Nuvali Day

Nuvali will now be a part of our lives. This is my brother's house, and since it's located down South, it seems impossible for him to live in it (for now). There are no concrete plans on wether he will migrate to Nuvali, but it's still a possibility.

Since he has a house there, we obviously have to come there once in a while. Rab and I enjoy long drives together and we enjoy coming to Nuvali because we can easily go to Tagaytay, or simply chill there. Nuvali is a lovely place. The Ayala malls and properties are a delight to stay at. That part of Laguna doesn't have much traffic, and I feel very very safe.

This particular house visit was a cut above the rest because Rodney and Ojela were there. I never imagined they'd agree to come, so I really enjoyed this day.

We left Manila at around 3AM to avoid the Manila traffic. We arrived in his village at around 7-8 in the morning, and then left for Solenad at around 9AM.

Conversations, food, laughter, and love - these made the tiring day very worth it. We got back to our house in Quezon City at around 6PM, and we were all dead tired. We all crashed in our living room. We all woke up around midnight and decided to have pares and sisig along Commonwealth. Unfortunately, I only have a few photos but to me, these are enough for me to remember this special day.

Seven Months Into 2018

I was feeling a bit emotional for the past few days and that's why I decided to open my blog, read my 2018 posts and remind me of how positive I was at the start of the year. After reading, I suddenly realized why I'm here on this platform - I'm here because of me. I'm here because I want to remember how I felt, how I was, or how I want to be. It just so happens that I get to share it with you too.

Fourth Time's A Charm

Upon my second visit to this wonderful country of Hong Kong, I told myself that this is a country I'd go back to over and over again. There's just nothing to hate. It doesn't require a visa, and air fare won't shoot up too high because it's not very far from the Philippines. Other than that, I will never get tired of their food. I love eating at Chinese restaurants here in the Philippines. There's no surprise that I enjoy everything I eat when I'm in Hong Kong.

Tyler's Cafe

Part of quite a long list of resolutions, I've decided to visit cafes I haven't. Home brewed coffee and Starbucks may still be my go-to coffee shop when heading somewhere, but I'll be searching for a new cafe to work at or stay the whole day.

I'm Not A Morning Person

Is there really such a thing? A morning person?

Keep On Improving

Just like most people, I want to have a list of things that I want to improve, change, or remove.

Over the past years, I know I have improved a lot. There are still a lot more to improve, and of course I wanna work on them the soonest. Change is constant, but it doesn't happen overnight. With this list I am creating for myself, I'm hoping I get to be reminded every once in a while.

With that, here's a list of shallow things I want to work on this year:

I want to take more pictures using my DSLR. Doing so, I hope I won't end up using my mirrorless camera less. I can picture short trips where I have both of them with me. Last year, the only time I used it was during New Year's Eve. Yes, I know, sayang. I want to use it more because I know it's a good camera and it can bring me back to the hobby I have not touched for a long time. I plan to have a 2018 Photo Book and I intend to put not only memories but also a bit of art.

I want to revive OPM. I know only a few new artists and that breaks my heart. Filipino musicians are good, and correct me if I'm wrong, more often than not, these artists are much more appreciated abroad. They're more appreciated by foreigners, not their kabayans. Admittedly, we have this impression that OPM is baduy. Some people would even say that if there are some Pinoy artists who do R&B, it's jologs and trying hard. I'm not a crowd, but I want to go back to appreciating OPM and be proud of it.

I want to learn how not to stress over the little things. I am not ashamed to admit that I am an overthinker. There are nights (like tonight) where I can't sleep just because there are too many things happening inside my head. Most of the time, I don't even know what they are. On the other hand, I get stressed so easily, I cry on the spot. I have had so much stress at work for the past few months and I just lost it. Whenever there is a problem, big or small, I don't have time to deliberate. I just..well, get mad, cry, or walk out. When Rab or my friends have finally placated me, that's the only time I approach the problem in the right manner. I don't want that anymore. I wanna learn how to differentiate the big and small things and I want to learn how to just let the small things go.

I want to finally accept the things I cannot change. This can be about friendship, work, relationship, family, anything under the sun. I am very sensitive and when it comes to people I used to be a

7 Days Into 2018

Every new year, do we really expect things to magically turn better? Or magically change?

Welcoming 2018

Happy New Year!

Twenty Seven at Twenty Seventeen

Wow, that was quick.

Girls Down South

My friend Nicole and I have been planning to go to the South since last year. Thankfully, I had to do do some things at my condo (in Makati) so we finally had the chance visit Sunnies Cafe.

Bohol, 2016 Pt. II

I'm probably a very annoying companion when you're traveling with me and there'd be a tourist guide saying boring things about history. Okay, so I'm not into history that much. What surprised me is that my boyfriend was listening intently and was actually enjoying the "lecture". I should have listened and made a pop quiz just to test him. Lol!

Bohol, 2016

These days, when I go somewhere, I always pray for good weather. God granted my request and blessed us with good weather throughout the trip.

Where Soul Meets Food

Soul Chefs is located at the prime area of Marikina, Lilac St. Coming from Quezon City, I didn't have a hard time finding the place especially with the help of Waze.

Marikina Food Trip Series IV

For the last part of our Marikina food escapade, we went to Fino Deli which is located at Marikina Heights. I was very happy that we had this restaurant last for the day because the ambience is different and has a really relaxing vibe. It's most likely because of the wine, but there's just more to it.

Marikina Food Trip Series III

Round 3: Street food from everywhere!
Please also watch our 360 video review on Urban Street here: Street Food from Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand ! Marikina Food Trip 360 Ep. 3

After eating two full meals, visiting Urban Street was quite refreshing because I knew we were going to be served light snacks. Upon entering the restaurant, I instantly wanted to take pictures of the whole place because the interior was just too pretty! The thing that got me was the fact that they chose to do different themes on the different walls and corners of the place. It was very artistic, you are gonna love it!

Marikina Food Trip Series II

For our second round of glorious food, we went to the food capital of Marikina which is Lilac.
Please also watch our 360 video review of Milieu here: Marikina Food Trip 360 Ep. 2 ! MILIEU URBAN COMFORT FOOD

Milieu is located at 70 Lilac St. and it's very easy to find! Just like any other establishment, customers would expect convenience in parking and this is what the owners did: provide parking.

Marikina Food Trip Series I

Of course, it goes without saying that I am into food. I was invited by my friend Mai to Marikina for a food trip, and who am I to say no to that?

Time to Breathe

As we all know, Batangas is just a few hours from Manila. If I'm not mistaken, I've been to 2-3 resorts in Batangas before, but none of them are as pretty as this one. Well, given the membership price, it should be this pretty.

South Korea

I decided to write a throwback Korea post because as I was reviewing my first entry, it left me with dismay. I was probably too excited to blog about it to the point that I was lost for words and was very conscious of posting too much photos in one entry. The result was a short, senseless entry with the photos on a slideshow from a third party application which I believe does not work anymore. So here I am, writing about a travel four years ago hoping I do it right this time.

Food: Xocolat

Xocolat has always been a place for me to chill at with my friends since college. I never outgrew my Xocolat addiction just because.