It's a beautiful thing to know that Cebu City is continuously progressing. It is shown by the number of new cafes and restaurants all over the place. I've been living in Cebu for most of my life and I'm still surprise and curious of what my city has to offer me.

       My best friend Sam and I went to visit one of the most promising cafe/restaurant in Cebu. It is the beautiful and dainty eating destination located at Oakridge Business Park, the 10 Dove Street cafe/dessert restaurant.The establishment's existence isn't new to me, but it was only this summer when I had the perfect chance to visit the place. Fact: they named the restaurant from the street where it was originally located before. 10 Dove Street is a street located somewhere in Banilad. It wasn't long since they transfer to another location.

      Sam and I went there twice for her 21st birthday's photo shoot. My friend wanted some place private and romantic looking and I just know 10 Dove Street is the perfect place so I immediately recommended her the place.

       Here are some of the shots I took around the place, including some of my thoughts about the food we've ordered. As you can see, the place has a romantic vibe going on. It's clean and simply beautiful. The whole place actually reminds me of Simply J's because they both gave me the same impression. The place, I must say is perfect for an intimate eating experience like a Valentines date.
     10 Dove Street is a two-storey establishment where you are free to choose where you want to be seated except when the place is full or when early reservations were already made.
In that case, their friendly staffs will help you find the most comfortable table.

      We were handed a very cute menu for us to place our orders. While waiting for our orders, we were given a saucer of bread sticks and a very cute bird cage (the pink thing in the photo) which is actually a bell for us to press if ever we want to add more. So cool!!! And I actually fooled around pressing it just to see if it really works. I don't think it did though because nobody came to ask us about our orders after I pressed it. Lol Sam was like 'Tin Noooo!!!!--' hahahaha

      We did have fun taking photos all over the place while waiting for our orders to come, but man, we waited for almost an hour! I started to get so pissed about it because I had to go to work after. It's just so annoying and it's probably the longest time that I waited for a food order to come. Gutom na mga alaga ko sa tiyan lol

      Sam and I both decided to order The 10 Dove Street Experience which costs 275.00 pesos. It includes a soup,  a salad, and a dessert of your choice. I was surprised and amazed by how cheap it is considering the size of the order. I chose the following as my order:
 This is one of the best soup I ever had. The taste is just right and the its cheesiness is perfect. Not too creamy/cheesy just right.
 Salads were served next and I was very satisfied with my choice. I love the combination of mango and chicken plus, I am confident that it was healthy as it was served with yogurt as a dressing.
     This sandwich seems more of a burger to me than a sandwich. Lol. I do not have any complain about this though because it is so yummy! The beef actually tasted like our very own adobo.
     Cakes were served last together with our Chamomile tea which I added in my set. Just like their other cakes, Avocado-Pandan cake looks very appetizing. Sadly, it didn't taste great as how it looks. My friend and I agreed that its frosting is really good, but the cake itself tasted like the regular cakes we've tasted from a local bakeshop. I'm not even kidding and those regular cakes by the way costs only 5 pesos per slices.

     I felt like I paid 85.00php for a cake frosting. I was a bit disappointed with their good looking cakes because I had very high expectations about how it would taste. But it doesn't really tasted that bad, it tasted 'okay'. The avocado topping btw is so bitter. Bitter than my heart chos! Seriously, it's so bitter that I had to eat candies just to get rid of its bitterness in my mouth.

Sam ordered this but we forgot to take note of its name. It's just a regular wheat bread and butter with a macaroni that doesn't smell appetizing.My friend didn't even finish her order because it's just a plain "meh".
     In our scheduled photo shoot day, my best friend Sam bought us the following. This time, everything is perfect!
     This sandwich is really good. It contains tuna, cheese and some veggies. Contrary to its name, this made me feel so full and heavy. lelz.
This cake is amaaazing! But then again, maybe it's just the frosting. lol. But still, this is really good!
    I haven't tried this one, but my friend said that this is perfect for those who loves chocolates but doesn't want it to go that much.
      Of course, we partnered our cakes and sandwiches with a cup of tea!

      10 Dove Street is a good place if you want some desserts and something light to eat. The place is beautiful and you can always have your own privacy in its location. If you are really hungry, it's not the best place for you. I do not know exactly why but it always took them so long to serve their foods even if the place isn't really crowded when we went there. It's one thing that I do not like about the place.
   
    Talking about their staff and services, everybody were polite and very accommodating. They will really cater to your needs, which is something that I really like about them.

     Summer is a wonderful time to relax and have fun, but it is also a great time for us to thank God for what he had given us. We can always choose how we spend our vacation anywhere we want, but spending time to visit somewhere holy wouldn't hurt.

