Carmi's Caprice: March 2014

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Real Coffee and Tea Cafe's Newest Location in Boracay Station 2

Each year, I look forward to visiting the best breakfast place in Boracay. It used to be "hit or miss" finding this hidden gem tucked in an unassuming place, in an alley somewhere along Station 1. I know I'm near Real Coffee and Tea Cafe when I start to smell the wonderful aroma of baked breads, muffins and freshly brewed coffee.

Last February, to my delight I stumbled upon its newest location! The same humbly designed cafe in a nipa hut setting had finally gone beachfront! Cheers! It is now located at Boracay beach station 2 2/F Sea World.

Each meal comes with a free cup of coffee

and my all-time favorite: Jack's Omelette, a whopping serving of three eggs, onions, tomatoes, tuna and cheese ( optional: pesto ) served with toast

Clara Ole's Mango jam never fails to adds an exciting burst of flavor on my toast.

Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air. Beach Love

OOTD: Bea Palm Tree Crop Top by: Apartment8 Clothing

We all dream of far away island!

Nothing soothes the soul like a walk on the beach

A glorious day for basking under the sun

OOTD by: Blue Bikini by: Naked Sun Swimwear

Summer came early!

Happiness is the sand between my toes and the sunburn on my nose!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wafi Mall, Khan Murjan Souq

Another Dubai adventure awaits. Only this time, no desert safaris nor camel rides involved.

So you wanna play with magic

Boy, you should know what you're falling for

Baby do you dare to do this?

Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse

That's Katy Perry's song popping on my head as my eyes glistened in bewilderment upon seeing intricate Egyptian pharaohs, pyramids, ramses statue and columns carved with hieroglyphics.

From the brilliant minds of the people behind MKM Commercial Holdings comes Wafi City. A picturesque complex which features a mall, hotel, residences and a night club. Impressive!

The Hospitality branch includes Pyramids Restaurants, Wafi Gourmet, Cleopatra's Spa & wellness, Spa Resources Intl and is complemented by the Wafi Hotels: Arabian Park Hotel and Park Hotel Apartments.

Wafi Mall's splendour is conveyed through exquisite stained glass, intricate mosaics, carvings and sculptures. With over 350 shops, this is luxury shopping at its finest! Think Armani, Christian Audigier, Diesel, Just Cavalli, Chopard, Burberry, Chanel and more...

In between shopping and sight-seeing, something awesome just caught my attention. The idea was fresh and new. I was seriously contemplating in trying this one out. Salt Cave Spa! The first in Dubai and Middle East. A 45 minute salt therapy session designed to cleanse and rejuvenate the body promote health and well-being. Salt therapy has many benefits for treating conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, cold and flu, allergies and eczema. To breathe the purest air on earth would costs 250 aed. Excited to try this sometime, soon.

Khan Murjan, Wafi complex's large Moroccan style restaurant serves delicacies from all corners of the Middle East and North Africa. Think Lebanese minced lamb meat, stewed veggies from Iran, Moroccan couscous and Turk, Syrian and Egyptian cuisines. As you feast, Arabic music is played.

CarmisCaprice loves all things beautiful, fancy, artsy, craftsy and pretty! And throughout the four quarters of Khan Murjan souk, you'll find 150 shops and vendors from across the Arab world. It literally took my breath away! Allowing myself to be enchanted by the magic of ancient times.

Oooh! Such lovely vases and carpets. If only I could squeeze you inside my trolley. I'd be delighted to bring you all back home.

Such intricate plates, bowls and decors following the traditional styles of Egypt. The only downside is, prices are a tad bit higher, think Souk Madinat Jumeirah.

This plethora of swoon worthy stained glass decor lamps still haunts me, even in my sleep. I seriously adore them!

Gorgeous finds!

That's me and my batchies experiencing luxury living the middle eastern style. (L-R Me, Rizi and KC )

Wafi Mall, Khan Murjan Souq
Oud Metha, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Friday, March 14, 2014

Dubai Juice World, Al Rigga

I was slowly easing out of the master cleanse lemonade detox diet, so I had to drink several glasses of fresh orange juice throughout the day. The orange juice will prepare the digestive tract to be able to once again properly digest solid food.

