Locally Made Brands/Products That I Adore

Kimbel Bags

I was able to come across this brand when I was doing some Christmas shopping. There was a sale on bags on SM Olongapo and I initially picked a different bag to buy. But when I asked the sales clerk how much the bag was, it was actually way over my planned price range for my bag shopping. So I picked the Kimbel Bag, which I think looked easy enough to pair with most ensembles I would wear and it was in my price range. And this brand did not disappoint. The bag still looks brand new and is showing no sign of wear and tear. It has a very good quality and yes it exceeded my expectations.

Ever Bilena Lipstick in Pink Flame

Got this particular lipstick at a local department store. I can’t remember what actually prompted me to buy this particular lipstick. I was actually not fond of bright pinks before so buying this seems really off even for me. But I actually came to really love this lipstick. I remember wearing it almost everyday when I got it. I plan to look for this particular shade one of this days. Hopfully, it’s as good as I remembered.

Maxi Peel

Maxi Peel has always had a sort of notoriously bad reputation for me, since people I have asked that has really red, blotchy face or overly white complexion on the face area confessed to using Maxi Peel. But when I had this seriously bad case of pimple break out on my back, I was desperate to get rid of the dark spots and started using maxi peel soap and maxi peel exfoliant. It took about two weeks of continuous application but it actually worked wonders for my pimples. The pimples actually stopped breaking out and I was only left to deal with the dark spots. So yeah, this is a product that I think should be experienced first before being judged.

Vitress Hair Polish

My hair requires a lot of help, since over the span of a year, I have straightened it, permed it and bleached it. I have always loved Vitress, but I was able to really put it to the test and love it all over again when it was able to make my almost dead hair feel alive again. I always recommend this product to anyone asking how my hair was able to survive all the things I did to it. And the most awesome part is this is cheaper than most hair products I have used that never really did anything special to my dying hair.

Parisian

This particular shoe brand is actually a brand that is exclusively sold by SM Department Store. I have worn Parisian shoes as school shoes for the most part and I only recently have been able to try on their doll shoes and sandals. It’s actually a good quality shoe, but if you are the kind of person who hates seeing someone have the same shoe they have bought and wore then this brand is not for you. This brand is sold in all SM Department Stores and it would probably be hard to be the only person with that particular shoe design if this is the case, right.

Secosana

I have seen Secosana Bags being sold at retail shops when I was still in high school, but it was only recently that I was finally able to buy their bag. I bought a blue green tote bag that can fit almost anything I put in it. The tote bag also comes with a faux leather body bag with a leopard print design. It’s a pretty sturdy bag and I can pretty much be sure that I will be using this bag for a long time.

Artwork

I love shirts with quirky designs and Artwork has plenty in that department. I instantly fell in love with the Artwork brand because their shirts are awesome. I also bought a shoe from them that I wear with almost anything. They also support local artists and do some collaborative work with these local artists that I think is really cool of them. So if you love quirky, artsy shirts then Artwork is definitely your brand.

San San Nail Polish

I was ecstatic when an HBC Store finally opened here in our city. The main reason being is that I adore San San Nail Polish and HBC exclusively sells San San products. I love the San San Nail Polish because they have lovely pastel colors that I rarely see in local nail polish brands. It’s a bit pricier than other local nail polishes sold here but I am more than willing to shell out a few extra bucks for quality nail polish, which San San Nail Polish no doubt is.

Eating My Heart Out: Sakura Japanese Restaurant-SBFZ

One of the restaurants that has been around SBMA for a long time but I didn’t get to try until now is Sakura Japanese Restaurant. And as the name clearly suggests, its specialty is Japanese cuisine. I love Maki and ramen and I decided to stick to something I am familiar with. When I ordered my food, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the unfamiliar food names in the menu. But I stuck to ramen and ordered Niku Udon and Matcha Mochi Parfait for dessert. My boyfriend then decided to have the Bento Special. While waiting, we were served an appetizer that I don’t know what was called but tasted fairly good.