      Filipinos are known to be very religious so a number of pilgrimage sites can be found almost everywhere in the Philippines. In Cebu, one of the most popular ones is the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist which is located in Lindogon, Simala , Sibonga, Cebu. I visited the place last year with my family to thank and to pray. I couldn't help but to take some photographs of its magnificent view. Of course,I did that after praying and when the mass has ended. lol

     The place looks like some sort of a castle/palace to me. A great place to offer to Mama Mary and to talk to God. Once you get inside, you will witness so  many things that will prove God's love. A series of cabinets containing thank you notes can be seen along with other offerings. A museum of the different images of the Virgin Mary is also free for everyone to visit.

      If you want to kiss the miraculous Mother Mary, you have to get in line. No need to worry though because it moves pretty fast. Some people said that if you smell sweet smelling flowers as you kiss her statue, that means Mother Mary is around. That is really interesting. My family and I went to kiss her but we weren't able to smell a different kind of sweetness. But I still believe she is with us every single time.

      Although it couldn't be denied that the place is good for picture taking, please bear in mind that it doesn't mainly serve as a tourist attraction. The whole place is built for worship, that means you have to be respectful at all times. Avoid unnecessary talks and wear something decent.

Here's a short guide I wrote based ONLY from my experience going to the place. We went there mainly via bus. If you will visit the place using other means, then our story would be different. hehe

How To Get To Simala
1. Ride a bus going south at the South Bus Terminal. Don't worry because you can easily find a bus going there once you get at the terminal. Going to Simala, we paid 75php each as of December 2014. *The price is the same both for kids and adults. It took us more than 2-3 hours to get there. (Travel time will of course vary under different circumstances.) Don't forget to inform the bus driver or the bus konduktor if you have zero idea where the monastery is.

2. I've been to the place thrice and I found out that there are times that the buses will stop a walking distance away from the monastery. Some other buses doesn't go all the way to the monastery and will only drop you in the main highway. In that case, you have to get a motorcycle ride for 20php per person. *The monastery is too far to walk from the highway so you really have to take a motorcycle ride going there. The motorcycle drivers will take you to the gate of the monastery (as seen on the photo above.)

More tips and information*
1. Short shorts and skirts are not allowed in the monastery. Same thing goes to strapless and daring tops. You have to wear something decent to get into the place.

2. If you are wearing something not-so-decent, you can rent a cloth big enough to cover you. Rental services are available in the front gate of the monastery. Souvenirs are also available outside.

3. An eating area is available for free inside the monastery. You can always eat somewhere outside, but it is better to bring your own foods because the ones sold outside are usually expensive. Of course, bring lots of water with you. The monastery is often crowded with visitors so prepare some heat protection stuffs like water, fan and medicine just in case your body needs it.

4. You have to take off your footwear if you want to kiss Mama Mary's statue. I would suggest wearing something comfortable and easy for you to take off.

5. Solicitation inside the monastery is not allowed. If you want to donate something, give it directly to the people in charge in the donation area. Devils are everywhere so be careful not to be fooled. lelz..

     I hope this post can help you if you are planning to visit the place. If it is your first time going to Cebu, I hope you'll have time to visit the place. I promise, it is worth it! have fun and be safe :)

 I'm not a big fan of mascaras and falsies. I rarely use mascara on my eyelashes and I only wear falsies if I think it's necessary for me to use them. I make my eyes look more awake by wearing liquid eyeliner and wing it on the corners of my eyes, but I have to admit that nothing beats a mascara in making one's look fresher and more awake.

My makeup box lacks mascara so I bought one recently. I got myself the Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara in very black. I heard that Maybelline stopped distributing it for a while but recently it's back on the market again so I decided to give it a try.







I took some shots that could show you a before and after photos with my eyes using the mascara.

Photo 1. What my bare eyes looked like. As you can see, I do not have thick and curly lashes.

Photo 2. My eyelashes are really hard to curl because they are short. I slightly curled my lashes in the second photo and applied one coat of mascara. There is a difference of course, but it isn't dramatic.

Photo 3. In the last photo I didn't curl my lashes again. I just add few more coats of mascara. It's actually more than three coats and it's just how it looks like after.


Generally, considering that it's only for 350php, I think it works okay. Again it's more lash lengthening, so if you are looking for a volumizing mascara, then maybe you should look for another one. I personally think this mascara is great for everyday use or if you want that fresh and natural look. The best thing about the mascara is its longevity. It stays fo 6-7 hours on my lashes without smudging. That makes it very hard to remove, lol you might need a good makeup remover to remove the whole thing from your lashes.

There goes my short review about Maybelline's Great Lash mascara. Thank you for reading! Good luck!