Blogged: Koala’s March Supported Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Yellow Party

The minute we received an invite for Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Yellow Party, we knew it’s an event not-to-be-missed. The invite said, it will be held on May 5, 2012 at Bonifacio Global City Open Field.

Koala's March Booth during the event.

Kyle, being a true yellow (yes, not blue because Spongebob is not blue!) Spongebob fan had been looking forward to that day since I told him about it. Unfortunately, he got sick a few days before the said event. If you think his fever had stopped him from seeing Spongebob, you’ve got yourself wrong.

The Big Wave Slide for Kids.

 Kyle prayed hard for a fair weather before the actual day. And I was not surprised to find out that his prayers had been answered. Although it did rain on that day, it only rained in the late afternoon when the show was almost through.

Goody Gulp with Spongebob.

 Kids and kids-at-heart had a whole afternoon of fun with games and surprises plus truckloads of joy given with the presence of Spongebob, Squidward, Patrick Star and the cuddly Koala’s March mascot. There were game booths, play areas such as the big wave slide, bikini bottom slimeshack shower, and on-stage games for everyone. What’s more, admissions to those attractions and to the event proper were free.


Kyle came to the event with half-sister Icy in tow. They both enjoyed the attractions but Kyle particularly loved the free photo booth from Koala’s March. “It’s very seldom that I get to see Icy and enjoy her company. And the Koala’s March photo that we had together will be Icy’s reminder of the fun time she had with her Kuya,” says Kyle.

My nephew Kyle and his half sister Icy on Koala's March Photo Booth.

Toys from Toy Kingdom were on sale too.

 The siblings also enjoyed eating Koala’s March chocolate filled biscuits. Kuya Kyle loved the premium chocolate variant while Icy likes the strawberry filled one. “It’s really cute. Before I take a bite, I like to see the different poses and characters of Koala’s March on my biscuits,” enthuses 5-year-old Icy. Her Kuya Kyle agrees to that. “We like to eat Lotte’s Koala’s March for snacks and have them as our school baon,” relates Kyle. “I would even share a box with my classmates and teachers. Once, I’ve bought a huge family pack in class—we ended up eating while having lectures. My teachers love Koala’s March too,” adds Kyle.

More of Koala's March.

The Nickster Guy who either sprays on water for cooling or slime!

Slime shack where you can take a bath in slime.

Game booths bowling.

On stage games and some dancing.

 The Spongebob Yellow Party became an instant hit to all who came because Koala’s March as well as its other partners had supported Nickelodeon. And guess what? After the event was over, Kyle’s fever had totally gone too. Everyone who came had a smile on their faces---regardless if they were slimed on not. J

Blogged: Bioessence’s Beauty Break Services

With all the myriad of problems we face each day, we all deserve a “me-time”, to simply have a break, relax and unwind. But who has time? There are times when we simply need to escape from the stress of everyday living and lose ourselves among the spa for an escape. One such place to do just that is at Bioessence.

One of the treatment rooms at Bioessence

The word “spa” is an acronym taken from the Latin phrase solus per aqua, meaning “health by water”. Today the said concept also includes fitness, nutrition and wellness.

Nowadays health and well-being are taken very seriously. Bioessence understands our need to relax and de-stress, that’s why they created BB time or Beauty Break Time. The aim is to give us a break for beauty. A time to relax and be pampered.

Bioessence's Assistant Training Manager Ms. Cha talked about Stress Management.

The pathway to beauty and relaxation.

 Here are some of the signature treatments one can enjoy under BB time:

Foot Reflex—They apply rhythmic pressure on the foot area. It is a great way to relax after forceful walking, running or exercise. Personally, I believe that among my body parts, it is my foot that’s truly overworked and the most abused. Imagine carrying some 200 pounds body weight every single day? I commend my feet for not complaining. So a foot reflex massage is pretty good way to make up for that. Gentle taps on specific points provide relief and improve circulation on my feet.

BB Facial—is a complete facial care that includes massage, cleansing, scrubbing and toning, steaming, and extraction or pricking. It had everything else the usual facial has except that they’re all done in just 30 minutes! And for P350, you can enjoy this special treat from Bioessence made specifically for busy people. This BB facial brightens and illuminates the skin, giving it a longer-lasting pampering effect.

Back Massage—Our lactic acids (better known as “lamig” in vernacular) are usually found on our backs. And in my case, the cause could either be my too much sitting in front of the PC all day or bad posture, but a back massage is a little taste of heaven for me. It does my heart good to know that each time I get myself a back massage, I am give myself a small piece of reward. Each therapist’s motion is like a pat on my back for a good job done.

