Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Colors of Sunset!

This blog post contains some sunset photos I have collected over the years. I still have a few more in my files, it's just recently I am into sunset photography once again. Since we started riding our bikes we could catch the amazing sunset here in Subic Bay. Using our camera phones our eyes were delighted by the sun setting for the day. 

I am always delighted about the grandest color of this bright crisp orange-red casting all over the sky, as it is enveloping the gray to black color of clouds. This for me is a sign of how the sun trying to rest the day and preparing another one for tomorrow's sunrise. 

In any place you are right now, the sun will definitely set. The difference of my sunset to yours is how we see it. How we appreciate the beauty of it and how we anticipate the next one for us to witness.

Using Xiaomi RedMi2 phone
April 201, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Olongapo City, Philippines

Canon a590is
on a tripod, self-timer shutter
September 2010
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Olongapo City, Philippines

Xiaomi RedMi2 camera phone
April 2016
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Olongapo City, Philippines

Alcatel camera phone
By The Sea Resort,
Subic Town
Philippines

Pyromusical event, 2011
Canon 500D
18-135mm lens
Manila Bay, Philippines

Pyromusical event, 2011
Canon 500D
18-135mm lens
Manila Bay, Philippines

Wedding prenup pictorial, 2011
Canon 500D
kit lens
Lightroom editing
Subic Bay Freeport Zone,
Olongapo City, Philippines

Wedding prenup pictorial, 2011
Canon 500D
kit lens
Lightroom editing
Subic Bay Freeport Zone,
Olongapo City, Philippines


If you love watching sunset I suggest to take photos of it, even on your mobile phone camera and keep a memory of it through your snap shots. You will enjoy seeing the sunset over and over again by looking at those photos. I hope this inspires you.
Enjoy the rest of the week.











Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Ivory Bath Haul x ZaloraPH

How do you love products that are best for your sensitive skin? Even nicer when you get it for free! 
When you go shopping online what are the products you often buy? 

In my case, since all my online shopping payments came from my earn money online sites, I considered it as having items for free.
And, products I usually purchase are for bath essentials. Bath essentials consume a big part of my monthly budget. So, purchasing it for free is always something big for me.

This is my latest ZaloraPh transaction and again it was a successful one. 
Boxes containing the mildest and safest brand of body wash and bath soaps

This is what's inside the box.
2- 10 bars of Original Ivory soap Php245.00 x 2
2- 21oz. Original Ivory Body Wash Php175.00 x 2
3- 65gms. Intensive Whitening Bar (Tranexamic +Kojic Bar soap) Php169.50

A total purchase of Php1,009.50 less Php220 credits from the return item from my last purchase. I paid Php789.50 with free shipping. 

I paid using my Paypal funds which I got from my earn money online sites. Literally, got these bath essentials for Free! 
Got my orders after 4days including the weekend. ZaloraPh always provides a smooth and fast transaction from orders to delivery. When sending or returning items they are always prompt when answering emails too. 

I have now enough supply to last for months and will enjoy baths even more because of the fresh and mildest scent of Ivory. 


Do you love Ivory too? Hit me up below for any comments and suggestion regarding Zalora shopping and Ivory products. 


Btw, if you want to purchase at Zalora you can use my code ZBAPH21  and get a special gift upon check-out for your first transaction. :) 


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Amazing Life Hack I Made Last Weekend!

When I was a little younger, I got hooked into collecting silver jewelry. I find it very simple and also affordable. I like gold jewelry also it can double up the value in time. I have quite a few silver pieces in my box separate to the few pieces of golds I have.

So, this cuff bracelet was once my favorite piece to wear, it is simple and very light-weight when you wear it, And, also the chain that serves as a connector between the middle of the cuff when you open and closes it to wear. It is silver so you won't have a hard time to combine and match it with your outfit to wear. 
Not, until it got tarnished. Silver jewelry can change color and tarnish because of some reasons, one is the body sweat, second is the chemicals that touch the item like cologne or perfume. Include the weather which may contribute to the tarnishing of the piece.

When this bracelet reached it tarnishing level, the whole piece was covered with black discoloration. My apologies for not taking the before photos of it, which I completely forgot. So, I kept this cuff in the box and wasn't able to use it for years! 

Not until last Sunday when my daughter was browsing youtube videos and was amazed by clips about life hacks. She then encountered this one page that I am very thankful for. 
Life hacks with your favorite accessories. 
The list went on and I was amazed as well. Then this stuff came in, how to clean your silver jewelry using KETCHUP.

Dub on some amount of ketchup on a cloth and rub it on your piece of silver jewelry which I did, after 15 minutes of doing it, the tarnished color was fading. I repeated the process for another 15 minutes until I reached the point I got satisfied. 

