xc in the city

xc makes the switch

2010-02-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

I've switched to WordPress!!! Come over and join the fun.

xcinthecity.wordpress.com

See you on the flip side!

xc and the balard - corentin route in a pin hole

2010-01-31T05:41:00.000-08:00

no penetration?

dizzy

moving van

reflections

xc and the photo of the day 3

2009-08-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

I've already posted about my oh so awesome banana cake and since we had a stock of mushy bananas at home, G asked if I can make them into banana cakes. And as I am a sucker for anything that has anything to do with baking, I made one. It was just the right time too since we went to A's place to spend the afternoon in the warm summer sun and a post of banana bread was just what was needed to end the afternoon.

xc and the risotto napoletana

2009-08-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'd make "saing" some rice in our trusty old casserole, G would always complain saying I'm not cooking it right. He'd rather have those instant 5 minute rice in plastic bags dunked in boiling water that end up looking like little pasta pieces than for me to cook rice the traditional way.

And whenever I'd cook rice the traditional way he'd always put butter and pepper on it (the horror!!) or suggest I put some tomato sauce in it just so it would have some taste (more horror!!). I never liked and understood the appeal of Star rice, so these suggestions always come to me as a shock.

So I decided that risotto would be the perfect rice fix for me and I found the easiest risotto recipe ever...and I'm sharing it with you guys!

What you need:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 finely chopped large onion
- 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
- 425 g diced tomatoes
- 3 cups of water
- 100 g spicy salami or chopped chorizo
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pitted black olives
- 1 tsp dried chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

What you'll do:
- Heat oil in a large pan and add onion, cooking until soft
- Add rice and stir until fully coated in oil
- Add canned tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Stir once or twice
- Remove from heat and let stand, still covered, for 10 minutes
- Stir in remaining ingredients and serve immediately

I garnished mine with fresh basil leave.

Easy peasy. Ain't it pretty?

Now it's your turn.

ps. G loved it to bits and didn't complain about having rice for dinner...which was a first.

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the Nth I'm back post

2009-08-21T04:42:00.000-07:00

If I had a euro for every "I'm back" post, I'd be rich. This is the Nth I'm back post but I know it's not going to be the last.

I wanted my blog to have a theme...photo blog? food blog? a no theme blog? And I've been racking my brains finding that theme that I never had the time nor the motivation to actually continue blogging. It's such a hassle to download photos, post process and upload them that I stop at taking the photo part.

It's also hard looking for interesting topics to blog about...or maybe there are lots of interesting topics but I don't find them interesting...or I'm just plain too lazy or brain fried to write a decent paragraph describing that interesting topic and end up babbling about something else (like now).

Also, I haven't had time to use my laptop the past few weeks. G's laptop crashed, like really crashed and won't start anymore so he's been using, sometimes hogging, mine.

Anyhoos, this is an I'm back post so let's cut the long rambling story short: I'm back.

Things I'll be posting in the next few days:

- 3 new food experiments (which were all successes)
- 2 more weekend getaways
- a couple more rambling thoughts here and there.

But first I have to pry my laptop out of G's hands!! Or just put a password on it, that should work too.

Ad taleur!

peace, love & lotsa motivation,
xc

xc and what to do with leftovers

2009-07-14T01:55:00.000-07:00

What do you do with leftover knackis and puff pastry?
Why, Pigs in a Blanket of course!!

This is also great as party finger food and everyone loves them.

What you need:

- Sausages, cut into small pieces
- 1 roll of puff pastry cut into strips

You don't need a wizard to assemble these. Roll sausages in the strips of puff pastry. Put them on a baking sheet. Brush them with an egg yolk-milk mixture if you want the tops to be nice and golden. But they're good plain anyway.

Serve hot and with a bit of mustard on the side.

Yummy!!!

xc and the 2 week recap - sort of

2009-06-18T14:52:00.001-07:00

I have been too busy to blog lately. Well, busy/lazy. It's apero season and we've been out almost every night. Work has been quite hectic too.

I got G a really cool and practical gift for his birthday and I'm envious. Now he doesn't have to wait for the bus (oh, wait, that never happens!) to go to work or walk the 20 minutes from the train station to work (which, most often that not, happens!). We took turns riding it from the store to the apartment and it was just sweet to see him all excited to try it out. Although my heart skipped a beat whenever a car would pass him on the street...

I also had (finally!!) my medical exam which is mandatory before getting my residence card. Apparently the French government wants to make sure that foreigners don't bring in the plague. I also had to take a civics seminar to "learn" more about how the government works, what our rights are, etc. I was surprised that I actually liked the seminars. They were very interesting and I met different people from all over the world. It was like I was back in school again, except this time I was the cool girl. If the people from the prefecture do their jobs right, I should be getting the card in about a month. But so far, they have never been good in keeping dates.

Last Saturday, we went to visit Vernon and Giverny and Claude Monet's house there. We wanted to rent bikes but they were ridiculously expensive that we ended up just walking from Vernon to Giverny (5 kms) which wasn't bad at all. We passed by the hike path, saw lots of flowers and beautiful gardens and it was assez sympa as the French would say. Spent the whole day under the sun. G obviously ended up pink as a shrimp and I didn't even darken up a shade. I'll try to blog about that trip when I'm not too busy/lazy anymore.

Tomorrow we will drive up to Britanny to visit the in-laws and spend some time on the beach. It doesn't compare to our beaches back home but well, beggars can't be choosers. It's also the Fete de la Musique this weekend and there are a lot of concerts scheduled in Paris. But the beach is the beach, and besides, there will be concerts in St. Malo as well. My bag is packed, camera almost charged. I can't wait to get out of this city.

This has been one hell of a long week.

I can't believe tomorrow is still a work day. Gah!
And now, a break, for some quality time with the husband.

peace, love & anti-burnout pills,
xc

xc and the pre-anniversaire

2009-06-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

I don't remember who's idea the Pourri family pre-anniversaire was but I like it! It started with Pourri Le Blond's birthday in March. The night before his birthday, we all went out for drinks because one of our friends couldn't make it the next day for the real birthday treat. We ended up finishing the bar's sangria supply, took a taxi to a karaoke bar in Pigalle, made fun of people singing out of tune, and struggled to take a taxi home at 4 in the morning on a Friday dreading the 2 hour sleep before having to get up for work.

For Le Vieux Pourri's pre-anniversaire, we had brunch at home that extended to dinner, that extended to a drinking session at some bar in St. Germain. This time though we went home with the last metro, 1 am Monday morning. I was getting used to being knackered before going to work the next day.

A few days ago, it was Le Pourri's turn to get a year older. Although we didn't drink much this time around, it was as fun as the others. Well, they drank and I kept to my Coke. But we had super yummy barbecued magret de canard in Le Vieux Pourri's garden with Le Pourri, Pourri Aile and the apprentice Pourri. Pourri Le Blond was nowhere to be seen...maybe that's also why we didn't get all plastered that night.

We had beautiful magret, expertly barbecued by Pourri Aile, sun dried tomato pasta by Pourri, yummy Ponch (according to them) by Vieux Pourri and yummy cake expertly mixed by the apprentice pourri.

And guess what! It was my first time to see and to eat fresh almonds. I still prefer the grilled salted ones though the fresh ones are yummy too. I wasn't able to get photos of the other food because they got devoured as soon as they hit the plates.

Happy pre-anniversaire Pourri!! Here's to many more!

peace & luv,
Madame Pourri

xc and the oven omelette

2009-06-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

Inspired by airplane food! And I just wanted to use the cute oven pans that I got for 1 euro each.
And since G didn't eat at home, I was able to cook the knakis (sausages) with it. Originally I wanted to do a frittata but we didn't have a pan that could go in the oven.

XC's oven omelette

3 large eggs (the oven pans were small)
salt & pepper
parsley
potatoes (diced and cooked)
grated gruyere cheese
2 T fresh milk (I like adding milk to my omelettes)
knakis sausages

- In a small bowl, mix eggs, parsley, cheese, milk, salt & pepper. Line the bottom of a small pan that can go into the oven with the potatoes. Pour egg mixture over it.
- Bake at 180ºC for 10 minutes. Switch to grill for another 10 minutes.
- Take out of oven, add sliced knakis.
- Serve with a quick salad.

