#2013

Apart from being the year of the "selfie", I think it's safe to say that 2013 is also the year of the #hashtags, hence, the title.

I used to do my blog's yearly round-up with pictures for each month. However, I mainly take photos now with my phone plus Instagram and again, I'm lazy to copy and paste. For this year, I'll just type type type without thinking.

If I have to sum up my 2013 in one word, I must say it has been a helluva EXPENSIVE year. Two failed treatments and one almost-failed treatment drained our wallets pretty quickly. Not to mention the physical, emotional and psychological uhm, turbulence, we had to go through that was more draining than having our pennies disappear like that. C'est la vie.

Due to such circumstances, I turned to retail therapy to make me "happy" and shopped I did. This year, I discovered the wonders of My Shopping Box, online shopping and Instagram shopping on top of real life shopping. It was a year of fiscal irresponsibility. Sorry, hubby.

It was also a year of concerts. We watched Aerosmith, The Killers and #SugarSmashGin while I watched The Legends and the Classics. No fiscal irresponsibility here though because we always bought the cheapest seats haha.

It was a year of healthy living. After his trip to the ER early in the year, hubby turned to running and joining organized runs. I accompanied him to a couple and slept in the car.  I hate running around in circles with nowhere to go. My friends laughed when I told them that reason, but it's true. On my part, I joined the Zumba classes in our clubhouse or did the treadmill at the gym when I tagged along hubby at the gym. I tried to eat healthy, too. Well, only when it came to the snacks I devoured at the office, like checking the nutritional value for the sugar content. I'm gradually giving up coffee, now drinking green tea at work and decaf when I'm craving coffee. I switched to dark chocolate, too. Hubby will dispute this though and will insist that I am still eating sugar. At least not as much as I used to.

On the travel front, 2013 was a year of firsts - first trip to Boracay with my family and first trip to HK-Macau with hubby's family.

On improving myself, I bought a Noodler's fountain pen  and practiced more calligraphy.  Still a long way to go though. I also joined a rubber-cut stamp workshop. But I think I should just focus on calligraphy this year.

Resolutions for 2014? Maybe healthier living, maybe I could try joining hubby on his runs but until 5k only. Lesser fiscal irresponsibility, if I can help it. 

And of course, my one fervent wish. Please, 2014.###

HK-Macau 2013

We've been to our Asian neighbors which require visas yet we've never been to Hong Kong and Macau. As the day of our trip neared, Hong Kong lawmakers passed a bill or something requiring visas to Filipinos. We were so worried our trip would get cancelled. 

Upon arriving in Hong Kong, we immediately booked a ferry trip to Macau for an overnight stay. We lucked out on a good deal at the Venetian.

We arrived in Macau quite late in the afternoon so after a quick late lunch, we set out to explore the place. 

On our way to the Ruins of St. Paul's, we tried the famous egg tarts.

The Ruins of St. Paul's

Yummy jerky.

The spectacular Wynn fountain light show.

Early morning in Macau

Since we were leaving at lunch and the Venetian was so huge, we decided to just explore the hotel.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Hello, neglected blog, it's been a while. My last post was written a couple of days before Yolanda and I somehow found it hard to blog after that. Anyway, let me take advantage of the Christmas break to update ze blog.

I have always gravitated to Young Adult/chick lit because I don't like reading serious stuff when I absolutely don't have to. Since I enjoyed Rainbow Rowell's Attachments, I bought Eleanor & Park as soon as I spotted a copy.

It's about two teenagers set in the '80s. Eleanor has a bleak (yes, I think that's the perfect word) family background while Park comes from a perfect Korean-American household. They fall in love after a couple of chapters and the rest is all about making you kilig with the kilig that comes with teenage love. I gotta give it to Rainbow Rowell, she writes kilig with a capital K. However, interspersed in their story is Eleanor's abusive stepfather so throughout the story, I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster, alternating between giddiness and despair.

