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Showing posts from September, 2017

117th Annual Feast of Maria SS. Lauretana - Italian Festival in Niles,Illinois

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One of the oldest festival running in the Chicagoland area is Maria SS. Lauretana or mostly know as "Volata" or "Flight of the Angels," some also called one of the largest Italian festival, a tradition held in Chicago by Italian-American community. The festival takes place on Golf Mill Park in Niles over Labor Day weekend, a four day event of religious feast and entertainment. It was my first time to witness this 117 year old tradition and one of the festival highlight is the Flight of the Angels and a group of men will carry the Vera (an old wooden altar with Virgin Mary) and pulling of a large ship during procession. At the end of the procession, two young girls dressed like angels will fly over the crowd (both are tied and secured to fly high above) and will offer a prayer (Italian religious song). In 1600s, an image of Virgin Mary was looted by pirates. While traveling to Sicilian coast, the pirates found the painting in a barrel. Because they bel

The popularity of serviced office in the Philippines

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Many businesses would often want to get global, even it if it might cost quite a lot. After all, they often said that it is better to expand their business within their target location. But does this really mean that there is no worth in expanding the business without hurting their budget? The answer here is, surprisingly, a NO. You see, there are actually a lot of advantages that you can get when you expand your business and be successful. Here are some of these reasons that will likely convince you why renting serviced office space is the best option for your business. Perhaps the most obvious reason to hire a company that offers serviced and co-working space is the cost. Many of these companies often have rates that are 30-50 percent lower than their larger counterparts. And many of these can actually produce work that is at par with larger corporations. Also, you might be surprised that a large portion of the the cost that you are paying to large companies actually stems

Not your ordinary cup of tea

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I received a registered mail from the Philippines! It was sent in August probably the US customs checked the contents because the envelope was slightly opened and am thankful that the stuff inside was completely intact and unharmed. I am so excited to try the tea samples that my friend gave me. I really love tea and I love the "animated" designs of these tea packets! These are really different teas from what I heard from my friends because these are made of blended flavors so you'll be impressed when you taste it. Karel Capek , an Original tea blend created and mastered by Utako Yamada. From what I read from their Facebook page in One Tap Lifestyle, Utako Yamada is a popular illustrator/author of children books and she was inspired to "invent" different flavors of tea. Aside from that, the designs of each tea packets captured the hearts of many female tea lovers -- like me! I also researched online that she also designed a merchandise for Sanrio (I sti

RoyAnne Camillia Couture - Gown Review

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I got my gown made by RoyAnne Camillia Couture for my cousin's wedding next week. RoyAnne, the designer, was so nice and friendly and accommodating as well as her staff. I now have a boutique to go to should formal events come my way again. Their gowns range from P6500 for short gowns to P9500 and up for long gowns which is really inexpensive considering the intricacy of their designs. The gowns come with a clutch bag too! Bridal gowns start at P30k, I THINK. And from what i saw from my last visit, there's a robe and clutch that comes with the bridal gown. They also have gowns for rent, of which fees i do not have knowledge of, but i can assure you those rental gowns look amazing. If you want to standout without upstaging the bride, RoyAnne Camillia Couture is your go-to designer. If it's any other party, you can rest yourself assured you can be the belle of the ball without trying. No tiis-ganda with this one. You can be comfortable while being your

Summer in Chicago Part 2 - Jurassic World The Exhibition in FieldMuseum, Chicago, IL

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I have won (1) complimentary ticket to see Jurassic World The Exhibition at the West Gate of Field Museum. I am very excited to see the big animatronic dinosaurs and experience the prehistoric world inside the tent exhibition. The entrance was we're supposedly traveling on a boat crossing the island Nublar wherein the Jurassic World exhibit was located. We were welcomed by a park ranger and the huge door (like in the movie!) opened and our adventure started on getting up close and personal to prehistoric dinosaurs that really roars so loud and recreating a petting zoo for those who would like to touch them. Our favorites Velociraptor and Indominus Rex were enormous and these two creatures were too scary when they started to roar! We were warned to stay calm and safe because these two are being out of containment! It's more like a mini action scenes and you'll be surprised! The exhibit has state of the art effects and TV monitors narrated

Summer in Chicago Part 1 - Visiting the new Nutella Cafe in ChicagoDowntown

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Are you a Nutella fan like me? If yes , then you'll enjoy reading this first part of my blog post. We visited the first standalone Nutella Cafe in Chicago along Michigan Avenue and Lake. The cafe is owned and operated by the Nutella makers, Ferrero USA. We have been to Nutella kiosk in Eataly (Ohio Street Chicago) and this is much different because the cafe menu has sandwiches, salads, fruits, gelato, coffee, crepes, muffins and a lot more. The entrance door is shaped like a Nutella jar, you can easily see the signage from outside because of its color combination of black and red in "Nutella" logo and white background. There was a line outside and slowly moving towards the counter where you can see the menu and their busy open kitchen. They are also giving away menu brochures so that you can decide on what to order. My agenda on that day is to taste their Nutella gelato because am really a big fan of gelato! From breads, oatmeal, fruits and crepes - everyth