- Enjoy!

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the eye drops

2009-06-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this post today because I wasn't allowed to work with a computer yesterday.

I've been having problems with my eyes ever since I arrived here. In winter, whenever I went out, my eyes would tear up. I thought it was because of the cold air blowing directly to my eyes. But spring came, and it still continued to occur. I may have helped the irritation by rubbing it every once in a while (read: most of the time). It mostly felt like I had sand in my eyes.

Then yesterday morning I was having trouble opening my eyes. Oh no!!!

So I had to go to the doctor and tell her what was bothering me. But since she was not an ophthalmologist and didn't have the equipment, she couldn't do more than give me prescription drops, give me the contact details of an ophthalmologist, and tell me to not to forget to blink when working with the computer, and to rest my eyes for the day. Ha!

I could have figured that out for myself except that I wasn't sure if Visine was available here.

I called up the ophthalmologist's office to get an appointment. It's crazy how they don't accept more patients here...are they afraid of making more money?? I think it's way easier to see a doctor in Manila that it is here. It also helps that your mom is a nurse and has a regular list of doctors up her sleeve.

But anyway, I was able to get a rendez-vous... 2 weeks from now. I guess I'd just have to deal with using these eye drops for 2 weeks before getting a real diagnosis.

The good news is that G went out and bought me a spanking new pair of shades!! Yay!!

** I just read that this might be the dry eye syndrome and is more common in women...

when the lacrimal glands work overtime to try to compensate for inadequate production of the mucus or oily layer. But the resulting tears do not adhere well to the eye surface, and it remains dry.

peace, luv & no more tears,
xc

xc and the instructional video

2009-05-28T01:15:00.000-07:00

Need help in trimming the bush? Do not fret! Gilette is here to save the day. Check out the cheeky video below. It's for guys only though!

I wonder when they'll come out with one for girls?

peace & luv,

xc and colorstrology

2009-05-27T02:59:00.001-07:00

You know those "What Color Are You?" quizzes on Facebook? Pantone's Colorstrology is sort of like that except that you don't have to answer annoying questions. Plus it's soooo pretty. I love love love the colors and I especially my color which is Adriatic blue although I'm not so sure about the 'strology' part of it. Grand, Sensitive, and Daring??

It says:

Sensitive yet courageous, you are a force to be reckoned. People find you entertaining and quick-witted. There may be a tendency for you to juggle and get stuck doing two things at once. Whether you live in two different places or you feel torn between two romantic partners, it is important for you to know how to channel your energy in one direction. Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Adriatic Blue helps you focus and make decisions that are truthful and beneficial for you.

Okay, so the getting stuck doing two things at once might be true...but anyhoos...the point is I love this color.

So does this mean we have to repaint our flat in this color now so I can focus and make decisions that are truthful and benficial for me?

Je ne suis pas contre!

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the photo of the day 2

2009-05-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

it's officially cherry season!!!

xc and the lemon-thym pork

2009-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

A simple and easy quick dinner recipe. It's basically just marinating and grilling/searing.

Lemon and Thym Pork Chops

Marinade (would depend on how many chops you have):
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Thym
Freshly ground pepper
A pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic (add more for more chops)

- Marinate chops in the lemon and thym mixture for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a saute pan (no oil) and sear pork chops 5 minutes each side (depending on the thickness) until brown.
- Serve on a bed of mashed potatoes and buttered veggies on the side.

I also like to serve this with a bit of Dijon mustard on the side for dipping.

Quick, simple and yummy!

peace, luv, and happy cooking,
xc

xc and the photo of the day 1

2009-05-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

lonely flower

xc and park tanning 101

2009-05-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

As I hoped, the good weather decided to grace us with her presence the entire weekend and today was another beautiful sunny day in Paris. So after a good brunch of croissant aux amandes and day old baguette with pate we decided to stop being lazy and go out to make the most out of the sunny day. And where do the Parisians go in times like these? Why the park of course!!

We packed our handy sarong, a bottle of water and took the tram from Porte de Versailles to Montsouris, where one of the public parks of Paris is. Parc Montsouris is 15 hectares in area and is designed like an English garden. Napolean III had it created to make Paris a greener city.

I bet that when he had it made he didn't think that a hundred years later Parisians would be lying on the grass on a Sunday half naked.

When we arrived at the park there were people everywhere. And I mean everywhere!! Like the Place des Vosges the other day, this park too was full of people tanning on the grass. There was no beach in sight but there were girls in bikinis lounging like they were in their own gardens.

I found it odd at first but it looked like they were really having fun. And when you can't beat 'em, join them!

Park tanning 101:

1. Find a nice sunny spot on the grass.
2. Lay down blanket, kick of shoes and
3. Enjoy

Just don't forget your sunscreen. G had to put some on twice!

Parc Montsouris
Tram 3 - stop Montsouris/Cite Universite
RER B - stop Cite Universite

We stayed there for about 2-3 hours but I didn't even tan at all. G though came out pink like newly cooked shrimp.

peace, luv, & happy start of summer,
xc

xc and the weekend escapade 1: Provins

2009-05-23T00:12:00.000-07:00

Provins is a small medieval town south east of Paris. It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2001. The medieval part of the town is quite small but well preserved. The walls are still there and you can go up and get a good view of the city from there. Be careful not to touch the walls though because it's full of bird poop. There are 3 walking tours you can take around the medieval village. Just make sure that if you get 2 (or more) maps of the village from the tourism office, they are of the same language/country. We got punked that way. G had a french map and I had an english one. The color coding system for the walks are different and not all spots are marked on the english one. So when we both said we were going to take the blue walk, I was talking of a different blue walk than he was.

We first thought of staying the night in Provins but the town is really small that we were able to do everything in 1 day and still had the time to return to some sites we liked. So we ended up going back to Paris on the last train.

Here are some tips for a nice stress-free trip to Provins.

TRAIN (1h24mins):
Take the Transilien from Gare de l'Est to Provins. Provins is in zone 6 so from Paris, so unless you have a pass for 6 zones, the fare is 10.10 Euros.

For train times, check www.transilien.com. Also make sure that you check the times for the day you go. Some trains don't run on weekends.

HOTEL:
We were supposed to stay at this little bed and breakfast: La Maison Rose Aux Volets Verts. The prices are reasonable and the decor is really quaint and comfy.

RESTAURANT:
Most boulangeries and shops close at 1pm and re-open at around 5pm. We didn't know this when we arrived. We we arrived we saw a lot of restaurants and boulangeries that we thought we wouldn't have a problem finding food later. But no!!!
Luckily we were able to find this really good restaurant that has a lunch menu for only 11.50 Euros. For that we had an entree, the main dish, and a dessert. Not bad at all!
Les Quat' Saisons

SMART TIP:
If you want to visit all 4 monuments in Provins, it's better to get the Pass Provins for 9.50 Euros. If not, the entrance fee for each monument is around 3.60 per person.

For more information on the monuments and shows, click here.

the town's plaza, view from the tour cesar

Happy day trip!

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the extreme friday

2009-05-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

It's another sunny day and the Parisians are out and about. The Place des Vosges looked like a sea of people at a music festival. G, who is on holiday, picked me up from work. We bought a couple of macarons chez Gerard Mulot (I still think La Duree is better) and ate them under the sun at the park just behind Musee Carnavalet. We walked along the Seine from Bastille to Ile Saint Louis. We wanted to get some gelato at Berthillon but the line outside was uber long so we just kept on walking until Notre Dame and got the metro at Ile de la Cite.

It was a pleasure finally being able to do little walks like that specially after a long day at work. Although I didn't appreciate it that much in the end because even though I wore my new fab find sandals, after walking for hours in pave-d roads, I obviously ended up having sore feet.

But all's well that ends well. For dinner G made a lovely salad and I of course made a lovelier dessert!! (G's surely going to say 'dis-donc!!', but whatever). I had a nice end-of-Friday Friday.