Hand Paraffin—Imagine soaking your hands on a hot tub of wax? Sounds pretty scary right? It’s like straight out of The House of Wax Paris Hilton movie. When I had this treatment for the first time at another spa, I didn’t know what to expect and had zero idea what’s going to happen. But with Bioessence, the therapists were not only friendly; they’re also willing to answer your queries.  I was told that this hand paraffin treatment is great for bloggers like me who usually work with their hands (we type on our PC almost all the time). This treatment helps smoothen the hands, eradicates pasma and pangangalay.

Beauty blogger Ms. Sophie Salvador Morabe tries the hand paraffin treatment.

Even men deserves some pampering and skin TLC.

A slimming machine for men at Bioessence.

Post script: This Mother’s Day avail of the Bioessence Mother’s Day kit for only P790. It comes in a cute tote bag that contains a Bioessence special soap and facial milk cleanser plus one regular facial gift certificate. You’ll definitely save a lot since the regular facial itself costs P600++.

The Mother's Day Kit is available at all Bioessence branches.

The author and Ms. Cha.

The author and Bioessence Marketing Coordinator Ms. Anj Alip.

With 18 years of excellent service in health and wellness and 52 branches nationwide, you can be assured Bioessence will not only make you feel good and beautiful, but will also help enhance your total well being. Call 376-7106 or 0918-8-BEAUTY for inquiries and appointments.

Purple Plum Fairy thanks Ms. Anj Alip, Ms. Brenda Bayani and the Bioessence West Avenue staff. 

Blogged: Max’s Restaurant and Body Shop Pay Tribute to Moms with a Pampering Treat

 It’s at that time of the year when we honor our Moms and express our gratitude and appreciation for their selfishness, perseverance, nurturing and endless love.

 This Mother’s Day, Max’s Restaurant pays tribute to the warriors and goddesses of the household, the person you can count on to give you the most unconditional love in the whole world. Treat your Mommies at any Max’s Restaurant branch nationwide from May 7 to 13, 2012 and spend a minimum of P1, 300 and your Mom will be receiving a luxurious bottle of The Body Shop’s Shower Gel—a soap-free, lather rich and fruit-infused bottle all Moms will surely love. It truly is the perfect gift for any Mom on her special day.

TV Host and Personality Ms. Lyn Ching-Pascual hosted the said Max's Launch.

The Body Shop Fruit-infused shower gel for free upon minimum purchase.

 The entire family will definitely enjoy eating Max’s all-time favorite dishes: Sinigang na Hipon, Fiesta staple Kare-Kare with thick peanut sauce, the crunchy goodness of crispy pata, pancit for long-life and of course, the “sarap to the bones” Max’s Fried Chicken, among many others.

Max's Crispy Pata

Max's Sarap to the Bones Fried Chicken

Max's Kare-kare oozing in peanut sauce.

Max's Pancit Canton-a family favorite

 Your Mom will be thanking you not just for the sumptuous meal but also for the free lush shower gel treat from Max’s and Body Shop. Mom will surely feel like royalty. All these good news and more are too difficult to resist, so make sure you treat your Moms on her special day at Max’s Restaurant—the house that chicken built!

Piping Hot Max's Sinigang na Hipon

Specially made for Moms, chocolate cupcakes from Max's Bakery.

My own message for my Mom.

For more exciting updates, log on to www.maxschicken.com or visit www.facebook.com/maxsrestaurant. 

Mom's Dilemma: What to Do for the Summer?

Each summer vacation, it’s always been a habit to list down things or activities to do for both Kyle and I. I guess I’m not alone on this one, for sure mommies out there also does the same thing for their kids. On my case, I don’t want to see Kyle bored to death so I make sure summer vacation could also spell FUN.

Each year, I would line up some activities for him, whether it’ll be sports related or something that would squeeze out his creative juices, I would check it out just so Kyle had something productive and entertaining to do. Each activity varies from one another so that he’d have many options and would definitely find something that’ll interest him.

But sometimes, out of lack of budget, as parents we had to be resourceful and more creative…proving once more that we don’t really need to shell out money to have fun. So I am sharing five activities, which Kyle and I have agreed to do this summer:

