My boyfriend playfully (and I use the term loosely) scolds me whenever I look back at grievances other people have done to me, saying I should stop living in the past and memories shouldn't hurt me anymore. But I can't help it if certain things affected me so much that I can still remember - vividly - the feelings I felt when I first felt them, months (and years, even) after. They're not all bad memories, anyway. There are a lot of good memories too, but I guess pain leaves deeper marks than happiness.

Whew, what an emo introduction. Whatever. I'm getting cheese fries. 

I don't know, but I guess now is a good time as any to remember my favorite TV show in the world.

Happy 11th Anniversary, you guys. ♥

I'll make this short and sweet since I've written about How I Met Your Mother a LOT of times already (I even have watercolor paintings inspired by the show, of which this one is my favorite), but I just wanted to highlight here my favorites.

My Manila International Book Fair 2016 Haul

This week left me feeling drained and exhausted, and I seriously couldn't wait for the weekend. Not to rest, though, but to be in the company of books. ♥

The 37th Manila International Book Fair started last Thursday but because of work my boyfriend Miah and I only got to go yesterday.

Joker and The Flash went to MIBF2016 to hoard books
Thank you for my new shoes, bb ♥

As expected, SMX Convention Center was PACKED! I didn't even get to take photos because I was too preoccupied balancing my stack of books and making sure I don't bump into anyone. It was a total workout!

Making a wish on a sticky note

Remember when I wrote two short stories last year that were published as part of two separate ebook anthologies? Remember when I said I would expound on them and write the continuation to turn them into novellas? And as for the case of A Sky of Wishes, write more stories in the same universe? Remember when I even showed you the cover of the print edition of Once Upon a Sticky Note? I had such high ambitions, envisioning pages with illustrations and hand-written notes.

Such wishful thinking. Such lofty dreams.

The Manila International Book Fair 2016 officially started today and it's taking all of me to not up and leave everything so I could go to SMX Convention Center and hoard books that I don't really need right now because I'm basically drowning in a to-read pile that's taller than me.

I'm actually feeling a bit downtrodden today because I could have had the chance to sell my books at the Indie Publishers booth together with my #romanceclass and #StrangeLit classmates, but I wasn't able to grab it due to the fact I still haven't been able to finish polishing and creating the artworks I wanted to create for them.

Look at these beauties
Photo by Chi Yu Rodriguez who wrote The Bye-Bye Bouquet which you should read

I am so jealous of them right now. They're all busy women with careers and/ or families to take care of and have so much going on with their lives yet they were able to do it, and I didn't. What's my excuse?

I put it off in my quest for perfection that I ended up with nothing. 

That's not to say I'm not happy for my peers' successes, of course. I am so glad and grateful that local authors are being given this opportunity thanks to Mina Esguerra who paved the way for romance writers and readers to find one another and introduced us to the world of indie publishing. I love being part of this community!

15th

Today, my boyfriend and I celebrated our 15th month as a couple. ♥

Coincidentally, today was declared a regular non-working holiday in observance of Eid'l Adha so we were able to go out. Because we were starting to get sick of our usual date haunts and were craving for something new, we went all the way to Banawe in Quezon City for Chef Robert.

And we were rewarded.

We have been planning to go for a while now but it was only that we got the chance. I hope you're not hungry when you read this post because I'll surely whet your appetite, heh.

Review: Maybelline ColorSensational Creamy Matte Browns

Whew. All those car talk on this blog, my Facebook, and my Instagram made me want to reach in to my drafts and finish a lipstick review, hence this post.

The '90s have made a comeback, as trends are wont to do. Makeup brands left and right have released numerous shades of brown and of course Maybelline has its own interpretation. Following the success of the first batch of Maybelline Creamy Mattes (I have Touch of Spice, Vibrant Violet, and Ravishing Rose in my stash), Maybelline brought their Creamy Matte Browns to the Philippine shores, and I was waiting on the wings ready to lap them all up.

Here are my swatches of and clear notes on the four most popular shades in this collection: Burgundy Blush, Clay Crush, Nude Nuance, and Touch of Spice. 

Out of all Maybelline products I have tried (and I have tried a lot!), the Creamy Matte lipsticks are my favorite because they're extremely pigmented even with just one swipe, they stay on for hours, and they don't leave my lips feeling dry. I love them! A word of caution, though: they have the US formula so they melt easily. Best to leave them in a cool place or "depot" and put them in a lipstick palette instead.

