My Amazing Sulit and Maroon 5 Experience (Overexposed Tour Live in Manila)

Sorry for the brief hiatus guys, things have been kinda crazy. But I have a lot of of things in store to make up for my absence and this post will be more than enough to make up for it. What happened? Well,

I WON VIP TICKETS TO SEE MAROON 5! :)

Yesss, I did! I wasn't expecting to win, okay so maybe there was this small hope, like a little gut feeling that I was going to, I even joked to my mum and asked her to come with me when I claim my ticket, a day before they announced the winners.

I've loved Maroon 5 since my elementary days, more or less 8 years! Okay, that just made me feel old, but pretty much. You can't blame me, they're really good! There isn't a single bad Maroon 5 song, all their songs are great! All their concerts here in the Philippines are sold out every time. The Overexposed Tour here sold out months before the concert. I waited too long and the tickets were all gone, I love Maroon 5, but I wasn't going to spend 15,000php on Upper B tickets from those online extortionists. But I really wanted to go, it was their third time here, I missed the first two (with good reasons), and I wasn't going to forgive myself if I missed this one.

How I Won

I joined the "Sulit.com.ph x Maroon 5" promo. I tweeted and posted on facebook like crazy everyday for the duration of the contest! I even used my mum's and boyfriend's facebook. It's just great cause I love Sulit and Maroon 5! Whenever I need anything, specially those things that aren't usually found at the malls, I just go to Sulit and find what I need or just want hihi. "Hanap, Usap, Deal" and this time, I really got what I wanted and needed! I was really desperate to see Maroon 5. But who wouldn't want that opportunity? It's Maroon 5!

It was the day of announcing the winners, watched the Sulit pages like a hawk the entire day. They were already tweeting to people and I just lost hope by then, I was really bummed, like I just wanted to drown myself with ice cream. But then they posted a new tweet saying that the others were disqualified and that they were drawing out new winners. Next thing I knew, I got a DM from Sulit saying I was one of the possible winners. I sent the info they asked for right away and was told to wait for further announcements. I waited like a well behaved little girl, the suspense was killing me. Then this!

5 Sulitizens were given the chance to watch Maroon 5.

3 from facebook and 2 from Twitter,

Each winner will receive 2 Patron tickets.

And I was just asdfghjkl! Screaming and jumping around, oh man! It was really unexpected. It was as if I was high on red bull when I saw that tweet.

click to enlarge

We were told to claim the tickets a day before the concert. Monday came and we were off to the Sulit main office at Ortigas.

Their office was a cool looking pad. Me being extremely shy, I didn't get to take much photos of their office and felt like I was going to stutter when they were talking to me. But everyone there was just so nice!

I got my tickets, yay!

My mind was already blown when I won, but then they said we got upgraded to Patron VIP and my brain just turned to mush. :))

The Day of The Concert

Que the elevator music! Before the concert I had to go to the dentist to get my braces adjusted, haha it just felt like It killed a little bit of the momentum, but that appointment was just long overdue. After that small speed bump, we went straight away to the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The traffic was moving like molases, the roads near the venue were congested. I wanted to get there early so I wouldn't miss a single thing and I had to pass by the Sulit booth, but the traffic and the trouble with changing the clothes, I missed The Cab. :(

Anyway...

The Sulit Team

Hello! :)

It's not everybody, but they are just really one of the nicest and were so friendly. I passed by their booth, a short interview and had our picture taken at the photo booth, but I'm not gonna show you. :p

So I heard it was The Cab's last song and we just ran, we had to look for the right entrance, good thing they still had to do a sound check after the front act. I got to watch The Cab for like less than a minute.

Me and Le Boyfie.

hihi I curled my hair so when things get crazy, di masyadong halata na buhaghag. Girl Scout!

The shirt wouldn't fit me, Sorry! So I'm putting it on here na lang.

Loving my ripped jeans. :)

Full house at Araneta that night. Every row, aisle and seat filled! Even corners haha, more than 15,000 fans that night inside The Big Dome. There were even more people waiting at the ticket counters, waiting for a slight chance that they would release tickets. The people were like panicing when they released a few general admission tickets.

It was about 9:30, the lights dimmed and the crowd went wild. Their opening song was Payphone.

Overexposed Tour Setlist

OMG, OMG Adam! I was just smitten by him. One of the sexiest and most talented man alive! His voice, his moves, even his sort of rockstar stance was just the sexiest thing ever!