 

image source

Spoiler alert: This does not have a happy ending (looking at you, Anna). Honestly, I like Attachments more, maybe because I am closer to their age than Eleanor and Park, hehehe.

Blank

* This post originally appears in a brand-new Muji notebook, written last Monday.

I have a lot of blank notebooks. Most of the time, I just write in them once then I forget all about them. So wasteful, I know. But I seem to equate blank notebooks with new beginnings. Like turning over a new leaf - literally. Or tabula rasa - a clean slate.

* I modified this part for public consumption.

 

I am hanging out in Starbucks Fully Booked in BGC. I went to the doctor earlier to have something checked. As usual, her diagnosis is not so encouraging. Status quo. I guess it's infuriating to read a post as vague as this one. Maybe one day I will be more open to writing about this. But not now. Anyway, the doctor again prescribed me medicines. I'm so sad I decided to take the rest of the day off. So I ended up buying a notebook in Muji.

* Now we go back to my original post.

I bought a Mother Mary bracelet at Alex and Ani in SM Aura. I was debating between gold and silver - I think I look better in silver jewelry. I wanted to buy one more - one with my initial - but they are not cheap. I also wanted a St. Jude one but it is out of stock.

While charging my phone, someone plugged her phone next to mine. Then she sat at a table far from me and well, her phone. So weird. I hope she's not a terrorist that her phone might blow up later.

I also bought a book by Nick Hornby, "A Long Way Down." I wanted Rainbow Rowell's "Eleanor and Park" but it's sold out everywhere. I really should've bought a copy when I had the chance.

* My originial post ends there.

I think I ended my post abruptly because my hand got tired. The bane of writing by hand when you're now used to tapping the keyboard. Anyway, L warned me that A Long Way Down is depressing and may not be the best book to read while I'm sad. I know I read the back of the book but I must have glossed over the word "suicide."  But I'm a few pages in and it does not seem depressing at all even if they talk about killing themselves all the time haha. 

I'm also reading recaps of the Korean drama "That Winter, The Wind Blows" because it is currently being shown on our shuttle and I can't follow the story because I only ride in the afternoon. It's riveting but weird. 

I wonder why I'm writing like my 10-year old self again, you know, Dear Diary style. :P

 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

It's been a while since I felt real kilig while reading a book. What is English for kilig anyway - giddy? giddiness? Anyway, such was the case with Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I know, I know, it's another Young Adult book but it's no Twilight or 50 Shades of Gray - which I never bothered to read anyway.

 

Lincoln O' Neill's job is to read company e-mails for inappropriate content and while reading the e-mail exchange of two female co-workers, he ends up falling in love with one of them. This book reminds me of Train Man except that in Attachments, Lincoln and the girl did not interact with each other up until near the end of the book. I read this only before going to sleep and halfway through, I was itching for them to meet already.  With that, I found the ending abrupt and well, bitin. But still, I got kilig and found myself sighing like you would after watching a feel-good romantic comedy.

I bought this book on a whim when I saw it in Fully Booked. There's another book - Eleanor and Park - but I did not buy it then. Now I regret it big time because it is currently out of stock in National, Powerbooks and Fully Booked. Hay, kaasar.

#SugarSmashGin

 Watched the #SugarSmashGin - Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth and Gin Blossoms - concert last night at the Araneta Coliseum. As usual, I was in the nosebleed section so I will spare everyone with blurred Instagram photos. :P

I grew up with these bands in the 90s so I was quite excited when I learned about the concert. But why why why are the tickets so damn expensive? The Gen Ad ticket set me back a thousand bucks, the next section was already almost 3,000. My friend was able to score a promo for P499 in Gen Ad and I heard they slashed prices, but still, darn expensive. In fact, the Upper Box of Araneta was deserted. Sigh.

