Aside from frying eggs and bacon, making pancakes, and cooking rice, I never learned how to cook. In the How I Met Your Mother universe, that is my "But umm..." You can ask for my help in your schoolwork or even make me join trivia games, but please don't ask me to cook sinigang or kare-kare for you.

When I was still living independently, my roommates cooked for us all the time. And then, when I had to live alone for almost two years, I subsisted entirely on takeout food ( ˘▽˘)っ♨ My old apartment had a spacious kitchen but I didn't have a stove, and instead of groceries and ready-to-cook meals, my kitchen cupboards housed bath and beauty products.

When Maggi contacted me about cooking using Maggi products and writing about it in my blog, I was predisposed to say no. But then, as I am wont to do, I squared my shoulders and said, "Challenge accepted!" Of course I made sure I enlisted my friends' help first ha ha.

A couple of weeks ago, my happily married friends Eric and Erica went with me to wreak havoc in use our friend-who-cooks-so-well Anne's kitchen. Before that, we had a lot of fun choosing the dishes we want to cook for our mini party of five humans (including Anne's boyfriend Chad) and three fat cats. I love Maggi Philippines' website because it's a treasure trove of Maggi Magic Recipe Cards - healthy and easy-to-make recipes you can prepare for your family and friends! Yep, they are all fool-proof even for me. Among all the many choices of recipes available, we decided on these two: Magic Egg, Bacon, and Cheese Cup and Magic Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna.

Click here for the original post in Maggi's Facebook page Click here to read my post about the process of cooking it

Just some of the ingredients we used

So, how did it go? Watch for my next post (^_−)☆

Disclosure: This is not a paid post. Maggi sent me a gift pack containing their many different products but the money for the ingredients came from my and my friends' pockets.

I finished reading Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl this afternoon and I just, umm, well, I don't know what to do with my life right now.

Rainbow probably really slides down rainbows on her spare time because I find her writing magical. She doesn't even write about fantasy worlds (okay yeah, maybe in Fangirl she does, but only a little), but she writes so well! She manages to string words and combine them to write something very refreshing and quirky and fun and unique. Simple, but tugs at your heartstrings with its honesty and innocence. She also wrote Eleanor & Park, also one of my favorite reads this year, and I just love how she fleshes out her characters. I have yet to read Attachments but I'm already sure I'm going to love it, too.


One of my favorite things about having a Kindle is being able to virtually highlight my favorite passages without worrying about defacing a book. Out of everything I've read via Max the Kindle (and I have already read a lot), Fangirl has the most number of quotes I highlighted. I just love the individual voices of the characters and relate with Cather so much. I do think we have a lot of things in common.

Also, there's really something to be said about being inspired. After watching Catching Fire (read my spoiler-free review here) the other day, I came up with another great (maybe) idea for my future book! If you remember, I shot down the original idea I wanted to work with as it turns out to have been made into a movie already seven years ago! It came to me immediately after I woke up on Friday morning that I'm not sure whether it was from a dream or not, and I'm so excited to work on it that I won't wait for NaNoWriMo 2014 to begin!

Anyway, since we're on the subject of fangirl-ing, let me show with you something I saw about a week ago and found too cute, funny, and relateable (at least to me!) not to share.

I am very passionate and can be a little lot intense sometimes most of the time and I guess that permeates through my interests as well. I can line up for hours just for a few minutes of shy conversation with my idols, I can go on and on about how I love a specific fictional character, going to a concert of one of my favorite artists leaves me entranced for weeks, and I can even wax lyrical about my idols' mundane quirks!

You already know about my never-ending love for Batman. Now, here are a couple of people I am deeply engrossed with.

Two weeks ago, Alvin went to the POPtastik Pinoy conference in Ayala Museum. I wanted to go but I wasn't able to because of work. In there, he met Manix Abrera (remember how I lined up for more than six hours for his autograph? And remember how he remembered me the next time he met me?) and I was blown out of my socks when he sent me a message that night with this:


It doesn't end there. On Facebook, I tagged Manix and Alvin to thank them for this sweet gesture, and imagine my delight when Manix replied! It was 5 in the morning when I read that notification so that reeeally woke me up!



Next is my love Nate Ruess of the band Fun. because why not?