This is the cuff bracelet now, good as new!
Now, that is an amazing life hack that cost me a little using some ketchup lying on the kitchen counter.
I am not into searching more life hack ideas which I definitely use in the coming days.
I wore this piece yesterday for work, paired it with my Timex dress watch.
Any life-hack ideas you can share me with that I can use? Hit me down below in the comment section, I hope this one can help you. :)

Friday, April 15, 2016

The Day We Decided To Rescue A Cat!

From my last recent post about our weekend with our mountain bikes, I almost forgot the last part of it not until I browsed some photos on our mobile phones. 

Around 7:30 that morning we head back down from El Kabayo to Harbor Point Mall. We decided to get some coffee and pandesal (local bread) at BreadTime. Pandesal was not available that time, we sat in front of the store and cool down and wait for some time for another breakfast restaurant to open.
Then, I was shocked when this male white cat came out from the back of the piled monoblock chairs facing us. 

He was dragging his lower part of his body using his two front legs. 
As I saw it, The lower part of his body was damaged and crushed.
I assumed that since the location of this bread house is surrounded by parking areas of the mall, he was run over by a vehicle on a night time. 
The cat probably took shelter under one parked vehicle then didn't notice it was leaving the area.
This is only my assumption. 
If this really what happen, I hope that the driver knows and was aware of it, 
an intentional accident?
My first thought was how is this cat surviving such damage to his body. 
From the looks of it, major organs for digestion were damaged.

I asked Tay if there's an office here in Olongapo or inside the SBFZ were we can contact for them to pick up the cat. 
He recalls this office inside the Freeport called WIN (Wildlife In Need) Rescue Center. 
He took some photos using his camera phone and decided to report it to the center the following day. 
Though the center only caters rescue of wildlife animals I asked him to give it a try. 

He called the center Monday morning and he was instructed to bring in the cat to the center for 
check-up.

WARNING!!! This post contains some graphic photos. 

This was the photo of the cat from that morning that we saw him.

He looks so sick and in so much pain.

With a little struggle, the cat was placed inside a box for transport.


With the help of Kuya driver and Tay they transported the animal to the center.

WIN Rescue Center - Subic Bay Freeport Zone


They reached the center and showed the cat to the personnel on duty.


The staff on duty that time was on the phone with the veterinarian and he was describing the cat's physical condition.

With further description and added instructions, the cat was left in the custody of WIN.


Honestly, I was a bit of hopeless if the cat will survive based on the first time I saw the animal.
I lost hope at one point.

But, up to this writing, the cat is still alive in a cage and started eating since it was turned over to the center.
It shows continuous progress which I am happy about. 
To the staff and doctors of WIN rescue center, thank you for extending your service and help!
I will keep this blog updated on this cat's condition in the coming days. 
...

*** all photos are a property of bitsenpieces.com.





Tuesday, April 12, 2016

My DIY Hair Color Using Lolane Pixxel Color Cream in Burgundy

After months of having my hair color and my roots are starting to show off including some additional gray hair. I knew it was time to get my hair colored again. I normally do my own hair when it comes to haircut and hair color. Rarely I seek professionals to go to the salon and have my hair fix. 
First, I know how to cut my hair straight most of the time, and DIY my hair color. It's like watching videos on how to do it and reading the inserts in the hair color box.

I discovered this hair color brand Lolane Pixxel at SM Supermarket. I decided to purchase it because it is way cheaper than the other brands and giving it a try really.
I chose a burgundy color just to accentuate hair color and for a change and gray covering purpose.

Lolane Pixxel hair color cream in Burgundy Php 128.00 only.

It has directions at the back and on the side on how to apply and other instructions you need to know.

It contains the cream in the tube and the bottle cream developer which you need to mix in a plastic cup using hairbrush applicator.

I wasn't able to take photos of the hair color mixture but the cream became purple in color when mixed.
It has that hair color scent which gave a stain on my hair towel when I was drying my hair with it. 
I showered my hair applied hair conditioner afterward. It has been a week now since I applied Lolane Pixxel hair color cream. 
And, today I was able to take a photo of it when I had a photo earlier for the graduation pictorial at work. 


It really did cover strands of gray hair and it made my hair shiny and noticed how it covered-up my old brown hair.
I will repeat my hair color before the summer end and might use this brand again.

Can you DIY haircut and hair color your hair like I do? Share me some tips I can learn and add. 

Thanks for dropping by!
***This is NOT a paid post. The product was bought using my own money. 




