Barring that time I was given a two-month break from work to stay home and heal after my myomectomy, I believe this is the longest I have been home. I am privileged to be part of a company that allows employees to work from home and even anticipated the need for it as we were able to do a dry run prior to the quarantine order.

I am thankful I was able to pack my stuff from the place I was staying at in Makati and head home to my family or else I would have been left with nothing to eat, and that I was able to do so before the "enhanced quarantine" aka a euphemism for lockdown was declared.



The last thing I want to be is seem ungrateful. I recognize that I am privileged to be able to work from home with a steady Internet connection, with hot meals on the table, and be with my family. But I am anxious and worried and afraid. I wish this is just an extended bad dream but, no, this is our current reality. We are in the middle of a pandemic that apocalyptic movies are made of.

I miss my boyfriend J so much and at the rate things are going, I honestly don't know when I can see him again.

Still, I am happy to be able to spend time with my family especially my beautiful Lola

The best thing I can do right now is pray, compartmentalize and keep my emotions in check, and make sure my and my family's immune systems are healthy.

We are also doing our part in assisting our brave health workers and front liners. J will 3D print face shields for them, while I am helping in getting the supplies needed. One batch of filament and set of acetate films can produce 100 face shields, but he only has one 3D printer and printing one piece takes one and a half hours. If I have blog readers who can direct me to someone who owns 3D printers and can print more, I can help with funds needed for the raw materials.

There are also a lot of SMEs doing their part, and I am in awe of their generosity.

My friend Sarah who owns BEACHBORN has donated so much to good causes, and it would be great if we can help her help more by supporting the brand. I can vouch for BEACHBORN's products' effectivity and I will shout this from the roof tops 'til kingdom come! Check out their new products Feather Locklear, Skin Reviving Cleansing Oil, and Age-Defense Luxury Glow Oil. I also purchased The Beach House Hand Sanitizer although I was not able to take a photo of it. Force of habit has made me spray it on my hands even when I'm just at home, and it doesn't dry out my skin!

I am also a fan of Liz's In Her Element's products and aesthetic. They recently launched the In Her Element Butterlips and I have been meaning to purchase but I had to curb my spending, but when they announced that 100% of Butterlips sales until April 2 will be donated to the Philippine General Hospital, I checked out my cart without hesitation! I have yet to receive them because of the lockdown, but I am looking forward to trying them after watching Beauty by Tellie's vlog with swatches!

If you are looking for more ways to help beat COVID-19 in the Philippines, my friend Mikael of FlipScience put together a [very] comprehensive list of fundraisers and donation drives you can support here. Every little helps.

There is no way that things will go back to what we were used to after this. It is said we will still feel the brunt of it by October. We may not go out unscathed, but hopefully we will still be alive.

Take care, you. Please keep safe and stay at home.  We can hold a huge cookie party after this.



:)

I am made of glitter and cheese, and I LOVE celebrating love any chance I can get. I enjoy giving and receiving 'just because' gifts, and I get giddy for monthsaries, anniversaries, AND Valentine's Day. ♥

As much as possible, I like giving my beau handmade Valentine gifts, like the explosion box I made for him in 2018. For this year, I thought of a commissioned portrait. Since I am not skilled in drawing, I relayed my ideas to Danes and she translated them visually. I had it printed and framed, and here's the final product!

I had this idea of having us drawn but with him wearing elements of his favorite iterations of Batman (Batman Beyond) and Spider-Man (Black Spider-Man Symbiote) and me wearing an outfit inspired by their respective love interests, Dana Tan and Felicia Hardy. Danes showed me the initial sketch before she even colored it, and the similarities are indeed uncanny! It's really us in 2D! What amazing talent, and J and I loved this gift. ♥

You may check out Danes' other work here and contact her here! 

I am not going to lie. I have a secret Wedding Pinterest board that I regularly pin stuff in for, you know, inspiration when he puts a ring on it. Also, aside from stationery and cool eye shadow looks, a great majority of photos I have saved on Instagram are composed of wedding dresses and themed wedding parties. Of course, more than ten years ago I shared on this blog a dress that took my breath away I swore I would wear something similar to my wedding. I am sharing the photo here again so we can collectively gasp in awe.


SO. BEAUTIFUL.

Now we will not  be hearing wedding bells any time soon, but as a future hands-on bride-to-be I already (mostly) know my non-negotiables, like the invites and wedding thank you cards. The invite is very important as I believe it sets the tone for the rest of the wedding. I mean, I don't have anything against couples that exclusively invite guests through a Facebook Event, but as a stationery enthusiast I would absolutely say no to not having paper invites, printed on beautiful paper with names and details in beautiful cursive.

In the same way that the invite sets the tone for the wedding, the thank you cards sent to guests after the wedding will serve as a nice footnote for the event and rehashes the beautiful memories of a, hopefully, lovely night.

I have considered designing my own wedding suite from scratch, but I think letting other people help will save me a lot of time and turmoil. In this case, help comes in the form of a website, through Basic Invite.

Basic Invite is a website that allows customers complete customization power in designing their own invites. As opposed to other designing suites giving limited choices, Basic Invite actually gives their clients almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once they have selected a design, they can change the color of each element on the card to over 180(!!!) different color options so they can make sure the card is exactly how they want it down to the most minute detail.


Basic Invite is also one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a proofing copy --- a printed sample of their actual invitation so they can see exactly how it will print as well as the paper quality before they ever have to place their final order for multiple copies.