The concert started at 8PM though the ticket said 7PM. Color It Red opened the concert - yeah, so 90s. The first band to perform was Smash Mouth. They played for an entire hour, playing hits like All Star and I'm a Believer. Then, we waited for another hour before Sugar Ray played. All was forgiven when Mark McGrath played up to the crowd. They played fewer songs than Smash Mouth but the audience loved them because Mark gave entertaining spiels. I loved When It's Over - especially since Mark said he wrote it after getting his heart broken one summer. Then it was another 30minutes or so wait before Gin Blossoms took the stage - at that time, it was already 12 midnight! Some people have left so Gin Blossoms played to a sad looking crowd. I felt bad because (1) the lead singer said they just arrived after a 30-hour flight from Texas and (2) I think they played the best, it was like listening to a CD.

The concert ended at around 1:30AM. Tuesday morning. Gah. I can't remember if it was Mark or the singer of Smash Mouth who said they were coming back in 2014. I hope the organizers do a better job by then by starting early and minimizing the set-up time between the bands. This 90s girl can no longer watch concerts later than 11PM! :P

The Legends and The Classics

Hubby and I love music but, as you have probably noticed, we are not big on watching concerts. Well, we are not big on buying expensive concert tickets haha.

I read about The Legends and The Classics: Encore featuring Lea Salonga, Lisa Macuja and Cecile Licad from somewhere online a couple of days before the event. I wanted to watch with hubby but, as expected, he balked that the lowest ticket price was P2,000. I also learned that Lisa Macuja is going to retire by the end of the year. Since I haven't seen Lisa perform live, I coughed up the P2,000.00. I was actually willing to shell out more if only I learned about the event earlier.

Hubby dropped me off at the CCP lobby a few minutes before 5:00PM so I ran to the fourth floor even if I badly needed to go to the restroom. I was at the door when the national anthem ended and the usherette said I can no longer go out. 

But it was worth it controlling my bladder and risking kidney stones haha. The trio performed a couple of OPM songs then it was time for individual performances.

I have always been a big Lea Salonga fan. When I was younger, I learned that she was in Manila Hotel so I wrote her a letter and addressed it to "Lea Salonga, Manila Hotel" because I didn't have Google back then haha. I asked my father to mail it but I dunno if he ever did so. She sang songs from Les Miserables, Cats and Wicked. Goosebumps. Too bad she didn't sing Sun and Moon and The Last Night of the World. Afterwards, I discovered that the Manila run of Miss Saigon was in 2000, I was already here then, but I prolly didn't have the money to watch it. Boo hoo. I hope to watch her in a play or musical soon.

Cecile Licad, Lisa Macuja, Lea Salonga and Ballet Manila from the nosebleed section :)

Lisa Macuja performed next. Hard to believe she is already 49. She twirled, she jumped, she moved. She performed the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (which I correctly guessed as there was a balcony) and Paquita and Dying Swan (which I read from a review). She made me remember that I once wanted to be a ballerina (as most little girls are wont to do). I also hope to watch another performance of hers before she retires.

Cecile Licad, on the other hand, also made me remember that I once took up piano lessons but discontinued them as laziness took over. I am no classical music expert so I didn't recognize the songs she performed. But she radiated passion and her fingers simply flew all over the keys. I had one of those disposable opera glasses-like thingies that I got from the Smashing Pumpkins concert so I managed to see her up close even if I was in the nosebleed section. The guys beside me could not help but yell "Bravo!" when she finished.

This event made me realize how I love music but sadly, music doesn't really love me back - I dance okay but I'm no ballerina and I am tone-deaf. On an unrelated note, I do hope my future kids inherit hubby's musical genes. :)

Nick and Norah's Infiite Playlist

Happy to report that I am reading for fun again. For a time, I found myself unable to finish reading a book, which kinda worried me because it has never happened before, so I wasn't sure if there was something wrong with me or the book.

One of my recent buys is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It is a teen romance by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn so it's a light read. It reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower but I like the latter more because I did not rush myself in reading it. Anyway, the book made me curious enough to download the movie. 

