The Story Behind Paris

The story behind our trip to Paris is certainly an amazing one to tell and I don't think I'll ever get tired of sharing and retelling it over and over for years to come.

Last Mother's Day, May 11th, I joined a Mother's Day Giveaway sponsored by Katie Mitchell Photography. Katie Mitchell is an Australian lifestyle photographer and to commemorate Mother's Day, she was giving away a Mother & Daughter Portrait Session in Paris. Despite reading the fine print that travel expenses were not included, I proceeded to secretly join the giveaway as I had wanted to surprise Bianca to celebrate her Sweet Sixteen in our ultimate dream destination.  I told myself  that if the trip was meant to be, I would be chosen as the winner. Everything would fall into place for the trip - visas, airfare, accommodations and pocket money and the lack of all these details would not hinder me.

I kept positive from day one after submitting my entry and without even a clue if I would be chosen, I started preparing for the trip. I got our passports renewed, and secured an appointment at the French Embassy for our visa interview. Everyday I would do little things to prepare for the trip like sending our sweaters out to be dry cleaned, looking up hotels and places to stay. I even got Bianca to create an Inspiration Board of all the places we wanted to visit and all the food we wanted to eat in Paris and continued to harness positive thoughts, positive energies and most importantly positive actions.

When I received the email that my entry was chosen, I was in tears. Not in disbelief, but in sheer joy and happiness because I knew that it was finally happening and our trip to Paris would soon be a reality.

Our family and friends came together with their unwavering love and support which kept me going and kept my eyes focused on the goal all the more. One thing lead to another, overwhelmingly so, and in three weeks, Bianca and I found ourselves boarding our plane ride to The City of Light.

I just wanted to share this story with all of you who have dreams still unfulfilled. Paris has been on our bucket list since 2007 and honestly, there were times when I thought it was an impossible dream. But God's timing is always perfect. So, keep dreaming and  keep believing, because dreams really do come true.

Sweet Sixteen in Paris

To My Dearest Bianca,

Happy 16th Birthday, my love! What a blessing it is that we are celebrating your birthday in Paris, of all places. I can feel your excitement and your joy ever since we arrived here and I'm just so thankful for this gift.

We've been through lots of heartaches and sad times you and I, and I know that this is God's way of making it up to both of us. 

I know there were times when you felt discouraged when you thought your prayers were never heard or answered. But, this is proof that God hears and answers all our prayers in His perfect time. We just have to believe and keep the faith.

We have so much to be thankful for. How our friends and family rallied us on and the outpouring of love and support to make this dream trip happen is just so overwhelming! The only way we can ever repay them is to give back.

Thank you for bringing me so much happiness and laughter. I am so proud of all your accomplishments and the wonderful, caring and responsible young lady you have grown up to be. You are the reason I get up in the morning.

Dream big, my dear Bianca. Don't let anything hold you back. Be the best that you can be. Because now you know, that nothing is impossible with God.

Love,

Mama

 Bianca trying out the tiaras at the L' Opera Boutique.

Keeping up with Kindness

Last year, mom and I went to a lot of schools to share little acts of kindness with kids. Unfortunately, I spent majority of my free time this summer studying for college entrance tests, and we had to put our project on the back burner.

We were so excited to be able to squeeze in a little session right before my break ended, with these sweet kids from our good friend Teacher Nikki's art class : )

The kids were super cooperative and nice, and they even gave us a performance of their own! Here they are jamming to The Eagles' "Hotel California" : P

This is me singing a few songs with my ukulele! (I hope to learn how to play the guitar soon...)

I love these little sessions we have, because they remind me of why we started our blog in the first place - to spread kindness, happiness, and love! <3 

The Way We Ate- Chateau 1771

It's been so long since we've last eaten at Chateau 1771! We were so excited to go back and enjoy the restaurant's food and charming ambiance. It was the highlight of our trip to Greenbelt last Saturday - we love walking around and looking in lots of stores together, especially because we rarely go to this part of town. Definitely worth the trip!

Goat Cheese & Grilled Apple Salad - Malagos Farm chevre (goat cheese), green ice lettuce, mizuna, grilled red apples, kalamata olives, Pommery vinaigrette topped with bacon bits.

Pasta Chorizo - Spaghetti tossed in brown chorizo and garlic sauce.

 Beef Tenderloin with Cafe de Paris butter

Baked Potato

Lemon Basilic Sorbet- very refreshing and perfect for summer dessert!

Chateau 1771

Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St  

Legaspi Village, Makati City

(02) 729-9760