I never thought this moment would come. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this was possible. I really didn't think I'll be sitting here, typing these words.

I FINALLY HAVE MY OWN SILKSTONE BARBIE!

She's the Barbie® Classic Camel Coat Doll. Isn't she a beauty?

For the BFMC’s 2016 “New Classics” Collection, Barbie® wears a camel trench coat with wide lapels and fine details, leopard skin pencil skirt, chic black turtleneck top and tights. Fabulous city-perfect accessories include big sunglasses, golden hoop earrings, black booties, and crossbody handbag. Features the new posable Silkstone® body for endless posing possibilities!

I got her as a Christmas gift from my boyfriend, which makes her doubly special. ♡ And because I want to show her off, here are [a lot] more photos!

The Barbie Fashion Model Collection dolls come in this beautiful classic box with the name of the doll displayed at the bottom part. They're changing it up for the new dolls, displaying the photo of the doll in front. I think I prefer this version more.

I remember how my hands shook while unwrapping this gift on Christmas, hee.

UGH! SO BEAUTIFUL! I love how they cover the face and hair with a dainty lace net.

A peek at what's inside her coat: a fuzzy leopard print pencil skirt!

Seriously, I want human-sized version of these boots.

She comes with a pair of shades to keep the glare of the haters away.

Another detail they put special thought into: she's secured into place with ribbons instead of elastics. Not only do these make her look more premium, they're also less constricting and easier to remove and put back.

She is quite heavy because of the material but a fellow doll collector advised me to treat her with special care because she is quite delicate.

And now, out of the box photos because I'm an adult doll collector who believes dolls should not remain inside their boxes forever.


Her hair (golden blond with soft curls), makeup (THAT EYELINER, shimmery shadow, eyebrows, lashes, THOSE RED LIPS), outfit (coat, black turtleneck, leopard pencil skirt, leggings, boots) and accessories (gold hoop earrings, shades, black bag) are ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Everything is chic and on point!

You can still see the plastic, put there to protect her silkstone body from being stained by the fabric of her clothes.

Red fingertips. Classic.

Faux leather bag with gold hardware ughhh

Her bag comes with three compartments! I can put my doll-sized MacBook and Erin's journal, pencil, and phone here!

I am so amazed at the thought they put into each detail, like the coat's buttons!

Look at that slit at the back of the skirt!

Heels so thin it should be classified as a weapon.

Isn't she perfect? I mean I love all my dolls but gOSH HERE I AM SPAZZING OUT OVER HER!

By the way, I have decided to name her Barbara Kristy. She is a #girlboss and is never seen in public without lipstick on. The world of PR suits her and her no-nonsense attitude.

Watch out, world!

What do you think of her? Did she capture your heart the way she did mine?

Thanks again for this beautiful gift, J! I will treasure her foreverrr. ♡ 

This may sound cliché, but reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love was life-changing for me. It helped me get over my broken heart when I first read it seven years ago. It was not an instant fix, mind you, but it reminded me that "You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." I yearned to go on the same sabbatical as Liz did and travel and experience new things alone, but frankly I didn't have the funds nor the guts. I lived vicariously through her memoir and escaped my then reality through her inspiring story and then one day I just woke up, felt my heart, and went, "Huh. Finished with that."

Such is the the theme of the MMFF 2017 entry Siargao starring Jericho Rosales, Erich Gonzales, and Jasmine Curtis-Smith: escape peppered with romance and a healthy sprinkling of environmental awareness and tourism promotion. As you can already tell, I loved that little nod to Eat, Pray, Love inserted in one of Jericho's lines.


I joined a special preview of the movie the other day and felt I was transported to the Surfing Capital of the Philippines. I felt the itch to go to the beach right after and even though I have zilch knowledge about surfing despite going with my friends a lot of times before, I felt like I can paddle out to the line-up and pop-up. I mean, I'm a city girl but I do love the beach and getting sand on my toes and swimsuit.

Jericho plays the role of Diego, the Siargao native who went to Manila to follow his dreams of becoming a musician, but then goes back when things in the city get awry.

Erich plays the role of the brokenhearted video blogger Laura who travels to Siargao alone to try new things after turning her boyfriend's (played by Enchong Dee) marriage proposal down.

Jasmine plays the role of environmental activist and Siargao native Abby. She turned Diego down five years ago, resulting to Diego leaving the town.

