Saturday Errands and Dates

I almost never go out during Saturdays, or any weekday for that matter, because I'm always home, working. Very exciting, I know. But last Saturday was an exception because I scheduled different errands during it. Since two of the errands involve banks, I didn't have any choice but to go out on Saturday. So I also set the other appointments on the same day.

I realized I don't have a selfie with Yuri! That's because we were in a hurry na that morning. But I did take some selfies when I got home that night (not that it matters but I'm showing them anyway):

Striped shirt from the loot from Left to Vary, Forever 21 jeans, bib necklace from Mama

I am so into striped shirts these days. Can you tell me where to buy affordable striped and Breton shirts? Pretty please? I'm also very into bib necklaces. Lakas maka-donya.

Bank Appointments

First, we had to go to Robinsons bank to open an account. While waiting for mother afterward, Yuri and I went inside Cybergate supermarket. The last time I've been there was when I was still in college. Anyway, nothing fancy, but Yuri and I ended up buying Panda biscuits and these:

I think this was around P60

P36, if I'm not mistaken

I've been curious about brownie crisps since 2013 pa yata but I don't see any brands sold here. Imagine my surprise to see a pan of them made by who else but Cream-O. We (they) ate the Brownie crisps yesterday, and in fairness, they're yummy.

We tried the yogurt snack this morning and I like how it is not overly sweet. In fact, it just tastes like yogurt and fruit. And it has no preservatives! The cups were very small though haha.

Next, we were off to BPI at Abreeza. Mother needed to deposit some money while I was there to claim a new credit card. I'm so excited to show it to you! I will make a separate post for it.

We actually waited for more than 2 hours at BPI: we went in before 1 and got called at almost 3. Then when I came to the desk, my number was wrong pa pala! Naku, nagmakaawa na ako and said my son and I (and mother, by extension) haven't eaten lunch yet. I'm glad to inform you that BPI employees are sympathetic so I got entertained and didn't have to fall in line again.

Shopping - sort of

Trying Out Sunburst Fried Chicken at Abreeza

Yesterday, I took a quick look at my blog drafts folder (which contains photos, not actual drafts - who else does that?) and challenged myself to post all of them before the year ends.

So let's begin with another restaurant post, this time, featuring Sunburst Fried Chicken, Abreeza.

I have only one memory of eating Sunburst chicken, and that was when I was still working in the office. Our boss arrived from Manila, wanting to try Sunburst again. So she went to a branch in downtown Davao and brought back a box of yummy chicken for our midnight lunch (nighshift life).

And after 4 years, I was finally able to try Sunburst again a couple of weeks ago!

We were in Abreeza, looking for somewhere to eat, when we spotted a banner saying that Sunburst Fried Chicken had just opened, and since the elders love it, we decided to eat lunch there.

Here are some photos of the place:

An Afternoon at Cafe Annabelle's

Credits to Christine Mata

I've been noticing Cafe Annabelle's for a while now. It's this quaint and dainty cafe right in front of Ayala Abreeza mall's Robinsons grocery; it's hard to miss it in its pink and white glory!

I'm not sure when it opened exactly since I rarely grocery-shop at Abreeza, but the first time I saw the cafe, I knew I had to try it sometime! You know naman, anything cute and pretty with food thrown into the mix piques my curiosity. :-)

Finally, I was able to try Cafe Annabelle's last Sunday with my super-friends.

Read my review of Cafe Annabelle's here.

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Catching up and Chikahan with College Friends

 Photo from Christine's camera

I was finally able to get together with some of my college friends yesterday! All of us are mostly based in Davao lang naman, but we never see each other - ever. Davao City might have a "small town" feel but I realize it's really huge because I rarely bump into my friends. The last time I saw them was March 2010!

Many say na para matuloy ang lakad, it should be unplanned. And I agree - it works, but only for people who are single. Diba? For moms like me, we need to know the schedule way abead of time so that we can plan around it. Or is it just me?

