Lip girl/Eye girl

Kikay kit - every girl has one. The contents of a kikay is a reflection of who the girl is and what part of the face she wants to bring out more. If your kikay kit contains mostly eye shadows, a good pair of tweezers, mascara and the like then you are an eye-girl. On the other hand, if you have lip gloss, lipsticks, lip liners, lib balms and lip scrubs then you are a lip-girl. I am not saying a lip-girl cannot be an eye-girl or vice versa. Now, if you are curious to know what category you belong then try to remember the times when you woke up late for office or school and you have no time to do both - which part would you choose to groom? That will answer your question. 

I am a lip girl. No, I don't have gazillions of lip products but during crunch time I color my lips and then I feel good about myself. I'll share my go-to products with you.

what's in my kikay kit

Ever since Sherly introduced me to the Mary Kay Creme lipstick I never used any other lipstick brand again. The color stays on for the longest time and this does not dry your lips. It's like you're wearing a sexier version of a tinted lip balm! Since I started using this product my lips no longer crack at the end of the day. I have nothing but praises for Mary Kay.

Mary Kay's Dusty Rose on the left and Toffee Caramel on the right.

I have a thing for lip liners, I consider them as must-haves. I remember owning my first piece a year back when Leslie showed me that lip liners can be used as lipsticks! The thing with lip liners is that you don't need to be an expert to apply it as compared to lipsticks - you can control the intensity of the color and you won't go beyond your lips when coloring. Remember though that when using lip liners as lipsticks you have to put lip balm so as not to scratch your lips and cause cracks. I used to be a fan of Body Shop's Born Lippy in Rasberry but lately I switched to LipIce as my Lip balm - same effect, only cheaper. I miss the yummy Rasberry smell though.  

Lip liners. From L-R: NYX Hot Red, NYX Bloom, NYX Hot Pink and Etude Nude

NYX Lip liners are my favorite right now. To diversify, I usually choose the darker colors since I go for light colored lipsticks already but when I saw Etude's Nude lip liner I went against my personal rule and bought it -- and now together with my LipIce lip balm, I am enjoying the I-have-no-lipstick-but-I do look. 

My latest purchase is Revlon's Just bitten lipstain + balm, I am not going ga-ga about this product because  it has the same effect as LipIce. True that it stays longer but it's really not for me. The product comes in a tip to tip package -- lip stain on one end and the balm on the other. I wish Revlon can improve the packaging, it's really hard to put the cap back on the balm end without damaging the balm, maybe make it retractable next time? For Php575, I wont buy this product again -- but then again, I heard REVLON released a new version of Just Bitten.. hmm. something to think about. 

So that's it - my lip essentials. what's yours? :)

Drake's Sunday

Last Sunday was Baby Drake's Christening. Drake is Dawn and Jake's firstborn and Dawn and Jake are the boyfriend's friends - get the connection now? 

It was nice seeing Miguel with his friends, he gets along with my friends but you know it's different when he is with his. I was a bit nervous to be with them at first but hey, I think it ended up well. Those people are awesome, there were no awkward moments, they treated me well. The butterflies in my tummy fluttered happily after the event. 

Enough talking, here are some pictures grabbed from Vel's facebook account. 

I hope you enjoyed your weekend as I did. :)

To my Love

You are the best person I know in the world - I am proud of everything you have accomplished and what you will accomplish in the future. I just need you to remember that life is not perfect and every once in a while you won't get what you wanted not because you do not deserve it but because you maybe better where you're at right now. Every bump in the road will make you a better version of who you are at the moment, I know it is not easy to accept that your plans would be sidetracked for a bit, but you know, this is an opportunity to make new plans. Planning is good, yes?

Things are unclear now, I know that. I might not see things from your point of view but I can feel your frustration and it's killing me that I can't do anything but just be here for you. I wish I could do more baby.. I wish I can make things better. 

On the bright side, you will be staying here for another 6 months. We will be together for your birthday, our anniversary, Cholo's birthday, Christmas, New Year, and Lance's birthday! We have time to grow as a couple. Call me selfish but LDRs(Long Distance Relationship) scares me. This might be a good thing for us. Trust that Papa Jesus has plans for you, my love. 

From where I am standing you are a winner. Yeah you are sad but I never heard you blame other people for what happened or what's happening. You owned the failure and that my love, is a sign of a true winner - now you know what you can improve on. You are a true champ.

