Chasing After Summer

Weekend! This week was especially grueling. Schedule crammed with freelancing projects. I might have bitten off more than I can chew. Again. Channeling my inner super woman.

Just one photo with me and my bike because taking photos on the side of the road with curious passersby and neighbors looking on makes me feel excessively vain.

How are you guys? Hope you all are doing wonderful. Enjoy your weekend! <3

Got Used To Being Alienated

Where I live, there's a myth that when the day is both rainy and sunny, there are dwarves (sometimes even half-horse and half-human creatures) getting married. There must have been an army of mythical creatures getting hitched today because the weather was crazy bipolar. It was drizzling a little bit but the temperature was hot enough to warrant two cones of ice cream, two bottles of drinking water, sandals, and a bustier dress.

This is my idea of easy dressing. You've seen this plaid dress already but this is the only thing I felt like wearing today. You know. Women and PMS. Urgh. I know. Too. Much. Information. I fail as a responsible blogger. lol!

Moving on...

About the title. You know how sometimes you are surrounded with people (sometimes with friends) and you are stuck in one corner, feeling terribly alienated, unable to fit in and relate? That kind of feeling has been niggling at the pit of my gut for days. 

I avidly follow a local blogger named Regina (who I really admire because of her writing chops) and she recently came up with a short post that goes like this: Manila is a city of too many casual acquaintances and not nearly enough friends. It’s lonely. How do you even begin to create something meaningful here?

It struck close to home.

A lot of people I know add me up on Facebook but I end up ignoring their requests. Recently, I filtered my posts to only show to my closest friends. Yes, the ones I frequently communicate with and not just the farce of Facebook friendship. I had to linger on some of the names because I used to be close to them but not anymore and I had no idea how to categorize them in my life. Are they still friends? Or have they been reduced to acquaintances?

Like what Regina said, it's lonely. But you know what? It's revealing. At least you get to figure out which friends are really for keeps. You get to figure out that it's okay to have a falling out with some of the people you were close to in the past.

I talked to a very close friend of mine about this today and realized, hey, I have someone. She feels this too and agrees wholeheartedly. And then I didn't feel so alone anymore (misery loves company, I know!). I always have Myk but there are things only girl friends can lament over.

People change. That's something that remains constant. But no longer will I bludgeon my head and torture myself with the idea of clinging on to past memories and forcing myself to be friends with people who don't, in truth, have any desire to play a significant role in my life.

God that was a load off of my chest! I'm glad I did this post.Who knew it will take one blog post and one chat with a close friend to set me to rights?

Rainbow Houndstooth

We just discovered a new spot to take photos at. It's a sanctuary. As to what sort of creature it is harboring, the signage didn't say. The place was deserted save for a creepy guy lurking in one of the shrubberies. I would have been spooked except that the guy was wearing a uniform of a local electric company. 

I was still a little creeped out though and told Myk the place looks like the setting of a serial killer movie where a group of friends stops by a deserted town only to disappear one by one. Guts spill, heads roll and everyone bathes in blood. I know. I watch way too many macabre films.

For what it's worth, the place looks like a sanctuary for birds. We also heard something hooting from a distance. 

Anyway, we just took photos at the entrance. This is probably the most colorful I've been in, like, ages. I can't remember the last time I wore this shade of pink. Back in college, pink was my default color. But now, this is the most scarce color in my wardrobe. I like wearing reds and yellows and blues more now. But it's nice to find out if this color still works on me. 

I thrifted this rainbow houndstooth jacket that is obviously too large for me last week. I will resize it in the future but for now, it will do.

And since you guys liked my curly hair in my previous post, I decided to curl it again today but only to regret it a few hours later when I was outdoors, drenched in sweat, feeling gross and looking unkempt. I should've sported an updo.

Salmon Rigatoni and Dory Coujons. In an effort to adopt healthier eating habits, I just recently decided to become a pesco-vegetarian. I've been avoiding red meat like the plague. But it's so hard when everyone around me is a red meat eater! So far, so good though.

I don't peg myself as a beach person. In fact, I'd rather be in an amusement park than a beach. But lately, I've been wanting to have a beach weekend getaway again, especially since I recently acquired a cute red and polka dot pin-up swimsuit. Ugh. I'm obsessed with this kind of swimsuit.

Well that was a long post. I hope you guys didn't get bored. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday Inspiration

 

 

 

Things I filched off of the internet. These have been keeping me inspired for the dreary half of the week. I dream of having a space I can fill with potted plants. Perhaps a green house or a bespoke orangery in the future, yes?

Credits to some of the images: The Little Android
                                                      The Rose Crown

Felt Like Curling My Hair Today

Making my world a curlier place. 

Just a quick post because my chatty alter-ego is tired and itching to watch The Vampire Diaries. Here is what I wore today for my Iron Man 3 date with my boyfriend. 

Dots. I just can't seem to get enough of them. Even if I get teased of looking too much like a pious church-goer. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Review: Perfumes.com.ph

 

Perfumes.com.ph is what you might have guessed it to be - a website that sells perfumes! Yey! I recently purchased two perfumes from them and thought I'd give a review as their site is relatively new.

