Category: Celebrations

Hermès

My First Hermès Was an Unexpected Mother’s Day Gift

1 Comment

By the time we left Dior that Mother’s Day weekend, I honestly thought our luxury-shopping adventure was over.

We had already gone to Tiffany & Co., where I found the Return to Tiffany necklace that reminded me of Baby Lux.

We had gone to Louis Vuitton, where Hanz surprised me by buying the bag I had dreamed about for years… and made me cry because, for once, I wasn’t the one making my own dream come true.

Then we went to Dior, where I found the ring that felt like the missing companion to my Tiffany necklace. One piece carried Tiffany’s name. The other carried Dior’s. Together, they became tangible reminders of Chanel Tiffany Dior >>> our Baby Lux.

Emotionally, that was already more than enough for one day.

Financially, it was definitely more than enough for one day. 😂

But apparently, the day still had one more orange box waiting for me…

Continue reading →
Dior Shopping

I Thought I Was Shopping at Dior. I Was Really Looking for Baby Lux.

1 Comment

Before We Continue…

So much has happened since my last blog post.

Almost every day for the past two months, I’ve thought about sitting down to write the next chapter of this series. I knew exactly what came next. Dior. Then Hermés. Then the unboxing posts. Then eventually the story of going back to Tiffany and Dior for a second time.

But life happened.

Not in a bad way. Just… life.

I’ve been slowly settling into a different rhythm these past couple of months. Quieter mornings. More walks along the beach. More time tending my little herb garden. More time with Hanz and Tuz. Less rushing. Less chasing. More noticing. This slower rhythm feels strangely familiar, as though I’ve finally found the life I’ve been trying to build all along.

And somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t becoming someone new. I was simply returning to someone I’d always been.

For years, I believed that the way to build a good life was to work harder, earn more, achieve more. That season gave me so much, and I’m grateful for it. But these days, I’m finding just as much joy harvesting herbs from the garden, making nourishing drinks in my own kitchen, watching the sunrise, or spending an afternoon with the people I love… basically living a slow kind of life.

Ironically, slowing down has also brought me back to something else I’ve missed for a long time…. writing. More so, blogging.

So before I begin sharing this renewed season of my life, I want to finish telling this one.

Many of you have been following this unexpected journey that started with a Mother’s Day blog post. On the surface, it might look like a series about Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hermès.

But if you’ve been here from the beginning, you already know it was never really about luxury.

It was about love.

It was about grief.

It was about Baby Lux.

These pieces became symbols of a daughter we never got to meet but will always love. They became tangible reminders that love doesn’t disappear just because someone is no longer physically here.

So today, I’m picking up right where I left off.

This is the continuation of a story I wasn’t quite ready to finish two months ago.

This is the continuation of my luxury experience last Mother’s Day…

But before we go any further, I want you to see what the day actually looked like. I put together a short video of our very first Dior boutique experience… from the warm welcome and the champagne to the chocolates, the laughter, and the moment we finally found the ring.

If you watch only the video, you’ll probably think this was simply a story about a family enjoying a beautiful afternoon at Dior. And you’d be right. But only partly. Because what you can’t see in the video is everything that was happening inside me. That’s the story I want to tell you here…

Continue reading →
LV shopping

Why I Cried When My Husband Bought Me a Louis Vuitton Bag

2 Comments

A Story I’ve Been Meaning to Tell

A few days ago, I wrote about how I haven’t been posting much lately even though social media is always at the back of my mind. It’s not because I don’t have stories to tell. If anything, I have too many stories I want to tell. The Louis Vuitton experience, the Dior experience, the Hermès experience, Mövenpick, Hong Kong Disneyland, and all our other travels and little life adventures are still waiting for me to sit down and write about them properly. The stories are there. The words are there. But lately, I feel like I only have enough energy for a little bit of me-time during the first few hours of my day. After that, it’s VA work, Oslob New Village work, emails, staff concerns, payroll, guests, bookings, and all the other things that come with adulting and running a life that is full, beautiful, tiring, and sometimes very overwhelming.

Continue reading →
Tiffany & Co.

My Very First Breakfast at Tiffany’s

3 Comments

A probinsyana girl, a gold heart, grief, privilege, poverty, and learning that love can exist beside healing.

Standing Outside Tiffany

There’s a part in the video where I was still standing outside the Tiffany & Co. store, zooming in on the Tiffany sign from afar before finally walking in. And honestly? My heart was beating so fast it was almost embarrassing. 😂

Because imagine this.

I’m just a probinsyana girl from the Philippines who grew up seeing places like Tiffany only in movies. Especially in Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn. Tiffany always felt so glamorous. So sosyal. So untouchable. One of those places that subconsciously felt like it belonged to another world. Another kind of woman. Another kind of life.

And then suddenly there I was.

Standing right outside an actual Tiffany & Co. store with Dada Hanz and Tuz beside me, about to walk in.

Continue reading →
Luxury Shops at Nustar Cebu

I Thought I Wanted Luxury. What I Really Wanted Was Safety [A Mother’s Day Post]

4 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there. 🌷

Today felt different for me.

