Michi Photostory

A few weeks after we booked our tickets, we received an email regarding “Temporary Aircraft Partner”

“To enhance our service reliability and continue delivering the high standards you expect from us, Philippine Airlines has entered a temporary wet lease partnership with Wamos Air, one of Europe’s leading charter carriers known for its expertise in charter and wet lease operations.    

Wamos Air is also certified by the International Air Transport Association’s Operational Safety Audit, ensuring top-tier safety and service. ” 

So flights from Manila to Sydney and Melbourne and vice versa will be operated using a Wamos Air Airbus A330. This was the first time I heard about this airline so I just hoped and prayed that we would have a safe flight. 

Prior to our trip there was Typhoon Kristine so we experienced blackout so late kami nakapag-online check-in. For the first time, hiwa-hiwalay kami ng seats, pero okay lang naman kasi lahat kami aisle seats. I don’t understand bakit hindi kami makapili ng seats na tabi-tabi pero 2 seats naman pala ang vacant sa tabi ko pero nagstick na lang kami sa pwesto namin. 

Just like our Manila to Sydney flight, we passed different Security checks, before the check-in counter, after the Immigration Counter, and at the boarding gate. 

Our airplane is Wamos Air but when you entered the craft, Philippine Airlines pa rin naman yung logo sa loob. The airline staff are a combination of Wamos Air and Philippine Airlines. 

Our seat has a monitor but we can also use “mypalmedia” so wala ng mypalplayer app, ito na yung gamit ng Philippine Airline. 

For long-haul flights, we have a blanket, headphones, overnight kit, hot towel, and two meals. Beef Salpicao for dinner and Corned Beef Sandwich for breakfast.

When my husband did the online check-in, we just accepted our assigned seats because we were fortunate na XL seats kami napunta and seated together. 

Our flight was early so we left the hotel before 6AM and arrived at Melbourne Airport just in time for the opening of the counter. I was glad the check-in counter opened 4 hours before our flight so hindi kami nagmamadali. 

The flight was a little bit delayed but boarding was so organized so mabilis din naman kami nakaalis.

This is the XL seat, more space nga. 

Sharing our flight meals. Beef with Mashed Potato and Tandoori Chicken + Brownies. 

I’m thankful for the smooth flight. 

Cricut Philippines #flexitfriday is back, so I joined the Cricut-made Parol theme. I already submitted my Filipino Parol Ornaments last year, so I was browsing Cricut Design Space for possible projects. Still, I need a Cricut Access Subscription for all the projects that I like to create. 

So I browsed my computer files and stumbled upon the Christmas Bunting I purchased a few years ago. I already made the Christmas Lights before so this inspired me to create Christmas Star Bunting or Mini Parol Bunting using the colors of Christmas Lights. 

I uploaded my files to Cricut Design Space but if you have a Cricut Access Subscription, the SVG files are also there. I used different glitter, foil, and holographic cardstock for this project. 

I love how it turned out and plan to create more if I have extra time, so I can hang them in our home or give them to my son’s classroom. You can check my reels here.

One way to get into airport lounges is to apply for a credit card with this benefit. This is why we were able to stay at MIASCOR but we deactivated our credit cards because they did not waive our annual fee. Since we are not frequent travelers naman, we don’t need that credit card. 

A few months ago, I received emails and text messages from my bank about “credit card application” and hindi ko pinapansin kasi may credit card na naman ako. But last month, out of the blue, niresearch ko yung credit card benefits and I found out na may FREE AIRPORT LOUNGE and no annual fee pala. 

So after one week of contemplating, I finally gave in and filled out the form online and crossed my fingers na umabot yung credit card sa biyahe namin kasi usually, 15 business days. I was so happy when I received my credit card in less than a week. And because of that, nakapagstay kami sa PAGSS Premium Lounge before our Manila to Melbourne flight.

And the good thing about this credit card is I can bring one companion pa. We paid for an additional person since we are a group of three. The rate is PHP1,500, not bad na rin kasi ganun din naman magagastos namin kapag kakain sa airport. But I told my husband na mag-apply na rin siya ng credit card na may lounge benefit.

Upon arrival, I just showed my boarding pass and credit card. I was advised that the lounge was full so we went to the extension lounge. This is my old blog post about PAGSS Airport Lounge at NAIA 1 where my husband stayed using his Mabuhay Miles benefit. 

