Holiday Chika

Few days before Christmas, hubby and I decided to take Daphne to the mall. It's our yearly thing to buy her new sets of pambahay and pantulog clothes every December because as we all know, mabilis lumaki ang mga bagets. Sometimes we even forget to let her wear her other shoes only to find out masikip na pala. She has certain favorites na kasi that's why she keep wearing them most of the time.

So that one Sunday, we splurged a bit for our unica. In fairness, no guilt feelings talaga pag para sa bata. We didn't buy her too much toys though kasi she's had enough for the whole year, even if there's no occasion. I also thought, let the ninongs and ninangs take care of that part this month. Hahaha!


That shoes she's wearing is from Barbie and she really liked it a lot! Feel na feel nya makipag-habulan with her Daddy kasi super comfy ng shoes. I want her to try boots sana, I saw a pink suede from Elle,  but isn't she too young for that? And besides, I don't see the "kaartehan" part pa of my little girl, so we opted to buy her something really suitable for her kiddie activities. Besides, naku ang tatay ayaw sa mga arte-arteng ganyan. Basta, I'm glad she liked it and she was game na game pa to pose with Hello Kitty at the Atrium.

Wishing you and your family..

Shelter + Gigi Cupcakes

So I finally had a glimpse of the other branch of my most favorite cupcake shop in Manila, no other than Gigi Coffee and Cupcakes! You can read my review here so you have an idea how much I loved the place and almost all of the cupcakes they sell. It was a very long day for me at work so I decided to have a quick me-time on a mid-week.


Glad I remembered their new branch at the East Wing is now open. At first, I was hesitant if I am at the right floor because what you will first notice is Shelter Home and Design. I think it's a good idea that they incorporated the cupcake shop with home furnishings because after all, we all wanted to experience a homey and comfortable place as we sink our teeth with yummy goodies, right? It made the entire place more welcoming for photo op.


Was there a shop name before you enter? I didn't notice any. I just knew it was it because their interiors were a combination of green and white, and of course the cupcake shelves!


I was hoping to order Sea Salt and Green Tea cupcakes but I wasn't so lucky. So I settled with Red Velvet and Choco Chips for Php50/each. Both were awesome choices and on your first bite you will notice how moist it is. The price is just right for the cupcake size. You don't get fed up easily and that gives us higher chances of trying another flavor.


All of a sudden, my afternoon ended perfectly. I can do this everyday, promise! Ha ha! Oh, the joy of munching your comfort food! My eyes feasted too on these pretty Christmas home displays. Loved that golden mini London Eye!


Take a closer look of my cupcakes and tell me how they are.
Here's a little downside. Since I am just beside the counter, I overheard that if you want your cupcake placed in a single box, that's Php25 on top of your bill. Why? That's already half the price of the cupcake itself.


Anyway, the East Wing has a good air-condition level so I make sure to visit the loo before heading home.
In case you haven't been there, here it is. So posh, it can already pass as a 2-3 star hotel lounge eh?


And here's the happy me. Do I look like one? Mabilisang selfie yan, kasi baka may pumasok! HAHA!

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Army Navy

Quick burger + burrito night with ze hubby because that's how we love Army Navy!
No food review this time, just sharing our photos as we "break in" my new 50mm/f1.8 II lens in my Canon 550d. Still getting the hang of it. Now I'm more than excited to take lots and lots of pictures! :-)

Policarpio Street

Two nights ago, Mom and I randomly thought of checking out the famous Christmas street in Mandaluyong known as Policarpio Street. We've been waiting for this since we transferred to our new apartment because it is just few blocks away from us. It was on  nationwide news that night that this glittery and extravagant street had just opened for public.
We noticed a lot of people as soon as we stepped out, mostly groups of families. That made me more excited because this time I am finally seeing it not just on TV. I'm funny like that! :-)


It was literally open for public, meaning to fees to be collected. There was a tall gate hovering at the entrance, perhaps it is closed during normal days though I wonder why because it is not even a village.
I noticed how big the lot sizes are on this street, my guess is ranging from 400 to 600 sqm so the owners must be that well off. The first house has this big Belen (a traditional Filipino Christmas symbol) representing the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. I'm not sure if they cover the Belen on regular season. There were about 4 to 5 security people watching over this house, and yelling at those who block the driveway. I recall C.O.D. in Cubao while looking at the Belen. 80's kids in Manila must be so lucky to have had experienced it.


