When One Turns A Year Older

Labsie and I celebrated our birthdays with lots and lots of foods, love and laughter.

On September 1, Labsie and I went to Sto. Cristo Parish for Thanksgiving Mass, then later we went to his house for breakfast. It was to my surprised that Labsie bought me a birthday cake from Conti's (Mango Bravo) and his parents were singing me a birthday song. Labsie also bought me a bag from Mango (and I love it!).

Come dinner, we went to Sambo Kojin for an eat all you can buffet date and again its freebies for me (yay!). I went home feeling stuffy, full and in love. 

On September 18, Labsie and I again went to Sto Cristo  Parish for Thanksgiving Mass, with me were cake from Conti's (the Red Velvet kind) and my gift (a Timex Ironman Sport Watch) for the birthday boy. Then we have delicious breakfast again at their house with hite Spaghetti (my favorite) courtesy of Tita Rina. Around noon, we went to Amoranto's Sports Complex for Labsie swimming exercise. We then proceed to Lucky Chinatown's Mann Hann for dinner with his family.

Having our birthdays means my goals and priorities were shifted since it was where we begin to contemplate on our future. I have so many aspirations for us and I was hoping he is too. I pray that God will lead us down the path where both of us were holding hands to a future full of love and surprises.

Keeping it Healthy the USANA Way

I am not a big fan of taking supplements, I don't even take medicine even when I am sick or when I am having my period. But lately, I have been having a bouts of cough and colds and it worried me because its lasted for a whole month. It's a good thing my brother got a USANA Essentials. So, I persuaded to impart the Essentials to me and he gave in!

I have been taking it for two weeks now, and I cannot yet see its improvement. Maybe I will see it after a month of taking the essentials?

My Everyday Beauty Regimen: Nivea Visage Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Range

At 25 years old, I seriously need to take more care of my self. For starters, I never have problem with my skin, I don't break out, I seldom have pimples/acne (owing it to my Chinese ancestry), and I have no facial hair (except for eyebrows). However, I want to take care of my skin because I read somewhere that as we grow older we will encounter dark spots and whats not. So I decided to go with Nivea for my everyday face and body care.

For my facial care, I used Nivea Visage Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Foam (sometimes, I alternate it with Nivea Visage Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Scrub twice a week), then I apply the Nivea Visage Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Toner all over my face and neck, then for my moisturizer I apply Nivea Visage Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Day Care in the morning and Nivea Visage Sparkling White Pore Minimizing Night Care at night.

Overall, my Nivea experience is off to a good start. I never experience any breakouts, nor do my skin feel oily/greasy. But I really want to get out of Nivea is my pores to shrink and have a fairer skin.

I also use Nivea for my body. I used Nivea Extra Whitening Cell Repair and Protect Body Milk both in the morning and at night. I love the smell, its not thick and sticky, and its absorbed quickly. I also use UV Body Whitening Serum SPF 25 after I applied the Nivea Extra Whitening Cell Repair and Protect Body Milk. As for the Whitening Night Serum, I used it every night after I applied the Nivea Extra Whitening Cell Repair and Protect Body Milk.

Since, I have been using the Nivea products for only a week, I haven't yet seen any significant result maybe it will take time for it to show. In the meantime, I'll continue with my beauty regimen.

Also, I also used the Nivea Fruity Shine Strawberry for my lips. It provide my lips with long lasting moisture.

Organix Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco: Weightless Healing Dry Oil

While in pursuit of Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care, I chance upon the Argan Oil displays in whole shelf reserve to Organix Products.

So what is Organix Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco: Weightless Healing Dry Oil? It's the exotic precious blend of Moroccan argan oil spray instantly infuses with an all over veil of shine, heals and mends split ends, gives color and highlights a multifaceted glow and prevent static flyaways. This exotic precious blend of Moroccan argan oil weightless healing oil spray, instantly heals split ends, creating soft frizz-free perfection while protecting your hair from harmful styling heat and UV damage as it gives a smooth, glossy shine.

I bought a bottle of Organix Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco for Php 499. I thought it was 100% pure Argan Oil until I read the ingredients from the label. When I first applied it to my damp hair as the bottle instructed, it smell so good. However, after few hours the product wears off and I have to spray again so that it look smooth again. The good thing about this is that no amount of spraying will make you look greasy. It is also not a serum. 

