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Family Staycation At The Cirque Serviced Residences

When you have a hotel like bed (or close to that) it is really hard to leave your house. So when we got an offer for a Family Staycation At The Cirque Serviced Residences, I was a bit hesitant. The bedroom photos are convincing though and the pool! And the fact that the residence is just a stone throw’s away from our home (stone na si Goliath ang nagbato haha). I find it amusing that we’re having a staycation a few kilometers away from our house. But I guess that’s the whole point of staycation right?

Family Staycation At The Cirque Serviced Residences

Honestly, I am excited for this staycation because we often pass by Circulo Verde, where The Cirque Serviced Residences is located. Always extending my neck as we passed by, curious on what’s inside that place. It looks expensive judging by the entrance and yet it gives you this homey aura. So it’s a dream come true to actually walk around Circulo Verde. As I have learned, Circurlo Verde is not as private as I thought it was. It has office spaces for rent, restaurants inside and of courseThe Cirque Serviced Residences is inside.

Forgot to mention pala, also another reason why I said yes to this staycation is because The Cirque Serviced Residences is managed by Hospitality Innovators Inc (Hi!). Our favorite hotel in Nueva Ecija is also managed by them (must read: Harvest Hotel Review). My expectations for The Cirque Serviced Residences is a bit high knowing who manages it.

Though I want to start my review the unit, can we just take a moment to appreciate the reception? Specially this side of the reception.. so simple pero so elegant di ano? Gusto ko po ng ganitong sala!

Our home for a night is a two bedroom suite. It’s the perfect size for our family. The unit is stylish and homey, the kind of description every homemaker wants for her home. For a moment there, I wish this was our home or we can at least copy the design and the lay out.

Quick tour of the unit: As you enter, you will be greeted by a tastefully designed sala. On your right is the laundry area which can also serve as maid’s quarter (judging by the comfort room inside). If you are planning to bring a helper, maybe you can request for a mattress.

Adjacent to the sala is the dinning area and the small but fully equipped kitchen. Fully equipped because it has microwave and induction cooker. This unit is like a real house talaga. Super ideal for families traveling to the city and needs a place to stay.

Then the 2 single bed bedroom where my 4 kids stayed. The room was perfectly designed that we decided to copy a bit of it for the boys’ bedroom. Parallel is the bathroom, which is quite big and has all the necessities a bathroom should have (hot shower, bidet, and toiletries).

Now, the master bedroom. I have nothing but praises, from bed to pillow to the linens, to the bathroom. I love this kind of luxury. And I can say, this is worth a night away from bed. The duvet is even better. Let me askm do you know where to buy hotel quality duvet and pillow? Yung tipong malulunond ka sa lambot? Please tell me! Mag ho hoard ako!

The Cirque Serviced Residences pool is located at 8th or 10th floor (I can’t remember, sorry!). Child friendly pool and lawn is covered with artificial grass, so no worries na baka madulas ang mga bagets.

Aside from swimming, there are other activities your kids will love. Forgot to mention that The Cirque Serviced Residences is pet friendly, actually, the whole Circulo Verde is, they even have a park for pets. Just walking with fur babies is already an enjoyable activity itself di ba mga momsh?

Ninja Academy is also now located inside Circulo Verde, where The Cirque Serviced Residences is located. It’s Ninja Academy, the name says a lot. If your kids wants to learn how to parkour, this is the perfect place. Sayang lang when we were there, expired na pala ang GC ko! Booo! Calling Ninja Acedemy, baka may magagawa tayo?

Save the best for last: BIKING PARK.

Yes, a whole park dedicated for BIKING! The park of free of use for The Cirque Serviced Residences guests (and minimal charge for visitors). The park is open:

Mon & Wed 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Tues & Thurs 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Fri, Sat, Sun 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM

What’s so exciting about a Bike Park? A Lot!

You can rent a bike for a very cheap price and you can also bring your own bike. And you can bike as you want, in cement, in trails and if you are up for it, try out THE RAMP!

