We are a unique species of women whose identities are not defined by having our own offspring neither by our ability to bear children nor the choices we make in life about motherhood. Rather we are a group of women who have so much love to give to the little ones in our families. Just like us, do you have what it takes to be a certified Tita of Manila?
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| Presenting the Titas of Manila: (L to R) Vie, Cheshire, Vannah |
- You have to be a certified tita. Meaning you have at least a nephew or a niece whom you perennially shower with love and “blessings.” You are present in every milestone, play nanny when ze parentals need to take a break, play silly games and goof around while sporting your otherwise delicate designer OOTDs. You are also unfortunately perceived as someone who has a bottomless well of moolah and an all season Santa. Kung alam lang nila gaano kahirap kumita ng pera. Kayod pa more!
My eldest nephew and I. 
Vannah and her eldest nephew. 
Vie and her eldest niece. 
- You have a love affair with tea. You just can’t live without it because it calms you and aids in your age-related slow digestion. You carry tea bags in your purse. You invest in fine bone china wapakels na kung buong set yan o iilang piraso lang. Keri na basta (READ MY LIPS) fine bone china! From night outs decades ago, you and your fellow #TitasofManila now have afternoon tea parties or frequent tea salons all over the metro. Oh how far you’ve come from being the giddy and carefree IT girls to the now refined ladies worthy to attend a royal tea party.
Mi casa es tu casa! 
Gotta have an Instagram worthy flat lay of some sort. - You like the art of doing nothing. You prefer staycations over the exhilarating adventures of the youth. You like quiet places. You can spend the whole day getting pampered in spas. You celebrate birthdays through intimate parties where you can just be yourselves. Understanding each other’s need to rest. #TulalaParty is the name of the game.
The art of doing nothing - pretending to write something.
Flashback to the 80's - Mondragon model 
We tried to be vegans at The Farm. We tried.
Chi, The Spa - Our best alternative when out of town pampering is just not possible amidst our hectic schedules.
Love Sonya's Garden. Nuff said.
In one of our staycations. Sofitel.
- The Titas of Manila are the ultimate #MotherPackers. From luggages down to gift baskets and presents. Gift wrapping is therapeutic. There are two types of #MotherPackers: One that has her entire home in her suitcase. Complete with extension cord, medicines, hair dryer, name it she’s got it. Brown rice tea anyone? One suitcase is not enough for a weekend getaway in Tagaytay. Not to mention the smaller travel bag organizers! The other #MotherPacker cares more for the amount of extra space she has for shopping food and pasalubong for everyone including her askal of a pet.
Christmas presents for fellow Titas of Manila wrapped in cake boxes and magazine pages which I got from the Rustan's concierge. Don't waste paper. Save the environment. Recycle! 
Labeled because we don't like to share. 
Loot bag for Titas day out. - ‘Health is wealth’ now becomes your mantra. Missing out on your yoga and Zumba classes is a big no no! You go for check ups together and accidentally meet friends at the breast center while waiting for their turn to have that dreaded breast ultrasound or mammography. You look forward to breakfast session post blood test. After all, you have not consumed anything for twelve agonizing hours. You also have a wide range of supplements and antioxidants. Pure wheatgrass no longer tastes like soil but you find it surprisingly refreshing.
Om.
Namaste.
Arghhhh! 
Vannah and I ran into our friend while waiting for our breast specialist. Breast cancer awareness month. Good thing we don't have prostates otherwise we would have had our behinds checked whenever prostate cancer awareness month kicks in. We're cool like that. - Titas’ day out is sacred. No one is permitted to be absent. You go on road trips or do grocery shopping together. Buying what? Things you probably don’t need, food you can’t consume on your own and stuff that your nephews and nieces will find delight in and will ensure your position as the ultimate Tita of Manila. Tagaytay, S&R and Santi’s in Sta. Rosa Laguna are the places to be. So what if you live all the way in Quezon City? Titas’ day out nga eh. Oh don’t forget your membership cards: Mercury Drug, SM Advantage, Rustan’s FSP and Fresh Card, Robinson’s, Healthy Options and so on. Mahirap na. Sayang ang points.
We prefer the S&R in Sta. Rosa. Just because.
Titas shopping at Santi's
We all drive like a man but when we're together, a driver is a must have because everyone must be physically and mentally present lest you miss out on those juicy chikahan. - “Tinder what? Alam ko lang Twitter. Ano ba yun? Parang Yahoo Messenger?” - The exact words of a true blooded Tita of Manila when the word of the day Tinder was mentioned. Though you are cool in your own way, it’s just a challenge to keep up with how the millenials communicate in this day and age.
Madam
Pwede! - Every thread count counts. Waking up isn’t as pleasant as it once was when you were in your twenties. Therefore the Titas of Manila put value on the little luxuries in life in the form of fabric, and hotel quality linens and mattresses. Masakit ba balakang mo, teh?
Who loves white more than I do? - Your home is a place where no one goes Hangry. It doesn’t matter if your home is small or mala-mansion, rented, owned or minana mo lang. What matters most is that it is warm, welcoming and filled with good food available to anyone who visits. You are always ready to entertain with the proper dinnerware. You can serve your own cheese platter and always have fine wines chilled for guests. You also have cookies, kiddie pastas and tons of chocolates it will bring Charlie and his chocolate factory to shame whenever your beloved pamangkins or inaanaks come to visit.
Thank God for Santi's. Creating a cheese platter is easy peasy. 
I only baked this kind of pie twice. Never again.
An intimate party for The Grand Tita of Manila (my Aunt Remy) at home.
Good ol' spaghetti made fancy. - When it comes to fashion, the Titas of Manila have their own version of a uniform or pambansang kasuotan. Drumroll please... The Shawl. Kumikitang kabuhayan si Anna Pashmina sa Powerplant talaga naman. Pagbigyan. The Titas of Manila easily get cold especially inside the movie house while watching Aldub’s movie. They also like to have personalized bespoke items and wear the same accessories when they’re together.
Again at Chi, The Spa 
Multi purpose shawl. 
Self-explanatory. - Aromatherapy is a must. We are not just talking air revitalizers, scented soy candles and oil burners here. That smell you hated in your childhood days now becomes fragrant and ooohh so soothing. Salonpas, healing balms (Yoga Love and the Ultra Balm), Ping on which you buy from that drugstore in Binondo and the best among the rest that can give you instant relief when you ache here and there, insect bite included - Five Cranes or Jade Cranes! Take your pick ladies.
Pardon the pill box - Every Tita of Manila is a foodie. That is a fact even if you have a love hate relationship with food due to your diet restrictions. Soups become a staple. Thou shalt not ignore the age-related digestion eh? You prefer sustainable flavors that promote local farmers such as ube ice cream, ube cake, durian jam, avocado ice cream and the like. You go places to eat. Yum cha is now considered the breakfast of champions. But of course paired with tea as the secret to proper digestion.
Yum Cha at our fave resto in Hong Kong with The Grand Titas of Manila. 
Mamang sorbetero in Vigan 
Low fat creamy broccoli soup. Recipe modified to suit our diet restrictions to achieve perfect blood chemistry results!
Who says being a tita is uncool? Whenever my nephew tells me he loves me or that I am the best Akoh (Father’s older sister) in the whole world, my heart melts a thousand times over. They say having your own child feels differently because it is better. I’d say perhaps that’s true but God also created aunts in this world not to replace moms but to shower kids with affection so together with the parents, we will fill the children’s lives with overflowing love here on earth. Because that’s just the way God is. He wants us to be loved and give love because He is love.
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| My darlings. |
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