So the question is will I buy it again? I am still in search of a good serum-like leave on for my hair. I want to achieve the wet-like look so that its look tame. Maybe I'm going to try the Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil - Extra Penetrating Oil.

Hair Haul 101:Dove Damage Therapy

I am on a hair quest! I have decided to cut my hair short last week because I wasn't able to manage my thick coarse hair. To think I just had my keratin treatment last month. For the past few years, I have taken to rebonding my hair but it only lasted for three to four months because I can't maintain my hair by undergoing another salon treatment. So, I opt to let my hair grow naturally and will try to maintain it using whatever means possible at home. 

Since my hair is naturally dry, thick, coarse, wavy and unruly.

I was actually looking for tips online on how to treat my hair. What catch my attention is the the Dove Damage Therapy line. Since I am impulsive when when I want to do something, I decided to buy all the range from Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair. Most of them I found at Watsons.

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Shampoo

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Conditioner

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Daily Treatment Conditioner

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Treatment Mask

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Overnight Treatment

Dove Daily Hair Vitamin (comes in 6 capsules)

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Shampoo

I love how only a little amount of shampoo creates a lather. It has a very fresh scent. I would like to take the shampoo alone because its already making my hair very soft and manageable but since I'm on the path where I got to take care of my hair I have to combine it with conditioner.

Damage Damage Therapy Intense Repair Conditioner

Again, a little amount goes a long way, considering I have thick hair. I'm loving Dove more on more because of this. Just like shampoo, it has a fresh scent. 

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Daily Treatment Conditioner

Take a moment to look at the printed drawing on the top. Just like the drawing, Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Daily Treatment Conditioner has a swirl of white and yellow. The white part is the conditioner whereas the yellow part is the hair treatment.

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Treatment Mask

I plan on using this treatment mask once a week for optimal result. The smell is quite similar to Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Daily Treatment Conditioner.

Dove Damage Therapy Overnight Treatment

The overnight treatment is supposed to use once a week at night (I've been using it when I have a date the next day). It is not sticky and leave a very nice smell on hair and pillow. Some users prefer to use this every night so that their hair won't dry out.

Dove Daily Hair Vitamin

Before I buy the Dove Daily Hair Vitamin, I am looking for Dove Damage Therapy Nourishing Oil Care. 

I want this! But I can't seen to find it anywhere!

I love that I have to have a leave on too! But sadly I wasn't able to find one on the market. Maybe it phase out. So I have to make do with Dove Daily Vitamins. Dove Daily Vitamin can be used well - DAILY. it cost only Php 75 per pack. But since I am on budget these days, I am going to use this only on special occasions on when my boyfriend take me out on a date.

So there, I finally found my hair care product. Overall, unlike any other shampoo that I've tried, Dove didn't make my hair feeling itchy and heavy. Although, some parts of my hair is wavy it can be remedied by using leave on. After all it isn't an overnight process and I still have a long way to go to care for my hair.

#ShareACoke

Date A Man Who Loves You More

I found this article on Thought Catalog, Thought Catalog are collections of articles written by different people that pertains to his/her freedom of speech. I find it read-worthy. This day, I would like to share with you an article written by Shanna Roberts Salee entitled Date A Man Who Loves You More.

Date a man who loves you more. Meet him young, at a time when you're not old enough to realize how precious he is. Fall in love carelessly. Start to think he must be the one, begin building a life with him. Become entangled with his family and him to yours, believe he will be the father of your children in later years. Date a man who loves you more because he will love everything you hate about yourself. The man who loves you more will rub your feet when you're tired and take your cousins out for ice cream because he is simply that kind of man. He will abandon his plans to come rub your back when you're sick without you ever having to ask. The man who loves you more will allow you to grow as a person without taking space. He will be patient, kind;; he will know when to apologize and when to be quiet. He will never yell. He will laugh at your jokes and find you beautiful, even at your worst. The man who loves you more will love you entirely, unconditionally; he will follow you anywhere and do anything for you.

