Inspirations: Happy Thoughts

Source: r-eindeer.tumblr.com via Ecoelle on Pinterest

Looking forward to a lovely weekend with family and friends. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Why We Fell In Love With Subic

For the past 2 years, we have been in and out of the Subic Freeport Zone. Here are the reasons why we fell in love with Subic...

1. Good Roads

Now that SCTEX is already open, driving to Subic is smoother and easier. The usual 3 hour drive which most consider as a long, "exhausting" drive, has become a regular that we don't even bother about the traveling time and the stress of long road trips.

2. Perfect Accommodation: Forestview Residences
Location: El Kabayo Road Subic Bay Freeport Zone Philippines

Forestview has housed us for the past 2 years. It met our needs as a traveling family. Forestview offers villas that has 3 air-conditioned bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, clean bathrooms and covered parking for your car. With 24- hour security, clean surroundings, green environment and a very nice management.

Forestview Residences Facebook

3. What Will Keep You Busy in Subic

I'm talking about activities outside Zoobic, Ocean Adventure, Tree Top Adventure etc. One of the things my family loves to do is to explore. Our April visit was when my husband and I went on a date trip. We took advantage of the free time without the kids. We drove around the streets of Subic, places we've never been to. We discovered a lot of hidden beaches, and I'm talking about nice affordable beach resorts. Along the way, we saw some monkeys. Though tourists are allowed to feed them, please be careful because these animals came from their natural habitat, consider them wild.

We were lucky to see soldiers assemble some equipments at the Subic International Airport in preparation for the Balikatan Joint Exercise for 2013. 

Malls in Subic. Sm Olongapo and a nice place to visit in Subic is the Harbor Point Mall.

Strolling around Habor Point gave us a beachy- relaxed malling experience. Everyone's wearing flip flops and light clothing. It felt so homey. On a busy weekend, the place is filled with both tourists and residents of Olongapo.

4. Duty Free Shops and The Subic Bay Yacht Club

When in Subic, it is always a must to go duty free shopping. Most of the time, I shop for imported chocolates, toiletries that we don't have in our place and stuff that came in cheaper in Subic than in Manila. We were able to visit the Subic Bay Yacht Club because we were invited to an event.

5. Food Adventure

On road trips, I still bring home-cooked food. Usually on the first day, good for breakfast and lunch. The remainder of our stay is often spent eating out. Like every place in the world, there will always be the presence of famous restaurants. Meat Plus has always been a tourist destination. But other than that, if you explore some more, you will find other food havens that will make your adventure unforgettable. 

This summer, we made 3 discoveries: 

• Cafe Balooga Habor Point Mall
• the Coca- Cola Soda Fountain inside Royal Duty Free
• 7-11 store in front of the Subic Bay Yacht Club

Aside from the one in Subic, please let me know if there's a 7-11 somewhere else in the Philippines that has an area where their customers can sit, relax and enjoy their refreshments by a lagoon.

When it comes to food discoveries, I go for anything to eat that will make me happy and satisfied... I never limit myself to the famous ones and most especially to expensive restaurants.  One of the things I enjoyed this summer was eating halo-halo beach side at the Camayan Beach resort and having tea while getting pampered in a spa. And speaking of spas...

6. Subic is also a Stress- free Zone 

You will find a great no. of spas that also offers home services and are open up to 12 midnight.

7. Blue- Green Waters

Subic is known as a beach destination. Even driving around the place, you will enjoy taking a refreshing glimpse of it's blue- green sea.

Subic has almost everything you need if you're looking for a great location for the family that's why we love it. We never get bored of it.

Please check out some related links:

Beachin Around Subic-
Zoobic Safari
SubicViaSCTEX
Meat Plus
Café Balooga 

-source-

Have a great, great weekend everyone!

Mother's Day 2013

There will always be---
Pink Flowers.

Sharing a Delicious, Rich Chocolate Cake.

Receiving a Simple, Meaningful, Heartwarming message from my husband...

And a Beautiful Family that makes my womanhood and motherhood complete and extraordinarily perfect. The lovely reasons why we also celebrate life on Mother's day, the inspirations and purpose I live with each day God blesses us with.