While the movie is classified as a romantic comedy-drama, it ain't no chick flick. The soundtrack is good, as expected, although I don't recognize most of the songs. I reckon teenagers will know the songs haha. The movie is not a faithful adaptation of the book, for in the book, it was Nick who asked Norah to pretend to be his girlfriend yet in the movie, it was Norah who did the asking. That kinda threw me off, because in real life, is a girl more likely to ask a stranger to pretend to be her boyfriend? A few twists were also added. Anyway, the most memorable lines in the book were also in the movie.

I think the movie captured New York as indeed the city that never sleeps, for the kids were running around during the after-hours and there was always some place that was open. It made me want to go to New York although I doubt it that at my age, I can still go bar-hopping in search of a punk band hehe.

 

The movie is good but I liked the book more. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever found a movie adaptation better than the book.

To Hyphenate or Not to Hyphenate?

Notice the surge in blog posts? It's like my laziness button has been switched off. Haha. I hope it lasts.

Before I got married, I thought that I'd go the hyphenated route because I'm proud of my maiden surname and it looked cool. However, one of my officemates who got married a year before me opted to drop her maiden surname because it was too tedious filling up forms. I also read in some forums that some government forms do not recognize the hyphenated surname. Since I get agitated easily and try to stay away from them hasslehoffs, I opted to drop my maiden surname. 

I know some wives do not change their names at all but when I kidded hubby about it, he got mock angry. As a compromise, I did not change my signature which I've had since elementary. Besides, I didn't want to think up of a new signature.

It's been swimmingly fine, but recently, I accessed the Roll in the SC website and I felt sad that my name does not appear beside my father's name. I am now contemplating to switch to a hyphenated surname although I'm not sure if SC will still allow me. Thing is, my hyphenated surname would be long, fourteen characters with the hyphen. Ugh. Anyone out there to convince me to hyphenate?

Japan Calling (?)

My bestfriend L is on a two-year scholarship grant in Kobe University. Eons ago, when we stalked people based in Japan on Friendster, Multiply and Flickr, we rued how they seem to be having the time of their lives. After our honeymoon in Japan, I yearned for the cleanliness, the efficiency of the transport system and the many brands that are not available here.

Now L seems to be having the time of her life there discovering Kitkat flavors and shopping haunts. I'm so inggit. When I got married, I half-intentionally gave my career the lowest priority because I was raring to start a family. But since that does not appear to be forthcoming, I'm thinking of looking into study opportunities abroad. I've always had this very faint (haha) yearning to go abroad for a year or two. Hubby has mentioned maybe New Zealand and Australia. We'll see. 

The "Victims"

Fans of the band The Killers are apparently called "The Victims." However, we never thought it'd get literal at the end of the night.

Let's backtrack a bit. Hubby is a big fan of the band. Me, I only know their song "Mr. Brightside." Hubby had already bought tickets to their 2010 concert here but that was cancelled because the lead singer's mother died. So hubby was really excited when their 2013 Manila concert was announced. However, he was not keen with the (high) ticket prices so he settled for General Admission. Since I'm not really a fan, I wasn't sure if I'd go with him. At the last minute, I bought my ticket from someone who was "desperately" selling her extra tickets.

 

#MillionPeopleMarch

Hubby has been complaining how a chunk of his salary goes to taxes yet we have dilapidated roads and crowded LRTs and MRTs (the things that directly affect us as of the moment). So when he learned about the Million People March on August 26, he resolved to go, with or without me. Of course I wasn't going to be left behind.

There were lots of people, although sadly did not amount to a million, must be the long week-end and the dreary weather. 

I digress, while I'm no supporter of Atty. Kapunan, I don't get it why the media personalities who interview her insist on questioning her to make admissions about Janet Napoles. Hello, she is her lawyer, she's sworn to defend her. Besides, as of this writing, no complaint related to the pork barrel scam has been filed against Napoles. I just wish people would just go ahead and file the complaint and stop yakking in the news.

More Calligraphy Posts

I find myself picking up my Noodler's pen or going back to dip pen when I have a chunk of free time.

 

Found this washi tape of nibs on the internet, hence, perfection. :)

 

I am beginning to love this song of Pink's. I especially like the line "We're not broken, just bent."

