Another yummy discovery at Target, thanks to my friend Paz!

I love junk food! I know I shouldn’t, but they are just too darn good! When I was little, my mom wouldn’t buy junk food and would watch over our food intake to ensure that nothing artificial would touch our lips if she could help it. So what happened was, as soon as I had the freedom to get and eat what I want, junk food like chips and chocolates found its way into my stomach! Hahaha!

Well, of course I eat junk food in moderation. It’s not like that’s all I eat. Besides, these are homestyle, kettle-cooked chips so it’s not like they are that unhealthy! They were prepared the old-fashioned way, cooked in kettles in small batches and then lightly salted with salt and pepper. If we can do this in our own kitchen, then it’s not like it’s totally bad right? Besides, the package says 0g trans fat!

Why am I so defensive?! Hahaha!

When I was little, I associated tank tops with underwear. They were called “sandos” back then and were usually worn under white or flimsy shirts! These days, tank tops are a summer staple and can be worn by itself without anyone batting an eyelash or casting a second glance! Imagine that! How times have changed!

These days, tank tops come in different fabrics, various colors and a variety of prints. Some even come embellished like this one from Hello Kitty!

See? See? All that glitters and glows! =)

Available at Target for $11.99!

Who says gym shorts are only for working out? Check out this cute pair your little girl (or the little girl in you!) wouldn’t mind wearing…

Love the details on this one!

Available at Target for $12.99!

If you’re little girl wants to wear dresses rather than shorts, how about showing her this Hello Kitty halter dress?

It looks so “presko” for summer don’t you think? She can wear a tank top or t-shirt underneath too! Available at Target for $14.99!

Back when I was in high school, our neighbor Ate Carol made tie-dye tees for her school project in DLSU. She said if I wanted to earn extra money, I could sell it and she would give me a commission! Of course, I said yes, and sold tie-dye shirts to my classmates who all went crazy over it! One barkada even made it their “official barkada shirt”! So I have happy memories of tie-dye shirts. While it can be attributed to free-spirited hippies, I associate it with money making ventures! Heehee!

So when I saw this Hello Kitty tie-dye tee, I just loved it!!! Hmmm, maybe I should get one for myself! Just for old times sake!

Cute graphic design too!

Available at Target for $11.99!

The sun is especially hot this summer, and there’s no better way to deal with the heat but with summer shorts! How about red, white & blue checkered cotton shorts from Hello Kitty?

I love it that Hello Kitty is wearing a bikini here! Hahaha!

Available at Target for $12.99! I actually found more cute HK clothes in the store so I will be featuring Hello Kitty Summer fashion in the next couple of days!

My good friend Me-an recently had an operation and was back home to recuperate today. Since I was not able to visit her at the hospital, Dear Hubby and I went to their house to check up on her. Instead of bringing the usual flowers or pastries, I made pesto sauce for her from scratch. I knew it was her favorite so I thought this would be something she would enjoy. Easy for her to prepare too! She can just top it off pasta noodles, over baked potatoes or spread over a slice of french bread, and she’ll have a delicious home cooked meal in an instant!

Here’s my recipe should you feel the urge to eat pesto pasta! You can make it in 10 minutes tops with the help of a blender or food processor. Cheaper too than buying ready made pesto sauce!

2 cups fresh basil, packed
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese (if you are planning to freeze the pesto sauce, you can just add this to your dish separately)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized cloves of garlic
1/2 a lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Combine basil and nuts in a blender and pulse a couple of times
2. Add the garlic and pulse a few times more
3. Slowly add olive oil while the blender is on (using the “window”, keep the lid on of course)
4. Stop to scrape the sides with a spatula
5. Add cheese (if to be served immediately. If sauce will be placed in the freezer for future use, skip this step)
6. Squeeze out lemon juice and pulse (make sure to remove the seeds prior to pulsing)
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

I normally freeze my pesto sauce in small containers so that I can only thaw enough for a meal.

Enjoy!

Back when I was in Manila, I used to do Bikram Yoga, and I just love how rejuvenated I would feel after each session. Yup, despite the fact that I sweated it out for 90 minutes.

These days, I’ve been very sickly and I realized, maybe it is time that I picked up again on my yoga habit. So I bought a pilates mat (because it has more cushion) and laid it out on our living room:

While I do yoga stretches on my own every so often, I’ve never done a full yoga session without an instructor. Armed with a yoga book, and a lighted candle, I found myself stretching it out and it feels like each and every kink in my limbs has been straightened out!

I think I’ll be doing this twice a day! Since it’s a very cost-efficient way to exercise anyway! =)

I just love the smell of freshly baked pastries, especially brownies! Imagine the chocolate-y goodness wafting throughout the kitchen! Yummy!

Unfortunately, I haven’t tried baking brownies from scratch, so I had to rely on my friend Paz’s discovery…

It only cost me $8.99 for a six pack box of brownie mix which makes about 6 batches of brownies! If I bought the “two-bite brownies” tub at Costco, it would have cost me $4.99 and I wouldn’t have as much brownie goodness to enjoy! Heehee!

Of course, apart from having more brownies to eat and share, there is a sense of accomplishment that I baked these brownies myself, never mind that it’s from an instant mix! Hehehe! I just added sliced almonds on top to give it a little bit of that homemade feel. So see, its not like these brownies were made straight from the box! There was a little bit of personalization and a touch of specialness to it!

Here is my finished product, made with the help of my assistant, Commander Robot…Tadaa!

Care for a square of these moist and chewy brownies?

I swear, with the amount of Hello Kitty stuff I see in Target, I could easily imagine myself in Gift Gate! Hahaha!

What a pretty birthday card no? Sweet too! I’m sure whoever receives this will be mightily pleased! =)