Rita's A Sweet Name

It as my foodie cousin who introduced me to the sweetest name in the ice cream world! He invited us to go to UP Town Center for dinner and the desserts made it unforgettable. Rita's ice cream came from the US and there are currently a few branches here in the Metro. At first, I didn't expect much but when we got there, the long queue proved that their ice cream is one of the best.

A view of Rita's front door and a glimpse of the long queue inside

We braved the long line of people and I finally got a clear shot of the menu. Everything on it looked absolutely delectable. The prices are reasonable, too.

On the menu is more sweetness!

While on queue, my cousin told me to pick a flavor of shaved iced and a custard flavor. I didn't know why but I chose anyway... From an array of fruity flavors, it was hard to make a choice. While the rest of the family picked green tea flavor without any second thoughts, I, on the other hand, had my favorite cotton candy.

Shaved ice. The blue one is my pick. Cotton Candy!

For the frozen custard ice cream, I chose a combination of coffee and vanilla. After a few minutes of waiting, I saw something worth drooling for! It's like a new concept on the way ice cream is served. I love how the creamy frozen custard twirls like that! Creative swirls are inspiring!

My order is first in line: Cotton Candy shaved ice with Frozen Custard ice cream on top

The frozen custard is not the ordinary soft serve ice cream. It had a thick texture. It was like a really really soft meringue in ice cream form. The shaved ice is very fine and oozing with cotton candy flavor. 

A close up of the frozen custard twirls.

While eating, I took a look around and found out the name of this heavenly delight. We were treated to their bestseller: the Gelati. 

The poster of Gelati I saw on site.

Oh you mean there's more ice cream underneath the shaved iced? You bet! It was the perfect grande finale for the cup! Yummy! This place truly brings happiness!

Ice. Custard. Happiness. This place lives up to it!

What a sweet name "Rita" is to me now. How can a cup of ice cream make me happy like this? I hope there will be more branches soon...so that happiness won't be that far away.

 

A Woman Who Matters

A Woman Who Matters was tagged as the last Belle De Jour Power Planner Rendezvous for 2015. So, without any second thoughts, I filed a leave from work to attend. I have made a promise to myself, ever since I got a job with work Saturdays, that I will go to at least one BDJ event every year. It's just about work-life balance, right? I don't want to forget the lessons that BDJ imparted to me in the past. And once in a while, we need to be reminded of life's most important things.

Lot's of Bellas (see background) attend the BDJ Rendezvous: A Woman Who Matters

This event happened last saturday, August 8, 2015, in SM Megamall Atrium. There was a reserved space at the center. It was cool 'cause people in the vicinity can stop by and listen to the talks. The stage was gorgeous. It stood out in pink!

The stage from my Point-of-View

And... who wouldn't be excited at these prizes? I really prayed that I would win in the raffle! Those bags are nice. Hmmm.. nah, those GC's are better...  Hehehe~

The prizes!

My first stop was The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf booth. I got invited to join their "Brew Your Best Year" community.  I like the sound of that. Oh, I'm so ecstatic that the BDJ team got a photo of me taking the freebies. 

Yummy Ready Coffee 3-in-1 from our friends at @cbtlph! ☕️♥️ #BDJRendezvous #BDJAWomanWhoMatters #madeready

A photo posted by Belle de Jour Power Planner (@bdjbuzz) on Aug 7, 2015 at 9:38pm PDT

Wheee~ They gave out free samples of their latest product, the CBTL Ready Coffee, and a notebook. I loved it so much, I immediately used it to take down notes from the talks. 

CBTL notebook and Ready Coffee sachets

At exactly 1:00PM, the host, PBA court side reporter, Ms. Apple David, took over the stage. She has a lovely voice perfect for hosting. (^_^) She is very beautiful, too! 

The host, Apple David.

Apple David on stage

The talks were very informative. The first one was by Ms. Nikki Duque, a makeup artist and a beauty blogger. I love makeup and her topic interested me. It was nice to know about the proper makeup to have in the office and about her recommended brands, too. She was very thorough. The topic covered foundation basics down to the lipstick. 

"Dress the way you want to be addressed"... is the quote that the lovely @nikki_duque told us earlier in the event. She was the bubbliest speaker of the day. It was so fun listening to her. :) @bdjbuzz #BDJRendezvous #BDJAWomanWhoMatters #makeup #talk #seminar

A photo posted by Angel Mariel (@myangelmariel) on Aug 8, 2015 at 4:45am PDT

After the talk was more games! Here are the Bellas who joined the game of charade.

It was raffle time, too! Yay! I did win! I prayed to get an item that I can really use... and so, God gave me...

...something for my hair. A GC from Azta Urban Salon. Perfect!

Next topic was more on the emotional side. The speaker, Ms. Thea de Rivera, had really cool green hair! She discussed about finding your passions and not giving up. And a quote that Bellas never forgot...

"Don't lose yourself in the process of hardwork. Don't forget to hold on to who you are just because you want to be successful." A selfie with the speaker, Ms. Thea de Rivera, whose advice left a mark in our hearts. @bdjbuzz @thegirlandthebull #BDJRendezvous #BDJAWomanWhoMatters

A photo posted by Angel Mariel (@myangelmariel) on Aug 8, 2015 at 4:56am PDT

The two topics got us into information overload. It was time for my favorite part: break! The food was fruit salad (my favorite), ham and cheese sandwich, fish fillet, chocolate cookie, iced tea, and a donut from Mister Donut! Yummy!

The food served. All of them yummy!

The last topic of the day was about fitness. The speaker was Ms. Melissa Gohing, a volleyball athlete. She talked about the importance of exercise; to find the one that suits your lifestyle and to "Stop saying 'You Can't', You Can." Not only that, she encouraged us to keep moving on in this thing called life. 

The Lady Spiker is also stunning off the court. She gave us an encouraging talk on fitness and exercise... and to not give up when we hit rock bottom in life. :) @gohingmelissa @bdjbuzz #BDJRendezvous #BDJAWomanWhoMatters

A photo posted by Angel Mariel (@myangelmariel) on Aug 8, 2015 at 5:22am PDT

And then.. time moved so fast, I didn't notice that it was time to go home. But one last stop: loot bags!

My BDJ Loot for the day

I was very happy at how this day went. It was truly a fruitful day to learn something about career, life, and fitness. A perfect day for every Bella and for every woman out there. So what is a woman who matters?  Being yourself is enough, as what Ms. Apple David said before going home.