In case youāre already looking for a place to have your perfect Valentineās Date with your significant other, I thought of sharing here with you this instagrammable food place weāve already visited twice in the past few months. Itās one of the top restaurants in Cebu City which will give you that Parisian vibe. Aptly called La Vie Parisienne along 371 Gorordo Ave., we indeed felt transported back in time to the famous French city. And since we canāt yet go visit Paris right now, we figured, going somewhere that would make us feel weāre in my dream city is the next best thing to do.Ā
Continue readingTag: Cebu
Our Engagement Teaser Video
Mahal and I have been best friends since 2012, have been life partners since 2014, and have been formally engaged since April 24, 2022. Our lives have changed since then and with the hustle and bustle of running our businesses, homeschooling Tuz, and enjoying our lives to the fullest, itās just now that Iāve had the time to share this beautiful engagement teaser video with you. Between the two of us, I am the more open one⦠like my life has always been an open book to the public. But because I want to also respect Mahalās more introverted and private nature, Iāve slowly adopted this demeanor of his. I donāt immediately share now some stuff going on in our lives. But eventually, I do find a way to make them come out to the public⦠lol!
Weāve already watched this video a gazillion times and now weāre ready to share it with you guys. After all, our beach wedding is in 5 months and we really need to get things going.
By the way, this is just our post engagement video. It is not a pre-nup shoot yet so to speak. We just wanted to have a remembrance of how we got engaged and how lucky we are that two of the best photographers and videographers in Cebu City (in my opinion) were the ones who did this for us. They will also be the ones to do our Pre-Nup shoot this coming summer and we are so excited about it!
For now, enjoy our engagement teaser video.
Continue readingThoughts About Real Estate and Mortgages in These Trying Times
Hello, hello, hello!
Iāve been catching up on a TON of work since we got engaged!!! A lot of things have been going on in my personal life as well but Iām hoping to share more of our adventures real soon. And one of these adventures that Iād like to share here with you now is not just about travels that weāve been doing but more importantly, stuff that weāve been accomplishing to help fulfill those goals weāve set out for ourselves for this year and the next. I gave you some ideas before about how to reach your goals for 2022 and Iāve also shared with you some financial tools if your goal is a financial one.
So, this other adventure that I want to share here with you is also a bit related to finances. As you may know, Mahal and I are getting married next year and we are in the works of fulfilling our dream of having a beach wedding in Mactan, Cebu. Even if what we want is just an intimate one with only a few guests, it would still be considered as a big spend for us frugal folks so weāre doing everything we can to augment our income. We donāt want to spend so much on the wedding because we have a bigger fish to fry so to speak. Or shall I say āfishesā? Teehee.
And these āfishesā are:
Continue reading2021 Highlights: a Gratitude Post for the Year That Was
I saw this image quote on my social media feeds and it struck a chord in me. It says:
āThis January, start the year with an empty jar. Each week, add a note with a good thing that happened.
On New Yearās Eve, empty the jar and read about the amazing year you had.ā
Continue readingTyphoon Rai (Odette): Nightmare Before ChristmasĀ
Just when you had everything planned out for the remainder of the year ā your tasks, projects, finances, celebrations⦠the biggest typhoon of your life hit you ā metaphorically and literally.
We were minding our usual business⦠I was working and finishing my deadlines for the week and getting ready for client meetings. Mahal was busy with the resort. Everyone was working. Though we were getting news reports about an impending typhoon, upon checking, the eye of Typhoon Rai or locally known as Typhoon Odette wonāt be hitting us but instead, it will head straight to Cebu City which is 3-4 hours away from where we are. We had plans of doing our Christmas shopping there that weekend so we figured that we just had to reschedule. Plus, weāve already experienced so many kinds of weather conditions here that we became complacent. We felt confident that itās just another one of those storms. There could possibly be a brownout (electricity getting cut off) that will last for an hour or two, or at the most overnight, but that was it. We didnāt do any kind of preparation at all ā we didnāt save water; we didnāt charge our phones and electrical devices; we didnāt check if we still have enough gas; we didnāt buy supplies⦠nothing. It was as if it was just another day in our beach kind of life.
Continue reading5 Things You Can Do Instead of Social Media (Facebook Disabled My Account and I’m Thankful!)
Oh my goodness!
Itās going to be Christmas soon, then New Year, and I still havenāt blogged about the things Iāve always wanted to blog about (like the happiest Halloween we’ve ever had)! As usual, so many joyful and exciting things have happened and continue to happen in my life for which I am very much thankful! Iām living my dream beach life and each and every day I try my best to spend it as if it were my last but without sacrificing my health too much this time around (hence, I’m not forcing myself to stay awake and do more than what my 16 waking hours would permit) coz health is one thing that we really treasure the most these days plus, at this day and age, it could really be our last with Covid around and this endless pandemic!
Anyway, itās a blessing in disguise that Facebook disabled my account last Friday night just because I was posting photos of Mahal and Tuz in a five-star resort bathtub! They werenāt fully naked and I didnāt know bathtub photos were not allowed so I immediately deleted the post only to be disabled afterward. I canāt post, I canāt comment, I canāt react⦠and itās going to be for a week! Argh! Has this happened to you before? What did you do?
Continue readingENJOYING THE SARDINE RUN AT MOALBOAL, CEBU⦠A SCUBA DIVING ADVENTURE
Yey! Weāve now come to the 3rd part of our scuba diving adventure. Whew! It really took me a while, huh? So sorry about that. Aside from being so busy the past several weeks (which I told you about on my previous blog post), my mentalĀ and emotional health havenāt been so good the past couple of months. So whatever strength and joy I still have in me, I just divert them to my priorities which are my work, Tuz, and our family. Ā
Anyway, Iām so happy to be publishing another blog post today and I hope to do it more frequently (Daily perhaps? Before I start my day at work like now? Hihihi! ) Writing about anything and everything about my life continue to be cathartic for me especially during these uncertain times and Iām happy to share whatever I can with you, my dear readers. Thank you for always checking me out!
