Trollbeads Found A Fan Party

Some days ago, I was invited at Trollbeads Found A Fan Party (Hội cuồng TROLLBEADS - No FAKE) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Trollbeads The Original is a Danish jewelry brand that was founded in 1976. It specializes on glass beads and silver/gold beads with each bead design comes with a meaning.

The event was about Trollbeads fanatics and collectors, gathered together at a café in Dong Khoi Street to share their one passion. Not only it was about meeting new friends, the event was also about team work. Fun games were played and a raffle draw was made with Trollbeads jewelry as prizes.

My Trollbeads Necklace

The Trollbeads Story

The story about the original and unique Trollbeads all started in Denmark in 1976. The first bead, which later gave name to the Trollbeads collection, was a small bead decorated with no less than 6 faces. It was designed by Søren Silversmith and sold from his father Svend's jewellery shop in central Copenhagen. The beads were created at a time where it was fashionable to have a silver bead hanging on a leather thong around the neck. But instead of letting the bead hang in an eyelet, Søren wanted to let the leather cord go through the bead. Later on, Søren's sister, Lise, began to put the beads on silver bracelets, one on each bracelet.

Lise opened another jewellery store and one day a customer asked to have an extra bead put on her bracelet. The storekeeper was surprised but followed the customer's wish. From then on, the adventure and Trollbeads movement started. In cooperation with the customers and according to their wishes, the collection grew. This was the invention and the beginning of an original jewellery concept that today is enjoyed worldwide.

While waiting for the event to start.

Trollbeads team handing out Trollbeads vouchers to the guests.

The Trollbeads Manager of Vietnam, Ms. Amy, explaining the mechanics of the game..

Some of the Lucky winners with Ms. Amy and Vietnam Trollbeads Ambassador.

And the beads are out. :)

Things To Do Around Cagayan de Oro City

Dubbed as the City of Golden Friendship, my hometown in the Philippines- Cagayan de Oro City and its neighboring towns has many daring activities to offer. If you are thirsty for an adventure, you will definitely enjoy your trip to the gateway of Northern Mindanao.



1) White Water Rafting. Cagayan de Oro City has always been famous for its white water rafting. A total of 4 hours adventure (Basic Water Rafting) chasing the rapids of the mysterious river of Cagayan de Oro City, you will also get to see the beautiful jungle as you travel downstream. Book your water rafting adventure here.

2) White Sand Beaches Of Initao. If you want to take it slow, just lie on beach and have a nice barbecue picnic then head to Initao. About 30 km from Cagayan de Oro City, you can either rent a car or take a taxi to get there or simply stay at one of the beach resorts in Initao to have a break from the hustle and bustle of Cagayan de Oro City.

3) Dahilayan Adventure Park. Do you want to try Asia’s longest dual zipline and fly like Superman from a launch point at 4,700 feet above sea level? Then Dahilayan Adventure Park is certainly the place to go! It is about 40 minutes - 1 hour away from the bustling commercial center of Cagayan de Oro City. Aside from the zipline, the adventure park has many attractions and activities to offer. To get there, click here.

4) Mintugsok Falls. There are two ways to get there. By trail hiking from Indahag or from Mapawa Nature Park. If you ask me, I always pick the trail hiking from Indahag! It's more fun and you will see the beautiful nature around. How to get to Cagayan de Oro's Mintugsok Falls, click here.

Grand Opening of Mango Mega Store in Ho Chi Minh City

Yesterday, it was truly a great pleasure and a privilege to be invited to the grand opening of a Mango Mega Store at Vincom Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon arriving at the event, I handed my invitation and they gave me a Mango Goodie Bag. Then I looked around the shop to see their latest collection. The new Mango Mega Store in Vincom Center is huge.

Photo from Facebook

As guests starts to arrive, food and beverage was served. The store was packed with guests like bloggers, the media and a lot of famous Vietnamese celebrities also promoting the event but my incomprehension of Vietnam's show business, I'm totally oblivious. Though I had my photo taken with a Vietnamese singer, Phuong, who performed that night.

The event started Phuong singing a song from Bruno Mars ''Just the way you are'' and at the same time, models walked around the store to feature Mango's new collection for men and women.