This was the second house that captured our attention. First thing that came into my mind is how much they are paying for the Meralco bill. The house was literally covered with Christmas lights! It was beautifully designed! They must have hired people to organize the colored lights to form each Christmas piece. And there was like a tower behind with a giant parol (Filipino Christmas lantern that is usually star-shaped). I'm assuming it's that big as it is still visible from my standpoint.


Third house is probably the crowd favorite - The House of Santa Clause. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the owner is a known collector of thousands of Santa Clauses? How to keep all of these and how to clean them all? Pinroblema ko talaga ano? :-)



The entire house was very amusing, it almost looked like a theme park. Kids adore taking pictures with the famous huggable white-bearded man in red and white costume.


This house is connected to the first house above. The colorful rope lights exude a modern Christmas feel. These houses are probably using LED lights.


Me and my little one's favorite is the second house. She looked very amazed with the spectacular glittery lights. I keep asking her if she's happy and she gives me nods and smiles in return. We only stayed for less than thirty minutes because the crowd got bigger and I bet you noticed how cold it gets nowadays. That made me realize my girl is running out of jackets.


Update: this is another favorite house, the one next to House of Santa Clause. It was simple but as you see, my daughter's face turned bright as the lanterns!
Sound bites: When you wish upon a star.. (Hi-5 version)


Are you excited for the upcoming season? I am! Not just because of the gifts and reunions but also because we're nearing our second wedding anniversary! *teehee*
Happy Christmas shopping to all! :-)

Discover English with Ben and Bella

I know most Mommies like me would still want to influence our kids the love for books. Though a lot of tablet apps are free and ready for download, it is nothing compared to smelling a newly-purchased book, flipping the pages and being excited to finish the whole story. Or even re-reading your favorite part over and over again, right? That's why I'm so happy that I finally get a hold of Discover English with Ben and Bella.



Look how cute these educational multimedia sets are! My daughter grabbed them right away upon seeing the colourful cover. At her age, she loves to identify farm and zoo animals. She'd give you that sweetest smile whenever she answered correctly each animal you point at.


The Discover English with Ben and Bella multimedia set is comprised of a story book plus a video book, a sticker book and a DVD. I believe they are perfectly combined so the kids don't easily get bored just doing one thing. I'm sure we all agree how effective teaching is when it is rather engaging than forced.


The story book has 32 pages of text and colourful visuals. It helps our kids expand their vocabulary in a more entertaining way. You will notice how the keywords are repetitive to encourage our non-reader kids to develop a good grasp of the meaning of every individual word.


Some of these words are farm animals, fruits and vegetables. These words also re-appear in a full-color sticker book. My daughter enjoyed sticking them after we identify each picture! It was really fun!


She would even point the blank object that pairs each sticker.


The video book on the other hand is the expanded version of the story played in 15 minutes. My daughter also enjoyed the sing and dance part in the DVD, like Counting Apples, where a child is taught how yummy apples are and how easy they are to count. That's Math, English and Physical Education trio!


One thing that made me overly impressed is how they included a Parent's Guide book to effectively teach our young ones. They explained "immersive learning", how children constantly learn from birth onward through listening, to closely observing, to being exposed, to mimicking, and to finally playing and living in it.
Here they also created a sample lesson plan that will help us check our child's understanding. What a useful tool to guide us during our child's early learning stage!


She can't get enough of her pretty books! And just this morning, my Mom told me that she immediately looked for them even while half-awake. Many thanks to Ms. Bianca Aquino, School Marketing Coordinator of Phoenix Educational Systems Inc., for sending these book sets to us.

To get more details about Discover English with Ben and Bella, you may visit their website http://www.benandbella.com/ or official Facebook page.
For other inquiries, please email info@earlylearninggroup.com or call 470-8775.


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GrabTaxi in Manila

Having read a series of unfortunate experiences posted on Facebook from lady commuters, it made me a lot skeptical to take a cab alone especially at night. It's really frustrating that regardless if you pay a higher cost for your fare, being you as the only passenger seated with your own driver for that trip, security is still not guaranteed. Good for you if only taking a less than 30 minute trip, otherwise, all you can do is to inform someone about your cab details, pray and hope that in good faith, the person behind the steering wheel is reliable.