Knowing this, last month, my old roommate Hazel, and I gathered our Davao-based "superfriends" - JM,  Christine and George - for a long-overdue reunion. After postponements and various venue changes, we finally had a catching up and chikahan session yesterday.

Photo from Christine's camera

I suggested Annabelle's Cafe in Abreeza Mall for three reasons: first, it's inside a mall so we won't have to worry about possible rain, second, the place is really pretty, and third, there's a play area right inside the cafe. Perfect!

I'll be reviewing the place and the food in another post; today, I'll talk about realizations (silly and not silly) muna. Here they are:

1. I'm seriously getting fat again.

My Expo Mom 2014 Fun Finds

I try my best to be a wise shopper. If I pass by a clothing store sale, I can easily ignore it. Promise.

But I have two shopping weaknesses: food and kid's stuff. Biglang bumababa ang financial IQ ko jan. So when I received an email last week about Expo Mom coming to Davao, I knew I had to mentally prepare myself to practice restraint. Haha!

Looking back, it was a good thing that there weren't too many booths so it was not so overwhelming. Because of that, I was able to examine all products and decide 3x whether I absolutely needed to buy them or not. Which was not hard because I came with a checklist!

Yes, ako na ang prepared. Anyway, I promised to talk about my finds today so here they are:

1. Kiele Anti-Mosquito Cologne

Upon entering the expo, I made a beeline to Kiele's booth for two reasons. First, our last bottle of GIGA insect repellent is almost gone, and second, I'm curious to use a good-smelling repellent. Relate?

A bottle costs P199

Verdict: Woah I didn't know a mosquito repellent could smell this nice! And the scent lasts long ha; in fact, you can use it as an actual perfume. As for its mosquito repelling power, I'm glad to report that Yuri hasn't gotten bites since he used it last Sunday. I'm definitely buying this again!

2. Human Heart Nature Loot

My Expo Mom 2014 Experience

I admit that I always get a little jealous whenever I read about events for moms and babies held in Manila. I do not live in Manila so obviously, this is a problem for me. That's why when I found out last week that Expo Mom's going to be in Davao City for the weekend, I knew I wouldn't miss it.

Of course, ako tong si "pasama," si I dragged Yuri and my sister to Abreeza. Here's what Yuri and I wore - super kaduper casual!

 Mango sweater, Old Navy shorts, SM Department Store sneakers, Fossil bag

Crib Couture shirt, forgot the brand of the shorts, Elle kicks

Yes, I am aware I look fat and lousy in that photo, but I like Yuri's expression so...

Anyway, upon arriving at the mall, we first spent around 30 minutes in National Bookstore. Of course. After finally paying for our purchase, we went na to Expo Mom bazaar.

The bazaar was actually quite sparse because there were not very many sellers there. However, any mom would surely end up buying several items because the lack in number made up for the quality of items. No, this is not sponsored. I just really like how the stores cater to the needs of modern moms: from healthy food to organic products for the body to learning materials!

Kasalang Filipino 2014 in Davao

I've always been fascinated with weddings. I seriously don't know any girl who isn't! Like many girls, I spent some hours daydreaming on what my wedding dress would look like, where I would get married (a garden!), which of my friend would be there, and of course, what my groom would look like. I kinda know most of the answers already, but I'm still waiting for that day to come! :D

So when I found out that a big wedding expo would come to the city , you bet I was interested! You see, I recently found out that it's Davao City's turn to host the Kasalang Filipino expo, which will be this weekend (July 25-27) at Abreeza Mall. To learn more about this expo, please read the press release below:

Davao’s turn has come.

After General Santos, Angeles City, and Subic have shown what they have got to be in the list of most wanted wedding destinations in the Philippines, it is now Davao’s turn to amaze everyone and showcase its local wedding industry through the fourth leg of the nationwide wedding and tourism fair roadshow—Kasalang Filipino sa Davao 2014.

