Happy New Year everyone!! How was your holidays? Mine was like a roller coaster ride. Most days, I was not really feeling the holiday spirit because all my energy was focused on different things. I was feeling low when we didn't fly our tickets to Hong Kong for some stupid reason made by one person, so that was a waste of money and energy. A contrast between excitedly packing our bags to disappointingly unpacking it. I was also sad that I won't be using the winter clothes that I bought anytime soon especially the coat and boots. I even coordinated my outfits in different days so that was a bummer! There are two things I learned from this experience -- "never trust someone who is not ready to commit" and "don't fall for false reassurances because they are all just white lies".

Enough with this sad shit. On the brighter side, I got over it and I did fairly enjoy my holidays. I spent it learning a new thing, well not really a new thing. I just honed my handwriting and lettering skills. Don't be surprised that whenever I'm inside a bookstore, I will either haul pens or notebooks. I was literally screaming inside, "take all of my money!!" which was true in the end. This crazy obsession will bankrupt me!! Lol.

All of these pens are from Zig except for the last one on the right. They are used for my lettering. L-R: Zig brush writer in black, Zig Kuretake water brush in medium point, Zig wink of stella in silver, Zig wink of stella in brown (NB ran out of gold), Zig Cocoiro letter pen pink pen holder and black ink in fine brush point (they are sold separately), and Uni fine point in black 0.2. Bought these pens from NBS (their branch in SM seaside is the only branch that sells a wide variety of Zig pens. Really!) and BTC.

Bought some colored pens. Dong-a my metal from NBS and colored pen set from Daiso.

Of course, you need a notebook/pad to write on. L-R: Grid paper refill from Muji, calligraphy pad from SM department store and Rhodia dot pad from Fullybooked.

I'm still improving .. :)

Bought another coloring book because I hate my first one. Coloring book from colon (thanks to my friend Carla for buying this for me) and Prang watercolor from NBS.

Scored these books for a cheaper price from Booksale. I love Booksale!!

Before, I always tell myself and everyone that I don't like to wear make-up because I want to look natural. Now, I see myself differently -- I look dull. I always ask myself, "would it hurt to at least put some touch of color in my face and take the effort to look nice?". So I had a changed of heart. I started to put some make-up in my face but nothing heavy. I only use BB cream to hide some dark spots, lip color, and mascara.

My favorite lip balm!! It's a matte balm from Revlon. The last three on the right was a gift from my friend who is from Texas. L-R: elusive (and also the last one on the right. Its a nude pink color), sultry (my favorite color from the bunch! Its a mauve color), fierce (nude brown), and passionate (purple).

Compact mirror included from the three set of matte balm. Hi, guys!! :)

Thank you to my friends Rachelle, Novea and the couple Portia and Darryl for that wonderful night.

I love Nyx!! They smell so good! L-R: soft matte lip cream in Cairo (nude brown), soft matte lip cream in Istanbul (pink), and butter lipstick in candy buttons (peach pink).

These cute perfumes which are given to me from the U.S. L-R: Eternity, Kenzo and BVLGARI.

In the hopes of salvaging (that sounded a little morbid lol) my holiday spirit, I bought these things below:

Black bag from Parfois. I always wanted a black bag for everyday use. This one looks a tad bit like the bag I'm lusting from Kate Spade which is so expensive!!

Because I needed a more mature wallet. Wallet from Parfois. Fact: I love a wallet that has a lot of compartment.

The last one that made my Christmas eve happy was maki!! California maki and spicy salmon maki are my favorites from Red Kimono.

I was invited by my friend who is a teacher to attend their Christmas party as a photographer. I had fun with the kids and I got to bring home a lot of food.

These kids know how to smile for the camera.

My favorite kids who are so adorable:

.. and Jamilla. <3

Lastly, our friend Charity together with her now fiancee, Onin went here in Cebu to tell us that they are engaged and are set to marry next year. Charity is the first person in my circle of friends who is getting married and I'm so happy for her!! Ahhh I feel old already.

December was a great month. I ended my 2015 by watching fireworks at my window and of course, spending it with my family. I hope you guys ended your 2015 with a bang! This year, 2016, will be better. Again, Happy New Year!

I've been dying to learn how to do flatlay and minimalist photography for a long time. And I wanted it to have that clean monochromatic look. Last two weeks, I had this overwhelming idea to just try and do it. Pinterest pins and instagram posts make it seem like its so easy but maaaaaan, it was hard. I don't consider myself that creative and organized and this is not my forte. I'm good at landscapes and fashion shoots so this is a challenge. Anyway, you need to have the patience and rearrange things the right way. And the vital part is you need a clean white background or any color you want depending on your preference. We don't have white tables and white walls in our house so I have to improvise and use white sheets and a white cartolina (it was also a struggle because the size wasn't enough). These two pictures you see here in this post are my two first attempts. I'm quite satisfied with the outcome considering my hands were shaking the entire time. Its hard to shoot photos downward. Its also hard when you use dslr not unless you use a tripod. I only used my iphone.

I just want to push myself to do something that is more challenging and .. more mature. Like monochromatic mature hahaha I mean I've grown up loving colorful things especially pink. Seeing professional photographers and bloggers doing these clean monochromatic photos, I instantly fell in love. They made me fall in love with black and white too. They are so classy! Right? :) And you can't go wrong with black and white clothes. I know, I'm just realizing that now.

I'm still thinking if I should buy a new compact camera (I have the Fujifilm x30 in mind. Why not interchangeable lens camera? Because I can't afford to buy expensive lenses and I already have a dslr to do that job) so I don't have to bring my heavy dslr with me all the time (I want to ignite my passion for photography again). Or buy a new iphone (the rose gold is tempting) next year. If only I can afford to buy both but I have other priorities. So by then, I'm going to torture myself by reading online reviews, and think what weighs best in the end (my friend's voice in the background saying, "wants vs needs". urgh). Have a good day folks!

Doing what you love, and at the same time getting paid for it can be very rewarding. Today, I was hired as a photographer for a christening event by my aunt who was an event coordinator. Truth be told, I was bloody nervous but later on feeling thankful because I landed my first work as a freelancer by working with my relatives. I get to navigate and learn the ropes without being judge (first times can be very traumatizing when people judge you for not doing a good job). I have so much to learn and so much to improve. If I will turn this in to a living, I would probably need an expensive lens which I cannot provide at the moment lol. Thank you, God for the opportunity, and for the good weather. To more jumping outside my comfort zone (yes! A lot of jumping will be happening in my life this month), and to more blessings to come. Bonsoir!

Everyone I know is fussing about how delicious korean food is, so I had to try it for myself. The funny thing was, for the whole meal, I was just saying "I don't know if I'm doing this right and I don't know what I'm eating but I'm eating it anyway". I tried not to be ignorant for the whole course but failing. I don't know how to eat the korean way (I sound stupid lol).

For me, the food was pretty decent but not grand. I don't really get the fuss but maybe its not just my preference. I still love japanese food though. I like the bulgogi (not in the picture -- it feels like stir fry) and the meat sauce (the orange one which was sweet). I'm not a fan of kimchi because its too chili for me.

Samgyeopsal (pork meat) and beef strips.



I forgot the name of this soup.

The only downside of this korean restaurant is they didn't put it in their menu/banner that every person should order meat (more like eat all you can per person payment but not eat all you can). I tried korean food before but it was only korean chicken from chosun which I really like. To those korean food fans out there, sorry if you feel offended that I didn't like the food that much but its only my preference. To boayo! :)