spiCes

food. service. atmosphere. price. accessibility. these are just a few considerations we take whenever we want to get away from home made meals, even away from our daily routine.  foodie or not, we find dining out to be synonymous to celebrations and more  often than not… luxurious, most especially during this economic crunch we are in right now. we cannot factor out the damage involved whenever we try to be fancy and eat out.

where do you usually go for a quick fix meal? what tops your fine dining escapades? where is that joint that simply hits the spot? which restaurant offers the most affordability, food selection and satisfaction all at the same time?

that would be IHOP for us. we have always been fascinated by big serving and wide variety not to mention pocket-friendly breakfast smorgasbord. that sounds so 70’s, haha! speaking of which…atmosphere-wise, IHOP’s interior design is like it has been stuck in that era. that is the only drawback for me. i mean, you can maintain a certain appeal but there is always room for enhancements and improvements, not necessarily modernization. but the negativity ends there. sorry not really ranting from here onwards…

Food. service. price. accessibility. check. check. check.check!:) ironically, we often go to International House Of Pancakes for dinner [and yes, with that free jug of coffee]. Tuesday dinner, to be more precise. why? it’s kids-eat-free day! that makes dining at IHOP so sweet, all the more!

is a weekly thematic FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY meme, Pinoy style!

Happy nth! birthday again to my dear M. we did not do much on a supposedly very special milestone in one’s lifetime. o alam nyo na ang edad nya? life begins nga! hee!
bakit? overtime! ang lolo ninyo! sabado, which was his exact birthday, at maging noong linggo. pero ayos lang. sa panahon ngayon, wala tayong karapatang magreklamo, ika nga.

kaya dito kami nauwi…nanginain sa isang malapit na restoran na matagal na naming minamataan. A Cantonese-Polynesian Restaurant in the city.

Great food…love the peking duck combo platter! it has everything under it too! prawns, beef, mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts, french beans. even the kids loved their chicken teriyaki, cheese roll and pork ribs platter! friendly and prompt service, fairly priced and according to my kids…it’s like a hotel inside. must be the glimmering mini chandeliers and the smell. the smell of clean, if i may say so. we are definitely coming back.

The Cathay Pacific Restaurant
111 Hancock St
North Quincy, MA 02171
(617) 328-1115

Lahok para sa na may temang…Lahat ay Payak. Btw, the day ended up with a surprise home-made coffee and walnut birthday cake! Sorry, the cake photos aren’t as good due to poor lighting and let’s-get-this-over-and-done-with-moment photo shoot. sheesh!

…it was a very simple family bonding time, as they say. we spent the weekend registering the kids for their summer activities. S will do cheerleading and C is trying his hand on karate. i’m really happy for them that they are starting to like sports and recreation now, which they haven’t had the chance to do back in New York.

we also had another stroll and of course photo ops at the nearby beach and had lunch at Tony’s Clamshoppe. Not particularly happy with what i ate but it’s the view and the perfect weather that made up for it.

of course it was a no cooking weekend for me…this one was prepared by M for our pre-mother’s day dinner. lobsters, clams and shrimp platter. delicious!

…for our Sunday lunch we tried the newly opened Chinese Restaurant around the area and this is one of the good food we had…spareribs in white wine, or something like that. it was a relief to find an english translation on the menu as i was cautioned by my neighbor Stel beforehand that they didn’t have english menus, yet. but that the food was great. it was! for less than 30 bucks, we had our fill and some to-go’s too :0 defintely coming back in that joint. i just cannot decipher the name at the moment.
Now, I am dreaming of bright and fun family cruises if only we can afford it right now.
An entry to a not so wordless .

…something we look forward to whenever we go on a fine[r] dining spree during a special occasion [or not] such as this day in a mini celebration for C’s first communion…the bread and butter at the start of the meal. more specifically, this pumpernickel bread at the Cheesecake Factory. we are bread lovers, what can i say? kicking off the rest of the whole luncheon.

Tinapay palang, busog ka na! ika nga:) pero syempre sa gutom namin heto naman ang mga sumunod naming kinain…

at heto pa para naman sa main course…

HERB CRUSTED FILET OF SALMON
Fresh Salmon with a Delicious Lemon Sauce, Asparagus
and Mashed Potatoes

…and yes, after these…there was no more room for dessert. no cheesecake this time, which was fine.

Lahok para sa na may temang…SIMULA pa lamang/START[ers] or Beginning.

I am not really looking for work at this time but it won’t really hurt to try. So I did, through this New Jersey Jobs website. It was so easy. Simply register with all your basic information and from there, you can upload your resume. After that, there are categories from which you can choose from and you can add all your qualifications, years of experience and other additional facts that may help you get noticed by employers and get matched in an instant. Don’t be fooled by the name because it is not just statewide, I was able to match one job that is located here in Boston. The best part of the registration is that you can also get an idea on how much you are worth after filling up all required fields. Then you will have a ballpark figure on your asking salary. Cool eh?

It’s that time of year once again. Ants season is here.  No doubt about it because I see them all over the place.  Now what do we do about it? There is a website where you can get information on fire ants and how we get infested by them with a thorough guideline in getting rid of them. It explains the very elementary rules in treating and avoiding fire ants infestation.  It also provides an in depth knowledge about the life cycle of fire ants and their eating habits, even how they spread into different places with a comprehensive fire ant picture which helps in differentiating good and bad ants.

Do you work in the federal, state or law enforcement field? Are you properly geared up if so? You might want to check out these tactical pants sold online for a very reasonable price. They even have new colors and styles. Depending on the pair that you purchase, they also offer free shipping and free return shipping, free leather belts, travel mugs, knee pads and hats. That is great value for you no doubt! What’s so good about these pants is that you can wear them on and off duty because they are also stylish and practical.  Stay hip and stylish with these pairs and you won’t go wrong, it’s easy on the pocket too.

An entry to

There was a time when we used to order a number of house and apartment mailboxes from here in the United States or buy from stores around here when we get to visit and then bring them home to the Philippines. During those times, they are very hard to find since these are not available then in our country. We use them for personal use and also for the houses that we build. These beautifully designed mailbox sets add a unique touch and character to those houses. We also provide commercial mailboxes for other clients.

Now there is a dedicated online store that has the widest selection of residential, commercial and cluster mailboxes, in all forms and function. This would’ve been the perfect solution to builders like us then, who do not have quick access to these mailboxes and whether you are going to use one for personal reasons or you are a builder or contractor of a residential complex, they have an wide range of products where you can choose from, add to that an efficient customer service to help you find a customized mailbox solution to your needs at fairly reasonable prices.

…it’s been a long time since we’ve been to Johnny Rockets. and i’m glad we did over the weekend. i missed eating in a feel-good hamburger chain reminiscent of old America. we first had a taste of this interesting restaurant back in New York. and so we had to try it again even though what we have here is just a segregated corner in a mall food court…still the quaint ambience is prevalent and the food is still good. unfortunately, we missed playing ‘Staying Alive’ this time because we requested for a bigger table and the only available one was at the corner that didn’t have this tiny jukebox…as some of you may know…when you play the said song with your 5 cents, all the wait staffs queue to do their signature hustle. it never fails to amaze the customers and even passers-by!:)

An entry to
…getting a dose of spring here!