Racing cars

Wouldn't it be nice to go back to simpler times? Back when the only thing we had to worry about were escaping nap-times and which notebooks to pair with which subjects. Ah grade school days, I miss you and your carefree sensibilities.

One thing that was very popular when I was in grade school-turning-high school was racing Tamiya mini 4wd models. I remember my Dad even made a huge race track for my brother. I personally never got into it, though. I was a girly girl and I still am now and my interests then up to now lie primarily on books, clothes, dolls, and stationery, not cars. Definitely never cars.

But what do you know, my boyfriend who used to race decided to take on the hobby again, and he wanted to reel me in as well. He even got me my own car!

Can you guess which one is mine? (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) I have the Aero Avante Clear Pink Special and it is beautiful. ♥ Note that aside from helping me put double-sided tape, I was the one who assembled it!

And because I'm me, I prettified it further with washi tape.

We've been going to Waltermart Makati to watch other racers and tonight, he entered me in the competition. Eep!

Make Me Smile Mondays // 090516

So I'm slowly easing into things and hopefully I'll regain the hang of blogging again soon. ♥

Work and the commute going to and from the office still take up a huge chunk of my weekdays, but with the convenience offered by UberPool I am able to minimize travel time and have more energy and time for the things that matter.

When I started this blog I was still working in a BPO where I didn't have Saturdays and Sundays off, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays were my "weekends". I didn't mind that much because I didn't have a bustling social life anyway and I just spent my rest days reading or cooped up in the house in front of my computer. I started a blog series called Make Me Smile Mondays where I listed down the things that make me, yes, smile. Kinda like a Things I Love Lately, if you will.

Since I'm trying to make blogging a habit again, why not jump-start that attempt with this series? So, yeah, I'm listing down here the things that made me smile this week. 

♥ Visit to Kawaii PH HQ

My friends Ana, Ava, Sarah, and Ashley started a crafting club and I am SO HAPPY to be its newest member! My Saturdays are usually reserved for my boyfriend, but we made an exception last weekend so my girls and I could go have a field trip to Kawaii PH HQ in Quezon City. It was so nice to see my old home (context: I worked and lived in QC for about four years before) again, 

And OMG everything was floor to ceiling kawaii! I loved the handmade stickers most of all but I also couldn't resist getting something that I wouldn't mind wearing for Halloween, hee hee. 

Check the rest of the photos here.

♥ Crafting Club + journalling

You know how long I've been including Moleskines on my yearly Christmas wish lists? Well, I had a Le Petit Prince Pocket Diary Moleskine before but I don't really count it because I didn't buy it with my own money. Well, this time I splurged and got myself a Le Petit Prince Weekly Diary/ Planner Moleskine and it's one of the prettiest things I own. 

It's for July 2016 to December 2017. I know there are a lot of extra pages since it's September already but that's okay because extra pages mean more space for my thoughts and washi tapes and stickers and what-have-yous.

Of tokens and prizes

You know those UFO Catchers in arcades? One of my ultimate dreams in life is to be able to snag a prize from one of those machines, and if that fails to at least have someone win something for me. Isn't it frustrating when you think you already got it, and then it turns out you didn't? Argh!!!

Like adulting. You think you already got it all figured out, and then it turns out you really haven't got a clue. Next thing you know you've already wasted far too many tokens with zero returns.

Anyway. Funny story. Today I wanted to withdraw from my payroll account but I entered the incorrect PIN. The reason why? The PIN I use is still the original PIN that came with my card when I got it so it doesn't hold a specific significance to me — in my defense I never got the chance to change it because I only use my payroll ATM during paydays and Maybank ATMs are quite rare.

I almost panicked but I reminded myself to stay calm and think rationally. There's a Maybank right next door so I went there immediately to ask for advice, and was told I would have to surrender my ATM card so they can replace it with a new one and a new PIN. I didn't want to because my card has my name embossed on it and if I have it replaced with something I could use straightaway I would be issued a generic [ugly] card with no embossing. I joked, wouldn't it be funny if I remember my PIN in the middle of this process?

True enough the correct PIN came to me after they have blocked my card.

What a scatterbrain. It would be hilarious if it just weren't so downright annoying.

And that was just one of a few booboos from today.

One thing I think I did right though was facilitating our weekly meeting at work. Every week we all meet and everyone answers a set question so we can all learn a little bit more about the people we work with. Our boss was out for meetings so she made me think of this week's question.

I asked, now that the Ber months are here, what are your goals that you want to accomplish before 2016 ends?