 

Written during a bad time in the office.

 

Written while my laptop froze. Hubby's song for me daw, hmp.

 

This is the gold Speedball calligraphy ink that I picked up in Scribe last week-end. It's a little tricky thinning it out and getting the gold to show up on white paper. But I like it. :)

Blue (Da ba dee da ba di)

 Today we were in Eastwood, a place we rarely go to, so I made sure to check out the calligraphy stuff in Scribe. There are quite a few bottles of ink and nibs since I last went there (a long time ago). I resisted my hoarder tendencies and bought two bottles of Speedball calligraphy ink - blue and gold.

Played with the blue tonight:

I've always used the Brause nib but now I've discovered that the Hunt 101 creates finer upstrokes. I read that Speedball calligraphy ink should be thinned out with water - I put too much so it turned watercolory. Still love it though.

Sad thing only is while I was cleaning the nib, I stabbed my thumb with it. Ouch.

Noodler's Pen

Just realized that I haven't blogged about my Noodler's pen. It has a flexible nib with its own ink barrel so I don't have to tote around a bottle of ink with me everytime. It's perfect for me to practice with while waiting for hubby in Trinoma.

This morning, the CA received a bomb threat then my Noodler's pen exploded ink all over me. (hum X-Files theme)

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

... was the feature movie of Star Movies last Sunday night. It was not an action-packed apocalypse movie but a drama and comedy that felt like it could really happen. A 70-mile wide asteroid is on a collision course with the Earth in three weeks and chaos ensues. Steve Carell's wife leaves him thereafter while Keira Knightley broke up with her boyfriend for preventing her to see her family in England. They are neighbors and they form an unlikely relationship. Meanwhile, others cope by engaging in orgies and riots, taking drugs or hiring hitmen for suicide. Then there are doomsday preppers who stocked up on potato chips.

 

Source

The movie felt real to me since 2013 is the Year of the Comets.  And it got me thinking what I would do if I knew the world was ending. I don't think I can be a doomsday prepper, I'm a worrywart enough as it is, being a doomsday prepper would drive me crazy. Where should I spend my last hours? With my husband only or should we go to my family or his family? Which of my material stuff should I save if a riot breaks out? Keira saved some of her records, which shows how much of a romantic she is. Should I attempt to build or find a bomb shelter (in the Philippines? Ha!) or just go ahead of everyone else? Omg, the end of the world is really stressful.

-__-

If you're not in the mood for senseless blabber, I suggest you skip this post.

When my mind can't keep up with the case I'm currently working on, I open my browser and click on random blogs. I stumbled upon a post of someone who was "unplannedly" pregnant and presently touring Europe. Pregnant and Europe - two things that may never happen to me so I'm immediately sad. And immediately bitter. I wonder what my life (or maybe just my bank account) could have been now if I started working right after college. I was a full-time law student, started working after passing the Bar, but got married two years after so it's been bills, bills, bills henceforth. My salary pays the bills for sure but sometimes, it does not seem enough. Or maybe I want too much, little greedy me.

So what's the point of this post? There is no point. The title's an emoticon for chrissake.

Rubber-cut Stamp Workshop

Early last May, I dragged my youngest sister to accompany me to one of Alessa Lanot's (www.lifeafterbreakfast.com) Rubber-cut Stamp Crafternoons. I attended Fozzy's calligraphy worshop by my lonesome and it was, well, lonely haha. I'm not good at making friends instantly, and most of the participants also brought along friends and family.

Alessa was with Mansy of www.heyhessy.com (washi tape galore!) We were provided with rubber blocks, carving tools and tracing paper (and a yummy merienda of Pipino's cold buckwheat soba noodles and lumpia). We were instructed to draw our design on the tracing paper and then rub them on the rubber afterwards, thereby producing the reverse of the design. Then, we had to stamp our own fabric tote bag and a scarf.

