Here are my 42 favorites in no particular order.
1. Tagaytay
I fell in love with this place 30 years ago when I first visited it on a field trip with my classmates. Countless visits after that, I am still in love with the place and I still cannot help but goggle at the scenic Taal Lake. If you want to make me happy take me there. I just hope people would just stop building new infrastructures and high rises in the city. The high rise buildings are slowly taking the charm off the city.
2. Song de Chine by Crabtree and Evelyn
This is my most favorite scent. I discovered it in 2000. Unfortunately, they don't carry it anymore.
3. Crema de Mangga
This is the dessert I love best. I love making it. I sing in anticipation of eating it. I can actually eat it all day. There's something heavenly about the sweet Zambales mangoes and cream. If you want to make some but don't know how, you can check out my recipe.
4. Zambales Mangoes
This variety is one of the sweetest in the world and I'm lucky to have been born with a small Zambales mango farm. Zambales mangoes are so sweet I thank God I'm alive everytime I eat one.
5. Hongkong
I have visited this place thrice and compared to other Asian countries I have visited, this is the place I want to go back to everytime I think of taking a trip.
6. Jean Valjean
He is my favorite male protagonist. To me, he is the best example of human transcendence. I just love him!
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| with 2016 Production's Jean Valjean |
7. Les Miserables (novel and musical)
I first heard the songs 25 years ago and read the novel after a few months. I fell in love with the novel and fell in love with the musical. I loved how the music and songs were able to express exactly the sentiments of the novel (except for the character of Marius whom I hate).
8. Victor Hugo
He had a deep understanding of man, his motives and intentions. Without him, there will be no Les Miserables and therefore, no Jean Valjean.
9. Wuthering Heights
This is the only depressing story that I love. I wish the one who borrowed my copy would return it to me...wishful thinking.
10. Scarlett O'Hara
She is my favorite female protagonist. I don't know why I love her because many people hate her. She is actually really hateful and while reading the book I hated her too but afterwards I loved her character. Weird huh?
11. Gone with the Wind
I love history and culture and this book has a lot of both.
12. Pesto
This always tops my list be it a dip or pasta sauce. It's very easy to make too!
13. Christmas
Who doesn't love this holiday? Christmas just fills you with joy and nostalgia. Each Christmas tune or decor or even just the weather brings you memories of Christmas past and hope for what's to come. It's my favorite day of the year which makes December my favorite month.
14. December
This is such a happy month for me. First it's the holiday season so there are lots of events to go to. Second, this is the month of our wedding anniversary and the the month when we first learned I was pregnant with Sofia.
15. The town of Taal
As you have read above, I am a lover of history and culture. It is for this reason that I love the heritage town of Taal. Unlike other parts of the country where people have no sense of history and old houses are demolished to make way for modern ones, the people of Taal have found a way to preserve their old houses and keep an old-world charm. To preserve this feel, atm's, McDonald's, Jollibee are nowhere to be found. The heritage town is also famous for their balisong, longganisa, tapa and cheap hand-embrodered barong Tagalog.
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| a bird's eyeview atop the Taal Basilica |
16. Taal Basilica
This is the largest Catholic church in Asia. Each pillar, each stone speaks of history. I couldn't help but fall in love at first sight. I've always wanted to visit it and when I finally did, I was not disappointed. In fact, I was amazed beyond my expectations.
17. lace
There's something about lace that makes me feel so feminine.
18. August
This is the month of my birth, the month of my mom's birth and the month I first became a mom.
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| a young mother at 25....(a few weeks before my 26th birthday) |
19. buko salad (strips of young coconut meat, with grapes,cherries, pears, condensed milk and nestle cream)
Of all the salads, this is my favorite. I can eat kilos of it in a day!
20. musical plays
My dad used to take us to musical plays when I was a teenager. This made me fall in love with the theater, most specially with musical plays.
21. Daughtry's Gone Too Soon
This song is just perfect for parents who have angel babies.
22. The Accidental Hero
This movie which starred Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia and Geena Davis was a very funny movie. I watched it in when I was still in college and never forgot it. I loved it so much that I bought a copy of it four years ago. In a funny way, it showed the sad reality that we judge by appearances, and the inspiring truth that all of us, even the unlikely ones, can all be heroes if life catches us at the right moment.
23. Ever After
This Drew Barrymore movie was the best Cinderalla movie for me.
24. Legally Blonde
I fell in love with Reese Witherspoon in this movie....one of the movies I love watching again and again.
25. April
This is the month of my Sofie's birth. Though it was also the month she went back to Heaven, I will always look forward to celebrating her birthday.
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| Sofia's 1st birthday celebration - picnic in the mountains |
26. Makati City
As a young girl, working in Makati had always been my dream. To the young impressionable version of me, Makati offered a world of modernity and sophistication which other cities lacked, specially in the 80's, so when I finished college I never entertained calls from companies without a Makati address. I accepted an offer from a multinational financial company three months after graduation and Makati became my home for almost ten years--- the place where many of my most memorable memories were made, where most of my lasting friendships were built. Today, so many things have changed, I can hardly recognize some of the streets but it will always be special to me as evidenced by the feeling of nostalgia that I always have whenever I visit.
30. White pearls
The simplicity and elegance of pearls have always been beautiful in my eyes.
31. Crystals
Who wouldn't love how they sparkle in the sun?
32. Carnation and Gerbera
These are really pretty flowers that can stay pretty for a long time.
33. Ronan Keating
A handsome man with a beautiful voice
34. Christopher Reeve
He will always be my Superman.
35. Smallville
Loved this show...thanks to my husband who introduced it to me.
36. MacGyver
He formed many of my ideals and inspired some of the decisions I made in my younger years.
37. Monk and Psych
These were really funny TV series. My son introduced them to me and my Hunnybed and we had a lot of laughing-out-loud moments watching them.
38. Michael Jackson
Well, he's the King of Pop. Need I say more?
39. Body Shop's Vitamin E (day cream)
It's the best moisturizer for me -- very light, easily absorbed by the skin and leaves no sticky feeling.
40. Cheetos Jalapeno
Cheese and jalapeno are just the best combination.
41. My son's first story.
He wrote it when he was six years old. You can check it out here. On second thought, maybe it was his second because the title reads "Johnny English Part 2".
42. A post I wrote about Sofia.
This is the story of her birth and her flying back to Heaven. Check it out here
What are your favorites?