As you grow with the man who loves you more, ignore the creeping sense of boredom, Ifnore it because it is selfish, it is unbecoming, and you know you should be satisfied with this perfect man. Ignore it because you watch the women around you, your friends, your sisters, your co-workers, and you know they all long for the man you have. Ignore the melancholia and the longing you feel every time you watch a couple fight with passion, with anger, with fire. Count on your fingers the number of fights you've had over the years, and consider yourself lucky without really believing it. Ignore the nostalgia you feel for moments that have never existed. Ignore it because you know passion is fleeting, passion is mercurial; passion is not something you build a life on. Passion will not raise your kids, it will not pay your mortgage. When passion fades, you tell yourself, you are left with nothing but regret. Ignore the slow leak of emptiness filling your gut when you kiss him, because it does not belong in your life. It does not belong with this perfect man who loves you more. He is dependable and with him, you know you will lead a lifetime of contentment. You will travel with him, you will push him towards his goals. You will have wonderful memories and photo albums. You will celebrate milestone with pride, you will grow old holding his hand and raise balanced children with him. When your children fall in love, you will smile and hope they find someone who loves them more, because it will guarantee them the satisfied life you have led.

Do not date the other man because the other man will never give you the stability you know you need. Stay away from the other man because with him, you are unreliable. The other man will never be there for you with the same dependability you have come to expect. He will challenge yo and push you to question everything you think you know about yourself. The other man will love you, he will love you in a ways that makes you abandon every certainty you have ever had, but he will not help you keep your balance. Just when you think you have figured that man out, he will disorient you, you will be winded, you will not be able to breathe. Date the man who loves you more because the other man will never need you. He will miss you when you're gone, he will be secretly broken, but he will go on without you because he does not depend on anyone. This man is treacherous, you cannot trust yourself with him.

When things are good with this man, you will be euphoric. You will be the best version of yourself. You will look in the mirror and find you are beautiful. You will be the luckiest woman in the world, and you will believe it. You will tell him you love him and the words will explode out of your heart because it will be the first time you have ever encountered such irrevocable truth. He will say it back and mean it, and you will feel like you can never be close enough to him. You will lose yourself in him, and he will lose yourself in you. Stay away from this man because your happiness will be fleeting. When things are bad with him, he will fight back. He will not be patient, he will not soothe you. The other man will be infuriating. He will be selfish, careless with his words and at times even cruel. He will try to inflict as much pain on you as himself is feeling. He will not apologize and he will push you to your limits. With this man, you can expect the dizzying agony of passion, the blurred oblivion of apathy, the delicious comfort of despair, the addictive misery of loneliness. You will tell yourself that it is better to have loved and lost that to have never loved at all, but in that moment of utter hopelessness, you will not believe it with absolute conviction.

Date a man who loves you more because while he can never be quite enough, the other man will always be too much. The other man will leave you thirsty for more, parched for him, panicked like a drunk who has finished his last bottle. Date that man who loves you more, fall for him in a slow and steady way, build a foundation with him and consider, truly consider, how lucky you are to have found him. Do all this, because with the other man, you will never know anything but a frenzied hunger and all-encompassing madness. With that man you will burn bright and fast, and you will be invincible until you are not. Find the man who loves you more and keep him because the worth of happiness cannot be measured in days and months and years, and those fleeting few memories of pure, unadulterated bliss will never measures up to the lifetime of contentment you will have with the man who loves you more. Tell yourself this over and over, let it become your mantra, and condition yourself to believe it. Forget the other man, or at least try to, ignore the smells, the sounds and the things that remind you of him, ignore the way he made you feel, because you are better off apart. Together you make the world explode, but you cannot survive in it after. Date the man who loves you more, choose him and never let him go, because you are wise enough to know that stories of true love never have a happy ending, and with this man at least you will die knowing someone loved you more.

Craft Room Ideas

I wish to have my own creative space someday (I am keeping my finger crossed on this one!). Below are my inspiration should I be having my my own space in the future.

(source: HGTV Rate My Space)

Photo by froggymonkey from Rate My Space

Photo by thehappyzombie from Flickr

Photo by new-memories from Rate My Space

(Source: Craftaholics Anonymous and Better Homes and Gardens)

Just Between Friends

The Embellished Nest

Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens

Unskinny Boppy

Better Homes and Garden

Little Gray Fox via Apartment Therapy

Defodigital

My Creative Escapes

Room Decoration

More Ideas:

• Craft Organization Ideas
• Printable Color Labels
• Craft Room Tours

Paper Flowers Galore

I'm addicted to anything Do-It-Yourself and inexpensive crafts! This time its paper flowers! I would like to share with you some of the DIY tutorial on making paper flower.