Don't get me wrong, I love the band as a whole! It's definitely their music and not just because the front man is hot. Adam is like a sexy cherry on top of a really good ice cream sundae.

James. :)

My only picture with the entire band in it.

Adam Levine (vocals), James Valentine (rhythm guitar),  Mickey Madded (bass), PJ Morton (keyboards), Matt Flynn (drummer).

It's funny cause I cried when they posted the winners on facebook and I really thought I lost, I cried like I was heart broken. But the winners that they announced was for the facebook winners. I cried for nothing. 

Matt was killing it!

It was kinda hard to get a photo of the other members, specially PJ and Matt. And it was just hard not to look at Adam. A few times, I didn't notice that I was already focused on his sexy arse, without even realizing! Haha it was unintentional okay. :))))

Full house with a sea of glow sticks. It looked so cool, like a bunch of colorful fireflies!

The ladies absolutely went wild when Adam called out to the ladies and serenaded the female audience with an acoustic version of She Will Be Loved.

 Adam during Wipe Your Eyes. Yes, the ladies got kilig! He is so adorable.

But it was still adorable < hot. 

As encore, their last song for the night was Moves Like Jagger with a Sexy Back snippet. But that's not just what the crowd got, there was a little Gangnam Style twist in the mix. The crowd loved it!

They took the stage one last time and took a bow together.

Here's a really good video by Magic Liwanag.
Check out his website and facebook for more photos. Check out his other works as well! Super galing! He's an in demand photographer, mainly concerts, but his photos are just wow.

It was beyond UH-MAZZZING! Just unbelievable, I really had the time of my life! I sang and hihi danced along to every single song! I really have to also give credit to the lighting director, those lights were awesome! It just made the concert cooler, I was in awe. Though Adam was kinda tired from his busy schedule, he was just amazing. They were all great!
I LOVE MAROON 5!

THANK YOU SO MUCH SULIT!

Thank you! One of the coolest things to ever happen to me, it was like a dream come true! Seeing them live and so up close was sureal. Thank you for this once in a lifetime experience, I will never forget this! Until now I still have a Maroon 5 hang over.

SULIT, The #1 Classified Ads Website.

Sulit.com.ph
hanap, usap, deal

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Maroon 5 Overexposed World Tour Live in Manila

September 18, 2012

Smart Araneta Coliseum

Presented By:

Midas Promotions

and

Dayly Entertainment

P.S
I wanna thank my Mum! Thank you, Ma!
She Dropped me off and waited for me even though she wasn't feeling well. I love you, Ma! :D

XXXOOO,

   Les :)

Your Own McDonald's Egg McMuffin

My favorite meal is breakfast, sometimes though I never get to eat breakfast because of my insomnia. But who says you can only have breakfast during the morning or even daylight, right? That's why I love those restaurants that serve 24-hour breaky, specially the diner types. Okay, we're getting a little bit off the subject here. I'm not talking about the 24/7 breakfast joints, not even breakfast, well sort of.

McDonald's or as we Filos call "McDo", has been serving breakfast for 40 years now and their Egg McMuffin is one of the best sellin breakfast sandwiches ever! This blog post is about the secret to making the perfect home made Egg McMuffin! Mmm mmm mmm! Whenever I would wake up early, I would always take that chance to order a McDonald's breakfast, the Egg McMuffin and the Big Breakfast (now called the Sausage Platter) has always been my favorite. Personally, I like the egg in my Egg McMuffin to have that gooey yolk in the center, like how I like my scrambled eggs runny. So now, whenever I would wake up past their 10am breakfast cut off time, I can make my own!

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

For the complete article and recipe click, here.

I am so going to try this tomorrow! Haha whew, for years we've been doing it wrong. We place the cracked egg in a round microwave safe plastic container then cooking it in the microwave. It still worked though, but this one looks a bit more perfect!

XXXOOO,

   Les :)

My Kitchen Adventures: Red Velvet Fever On A Sleepless Morning

Hello!

I have here a recipe post. Yesterday, I posted about the Red Velvet Crinkles from Little Bites. While writing I had this really bad craving for the crinkles, only problem is that Las Piñas is a bit too far! :( I thought of just making my own red velvet crinkles. Though they were good, I still like the ones from Little Bites better. A few more adjustments I suppose.

