Saturday, February 23, 2013

Best-friends Forever! (Version: Long Distance)

When I was in grade school I remember that there was this unspoken rule that you could only have one best-friend but as I grew up I began to realize that I can't have only one best-friend! I've met so many people in my life, had a bunch of friends, gained some and even lost some but what I know is that I have 2 of the most amazing best-friends a girl could ask for. If you follow me on twitter you would know that Alex (@lexyquevedo) is one of my childhood friends, believe me when we first met we we're the worst of enemies and then later on became best-friends, but thats another story! My other best-friend is Micah (@micahcbrown) whom I've been friends for, for about 5 years already. Sadly a year ago she moved to the US along with her brother Michael.

This was the day Micah left me.. Huhuhu. Ako talaga?! #DramaQueen 
Hinanap ko pa yan sa Instagram ko ah! Effort.


Its been a year and a month since she's moved but we still remain best-friends til this day! How you ask? (as if may nagtatanong) Well because we both make an effort to be friends! Its as simple as keeping the communication there, we don't skype/tweet/talk everyday but when we do we actually make the most out of it! Its even harder because of the time difference! 

We skype from time to time and talk about EVERYTHING that has happened from the moment we stopped skyping the last til we start our new skype session. Our calls usually last for about 3-5 hours! It could even be simple things like tweeting each other, for example if we see something on twitter that reminds us of each other we RT it to each other or we simply reminisce or make "kulit" each other. Chos

If were not talking about what we've been up to lately we usually end up reminiscing. Micah and I would do almost everything together! During the summer/holidays she would always be with my family if she wasn't with her family friends in Alabang, because her mom was already in the US by that time. My sister Megan and my mom would call her the "adopted Young". Every family event if Micah wasn't there people would end up looking for her haha! I remember one summer she spent a good 3 weeks with me and all we did was watch movies and cook! She would always accompany me to work, even though all my other friends would find it so boring she wouldn't because she apparently "enjoyed watching people". Yeah, sometimes shes a weirdo but I love her anyways. 

Megans party 2 or 3 years ago

Some random party 2 or 3 years later


Since I am done reminiscing and sweet talking about my BFF I shall now get to the questions that you guys have sent me about "Friendship". So this is me giving out my own personal opinion about situations and if you don't like it, edi wag. Chos lang siyempre. But seriously, if you don't like it, its also fine! Ok here we go this segment is called. #FeelingTherapist (kainis ba yung #? cheznut)

FEELING THERAPIST 

From Brent: What if you're long time best friends or in other term "tropa" finds a new company and was like forgetting your built friendship?

Well theres nothing wrong with having new friends or finding new friends, because everyone has the right to have as many friends as they want but if it comes to the point that they are "forgetting" about your friendship I suggest that you just let them. Maybe its not really forgetting but more of they are growing up, want to experiment and meet new people. It doesn't mean that they are leaving you behind but I suggest that you do the same and try and make room for new friends but don't go as far as forgetting your old ones. If ever your friend/friends do come back and try and rekindle your old friendship then don't be the bitter one and just forgive and forget.

From Denielle: Hi Lauren! I'm Denielle and one of my best-friends now moved to Saipan 3 years ago. We have this "friend monthsary" thing. Every month we have something special for each other. Kind of "magastos" but it's worth it. My question is how do you stay connected to each other?  How do you keep it sweet even though you're miles and miles apart? A big shout-out to my very beautiful long-distance girlfriend Jujolinne Asis! More power to your blog Lo.

Hey Denielle! I think its really sweet that you and your friend have a "friend monthsary" and give each other gifts! Thank God for technology! Cause thats how Micah and I stay connected with each other, if we're not skyping we are either tweeting or iMessaging each other. People think long distance friendships are hard but its really just about the communication.

From Anonymous: Hi Lo! It's my ex-bff's birthday today, she's a classmate. We stopped talking last Jan. 16 and she told me "We can be friends, just not like before." I gave her a gift yesterday but my other guy bestfriend is the one who gave it to her. Until now, di man lang sya magparamdam. One month na kaming HINDI nag-uusap. What to do? :( Should I greet her? :( And yesterday too is our friendsary. T_____T Help? :(

Kudos to you for making an effort! Ganun talaga, minsan may tampuhan sa friendships pero if you're both willing to work it out and push your egos/pride aside and forgive one another then it will work. A word of advice (meganun?) she obviously wants space, so just give that to her first, don't be too pushy! But still be there for her as a friend, if she suddenly goes up to you or needs you just be the way you used to be to her. Hope you guys can become good friends again!