Customers can also choose from over 40 different colors for their [peel and seal] envelopes so that they can make their invitation stand out before it even is opened.


Now here's an important feature that will save you a lot of time: Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to simply share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other form of social media to request their friends and family’s addresses which will be stored in the customer’s account and can then be selected during the design process. Additionally, Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all Christmas card orders.

I have started foiling recently using my MINC Machine and I am in love with every output I have come up with so far. With Basic Invite, foil cards are available in gold, silver, and rose gold. Customers can choose flat or raised foil on all of Basic Invite’s foil designs.

Are you getting married any time soon? Hop on because Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code 15FF51!

For those who are still looking around, Basic Invite has free printables so you can try before you buy!

Ugh I want to get married and start designing my own invites, but until then, I guess I will be sticking with birthday cards for the time being. Hee.

Back in 2008, I made a huge decision that impacted my life in a huge way: I moved out. I did it mostly for practical reasons, as my work shift then started at 5 AM and I lived far away from the office, but I can honestly say it gave me far more benefits than the shorter commute time.

I learned to take charge of myself, basic and advanced house chores, budgeting and managing my finances wisely, and dealing with the consequences of my decisions. I mean, learning about these things, especially house chores, is not really something one should brag about I imagine I must be more sheltered if I didn't move out at the age of 22. I still don't cook but I know how. I have also started baking and I'm going to share more about that in a future post.

Since the first time I moved out I have already moved in to five different apartments, each more memorable than the last. But I guess nothing really beats the first time. Last Saturday I met up with my friends from my first ever workplace/ my first ever housemates, and it's like no time has passed!

We went to Bulacan to visit Ruther and Robin in their house, and it was so much fun although we had to travel far. Thank god for P2P for making the journey faster and more convenient.

It is amazing to think how far we have come from when we first met as new officemates in HSBC back in 2007!

We woke up early on Sunday morning to have breakfast al fresco at the Bustos Dam Eco Park.

I very rarely do this these days as city life has consumed me, but it's great to be near nature again! I'm glad Asther went home for the holidays so we could get together and that our schedules in the first weekend of 2020 freed up. It pays to plan well in advance. 

It's also great to be back in TriNoma and eat at my favorite Bigoli again (even though quality of the food is no longer the same) after several years! Between moving to Makati to be near the office and my family moving to Valenzuela, I didn't really have reasons to go to this part of Metro Manila.

I am grateful for friends that remain through the years even though locations and circumstances change.

Having said all these, I am moving again to a new apartment! From a condo unit in Poblacion, I will be moving to a new room still within Makati, and hopefully it will be a good change for me.

Looking forward to new memories I will make in my new temporary home. :)

Happy New Year, my friends! I hope you welcomed 2020 with happy hearts and merry bellies. 

I am always excited to welcome a new year because a new year means new planners and journals.

This year I have three: a 2020 Essentials Planner, a TN-sized fauxbonichi from Mommy Lhey Designs that was part of my #EatPlanLove2019 loot bag, and a Belle de Jour 2020 Power Planner (Leather edition).

I customized my 2020 Essentials Planner with travel tickets. :)




I love its minimalist interface that lets me customize every page however which way I want it. Aside from using it to jot down my to do's for the week, I also write here anything I need to note. Everything goes, and there really is no specific category for its contents.

As for my Traveler's Notebook-sized fauxbonichi, I don't have anything written on it yet but I was already able to set it up. I am planning to use it as a diary/ journal where I can record my thoughts and feelings.



Pretty, yes? It's a watercolor painting by my friend Meream, in the cover of a TN-sized insert. Visit her work here and here.

Lastly, I will be using my Belle de Jour 2020 Power Planner for day-to-day planning and work schedule.

There is value in putting pen to paper, and I proved that once again when I was preparing my 2020 Planner's Dream Board. I printed out photos from my El Nido trip to include in my Dream Board, and what do you know, I got amazing news even before I glued the photos!


You can view the rest of its inside pages here.

There is value in writing things down, and every year I list down my goals here on the blog and on my journal. For 2020, I would like for my Word of the Year to be FOCUS. I intend to give undivided attention to whatever I am doing or whoever I am with in the moment, and just be present.

A new decade comes at the stroke of midnight. 

It was a long and tumultuous year, filled with much pain and tears, but happy days always overpower the bad. Still, 2019 left me feeling very tired and I am happy that this year is coming to a close.

My word for this year is being. Among this year's highlights, aside from seeing Carly Rae Jepsen perform live, is learning to not be too concerned about what people may think. It was a process that started since I read Amanda Palmer's The Art of Asking, but I just went full throttle on it. You lose 100% of the shots you didn't take, and it taught me to speak out more, embrace things more completely, and just be.

Here is another one of my favorite memories from this year:

It was a mind-blowing experience and never imagined I would [be brave enough to] experience [seeing as how I drowned initially], and I am looking forward to doing it again.

***

I used to think 30 is so old and I would have my life figured out before I turn 25. Well, I turned 33 this year and some days I still feel lost, like I am on a boat with the shore visible from a distance but without an oar to paddle with, helplessly teetering for balance. 

I acknowledge the gifts the Universe brought my way this decade, and I am grateful.

I am so proud of how far J has come. 2019 was his year and I am excited for what 2020 will bring. 

***

I don't know if feeling a little bit more jaded as each year passes comes with age and is a normal phase one goes through, or it is because of the times we live in now, or a combination of both. All I know is that times are tough, it's a difficult life, and we all have to be kind to one another.

Most importantly, you have to be kind to yourself.

Happy 2020, my friends.