Kimberly Hotel, Tagaytay

I spent three days in Kimberly Hotel in Tagaytay for a business trip last month and although it was mostly work and very minimal play, I am thankful for a change of scenery.

We arrived in the afternoon but only started taking photos at night. This is what it looks like:

Pardon the lazy blogger in me, but let me have the pictures do the talking instead.  

I enjoyed the first day of the breakfast buffet. The following morning, its just blah.

This way to the organic farm:

Now for the room rates:

Superior (Single/Twin) – Php 5,500.00

Deluxe (Single/Twin) – Php 6,500.00

Premiere Suite (Single to Quadruple) – 7,700.00

Kimberly Suite Php 12,000.00

Extra person/bed – Php 1,200.00

Other add ons and my reviews:

Complimentary Wifi Internet access throughout the hotel

Very poor wifi, strong access only when you are in your individual rooms. When the hotel is fully packed, very poor signal in the conference area where you need to get out just to check something.

Rates are inclusive of breakfast

I experienced two breakfast buffets, and the first one is good, because...how can you go wrong with breakfast food. The rest of the food, (next day breakfast, lunch and dinner) were nothing special.

Daily housekeeping

They immediately clean your room which is good but there's something wrong with the "lock of the doors"that you need to slam it in order for it to lock. Housekeeping left our room open at one point because it did not really connect with keycard's lock.

Daily local newspaper

The newspaper you need to request and they offer one broadsheet only, and I think it's Manila Bulletin. (Not sure)

Massage services

They have services advertised in each room but I did not try one.

DVD Library

You can borrow DVD from the reception, you just need to leave a valid ID. Each room is equipped with a DVD player.

Safety deposit box

I only saw one in the Quadruple room where I stayed on my first night.

Business center services, gift shop, and hotel clinic

They sell plants from the organic farm that they have. You may request for details at the reception.

Check in time in 2:00, Check out time is at 12:00nn

If you still have a conference ending at 5pm and you need to check out, they offer a luggage area to store your luggage. But in our case we kept it with us in the conference room, better safe than sorry.

Other stuff: 

Tour assistance

Laundry services

Kids 12 years old below stay for free with parents when using extra bedding

More details at: www.hotelkimberly.com

Honest take on @iamsuperbianca's book "Paano ba 'to?!"

When I first learned and read about Bianca Gonzalez 's book "Paano ba 'to?! How to survive growing up", I initially thought: Would it still be applicable to me? After all, Bianca and I were of the same age, only she's older by more than eight months I think. Little did I know that I've got a friends who are wondering about the same thing.

I have been waiting to get my hands on this book and its always, always, out of stock. Laging available ang mga books about lovelife effect, eh aanhin ko naman yun?! So imagine my delight when I got this as a gift! Thank you Kat!!! Excited na akong basahin to and @iamsuperbianca has always been one of my favorite bloggers. Thank you Louie too, may kinalaman ka din ata dito! :)

I really do not know how to give a proper book review, but I'm not going to bore you with texts. But just as promised, here's my promised take on Bianca's book, and why you should get one too.

1. She is a work in progress and her stories/sharing are relatable.
2. She's not afraid to write about her past mistakes and how she learned from it.
3. She sought inputs from life coaches and credible sources to share advice in a Q&A form.
4. She gives honest answers and straight to the point. (No BS answers.)
5. The book is an easy read, written in English and Tagalog and the answers were as if you are talking to your best friend. Coffee na lang kulang.
6. She covered the following topics: Family, Friendship, Love, Career & Money, Failures, Fashion and Beauty, Purpose and Self. If you make a quick browse of the book, you will know she got your money's worth, content-wise.
7. The book was meant to be interactive with stickers and section where you can write on.I personally liked it because the book was also filled with beautiful quotes, space for vision board, space for writing, cute little doodles, and positivity. 
8. Some questions/topics seemeed generic at first...but little did you know it will still be applicable in your 30s. A friend asked me would it still be applicable to her (she's a few years older than me) I said yes, because all of us do not work on the same template. Some are late bloomers, some are advanced when it comes to life experiences.
9. The range of topic of the book cover issues of college kids, concerns of those in their twenties and taking the current and even future dilemmas of those in the 30s. (I think, bilang I'm only 31)
10. Each section flawlessly transitioned from one topic to another.

Reading her book actually made me feel better about my self and my life, because it made me feel that I am not the only one going through some phase. I wish I could've gotten this one when I was in my twenties, but then, the wise Bianca was still in progress at that time. I highly recommend this to my friends in their twenties, the money's totally worth it. So worth it that no wonder it's been out of stock. That's why I am super grateful that my friends Kat and Louie got it for me as a very belated birthday present...3 months later!!! Can you believe it took them three major malls from North to South just to get this book! Super thank youuuu!!! I really have the sweetest friends!