Sorry if I couldn't entertain all of the questions sent in but I hope I was a help to those questions I answered! Just remember that distance doesn't matter when it comes to any sort of relationship!

Love,
Lauren

P.S

I MISS YOU SO MUCH MICAH CARMEL BROWN<3




Monday, February 18, 2013

Hometown Glory

Don't get me wrong I looooove Manila, I kinda grew up here (grade 6-present), I work, live and go to school here but theres just something about my hometown, Subic Bay that I love so much! I guess its the fact that I could go to the beach whenever I want since its only a 15 minute drive, I could sleep with the windows open because the air there is so fresh, the food is amazeballs, especially if you know where to go! But the thing I love most about Subic isn't actually Subic itself, but all the memories that I have with my family and my friends who have become my family. Here comes the nostalgic memories (barf)! I remember every Holy Week we would all get together and have our traditional camping night! We would set up tents, have a bbq and just stay up all night talking and playing games, the funny part is we would just do it in our friends backyard and never an actual forrest. Mga scaredy cats kasi. Haha! Anyways back to my actual blog post, masyado na akong nag-ooff topic! Haha!

So for the weekend I went to Subic with my brother Victor and best-friend Alex! We stayed at our old house there and visited some of our friends, we mostly went there because our friend Diana is going back to Korea to study and we wouldn't see her again until December so in a way it was her little despedida! We stayed up all night playing mind games and monopoly deal then the next day we grabbed some lunch at "Koko Buri" inside Subic which has really good chicken it gave BonChon a run for its money and then we headed to our favorite place called "The Secret Beach". Its not actually called that, we're the only ones who call it that because its a beach that no one owns, not a lot of people know about it and its honestly one of the best beaches I have ever been to. The waters are so calm and clear, white sands and lots of fishies swimming around! I once saw a star fish there as big as my face! My friend Cheska says that sometimes there are jellyfish and sharks (scary much). So after all my blabbing here comes the part I know you guys want.


PHOTO DUMP!!!! <3

Pizza from Bunker Bobs

Eggplant Parmesan from Bunker Bobs

Soy Garlic Chicken, Curry Rice and Spicy Kangkong from Koko Buri

Weirdo Victor


Diana, Cheska and Alex 

The Gang!

Alex and I


Raphaela and Edgar

Pretty Raph! <3

The girlaloos

The Hipsters

~mowdel~

Edgar, Victor, Raphaela and Diana

My "twin" Cheska

We like doing weird things

~art shot~

Cheska, Diana, Me and Alex

Sabi sayo twins kami eh

Edgar

Footprints in the Sand ni Leona Lewis


wth?

Di ko gets trip nila hahah

Cansaaaaa

Diana and Edgar holding their favorite things

Super good bruschetta from Bunker Bobs!

Clowhdz

The Secret Beach





I live in Manila but Subic Bay will always be my home. I always keep on going back because this is the place where I grew up, my family is here and all the friends I grew up with experienced first loves with, fought with, laughed and cried with. The kids who would sleep at each others houses and talked all night with. This is where I would spend all the holidays. Watch a movie at Times Square and grab a snack at Wimpys! Went to school here, fell in love and out of love but the best of all this is the place where I met the greatest friends I could ever wish for.


Love, 
Lauren

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Wooden Spoon

Last night I had dinner with my brother Victor and my best-friend Alex at Katipunan, we we're supposed to eat at our favorite place called Xocolat but of course it was full! So we ended up at this place called "Wooden Spoon", it was a first for all of us to eat there. We rarely get to see Alex now a days cause she's so busy with her school (she goes to Ateneo). So it was nice to catch up with her over good food!

Wooden Spoon serves Filipino food in platters, I really like this because whenever I eat out, I like trying a little bit of everything, chos matakaw lang ako. Sharing is caring naman diba? Tee-hee! Anyways heres what we had!

Appetizers

Sotanghon Lumpia w/ Sweet Chili Sauce
Shrimp Nuggets w/ Hot Chili and Sweet Chili Sauce



ULAAAAM
Ginataang Sitaw
Bicol Express (Expected it to be white!)


