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…HAPPY NEW YEAR to all weekenders! this is our first meal for the year 2009. the first time we spent it with just the 4 of us, in our place. no traveling done, no cousins, no fire works either…just us.

CHEERS!…the bubbly [no alcoholic content so the kids can do the traditional toast with us] at the strike of 12!

…my fair share of holiday ham with pineapple, baked salmon, M’s Beef Calzone and the Caprese sticks I made…

…the celebration won’t be complete without the colorful, festive and delicious fruit salad, right? coupled by S’s chocolate marshmallows. her own share for the whole spread. simple, traditional first meal…Media Noche as we call it back home.

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I am trying to upgrade to the new WP version 2.7 and this is what I get…my website has gone berserk…kaput! My fault though, I did not bother checking on the instructions first before proceeding with the supposedly easy upgrade.  My HOME page is mainly the problem and so goes with my PAGES and CATEGORIES, but the posts…thank goodness are still up and running with the correct URL typed in.
I even had my techy friends help me out until 4am! Well, my time while it was around 10 or 11 in the evening on their side.  I wanted to get into the latest version mainly because of the fabulous added features in it plus I was also thinking of making a new change again with a new theme and there were pretty good ones that can only be used with a newer version until I found a really nice look from Web 2.0 Wordpress Themes. I reverted to my old WP version and I can still use the nice themes out there, for free!

…the last dinner, the first dinner…media noche, New Year’s Eve dinner. this is how we’d like to kick off and welcome the year 2009 with a bang, complete with an array of delicious and glorious food!
…in the 5 years that we’ve been celebrating the holidays here in the United States, this must have been the very first time that we had it on our own and stayed in the house. in the tradition of the Media Noche back in the Philippines, i tried to make a simple yet meaningful spread with a little of everything. there was holiday ham, no chicken, anything that swims as in my baked salmon, fruits and fruit salad with the added Italian touch of this CAPRESE STICKS [a ’skewed’ version of the salad with christmas colored rounds of fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives skewered in wooden sticks on a bed of balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  i thought of making them as hors d’oeuvres instead , together with some tostitos with mango salsa] and M’s Beef Calzone plus S’s chocolate covered marshies and…let’s not forget the bubbly for the traditional toast at the strike of 12! more photos to follow…
how was yours? i hope it was as filling and meaningful too! new year’s day was spent hunting though, for what? coming up on my next posts too!:]
CHEERS! as I greet you all a Happy, bountiful and peaceful NEW YEAR!
is a weekly FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style!

….dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. pic above is S’s Tuxedo Cheesecake while I had a slice of Tiramisu Cheesecake..devoured before remembering to take a snap! a little late, like a week late being posted but it’s never too late to greet and thank M for a very Happy and blissful 13 years of marital bliss! mwah! Cheesecake is fab at the factory, still… i am not as impressed with the entrees, as ever.

What could be most interesting in the design field is the detailing in terms of specifications of materials and finishes.  This is the part I enjoy most since it involves shopping and expressing my own personal style.  Yes, shopping on magazines or catalogs and creatively employing significant use of furniture, furnishings, fixtures, fabrics to lighting and decorative hardware such as moldings, corbels, rosettes even pillars, columns and wainscoting. These are the interior design layers that needs to be addressed in order for a specific room or even the whole house or building to look pulled together.  Just as the exterior of any structure needs the right paint color, window treatment and window shutters to make a simple box look like a dolled up present.
This is how it feels like as the design team at InvitingHome.com suggests to try closing your eyes and imagine your dream home in its current condition and then imagine it without anything except for its bare walls, unfinished floors and exposed ceilings. I am perfectly sure it would feel devoid of warmth and comfort and more importantly it would feel incomplete. This is the importance of details, not just its utilitarian function but its characteristic feature more significantly. This is what they have to offer home builders and designers alike. A complete service from hard to find and desirable decorative hardware and other design products at very reasonable prices plus a team of experts with an in depth knowledge to guide you in all your building purchases to make your home feel as inviting while resonating your personal and unique style.