Staycation at Nobu Hotel and Family Bonding at DreamPlay!

Planning a Staycation this long weekend?

It is definitely the City of Dreams! I would say that this Staycation at Nobu Hotel was the best one that we have ever had as a family. We love staycations. My little one always loves staying in a new place for a short time. She loves discovering things. She love experiencing new things and going through new adventures. Now, i’ll tell you why this particular staycation was the best for all of us!

Nobu Hotel

Hospitality at its finest!

When we got to Nobu Hotel, we were greeted by smiles by all of the staff. The lady that checked us in to our rooms was very pleasant. She even talked to Zeeka, and wished that she would enjoy DreamPlay. She also gave me very specific instructions without me having to ask where the exit to DreamPlay was, or where the gym was or where breakfast was the next day. I loved that it was so cool that she even left her post to direct us to the elevator!

I learned from her that Nuwa and Nobu are from the same group of hotels.

Attention to Detail

When we got to our room, I loved the Japanese inspired look!

View from our room!

I love how it’s so simple yet so classy. I am always impressed by this kind of aesthetic. Also, I love how Nobu Hotel put effort into thinking about the details. Case in point, there were two robes and two pairs of slippers. One was black and the black robe and slippers were bigger. The other one was white and both the robe and the slippers were smaller.

Another detail was that I had my name on the phone. Little stuff like this make the experience more customized!

Relax and Enjoy with the Family!

There are a lot of things to do in the hotel and a lot of things to do in the whole expanse of City of Dreams. In the hotel, the entire family will enjoy swimming. Check out how beautiful the swimming pool and the garden is!

Do you know that they had coolers for each table? These little touches make all of the difference. And WIFI was available for anyone to use within the premises of the hotel. No passwords! I loved it!

Look at my little love! She had so much fun swimming with daddy!

DreamPlay

Since we couldn’t visit the casino since we had Zeeka tagging along, we went to DreamPlay instead.

DreamPlay is a DreamWorks movie-inspired wonderland for kids to enjoy. It’s located inside City of Dreams Manila. It reminded me of a smaller version of Sanrio Puroland in Japan.

Inside DreamPlay, there are 12 attractions that your kids can enjoy and choose from. Although, shorter kids will not be able to join some of the activities. My daughter was 5 years old so she kept on going back and forth to the activities that she can do. She absolutely adored the place and didn’t want to leave.

So what were the things that a 4-5 year old could do?

First, we threw and shot balls at each other. haha! This was inside the Afro Circus. Parents, if you have little kids and you want them to use up all of the energy, have them play here for at least 30 minutes. The surroundings and the things inside are very safe — lots of padding. The balls are made out of foam so it doesn’t hurt when you shoot them. They have machines (like the red and blue one in this picture) that shoots the balls into the air when you press the green button. It was so cool that my husband and I actually played, too!

Afro Circus at Dreamplay!

My favorite was this cooking class — Cooking with Gingy! There are time slots for this class so best to check at the reception when you enter. We all had aprons, chefs’ hats, rolling pins, etc. This wasn’t an ordinary baking class because we baked while watching Shrek, Donkey and Gingy talk to each other. I won’t tell you how that happened. 🙂 Anyway, each one of us baked a Gingerbread man cookie. We, then, we decorated it and ate it!

But don’t worry about getting hungry. Beside the area of where the cooking class was held, there was an area called Chez Gingy where you could actually order food for lunch. They served pizza, ice cream, chicken fingers, etc. I wasn’t a fan of the food though. What I enjoyed was the ice cream with the bottomless toppings that you could take. The food was okay, but not that impressive.

Chez Gingy!

After lunch, we watched a 4D animated movie at the DreamPlay Theater. It was a fun film. Zeeka hid under her dad’s arm, because there were times when the seat would squirt water. She hated that! hahaha! Overall, we enjoyed watching at the DreamPlay theater.

After that, we went for Kung Fu training with Kung Fu Panda. Then we created our own dragons and had them race towards the finish line. We also built a boat and raced, too!

