You may think I'm posting this just to brag that I bought expensive things, but I'm posting this because I'm proud of myself. I bought these things because I worked for it, and I deserve it. I don't normally go and spend money on grander things except if its my birthday, Christmas or if I really really want that particular object (and if the price is justifiable). If you know me well, I'm really tight when it comes to money, and I do a lot of saving. I don't like to call myself a tightwad because I spend on small things, and I lend or give money to those in need. I'm a compassionate person, and I do charity works when I can. So excuse my language, but fuck those people who judged me. I think judging people you don't know for things you don't understand is stupid. I'm a sensitive person, and some days you just can't ignore negative comments. But I've learned the hard way not to let any negativity get in to me. And you are welcome to unfollow me on any social media accounts I have anytime. So to those who can relate, just do whatever makes you happy.

On the positive note, I bought these two shoes as an advance gift to myself. I've been meaning to buy a shoe for the past months, but it was a struggle to find the perfect one. The shoes I was eyeing either doesn't have a size for my feet or they ran out of stock. The adidas neo lite racer doesn't have the size and the shoe color that I want. The air jordan 1 low doesn't have a smaller size because it is a man shoe (lol). My mom keeps on telling me to save my money, and just buy in Hong Kong (finally we are pushing our trip this november. I'm so excited!!). But the reason I'm buying a shoe is so I can bring it in Hong Kong, and I really want to buy myself a gift.

So yesterday, I saw this nike roshe run in purple and pink at the mall. The colors are eye catching (I'm just bias because pink is my favorite color. The purple is cute too!). But I've read in some online reviews that roshe run shoes are being worn by people who think they are "cool" aka "teenagers" (see how judgmental people are?). Who cares? I love the colors and comfort wise? It feels comfortable to walk in it. See what I did there? Yup, I don't plan on using this baby when I go jogging. Its too cute to  just ruin it hahaha I'm wearing this on my casual and laid back days.

I ended up buying two shoes because I couldn't resist this white sneakers from Call It Spring. My original plan was to buy white and/or black shoes so I can match it on any outfits. This baby right here was love at first sight. It may not be as good as the air jordan 1 low but its way more cheaper. And its for women! Hahaha. When you touch it, you can feel that it is made from high quality materials. Its worth the price. :)

There was some serious mirror selfie going on in the fitting room yesterday (found the perfect fitting room for mirror selfies!) lol

I'm so in love with this red jacket. I think it looks good on me, and its perfect for our Hong Kong trip. But it was too expensive. :( Maybe next time. Nonetheless, I'm a happy birthday (not yet!) girl! :)

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!

I attended my family friend's wedding today and I personally bought these two piece outfit. The motif was royal blue and blush pink so I was ecstatic because pink is my favorite color. I chose an off shoulder crop top and pink checkered style skirt (?). I don't normally wear this kind of clothes but I love it. It makes me feel young and carefree. The sandals was chosen by my best friend because she thinks my feet will look mature in it. I had a great time today :)

This is not the mini shoot that I had in mind for my ootd instagram post but we had to improvise since the space is too small. I'm supposed to channel a southern feel but failed. Its not supposed to be a straw hat but I don't have a fedora hat lol ohh well this has to do. Thank you to my friend, Paul for the picture. :)

Selfies before the mini shoot.



I look like a kid here! Lol



I love my two layer heart necklace <3

Moments are as fleeting as feelings. Have fun while they last.

I'm really bad at asking other people to take a picture of me, well only when its something serious and from my bizarre ideas (I-want-to-pose-like-this-with-that-cool-view). I'm awkward when posing in front of the camera that's why some of my solo pictures are either on side view, back view or just my face obscured with something. It makes me uncomfortable and way out of my comfort zone. Maybe, I'm just not that confident with myself. I'm learning to take a leap and step out of my comfort zone. I'm a photo enthusiast by heart and I have a lot of creative ideas that involves me in the picture (I'm blaming this to all the fashion and travel bloggers out there! lol). Good luck with that yen! :)

Me and my outdoor buddy Carla trekked to Mt. Manunggal last June 2014. We started our journey from Ayala at 8AM to park my car then rode in a V-Hire to Balamban for an hour. I couldn't risk bringing my car though because I'm not that familiar with the place and the road is very steep. We got out at Barangay Gaas at around 9AM. From there, we followed the trail on foot (you have the option to ride a vehicle). Getting lost won't be a problem though since there's an area were people lived so you can just ask.

If only I could fly, I would go places.

It took us 2 hours and wee minutes to reach the resting area. It was a slow trek because there's a lot of steep areas and my feet are about to give up so I have to sit a couple of times. I stopped my journey at the resting area because I was dehydrated and there's no store/home selling water. My friend Carla went down the stairs to where the engine of Pres. Magsaysay's plane is located. And also the names of the people who died in the crash and the camp site area. I don't have any pictures to post though.

