Give away treat

My blog will be turning 3 sooner and it's just an instant thought of giving away treats to all readers. Treats all the way from France. Well, the contest is simple as ABC. All you have to do is to comment and say something about Pinayfries by emailing me at maruh@maruh.fr. First 3 commenters will gonna win as follows :
1) Gift certificate from Hediard ( worth 80 euros )

2) A bottle of Champagne and Wine from Nicolas

3) A box of assorted macarons from Ladurée

Anyone from every part of the world can join this contest just dont forget to email me your postal address. 3 lucky winners will announce tomorrow, Sunday April 1, 2012 at 6am. Goodluck!!! :)

Happy April Fool's day!!!!!

Cheese for kids

J'adore les cheeses! We've been so very lucky that we are in a country where there are lots of cheese. I used to purchase varieties of cheese everytime i went to the grocery. Strong taste cheeses for Claudebiko ( like Roquefort ), goat and creamy cheeses for me and for our kid, pambata cheese :)

la vache qui rit -"the laughing cow", Babybel and Ficello now with new ficello spaghetti shaped cheese :)
Aside from those cheeses on the photo, my kid also love Camembert and Kiri. My daughter milk intake is just only in the morning during her breakfast so by eating cheese is a another way source of calcium to have strong bones and teeth which is very good for the children. I must confess that sometimes i steal some of daughter's cheese in the fridge hehehe cheesylicious!

Bibingclara's treasure

Yes, i am cleaning and clearing up everything except, hmm except with these little treasures. I went to my daughter's room, i discovered her treasures "CANDIES". I found them in all forms in a little bowls sitting inside her dependable microwave oven ( munting kusina ). I know, i must not touch them because it will gonna be a war hehehe :)

assorted gummy candies. in the other bowl saw some peanut butter chocolate coated m&m's

some french coins chocolates with a strict rule, one coin per day and begin with the smallest one
Every wednesday and on week-ends, during our coffee break Bibingclara will gonna ask pieces of candies to her papa but only one or two she would just be eating, she's saving the rest in her little treasure ( Claudebiko observed that ) same as with chocolates. Obviously, she's not cheating of hiding eating candies without our knowledge. She is saving wisely little by little ( in times of krisis when i'll be stopping buying from the supermarket ) Imagine ang dame ba naman. Naku anak, sana lang wag itong langgamin. If it is a real coin or money she would be saving, siguro pede ko na sya utangan :)

Wednesday - Josephine Baker pool

Mom-daughter bonding day, Wednesday!. We went to the pool wednesday afternoon, after we had finish our baking bonding moments. No afternoon siesta for my unica hija exceptionally that day. She was really tired after staying 2 hours playing in the paddling pool. Our first time was with Théo and his mother. Josephine Baker pool is situated in 13th arrondissment left bank of Seine . Just 10-15minutes walk from home. Entrance fee is cheap, 3 euros for adult and 1,70 euros for kids there's also a special tariff-reduction for members, retired, unemployed, handicaps and free for cardholder state employee like Claudebiko :)

photo taken along Seine in front of Josephine baker pool ( first time with théo and mom )

in the changing room ( honestly i don't swim so we just only stayed at paddling pool )

in the locker room where we get her psit psit laruan during the last minute of playtime at the pool
We were so lucky because there were not lots of people, not so crowded. We will definitely come back next time again on ordinary days maybe again with Théo and his mom but we must really have to set our schedules or maybe with Claudebiko next time. Swimming is good for his back anyway and fun for us to just play around :)

Heart cookies

Heart-shaped cookies when we had our goûter-miryenda ( another late post of february ) at théophile's place ( Bibingclara's best boy friend in school ). His mom's baked these yummy cookies. We shared those cookies while chatting ( we also got take home ). Bibingclara and Theophile has the same of-a-kind character "active, emotive and intelligent" there are times, they're fighting for some little things but they can actually make things up easily para bang aso at pusa. In reality, they love each other. They love to play together :)

sugared heart-shaped cookies yum!
Last tuesday, as hubby relates to me, Bibingclara and Théophile had a rendez-vous ( after school ) at the park to play sands. Bibingclara insisted her father to passed by the park but when hubby and daughter arrived, they had never seen théophile. Ohh my daughter face expression " so sad " maybe Bibingclara misunderstood or maybe théophile leave the park earlier ? :(. I guess, i must set a miryenda invitation for them one of these days. I know my Bibingclara will be happy yipee :)

Family day at La Villette

I have still two pending entries of our visit in Cité des Sciences. Because of the lack of time, i always forget to work on it. Last saturday, we went to the city of sciences and we also dropped by at the park of La Villette. It was sunny! The bad thing happened was, my daughter got a fever after our visit. After our lunch at Quick, hubby looked for a near pharmacy to get paracetamol for our daughter ....