Monday, April 11, 2016

Our Weekend with Our Mountain Bikes

It is so hard to go back to your regular routine when you spent your two day weekend doing things you love to do. 
Last Saturday it was an official holiday April 9, because of Day of Valor which is celebrated yearly. Since we had our mountain bikes last month, we make and find time to use it and because it is summer it was the perfect timing.

April 9, Saturday. 
We hit the road going to Subic Bay around past 5 pm and reached the bay area near Vista Marina Hotel and Lighthouse hotel to witness the sunset. we were there early. 

Our newly acquired MTB. Not so expensive once but it is serving the purpose well.
{ Voyager and Marzana }
We are starting to gear these babies and soon we can upgrade to a more define mountain bike that we really need. 

   
sunset around 5:15 pm
April 9, 2016

We moved a little going to the other side around 5:30 pm and the clouds were starting to cover the great sun.
It was windy and humid at the same time. 
Tourists and locals parked their private vehicles near the stage of Boardwalk enjoying the time with nature.
It was a good sunset to witness although I have seen more of this sunsets in the same location from the past. 
We left the location and scouted for a restaurant to have a snack and early dinner for me.

We tried out this restaurant near the Boardwalk.
Chopping Board

  My first dibs to this restaurant, and knowing myself 
I tend to expect more than what I think of a restaurant. We came inside the restaurant with a couple of customers almost leaving the store.  
                                                           

Cafe Americano Php 65.00
Served with no cream, we did ask for cream after a few minutes upon serving the coffee.

Chopping Board cheese burger Php 180.00
I don't like the taste of the burger, too oily and poor quality of beef patty.
The burger buns taste poor and the presentation is as dull as those slices of tomatoes in the photo.
It is too pricey for the price.


Penne Pesto Pasta with roasted breast chicken fillet Php 150.00.
The pesto sauce taste bland, and nutty taste from the pine nuts which is the main ingredient in a pesto sauce. I don't want to conclude that the sauce they made were from a powder base or a bottle base pesto sauce. If it does that would be the reason for the bland taste.
The service was poor, they did not serve water for customers we asked for a glass of water in the middle of our stay. 
For the food pricing, I find it too expensive and also the taste and the amount of serving.
The inside of the store is cool and well ventilated.
If I would want to come back here... I might think several times. 

April 10, 2016- Sunday.
We planned to go biking and check out the sunrise going to the SBFZ airport. 
Left home around 5 am and reached the Starbucks-Puregold crossing around 5:30 am.
We rerouted to the left going to EL Kabayo Horse stable.
This is how beautiful is El Kabayo every morning.
A little cast of sunlight glared upon each tree and the smell of wood and the grass feels the earth's moisture.
Not to mention the breezy feel as we rode our bike upon entry. 


Got to have the selfie with my bike :D

my dirty mountain bike tire

Tay took some photos of me I can use for my social media sites. I had this one as my profile picture on Facebook.

So lovely how the trees cast shade for us. 
Us in sweaty clothes and flared nostrils haha! 
We left the stable and rode a few more leading to El Kabayo waterfalls.
There we took a stop at the entrance of the waterfalls. 
We will surely come back here one weekend and will take more photos of the place.

I am turning 42 this year and biking is one of my "fun" thing to do, aside from so many things. This activity helped me physically, mentally and emotionally when I was trying to lose weight years ago and it is never too late to go back. I get to sweat while I enjoy nature. I appreciate early mornings and hours of sun to set. 
I am not aiming for that sexy, masculine and flat stomach chic. My goal is to enjoy and be healthy as I numbers are increasing. :D
More of my fun and exciting bike rides in the future. Oh btw, as I was writing this we are set for another bike ride this afternoon after work... exciting! :) 

Whenever you're near Olongapo and see us biking shout out and say Hi! 
*** Check out my newly created FB page dedicated to all Pinays all over the world who love to ride their bikes. Pinay Mountain Bikers. The page is new I will update as much as I can whenever available. 

This was how our weekend was spent. 
How was yours? 

Prizes from Kids Company Online Toy Store #onlineprizes

Last February I joined this contest on Kids Company on Facebook. There was a question there to answer regarding how do I love toys from Kids Company. After browsing website I saw the latest trends on toys and other kids stuff. 
And, guess what? I was one of the lucky winners out of the five lucky joiners.
Our prize was Php2000 each worth of toys which we can order online.
After several online communication with the Kids Company team, they gave me a code which I can use upon check out.