When we entered the room, the place is already crowded and akala ko nga wala na kami pwesto pero may other side pa pala and luckily, maluwag pa. The choices on the buffet spread are limited compared to Mabuhay Lounge but it was fine with us since we only needed to eat snacks.

We also requested instant cup noodles and ice cream. We only stayed for 2 hours and already went to our boarding gate. Another security check pa kasi sa boarding gate.

But last month, NAIA announced the new parking rates, from PHP300 to PHP1,200 for overnight rates. Waah! That is so expensive so nastress ako bigla because we will be flying to Melbourne, Australia. We live outside Metro Manila so mahirap magcommute. 

I was contemplating kung saan ba kami makakamura because NAIA parking is no longer an option. My choices are: 

1. Rent a van 

2. Take Ube Express P2P Bus 

3. Park N Fly 

But my husband chose the Park N fly so nagbabalik loob na kami sa Park N Fly. My husband immediately made a reservation online. 50% downpayment to reserve a slot. 

During our trip, we left early because we knew that there was an additional 30-minute to 1-hour waiting time at the Park N Fly. Based on our experience, from the time we arrived, we waited for 40 minutes for the airport shuttle service. 

Park N Fly has new building na pala, doon kami pinapunta ng guard. The office is much bigger and may Convenience Store & Pasalubong Center. 

They also offer “Complete vehicle maintenance and repairs, including detailing/cleaning packages available”. My husband availed the car wash kaya shining and shimmering ang sasakyan namin pag-uwi. 

Upon arrival, after claiming our luggage my husband called Park N Fly Shuttle Service to pick us up at Bay 6 - NAIA Terminal 1. I think we waited for 30 minutes before the airport shuttle service arrived.

Mia Road Corner Domestic Road Airport, 

Pasay City Philippines 1301 

8854-9302 to 04 and 8852 1946 to 48 

0918-991-0000

Anyway, last week we visited Brighton Beach, one of Melbourne's iconic beaches. We don’t have a plan to swim because it is Spring Season but I still included the beach on our itinerary. We visited Bondi Beach when we went to Sydney Australia so I want to see the beaches in Melbourne too. 

I love to see the famous 82 vibrant and colorful bathing boxes. The bathing boxes were initially built for the privacy of women so they could change their clothes without problem but now it is used to store beach equipment and accessories or for family get-togethers. 

The size is smaller than a standard car park but the price is around $450,000. It is the price of one bathing box that was sold in 2023. It is so expensive and only local Bayside residents can purchase these bathing boxes. It is considered a lifestyle investment for rich people so for an ordinary person like me, icraft na lang for souvenir. 

I made these Beach Huts Layered Craft before our trip and I was happy because the color and look are quite similar. I used the following SVG files. 3D Nautical Bundle and Beach Huts Shadow Box.

Then last week, I received a sample pack of shrink plastic so I decided to use it for my Bee Happy Weeklies 42. The theme is “Bloom” and I made a keychain using the images from the Wildflower Sublimation Bundle. 

This was my first time doing this project so trial and error in estimating the size and shrinking the plastic. My first trial was printing the design and shrinking the plastic using my heat gun but all my projects only curled up so it went straight to the trash bin. 

My second trial was printing the design and using our oven toaster to shrink the Printable Shrink White Plastic. Pero nasunog ko, nasobrahan yata sa heat. So I tried again and hindi na nasunog. 

And because of the successful result, I printed the design again using Printable Shrink Clear Plastic. 

I was looking at my finished projects and to be honest, my favorite is yung nasunog ko kasi parang vintage look. hehehe!

I was happy with my finished project pero napapaisip ako kung magagamit ko pa ba yung oven toaster namin o need ko ng bumili ng bago. Waah!

This cake topper is for my uncle, who celebrated his 90th Birthday last month. To design this cake topper, I used two fonts: Aloha Chunky and Muthiara 

This cake topper is for my grandmother-in-law. I used two fonts for this cake topper: Balbek and Muthiara. 

I made a Superb Sixteen cake topper for my son. And I also made a Sweet Sixteen cake topper even though I don’t have a daughter, gusto ko kasi itry yung design na nasa isip ko. I used two fonts for this cake topper Amazing Teacher and Festive.

After a few days, my aunt messaged me because she likes this cake topper, magpapagawa daw siya. But I told her, na ibibigay ko na lang itong cake topper kasi wala din naman gagamit. 

