Frannywanny

I love yogurt! Way before the popularity of the frozen yogurts a.k.a. fro-yos and those with fruit toppings came about, my family has been a big fan of Nestle's fruit yogurts and BTIC for as long as I can remember. Imagine our joy when the sudden craze over this healthier dessert option came into the local scene. So far, I've tried the best Frozen Yogurt found in the Salcedo Market as well as the creamy Strawberry yogurt of Lulu Belle . After a brief chat with my colleague Becky last Friday, who is also a yogurt fan herself. She suggested that I should check out Yoh-Gurt Froz . What's different about this yogurt is the ice cream-like texture that makes it really smooth and creamy. I've been thinking about it the entire day after our chat and so after a delicious birthday dinner with Paul's family, I sweetly convinced Paul to drive by the Yoh-Gurt Froz store along Tomas Morato. At half past 9, the store was filled with 3 families enjoying their dessert! While waitin

Remember the time when Jurassic Park was the biggest blockbuster film in Hollywood? When Steven Spielberg became a household name? That was also when Dinosaurs began to rule our world of imagination. Fast forward 15 years after, dinosaurs will soon walk back to land and set foot in the Philippines...well for a month and a half that is via the Dinos Alive World Tour . Imagine walking through a theme park surrounded with 30 life size robotic dinosaurs complete with a 30 foot T-Rex! Aside from this jaw-dropping display, adults and kids will have a great time as everyone can enjoy in fossil hunting, rock climbing and participating in games and a lot more! This is a perfect family destination this Christmas season! See you there! RAWR! The ‘Dinos Alive World Tour - Manila will be set up next to the SM Mall of Asia from 28th November to 11th January , 10am-10pm on weekends and 12pm-10pm on weekdays. Tickets are available for purchase from TicketWorld by calling 891-9999 or online at www.

Little by little, we feel the air gets colder, the day seems shorter and retail shops begin to offer their respective Christmas promotions. No matter how bad business has turned to be, one thing is for sure, Christmas is still the season where gift giving is the norm and so begins the popularity of Christmas dinners, reunions and family get-togethers. For friends and colleagues, there's the annual Kris Kringle where we pick a name from a fishbowl and we send weekly gifts in line with the theme to our "baby". Delifrance has joined in this season's tradition by launching their My Secret Santa website, the first and biggest Kris Kringle celebration Metro Manila residents will be participating in. Wondering how to join in the fun? It's simple, just log on the My Secret Santa website, click on Be Someone's Secret Santa , enter the required field and tadah! an email will be sent to your desired recipients within seconds. Recipients will receive a coupon which

Previous entry: Give in to Giving this Christmas (Part 1) Before we rush out to begin yet another coffee overdose session, let us get to know the twelve organizations that you can support this Yuletide Season: 1) Kagabay - stands for Kababaihan Gabay sa Bayan is an organization that helps women improve on their livelihood skills and in the process empowers them as well. 2) Caritas Manila - this is the leading social arm of the Archdiocese of Manila and is geared toward total human development for the urban poor. 3) PAWS 4) Bahay Tuluyan - is an NGO established to help street children who are seen in the red light district of Malate. 5) Haribon - is dedicated to the conservation of the Philippine biodiversity 6) Cartwheel Foundation 7) Kythe 8) Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP) - is a group who helps patients with Autism and empowers them to become self-reliant, productive and socially accepted members of the community. 9) Philippine Cerebral Palsy - assists and aids cereb

Last Wednesday, I took a break from my regular visit to the Green Siren to attend an event organized by its friendly neighbor otherwise known as The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL). Paul and I made it to their store at the Bonifacio Highstreet on time but we were surprised to see the store already buzzing with people. Most of the tables were already filled up and as we inch our way in saying hello to fellow bloggers, I began to wonder what was going on. We took a closer look around and realized that on each table sat a couple of representatives from various NGOs and organizations in the metro. There's Paul's favorite organization named PAWS , which is a group that fights against animal cruelty and alleviate these animals from pain, fear and suffering from maltreatment. Then there's the Cartwheel Foundation which stands firm on its advocacy to bring education to the country's indigenous communities. They focus on Early Development Education which involves kids from

I've been using a bag for as long as I can remember. From the time I was a baby, my parents would lug around a cutie baby bag that would contain my bottles, milk powder, pacifier and a couple more essential items. As a young child, I would drag my trusty, highly durable stroller as I go in and out of school. In high school, there was my red canvass Jansport bag that I would oh-so-casually sling over my left shoulder in what I thought made me look very cool. In that bag, I had my Nokia 5110 cellphone, a jumbo stainless bullet tumbler, my Lisa Frank binder and the cutest neon pens found in National Bookstore. Oh, how I love my school supplies back then. Going through college and work, I have never left home without a bag. The sizes of my bags would range from the smallest leather purses to big tote bags. I would also make sure that the color of my bag won't only compliment but would perfectly match my outfit. Then comes BratPack At times, I would have to buy a bag that would be

Barely two weeks ago , I began my coffee drinking spree with a short non-fat Toffee Nut Latte . Today, I dropped by one of my favorite Starbucks store to proudly hand over my complete sticker cards in order to redeem a stylish, black 2009 planner. I have been trained well by the Green Siren. Therefore, in the spirit of Christmas, I am passing on the cheer by giving my 1st planner to my sister. And to everyone out there who's curious to see what this famous planner looks like, here are some snapshots for you to enjoy Ü lovely black box i love this year's theme: begin.grow.flow. presenting Starbucks Coffee 's 2009 planner attention to detail: i love the cute antique-looking logo charm my favorite entry page which incidentally falls on my birth month Ü I can't wait to finally get my very own Starbucks 2009 Planner in RED !