Seriously, these three are so nice to look at on the big screen, they should star in more movies. They're so beautiful and golden and glowing, I held my breath at almost every scene they were in. Bonus: they're also very good actors!

You see what I mean? JUST HOW FREAKING BEAUTIFUL IS THIS SHOT?!

I wish I can tell you the plot but I don't want to spoil the movie for you. You have to catch it on the cinemas when the Metro Manila Film Festival opens on December 25 because not only are we treated to a not-so-typical romance with characters that make you want to root for them AND an ending that's not a cheap cop-out, we are also blessed with great aerial shots of lush greeneries and sprawling seas. Cinematography is A+++ but I guess if you're shooting a place as beautiful and as picturesque as Siargao then the job just became 100% easier.

All the actors gave excellent performances but Erich was a standout. I loved her in her show Katorse before and this movie just cemented her status as cinema's sweetheart. She lends such a vibrant electricity on screen and the camera just loves her, her pretty face, and her flawless delivery of her lines. I truly believed she was really a vlogger and it made me want to follow her Youtube channel and see what she's been up to after her trip to Siargao.

A friend in high school told me before that you can never get lost so long as you know how to read. That almost became my mantra when I decided I wanted to travel alone, but then I realized I couldn't get through with it because I was too scared. I'm thinking if I would still want to give it a try. Who knows, maybe I can still try it someday.

As compared to other movies' blatant promotion of sponsors, Siargao's approach is very methodical and understated. References to eco-awareness events and cleanliness drives were subtly inserted into the film, and I also loved the environment PSA at the end.

I hope you can catch Ten17P’s latest opus, the Metro Manila Film Festival 2017 entry Siargao by Direk Paul Soriano. Treat yourself and your loved ones with this beautiful movie starting December 25 and who knows, you might just be inspired to escape to Siargao yourself.

I've always wanted to learn how to make my own clothes but I never got the chance. I only know how to sew by hand; sewing machines have always intimidated me. Some of my fondest memories as a child include visiting my Grandma's favorite seamstress, going through her magazines and helping my Grandma choose clothes to have made, and get mesmerized while watching her and her big, bulky, and manual sewing machine at work. 

Because I want to keep chasing after things that I know will make me happy, I fulfilled one of my Christmas wishes and got myself a sewing machine. Thanks to the Lazada sale, I got a Sew Simple sewing machine for only Php 999.

Considering the price and the fact that this is a beginner machine I was quite happy with the reviews I read. Note that I don't have a single idea on how to make sewing machines work. I intended to get it while it was on sale and just learn my way through it. I acknowledge that I might be being overconfident but I'm crossing my fingers that this machine won't go to waste.

Yesterday, after J's birthday lunch, we passed by Fabric Warehouse to shop for fabrics. One of the sales assistants was not too helpful but we lucked out with the other one who said nothing should stop me from getting fabrics I want since my dolls (that I also want to make clothes for) don't have the capability to complain anyway. Heh.

I ended up with half-yard cotton fabrics in blue-green, mint green, lavender, and light pink. No matter what I end up making with them, at least the colors complement one another. 

Next time, when I already know how to use my sewing machine, I'll get stretchy and sheer fabrics in yummy colors.

I'm also feeling a little confident because you can learn almost anything online nowadays. The interwebs is a treasure trove of tutorials, free patterns for clothes for myself and my dolls, and tips and tricks I wouldn't have known otherwise! Chelsea directed me to the withwendy Youtube channel and I AM SO INSPIRED!

Now I want to just stay home and sew.

I just hope this is not another one of my old hobbies I picked up and forgot about. Eep. 

My boyfriend is not the romantic type. He's not the typical rom-com or chick lit hero who's big on grand gestures to display love and affection, and I have to admit it sometimes creates conflict between us because I'm all about the cheese. What he is, though, is he's very supportive of my hobbies and interests. In the less than three years we've been together we've managed to grow crystals, carve stamps, create a kaleidoscope, make resin jewelry, go to two of my dream concerts, bake, visit a couple of my dream museums, explore a country, visit more than a dozen toy and comic book conventions, travel more than a hundred miles to follow my favorite local comic book artist, and set up my own Tamiya. Now, he's the number one supporter of my doll collection. I'd take that over a dozen roses any day.

For our 29th month together, he took me to Color Me Mine in Hobbes & Landes BGC.

I have wanted to try Color Me Mine since I read an article about it in Candy magazine when I was in high school. I actually thought they closed down already so seeing these ceramics at Hobbes & Landes was a pleasant surprise.