This weekend, if the weather stays as nice as today we'll surely go on a picnic somewhere. If not, we're surely going to spend the entire weekend in bed...and I'm not against that either.

espresso extreme

extreme...praline covered vanilla ice cream with a meringue in the center

peace, luv, & a happy weekend,
xc

xc and the search for humex

2009-05-21T07:51:00.001-07:00

As I said on the last post, I have developed rashes on my hands due to excessive drinking. The urge to scratch it was too much that I immediately had to buy antihistamine to counter the effects of the allergy. I don't want to end up with nasty hands. Plus G wouldn't let me hold his hands anymore if that happens.

So off I went in search of the nearest pharmacy. I was also stupid enough to be wearing really high heels and the paved streets of Le Marais are not high heel friendly...at all! After reaching the first closed pharmacy I started to become worried. Only then did I realize that holiday means closed pharmacies and that also meant more walking in search for the pharmacie de garde. There should always be at least 1 open pharmacy in the area. But with my heels it was going to be a challenge.

Luckily I passed by a store with those cutie gladiator sandals on sale. Long story short I came out of the shoe store with a new spring to my step...ready to face the challenge of finding that pharmacy.

After a few blocks I found one just beside the Monoprix. Success! But all they had was Humex and it was not anti-drowsiness or however you call it. But I was desperate. I didn't want to spend my entire break searching for stupid antihistamine. Although I should have because after taking the meds I really really wanted to lie down and sleep.

But the good news is that I am allergy itching free. It even looks like the rashes are becoming thinner. I should have listened to my mom when she told me to always have antihistamine in my purse.

How did she know I'd need it sooner than later?? Did she secretly think that her daughter is a drunkard?? Or maybe she just knows me too well...

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the allergy

2009-05-21T01:48:00.000-07:00

About 3 years ago I found out that I was allergic to San Mig light...we were in a remote island in Mindoro so no doctors nor pharmacies. I thought I was allergic to the detergent they used for the sheets but it turned out that it was because we had nightly meetings with Mr. San Miguel.

So I never drank San Miguel light again...ever. I switched to Red Horse (yeah, baby!) and stuck with the ever trusty Mr. Jose Cuervo and I never got allergies since. Except for that time in Ariege when I finished off a bottle of tequila in 4 days...by myself. The others were drinking vodka caramel (not a fan) and G and L polished off the rum making 'Ti Ponches. It was odd because I didn't drink beer and I thought it was because of the caramel used in the vodka.

And then it happened. Sunday, I felt them on my hands, the familiar and unwanted stiffness. I looked and there they were, little red rashes starting to form on my palm and fingers. I immediately looked back on Saturday night (or what I remember of it). Sure we finished a bottle of tequila, a bottle and a half of rum, I had champagne and 2 glasses of wine...but no beer...no caramel nor vodka. But why? Luckily the red rashes remained insignificant. They didn't even itch so I thought it was just a fluke. No need to rush to the pharmacy and ask for antihistamine this time.

But last night, we spent another fun evening with glasses of mojitos in our hands. Went home at 5am despite the fact that I have work today (it's a French holiday but the stock markets are open). G vomiting miserable just behind the Rennes bus stop...well, you get the picture. It was another hammered night in the town.

And so here I am typing with small blister-y type things on my hands. I know, it sounds icky but it's really not. Just think of it as a rash gone bad. Okay, that's still icky. But it's actually not. And as I was typing and reading what I was typing (duh!) I found it! I had a Eureka! moment.

I am not allergic to beer!!! The break out happens when I end up drunk as hell!!! At the beach, in Ariege, the previous nights!!! All drunk as hell.

Now I realize that I can drink whatever I want just not as much as I want to though. How cool is that????

I should congratulate myself but I think I need to go to the pharmacy now to get that antihistamine after all.

peace and luv,
xc

(I still can't get over my discovery!!! Thanks to blogging I don't need to go to an allergologist anymore!)

(Still not getting over it, it's huge, like HUGE!)

xc and the rare sunny day

2009-05-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful sunny day. It finally feels like spring.
Too bad I'm stuck in an office the whole day.

Although I was sorely tempted to sit on the grass and have lunch at the Place des Vosges. But there were just too many people and it's just so loser-y to do a picnic alone.

After a very long and horrid winter I feel like I need to catch every single ray of sunlight I get these days. It's nearly summer and I still see people wear boots while I go to work in flip-flops. Okay maybe that argument doesn't count because I pulled out the trusty Havaianas the minute I felt the slightest tinge of heat come through the nasty wintery clouds.

Plus everyone has been posting beach pictures on Facebook and I am soooo jealous! We went to the beach for the May 1 weekend but we were facing the English channel, so duh! No swimming nor sunbathing on the beach took place. I tanned doing garden work at L's house.

My body clock also keeps forgetting that they have 4 seasons here. The inner xc has been shouting "Ultimate Summer Getaway" since March. Gah!

In fairness, they say it's really odd that it's still cold and rainy in May. But if today's weather keeps it up, we'll soon see more and more Parisians half naked in public parks. Hooray! And I can finally stock away my bulky jackets and coats and say hello to fabulous summer dresses.

At least for the next 4 months or so...

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the first year

2009-05-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

yummy flowers with cotton bulbs (i don't know how it's called)

Guess who turned 1 today???

Uh-huh. I've been a missus for a year now. How fast time flies. It still feels like yesterday, rushing papers to various government agencies, the infamous pamamanhikan, the rainy Palawan days with G's family, Tata M's accident in El Nido, and the rainy ceremony. It's been a year!!

I can't say that everything has been easy but it's definitely worth it. We are still getting used to each other's tics and weird rituals (note to self: never steal G's toilet time again). I get frustrated when G strews his socks all over the apartment and I get back at him by hiding them under his pillow...and he gets back at me by hiding more under mine. I still get kilig and giggle like a school girl when G makes pa-cute. It sounds so cheesy and I end up doing things I never imagined myself doing.

And to celebrate, we didn't exchange super mega expensive gifts but we shared the moment with close friends, had a wonderful time, and partied all night!! Okay, maybe we partied too much and I ended up spending most of today in bed and my old alcohol allergies decided it was a great time to visit me once again.

Also, they said the first anniversary is represented by cotton. So the girls gave me a lovely bouquet with the cotton plant in it. It also had lilies in them which coincidentally were the flowers in my bridal bouquet. But after some research, it turns out that cotton is actually for the 2nd year and the first year is symbolized by Paper!!

So I guess the real gift should be the paper the bouquet was wrapped in. But I'll keep the flowers anyway just because they're adorable.

peace & lots of anniversary luv,
xc

xc and the herb garden

2009-05-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

thym, mint, basil

Last Sunday, after strolling around the Jardin de Plantes (which was overflowing with people) we trotted down to the Truffaut near Bercy to buy pots and plants for the flat. We also bought some potted herbs and herb seeds (or however you call them) to add to our "herb garden". We've had the basil for quite some time now and we've been itching to add more to the collection. With the thym, mint, parsley, and chives, we now have an honest herb garden to start with.

Now I can cook with fresh herbs while G can make mojitos to his heart's content. Can't wait!

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the berry fromage blanc

2009-05-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

One thing about the French is that they Love, yes with a capital L, their dairy products. What a revelation in the land of cheese ey? But I never realized how important their produits laitiers is to them until G told me that we absolutely need one after every meal. Ugh! It means that we need to have a steady stock of various types of yogurts, fromage blancs, faisselles and other types of milk products. Products I'm not really a fan of...aside from the creme a la vanille and the Danette and the riz au lait that is. I Hate, with a capital H, plain yogurt and those sour fromage blancs.

Until one day, while strolling at the Galeries Lafayette Gourmet store, we stumbled upon one a lady giving out samples of home made fromage blanc with fresh strawberries. Y-u-m-m-y! But I've never bought any of that stuff since then because aside from being overly expensive, it's hard to find that home made stuff in normal supermarkets.