Meetup with Friends + Abreeza Organic Fair

Hi, it's throwback Thursday!

Hehe actually that's just my excuse for writing a post that should have been written, like, 2 weeks ago. Oh well what's new?

So a couple of weeks ago, my long-distance best friend, Teena, came home from Manila. The funny part was that she only spent hours here in Davao City. She arrived early in the morning and she had to leave by afternoon. Nakakaloka!

George and I, of course, tried to fit ourselves into her packed schedule. But since George has work (and I do not? I have work, too! Hehe), what happened is that George and I (and Yuri and my sister) had lunch first and Teena and I met later after George had gone back to her office.

When Teena finally arrived, I just finished off my lunch - and okay my sister's lunch, too - and we tried to explore the Organic Fair happening in Abreeza that day.

You might probably remember how I had tried to score locally made chocolates weeks prior but failed.

Fortunately, they were in Abreeza that day. Yay!

Here are some photos Teena took that day:

Yuri, me, and "Ninan Tina"

The Cold Sunday That Was

The weather has been restored to default now (I think), which is a bit balmy: not hot but not cold either. I honestly prefer the weather last week, which was very cold (at least for me!), but I wouldn't want places flooding, so this weather would work, too.

Weather last week (the entire week)

I mean, who doesn't like bed weather? Not me! (I'm blessed I get to enjoy that kind of weather by being able to stay home all day.) But this morning, I awoke to a bright sky. Suddenly, it doesn't seem legal to wear sweatpants anymore!

Anyway, what was I up to last weekend? Not that it has been very interesting hehe, but that's the only day I'm out of the house so... You know what I mean. Heehee. Sunday was still very cold and rainy, and we were all in jackets so I didn't bother to take OOTD photos. Wala namang makikita eh! Hehehe. Even little Yuri was wearing his St. Patrick jacket, so walang kwenta ang OOTD shot. :P

Plus, I was not able to take a lot of photos since I intentionally left the camera home (what is it with rainy days and laziness?!). In fact, this was the only "OOTD" shot that I have:

See? Yuri is balot na balot. And in the last minute, I exchanged the denim bolero for a long-sleeved cardigan because I was too cold!

Meanwhile, instead of SM Lanang, we went to Abreeza this week. You see, Yuri had a "poop emergency" in church, and the nearest mall with a decent changing station was Abreeza. Yuri never does well with changing diapers in places other than the comfort room, so with the rare occasions that he does poop in public, we really have to go to a comfort room with a changing station. Luckily, church was just in front of Abreeza Mall, which has a great family lounge with good comfort rooms.

Honestly, I love SM, but when it comes to private comfort rooms, I prefer Abreeza's. Please forgive the bad photos taken by my phone hee hee.

The photos don't do justice to the comfort room in the family lounge at all. Someday, I might take a decent photo using an actual camera. You do have to pay a small fee to use the comfort room, but it's worth it.

After that, we ate lunch in Jollibee (because I still have some coupons left hehe). It was a rather stressful experience because of the number of people there and the lack of facilities (read: high chair). The highlight of our stressful day was this:

You see, in the atrium of the mall, there is a Timezone for little kids. As in it looks like a mini peryahan. There was even an indoor playground for little kids where they could play for free, but it's always so crowded. Maybe when Yuri gets a bit older, I'll take him there on a weekday. Meanwhile, Yuri has set his eyes on the rides that go around the mall's atrium.

Suffice to say, it's not just Yuri that had a lot of fun that day!

My turn! I always say that I'm an old soul but I have a very young heart!

We finally bade goodbye to the animal rides and off to the grocery we went. And that's officially how my Sunday went. How did yours go? I hope it was uneventful, too!

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Sunday Fun-and-Fab Finds: On Feeding Stuff, Board Books, and Lang Leav

Hi! How was your weekend? Mine got unintentionally extended through Monday because our yaya announced at the last minute that she's going home yesterday for her birthday. Ooookay. Good thing my job has a flexible schedule.

