Birthday Boy!

Ain't no birthday without a (cup)cake and candle :o)

Family & Love on February

The month of Valentine's...

Took my folks to Harbour View

Now, wasn't that sweet? An addition to the story of my life :o)

Delish! I didn't cook all that. Just the salad with feta cheese and tinapa pasta. 

Harbour Square

When we were kids, my parents used to take us to Manila Bay to get a whiff of sea air when we were sick. Manila Bay doesn't exactly smell of fresh sea air but it had to do. Being sickly for almost two weeks, we thought it would be a good idea to go.

The weather played along and set the mood. With the cool breeze we've been having lately, it was a nice walk. It wasn't a full moon but the bright lights from the surrounding buildings seemed to light up the perfectly calm and still water with its reflection. Beautiful!

My fur ball

Vodka's sleeping positions...

Matt's post birthday gift

(Meant to post this last month but was very busy. This was actually in November.)

Turning 7 years old is a huge deal. I was told that it’s similar to a debut for kids since it’s a milestone. We asked what kind of party he wanted to have but he wasn’t interested. He likes birthday parties, except for the balloons (terrified because he’s had bad experiences with balloons popping on his face). He wanted to go to Disney. Now isn’t that every kids’ dream? So off we went!!!

I always make sure that we have a checklist whenever we go out of town. What more going out of the country. We only had 2 weeks to prepare. Dennis and I are poor at planning things ahead because we just go wherever our feet take us. So, checklists are very important. To make sure that we didn’t bring too much (and leave plenty of room for shopping!), I listed down the clothes that Matt and I were going to where for 4 days. I was assuming it was going to be hot as it’s been a summery December, considering this is the “coldest” time of the year in the Philippines. It was so hot in Manila! With our messed up weather, I assumed it was going to be warm even if I was told it was going to be chilly. I wasn’t prepared at all. It was freezing! Worse, I thought the “cool” or stylish clothes I brought were fine. Was I wrong. Define stylish! People on the streets were so stylish that you’d think that there was runaway or something. All were in their branded bags, tall/ankle boots or heels and black stockings, scarves and thick coats. Most were in leather prints or just really dark colored outfit. And what I brought with me? Aside from my jeans, I brought my red jeans, floral pants, silver flats and nautical stripped shirts. Feeling summer? Imagine how I stood out. Well, at least if I got lost, Dennis would easily find me.

I truly enjoyed HK. Such a small country but so progressive. All spaces were maximized, yet they were still able to create parks and playgrounds, which I really appreciated. Spend more time outdoors instead of malls which tempt you to make unnecessary expenses. It was very clean and public transportation was efficient. No need to have a car, in my opinion. Public toilets everywhere (with running water, tissue papers and pretty clean). This might be common to many countries but not in the Philippines. I don’t mean to offend anyone but it’s the truth. Even the toilets in the malls don’t have tissues unless it’s the pay toilets. Pay P10 for a toilet with tissue paper. Pity. I mean, it’s the little things, you know. I guess all countries have their good and bad sides, right? What I missed, though, is customer service. This is something the Philippines can really boast about. Every Starbucks I went to was different and I missed our friendly and cheerful baristas, which we’ve all been used. Even just the small conversations. I tried to make small talks with the barista and asked if they also had the Starbucks planner promo thing and showed him the card where I had all the stickers. He wasn’t interested and seemed I was wasting his time. Hehehe!

Anyway, I super enjoyed our HK trip and hope to return. Matt loved Disney. Doesn’t everybody? He didn’t enjoy Ocean Park as much, though. I would have if Dennis and I were able to go on the rides but we couldn’t since Matt didn’t want to and we wanted to go together. It’s not like we could leave Matt on the bench to wait for us. Hehehe! No way!

Enjoy the pics!

Pinecrest Village

It's been almost five months since we went out of town, not including the day trip we made to Lipa. Doesn't count since it was short. Anyway, Dennis was going to attend a wedding at Tagaytay Highlands and Matt and I were glad to tag along, hang out while Dennis was out.

For almost forever, we've been staying at their family rest house and didn't need to rent a place. Now that they've closed down the place, we had no choice. We were lucky to get a place at the Highlands. No matter how many times we go to Tagaytay, the view will always take my breath away, but from where we stayed and waking up to the sight of the Taal lake and volcano, was definitely something else.

We stayed at the Pinecrest Village. I've only been to Europe once and this felt like Europe. The weather was very cool and windy. What caught my attention was the architecture and the different designs of apartments/condos. It reminded me of the small apartment we rented in Crimea, just near the Black Sea. Pinecrest Village didn't feel like we were in the Philippines. It's great to get out of the city every now and then, and experience a totally different place.

Well, good morning!

Can I possibly give up the city to live here? YES!

Dabos. This was our building. It was very scary at night because we were only 2 occupants and it was so quiet. The only sound that can be heard was the howling of the wind. That was very spooky.

So cozy!

Having his late night snack.

We originally wanted to stay here, at the Woodlands, but there were no vacancies. Perhaps next time.

If you're planning a trip to Tagaytay, staying at the Highlands is a must. A lot of activities to do inside without having to go out. Plus, not wise especially when it gets dark. The roads are very steep and have sharp turns. You might end up driving straight off the cliff. We wouldn't want that, would we? :o)

Anniversary Week

Dennis and I celebrated our 7th year anniversary just last month. We wanted to make a big deal out of it since in total, we've been together for 10 years. We were a couple for 3 years before we got married so we thought we'd do something special. I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband! He's been my stress ball, my bestfriend, partner in crime (hihihi!) and road trip companion. We're so opposite - Yin &Yang, yet, we make a wonderful team.
Top 5 things we love to do:

1. Eat!!! I honestly think we overspend just eating out :o(
2. Road trips
3. The beach
4. Movies
5. Going to live concerts

I was hoping that we'd have enough saved up to go back to El Nido, where we had our honeymoon (2 days in Miniloc and 3 days in Lagen).

Lagen - view from the dinning area

Lagen - view from our room

However, due to budget constraints, that didn't push through. But that's okay. Perhaps on our 10th year anniversary :o) Anyhow, we still accomplished the top 3 on our list:

1. We ate at Zucchini's . You'd think the serving was small but let me tell you, the meals were heavy due to the rich ingredients used. It was alright.

2 & 3. Road trip to the beach. We wanted to try Acuatico since we've heard so much about the place but it was fully booked till the 2nd week of June. It's already rainy season! Nevertheless, we discovered a new place along the Laiya area, Estrellas de Mendoza.

It was pretty nice. I loved the beach since the water was so warm. You'd think it came out from the hot spring. The water was shallow, even during high tide, so it was very good for Matt. The pool was also nice though we didn't spend that much time since we really preferred the beach.

view from our room

The food is really good and the prices werereasonable. Although, we didn't like the dinning area decor or set up. It didn't feel like a hotel and more like going to one of those Chinese restaurants. The rooms were very spacious and it has everything you need. Again, I had issues with the decor. The curtains looked horrid and didn't match with anything in the room. Sorry, I'm just really picky when it comes to such.

Other than that, the place is nice and we had a good time.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US! :o)