Spotlight on Jamie: events

Bicol Bloggers’ #SSSstaycation: Mama Eñga

Long time, no blog! I’ve been really busy lately, as I’ve finally started my very first and official corporate job! *woot* I’ve been really, really exhausted as my job requires me to be awake at night and asleep in the morning. Yes guys, I’m officially part of the vampire working gang now. And I'm still in transition. Haha. That’s why I am very giddy when I got the news from my co-blogger Ms. Apple Allison of www.solesearchingsole.com that we’ll be having a stay-cation dubbed as #SSSstaycation in celebration of her first year blogversary!

I already wrote an overview of this event we had last January 31-February 1 on my recent blog post. Now, it’s time to talk about the things we did, places we went to, and foods that we ate! On this blog post, I’ll be feeding you with the savory Bicol dishes of Mama Eñga!

Mama Eñga is a small "turo-turo" style restaurant that serves on-budget, true Bicolano dishes. This resto is very accessible as it is located at the very heart of Naga. Their area is surprisingly spacious inside and also has a second floor that can be used for meetings and events.

I cannot believe that I only discovered this restaurant just now! Oh, the yummy and affordable meals I’ve missed before! I started eating without knowing the prices of each dish first. And I’d have to admit, I am really surprised that you can have a full meal for 70-100 pesos only!

My favorite was their Lechon Kawali! Oh, I know I’ll be going back to Mama Eñga a thousand times in the future just to devour their Lechon Kawali again! Uhh~ just talking about this now is making my mouth water! Sobrang lutong ng balat! Yum yum yum! And it only costs Php80.00!

The Lechon Kawali, and actually, anything else is so perfect with their Bicol vegetable dishes like Pinangat (Php35.00) and Laing (Php25.00). THEY’RE JUST SO PERFECT TOGETHER. Ultimate party in my mouth. I think they have one of the best Pinangat here in Naga, taste and price speaking.

Another one of their remarkable dishes is their Ginataang Tabagwang, Php30.00. This term never fails to make me laugh. Haha. But on the more sosyal term, it’s called “Kiss Me Quick,” a clever name to explain how to eat it!

Here are other dishes that you must try in Mama Eñga too. (L-R, T-B) Dinuguan - Php30,00, Adobong Pusit - Php75.00, Bopis - Php55.00, Hungma Bread - Php20.00 and Leche Flan - Php15.00.

Mama Eñga is such a wonderful discovery in our #SSSstaycation. You'll discover and learn more about what you can do and where you can go in Naga on my next posts about our Bicol Bloggers' SSSstaycation! Stay tuned!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Mama Eñga c/o Sir TR - for generously sponsoring this event

Bicol Bloggers - for making this event happen

Nick Pahati - for photos

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, by Jamie

bicol

Bicol Bloggers x #SSSstaycation

I've been living in Naga City since 2010, but I've got to say, I've never experienced Naga City like last week at the Bicol Bloggers' SSSstaycation! Last January 31 to February 1, www.bicolbloggers.com officially launched together with the celebration of SoleSearchingSoul.com's first blogversary.

I am really, really, truly happy that we have now a Bicol Bloggers community. A group of Bicolanos who uses their online presence and digital influence for the promotion of our region, homegrown brands, events and its people - be it bloggers or just online influencers. Bicol Bloggers amplify the voice of the region and bring the world closer to Bicol! We are really here to help our own region and the local businesses in the place we call home. It's just really nice that Bicol now has a venue to go to when they need a hand in their online presence. I really do believe that the start of this community of active online influencers will give a great impact on bringing Bicol closer to the world!

A lot of fun and indelible things had happened at our 2-day staycation in the heart of Bicol, Naga City! And I'm so excited to share them to you guys, but for the meantime, I'll keep you hanging and leave you with this sneak peak post!

Here's a preview of what we did on our bloggers' staycation. City life, adventures, relaxing at the city and a lot of food trips! Nom nom nom.

Of course, nothing of all these would happen if not for our very generous sponsors! Mama Eñga for our very Bicolano lunch, Cafe Frederico for our dinner, The Park for breakfast, MySpa and Bratanella Cupcake for our spa party, Taxicle community for our ride at our Naga City life tour, Bigg's Diner for our delish lunch and of course, the Crown Hotel for making our staycation extra comfy in our one night stay at their deluxe rooms!

