Frannywanny

AFC's Next Celebrity Chef Do you love to cook? Do you have what it takes to be a celebrity chef? Well, here's your chance to stand out and be discovered as the Asian Food Channel is looking for the last man/woman standing who can withstand all the kitchen challenges thown his/her way! This is actually a first in Asia as AFC will conduct a region-wide search consisting of 5 countries -- Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Auditions will run from August 3 - August 16, 2011 in the five participating countries. The prize is an exclusive one-year contract as an AFC Celebrity Chef with the Asian Food Channel. In addition to that, the winner will be awarded the opportunity of a year-long employment contract with the E&O Group, taking on the mantle of Creative Director and Head of R&D for the E&O Gourmet Group. Sounds amazing huh? For more information, log on to: http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/nextafcchef . Who knows, you might just...

If there would be anything in this world that I can't live without I'd obviously say it would be my laptop . For years, I've grown dependent on my home computer where I would spend hours blogging, surfing the net, creating trip itineraries, typing compositions for school and a lot more. In fact, my work is very computer dependent too where I would have to regularly check my mail in Microsoft Outlook and since the digital age has made work more efficient and paper-less, majority of our correspondence are done via email and reports sent using the programs of Microsoft Office. At home, my nightly routine is that I would open my handy-dandy laptop the moment I get home from work to write an entry in this blog . This had, in fact, became part of my packing list on my recent trip to the US. It's what Paul and I used to chat with my family and to update ourselves with what's happening in Manila while we're away. I believe that behind an efficient laptop should be ...

Who would have thought that you can enjoy your favorite cup of Starbucks coffee even when there's no Starbucks store nearby? You can literally take your coffee with you up to the top of the mountain or to the farthest point of the island and you can still enjoy the same Starbucks experience minus the jazz-y music and the sound of blender going on and off every other minute. At first, I thought it was a joke when I heard that there will be a Starbucks instant coffee. "How can that be possible", I thought. After working for the Green Siren for more than two years, my mind was set to think that Starbucks will always be about freshly brewed coffee or fragrant espresso-based drinks handcrafted by your favorite barista. However, the news is true and the Starbucks VIA Ready Brew has arrived here in the Philippines following the first market launch in Japan. It comes in three flavors: Italian Roast , Decaf Italian Roast and my personal favorite, Columbia . I was excite...

Looking back at the past 8 months when Paul and I were busy preparing for our BIG day, I remember that among all things needed for the wedding, I was most excited working on our invitation. I enjoyed the brainstorming session that we had with Soph , our invite maker (and my talented make up artist too), and her sister -- who took care of our layout. From the type of paper stock to the different accents to make our invitation unique, I enjoyed running my fingers through the different paper types available. I remembered how I squealed in delight upon seeing our final product. Our wedding invitation left me speechless. I really have a long running love affair with paper and I guess this is why I am in the industry where I am right now. While going around Greenbelt 5 last night before heading to Mr Jones for that much-awaited girls night out with K and B, I chanced upon a cute pink store at the Basement 1 that's called the Invitation House . I entered the store expecting to see ...