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Showing posts from January, 2019

Lots of love at Heart Stock Noodle & Tea

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It was the first Monday of the year and we're adjusting back to work. Jomar and I decided to have dinner at the small Vietnamese restaurant close to the office. The Food This is my favorite pho place in Vancouver. We ordered Vietnamese Spring Roll to get us started. Spring Roll Then, Jomar a large House Special Noodle Soup and I had a Vermicelli bowl with Grilled Chicken and Grilled Pork Chop. Vermicelli Bowl House Special Noodle Soup I love the broth in Jomar's chosen pho! Unfortunately, we didn't realize that they have desserts until we're home and I am looking at photos online.

Closest Pizza: Bella Pizza

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Bella Pizza is the closest pizza place at our house and it's the first time we tried it. Pizza by the Slice Jomar and I decided to eat in and observe Bella Pizza. It seems to be the only pizza by the slice in the area. There's Fresh Slice along Granville (between Broadway and 8th Avenue) and Panago along Broadway (between Birch Street and Alder Street) which I believe also offer pizza by the slice but this is surprisingly popular. Pizza quality is okay. It's not the best but by the 3rd bite of my Pepperoni pizza, it's not too bad. Pasta and Wings My biggest regret is ordering the Buffalo Wings and Lasagna because it's not good. Are we going back here? Maybe or we'll just take the extra steps to better tasting pizza at Domino's or Panago.

Finding the right wedding dress

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As you know, I got married last 2017 ! Now, Jomar and I are planning for our Catholic wedding in the Philippines with more family and friends. Based on our initial list, we're looking at 300 guests (but knowing that not everyone will come, we may be down to 200-250). I will be writing a series of post in the coming week (or month) on how our remote planning is going. Please feel free to leave a comment for any questions! This post is about finding the right wedding dress. What's your priority? When I dream about my wedding, I don't know what style of wedding dress I want to wear. I know it's going to be white but that's about it. Being a plus size woman, it's extra challenging to find the dress so I need to make decision and know my priorities in selecting my wedding dress for my Philippine wedding. I will not be spending more than $1,000 CAD (around Php 40,000) for a wedding gown. I want to look good without worrying about breaking the bank. I don

Horrible experience with KAYAK and BudgetAir

As you know, I got married last 2017 ! Now, Jomar and I are planning for our Catholic wedding in the Philippines with more family and friends. Based on our initial list, we're looking at 300 guests (but knowing that not everyone will come, we may be down to 200-250). I will be writing a series of post in the coming week (or month) on how our remote planning is going. Please feel free to leave a comment for any questions! This post is about my experience of booking our flight. I had always booked flights directly on the airline's website but have used apps like KAYAK to search and compare prices, except last night and it was a horrible experience. BudgetAir The Booking Last night, I am looking at KAYAK to check flight prices for June to July (the week of our Philippine wedding) and the prices are lower than usual. We booked Japan Airlines (JAL) in KAYAK app (but apparently it's via BudgetAir). This was around 11:30 PM. I received an email from Kayak that BudgetAi

First Date Night of 2019 at Cactus Club Cafe

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Last January 1, Jomar offered to treat me to dinner. He asked me to look for an open place on New Year's Day. Fact: almost all places are close during Holiday in Vancouver. However, it must be my lucky night because Cactus Club Cafe a few blocks from our place happens to be open. Cactus Club Cafe Cactus Club is one of those places you only go to on special occasion like The Keg, Joey Restaurant, and maybe to some extent Earls Kitchen + Bar. This is the 3rd time I've been here. The first time is for Therese's birthday 3 years ago, then to my parent's anniversary last year. However, out of the 3 Cactus Club I've been to, this is the most beautiful one I've been to. The Victorian era fireplace, the huge painting, and beautiful chandelier. It's unexpected. The Food We were there 30 minutes before 6:00 PM and their happy hour is just about to end but we were able to order some cocktails and appetizers at a discount. Piña Colada (for me), The Belli

Hello 2019!

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2018 has been a busy year. I stopped writing here mid of last year because I got promoted at work (yay!) but has been really busy. One of my goal for this year (and was my goal last year) is to write 1 post each week. Last year is also the first time I didn't have a year-end summary. Oh well. Let's  be positive as we welcome the new year. New Year's Eve I arrived in Canada last 2015 and I spent NYE for 2016, 2017, and 2018 thinking and dreaming of watching the fireworks in Downtown Vancouver. I didn't go those previous years because of the cold and crowd. I told my brother during my first NYE in Canada that we should book a hotel in Downtown where we could see the fireworks, avoid the crowd, and be warm. Pan Pacific Hotel That dream came true NYE of 2019. Last September, I booked a hotel room at Pinnacle Hotel. However, in November, I learned that the fireworks display won't be visible from any of their rooms which is unfortunate. I, then, called Pan Pacif