I'd also like to thank the three very influencing bloggers of Bicol who pioneered Bicol Bloggers, Ms. Apple Allison of Soul Searching Soul, Nick Pahati of nickastig.com, and our view deck to the city of Naga, Naga City Deck. Kudos to them for making this big step to helping not just the region, but also the individual bloggers of Bicol, for giving us more opportunities in the blogging industry. I cannot wait for more events and activities with these guys!

To know more about Bicol Bloggers and details on how to join or be a partner of us, just visit our newly launched website, www.bicolbloggers.com! Stay tuned to Spotlight on Jamie for the detailed blog posts about each activity we did in our #SSSstaycation! More Naga City fun awaits! ^___^

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, by Jamie

ACP

#JAMIEonADNUACP

So this happened . . .

I got invited by my Alma Mater, Ateneo de Naga University, to give a talk about blogging on this semester's Alternative Class Program (ACP)!!! Who would've thought? (C_C) I can still remember when I was still in college, I told myself that I want to be an ACP speaker on my alma mater too, and I'll sure make that happen someday! I just never thought it would be this soon! *i cri~ tears of joy*

The theme of this semester's ACP is "The Quest for Magis." Ergo, the title of my topic is "The Quest for Magis in the World of Blogging." As an Atenean, the word MAGIS should always and forever be in your vocabulary. It's a Latin word that means "more." It's the desire to grow, to do more or to do better. With this, I focused my talk into making my participants realize that blogging is something that they can do to actualize magis in their lives as a student. Because that's what I did too! :)

I started blogging four years ago, when I was in my first year in college. Basically, I started and grew as a fashion blogger while I'm in college. It has been a big part of my college life, but never have been a hindrance in my studies. I was able to do blogging while doing a lot of things, and still excelling in my studies! Besides, it even made my college life more productive. And honestly, I've really improved my writing and communication skills through this little space here. ^_^

Supposedly, the topic will be shared by me and my co-blogger, Ms. Apple Allison Perez of solesearchingsoul.com. She's supposed to talk about blogging (generally), using blogging in your advocacies and earning in blogging. But unfortunately, Ms. Apple isn't feeling well that day! So I apologize to the participants if I solely focused my talk into fashion blogging! (・_・ヾ

I knew that most of my participants will be newbie or still aspiring bloggers so I started my talk with discussing how to start a blog. Choosing a blogging platform, choosing a blog name, making a blog layout, creating your content and photos and more branding stuff. For the fun part, I taught my attendees some blogger poses! Thanks to these lovely and awesome attendees for actively participating! HUHU~

I gave a title to each blogger poses. Some are The Itchy Head, The 'There's Something on The Floor' pose, The Fixer, The Twirl, The 'I Stepped on Something' pose, The Straight and Tilt, The Walk, and The Look Away.

Can you guess which pose are they doing?

I even made these five cool guys (on the right photo) imitate A-Fash boys' blogger poses! *LOL* Spot the difference. I spot 3! (｡≍ฺ‿ฺ≍ฺ)

I also discussed about online marketing *which I think is the most important thing!* and more blogging tips!

Look at my very attentive participants *jyeah* and their smiles while listening to my talk! Hihi. I was even surprised that my morning and afternoon sessions almost got full! Thank God, my topic didn't get dissolved. HAHA

After the talk, it's time for some class picture! HAHA. I told them to do blogger poses. Some aren't listening! HAHA JK Maybe their pegs are just all smiles and doing nothing. That can do too! Hahaha

And some attendees asked to have a photo opp with me! Artista lang ang peg, oh. HAHA

Goofing off with my co-A-Fash member, Kae! Hihi. Thanks to my other A-Fash babies for attending! Ellon, Dain and Don. (Click their names to view their blogs too!) I really appreciate your support! HUHU~

Don even blogged about his experience in my talk! And oh, the amazing photo up there is made by him also. Thanks for all the kind words, Don! I really appreciate it. CLICK HERE to know what I'm talking about! Browse through his blog too because his blog and photos are amazing! ^_^

And the plaque of appreciation... HUHU~ Thank you so much my lovey dovey Ateneo de Naga University for having me! A dream come true indeed. And I'm so happy to hear lots of positive responses from my talk. Thank you for attending, my participants! I really hope you guys enjoyed and learned a thing or two! Hihi. And thank you also to my two topic heads who assisted me (and brought my heavy bags *sorry!*) the whole day! For more photos from this talk, click here. I'll blog about my OOTD on a separate post! ^_^

Thanks to Paul Echano for taking these photos!

