Monday, December 18, 2006

250th post: feeling the christmas spirit


I am finally feeling the Christmas spirit. Our house is now fully decorated and it looks so nice. Nothing fancy or award winning but I love it. It's cheerful and homey. Here are some photos of the things that make me feel warm and fuzzy and christmassy.

Merry Christmas from the Philippines!

santa basket

xmas stockings

our xmas curtain

our uber tiny xmas tree with red mantels

our messy living room when I was wrapping presents

my xmas stash

christmas candles ... bought for only $2.50 (Php125)

xmas angel (sent a smaller pink version of this to one of you guys!)

xmas ornaments I found at a bookstore

some more ornaments
M & M Xmas Lights

We've also received our first Christmas Carolers and they were good. I loved it. I used to live in a condo so we never got any carolers. This was a novelty to me.

* lil tidbit. This post was not meant for BooMama's Tour of Homes. I just posted this coz I wanted to show off some of our Christmas decors. Then I chanced upon BooMama through Mom's for Modesty and I realized, I can join. Whee!

** my offering ... something authentically Filipino ... this is what people eat here when they go to Mass at 4am to finish the tradition called Simbang GAbi (nightly mass). It's a tradition that starts on December 16 - December 24 where the last mass will show the star leading the 3 kings to the manger. It's so cool to watch.

Bibingka, above, is a rice cake similar to the Western pancake in appearance. In taste, texture and way of cooking, however, they are very much different from each other. Bibingka is made from galapong, baked in a special clay pot, lined with a piece of banana leaf, with live coals on top and underneath. It is topped with slices of kesong puti (white cheese) and itlog na maalat (salted duck eggs). The newly-cooked bibingka is spread with butter and sometimes sprinkled with sugar then served with niyog (grated coconut). Galapong is glutinous rice soaked in water then ground with the water to form either a batter or a dough, depending on what the cooked dish is supposed to be. (lifted from Pinoycook)

Puto bumbong is a dish made from purpled-colored ground rice cooked in bamboo tubes that are placed on a special steamer-cooker. Then, they are removed from the bamboo tubes, spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar and niyog (grated coconut). They are then wrapped in wilted banana leaves which will keep them warm and moist until ready to be eaten.

Are you feeling the Christmas spirit?





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Hi! Let's all try to add more positivity in this world and adhere to the saying, "if you don't have anything nice to say, keep silent."

Showering you with unicorn poop so you'd always stay magical! Heart heart!