Yoga is LOVE

Now, this is YOGALOVE

Pipino: Watercolor Crafternoon

Last Saturday I was finally able to to attend Alessa's Watercolor Crafternoon workshop at Pipino, a quaint vegetarian restaurant in Teachers Village, Quezon City. It's not everyday that you get a mix of good food and art so this one was a special treat for me :)

Oh-so-cute cupcakes, muffins and cakes on display ready for munching

For those of you who haven't been to this gem of a place, you are definitely missing out. The interiors are lovely and the vegetarian/vegan food selection is delicious, guilt & cruel-free, and easy on the wallet, too! Think about getting a whole lotta good karmic points when you dine there. I've been there on several occasions, usually with my co-yoga teachers and FLOW partners because they're mostly vegetarians so this place is a life-saver because we don't have to worry the menu. 

Beyond Yoga Anti-Gravity teachers w/ Aerialist & Jivamukti teacher Sandhi Ferreira

Here's a shot of the FLOW girls during our FOOD Magazine photo shoot in Pipino

Alessa teacher-mode explaining different techniques of Watercoloring

So I had no expectations from the class and was so impressed at how informative Alessa's talk was, complete with powerpoint presentation. This was a serious art workshop! For materials, some watercolor sets were on sale, she gave out some paper and lent brushes and colors to people like me :P She explained the basics of Water Coloring and we had plenty of time to practice. 

Good to see Audrey of Googoo & Gaga

Artist-surfer Noelle with her son Kai

My son Santi knows how to smile for the camera :) 

Kai proudly shows off someone else's activity sheet :P 

My sheet while having vegan lasagna with a refreshing lemongrass cooler

There's always room for dessert: Pipino's coconut ice cream is made with love!

Some participants showing our work for the day

I've known Alessa since we were in High School (or even younger?) because she is the cousin of my good friend and business partner, Noelle. After the workshop, I drilled her with some q's to find out more about Pipino. 

***

Monica: What is the story behind Pipino? 

Alessa: It was in 2004 when I studied in New York after college (to take up continuing education classes in graphic design at Parsons and NYU) when I got exposed to amazing vegetarian & vegan cuisine there. That was when my dream of owning my own vegetarian resto was born.

My family's always been in the restaurant industry, but growing up, I didn't imagine myself doing what my dad was doing. Lucky for me, my parents allowed me to pursue the arts, but I guess being an entrepreneur runs in the blood and it was part of my destiny as well.

In 2008. I started dating my then boyfriend (now husband) PJ and he had just opened Pino in Maginhawa (together with Chef Edward Bugia and Star Jose). I shared with him my dream of opening a vegetarian resto. In 2010, when Pino moved to Malingap street, we decided to launch Pipino as a 6-item vegetarian line alongside Pino's menu. People were coming for just the vegetarian dishes, and after 6 months, we opened Pipino restaurant on the 2nd floor. (october 2010)

Monica: I know you had vegan/raw training in the USA, what certification do you have in the kitchen?

Alessa: Last September-October 2011, I took up some classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York. I'm not a chef, but I like experimenting in the kitchen!:)

Monica: Are all the recipes in Pipino by you? I know you have a partner who is a chef. I'm sure he isn't vegetarian :P

Alessa: I work with Chef Edward Bugia on the dishes. He's not a vegetarian, but he's really, really creative. There are some items on the menu which I created myself, such as the pasta dishes, including the vegan lasagna, and all our desserts, baked goods and ice cream :). A lot of it was born out of trial& error and success in the kitchen ;)

Monica: Aside from doing Watercolor and Calligraphy, what other crafts do you do?

Alessa: I used to teach art through a mobile art school that I put together after graduating from high school. It was called Art Adventures. I've always loved art as a kid, I did textile paint, mixed media, calligraphy, oil pastel drawings, paper quilling, and other crafts as early as 5 years old. Right now, though a lot of my work is focused on watercolor and calligraphy, I also find the time to do stamping & printing, silver clay jewelry, and most recently, book binding. :)

Monica: What made you decide to do Crafternoon Workshops in Pipino?

Alessa: The main restaurant Pino supports local fine art and photography, so I decided that Pipino focus on Crafts. I started the Crafternoons because I dream of having a regular craft club that can meet and make different projects each time. It's a gathering of like-minded people, and is also a great way to share the love and appreciation for delicious vegan food.

Monica: Since Pipino, Pino and Burgr Project has achieved its successes in the span of how many years? Anything else you are working for?

Alessa: We're opening a Brgr Project branch, our first franchise, in Taft this August. In September, we're opening Burger Proj, Pino and Pipino in Jupiter st, Makati! Pino is turning 4 (August 8, 2008), and both Pipino and Brgr Project are turning 2 this year. 

***

Congratulations on your expansion, Alessa! I'm so happy about this. There is definitely a demand for healthier food choices in Manila, by the looks of it! And what a wonderful marriage you have of conscious food and a haven for crafts work. I look forward to more craft series in Pipino! 

