A Day at Manila Zoo

We went to Manila Zoo for our 2 and a half year old son, who is very fond of watching animals on TV. I thought it would be great if he saw animals in real life and I was right. He was very excited to see the elephant, crocodiles, tigers, birds, snakes, monkeys and all the other animals at the zoo.

Manila Zoo is located in Adriatico St., Malate, Manila. I researched online before going and I found this blog helpful, hope mine will be helpful as well. You may bring food inside the zoo (I didn't see a sign that says you can't and I saw families having picnic inside).

Check out the photos of our adventure:

The elephant statue on the zoo entrance

Entrance fee, Manila residents: Adult 50, Kids below 4ft 30

Non-residents of Manila: Adult 100, Kids below 4ft 60

Just present an ID with your Manila address on it.

MALI, the Elephant, the first animal we saw since it is located near the entrance.

Clockwise from top left: Elephant, Hippo, Turtle, Burmese Python, Tiger,

Deer, Guinea Pigs, Reticulated Python 

Center: Philippine Crocodile

Even though the zoo was quite old, it's still worth the time and effort to let your child see these animals in the flesh.

"One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is, I think, to have a happy childhood." -Agatha Christie

Rodillas Yema Cake Opportunist?

We were on our way home from Gumaca, Quezon from our holy week vacation. All of us were craving for the ever famous Rodillas Yema Cake. So we dropped by their store in Lucena. My brother asked if they still have 10 cakes available, the store attendant told him that they had none left. The van shown on the left side of the photo had cakes on it and the person there was selling it for PhP195 each instead of the PhP165 price from the store. Talk about taking advantage of market demands. I wonder if the store owner connived with the van owner so that they can sell the cakes for an additional cost. They should have increased the store price instead of creating such a gimmick.

Confessions of a Newbie Baker

I learned how to cook when I was in highschool and since then I had been wanting to learn how to bake. Being a dessert aficionado, my urge to bake my favorite cakes and cookies made me finally purchase a countertop oven to practice baking.

For my test run, I baked brownies and made caramel sauce to come with it. That first try was a hit, it barely cooled down because my family couldn't wait.

The next week, I craved for carrot cake, so I looked for a recipe, bought ingredients, then gave it a shot. I expected a light cake but instead it was a bit dense. Though I wasn't that disappointed because even my 5 year old nephew liked it.

Thomas' First Birthday

Planning a party is not an easy task. It requires careful attention to details and sequence of things to do. I am thankful that my son's first birthday party is over. The typhoon signal didn't stop me from executing my party plans.

My hubby did the DIY balloon decor while I did the setup for the candy and dessert buffet. The candy and dessert buffet is critical because you cannot display food items way too early. So I displayed the candies, brownies, cookies and wafers just minutes before the guests arrive. I also made cupcakes with red and blue buttercream frosting.

Cupcakes with buttercream frosting and inedible DIY toppers

Toy train on track with candy covered chocolates and nerds

Cake and cupcake display table with blow-up print of the celebrant's photo, with red and blue polka dots and stripe paper plates and cups

Blue, white and red striped cake with Thomas Train toy topper

DIY keychain souvenir, printed train nametag, DIY cupcake topper and DIY candy buffet labels

Candy buffet setup - chocolate, butterscotch and marble brownies, lollipop tree, chocolate chip cookies, gummies and wafers, THOMAS foil balloons, paper cups. Thomas and Friends Piñata. 

My DIY mission was a success even though there were hassles along the way, the most important thing is that we got to celebrate my son's birthday with close friends and our family.

Prepping for Thomas Train Themed Party

It's less than a month before my son's first birthday, I planned the theme to be Thomas & Friends (from the cartoon character Thomas the Tank engine), since his name is also Thomas. I did my research on party ideas for the said theme and I was able to conceptualize my own party.

When planning a party, these are the essential elements that you need to consider :

1) Venue - my kind aunt offered her townhouse garage to be the venue. It's great since the townhouse is newly built and the walls are painted sky blue which coincides with the color scheme of my theme.

2) Food - my husband and I meant to keep it simple and easy, so, we decided to have the kid's party favorite, spaghetti and chicken. Then we added hotdog and marshmallow on a stick as finger food. For dessert, aside from the cake (which I planned on ordering at Sweet Home Bakeshop in Pasig), I decided to try a DIY candy buffet using gummy worms, lollipop tree, cupcake with my homemade frosting and other imported chocolates. My mom-in-law suggested that we should have rice and a viand, but we want to keep it simple and also light, so snacks for everyone is what we are aiming for.

3) Entertainment - games, music and clown performance. Again, my kind aunt sponsored for the clown who she recommended after seeing its performance at a friend's party. For the games, we planned for the usual "bring me" game, piñata and trip to jerusalem but I'll be doing another research on other games that is connected to the theme.

4) Props, Plates etc. - balloons, banderitas, plates, utensils, cups. What is a party without decorations?

For preparation, I recently did my props shopping in Divisoria, I went to party supplies shop located
in Tabora Street, 168 Mall and Lucky Chinatown Mall. You can find lots of character items that can be used as party theme. For boys, party items for Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Cars, Toy Story, Minions (from Despicable Me), Ben10 are also available. For girls, items include Dora, Barbie, Disney Princess, Hello Kitty, Minnie Mouse and many more (sorry I can't enumerate more, because I focused on finding Thomas Train items). 

Here are some pics of the things I bought for the party :

Thomas Train items such as Puzzle (3 for PhP 15), Loot bags (10 for PhP 20), Party hats (PhP 25/pack), Banderitas ( 3 for PhP 100), Stationary set (PhP 100/pack), Pens (PhP 10 each)

More Thomas Train items, Piñata (PhP 135), Red and Blue Pail (PhP 55 each), Red and Blue Plate (Php 25/pack of 25's), Red Stripes and Blue Polka Dot Cups (PhP 15/pack of 10's)

Thomas Train Set as props, PhP 100

Letter Balloons (PhP 20 each), Number 1 balloon (PhP 35), 10" diameter Red and Blue Balloons (PhP 55/pack of 25's), Balloon Stick (PhP 20/pack of 20's)

I also finished the layout for the invitation (including the sketch of venue), key chain souvenir and candy buffet labels.

I'm really excited to see what my concept will turn out. Hope this helps out other moms who are planning their kid's party. Check out my next blog of the actual party.