I had quite a lot of left over cream cheese frosting and still had the red velvet fever. So, I made red velvet cupcakes. :)

I searched for a Red Velvet recipe that uses the ingredients that I already have on hand. I have my own recipe, but all my recipes are way over at the US. lol long story of how it got there, okay. Here goes, I tweaked this recipe a little.

Red Velvet Cupcakes by Laura Vitale

It makes 12 cuppycakes

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup of all Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder *- I used 3 Tbsp
½ tsp of Baking Powder
½ tsp of Baking Soda
¼ tsp of Salt
¼ cup of Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
¾ cup of Granulated sugar
¾ cup of Buttermilk *read note
1 Egg
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
Red food Coloring *- I used a little less of 1 Tbsp of liquid red, you can adjust the amount 'til you reach your desired shade.

 Frosting:
2 Cups of Powdered Sugar
4 oz of Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature *read note at the bottom
2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature *read note at the bottom
1 Tbsp of Milk
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract

Process:

1. Preheat your oven at 350. You shouldn't wait for your oven to get to the right temperature. Line your cupcake pan with liners.

2. In a seperate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. The first 5 stated there at the top, and set aside.

3. In a bowl, you can use a whisk and spatula or an electric/stand mixer. Cream butter and sugar til it's light and fluffy or light in color.

4. Add the egg and vanilla, mix until well combined and creamy.

5. Add half of the dry ingredients and add half of the buttermilk. I added the food color to the buttermilk. When incorporated, add the remaining dry and wet. Then mix with a spatula.

6. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly in your liners.
7. Bake for 18-20min. or until toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. *Mine was done before 18min. So always check your cupcakes at least 2min. before the indicated time.
8. After 2min. remove from pans and let them cool completely before frosting.

For frosting:
1. Combine all the ingredients and mix until the consistency is of a thick frosting. Best done with a mixer (if using a stand mixer, use paddle attachment and then whisk attachment).
2. Let it cool in the fridge for at least 10-15min for it to set.

**Notes:
1. Use unsweetened cocoa powder. Use the light colored cocoa powder, (I forgot what it's called, sorry, all my notes are with my recipes that are oceans away).
2. Now, here in the Philippines, buttermilk is almost impossible to find. Substitute it with regular milk and vinegar or lemon juice. For every cup of buttermilk, use 1cup of milk + 1tbsp of plain vinegar or lemon juice, let it sit for about 10-15min. If you're going to add the red food color, add it just before you pour the buttermilk in to the batter.
3. Remember, food color gives a bitter taste, don't put too much. Or try to use a no-taste red.
4. Don't over mix your cupcakes or else they will become tough and bread like.
5. The cupcakes will rise, like really big and puffy. So don't put to much batter, never fill more than half full. Best to fill it two-thirds full.
6. Frosting- if you live in a country where the climate is like the Philippines', use cream cheese and butter straight from the fridge. But not frozen! You can adjust the amount of milk or powdered sugar, if it's too thick, add more milk, if it's too runny, add more sugar.

Enjoy and Good Luck! :)

I used this vanilla.

I love the Vanilla Company's vanilla extracts. These are pure and not like the imitation ones, pure extracts are better to use, specially if the vanilla flavor has to stand out. I usually buy at Gourdo's and Cook's Exchange. I prefer the bourbon one over the tahitian one.

The turn out was good, the cupcakes were delicious. It's a dense cupcake, but isn't dry. If you want a more moist cupcake with a tender crumb, you can use recipes that use cake flour. I'm not fully satisfied though, I'm looking for a specific taste. This makes me want to go on a search for the best Red Velvet cupcake recipe. 

The cream cheese frosting on top of red velvet cupcakes that I usually see are piped using big round tips, some with just a big round glop of icing, or topped with a fondant heart, or sprinkled with a little bit of cocoa. But I used a star tip for this one. I wanted to try a sort of rosette look. I'm not sure what tip number this is, it's Ateco, but a Wilton 1M tip is usually used for rosettes.

For a person without sleep, I think I did pretty well. I was bored and couldn't sleep so I ended up baking. :)

Ughhh...

I'm still not sleepy or tired! So I made this post, and I'm done writing this post and still not feeling anything. Hmmm maybe I'll go play Dance Central on kinect and dance my arse off.