Yesterday while doing some grocery shopping I remembered that we still had left over red fruits stocked away in the freezer and thought that this would be a great time to make my own semi-homemade berry fromage blanc. And I was right!!

A super yummy, simple, easy, no fuss dessert:

What you'll need:
-fromage blanc
-honey
-fresh/frozen red berries
-a sprig of mint for decorating

What to do:
-pour fromage blanc in a bowl, add honey and sprinkle on fresh berries.
-mix and deguster

bon appetit!

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the lime pound cake semi-fail

2009-05-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

I've been on a baking spree lately. First the scones, then the brownies, and now a stab at pound cakes.
It doesn't look as yummy as the scones but it didn't look utterly disgusting either. So I guess I should be happy about it. But I'm not.

We didn't have lemons and I was too laze to go out and buy 1 single lemon so I used lime instead. Then the top part got burnt a bit. Then it didn't come out light and fluffy as I expected it to be. Well, we don't have a hand mixer so I creamed the butter by hand using a wooden spoon and a wire whisk and I think that's the reason why it's not as light as I wanted it to be. And I'm still getting used to the oven settings and which rack should I put stuff on and such. G said I put the rack too high that's why it got burnt. But if I put in 1 spot lower then the bottom will be the one that'll burn. I found the lime taste weird but G said it was still good.

But my customer was one happy camper anyway. He got a cake without doing anything, although he did ask for scones at the beginning but I wanted to try out this recipe instead. Next time maybe I'll just add vanilla extract instead of lemon zest and juice. And I'll definitely get me a hand mixer soon!

So there, I'll chalk this one up as a semi-fail. G finished everything last night so it's not a major fail and I wasn't super happy about the outcome so neither is it a major success.

I also promised G that I'll be making something special every weekend. Ha! As if. But I'll try my best anyway. And for next week, I feel like making Tiramisu. We'll see what happens.

For now, I have to think of what to do during the week...and that is...w-o-r-k. Ugh!

peace & luc,
xc

xc, the fire, and the labor day weekend

2009-04-30T03:25:00.001-07:00

I know it's supposed to be spring already but it's been raining ugly since Monday (I heard it's been raining in Manila too..mwaha!). It has been cold too...and there I was storing most of my bulky clothes and pulling out my favorite summer dresses. Hopefully the weather cooperates with us this weekend. Oh how I *heart* long weekends.

The whole group will go to L's house in Brittany. Apparently there's a micro climate there where it's nice and sunny while the rest of Brittany is dreary. We have to get supplies here since supermarkets will be closed tomorrow for Labor Day. We'll be leaving tonight along with most Parisians itching to make most of the 3-day weekend (orange alert on the autoroute) to endure a 4 hour drive up north. Boo for the traffic but yay for big cars and good company while in traffic.

Speed baked creamcheese brownies last night to bring for the trip. We never find Philly cream cheese in normal supermarkets here so I used one of those St. Moret type fromage a tartiner stuff. The cheesecake mix turned out a bit runny thus not forming the marble swirls on top of the chocolate mix but it still tastes like cheesecake...so, yummy! G thinks it's too sticky...I say it's fudgy! No more brownies for G tonight, I decided.

In other more interesting news...

There was a fire in our office building yesterday!!! The second one in a month.

The alarm sounded but I thought it was only a drill so I didn't reallly care and went back to work (the last time there was a fire there was no alarm...just a funny burnt smell and there were suddenly hunky firemen at the reception area). But this time it was real and they asked all of us to evacuate the building (I was all alone at the office). The fire started at the basement parking but the smoke already reached the 7th floor (where we were). So while the firemen and policement cordonned off the building and checked everything out, there was already a huge crowd gathering around. Ey, we are on the Champs Elysees after all.

And instead of just standing there waiting, I of course went window shopping. By the time I got back, they were already letting people back in the building. Catastrophie averted. Back to work!

So there. Am I glad we will be moving offices next week! New adventures at the Place de Vosges!

And now I'll just wait until the clock strikes 6pm and I'm off to a happy long (but not long enough) weekend!

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the late spring post

2009-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hooray for spring!!!

Okay it's been a month since spring started and I'm only posting now. Why? Because with spring comes energy and energy means not wasting precious sunlight cooped up at home tinkering with the laptop. So for the past weeks, we have been having wine and cheese parties, brunches, and dinners with friends on the balcony. Spring = life! Not only life for plants but also for the winter-zombie-d Parisians.

Speaking of plants, this is the real reason I'm posting. Our flowers are growing!!!

About 3 weeks ago, we planted some Gladioli (? what's the plural for Gladiolus ? ) bulbs on the balcony. G was uber excited to see small stubs pushing through the dirt. And now they look like this:

Awesome!! I've never grown flowers before so I'm really excited to have them at home. Apparently it grows up to a meter or so. Well, we didn't know what it was when we got the bulbs. We just picked up the cheapest bunch! But they also say that these are really nice summer bouquet flowers so that's really cool...only if G allows me to pluck them. He really takes good care of them, makes sure they have enough water, there's not much wind, etc.

I'll post pictures of the flowers once they bloom. Exciting!

peace, luv, & happy gardening,
xc

xc and the scones

2009-04-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

I have been itching to cook and/or bake ever since we got our oven last December. A few months ago I bought a recipe book and for a few months now I've only been looking through the pages, drooling at the pictures and imagining myself buying the ingredients and cooking up a storm in our super tiny kitchen. Every time my colleague glances at my office monitor he always asks me what I was going to make for dinner as I'm always on recipe sites.

But since we do not plan ahead whenever we go grocery shopping, we end up buying the usual stuff we eat (read: pasta) and I never get the occasion to make anything from the recipes I've collected. Maybe once or twice but not as much as I want to.

So when I saw the recipe for scones, I got so excited. It was super easy! Plus we have all the ingredients needed at home. And it goes well with tea and I have to say that G loves his tea!!! So after meeting up with Lex this morning and going on a shopping spree at Conforama I got all excited when G asked me if I wanted to have gouter. Gouter is the french version of merienda. Parents usually give gouter to their kids at 4 o'clock after school is out. It was almost 6pm but the sun was still up and it still felt like it was still 4 o'clock.

Then off I went to the kitchen!!! With an empty wine bottle as a rolling pin and a small glass as a cutter, I was cutting up little scones in no time.

I'm so glad it turned out great. Not burnt at all! And it was perfectly browned on top. I love it! G loved it too. We ate them with black cherry jam (mine) and some strawberry-rhubarb jam (G's) and G brewed some spiced tea to go with them.

A perfect way to end a lazy Saturday afternoon.

xc's first batch of scones!

peace, luv, and happy weekend,
xc

xc and the easter chocolates

2009-04-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

yummy La Duree chocolates from the office

Next to Christmas, Easter is when the most chocolate is consumed in France. Everywhere you go you'll see chocolate bunnies, chickens, eggs, bells (don't ask me why bells), and whatever other shape one can think of. This Easter both G and I received chocolate chicks from G's sister's new boyfriend. Considering who gave us the chocolates I didn't think G would eat his share. But well, chocolates are chocolates and even though I'm not into white chocolate, I gladly bit into the cute little chick's head. It's tradition! And who am I to say no to tradition especially when people start giving you La Duree chocolates in cute little La Duree boxes. Well, it's not actually shaped like an animal nor a fancy Easter symbol but well, it's La Duree!

I heart Easter!! And having a 4-day weekend during this time does not hurt either!

Happy Easter everyone!

the happy chick before it new what was up

poor little guy

xc and the monday blues

2009-04-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

After a few months away from my family I finally felt it. I haven't felt it before since I was having a great time with G and work wasn't that bad either. We always went out of town, had visitors over, had something to do. But that Monday afternoon it just hit me. I don't know if it was because I've been alone at work for more than a week with no one to talk to, stuck in an office 9 hours a day. It may be the time change which made it weird to eat dinner while the sun was still out. Or maybe because I've been putting off opening a bank account and the day I finally decide to do it, the woman at the bank wasn't there. Or maybe because everyone (well, almost everyone) I know is going on vacation = the beach and I'm stuck in between metro lines.

