dream house

I'm in tumblr right now and all I've been seeing are nice, light and colorful rooms which I want next time if I already have my own place! Here are the pictures...

For the bedroom, here are some rooms that I want to pattern my room to...

Love the color of the wall! Gives me the "relaxing" vibe! 

Love how open and light this room is.. So colorful yet it looks so neat! 

I love imagining that I'll have a big house with a guest room in it, so if ever I'll have one,

this is how I want it to look like! ;) LOL

And now, for the living room, I want it to look like this... 

Or this! Colorful and it looks so lively! Just like me! LOL 

For my mini patio, I want it to look busy like this. Full of plants! Let's just hope 

I move to NYC or downtown San Francisco for a great view outside my patio/balcony.

{mikaela}

i must admit....

I must admit that I miss New York... I miss the noise, the crazy subway system that I'll never get, the dirty streets but still full of character, hearing the NYPD and NYFD's siren blaring from a block away, I miss everything...

image source; Tumblr

{mikaela}

sweet thoughts

So i found these pictures online, and I plan to make them! Glad that I found recipes in the net. Take a peek at how yummy they look!

Sparkly covered Oreos - I first saw this in a blog, and I haven't lost my interest in making these since then... :) 

image source; here.

Oreo pops - I'm guessing you can tell I love Oreos so much with the kind of sweets I want to make... 

image source; Google 

Trix bars - Easy peasy to make! 

image source; Tumblr

Rainbow cupcakes - Looks promising... Mmm yum! 

image source; Google

Rainbow cake - Ohmy, my heart is beating fo fast whenever I see rainbow cupcakes and cakes. 

image source; Google

Lavender macaroons - I bought this book in Barnes and Noble that's all about macaroons and found a lavender macaroon recipe, should definitely try it! 

Image source; Google

Red Cinnamon donuts - I am drooling. 

image source; here.

{mikaela}

eloise

Since I've been watching Eloise at The Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime again these past few days, I decided to share with you guys how much I love Eloise! Here are some facts about me when I was young.. Back to the days when I was still very very addicted to the TV show.

• I had a friend before whose name was Eloise and I was so jealous of her since she had Eloise's name.. 
• I bought black suspender dresses and white shirts like what Eloise wears so I can pretend to be her.. 
• I was excited for the weekends when I was in Prep school, just so I can watch Eloise all day long! 

See? I just love her! 

I also love Disney for making this show! 

image via movie wallpaper.

That's Eloise in her room! My room was just like that before.. So girly and messy. 

image via here.

There's also a cartoon version of Eloise, which I found very very cute and loved it to bits and pieces, just like the real Eloise! 

Tada! 

image source; here.

She and the cartoon Pug is just too cute! Looking at these pictures just reminded me of my happy childhood! 

image source; here.

Actually, Eloise started in books. Not the tv shows, so I suggest you also have to HAVE the books, just like I did! And, read it every night. ;) 

See the books here!

Try to collect all of them, it's never too late being a kid again! ;) 

{mikaela}

today i...

Today I....

was called a - Teenage Eloise! If you're wondering who Eloise is, she's the character from Eloise at The Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime. She's very witty, bubbly (which in my case I think she is but others think she's annoying), and very very cute! So, I asked her if it was a compliment or an insult and she said it was a compliment but how about you guys... Do you think that's a compliment or not? ;) Tell me! 

ate a - Very very sweet chocolate cake that might just cause me Diabetes... Yikes yowza! 

discovered - I've been meaning to get a haircut ever since I came back, and I wanted a different hairstylist to cut and style my hair since school is just around the corner. I was thinking of getting a haircut at Jing Monis, but my mom suggested Nikki Bacay to cut our hair. I looked at the website and I'm very impressed! I'm thinking of getting highlights and hair treatments too. 

listened to - One Direction. I can't believe I'm humming One Thing while writing this post... 

wished that - My mom will like my birthday present to her on July 8... A NICKI MINAJ CONCERT TICKET! I'm currently going crazy, I really have to see her sing my favorite song, Starships! 

watched - Eloise at Christmastime. I love Eloise, I love The Plaza, I love her life. 

have a happy weekend, friends! 

{mikaela}

sugar and plumm, purveyors of yumm

While my aunts and uncles were in Lowe's (a store I hate the most and which I find REALLY boring), my mom, dad, cousin and I went to the Bergen mall. While walking around, I saw this really cute store which I found very cute. I decided to go in first, then my parents followed. (thank God, i was broke that time)

Cute, right? Oh and, lots of sweets to choose from! Ohmy! See those macarons and small cakes? ;) 

My dad actually saw these first then he called me and asked me if I wanted, how could I say no to sweets?! Those are lipstick chocolates, by the way. ;) 

And since I love Berries, this tea caught my eye. Can you believe it? Sugar and Plumm also sells tea! 

620, Bergen Town Center,

Paramus, NJ 

United States 

{mikaela}

summer songs

I discovered lots of new songs while spending my spring/summer in the States. And this is why I love my cousin, Kristen...