Life In Capones

Last time I island- hopped was when I was 10 years old. My Auntie would take me and brother with her every time she would go to the beach. As a kid, it was one of the good memories I had. I can still remember getting pricked by a sea urchin. It was really great to be able to experience to go to an isolated island again.  Isolated, because even with tourists around, the people of Zambales was able to control the crowd and they were able to maintain the original feel of a deserted island in the middle of the ocean.

I went to our balcony around 4am in the morning. I just thought of having some "me time". When I got out, I saw the moon shining over the islands of Camara and Capones. When I went to bed the night before everything was dark at that very same spot. This has got to be one of the treats I enjoyed during our stay in Zambales. The moon served like a spot light over the islands. The sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly as well.

After my short sight-seeing of the moon over the islands, at 6am, I went to the reception area to reserve a boat for our island hop. With our experience, it's best to go island hopping early in the morning. The water is calm and it's safe to get a healthy exposure with the sun. After our reservation, I had our breakfast packed so we can eat at the island. At 7am, our boat was ready and waiting.

The boat was equipped with life vests both for adults, kids and even for a 1- year old. Our boat ride went smoothly. In the middle of the ocean, we saw through the crystal blue green water, enjoyed looking at corals and fishes.

Capones Island

 Breakfast in Capones

We chose Capones because the beach area is bigger than in Camara, with lesser visitors also because most would prefer Anawangin Cove. When we arrived in Capones, there were tourists around. Most of them, slept at the island.  When our boat man told us about tourists sleeping, camping over at the island, I feared that we might end up with trash everywhere. I'm really happy that they kept the place clean.

Me and my sister Les

One of the things we enjoyed in Capones was the clear water that housed some shells, corals, crabs and small fishes. It was quite an experience for my kids. My youngest son, played with sand for the very first time... swam in sea water. My eldest went snorkeling with his dad. It's wonderful to see my children love nature.

Like I mentioned earlier, there were tourists but the beach remained the same. Everyone had their own spots to enjoy.

The sand was white and fine. But near the water, you'll find shells small stones.

For me, it's instant paradise. I don't even have to fly some place, beat a number of people for a spot.  Define beach, adventure and fun all together, here in Zambales, we have an untouched treasure. Let's take care of it, respect and preserve the beauty of the famous islands of Zambales.

Island Hopping: 

Camara, Capones, Anawangin Cove: Php3,500

Camara only: Php 1,100

Capones only: Php 1,300

• You can stay on these islands for as long as you want during the day and even overnight. It is important to make clear arrangements with the resort management and boat man before going.
• Bring umbrellas, tents or anything for cover. 
• Bring lots of drinking water.
• Food is allowed, but make sure to bring your excess/ trash back with you.
• Fishing, snorkeling is by request. Ask your resort management with regards to this matter.
• Ask your boat man about the famous lighthouse in Capones.
• Going to San Antonio Zambales

Sleek Looking Television Set Up

T.V. Mounts? Not only they make your room stylish, but most of all they're considered as space savers. Since we bought our LED TV, we have been contemplating on buying a durable t.v. mount. As of the moment, we thought that our 32" t.v. is good if we place it on a regular t.v. stand. But just recently, my husband and I decided to invest on a much bigger and more advanced television set. With that, we are greatly considering of hooking it up on the wall, so we can turn our living room to an instant entertainment area.

A flat screen TV just doesn't look right when it isn't properly mounted or placed on a high quality stand. There are tons of these types of stands online, but most of them are not going to handle the weight of a high quality flat screen television. 

You can Shop Standsandmounts.com for flat screen TV Mounts that are cheap but also have a lot of sturdiness built inside. They are even organized by different sizes of televisions so you know exactly which one will work for your home. These are quality wall mounts made from superior grade materials. You can find slim fit TV mounts, arm TV mounts, ceiling mounts and even different flat screen TV stands. 

These offer a particular style and grace that you're also not going to find at other places. This is the ultimate for home entertainment systems that must be organized and wire free. Many businesses also use StandsandMounts.com because of the prices and variety. If you are trying to set up a unique space, take a look at the different types of mounts that you can buy and use in your restaurant. 

There are ceiling mounts made for posh spaces that hang from steel wires, cable of handling all types of TV weight and making a stable yet different look for your interior. In addition, the slim fit TV wall mounts are perfect for home entertainment systems that want a sleek look with no wires showing. StandsandMounts.com is the perfect place to go to get mounts quickly as well with fast shipping.