But well, this is my home now, at least for a few more years so I better get used to the weather, the people, and the work pace. I have to go out more, play sports, run, swim. Luckily summer's coming so it's going to be nicer out and easier to actually do something outdoors. I've started going to the pool and it actually helped. I'm planning to go running next time too.

After this episode I was able to (finally) open my account, it's a full house again at the office, had drinks and tapas with friends at a nice bar. I feel better now and it's the weekend too so maybe that actually makes a big difference. I have more energy and I don't feel tired at all that I even loaded the washing machine. Tomorrow we plan to go to Provins, a Unesco classified medieval town an hour and a half by train from Paris.

Now I'm off to snuggle beside G pretending not to sleep while he's working on his computer.

Life's good again.

peace, luv & good vibes,

xc

xc et les revoltes du Bounty

2009-03-12T03:44:00.000-07:00

Ever since the scandal that was Madame Butterlight (G went to one of the sites promoting it and gave horrible reviews, bad I know but sooo satisfying) we have been wary of going to plays for free. So when G asked me if I wanted to go see a play named "Mais que sont les revoltes du Bounty devenus?" I asked him first what it was about. I didn't want to spend another 2-hours trying not to fall asleep in the theater. In english, the title translates to "But what ever happened to the mutineers of the Bounty?". Even in english I didn't have a clue of what the play was about.

It turns out the the Bounty is not this:

(and I don't like this, I don't like coconut) but was actually a ship sent from England to Tahiti to get breadfruit plants to feed the slaves since it was cheaper than, well, bread. And it turns out that Marlon Brando starred in a film about this very voyage called "Mutiny on the Bounty". So this story is actually real and well known at that. Why I didn't know about it must either be because I've never studied English history nor have I ever retained anything during the history classed that I've ever taken.

Anyhoos...so last Saturday we forced our asses of the warm bed to take a Tram and a bus only to reach the theater 2 minutes after the piece has started. But they were nice, they let us in anyway.

It was a one man show, the man wanting to start a project revolving around the history of the Bounty and so in between calls from his mother, ex-wife and daughter, he tells us the story of the mutiny that happened as well as the lives of the mutineers when they decided to live on then deserted Pitcairn island.

The story itself was already very interesting and the way the guy told the story made me even want to know more. I have to admit that I didn't understand everything he said and despite all the Tahitian names thrown here and there, I was able to follow the gist of the story. I thought I didn't like one-man shows (read Madame Butterlight) but this one is an exception. The guy was very very good and very impressive. Just by telling the story he was able to make us enter into the chaotic world of starting a new life on a deserted island. I even wanted to do more research after seeing the piece.

If I knew about the Bounty before seeing this play, I think I might have paid to go see it...and that should already say a lot about it.

2 days after, we again had free tickets but this time for a concert/theater piece. I'll try to write about it next time.

But for now....

peace and luv,
xc

xc and just because she wants to

2009-03-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

a week ago today, in a small boulangerie/patisserie at the entrance of trouville, cho, g, and i had a 5 euro lunch composed of a sandwich (i got poulet-crudites), a drink, and one of the best religieuse au chocolat that i've had. for 5 euros, it was a steal!

we also bought 6 home baked madeleines (which was, according to g, rare) but we ate them all before i could take any photos.

cho had a millefeuille that g finished (and he also said it was very good), g had a rhubarb tart (euck!) and he also said it was very good.

and so it was set, the next time we go to trouville, we definitely had to pass by this little boulangerie again!

xc is staying with blogger

2009-03-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

dock @ deauville

For the past weeks I have been trying to create my own website using Joomla as the CMS. I already had a clear idea of how I wanted the site to look. However there was one problem...I don't really have any content to put in it.

I wanted my site to host my blog, pictures, and maybe some restaurant reviews or good plans in Paris. But then I thought to myself I already had Blogger for the blog, Multiply for the photos, and for the reviews, I can just put them on my blog. I just had to check out the new features of Blogger and I was sure I'd be able to integrate most of the features I wanted. And I was right.

So here I am again, trying to revive this blog. Plus with my history of disappearing from the blogosphere for weeks or even months at a time will not go well with my own site.

I have to do more research on how I can improve this page and prod my creative muse to shower me with ideas. Hopefully the next time people come visit my blog they'll see something more interesting.

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the things to do on weekends

2009-02-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

another weekend has passed. another weekend spent in paris. we need to get out of this city soon or else G and i will go crazy. last year we have spent almost every weekend somewhere else (mostly in small towns) and this year we have spent every weekend stuck in paris. where's the lurvvv???

so yesterday, we decided to brave the heavy snowfall (of all the weekends, we chose this fateful dreadful day) and go to the library to check out some books about going around ile de france. if you can't beat them, join them! this month, and this month only, i was able to get a bus/train pass for 3 zones (normally i only get 2 zones) so it's a chance for us to explore the interesting places around paris. we wouldn't have to go far..a 10 minute train ride would take us to the forest and it's not gonna be too expensive.

and today, thanks to the books we got from the library yesterday, we went to our first venture in ile de france...the meudon forest. armed with our trusty cameras, bags, hiking boots and city guide, we took a 10 minute RER ride to meudon la fleury. actually if we had a car, we could have driven straight from our street and arrive at the same place in 5 minutes or so.

most of the interesting places were closed though because of the snow yesterday and we arrived late in the afternoon that we didn't have time to actually enter into the forest. we just went around the city which was surprisingly very pretty. so the adventure wasn't really an adventure in it's proper sense. it was more a leisurely walk around a small town but it made us go out of our warm cozy flat for the first time in weeks.

although we arrived home tired and hungry, we felt we accomplished something this weekend and we plan to continue exploring the small towns around paris during the weekends we spend here at home.

next weekend, we shall try to go to provins, a small medieval town 1h30 minutes by train from here. it's a unesco heritage site so we are hoping it's gonna be picturesque. and we're also hoping that the weather's gonna cooperate with us this time around.

peace & luv,
xc

xc and the riz au lait

2009-02-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

i don't like milk, i've never liked milk so anything milk-based i try to stay away from. well, except for ice cream, chocolates, you know, anything milk-based that's not healthy.

G has been trying to make me drink milk or at least take a form of it because he says it's healthy. it has nothing to do with the fact that he adores milk and can drink 1L of it in one sitting. Yogurt's not really my thing so he makes me try types of produits laitiere available.

now i've discovered the wonders of creme a la vanille, creme aux oeufs, the danettes, and my favorite: riz au lait. it's actually a dessert wherein rice is cooked in milk. it sounds weird at first because as a filipino, mixing rice with milk makes me think of vomit. ...really! it actually looks a bit like vomit at first too...grains of rice swimming in white liquid. anyway, i'm not making it sound better with that description but it's really really good that i get a pack everytime we go to the grocery store.

G said it's actually very easy to make so i tried my hand in making my first riz au lait. horay! It's not rocket science, that's true. G found the recipe at the back of a box of Riz Rond (it's something like Arborio).

