lunch. I haven't been there in a long time, and nothing much has changed, apart from these people walking around holding this interesting cone of I'm-not-sure-but-it-looks-cool!

I've seen a LOT of people holding it, with a huge L and A on the cardboard. I'm too shy to ask what it was, and isn't that rude and annoying? Anyway, so I search the entire mall (not a problem), feeling like a detective tracing where the wave of people is coming from--and then finally...

Ground floor, right beside Zaifu--
Churreria La Lola!

It's very interesting that their tables have holes in them to fit your cone in if you are sitting down. But because I'm a very busy gal, I just went for a 12-pc Churros (PHP 195) with a Belgian chocolate dip (medium - PHP 60) on the side to-go.
(Just kidding, the seats are all taken)

Fresh off the pan, it tasted GLORIOUS. Light and crispy on the outsideThere isn't much to compare it with but there's no denying, that's good stuff right there.
The Belgian chocolate dip, as you can see dripping from the rim, has a thick consistency, which I loved. You don't have any other choices for the dip, but they do offer churros with filling that comes in different flavours.
The perfect sweet and salty + chocolatey combination in every piece leaves a good taste in the mouth.
Half-way through, I felt the umay kicking in.
Lesson learned: 6-pcs will cut it if you are eating alone*.

Here's the rest of the menu.

(via candidcuisine.net)

There isn't a lot of places to get Churros here in Manila. I dare say, it's underrated in the country.
Apart from Churros City whose(?) stalls are far too inconvenient for me to visit, and Dulcinea whose Churros I am not exactly a fan of, their isn't much out there to run to a for a Churros fix.

Ever saw the movie The Holiday (2006)?



Remember when Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) switched houses? One of them was from England and the other was from LA, they both wanted to escape from their life in the city and seek comfort some place they've never been. While finding a hotel seems like the usual option, imagine going on a vacation, but at the end of every tiring dayyou get to hop on your bed as if it were home!

The house alone gives the entire Surrey experience. The fireplace, the carpets, the paintings, the stone walls. Some things you can never get from a hotel. I've always thought this whole idea house-booking idea is all but a dream, until I found out about Airbnb.com.

I learned about Airbnb through my sister when she went to Malaysia a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was brilliant!

The idea is they have listings of houses (homes) all around the world, and you can view pictures and details, and book them right there and then as you would with hotels.

Well you are not exactly switching houses like in the movie, but you book them like hotels. (Which is better for me because I haven't got a house to swap with!)

I got very lucky to find this listing in Airbnb which I equally loved!


[caption id="attachment_1133" align="aligncenter" width="622"] Cozy living room. I can picture myself growing old here.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="613"] The kind of houses you only see in movies. Gaah! Isn't it lovely! *cries silently*[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1135" align="aligncenter" width="394"] The kitchen.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1136" align="aligncenter" width="384"] The house listing on Airbnb.com[/caption]

This place is for Php 4,030 a night for the entire house which is nice if you are coming with the whole family or barkada. They won't charge for extra guests. The neighbourhood is in England countryside, probably 50 minutes away from London. Just the perfect escape.

If you are not after the whole old European house thing, you'd still find yourself a place to stay anywhere else from Airbnb. Prices can go as low as 1,000++/night in England, or even cheaper in most countries.

WHETHER AN APARTMENT FOR A MONTH, A CASTLE FOR A WEEK, OR A VILLA FOR A MONTH, AIRBNB CONNECTS PEOPLE TO UNIQUE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES, AT ANY PRICE POINT, IN MORE THAN 34,000 CITIES AND 190 COUNTRIES

#WhereToNext #Airbnb #AirbnbPH
Yup. Castle. You can rent a castle for realz. Check it out here: www.airbnb.com

[su_button url="http://www.airbnb.com/c/pfigueroa34?s=8" target="blank" style="flat" background="#FF5A60" color="#ffffff" size="7" center="yes" radius="0" icon="icon: home" text_shadow="0px 0px 0px #aaaaaa"]Go to airbnb.com[/su_button]

I have a few travels scheduled for the year and I can't wait to book all my accommodations from Airbnb! Yay!

 

 

 



Out on a Monday Date going to the computer store. That's actually how the geeks spend the night out, if you're wondering.

We recently got matching laptops (SURPRISE! You probably don't know that yet). The Acer B115 TravelMate sounded like the best ultraportable notebook PC we could get in its size. (BEE-BOOP! GEEK ALERT!) Everything else came in 2-core CPUs, and we were lucky to find these Acers that were at least quad-core. Another thing I liked was that I could still upgrade the RAM. Flexibility is always good. This is very rare among small notebooks.


