Joyfully Yours

Never in my life have I thought of going to Naga City for a vacation. Whenever the province of Bicol is mentioned, the only place in my mind is in Legaspi City where Mayon Volcano is. Unlike Legaspi City which carries the picturesque volcano, Naga City has its own charm waiting to be discovered.

Naga City was established in 1575 under Spanish Governor-General Francisco de Sande (it was then named Ciudad de Nueva Cáceres) and was the third Spanish Royal City next to Iloilo and Manila. It is Bicol region's busiest city being a center of trade, culture, religion (Our Lady of Peñafrancia can be found there), education and more.

To go to Naga City, just head over to Bicol Isarog Bus Station located in Cubao, EDSA (South Bound) which is in front of Farmer's Market.

This is the bus we took. Leaving Cubao at 9pm and reaching Bicol Central Station in Naga City at 6-6:30am. It's a 9 hour ride including traffic and the 2 stop overs.


There is a powder room inside this bus but I wasn't able to use it. I just dozed off the whole trip to Naga City since it was dark outside.

This is the interior.

Inside the bus are leather Lazy Boy seats. Since the bus driver closed all the lights (the only source of light was from the TV) during the whole trip, I wasn't able to get a photo of the seats but you get the picture here. Look at those huge seats!

Reaching Naga, it was 6am! The sun is up and if you're sleeping in the whole trip, you'll be waking up fresh! Since it was my first time in Naga City, I had this touristy, #iwokeuplikethis shot by my mom.

Bicol Central Station - Naga City

When in Naga City, home of our VP Leni Robredo, it's a MUST to go to Bigg's Diner in Magsaysay Avenue. It's the place where she used to date with her husband the late Jesse Robredo.

You'll see this big sign in Magsaysay Avenue.

Which leads to this store! Have a date here with your special someone for a long & lasting love.😉

Group photo with the other media from Manila and the COO of Bigg's Diner Adolf Aran, Jr. with his wife Alu. (L-R) Bigg's Diner COO Adolf Aran, Jr., Joyfully Yours, Hefty Foodie Eugene Constantino, The Hungry Chef Nathaniel Uy, Malaya Newspaper's Edison Gonzales, Adobo Magazine's Troy Barrios, Cook Magazine's Marlon Aldenese and Roel Manipon.

Inside this branch of Bigg's Diner, give you a feel of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe (in Riverdale) where you can have your milkshake with burger, spaghetti and fried chicken! However, this place actually has more. Will write about it in my next blog so watch out for it! 😀

Look at all these vintage items on display!

This spot looks perfect for an OOTD. However, since this lady was there, I figured to take her photo instead and realized, it's also a good place for emo moments.☺️

The original Instagram!😃

Ending this with my road trip back to Manila. You'll know how much I love Bigg's Diner because I just had to have a snack box on the road going back to Manila! It actually contains a tuna sandwich and fries.

Wasn't able to take a photo of the sandwich and fries because of my road trip buddy, my little dumpling.

She ate it! Hahaha! :D

You can see how comfy the seat of the Lazy Boy. Just remember to bring your favorite pillow/s and enjoy the sceneries!
I actually recommend traveling day time because of the scenic view. You won't feel the 9 hour ride just looking in amazement how beautiful the Philippines is!

Watch out for my next  entries about my road trip to Naga City! ☺️

A few months ago, my family attended an art exhibit by a very good friend in Angeles, Pampanga. On our way home, a cute familiar kitty caught our eye.

"Kitty Cafe" is beside McDonald's at Barangay Sta. Rosario! Where would you go? Of course, at "K
Since my Lil Dumpling is a huge fan of Hello Kitty ever since she was a year old, it was obvious that we needed to check this place out. Because this visit is for Lil Dumpling, presenting her meet and greet session with Hello Kitty!
I still remember clearly the day I've discovered she loved Hello Kitty even if we don't buy her character items. We were walking on the street when she was a year old and she saw a Hello Kitty sticker on the floor. She pointed that it's a cat and wanted to get it. I did not allow her to touch it because it's dirty but she kept insisting the whole time to the point of asking me again if she can get it even if we were afar.

A Panoramic Shot from the Entrance

This place is definitely a dream come true for every little girl who loves Hello Kitty. All around the place is tickled pink with paintings of Hello Kitty with her boyfriend Hello Daniel. There are also quotes from Hello Kitty's cartoon show which made the place even lovelier!

