A Blissful Day in the South with Avida Serin East

I'd like to believe that I'm a Southern lady through and through. Except for the times I've lived in a condo near work (Makati) and overseas, I've always lived in what my generation would understand as "Southside". I remember the South being so inaccessible years back, hearing my friends banter "ay ang layo naman ng bahay nyo" (oh, your house is so far!). Needless to say, I became closer to my friends from the South and those few who would brave SLEX to have brunch or dinner at my house. Apart from my signature steak and my mom's roast pumpkin soup, how can you resist this view an hour or two away from my place?

We never cook bulalo or fried tawilis at home because really, Mahogany Market in Tagaytay can whip it up in 10 minutes tops.

Too, why bother making an elaborate brunch when you can drive up or down the road and be spoiled like me and C?

Southern Living has been a norm to me for 30 years to date and I can tell you that what they're saying is true: living in the South feels like going on a vacation everyday. There are plenty of old and new structures scattered around Tagaytay that are so picturesque yet also functional!

The Serin West Tower 1 Lobby is so swoon-worthy!

If you're on the lookout for a fresh space in my side of town, take a peek at this beautiful one bedroom unit (approx. 39 sqm) at Avida Serin East. It's perfect for small families (or bachelorettes like me!) for both staycations and daily living. The units are phone, cable, and internet ready making it perfect for those who also work from home.

Serin East Tagaytay stands on a quiet location at Brgy. Silang Crossing East, Tagaytay City, Cavite which gives its residents a charming and relaxing atmosphere. The thoughtfully designed units, ranging from 22- to 62-square meters in floor space that’s bigger compared to Avida properties in the Metro, are perfectly comfortable for growing families and empty nesters. The condominium also provides a variety of amenities that create a comfortable and hassle-free lifestyle for the residents. These include a resort-type dipping pool, a multi-purpose clubhouse, and wide landscaped grounds lush with greenery. Residents can also easily enjoy modern living with the convenience of the nearby Ayala Malls Serin where they can indulge in community dining, entertainment, and shopping, as well as being in proximity to national highways and main roads that make traveling to other popular destinations effortless. The entire Serin development, which includes Ayala Malls Serin, has been designed to blend in the rustic landscape of Tagaytay. Like all properties of Ayala Land, the Philippines’ leading developer of sustainable estates, Avida’s Serin Tagaytay promotes living in harmony with the environment.

Living Room

Four-Seater Dining Room

I'd love to cook in this corner!

Rain shower head. SOLD.

Surpise! You can hide a single tub washing machine in the T&B!

I don't know about you but this bed is calling me to snuggle in!

For some of us who daydream of converting our current spaces to dreamy nooks like the Serin Project Pavilion, I have some priceless tips for you from my blissful afternoon with Avida, Martine De Luna of Make It Blissful, and Maricel Mendoza of A Sweet Cottage. All their tips and tricks hit home and I was snickering the entire time thinking -- what took me so long to pen these down? :)

Martine is very big on making one's living space functional, comfortable, and welcoming. Blissful, as one would put it. Here are three things she lives by and we all should too:

Our family members must be our guests of honor because they are the most important people in our life. I couldn't agree more. If we have a messy or cluttered house, we need to do something about it. No ifs, no buts. I'm not even halfway done Konmari-ing our home and I was very sad to find the beautiful plates and glasses tucked away only for "guests" to use. Guys, these are for our household's use on a daily basis. That's the point of investing in high quality materials (to withstand frequent use). Over conversations with friends, some even quipped that they only dine out because they don't like their tableware. I told them that if you already know how to cook (or assemble a store bought dish at least), then a trip to a Gourdo's will save them heaps overtime.

Let your home be open to others and be ready to accept anyone as a guest. This is exactly why we need to keep everything nice and in order. If your home is meaningfully kept, it's also easy to tidy up on a daily basis for surprise guests. My friends know that my home's never without wine (ooops!), deli, cheese, and coffee. I learned the art of manually dripping freshly ground coffee using Chemex Coffeemaker (above next to the plastic lids) from Ton De Luna (yes, Martine's husband!) of Shophouse Coffee and it looks like I'm adding that to my Christmas wishlist. No space for all the bells and whistles of brewing at home? Shophouse Coffee also has ready to drink cold brew bottles that are brewed in small batches to ensure freshness for 2 weeks.

Martine's last tip is very simple: teach your family the first two points because "if they treat their own families as guests of honor and know how to open up their home to those who need a place of love, then they will be prepared for life". Wow. Can you imagine the positive change in our society if everyone does this?

To amp our skills further on prepping our homes for intimate gatherings, Maricel shared with us a few tricks of trade to make every meal much, much more exciting, beautiful, and thoughtful (bonus: it will also make your feasts Instagram-worthy):

Invest in beautiful and useful things; stick to whites. When I moved out, the first thing I purchased was a bone china set followed by heavy cutlery. It makes every meal look and feel shala even if it's just dim sum from the ground floor. I love that when stacked with coloured bowls and accents, my bone china set takes on a whole new look.

photo via jenniferoliphant.com

Elevate, elevate, elevate. Similar to plating, stacking accents save space and make tablescapes interesting.

photo via 100layercakelet.com

DIY and personalization goes a long, long way. Unleashing your inner Martha Stewart shouldn't be so difficult. Just pen (or print) in your guest's name for a placeholder or if you're feeling fancy, put together a little trinket box of treats. If you're absolutely clueless, ring up Maricel for a 911 kit:

photo via @asweetcottage

To close our workshop, we had the chance to unbox some of her well curated boxes and put the contents together for a quick tablescape. Can you tell that this was my cup of tea? :) We all went home super spoiled by the Blissful Brands & Businesses plus with a stronger appreciation of Southern Living.

Thank you so much @thedrunkenfloristPH, @TreenManila, @neutraorganics, @nanaydulces, @avanillastory, @bloominghobby, @ksignsanddesigns, @chunkychewleries, @ShophouseCoffee, and @thepapermenagerie!