Cool because childrens can compose their names by playing letters in Cité des enfants ( 2-7 years old play corner )

know their appropriate sizes

the best of all water play!!!

construction play - they're just few childrens working

before going home, we've got the chance to visit the "submarine" 

some photo shots ....

got some prints right away but in black and white ( we could also see colored ones from city of sciences website ) nice as souvenir of our visit :)

I was at play too! by clicking the button. Camera back and front and Focus ( hahaha )

We got home straight after coz my daughter need to see a doctor. Bibingclara had tonsilitis as the doctor diagnosed ( that's why she had raised temperature ). The doctor prescribed antibiotic which actually end up the last taking tonight. No more cookies, no more chocolates, no more candies and no more sweets for the meantime :(. 

Betty Boop Figurine No. 56

Here's the Groom ( in french ) -Bell Girl Betty boop figurine, after being a flamenco dancer. This is actually my last figurine for the month of March. Look how she really "Belle! belle! belle! " and so sexy  even she's wearing a long skirt. Love her escarpin! :)

Betty Boop Figurine No. 56 ( Bell Girl )

costs only 8.99 euros

the poster inside the magazine numero 56 - betty the cleaner hehehe
Just like the same thing on the poster i can see myself because aside from doing my motherly duties, i am also a bit busy cleaning up our little apartment. The very reason why i only have little time to blog ( ehem! ) this is not an excuse hehehe hoping i'll be back on the track. So many things to share, so many stories to tell. And also so excited for the next figurine, Betty Boop Figurine No. 57 ( Beauty Queen ). Wow! wow and another WOW!

Chilled herbs

Springtime! I forgot that one of my project is to plant herbs yes, i will try planting some herbs in a little cutey pots ( wish me luck ) also thinking to grow some beautiful flowers as well as my daughter's request. Another project is to do a big cleaning ( wish me luck again ). First, i will emptying our fridge-freezer that will gonna say a bit goodbye to some boxes of my frozen herbs ( some of them has reached their expiration dates ) Chilled herbs from Picard helps me a lot for my cooking purpose when i have no fresh herbs available on hand. I have sorts of ...

spring onions, basil, mint, coriander, dill, tarragon

parsley, mix herbs for salad and mix herbs for fish purpose

I think i should start sorting them now yep right now  :)

Sa may parke

Ang bilis ng panahon, kapag pumupunta kame sa park sa may tabi-tabi makulimlim, malamig at medyo tinatamad. Walang masyadong tao at walang masyadong batang naglalaro.

ang mga punong naglalagas ( l'automne - autumn )

falling leaves

ang sarap walisin!

 

naisip ko lang pulutin ko kaya itong mga dahon isa-isa hahaha exercise papayat kaya ako?
Kahapon ay umpisa na ng springtime oh la la tagsibol na panahon na para magtanim at makakita ng magagandang bulaklak sa parke. Ang ganda ng araw ngayon at ilalabas ko ang aking unica hija mamaya at dadalhin sa park buttes chaumont at para na rin manuod ng guignol -( the marionnettes- puppet show ) remember wednesday ngayon it's mum-daughter day. Last wednesday nasa piscine-pool kame with  Bibingclara's favorite kalaro.

at Josephine baker pool with Théo habang nagmi-miryenda pagkatapos nag-swim
Next wednesday kaya san kame mag-ina? hmm esep-esep! by the way, i can't wait na maging summer na, mas madaling ilabas ang mga bata at ang dameng pedeng gawing activity outdoor :)

Karaoke challenge

We had a simple celebration at home last saturday, the next day of the ceremony of my french nationality. I have some couple of friends who came along and joined the singing challenge. Wala lang, the dinner becomes karaoke challenge habang nag-hihintay ng dessert ( nagpapababa ng kinain hehehe )

the "Gang"

 ang unang hirit pika-pika
ang aming menu :
Appetizer : Tuna melt
                  Bacon wrapped chicken Bites
                  Beef springrolls

Main course : Broccoli tart
                     Tartiflette
                     Chicken à la king
                     Roasted chicken
                     Salad             

