Classic Italian Spaghetti in Anchovy Fillets

We had a grand shopping trip to Whole foods and Trader Joe's last Sunday after church and it felt like I was in food heaven. I'm a sucker for anything Italian and my bucket list includes a trip to Italy of course! What better way to appreciate Italian culture is to actually start learning to make their signature pasta dish. It's my ultimate go-to recipe. I think I've said this before that I am not a fan of our typical Filipino spaghetti. Not that I am a hypocrite, it is just not my kind of sauce. So here, I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh ones. I know, I cheated. I have limitations in my kitchen so I can't really do a lot of hard work in there due to limited resources - meaning utensils. LOL.

Ingredients:

1 Bunch of Spaghetti noodles (measured between your thumb and the first joint of your index fingers)
1 Can 14.5 Oz. of Diced Tomatoes in Garlic, Oregano and Basil
1 Can 2 Oz. Anchovy Fillets in Olive oil
1 Tbsp Minced/Crushed Garlic
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
Fresh sweet Basil for garnishing
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cooking Instructions:

1. Cook pasta in salted water or according to package instructions.
2. Heat pan in medium-low with 2 tablespoons of Olive oil. Add in the minced garlic and let it cook slowly for 2 minutes or until fragrant. The heat should be low enough to cook the garlic without burning it.
3. Put in the Anchovy fillets and a little bit of the oil. Discard the remaining oil. Saute the garlic and the anchovy until the fillets is almost melted or at least no visible pieces.
4. Add the canned tomatoes and stir to combine. 
5. Season with salt and pepper. If you want to give the sauce a little kick or twist, add a pinch of dried pepper flakes.
6. Toss the cooked pasta until coated with sauce. Remove from heat. Garnish with teared sweet basil leaves and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

St. Gregory Church of San Mateo

I woke up happy and thankful for today. Happy because my husband and I are able to finally settle down without any problems at all and thankful because we have been immensely blessed of things we didn't even ask for. We've been praying to get this on-shore assignment for quite some time as we needed another chance for us to make use of a good health insurance for reason I'd probably share in a different post in the future. I believe coming here was a perfect timing and this was the answer I was looking for.

While searching for apartments, we've considered a lot of things like accessible public transportation, mall/grocery, hospital, and a parish church. I couldn't stop thanking God for we have them all nearby.

We went to church today and attended the noon mass at St. Gregory's Parish. We finally found a safe haven and a home.

I love how colorful the ceiling is. The stained glass stood out against the rose-colored walls.

Families conveying for a baptism.

Being here feels like attending mass at Santuario de San Antonio in Makati. There's a lot of Filipinos families and they are genuinely friendly so looking for one will not be a problem. It's been a productive weekend so far. How about you?

XoXo

Brunchin' at Denny's

 It's our first weekend in San Mateo, California and the week has gone by so quickly that I didn't even get to appreciate the beauty of it all. In the first few days, everything in my body has gone berserk. I mean my body clock can't even tell the difference between day and night. I seem to be having too much difficulty sleeping for a week. My skin comes second as little red blisters popping out from nowhere making it itchy. I changed my facial cleanser and moisturizer if that helps. I am hoping they'd be gone this week. Third, I have this "pollen-allergy" according to my sister making me sneeze every five seconds. I have runny nose every now and then and that annoying pain in the bridge of my nose. Oh well, so much for drama. I am so glad it's already Saturday and we get to tour around San Mateo and maybe downtown San Francisco to get to know more about it.

First, breakfast at Denny's is in order.

Denny's is a typical American All-Day breakfast diner. They have huge servings of pancakes, bacon and  eggs. 

Blueberry and Banana wheat pancakes

My scrambled egg whites and Turkey bacon.

New discovery in the hot sauce department - Cholula

Burrito with guacamole, bacon and eggs.

 Now off to San Francisco after the hearty breakfast. Yup, on board the KX bus that will take us downtown and about a forty-five minute ride. Not bad at all. In fact, someone's sleepy already.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

XoXo

Home Sweet Home in California

We've moved in today after five days in the hotel. Such a relief that we finally have our own place to call home. It's just a studio apartment and we have no furniture yet as we figured we won't be staying here very long. We have to make sure not to buy too much stuff that we can't or won't be able to ship home after we're done here. A futon and a dinette will do. We'll be sleeping on the carpeted floor tonight with a mattress topper for bed. No qualms about that. It's not like we haven't slept on the floor in our lifetime.

Living room/Bedroom

Small but functional kitchen

Walk-in closet with attached bathroom.

We have a huge walk-in closet that can be used as a bedroom. The space is big enough for the both of us much like our condo unit in Manila. We were even lucky that this was just renovated and all the kitchen stuff was newly installed. I got to use it first ha! I can't wait to cook our first dinner tonight.

XoXo

First Shopping Haul in California

We went on a shopping trip to Target earlier for stuff we need at our new apartment. It is very inevitable that we move in the soonest as I can no longer put up with the same breakfast menu at the hotel we're staying. Imagine having scrambled eggs, sausage, bread and waffles every single day? 

The weather was not very friendly with the clothes I decided to pack on this trip. I was too excited to bring most of my summer-ready outfits and not a single coat or warm clothing except for my trusty Gap blazer and this H&M scarf. I managed to not freeze the entire time we were out. Thank God!

