This App is an absolute blessing for those who love to dine out, like me and the mister. With over 500 buy-one-get-one offers ranging from high-end restaurants to casual dining, cafes, nightspots, informal dining, attractions, sports, water parks, golf courses and more. Mostly, we use it for dining.

We recently used it at The Butcher Shop and Grill at Villagio for a dinner meal. This was our first time to use the app version, as we have purchased the booklet for 2014.



It's quite easy to use:

• Search for a merchant;

The good thing about the app is that you can choose depending on your location, you just have to tap on MAP and it will show you offers near you (of course, you have to turn the GPS on your mobile).



You can also search from list of malls, areas and cuisine. Just tap on SEARCH and you choose an option.




You can also search directly for a merchant.



You can also save some of your favorite restaurants/places, just tap on the STAR on the page of the restaurant and it will automatically show on your FAVORITES list.

• Once you're in a particular page, you can see the offers available (usually there would be three offers per page), choose from one. Coupons you've used will be seen with with the word REDEEMED.

• A new window will pop-up containing the offer, tap REDEEM, and you will be asked to enter your PIN which you will have registered upon buying the app.

• After your PIN, another window will pop-up asking for the store's PIN, at this point you have to hand it to the staff of the particular restaurant and they will enter their PIN. A code will appear which they will use to deduct the free meal from your bill.

• And viola! You just got two meals for the price of one.

It was my husband's birthday and we decided to have some dinner using the Entertainer Qatar App. Villagio has always been a famous choice for us because we can stroll and have movies after dinner. Unfortunately, there was nothing good in the cinemas last night except for Taken 3 which we have already seen last Saturday. So we just had some dinner and window-shopped.


We had dinner at the Butcher Shop & Grill, located at the perimeter of the skating rink. As their name would suggest, they serve some great steak. And because it's the husband's birthday (he loves steak, by the way), this was an obvious choice.

Complimentary bread and variety of spread + beef sausages

Mint Lemonade QR22

Of course, I had to get myself some Mint Lemonade, but this time around it was not just me. The birthday boy also wanted to try it, he says he got curious because I always have it.

For the hubster's birthday, I wanted to surprise him with something personal and made by my own hands. I've been planning this since last month, and as I was browsing through instagram, I came upon Ge Mapa's account. She is a Filipino artist who makes artworks from Washi Tape. Of course, during this time, I did not know who she was so I did a little research and found her little niche in the web: Washi Machine and her Washi Tape Portraits.

Anyway, I tried to make my own version but it does not even come close to her works. But my husband loved it, nonetheless.

Materials you'll need:

• Acrylic sheet or Acrylic Clipboard
• Washi Tapes (the more the merrier)
• Exacto Knife

So here's how I did it:

First, a little photoshop to edit his picture. You'd want to use the stamp effect, you can adjust its smoothness and lightness. Print it out and attach it to the back of your acrylic sheet or, in my case, an acrylic clipboard.


And then, start sticking washi tape and cutting along the edges of the photo.


And wallah!


I'm so glad he loved it, even though I still need a lot of practice. Some edges were not properly filled with washi, but hey, it's my first time. Here's to more washi portraits!

Bacolod Chk-n-BBQ House recently opened in Doha so we decided to try their famous Chicken Inasal. A 1 kilometer walk from home was all it took and we were ready to gulp on some inasal.

One thing I do everytime I come home for a vacation is get my hands on every nail polish bottle available in stores. For one, they are very affordable compared to well-known brands such as OPI and China Glaze. Local polishes from the Philippines have been very competitive as of late and I'm here to show you why.

Here's one brand that I've come to know since I was a kid (they have kid friendly polishes that are safe for children, too).

Bobbie Kaleidoscope Polish LEMON SOUFFLE

This polish is supposed to change colors when exposed to either heat or cold. Here is what it looks like on normal circumstances:



Now, here's what it looks like after I ran it through cold tap water (please excuse the water droplets, they change back quite quickly so I had no time to wipe my hands):



And here's what it looks like while it's changing back:



I have previously tried the other shades (review soon) of this product collection and this color has the least noticeable changes.

I bought this from Landmark Department Store at Trinoma Mall. It costs Php 79.75 (QR 6.60 / USD 1.80). They are also available in other department stores and drugstores all over the Philippines.

PROS:

CONS:

RATING: 3/4

We've had this lunch set a few years back, so I was surprised that it is still available when we went to Fridays for lunch. We were planning to use our Entertainer App for the said lunch but decided to go with this set instead.

Aside from the Christmas gifts we handed out last week to our friends during the thanksgiving celebration at Church, we also had to anticipate the unexpected. As of last year (2013), Raymond and I had prepared ourselves with goodie bags for those unexpected attendees at Church.

This year, we bought chocolate bars for the oldies;

We wanted to make it a little personal but since I am not one to cook or bake or do anything in the kitchen, I just downloaded some printable chocolate wrappers online.

You can browse different designs from the internet. I chose these simple ones from Intimate Weddings.



Of course, you can edit the text through PDF.

You can download the printable wrappers here:
Chocolate Wrapper Printable

They also have a tutorial on how to change the wrapper of your chocolate bar. I love this site, they have lots of free printables and tutorials you can use for any occasion, not just weddings.

And then there are the loot bags for the kiddos;

I got the bags from Crazy Party at Villagio Mall and just filled them up with chocolates and candies.

I am so looking forward to next year, until then, I'll be busy doing other projects that I hope I can share with you guys.

Note: This is a long-overdue post. Some images may be offensive to other readers. 

Damien Hirst is a controversial English artist known for his fondness to dead animals which are the main theme for most of his famous works. Let me just make it clear that I do not support and favor this artist in particular.



We visited his first ever exhibit here in the Middle East, which was held at the Al Riwaq Gallery last January 2014. The exhibit was free of charge but you will be asked to surrender your cameras (phones are allowed).




Hanging skeletons greet you at the Main entrance to the Gallery.

For the Love of God Platinum skull cast set with diamonds and real human teeth

MENTAL ESCAPOLOGY

The History of Pain MDF, steel, steel knife blades, air blower and beach ball

ASHTRAY

Horror at Home 2.4 x 2.4 meter fiberglass ashtray with cigarettes, cigarette packing, matches, etc.

This room smells really bad with all that cigarette butts and tobacco trimmings.

KALEIDOSCOPE PAINTINGS

Believer Butterflies and household gloss on canvass

It's Great To Be Alive Butterflies and household gloss on canvass

Doorways to the Kingdom of Heaven Butterflies and household gloss on canvass

Butterfly Kaleidoscope Painting detail

See how he made invisible but visible lines?

CABINETS

Love's Secret Diamond Cabinet with Cubic Zirconia

The Abyss Cigarette Cabinet with cigarette, cigars and ash

NATURAL HISTORY

Leviathan 6.8 meter long basking shark in formaldehyde solution

Leviathan detail

The Immortal 4 meter shark in formaldehyde solution

Black Sheep Sheep in formaldehyde solution

There are also some pieces that I chose not to post because of the gruesome conditions of most of them. There were installations showing the insides of a cow and a sheep, some cows were beheaded and some had blood spill on the base, other glass boxes were infested with live flies and skinned cow's head.

All the pieces in his Natural History collection were commissioned with the assistance of London's Natural History Museum. No live animals were harmed during the process.
I won't lie, there were moments when I really wanted to puke or faint, some of his artworks are
quite gruesome for normal people (i.e. ME). I seriously DID NOT enjoy every moment of this gallery, except for the butterfly kaleidoscope paintings.

You can check out his website here:
Damien Hirst

And his Qatar Exhibit here:
Relics: Damien Hirst