You can imagine how thankful I am and maybe the rest of the commuters who's already used Grab Taxi, a smartphone application that enables taxi booking and dispatching service. First thing to do is to download this application on your iOS or Android phones. You will be asked to create a user profile with a valid email address and mobile number. You will also be needing an LTE/3G/WIFI access to use this app and Location Services (phone GPS) must be on.




On my way to the Blogapalooza event, I got my first-hand experience of this application. On the main menu, I tapped Book Taxi and entered from and to details, as easy as that! The application will then locate the closest Grab Taxi driver who is interested to take my booking. In less than a minute, 1 driver accepted and his details appeared on the screen. That's a speedy and transparent booking!



The driver, who is not a stranger anymore since I now have his name, arrived in front of our gate in 5 minutes. Rain or shine, we could just wait comfortably inside our homes.



As soon as my booking was completed and accepted, I also received an SMS that a booking fee of Php70 will be charged on top of my fare. That is reasonable for me because the cab meter will only start as soon as I hopped in. Currently, Globe users can enjoy a Php20 discount from the booking fee.

I find the Grab Taxi application highly efficient and organized. It helped regain my trust taking a cab again because I know someone is ensuring the passenger's safety. I also noticed that most cabs affiliated have better units, this is my primary concern because I try to avoid LPG users.



It was 7pm when hubby and I decided to go home, I am certain that taxi bay will already have longer queues. I was very happy with my first Grab Taxi experience and asked him to try and see if it works well even on rush hours. So we booked before reaching the mall exit.

I got confused at first. As you see from above photo, the driver is only 1.8 KM away from me so that should take him a little less than 5 minutes to get there.



Then all of a sudden, he is now 8 minutes away from me. I just let it pass since the countdown is moving anyway but when it was down to 5 minutes, it jumped back to 8 minutes again! Why???

Little did we know, the driver passed the taxi bay area three times and we did not see him! OMG. The mall security even shooed him away, disallowing him to wait for his passenger. I felt really bad for driver and thanked him for not cancelling my booking during this rush hour.
Halfway to our destination, the Grab Taxi representative from the Blogapalooza event called the driver that I am exempted from the booking fee (and that they will be the one to pay for it on my behalf). Btw, my cab fare that morning was also refunded. Double thank you guys!
But since our driver was really kind and drove us safely home, I decided to still pay the extra amount. A kind gesture should always be returned with another kind gesture, syempre.

To those who are not smartphone users, you can still book a taxi by calling (02) 642-3525; 641-4532; 640-2318; or txt 0939-1533495; 0927-8384833 for pickups. In case any problems occur, we can email Grab Taxi at support.mnl@grabtaxi.com to further investigate.

Grab Taxi
https://www.facebook.com/grabtaxi.ph


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Mentoré by UCC

Finally, I was able to set foot at the newest mall in Fort BGC, SM Aura. Allow me to congratulate my hubby who took part in the construction of the said mall. Though he would always say "konti lang naman ginawa namin dyan" (we only did a few), still I'm a proud wifey and will always be his number two fan in all his achievements. Number one now is of course my cutie patootie. :-)

Anyway, after checking out my favorite stores and a little shopping here and there, the hubby asked if I could wait for him all the way from Makati. I passed by Mentoré several times prior his call so I've thought of taking a seat at their al fresco area and relax a bit while waiting. This is right across Forever 21 and Uniqlo located at the 2nd floor.

It was almost a Saturday rush hour so the main streets have started to get busier. This is probably why some netizens raised their brows upon hearing that an SM Mall is to be constructed. It now showed how it fairly affected the bulk of vehicles passing by.

 

But I couldn't care less yet. After all, I'm enjoying the beautiful overlooking view of Serendra and the weather was perfect. Somehow, at the back of my mind, I wondered how does it feel to live in this kind of place, and how much you should be earning to afford a bare studio type pad. But since I wanted to relax and avoid over-thinking, I turned my attention to the menu. I wasn't even hungry at that hour.