After creating an account, my daughter M was so excited to select toys and have it on my account cart. Sadly, there were conditions though when using the prize code. Only regular items can be used to purchase.
That's why we needed to change all the initial pick my daughter did. Up to the time, the toys available were not the ones she wanted. I told her to pick anything just for us to claim and before the prize code expires.
After a week and decided to check out, encoding of the prize code had some errors. The code is not working when checking out. Informed Kids Company staff up to the point they were the ones who accessed my account just to finish the transaction.

I paid Php400 for the shipping and a little extra of Php29 for the excess amount from the total through Paypal payment.
Overall, the process took me six weeks from the time of announcement up to the delivery of the toys we ordered.
Here are the toys we got from the Kids Company online store.


4 pieces of toys from Kids Company, here are the breakdown of each toy and their prices:

1- piece Hot Wheel toy car Php 129.75

1- box of Moustache Smash- Php 599.75

1- Kinetic Sand Neon Sand 6oz. Php 499.75

1- Kinetic Sand Brown Pack Sand 2lbs. Php 799.75

The Kinetic Sand Brown color is the most expensive of the 4 toys we ordered, and it was the least I want for my daughter to get. Just for the process of this gift certificate and the least of the toys, we can get... we have no choice really. 

My daughter M opened this brown Kinetic sand and she enjoyed playing with it, the cons having this at home is the room floor and the living room floor feels so sandy even M keeps on sweeping the floor. 

Thank you Kids Company for the gift certificate! 



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Friday, April 8, 2016

Save While You Shop With Groupon Coupons

Save while you shop with Groupon Coupons!

***Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, all opinions, and suggestions made are 100% mine.

My friends, co-workers, and family know me as a frugal person. I always get compliments whenever I post anything on my social media accounts when I get stuff or buy things online and getting less for the price and sometimes even for FREE. 

As a mom, I have learned how to manage expenses at home as well as personal use. Learning how to compare prices from different online shops local and international, is like studying a subject that you need to perfect. 
Shopping online has become one of my favorite things to do and I know I have to learn more to get more great deals. Great deals mean more savings. Well, who wouldn't want savings, right? 
Discovering a great online shopping site is like a gold in a minefield. 

Groupon Coupon caters different brands that online and in-store shoppers like me look for. From apparels, home improvements, style, and beauty, travel, and activities for the whole family. Verified merchants with huge discount coupons all here in Groupon. Plus, another thumbs up for me is that membership is free no other fees will be charged. I downloaded the Groupon App too, for updates and 1-2-3 click in a button shopping pleasure. 

My kids need new sets of clothing and footwear this coming month as the start of school is nearing. I found Nordstrom brand that has 112 coupons that offer 65% shoe sale and 50% women's, men's and kids. Subscribing my email address to this brand to get a weekly update with the best coupon deal I can get. 

You can check out other brands in Groupon Coupon:

  • Footlocker 
  • Macy's
  • JC Penny
  • Kohl's
  • Best Buy
  • Nike
  • Home Depot
I can spend the whole day browsing through tons of coupons in Groupon and I am sure I can get the best deal to shop. Check out Groupon Coupons and get the savings you need while you shop!
Be updated on their social media sites here:


I am excited about your Groupon Coupon shopping experience, hit me down below the comment section and let's compare notes. :) 









Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Our Gastronomically Satisfying Sakura Japanese Restaurant Experience

How about some Japanese food photos to satisfy your food cravings? I will be sharing with you all our gastronomical food experience that I and my family enjoyed.
Last month we received a food gift certificate from the awarding of the employee of the year from SBMA. 
And, to our surprise it was a single gift certificate worth five thousand pesos yes, Php5000 to Sakura Japanese Restaurant here in Subic Bay. 

So, I marked the calendar and it was a perfect timing to use this last after mass last Palm Sunday. 
Earlier that day we contacted the restaurant to make reservations and informed them about the gift certificate we will be using. 

Ms.Diane of Sakura confirmed it and reserved one VIP room for the four of us. I did check online the dishes that they are serving. 
I was kind of hesitant at first because of my kid's qualms about Japanese food. 
Good thing they have food that I know would love to have. 
And, take note the Php5k worth of gift certificate is for one-time use only... can you imagine the amount of food haha! 

Since we can spend so much that night I told our kids to order what they want. 
It was skies the limit for them. 
Sakura Japanese Restaurant facade and the entrance door leading to the main hall of the restaurant. There are few doors before reaching the main for the VIP rooms for 10pax or more.
Ms.Diane lead us to our reserved VIP room, the restaurant was half full and it was cozy enough to dine but we prefer the reserved room.

In this part I forgot to take pictures of the menu, we were too excited to order... my bad, sorry!