Ang laki ng age gap namin ng yougest cousin ko, ka-age lang ng anak ko. Naalala ko tuloy yung anak ng eldest cousin ko, ka-age ko naman. Anyway, my aunt only asked for a “Sweet Sixteen” cake topper but I made another one para more choices para sulit na rin yung shipping fee. This was the first time I shipped my cake toppers and I felt relieved that my cake toppers arrived in good condition. I used Samantha Craft font to design this cake topper. 

The last cake topper I made is "Juliana is 15" using the Amazing Teacher Font. This font is a combination of Sans Serif and Script Font. 

A birthday easel card for the October celebrant. The fish design is from Craft with Sarah’s website.

I only need a few gift tags but I want to maximize my paper sheets so I made a lot. I used the following fonts.

We were in Ayala Malls Manila Bay last month when we attended my Uncle’s 90th birthday at Cabalen Plus. On our way home, I found Cow Cow Kitchen Stall so finally, makakatikim na rin. It was hard to choose because I wanted to try everything but in the end, I bought the Cream Puff. 

PHP690 per box of 7 pieces or PHP115 per piece. It is cheaper to buy one box but since I wanted to try other flavors too, I purchased 3 pieces of Rare Cheese Puff and 3 pieces of Salted Caramel Cream Puff.

When we arrived home, we ate the cream puff immediately kasi may sinabi yung staff na best to consume immediately. I first ate the Rare Cheese Puff pero nahirapan ako ubusin, parang nauumay na ko but my husband and son finished their two pieces of cream puff in one sitting. 

Rare Cheese Puff - A soft choux pastry topped with a parmesan crust, filled with Nama Cream and the refreshing sourness of Cream Cheese 

Salted Caramel Cream Puff - Indulge in a soft choux pastry topped with a parmesan crust, filled with cream, mascarpone, custard, and salted caramel. 

Cheese Puff - A soft choux pastry topped with a parmesan crust, filled with luscious Hokkaido cream. 

I saved my Slated Caramel Cream Puff in the chiller and told myself I would eat it the following day. After 3 days ko na yata naalala nung naghahanap ako ng makakain sa fridge. Hehehe! I tried the Salted Caramel Cream Puff and liked it better than the Rare Cheese Puff, walang umay. And kahit ilang days na rin sa fridge, masarap pa rin. I will try their other products including the Cheese Puff we haven't tried. 

G/F Central Garden Ring Area, 

Ayala Malls Manila Bay.

So last week, natuloy na rin and we had breakfast at Ambos Panederia + Cocina. It was funny because we frequent Southwoods area but I had no idea na meron Ambos doon. I searched for it and as of this writing, there are only two branches, Laguna Belair and Southwoods. The third branch would be in Alabang Molito. 

I checked their Facebook page and learned that they offer bread, pastries, donuts, cakes, pasta, sandwiches, rice meals, pizza, and drinks. Wala nga lang menu online so I just browsed food pictures at chinecheck ko kung ano ba oorderin ko. 

Our scheduled meet-up is 7:30AM so just in time for the opening and breakfast but knowing me, 5:30AM pa lang nagbreakfast na kami sa house. So dahil busog pa ako, I just ordered bread and juice while my friend ordered porkchop and tapa meal. 

Ang laki ng serving ng rice meal nila. I liked my cheesy garlic bread PHP75, masarap na and mura din compared sa Chee-Su na nabili ko dati. Four Seasons Canned Juice is PHP70. 

We also noticed the 50% off sa ibang pastries and bread so I ordered the Ham and Cheese PHP65. Natetempt ako sa croissant pero hindi ako makapili ng flavor so next time na lang kung may 50% off ulit. Hehehe! I added a pack of ube cheese pandesal PHP145. We liked the ham and cheese but the ube cheese pandesal is just okay because ang gusto ko kasi na ube yung sa Good Shepherd. 

Food and drinks are budget-friendly so I know this won’t be my last visit. The only thing na ayaw ko is pet-friendly sila. Hindi ako comfortable sa mga dogs kasi. But they are open for pick-up or online orders.

G/F, Holland Park, Southwoods City, 

Ecocentrum Blvd, Biñan, 

Calabarzon, Philippines 

Monday 7:30 - 9PM 

Tuesday to Sunday 7:30AM - 10PM