1. collections of lovely paper flower tutorials from Oh Happy Day

2. how to make paper flower from A Beautiful Mess

3. making fiesta pom-pom flower from Creativebug

4. making paper flower headboard on Design Love Fest

5. paper to petal by Design Sponge and Oh Joy

6. mini pajaki tutorial on Honestly WTF

7. making paper flower bouquet on Creativebug

8. mixing real flowers, paper flowers, airplant into bocquet by Michelle Edgemont

9. making paper flower corsage and boutonnieres by MicheleNg

10. tissue flower on A Beautiful Mess

11. giant peony paper piñatas on Corner Blog

12. fabric flower on Crafty Craft Fair

13. felt flower on In My Nest

14. shabby chic flower by Little Snippets, tutorial can be found in Guidecentral

For more inspirations, you may also visit this websites:

• Cut Out and Keep - collections of origami
• Emmaline Bride
  
• Guidecentral
• The Crafty Blog Stalker
• Tip Nut
• Dear Hand Made Life
• Accents and Petals
• Handcraft Your Life
• Our Lake Life
• Save By Love Creations
• Capitol Romance
• Craft Unleashed
• Carolyn Scott Photography
• Elli
• 100 Layer Cake
• Sweet Violet Bride
• Laura Ashley
• Whip Up

Happy Crafting!

Jo Avila Photography Class

Hey folks! I have started another seminar. It's Basic Photography Seminar by Sir Jo Avila every Saturday at Unit 114 Gold Building, 15 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan.

Here are the coverage of the 5-sessions photography seminar:

Session 1 - Basic Theories and Principles of Photography

Session 2 - Composition Technique

Session 3 - Basic Studio Lightning and Flash Photography

Session 4 - Basic Post Processing and Basic Color Management and Inkjet Printing

The good thing about this seminar is that Sir Jo Avila offers 50% discount to celebrate their 20th year of teaching basic photography. What's more is you may attend multiple refresher session for FREE!

You may visit his website at www.joavila.com!

My Favorite Polymer Craft Store

These days I considered myself crafty, not surprising since I've enrolled polymer clay workshop. However, polymer clay equipment and supplies are sometimes difficult to come by since we have few specialty shop in the Philippines that sell this product. Most of the good finds were found on internet. Below are the lists of shops where I would like to get my supplies.

1. Deovir Arts and Supply

• have branches all over Metro Manila, mainly in malls.
• they have US imported polymer clay such as Sculpey and Kato
• various arts supplies
• tools

2. Purple Nook Clay Shop

• Slightly lower price than Deovir
• wide range of polymer clay supplies/equipment

3. Jigs and Clay

• Mostly pre-order items

4. Shmily Arts and Crafts

• they have a shop in Sta. Ana

5. Hobbes and Landes

• Greenbelt, Greenhills and Rockwell banch are known to have a polymer clay supplies. I will go check if their Trinoma branch have clay availablity.

The Gift of Time

 You've probably heard this statement a few times"Time Stood Still For No Man". How true are these words. Time denotes our existence here on earth, the dash - between our birth to the last day of our lives contains a personal history of who we were, how we lived, who we knew and what we did with our lives. 

It is filled with memories of love, joy, laughter, pain, sorrow, anger, forgiveness, emotions all entertained, some internalized, some expressed, and some exploded.

In the midst of our living, time continues on its endless journey - time is a gift, though we rarely stop and acknowledge it as such. With everyday time is equally allotted to everyone - 24 hours, and what we do with that time is totally up to us. 

We can spend out time wisely, or worthlessly, we can squander it, or invest it, we can enjoy it, or abuse it, we can live it, or retreat from it, but it moves on regardless. 

Time cannot be contained, only the memories caught within that time can be. With time we have the amazing ability to capture within our memory bank those moments that cause us to become embodied with adrenaline, love, passion, peace, and a revealing awareness of who we are as individuals.

I have always wanted to do everything at once. These past few weeks, I have taken various short classes of the things I want to learn and also, I plan on taking more in the future. It was a huge sacrifice on my part, especially if you are someone who wants to be beside your guy all the time. For the past three years, I always tends to my boyfriend for enjoyment and contentment, until I felt that I have to do something worthwhile to accelerate my personal growth. Which is a big surprise for me because I rarely get bored with monotony.

Seeing Labsie working out every weekend and enjoying his chosen hobbies sparks something in me. It got me thinking that I should do something about it. Since I was into arts and crafts, I decided to take various arts and crafts and enjoy my life. Travelling was out of option since I'd like to go travel with him. 

