The Luxury that is Brunch

Brunch, to me, is such a luxury. My normal breakfast is a cup of oatmeal on the drive to work, and (on most days) a tall cup of coffee to tide me over till lunchtime. On good days, I'll have a small pastry along with it. When I was pregnant, and while I was nursing - I would pass by McDonald's for pancakes... For the extra calories! For lunch, I would usually eat at my table while going through email, or paying bills online, or just catching up on "mindless" tasks (i.e. tasks that do not require my brain to fully function while I chew....) 

Brunch, to me, is a luxury. 

1. Brunch means I got to wake up later than usual that day. Brunch usually starts at around 10 o'clock right? That means no work!!!

2. Brunch means I get to eat fancy food, freshly brewed coffee, and someone will serve me my food. It means I will get a proper table setting, and a napkin for my lap too!

3. Brunch means I can dawdle over my food... I can sit, look at it, take pictures of it, Instagram it, talk about it, take small bites.... I don't have to scarf it down in 2 seconds because I am rushing to a meeting.

4. Brunch means there's someone beside me who I can share this beautiful, fanciful food with! I get a proper human being rather than a square screen. I get a proper reply, rather than a pop up message. I say what I want to talk about, and not have to type it out.

5. Brunch brings me back to good times. It reminds me of the year spent in grad school. It reminds me of the Easter Sunday brunch somewhere in the forests of Fontainebleau - that stretched to 4pm in the afternoon. It brings me back to carefree days.

Hence, I welcomed brunch with the SoMoms at Cafe 1771 in Ortigas with a lot of gusto. It was going to be all the good things I mentioned above... Plus SHOPPING! Before the shopping though... Let me show you the spread.

Our brunch menu.

The vegetable fritata, which i absolutely loved. It's actually a great idea to do this for leftover veggies too.

A favorite among the SoMoms, the salmon lasagna.

Thin, juicy slices of chicken picata.

Mini (and cheesy) croque monsieurs.

These pancakes were served with bananas and caramelized walnuts. Simple but super yummy!

It was an engaging morning, meeting and socializing with these group of moms (and dad) who are all so engaged in raising their kids and being better versions of themselves.  Now, that was indeed a perfect brunch - good food, good company and good conversation.

For your own mini event needs (not just brunch), check out Cafe 1771. In the El Pueblo branch where we went, there are areas at the second floor (this is actually the Wine Bar section) that can be converted into small private rooms. They are perfect for intimate get togethers. I honestly have not had lunch or dinner at Cafe 1771 recently... But if brunch is an indication, I am sure they will not disappoint. Now, this would be a little telling of my age... Cafe 1771 used to be a "dating place" back in the late 90's. It was Chateau 1771 then. This was the heyday of St. Francis Square, and The Podium did not exist yet. I was early 20's then and it sure felt very posh to go there. 

Now, didn't I promise some shopping? Watch out for my next post on mompreneurs and shopping! See you soon! In the meantime, why don't you go and try the luxury of Cafe 1771?

The Best Deals #mommymundo

Have kids? Even if you don't, I'm sure you know someone who does. Kids are the perfect excuse to go shopping. They are always outgrowing something (didn't we just get her those shoes last month?). It's almost Christmas too... Time to draw out that list. Here's another excuse to go shopping this month... It's the annual Mommy Mundo clearance sale. You're sure to find the best deals there.

   

See  all those brands? I wouldn't be surprised if you get something for yourself too. Have fun!

When God Gave Away Artistic Genes....

When God gave away artistic genes - I must have been asleep. I used to have a hard time with the elementary school artwork assigned to me. Eggshell art in the shape of an ice cream cone? Trust mine to come out looking like just scattered eggshells, forget the cone. I dreaded art class in grade school. I blame it on the fact that I was not really exposed to art or creating art when I was young. I was never one of those girls who could perfectly color in a picture - with perfect shading, even colors, and fantastic strokes. Left brain dominant - that's what I definitely am!

Now that I have two daughters - I'd like to try and unleash the creative/artistic side in them. I believe that if they are exposed to art and creativity at a young age - they will bring this with them to adulthood. They may not turn out to become experts in the creative field, but it will definitely balance out the ultra left brain genes they would have inherited from me. Hence, I find it wonderful that there are so many new developments in the world today that help kids become more creative people (even if born to left brained parents!)

Two weeks ago, K and I attended a SoMoms event sponsored by Amspec (Amalgamated Specialties Corporation), the makers of Crayola and T-Pencil, held at Gymboree. It's a perfect combination - Gymboree is a venue for kids to experiment on their own self expression - and Amspec provided the tools for the kids to explore. To my delight - Anne Tan of Gymboree confirmed that, indeed, creativity cannot be taught but should constantly be nurtured and triggered. It's not something that you can transfer to your child - it's something that has to be developed in him or her.

Newbie SoMoms

This was the first time for us to attend a "creativity" session at Gymboree. I liked that the session combined physical movement (dancing and actions), words (storytelling), and arts & crafts to stimulate the children. It was the right balance of "active" and "passive" creativity for me. K eagerly joined in the fun - she's now 4 years old and loves pretend play. I think her "imagination" skills are getting developed now - because she also loves listening to stories, and makes up stories from the pictures in her books.

Working on her roaring lion

The kids pretending to be frogs, hopping up and down.

The older kids were taught shading techniques (I sure wished I listened more closely to this! It's a good "talent" to have.) They used T-Pencils to shade shapes and simulate shadows. With just a pencil - any drawing can become a piece of art. Amspec endorses the use of their pencils for longer use - you literally can use your pencils until they are just a stub. So how do you know your pencils are good quality pencils? Smell them! Real T-Pencil pencils smell of cedar. Check the graphite points too (that's the black thing in the middle of the pen that we refer to as "lead") - they should be perfectly centered so that the wood around it does not break easily while being sharpened

Centered Graphite Points on Amspec T-Pencils

Three types of shading: Lines, Criss Cross and Dots

With a few strokes from a T-Pencil - this bigtop came alive!

Now here's the best part - Amspec also makes Crayola! This got me excited (someone hinted at a field trip to the Philippine Crayola plant - W-O-W!). The ubiquitous yellow and green Crayola box is a natural part of our childhood. I noticed other copycat crayon brands have used the same color scheme - I guess to confuse consumers when they are in a rush. I personally have been loyal to Crayola crayons only. I never really knew why (as I said, not an art expert here, so who was I to judge the better crayons?). It's just a psychological thing, I guess.

Thanks to Amspec though, I now know why I need to be loyal to Crayola. Amspec maintains the highest standards in the production of their products. This means that the crayons, the ink and even the paper wrapped around them are all non-toxic. The inks used are actually soya inks. So the huge non-toxic sign on each Crayola box is true - it is not poisonous at all. Remember that the next time you freak out at the sight of your kid putting his hand in his mouth after handling Crayola crayons!

The next time you are at your neighborhood bookstore, do check out Amspec products - I am sure you will find something that will appeal to your child (and even to you!)

Takes a load off your head - knowing they can easily be cleaned.

See? Washable!

I love that there are erasable versions of everything now.

This is magic. Any little girl would love these.

For the little hands of your little ones...