Vacation, please!

It's almost November and as usual I am wondering where the year went!  I was hoping that we could sneak in a mini vacation before the year ends but sadly our plans got foiled when Erman and I got sick on our supposed vacation weekend :(  I don't really have big travel plans at the moment (but I'd really love to visit Nepal and Jogjakarta- maybe in 2014?).  I just want to go to the places where we've already been to and just relax :D  Here are some of the spots that I hope we can visit before the year ends:

Tagaytay

Coffee, pies, cool weather and the view!

Las Casas Azucar

 Old houses, laid back vibe, looking at lovely things like beautiful swarovski crystal chandeliers and wooden windows

Baguio

 Breakfast at cafe by the ruins, organic market, cool weather, ukay ukay! :D

Caramoan

 Okay, this one is a bit far compared to the other spots but I'd like to go back and just listen to the waves by the shore.  There was a storm the last time we were here and it was a bit crazy when we went near the shore.

Really old things

I've been doing a lot of cleaning and sorting lately.  My mom is planning to use my old room so that means I have to get rid of all the stuff I left there.  A lot of items such as computer tables and old books have been either donated or thrown away since bringing them to our tiny home is not an option.

book of used movie, theater tickets

I've thrown away some journals, old notes and random items that i've collected over the years.  I mean, I don't think I'll be needing my plastic spoon and expired sugar packet collection anytime soon :D  My journals are not very exciting either...  7 year old meow liked to talk about cats.  13 year old meow liked to talk about cats too and yes it is like that every year :D  But I did hold on to a photo album filled with photos I took of my cats and other random cats pics collected from teachers and classmates.

and there is even a handwritten movie ticket in the bunch :D

I am still thinking if I should keep this old scrapbook of movie tickets.  I kept all the tickets of the movies I watched with Erman when we started dating.  I think I have 3 to 4 years worth of tickets here.  I'm not sure why I stopped but looking at the dates I think it was when I moved to Singapore for a year.  The album got buried somewhere when my room was packed up during my absence.

When not everything was made in China!  Ruler and case made in the Philippines, pencil made in Taiwan and ballpen made in Hong Kong :D

I also found this really retro McDonald's give away.  I think my dad kept this since I was still too young to appreciate it then.  It says 1984 on the ruler so yeah I was just 3 years old when I got this :D

creepy.

or maybe he kept it because Ronald McDonald looks very creepy!  Too bad the set is missing the eraser.

But my favorite find is this old baby box.  I've posted about this before but it is nice seeing it again after 3 years of being hidden in my room.  My mom said that it was my dad's baby box.  I can't verify since there are no dates on the box but it does look very old!  I just wonder why it wasn't used.

The soap is still here.  The exact ingredients aren't listed but I'm guessing that they did not use a lot of chemicals back then.

It says "Made in E.U.A." (hecho en E.U.A.) on the baby oil bottle.  I wonder where that is?  Maybe in Europe?  The label and the instructions are also in Spanish.

But I'm not 100% sure since I can read Guatemala and Dominican Republic on the label.  Very confusing indeed :D

Catstagram selfies

I've been seeing a lot of creative cat photos lately.  I am particularly fond of the cat selfie pics :D  You know, when it seems as if the cat was the one who took the selfie :D  Here are some really cool samples I saw on tumblr.

This cute orange kitty could be Nuggie's long lost brother!

Even this one :D

We tried our own version at home but I think I need to add the arms in the photo :D

Here is a spaced out Kumo :D

And a sort of sad looking Nuggie with the vacuum cleaner in the background.  Yeah, he is not so fond of that machine.  Haha!  Anyway, don't forget to follow us on instagram - meowbykate.  Happy Sunday folks :D

Smart shopping with Save22.com.ph

Do you like comparing products and prices before making a purchase?  I do!  I make sure that I have all the information before buying.  I compare at least 3 brands, check the product's specifications and its price at different stores.  I also like reading customer reviews.   A bit obsessive?  Maybe, but this way I not only end up with what I need but also also get the best deals :)

I think I found the perfect spot for our future toaster oven :D

It is great that checking for products is a lot easier now that everything is online. This came in handy for us when we started furnishing our new home.  No more need to physically visit each store just to check rates.  All the information we needed was just a click away!  Unfortunately, not all stores have websites :(  We also noticed that most sites are not regularly updated.  

Thankfully there is a new site that solves all these problems.  Save22.com.ph features comprehensive product pricing and promos from many different stores.  The site is also updated daily!  Isn't that wonderful?  This way it will be hard to miss a good deal.

 The website also has a map that makes it easy for you to check if there is a store near you!

And as it turns out, I found out that there a lot of folks like me who like to research online before buying :D  I still do some online shopping but nothing beats going to the store and physically inspecting the product before buying it.