You might be a runner-up today but I know that you'd get gold the next time. I can feel that the next round is yours. I'd be here with one hand on my hip and another one with a pompom - cheering you on.

Forever your #1 fan, 

A Sneak Peak

For the past two years I have been thinking if I have made the right decision to purchase a house. I wasn't sure if I could squeeze it in my budget but being the stubborn person that I am, I pushed through with the plan. From housing expos to trippings with various agents until finally I found the place I wanted, it was a long process and it was really a nerve wracking experience, after all it is a tough decision for a then 26 year old me. 

The monthly payment for the first 15 months to pay for just the downpayment really hurt my pocket it was a challenging time and  a lot of adjustments were made. I had to give up some of my guilty pleasures, from shoes to clothes and even out of town trips. I had to adjust my family's budget, too. Tough times. After the 15-month period the developer helped me apply to various banks to get the best housing loan terms, the monthly installment was not as big as the first 15months but it still has an impact to my monthly budget. I got to a point that I wanted to sell the place and I wanted to quit, but thinking of the effort I already exerted to get that place made me stick to my plan. Believe me, buying a house at 26 is a headache, it was not a walk in the park. It's true that the best time to buy a house is when you already paid for your wedding. I should have listened but nooooo I had to do it my way, tsk. 

All of the frustrations and regrets went down the drain when one Friday morning the boyfriend and I went all the way to the South to check on the house. I made the right choice. It might not be the conventional choice but I'd buy that house again in a heartbeat. It's worth all the sacrifices :)

corner lot

The neighborhood

We got excited on planning to improve the house, we want to add a dirty kitchen, a den and a garage. It was the first time we saw the house all made up with it's window fixtures, the paint, the fully made up bathrooms. It was an emotional experience. We are already planning on hosting dinners for friends.haha

I guess I am on the right track after all. It's still a long way ahead of us before we settle down on this place but looking at what I was able to accomplish the past two years makes me feel blessed. Thank you Papa Jesus!

Bringing out my inner Carnivore: The Sambokojin experience

I often see a big sign that says 'Sambokojin' in between the Ortigas and Santolan stations of the MRT, it says smokeless grill so I figured it's just Yakimix with a different name. I was never curious enough to try the place since it was really out of the way and I thought that I already had my fair share of smokeless grills. Good thing the boyfriend knows better and he asked me out on a date to this particular Japanese buffet. What's better is we found out that a branch opened up near my place! So one Saturday morning, the boyfriend had me claim the date he promised and he reserved us a lunch at Sambokojin West Ave branch.

The moment we stepped into the place I was glad that we had reservations - there were a lot of people waiting to be seated. I know waiting can be a pain in the tushy but I noticed that most people waiting are comfortable, there was a huge air-conditioned waiting area just outside the main restaurant. Note that they are really organized and had a system on getting their guests seated.

Filipino-inspired waiting area

Their very spacious waiting area after lunch hours

I found it sexy when the boyfriend approached the girl in-charge and said "Reservation for Miguel Blanco" hihi I saw envious stares from people who were seated in the waiting area while we were walking towards the main door leading to the restaurant, so a tip to anybody who plans to visit - Get a reservation!

We were seated at our table and the waiter assigned to us introduced himself and prepared our grill. I then walked over the 'to-grill' buffet and saw an array of meat, seafood and vegetable that we can cook. 

veggies rolled in various bacon sliced meat

marinated beef, chicken and pork  

mushrooms, skewers, quail eggs, salmon, tuna, prawns, crab sticks and more!

And then we grilled..

asparagus wrap(my love's favorite) and various meats

and grilled..

and grilled..

to our heart's content!

The diversity of their marinade is limited as compared to that of Yakimix but I can say that their meat is more flavorful than any meat Yakimix has to offer. Quality vs. Quantity. Aside from the to-be-grilled food, there are also cooked food that you can enjoy - the best one for me is the beef stew, the subtle korean flavor infused in slow cooked beef. Yum. ooh and of course given the fact that I am a tempura addict, I got to eat as many tempuras as I wanted. 

my tempura and katsudon

my baby had me try various noodles - yum!

the cooked food buffet

a must try! I had to muster extreme self control to NOT eat this with rice

Another section of their cooked food buffet

I swear that my self-control was challenged when I started tasting their food. The food took me from Japan to Korea without leaving Manila! Since I am on a low carb diet I had to eat all of these without rice - the agony! Protein overload. On the other hand, Miguel ate rice with caution - he wouldn't want to be full before we tried everything else in the buffet table. There was one particular rice that he tried, it looked to me as if it was sticky rice but I just could not remember what it was called, but judging from his ear to ear grin, I would say it was yummy!