Dessert : Cheesecake à la tiramisu
               Tres leches cake
               Coconut macaroons
Ang aming naging appetizer drink ay ang Bombay sapphire. Salamat sa aking mga kaibigan na nagdala ng good wine na margaux at sancerre. Sa nagdala ng mga chocolate, a bottle of champagne at regalong champagne glass. Merci, merci!!! I also wanted to take the opportunity na isaludo at i-thank you ang aking mga favorite food blogs ( kung saan ko nakuha ang mga idea kong menu sa okasyon na ito ) tulad nila http://casaveneracion.com/ - beef springrolls at tres leches cake, http://www.skinnytaste.com/ - bacon wrapped chicken bites http://asianinamericamag.com/ - roasted chicken http://thefashiondomain.blogspot.fr/ - coconut macaroons. I'm glad dahil all went well after the dinner. Ang mga hindi kumakanta ay napakanta. Yun nga lang hindi nabiyak ang premyo ng nag highest score singer kasi merong nag-tie ( 90/90 ) mantakin mo ba naman bago nagsiuwian nag 91 pa ako sa kinantang "Zombie" ng the cranberries. Ako ang huling kumanta at hindi na kumanta pa yung iba dahil they had to leave bago pa sila maging zombie hehehe at maiwanan/masaraduhan ng metro train. Thanks to all! Next time ulet Karaoke challenge at barbequehan this coming summer magpaulan tayo hehehe :)

Pinayfries is now a frenchfries

Citizenship ceremony is done! Yes i am a french now. That's the reason why i wanted to wear a dress feeling ko ga-graduate ako hahaha. After one year waiting ( processing ), i have got my french nationality officially last friday :)

 photo first beside marianne before quitting the marianne area-where the ceremony was held
I actually saw 2 of my previous classmates from french course ( one man and one woman ). I chitchatted a bit with the lady classmate but we didn't had the chance to have some souvenir photos because they leave right away after the ceremony. It was already past 2pm and we still didn't had our lunch so before going home we decided to dine-out somewhere. We went first to the restaurant where we eat mussels before, but unfortunately the restaurant is under renovation as we noticed people are at work or maybe they're finally closed? not so sure but anyway, we tried to find another restaurant and luckily we found Hippopotamus ( this is where i ate my first steak when i arrived in Paris ) :)

 good choice Claudebiko he was so contented with his meal super big portion with unlimited fries

i have ordered lamb i've got 3 little pieces with french beans
We were so hungry! We had a good late lunch and a bonus because we payed our bill with 30% discount less. We will definitely come back at Hippo of course with Bibingclara next time :)

Mia at 2

Birthday ni Mia ngayon ang aming mahal na pusa. 2 years old na sya. Matakaw, malikot at makalmot. Nung nakaraang linggo pinaputulan ang kanyang kuko, pero kahit upod ang kuko abay nabiktima si Claudebiko nung biyernes ( nakalmot dalawang magkabilang palad ) pano ba naman binuhat kasi tinimbang para malaman kung ilang kilo na ba ang kanyang timbang.

Mia our cat
Resulta? 5 kilo na sya at sabi ng veterinarian dapat hindi sya lalagpas ng 4 na kilo. Pano kasi ang takaw ( mana sakin ) kain ng kain tas tulog ng tulog hala kelangan ni Miang mag-exercise. At kahit na minsan pasaway si Mia ( umagang-umaga nang-gigising na at nag-iingay dahil siya'y naglalaro na ) syempre gagawan ko sya ng daga chocolate cake ngayon pero di sya ang kakain kundi kameng mag-ina hahaha syempre hindi lang yan, binilhan ko din sya ng favorite nyang pagkain para special talaga ang kanyang day :)

Band-aid artist

Nope, she doesn't get hurt arte nya lang yan, she's pretending na me bukol at me masakit sa kanya. All she wanted was having loads of band-aid ang hilig nya kasing magdikit-dikit. Ibigay ang hilig! Good thing, i can buy cheap sticking plaster kasi pinaglalaruan lang.

the Band-aid girl

Bibingclara's sticking art in school with the help of the teacher of course
One of their school project ( 1st year, preparatory ). Each children must bring their little treasures ( it can be anything old shoes, clothes, books, photos, toys, souvenir from vacation etc. ) Notice the pink plate? 8 little band-aids! (",)

Arts during crêche ( nursery time )

Here are some of the precious work of art of my daughter during her nursery days. We keep them all. We  planned to get them frame soon :)

with crepe paper

with an image and little pompoms

more with colored crepe paper

some cut-outs from magazine

Bibingclara's pick 

this is my favorite

with feathers

Will show more of her dikit-dikit activities in school, next post :)

