Ambivalent about Christmas

I’m having mixed emotions about Christmas.  Don’t judge yet.  It’s not about religion whatsoever.  I’m just torn between being happy and sad during this season. 

First, whenever I see Christmas lights and decors, I feel happy.  It’s like the child in me has awakened.  However, I feel nostalgic.  Feeling like a child for me might also means remembering my childhood days.  The large portion of childhood memories includes your parents and grandparents in it.  That’s the time I will remember my late dad and grandmom and become sad.  Realizing my mom has aged a lot saddened me as well.

Malinamnam (Tasty) Meal at Manam

It's Christmas time already and you can't skip the week or weekend perhaps without visiting malls to shop or look for gifts.  However, going to malls is indeed tiring and makes one hungry as well.  And the hardest part is answering the question "where to eat" which we often hear not only inside malls with family but also during meet ups with friends or relatives or before lunch breaks and after office dinner.  Since I'm a blogger, I'm the one who always, I mean sometimes decide where to eat whenever with family or friends.  I usually choose a restaurant which I never tried or dined before.  So, what's I'm sharing you here is my first time eating at Manam restaurant in SM Mall of Asia together with family.  A friend recommended this actually.    

Manam is a Filipino restaurant under The Moment Group.  It offers Filipino comfort foods with four branches to date, i.e., Fort, Greenbelt 2, SM Mall of Asia, and Ayala Fairview Terraces.

Unboxing Mercury Drug My Write Life 2018 (Suki Daybook)

If you can't see the video, please click here.

I'm actually obsessed with planners.  Mercury Drug 2018 Suki Daybook is now available for redeem at any Mercury Drug stores, so I got one.  All I need is to present my Mercury Drug Suki Card or Customer Value Card and only 30 points are needed to redeem.

In Pursuit of Happiness: How to Guilt Free Spend and be Happy

When it comes to managing our finances, various articles and pages advise us to save first before we spend.  We distinguish needs from wants and rewarding ourselves become partly or totally out of the equation.  But with that in mind, the delaying gratification tactic is a tough waiting game.  YOLOs and majority of the millennials might disagree.  While the mainstream generation X will concur who believes that money can’t buy happiness.

Tree Top Adventure Baguio

Established only in 2010, Tree Top Adventure Baguio is one of the must see and experience places in Baguio.  This attraction is located in Camp John Hay.  The location itself is Baguio's most popular tourist destination.

There are two types of outdoor adventure here, slow pace and fast pace.  Since we traveled with a kid, we chose a slow paced ride, i.e., Canopy and Funicular ride.  For the complete list of rides and attractions and updated rates including packages, you may visit their website.  Link was also provided below this post.

A Posh Getaway at Anvaya Cove

After an extensive hiatus, this blogsite is now active and I’m so much excited to share photos of my travel including nice places I have been to.  In this post, I want to share my last year visit to Anvaya Cove in Morong, Bataan.  It was a once in a lifetime chance for a non-member like me to experience Anvaya Cove.  Thanks to my boss and her friend who is a member.  This Ayala Land Premier's leisure development is a place away but not very far from busy and noisy cities of Metro Manila where you can relax or spend quality time with friends and family in a luxurious or I may say classy way.

Allow me to share to you here what beauty Anvaya Cove Beach and Nature Club has to offer.

Reception area

Customer Lounge Experience at Toyota Bicutan

Having our car's periodic maintenance service while staying in this kind of lounge is also a relaxing way for me to bond with my family.  I pretty admit that I didn't really care how fast or long the waiting time whenever we were here.

The couch is comfortable to play, watch or read with your mobile phones.  You can order drinks and snacks at the counter.  They also have pasta, brewed coffee, fruit shakes, cakes, etc.

Spider House Boracay

There's another place in Boracay that's truly instagrammable, with breathtaking view of the sea.   It's Spider House Resort located in Diniwid which is at the far end after Station 1.  We strolled there early in the morning, though the place has the best sunset view according to other post that I have read.

Mr Holidays Hotel Boracay

Reading blogs for me is still a must thing to do before deciding where to stay on my next travel or before finally hitting the "book now" button in various online hotel platforms or apps.  There is a possibility that some or majority of the photos of chosen accommodation from online platforms or apps and hotel websites are no longer updated or sometimes deceiving.  That's why looking at photos from blogs can give us the true picture, a peek of what's inside with bonus details about its pros and cons.

Without further ado, I posted here several photos of M.R. Holidays Hotel where me and my husband stayed during our recent visit in Boracay.  It is a two star beachfront hotel located at Station 1, where the long and wider stretch of finest and whitest sands of Boracay are found.  Its four-storey building is situated between the two big and luxurious resorts/hotels namely, Discovery Shores and Ambassador in Paradise.

First Time in Boracay

I have been hearing Boracay more than a decade.  Its popularity never fades, and yet, though embarrassing, it was only this time of the year, last month to be exact I was able to travel and visit this famous island together with my husband.  However, I had no regrets whatsoever since this time, I mean unlike before where there were no internet, blogs, Facebook, or the social media as a whole, a DIY travel is now plausible and indeed effortless.  Also, you can now get cheap airfares which is unlikely during my time.  Sorry for comparing.  I am a mom that's why.  I never thought I would come to this age where I sounded like my parents when they were telling stories of the past, something like that.

Our two-way flights, Manila-Boracay (Caticlan) were booked five months before thru Cebu Pacific.  It was a promo, and I got our tickets around Php2,600 per person.  Not bad I think.  I remember my professor in Economics once told us the feeling you have when you are on a plane and someone beside you pays a much lower price than you and yet you get the same service and get to the same destination at the same time.  And because of that feeling I don't want to feel, I never or I won't book a plane ticket if not in promo, unless of course it's emergency.

Deluxe Room of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

While rummaging through my numerous stack of photos in my laptop, I found these pictures that I think are worth sharing especially for those who are planning to visit Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar located in Bagac, Bataan.  I booked through their website a deluxe room accommodation for me and my family for our summer getaway, just a few months ago.  Heritage walking tour, tramvia ride, jeepney ride within Las Casas area, use of beach area and swimming pool, set breakfast, and wifi were included in the accommodation.

Deluxe room has one queen sized bed, with individual toilet, bathtub, hot and cold shower, and small dining table.