Here's the catch: It came with Windows 8.1. Newer isn't always better. #WindowsUsersWouldKnow
It hogs the RAM like crazy! Launching a few tabs on Google Chrome alone can put the PC in an unusable LAGGY state. It kills me. Both my PC at work and at PC(laptop) are up to par and this baby just could NOT keep up.

We decided to head on over to Silicon Valley were we got these PCs and had a 4GB memory installed. Boo-freakin-yea. Luckily, they have an in-house computer service centre partner, CompuServe, so installing upgrades is part of our warranty.

If you are still one of the few who uses netbooks/ultraportable notebooks who experiences lag and slow downs, you can bring them over to Silicon Valley in Glorietta (4th Flr, New Glorietta) and have them look if they can upgrade it. Just ask the kuyas over there, "Can you upgrade the RAM on this?" and they will help you through.

It usually comes in 2, 4 and 8GB(?) variants. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me through the comments below or through email.

All the best!

Trixie x

If you have been reading my blog, you probably already know how much I love Uber. I've been using it religiously since around October last year and I can stand by my words that I find their services outstanding.
It made me very upset when the LTFRB started to pick on Uber few months back. I use Uber everyday going to work and going out on weekends. I probably have spent enough to fend for my driving lessons, but who has time to get on the road ahead of everybody, find a parking and drive back home? Not me--and probably a lot of others, too, who has been tired of haggling 'against' ruthless taxi drivers.

Uber, if you didn't know, by definition, is classified as a Ride Sharing service. What sets them apart from taxicabs is that they are owned by private individuals under no franchise. In the country today, every transportation service, according to the law, needs franchising to operate legally. This means Uber, not matter how great we know their service is, is not in the scope.

Today, Uber is encouraging all of us to help them to Get Ridesharing Regulations Signed by DOTC and LTFRB.
These are the exact statements from Uber Manila:

For the last six months, DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya and LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez have shown tremendous leadership in crafting a regulatory framework that will allow the people of Metro Manila to continue enjoying a new and revolutionary transportation option.

The Philippines has the opportunity to cement its reputation as one of the fastest growing and most progressive countries in Asia, by becoming the first country after the United States to create a dedicated framework for ridesharing. This would be an amazing achievement not only for our government, but for all Filipinos.

This sounds like it's a bigger deal than just letting Uber officially get on the road. Private organisations such as Uber are paving it's way to keep our country moving forward, and now they need our help.

To show your support, please Sign the Petition by click on the button below:

[su_button url="https://action.uber.org/manila/" target="blank" style="flat" background="#3ac781" color="#ffffff" size="8" center="yes" icon="icon: pencil" text_shadow="0px 0px 0px #324a28"]SIGN THE PETITION[/su_button]

Or by visiting this link:
https://action.uber.org/manila/

If you didn't know, this morning, all McDonald's branches were giving away free McMuffins to their first 1000 customers. McDonald's is celebrating with us National Breakfast Day, now on its 3rd year in the Philippines.
One thing they doing different this year is having a Hooray for McDo Mornings Card!
My friend Darryl was able to get me one when he dropped by this morning. I think this is the first time I've seen McDonald's offering loyalty cards. Very exciting! If there's one thing I love the most about McDonald's it's their breakfast. I can literally eat it every freaking day, and now I can get rewarded for it!



The idea is to collect stamps by purchasing their McSaver Meals, Breakfast Meals and Chicken McDo Meals (excluding BFF bundles, Happy Meal and a la carte orders). There are 12 numbers on the card and you get a treat for every 3 meals you buy. On your 12th meal purchase you're rewarded with BUY ONE MEAL, GET ONE MEAL FREE.

You can drop by any McDonald's branch and get your own Hooray for McDo Mornings Card.
Promo period is from March 10 to May 31, 2015.

DISCLAIMER: This post is not sponsored. This website is not in anyway affiliated with brand/s mentioned herein.

Xiaomi now jumps into the action camera bandwagon and released their latest product, the Yi Action Camera.

Yi Action Camera which claims to be EVEN better than the entry-level GoPro camera at LESS THAN half the price at 64USD(approx. PHP2,800 w/o tax and duties).

When Xiaomi came into the smartphone scene with a Xiaomi Mi3, with a device comparable to Samsung's then flagship, Galaxy S5, having a dramatically cheaper price tag, we were all taken by surprise. A lot of people bought the idea... and erm... the Xiaomi Mi3. Their customers seem happy and I don't remember hearing complaints as much as the local smartphone brands get, so I must say they have established themselves a name of good quality and value for money.