There are other things that your young kids can do, like go up Shrek’s treehouse,  pretend to fly a plane, etc. We really had a fun time at City of Dreams, both in DreamPlay and at Nobu. My next target is to have dinner at Nobu. Breakfast was amazing, so I really want to go back to try dinner. The ambiance at the restaurant was simple yet very elegant. I love how they fixed their buffet, too.

To end my review, I’m sharing a video of what happened during our staycation!

Enjoy!

Love lots,

Ginger

3 Ways to Make the Most Out of Summer with your Child

My baby is going to big school next year. I can’t believe how fast time flies. It was just a few blinks ago that I held her in my arms, and could carry her with just one arm. It also seems like it was just yesterday when she took her first step and said her first word. I also remember the time when she still smelled like a baby. haha! Now, she stinks after playing and I have to have her use Bambini cologne so she still smells good. Currently, i’m looking at this list of school supplies to buy for big school. BIG SCHOOL! Can you believe it?

I remember buying school supplies to be a lot of fun. I always had cute and great stuff at the beginning of the school year. My mom would put a lot of effort into choosing stuff, labeling things and packing things for me. Now, it’s my turn and I know that I’ll be enjoying doing all of these for Zeeka.

But enough about things that will happen in a few months. We still have summer to enjoy and we need to make the most out of summer!

So here are the three ways that I think we could make the most out of summer with our children:

EXPLORE AND GET LOST TOGETHER

Last week, I wanted to go jogging. I haven’t had time to exercise for the past month, because of the tons of things that I needed to do. When I was about to go out the door, I saw my daughter standing in front of me, all ready as she donned her “I’m-going-out-with-you-and-you-can’t-do-anything-about-it” look. I had no choice but to tell her to stand up straight so I could rub on some insect repellant and of course, her Bambini cologne (so she would still smell nice) and to grab her bike and follow me.

Bambini Sunny Playtime for awesome sunny day activities!

To tell you honestly, at first, I didn’t want to bring her because I was on “game-on” mode for working out. But during our little exploration outdoors, I had fun. I was feeling a little bit sentimental, too, since my little baby was now a little lady, and she could actually follow my pace. She was also asking about birds, the differences of trees, etc. We also sang together; we like the same songs, by the way.

This is why, this summer, go out with your child and get lost together!

SAVE AND SPEND PRECIOUS TIME AT NIGHT TOGETHER!

My daughter has a hard time sleeping early. So to help her sleep, we oftentimes go to bed early, rub a little bit of Bambini Starry Lullaby, and take turns in telling stories.

Perfect for sleep-time!

This summer, since she doesn’t really need to wake up early, we may step up the notch a bit and level-up our night time activities! We were thinking of having an evening picnic. Another idea is to make cups of chocolate and play boardgames for kids!

This is a plan that makes me excited for Summer!

ENJOY UNPLANNED THINGS TOGETHER

The reason why I love Summer is that there is no rush in doing anything with your child. As a mom, (I don’t you if you feel the same way, too), I feel like I have to be up a certain hour to do certain things for my child at a certain time. Everything feels so rushed. I feel like I/WE never get to chill and relax on the couch together.

There was one time last week when we found ourselves (my daughter and I) snuggling on the couch and doing our own stuff. I was watching Netflix and she was on her IPAD. Then out of the blue, she said, I love that mommy and I are alone together. Sniff… sniff! I realized the same thing, too. We hardly spend this kind of moment together, when we are both not in a hurry to get somewhere.

So Summer is the perfect time to chill and enjoy NOT planning!

Which reminds me, Bambini’s hashtag is #EnjoyLifesLittleSurprises 🙂 This summer, I hope that you find the joy with your little one in life’s little surprises.

 

 

 

 

 

Get Huge Discounts at the S&R Members’ Treat 2018!

Hello, March, and hello, summer!

