Lunch Date at Carino's Italian Grill

This is definitely a loved-up September. I got two dates in a month lol!! While I insisted the rendevouz early this month in Atlantis The Palm is more than enough to celebrate our 5th anniversary as sweethearts (corny! but this girl's in-love so give it to her please), Hubby still  felt like eating out. Last Friday, we headed to our long time favorite, Johnny Carino's Italian Grill.

We tried their branch at Dubai Festival City. Coincidentally, Carino's is also the first restaurant we visited during our first year in Dubai. This is also the first restaurant we dined in, after I gave birth to Andreas.

We love the place for its family farmhouse appeal. After all, the US-based chain originated  from Texas. Servings are enormous akin to feed a hungry cowboy. Because its' Friday, the place was packed with happy kids running around. Although they are given crayons and coloring books to keep themselves busy, the calories and carbohydrates they ate probably won't let them sit still. 

Before entering, I already had in mind what to order but when I checked their entree menu, the pepperoni calzone was no longer available. I settled then for portions of their best offerings. Hubby ordered steak as usual.

 After we were seated comfortably, the waiter came back with complimentary warm herb bread and toasted garlic. This is actually the reason why we always come back here lol! The bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil is heavenly. I wish Macaroni Grill will do the same - toast their garlic instead of roasting. But then that won't be so original hehe.

Grilled New York Strip. A hearty 12oz USDA choice center cut strip steak seasoned and basted on open-flame grill, served with fresh mushroom gravy sauce, roast potatoes and stir-fry vegetables.

Hubby thinks all steak tastes the same so he didn't say much. Me, thinks that the meat was a little dry. The seasoned stir-fry vegetables though was crunchy and oozing with goodness that we kept praising the dish every time we pop zucchini and broccolli into our mouths.

Chicken Parmigiana. Hand-breaded in special blend seasonings, layered with spicy tomato sauce, parmesan and  mozarella cheese served with spaghetti in marinara sauce.

The chicken was tender and succulent. Hubby was impressed with the spicy  fresh tomato sauce. I think I just found another reason to comeback here (big grin).

Home-made Lasagna. With 12 layers of pasta, ricotta cheese and meat sauce.

The staff were attentive and gladly refilled our tall glass of Coke Zero. When I checked the washroom, I smiled seeing a sketch of Rialto Bridge decorating the wall. Venice indeed, is such a lovely memory.

Like I said, the servings are huge so I had to bring home the ordered lasagna. I devoured it the following day and when warmed in the microwave, it's darned good! Definitely has a homey feel.

Farmhouse Italian style. Carinos at Dubai Festival City offers al fresco dining over looking the Ikea driveway.

Johnny Carino's Italian Grill also has a branch at Burjuman Mall - which I think has much more romantic ambiance.

New York Grilled Steak - 72 AED
Carino Combo - 69 AED
Coke Zero bottomless - 10 AED
Total - 151 AED (P1,812.00)

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Product Review: Printable Halloween Party Games

Halloween Party is probably my second most look forward event of the year. I love how we can go wild with our creativity, dress up, and be somebody else for a night. Before our son came, Hubby and I join regularly join his Scuba Diving Club's Halloween events. That was four years ago. Now for the first time, we have a chance to organize a Halloween Party (which will also serve as send off party for a very good family friend). Our friend is saying goodbye to Dubai first week of November to permanently join his wife in another country.

As I was researching online for send-off party games, I received an e-mail requesting to review a pack of Printable Halloween Party Games. I agreed immediately, excited that my party planning is finally coming together. I was given a link with easy to follow instructions. I clicked and the downloads arrived fast.  I printed all 50 games and was amazed how varied and enjoyable they were!

I share with you the list of the games included. You will find that there is something for everybody and not just for Halloween occasion but for Thanksgiving and Fall Harvest as well.