Right now we are still deciding if we are going to buy a toaster for our kitchen.  Coincidentally I found an oven toaster deal Save22.com.ph!  Abenson is offering free toasters to folks who spend P25,000 using their Citibank card.  Awesome deal but sadly not for us since we don't plan to purchase anything else aside from the toaster  :D  However it is great that Save22.com.ph listed the other appliance stores along with the promos that they are currently offering! 

Aside from the appliance store promos I was pleasantly surprised to see many others that I wasn't originally aware of.  Because of Save22.com.ph I found out that McDonald's is offering 2 awesome deals right now - the drive thru sticker and the free cheeseburger coupon!

 Of course I availed of them both :D

I also chanced upon the rainy day deals in Mercury drug and Watson's!  I'll be heading out to these stores soon to stock up on the essentials just in case we may be needing them.  You guys should check these out especially now that a lot of people are getting sick because of the weather.

Practically everything is on Save22.com.ph!  If you are a fan of deals and promos like me you should definitely add this site to your bookmarks :)  Happy shopping folks!

Hello, Caramoan!

I feel really lucky to live in a country where there are a lot of beautiful beaches.  Sometimes it is difficult to decide where to go since there are over 7,000 islands to choose from, but Caramoan has always been on the list especially after it was featured many times on the Survivor series.  According to wiki, the countries that filmed here include the US (2 seasons), Serbia (2 seasons), Israel (3 seasons), Bulgaria (4 seasons), Sweden, France and India.

Survivor US. Photo from inquirer.net

Getting There

From Metro Manila, the easiest and fastest way to get to Caramoan is via plane to Naga, Bicol or Virac, Catanduanes.  Then take a van or jeep to the port going to the islands.  Our resort had a 9am boat schedule so the best option for us was to take the night bus to make sure that we got there on time.  We booked the lazy boy seats since it was an 8 hour trip!  Thankfully the ride was very pleasant - the bus had wifi, less than 20 passengers and only 1 stop since there is a toilet on board.  We arrived at the Naga Bus terminal at around 6am.  I was a bit worried that we would have a difficult time looking for the vans going to the port but after asking around we found out that the van terminal was just nearby (around 5 mins walk from the bus depot).  Yay!  I also felt happy that I did not hire the hotel's private car (P1,500) since the fare on the public van was just p100/person :D  The trip to the port takes around 1.5 hours.

Talisay port. Very quiet and empty!

The van stops at Sabang port and from here you can take the ferry boat to the islands.  Sabang is a small and busy port with lots of tourists, porters and boatmen.  It is good that I asked where the boat going to Tugawe Cove was because as it turns out Erman and I were at the wrong port!  The van driver was kind enough to drop us at correct place - Talisay Port.

Are we there yet?

After 2 hours of waiting at Talisay port we were finally on the boat and on our way to Caramoan!  The boat ride going there takes around 2.5 hours (or longer depending on weather).  The water was calm that day and we hardly noticed the time since there was so much to see!

Beautiful Mt. Mayon in the background!

And finally we were at Tugawe cove!

So near!

Getting ready to dock

So beautiful!  Definitely worth the 12+ hour trip to get there :D  More on the beach and the resort on my next post.

98B Escolta Saturday Market

It was unusually traffic last Saturday but I am really glad that we pushed through with our plan to visit the market organized by 98B at the First United Building in Escolta.

Wow!

It was a very interesting event!  Aside from the cool handmade crafts, vintage items and artworks for sale there were also performances and art installations.

A lost Justin Beiber ticket

There were so many cute things to look at!  I want all these stickers and buttons.

Things that make me happy!

 Robots, vintage toys and stickers :)

 Birdie agimat pouches by artist Mark Salvatus.  I wish I got one to go with the agimat pouch that I have.  I was given one as a token when I supported the artisteconnect project last year :)

 Handmade bags, vinyl records, vintage posters

 A meow portrait

We bought something from this stall.  Can you guess which one? :D

Customized shirts

Lots of old magazines, photos and postcards

 a very informative vcd of how to protect yourself from HPV (for only p20 too :P)

Interesting juxtaposition

I really hope I can join the next market so I can sell my handmade robot and cat items :)

My boys

I'm getting a lot of comments on how big Kumo has grown...

But our white boy still has a lot of growing to do to be as big as Nuggie :D

Sometimes i think that Nuggie is a normal sized cat.  He doesn't look so big in photos because he has a small face and thin legs :D  A friend once commented she has never seen a more pear shaped cat than Nug!  The famous online cats like Shironeko and Maru have big faces, paws and fluffy bodies :D

And this funny cat meme I saw on facebook!  He's so big and fluffy!  I guess like people, cats have different body types too.  The only difference is how cute they look when they are fat :D  Wish it was the same for us (lol). 

 Anyway, here are more photos of my boys just being lazy.

 My grumpy cats look annoyed with all the photos I am taking :D

Okay this is the last one!  Promise :D  Haha, just look at funny faced Kumo.  Happy Sunday folks!