Photo from ngoisao.net

Photo from ngoisao.net

Mango Kids also showcased their latest collection. Cute Vietnamese models walked confidently around the shop to show the guests their outfit.

Photo from ngoisao.net

The event ended with a raffle draw and great prizes like six winners of 250 USD worth Mango voucher as the 3rd prize, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge as the 2nd prize and for the grand prize winner, a Samsung Flat Screen TV. Sadly, I'm never lucky with raffles.

#ootn

Dress: Soaked in Luxury

Shoes: Christian Louboutin

Bag: Chanel

Accessories: Trollbeads

Ideas for Empty Spaces/Corners

Convert empty spaces/corners into something fun and useful.
For instance, if you are dreaming of having your own walk-in closet, you don't have to utilize a big area or even a room for it. And especially if you have a tiny place, make an awkward space in your room into an open closet wherein you can finally decorate your clothes, handbags, shoes and accessories.

An enjoyable Do-It-Yourself activity and you don't have to spend a lot of money. You can even reuse old cabinets from the storage; recycle shabby furniture and paint them with rustic or vibrant colors; or simply purchase a cheap bookshelf from IKEA.

Last year, I turned a dead space at our apartment in Saigon into a corner closet. And for about $100 US, I was able to conveniently display my favorite or most-used accessories, bags and shoes. Definitely an accessible and tidy way without digging through my whole closet.

All You Need:
Shelf
Rack
Small Carpet/Rag
Screws
Hooks
Screw Gun

Mactan Island Hopping

My husband loves Mactan Island Hopping! So every time we're in Cebu, we always try to spare a day to do this enjoyable escapade.

A whole day trip filled with amusement, Mactan Island Hopping is definitely for nature lovers and adventure seekers.

There are many places in Mactan where you could hire a local boat to visit different small islands and sanctuaries. If you're staying at a resort in Mactan, perhaps they could even arrange it for you. But the most popular place to rent the local boats is the port beside Mövenpick Hotel. The rates vary depending on the size of the boat and if food is included but the price normally starts from 50USD.

During our recent Cebu trip, we went out island hoping twice! First, we hired a small boat with 4 crew, went around different islands and sanctuaries outside Mactan. The second trip was with the resort, Plantation Bay, visiting only a sanctuary.

The local boat for Island Hopping.

Natural Pearls!

The Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary.

Our crew cooking our lunch. ;)

The crew busy preparing our wonderful meal. It was fresh and really tasty!

The first island we visited! Though we never really stayed long at this island but it was so peaceful here.

Uninhabited island! What a paradise! :)

Plantation Bay

On our way to the sanctuary.

Huge Coral Castle.

The staff brought lots of bread for us to feed the fish in the sanctuary.

School of fish.

These two were very curious!

Relaxing!

What at lovely marine sanctuary!

The Sanctuary!

The Sanctuary!

The Sanctuary!

What's Your Scary Story?

Happy Halloween Everyone!


Who or what are you portraying today? If you ask me, I wanted to be a sexy policewoman this year! I have my costume ready and was already planning where to go and party but sadly I'm still sick so I'm stuck at home with my boring cough medicine beside me. Well, the least I can do tonight is actually watch scary movies.

Well how about story telling time? I don't really believe in supernatural or ghosts but let me share to you a mysterious experience when my husband and I stayed at this castle hotel in Pisa, Italy.

We were driving around Tuscany so we arrived at this villa hotel late in the evening. The big iron gates were already locked so we have to call the reception to enter the premises. Since it was very late, the receptionists have also left but gave us the security code to enter. We drove in, parked our car near the villa and decided to check first the inside before we bring in our things. While walking towards the villa, we noticed the lights in one of the rooms on the third floor were on and the window opened so we're happy to know that we're not the only guests. The inside was really fancy and beautifully decorated, the reception left us a map to our room and after how many attempts of pushing the walls around, we finally found our ''secret'' room located behind the living room wall. There were two hidden rooms behind and our room was exquisite. My husband and I went back outside to take our stuffs in and I observed the light in the room upstairs were already off and the window closed so I assumed that the other guests might have already been sleeping.