Too cold, apparently I brought the wrong set of clothes. I'm wearing Insight jeans, Sweater under my blazer thrift-ed in the streets of Hong Kong, Marc by Marc Jacobs Tee Shirt, Gap blazer, Puma suede racing shoes, H&M bag

Looking for directions. Google map works here, thank goodness! He just got off from work. Hence the black shoes and pants and his favorite Nike sweater.

Trying to make myself warm while waiting for the bus.

 It feels like we're newly weds again. We have to start everything from scratch and the apartment we're getting is not furnished at all. My husband and I both think that we can save a lot in the long run if we rent it unfurnished. Unfurnished apartments already come with a fridge, a cooking range, dishwasher, heater and washing machine either in-house or in-site. We just have to buy the basic kitchen stuff and maybe a futon that will serve as our bed and our couch during the day. It's fun shopping for stuff at home at least we get to use it and box them up when the assignment is over. 

One of the many reasons I love Target. It's like SM Department store and Supermarket in one

Here goes our first batch of shopping haul and more to come this week. Wish us luck in our new apartment!

XoXo

Jetlag and Apartment Hunting California

Our second day and still no decent sleep. At least we found an apartment today and so glad we didn't have to go through a lot before we could finally get a place to settle down for the next seven months. It is pretty expensive but it's just ten minutes away from my husband's workplace, two bus stops from the mall and a walking distance to an Asian supermarket along with a strip of restaurants we could eat out. For expats like us who don't have a car, we need to make sure that everything else is accessible even if it means paying a bit more for apartment rentals. We've become smarter with our choices this time and we owe it much to our experiences in Chicago. San Mateo is a forty-five minute bus ride or a thirty-minute drive to downtown San Francisco and if you think about it, it's not so bad being in the outskirts. I think in a few weeks time we'd be commuting like the locals. For now as long as I have a place to go shopping if I'm bored, it's all good to me. (Big smile)

Hillsdale Mall

Trader Joe's

The Cheesecake factory, H&M, Forever21

Pretty giant roses along the streets

Home away from home

Here's hoping to get some sleep after this post. The husband and I playing around with my phone camera in our hotel room, eating fresh strawberries and Pocky at 4AM pacific time. We're staying at Best Western Inn San Mateo and man, they've been serving the same thing for breakfast for three days now. I can't wait to get out of this hotel and make us some good food in our new home.

Thank you so much for reading. 

XoXo

Touchdown SFO Airport

After gruesome security checks, immigration interviews and a crazy eighteen-hour flight we are finally here! Yup, it's been a week since the Boston incident and getting in and out of the US is a bit stiff if not cumbersome. No complains, just happy we arrived safely and I can barely make up a pretty good smile in the picture below to show how excited I am to be here. Bucket list finally checked off, yay!

I will keep you posted in the days to come as for now I only have one agenda in mind - sleep! 

XoXo

Early Bird Breakfast Club and Cramming

I hope you're all having a great day. Mine is quite hectic and busy. Been packing and putting away stuff in boxes most of the week since we're going to be on another off-shore assignment in California! Yay! We'll be leaving on the fifteenth and I am just cramming. So much to do so little time.

Here's what we had for breakfast earlier as I don't have time to cook anymore. We head over to my new favorite breakfast place - the Early Bird Breakfast club. So much better than waiting in line at iHop which I think is ridiculous! 

I forgot the name of this dish, it's really good. Although my husband thinks I can pull if off better at home. 

I will make a better review about this restaurant next time or when we're back in Manila. For now head over there and try it out!

The restaurant is located at the Fort Strip and they serve breakfast all day.

xoxo

Outfit Post: Pink and Paisley

Summer is all about wearing cotton and pastel colors. 

Here I am with my favorite paisley print kaftan blouse bought at a thrift store in Wisconsin called Plato's closet. I miss that store. It is a second hand shop that sells pretty good clothes from people who brings items to the store for cash. If you're lucky, you could actually score a five dollar Ralph Lauren shirt or J Brand jeans. I wish we have something like that here in Manila. Believe me, I can be a cheap shopper. I find interesting stuff at unexpected places. Fashion for me isn't something that should break the bank but I won't be a hypocrite to say that I don't have expensive pieces. I tend to pay more for shoes, bags and jeans. You just have to be creative and mix high-low clothing or accessories when dressing up.

How about you? What's your take in fashion? Tell me about it ;)

I'm wearing Insight jeans, Kaftan blouse- thrifted, Shoes- denim Toms, Bag- Balenciaga, Sunglasses- Jessica Simpson

Have a great weekend everyone! 

xoxo

Outfit Post: Girls Who Lunch

I was seeing my long-time ex-call center workmate Nadia, from Cagayan de Oro today and I am pretty excited to have girly conversations once again. It rarely happens actually. It's sad that most of my friends live far from me. That's why I grab every opportunity I can to bond with them if they get to swing by Manila.

She's equally my fashion soul-mate sister if there's such a thing. We both like to talk about clothes,shoes, bags, makeups and anything a girl would love. Girlfriend dates consists of lunch, coffee and "window shopping" if not shopping...and end the day people watching at a cafe eating our favorite cake. 

It's pretty hot and humid so I decided to wear shorts and an easy-breezy white blouse and flats.

Shirt- H&M, Short- Thrifted, Shoes-Forver21, Bag- Louis Vuitton, Watch- Casio, Necklace-Mag's Closet

Caffeine fix at CBTL. We're such coffee addicts before and I guess until now. Some bad habits are hard to break :)

People watching and a photo op thanks to my husband. A very handy driver and photographer for the day :)