Pipino Vegetarian Restaurant

#39 Malingap, Teachers Village, QC

Open Mondays to Saturdays 11am - 12mn

Sundays '11am -10pm

Website: www.pipinovegetarian.com

Twitter: @PipinoVeg

Indian Dreams Manifest (Part 1)

The Golden Triangle Tour 

featuring Delhi, Agra & Jaipur

In 2005, I remember inviting my dear friend Denise on a trip to motherland India. We thought we were going to get to travel soon after college graduation but things never go as planned...motherhood got in the way. After raising our boys to ages we thought we could leave for a little over 2 weeks, we set to realize our dreams... 7 years later, with 4 other friends in tow.

This is our crazy itinerary: MNL-KL-Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Goa-Delhi-KL-MNL all in 2 1/2 weeks. Fasten your seat belts for Amazing Race INDIA!

Before boarding Air Asia

First stop is Kuala Lumpur. We bought Air Asia tickets on promo to Delhi from KL so we decided to spend 2 nights at Rainforest Bed & Breakfast as recommended by a friend based in Malaysia. For the budget-friendly price, we were able to get a spacious family room good for 4-5 which comes with basic breakfast and wifi internet service in some parts of the B&B.

FLOW girls at the brightly lit Petronas Towers

We delighted at what greeted us at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Different mudras (yoga for the hands) on display hung above the lines to immigration. Should we follow suit and have something more ethnic to welcome our foreign tourists at the NAIA?
 

One thing we couldn't help notice was that the concept of marriage was so important in their culture. Look, it's even advertised on their daily newspaper! To me, it is very strange but to them, it's within their norm.

Here is Denise interviewing our bus driver on arranged marriages (Our media production skills put into action!). He claims that 99% of the time, it actually works! Another acquaintance of mine says that even if more modern thinkers in India choose to marry for love, it fails half the time. So, it seems that whatever route into marriage you choose, you still have to work at it.

And here are the jokes they tell...

Because we were on a scheduled tour for the first leg of our crazy itinerary, we didn't get to see much of Delhi. A note-worthy place in Old Delhi is the Red Fort Complex which almost glimmers at night against the blue-grey backdrop. You can pay to watch a lights & sounds show about Delhi's history in either English or Hindi. Please choose to watch the show in English. Our half-Indian companions thought we would be able to save if we bought tickets as 'Indians' and then regretted the cheaper tickets when we couldn't understand a single word of Hindi :P

Red Fort Complex

One of the many other forts you can find all over India...

For our much-awaited visit to the Taj, the whole group decided to buy authentic sarees and dress up. To us, we looked fantastic but to the locals, we were wearing it all wrong! Nevertheless, we still walked like royalty and smiled for the camera. Other foreigners took delight in us, one Japanese couple kept following us like papparazi!

All dressed up for the Grand Taj Mahal

Me, Adi & Denise playing around with our sarees against the light 

my attempt at Hanuman

If I had the chance to go back to India, my first stop would be in Jaipur (if I find direct flights!) because this is where we went crazy shopping for those colorful shawls, shoes, bags and trinkets.

More gorgeous monuments all over Jaipur...

Indian local woman sweeping amidst such grand surroundings

Our Sex In The City moment

 

Hawa Mahal or The Palace of the Winds

And if we had a jeweler with us, we would've also invested in top-grade quality semi-precious stones as well.

We loved the print

Check out more stories and photos in the next cities soon....

The Bed

I have posted about the on-going construction and now I am about to show you the bedframe I commissioned my friend to make for our new home. Presenting the amazingly beautiful work by Gener Paduga, a Palawan native who is a furniture artist and a sail boat tour guide among many other things...and here is his exquisite creation made from ivory tiger kamagong wood which he dug up from under the ground. (an indication it will never be eaten by termites!)

What do you think? I absolutely love it. :)

Full Moon Nesting

The energy of the full moon tonight is pulling me to make an inspiration board for our future home. As mentioned in a previous post, M and I will be making our biggest investment of our lives by purchasing land property here in Palawan. Finally, huge spaces & fertile soil to cultivate and create into a farm & home. It's nesting time once again!

Here are some images- design pegs & DIY projects that are on my to-do list for this nesting project.

I love these affirmations/inspiration found in Etsy. Hang these notes anywhere in the house or at your work space to gently remind you of what your real priorities are in life.

This is a modern DIY woven lamp from Poppytalk, one of my fave sites ever for all things beautiful & handmade. I've already challenged M to make some because the materials are all very simple and available at the hardware store.

[Going a little offtrack here, but...] Did you know that M makes the yummiest homemade peanut butter? "Better than Skippy!", he says. He's taken a liking into DIY projects too, and I want to package it just like these below for gifts or orders. Imagine all the products we can make from farm produce? Endless possibilities!

It would be nice to have some artworks all over the place. I must convince my older brother- contemporary artist, Gino Tioseco, to make more works for me! He was recently commissioned by the H20 Boutique Hotel to paint 40 pieces adorned all over their walls. Then again, Santi and I can always paint them myself.

I've always wanted a blue-hued spacious bathroom with my most coveted bathtub. So, here's one lovely photo of my dream come alive...

 And tiles made from this healing mandala pattern!

What crazy things do you do when the moon is full?

Tomorrow I shall post about our family's Full Moon Dinner and Moonbathing. For now, I need to sleep :P

Goodnight, Moon!