Book Review: Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

Oh my freakin goodness, this one literally gave me all the feels from start to finish. It's an easy 448 page-turner that was so hard to put down. Daniel, oh Daniel was the ultimate crazy, hilarious, too-funny-to-be-hot-but-still-hot-anyway book hero to fall in love with. And Six was certainly something. They fell in love inside a dark maintenance closet, purposely lost each other when they decided to part ways & found each other without even meaning to. Their connection was so palpable they can't resist even if they wanted to. And their crazy banters are too good to not be translated into film, really. See, all the feels I tell you. I give this one 5-swoon worthy stars!! Plus, there's a jarring twist right before it ends that almost made me go down on my book-high, but the again, this is COLLEEN HOOVER we're talking about. The one who spawned Dean Holder couldn't be wrong. She gave Daniel and Six an ending that's not really explosive but a settling one, you know what I mean? One that's just right and perfect for them both. Ms Hoover did it again. I just hope she keeps writing :)

Book Review: Ruin by Rachel Van Dyken

If I wasn't running low on new releases, I wouldn't have given this book a chance. The cover doesn't necessarily scream "best seller" and the teaser did not in any way give a clue how much of a goodread this is but I tell you, I haven't had too many pages highlighted in a really long time than now. 

Here are some of the epic lines:

"You may not see every single piece of the puzzle that creates your life - you may not see every move the grand chess player makes, but know  He is in complete control of the game board. Sometimes certain pieces are moved or knocked over to make room for new ones. Maybe it's not in the perfection of life that things make sense, but in the chaos"

See, there's an element of faith and miracle in the midst of a love story that was built up in a rather perfect pace. Kiersten seems like a real person with relatable issues. Wesley Michels is just heartbreakingly gorgeous and his story is..., well, i couldn't say it without spoiling it for future readers. Suffice it to say that he became one of my favorite book boyfriends of 2013 and Rachel Van Dyken one of my best loved indie writers. I'm giving it a 4.5! My fellow book junkies, I'm telling you, go check this book out - and be prepared to shed a tear.., and laugh and be hopeful and fall in love all over again with your partners!

Plus I know there's a story there about Gabe. There's got to be. Or the author wouldn't describe him as a muscled version of Adam Levine. I'm 99% sure it's to keep the readers clamoring for his own story. I know coz I do. When she publishes it, i'll be first on the line. 

Camo, Animal prints and Jean Shirt

These are what I'm obsessing about these days. I used to think animal prints are too tacky, but I'm starting to really fall in love with the print when it's in little unassuming accents like a scarf or shoes or a pouch. That's why one stressful day, this purchase happened!!

I'm not alone in my Camo fetish. These days, Phoebe & Maviv - my HR babies are on a hunt for the perfect camo jacket and pants. So we try whatever we find at the mall & even in sidewalks and night markets where I found these oh-so-lovely  ripped camo skinnies ohhhlala

And this jacket is actually something I just tried on but never actually bought haha

Haha. 

A jean shirt is actually a wardrobe staple. It's so versatile I can use it anytime anywhere and instantly feel fab! I have it in all kinds of fabric but my favorite is this one from Forever 21. They're the softest & I wear them almost every time I get it from the laundry ❤❤

The one from F21

Another favorite. Pretend you don't see my bulging tummy. I was just done gobbling an entire waffle with ice cream, okay?? Be forgiving of me. Haha

Alrighty, so what's on your wish list sugar & spice girls?? 

Serendipitous encounter with Ms. Thirstythought herself

I just came down from a high. You see tonight, I got to meet a style icon who has been an inspiration to me writing my blog and my tentative venture to fashion retail – the awesomeness that is KRYZ UY. She was with her boyfriend and she had no make-up on but she was tremendously pretty and sexy – prettier than when she’s fully made up, methinks. I was with Earl and Nika and we were to meet the rest of the gang at La Vie Parisienne but we arrived ahead of them and literally stopped at our tracks when we opened the door and we saw her! I was glued to where I stood and just trembled like crazy. It was funny in a non-funny kind of way. I think she kind of noticed us staring at her and I couldn’t even be shy about it. She doesn’t seem annoyed that I was literally gawking at her like some lame psycho. I was actually just mustering my courage to walk up to her and have a photo with her which I did, to Earl’s dismay (yeah, he’s shy that way). I said “Hi Ms. Kryz, can I have a photo taken with you, if that’s okay? I follow your blog and I massively admire your work, and it’s amazing to meet you this close, so please??? And she goes, sure, but please ayaw i-post ha bati kayo kog nawng.” I think at that point I must have muttered some coherent response that I can’t seem to remember now. I thanked her and she said you’re welcome and went back to buying some stuff with the boyf. God she must’ve been weirded-out by yours truly but I think she gets that all the time from her followers all over the country. She was soooo nice and her freckles look sexy on her bare face and she sounds soooo sweet when she talks. Yeah, that’s me gushing like a real fangirl. Well that’s what I am, so I think it’s perfectly fine. 