So again, letās dive in!
Continue readingDiscover Scuba Diving: DAY 2 at CEBU SEAVIEW DIVE RESORT in MOALBOAL
Oh hi there! I know itās been a while but I havenāt forgotten you. š Work has just been so overwhelming (I just recently got another new client so yay for me!) but I donāt want to complain considering that we are on the 2nd year of this Covid-19 pandemic. Having multiple work, being able to pay the bills, and being able to buy stuff we need and want at this time is very muchĀ a blessing so I canāt complain. I must not complain! How about you? I hope youāre all still doing okay wherever you are.Ā
Me, I would just like to give myself a little more pat on the back than usual because I also take care of our home (a.k.a. chores); I take care of Tuz and his home school activities; I take care of Mahal and his needs⦠Iām a superwoman! Lol! The important thing is we are all still fine, healthy, and thriving. Just recently, a few of our neighbors have died from Covid so we are just really thankful that we are all still okay. Thank you, God! Of course I am worried all the time which adds to my energy getting depleted a lot faster than usual that Iād resort to watching Netflix (currently addicted to Grace and Frankie) to relax and chill after work is done instead of blogging, vlogging, and finishing all those online courses I bought (which was my original plan but all this anxiety is getting me bogged down). So today, I am ending my inertia (of blogging laziness) by updating my blog and hopefully getting started with Marie Forleoās B-School (after I finish her book Everything is Figureoutable). Mondays and Tuesdays were supposed to be my blogging/vlogging days that got replaced by beach days. Yes, you can find us at Mahalās sisterās private beach every Monday and Tuesday, swimming, snorkeling and picnicking (and soon paddle boarding once I decide to buy a paddle board online). Saturdays and Sundays have become our chore days (laundry, doing groceries, cooking big batches of dishes for the whole week, Mahal doing his hobbies like bonsai-making, and me planting herb seeds and taking care of our little herb garden if Iām not playing with my guitar or reading. I also plan to add painting to my weekend repertoire). Then Monday-Tuesday weāre off to the beach, then Wednesday-Friday is where I focus on finishing my work deadlines. Itās a simple but good life (for me at least coz being productive and busy with so many different things makes me worry less). Iāll blog about our Oslob life once Iām done getting you updated with our scuba diving adventure.Ā
So letās dive in!Ā
Continue readingCebu SeaView Dive Resort Review: Day 1 of our Scuba Diving Adventure in Panagsama Beach, Moalboal
OMG! A scuba diving adventure! Finally! I’ve been urging Mahal to try scuba diving since he has been looking at posters when we were in Malapascua last May for Mother’s Day. He likes doing adventurous stuff like me. I’ve tried scuba diving a few times before in my 20s and 30s and after my last stint in Batangas more than 10 years ago, I didn’t dare scuba dive again because though I like going into adventures, my heart sometimes couldn’t take the suspense of it all due to my hypertension. So, I’m happy to just let Mahal do it this time while I take take pictures and videos of him. š
Anyway, before Mahal took his scuba diving lessons last month during Father’s Day, we first enjoyed the dive resort where we stayed — Cebu SeaView Dive Resort which is in Panagsama Beach in Moalboal, a place famous for the sardine run. I joined my diver friends back in 2010-2011 for a sardine run in Pescador Island, also in Moalboal and it has been fun! I wanted Mahal to experience it too and Tuz and I will just enjoy it from above by snorkeling. So that was the plan.
In the meantime, we enjoyed this little dive resort first off the coast of Panagsama, Moalboal in Southwestern Cebu.
Here’s our HONEST and DETAILED review about Cebu SeaView Dive Resort :
Continue readingHow We Transferred to Oslob, Cebu During the Pandemic
Hello Summer! Itās been a busy 2.5 months as we started our new beach life here in Oslob, Cebu and I promise, I will be catching up on my blog posts and vlogs until I get more current with whatās happening with us. I may still insert some throwback travel posts from the past since Iāve collected a ton all these years. But for now, here is a vlog on how our transfer from Cagayan de Oro (where we lived, half the time, the other half was in Claveria) from Sept. 1, 2017 to Jan. 7, 2021) to Oslob, Cebu happened, how we got quarantined for 14 days when we got here, and what we did while in quarantine (Jan. 9-22, 2021).Ā
For those who are considering transferring to their respective provinces in this time of the pandemic, you can check out this related blog post:
BOAT TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS DURING A PANDEMIC IN THE PHILIPPINES (FROM CAGAYAN DE ORO TOĀ CEBU
Continue readingBoat Travel Requirements During a Pandemic in the Philippines (From Cagayan de Oro to Cebu)
The first time we traveled during a pandemic was back in August and it was just within Cagayan de Oro City so the only documents that were required were barangay exit pass for our family, barangay clearance for me and Mahal, and health certificates for us three either from a doctor or the city health office certifying that we were in good health at that time. It was quite easy. This time around though, we were moving from Cagayan de Oro City in Northern Mindanao to Oslob, Cebu which is the southwestern part of Cebu Region. We traveled by land and then by boat from Cagayan de Oro port to Cebu port then traveled by land again for 3-4 hours outside of Cebu City.
The following documents were required of us (and I assume it would be the same for people traveling by boat between regions anywhere in the Philippines). Just keep in mind that once you have all these travel requirements, their validity will last for only 2 weeks. So you better have your travel itinerary ready and make sure you’re good to go!
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