Raffles and Me

Early this month I learned that I won a pair of Feiyue sneakers from Karrot Nazareno's (@karotitay) Live Love Lolz Facebook give-away. When the pair arrived, they were too large for me. I contacted Karrots and Feiyue and they said I could exchange them in my size. Thankfully, hubby was in the mood to venture out to Ortigas.

Currently breaking them in, like right now. And I'm reflecting how I'm a "bit" lucky in raffles - years ago, I won P25,000 in a Smart raffle, then I've won twice (minor prizes though) in office-wide raffles (population:1,000 employees). I say I'm only a "bit" lucky because I'm still waiting to win a car or a house and lot in supermarket raffles! :)

Spiderman 3 x Snow Patrol

Yeah, yeah, I'm years late in liking Snow Patrol's "Signal Fire." Discovered the video over the week-end. Good vibes. :)

Tobey Maguire

What is obsessed?

One of my very few celebrity crushes is Tobey Maguire. I first took note of him in Pleasantville. In the series,  I liked him best in Spiderman 3, especially when he became Black Spiderman haha. He went off the radar and recently came back to star in The Great Gatsby. I watched it last week and my crush on him got re-ignited.

I have been downloading his old movies, watching interviews on Youtube and Google-ing pictures. He is married to Jennifer Meyer who makes exquisite jewelry pieces that I'd like to get my hands on though they are a bit pricey.

I know I'm coming off as a crazy 13-year old but I am so obsessing over them (yes, I've included Jennifer because she is cute) that I want to apply for a U.S. visa, go to LA and find them hahahaha.

When I told a friend of mine that I am obsessing over Tobey again after watching The Great Gatsby, she wondered why I didn't have a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. Well, my "type" has never been mainstream. The fact that he married a "regular girl" (daughter of Universal Studios CEO and President Ronald Meyer) makes him all the more appealing to me.

Besides, how can you not fall in love with THIS?

Source

My heart is crying.

Aerosmith in Manila

Two things after the Aerosmith concert in Manila: (1) why so expensive? and (2) why no Amazing and Crying?

Upon initially seeing the ticket prices, I was resigned to the fact that I won't be going to the concert. However, after peer pressure that the band will soon be an "alamat", I bought tickets at the last minute, hence, the nosebleed section.

Which I kinda regretted because Steve Tyler worked up the mosh pit. A couple of our friends scored VIP standing tickets at 50% off via Deal Grocer and they had the most amazing photos. Nonetheless, the 90s kid in me who grew up in the MTV era when MTV actually played music videos and not teenage moms shows happily listened to "Janie's Got A Gun", "Jaded", "Come Together", "Livin' On the Edge", "Dude Looks Like a Lady", "Dream On", the quintessential "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and my favorite of the set, "Cryin'" (I got kilabot here, dunno why).

But I really really really wanted to hear "Amazing" and "Crazy". Sayang. I wonder which 90s band will grace our shores, too?

Boracay 2013

Our parents aren't big on traveling so my siblings thought that we should venture out of Luzon as a family for the first time. My sisters suggested Boracay and I had reservations at first because I think it's not really "senior citizen" friendly (though our dad is only 63 while mom is only 59). Turned out I was right because they hardly went out of the hotel, darn.

My siblings enjoyed the trip though. We went sunset sailing and island hopping while they went para-sailing and watched the Jay Sean concert. Us young 'uns also did the ATV thing though I chickened out the last minute and rode the buggy with the guide.

I first went to Boracay in 2009 and I think it's a lot more commercialized now. It's hard to walk along the shops at night because of the crowd.

Some photos from the trip:

You've Got Mail!

I love receiving mail, even if it's stuff that I paid for myself! :) Today, the things I ordered before the Holy Week arrived in succession. First was these Oblation USBs that I ordered from the UP Mathematics Club. Cuties!

The next package I thought was gonna arrive in a few days pa. I ordered the Young House Love book from Amazon and had it shipped to me through My Shopping Box. I paid through G-Cash on March 22 and the package arrived today. I love My Shopping Box already although I have to find a way to change my account to one not tied up to G-Cash.

