Chic cafes at Molito: Designer Blooms Cafe and Le Petit Cheri

I found two chic cafes at the Molito Lifestyle Center in Alabang.  They're the perfect place to sit back, relax, and enjoy the afternoon, whether alone or with your girl friends.

First is the Designer Blooms Cafe.

I've always thought this little shop was just a flower shop, up until a friend suggested we meet up here.  I was in for a nice surprise!  It's not just your usual Designer Blooms flower shop! It's a flower shop and a cafe in one! Such a nice treat, indeed, with all the beautiful flowers surrounding you while you sip coffee or chat with a friend. 

 

Cute little nook

 

 

We spotted Matteo Guidicelli who bought a red rose. I wonder for whom? ^_^

Thumbs up for this great recommendation from the waiter! This lasagna is soooo delicious!!!

I love the colorful timers! Orange for mild, royal blue for medium, sky blue for strong.

Vases of different shapes, colors, and sizes

Little details that make the cafe so cute!

Next up, just a few meters away, is Le Petit Cheri.

The large windows make the cafe bright and airy.  The winding staircase makes one feel like a princess in a fairy tale. But the thing I like most are the large bookshelves with lots of nice books for young and old alike. The next time I'm back, I'll be sure to spend a little more time just to read. :)

My little princess loved going up and down this staircase

Books!

And more books!

 

Dr. Seuss books are always a delight!

The macaron: just a little bit too sweet for my (not-so-sweet) tooth.

The bill came in this cute tray!

I love nutella, but maybe it'll still take me over a year to finish this XXL-sized one! :P

Picture wall

So, the next time you're in the South, why not try these out? I assure you of a wonderful time!  Enjoy! :)

Hello world! I'm back!

I've been busy, oh so busy over the past several months! Obvious, isn't it? It's almost the end of the year and I only have 3 entries for 2013! I can't believe it!!! Well, I hope to catch up in this last quarter.

So, again, Hello World! I'm still here, in case you've missed me. hehehe ;)  I'm back!!! :-)

The Puzzle Mansion: home of the world's largest collection of jigsaw puzzles!

As you may know by now, one of my favorite places to visit is Tagaytay. This time, on a day trip there, we decided to see something new.  The Puzzle Mansion! It recently (Nov 2012) bagged the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of jigsaw puzzles! Wow!!! It's truly amazing! You won't regret visiting this wondrous place! :)

THE Puzzle Queen herself, Ms. Gina Lacuna, gave us a tour of the museum. Her stories about her puzzles are just so amusing! And I love all her trivia! :)

That's Ms. Gina showing off her Eiffel Tower wooden puzzle. We had fun trying to find the objects that Ms. Gina asked us to locate in the puzzle. :)  Try to find the word "Paris", the bottle of wine, the small Eiffel tower, and the girl dancing with one of her feet up.

This is our group during the tour. We were about 20-30 in the group.

Inside is a collection of so many puzzles (more than 1,000) in different forms, shapes, and sizes! 

There are also those of some famous personalities, like our very own president Noynoy Aquino, the late Pope John Paul II, and the beautiful Mona Lisa! 

Some came in the shape of a ball. Fascinating!

These have some parts popping out!

These are puzzles too! In the form of crystals and wood in 3D.

These are amazing! They're 4D puzzles. As the Puzzle Queen puts it, they're "puzzles within a puzzle."

Here is Ms. Gina showing us her very first puzzle some 26 or 27 years ago. She said she made it for her son. How sweet is that! :)

The Guernica by Pablo Picasso. If this were a painting, it would cost billions! But I'm sure Ms. Gina's effort in putting together this puzzle gives her so much more feeling of pride and accomplishment.... something that money can't buy! ;)

Ms. Gina talks about the "Las Hilanderas." She said this is the hardest puzzle she has done so far.

Here Ms. Gina shows us the puzzle that she is currently working on.  It's a 32,000-pc puzzle, which she hopes to finish by July 2013.

That's the puzzle she's working on now, by the lobby near the souvenir shop, and the part that she has finished so far. It's just about 1/8 of the entire puzzle!