Okay, fangirling aside, La Parisienne is an awesome chill-out place that sells macaroons that are insanely good.  They have an excellent wine collection and an open air table setting perfect for some wine and quiet conversations.  People talk in hushed tones and we wanted to go with the flow but seeing as we were with Mayet, that became really next to impossible. So as expected, our table was the noisiest, rowdiest there was and when you’re having fun, you sort of don’t care.

I’m coming back to that place. And I hope to get a round two of Kryz. And more macaroons. Yep, definitely that.

Sweet Escape

I don't feel like writing these days. Most times, it honestly feels like I'm just going through the motions. No highs. Not really an all time low though most days it just feels like I'm missing that vital part of myself that felt like there was a ball of energy inside of me that's just ready to burst. The kind that propelled me to write, start a business, be productive at work, travel & explore and well, now that I've enumerated those, LIVE! Yeah, coz these days are filled with drudgery, monotony and just, well, boredom, for lack of a better word. Being a creature of habit, I resort to my age old therapy that's sure to revive my bored soul 1. Retreat 2. Pray 3. Unwind. These are what brought me to Oslob with my besties who are as gung-ho as any friends could be. Armed with just our wallets and bikinis, we laid in our beach mats under the shade of the trees soaking in the sea breeze being soothed by the sound of the waves gently lapping by the shore. It doesn't take long to wake up to God spoken truths being whispered in my heart. It just took a baby's gentle cry and her mom's ready arm rocking her to calmness. I am God's child. He'll take care of me. That's all the truth I need.

Friendship, Food & Fun (Mayet's Day)

Seven years of being friends with her and you'd know she makes a big deal out of celebrating birthdays. I'm sure she'll say it's just the birthday blues but she sure did kill my buzz when I told her of my & gang's plan to cook for her and she went "Okay, just don't let it be a celebration of my birthday, let's just get together & make it a friendship day!" Duh! Like we don't do it all the freakin time!! I was completely tempted to rant at her like I always do but it's her birthday, so I patronized her.

Came THE day :) After stressing how to do seafood pasta the first time, which, by the way, became a fun adventure given as all 3 of us jun, nika and myself NEVER COOK - we actually as in totally nailed it!!! It was THAT good! And yes, i'll go as far as be cocky about this cause anybody who knows me knows I SUCK AT COOKING BIG TIME! Cmon guys, you have to admit my nachos rocked as well!! Hahaha

That aside, let me just say that that was truly a night of Fs - FRIENDSHIP, FOOD & FUN (yikes, major cheeseballs hahaha.) Mayet is as usual in a crisis - not wanting it to be her bday celeb and yet getting confrontational with Nika asking her to her face why she hasn't greeted her - precisely why we love her & why every tapok that she's there will always end up into a belly-aching-head-thrown-back-feet-stomping laughfest. The kind where my neighbors hate me for being incredibly LOUD at such a late hour.

Mayet, Gang, Jun, Nika, Richard, Mich & Yana - I love you guys and I'll cook for you all over again if only to laugh that hard. And i'll sure save some for the neighbors this time:)

Old Habits Die Hard

I've been reading as far back as I can remember. Like maybe beginning age 8. Yep. My first ever read, would you believe, is not Sweet Valley High or Nancy Drew, though I would have loved to rake my hands over them back when I was younger. I went past them and straight to Adult Fiction when I chanced upon a Sidney Sheldon paperback one time I found myself inside my grannies' private lib (I meant their room actually which I can tell you in all honesty looks so much more like a library than a room, really!) That book was Memories of Midnight - a hardcore thriller that has gut-wrenching twists and well, you know how Sheldon writes. That same book totally rocked my world and killed whatever modest penchant I have for anything YA-ish for eternity (Ooops, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit right there judging as this one I'm reading now is probably classified a Young Adult Read hahaha) I never meant to take reading so seriously. But that was a Sheldon - and I couldn't put it down. And that right there was where this insane love affair with books began. I remember quite fondly how I would look forward to weekends when I can curl up with a good book in hand and junk foods+coke on the other. (By the way, I moved on to Mills and Boon soon after. I simply cannot ignore my Lola's ginormous collection of that stuff. She's a romantic through and through and well, that same collection I have the pleasure of owning now - so if anyone wants a dose of hardcore romance - the kind where you know exactly how it ends halfway through, then I can lend you one hahaha) Fas forward to now, on a Sunday, while Earl is having the time of his life kicking balls, I delight in lazing around in my gigantic king bed, Ebook in hand while snacking on chips and good ole coke. Life is Good. And so is Nicole Williams and her latest novel Crush. Old habits certainly die hard. Maybe never. I like it that way :)

