Diane's Vintage Zest!: life

Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

Hello (& Instagrams) from the Philippines!

Originally, I had scheduled a crafty post for today (per my brand new blogging schedule)... but I'm in the Philippines! So far, I have only had about a day in Manila. It consisted of sleeping, food, and a short walk around town before the entire city practically shut down when the Pope arrived. However, I have a few pictures to share with you already!

To keep up with all of my adventures, check my Instagram feeds at both @vintagezest for the sights and @theepisodiceater for the food!

Here is Day Zero (at the airport) & One of the journey so far to whet your appetite...

Left from LAX, where I actually did a little celeb spotting! I did get pictures, but no... I'm not about to name drop. :)

Uploading some old pictures on to my computer because no, I couldn't quite cut the cord...

On the plane with three travel essentials: hydration, nuts, and Chris Pratt!

Hello (and Instagrams) from the Philippines!

Ate a ton on the plane. Seriously, I'm surprised at how pretty this plane food was! Also, this is what one person was given to eat, minus a couple of courses that you can see on @theepisodiceater. Granted, this was a long flight, but really? Plus, I could order from the snack menu whenever I wanted. It was bananas! Irony: I skipped the banana during breakfast.

After touching down in the Philippines, we got acclimated to the hot weather, the time difference, and the money! Fun fact, the two 500 peso bills below are both real currency, but they change the money so often here that you'll often see different bills with the same denomination.

On a side note, aren't the bills pretty? I just had to share on @vintagezest because I thought so. :)

Blogging Hiatus Over! (I'm Baaack...)

Well, hello again friends! Happy New Year!

Are you wondering where I was the for the last four months? Or do you want to know what big plans and changes I have in store for the new year? Let's catch up, shall we? :) It is long overdue, and I missed all of y'all. Here's the scoop on what's been going on behind the scenes while I was on this unexpected blogging hiatus!

P.S. - At the end of the post, some of those big plans include the travel destination that I'm headed to shortly! I'm sooo excited, and I would adore any suggestions you have for me!

As of today, Vintage Zest is two years old and counting, so you you think I would have gotten the hang of figuring out how this whole rigamarole fits into my life. Apparently, not so!

Last I left you in August, I was blogging every day with new recipes, crafts, tips, and a new small business to share with you seven days a week. The Episodic Eater was a fun side project that did not take up much time. I was going to move into a new home that I was excited to start decorating. In fact, a couple people guessed that I packed and moved, both physically and virtually! Really, things were good!

Well... things change and life happens!

First of all, many life changes occurred and things came up that I had to deal with. One of those things means that the house I was looking forward to... is no more. While dealing with everything, one day turned into a week, which turned into a month, and then almost four months passed by! Well, what does that mean? I'm not going to blast personal info all of the interwebz to be dissected, but all you need to know is that I'm happy and healthy. Now, I'm back and better than ever!

What does this mean for the blog? Well, a couple changes needed to be made. Remember this crazy blogging schedule?

Monday = Recipe
Tuesday = Do Tell Tuesday
Wednesday = Craft or Sewing
Thursday = Tip (and now my Blogging 101 Series)
Friday = Weekly Wrap-Up (adventures in my life!)
Saturday = Shop Small Saturday Showcase
Sunday = Sunday Synopsis & Stumped on Sunday

I've now streamlined it into the brand-spanking new schedule below!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Valentine's Day & feeling sick...

Just after last week's recap, I was pretty much under the weather the whole week!

Precap:

Sights: Being sick :( and catching up online! :)
Eats: ARC Food & Libations, The Crooked Duck

Valentine's Day Dinner @ ARC Food & Libations

Well, Friday was Valentine's Day, and I was feeling ridiculously awful. I barely made it through the day, so our plans had to be postponed. Just before my guy left work, I told him that I was going to do my best to scrounge up the last of my energy for a semi-special dinner with him. We ended up catching a last-minute table at ARC Food & Libations, which we last went to in August.

My guy ordered his drink, called Coffee & Cigarettes...

photo ARCFoodampLibations3_zps19819e18.jpg

...and we ordered this spread and more! Check it all out here on The Episodic Eater!

photo ARCFoodampLibations7_zpsdccfd2a0.jpg

Over the whole weekend, I ended up being really sick at home. :( Sniffles like crazy! I did not have any food at home, so I had a bunch of people coming over with food and care packages in between naps. So nice!

In the meantime, I ended up going through all of my e-mails and whittled them down from 700+ to under 50. Yesss! I even received a funny picture from my guy again with another weird Rick Owens outfit. Remember the first one?

Weekly Wrap-Up: Fun followed by a health scare...

This week had a bunch of highs and lows, including a real health scare, but it looks like everything is just fine now. Whew! Thank goodness, and let's see the rest of my week!

Precap:

Sights: American Cinematheque at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
Eats: L'Opera, Stefano's Pizza

Saturday

That night, the whole family went to L'Opera, a great Italian restaurant in Long Beach. It was so great! I mean, check out the Cappellacci di Zucca below and the pretty Panna Cotta above. See even more delicious dishes on The Episodic Eater, like the Lamb Agnello Ai Carciofi and a heavenly Sacchetto di Cioccolata (a chocolate dessert filled with Zabaione). Delicioso!