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, by Jamie

Avenue Plaza Hotel

Experience CamSur with Havaianas (Part 3)

Sorry for the backlogs! I almost forgot that I still haven't finished this Dream Weekend with Havaianas blog series. :( But yea, since Naga's celebrating the Peñafrancia Festival. I thought it would be great if I post this today! Hihi. If you still haven't read about the first 2 parts, read here. Let's start this Day 2!

*photo explanation: I don't smoke guys, it's just a nice background for a photo. lol*

Nothing's better than starting your day with a good, yummy, and unlimited breakfast at the Avenue Plaza Hotel! Swear I ate a lot more than what you can see in this photo. Haha! Breakfast is my most favorite meal of the day, so yeah. And I cannot say anything with the food that they serve in the Avenue Plaza Hotel. Everything tastes good and expensive!

The bloggers started the day by witnessing everything that happens before the shoot. The BTS. Make-up, styling, and setting up!

Here's Ms. Theresa Carbonel of Ellana Mineral Cosmetics working with her magical hands on one of the Havaianas MangoRED shoot winners!

The styling room was full of Havaianas pairs! Swear, we all drooled off and checked if a pair would fit us! Unlimited choices of Havaianas flipflops! HUHU

After the preparations, we headed to the shoot location. It's my favorite couple's turn for the photo shoot! Mr. and Mrs. Luzada, the eldest couple cuties! Their theme, vintage, added to their cuteness. And where else would be the perfect location for a vintage theme? Bigg's Diner, of course!

Bigg's Diner is famous for their retro-vintage vibe in their restaurants with. I've blogged about the Bigg's Diner in Daet here, which has a retro beach/surfing vibe. In the branch that we went to for the shoot, the restaurant theme is vintage music! The whole restaurant actually looks like a radio-transistor, which is really cool! This branch that I'm talking about is the one in the Magsaysay Avenue.

We couldn't help but to goof around with the all the vintage stuff in the resto (which was used as props in the shoot)! I've been wanting to pick-up and experience these vintage cameras whenever I see it displayed in the Bigg's Diner for so long! Here's my co-blogger, Gera, and the photobomber, Paul, and the back! lol

And we also used their sets... Forgive us MangoRED! Hihi :3

Don't they look so natural with their photo shoot acts? They look like they're just reminiscing their good 'ol days when they we're just in the ligaw stage! LOL We really got all kilig while they were shooting!! Turn this to black and white and insert indie upbeat love song in the background please HUHU

Shoot break! I'm really happy to be part of this Havaianas event because I was able to meet a lot of great and talented people, like Ms. Theresa! One of my favorite part was when I got the chance to experience Ms. Theresa's magic in make-up!

And I got #GGSS (Gandang-Ganda Sa Sarili) afterwards! Shot by myself at out hotel room mirror! HAHA. Thank you so much for letting me experience your wonderful talent in beautifying people, Ms. Theresa! ^_^ I swear, she's really great in what she does. She's really friendly too and explains what she's doing in your face while she's doing it. You'll really feel comfortable and confident that you'll be pretty afterwards. She's not selfish with her knowledge too and gives us free make-up tutorials!

Next stop: Meeting this very good-looking Chef Doy and eating at his restaurant, Chef Doy's Gourmet Restaurant! My most favorite part of the Day 2! Haha. Chef Doy's is famous for their Bicolano dishes, and I'm such a fan of Bicol foods, especially the ones with gata. I totally enjoyed their food and by just looking at the photos of their dishes again, it's making me drool!

