A Look Back : Frannywanny's 2012 Year-Ender Special

December 31, 2012.

Today is the last day of the year. I can't believe how time sped by sooooo fast this year! It's currently the Year of the Golden Dragon, said to be not a very good year for those born in the Year of the Dog like me. However, I felt pretty lucky this year. I guess it really is up to your own mindset and outlook in life, right?

This year opened with so much love as Paul and I welcomed 2012 with our families around us. We're lucky to be blessed with such amazing parents and equally loving siblings and relatives. From them we get our strength as they've been showering us with their undying support.

I got to admit that I prayed for one thing this year. That is for us to finally have our little bundle of joy. I guess the BIG Guy up there believes that we have to wait a little more and instead blessed us with a lot more other things. It's okay, we can wait and we're pretty sure our little bundle of joy will definitely be worth the wait. 

I know Thanksgiving Day is over yet I think today is a good time to look back and to be thankful for all the amazing things that have happened this year. Allow me to share with you the 6 things that I'm truly thankful for this 2012:

1) Meeting new blogger friends

Throughout 2012, I've had the privilege of finally meeting the bloggers behind some of the cool blogs that I've been following.

There's Richie of The Pickiest Eater in the World whom I think is one of the funniest guys in the blogosphere. He is also the dad of The Cutest Baby in the World too!

I also want to thank my lucky stars that I finally met Jane of Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice. She's the sweetest lady who introduced me to the yummy ensaymada of Palms Country Club. Thanks Jane!

Of course, I also feel so lucky to be able to build great friendships with a couple of fellow bloggers too! Indeed, a number of true friends can be found over the internet. :)

Frannywanny with Jinlovestoeat and Shoot First, Eat Later
The Food Club
2) Bitten by the travel bug (AGAIN!)

I love to travel and this year, Paul and I were finally able to visit Korea! It surely was the best week of our lives as we shopped till we dropped at Myeongdong...

ate our hearts out all over town
...and enjoyed all the beautiful sights of Seoul, Korea!
We both left our hearts (and our lock) in Korea. We will definitely be back!
After that, I had a short yet memorable business trip to Beijing, China where it was my first time to travel abroad on my own.

I was also able to spend some quality time with my family as we traveled to Pico de Loro and Tagaytay just recently.

It was also an achievement for my best friend T and I as we bonded one weekend in Tagaytay. It was during this trip where I first tried Highlands Steakhouse and for me, they have one of the best steaks in the country!

More quick trips followed after such as our Hong Kong and Macau trips which I have yet to tell you about and there's that business trip to Cebu just a month ago.

I wish I'll be blessed with more travel opportunities next year. Crossing my fingers and toes for that!

3) Lovin' Staycations

On weekends where Paul and I couldn't drive out of Manila, we were able to have short staycations that were just as good as a real out of town or out of the country vacation. Thanks to the growing number of 5-star hotels in town, we would check-in for the weekend to enjoy their facilities and to de-stress.

I'll never forget our weekend stay at the Manila Marriott Hotel where we also had a romantic steak dinner date at Cru ♥.

4) Yummy Eats 2012

I rarely talk about my day job but for today, I'll make an exception. Some of you might have guessed it already but I'll say it anyway. I am the Associate Publisher for the country's best-selling food (Yummy), shelter (Real Living) and entertainment magazines (YES! and OK! Philippines). So what is an Associate Publisher? In layman's term, it's pretty much synonymous to a brand manager. I'm a marketing practitioner by profession and during the day, I take good care of these magazine brands like how a mommy would watch over her babies. It's not an easy task as my babies tend to be very demanding for my full attention all at the same time. However, I love my job and I got to say, working for the country's number one magazine publisher was truly a dream come true. In fact, I still remember submitting my resume months before my graduation hoping I'd bag an editorial job. While fate took me elsewhere instead, I found myself back at Summit Media's door 4 years after, excited for my first day at work. My love affair with Summit Media lasted for 4 and a half years and I'm using the past tense as I'm soon bidding the post that I love pretty soon.

However, as I leave Summit Media, I hope that I have successfully left a mark. A mark that all foodies (like you and me) will always look forward to come May of every year. This mark that I proudly call Yummy Eats. Yummy Eats 2012 was another dream come true. Imagine a full day of eating and cooking for all food lovers where every floor space of the Rockwell Tent was covered with people eating, people cooking, people selling and sampling food. Next year's plans for Yummy Eats are very exciting so please mark your calendars for it. Believe me, you wouldn't want to miss it!

4) NKOTBSB

I'm such a big Backstreet Boys fan and while I wasn't really planning to watch their second concert here in Manila, a dear angel (who goes by the name T), sent me a ticket for my birthday! I'll never forget how much fun both Pan and I had that evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

5) Passion for learning

Mommy always tells us that we shouldn't stop learning. This year, I took her advice to heart and joined a number of classes that truly interests me. There was that Coffee and Tea Workshop that Paul, Pan and I took early this year. I thought I knew everything there is to know about coffee making but I was wrong. During this class, I learned even more plus how to make milk tea! It was so much fun as we were asked to concoct our own signature drinks and happily bagged the grand prize during the contest! Yahoooo!

I also took up a one-day Pasta Making Class at Global Academy and till this day, I wish that someone will give me a pasta making machine for Christmas (*ahem* Paul *ahem*). It was so therapeutic and that class made me appreciate pasta even more.

6) Avis Travel Blog Awards

The nomination came as a surprised so much more the announcement that I won the contest. Avis UK had their annual blog awards and I initially thought it wasn't real when I got an email notification that Frannywanny.com was nominated as part of the Best Culinary Travel Awards Category. A month after that, I was told that I won in the said category! The prize has been sent already and is safely kept in our bank account to be used for the rainy days (or should I finally get that strong urge to buy a new bag...kidding!). Thank you once again for your all out support, dear readers! *hugs*

Moving forward to 2013

So, what's in store for 2013? Well, as far as Frannywanny.com is concerned, expect more food and travel stories soon. I still have a longgggg list of entries that I have yet to share with all of you. Aside from that, Paul and I will soon embark on a new journey which is yet another dream come true for us. That said, I do hope that you'll continue to follow this blog as I will share with you more new food finds and travel tales as we all welcome 2013 with open arms.

Happy New Year!!!