After my friend toured the area, we stayed there for a while and did some jump and tumbling shots. Crazy right? We were supposed to save our energy and our body water but instead we were feeling hyper lol. And by some miracle, a guy with a motorcycle offered to take us to the highway for P50 each. We didn't think twice and accepted the offer right away because we were beat. It was already past 5PM. From the highway, we took another V-hire to Ayala. We walked for awhile at the mall, ate dinner and went home.

We did a lot of errands that day but we can't resist going to the beach. I told God that I had to go to the beach because I might not be spending it there this summer. Its a sign from Him and I grabbed the opportunity. I just had to be there and it felt good to have a little peace of mind.

See how big the waves are? And the strong winds. Hmm so peaceful. :) On the other note, I received a good news this week. I hope this will be the next step to something bigger. Thank you papa God and I lift them all up to you .. Craving for coffee. Bye for now.

I'm gonna start my post by saying, I don't know how to write a blog. Well, I do blog but its not like any other blogs out there that are informative or has a specific genre. My blog mainly consists of, me. I write to get things off of my mind or just to express how I feel. Its more like a therapy. Boring, huh? But who cares. :)

I'm writing this post because I'm happy of some things that are happening in my life at the moment. Some things because there are still moments that makes me sad. Its what makes us human after all. First off, that recent photo of me above (I'm not trying to be vain here lol) shows that I got my jaw back!! Hahaha. /kidding aside. I'm doing my best to slim down and yes, I did slim down but not drastically. I started December last year and I still have a long way to go. I'm just enjoying the process because I can really see the results. Its different with my diet back then because I only cut half of my portion in the plate and it still makes me really hungry at some point so it ended with me eating a lot and getting fat. So here is the breakdown of my new diet:

Breakfast:

- 1 - 2 bread with cheese spread / spam / corned beef / scrambled egg

- or overnight oats (I only did maple banana oats and I'm still trying to improve in making this with other ingredients. You guys should try it because its fun!)

                  Maple banana oats:

                  - 2 cups of milk

                  - 1 cup oats

                  - 2 teaspoons brown sugar

                  - 1 tablespoon maple syrup

                  - 1 banana
                  - mix and refrigerate

- or avocado toast (I'm gonna make this one soon because its freaking hard to find avocados!)

Lunch:

- Green smoothie

                  My basic smoothie:

                   - 1 - 2 banana

                   - 1 mango or 1 pineapple

                   - 1 handful of spinach

                   - small amount of water (for easy blending)

                   - ice cubes
                   - blend

Dinner:

- I eat anything with no rice. I always go for white meat - chicken.
- or sweet potatoes

- I do a lot of cheat nights though. Hahaha.

Snacks:

- Sweet potatoes

- Skyflakes or other biscuits

- I'm not craving for rice anymore and I have smoothie to thank for that.

- When I'm out, I change rice with mashed potato.

- If I get really really hungry at home, I eat noodles.

- Drink lots of water. No soda.

- As much as possible, I stay away from alcoholic drinks.

- I told myself before that I won't drink coffee and just settle for green tea but damn, coffee is a hard habit to break. Sue me!

- I want to try and drink lemon water every morning before breakfast but lemons are quiet expensive and its found in supermarkets inside a mall so its not accessible to buy here in our place. Yea, its pretty lame excuse. Haha.

- My only exercise is walking. I'm too lazy to jog unlike before that's why I don't have abs yet! Hahaha. But some of my friends invite me to trek and I love trekking. :)

See? I have an easy diet. Green smoothies and no rice really helps. It pays off!

Second, I'm still that same ascetic girl when it comes to money. So yea, I still count my savings and expenses. Hahaha.

Third, I'm trying in vain to find a solution to get rid of my big dark eye bags. Huhu.

Fourth, I know I haven't been a good friend lately to some of my friends and fuck, I'm not even trying hard to make it up to them. Not to be dramatic but there's just some things that I need to do for myself and there's this emptiness I feel that even my friends can't fill it up. Fyi, I'm not depressed. Maybe I want some big changes to happen -- be it in a new environment or meet new people. There's a lot of things that I'm anxious about but I'm trying to be positive. I'll just surrender it all to you, Papa God. To my friends who keeps on complaining that I don't text or hangout with them anymore but still chooses to stay, thank you guys! I may not have a lot of friends and I can only count in my fingers the quantity of my friends but damn, they're true friends. I'm so blessed! :) By the way, congratulations to my friend Portia who is now engaged!!! Happy for both of you and Darryl. And Darryl, thank you for buying me the cards against humanity game cards. I asked for one but you bought me three sets and you didn't even asked for payment. LUCKY!!! :)

