zambo foodtrip: Bibing's BBQ stand

for a city that is very much a meat-lover a barbeque stand will surely be a hit... but this Bibing's BarbQ stand flourished and had grown bigger... i was told that they had been selling barbeques for years already but i only get to try them back in 2009, my dude introduced me to their barbeque... there's nothing really extraordinary about it but it's very filling and tastes just perfect, not too salty or anything, just the average barbeque you would want with a very hot soy&calamansi sawsawan. it's along the way to my dude's house so everytime we need to have our barbeque fix, we always buy it from this stand.

and on one of my kaladkarins' foodtrip fridays they decided to try Bibing's barbeque... and despite my grounded status (for now), i insisted on joining them... :-)

Bibing's BarbQ stand is located along Sta Maria Road. If you're from Zambo's downtown, you'll find it on the left side of the road just right after the Edwin Andrews Airbase Gate and before the Blue Diamond (what a landmark! hehe). It's just a small carinderia but you'll never miss it because it's the only place on that side of the road that is literally smoking once they open in the afternoon.

here's the place's signboard, just so we're very sure. :-)

this is what's going to welcome you once you're at the front. non-stop cooking of kilos of barbeques for customers who would either eat at their carinderia or just take the barbeques home. There are times that you have to fight your way inside and to the lady who's taking your orders because customers just seem to keep coming. there's always another person who's trying to have his order taken

and if you choose to eat there, here's how their carinderia look like. somewhat clean. serve yourself with all the sili and calamansi you can have (the supplies are in the lower part of this pic)

each stick now costs Php16. It had gone up but still worth it though... I can finish 4 pork barbeque sticks and 2 chix atay... hehe

i need to control my weight gain so i have to stop myself from getting another serving of rice... :-)

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a little sidetrip after foodstuffing... since we were still too full we decided to have a little walk and shoot at Paseo de Jardin in Pasonanca.... trying to feel not too guilty... :-)

old school mails

i can't remember what drove me to go through my stuff last February... probably the wedding preparation did... and i encountered my old letters.... most of these were sent to me by highschool friends, kuya and mamang when I was in 1st year college in UP.... the internet was just beginning to take over the Philippines at that time, it's not as accessible now as it was back then (i remember paying Php60/hr before in some net cafes in UP Shopping Center!!!). 

These made me realize how much i miss exchanging written letters with friends before... just imagine how much effort is being put in each letter sent... from what stories to tell, what stationary and pen to use, if some time can be spared just to write letters, if it will be sent an ordinary mail only or will need a special delivery.... i really really appreciate that we had these correspondence before, it helped me cope with my sudden new life in Manila... these exchanges went on until the 2nd semester of my 1st year (1998-1999)...after that, we're all hooked with the net... and exchanges became less and less... either because it's easier and faster and can be done just anytime or we just all end up too busy with college....

but it's nice to see these letters again.... very heartwarming, made me smile after reading all the gossips and secrets shared... since we will be fixing the room for the baby, i will be kicking out some old stuff, but these... these pretties will remain close to me, so its staying... :-)

this kind of communication is going to be extinct any time soon, i'm pretty sure.... which gave me an idea just now.... *wink wink!*

my usual penpals: cherry, ela, monira, kuya, mamang, izzy, julius.... had a letter or 2 from hubby leo (i did not allow him to send me letters then, but he found a way! haha)

how about you, are you also keeping old notes like these? :-) 

underwater preggy shoot

i'm only 6months pregnant during the shoot thus the not so big tummy yet.... perfect timing that my GE buddy Ezra had already a planned trip to zamboanga since last year (thanks to Airphil's tix sale), i was so sure she would be my perfect photog for an underwater shoot (because my hubby's so worried being in the pool's not good for the baby hehehe)....

all photos here were taken and edited by ezra.... lots of headless shots hehehe but i love how it all turned out... here's some of my faves!

zambo wedding supplier: TWIGHT! (lights&sounds)

another fave find! when we were preparing for the wedding, i didn't bother myself with the lights and sounds and asked my hubby to do the search instead... he happen to know Twight for several events already (i guess including our homecomings).... when he told me we're getting Twight, I was a bit hesitant at first because they're charging us half of the price our office paid for the lights and sounds  we had last christmas party... i tried to compare notes... but decided in the end to just trust hubby on this.... 

wedding day... i was a bit overwhelmed with all the smoke and bubbles... they've been very generous -- super like! probably i really had very small expectations from them that my reaction after seeing how they've contributed to the "simple but elegant" feel i wanted the reception to have seems a bit exaggerated... :-) but then, i just really think we got more than what we paid for... :D


for now there's no way to contact them online... they do not have photos to show just yet... but i would definitely vouch for them... :-)


they may be reached through these numbers: 0929 330 0420 or 0916 184 6452

Visit Denise Katipunera's SHOE ETIQUETTE!!!

i'll be wearing these lovelies soooon! :-) thanks to Denise Katipunera and Yllac (for his magic hands made me win these pretties! hehehe) 

visit denise's Shoe Etiquette online shoe shop and if you're a shoe lover you'll definitely drool with all the shoes available there... :D 

zambo wedding supplier: CINESUR (videographer)

I just have to say that our wedding vid is one of the highlights of our wedding... it captured exactly the character of how we wanted the whole event to be remembered... not typical, with all the fun and wackiness in it, cool, no fuss, no drama... i'm sooo glad i found them! Cinesur I mean....