Not because of the luxury bags.
Not because of Tiffany, Dior, Louis Vuitton, or Hermès.
Not because of flowers, jewelry, or beautiful stores.

But because for the first time in a very long time… I allowed myself to feel taken care of…

Continue reading →
The Waiting, the Wanting, the Yes

Pregnancy & Perimenopause Diary Series: The Waiting, the Wanting, the Yes

8 Comments

This is what happened next…

Today was quieter than yesterday.
Not calm exactly… but softer.

At around 3 p.m., Hanz and I went to the diagnostic center for the blood test. The one that would say, clearly and officially, whether this pregnancy was real or not. We waited, did what we had to do, and then decided not to hover. We went to a nearby restaurant for my first meal of the day.

It was a nice moment. Ordinary in the best way. Good food. Sitting across from my husband. Life continuing while something very big hovered in the background.

Continue reading →
woman overlooking island sunset

Closing January, Welcoming February (Again)

2 Comments

It’s February 1 today.

And instead of planning this post properly, I ended up rereading something I wrote a year ago — “February: The Month I Finally Choose Me.”

I didn’t mean to analyze it. I just wanted to remember how I was feeling back then.

Short answer: tired. Even a little defiant.
Hopeful, yes. But very, very tired.

What struck me most was the list I made.

On one hand, I listed all the things that were working — businesses moving forward, improvements at Oslob New Village, new VA clients, better communication in our marriage. At the time, I acknowledged those wins but somehow still felt like I was falling behind.

Continue reading →
MomTraNeur

The Quiet Wins of My First Week of January 2026 (A MomTraNeur reflection)

1 Comment

A quick note before you read:

I wrote this reflection during the first week of January, when things felt clear, grounded, and quietly victorious. I planned to publish it then… but life continued to unfold.

The days that followed were full. There was HR work for Oslob New Village. Tasks included hiring and screening, as well as managing payroll systems. Compliance was also addressed. Additionally, there was the invisible weight of holding a growing business and a family at the same time.

Sleep became irregular. Regulation became a daily practice again.

I’m sharing this now from Bohol. I arrived on January 18. I am slowing my nervous system down and allowing myself to rest. The wins still matter. And so does the honesty about what came after.

This post isn’t about perfection.
It’s about continuity.

Here’s a little glimpse of our arrival in Bohol before we dive back to the first week of January….

Continue reading →
sad October

When October Doesn’t Feel Like October

1 Comment

Last month, I was in such a different place.

September felt hopeful. I had just celebrated reaching my financial goal way ahead of schedule — in August, no less! 🥂 I remember feeling proud, grateful, and full of energy. I even wrote about my excitement to finally start doing things differently. I wanted to create from a place of joy. I aimed to explore projects that truly spark something in me.

I thought October would be the month I’d ride that wave of momentum.

But here I am… and it doesn’t feel that way at all.

Continue reading →
choosing me

February: The Month I Finally Choose Me

3 Comments

February has always been a special month for me—not just because it’s my birth month, but because it’s a time when I reflect on where I am in life, what I’ve given, what I’ve lost, and what I still need to do for myself. This year, as I turn 47, I am making a conscious decision: I am focusing on me.

For as long as I can remember, I have been generous to a fault. I give—sometimes more than I should. I sacrifice my wants, my needs, my dreams for the people I love. It’s in my nature. But over the years, I’ve learned, through painful lessons and small victories, that boundaries matter. I’ve learned to say no. I’ve learned to delete toxic people from my life. Yet, I still find myself putting others first too often. And the truth is, I haven’t done enough for myself.

Continue reading →

2024 LOOK BACK: A Year of Growth, Celebration, and Dreams Taking Shape

1 Comment

As the clock ticks closer to the end of 2024, I can’t help but reflect on what an incredible year it has been for our family. This year wasn’t just about celebrations; it was about growth, stepping out of comfort zones, making bold moves, and seeing long-held dreams start to take shape. And so, as I sit down to reflect on 2024, I feel a mix of emotions. Though the latter part of December saw me struggling with a wave of depression, I now realize it was likely hormonal — my period suddenly arrived after a delay, which made me wonder if I might be entering perimenopause.

It wasn’t just hormones, though. My VA business has grown exponentially this year — I now have 12 clients! On top of that, I juggle multiple roles in our businesses: as co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer of our hotel, restaurant, café, and catering business, all while trying to keep up with the many business and personal development courses I’ve enrolled in. Somewhere along the way, I over-fatigued my already overloaded system.

Thankfully, I have my husband, Hanz, by my side. His unwavering support, his constant reminders to take breaks, and his effort to make sure my “love cup” is always filled to the brim helped me push through. Looking back at all that we’ve accomplished this year, the sadness has lifted. It’s been replaced by a deep sense of gratitude, hope, and joy for every big and small blessing that has come our way.

Here’s a month-by-month look back at the highlights of this unforgettable year. (Note to self: I hope to blog about each of these things in more detail this coming 2025…)

Continue reading →