Bleach Blonde - This Century

Riverside - Agnes Obel

Avenue - Agnes Obel

Starships - Nicki Minaj 

This is my FAVORITE song ohmy, it reminds me of 

the fun i had in Cali and the East Coast. :( oh 

how I miss it there.... 

{mikaela}

you know i'm in manila when....

When i have sudden urges of catching the 10:30 PM flight back to San Francisco, saving pictures of downtown SF in my laptop and lastly, blogging about how much I miss my city...

image source; Tumblr

{mikaela}

currently up to...

So these past few days, i've been such a bum. Well what can I say, it's how I enjoy the last few days of my summer. School's in 8 days! Bummer! Here's what I've been currently up to...

watching - Modern family and Revenge - Modern Family is my go-to series when I'm not in the mood. Revenge, meanwhile, had it's season finale last May 23 and I'm just re-watching them again just cause I love the series so much.

listening - Bleach Blonde by This Century & songs of Agnes Obel - I discovered Bleach Blonde in Tumblr, and Agnes Obel through Revenge. I must say that I really reaaally like them and now have the hang of listening to Indie songs..

obsessing - I'm currently obsessing over my Rabito iPhone casing and if you're wondering what Rabito is, here you go...

image source;here.

Although I really like this color but it wasn't available at the Garden State Mall... 

image source; here.

eating - Spring NYC special m&m's are the best. Nothing else to say! (sorry, guys!)

wishing - See picture below... 

                                                         

{Mikaela} 

summer 2012

This summer is one heck of a blast. I don't really enjoy my summers but this year, I enjoyed it way too much in the States.

It's sad to see summer go but not everything can stay as it is, sadly. And that includes happiness and joy cause once school starts, I won't be on this blog for quite a while but I'll try my best since I have a hectic schedule of studying, studying and stu-DYING. To be honest, I've always hated how merciless my teachers are when giving home work and extra sheets. I mean, okay, I appreciate them giving them out for us to be smarter and diligent when it comes to doing work but that's not the proper way to teach the students how to become smart and diligent.  Anyhow, I'll stop being a killjoy. Instead, I will post more pictures that's making me miss the United States...

The trees and the sun.... 

The not-so-busy-and-not-too-noisy streets of my favorite city, San Francisco...

H&M at Powell Street...

Key Lime graham gelato squares from Costco...

Fresh strawberries at Fisherman's Wharf...

Having girl talks with my cousin, Kristen...

Her super cute little sister, Ashley, who loves posing and taking/being IN pictures...

My Carvelanch from Carvel with sprinkles, cake mix, and M&M's...

And my cousins from the east coast. Kristen, Maria, Ashley...

Actually, i miss everything about the United States. I miss being so excited every year when I wake up from my sleep in the plane going there, I miss the feeling you get when you get out of the plane and walk the long long strip just go get to the immigration, I miss the feeling when you get out of the airport, feeling the fresh air until your cheeks get so red and you get windburn, oh good Lord, i miss absolutely everything. 

{Mikaela}

boudin

When in San Francisco, don't miss out on the New England style Clam Chowder. That's their specialty. If you go there and skip the chowder, don't even tell people you went to San Francisco. LOL! Kidding!

If you're looking for the original and classic Clam Chowder, go to Boudin Bakery. They have the finest Clam Chowder and your money won't go to waste. :)

Ugh, ohmygosh, just looking at the picture makes me want to go back to San Francisco. *cries* 

The sourdough bread is perfect and I like it cause the serving is big.. Which can satisfy my tummy! 

The soup itself won't fool you. There's lots of clams! Unlike the Chowders they serve here in Manila, which is full of cheap potatoes. 

Pier 39, Space 5-Q, 

San Francisco, CA

View more branches here.

{Mikaela}

mama's

When we went back to San Francisco and stayed there for a few more days, my cousin suggested to have breakfast at Mama's. You have to wait in line before you can go inside the restaurant and start ordering. Oh and, while you're in line, near the door, there'll be a menu on your right, so you better start choosing what to order.

I ordered hot cocoa (which was deliriously sweet and good), classic Eggs Benedict and fresh fruits. 

The Eggs Benedict was perfection. You can see the yolk oozing and the grilled potatoes were pretty good too. :) 

1701, Stockton Street, 

San Francisco, CA

United States

{Mikaela}

new found discovery ; roy roger's

While on our way back to New Jersey, we stopped over at Cumberland for lunch. I actually liked that service plaza compared to the others in the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

Image source; http://www.paturnpike.com/geninfo/srvcplaza/cumberland.aspx

It's modern and VERY clean. There's Roy Rogers, Starbucks, Auntie Anne's, Hershey's Ice Cream, a convenience store and a gas station beside it. 

This is what I got. And since my appetite is like the Americans', I finished everything. 

The fried chicken is the best of the best. Soo tender and the skin isn't oily. Unlike the chicken here in Manila. The fries was perfect. Soft with a hint of crispiness. The sandwich there is actually a fish sandwich. My dad didn't like it, but I did. So he ordered another 8 pieces so we can share with my aunts and uncles. I WAS IN HEAVEN WITH THE CHICKEN. :) 

{Mikaela}

pittsburgh, pennsylvania

We arrived Pittsburgh at 2 in the afternoon, sunday. We checked in Holiday Inn Select which is inside the  University of Pittsburgh campus. I must say Pittsburgh is a city with character. Although I found it a bit too confusing cause there were old houses and modern buildings there... So, I didn't really know if they want their city to be called as modern or old-fashioned (in a good way).