Hungry bloggers waiting for some delish foods! We're also privileged to taste their new recipes which will just be coming out this October! I'm so excited for the new recipe to come out! I've been very persistent in asking their waiters if it had already came out every single time I visit their resto to pig out. Heh~ Here are the dishes that Chef Doy prepared for us! *Warning: Stomach grumbling might occur

(L-R, T-B) Batang-Batang Pusit, Kare-Kareng Litson Kawali, Tinutong Na Hita ng Manok, and the so Pinoy, Sago't Gulaman!

Kare-kareng Litson Kawali is one of my favorites! I'm not actually a fan of kare-kare, but this one's an exception! The Lumpiang Natong is remarkable too. My favorite Bicol gulay dish is natong and making it a lumpia had revamped it to the next level! Dipping it to its gata sauce is such a delight too! *excuse me while a drool*

(L-R, T-B) Lumpiang Natong, Paella Bicolana, Pancit Halo, and Tortang Sili

Paella Bicolana must not be absent on your table whenever you visit Chef Doy's too! I think it's their most known recipe there. Rice with natong, seafoods and lechon kawali on top! "Kanin pa lang, ulam na!" And last but not the least, my most favorite of all, the Tortang Sili! It's my first time to see and taste one! You know tortang talong, right? The same concept, but it's sili inside! Don't underestimate this because it's as hot as Bicolanas! LOL, but true. :p

After pigging out.. it's time to relax! Because yea, that's what you do after your eating work out. HAHA hashtag life! We really felt pampered by the Havaianas crew. A CamSur's bests experience indeed! They treated us with a free foot reflexology in the very cozy Blue Water Day Spa to make our feet even more happy while wearing Havaianas flipflops!

Blue Water Day Spa really made us feel like we're rich kids! Having a foot spa, foot reflexology and back massage, being served by whatever refreshment you want, while watching a movie in their Spa Theater? You literally couldn't ask for more! This can also be a great gift for your parents or a date with your lovey too!

The foot spa, reflexology and back massage was superb! Perfect for my body ache from Wakeboarding at CWC the day before. You can also personally choose the movie you like! We chose the movie Warm Bodies because most of us loves the OST of this movie. ^_^

The interior of Blue Water Day Spa is so cozy too, and the people are so warm. I wasn't able to take much photos because I'm using 50mm! Plus, it was all dark at the Spa Theater. LOL Here's a photo with the Marketing Associate of Havaianas, Ms. Rose. :)

And back to the MangoRED shoot! This time, the shoot location is at the Maison Sangreal, an office concept store and design showroom rolled into one!

Meanwhile, we're having our own photo shoot too! Hihi~ Gera here, being my model!

The cute kids of the Havaianas Managing Director had their moment captured by MangoRED too! Lucky kids!

Cutie Theo having a chat to MangoRED while they're shooting! *adorbs*

And this is how I fell in love with my co-bloggers! The day's about to end, we're just waiting for the closing program to start, and this happened in our hotel room. Photo Booth madness! lol One of the best things in this experience is meeting these wonderful people! I've been with them for just 2 days but idk, we just clicked! Prolly because we all have the same passion for blogging ..and taking crazy photos! Until now, we still get in touch with each other. And our group's official hashtag is #clingy! Gosh, I miss them! ;n;

The day was exhausting and refreshing at the same time! Full of good memories. There was really not much time for a proper closing program anymore because the other bloggers, photographers and make-up artists have their flights to catch. We just pigged out, courtesy of Avenue Plaza Hotel again!

A photo opp with Mr. Ben Nasayao of Muy Bien, the production designer and stylist!

With the beautiful Managing Director of Havaianas South Luzon, Ms. Rica Buenaflor, with her cutie son. Thank you so much Ms. Rica for making this Experience CamSur with Havaianas happen! Thank you for the whole Havaianas team for pampering us for the whole 2 days. It was indeed a fun, cozy and classy experience, just like Havaianas flipfops!

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Thanks to HAVAIANAS for making this event happen!

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS:

Avenue Plaza Hotel | Bigg's Diner | Blue Water Day Spa | Camsur Watersports Complex

Chef Doy's Gourmet Restaurant | Maison Sangreal | MangoRED

Muy Bien Creatives: Home and Beyond | Ben Nasayao (production design and stylist)

Ellana Mineral Cosmetics | Theresa Carbonel (make-up artist) | Regine Matias (hair stylist)

Credits to Paul Echano on some of the photos.