Leo and Charm from Cinesur Films on Vimeo.



our videographer hunt story:
i was trying so hard not to go for the famous wedding suppliers in Zamboanga but we only have less than 3months to prepare everything that's why i'm worried i might end up with the known... after ensuring that I have someone who'll worry about my gown, my next hunt was for the perfect photographer & videographer... I only have one goal in mind, that they would be as wacky and as candid as possible, and that they will produce better vids & photos than what i can picture in my mind... hehehe it was Clint of Cworks who directed me to Cinesur... I was eyeing for Treborz (they're the top videographer here in Zamboanga I guess) but they were booked already morning of the day they finally replied to email (that's after a week of waiting from my end)... well I suppose that was a blessing, because right now I couldn't imagine what our video would have been if we didn't get Cinesur... (naks! haba ng hair nyo mga pre! hehe).



As of our wedding, they were priced very far from what Treborz's charges. But just in case their prices have changed already, you may contact them through the following:

• Facebook account: Cinesur 
• email ad: inquire@cinesurfilms.com
• phone: +639174504454 (i think this is Dexter's number)

Just in case you want to view some of their works, it's available in this link: Cinesur Vimeo.

i'm such a big bad blogger for not taking photos with our wedding suppliers (specially my faves!)... so i just have to resort to my friend Juvee's photo of the Cinesur group. That's Derek, Paul, Dexter, and Mark. And I recently found out from Derek that they have a 5th member, Zurich. Wasn't able to meet him...

one cool fact about these guys... they're part of the Halaw team, the indie movie that won Best Film in Cinemalaya's 2010 festival. They have another entry this year, Teorya... hope they'll get the big win again!

THE Wedding Gown! by Dr. Ben Caranay

here's to start my already 2months delayed plan to blog about my wedding suppliers... :-)

the whole concept of the wedding started with the kind of veil i had in mind ... that's why I really have to start my wedding blogs with THE Wedding Gown. :-) I want a non-typical wedding, i've always despised the drama of long veils so i opted to go for a more chic birdcage veil! while trying to look for a perfect gown to match that kind of veil, I realized that creating a concept revolving around a 1950's theme would be very perfect. To completely deviate from the typical wedding gown (well at least i mean typical wedding gowns these days, and this side of the world), i made up my mind.... I want a birdcage veil with ostrich feather and if possible a big flower but not the kind that will overpower the whole ensamble, a gown with length just before my ankle or even better if halfway between my ankle and my knees... and then RED shoes! :-)
 at the start of the wedding preparation, i immediately asked my friend Rae for possible designers who will be able to help me with this crazy idea. He suggested Dr. Caranay and helped me contact him...

i think i've stressed Doc too much specially on the last days... :D hehehehe but i love how everything turned out.... the headpiece was the BEST! just as how i wanted it, no flowers but still it got the umphf i want! :D

the dress was not initially planned like this... our main goal is to somehow not show off the tummy yet... the plan was plain white from waist down and a somewhat laced top... i told Doc i don't want beadworks as much as possible... last minute he decided to lace the whole gown and have include a sash with brooch around the waist to help cover the tummy... it actually looked waayyy better! :-) super like!

the veil didn't help my dude's height, he's shorter by a couple of inches than me but i love how everything came together... from the veil, the gown, the shoes, the bouquet, and my dude's outfit too! just nevermind the height difference, looks like it doesn's show much in most photographs! :D

despite the effort to project a slimmer me, my preggy fatness had already started to show just about the time of the wedding week.... but still... im raving mucho about the gown... specially the VEIL! :D

and then the shoes! i really wanted red shoes! good thing my sister and Doc Caranay agreed to the idea... that even though during times that i was getting feedback from some that i should not wear these and use the usual shoes instead, they backed me up! weee! im glad i followed what i wanted and not someone else's! as i've said, i dont want a typical wedding hehehe ;D the hunt for the perfect red shoes started last february... only end of April did my sister finally showed me this one, and we immediately decided that this is it...

super thanks doc! nahihiya ako sayo dahil i think you even spend more that what you actually charged me pero really really thank you! you made the gown as close to how i imagined it to be... :D im so sorry for the stress too! :D i hope you would change your mind and go on designing wedding gowns for others too! :D

happy papang's day!!!

i am always teased in the family as papang's favorite... but i cant tell for sure hehehe... 'coz he's not the type of papang who would talk much... but you will feel that he cares so much... :-)

and here's to my daddy dude who's trying so hard not to show his excitement! :-) huggggssss for your first father's day honey! next year paulo will be all over you with his kisses on this day too! :-)

it's a boy!!!

oh yes, im very pregnant! :-) and we're having a baby boy!!!

this is something i can not contain anymore... i have tried to keep it mum for sometime (although not totally because i cant stop myself from telling my friends hehe), but now i'm definitely back to my "over-eager-to-tell-the-world-about-good-things-im-experiencing" self again... :-)

i'm done with the hellish first trimester... it wasn't as bad for me... though i swear it weakened and slowed me down a bit... but as i always say, it's an awful-wonderful-weird feeling im very willing to have, because not everyone get to experience that and im just soooo thankful im going through this now. :-)

and so promding chamimay is soooo grounded this year.... no trips, cancelled whatever was booked... but im still as excited over this experience as much as im excited everytime im having a trip... :-) a tottaly different adventure for promding chamimay... and definitely will be having so much to blog about... :-)

it's still 5.5 months before i'll pop... i know it may be a tough ride, but with all the love our family and friends are giving us now i feel we're well cushioned for the experience... :-) so bring it on! hehehe i cant wait to have my little kaladkarin with me in my next trips!!!! :-)

little secret

there's something that i've been wanting to tell the whole world for some time now... i'm usually the kind who squeals right away when something excites me.... but this time, although a lot of my friends know already.... i still choose to find the perfect time.... :-)

so no squeling for today.... not now...not yet... :-)