My kids just bike around the area and in some slopy areas. Super enjoy sila with the biking, I wish nag extend pa kame ng stay! Watch our video:

Where to eat when checked in at The Cirque?

For early dinner, we had McDonald’s and then called for delivery through a food panda. Ang dami namang restaurant around Libis so food won’t be a problem and as I have mentioned, the kitchen is fully equipped. For breakfast, part of the accommodation is breakfast at Kambal Pandesal.

The Cirque Serviced Residences is located inside Circulo Verde, Calle Industria, Bagumbayan, Quezon City. Super easy to locate specially if you are using waze. Aside from 2 bedroom flat (P7200), other accommodations are 1 bedroom pet friendly flat (P4800), and 1bedroom loft (P5760). The 1 bedroom loft looks intriguing! Parang ang sarap mag hang out dun! To book, contact The Cirque Serviced Residences through their website:https://thecirque.com.ph/

Blogging 101: How To Start A Blog

How did I begun blogging? Honestly, I can’t remember the details. I can’t even remember my first blog post. But this blog is not my first blog, this is not even the first title of this blog, this is far from what it was 10 years ago. OMG!!!!! I am a blogger for 10 years now.

I do remember though that whenever I had the chance to learn something new, I have this urge in me to share it to world. So it has been the fire that keeps this blog alive, the need to share and help others. Sorry na, may pagka epal talaga ako most of the times. I even opened a “tech” blog back then pero hindi ko naman na maintain.

How To Start A Blog? I am often asked by my friends, FB friends and followers. And often than not, I am lost for words. It’s not easy to summarize 10 years of blogging. But I do want to help. I want to encourage people, specially moms to start a blog.

Why start a blog? For one, it’s a great breathing post. Whenever you feel the need to talk but there’s no one to talk to except your baby and the dirty dishes (or unfolded laundry), a blog is a good listener.

Another reason, blogging, specially mommy blogging is very rewarding and somehow profitable. A year supply of detergent? Who would say no to that? Or even a month’s supple of your favorite milk. Those freebies can really help stretch the budget! And the event invites which is a good motivation to dress up and wear lipstick. Blogging builds confidence too.

Lastly, for me, it brings back a lot of memories, specially of my kids. It’s like a photo album only filled with words. What was it called? ah DIARY! When I feel down, I read my blog posts, and I feel better instantly. Blogging is therapeutic and you don’t have to pay that much!

I thought about my answer to question “How To Start A Blog” for a long time. And I feel like this is the best way to answer that question.. by answering a series of questions.

What do I need to do to start a blog?

Do I need money? Yes and No but we will get to that later. What do you really really really need to start a blog? What is that one thing you need to start a blog?

You need an EMAIL to start a blog.

That’s how you will start your blogging career or blogging journey. An email will be your access to everything. Already have a personal email? I would suggest not to use that.

Get a new email, the same name that you plan to use for your blog.

Blog name right away? Yes, its’ like having another child, you need to name it. If you can’t think of any name, just use your name and add Mommy or Mama.

3 MUST DO IN NAMING YOUR BLOG:

It should be short.
Check godaddy.com if still available as .com
Check gmail if the name you choose is still available.

Trust me on this threes, this is 10 years of blogging experience talking.

Where should I blog? WordPress?

So I heard to be a blogger, specially if you want brands or company to notice you, you need to start a blog in WordPress. NOT TRUE!

So I heard WordPress is more professional than any other blogging platforms. NOT TRUE!

I’ll make this simpler for all of you, in WordPress, you need to invest more money but you have access to almost anything that you will wish your website to have. But it doesn’t mean that it’s the only way to start a blog. Sometimes, the price plus the technicality of it discourages upcoming bloggers.

I prefer and always encourage new bloggers to use Blogspot or blogger.com. It’s a platform by Google and it’s free to set up. Using your new email, create a blog at Blogger.com

How much is the initial money that I need to spend to start a blog?