•          Fly a kite. Yes and why not? It’s a really great way to bond with your child regardless of his or her age. We’re planning to fly a kite in Riverbanks or at the Quezon Memorial Circle one weekend. It’ll be nice to introduce your kids to those simple toys we used to enjoy as kids. In our case, we had our D-I-Y kite (we colored it ourselves) from Global Art Academy. Kyle had been looking forward to it.
•           Design a shirt. Kyle and I had been finding ways on how to recycle used and broken crayons. He says they’re difficult to use in school so he doesn’t want to use them anymore but he says it can’t be thrown away too. And recently, we finally found something to do with it. You just need parchment paper, sandpaper, t-shirt and flat iron plus loads of creativity and imagination. Procedure: Draw on the sandpaper using your broken and overused crayons. When writing letters on them, make sure to write them in reverse. Once done, place the sandpaper on top of the t-shirt, cover it with parchment paper and use the iron. Then, voila! Your sandpaper art’s instantly printed on your shirt. 
•     Watch a musical fountain show. It’s up to you, if you have excess money on your daily budget, you may bring the entire family to see the Musical Fountain Show at Aquatica in Manila Ocean Park. But if you’re on a really tight budget, there’s the Rizal Park Musical Fountain every night. It’s for FREE and your kids will surely love it! 
•        Let your kids help you in the kitchen and concoct a meal or drink together. Make your own pizza or dessert or anything that it is that your kids will love. In my case, pizza had always been Kyle’s favorite. He enjoys helping me create pan de sal pizza. He would gladly help me chop the veggies and other pizza toppings. He’d also like to grate mozzarella cheese and put them in the oven. And once he starts smelling the warm pizza aroma wafting in the air, he knew he’d be in for a great meal. And there’s always that genuine smile after…and the thank you’s…
•         Shop school supplies together. I let Kyle choose his own stuff for school. I would just give him a list and budget. I would accompany him at the bookstore but it was always him to choose which brand or design it is that’ll work for him. In doing this, I can have that assurance that he will know how to value his items and learn to budget his money as well.
  So there you have it Mommies, I hope you guys can try to make a list of summer stuff to do with your child. 

Manila Ocean Park Turns High-Tech & Liquid Pool Lounge's Aqua Pool Party--Summer's Best Destination!

My blogger friend Lourdes Labii trying out Manila Ocean Park's RFID bracelet.

 Looking for a place to spend your nighttime rendezvous? Searching for the hippest happenings within the Metro? Fret not and look no more! Manila Ocean Park’s Liquid Pool Lounge and Marine Theme Park’s got you covered. Manila Ocean Park introduces the latest technology to become the leading tech-savvy theme park in the Philippines.

The Blogger pass and RFID bracelet I had during the party.

Here's the RFID bracelet that allows one to update his social media in real time.

 With the advancement of technology and social media, specifically Twitter and Facebook have been used the most by Filipinos and have gained a massive number of followers from both here and abroad as people post their status, share their photos and updates on each other—the virtual world has been more accessible and Manila Ocean Park understands this. Thus, they have recently acquired an innovative solution from Europe, which they had recently launched during the Aqua Pool Party last April 28, 2012, held at the Liquid Pool Lounge.

Club and party goers line up to activate the E-RFID tag bracelet.

 The technological breakthrough device will be seen in the different popular attractions of Manila Ocean park such as Oceanarium, Jellies Exhibit, Acquatica, Trails to Antartica, Marine Life Habitat and of course, at the Liquid Pool Lounge.

Blogger Lourdes Labii shows off her bracelet that allows her to post and update her social media status in real time.

 How does it work? Guests will be asked to log in using their Facebook or Twitter account. They will be provided with an e-wrist tag, which stores their social media information and lets them share their status updates and pictures online on real time. The said technology was first introduced for inventory control and timing sporting events.

Purple Plum Fairy was able to use the said device when we were invited to the said launch. The wrist tag had a microchip similar to those time chips used in marathons and running events. I’d say I was amazed that after tapping my e-wrist tag on the device, I instantly got status post on my Facebook account saying where I am at that particular time even without manually updating my own status. And the photos I’ve had during the event, upon tapping again the said e-wrist tag on Manila Ocean Park’s innovative device, my photos were posted again on both my Facebook and Twitter accounts since I had synced both accounts on the e-wrist tag. It was really convenient on my part. My online friends at that time immediately liked my posts and it was totally amazing.

The awesome Musical Fountain Show.

 Students who go to Manila Ocean Park on field trips can also benefit from the QR (Quick Response) Code, which the theme park also provides to their guests. The tool can be very helpful for students and more convenient since information seen on labels of the attractions such as various types of fishes can be scanned using the QR code and stored on their mobile gadgets.  If you guys aren’t familiar with the QR code, these consist of square dots arranged on a white scanned background. The said code can also be accessed using Manila Ocean Park’s official website and browse through promos and check out the latest happenings in the theme park. Just like this Musical Fountain show photo, they could easily share it with their friends via the QR code.

Manila Ocean Park's Musical Fountain Show.

A delight to all audiences--the Fountain show was great!

 What’s more? Guests can now conveniently go online via free high speed Internet access in the entire park with its Wi-Fi zones. They can check their emails, share photos and send updates in real time. With this awesome technology, Manila Ocean Park is indeed the best place to go this summer. Imagine having your R and R while still connected to your online world/community—it’s like having the best of both worlds, OMG! I swear I’ve never seen a theme park this fun!

The light, sounds and story captivates the Audience.

For inquiries, visit www.manilaoceanpark.com or call 567-7777 loc. 151 and 155. Check out Liquid Pool Lounge on Facebook at www.facebook.com/liquidpoolandlounge J