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!

********************
I welcome your thoughts on this post and will try my best to reply on your questions. 
Please feel free to share if you enjoyed reading!
For frequent updates:
Like OneGutsyMom on Facebook
Follow @Onegutsymom on Instagram and Twitter

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.


********************
I welcome your thoughts on this post and will try my best to reply on your questions. Please feel free to share if you enjoyed reading!
For frequent updates:
Like OneGutsyMom on Facebook
Follow @Onegutsymom on Instagram and Twitter