I've been addicted to MAC for the past few years but have never really hit the pan in terms of the eyeshadows or blushes that I own. I've been wanting to get a free lipstick, courtesy of Back 2 MAC. This is a short description as to what Back 2 MAC is all about, as per the MAC website:

Because we share your commitment to the environment, M·A·C accepts returns of its primary packaging through the Back to M·A·C Program. By returning six [6] M·A·C primary packaging containers to a M·A·C counter or M·A·C Cosmetics online, you’ll receive a free M·A·C lipstick of your choice as our thanks to you.

I currently have some empty MAC containers and I'm looking forward B2Ming! I hope I really get to choose a lipstick of my choice here. Otherwise, I'm gonna wait for my trip to Singapore on November and do a B2M there! Any suggestions on what to get? Russian Red, anyone? :)

I've lived in UP Village all my life but never really tried out some of the foodie places in the area as mentioned in a lot of blogs. Today, I decided to give the Burger Project a try.


We were greeted by the bright interior and clipboards were handed so could proceed to creating our very own burgers, which is the concept behind the Burger Project.



I chose the beef burger, poppy seed bun, caramelized onions, bacon, gruyere cheese, lettuce, tomato and the buffalo wing sauce. Nips thought the prices were expensive since everything that you put into the burger has a corresponding price. Upon seeing the huge burger though, we both agreed that it was worth the price (Php230 for each burger). We literally had a hard time taking the first bite due to the size of the thing and had a laugh about it. I loved the sweetness of the caramelized onions combined with the spicy buffalo wing sauce. I'm such a sucker for anything spicy.



They have a chalkboard that contains combinations that diners could try out.



I had fries to go with the burger. I liked the fries, again, because it was a bit spicy. I figured they sprinkled some paprika on the fries.



We were really satisfied with our meal at the Burger Project. I guess the only complaint that I have is that they didn't have gruyere cheese available so I had to settle for mozzarella while my eating partner had to choose bacon instead of pepperoni as they ran out of it as well. We'll be back though. :)



The Burger Project
122 Maginhawa Street,
Teachers Village,
Quezon City

I haven't written in a while though I have lots of time in my hands. Partly because I may have been too lazy to think of something to write about. Another may have been the guilt I've been feeling.

Life hasn't been perfect the past 2 years. I have become what I dreaded of becoming and have been avoiding in my life.

To my dearest, I'm sorry for everything. I'm just happy that you're still here. I love you.

I was super looking forward to my trip to Bangkok until all these violence took place. Yesterday, the red shirt protesters set the Central World mall on fire. It's so sad. I was just there a few months ago. At the rate things are going in Bangkok, I might not even get to go next month. Sayang ang ticket and hotel reservation since fully paid na. :( Please let this violence and misunderstanding end.

I've been trying to get decent food shots for the past week or so. We have to submit an 8R photo of food. It sounds easy but it's really not. I have to think of ways to make food look more appetizing. I bought pancit canton from Eng Bee Tin earlier and let me tell you, it didn't look like this earlier. I had to sprinkle oil over it to get what they refer to as "specular highlights". Tomorrow, I'll be shooting mochi balls. :D

This was written by a friend. I was with him when everything happened.

NEW BOMBAY CANTEEN – GLORIETTA 3
March 1, 2009

Order:
Samosa
Chicken TikKa Masala
Palak Paneer
Naan with Cheese
Chapati
Sweet Lasi
Coke

This would have been a lovely dinner with a friend but rather it became an infuriatingly horrifying experience, way beyond the opposite of what it was originally meant to be.

We know that Indian food is more of an acquired taste and the same goes for the way it looks. It’s all saucy filled with spices, herbs and aromatics that look like seeds, leaves or twigs. It was growing on me, until this day.

I have a habit of trying to identify the ingredients of what I’m eating. Thanks to my braces, I had to slice the samosa because I cannot bite into it. So as I slice my samosa, I was checking the seed-like things and saw an oddly larger and lighter one. I flipped it over, and to my greatest unpleasant surprise, it had LEGS, and WINGS!!! Put@#ng I#@!!! It was a small COCKROACH…LEGS and WINGS all intact!!! With all the different ingredients in the food, if that F**k!nG INSECT had mixed with the saucier food, I wouldn’t have seen it even if I were trying to find a name for all those twigs, leaves and seeds in our food!!!

I was in shock for like a minute or so. I was even half laughing in my mind that this could just be a weird kind of flower they put in the samosa. But the WINGS…and the LEGS!!! Apart from being filthy, these are not solitary creatures! They come in mass and multiply fast!!!

While still in shock and trying to be mild-mannered, I called the waitress. I did not know what or how to say that my food had a F**k!nG COCKROACH! So she asks me, “Was it in the food already or did it just land there?” As if it mattered! I said, “It was INSIDE the samosa!” The lady says “I will just replace your food.” What the F?!!! Did I hear her right?? She wanted to just replace it??? I had a baby cockroach in my food!!! Its clan is definitely in the kitchen. Is she nuts???

My imagination was going crazy. This is the first time I’ve seen the insect I hate passionately INSIDE my appetizer or any food for that matter. We can only think of what else could have been spicing our meal. I asked the waitress to get me her supervisor, manager or whoever who can make a decision on this because all she offered was to replace the filthy food and her blank face. And guess what, NO ONE was available to address my escalating distress. How ridiculous!!! No decision maker on the restaurant???

I made sure the other customers heard what I had to say if no one was going to listen. I asked for my receipt and upon receiving it, very audibly blurted, “Have you taken out the price of the COCKROACH from this bill??? My GOODNESS! An insect is in my food! Who would pay for my hospital bill if I get sick?”

I had a few more lines, but I had to control my outrage because I could be embarrassing my friend. We paid the bill because I did not want the waitresses to be the ones whose salaries will get deducted if we just walked out—it’s not their fault after all. But I am making sure that this event does not go unnoticed.

FRIENDS, please STRONGLY discourage anyone you know from eating at NEW BOMBAY CANTEEN.

Below are some pictures that we took.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be 26. I think that the first 25 years of my life has pretty much been about learning. Learning how to walk, run, read and of course, love. I met a lot of people, some I still talk to, but most of them I no longer keep in touch with. As I move to a completely different phase of my life, I often wonder how I'm going to tell the people that I'm about to meet about the old me and how I became that way. Should I be proud of how I've lived my life so far? Or should I just forget about the past and start fresh?

Truthfully, I am looking forward to 2009 and how I'm going to live my life with my partner beside me. Finally, we're going to be together. :)

It's been a while since I've last visited the blogs and forums about makeup. About 2 weeks ago, I got jealous of one of my co-workers' palettes from Coastal Scents and eventually gave in, buying 2 palettes. This got me started on reading on makeup, again. Anyways, I just love MAC's holiday collection and how everything is red!

MAC palettes

Due to my lack of MAC brushes, I decided to go ahead and purchase the basic brush set from the Adoring Carmine collection, mainly because of the good reviews on the 219 and 239 brushes, which are both part of the set. I'm so excited!!! I was wondering why there is a price difference though for the same set between Nordstrom and MAC's website. It is priced at $49.50 at MAC, while it's only at $35 at Nordstrom's site.

Basic Brush Set of 5: 129 SE, 219 SE, 239 SE, 266 SE and the 316 SE

My brother's going to send this along with some of his padala from the states. Can't wait until December so I can start using my shiny, red brushes!