You can start a blog for free. NO COST At all. Just follow these steps:

Think of a blog name.
Create an email using that name.
Sign up at Blogger.com and name your blog.
Start blogging!

But blog with blogspot.com?

I want the same as my idol bloggers, their own dotcom.

That’s the good thing about blogger.com, you can have your own dotcom while using that platform. Not all people knows that. You just need to buy your own domain (that’s what it’s called) and a little click here and there and you have your own!

Here’s a detailed blog post on how to>> How to use your own dot com in your blogspot blog.

You will need at least 800 Pesos if you want your own domain name. But if you are lucky, godaddy usually have a sale of 50 pesos per domain. You will need to renew that domain yearly, rate is around 800 Pesos yearly.

What to write first to start blogging?

Kailangan ba English? Pwede ba ang Taglish? Hindi ako magaling sa grammar.

Kahit ano po. It’s your blog, your wordings. I prefer using taglish but since I also have readers that are not Filipino, I use English most of the times.

Hindi magaling sa grammar? Hindi din po ako magaling sa grammar. In fact, bagsak ako sa Comm subject ko in college. Practice makes perfect. And reading too!

What to write first? Start by answering these simple questions:

Who are you and name at least 3 things that you love doing.
Why did you start a blog?
Name at least 3 topics that you will most likely to talk about and how frequent do you plan to write on your blog?
A year from now, how do you yourself as a blogger? How many posts have you written by then?

How about Social Media? Facebook Page? Instagram and the likes?

If you really want to take blogging professionally, I highly suggest creating a Facebook Page, Instagram and Twitter page for your blog using the email and name of your blog. It’s called branding which can be discusses in another day, another blog post.

Ipon Challenge For 2018

O kumusta ang wallet nyo pagtapos ng Pasko at Bagong Taon? Paldo pa ba o impis na? After all the expenses from 2017 Holidays, I know you are looking for tried and tested Ipon Challenge For 2018. I collected a few Ipon Challenge that people did last year (so awesome to say last year when it really is just a few days ago haha).

Ipon Challenge For 2018

52 Week Ipon Challenge. I think this is still the most effective Ipon Challenge of all time. It works well for Filipino with weekly salary. You can start with 10 Pesos and increase the savings by 10 Pesos as weeks passes by. If you start on January 6, 2018, by December 2018, you will have 13K Pesos. If you want to download the file for this one you so can see how much you need to save, check out Mommy Blogger Pehpot.

24 Week Ipon Challenge. If you happen to receive your salary twice a month, then this Ipon Challenge For 2018 is the best for you. Depending on your sweldo, you can try 100, 500 or 1000.

That’s how much you can save if you start with 1000. This one is best for people who’s take home is 100K and up.

Invisible Money Ipon Challenge. This is the simplest challenge and most fun actually. May variations ito. Pwedeng invisible 50, invisible 20 or invisible 10 and 5 (pang bata yan).

Sa invisible 50 Pesos Ipon Challenge, all the 50’s go straight to your alkansya, easy as pie! Nag viral yung girl na sa loob ng 5 months, nakaipon sya ng 40K pesos.

For 20 pesos, syempre all 20 pesos hindi nyo pwede gastusin. Yung isang nakita ko online, 1000 Pesos in 8 days lang.

Teach your kids to save din using this challenge. Tell them about the invisible 10 pesos coin or 5 pesos coin Ipon Challenge.

Syempre, all this Ipon challenge won’t be possible kung hindi ka magtitipid ano. For tipid tips, I have a few that you should read at ng matuto kayo magtipid:

Paano makatipid sa pag go grocery? Spend less on groceries by readin this tips>> 5 BASIC GROCERY SHOPPING TIPID TIPS

Financial tip from a mommy of 5 kids (with monthly house amortization and car loan haha)>> 5 Financial Tips To Help You Stay On Track With Your Budget

Goodluck sa Ipon Challenge ninyo this year! Please share the post to inspire other people to make ipon!