This is where I spent my Valentine's night in Dubai. I had the most thoughtful girlfriends in the entire world, supportive of my detox. So we found ourselves smacked right at the middle of Al Rigga Street, near Al Rigga Station in search of the freshest orange juice ever!

Saudi's biggest juice chain is now in Dubai! Juice World is an intl group making more than 150 kinds of fresh juices, falaudas, fruit salads and fruit bouquets. A starting price of 8 AED for a small cup seems pretty affordable, right?

Before placing our orders at the counter, we just couldn't help but check out the eye-catching fruit cluster decors first. A salesperson limits the number of persons inside the mirrored wall room, so we had to queue and wait for our turn. Say hello to bunches of apples, avocados, pineapples, bananas, oranges and pomegranate in interesting shapes and structure. A cool new concept to attract more customers.

Happy hearts day! Just like the flowers in Dubai Miracle Garden, these fruit decors change season after season so that each repeat visitor will have a fresh experience.

There goes the #selfie. Why not?

( With my gorgeous batchmates L-R KC, Rizi )

Friends. Fruit. Fun.

Dubai Juice World, Al Rigga

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

BDJ Belle De Jour Power Planner 2014

This 2014, the year of the Wood Horse is a time of fast victories, unexpected adventure and surprising romance. An excellent year for travel, the more far away and off beaten part, the better. Decisive actions, not procrastination, brings victory.

But you have to act fast in a Horse year! In this year tends to be lots of activity and much on your plate. Not everything needs to be done at once, but it may seem that way. The key to success is to maintain your balance, sense of timing and awareness of what is in front of you. Many opportunities can come and go this year. You must be awake to catch them!

So how do you live your life to the fullest? There's the BDJ Belle De Jour Power Planner for your perusal.

What's Inside the BDJ Power Planner?

Dream Board - Knowing concretely what you want for yourself is one of the few steps to reach your goal.
Vacation Planner- Planning ahead of time is needed in order to have a successful vacation. Use this planner to organize the things you need to do before the dreamed get away.
Random Thoughts - Throughout the week, we encounter new ideas, websites, proposals, etc. This section is for these new discoveries that you may want to go back to when you're chilling out at home. Who knows this could be your next big thing?
Goals Page - With everything fast as lightning it's easy to lose track of what's most important to us. Remember that which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least, Use these pages to keep focus and keep your life on track.
#ChooseToShine - List down your strategies on how you can conquer your fears and track your progress in 21 days.
2014 Checklist- Here's a BDJ Team certified things to do this 2014 to help you discover new things about yourself, and of course guide you to have a blast.
Tapestry Pages- Take time to find ways to share your blessings with others. They have also included advocacy challenges you can do this year.

Gift List/ Tracker- For some, planning and categorizing what to give to whom help keep the budget manageable, after all what's important is not the value but the thought behind it.
Events Tracker- For birthdays, anniversaries, conferences, important deadlines and product sales. Just note them down at the start of the year- so you won't forget.
Bills and Cash Flow tracker - Know your monthly bills. Budget your hard earned money and keep track of your monthly expenses, shopping splurges included. A cash flow tracker helps you see in a page your savings, target savings, cash source or income and the main bulk of your expenses.
Health Plan- No amount of success or money can replace your health. Make sure you complete your annual check-ups
Menstrual tracker - BDJ Planner's most popular feature. Something to bring along when you visit the gyne.

Various monthly ( Freedom Page, Important Events, This Month's List of, My Good Habits) and weekly ( My Masterpiece, Weekly Affirmations, Professional Priorities, Major Goals, Personal Errands, This Week I'm Grateful For, Personal Lists, Important Tasks) layout tools included.

The BDJ Lifestyle Card will serve as your membership card to gain access to all BDJ events throughout 2014. Plus, they have partnered with the coolest lifestyle brands to generously offer discounts and promotions that you can use multiple times to help live out your "it" girl lifestyle. Check out the 76 plus coupons inside the BDJ 2014 Planner!