XXXOOO,

   Les :)

Red Velvet Crinkles From Little Bites Cupcakery

Red Velvet is a real southern treat. A traditional one will taste like it has the right amount of cocoa that sets it apart from a vanilla cupcake, but not too much that would make it a chocolate cupcake. It is originally topped with sexy, velvety smooth cream cheese frosting, some top it with white chocolate frosting, I like mine the traditional way. I really don't like those red velvet cupcakes that are way too chocolatey. Don't get me wrong, it's just that red velvet is supposed to taste like red velvet, otherwise just go and eat a vanilla or a chocolate cupcake.

One of my favorite cupcakes, or even flavor, is red velvet. It is of course, well known in cake and cupcake form. But now there's red velvet ice cream, gelatos, cookies, cheesecake, truffles, etc. Recently, I had the chance to taste red velvet in crinkle form at the Ultimate Taste Test, in fact it's one of my favorites from the event. I've posted about the UTT, here. A few weeks after my first taste of Little Bites Cupcakery's Red Velvet crinkles, I was craving for it like crazy.

 Before we went to our house in Las Piñas, we picked up my order at Cittadella. It was my second time ordering these cute little sweets. I didn't get to take a picture of the first. Blame my mum, she ate most of it, I guess that's just how good these are. We got 8 boxes of Red Velvet Crinkles and a box of half a dozen Cookies N' Cream cupcakes. Whoa! I know what you're thinking, that's quite a lot of crinkles. 6 of those were for Polla, one of those was a gift for my mum, a whole box all to her self. Two for moi. :)

100Php for a pack of red velvet crinkles.

They come in plastic containers to seal in freshness, no one likes stale cookies. Packaging matters, but honestly, it isn't that big of a deal, it's all about the taste.

40Php/piece for the regular flavors like their Cookies N' Cream

Let's start with the crinkles...
There is no denying that I absolutely love their Red Velvet Crinkles!

Two small, thumbprint sized cookies sandwiching the creamy cream cheese frosting.

These are tender to the touch, you can tell that they are moist. They are soft and are not crumbly. Like little pillows in your fingers. The texture and consistency is great, most people would complain that it's too soft or what not, but crinkles aren't like most cookies that are crispy or pact and solid. They are meant to be soft and light, a little chewy too, and these are exactly that.

I must warn you, you can never eat just one! lol I'm telling you, we are so hooked on these.

The Red Velvet Crinkles are divine! Not too sweet and the flavor is just perfect. It's more on the chocolate side, but not too chocolatey. It had the perfect balance. The cream cheese frosting in the middle is my favorite flavor from the whole cookie. It's creamy and light, not too tangy though which is fine, the taste is smooth (lol, yeah! smooth/mild). It complements the taste of the cookie. I understand that too much frosting will cause the cookies to slide off, can't help it, I really wish there was more of the frosting to taste.

What I don't like about the cookies? I don't like the aftertaste, it's a bit bitter. Must be the powdered sugar if not the food coloring.

A few cupcakes were missing. Polla nicked two.

Moving on to the cupcakes...
Presentation wise, it was cute. Swirls of frosting with an Oreo and Oreo crumbs.

The cupcakes were good! Though not like, "Oh wow! That's delicious". The cake was dense, but wasn't dry.

A vanilla cupcake base with a whole Oreo surprise underneath. The frosting was, I think vanilla as well, but it tasted like cream, like the cream filling in Oreo, only a little toned down.

All in all, I think Little Bites Cupcakery has delicious sweets. But their Red Velvet is a best seller for a good reason.

Little Bites is a home based business. Won't be long before they make it big, specially with all the hype they've been getting. They already have quite a huge clientele. Ms. Cham (name above) is the owner and baker, she's nice. I met her at the UTT event, we had the booth next to theirs.

Try their sweets, they're really good! They have quite a lot of cupcake flavors, from the basic vanilla to blueberry, banana split to Ferrero and Bailey's Caramel. They also customize cupcakes and giant cupcakes for any occasion. Anyway, you can tell how good a cupcake shop is by trying their classic cupcake flavors and not just their best sellers.

Little Bites Cupcakery- Las Piñas

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They have pick up locations at Las Piñas, SM Makati, and SM Mall of Asia (by schedule)

We picked up our order at their home in Cittadella near Las Piñas Doctors Hospital.

XXXOOO,

   Les :)