Ms.Diane took our food orders and in just 5 and less than 10 minutes all were served. That is how fast their service which is a total plus for us hungry tummies. :) 
The first batch of food who came in were: 

Two orders of California Maki's each order is at Php 260.00
This is how elegant, clean and well presented their California Maki's are. Compared to other Maki from other restaurants we dine. 
My daughter M and son wants their own plate of maki. 

An order of Salmon Teriyaki Maki was my daughter's other choice. This costs at Php 380.00.
Each maki rolls were garnished with sweet and fresh slices of cooked salmon, which gave that super nice texture and the flavor was nice. I took a couple of rolls and It was really good.
My son An ordered two of  Tamago Japanese egg cake,  Each order is at Php50.00. It comes with wasabi paste and a light sauce for dipping also some relish as side-dish. 
This was gone in a second!
Up next is this steaming bowl of Beef Ramen. The bowl was as big as a pot, it was overwhelming but I was pretty sure my son will enjoy this amount of Ramen which is one of his favorite dish to have. 
The light, flavorful and exact temperature for a ramen succeeded my expectations with this dish. I also like how it was presented the greens from the bokchoi, the strips of beef garnished with toasted sesame seeds with a half serving of an egg exposing the drooling egg yolk. 
This ramen cost at Php 390.00. It was kind of expensive but it was worth it! 
One serving of Horenso Gomaae cost Php 180.00 
It is steamed spinach drenched in sesame oil and cracked roasted sesame seeds. 
It is a cold appetizer to start the main course. It is sweet and crunchy at the same time. This one is the least on favorites for this food adventure for the reasons like, pricey and the serving is too little. But the taste was nice and since it's veggie it made me like it. 
We asked for some house tea and it was served in a small pot, which goes free upon request.
A glass of green mango shakes for my daughter avoiding a can of soda for her. This fruit shake is at Php 135.00. We also ordered canned sodas for the boy and the big boy, canned sodas at Php 60.00
An order of Gyoza at Php 170.00 for my son to pair it with the Beef Ramen, comes with a Japanese soy sauce for dipping. 
Well, guess whose plate is this for? Me! I am always on the side of salads and the liked and since most of the dishes my kids and Tay ordered are my likings too I will be tasting each plate :D

A heaping plated bowl of Beef Shabu-Shabu Salad Php 390.00.
It's a mixture of cold vegetables like cucumber, lettuce, young corn, tomatoes, cauliflower and generous strips thinly cut beef dressed in light Japanese mayo and extra salad dressing on the side. 
By the look of it, you will never feel like it was not enough for a salad... it was overwhelming. 
And, I liked it! 

It's a sin not to order tempura when you are in a Japanese restaurant. So we got this plate of assorted tempura for Php 390.00. It's a combination of shrimp, squid, fish, squash, and eggplant coated in tempura batter. 

One of the main dishes we had that night was this set. 

Salmon Harasuyaki Set for Php 380.00.
It goes with two slices of Salmon belly, half salad, a cup of miso soup, a bowl of Japanese rice, some sidings and a slice of watermelon fruit. 
Based on the color of the salmon and how flaky it was plus the sweet taste of the fish meat... it was fresh. 
This dish was for the big boy who loves salmon. 
I lost one photo of the dish we ordered it's the Ika Sugatayaki Php 250.00, an order of grilled squid. I was trying to retrieve the deleted photos in the folder but I couldn't find it. :(
Lastly, we won't leave without trying out an order of their best dessert. 
A bowl of cheesecake and coffee jelly parfait at Php 190.00. 
A combination of vanilla ice cream, whip cream, banana slices, crispies, a slice of cheesecake bed in coffee jelly cubes with a cherry on top. 
This was served last. 

Finally, it was time to devour all these amazing Japanese food in the table. 

My son posing for the camera with a growling tummy all smile in his face. :)
Kiddos with their chopsticks ready for those maki's!
Out VIP room and the hungry tummies ready to dig in.. 
And yes the amount of food was so much but they requested for another batch of Maki to order. 
We added two more orders of California Maki, two mo of the Salmon set and one assorted tempura booth for to go. 
We added Php125 cash to the Php 5000 food gift certificate, to sum up, the total bill of Php 5125, they don't add a service charge to the total bill. 

For the quality of food, service and the ambiance, this place is very recommendable. 
I hope you enjoyed the food blog post I shared to you and next time you visit Subic and will try this restaurant hit me up with your experience. :)
Thanks!

Sakura Japanese Restaurant
Lot 5 Time Square Bldg.Corner Sta.Rita Road 
Subic Bay Freefort Zone, 2222 
Olongapo City, Philippines
Monday-Sunday
11:00-14:30
17:00-22:30
Contact No: (047) 252-2666
sakurajapresto@yahoo.com