Last Thursday was Mark's birthday. It was different from his past birthdays because this was the first time that he took a leave from work on his birthday.

I spent my first Christmas away from home all alone. Last year, I got to spend Christmas with my family. And this year, I spent it again away from home, not all alone now but with my friends my second family.

Sending out my hugs and kisses to my awesome Daddy!

I miss all your scrumptious dishes! I miss singing with you! I miss your corny jokes! :p

Happy Father's Day! We love you!!!

To all the awesome fathers, single mommies, and those who stand as fathers, Happy Father's Day!

     sweetnothings.kriskamarie
       @kriskamarie   @kriskamarie

To my Mommy...

Sending out my hugs and kisses!!! I miss our bonding over Zumba! Happy Mother's Day! We love you!!!

To Mark's Mom...

Thank you for bringing into this world such a wonderful man. Mark and I love you!

To Tita Lilibeth...

Thank you for being our second mother here in Dubai! :)

And to all the awesome mothers, single daddies, and those who stand as mothers to children without having to bear any...

Happy Mother's Day!!! ♥

     sweetnothings.kriskamarie
       kriskamarie   kriskamarie

It's my parents' 31st Wedding Anniversary yesterday and we celebrated it by having a simple dinner at home. I was supposed to make a cake, but because we still have some leftover cake from Father's Day, I just decided to make some brownies for my mom and dad.

Choco Dulce de Leche Brownies

I made chocolate fudge brownies with walnuts and cashew nuts and then decided to make it a little more special by adding some dark chocolate and dulce de leche drizzle. :D

It's Father's Day today! And since I've been making cakes for quite some time now, I'm sure you know what gift I gave for my dad today. Yup, I made a cake for him, a beer cake that is! :D


I made a banana cake because it's my dad's favorite. I made into a mug of beer and made it to look like it's overflowing while beer from the can is being poured haha! :p

My older brother, Chino, just turned 30 last Monday, January 13. I already posted about the birthday cake that I made for him, now let me share with you what we had for his birthday dinner. :)


Daddy had to go to work so we had Chino's birthday celebration over dinner. And because Daddy was out during the day and got no time to cook, he just had us order some Shakey's pizza and sushi.

Today's the birthday of my older brother, Chino, so I decided to make a birthday cake for him. I was already thinking of designs for my brother's birthday cake as early as after I made my own birthday cake. Special thanks to my baby brother, Jaoey, for suggesting the designs. He knew how Chino loves cars and basketball so these were the designs that he had in mind.


I was choosing between a sports car cake or a basketball cake, and, because I thought it's kinda hard to sculpt a car out of a cake, I just chose the latter. :p

Our initial plan was to just have a little family dinner out during my birthday since Daddy's still not sure if he'd have to go to work. But because Daddy was allowed to be on leave during my birthday, I got to celebrate the whole day of my birthday with my family! Yay!


After having breakfast at home, we started our celebration with thanksgiving at Monasterio de Sta. Clara in Quezon City.

I celebrated my 28th birthday last Friday, January 3. And because birthdays won't be complete without birthday cakes, I made my own birthday cake! Yay! :D


We usually buy cakes from bakeshops during special occasions, but ever since I started making cakes and cupcakes, the cakes that are present on our feasts are of course those which I personally made. Will do a separate post for that. :)

It's my 28th birthday yesterday and it was such a fun day!


Actually, even weeks before my actual birthday, I already had a couple of pre-birthday lunch-outs with my loves. I'd go to the details in my next posts, but for now here's a sneak peek of how I celebrated my 28th birthday!

Here's a simple animation for a special person like you! :D

Animation and Editing by Gia, Illustration by Kriska :)

Now that Halloween's over, it's time to get started and prepare for Christmas. While the rest of the households still have some skeletons, witches, bats, and jack-o'-lanterns hanging in their walls and backyards, ours already have garlands, ribbons, metallic balls, poinsettias, and sparkling lights. Yup, in as early as October, our home is already geared up and ready for the Christmas season, and for my daddy's birthday of course!


We celebrate daddy's birthday either on the day of his birthday (October 30) or the day after (October 31), and we don't really celebrate Halloween in our household, so mommy starts to decorate the house in as early as the 3rd week of October.

We had a dinner feast at home last Sunday, May 12. And just like last year, we again had a double celebration -- celebration of Mother's Day and an advanced celebration of Jaoey's 11th birthday. :)


Most of the dishes on our feast were the birthday boy's requests. He specifically pointed out that he wanted to have beef caldereta, lechon kawali, fried chicken, and spaghetti.

After having some summer fun with my family, Mark and I went out on a date with his mom and cousin the day after, last Tuesday, April 9. Aside from it being a holiday in the Philippines (Day of Valor), this day is very special for Mark since it's his mom's birthday. :) 

The Birthday Girl and the Mama's Boy :p

We had a lunch feast at Mark's house and then we headed to Robinsons Magnolia in the afternoon as per Tita Juliet's request. We had some snacks and then we watched a movie. After the movie, we roamed around to search for a restaurant for dinner. There were a lot of food choices and after a few minutes of rummaging, Mr. Choi Kitchen was what caught the heart of the birthday girl. :p

To my equally beautiful sister :D...


my room mate...

Mark and I spent the day together on his birthday last February 7. We met past lunch time and had a light lunch over at Hap Chan in Alimall, and then watched a movie at Gateway Cineplex after lunch.

We then headed to Lola Cafe+Bar in Scout Lozano in Tomas Morato for our dinner. We got to the restaurant around 8pm.  I've read in reviews how the restaurant is always filled with people, but I wasn't worried that we won't have any tables since I have already reserved a table for two while we were still at Gateway. :)

Parking Area

Lola Cafe+Bar has a nice laid back and homey feel with its cozy vibe and minimalistic design. The restaurant was comfy and spacious and has three dining areas.

Mark came over at our house last Friday and spent the whole weekend, up until Sunday, with me at home.

The family's all complete, Gia's boyfriend also came over, last Sunday, and so daddy decided to throw a lunch feast for Mark since he'll be celebrating his birthday this Thursday, February 7.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!! :)

Happy birthday Daddy!!! May God bless you with more love, happiness, wealth, and good health! We love you!!! ♥♥♥