October Favorites

I am always excited to share things I am loving and so I compiled the things I've been loving since October. Here are the things I've been watching, listening to, eating and using.

WATCHING:

I was on a flight back to Manila when I chanced upon an article talking about the show Empire. It got me curious so I got the first episode....it was downhill from there. I am enamored with every single aspect of the show. Taraji P. Henson described it as a mixture of Dynasty and Glee. It has drama, fashion, wit and amazing music.

LISTENING:

In line with this obsession I have with Empire I have re-discovered my love for old school hip-hop and RnB. This album has kept me company for 2 weeks of very late night working. It's phenomenal! The only track that seems out of place is Courtney Love's track but I just skip over that.

DRINKING:

Oh how I curse the day when an Infinitea branch opened around 200m from my house. I initially thought all they had were milk teas but I have been loving all their other drinks. A personal favorite is their Peach Mint Yoghurt Slush with nata de coco. Oh I'm salivating right now!

 

Let us move on to this wonderful thing I chanced upon in Starbucks. I happened to be at a Starbucks branch at 6 am on the day they were set to release this gorgeous Swarovski studded card and I took the plunge and I'm soooo happy! Look at how pretty it is:

THINGS I USE:

I almost let out a screech when I found out that Pilot released a line called Hi-Tec-C Coleto. It's a pen system that includes an empty barrel that you can fill with any one of their ink cartridges that writes like my favorite Pilot Gtec pen. There are 15 available colors internationally but in the Philippines I only saw dark blue, light blue, pink, orange, green, violet, red and black. The empty barrel can be filled with 3-5 pen colors. 

I would just like to say that I'm a pan of the Pilot brand and I've been using their pens since I was 10. (I still remember my first pencil case with the basic blue, red and black Pilot pens) And the products they recently released in the Philippines truly make me happy. I personally love their Frixion erasable highlighters which work beautifully for marking my Bible and other thin sheets of paper.

Lastly, I am obsessed with the essential oils from Human Heart Nature. I am so in love with it that I even made my own deodorant using two of the available oils! 

ACTIVITIES:

I have been working so hard recently and the lack of sleep coupled with the stress has really made my back hurt and thank goodness a decent massage place opened near our home. Ruy treated me to a hot stone massage last week and I just about died and went to heaven. IT WAS AMAZING. The heat helped ease the tension from my muscles allowing the therapist to offer a deep tissue massage that helped alleviate my back pain.  I am a new fan! 

Things I am Loving this October:

1. The Mindy Project

• I love comedy. I like funny and silly things. This comedy takes the place of 30 Rock and The Office in my life. I know I am so late as the show is currently already on its 3rd season and I've barely finished the first season. 
• Side note: I cringe at some of the things shown here. The morals and values are questionable so please don't watch this with kids.
  

2. Honey Citron Tea

• I tried this for the first time in Hong Kong and was instantly hooked. Thank goodness SnR brought these babies over.
• I personally drinking this as hot tea but my husband likes it iced. 

3. Revlon Raisin Rage

• I have been getting back into dark lipstick at the moment. I am into reddish-brown colors and this just fits the bill perfectly.

• Confession.Growing up, I started getting into dark red lipstick because I saw that everyone was afraid of wearing them. Being a naturally rebellious girl, I decided I would continually wear red lipstick. It was awkward at first but I grew into it and now I would say 50% of my lipsticks are dark red.  

4. Staedtler Triplus Fineliner

• I guess I'm over my sharpie addiction? What I love about these is that I can use them to write inside my planner and my notebooks. They make color coding so much fun!

5. Chirashi

• I AM OBSESSED! This wonderful creation filled with shrimp, tuna, salmon, sea urchin, and tamago (I purposely neglected the crabstick because I hate those and I never eat them) on top of japanese rice. YUM!

6. File Organization

• At this point I think my love for color coding does not even need to be said. I set this up over 3 years ago and I have let our yaya take care of it. This month however, I decided to take the reigns again and organize our files and I LOVE the way I set it up =)

7. Peppermint Tea

• I used to hate tea but now I can't get enough of them. This month my favorite has been peppermint tea (from any brand) because it helps soothe my tummy and digestion just seems to go smoother with this yummy tea. 

8. Counterflow  2014

• I thoroughly enjoyed last year's parenting conference and I spent the last two months waiting for Counterflow 2014 and I wasn't disappointed. It revived my drive for parenting. =) I will now have to wait for 11 more months till the next one. 

15 Things That Make Me Happy

I watched a show from Bravo where celebrities talk about 10 things they love and basically define their life at that certain point. I thought that was so interesting! I wanted to go around my house and look at the things that make me happy. This of course does not include people...so here it goes.

1. Bible

I have been trying to read the bible every day and it has been very comforting to me. This bible was a gift from my husband just because I really really really need cute things in my life. =)

2. Wedding Ring

This is not the best shot of my wedding ring but it's what I have on hand. My ring has 4 sapphires and 3 diamonds arranged in a half eternity. I like it cause it's different. I like it cause inside it says "Love you more".

3. Pinterest

I ADORE PINTEREST. I can spend hours over there getting ideas as to what I want to do in the future. I actually do try most of the things I find on pinterest and they have all been awesome. I LOVE LOVE LOVE pinterest. I can't get enough of it.

4. YouTube

Another favorite time-waster. My daughter and I both love youtube. My husband does too! I watch the Kardashians, Real Housewives, Scary shows, Makeup Tutorials

5. Buko Juice

If I could drink Buko Juice every day I would. When I feel like my body needs cleansing I drink this and it clears up my skin.

6. Amazing Grace by Philosophy

This scent just gives me a sense of relaxation and peace...and happiness!

7.  Ghost Adventures the TV Show

I love scary documentaries and this is my favorite for this month. Ruy and I watch this to relax because God knows how stressed we have been.

8. Notebooks

I love notebooks. I have so many and I still keep on wanting more. I always, always need to have one with me to write anything.

9. Tumblers

I love water bottles and tumblers. I have soooo many and it's completely irrational!

10.  Laptop and Wifi

I am addicted to all thing web related. It makes me happy. It makes my day complete

11.  Chocolate

Le Maison du Chocolat, Chocnut, Goya, Kitkat,....I LOVE THEM ALL. Too much actually

12. iPod

I am constantly on my ipod. I use it for everything and I mean everything. It's my alarm clock, it's where I put lists. I put contacts in, my schedule. I play music, I take photos, I take videos. I read books.  I don't know what I'd do without it to be honest.

13. Plastic Organizers

 I'm a plastic organizer/container junkie and I swear if my husband doesn't stop me, I'd probably be living in a house with nothing but tumblers, plastic containers and notebooks. I use them for storing my make-up. My daughter's puzzles, my daughter's art supplies. My pens and office supplies, etc.

14. Iced, Brewed Tea or Sweet Tea

I learned how to brew and make my own sweet tea at home late last year and I've been hooked since. I just cannot be satisfied with the instant kind now. Drinking it makes me feel pampered and happy. It feels utterly indulgent and it doesn't even cost that much. I have refused to share my recipe to anyone and everyone...even my husband is not privy to my recipe. =)

15. Chats/Talks with girl friends. 

I can go on and on chatting with my girl friends...any of them. I can chat with them for 6 hours straight and still leave feeling like the time wasn't enough. I love people who can hold conversations and that is why I love my wonderful ladies.