Birthday Plans

For my 32nd birthday, my husband and I are just planning to go up to Tagaytay with our daughter to celebrate. We're trying to cut back on expenses since this year is a big year for us with Zoe starting preschool and our condo getting turned over. 

A few weeks back, I booked a room at Taal Vista through Agoda but took advantage of their Buy Now Pay Later scheme wherein the total hotel room cost will only be deducted on your credit card about a week before the actual stay. The initial price of the deluxe room with breakfast for two is Php 6,700. It was a little bit steep but I cannot think of staying at other hotels aside from Taal Vista. So we did our budget plan and we were all set. Couple of days ago, I checked back into the Agoda website and just viewed the room prices for the same hotel on the same date. You can imagine my surprise when I saw a rate of Php 5,000 for the same room with breakfast for two. So I immediately cancelled our first reservation (which hasn't been deducted from my card yet, thank goodness) and booked this room for a lower price. I couldn't help but feel really good about saving Php1,700!

Family Fridate: Brunch Buffet at Rustic Mornings

Buffets. We love buffets. So when I read the post on Rustic Mornings FB page about their Friday breakfast buffet, my husband and I didn't pass up.

We called for reservation and chose the 9am-12nn slot. The spread was already laid out when we got there and there were already quite a few people. I was a bit shocked since I was expecting it to be nearly empty being that it was a working Friday. 

The buffet was at the lanai near the entrance to the airconditioned dining area. It was small but quaint. Some of the dishes were crispy bacon, minestrone soup, garlic parsely rice, chicken fricasse, beef tapa, longganisa, pancakes, french toast, bread and fruits, omelette station. You can request for crispy waffles to be made for you and they will bring it to your table. The same goes with refillable orange juice and coffee.

Here are some of the pics that we've taken. I wish I had my Iphone 5 with me but it was still held up at work, darn it.

Tiny Tucked Gem in Marikina: PATIO VERA

I'm so overwhelmed by Marikina's food gems. We first discovered Cafe Lidia, then Rustic Mornings, and now Patio Vera. I've chanced upon this resto when I was looking for places to eat last Valentines but sadly we werent able to secure a table. So last Saturday out of my dismal mood, I told my husband to scout this place for dinner.

And there were no regrets. I was very sorry to not have been able to take decent photos because my Iphone is out for a good month (which is one of the causes of my depression). It's a wonder how Marikina has all these wonderfully nice restos hiding behind what you would think are residential gates.

We ordered seafood pasta, steak ala pobre, and garlic rice for dinner and almond sansrival for dessert. Their portions are pretty hefty considering the price. We were also very happy with the taste and quality of the food. Overall, it was not just a gastronomic experience but a total one for that matter if you also consider the ambience and the service. Real value for the buck if I may say so.

V-Day 2014

My husband and I planned on a nice secluded dinner at Vieux Chalet in Antipolo. So you can just imagine how infuriated we were when my husband called on V-day to confirm our table and the person told him that our reservation didn't push through because we were unable to pay a deposit. My husband wasn't told of their reservation mechanics when he called; someone just took his name, number, and time that we plan to have dinner. So we ended up going to Outback Libis instead. 

School Bus Reservation

This is a month of 'reservations' for us. We've already reserved Zoe's slot at preschool so while we're at it, I also took the liberty of inquiring and reserving her seat on the school bus.

Teacher Leah, one of the directresses of ISYC, gave me the phone number of their school bus operator who lives in the same village as we do. I called her up to inquire about the rate given that my daughter is to be accompanied by her yaya daily. She said that the going rate is P2,800 which isn't pretty bad considering that this already includes the yaya. I was initially having second thoughts about sending Zoe to school through a school bus since she's too young. I didn't get to experience that myself since we had a driver who would drive us to school everyday. But Dan said it will be such a hassle for us if we have to drive Zoe to and from school everyday since we have varying schedules at work.

So anyway, I went on in reserving Zoe two seats on the school bus but I was told by the operator that there is an increase this coming school year. I hope it's not much of an increase though.

Step 1: Reservation

Dan and I are excited about Zoe's impending entrance to preschool. She went through a summer class last May but we held off enrolling her this school year because we thought it's a bit too early for everyday classes for her. 

So I've been buggin ISYC's directresses, Teacher Leah and Teacher Michelle, about Zoe's reservation, so much that they already know my voice on the phone even before I introduce myself. I know, that's a little bit embarassing but the slots in that school are like hotcakes, they disappear before you even know it.

Today I finally reserved a slot for her in the mid-morning schedule. I was given several forms to return and complete by April. By then she will be scheduled for an assessment and the tuition will be paid.

Hmm, now I'm already thinking of buying Zoe's school shoes =)

Rustic Mornings by Isabelo (Marikina)

Marikina isn't just about shoes, they're also all about hidden dining spots. I found out about Rustic Mornings through my friend in IG. So I told my husband that I wanted to try it out, and try we did.

We met our friends at Rustic Mornings for brunch on Thursday. From the Our Lady of Abandoned Church in San Roque Markina, you just turn right to a very narrow street after the park. You'd already see their sign and their gate. 

We got there earlier than our friends so we decided to explore the area (i.e. take photos) and to order since we were all starving. The restaurant has a spacious lot but not everything has been converted to a dining area. You can choose to dine in an airconditioned area (which we weren't able to look at) or al fresco amidst the lush garden. 

I ordered buttermilk pancakes, hasbrown, and bacon; my husband had waffles, buffalo chicken fingers, and salad; we both had (refillable) cafe americano. When our friends arrived shortly, they had a hard time ordering because everything they wanted to get were temporarily unavailable since they ran out of cooking oil (yes, how ironic). So they had omelets and pasta instead. Good thing we got there earlier, I wouldve gotten upset if I had to order something else aside from pancakes. 

It was a very good dining experience nonetheless. The food was great and came in big servings. I didn't even get to finish my pancakes and had to share it with my (happy) husband. I'd tell you how much we paid but one of my friends went ninja on us and footed the entire bill behind our backs :P