The One About Kindergarten Artists

After teaching my kindergarten students various elements of art such as line, color, hue, value, and the like for the past three quarters, I introduced them to famous artists and their great works for the remaining quarter of the school year. We talked about the style of each artist and then I had them recreate the artists' works.

Andy Warhol

Kandinsky

Mondrian

Some of my students chose to use secondary colors.

Nice, are they not? :)

The One About My High School Friends

Lots of things have been fighting for my attention these days. I have a backlog of stories THIS big. Anyway, several weeks ago, my high school friends and I met up for dinner at my house. Rona has just gone home to Manila for a vacation from Australia while Tin was about to leave for Canada so it was the perfect time to get together and catch up. It was supposed to be a pasta party as I had suggested but the call of variety was insistent. And so, we feasted on vegetable lasagna with homemade crepe noodles (now who would be sooo crafty to make this? *wink*), carbonara, Yellow Cab pizza and chicken wings, and cake. I also made a salad of mesclun green, grapes, and fried cheese with balsamic dressing. As a party favor, I made pasta party tubs.

I filled a tub with ribbon-shaped and penne pasta noodles then made labels like this one in front of the tub...

...and at the back!

Then on top of the tubs, I made labels using my friends' initials.

Here's a shot of all four of us. :)

Happy party crafting!

The One Under the Tuscan Sun

Last weekend, my parents and I hied off to Tagaytay for some much-needed R&R. We stayed at the One Tagaytay which was a nice, quaint hotel to stay in. I was especially excited because my mom and I have been wanting to visit Marcia Adams' Tuscany, a restaurant that is in some ways in the same league as Sonya's Garden is in because it has the same secret garden ambience and fine food. Marcia Adams' has a Tuscan feel to it and is owned by - who else - Marcia Adams!

I could smell lavender as we walked along the garden.

The main dining hall. It has a rustic and homey feel to it. :)

Photographs and artworks were posted on the walls.

Love the plates... :)

I was so ready for the gastronomic feast!

We started with some breaded prawns on super thin, wafer-like crackers. The prawns were thick and juicy. :)

We also had some apple-onion chutney on a slice of cheese on crackers. This was really yummy!

We ordered the Aegean salad: mixed greens, grilled pear, cottage cheese, roasted pistachios, and red peppercorns in a tangy herb dressing. Red peppercorns! Delish!

I super enjoyed the Al Funghi Pasta. Fresh mushrooms and basil in olive oil.

The chicken kebabs were smoky and yet still moist and juicy inside. I enjoyed it with the grilled veggies and couscous.

I'm not really big on sweets but I couldn't resist the panna cotta with lemon sauce. The lemon sauce won me over since it did not make the whole dish as sweet as desserts commonly are.

I washed everything down with a bottle of Bundaberg beer from Australia. It's non-alcoholic so, yes, I am now a (non-alcoholic) beer drinker.

Another round, please. :)

Marcia Adams' Tuscany is one place that can rival Sonya's Garden although Sonya's Garden has an advantage because they offer unlimited servings. Still, Marcia Adams' Tuscany - with its food and Tuscan come-hither appeal, is a place worth going to for relaxation and even inspiration. In fact, my mom got so inspired to be crafty with the beer bottles that she actually asked the waiter to rummage through the kitchen and bring her as much empty beer bottles as he could find! :)