He's funny, smart, witty, has a really good voice that I find my heart breaking every time I hear him sing, carries himself well, dresses well, and is mightily sexy. He is also a very good songwriter. God I love him so much.

Current wallpaper, what up.

I love how something I originally intended to write as a book review became an instant confession-fest of my fangirl feels. I apologize for going beyond my intended word count, but, you know, no regrets.

The night is young. What to read next?

A few months ago, we were introduced to Tokyo Tokyo's three new variants of ramen ─ Braised Pork, Spicy Chicken, and Tempura Miso ─ the newest additions to Tokyo Tokyo's expanding menu of delicious and affordable Japanese dishes. A hot bowl of ramen is one of my preferred comfort foods especially in this cold weather and among the three, I like Spicy Chicken the most.

Because Tokyo Tokyo is awesome, they are giving you guys a chance to win P1,500 worth of Tokyo Tokyo gift certificates so you can treat your family and friends to a nice Japanese feast. All you have to do is join this fun giveaway!


Side story: Can I just say I'm a total personality quiz nerd? I wasted spent hours of my life trying to learn which ice cream flavor or which Sex and the City character or which shoe style I am, so this giveaway is right up my alley (´▽`ʃƪ) Of course, it goes without saying that I also took this quiz. I got this result:

And I must say it's very fitting! Would you want to know yours and get a chance to win P1,500 worth of Tokyo Tokyo GCs in the process? Check out the Rafflecopter widget below!

Please note that taking the quiz and posting the screenshot of your result on your Facebook wall is mandatory. This giveaway is open to everyone residing in the Philippines and will end on December 2. I will announce the lucky winner on December 3. Hope you enjoy learning what your Ramen Personality is! Good luck!

I spent a lot of waking days waiting for this moment, and now that it has finally come, how could I possibly explain how it feels?

It's like getting the wind knocked out of you. It's like one of those moments when you hold your breath and you feel like you ran out of oxygen. It's like you can't breathe out of sheer anticipation. I've been trying to think of other ways to describe it as succinctly as possible but my thoughts are all over the place.

I'm reacting like this because I saw Catching Fire on its first screening earlier today and man, it left me speechless!

The whole train ride going to the office after was spent taking down notes of my 'feels' and being enveloped in the movie's awesomeness. I'm trying to think if I'm just being biased - Catching Fire is my favorite book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy after all - but no, I seriously think the movie's flawless.

It certainly helps when the movie that precedes yours becomes a blockbuster since it's almost always given a no holds barred budget. Even by watching the trailers, you can tell that no expense is spared in making this. Rightfully so, as I feel that even though I think the first movie was great (I watched it thrice in the big screen!), I didn't think the divide between the Capitol and the rest of the other districts in Panem was displayed that much. Here, the Capitol is much grander, more ostentatious, more boisterous. The costumes are a lot better, too. But like the first movie, this one is another condensed, yet expanded version of the book, since the book is told through Katniss Everdeen's point of view. You'll know when you see it.

I am not a purist when it comes to book-to-movie adaptations but I do agree that you can only do so much with the source material. As it is, let me tell you that The Hunger Games : Catching Fire is probably the best book-to-movie adaptation I have seen. EVER. I've reread the book fairly recently and watching the scenes unfold in the cinema earlier was like having the book read to me again, only this time it has visuals! There are some things they had to change due to time constraints and everything but they were all very minor. Given the circumstances, the director Francis Lawrence and the rest of the producing team, the cast, and crew did a great job in staying faithful to the book. 

I hate giving spoilers, but please give me this. I get a special thrill when characters break down the fourth wall, and when that happened so bravely, so defiantly, well, I wanted to stand up and clap my hands so bad.

Now I'm looking forward to the last two movies (since Mockingjay is going to be divided into two). See that is what I'm talking about when I said you should never run out of things to get excited about. ;) But before that, I'm going to another screening of the movie tonight care of Nuffnang Philippines and PLDT Home. I've seen movies more than once before, but this is the first time I'm actually seeing one twice on the same day.

Took the Catching Fire geekery a little bit further by wearing my

Come and make sure to catch the movie! Even if you haven't read the books, just make sure you saw the first movie and you're set.

Happy Quarter Quell!

