What BGC means to my family

Bonding to the max!

It was love at first sight the moment my family and I first set foot on Bonifacio Global City, more particularly Bonifacio High Street. This was in October 2007. Since then, this has become our favorite weekend-bonding place. I especially love the fact that it's not like any other place or any other mall in the metro where you are confined inside a building. Here, you get to breathe some fresh air while doing some shopping on the side.

Whenever we bring our kids along, we never fail to drop by Fully Booked. My daughters are so comfortable and at home here. The kids' section is where my eldest daughter and I get to bond over some "I Spy" books. My tot, on the other hand, would always be busy browsing over her fave Barbie books.


Gustatory delights
We also enjoy dining in their very kid-friendly restos like, TGIFriday's for their mouth-watering burgers, Texas Road House Grill for their melt-in-your mouth Santa Fe Nachos. In Serendra, we used to frequent Portico before it closed down. It was always a treat having breakfast or brunch there of Beef Sirloin Tapa and their Four-cheese Pizza. The kids also love the Carabao Milkshake in Cuillere. It's simply yummy!

Chill-out place

There are plenty of nice spots here where you can have a most-deserved chillax time with your husband while snacking on a slice of cake partnered with your fave coffee concoction. One of our fave coffee-shops here is Seattle's Best. And even if your kids have no thing for coffee, no worries... you can let your kids run around in the wide open area in the middle while you are seated outside Seattle's. Yes, it is a wonderful playground for the young and the young-at-heart.

BGC is definitely our go-to place whenever we want to relax, just chill out and spend some nice weekend afternoon enjoying each others' company.

Weekends at the Linden Suites

My family and I were happy to spend 2 separate weekends at the Linden Suites in Ortigas. We took advantage of their promo tie up with Smart that offered its members a whopping 70% off on Linden Suites' 3-bedroom suite/condotel. At Php 6,000, it was so worth it!

Even before we availed of their promo rate last June 12, I was already looking forward to go swimming and dipping in their indoor pool and jacuzzi. I was even more excited for my kids. The last time we booked a room here was when we celebrated Noelle's 2nd birthday in June 2008 and stayed in their standard room. That was the first time we experienced their pool and jacuzzi. In my opinion then, they have the best indoor pool and jacuzzi among the hotels in Ortigas we've checked into and that opinion of mine hasn't changed at all.

So yes, after 2 years, we were back in Linden Suites, this time we were with my brother's family. As soon as the card keys were handed to me, we were instructed to proceed to the other building where the 3-bedroom condotel was located. That meant, we had to pass through the annex. I didn't know that they already have an annex. It was a bit confusing at first because we had to take 2 elevators.

Upon opening the door to our condotel, we were surprised to see how spacious it was. Each of the three bedrooms were equipped with split-type airconditioner. The biggest bedroom had an LCD TV, queen-size bed, study desk and a bathroom with a bath tub. One of the two smaller rooms had a single type bed. I wasn't so sure if that was a queen-size or a double-size bed in the other room. After I requested for additional towels, blankets and pillows which they provided but only 1 piece of each, we spent our whole afternoon enjoying the pool and the jacuzzi.

Because of our enjoyable stay here and the reasonable rates, we recommended the place to my hubby's family. And so after just a month, I found myself emailing the Manager, Mr. Mark Guevarra. He took the liberty to book a 3-bedroom suite for us for an overnight stay. That was a sweet gesture and totally unexpected! I was delighted, to say the least.

July 17 - we arrived at the Linden Suites a few minutes before 1:00PM. We knew the check in time was at 3:00 PM but we wanted to check personally if we could check in early. And check in early, we did! Everybody at the lobby were friendly and very accommodating, from the lobby guards to the front desk staff.

It was the same room we checked into before. After a few minutes, the door bell rang and inside came a bell boy with extra towels, blankets and pillows on hand. All free of charge. Wow! I knew right then and there that we were in (again) for an enjoyable weekend. And oh, by the way, they also granted our request for a late check out - at 2:00 PM. Sweet!

dining room

sala & dining room

the sala - equipped with an LCD TV, DVD player and CD player










kitchen

bedroom #1

bedroom #2

master's bedroom








master's bathroom

extra towels, blankets and pillows

Visit the site here: The Linden Suites

Celebrating my princesses birthdays

It was just a few months before our two daughters' joint birthday celebration (Nala's 1st and Noelle's 4th) when I started to prepare for it. Unlike during our eldest's 1st and 7th birthday, the preparation time took me at least a year. That was then, this is now. I was glad everything went perfect even though my preparation time shrunk big time. I didn't want any stress. You see, I am getting older, too, and getting older means I'm becoming more and more "pressure-averse". I just want to also enjoy and watch my two princesses celebrate this milestone in their life. The party theme was Princess Glam. I chose this theme because of Noelle who is very much into "princesses" and anything associated with princess and girly stuff like fashion, accessories. I was thinking that Noelle was the one who could appreciate the party more than Nala.

God, thank You for this day
Prayer before the party started - recited by Nisi

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for this day. Thank You for gathering us all here at Burgoo to celebrate the birthdays of my two little sisters, Noelle and Nala. We thank You for bringing Noelle and Nala into our lives. They have given my pop and mom so much joy. Well, sometimes me, too. They have been blessings to us.

Thank You for our family, relatives and friends who are all here.

We acknowledge that our resources and everything that we have in order to make this all possible are from You. We ask for Your guidance and presence as we celebrate and have fun this afternoon.

This we ask in Your name.

Date: June 26, 2010 Place: Burgoo, Podium

Time: 2:00 PM-4:00 PM

Menu: Boneless Buffalo Chicken, Spaghetti Bolognese, Margherita Pizza, Shrimps & Ribs Platter, Rice Pillaf & Potato Wedges; Oreo Cheesecake; Bottomless Soda

Cake: 2 cakes from Red Ribbon

Host: Angie of Clowning Around (our hosts for the past birthdays of Nisi (7th) & Noelle (1st)

Glitter Tattoo: Joyce

Party Giveaways: TK Express stuff toy-cow & Disney tote bag from Toys R Us (for girls); baon bag from Toys R Us with Stick-O, candies & Milkita lollipops (for boys)