christmas is officially ON!

yesterday, i officially had my first christmas event -- a dinner with my prayer partner from community! and, can i just say it was lovely?

my office friends and i were supposed to have dinner at vivere's sky lounge, but since all three live north of mandaluyong, not to mention that one is a new mom, asking them to go to alabang in the midst of the crazy christmas traffic will just be sheer cruelty. so, when yvette came up with the idea of having our christmas dinner at vivere, it was like my prayers have been answered.

funny - i'm a southerner through and through and i don't think i've ever dined here.

 

of course the biggest attraction of the sky lounge will always be the view. and crazy me, save for this shot (with not-so-pretty crimson in the background), i don't think i have one capturing all the twinkly lights of the city. 

{a side story: as we were getting ready to pose, my heel got caught between the slats. i tried pulling it up, but couldn't. thank goodness for the waiter who came to the rescue to un-wedge my shoe!}

one of the highlights - at least for me - was seeing the lovely tree in the lobby. oh, how i wish i knew my camera more so that i could've made the pictures less washed out because of the lights! this was what i call our "talk show" pics. i mean, it seemed like the perfect setting for an interview, don't you think?

this is what i call my "congresswoman" pic -- if i were a congresswoman, and i were to give out calendars to my constituents, THIS would be the pic. again, i wish i knew the settings of my camera better!

and as for the food? let's just say that i enjoyed every bite, so much that i didn't even get to finish the pasta we ordered!

for the record, it was tomato soup for me ...

then we split a serving of caesar salad ...

yep -- this was half an order! generous, huh?

and then we split a serving of seafood pasta ...

again, quite generous, huh?

all in all, it was a great way to start the christmas season. hopefully, the season will bring lots of good times with friends and family, amazing presents (yes, i am addicted to presents!), and a greater appreciation of the miracle of the season ☺