J gave me free rein, and I chose a celestial mug.


You can choose any colors you want from their wide selection:

... and I selected colors to create a palette inspired by The Little Prince.


J custom-paints toys himself so he knows his way around brushes.


After less than an hour, we were done!



If you're going there to paint your own, I suggest not holding back with the paints and just layer as much as possible as the ceramic absorbs the paint.

We left my mug with the Color Me Mine staff to glaze and were advised it will be ready in two to three weeks.

Last week, they sent me a message to say my mug was ready, and we got to claim it over the weekend after watching Coco. (Easily my most favorite Disney-Pixar movie! Oh how I ugly-cried while watching it.)


I'm in love with my mug!





JK for Jeremiah-Kristel, the same initials as the ones in my Istorya necklace.

I love my mug, and even though I can see now how we could've painted it better, it doesn't really matter to me because its flaws add to its charm.

My boyfriend gave me the sun, moon, and stars and my coffee tastes so much better now. ♡ 

Everyone who has known me for several years now know how skinny I was. In 2011, I even wrote this blog post: The skinny on being skinny. I struggled with being underweight the first 30 years of my life and had to field a lot of comments about how thin I was, how I should eat more, how maybe my hair absorbs all the nutrients, how maybe I have multiple parasites, et cetera.

Fast forward to today, metabolism and meds (for my myomas) caught up with me and I "finally" tipped the scale to more than 100lbs. With the weight-gain came a lot of comments about how much weight I have gained, how I should eat less, how I look like I'm pregnant, et cetera. I try to take all these comments in stride and make jokes out of them, but to be honest it can get pretty hurtful, and sometimes these comments do get under my skin.

Last week, to help my myomas, my OB put me on keto diet (high fat, moderate proteins, very low to nil sugar and carbs) and even though I found it difficult to cut carbs and quit sugar at first because I LOVE rice and desserts, I soldiered on through the support of my boyfriend, his Mom, and my Mom. Today, I went back to my OB and found out I lost 4 lbs in six days --- without exercise!

I was put on keto not necessarily to lose weight but to help my myomas, but I feel much stronger and experience less cravings now, thanks to this diet. I was advised not to keep doing it, though, and to introduce carbs again to my diet but to make sure I do it moderately. Discipline is key.


So, yeah, I look like this now and I probably won't get my college body back, and I'm okay with that. I mean, I love putting on tube dresses and having proper support, y'know?

Regarding the comments about my weight, I'm happy that you don't have anything else to worry about. Good for you. :)

I feel like I just wrote my first post for 2017 and now, [just] 62 posts later, it's already December.

Wow.

As per a tradition I started years ago, here's my Christmas wish list in case Santa's feeling generous. Also known as a cheat sheet for my boyfriend, heh. (^_−)☆ It's not much, and as compared to my previous wish lists they're filled with more toys than usual. Nevertheless these are the things that will bring me joy and delight come Christmas day.

• Camera. I'm happy with the quality of my phones (I use an iPhone 6S and a Huawei P9) but a camera will be so much better.
• Dollhouse and miniatures. I've always been fascinated with dollhouses and I'd like to take a stab at making my own miniatures. Instagram is a treasure trove of inspiration! Check out Lavender Belle and be amazed. The only challenge here is the space to display it in.
• BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette. I've wanted this palette ever since I saw it and the glowing (glowing, get it? heh) reviews further cemented my need to have it. However I made it a point to reduce my makeup purchase this year (I am currently succeeding because I haven't bought any lipsticks yet since this year started!) so I am putting this on my wish list. But who knows, I might just go ahead and allow myself this little indulgence.
  
• Teenage Fashion Model Barbie. The Teenage Fashion Model Barbie is an iconic Barbie doll in the sense that it is the very first Barbie doll ever produced and sold, and any doll collector should have one.
• #TheBarbieLook™ Barbie® Doll – City Chic Style. I have no other justifications on why I want this doll except that I really, really, really like her face and hair and the way she has a journal and a pencil (that fit in her bag!) as accessories. Ugh. (Wish granted December 3, 2017!)
  
• Sewing machine. Since I'm collecting dolls, I would also like to try making clothes for them. I [virtually] met a lot of very talented people on the Facebook groups I belong to like Wawie who makes her own Barbie clothes and dioramas. I also bought clothes from her and the quality is very nice! It would be really cool if I can also learn how to make my own. (Wish granted December 13, 2017!)