I haven't got any use for an action cam. I mean, come on. Strolling inside the mall is all the action I ever get. But better specs, at less than half the price of a GoPro? Mind if ah do! If it performs in real-life as it says on paper, this is a steal! (That is, if you don't mind the Yi branding. You know what I mean.)

 

Xiaomi Yi Action Camera is currently available only in China as of yet, but knowing how Xiaomi smartphones (and even power banks) boomed in the country, it might hit the local shelves really soon through a Lazada Flash Sale like the rest. You know the drill.

My guesstimate price: PHP 3,500

 

I'm not a fan of accessories. I've grown to dislike them because 1) I lose rings and earrings like bobby pins. Seriously. 2) I can't wear disposable fancy(fake) ones because I've got the curse of sweaty hands. And my ears won't let me get away with it either.

But can you resist these adorable ones?

Filling Station, a burger place I never knew about, was introduced to me by my friend, Fifi.

Ambiance. It isn't quite the family place so if you're planning to drop by, I suggest you go with your girlfrans or guy pals instead. Situated in Makati's so-called Red Light District, we don't really expect it to be anything conservative.

[caption id="attachment_1013" align="aligncenter" width="640"] (via www.jrhenry.net)[/caption]

The restaurant is easy to miss as the entrance is pretty small compared to...

[caption id="attachment_900" align="aligncenter" width="1020"] (photo credits: motorolaara.com)[/caption]

If you are hanging around the internet reading tech stuff, all of these might sound familiar.
The Holiday season has passed and it might be too late for me to tell you to not get a new phone yet, but if you haven't, you might want to wait out a little bit, and here's why--

Google's Project Ara. Project Ara is all about

I finally had the chance to drop by Cath Kidston after the

I am very specific about the things I need--even with especially with what my phone can do. There's always one thing I can nitpick about a phone (hence, the name of this blog) so, everytime I find a dilemma, I would really dig into the app store (Google Play Store) because I do believe there's an app for everything*.

Here's a few apps that I have always made sure to keep on my phone since the first time I had an Android (Circa 2010). FYI, I just said circa but I don't actually know what that means.

Few of these have actually become very popular.

#1 - CamScanner

[caption id="attachment_872" align="aligncenter" width="868"] Photo Credits: Play Store[/caption]

I think this was one of the coolest apps I ever had. It was one of those apps that allows you to use your phone as a scanner. It was Android 2.1 by then and cameras weren't as good, were they! The difference it makes against a regular snap is that

It's another year and before we carry on, let's look back on the things we loved about 2014.

Apps

Spotify

You are missing out on a lot if haven't tried Spotify Premium, yet. I've gone on a 30-day spotify premium trial and I have been in love with it since. There is nothing like having the world's entire library at your fingertips. My taste in Music constantly changes so I'd say this suits me very well. Premium costs Php 129. Make sure you get it straight from Spotify, Globe offers the same service for more than twice the price! Tsk. Tsk.

Uber

[caption id="attachment_232" align="aligncenter" width="752"] Get an estimate cost of your trip.[/caption]

This is the best thing that ever happened to commuting in Manila. Need I say more? I have talked about this a LOT. If you haven't read about this yet, here's a few of my posts about the app: Why The Christmas Rush Is A Great #UBERtunity

Restaurants

The Nest Dining In The Sky

My birthday is on the 27th of December, and if you didn't know, I share it with my sister.
When you are past the 18 mark, it's not very exciting anymore, is it? This year we planned to celebrate with a little staycation in Nuvali, Sta. Rosa Laguna, very timely for the Night Sky cinema event that my sister is monitoring on the same day. This place has been very famous when it quickly emerged from a rice field into a modern (but still green) city. Nuvali has definitely been the gem of Sta. Rosa since then and you'll be surprised how the entire place has transformed if you have seen it before the year 2000. Ayala, in my opinion, did a really good job keeping nature and the city come together. This place is jammed with both tourists and residents when we were there and wouldn't be surprised.

We stayed over at Seda, probably the only hotel in Nuvali as of yet.

[caption id="attachment_816" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The pool.[/caption]

Aah. It's the season to be jolly--and be stuck in traffic, be trampled by aggressive shoppers, and be anxious about muggers and pickpockets, be wrestled by other commuters, and/or be ripped-off by taxicabs. Christmas means fun but could also mean quite a handful things to do and go through to get everything ready.

If you are a total genius like me, you probably haven't started Christmas shopping yet even when we are already this close *putting my hands together* to the Christmas Eve. This is me every year, people. I haven't learned my lesson.

The Sims 4 was actually on sale on Origin last Black Friday but I was putting off in getting it because I had an exam coming (I'll tell you all about it in another post). Tough times, people. Tough times.

Thank God, the exam is done. I felt the urge to