I Wish You All Have Seen Allegiance Broadway

My husband and I happened to have tickets to Allegiance in one of those rare nights Lea Salonga was down with colds and couldn’t make it to the show.

There was a bit of confusion, even disappointment, upon receiving our Playbills and seeing someone else’s name under “Kei Kimura”, the charming and fierce female lead who was supposed to be played by Lea. After all, I’m sure many of us Filipinos went to see Allegiance because of her. I saw many of our kababayans gathered in the lobby of the Longacre Theater before the show, whispering to each other about Lea’s absence.

But the show must go on and the disappointment immediately disappeared soon as Elena Wang, Lea’s understudy, took Kei’s spot on stage with remarkable confidence and grace, nailing it one scene after another. I was curious to see how she would handle “Higher“, a song that was composed especially for Lea, but oh my wow, Elena totally killed it and won me over.

She didn’t just “fill in” for Lea. She totally owned the role, and it made me happy to have witnessed just that.  Continue reading “I Wish You All Have Seen Allegiance Broadway”

Cocoon Boutique Hotel for our 4th Year Anniversary

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This post might contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

Our fourth wedding anniversary celebration was our first night away from the girls since they were born. Now that I think about it, I don’t know why we waited this long! It’s not like the girls wouldn’t let us go—my Mom, who spent the night with them, reported that they didn’t even notice we were gone.

I realized that it’s mostly us (fine, me), and not the girls, who couldn’t get over the idea of spending one single night away, worried about what might happen, like, what if they looked for their Mommy and Daddy while we were away right? (Apparently NOT!)

Just us two

It’s funny how much thought went into planning this one-night getaway, to think we never even left our neighborhood! I realized that this decision-making exercise was a good reminder to us that as husband and wife, no matter how important the children are, marriage still ranks higher than parenthood in our list of priorities. 

Spending extended quality time with each other is a necessary investment, not just for our relationship’s sake, but also for the kids—they are, after all, the recipients of our overflow of love for each other. 

So off to our 4th wedding anniversary getaway we go, and thankfully, there’s a place we’ve always wanted to check out that is very close to our home.

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Photographs from my phone’s camera, we didn’t bother bringing a big camera!

Cocoon Boutique Hotel

Hotel service and amenities

The Cocoon Boutique Hotel is as quaint as can be, something you’ll never expect to find in the chaos that is Quezon City. We’ve always eyed this place, having “toured” it the first time when we were helping a friend look for a hotel for their wedding. The interiors are thoughtfully decorated and carefully maintained, even the hallways smell good. :) The staff are very well trained and we felt treated like we were in a 5-star hotel!

Rooftop pool

We spent a few hours of the afternoon in the rooftop pool—my husband taking laps and me reading a book, later on joining him in the pool myself. D is a really good swimmer, and every time we look for a place to stay in, we always make sure to inquire about the pool. Cocoon’s swimming pool is not that big, only about 4 feet deep, with a small pool area for kids. It gets crowded easily, but we were delighted to have it all to ourselves while we were there. At night the pool lights up beautifully; in fact we planned to go back for a night swim, but with a nice little bath tub in our bedroom, we decided to just stay in.

Bath tub!

A deluxe room comes with a bath tub, something you won’t see in the usual hotels. Encased in a glass booth, you can either close down the blinds or pull it up so you can watch TV while in the tub. Such a treat!

Breakfast

The food is not bad at all, either. Once again, something you won’t really expect from a “small” hotel. We had our breakfast in the rooftop, al fresco style, with a generous buffet of salads, sandwiches, pastries, DIY omelette, and a selection of rice meals.

We definitely enjoyed our stay, and while we missed the kids, it was a much-needed time for both of us, to enjoy each other, a king-sized bed to ourselves, soft 600-threadcount sheets that didn’t smell like milk, and oh my goodness, a full 8 hours of sleep!

Every year is a milestone and therefore worth celebrating

Marriage is a lot of work. It takes a lot of work reconciling differences, attending to each other’s needs, planning your life around each other’s lives and your children’s lives, and making time for each other when 24 hours is barely enough for everything else that has to be done in a day. D and I have our share of misunderstandings and lack of time for each other, but being married to him is an undeserved favor and a great blessing in every way.

He makes me happy no doubt (and you know I don’t use the word “happy” lightly), he makes me want to become a better person, he inspires me to dream bigger dreams for our little family, he keeps me grounded and draws me ever closer to God.

Marriage may be a lot of work, but for every good thing that this marriage has added to my life, the effort to make this work is, unequivocally, worth it. In hindsight, working this out with D is, I must say, relatively easy. I couldn’t have asked for a more understanding and kind-hearted and good-smelling partner (that’s right, he smells really good, and trust me that makes a lot of difference, LOL!) and I couldn’t be more grateful to God that I get to do life with this guy.

Happy 4th anniversary, Dear David. Four years down, forever more to go. Let’s do this! :)


About the Cocoon Boutique Hotel

Cocoon Boutique Hotel takes pride in its its environment-friendly interiors and amenities. Complimentary water for guests, for example, are stored in sealed mason jars instead of plastic bottle containers. The interiors are constructed with reclaimed wood and recycled materials. The roof deck houses potted plants and organic herbs both for sale and for use in cooking the restaurant’s food. These, on top of the top-class service and unique amenities you won’t find anywhere else, Cocoon Boutique Hotel is definitely worth taking a trip to the north. :)

I suggest booking way ahead of time. Cocoon Hotel only has a handful of rooms, and reservations run out fast.

Location and contact details
61 Scout Tobias corner Scout Rallos Streets, Bgy Laging Handa, Quezon City 1103, Trunklines: 632- 9212706 to 08 / Fax Number: 632- 4137281 / www.thecocoonhotel.com

For best rates, book The Cocoon Hotel via Agoda.