Yes, I went out of the office just so I could photograph the book with the Philippine flag behind it haha. I also ordered Speedball pen cleaners from Amazon for my calligraphy nibs even if I haven't touched them for a while!

 

I love mail days! Okay, more online shopping starts now! :))

 

Shelves and Shadowboxes

Ze hubby has been on a real nesting kick recently, what with putting up picture frames and buying shelves. He's painting our shoe cabinet right now and wants to learn carpentry. Soooo I can't help but be swept away with his fervor that I decided to do a project that I wanted to do a couple of years ago haha.

I read about shadowboxes in YoungHouseLove and I knew I wanted to do that with our ring bowl. I searched high and low for shadowboxes and salespeople seem to not have heard of one everrr. Fortunately, I saw these deep picture frames in SM North and I realized, hey, they could be shadowboxes or maybe they really are shadowboxes.

So I first cleaned our ring bowl from Paloma's Nest. This is one of my favorite details from the wedding. We almost did not have one because they don't ship to the Philippines anymore. Fortunately, my friend in the US asked me what we wanted and I immediately forwarded her the link to the website. I threaded two camera charms that I found in Etsy. The nest-like stuff came with the bowl and I just spread it behind. I didn't glue anything because it was already a snug fit with the nest. I'm actually worried it might break because it was a bit snug, so I'm crossing my fingers with this one. I hid some silica gel in there so the charms won't rust.

Betty Bright

Back in elementary, I liked going to a classmate's house because (1) her room was airconditioned and (2) she had a library of Archie comic books. I think she wasn't allowed to lend them out so I tried to read as much as I can whenever I was in her house. Sometimes, I won't even talk to her because I was reading haha. Back then a comic book costs P50 or so and that was expensive-o already.

My youngest sister is lucky because our parents bought her the comic books which she promptly destroyed through the years hehe.

So I was excited when I read that MAC was coming up with an Archie's Girls collection. Not a fan of make-up but currently collecting lipsticks. I settled for the Betty Bright lipstick because I've always wanted to rock a coral shade. The lipsticks are sold out in Trinoma so I ordered through the @shopHK Instagram account.

I tried it just this morning and while I adore the shade, I find it difficult to apply. It's Satin but I use Brave which is also Satin all the time and it's so easy to apply. Oh well, at least it's cute. :)

Birthday Dinner at Bistro Filipino

For his birthday, hubby treated me to dinner at Bistro Filipino, Chef Laudico's restaurant at the Fort. It also served as our Valentine's date. At first we thought that the prices would be insane but there's this uhm, not exactly a promo, but a scheme wherein you pay P799 something for a four-course set. This dinner happened a month ago and I've conveniently forgotten those details, sowee.

I managed to take pictures of my food only haha. For my appetizer, I chose the trio of lumpia cone, wagyu salpicao and kilawen. The lumpia was a hands-down winner, my eyes literally rolled in ecstasy. As a wanna-be cook, I was trying to reconstruct the ingredients in my head. It still tasted like lumpia but much much much better. Try this, I tell you!

I chose the Hot and Cold Sinigang soup mainly because I was intrigued how it can be hot and cold at the same time. While it was still yummy, I prefer my soup hot, so I think my stomach was kinda shocked with the cold soup. This had two pieces of shrimp in it and after the appetizer, I was already feeling quite full.

I knew I was eyeing another dish for my entree but it wasn't available and the waiter recommended the Wagyu Kaldereta. The beef was tender and flavorful and served on a bed of silky sweet potato mash. I was really really full by this time, the serving may not look much in the photo but it was more than enough for me.

Thankfully, I still had room for dessert. This was the Trio of Desserts: Tsokolate Oh!, Yema Bicho Bicho and Flourless Chocolate Cake. I didn't mean to order two chocolate desserts, I think the Maja Blanca Cheesecake was not available. The desserts were also yummy but it was kinda overwhelming to have two chocolate desserts at the same time.