Anyway, I feel like it's Monday now. Yesterday, I posted a pre-drafted post about my our plans for Yuri's preschool. Today, let me tell you how my real weekend (read: Sunday) went. My sister's birthday was last Saturday (yes, my mother's and my sister's birthdays are exactly 1 week apart, and because we had birthday dinner last Saturday, we went for a simple birthday lunch last Sunday). I have several fun-and-fab finds! First, here's Yuri's simple OOTD!

Oh no, I forgot the shirt's brand, and I'm too lazy to go upstairs to look at it!

Pants - Baby Mossimo

Suspenders - SM Department Store

Shoes - Children's Place

Aaaand here's an outtake. The little boy can't resist getting his shoes! He wants to wear them na!

It's also getting more and more difficult to take Yuri's picture. He's always a blur!

And here's what I wore. Nothing special!

The acrobatics that I have to deal with every single day!

Job: What do you want for Christmas?

Me: A tummy tuck.

Little gentleman in suspenders

Don't be fooled with this photo. He was still for only about a nanosecond!

After church, we ate lunch in Abreeza, and we met Jollibee again!

Look at the pure delight on Yuri's face!

And Yuri test-drove cars, too.

This looks okaaay.

Hmmm. *thinking deeply*

Oh. Sino ka?! Charot. We're making friends here.

And Yuri test-drives another car. This time, it's an open Jeep.

This is good, too. Oh decisions, decisions.

We went to SM Lanang Premier afterward and saw the Davao Collective Gourmet again.

Moonwalk Sunday

It's been ages since I've been out on a Sunday! Blame it on how my parents are often out of town these days (they'll be in Samal this Sunday!). You know how I look forward to Sundays! First, it's church time. Second, it's my self-imposed only dayoff of the week. Third, I just love family days! Fourth, I also love shopping malling. Good thing we were able to go out last Sunday!

This is a late post, I know.

But first, OOTD! :-)

The little boy lounges in the couch; he isn't wearing socks or shoes yet!

Tuxedo romper: Doomagic
(He actually wore this during his baptism.)

Trying to walk outside the house

Dress: SM Department Store
(I saw this exact same dress in aionlineshop.com for half the price! Not fair! :D)

Dress: Forever 21
Shoes: Parisian

After church, we went to Abreeza, which is just across the street. Why, you might ask? Well, they have a great grocery deal there. One pack of generic oats comes with one pack of Milo, for free! For both oats and Milo, you only get to pay around P50.

Segue: We are greedy Milo drinkers. We use up one pack after the other, so this buy one-take one deal is superb! Suffice to say, we hoarded. Teehee.

But before entering the mall, we "touristed" up when we saw these attractions outside:

A playground from Allegro's icecream. One cone of icecream allows you to use the slide for 5 minutes. We just took photos.

We also found this cute DAVAO display on the grounds. Of course, we had to take pictures.

I think they're just for the Araw ng Dabaw celebrations last week, but I hope they don't take it down! :-)

The elders and the baby stayed in the shade of course. That's Gonuts Donuts and Breadtalk behind.

After hoarding our oats and Milo packs, we went to SM Lanang Premier (duh). We were just walking along the aisles of the baby department store when a saleslady enticed us to buy this:

A Moonwalk harness!

We bought it immediately because when the saleslady tried Y in it, he walked and ran like mad. He liked it! Also, I love that I don't have to stoop down whenever I have to assist him walking. Plus it's so comfortable for Y because it's almost purely cloth. No hard contraptions except for the plastic snaps, which don't really come into contact with the bebe.

Y doesn't like to be seated in the stroller, and when we force him in, it usually results to tantrums and bad moods. But we let him walk whole day, via the Moonwalk harness, and he stayed happy! Happy baby = happy mommy. Whew!

Aside from the Moonwalk harness, we also have a couple of other great finds, which I will write about in the next days. :-)

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