This year has been a very interesting gastronomic year for me! I am blessed to be able to allow my palate to go all around the world. From my very Korean lunch , I went to Bangkok, Thailand and loved their Pad Thai and quickly jetted off to Greece and shouted OPA! with glee. Finally, I came back to Asia and indulged in something very familiar , my taste buds flew off again to another food destination and this time it's somewhere I have very little knowledge of. I was told that they are known for their wine and cheese selection. To be honest, the only two things I know about this country are of two icons: Nelson Mandela and Charlize Theron . Thus, how can I say no to an invite to acquaint myself with what South Africa is all about and most importantly, what are the dishes that they are most proud of. Hosted by Chef Susina Jooste in Restaurant 9501 in ABS-CBN, my colleagues and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Sure, I did a little bit of research by familiarizing myself

Work has been crazy and very hectic lately... Boy, I can't wait for the work week to finally end! Checking my mails earlier, I came across one that seems to be very interesting. It wrote: Hello Nuffnangers ! Here’s a little something for you: Brad Pitt plus George Clooney equals…? My answer? A Girl's Dream Come True! Thinking also that this might be a promotional email for another Ocean's movie. I was partly wrong. True, it's a promotional email for a movie but (surprise! surprise!) not for what I thought it could be. Burn After Reading It's actually a comedy thriller about a man named Osbourne Cox who was ousted from his position as an analyst of the CIA. He returned to his Georgetown home and to his wife Katie who was actually having an illicit affair with Harry Pfarrer (Clooney) and is actually planning to leave Osbourne for Harry. (tsk tsk tsk..) Meanwhile, in another part of the country, Fitness Center worker Linda Litske is consumed with her life plan to und

I had a bad day at work yesterday. Thinking about it just makes me sad and at some point I feel as if nothing else can cheer me up. What was supposed to be my favorite day of the week turned out to be a really long long day. I'm so glad when my sister finally came to pick me up. I narrated what happened and I guess she can really feel the hurt, sadness and disappointment in my voice. Before I knew it, she made a left and parked the car in front of a very familiar looking establishment. We're dropping by my favorite coffee shop to get some coffee and dessert. It's funny because we haven't had dinner yet. I stepped inside my favorite coffee shop and 3 out of the 5 baristas on duty gave me a warm welcome. They asked how my day was with outmost sincerity and concern. At that moment, I forgot just how bad it was. My sister, on the other hand, chose the dessert. Knowing how much I love sans rival and white chocolate, it was pretty easy for her to point out what we're

"I can eat breakfast all day long!" This is what I'd usually tell friends and family who would wonder why am I chowing down on Eggs Benedict for lunch or I would choose Pancakes and Sausages for dinner. I guess, I am a breakfast person. Not the kind who would wake up really early but more of the one who would definitely prefer a plate filled with pancakes or waffles instead of a juicy slab of steak. Sadly, more often than not, I would get a blank-then-followed-by-an-amused look from the waiter whenever I would sweetly ask if I can still choose from their breakfast menu even if it's time for dinner. Oh, how I love American diners that serves breakfast meals the entire day! Luckily, a new breakfast nook called FlapJacks has recently opened in Greenhills! Said to be a part of the Bistro Group of Companies , I was really intrigued and excited to try it out! Of course, trying out a new restaurant is more fun with the company of great friends! Thus giving me, Paul and m

For the past two years, I've had the privilege to start getting all Christmas-y as early as June. This is normally when we begin planning for the upcoming activities to perfectly bring the Christmas cheer to all Starbucks Coffee customers all over the country. Looking back, I realized how much I love the excitement that setting up an in-store performance brings. I can still remember the first time I saw my Giant Red Cup standing tall and proud at the entrance of Starbucks 6750. Lastly, this is only the time of the year when I would allow myself to indulge in the yummiest Christmas drinks and treats at least every other day! Oh how I miss doing all those things.. However, life dictates us to move on and so I did. This year, I'm back as a loyal customer who, just like the rest of the world, made sure that I drop by my favorite coffee shop on the day that they introduced their holiday drinks namely: Toffee Nut Latte , Praline Mocha and a newcomer by the name of Dark Cherry Mocha

This is a story about a young 16-year old girl named Tracy Turnblad who dreams of being part of The Corny Collins Show, the coolest dance program on TV. Luckily, she finally got her chance and became a teen celebrity overnight. Of course, just like every story, Tracy finds herself with a dilemma as she competes against the show's reigning princess for the title Miss Teenage Hairspray 1962. Will she eventually succeed? Based on the movie that stars Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Atlantis Production is staging this fun, musical story right here in Manila! Featuring the very talented, Madel Ching as Tracy Turnblad, she will be joined by renowned actor Michael de Mesa as Edna, Dulce as Motormouth Maybelle, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as Velma Von Tussle, Nyoy Volante as Seaweed J. Stubbs and a lot more. I am so excited to watch Madel as this will be her professional theater debut and I'm sure she'll definitely impress everyone with her talent!

"Hi Fran! You should try Lulu Belle here in Rockwell, it's so pink! You'll love it." This was the message sent to me by a friend who knows just how much I love the color pink. I quickly replied back asking her what is Lulu Belle and where exactly it's located. Thanks to my friend and fellow bloggers Anton and Lori , I found out that Lulu Belle is the newest venture of the FIC group. "It's FIC's newest dessert place that specializes in yogurt. It's located at the top floor where the billiard and bowling center used to be" My jaw dropped as I read my friend's reply. What?! Has it been that long since I've been to the Powerplant Mall? I'm really intrigued and excited to check both the mall and Lulu Belle out. This afternoon, Paul and I found ourselves strolling around the mall. We made our way from the ground floor up to the newest area that houses a number of stores for kids and (perhaps even for) the kids at heart. I love