Riz Au Lait Maison

1L fresh milk
100g rice
5 tablespoons of sugar
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
lemon/orange zest (optional)

1. Boil milk, sugars and zest.
2. Add rice to boiling milk.
3. Simmer in low heat for 15-20 minutes
4. When rice starts to show, take off heat & cool.
5. Taadaaa!!! Riz Au Lait!

the recipe says it's for 4 people but i think i filled at least 6 yogurt pots. this means we'll have this as our dessert for at least 3 days....i think i won't be making this dessert nor buying it for the next few months or so. too much of a good thing just spoils it for you.

i thought it was so-so but G said it was really good. so who am i to argue with a french man right?
but then again he says that for anything home made. i still remember the chocolate lave cake i made which turned out more like lava than cake and he still loved it. you don't call them husbands for nothing.

peace & luv,
xc

xc ain't no slave no more

2009-02-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

...well, sort of.

ever since i've arrived i have complained of having to go to the laundry place to do laundry (duh). here, there's no 25 peso/kilo labandera that you can text and they come pick up your dirty clothes and give them back to you the next day all folded and smelling nice.

doing laundry in winter time is a bee-otch. it's never fun when you arrive home, climb 4 flights (nope, our building doesn't have a lift), pack 2 big ikea bags full of laundry, go down 4 flights, go out in the cold, walk 1 block to the laverie, wait 45 minutes, come back up 4 flights with 2 big ikea bags full of WET laundry, and go out the balcony to hang all 18 kilos...in 0 degrees. horay!

we have been living like that for almost 4 months...a week ago we were finally freed from slavery!

at 9 am the delivery guys were shouting "darty! darty" in the whole building (even though they had our exact address) waking up our neighbors. our new baby has arrived!!

of course i immediately had to do 1 cycle to test it. we haven't done our laundry since we ordered it 2 weeks ago so you can imagine the amount of dirty clothes piled up in our bathroom by now.

then it came to me. i wasn't actually freed from slavery. i still had to do laundry...and now there's even an excuse for me to do it more often.

well, at least doing laundry in a warm flat is nicer than having to go to the laverie lugging kilos and kilos of clothes. plus, it's been snowing the past few days.

that reminds me, i have to go load the machine to do a cycle before going to bed so we'll have fresh clothes by monday.

peace and luv,
xc

Madame Butter-loser

2009-01-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

We've been going out to see shows a lot these days. Most of them are free, others ended up not that expensive thanks to G's office discount. The nice thing is that the shows we've been to were actually quite good. Well, except for La Perichole, an Operette by some famous guy.

Anyway, last night we went to another show, again for free. The poster looked good and the actress in it used to be a really famous tv personality. I should have taken it as a sign that most people lining up were oldies.

The show was h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. It was a one woman show but it was not funny at all. Well, I laughed at some jokes but G almost fell asleep. The man behind us wanted to go out already and the two women with him were snickering the entire time! I wasn't even able to watch the last 5 minutes of the show coz the lighting effects were hurting my eyes. Who the heck thought that turning the lights on and off and on and off was a good idea?? I heard stories that that kind of effect and induce epilepsy in some people. Bad idea!

This time I was definitely glad we didn't pay anything to see this show!

free tickets. premiere category = 38 euros. not worth it.

it was nice and cozy inside the theater though. as you can see, the premiere seats were'nt really premiere at all.

G was supposed to get more tickets for one of our friends but after seeing the show, we decided against it. It was not worth it at all.

Hopefully Hair tomorrow will be better. (Even though it'll be in French)

peace, luv, and happy screenings,
xc

xc and the sunday

2009-01-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

another weekend has passed. it's monday tomorrow and i'm having a hard time motivating myself to get up early and go to work. it's raining and it's cold. very good conditions for depression.

i have a love-hate relationship with sundays. hate it for obvious reasons: it's the last day of the weekend. and love it for these reasons:

-G actually gets up and goes to the boulangerie to buy yummy stuff! even if it's cold out. <3. onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NOa2WRXxp50/SXzvvgdaCZI/AAAAAAAAAH0/0pgFGiXBhYM/s1600-h/DSC_1215.jpg">-we even take time to experiment: today's petit dej drink - hot chocolate masala

and now it's time for bed. another week of working, chores, fatigue. at least we have 2 shows to watch this weekend!! can't wait to go see Hair!

peace, luv, and sweet dreamsies,
xc

xc and lomography

2009-01-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

G absolutely adores taking photos. and for the longest time i've been wanting him to try lomography. so i'd always check out lomo cameras (team manila, centre pompidou, etc) when we go out. i've never bought him one since every time we check out the cameras he doesn't seem interested in them.

never did i realize that he'd think that i was always checking out lomo cameras because i wanted to buy one for myself! awwww...

so for christmas, he surprised me with a nice silver package from printemps. it was a hot orange fisheye camera!!!!

i love the color! and it's nice that it's one of the lomo cameras that do not need special film.

i was so excited to use it that i didn't realize that i put the 36 exposure film in it. i'm only on the 25th, i think, so i have to wait 'til i finish the roll to have it developed.

i can't wait to see the results! i know it's gonna be fabulous! but it's also so expensive to have film developed nowadays. well, it's not super expensive but i've been so used to the digital world wherein you just print the photos you want. oh well.

i already have a 12 exp. black and white film ready for the next one. excited!

but now i have to go sleep. we have to do 2 weeks worth of laundry tomorrow and i need all the energy i have to lug 20 kilos of clothes at 9 am in 4 degrees. maybe i'll take pictures of us doing the laundry tomorrow just to finish the roll....

goodnight world,
xc

xc and the poufs

2009-01-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

we don't have a lot of furniture in our flat yet. we only have 1 sofabed in the living room, 1 arm chair and a coffee table/dining table. so every time we have people over, some people usually sit on the floor.

we've been wanting to buy floor cushions for months now but we have never seen anything we liked or in our price range. G likes those rattan poufs and i like floor pillows better. but the other day while browsing at Pier Import, we saw those floor poufs and cushions on sale. 50% off. cool. needless to say we bought them right away. Not just the rattan things but the pillows as well. at least we didn't have to compromise...they look better together anyway.

we bought 2 sets. now our living room looks nicer and our friends can actually sit comfortably (still on the floor though) when they come visit.

next thing to buy on the list: an area rug.

peace, luv, & happy lounging,
xc

xc and the happy tag

2009-01-22T00:22:00.001-08:00

this is obviously a late post and my tagger, Mai Da Paypay, could have already forgotten that she tagged me.

6 Things That Make Me Happy:

*in no particular order

1. vacation time with G. preferably on an island somewhere with lots of sunshine and no mosquitos!

2. baking and cooking. i've always said that i can't cook...but i really can. and i know how to bake too...there just wasn't any point doing it in manila since we had someone cook for us. but now that i have to do everything myself, i've rediscovered the joys of cooking!

3. alone time. i can do whatever i want without thinking of anyone else.

4. cuddling with G. most of the time i fall asleep in his arms, but i fall asleep happy.

5. the sun!! i hate it when it's freezing cold and gray.

6. michael sandeki and clay aiken's performance in the 2006 finale of american idol. well this doesn't really make me "happy" but it's sooo hilarious that i can watch it over and over again. not to mention clay aiken was sooo dreamy here. yeah he's gay, i know.

now i don't know who to tag...Cho?

peace and luv,
xc

xc et le gros achat

2009-01-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

my first non-gadget related luxury item i bought with my own money...on a whim too. we just went in the Lancel store on Champs Elysees to check out bags for my aunt and I saw the Espiegle bag on sale and I just had to have it. Its soooo not me. But I lurv my new bag.

Prix public: 490 euros.
Prix pour xc: secret!!!

Can't wait for the sale in August!

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the banana cake

2009-01-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

horay!!!

G's dad gave us a mini oven (for our mini kitchen) after christmas. he remembered he had one in his garage when i was telling him how sad it was that i can't make a lot of french dishes (read: dessert) because we didn't have an oven. so returning to paris from the christmas break in britanny greg was lugging with him a small box with the mini oven in it.

i couldn't wait to try it out. i already downloaded loads of recipes for tarts, quiches, and all goodies one can make with an oven. but it wasn't until the other day that we finally had measuring stuff for baking. actually, we just borrowed it from the best neighbor in the world, sophie.

and off to baking wonderland it was for me. on the menu: gateau a la banane...yeah yeah, it's just plain banana cake but G loves it to bits.

I adore martha stewart and her fabulous cookies, cupcakes, and cakes but it's too hard to get baking soda and baking powder in paris. you have to get baking soda from the pharmacy and not in the supermarkets. so i got the recipe from a french website using ingredients easily bought anywhere.

gateau a la banane

We only had 1 bread pan or whatever you call it and I still had a lot of batter left after filling the pan so I took 2 ramequins and made 2 small cupcakes in it.