The rice came in a cute steamer

my love's sticky rice

As with Yakimix, the dessert table was boasting with cakes, cream puffs, ice creams in different flavors, fruits and chocolate fondue. This is a Japanese Grill Buffet so don't expect much when it comes to the desserts or you'll be disappointed.

Assorted pastries

Generic Cake 1

Generic Cake 2

fresh watermelons

high-blood buster -- pineapples

chocolate covered apples and marshmallows

Your best bet for a yummy dessert is ice cream and fruits as for the rest of them I could not care any less. Eating a pineapple or an apple is a good way to reset your taste buds, it'll help you transition from one grilled meat to another. You'll appreciate the flavors of the meat by doing so.

For people who have been to Yakimix or RobotoSan, I don't know if you got the same ulam-like odor in your hair once you are done with all the grilling - I did, but with Sambokojin I noticed that you can leave the place with the same scent as you came in. Another remarkable thing about the place is the service, everybody was friendly and each table is assigned a waiter who actually helps you in the grilling in case you get tired of doing it yourself. The grill was also replaced in the middle of the meal - less carcinogens for the customers. Apart from everythaing that I have mentioned.the place also has a salad bar and a sushi bar. Kumpleto!

Each table comes with a set of oils and condiments that you can add to your meat while it's cooking. They also gave me Japanese vinegar when I requested for one -- talk about customer service! :)

All throughout our two and a half hour stay at Sambokojin, I was telling Miguel how I like the interior of the place. I haven't been to their other branches but if it's as clean and as sosyalan as the West Ave branch then they are on right track to dominating the smokeless grill scene.

my date, my love - wearing our matching glasses :)

For less than Php500.00 you get to enjoy their lunch buffet from 11am to 2pm. I ate too much meat in a span of an two hours that I felt like a carnivore! Trust me, just an hour of staying at that place would give you your money's worth.

Sambo Kojin West Avenue

For reservations call 372-8846 or 921-2873

You can also visit their Facebook page

Suy Bags

In as much as I am a fan of branded stuff, in this day and time splurging on branded items is no longer practical unless you are the wife of a famous boxer or you belong to a political family or if you are getting money for selling something illegal -- note that I do not fall into any of that category. But of course every girl deserves a fashion item, a conversation piece or just anything that can umph-ify the everyday look.

As with shoes, a girl can never have too many bags. I am happy that a lot of young designers are  given the opportunity to channel their creative designs and cater to people in the lower class group. Suy Bags is a brainchild of 19 year-old Samantha Uy. It's inspiring that she is successful at that age, noh? As per the saleslady, Sam Uy designs the bags and gets them manufactured in Thailand.

I got to know this brand through blogs that I follow, I was intrigued by the intricate designs and color palette of their bags. I would've ordered online but I really wanted to see their designs in person. So one Saturday morning after my Hojicha fix, Sissy, Miguel and I headed to SM Marikina where their only physical store is located. The store was smaller that I expected but the bags did not disappoint, there were lots of bags in different sizes and colors and designs. It was like we died and woke up in affordable bag heaven. It took as an hour to get there and another hour just to decide which bags we're gonna take. Sissy settled for a large purple satchel that can house all her everyday stuff and more! As a belated birthday gift the boyfriend got me bags - yes that was not a typo. He bought me not just a bag but two bags. He noticed that I was having trouble just choosing one eh. Sweet noh? :)

One was a satchel-like full length orange shoulder bag with a rough surface, this is the smaller bag of the two. The other is faux leather bag with an animal print flap that can transition from a shoulder bag to a hand bag. It took me a while to get this post together because I wanted to 'test' my bags if they are durable and they both are - so far. I have been alternating those two bags for almost a month now and being the commuter that I am you can only imagine the weight the bags has to carry everyday. 

The best thing about Suy Bags? They don't over commercialize, only a few bags of each design and color are manufactured and you are sure that the bags are well thought of.

Get your own Suy Bag here.