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

My own version of Cartwheels. I can't do it right, I know - but who cares? *_*

So again it took me eons to finally write again, and this time, I really don’t have a pretext except for the sorry excuse of being LAZY!!! It’s not that I am not inspired and that I don’t have anything to say coz trust me I have TONS and I can’t even begin to tell you now but yeah, I had some solid thing happening the early days of April ;) And because they’re a lot, let me put it down in bullets for you (haha)

• ·         I started with something that well, needless to say, wasn’t really cut-out for me. Like MAJORLY. And so, I had to let it go. And while I’m not proud that I did, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Just cause. I wouldn’t want to be spending much time defending my choices just so I won’t have to show any sign of vulnerability at all. I’m known to always be tipping on the lighter, sunnier side of things anyway, so I know greater things are in store ;)

• ·         I missed the Boracay trip that was intended for my Despidida Party. Tsk Tsk Tsk. Obviously, I am majorly annoyed. With myself, mostly. But then again, when things like that happen, God always has a surprise waiting to unfold. This time, it came in the form of an Imperial Waterpark Resort adventure courtesy of my doting husby **insert happy dance here**

• ·         I was treated to a nice surprise by my HR Babies sometime 1^st week of April. Like I said, first time in like forever that THEY REALLY PULLED IT OFF. Totally. Mich, You are the Woman, I take my hat off for you and the entire team who made that happen!!! Needless to say, it was awesome to gather all of these people whom the Lord in one way or the other have used to minister to me in magnanimous ways for the period of 7 years. You are each a gift to me and I give back your very words to me YOU ARE A BLESSING – each of you. Really. And I realized my heart is really big enough to fit all of you in it. Love u all forever. Gdang, the ride Ma'am hahahaha, you really got me believing ;) Rich & Rayms, thanks for staying with Earl the whole time we were in the Drama Room hahaha.

• ·         I amassed a ridiculous amount of books to read for the summer, or rather, these days before I go back to the old routine of being a working girl ;) I love how I can now have all the time in the world to devour all these reading materials and not worry of being in a zombie mode at work the next day (the perks of being unemployed for the moment – this had better be not my new normal hahaha)

• ·         I finally got around to spending a lot of missed time bonding with some of my closest friends over coffee, marathon fastfood sessions, steak nights and all other unhealthy activities. (Hey, totally not my fault we are fat guys) Next time, we should try jogging, for a change. Please.

• ·         I sat down with team HR to plan out Michelle’s Despidida party which to my delight is TO BE HELD ON A BEACH! (Squeeeeel). Time to don my nikes and run!!!

• ·         I prayed. Talked to the Lord over choices I had to make. Begged for wisdom. I have long depended on easy answers coming from Him. I guess now I’m having serious lessons on being decisive. So help me God.

So, tonight, with a few more days left to decide, I daresay, CHEERS TO POSSIBILITIES ;) And may the good Lord bless us all with the wisdom to make choices of the right kind.

Did I Ever?

Dearest Lord,

Did I ever?

Did I ever thank You

In so many words

For the Father that You are to me?

For giving me all the best in the world

Than I would ever deserve

Did I ever thank You

For always knowing what I need

In any given time

And being tremendously generous

In giving me exactly that, every time

Did I ever thank You

For coming to my rescue

When no one else did

Or for vindicating me

Even setting a table before me

For all who considered me their enemy to see

Did I ever thank You

For picking me up

From the miry clay

I have been comfortable wallowing in

For so long

And never hesitating to do it

Over and over and over again

Did I ever thank You

For tugging me up

When I sulk at the corner

Thinking the worst of myself

And for quietly holding my hand,

Putting up with my senseless doubts and fears

When all the while

You were preparing the best portion for me

If I haven’t, then I am saying

THANK YOU. Just cause, You are

…my Greatest Love

…my Shelter from life’s storm

…my Encouragement

…Giver

…Healer

…Peace amidst fear

…Light in the Dark

…Source of all things Good & Beautiful

You are my Best Friend and I love You.