Yes, the sunny season is HERE, and for me, that means outings with my daughter, reunions with family, swim parties, updating our home, and other various activities that take advantage of the hot and dry weather before the rains come again.

There’s so much to look forward to in the summer, and to jumpstart the season, S&R has a special treat for its members – literally!

The S&R Members’ Treat runs from March 14 – March 18, 2018 and will be held in all S&R warehouses nationwide. That’s five whole days of enormous savings to get you ready for fun in the sun, from Buy 1 Take 1 deals to discounts as low as 50%!

Check out the S&R Members’ Treat deals that got me excited for the summer!

● Our bodies are more active in the heat, and it’s good to have snacks on the go to keep energy up. Load up on Balconi and Rondoletti wafer snacks for the munchies and some refreshing Tropicana juices in different flavors to wash it down (Buy 1 Take 1)!

â—Ź Conveniently, you can get Kitchen Classic food storage containers (Buy 1 Take 1) at S&R too to pack your baon in.

â—Ź Summer break means get-togethers with the family! Make more seating room for visitors in your home with Cosco folding chairs (Buy 1 Take 1)!

â—Ź Serve up your favorite grilled ulam with the Oster Bioceramic Indoor Grill (Buy 1 Take 1)! Perfect for families living in condos where traditional ihaw set-ups might not be convenient.

â—Ź On hot days – and there will be plenty! – offer palamig, juice, or water served in attractive Anchor beverage sets (50% off).

â—Ź In the evenings after the kids are off to bed, serve chilled wine and liquor to wind down while binge-watching on Netflix or just relaxing on the couch (Buy 1 Take 1 – but some are even available for Buy 3 Take 3!)

â—Ź Looking to do a bit of summer home styling? Spruce up your bedrooms with these eye-popping 4-piece and 6-piece bedsheet sets (Buy 1 Take 1).

● Upgrade your pillows too! Snag Wharton Vac pillows for a restful night’s sleep after the day’s adventures (Buy 1 Take 1).

â—Ź Do away with mismatched hangers for a more organized closet, and replace them with simple, uniform, non-slip basic hanger sets. Available in sets of ten (Buy 1 Take 1).

● I’m sure your little ones are just as enthusiastic for the summer, so fuel their excitement with bright new totes and bags for their summer outings (Buy 1 Take 1).

â—Ź And of course, to get the whole family ready for the most-anticipated movie event of the season, Avengers: Infinity War shirts for both children and adults (Buy 1 Take 1)!

With so many wonderful deals, you definitely don’t want to miss out on any of them! Here are my tips to make the most of the S&R Members’ Treat:

1. Come early. Get first dibs on everything from great picks to the most ideal parking spaces.

2. Plan ahead. Make a list of things you expect to buy and set a budget to ensure you grab everything you need without overspending. All the same, be prepared to take home a load of unexpected goodies!

3. Go around in an orderly manner. Grab a cart and wend your way through the store aisle per aisle so you can shop efficiently and you don’t miss out on anything.

4. Enjoy S&R food. Since you’re already there, make the most of your S&R trip by grabbing lunch or merienda in-store! S&R pizza is always a good idea.

5. Don’t forget your S&R card! What a nightmare it would be to get your excitement up for a fun shopping experience only to realize you’d forgotten your S&R card at home! Double and triple-check that you’ve put it in your wallet before you leave the house on Members’ Treat day.

The S&R Members’ Treat is EXCLUSIVE to S&R members.

The S&R Members’ Treat is happening in all S&R warehouse clubs nationwide, from 9:00AM to 9:00PM: BGC (Taguig City), Aseana (Pasay City), Shaw (Mandaluyong City), Congressional (Quezon City), Commonwealth (Quezon City), Dau (Pampanga), Alabang (Muntinlupa City), Imus (Cavite), Nuvali (Laguna), Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.

I hope you’re as excited for the summer – and the S&R Members’ Treat – as I am! If you are, go ahead and tell me what you’re most looking forward to in the comments below.

See you at S&R!