Games for Kids

Halloween Costume Word Search
Halloween Coloring Pages
Halloween Synonyms Game 

Halloween Scavenger Hunt
Halloween Memo Match Game
Halloween Crossword For Kids
Halloween Maze Game 

Pumpkin Decorating Frenzy
Pin The Head On The Monster
Werewolf Spot The Difference
Candy Names Game
Escape From The Garden L-R
Naughty Or Nice? Coloring Game
Fall Word Search
Food Fight Mad Libs
Harvest Poems Scavenger Hunt
Harvest What Word? Game
Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
Thanksgiving Coloring Pages

Games For Teens

Gross Facts Trivia
Monster Halloween Charades
Teen Terrors Mad Libs
Spooky Halloween Word Search
Teen Twilight Crossword
Halloween Picture Match Game
Trick Or Treat Trivia
Who Am I? Halloween
Name That Candy Bar Game
I LEFT It RIGHT There! Left-Right
Harvest Word Search
Turning Leaves Fall Trivia

Time of Plenty Harvest Trivia
Thanksgiving Synonym Game
Who's The Turkey? Trivia
Truth Or Turkey? Trivia
Harvest Goddess Left-Right
Harvest Synonym Game
Thanksgiving Crossword Puzzle

Games for Adults

 

NFL Football Word Search
NFL Football Trivia
NFL Football Home Advantage

 Halloween Newlywed Game

Cubicle Chaos Mad Libs
Vampire Trivia
Left In The Dark Left-Right
The Grim Reaper Word Search
Wunderbar! Chocolate Trivia
Horror Movies Crossword
Stephen King Books Trivia
Scary Synopsis Horror Trivia
Who's The Bad Guy? Trivia

Thanksgiving Word Search
Get Stuffed Thanksgiving Trivia
What's Your Stuffed Style? Quiz
Harvest Crossword Puzzle

Halloween Movie Trivia

My son trying out the coloring pages.

While our toddler got engrossed with his coloring activity, Hubby and I tried answering the Stephen King Books trivia. We enjoyed it so much so when we finished, we decided to try Halloween Movie Trivia and Horror Movie Trivia. We were doing this at night time and while answering, we were reminded of some horror movie scenes that we decided to end the night with a lighter mood by taking turns answering The Halloween Newly Wed Game. Oh that was the most fun part because we learned something new from each other.

Bear in mind though that the games are not only limited to two people but to as many Halloween party guests you have. You just have to print out enough copies for your guests.

For your teens, they will absolutely enjoy the Twilight Crossword Puzzle and Name That Candy Bar among others. Fathers too will get a kick with those NFL Trivia. Office mates will have fun doing the Cubicle Chaos Mad Lib.

I like crafting give-aways for our parties. They need not be expensive and sometimes I just put together things in a pretty goody bag. I think I found an exciting way to hand these out by doing the Left, Right Game. Players form a circle and the party host hands out treats or gifts. A narrator will read a Halloween story emphasizing words "Left" and "Right". Each time one of those words are spoken, all the gifts are passed in that direction. When the story ends, anybody holding the item may keep it.

The Python Halloween Printable Games Pack costs only $19.95.The product is delivered by encrypted download. Once you pay, you will receive an e-mail link to their download page. I highly recommend buying because it will make any party unpredictable and far from boring.  Moreover, customers are entitled to unlimited copies so that it will last until your own kids get to organize their own parties. 

As a way of saying thank you to my dear readers, you can visit the link to get your Free Printable Halloween Coloring Pages and a $5 voucher.

This Product Was a Free Giveaway

A Pink of My Favorite Things

We come to the last color for Girls Talk and what a pretty closing it's going to be for September! 

These are my everyday pinkies: (l-r) Strawberries & Cream Lux Handwash; Enchanted Orchid Body Creme from Bath&Body Works (pasalubong from Hubby's classmate); Raspberry Fantasy cologne ( I like fruity fragrance for summer) from Body Fantasies; and Coppertone Sunscreen Lotion (I actually bought it for my son but I use it as well lol!).

We won this 10.1 Megapixel Sony Cybershot September last year when we bought our Sony DSLR. The purchase entitled us to a raffle draw.

My Raspberry Summer Cake. You can view the recipe here.

Our pink & black bedsheet. Photo taken right after my son's first birthday.


And lastly, my pink rosary - a souvenir when we visited Vatican City. It features the five most important churches and basilicas of Rome.

