Frannywanny

We have all casted in our votes and as we pray that a deserving and definitely promising president will emerge in the coming days, allow me to thank everyone who joined my recent blog contest . Thanks to Randomizer , we finally have a WINNER!!! Congratulations to Vivian Blas who will be getting a cool, limited edition Cherie Paris watch!!! Here's her winning entry: Come May 10, I will encourage all the Filipinos to vote wisely and honestly on this day because I think it's about time that we open our minds and be true to ourselves this coming election day. Let us vote wisely and understand carefully each and every leader that we'll be voting for. Just remember, failure to do our part as good and honest voters may result to bad governance for another 6 years! So let's be honest and be wise. Vote for d best this May 10, 2010! :) Vivian , I will emailing you shortly for more details on how to claim your prize. Thanks all and watch out for more exciting contests ...

Let us start the New Year with lots of love, laughter and zero allegies. Thanks to the 31 amazing comments that I got in the span of 9 days ! I'd like to share with you the top three tips which I believe we should all bear in mind to completely say goodbye to allergies! The most important thing is to know the food allergies of my kid/s . That is easily determined by thorough skin tests done by an allercologist. But once I know that, the next important tip is t o spend time reading the food labels when shopping . I would scan the ingredients to ensure that none of the food my kids react to are in the stuff I buy. I have read about children who either die or get critical allergic reactions just because they ingested small amounts of peanuts in candy bars or in other food. A simple discipline like taking time to read food labels may take up more of my time but I avoid more costly medicines or worse, more grave consequences to my kids. - Jane This is my hypoallergenic food tip when you...

Two years ago, Anton Diaz of OAP launched a micro-site and a mini contest where he invited readers to send in their most creative THANK YOU message. I wasted no time and got down to work. With a box full of colorful paper clips and a sturdy illustration board, I carefully formed the word one letter at a time. After taking a decent photo of my paper clip art work, I did a little magic on Photoshop and tadah! I proudly submitted my simple labor of love dedicated to the man of my dreams . Paul is one of the four pillars of my life (the three others being my dad, mom and Pan, my younger sister) . He has been there constantly rooting for me to go beyond what I can do and at the same time he keeps me grounded too. He has been there not only for me but for the rest of our family during our highs and our lows. It's amazing to see how much my entire family has warmly welcomed him and now treat him like their own son/grandson/big brother/nephew. I guess it's pretty obvious that God ha...

Our favorite Ice Age friends are back in the wide screen and this time, they're in 3D! Unfortunately, Didi and Chris couldn't make it this week but this didn't stop me, Paul and Jane from meeting up in Trinoma as they launch the newest Digital 3D Cinema . As we entered the cinema, we were given a pair of plastic glasses which we all have to wear to see the special effects on screen. At first, I found wearing the glasses a bit uncomfortable because of my bad eyesight and the fact that the glasses was too big for my face that it kept on sliding down every so often. Trinoma's Digital 3D Cinema technology aims to create a whole new experience of movie viewing by providing bright, vivid visuals combined with crisp, clear surround sound that brings your senses to a different level whether you're seated upfront or at the very back of the theater. And they're back!! The movie was short but it was a good one. Watch as Manny and Ellie await the birth of their cute bab...

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 ...

Can you imagine life without art? Where everyone would just be wearing plain colored tees with no designs? Yipes! Now's your chance to unleash the artist in you through the latest shirt designing contest by Volcom Stone and Aloha Boardsports! Exciting huh? :) Before you run off to buy your materials, take note of the following guidelines: #1 The contest is open to Filipino citizens of any age but should be residing in the Philippines. #2 Participants may submit multiple entries. #3 Qualified entries must be a response to the contest theme: "Why are you hurting your neighborhood? What's wrong with you?" Message is broad, encompassing social, environmental, political and economical issues. #4 Entries may be created in any art or graphics medium (examples but not limited to: water color, computer graphic, paint, color pencil, photo etc.) #5 Entries must submitted in the following format: • 16 ½" width x 23 ½" height JPEG format with 300 dpi • Artwork should i...

*photos by Paul Ang Manila , a city that continues to glow with colorful horse-drawn carriages (kalesa) and jeepneys that cruises down the long stretch of Roxas Boulevard and one that maintains its historical appeal through the various national landmarks is also home to more than 1.6M Filipinos. Growing up in another city, sadly, Manila is one of the cities that I rarely visit. However, every time I do, it never fails to dazzle me with its ancient feel while showing signs of keeping up with the latest urban trends. Just recently, Paul and I were invited by Alveo Land (formerly known as Community Innovations) and its PR counterpart to visit their newest development in Manila called Celadon Manila . What I always like about Ayala's projects (be it residential or commercial) is the fact that they manage to surround the area with greens and keep a very eco-friendly community. Furthermore, its neighborhood has integrated various elements that will allow the residents to live, work, di...

Since I've been drinking this nasty Chinese herbal medicine for a week to help cure my stubborn cough and colds, the side effect of this is making my stomach go berserk! Thus, I've been shying away from events that will make me stay out of the house for more than three hours. Hopefully, after drinking the final batch last night, I hope my stomach will finally stabilize the same way that my cough and colds have miraculously disappeared. I almost turned down an invite yesterday to join yet another food blogger's event but thanks to the persistence of Achi Didi and Sophie who were so sweet to pass by for me and to my stomach who remained cooperative throughout the night, I had a blast eating, laughing and bonding with fellow bloggers over pots of boiling shabu shabu! The Magic of Shabu Shabu For those who might be wondering what on earth is a shabu shabu and before you might further conclude that we underwent some kind of illegal activity last night, shabu shabu is actually...

After a week spent on food blogging, I think it's time to allow our poor, overworked but very satisfied tummies to "rest and re-charge" for a short while. Otherwise, I should probably make my own Little Loser character called Miss Glutonny inspired from the colorful shirts that Paul and I came face to face with when we attended the launch of the newest shirt line of David and Goliath yesterday. The Little Losers? Staying true to the signature David and Goliath humor while injecting more ATTITUDE and SPUNK, creator Todd Goldman came up with the Little Losers collection . This is his newest set of designs featuring graphic misfits that pay tribute to character stereotypes. Looking at the available Little Loser characters (there are 21 out of 57 of them here in the Philippines!), Paul and I found our favorites. Mine was the Miss Spoiled Brat and his was Mr. Couch Potato . Definitely so US! Ü This humor...I LIKE! The event was literally a FUN-filled one with the SPIT wh...