 

I ordered Clair Mango for Php200. Clair by the way is a soft and waffle-like kind of crepe. This one was topped with raspberries, kiwi fruit, mango, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. You can slice the clair in 4 equal parts then wrap the toppings with it together with the ice cream and whipped cream. I find it okay, unique in a way because it was my first time to try it but nothing really to rave about. Or maybe I just prefer the commonly known crepes that we have. If there's one thing that registered to me, that would be chewing the luscious raspberries.

 

But then, that was just one item from the huge and new variety they offer. Mentoré is a coffee shop + bar, so they house a lot of brewed/blended coffee and food items that are not offered in some other UCC shops. Plus, there's a mini golf putting area. There was no one playing though at that time. I think you only need to purchase a required amount to play. More reasons to give a second visit and try their house blends.

 

Mentoré by UCC
2/F SM Aura Premier
26th St. cor. Carlos P. Garcia Ave.,
Taguig City

Pandora’s Winter Collection 2013

As mentioned on my post few months ago, Pandora landed on my top three birthday wish list. I'm still holding on to owning a charm bracelet in the future and what made it more exciting is to find out the winter collection they have in time for Christmas bonus! So to my generous gentlemen readers, do drop by at any Pandora stores and consider their jewellery as a surprise gift for your one and only. :-)

b
Christmas is the time for the things shiny – whether it’s the soft glisten of ornaments on the tree or the sparkle in children’s eyes when they see their first presents – there’s no denying the happiness these shining moments bring. And what better way is there to honor these moments other than to create a memory that will last for years to come?

Blogapalooza 2013 Event

Being a part of this event is such an honor. This blog, which was originally intended to be a personal blog, opened so many doors for me. Though I still want it to have a personal feel by posting my random thought bubbles, I'm humbled that my simple yet honest to goodness reviews fell into the category "most viewed". Please don't get me wrong, this newbie Mommy blogger is just happy because what I've written have somehow reached my intended readers. For that, I thank you all for supporting this blog.

Go Nuts Donuts: Celebrating 10 Years of Delicious Creations

 

Go Nuts Donuts celebrated its 10th anniversary in the business. To celebrate this milestone, latest products were launched such as the Anniversary Donuts, CroNuts, GND Spreads, and Twists & Brittle.

  

Being in the industry for ten years is definitely a tough journey. And to keep up in the market, they also introduced their CroNuts in 6 delicious flavors such as Sugar Coated, Chocolate Almond, Peaches and Cream, Strawberry Jam, Apple Cinnamon and Blueberry Cream Cheese. I'm telling you, they're huge cronuts and very filling! I personally loved the Chocolate Almond, yummiest til the very last bite!

 

Truly a melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece. Served with love, delivered with satisfaction.

 

Ten new donut flavors were also introduced: Strawberry Sunshine, Green Tea, Peanut Butter Caramel, Chocolate Mint, Hazelnut Crunch, Mocha Lite, Smores, Sea Salt Caramel, White Chocolate Claze Lite and Lemon Curd. 

 

S'mores and Green Tea were my top two favorites! With the right amount of sweetness and distinct taste, I'm sure this will be a hit to consumers.

 

And since there is an ongoing craze on chocolate and peanut butter spreads, Go Nuts Donuts also innovated the GND Spreads. They have Cookie Butter Creamy, Cookie Butter Crunchy, Choco Cookie Butter Creamy, Choco Cookie Butter Crunchy and Choco Hazelnut. A spoonful of goodness will take us back to childhood!

 

Sugar Twists and Brownie Brittle

 

In line with the celebration, Go Nuts Donuts will rollback their prices from how much they were ten years ago. That's Php15 each from Novermber 8 - 17, 2013.
There will also be daily raffle prizes to be given away. Social media fans of Go Nuts Donuts will get a chance to win prizes from Bioessence, Dermcare, Calayan Secrets, Enchanted Kingdom, Manila Ocean Park, Bangs by Tony and Jackey, Nail Spa, Posh Nails, Simmian Manila and David's Salon!
All you need to do is to participate in their #TwitterTuesday, #WackyWednesdays, #ThrowbackThursdays, and #FacebookFridays promos!

For more details on #celebrating10yearsofdeliciouscreations, stay connected with Go Nuts Donuts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Also on November 18, all profits from their sales will go to the victims of typhoon Yolanda.