Visited Tagaytay After 4 Years

It's been a few days since we've been plunged into despair. I wasn't feeling well when I woke up this morning, so I went back to sleep. It was after lunch when I woke up. I went through this phase last year after I had my second PE. My doctor said it was PTSD. I guess it's been triggered and I just hope it doesn't last. 

I've had to safeguard my safe space the past few days to protect my health. I'm lucky I'm surrounded by friends and my Ates and Kuyas in my neighborhood. They have been providing support and company. That's how I've been coping. There's so much misinformation out there, so it's best to take everything with a grain of salt. 

Just before the elections I was finally able to get together with some friends. We met up in Tagaytay and ate at Sonya's Garden. The last time we got together was in November 2019 and we also had good food back then. Good thing the crew at Sonya's Garden allowed us to stick around even after their lunch service. It was really great to see my friends in person and we spent it reminiscing and laughing at old memories. 

Laughing probably helped burn everything we ate at Sonya's Garden because we ended up having merienda at Bag of Beans (Twin Lakes). The last time I was there was in 2018 and the place had aged well. Saw the Taal Volcano and it's so different now from before. Still beautiful, but it will probably take a long time before it goes back to it's old glory. 

I was soon tired and needed to rest. We planned to be home by 5 in the afternoon, but it was already 7 in the evening when we finally left for home. We wanted to go back to the hawaiian bbq place, but it was already closed. We decided to have dinner at RSM (new one near the rotonda) since we needed to stretch our legs. It was a huge place, but there was just a handful of customers. It was a good rest stop for us and we ended up bringing home more food haha. 

It was good to look back at happy memories today so I could get going. I'm making myself busy by spending more time with my plants and sewing. Hopefully my veggies would finally be productive and I'm targeting to finish my tshirt memory quilt blanket soon. 

Hope you are all feeling better and coping well. Remember, Papa God loves us. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tagaytay

Tagaytay is just 45 minutes from home so it's a great place to go to for a quick whole-day getaway.

We brought my sister and aunt to Tagaytay last weekend. We left at around 8 in the morning and had time to grab some breakfast at McDonald's SLEX. We arrived at our first stop - Sonya's Garden at past ten in the morning. We went around a bit and got some goodies in the country store and spa shop. I got a takatak -- wood chime that sounds like the street vendor's takatak box. I've yet to hear it takatak though since it hasn't been windy the past few days.

Lily in her pond?

Next stop was supposed to be the Flower Farm, but it was closed so we headed to Leslie's Restaurant for lunch. The bulalo was absolutely delightful! It was exactly how my Dad cooks bulalo. I think I'm going to be just like Markku who raves about Leslie's bulala everytime he gets a chance. I want bulalo!

Beef bulalo... the meat's hiding under the veggies.

Our trip wouldn't be complete without dropping by Starbucks and taking photos of the Taal Volcano. It was a gloomy day, but we were lucky the sun peeked through the clouds after we got some fraps.

For pasalubong shopping, we went to Mahogany Market. My aunt went crazy over fruits and I went crazy over plants and flowers. I have been toiling over my garden the past few months, trying to overcome my very brown thumb. I've admittedly killed a few plants already, experienced pesticide poisoning, but I'm keen to become a green thumbed gardener. And to show my commitment, I've actually started a new blog on gardening -- Gardening for Noobs. My Mom has just been rolling her eyes at my efforts, but she's been a great mentor, and she's my plant emergency room/hospital hehehe. 

One day I will have my own plantation!

I hope to go back before the year ends! =)

Flower Feast

Went to Sonya's Garden last weekend with my family. Just wanted to share some lovely snaps.