Yesterday was one for the books, as we were in the room where it happened: the Theatre at Solaire for the Hamilfans Day!

Fastest fingers first was the name of the game as Hamilton International Tour and GMG Productions gave away slots to the first 70 who signed up. Being an expert of ~races like this thanks to my experience in scoring fantastic finds at Instagram thrift shops, I was able to sign up immediately within .03 seconds of the link being up. Thankfully, J also got in so I was guaranteed a date heehee. My sister also got a slot thanks to her friend John who won Theater Fans Manila's contest. What a blessing!

We don't get a chance to dress up like this so when we do, I go all out. I ordered my dress and shoes online and thankfully they arrived on time, while I have had this clutch since before the pandemic but yesterday was only my first time to use it. 

It's always so exciting to attend fan events because you can feel the passion and joy in the room. We were given the chance to meet the cast who was so generous in sharing their. talents and time in interacting with us fans. I regretfully did not get picked to join the games but that's okay because I would have been such a nervous wreck!

Darnell Abraham, Hamilton International Tour's George Washington

Deaundre' Woods, Hamilton International Tour's Aaron Burr

My sister painted the Hamilton logo on black canvas using gold paint, and she was able to have the cast sign it! Meanwhile, I was able to get Jason Arrow (Hamilton International Tour's Alexander Hamilton), Darnell, and Deaundre' sign my Hamilton ticket holder. I also got a souvenir programme, while we availed free holographic photos at the Unionbank lounge!

When J's sister Chelsea introduced Hamilton to me back in 2016, I didn't imagine I would be this obsessed. Up until now the songs from the Original Broadway Cast Recording are still part of my annual Spotify Top 10 HAHA! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine they would stage the musical here, as I thought I would have to fly out just to catch it. And so to have tickets to the show to share with my sister AND attend the very exclusive Hamilfans Day is BEYOND my millennial-level imagination. What a beautiful memory. It makes me even more excited to see the show next week! 

Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now! 

I love kitchen equipment that is no fuss and easy to use, and lets me do anything else while it's doing its thing. You know how the reason why I love my Instant Pot is how it makes me look like a cooking expert but in reality it just lets me dump the ingredients on it so it could work its magic? My new favorite, the Baumann Living Bread Maker, also functions this way.

J got me this Bread Maker (because I asked him to) at the height of the pandemic two years ago. That time, high off the hype of my Instant Pot, I was gung ho on experimenting with other kitchen tools and equipment. The Bread Maker caught my radar because of the reviews I found online. I was enticed by the idea of having freshly baked bread any time I want without needing to knead. I have weak arms you see, so even though I had been wanting to try making my own bread ever since I learned how to bake, the prospect of putting my arms to work put me off.

So J got me the Bread Maker, but you see dear reader, working with yeast intimidated me so. Thus the Bread Maker just got kept in storage for two freaking years.

Last week I tried to bake pupcakes using my oven, but they came out severely undercooked. After four years of being my main workhorse, I think my oven has decided to conk out on me. :( But because I was badly craving bread, a lightbulb moment came and I took my Bread Maker out of storage.

I wish I took it out of storage earlier, because my goodness, I had been happily making bread for a week now and I am looking forward to trying out more recipes!

Lemon Loaf

Banana Walnut Loaf

My favorite so far -- Japanese Milk Bread

270ml water + 2 tbsp oil

1 tsp salt + 2 tbsp sugar + 3 cups bread floor + 1 tsp yeast

Set the Bread Maker to 1 for Basic Bread, choose size (I chose 1.5lb), choose crust color (I chose Medium), then press Start. Here is the finished product after about four hours (including warming time)