Appetizer

My order came out first and I was not disappointed. The beef was tender and the soup was savory. The noodles are quite soft and thick and I think goes really well with the soup.

Niku Udon

I was feeling a little envious, because my bf’s meal looked really good and plenty. And all I had was ramen.

Bento Special

I tasted most of his food but I let him enjoy the sashimi and the shrimp, which I know are his favorites. I decided to order additional food and asked the waitress what’s their best selling Maki on the menu. She said there were two that she could suggest but many of their customers say that their Alaskan Maki was the best. So I ordered that. And boy was it good. I almost closed my eyes while I was chewing on my roll. It was by far the best Maki I have ever tasted.

Alaskan Maki

The flavors just blend so well in my mouth that even if I was already near full capacity, I kept eating my roll and I was able to finish it happily. But then the waitress came and asked if she should serve the Matcha Mochi Parfait, and I had to laugh because I forgot I still had one more food to demolish and here I am almost unable to breathe because I was so full.

Matcha Mochi Parfait

I am pretty happy that I was finally able to eat at Sakura Japanese Restaurant. And just to prepare you for how much you should expect to pay for eating really fantastic food, we actually spent more or less 2,000PHP for the whole meal. But I am not at all surprise with the price since I think that the food was very much worth it and I do plan to eat again at this restaurant, just let me recover first.

6 Things You Ought Not Do When Your Heart is Broken

There are things that I wish I hadn’t done when I was groggily going through a break up. The 8 months that I was navigating through my own heartbreak has been really educational to say the least. I would not wish for anybody to feel how I felt during those 8 months and I think sharing what I learned during that bleak and awful time in my life is a way to help those who are going through the same thing right now to not do the same mistakes I did.

1. Do Not Listen to Death Cab for Cutie For Goodness Sake.

So I figured out that Death Cab has some seriously dead on lyrics. The problem was I figured it out while I was in misery and going through a messy break up. And oh my god, I was almost suicidal (I said almost, not that I would even really consider suicide), while I lay in bed crying and I listen to DCFC for most of the day. Even now that it’s been two years since that “event” happened, I still feel sad whenever I listen to DCFC. So for goodness sake, do not under any circumstance listen to Death Cab while you are dealing with a heartache, specially their We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes album. Because even though I have love this band ever since I listened to their songs, their songs did not help me in getting over my ex. The songs became a sort of salt being rubbed on my wounds and who wants that, right?

2. Do Not Drown Your Misery with Alcohol.

Yatty yatty yah, alcohol never helps, yatty yatty yah. Yes you probably already heard this a thousand times before. Alcohol is never going to get you out of that funk you’re in during a heartbreak. Au contraire, it sometimes adds up to the craziness. You start texting your ex, and this text messages will range from angry, pleading to desperate. It will never make you feel better and in the morning you feel messier than you already are as the onslaught of hangover kicks you right in the gut. And so let me repeat this overused phrase one more time in case you didn’t get it the first time. Alcohol never helps!

3. Do Not Ever Contact Your Ex. Specially if They’re The One that Broke Up with You.

I was such a mess after my ex broke up with me that three days after we broke up, I was texting him like crazy. I would flood him with text messages until I get a reply. It still makes me cringe whenever I remember that and I highly suggest that you stay away from contacting your ex for a while after a break up. Texting your ex won’t bring him/her back. There is a reason they broke up with you and it does not matter what those reasons may be, because when someone wants you out of their life, it basically means that the love that once was there is gone or has diminish and you need to get out or else it would be more painful in the long run if you stay and push yourself on them even when everything they seem to be doing is to get away from you.

4. Do Not Try to Date Immediately After Breaking Up.

You think you’re ready to get out there a week after breaking up, but you are not. I actually got to dating someone new after eight months of being not in a relationship, but I still think I was not that ready to date at that time. I should’ve taken my time to sort out every emotion I still kept around at that time. Although the one I dated eight months after my messy break up is still the one I am dating today (and that was two years ago by the way), I still think that I should have waited. I should’ve fixed myself. Learned to love myself, without the help of another person. And should’ve enjoyed being single after five years of being in a relationship. So I tell you now, do not rush into another relationship just because you think it will make you move on faster. Instead, try to use this time to learn new things about yourself and try to live life independently.