Fifth, I'm slowly conquering my fears. Last friday, my friend asked me to accompany her in meeting a foreigner since she was not feeling well. He's a businessman from Bahrain but born in South Africa, and who is friends with the King in Bahrain (how awesome is that! He's not even intimidating because he is so cool!) They hit it off immediately and they're one of the examples of "love at first sight". Hahaha. It was supposed to be about her but it was a big deal for me too. For someone who is so reserved and shy, I surprised myself by keeping an english conversation going for almost four hours. Wow! I didn't know I'm talkative and funny (hell yea, I can give witty comebacks!!). I have this fear of speaking in public or keeping a conversation with strangers or maybe I just don't have that much confidence with myself. And to add it all, I'm afraid that if I speak in english (which is not our native language by the way so its natural to be anxious or to be afraid), I might not pronounce the right words or just stutter; so the first hour, I stuttered a bit from nerves and kept some that I want to say to my mind but as time passed and we talked, I loosened my nerves and just let my mind and mouth carry me away. Maybe, it depends on who you talk to especially with people who are engaging and has a sense of humor. So I'm saying this again, Wow! It surprised me!! It made me happy. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face even after we said our goodbyes. It really feels good to conquer your fears! Maybe that is what I've been missing in my life -- challenging myself. I know its a small thing and I may sound silly to all of you (seriously, who in their right mind is afraid of talking to people? ME!) but it made me happy. How much more if its a big thing. Thank you for that, Papa God. :)

Sixth, I'm waiting and praying for something big. God is giving me a lot of signs lately so I'm just gonna cross my fingers and pray. Thank you, Papa God.

Seventh, deaths are all over the news especially about the Fallen 44. I pray for their souls and for their families that are left behind. Filipinos right now are mourning. I pray for peace. God bless everyone.

Eighth, love myself more.

Ninth, to be more closer to God.

I still have a lot to say and to thank for but I'll just leave it to my prayers and to my journal. Yes, I have a journal which I really make sure to write and to fill every page, that I even practiced calligraphy. Hahaha. So to end this post, I'm greeting y'all a happy love month!! *channeling a southern accent* lol

To all of the wonderful people out there, you are loved. <3

Song: Treasure by Bruno Mars
My official favorite verse: Galatians 5: 22-23

           "Fruits of the Spirit.
          22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

Quote of the day:

"You don't realize how quickly everything can fall apart until it does. Makes you never want to give up anything good ever again." - What If (2014)

I know I am in major hiatus which sucks by the way. I have been neglecting this blog for a long time. And I haven't even touched my dslr for a year hence the bad photo pixel above. I've been using my iphone regularly to take pictures (yes, I'm blaming you both instagram and vscocam. Lol). A lot has been going on with my life right now and there were drastic changes which led me to become, well, a little bit anti-social. *eye roll* Anyway, I hope to find the inspiration next year to update this as much as I can and to take the time to weld my camera again and take tons of pictures. And travel too! Hoping you guys are safe and enjoy the holidays! :)

I miss my long curly hair.

For the lack of a better blog post, i'm posting my favorite self-portrait this year. I don't really have a lot of self-portraits mainly because I feel awkward and self-conscious to have my picture taken. Heee. And ohh, I remember when I was still an innocent kid where I always dodge mirrors. I'm afraid of what I might not like when I see my reflection. Haha. They give me the creeps! And still does but just a little. Heee. Crazy huh? ;)

FACT: You know why I like that picture? It is because I feel that the damsel in the picture is full of hopes and dreams. Staring on the vast ocean, thinking that the waves will just take her to wherever destination she desires. The thought of being free brings a pure bliss on her face.

Lately, I feel like a downer. The tension of my surroundings are sometimes unbearable, and I know this sounds cliché but add the feeling of the need to wake up just to eat to survive and then after, just succumb to a deep sleep. I have a lot on my mind right now. I feel like i'm running in circles all the time and can't figure out how to find my way out, well, I kind of since reading books are my way of escaping reality. The need to escape is so overwhelming that I find it much easier to be on someone else's story. Haaaay .. Anyway, I'd like to think that better days are yet to come. I still have a lot of things that i'm thankful for and a lot dreams to come true. So yea! ;)

On the lighter note, i'm happy that i'm learning how to drive again, now that I have my student permit. Practically, i'm driving with two of my mentors. Ha! Funny that after I drive the car, i'm pale and cold all over. Haha. Ohh you have no idea how insanely fast my heart beats whenever I drive. I don't know if its from adrenaline or the fear of getting on an accident and that is something I need to get over if I want to be a kick-ass driver. Haha. And finally, I got a replacement for the dead playbook. Thanks to my Dad for lending me his motorola xoom (he always does that lending his old toys thingy whenever he buy new ones. Ha!) although I don't think tablets are useful for me. I'd rather bring a book or a laptop. ;)

.. Please pardon my blog title. It is for the lack of a better blog title. Hahaha. Happy birthday to my dearest little brother (aug 21) and to my crazy drunk cousin (today). ;) Godspeed everyone! :)