First off, you might be wondering why I resort to buying perfumes online when there are so many malls to buy them from. Thing is, I live in a province that boast of innumerable resorts but very scarce shopping malls. I know of only one department store that sells designer scents and the choices are pretty limited. So my only option is to get the scents I want online. 

Second, Perfumes.com.ph sells authentic (not class A, not Singapore-made) perfumes for a lot less. 

Price:

I can't fault their pricing. They are really cheaper than the ones they sell at the malls. Plus, they ship it to you for free! 

Scents: 

They have a wide array of perfumes for sale - even designer ones that are a bit hard to find in department stores like the Gap Heaven one I bought. You can find Salvatore Ferragamo, Marc Jacobs, Versace, Moschino, Lanvin and many other designer scents as well as celebrity scents like Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and Jennifer Lopez to name a few. 

So if you are looking for a perfume and can't find it in your nearest mall, chances are, you can find it at Perfumes.com.ph. 

The scents are really authentic and stays with you the whole day. Don't even waste your money buying the Singapore knock-offs. They promise a few hours of staying power but they rarely, if ever, deliver. Just spend a bit more on the authentic ones and you'll get your money's worth.

Service:

Buying is very easy and seamless. Their payment options are as extensive as their perfume options. Paying through paypal is the easiest as your order will be processed promptly. I suppose they will contact you with their details should you opt for other payment methods.

Packaging was neat. The perfumes were wrapped in layers of bubble wrap so there's not even a dent on the boxes. 

My second transaction came with two vials of perfume testers (Davidoff's Cool Water and Lanvin) so thanks to Perfumes.com.ph for that pleasant surprise! I couldn't be happier with your service and the quality of your products!

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Review

I might as well squeeze in a review of the scents I got. Elizabeth Arden is my all-time favorite, being a fan of green tea scents and all. I'm not so adventurous in my choice of scents as I like clean, summery and refreshing scents more than the extremely flowery or citrusy ones.

I have vertigo and I get severely motion sick when traveling so I need scents that will not contribute to that. Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea Scent Spray offers that to me. The scent is an instant pick-me-upper. It reminds me so much of summer, which I really love. The green tea notes aren't very overpowering and blended so well with the citrus ingredients.

Gap Heaven Review

This is the first time I'm trying Gap Heaven although I've heard so many good things about it. But honestly, it took me a while to like this scent. I was expecting a lighter, fresher scent but got something with a more exotic orchid-like fragrance instead. It initially reminded me of JLo's My Glow, which I absolutely loathe. 

But I gave it a chance and wore it last Saturday. To my surprise, it worked well with my body chemistry and actually has a nice scent once it stays and works its magic. It's not as overpowering as JLo's My Glow. I think I'm going to keep on using this for those days when I want something more flowery. 

So there. I hope this review is useful especially to those thinking of buying from Perfumes.com.ph. I think I'm going to save up for the much-vaunted Marc Jacobs Daisy or maybe get myself another bottle of Davidoff's Cool Water. Till next time ladies at Perfumes!

Chasing Summer

Looking at these photos, I find myself a little irritated over that small scab on my left leg. I have eczema, you see, a skin condition that stays with the afflicted forever and can only be maintained through proper diet and general avoidance of irritants. But I'm not the most obedient of patients. As a result, I woke up from a dreamless sleep one day and found my leg already skinned from scratching it during the night. So there, the story of my scab. 

The photoshop-literate part of me nagged me to wield my editing prowess and get rid of that ugly sight. But since I'm a better person now, I didn't cave in. I've been told often enough that I look flawless in my photos but I'm far from that and nothing would depress me more than to give that kind of impression to people.

I'm flawed. Like heavily. But good thing I have a nice camera with a nifty lens and photographer who knows a thing or two on how to take photos with proper lighting so these flaws do not always register. 

I guess what I'm saying is that I want to keep it real as much as possible. I like the idea of perfectly-composed photos but not to the extent of glossing things over. 

Now that we have established that I'm every bit the imperfect hobbit and I'm owning up to it, we can move on to the outfit. hehe. Well, you know, you have to acknowledge these things so it can't ever be used against you. I'm learning so much from Tyrion Lannister. 

I just love this outfit! On incredibly hot summer days, I gravitate towards clean, fresh and minimalist looks. This is my idea of a minimalist look - just my high waist shorts, pastel knitwear with cute heart adornment, a pair of flats and my hair flat-ironed to submission. Take that summer!

I'm going to make a separate post for this but my top and shorts are dirt-cheap like you wouldn't believe. I got my top for 20 php (0.49 USD) and it's a good Korean brand. My shorts are a little over a dollar. I had it altered to achieve that 60's pin up shorts style which is pretty much me saying it's a tad too short. I had to be careful not to flash a bit of butt cheek when I bend over (which is why I avoided bending over and had a nice blazer wrapped around my waist like what a good 90's kid would do for the whole duration of the day). 

Anyway, I just want you to know you had me smiling like a loon with your comments in my previous posts. <3 <3 <3 Thank you guys! Virtual hug!

PS: If you like what you see, a quick follow on instagram and bloglovin' would be nice. Sankyu! :)