Heya, everyone! For all electronic music fans out there, I have great news for you. I have a flash giveaway to tomorrow's United Republic Music Fest care of SM Accessories!

The upcoming EDM festival UNITED REPUBLIQ will be donating all proceeds to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). With producers WORLDWIDE WOMB and DRIVEN with VIBER and TATTOO powered by GLOBE, and SM Accessories. The festival is bringing in superstar international DJs Axwell, Nicky Romero, and NO_ID along with local favorites DJs Ace Ramos, Marc Naval, Martin Pulgar and Mars Miranda on November 21, 2013, 6 PM at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds for this massive Electronic Music Assembly for a Cause.

All international and local DJs have decided to pull together and contribute their talent fees in an effort to provide relief for this national tragedy pledging an estimated Php 7,000,000.

Would you like that pair of Silver tickets? Just check out the Rafflecopter widget below to join:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The winner should be able to claim his/ her prize from SM Accessories' office. I will announce the winner immediately after the giveaway ends. Good luck and enjoy!

Slightly TMI, but what is krissyfied.com but a venue to overshare about my life and loves LOL one of the things I look forward to in bath times are my thrice-a-week scrub-a-dub-dub sessions with a body scrub. ( ⋂‿⋂’)

One of the most effective (and budget-friendly, yay!) body scrubs I have ever tried is the Asian Secrets Lulur Indonesian Whitening Body Scrub, available in beauty sections of department stores and drugstores for less than P150 per 135g tub. Unsurprisingly, this brand has already gained quite a following. Well, great news, the team that brought Asian Secrets in the Philippine market has branched out and developed the Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub. What's more, they opened a spa specializing in facial and body scrubs!

Asian Secrets' complete range of body and facial scrubs

Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub is another breakthrough moisturizing and whitening scrub by Asian Secrets, now specially formulated for the face. It contains Bengkoang (Yam Bean in English or Singkamas in Filipino), a traditional Indonesian whitening ingredient that has natural whitening properties and can make skin look brighter and more radiant, and contains vitamins C and E which are known as antioxidants that can fight harmful pollution from the environment to keep skin healthy. Similar to the body scrub, it contains Lulur beads that gently exfoliate and remove dead skin cells to smoothen and give the skin a radiant glow. It also moisturizes and leaves the skin with a light fragrant scent.

Complete menu of services

Asian Secrets Whitening Spa is located at the topmost level of SM North EDSA - The Block. I was invited to its press launch a couple of weeks ago where I was treated to a luxurious Relaxing and Brightening Facial using the Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub.


The spa has a really relaxing ambiance and smells so nice that I instantly felt my stress melt away the moment I stepped inside. Although a bit small, the rooms are spacious enough and are clean with minimalist decor.


The Relaxing and Brightening Facial aims to beautifully brighten the complexion and bring back the skin's natural glow by sloughing off dead skin cells. It also relieves stress buildup by relaxing tense facial muscles and triggering lymphatic flow to cleanse the face of toxins.

After cleansing my face, my attendant used the Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub on me. Unlike other facial scrubs, it was very gentle and I did not feel any sting at all. Once it was rinsed off, a facial mask was applied on my face, after which I was given a head, shoulder, and arms massage. It was the most relaxing 60 minutes of my week.


As with any other times I went to a spa for a massage, I tried my hardest to not fall asleep as I wanted to savor every moment. But then, when you are in such a relaxed state like that, there is nothing else you can do but drift off and surrender to bliss.


The best thing about having Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Facial Scrub available in leading drugstores and supermarkets nationwide at P70 for a 50g tube and P120 for a 100g tube is that you can have your own facial scrub-a-dub-dub me-time pampering sesh at home. :)

BUT as a treat for my dear readers, I am giving away a Relaxing and Brightening Facial session at Asian Secrets Whitening Spa in SM North EDSA to one lucky winner and her plus one! Well, whoever wins can actually use the two vouchers for himself/ herself, but where's the fun in that? Bring your mom, best friend, girlfriend, boyfriend - bring whomever you like! Check out the Rafflecopter widget below to join:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to all those residing in the Philippines, so long as you will be able to visit Asian Secrets Whitening Spa in SM North EDSA with your plus one to claim your prize. The giveaway will run for two weeks and the winner will be announced immediately after. Good luck!