My Birthday Week

I celebrated my 26th birthday on March 24, a Sunday, but a week before, I started posting photos on Instagram and kept using the hashtag #birthdayweek. There were just little treats I allowed myself to have since it was my birthday. But really, it was my excuse for spending money. Heehee. Here are some of the photos.

 One of my gifts to myself was a Casio Vintage watch in rose gold. I have been eyeing this model for months, but I was waiting for a good deal. I finally found one through Vintage Casio Watch, and one Saturday I met up with the shop's owner and got my watch. I chose this model because everybody else is wearing the A168 gold one, and I already have a gold watch. :)

On Sunday, I did my grocery shopping and cooked Chicken and Broccoli with Creamy Mustard Sauce. It was a very easy recipe, which I got from Pinterest (follow me!).

MAC lipsticks from the Archie Collection. I was so giddy when these babies arrived. I am an Archie fan so it was a real treat that they collaborated with my favorite make-up brand.

On Thursday after morning worship service, I went to Charlie's for a big breakfast. I got the Charlie's Platter, which included unlimited servings of buttermilk pancakes and your choice of sides. I chose two sunny side up eggs, bacon, and hash brown. It also comes with refillable coffee or iced tea. For P320, I think it's a good deal. It was so filling, I wasn't able to ask for a second serving of pancakes! If you live in the Kapitolyo neighborhood or Greenhills area, give it a try. They have other breakfast items on the menu, and they serve them daily from 7:00am until 11:00am.

Copies of Falling Together by Marisa Delos Santos and The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I've been reading e-books since the year started and I just missed reading hard copies. I know I still have a lot of unread books, but hey, you can never have enough books in my opinion. :)

A day before my birthday, I treated my office friends Marye and Ten to lunch at Kasbah, The Fort. I got a good deal from Groupon which included a set meal for four. One of us wasn't able to make it so we had more than enough delicious food split among the three of us! Then they treated me to yummy cakes (Cookie Dough and Tres Leches) from Chelsea. We looked at Chez Karine, Gourmandise, and Larry's Bar before finally deciding on Chelsea.

More shopping finds. Organic soaps and Filipino artisanal chocolate from Echostore, and my best shopping find so far this year. I was looking for a dress for Holy Supper, and also bright jeans to go with a certain summer top. While we were at The Fort, we went to American Eagle Outfitters and I almost bought "jeans" (they were actually made of cotton) that cost P2000. Good thing I didn't because I found one at Forever 21 on sale! I didn't know about it and was ready to pay the full price, but I was pleasantly surprised when the cashier told me it was marked down to P719! Such a great steal. And the fabric was real denim too!

Of course, the highlight of my week was my birthday itself. On March 24, I performed my choir duties and received Holy Supper. As a member of the Church of Christ, this was an important occasion and I feel so blessed to celebrate it on the same day as my birthday. Because my family had their own church duties to fulfill (we live far apart) and my boyfriend is currently working in Vietnam, I didn't really have anywhere to go for lunch. So I ate Rub Ribs after church, then slept until the afternoon. Then my mom called to pick me up for my birthday dinner, yay!

We first went to Solaire to check out their offerings. Now I have to tell you that my mom is a frequent visitor of Resorts World Manila (I always joke around that she's a stockholder already), and it is her go-to place whenever she has visiting friends because we can eat at restaurants and shop with her card points. But since Solaire just opened, we wanted to check it out. Well, we ended up back at Resorts World, anyway! Haha. Mom wasn't too impressed with their buffet spread and prices so we went back to her first love (I'm joking mom!).

We ate dinner at Ginzadon, which is a Japanese-Korean fusion restaurant. RWM employees Ram and Karen joined us for dinner and Mom gave them the rundown about Solaire (she was there during the opening week). Just a tip, if you want to be good friends with my mom, talk to her about casinos. You'd instantly click!

To end my birthday on a sweet note, Ram and Karen gave me a free walnut cake from Maxim's Cafe! Such a treat. It looks so beautiful and tastes really good!

Throughout the day I received text messages, Facebook notifications, Twitter mentions and Instagram comments, all greeting me a happy birthday. That's what I love most. You get one day a year when people give you good wishes and are happy you were born and became a part of their lives. They can do that anytime, but birthdays are always special. So it's touching when even people who aren't that close to you make the effort. I even got a call from an old friend, who now works in Qatar! I was so touched.

Thank you every one and cheers to being 26! :)

Dear Future Self, this is you at 26.