I don't usually admit it, but I tend to be a little bit snobbish about who to get advice from. In fact, when I was on a spiritual journey in 2013, I was introduced to a spiritual leader who's my age, and though I was grateful, I knew I needed more from someone a lot older, so I changed advisers.

My friend Paolo used to tell me "If you want to get rich, don't ask tips from the basurero." It means get advice from someone who actually walks the talk. But in this case, if Bianca's got her stuff together, so can I! She's giving me hope. I like her book so much that even though I am in the middle of a very busy week, I finished the book in two sittings and I just got it yesterday morning. (I hardly get to finish a book these days).

I can't wait to share this book with my sister.

[Project FeeTrail February 2015]: Such a sweet swan

Not my first time in Fernwood Gardens, but it was my first time to actually see the swan (and how big it is pala in real life) in Fernwood.  Such a bonus that it could've been just any other swan but it happened to be a very sweet and generous swan.

I took a video and instagrammed this little, big darling, getting food from the plate and shared it with her fish friends. It's like a mother feeding her babies. I really could not help myself but step up to this man-made rock formation and took a photo of my feet while peaking. The little flower girl in the venue must have found me weird and amusing that she started stepping on the same rock formation too, (to the horror of the mommy).

On the other side of Fernwood gardens is also another solo swan with fish friends, but swan number 2 does not share her food at all.

February felt like it was only a few weeks! How did yours go?

After-dinner at Bertie's

Paully's been planning to take me to what she calls this cute little place that sells scrumptious blueberry cheesecake. And finally, after satisfying a Jollibee dinner craving, we found ourselves in Bertie's Crafter in Calamba Laguna.

 I forgot to ask why it says "crafters"

I like the wall art of their pastry cafe.

They don't allow taking photos of the cakes but they allowed me to take photos of the cafe. Here's Paully ordering 2 mini red velvet cupcakes and one slice of blueberry cheesecake. They also did not install wifi because they want their customers to interact with each other and not glued to their tablets and smartphones. 

Here's the two mini red velvet cupcakes (priced at Php30.00 each). PRICEY!

Honestly, I do not get these red velvet cupcakes, then I took a bite...

... and understood why they had to be priced at Php30.00. But it's still so expensive. When I took a bite, I thought, so this must be what a real red velvet tastes like. 

Meanwhile, the main reason for this dessert event, the blueberry cheese cake,  is priced at Php145.00 per slice and it's also good. The cheesecake, was creamier than the usual though.

We were lucky we got the chance to chat with the owner, who happens to be the sister of my doctor! Such small world. Paully and I would probably go there next time to try their pasta. 

Thank you for taking me there Paully. We really need to incorporate a fitness plan to balance out all these food trips that we're  having.

A trip at Ted's in Sta. Cruz, Laguna

Kung Hei Fat Choi! I am thankful that we get to have Chinese New Year as a holiday even though we're not Chinese, hehe. For yesterday's holiday, we had a "Titas" (Me and Kat) and Mommy's (Emi) Day Out. We planned this road/food trip when Emi got back from Singapore. Louie was supposed to come with us but she got caught up with her personal errands.

Anyway, we initially just planned to have lunch somewhere near UPLB then we just decided that we head over to TED's in Sta.Cruz, Laguna, because: 1) It was part of the original plan; and 2) Emi and I have never been there.

I love the feel of the place. I am a fan of Shabby Chic themes.

I must admit though, I have heard not so good reviews about Ted's. It took us quite a long time to order because we want to make sure to enjoy our first time eating experience.

However, this note is helpful:

I didn't know that Ted's place is big, we get to dine al fresco and with only three of us chatting away.

We were so hungry, here's what we ordered: 

Wiped out! My goodness, I've never been this full, since... I don''t remember anymore. 

Before leaving, we went to another area of Ted's. This shop sells whole cakes only. 

Food Verdict: We enjoyed the food! Obvious ba? I love especially the smoothies. Kat doesn't recommend the Family Platters. We were hesitant to eat here at first because all of the bad reviews (like: food is blah, nothing spectacular, blah blah...) I guess it's really what you will order that can make or break the food experience. In our case, we got lucky we liked it! I actually have a simple taste palette so if I was not able to like the food, then it must be that bad. But I'm glad that besides having a good company, we enjoyed the food and good thing because we paid more than Php500.00 each. 

And we're off to our next impromptu adventure: Slippers Shopping in Liliw. Emi's never been there so it's a must that we take her to Liliw since it's only 30 minutes away from Ted's. 

Hope you had a nice holiday! :)