 

This four-course set is really worth the price. I'd go back just for the lumpia alone! :)

Bistro Filipino
Net One Building

Bonifacio Global City

 

While waiting...

I'm prone to crying fits when I'm frustrated. And lately, I've been very very frustrated. During one of my crying episodes, hubby - the less emotional one - said something like I should learn to accept so I won't get frustrated.

But I can't simply accept how something seemingly basic can be so difficult. Heck, people do this without thinking.

It used to be that when I want something, I usually get it - 90% hard work and 10% luck. However it seems in this case that I need 100% luck. And I seem to have used up my quota on luck.

Recovery Food

Sometimes I wish I live or work neare Fort just so I could try the new places popping up over there. I'm no foodie, I just like new stuff.

We happened to be in the area yesterday and hubby remembered me mentioning Recovery Food to him. He was planning to go to MC Home Depot anyway and Recovery Food is just across it, so we decided to have lunch there. I ordered the Spicy Sweet Tuyo while hubby ordered the Tapa De Morning.

We ordered the "half recovery" bowls because the waiter said a "full recovery" bowl was good for two. The spicy sweet tuyo was good and generous, and it's not everytime that a restaurant offers tuyo. The bite of tapa I had was also good, sweet and tender. Our only beef (pun intended) was that the rice was kinda bitin - serving-wise and price-wise (our orders were P180/each). And this is coming from me who was a bit full from breakfast that time and who does not eat much rice anyway. Their side salad was also good, too. I read that Recovery Food is by the makers of Mamou - a fixture on Instagram posts which I have yet to try. I also saw from Instagram posts that their ramen is good, maybe we'll get to try that next excursion to the Fort.

 

Eye of Horus Mascara

I subscribed to Glamourbox PH back in November because I liked the idea of receiving a box of samples every month like I'm receiving a gift (though I paid for it myself!). However, since I'm no make-up junkie, I am getting kinda swamped with the samples. Maybe I'll stop after this month.

Anyhoo, one of the items I received for November was the Eye of Horus mascara. I don't use mascara because I'm in eyeglasses all the time. I decided to use this mascara for T+R's wedding just because hehe.

Now I believe my lashes are long and curly enough already, but look at the effect of Eye of Horus!

 

Excuse the under-eye area, I'm no beauty blogger.

Here's the official description:

If you’re after perfect natural mascara that won’t run, smudge or clump, Eye of Horus natural mascara is exactly what you are looking for. Formulated in the style of the ancient Egyptians, Eye of Horus mascara uses natural, non-irritating ingredients. Ideal for sensitive eyes and Eye of Horus Mascara strengthens and lengthens for ultimate Goddess lashes. Being formulated with nourishing waxes, removal is easy with a cloth warmed with water as the heat melts the waxes, cleaning lashes, making it gentle on the eyes.

 

Unlike other mascara I've tried, this one's really lightweight that I forgot to remove it one time before going to sleep (whoops!) It retails for P980.00 so maybe I'll pick up a tube after using up this sample.

Unfiltered

Who else loves Instagram? My social media hierarchy is presently Instagram > Twitter > Facebook. Instagram has made taking pictures more fun because of the wonderful filters. But sometimes, there are scenes that are best left unfiltered.

 

P.S. I've been using the Blogger app to upload pictures from my phone to well, Blogger. Then I edit on the laptop because the app keeps all the photos on the bottom part. However, I hate it that when I choose a bigger size for the photo, it skews up the resolution. Le sigh.

T + R

We attended T + R's wedding a couple of weeks ago. I think that this was the first wedding where I knew both the bride and groom well - T was my classmate in law school and a kababayan and while I first met R through T, she is also my office mate for a year now. I was placed in the office mates' table which was beside the law school table so I was table-hopping throughout the reception.

I am in love with carnations. Our wedding centerpieces also had carnations. I plucked a few pieces to bring home, though I wanted to take a vase-ful. The couple loves John Grisham.

 

Eternal bliss to T+R!