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Blog Award

Oh sweet! It's been awhile since I received a blog award so this definitely made my Wednesday fun. Thank you to my new blogger friend, Kha for the kind gesture.

7 Random Things About Moi
  1. Currently a bread addict.
  2. Almost always fall asleep reading tweets lol!
  3. Cooking/baking is therapeutic for me.
  4. I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga.
  5. I only recently found out that 'Baby' is Justin Bieber's music. LSS! lol
  6. I want a new lipstick for Christmas.
  7. I am soo not a morning person.

Rules are simple. Pass this on to your Versatile Blogger friends and share 7 random things about yourself.

My turn to give this award to my blogger friends who I want to know better.

Lelu of Short Girl, Big Adventure
Sheng of Sweet Serenity
Mel Cole of Love Home, Grow Garden
Nette of Nette's Life Journey

Post when you have the time, ladies! And do visit Kha's blog by clicking on her badge below:

Kayaking in Venice

After a fresh fruit breakfast at Rialto Market, we walked back to Piazza San Marco and we spotted these guys and their kayak.

If you think a gondola ride is over rated, you can opt to paddle your way through the Grand Canal.

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Furniture Ideas For Dining Room

All matters pertaining to our move to the capital is being finalized. The office branch is currently being renovated and we now have new community in sight to look for a place to stay. For now, Hubby asked me to check on our furnitures - which is worth it to bring with us to our new place and which goes away.

I immediately thought of two things: we need bigger closet ward robe and a new set of dining table. Hubby said that our new place most probably includes a built-in-wardrobe since those are the new designs of apartments in that area. That leaves me then to look around for a proper new dining set. You see, our dining table is small and folds up. We bought it with a sole idea that after eating, we fold to have more space. Now that my son is growing up and happily joins dinner, I think we need a bigger one and something that looks decent.

As I read on pointers how to choose a new dining furniture, I gather that it should be: convenient, affordable, durable, stylish, with quality, and should not make the room over-crowded. I decided then to look for an oval shape wooden table. One without corner is definitely safer when you have a kid running around the house. Plus, I read on Feng-shui that oval-shaped dining table induces more gentle energy. We definitely need such thing while staying in the super-city.

Here's what I have in mind. I saw the set while browsing through a furniture catalogue. I love chairs with high back and I like the country house feel that goes with the set.

But Hubby also thinks this monochromatic wood and leather set is elegant and comfortable. Hmmnn, he always likes the seat soft and cushioned so maybe this will be more like it.

Once we decide which design, I shall move on to look for table cloth. A Feng-shui tip also reveals that it is a great way to encourage closeness among diners rather than individual place mats.

Aqua Play at Dreamland Aqua Park

Dreamland Aqua Park in Umm Al Quwain has 30 rides and attractions to keep your adrenaline pumping. Pictured below is geared for younger visitors.

Aqua Play is an interactive Kids Pool designed with  19 game options for toddlers and kids fun.

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Dolphin Bay at Atlantis

Aside from unlimited access to The Lost Chamber and Aquaventure, hotel residents of Atlantis The Palm receive preferential rates to meet and learn more about their Indo-Pacific bottle nose dolphins.

A 4.5 hectare of state-of-the-art dolphin education and conservation centre.

Programs like Dolphin Encounter, Dolphin Adventure, and Royal Swim can last from 30 to 90 minutes under the strict supervision of their Marine Mammal Specialists.Hollywood stars like Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton have visited and enjoyed the Royal Swim.

Touching, hugging, holding ‘hands’, playing ball and feeding are some of the activities guests can experience during the interaction which is open to all ages.I felt so luck to have captured the moment =)

Inside the Dolphin Bay retail center. They also serve Starbucks coffee, pastries, and paninis.

A buggy service will take you to the Dolphin Bay or you can walk and will take about 6 to 8 minutes from The Royal Towers.

Contact Dolphin Bay Atlantis on  +97104261030 for reservations if you are interested. A cheaper alternative I recommend (where you can touch the dolphin during a photo opportunity) is a visit to Dubai Dolphinarium at Creek Park.

An entry for

Burger Mushroom Steak

Spicy beef patties, fresh button mushroom, white onions, and creamy gravy sauce.

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