Party on the wild side

“Party on the wild side”

Sun.Star Davao, July 28, 2012

Adorable siblings Jiro Marcus and Maxine Alyssa Kong jointly celebrated their 1^st and 10^th birthdays, respectively, with a delightful Madagascar-themed celebration at the Davao Convention and Trade Center.

“We decided to have a safari theme because we wanted the venue and ambiance to be lively, colorful and festive. Also, it’s easy for the kids and adults to come in safari-inspired outfits as animal prints are the rage right now”, shares charming mom Jennifer. Together with supportive husband Mark, they also have a lovable 8-year old son Jian.

Jiro’s birthday celebration likewise coincided with his baptismal rites, which was held at the Sacred Heart Parish earlier in the afternoon. Serving as Jiro’s godparents were the Kong couple’s close friends Jean Go-Libiran, Seline Co, Yuri-Love Yuson, Jean de Guzman-Brito, Christine Marie Kong, Edgar Arquiza, Dave Unlay, Wesley Bangayan, Benjamin Nazareno, and Dennis Arquiza.

With Davao’s premier party organizer, Annie Paz-Lim, and her hardworking team overseeing the entire party, guests were whisked away to an exotic Africa-like atmosphere as they entered the ballroom. Why, even Annie and her dynamic group were in full safari regalia!

Madagascar’s endearing characters Marty the zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, lemur King Julien XIII, and chimpanzees Mason and Phil were prominently displayed in the grand and vibrant backdrop.

On the other hand, the talented Emily-Lim Cimafranca’s scrumptious cupcakes, which featured the junior versions of the popular Madagascar characters, were artistically arranged into two towers, one each for the beloved birthday boy and girl.

Guests were treated to a variety of eat-all-you-can food booths from Allegro Ice Cream and Potato Corner to a snack bar teeming with favorite childhood sweets and chips. The exciting game booths were also festooned with zebra and cheetah prints and decorations.

Meanwhile, brightly-colored animal organizer bags were the much-appreciated souvenirs.

One of the highlights of the party was the well-applauded song and dance performance of Maxine and her good friends Francheska Danielle Tan and Jenika Carlein Lao. With only a week to practice, they did an amazing rendition of Charice Pempengco’s “Louder”.

Judging from the guests’ happy faces that night, Jiro and Maxine’s party on the wild side was a roaring success!

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.

What's cooking at Trust Home Depot?

“What’s cooking at Trust Home Depot?”

Sun.Star Davao, July 14, 2012

Every day you hear stories of odd pairings – chili with chocolate, checkers and stripes, and ketchup and bananas. But, I’m sure you’ve never heard of this – cooking classes in a hardware store!

“We have always been open to innovative concepts and when this was brought up, we were immediately hooked”, discloses Stephanie Seng-Ong, Marketing Manager of Trust Home Depot. “We wanted to reward our mothers for all the hard work they put in daily. Cooking plays a major part in a mother’s life so we decided to focus on that”, she explains.

Davao’s pastry queen and celebrated chef Booboo Maramba was so enthusiastic about the project that she readily signed up to teach.

Home and Design, a soon-to-open kitchen and accessories showroom at Trust Home Depot, presented their state of the art kitchen for Chef Booboo’s cooking demo.

Puratos, D’ Paragon and Davao Golden Eggs came on board as well as Whirlpool microwaves, Kitchen Aid Mixer, Osterizer and Apo Vinyl Tiles, which are all available at Trust Home Depot.

“As a mother of two and a wife, creating healthy, economical and quick meals is on top of my priority list. I wanted to share these ideas to moms who are having difficulty preparing food for their family because of the many roles they have to play including being a mother and a career-woman”, shares Chef Booboo.

True enough, she has imparted a wealth of knowledge, not to mention valued secrets, from the world of cooking and baking to her eager audience.

“Did you know I use a lot of hardware items as molds or tools for creating my cakes?”, Chef Booboo reveals.

Every session, the mommy attendees come up to Chef Booboo and happily describe their triumphs and joy in recreating her recipes such as the Moist Zucchini Loaf, Steamed Chicken, Pasta with self-made tomato sauce, Banana Yogurt Loaf, Avocado Sandwich and many more.

There was a murmur of delight from the 40 or more guests as they entered the 6^th session seeing a new and improved addition to the cooking set.

“We listened to the audience’s suggestions and set up a wide screen so they wouldn’t have to stand or crane their necks to see what Chef Booboo was preparing”, enthuses Stephanie.

"We are overwhelmed by the turnout and feedback.  Moms would come up to us and thank us for holding these free classes and expressed how much it has helped them” Stephanie smiles.

“I never imagined how many moms are hungry for this kind of information. And it just warms my heart to be able to share my knowledge with them”, adds Chef Booboo.

“We make sure the events we organize are activities that we ourselves would benefit from and enjoy. Please continue to visit us at Trust Home Depot to see what exciting promos and events we have in store”, invites Stephanie.

Believe it or not, I get more exhilarated entering a hardware or home depot than shopping for clothes or shoes. And, with this novel hardware concept which now includes kitchen and home products for moms and even school supplies for kids, shopping at Trust Home Depot has become a piece of cake!

For inquiries or orders, please call 298-7878, 295-3588 or like Trust Home Depot on Facebook. Trust Home Depot is located at Ecoland Drive, Quimpo Boulevard, Matina (formerly Task Force Davao).

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.