Recipe:

4 bananas
160g butter (we used demi-sel, of course - due to insistent public demand)
4 eggs
200g brown sugar
250g flour
1 sachet levure chimique (i'm not sure if this is baking poder or soda)
1 sachet sucre vanille
1 tablespoon dark rum

smash the bananas and set aside. mix butter and eggs then all dry ingredients with it, don't forget the rum. bake in th 3/4 (i don't know the real temp.) for 30 minutes et voila voila!!!

i swear it's really good.

i'll be making some sort of tarte next time.

peace, luv, and happy baking,
xc

xc and the interwebz

2009-01-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

ha! my last post was done in november, 2 months ago.

i thought that by having internet at home i'd be able to post more. i was wrong. we've been connected to the world since early december and i'm only posting now.

i never thought that i wouldn't have time to log on the interwebz at home. but between it being super cold, working a lot, setting up our flat, cleaning, washing the dishes and clothes and taking care of the big baby bear, i have no energy left to turn on the computer before falling into our warm comfortable fluffy bed.

but now it's a saturday, it's raining out and we were too lazy to do other things. we are on the couch watching tv, surfing, posting photos and organizing papers (that's mostly G though).

and here i am, doing my first post from home. Hello interwebz!!! and hello again blogging world!!

happy new year and here's to more interesting things to blog about!

peace, luv, and laziness,
xc

xc and the lunch menu

2008-11-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

so i work on the champs-elysees, one of the most expensive avenues in france and i don't earn as much as those who make tambay along its. la duree is just in front of my office, fouquet a bit further up. so it's totally understandable that i usually have a hard time choosing what i'd eat for lunch every single day. and no, i don't eat at la duree nor fouquet (besides i only have 1 hour for lunch).

everyday i go through my coin purse to check how much i can spend for lunch that day. everyday i go to the supermarket a block away to do lunch shopping. some days it's a sandwich (most days i should say) others it's a 2-minute microwave meal usually some sort of pasta. i don't like going to fast food joints anymore...no more mcdonald's and kfc for me. sometimes i bring food from home but nowadays it's just so depressing to get up in the morning while it's still dark that i don't even bother.

today i sort of was craving for salad (i've been craving for salad for the past 3 days) so i went to the supermarket to check out what's available. a bowl of leaves is more expensive than a nice sandwich. then again a small bowl of salad won't be enough to whet my appetite so i thought of maybe buying a small sandwich plus salad. but by the time i made that decision, i wasn't craving for salad anymore. so i left the supermarket to walk around and maybe, hopefully, find something to eat.

i found a daily monop' (a small version of the supermarket but only selling ready to eat meals) in a side street and went in. basically it was the same stuff as that in the supermarket. i decided, again, to just get the salad-sandwich meal there but what do i see just beside the salad area?

a small freezer full of ben and jerry's goodies!!!

to make the long story short: lunch menu for the day: ham and cheese sandwich with a side of chunky monkey.

I've always bought ben and jerry's by pints and this one's just one small cup. i didn't know that a spoon was already provided inside. cool.

at 2.90, my ice cream was more expensive than my sandwich. but who cares!! it's friday and i can do whatever i want.

it seems that i only post entries on fridays.
cool.
have a happy weekend

peace, luv, and , hoping i don't break something skiing this weekend,
xc

xc is still sick

2008-11-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

aaarrrggghhh.

obviously colds don't cure themselves overnight. it's only my 2nd and half day of day being sick and i'm sick of it. (insert forced laugh here). i was asking g what meds i could buy for it and he said that with medicines, colds are cured in 1 week and without medicines, they get cured in 7 days. so really, there's nothing i can do but drink, drink, and drink more fluids.

last night i wanted to have a shot of brandy before going to bed to clear up the sinuses but decided against it after being almost hammered with just one glass of g's mojito. note to self: rum does not clear up the nasal passage...

but it does make you sleep better despite the stuffy nose...

coz you can't feel anything anymore after your 3rd glass.

but it will make you feel worse in the morning. ugh. and not because you have colds.

but it's finally friday. horay! we'll finally have time to do real stuff.

like sleep until 12 noon.

g saw a piece of wood with this written on it. he liked it so much he brought it home. i think it's sweet.

happy weekend folks!

peace, luv, and lots of warm hugs,
xc

xc and the maladie

2008-11-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

i do not like being sick. no, i don't. sore throats, runny noses, killer headaches are not sexy at all.
but that's what i have now...a sore throat, a stupid runny nose and killer headaches every couple of hours. so no, i am not sexy at all. i look like crap!!!

current bffs: Spedifen and Drill lozenges

i've had a roll of tissue paper tied to my arm since last night. now all i have is a tissue paper tube. i feel like my eye lids will drop anytime soon. i can't taste anything, even my tortellini au boeuf sauce bolognaise for lunch!

plus even the clients are noticing that i have a cold. in fairness, they've all been telling me that they hope my cold gets better soon. good thing my boss is in london. he won't be able to see me in my lamentable state, the tissue paper scattered on my desk, medicine boxes on one side and my crumpled scarf used as a pillow on the other.

i can't even eat my kinder maxi because it hurts my throat. note to self: chocolates are bad when one has a sore throat. i guess i'll just have to leave them squished up in my bag until i get better.

poor squished kinder maxi

*just spoke to my boss and he noticed that i'm not sounding that well. i can leave early today. horay!!

peace, luv, and lots of snot,
xc

xc and the breakfast of champions

2008-10-28T09:42:00.001-07:00

g goes to work earlier than i do so naturally he sets the alarm waaayyy earlier than i would. i used to just let him go on with his morning rituals while i stay half awake in the warm cozy bed. i figured that since we have such a small flat, getting up will just make matters worse..like we'd be doing a crazy morning dance trying to get out of each other's way.

but then i read Mai's blog and discovered that she prepares her husband's breakfast AND lunch. riiiggghhhhtttt.....she's the perfect (*ahem*) wife and i'm the...wife.

then g sends me an article about how breakfast is very important and how it should be healthy, etc (read: not dried fish and rice) that i started to wonder...is he trying to tell me something?

so fine, i said, i'll Try with a capital T to make him breakfast before he leaves for work. I was able to do it once..and he was late for work since he already wakes up quite late plus he had to finish the breakfast i prepared for him. ha! that would teach him!

but it's true that since we had breakfast, i really had more energy for the entire day. maybe what people say about it is really true!

note to self:
buy more breakfast food and less dessert next time.

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the terrorific night

2008-10-27T08:51:00.001-07:00

having lots of friends is good. having friends who give away free stuff is even better!

when one of our friends who works for one of the biggest multimedia stores in france (think tower records 10 years ago) emailed asking if anyone wanted to go to Disneyland Paris for a "night of terror", g immediately said yes.

tickets for disney costs about 30 euros (for people living in ile de france) and we got them for free, for a private soiree in walt disney studios. no lines, no kids, no hassle.

we were lucky that it wasn't super cold that night and we were able to do all the rides. i was actually very proud of g. he did all the rides, including the tower of terror and the rock and roller coaster (i was sort of disappointed with this one, i was expecting more). he doesn't like theme parks and he doesn't like heights and he almost finished a bag of candies all by himself that he was afraid he'd throw up even just by walking into the theme park. but he had a great time anyway and i think he's actually looking forward to our next visit.

we even have a photo with mickey and minnie as a souvenir. now he can't ever deny he went to disneyland.

--more photos on multiply soon--

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the fondue

2008-10-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

do you fondue?
we did! and home-made too.

we had dinner at g's ex-colleague's place friday night and it was y-u-m-m-y. i haven't had fondue since my last trip to gruyere in switzerland a few years back and i was surprised that this was what they prepared. no wonder his friend kept on asking if i liked cheese.

as if he needed to ask. in g's own words "yeah, i have to keep our cheese locked in our ref all the time". talk about supporting your mate. so there you go, 3 kinds of cheeses melted in white wine. can you say cheese lover's paradise?

not only did we get good food but we also got good stuff. his friend now has his own company importing african products and he has Tons of ethnic goodness stocked in his flat. and since he's going back there to re-stock in a few days, he decided to give us some of his stuff as wedding presents.

we went home at 3am with bags full of goodies: i got an awesome necklace, a nice african bag, we got a tapisserie, a painting he bought off the streets of nigeria, some jewelry boxes made of camel hide, and a coffee set and a clock made out of an old gramophone record (the last 2 were the real wedding gifts).

i had a really great time and we are definitely inviting them over soon...once our flat's renovation is done and we've gotten rid of the boxes and papers all over.

