TOPAZ HORIZON

Well, it's the holidays and what does that mean? Traffic! The traffic is so terrible, it takes away the joy of the season. More and more often, my husband Vince and I are finding ourselves talking about moving away from the city because life in Manila is becoming even more toxic every day.

What gives us pause, however, is we actually really love our home. Our condo is in the middle of everything, it's safe, and has great amenities. That said, even though we're near everything, the traffic makes everything seem so far! Plus, in a few years, it will be really tight because our 3 sons will be teenagers and teens need privacy and that's why we're thinking maybe it's time to look around for a new home.


We have a non-negotiable list of our requirements in finding a good home. It has to be in a safe community, of course. It has to be near an amazing school for our boys. It also has to be near a good hospital because I'm paranoid like that. A mall has to be a short drive away so we can shop for our needs without going all the way back to Manila. And of course, our new home has to look nice, too! So, upon the recommendations of friends and the invitation of Avida Land, we drove to Nuvali to check out the Avida properties there. Take a look at what we saw!

Welcome to the Trista Model, floor area: 85sqm

Light-filled staircase!

One bathroom at the landing for all 3 bedrooms upstairs

Adorable girl's bedroom

Cozy boy's bedroom

Brightly lit master's bedroom!

That's not my voice, by the way =)

Anyway, the floor area is smaller than our condo now but we saw that the other houses in the neighborhood just extended their floor area. That's possible because the lot area is pretty big (check out the first photo of this post). There's enough for a front yard, a backyard, and a 2-car, even 4-car garage. So if you have just one car like us, there's plenty of space for expansion.

Okay ang Nuvali area, mamas! For schools, it's near Xavier Nuvali, Beacon Academy, Brent International School, Miriam College, and Caritas Don Bosco. Then kahit looban siya, it's a short drive from many commercial centers like Ayala Malls Solenad, The Landmark, S&R, Robinsons Supermarket, Walter Mart, and so many more! For hospitals, there are The Medical City and QualiMed. So convenient!

Everything's a short, tree-lined drive away!

Nuvali Sta. Rosa really looks like a fantastic idea! It's urban enough so we won't feel like we're in the middle of nowhere and yet it's filled with fresh air and so much quiet. I can imagine my kids biking on the streets, making sure our rabbit Bunny Blue doesn't devour the garden because of course we'll have a vegetable garden. I'll walk our corgi (I'll have one or two one day!), swim in the nice village pool, hang our laundry to dry under the sun and in the fresh breeze. And our kids can be home from school within minutes instead of the hours it now takes!

Our trip to Avida Nuvali made it really obvious that we can do more every day in the right community. SIGH. Please pray for us! We really do love our home and we truly wouldn't mind staying here forever. But maybe one day, God has a bigger home planned for my family and it may be waiting for us in Avida Nuvali.

*This post is brought to you by Avida Land. For more information, visit their website, https://avidaland.com/laguna/nuvali.

Looking for a vegetable dish to serve your veggie-resistant kids? Serve them ginataang kalabasa and sitaw! I mash the kalabasa and mix it with their rice so they literally can't separate the squash from the rice. And the sitaw, well, it takes convincing but they did agree the texture feels like meat so they ate it. And I love it that this healthy and delicious dish just got easier to cook with Coco Mama!

The kids can help cook, too!

Not a sponsored post! I'm just really happy with this mom find. For gata, I used to go to the palengke to have my coconut milk grated fresh. Not anymore! This Coco Mama is fresh and masarap! Highly recommended.


Here's the recipe sa likod ng pakete but mine doesn't have sili because my kids don't like spicy food. I also usually use tinapang isda with this (it adds a lovely smoky flavor), but my kids will NOT eat tinapa so fine, fine, I used ground pork.

If you're vegetarian, you can definitely take out the meat. If you're a meat-eater and trying to transition to a veggie diet, this dish is wonderful because the sitaw has a good consistency na parang karne.


Tada! Sarap sarap sarap nito sobra! I can't wait to cook other recipes with Coco Mama gata! Please share your gata recipes!

As parents discover the endless benefits of eco-friendly outfits for bubs, the need for organic fabric has been on the rise. Now parents want safer clothing pieces for their little ones, the more reason for choosing organic babywear.

Hello mamas! I'm going to do a short review of what I've been doing to my face lately—the Flawless Nano Power Peel. Hindi naman siya regular. I'm in my 40s so I my skin is thinner now. Too much exfoliation and peeling can harm skin. So twice ko pa lang ito nagawa, every 2 months, but I am very happy with it because my face now is really smooth and the texture is finer.


What is the Nano Power Peel? Here's what I got from the website:

"Nano Power Peel, P2,200
Propels corundum crystals onto the skin to slough off dead skin cells, rejuvenate, lighten, and even out skin tone. It also helps reduce the appearance of certain types of scars."

PRESS RELEASE - Christmas is a time to thank those who bring sparkle to our lives: our kids and spouses, our mom and dad, and our family and friends who all bring us joy. How great would it be to share back the sparkle and celebrate the Yuletide with a feast that everyone will love?

I buy my giant fans and brandless containers from beabi. I love it for being so anonymous. So I was quite surprised that it launched a collection of bags that had a big name on it: Manuel Baldemor.

Here I am with Mr. Baldemor and the beabi VIPs. I won a bag sa raffle!

I wore a dress with tiny flowers to match my floral surroundings.

I finally met Doll Up Mari beauty vlogger Mari Perez!

PRESS RELEASE - The bond between mother and child is unique and lasting, starting from pregnancy and influencing life well into adulthood. A mom is often the child’s first friend, playmate, and teacher.

Always a pleasure seeing my sons draw! They draw every single day!

My kids and I don't do sports. What I do is just chase them around and let them run, run, run!

In our family, it's my husband who takes care of bath time. He's more fun kasi!

When I do bath duties, I give my feet a good scrubbing while Piero pours water over them!

Hello, fellow mamas! I have exciting news for you! A few weeks ago, The Metro Stores invited me to their Market! Market! store. Why? For a sneak peek at the insane discounts they’re giving at their Metro Crazy Sale on Nov. 30, 2019! Normally, I don’t get excited sa mga sales but ibang klase ito kasi nakakaloka talaga ang mga presyo. Ibang klase ang mga discounts! Kaya when I made my video below, talagang enthusiastic ako. Totoo yan!

I'm going to share with you my favorite food discovery this month: SeaKing Wild Alaskan Keta Salmon! I love salmon. But strangely enough, I never buy it when I'm doing the grocery mostly because I like my fish super fresh and I don't trust a lot of fish sold in the supermarket.

What is a sorbet? It's a frozen dessert made from fruit juice or wine. You can add sugar to it. If you add milk or cream to it, however, it's now called sherbet. It's an excellent way to refresh yourself on a hot day. And if you use Welch's 100% Grape Juice, it's a great way to get your vitamins, too! Let me share with you my grape sorbet recipe!