5. Do Not Be Bitter.

The one thing that I constantly told myself during those eight miserable months was, I won’t be bitter. I still wanted to believe that love does exist and that not all men are like my ex. Whenever I felt the slightest bit bitter, I think about all the other couples I know that are still together despite all the problems that has gone through their relationships. Because being bitter won’t make you feel any better you know. All being bitter would ever achieve is to disillusion you and make you scared to try again. You will get out of that black hole and being bitter is not going to help you get out but rather it will keep you in.

6. Do Not Kick Yourself Over Every Stupid Thing You Do While Your Heart is Broken.

I gave myself too much of a hard time whenever I remember fleeting moments of the embarrassing things I did while I was out drinking my sorrows away. But now that I am so over those embarrassing moments, let me tell you that it’s ok. Everyone is allowed to have stupid moments when your heart is broken. Just keep it to a minimum if you still want to live in the same city, ok. Don’t punish yourself too much. You already have your heart broken, don’t break yourself over one silly night. After all, you aren’t the first person to go crazy when they got their heart broken you know.

7. Do Not Regret Dating Your Ex.

I know that the first thing you will feel when someone broke up with you is you regret ever meeting him/her. You regret that you even ever let him/her into your supposedly peaceful life. But you know what, the regret actually does not help you look forward to a brighter tomorrow. Instead, it holds you down and brings all the negativity into the surface even if you know for a fact that your relationship with your ex wasn’t really that much ugly you know. There was a reason you were together and you had something magical that made you connect in the first place. There will always be positive things that came out of your being together and it may be as little as getting to love a certain band that you did not care for before but got to liking because of that ex. Or you learned to cook a certain dish because of your ex. Do not regret dating your ex because a life with regrets is not a life. Just appreciate the fact that there are things you might not have learned about if it weren’t for your ex.

The Universe Has Spoken

Something mind-boggling happened to me today. I was so geared up to enroll in RESA Review Center in preparation for the CPA board exam and at the last minute as if the universe decided that I am not ready for what I am about to get myself into, the training request my manager submitted to our boss has been approve. It was for another accounting certification, which is CAT, and I do not know if I should even be happy about this. Of course it makes me glad that our boss decided to let us have this certification and even pay for it, most companies would not do that. But this string pulling me for months to go ahead with taking a shot with the CPA board exam has suddenly been cut short and I was suddenly back to thinking about it for a year and it makes my stomach feel jittery. I even prepared my down payment and was going to deposit the money for the review today at lunch break. I actually almost cried because of the confusion this situation created. I was so ready with everything and all of a sudden it’s to a different direction I was being thrown at. If I seem negative about this, it’s only because I am overwhelmed and so surprise with everything. All the preparation I did, downloading books and looking up updated IAS and PAS was all for naught all of a sudden, but I guess I can also use them for the CAT certification. So now that I have done my little vent, it’s now time to get myself ready for this other certification.

On the brighter side of things, I have now a modest sum of money I don’t know how to spend yet. I could probably go on a trip to Mt. Pinatubo or Manila or some other place that doesn’t require me to spend too much. Or I could eat at several well-known restaurants here in Olongapo that I haven’t tried yet. There’s A Tavola, and then there’s Sakura Japanese Restaurant and Urban Deli, just to name a few. I could also maybe buy some of the things I have been depriving myself of buying for a couple of months now. That includes make up, a new contact lense, new pair of shoes, new clothes and a new bag. So basically, even though my plans did not pan out the way I wanted them too, I should just be thankful for the things that I am able to have even though my plans got sidetracked. And that is a certification that is all expense paid and a modest sum of money that I can use to buy things that will basically make me happy.