Love is in the Air

February is the month of love. And what better way to celebrate love than through a wedding? My friend and colleague Dan got married earlier this month and many of us at work made our way to Tagaytay Midlands to join him on this very special occasion. The church ceremony was held at the Madre De Dios Chapel which has a gorgeous view of Taal Volcano.

View of Taal Lake from Madre De Dios Chapel in Tagaytay Midlands

The reception was held at the Tagaytay Midlands Veranda which is just a short walk from the chapel. Cocktails were served before the reception started in the early evening. The program was wonderful, with Dan and his wife Mariel performing some really entertaining choreography upon being introduced as a couple and entering the the venue. That wasn't really the only dance they did. They did a more romantic first dance later in the evening followed by a lovely mother-son dance and a fun and upbeat father-daughter dance. One of the highlights of the evening for me was the best man's speech which was one of the best ones I've heard in all the weddings I've attended. Side note: I gained weight during Christmas and hadn't lost any of it but I'm still thankful that my suit still fit.

Cocktail hour at the Tagaytay Midlands Veranda

Love month can also be made extra special with Valentine's Day-themed desserts which you can find in pretty much any dessert shop. I decided to get a Passion Bliss Cake from Dylan Patisserie which I took home to my family. It looks really nice and it tastes really good too!

Passion Bliss Cake from Dylan Patisserie

Valentine's isn't the only occasion that was celebrated this month. This 2024, Chinese New Year was also held in February. I found myself in Powerplant Mall for CNY weekend and I gotta say, this mall always has great holiday-themed decor.

Chinese New Year display at Powerplant Mall

Several Chinese-themed stalls were temporarily set-up all throughout the mall that weekend and while going around, I spotted these Hello Kitty cookies. I decided to get a box of chocolate cookies and a box of milk cookies before realizing that these were actually special commemorative snacks to celebrate Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary. I didn't realize that Hello Kitty was created in 1974. Cool!

Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary

I shared these cookies with my family but I did have some for myself and they were quite good!

Hello Kitty milk and chocolate cookies

Still on the topic of love, I got to enjoy some of the snacks I love the most: Tim Tams! My friend Drew just got back from Australia after watching the Australian Open there and he very nicely agreed to get some Tim Tams for me. I still knew which flavors I wanted that aren't available in the Philippines and Drew was able to get all of them for me. Thanks Drew! (I really do wish these were available here.)

Tim Tams from Australia!

I also revisited one of the retail places I love the most: IKEA! I had planned to buy a 2-level cabinet but when I got there, I changed my mind and got other items instead. A trip to IKEA wouldn't be complete to me without enjoying a meal at their restaurant. I went crazy and ordered Swedish meatballs with a side of vegetables, salmon with couscous, a strawberry cheesecake, and some coffee. (It's refillable so I had a couple of cups.)

Lunch at the IKEA restaurant

I love the food here so much that I decided to order some take-out which I then had for dinner later that evening. I ended up getting plant balls, some cheese fries, and a croissant.

Take-out from IKEA

I also saw several signs for ice cream that cost only P25. There were supposed to be two available flavors - butterscotch and cotton candy - but one of them had run out (I think it was cotton candy.) Despite already having had dessert, I decided to have some ice cream as well. I really can't go to IKEA without overeating. Thankfully I walked a lot before and after my meal so I must've burned some of those calories haha.)

IKEA ice cream

Finally, I got to see my friend Anne for the first time in years. She was here with her family and she hosted dinner at the home of one of our other friends, Mike. (Or well, technically it was his parents' home.) Anne is a chef so we had a pretty grand feast. What was also great about that evening was that several other people were invited, many of whom I hadn't seen in ages (we're talking way before the pandemic started). It was such a lovely evening that gave me an opportunity to catch up and reconnect with so many amazing people over delicious food.

A feast of Filipino food prepared by my friend Anne

With all the eating I did this month, it's no wonder I could barely fit into my suit when I attended the wedding I talked about at the start of this blog post haha. but hey, food is love!