Lunch - Salad and goat cheese balot

I must accept na minsan nauubusan ako ng idea kung ano ang iluluto at ihahanda ko sa hapag-kainan. Minsan me slight katamaran na rin hehehe buti nalang ang simpleng salad at keso sa ref ay nakakapagsilbing angel ko sa kusina :)

batavia salad with slices of dried hams / deep fried wrapped goat cheese

Usually, pag lunch yung madali at mabilis lang lutuin ang kinakain namin tulad ng pasta. Tumingala ako sa may istante oops naubos na pala ang huling pakete ng pasta, bumaling sa may kanang bahagi ng kusina binuksan ang ref, unang palapag sari-saring ham ang nakita kumuha ako ng isang pakete, sa may katabi ibat-ibang keso ang natagpuan; me malambot, matigas, maamoy, magatas pero ang pinili ko ay yung keso ng kambing hindi dahil sa ako ay year of the goat hehehe sa kadahilanang favorite ko talaga ang keso ng kambing. Pumilas ng ilang dahon ng salad ( syempre hinugasan ) nakakita ako ng natirang lumpiang wrapper ( pinambalot sa keso ). Pinrepare ang salad na me ham ( buti nalang lagi akong me ready na vinaigrette na gawa ko ) pinrito ang binalot na keso sa super init na mantika ( kaya medyo sunog ng konti ) Ayan ang naging lunch namin instant at rapido :) 

Cheers!

We will gonna have a celebration that calls for at least a bottle of champagne hehehe but ala akong pambili ng mabulang inumin. Buti nalang bago mag pasko, last december nakalibre ako ng Ayala champagne worth 27 euros sa Monoprix. With accumulated points of 1,500 s'miles ito ang aking na-redeem. Talaga namang napa-ismile ako ng todo :)

loyalty monoprix card
Frugal tip: Kung walang pambili ng champagne, abay makabili nalang ng Café de Paris hehehe teka don't think na ito ay kape ito ay sparkling wine. Allezzz nang makapag-CHEERS!!!

Mini cassava

Dahil anniversary ng aking pagdating ngayon, naisipan kong gumawa ng cassava cake. Yes, na miss ko ito dahil ang tagal na rin na panahon na hindi ako gumawa nito. Ito rin nga pala ang una kong natutunan na i-bake mula ng natikman ko ito sa isang filipino community gathering dito sa Paris. Madali lang without pagod, hindi mo na kailangang magkaskas pa dahil me nabibili na ditong frozen grated cassava. Kahapon i was in the Asian store at naisipan kong bumili ng coconut milk, dessicated coconut, frozen young grated coconut ( puro coconut noh? ) kaya naman naisipan ko na ding bumili ng grated cassava :)

mini cassava brought for Bibingclara's nursery two year ago

I baked a big batch today, actually favorite ko itong ipamigay wala lang generous ako eh ( hehehe ) sa may pharmacy, sa concierge namin, sa aming hairdresser, at sa mga taong alam kong kakainin hehehe ooppss teka mukhang luto na i'll have to check my cassava in the kitchen baka masunog. Want the recipe? just click here :).

6-year na

Ngayon ay anibersaryo ng aking pagdating sa Pransya, tingnan mo nga naman anim na taon na! Natatandaan ko pa na umaga akong dumating nuon March 14, 2006 at mula sa palapagan ng eroplano agad-agad akong dinala ni Claudebiko ke Madame! hehehe si Madame tower oo sa Eiffel Tower :)

gusto ko ang klima dahil medyo malamig ( nearly springtime ) feeling ko nasa baguio ako hehehe buti nalang merong jacket na nasa sasakyan bigay ng wife ng katrabaho ni Claudebiko :) Hindi ako prepare pano naman t-shirt lang ang suot ko as in! buti nalang maasahan at Eveready as in battery si partner ko.

sa Notre dame na para akong nawawala na turista hehe ang jacket o pull? naku ke Claudebiko yan :)

sa Champs-Elysées na me dalang sirang payong hahaha umaambon kasi i don't care kahit na tupi-tupi na yung alambre hehe basta ang mahalaga di ako ma-wet dito ko nakita ang mga luxury boutiques naaalala ko  pa yung joke ni Claudebiko na if i can pronounce well "Louis Vuitton" in french, he'll get me a bag! kaso etching nya lng yun hahaha ang jacket? hehehe ang laki sa akin galing din sa katrabaho nya teka para nga atang pang-lalaki ito eh :)

Outside Louvre Museum
Para akong estudyanteng walang pera ngek!! hehehe sabi ko nga hindi naman ako tourist kaya nung naglibot-libot kame sa Paris ay paunti-unti. Nag-aaral na ako ng french lesson nyan. Syempre ang dame kong mga na-experienced na nakakatawa hehehe me mga katangahan at kamusmusan. Ang dameng pinag-bago wheww anim na taon din dati me braces pa ako sa ngipin, me kulay ang buhok, me salamin, at hindi ganong mataba! ( hellow im only 26 that time wala pang anak noh ) simpleng ineng ( pero rock! ) Ang masasabi ko lang, no regrets! In six years living in france, MASARAP ANG PAGKAIN! hehe seriously, i love living in this country sabi nga Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité! Bow :) Happy Anniversary to me!