Christmas at Starbucks

'Tis the season to be jolly.. and to again experience Starbucks Christmas :)

I went to SM BF Paranaque today for a meeting and arrived an hour early so I went ahead and entered Starbucks since it opens an hour before mall time. I was excited to see the red menu, the red cups, the new food varieties and the Christmas drink menu. :)

My first 2015 Christmas Drink

Last year, I became a huge fan of the Christmas Cookie Crumble Frap, so this year, I decided to go with the new drink, Christmas Pantone Latte. This drink is inspired by traditional Italian Christmas fruit cup. You can have it hot, iced or frap. I chose the iced version and paired it with Chicken Pastel Empanada.

It had some sort of spice that strongly influences its taste. Actually feels like milktea to me. It's not as sweet as I expected which is just right, and the fruit sprinkles become a little "nougatty" and soft when dripped in the cold drink.

I would still have to try the Frappucino version to taste and see the difference with the iced option.

New Food Options

You have to give it to Starbucks for going out of their way to make sure their Christmas drinks are paired with new and exciting food options. New things in my eyes are the Italian Cheese Pocket, the Christmas cookie, Roasted Chicken and Turkey Wrap and the pasta dishes - Spinach Lasagna and Penne Al Formaggio. 

Of course, the Toffee Nut Loaf and the Peppermint Brownie are still staples to complement to Toffee Nut Latte and Peppermint Mocha drinks.

I also saw new cake options: the Dark Belgian Chocolate Cake, Birthday Cake and White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake. Excited to try them next time!

Another reason for being excited about Christmas at Starbucks is the Starbucks Christmas blend and have that good ol' holiday coffee cheer at home or in the office.

The Planner

This year, Starbucks came up with a smaller version of the planner. You can choose either the regular size or the smaller (but thicker) size. The 2016 Planners come in Black, White, Red and Green.

Sorry for the blurry photo. Taking pictures of the planner is actually not allowed so I just zoomed in the planner from where I am seated :D

Lucky Day :)

Best part of my visit is that I got the limited edition sticker card with a free sticker. So I now have 2 stickers but only bought 1 drink. Weeee! :)

Indeed, Christmas at Starbucks is here. :)

Baby No More..

Here it is.. I am proud to show some photos during the pre-debut shoot of my first tender care baby, Natassja. I am surprised how she blossomed into a beautiful lady. Tashi is usually very simple when she dresses up and she just looks so pretty all dolled and dressed up. Hope you love them as much as I do. :)

Photos: Photos by Mot Rasay (Mot Rasay and Jasper Carl Eva)
HMUA: Chichi Sotomil and Steph
Location: Philamlife Park, Las Piñas and C5 Extension Talahiban :)

      

Natassja's Pre Debut Shoot BTS

Hey everyone! I know it's been a super long while since I wrote a post, and I am hoping I'll be able to write regularly. :)

So today, I'm going to write about the pre-debut shoot of my eldest daughter, Natassja Danielle. :)

I had thought long and hard about what do to like the concept, where to shoot, etc. and I ended up with nothing. LOL. We didn't buy new clothes or shoes. We just took whatever we have that's nice inside her closet. Talk about being lost in space. #wasak haha.

As August drew nearer, I needed to just "wing it", and get trusted people to help me with the pre-debut session. Just a few days before the shoot, I figured the best place to do it is at the grounds of Philam Village. So there. We're good. I prayed that we have a good weather and no rain as I have no backup plan whatsoever. Haha. :)

The Shoot Day

HMUA: Chichi Sotomil

With all my talented make-up artist friends, the easiest to go to would be Chichi Sotomil because she's only within Las Piñas.

On the day of the shoot, we went to Chichi's house for Natassja's hair and make up. Steph was kind enough to do Natassja's hair. We were ready in a couple of hours and of course had some photos before we left.

Natassja with the talented MUA Chichi Sotomil :)

Natassja with Chichi (left) and the great hairstylist, Steph (right)

Chichi's IG photo

Photographer: Photos by Mot Rasay - Framed-Up Productions

Now for the photographer, I also have a lot of great photographer friends. My good friend, Mot Rasay, was the one I asked to do the shoot for the debut party and he told me he wants to do Natassja's pre-debut shoot anytime so we sealed the deal.

After we're done with Natassja's hair and make up, we went on our way to Philamlife Park to meet Mot and his trusty sidekick, Jasper a.k.a. Jasper Bieber. :)

When we got there, Natassja changed to her casual dress first and they immediately worked. Natassja didn't want me watching - she'll get really conscious so I just sat by a nearby park bench while they had their photoshoot. Of course, I had to catch a candid and post it in IG as well :)

My IG post :)

After the shoot at Philam Park, Jasper had to go since he will be going back to Lucena. Of course, we needed to take some photos with him too :)

Natassja with Jasper Bieber (left) and Mot Rasay (right)

Wacky pose :)

With the goodness of Mot's heart to be also our trusted man-on-wheels, we drove to C5 extension and Mot took shots of Natassja wearing her formal dress. They spent another 30 minutes of shooting and I was left inside the car waiting patiently while playing Candy Crush :)

After the shoot, we ate at Xander's in Pamplona, Las Piñas, to cap the successful shoot day. Heard good reviews about this place and Mot haven't tried it yet. Xander's exceeded our expectations. I will have a separate post on my Xander's experience soon. :)

Acknowledgments

I'd like to thank my good friends Chichi and Mot, along with their trusted partners Steph and Jasper, for making this day possible and easy as a breeze for my Natassja. I would never have pulled off such a classy and stylish shoot if it weren't for all of you. <3

I'm very much excited to share the actual shots but I will do that on a separate post - making sure I don't share so much. LOLs. Thanks for reading, guys! :)

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