Visit ILOVEBDJ.COM

Share your story or blog at Blog Circle

Exercise your creativity with 88words

Rave about your BDJ Coupon Experience

Publish your own article in BDJ Gazette
Join Events and Giveaways
Dare to answer Daily Question
Set the trends in BDJ Closet

Jumpstart 2014 with BDJ's newest sets of planners and notepads.
Order yours at www.belledejourpowerplanner.com

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Dubai Miracle Garden & Madinat Jumeirah

In Dubai, the possibilities are endless! In an unassuming city with a parched hot desert climate, arose the world's largest aquarium and an indoor ski resort. Last March 28 2013, Dubai achieved yet another Guinness Record for having the largest vertical garden.

Dubai Miracle Garden in its First Phase, features an array of more than 45 million blooming flowers in stunning designs and structures over a 72,000 square meter site. Developed by Akar landscaping company, floral displays will change season after season so that each repeat visitor will have a fresh experience.

Armed with only our OOTD Theme: Sisterhood of the Travelling Skirt, we took the metro red line from Emirates Head Quarters and alighted 17 stations away at The Mall of Emirates. We hailed a cab towards Al Barsha which costs roughly around 26-28 AED.

(From L-R Rizi, KC, Jyu & Me)

Upon paying an admission fee of 20 AED, we were slowly whisked away to an amazing floral paradise consisting of a castle, arch and umbrella pathway, tents, mushroom village, happy birthday zone, gazebo, cars zone, river, boats, pyramid, lakes and fountain, tunnels, falcon, peacocks, a Burj Khalifa of 18 meters height plus a clock 13 meters in diameter.

It opens from 9am until 9pm on weekdays and extends til 11pm during weekends. Persons with disabilities & Kids 3 years old and below are free of charge. There is a food and beverage shop for ice cream, sandwiches, popcorn and cotton candies as well as fruit cocktails and juices, all at reasonable prices.

All things bright and beautiful, see God's glory on all these wonderful creations!

OOTD: With Love Clothing/Shop Till You Drop Argyle Maxi Skirt

Flipped Out Cockatoos Cara Studded Bag in Pastel Blue

An amazing proof that it's indeed possible to green the desert!

The best time to visit is either early morning or in the evening to protect one from the scorching heat of the sun.

That's me channeling my inner strength! (tee-hee)

They have recently opened Dubai Miracle Garden Phase 2. Regular admission now costs 30 AED for both Phase I & II. Still undergoing some preparations, it will soon feature butterflies, edible and aromatic plants, flower valleys and other exciting attractions. It is located in the North West Quadrant of Arabian Ranches interchange along Shiekh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road within Dubai Land Development Project.

Plan your next visit to the park ideally on your birthday because from now on the Happy Birthday Zone will have the date of each day marking.

Afterwards, we headed towards the Madinat Jumeirah to appreciate the finer things in life. This luxurious resort, set across its own private beach, features two grand boutique hotels: Al Qasr and Mina A'Salam, 29 traditional summer houses in Dar Al Masyaf, 7 Malakiya Villas, over 40 world-class restaurants, bars and lounges, two grand ballrooms, a 1000-seat amphitheater, an arena, extensive leisure and health facilities as well as a souk which showcases a traditional Arabian market.

An incredible wealth of dining options!

For Madinat Jumeirah Hotel guests or if you have a restaurant reservation, one can catch the silent abra boats or water taxis cruising along the 3 Km-long network of Venetian style canals for free. Otherwise, the cost for a guided tour is 75 AED for adults and 40 AED for children 4 years and above.

OOTD: With Love Clothing/Shop Till You Drop Argyle Maxi Skirt

Flipped Out Cockatoos Cara Studded Bag in Pastel Blue

The facilities are interconnected by 3 kilometres of waterways and landscaped gardens

The vibrant atmosphere of Madinat in Jumeirah with such a stunning view of Burj Al Arab, Dubai's Seven Star Hotel.

There are some exquisite details throughout, so if you see some stairs, take them - they might lead you to a hidden terrace with a mesmerizing vista of the sprawling Madinat Jumeirah.