Abaca Bakery/Cafe Review

      For me, sweater weather calls for a cup of coffee and a really good book. Last Monday afternoon, I was caught in heavy rain while I was going home from a special appointment. I had no choice but to stop by somewhere while I wait for the weather to calm down. Fortunately, I found Abaca Bakery/Cafe at Robinson's Cybergate. The creative and cozy ambiance of the place immediately captured my heart so I decided to stay at the place and get myself a hot cup of coffee.

      There a number of things to fell in love with about the cafe so I know I just have to blog about the place the moment I went inside it. After deep thought, I've round up the things that I love about the cafe. By the way, pardon the low quality of the photos. I wasn't able to bring my go-to camera with me as I didn't plan to visit the place. Hence, I took the photos using my phone's camera.

The first thing that I love the most about the place is its cozy interior. Everything about the place just makes it very homely. Just check out the beautiful lights inside the cafe's ceiling! It's so pretty and yes, it made me think of my dreams!

      Another thing that I love about Abaca is the art of the place. The whole cafe is literally full of artworks! Interesting paintings were hung all over its wall which adds more beauty to any eating experience.

       I don't know if you've noticed, but just check out those ants over the cafe's counter? Just how dope they look! I want to have them in my bedroom, actually. ahhaha

Who wouldn't fall in love with the chairs in Abaca? like seriously, I don't mind sitting in these chairs for days! ahahha They are just so cool and I'm actually thinking of re-creating them for my bedroom!

I can hear that chair roaaarrrinnggg!!! lelz

     Abaca serves the yummiest desserts and probably the most delicious foods. I ordered a cafe latte (130php) for myself and a chocolate cupcake called Trash Trailer (75php) which is a perfect treat for all chocolate lovers out there.

      And hey, look how amazing is their paper cup? I love it! Probably the artsiest paper cup I've ever seen!

    The best thing about the cafe isn't the place and its food. It's the warmth coming from the people who worked in the place. How I wish every cafe or any establishment has workers like the ones working in the cafe. They are very polite and very homely just like the place. In totality, I love the cafe and there's nothing that I hate about it. 

     Even though I spent the afternoon alone at Abaca, I've found myself a comfy place where I spend few hours reading, taking notes and drinking a good cup of coffee while listening to that one cold December rain. I hope that this year, I'll get the chance to spend another day in a very comfortable place.

A relaxing place to dine in, Abaca Cafe is best for everyone who loves the art and food! If you wanna chill alone or with some friends, Abaca cafe is the best.

The Abaca Baking Company Bakery/Cafe can be found at the following locations:

Crossroads Mall, Banilad

Robinsons Cybergate, Uptown Cebu

Paseo Arcenas, Banawa

Robinsons Galleria, Cebu City

You may visit their official website: The Abaca Group

and their official Facebook account:  Abaca Baking Company

You may also contact them with these numbers for more information and inquiries: +63-32-262-0969.

Abaca Baking Company is open daily from 7Am to 10PM.

   Thank you for reading and happy new year! Wishing you all the best for this year :)

love lots,
Tin

New Year Wish List

     Hello everyone! Belated merry Christmas and advance happy new year! I hope you are all doing great this holiday season. Whenever and however you celebrate your holiday, I also pray that you had all the happiness that you deserve and that you had all your heart's desires.

     Few days from now, we will welcome a brand new year ahead. Which means we will once again have another year to live life to the fullest and to look forward to new beginnings. What comes with that is hoping for new joys and challenges in our lives. I am very glad that I was able to receive love and happiness last Christmas and I couldn't wait to feel more of it for the new year to come.

     I was ecstatic that I was able to got some of the things that I have wish for last Christmas and hopefully, I will also get my hands on the things that I wish for the new year to come. I wasn't able to blog about my Christmas wish list this year, and for that, I will be sharing to your today some of the items on my new year's wish list!

1. Makeup Brush Set Kit with Pouch

    You all know how much I love makeup so getting a new set of makeup brush set is actually one of my goals. I was able to buy one for myself this year, but of course, I would love to experiment with different kinds of brushes. It's what said the more, the merrier! I am wishing for something that comes with a pouch like what's in the photo above so I can easily carry it anywhere and also to keep the brushes free from dirt.

2. Cotton Makeup Sponge

   If you are into makeup and beauty like me, you may have heard of beauty sponges. I didn't have a beauty sponge of my own yet, that's why a colorful and cute looking makeup sponge like the one above would be a great addition to my makeup tools.

3. One Shoulder Messenger Bag

         I have been planning to buy another shoulder bag that I can pair with my casual outfits. Last week, I saw a very adorable cartoon bag of a cat and I definitely fell in love with it,but, I am not a cat person but a dog person. I would prefer a dog cartoon one shoulder messenger bag for myself. Not only because I am a dog person, but also because I personally like how easy it is to carry a one should bag.

4. Hollow Out Chiffon Dress

      "I have enough clothes", said no girl ever. I bet you will agree with me on that one! I do not exactly know why too but I think us ladies would still love to try new clothes despite our overflowing closet! I am actually selling some of my old clothes now as I am venturing to try on new dresses in other styles.

        Ever since I saw some photos of the hollow dress above, I always wanted to have one by myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a similar style in malls yet so hopefully, I'd get to try on the dress of my  desire next year!

5. Sexy Faux Leather High Heel

      Same thing with clothes, I never think I have enough shoes in my humble collection. Furthermore, I just lose a pair of high heels so I have been thinking of getting a new one for the coming year. A shoe collection isn't complete with a pair of high heels right? A black and white pair of high heels similar to what's in the photo above is something I really wanted to see in my collection. It's classy, beautiful and simply sophisticated. I think I can wear it in so many occasions too, so owning them would be a really good deal for me.