Spending time with your boyfriend is no biggie - but you have to have passion for other things. If Labsie was into sports and I was into him is not the mark of good relationship. Finding other passion will make you love yourself more. It also gives you enough confidence and self-esteem.

These days I manage my time between my passion and my boyfriend which is good for us as it make the two of us grow together and separately while chasing both our dreams.

Labsie gift for me on Christmas 2013

Craft 101: Beginner's Tools for Polymer

Starting a polymer clay is a bit expensive since you will be needing a lot of things especially when you are a hoarder like me. Here are some of the "shopping list" that you might need really need.

• Polymer Clay - obviously you can't work without polymer clay. Make sure you store your clays in cool area away from heat since clay cures at low temperature. 
• Oven - Never ever use oven toaster. Use electric oven like mine.
• Blades/X-Acto Knife/Hobby Knife - spare blades can be bought at School/Office Supplies.
• Needle tools and awls - for poking hole, making marks, securing tiny piece to bigger piece.
• Chopstick or Knitting Needles - very handy when you are doing some sculpting or working with cane slices
• Pasta Machine/Acryllic Rollers - use in conditioning clay
• Baking surface - lay a piece of paper on baking surface. You may use tiles.
• Steel Ruler/Tape Measure - for measuring
• Liquid Clay - discuss in previous blog. 
• Working Mat - can be tiles or rubber cutting mat
• Glaze/Varnish - discuss in previous blog.
• An Assortment of Brushes - artist brushes, toothbrush
• Pigments/Chalks - Acrylic paint, sharpies, alcohol ink, soft pastels, fade-proof ink, mica powder, glitters, metal powders, liquid colored clay, sparklers powder
• Various Tools:
• Alcohol/Wet Wipes - you may put alcohol and water in spray bottle separately. The water is to spray on thin sheet on clay so they don't stick to my work surface.
• Toothpick
• Pins
• Cotton Buds
• Baby Powder - applied on workplace or molds to avoid clay sticking on items
• Tweezers - for placing rhinestones, pearls, and teeny tiny eyes on face
• Small craft scissors
• Assorted sculpting tool - you may visit dental supplies store for this.
• Mold/Texture sheet/Cutter
• Drill
• Acrylic blocks - for making lentil beads
• Waterslide Transfer
• Pliers and other beading materials

Craft 101: Introduction to Liquid Polymer Clay, Sealers and Glosses

Liquid polymer clay is a liquid form of polymer clay, obviously. Liquid polymer clay is a viscous, somewhat sticky medium. It requires no conditioning. If let out in a loosely covered polymer-compatible container, like Liquid Sculpey, it will thicken, but it can be thinned using clay softener. 

In addition to many adhesive and construction applications, all liquid clays can be tinted easily with mica pigment powder or oil paint and use for embellishment. (Glitters, metal powders, metallic leaf flakes, mica flakes, sand, and dried leaves and flowers can also be add using liquid clay)

Liquid clay has several valuable adhesive properties when baked. It is used to bond polymer clay element together, raw clay to raw or baked clay to baked clay.

Some of the liquid clay in the market are Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS), Kato's Liquid Clay, Fimo's DecoGel.

For gloss and varnish, I have compiled a list taken from various sources.

1. Mod Podge - for air dry clay only. Preferably Magic clay and cold porcelain clay.
2. Semco Varnish and Sealer - tends to get tacky when applied to certain  surfaces (polymer clay), but it has matte variant that helps item retain their color and/or prevent  it from fading and has no sticky residue.
3. New Future Gloss - watered down version of Sculpey Gloss Glaze. For sheer effect only. When mixed with Golden Varnish the clay will turned to satin.
4. Sculpey Gloss Glaze - really glossy effect, only one coat needed for super shine. Also available in matte and satin.
5. Judkins Diamond Glaze - can be brought at Deovir's. Double as gloss and adhesive.
6. Golden Varnish

Other adhesives includes: Cyanoacrylates or CA Glue

1. Kronyo
2. E-600
3. Bulldog
4. Greco - make sure you get new stock if your Greco is past six month it will barely stick to anything

Craft 101: All About Polymer Clay

I am excited to share with you what I know about Polymer Clay. I have attended two polymer workshop last month. One was Basic Polymer Workshop and the other was Chibi Dolls and Souvenir Workshop by two different clay artist.