This is the skyline of Pittsburgh. I took this before our water boat tour around the river. It's amazing how Pittsburgh itself has 446 bridges! Ohmy!

{Mikaela}

a day in hershey's chocolate world, pa

We drove out to Pennsylvania last May 18. Mainly cause we wanted to attend my aunt Abby's graduation at University of Pittsburgh, PA. And mainly because, we wanted to go to the Hershey Chocolate World at Hershey, PA!

Our itinerary was from New Jersey, we headed to Lancaster Country to take a tour at the Amish Farm. It was nice, well, I liked their one-room school anyway. Had a simple lunch at Applebee's, then headed to Hershey. (it will just take you 45 mins. to an hour from Lancaster to Hershey) We checked in our hotel first then off to chocolate land!

The coolest thing about my trip to Hershey Chocolate World was I WAS ABLE TO MAKE MY OWN HERSHEY BAR AND DESIGN IT!!!!! COOL YEAH? 

This is the Hershey Bakeshoppe. I wanted to buy one of each of everything but since I didn't live in the US, it was hard cause if I left, no one will eat them. Disadvantages of not living there. :( 

For dinner at the Hershey food court, everyone got the plain old drinks while I wanted mine with a twist! I ordered the Frozen Cocoa! It was heavenly! Not to sweet as I expected it to be, lovely indeed! 

251 Park Boulevard, 

Hershey, PA

United States

{Mikaela}

m&m world

Ever since I was 10, I fell in love with the M&M World in Times Square. From clothes, to slippers, to figurines, they have everything M&M there! Well, duh, you're in M&M World but... Yeah! Talk about happiness!

You can make your own M&M mix by choosing from those. And no, they're only about 1/4 of what you are going to see when you're there! 

I got my own M&M mixes. (From L-R) My own M&M mix, the coconut flavored M&M's (which is not available in the Philippines) and then the NYC special Spring mix! Colorful lovelies.. 

1600 Broadway, 

New York City, NY

United States 

{Mikaela}

mcdonald's

I know this is just the plain old McD but I like the Mcdonald's in the US waaay more than the one here in Manila. They have more choices, more kinds of Mcflurry, most importantly. :)

See that?! Mmm! 

They still have the M&M Mcflurry and white meat chicken nuggets! Let me tell you, the white meat chicken nuggets is even softer than the normal chicken nuggets. And the M&M Mcflurry... They used to have that here in the Philippines and now, it's nowhere to be found here. What happened?! 

{Mikaela}

magnolia bakery

I can finally cross something off my bucket list! And that is... "Eat cupcakes and cakes from Magnolia Bakery"! Happy girl I am! Enough talking, I can't wait to show you guys the cupcakes!

We bought the red velvet cupcake, red velvet cheesecake cupcake, vanilla buttercream and chocolate cupcake. 

Believe it or not, I tried and ate almost everything. LOL! The red velvet cupcake was just perfect. I am speechless. The vanilla buttercream was a bit too sweet and the chocolate cupcake was also perfect! It wasn't too sweet, the frosting wasn't too sweet either! 

1240 6th Avenue, 

New York, NY 

{Mikaela}

shake shack

We spent two days in New York City. For our lunch in day 1, we had it at.... SHAKE SHACK! 
Ohmyword! I can live inside Shake Shack! Here's what I got in my tray...

I got the Cheese Fries, Cheeseburger and Sprite for drinks. I can actually live inside Shack Shack! 

Ohmy, everything was perfect! The only thing missing in my tray was the frozen custard. I regret not trying the coconut cake frozen custard. The only reason why I didn't get that was because the flavor sounded awkward. :( 

691 8th Avenue, 

Southwest corner of 8th Avenue & 44th Street 

New York City, NY 

{Mikaela}

nyc

I have to be honest with you, I don't like the lifestyle in New York. I don't like how people there are always in a hurry, I don't like how the NYPD's and NYFD's sirens are always blaring when all you want is just a peaceful afternoon in the Central Park. But let's not talk about the negative stuff anymore, let's talk about the good things in NYC cause who knows, maybe there are LOTS of good things that I haven't discovered yet. :)

This is the St. Patrick's Cathedral. I think I want to go to church here. It looks so gothic and old! I'm happy that the church is for Roman Catholics because the nice churches in the United States are for the Presbyterians and Episcopal. :( One more reason why I like the church is because it is just in 5th Avenue. Talk about convenience! 

Abercrombie and Fitch is also one of the main reasons why I love New York. The flagship store is in the 5th Avenue! Ohgosh, just a block away from St. Patrick's Cathedral! 

Sadly, I can't help but talk about something that made my head explode.. The Subway stations. 

So confusing! So many signs, so many words. I wish they could just keep it simple. :( 

{Mikaela}