Each table top has its own Hello Kitty napkin holder.

Look at all those tables with the cute napkin holder!

On sale are some Hello Kitty items which guests can purchase and bring home as souvenir. The items are pretty pricey so I'm guessing they might be original items.
Here are the bathroom doors with Hello Kitty & Hello Daniel.
The meals on their menu is a mixture of Korean, Filipino & American cuisine with coffee, milkshakes and cupcakes. The cupcakes are just a little too cute to eat!
So what did I get?

Korean Mandu

Real Chicken Nuggets with Honey Butter French Fries

Chocolate Milk Shake

The whole place feels like it transported you to Hello Kitty land in Japan not just because of its decors but their TV plays Hello Kitty series continuously.
Actually I was yayaless during this trip and I only had The Hubby to help me out with Lil Dumpling but it was so much fulfillment to see how happy Lil Dumpling was that her parents are with her in her dream Hello Kitty world!

This is my haggard-but-happy look! Haha! #yayaless

Overall, I think this place deserves a visit when you go to Angeles, Pampanga. There are just so many corners where you can have your OOTDs. As you can see from all the panoramic shots, even for non-Hello Kitty fans, you'll feel the fun wholesome vibe of the place that lures you in to hang out and feel like a little girl again!

Just like that, the 3 months of summer is already over. Despite the end of May last Friday, the heat of summer can still be felt all over the Metro. A lot of schools are opening on June 10 so I'm sure a lot of parents are planning this week to take their last chance to go out and have fun with their kids before school starts again!

For those parents who don't have enough vacation leaves or do not like to spend their vacation leave, here's a destination that is just around 1-2 hours from Metro Manila (depending on where one lives and of course, the traffic) that you can go to.


Timberland Heights is located in San Mateo, Rizal. Inside it is Timberland Sports and Nature Club which gives one a perfect excuse to get out of the city and commune with nature because of its reasonable distance from the city.

The beautiful city view from Timberland Heights.

Anyone will surely fall in love with the city view Timberland Heights. It feels like you own the world when you're up there looking down at the city's activities.

My happy fiance who enjoyed the view. (Photo by Rhea Bue.)

Timberland Sports and Nature Club has a lot of facilities to offer for family bonding and activities. Some of the facilities are table tennis, indoor badminton court, indoor volleyball court, indoor climbing wall, hiking and infinity pool.

My fiance who looks like he hiked. Actually, he just climbed the stairs. :)

The facility I have enjoyed the most is the infinity pool of Timberland Sports and Nature Club since it is very inviting. One will surely be tempted to take a dip!

The clubhouse and the pool.

The infinity pool.

The sunset! (View at the edge of the infinity pool.)

Because of the breath-taking sunset and city view at the edge of the infinity pool, my friends and I can't help it but take more photos.

My fiance and I trying to pull Rhea's shorts. (Photo by Michelle Bugante.)

Our friend from Indonesia, Ade Syukri with Michelle and Rhea.

Katy Perry's song in: "I kissed a girl and I like it!"

A swimming party wouldn't be complete without an underwater shot!

My fiance and I trying to make a heart but looks like a circle! Haha! =D Any tips on how to perfect this?

As the night drew in, the breeze got cooler in Timberland Heights. Even though it's very hot in the Metro at night, it's quite cold in Timberland Heights. Because the city view was so fantastic during daytime and romantic on sunset, I wanted to get a night shot so I braved the cold breeze.

The clubhouse with lights on! Lovely isn't it?

"Finding Atlantis" featuring Ade & Rhea!

Voila! The night shot!!! =)

What do you do after swimming for the whole afternoon? It's time to eat! We had noodles, pizza, chicken, nachos and halo-halo at the clubhouse. Of all the food there, we loved the nachos and halo-halo the most! Special thanks to Tita Susie (Michelle's aunt) who was so generous to treat us for dinner! We all loved conversing with her about anything under the sun! She's so cool and very well-travelled!

(L-R) Our Vietnamese friend Duc Chu Hoang, Ade, Tita Susie, Michelle and Rhea!

One good thing about Timberland Heights, because it's so near the Metro, there's no need to stay overnight which is easy for any parents' pocket! We stayed until 9pm and got back to Metro Manila by 10:30pm! It's so convenient and as DOT says it, "It's more fun in the Philippines!"