6. Cosmetic Case Makeup Bag

         As my collection of beauty tools grows,  I definitely need something where I could keep some of my babies. Right now, I have this box where I placed some of my makeup items, but they are now trying to look like sardines in a can. For that reason, I plan to gt myself a makeup case bag similar to what's above. I think a makeup case bag like that would be a perfect place for my beautiful babies as I let them go to rest whenever I am not using them.

         So that's just some of the things that I have in my new year wish list. What I included are material stuffs, but of course, I also have my fair share of list of those wonderful ideas that we should all contain and achieve in our lives. Things like love, success and good health are just some of them. For the coming year, I do hope you all get the wisdom and courage that you need in facing yet another chapter of your life. Good luck!

How about you? what's in your new year wish list? I would love to know in the comment section below.

love lots,

Tin

 

I Whale Love You Forever (My Oslob Adventure)

    Hey guys! I am so blessed to be given the chance to visit the southern part of Cebu again this year. My workmates and I went to Oslob,Cebu to see their very own whale sharks as a part of our team building trip. Big thanks of course to our school who paid everything for us to be able to experience such a wonderful journey.

    First thing first, if you haven't been to Cebu, or if you are not a resident of the Philippines, Oslob is located in the southern part of the Cebu province. It would be a pretty long journey to get there, but it's easy to get into the place. You just need to ride in a bus going to Oslob at the South Terminal Bus in Cebu City.

     We stayed at a Club Fort Med Resort in Bolhoon which is located before Oslob. The school rent a v-hire for all of us to use going to our adventure with the whales in Oslob. Here are some photographs of Club Fort Med in Bolhoon where we stayed for two days. Club Fort Med is a pretty decent resort and their staff are very friendly,so if you are looking for somewhere to stay in in the south, you may take the resort as one of your options.

My co-worker Berta and I in our 6AM faces before going to Oslob. lol. No judging please!!! hahaha

     And our adventure begun as we rode in our designated v-hire. During our ride going to Oslob, I've found out that there are a number of treasures in Bolhoon. Then I remembered, I saw some of those in coffee table books displayed in some museums that I have visited in the city. Having seen the beautiful church of Bolhoon in our v-hire's window, my heart decided to visit and explore the south again! I probably cannot do that this year, so I guess I will be doing that in summer. Alone! para char! hahaha

      Before we went swimming with the whale sharks aka Butandings of Oslob, we attended a short lecture about the guidelines in interacting with the whale sharks. It lecture included the do's and don'ts that we must follow to protect the gentle giants.

The eager-to-learn/sleepy faces of my co-workers hehehe say hi to Teacher Bevie who was the only one to notice my camera! ahhaha so cute!!!!

    Photographed above is a photo of the rates for all of the activities. In the whale shark watching, you can choose if you want to go in the water or stay in the boat. Either way you have to pay 500php, that's a little more than ten US dollars. So if I were you, carpe diem! Who knows in the next decade there will be no more whale sharks for you to watch. Tilapia nalang :( #sadlife lol

   Why so dark and gloomy? It was really sad and gloomy when we arrived because we were told that we need to go there veery early. Why? because if we have to get there during the "breakfast time" of the whale sharks which is usually from 5:30-7:00 AM. If you will get there at 9 or 10, uwi ka nalang day kasi wala ng shark lol. I mean visit the place again since you won't be able to see any sharks anymore. The sharks have to go back to the deeper part of the sea after their #breakfasttime :)

    Of course, I chose to swim to get a clearer view of the whale sharks! No need to worry though, because if you will be swimming, the tour guides will hand you a life jacket and a water googles if you wish to. Alight, here are our under water photos taken by my co-teacher/roommate Teacher Reyshelle.

 Me!!!! ahahha I decided to do the peace sign in all of our underwater photos just so I can easily recognize myself hahaha lol

     I definitely had a blast on my adventure in Oslob. I didn't only enjoy swimming with the sharks and being able to witness their grandeur, but I also learned so many things. Probably the best thing that I have learned from my trip with my co-workers is that, what makes a travel more memorable is when you travel with someone you truly love. Be it yourself or someone special to you. Otherwise, your travel wouldn't be something beautiful but stressful.

     I hope you enjoy this post. P.S I was hesitant to swim with the whale sharks because I have read and heard fromt he news that it wasn't a good idea to swim with them as they aren't naturally acquainted with humans and human interaction causes stress to them, but, well, what can I do? Carpe diem!

love lots,

Tin

P.P.S Advance Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

(Sending my greetings ahead just in case I won't be able to check my blog this coming Christmas. You know, I might be busy eating! ahahha lol)

Quick and Easy Chicken Salad Recipe

      I can't remember the last I posted a recipe here on my blog so here's one for all of you! For my recipes and DIY's, I only want to share something easy, quick and functional so this recipe is something that you can easily follow. I'm also trying to change my lifestyle bit by bit now, so what I'm sharing in this post isn't only easy to follow but also healthy.

       My mother loves salad so much especially the one that has macaroni. I, on the other hand despise macaroni, so when she asked me to make her a salad, instead of using macaroni, I choose more vegetables that we both love.

       I don't have the luxury of time while I'm writing this post so I'd stop talking about me and my mom and let's start this recipe with the ingredients that you will need.

For this chicken salad recipe, you will need the following:

 Follow the photo guide below in preparing your salad.

This Chicken Salad recipe is perfect for lunch. I guarantee that this can satisfy your palette as well as your appetite. Of course, any food is best enjoyed with your family. Let me know what's your favorite salad recipe below. If you are making this recipe, feel free to let me know also. I would love to see your creations too.

Good luck!

love lots,

Tin