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the blog

2008-10-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

i like to think that i'm a design freak. i heart beautiful things. so having a bland white blog is sorta making me feel bland as well.

task for the weekend: change blog header and background (if i get the chance to turn on my laptop at home)

it's officially my weekend!

time to pry my face off the computer screen and go see what's happening in the world.

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the weekend

2008-10-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

horay horay. another work week has gone by.

view from our office balcony: the champs-elysees

i think i have never appreciated the weekends as much as i do now. when i was still in manila, i worked nights so i never woke up early to go to "work". gxs people know why the "" are needed.

but now i work here and i really do work...during normal working hours! which means i have to wake up way to early in the morning only to get squished like a sardine in the metro and to arrive late at work. and don't get me started about waking up way early in winter. g leaves the house at 7:50 and it's still dark out. at the end of the week you feel so exhausted and feel like you didn't do anything else within the week aside from work.

anyhoos, thanks to this lifestyle, i now lurv weekends more than ever. and i'm talking about this particular weekend.

no, we are not doing something special, we will not go on a special trip (aside from disneyland but that's just for a couple of hours) and this is exactly the reason why i think this will be a very good weekend. since i arrived, we have been meeting friends left and right, dinner here, dinner there, non-stop out of town trips (which i adore anyway), errands here, errands there (we seriously need to get our own washing machine soon)...heck, i even started working 1 week after arriving.

so a weekend at home, just to chill out and really Relax (with a capital R) will be especially welcome. finally i can wake up after 7 am!!

rest will be much needed before the house party next week.

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the laundry night

2008-10-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

we don't have a washing machine in the flat yet. we've actually looked around already but we haven't chosen the model yet. maybe we were wishing that once a week, all our laundry will suddenly be done and we will always have a good stock of nice smelling clean sheets, clothes, and most importantly socks. subconscious procrastinating. or hoping for a laundry fairy godmother...with just one swish of her magic wand the dirty pile of clothes in the corner will turn into a neat pile of folded and ironed clean ones.

we actually have that in the Philippines...it's called the laundry shop. With just one swish of the telephone, someone comes up to your flat and gets your laundry comes back the next day with a nice folded pile of clean ones.

there are laundry shops here except that you do it yourself...or if you want it pinoy style, you pay 3x as much.

last night, reality set in...we needed to do the laundry. so the mister and i stuffed 2 ikea bags full of clothes and sheets and lugged the 18kg (plus the bottle of detergent) all the way to the laundry shop at the corner.

we spent 2 hours for all 18kg and we only dried the sheets and 2 pairs of socks (very important). the rest we lugged back home and hung out to dry on the balcony.

prices for the machines at our local laverie (Boulevard Voltaire, 92130):

7 Kg = €4.90
10 Kg = €7.40
18 Kg = €9.20
25 Kg dryer of 8 minutes = €1.00

just in case you need to go and do yours.

peace and luv,
xc

xc and the lemon meringue pie

2008-10-15T01:55:00.000-07:00

it's autumn here now. during the week it usually rains, it's usually dull and gray. but there are some days where the sun graces us with its presence and brightens up the mood of all parisians. good thing these days are usually weekends. horay! it also means that most parisians are out and about, making the most out of the last days of the indian summer...including us!!

and for us it means...garden lunch with the girls!!

one of our friends bought seafood from her local market. it wasn't as good as ours of course (and by ours I mean philippines, and by philippines, i mean roxas), and not as cheap either, but it was really good and really fresh. we had small gray shrimp, prawns, rock lobster, oysters, clams, and more clams. by they way, we ate the oysters and clams raw. well, i ate the oysters and they ate the raw clams. i still think clams should be cooked before eating.

since she supplied the food and wine, g and i brought dessert. a lemon meringue pie from our boulangerie. our friend lives outside paris and it took us 45 minutes to get to her place. but we still got the pie from our boulangerie instead of some random one near her place. it's a good thing we decided to buy it there since it was really really good lemony creamy that i now think this is one of my favorite pies.

on top you have a raspberry, a blackberry, a strawberry, a slice of fig (i got that one), des grosailles (don't know what that is in english), and somekinda weird fruit that our friend says is actually very good (she obviously got that one).

i don't like plain lemon pies, i find those too tart. but add a good serving of meringue on top and the sweetness of the meringue mixes with the tartness of the lemon cream filling. it's just heavenly. one whole pie for four people after a good meal of fresh seafood and good wine in a beautiful garden under the warm sun.

haaaayyyyy i miss summer.

peace and luv,
xc

2 weeks late

2008-10-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

no, not that kind of late...dirty minds.

i'm 2 weeks late in posting pictures (and blogging too i guess) due to the fact that we STILL do not have internet connection at home. actually i don't really mind not having internet at home...i don't think we'll really have time to use it once we get home. but that's another story for another blog day.

so 2 weeks late.

2 weeks ago, we (g and his friends) all went down south to one of our friends' house. g and his friends usually spend 14 juillet (it's the french 4th of july i think) at their friend's place in la chalucie. and 2 saturdays ago i was able to finally find out what the fuss was all about.

la chalucie is a gorgeous place, a very small village with farm lands all over the place. the house was built in 1724, with huge wooden beams on the ceiling and a fantabulous grand fireplace. luvzit!!! plus the view is amazing.

but that's not even the highlight of the weekend. it was all about food, food, and more food!!!
just a small breakdown of classic home-cooked french cooking:

-roast chicken with ratatouille
-wild porcini mushrooms and potato omelette
-fresh bread bread bread and butter butter butter
-tarte tatin!!!
-fresh rasberries with vanilla cream
-foie gras with truffles
-cheeeeeeese

and those are just some of what we ate. i could hardly get on the train back home because i was so so so filled with wonderful goodies...and maybe because we had plastic bags full of walnuts we harvested from their field.

by the way, our friend's uncle is married to a filipina and i met her then. i swear, filipinos are everywhere.

now we are back in the city doing metro-boulot-dodo (metro - work - sleep). can't wait for this weekend to come!! Goodbye Paris, hello Toulouse (and the naan au fromage kebab)!!!!

peace and luv,
xc

more pictures at xc's Multiply

xc makes dinner act 1

2008-10-03T02:39:00.000-07:00

i do know how to cook, let's make that clear. ask mio, he's my biggest fan (i think). there's one main reason why i haven't cooked a lot since i arrived here almost a month ago: my husband cooks better than me. ask mio, he'll say the same (he still craves for g's curry).

so since the husband cooks, i am left with the dishes. and i try to get away from it as much as i can, but it's no use. so last night i decided that i'll make dinner so as not to get stuck with the dishes.

we are going away this weekend so we need to use the food that would expire in a few days. we still had a pack of salad greens, left over feta cheese, and lardons (small strips of bacon). we just had to get some tomatos from the corentin celton street market. we were also able to get a pineapple for 1 euro (originally 2 euros) for dessert. plus a demi-baguette from the boulangerie at the corner.

make a simple olive oil - balsamic vinaigrette, cook the lardons until golden and crispy, mix them all up in a 7 euro Ikea wooden salad bowl (that g absolutely adores), and you have one really good heavy salad for dinner. eat the baguette with the salad or dip it in the vinaigrette to clean up your plate.

fine fine. so technically it's not cooking, aside from frying the lardons. but it's the effort that counts. anyway, g said it was really good...even though he added a bit more balsamic vinegar on his plate (i get sick if there's too much vinegar). ha!

for dessert we each had one slice of pineapple, 1 small mars bar and g had his mandatory (yes, mandatory) pot of creme caramel. a very good well balanced dinner while watching The Love Guru.

it's actually a good thing i didn't really "cook" and just made something simple...because i ended up doing the dishes anyway.

next on the menu: surely some awesome homemade southwestern french food in a gorgeous property in the province.

peace and luv,
xc