Roboto San Japanese Grill Buffet

I first heard about this place from my friends at the office. Sissy and Mitch bought groupons for themselves and their boyfies but since my internet connection was slow I gave up on scoring the groupon and instead I just decided to pay for the regular price.

The first thing that came into mind when I first heard about Robot San is Yakimx -- with robots as waiters in place of regular people. An image of the Jetsons popped into my mind. Japanese grill buffets are not uncommon in Manila, with the success of it's predecessors Yakimix and Sambokojin, it wasn't a surprise that a different take on Japanese grill buffet would emerge. 

Sissy and Hanz bought lunch groupons and my Miguel and I decided to just double date with them. The  first thing you notice when you step into the place is the modern take in dining, there are white solid beams that form interesting shapes and the play on the wall colors is very futuristic. What caught my eye is the large screen TV with Voltes 5 reruns. Good concept eh? A total blast from the past! The eye catching chair design is also a plus. Children and child at hearts would definitely enjoy their robot designs.

Robot Chairs

The food on the other side, did not disappoint when it came to taste but in terms of variety -- well let's just say it's a far cry from Yakimix. Of course there's marinated meat from chicken to pork to beef and seafood. There were also soups and cooked dishes that were served on the buffet table. The best seller for me would be the beef stew and the of course my favorite tempura. Did I mention that there's a salad bar?

Salad Bar

Their version of HaloHalo

Grill in action

Ooooh. I forgot to mention that their dessert table was really a treat! I could eat their Sesama ice cream again and again and again. yum yum yum! It's sad that I wasn't able to take a picture of their dessert. I was to busy to eat that I totally forgot. Epic Fail. haha

my date ♥

Sissy and I found our robots! See how the color  matches  her blouse and my cape?

I wouldn't be running back to Roboto San anytime soon, just because there are tons of other places to try but for a Php500+ lunch buffet it was worth the experience!

Roboto San Japanese Grill Buffet

2nd Floor, Crossroads, 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Mon – Fri 11:am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Sat – Sun 5:15pm – 8:30pm

I drool

I woke up cold and hungry but instead of eating I opted to search the net for eye candies. I checked my favorite shoe brand and browsed -- for hours! I forgot that I was even hungry.. oooh online window shopping is the best!

Aurora Black

Aurora Red

The latest from Michael Antonio. Of course, I drool over the polka dot wedges - and they come in two of my favorite colors! The design reminds me of a 1940s pin up girl. I would love to pair it with just a plain white flowy, balloon dress with a low cut at the back and a cambridge satchel. Ooooh buti libre mag-imagine. :)

Genet Nude

Genoa Green

The inches are proportional to the pain, so for anybody who plans to stand in heels or even walk in them for a day, your best bet for survival would be wedges. I like that Michael Antonio ranges from sexy, tiis-ganda shoes to comfortable wedges. Any shoe lover would love to add this to her collection. To view their entire collection, click here. No I am not trying to be a fashion blogger, I am just a girl who loves pretty things :)

P.S. All picture are from Michael Antonio's official website

One Rainy Evening

I slept all afternoon and woke up a little after 9pm, it was dark, windy and rainy outside. I fought a battle with myself just trying to get up. I felt hot. I know I need to do something, I walked to your door opened the lights and came in. I looked at you and thought that I sure could use you right now. I undressed and I shivered and I realized that maybe I'm not ready to do this - not now, not today. I wanted to put my clothes back on but I can feel you begging me to use you. I stool there naked and I shivered, I made my first move and I regretted it the moment that you touched my body - but you were addicting I began to get used to you and then after a while we were done. I felt clean and refreshed and happy.  Thank you old friend. 

This is how I narrated my battle with water on a cold and rainy night. I gotcha! Wag green-minded ha? hehehe Stay safe everyone! :)

I remember..

I stumbled upon this picture when I was cleaning up the old files in my laptop. I must say that the beach is every tourist's bestfriend. This picture makes me look forward to my Bacolod trip with Mitch and Sarah this end of August. Oh and by the way, that's Mitch there on the sand -- I'm guessing she's either taking a dump, making a sand castle or taking pictures! Kidding! Peace Mitch :)

The day we became Sessionistas

Last year, we were in Cebu and we realized that hey we can make a cover for an album. No, not a cover song but a cover photo -- because we can't sing. At all.