TRAVEL DIARY: HK-MACAU AWESOMENESS, OUR 6-DAY ADVENTURE EXTRAORDINAIRE

Top to Bottom: L-R Mongkok at Night, the HK Icon (the name escapes me), the bears at 1881 Heritage, Earl & me at TST Promenade, Us again at Victoria Harbour, Fireworks at Disneyland

After years of stalling due to the senseless blunder of me not having a “Gender” in my birth documents – I finally got myself a passport and after days of odd squabbling with Earl as to where and when, we settled for a 6 day HK-Macau trip in the Spring of 2013.  

Hongkong is heaven for a first-time-out-of-the-country traveler like me. What first got me when we landed (which was about 6pm) were the tremendously stunning views of the skyscrapers that were just starting to light up for the night. I fell in love with the city at first sight. I know I’m gonna go somewhere else in the world and not have this much fascination as I have for HK – kind of like how I felt about other beaches if they weren’t Boracay.  That and so much more. 

Now, who wouldn't fall in love with such a sight?

We stayed at Casa Hotel, a 4-star hotel along Nathan Road that thanks to Ms. Sharon to whom I am enormously indebted to, just cause she insisted we stayed there instead of Imperial or Kimberly over at the TST area.  She was so right about Casa - it had amazing amenities and the best breakfast service not to mention the fact that it’s prettily situated right smack in the middle of HK action and with a bus stop right in front of the hotel. The kicker – we were given a room at the topmost floor of the hotel with stellar views of upscale HK and the Victoria Harbour, how awesome! (thank You Lord!) 

Casa Hotel taken from the other side of the road :)

Once we got settled at our hotel, I couldn’t change fast enough to take in the HK sights so I scrambled into my shorts & long sleeved shirt combo (super nipis at that) and went out to hit the streets. As soon as I stepped out of the hotel doors, people were literally STARING at me & that’s when I realized my big big mistake – I was walking out under a 10degrees Celsius weather and a very windy one at that wearing the wrong kind of clothes - I felt like a lame sick joke I wanted to run back at my hotel room, bundle myself up and crawl under the sheets but always the spunky woman that I am, I narrowed my shoulders, put on a brave face and walked the entire Temple Street all the while clinging to my very amused husband. That was when I spotted that perfect, thick, red, eye-candy of a coat which I bought without a lot of inner struggling. It’s not like I wasn’t prepared for the cold, I just wasn’t expecting it to feel that way – I was living in a tropical country for 35 long years for crying out loud! And besides I have the perfect excuse to shop, so I can still afford to smile :)

That's what I wore our first night, what a complete idiot!

That's the red coat, nice noh?

Our second day was by far the best, or rather the 2^nd best next to shopping, er maybe the first and then shopping the next best – oh well, I’m getting all confused now, let’s just say the Disneyland Experience and the HK Shopping experience tied on the top spot of my long list. Whatever. Why and how, I am so gonna expound on my next blog entry (I think I’ve said so much here already, but then again with me, no words will ever be too much haha) Suffice it to say that these are two reasons I’m gonna go back there, and fast. This was the same day we hopped on a tour bus to Stanley, Repulse Bay, Aberdeen Fishing Village+Jumbo Floating Restaurant and an outlet store that sells a whole lotta Chinese food that Michelle is sure gonna like since it’s free for tasting. Yum! And then we hopped on the same bus to Disneyland this time. First major blunder: Frank our Tour Guide left our Disney entry passes at our hotel we had to pay AGAIN (he gave us a refund so it’s all good) Although it almost ruined my sunshiny mood coz I was worried I wasn’t gonna get ANY Mickey keepsake coz Earl opted to eat at the Corner Café where we were served a meal of chicken and RICE (a first after 2 days, thank God) for a total bill of  HKD303 or roughly Php1,600.00. Talk about being expensive. Serves me right for craving GOOD OLD RICE that I can’t easily stumble upon around HK. But why I wasn’t gonna trade my time at Disney for anything else, I’m gonna tell you in my next blog entry.

  

Aberdeen Fishing Village & Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Repulse Bay

Central HK

Real Chinese Food Outlet, sampling their goods (Mich, it's REALLY for free)

Disneyland :)

Flights of Fancy

Because the street market, malls and almost all establishments close at about midnight (unbelievable right?) we most certainly have a lot of time for SHOPPING – and precisely the reason why at the end of every day in HK, I can’t anymore feel my feet due to endless walking! I love what I see on the streets when we take walks. The colorful neon lights, Chinese street food that tastes even better than it looks, the lively entertainment right smack in the middle of the road, HK street fashion which I tell you is insanely fantabulous and the many tourists from all parts of the world converging in touristy places with eager smiles and faces alight with wonder. I am so stoked to be a tourist in this part of the world. 