Sofitel Manila Staycation with Kids

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This post may have affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

We couldn’t have booked a staycation at a worse time. The weather was horrible, a typhoon just entered the country, classes were suspended, and many parts of the metro were flooded.

We got ourselves booked at Sofitel a few weeks ago, long before weather forecasts showed signs of a typhoon. We looked forward to take a dip in the pool, enjoy the outdoors, maybe even watch the sunset by the Manila bay. None of these were possible during our stay, and yet somehow our Sofitel experience couldn’t have been better still. It was a bed weather kind of week anyway, and staying in is definitely a good idea inside Sofitel’s luxurious guest rooms and indoor facilities.

The story of my life—everything worked out together for good after all.  Continue reading “Sofitel Manila Staycation with Kids”

The Paradise that is Ephrathah Farms

Ephrathah Farms

Ephrathah Farms

Summer has long been over but we still keep looking back and reminiscing our time at Ephrathah Farms. Located in the quiet town of Badiangan, Iloilo, the farm has been there for a while, growing organic produce that are sold at SM Iloilo Supermarket.

With hectares of land and natural resources, it makes sense that the family who owns this piece of property would develop it and welcome others to enjoy this paradise; after all, you won’t really keep a place this beautiful to yourself would you? :)

And so early this year, the hotel and the resort were opened to the public; and in May, just as summer was about to end, we had the privilege of coming over to stay there for a couple of days.  Continue reading “The Paradise that is Ephrathah Farms”

Rainy days and Saturdays

I thought the sound of rain I was hearing a while ago was from RainyMood. Turned out it was really raining outside.

There was this particular rainy Saturday a few weeks ago when Lolo Tatay (from my husband’s side of the family) took us up for the twins’ first Tagaytay trip. I didn’t take a lot of photos, but here are some moments captured with our phone camera.

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We didn’t know we were going to Tagaytay that day, which explains why the twins were not dressed right for it. Thank God for their jackets, which we always bring with us wherever we go. For the first time, the effort of carrying those hoodies around finally paid off. The rain poured while we were on our way, and it continued to pour while we were having our lunch buffet and afternoon coffee at Taal Vista Hotel.

I don’t like the traffic, the inconvenience, and the floods that often come with rainy days. Not to mention the horrible news about people evacuating because of the floods. But I can’t deny it—I love days like this. I love the sound of rain (it inspires me to write, or do something creative), the cool breeze, the smell of rain, the sight of rain water on wet pavement.

And I love rainy days especially when they’re spent with family, a cup of coffee, and maybe a good book.

“Rain” is an illustration of blessing and abundance in the Bible. Back when we didn’t know we were going to have twin girls, in fact on that particular day we found out we were pregnant, we already knew that we were going to name our firstborn “Rain”.

I can continue listing down reasons why I love rainy days so much, but to make this post actionable, here are some unusual suggestions on how to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon:

Go on a roadtrip.

For real? For real! I suggest you don’t go too far, but go somewhere. If you’re in the south area, go ahead, go for Tagaytay. The point is, get out of the house. Note that this is applicable on rainy Saturdays only, and more specifically, not when there’s typhoon ha. Go on a roadtrip when most people would rather tuck themselves in and curl up in bed. Rainy Saturdays often mean empty establishments and less traffic.

Eat some ice cream.

I know the usual thing to do is to grab a cup of choco or a bowl of soup on a rainy day. But magnifying the cold by eating something cold works too. Back in New York, my husband loves eating ice cream on a winter day. Just for the thrill (and the chill) of it.

Get married!

Two of my friends had their garden weddings rained out. But the rain didn’t ruin their weddings, in fact, the unexpected rain made the experience even more romantic! So instead of planning your wedding to fall on a summer day, why not totally plan to have it during the rainy days. Take it from this girl who’s wedding got rained out. Rain could be the best thing that can happen on your special day. ;)

However you’re spending these rainy days, I hope you’re doing it with people you love. Have a great weekend! :)

Canyon Woods Batangas Baby Moon

From our anniversary weekend. Here’s more, just because we have tons of them. :)

The resort was huge, and we had it all to ourselves! Because the place was so huge (Have I said that yet? Oh yeah.), we had to take a shuttle to go around from our cabin to the clubhouse to wherever in the vicinity we want to go.

The clubhouse. We had meals at their empty lounge, with a beautiful view of pine trees and the sky. The food can be pricey in the lounge though, so we had one of our lunches in Tagaytay proper, more or less a 30 minute drive away.

The casitas. Although the rooms and the facilities are old and a little worn out, I think it adds to the rustic and country-feel ambiance that Canyon Woods is all about.

And I just looove the floor-to-ceiling glass doors/windows!

The indoor pool. The highlight of our stay has got to be the indoor pool, which we had all to ourselves! They turn on the heater only in the weekends though, so if you’re planning to come here for the indoor pool, definitely schedule your trip on a weekend.

Say hello to my huge belly, at 26 weeks. :)

I think swimming really did me well, especially for my muscle cramps and back pains. 

The outdoor pool. It was pretty much ours during our stay, too. Although it wasn’t heated, the sunshine on our backs evened out the cold water, which made our outdoor swim a really nice experience as well.

Canyon Woods is always mistaken to be in Tagaytay, but it’s basically in Batangas already. We love it and we definitely recommend it! Like I said, we seemed to be like the only guests at the time, but they’re not under-staffed and we were taken care of really well.

A tip: Best if you go there with coupon deals, we got ours from Cashcashpinoy. ;)

I’d love to come back soon, but my tummy is getting bigger and bigger, and we’re getting closer and closer to our due date. I guess this is my last trip, at least for now.