We were in our room when we heard this really weird noise like a chair being dragged back and forth. It was frightening so we weren't able to sleep. My husband doesn't believe in ghosts but he was convinced that we should go back to our car and sleep there instead. It was 3 am, the noise didn't stop and we were very scared so I opened the window to check where the sound comes from and it was actually from the outside. Every time a car passes by, the weird sound comes so we thought it was nothing relevant. We felt so relieved then slept like a log.

Breakfast time, we were quite alone in the breakfast hall and we met the owner of the villa so we asked if the other guests have left early. His reply was ''Oh, you two were the only guests here tonight.''

What's your story?

Photo from the hotel website.

Photo from the hotel website.

Photo from the hotel website.

At the balcony of the Villa. :)

Lovely ceiling details.

Saigon Cooking Class by Hua Tuc

As I sometimes post recipes about my experimental dishes, I love being in the kitchen! Every time I travel, I would always like to try the local dish. If it's something exotic or bizarre, I try to find an alternative like made of vegetables or seafood instead of something else. And when I get back home, I would recreate the dish with the help of online recipes or simply the cookbook I purchased during that trip.

If you are travelling to destinations with palatable cuisine, I suggest you enroll yourself even just for a day culinary class. It's also fun to shop for some spices that are difficult to find in your local supermarket. 

Two weeks ago, I signed- up for one day cooking class with a three-course menu for only 35 USD at Saigon Cooking Class by Hua Tuc. Aside from the fun experience and making new friends, I learned to create authentic Vietnamese dishes. 

Alone but excited to go in and learn!

Saigon Cooking Class is situated on the second floor of a historical building at an old Opium Refinery in Ho Chi Minh City. The place is very cozy and very full of history.

First Dish: The appetizer ingredients!

Whoa la! Very yummy Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls! :) After we made this dish, we all sat down and enjoyed our creation! lol

The Second Dish: Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken.

The secret to this jagged and creative cutting is in the knife! ;)

Time for me to mix the salad with some Asian sauce! A little different but impressive taste.

Here it is, Salad with Grilled Chicken.

The Last and Final Dish: Fried Rice. I have shared here on my blog on how to make fried rice but this one is different. And as I have said on my post before, Fried Rice is very easy to make. Just mix everything and fry!

I love how they presented our work place, clean and precise.

Here is the tricky part of this special Vietnamese Lotus Fried Rice. Have to wrap it on Lotus Leaf then cut the middle to have like a flower presentation. Very, very creative!

Our master chef teaching us how to cut the Leaf. Looks easy but it's very difficult. You must wrap it tight enough for the rice to stick and not to fall apart. 

My creation! I love how it is presented. Really learned something new here.

After savouring our creation, we were given this dessert (Sorbet) made from exotic Passion fruit.

After the cooking class, everybody will receive this cook book/recipes of the dishes you made.

If you love Vietnamese cuisine, I will share to you the recipe of one of my favorite Vietnamese appetizer- Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls. 

Hope you enjoy!

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Ingredients- Serves 12 rolls.
400 g prawns (about 20 prawns)
240 g rice noodle
12 thick rice papers or more in case if you break some
12 green ettuce leaves cut into "Julienne"
40 g fresh Basil
40 g fresh Mint
100 g Bean Sprouts (remove the yellow part)
1 bunch Chive cut into lengths
Peanut Sauce for dipping

Method:
Prepare The Prawns
In a saucepan bring water to a boil with a pinch of salt.
Add prawns and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until orange.
Remove from pan and let it cool.
Peel and cut in 2 parts.
Set Aside

Wrap and Roll
1) To make the fresh rolls briefly dip a rice paper in a bowl of water until soft or just wet a little bit the rice paper with your fingers.
2) Remove and place on a dry surface and smoothing it with your fingers.
3) Place the lettuce Julienne onto the rice paper with a bit of rice noodles and top with some basil, mint and bean sprouts.
4) Add 2 to 3 pieces of prawns then fold 2 sides parallel and roll up tightly, press to seal with a little bit of water.

Serve Spring rolls with peanut sauce. :)