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.