Polymer is a clay but its not the usual clay that we've known before (i.e. PlayDoh). Polymer Clay is a type of hardenable modelling clay based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It does not contains clay minerals, but like mineral clay a liquid is added to dry particles until it achieves gel-like working properties, and similarly, the part is put into an oven to harden, hence, its colloquial designation as clay. (source: wikipedia)

Below are the lists of clay brands:

1. Sculpey Bakeshop - marketed as children's polymer clay and never dries out. Very soft and you barely have to conditioned it. Good if you're making items that don't hold much detail. They're too soft and squishy for more detailed work. 
2. Sculpey III - Great clay for beginners. Easy to condition.
3. Sculpey Premo! - recommended mostly to those who plan to use clay for business. 
4. Studio by Sculpey - recommended for those who want to get into clay business. Good for caning and sculpting.
5. Fimo Classic/Fimo Soft - Top quality and great for business. Very firm and a bit more difficult to condition. You need some oil or clay softener or a clay mallet. A bit glossy once bake.
6. Nendo Firm/Nendo Flexible - Good if you want to make flexible pieces. It can be more rubbery and plastic-y than other clay brands so avoid leaving this unbake on top of finished surfaces too long. It's also stickier than other clay. There's no need for liquid clay to adhere two clay parts with this clay. Lack of conditioning lead to air bubbles.
7.  Clayzee Polyclay
8. Kato Polyclay - formulated by Donna Kato. Tends to be sticky but rich in color. Good for caning. 
9. Lumiere
10. Pearlex
11. Craft n Bake
12. Dukit Clay
13. Flexi Clay
14. Cernit - perfect clay for making dolls, has porcelain like finish once bake.
15. Pardo - clay for pregnant women
16. Klayola - Good for anything that needs to be strong and bendy. It is also nice to soften old crumbly clay.

Hope you find your staple clay!

On Being An Artist

There is something you need to know about me. I am a frustrated artist. When I was in grade school, someone gave me a box of acrylic paint (I was good at coloring a coloring book). I was overjoyed and enthusiastic thinking that I can create great masterpiece with it. To start, I made a makeshift easel (chair covered with white blanket), and Mama bought me a ream of bond paper (yes a ream, Mama always supported us when it comes to extracurricular activities provided that it will benefits our personal growth). And viola! I began to paint like an artist I see in movies. Sadly, I wasn't able to create a masterpiece, what I created instead is a messy canvass splattered with arrays of colors. But it was great for Mama. 

I have always been fascinated with artsy stuff. I am a hoarder of newspaper cut-outs, a friend drawings, stationary stuffs. One time, I collect cut-outs from a magazine thinking that I will be able to start my scrapbooking, but I lacked materials i.e. glue, glue gun, and photos, so I put it in a box and let it gather dust. I will deal with it later soon!

This past few days, i immersed myself in making polymer clay. I enrolled two workshop this month dedicated to polymer clay craft and it was great! So behold! - hopefully my next post is all about my artsy crafty projects that I finished, and my journey in realizing my dream as an artist.

This is the beginning of something new!

Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan Tour 2014

One of the perks of being a government employee is that we get to experience out-of-town yearly assessment within the country with minimal expenses. This year, our assessment was held at Pagudpud, Laoag City, and Vigan City, to explore the hidden jewels of the north.

Our first stop is Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, also known as Burgos Lighthouse. It is a cultural heritage located at Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

Located a few minutes further from the lighthouse is the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation.

Bangui Wind Farm is also a sight to behold. Arranged in a single file 20 on shore turbines are spaced 1,070 feet apart facing the South China Sea.

I also get a chance to passed by the 4th longest bridge in the world - Patapat Bridge.

Villa Carlina Resort located at Saud, Pagudpud was a nice resort. Although it lack certain amenities such as swimming pool, function hall and game room. It exudes the ambiance of primitive provincial life.

Sand Dunes is a must try sports in Ilocos Norte.It only cost Php 500 each person. Sadly I don't have a decent picture of me sliding down the sands.

We also get to spends our second night at Palacio de Laoag. For night time strolls, you can get a tricycle to the city park for only Php 15 per person.

Ilocos was also famous for its churches.

You can't go to Vigan City without visiting its famous Calle Crisologo. Although some would say that its street is magical during the night.

  

Our last stop was Baluarte Hills owned by Chavit Singson. I didn't get to explore much of the place because it was stifling hot but I get to take picture with these two lovelies.