Bagnet Dinuguan (THE BEST)

Wooden Spoon is just along Katipunan, the restaurant itself is a little small so you might not want to eat  there with so many people but the service was great! They actually brought the food in after 10 minutes and every request we had they followed it they way we wanted it and overall the food was spectacular! And siyempre I can't end the post without pictures of myself with Alex and Victor. (VAIN)

GWAPO MO VIC 
Alex! She hides her pretty face pag solo shot. Ewan ko sa kanya. 
Siyempre ako! Hahaha and my beautiful best-friend Alex

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Independent Woman



Ika nga ng Destiny's Child 

"Tell me how you feel about this
Who would I want if I would wanna live
I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get
Ladies, it ain't easy bein' independent"

Girl power! Weh. Anyways back to the ~serious~ part, so I've recently purchased and moved into my own condo (YAY) and I've been living alone for almost a year now. I have been cooking my own food, cleaning, paying the bills and just taking care of myself all on my own. Most people seem to find this intimidating, but out of all the things that I have been through in my 19 years of existence, I've found this experience the most challenging yet fun thing I have ever partaken in my life! Yeah, you get a lot of perks and have tons of fun but there are also sooo many disadvantages to living alone. Heres some of my highlights and pretty much lowlights (anodaw?)


1. It gets pretty lonely.

Lagi akong mag-isa, literally. I came from a family where we would always spend time together and visitors would be in and out of the house, it was a drastic change for me. I was so used to running to my siblings or parents if I had something good or bad happen to me, and now when things happen to me, I have no one to tell. But through this experience, I got to know myself more. I've learned not to depend on other people, whether it be for simple things like waking you up in the morning or to something like getting your heart broken and not having anyone to cry on (</3 CHOS). I've learned to value the time that I have to myself, that its pretty fun to be alone! I actually get a lot of things done now, I get to go to the gym, watch my favourite shows, discovers new things about myself like how much I love cooking and writing. I get to finally finish the books that I've never even gotten half way through before. 

2. Money, money, money. 

Aaminin ko, sobrang magastos akong tao. I am not a wise spender. I'm not saying that I'm rich, its just I would blow my money on things that weren't exactly important during that time. I would always eat out, go shopping and treat my friends that sometimes I would forget to pay my bills (big NO NO) and just wasting my cash on useless items. Since I live alone, everything that I spend is my own, I can't run to mommy or daddy anymore if I want to buy those pretty shoes or catch a movie with my friends. So now what I do is the magical thing called ~budgeting~. Instead of eating out with my friends I practice cooking and we just stay at home and have a nice dinner and play boardgames, its cheaper and more fun! Even from the simple things like not letting my air conditioner on all day and just opening my windows and breathing in the fresh Manila air! (HAHAHA). 

3. Responsibilities!

I have always been dependent on people. Not just my family but also my friends or schoolmates. Sad to say I was the type of person that couldn't accomplish anything without the help of other people. My mom and my assistant would always go with me EVERYWHERE, to taping, school the mall, you name it. I would always have someone cleaning up after me and my mom would "baby" me. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not a spoiled child, I wasn't the type to brat around (yeah right). Since I've been living alone its been a total 360 from that. Not only am I responsible for myself I am now also responsible for the people who work for me, I have to pay them on time and make sure I treat them the proper way. I have to make sure I have food to eat and not only that but maintain my own condo. Ever since I've learned to value my work and school more, since before aaminin ko, I would take everything for granted always thinking that I would still have something to look forward to in the next few months or years. Now I have to take everything into my own hands and make sure I do good not only in my work but also school to ensure myself of the future that I dream of.



Don't get me wrong living alone at this age isn't such a bad thing. Yes, there are times where I just want to move back in with my parents but then I always think "Why should I go back, when I'm already moving forward?". Its not for everyone, but I love living alone now, its one of the most serene things that I have at this moment. Yes it may not be a big thing in the Philippines, seeing as its not really part of our culture, but then again its the modern times and wouldn't you want a place to call your own? 


Love, 
Lauren

Monday, February 11, 2013

Valentines Day

I'm a hopeless romantic and I'm into all that mushy stuff so I am obviously excited for Valentines day! I love all the cliche things that you could imagine. The boy picking you up, having a scrumptious meal, walking hand-in-hand and just having a good time. (CHEESEBALLS) Pero wala eh, yun talaga hilig ko. I am the corniest and cheesiest person on earth. So bilang sobrang cheesy kong tao, I will teach you how to make something superkaduper cute that I know your date will enjoy!




Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Butter, Softened 
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 370F.Cream butter and sugar, add eggs 1 at a time and mix until smooth,
 add dry ingredients and mix, add milk and mix until smooth. Separate mixture into 2 bowls, 
add food colouring to your preferred colour. Make 1 bowl lighter than the other. Put darker 
mixture into a rectangle/square pan and bake for 15-18 minutes. After baking let it cool and 
flatten the surface then cut mini hearts. Add just a LITTLE bit of the light mix to your 
cupcake liners, add hearts and then cover completely with the mixture. 
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Serve. 



Love,
Lauren