Mongkok :)

Macau was next on our list. While I enjoyed and was enthralled by the whole Portuguese vibe, I wasn’t in love with the place as I was with HK. Well maybe because I didn’t get to stay long enough to saturate my senses with everything there was to love about the place. I loved the fact that there were more Filipinos in my 9-hour stay in Macau more than I met in my 5 days in HK – or maybe I got to interact with more of them in Macau because they are just all over the place. It feels like Pinas in Macau, actually.  I’d have to say Senado Square is something else though. I can just sit down in one of their colorful benches for hours on end without really minding. It’s a great place to chill out and be blank ;) Our Macau adventure found us teaming up with 2 other Pinoys from Leyte  - Norman and Joseph who were as fun-loving as Earl and I were and we instantly hit it off. We went around a lot of tourist areas, took photos in the Casinos and laughed and bumped our way around practically every nook and corner of their City square.

Sao Paolo, Macau :)

Macau still :)

Ocean Park was next on the list. Three things – Cable Car, Panda Sighting & Thrill Mountain. Everything was grand. Heck, everything was remarkably gooooood – especially the stunning views of the Repulse Bay. We took it all in & tried all the rides I felt will not end up with me killed because honestly, with Ocean Park, once is enough – for me at least.

Ocean Park, Giant Aquarium

Giant Panda Adventure

Our 4^th day was supposedly a free day – so we took our sweet time waking up late, staying at the breakfast table a tad longer than usual, swayed hands and not rush while we walked the streets and finally, did my next favorite activity to reading, SHOP. HK is a shopping mecca. Funny how people queue up outside the Louis Vuitton flagship store like they’re selling lottery tickets. Apparently that’s cause they allow only 20 people at a time. Amused, Earl and I joked around how these people are such freaking mad at money they’re throwing it away to 100K bags. (Bitter much kay di ka afford?) Hahaha I can’t ever be hypocritical about them. If I have that much moolah, I would have been one of those lining up – or not J Cause to be honest, if I have that much money, I’d travel the world and be satisfied with just a normal ordinary kind of bag hehehe. After almost 8 hours of straight walking, we sat by the TST Promenade and like literally forgot about the time. We were there while the sun was still up until the pretty little lights over at Victoria Harbour came alive causing a visual spectacle of the HK Skyline that is believe me, too breathtaking to pass up. Earl “Mr.Shutterbug” Cabahit just quite plainly ignored me while taking pictures of the awesome views. I don’t mind, as long as he’s happy doing his thing, I’m content watching on the sidelines.

Clock Tower, HK Museum of Art

Jackie Chan's Star

1881 Heritage House

TST Promenade

Believe me when I say that on our last day, I basically went over the moon. My husband, the no-frills-I’ll-wear-whatever-is-in-my-closet-no-need-for-new-clothes baby gave me the shock of my life when he went overboard and shopped like crazy at H&M! His bill literally tripled mine!! THAT.IS.AN.AWESOME.FIRST. I wish he were like that all the time – I was grinning from ear to ear and I honestly didn’t mind that we would have been charged excess baggage just to see him shop till there wasn’t any bill left in his wallet hahahaha. I didn’t even have to force him. I just went yeah that looks good on you and nope, the other color looks better all the freakin’ time. I told him after if you’re like that only when we’re here then we would have to come more often.

H&M

I couldn’t thank the Lord enough for this trip – His able and generous hand is sooo obvious in every single detail of that insanely fantastic vacation.  He has been generous in making it as fun, orderly and so out-of-this-world cool as only a Father like Him is capable of giving. The travels Earl and I took are always something we cherish – being the sentimental couple that we are. It affords us a lot of “alone” time as a couple, and we relish the simple walks we take around the city holding hands like giddy teenagers who fell in love the first time. Yep, we’re soooo mushy that way (or I am, lest I be thrown dagger looks later when he reads this haha, like he won’t admit it but he’s mushier than me hahaha) and we sure as heaven loved every minute of it. As for HK, I promise you I’ll be back real soon (*this I am saying hands clasped, eyes closed, knees bent and breathing a silent and intent prayer to my Big Daddy up there). I can’t shake the thought of this city out of my mind even if I wanted to, at least not for the next few weeks, I think. 

"My travels and rest, You mark O Lord -Psalm 139"

Jesus, my Best Friend - this trip was an awesome blessing. I love you.