Caress Nail Polish | Blackcurrant

When I started liking nail polish, one of the shades I want to own is a wine colored one. I got to see some Orly nail polish available online, but my budget won't allow it - I do love nail polish but at the moment I can't really go for foreign brands just yet because of its price.


When I did one of my nail polish shopping, I spotted Blackcurrant by Caress. From the bottle, it looks a little bit like wine, but when I finally used it, it was more on a dark plum shade. As usual, application was okay, and I was able to achieve a nice opacity with two medium coats. One thick coat may be okay... but because I fear this might bubble, I decided to go with medium thickness.

I still am in a search of a locally made wine-colored nail polish. If you know one, please do share.

Happy weekends!

Highs, Lows, and a Little Update

Happy Friday, everyone!

Let me go with the things I am thankful for this week:


My sister bought two items from the group buying site Cash Cash Pinoy and asked me to come with her to the bank so she could deposit her payment. We stood in line for nearly an hour, so as her way of thanking me for sticking with her, she treated me to lunch. Another thing I am thankful about - sister was very willing to exchange one of my chicken pieces with that of hers, because I don't want to eat chicken breast.


After the bank errand, I asked my sister if we could pass by Booksale. She's not into books, but she stuck with me this time. At the moment, my focus is buying classic books (because some are hard to find), and at first I was upset at myself because I checked the hard bound aisle first. When I checked the paperbacks on sale, I noticed a middle-aged woman holding this copy of "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier. I was sad that she got to pick it up before I did, but surprise, surprise... she left it at the end of the shelf and picked up a different book. No one took interest with the book, so when she finally checked out, I decided to buy the book. A classic, in great shape classic book for less than 1 dollar. Hooray!

By the way, I got to see a hardbound copy of "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (for 225 pesos - about 5.50 dollars), but I was a little apprehensive in buying it because I got intimidated by how thick and big the book was. It was more than a thousand pages... but the book was super pretty! I hope the next time I drop by the store it's still there.



My brother and I were invited for some Japanese food tasting at Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant in Glorietta (Makati). I got my fix of Ebi Tempura, and that alone makes me grateful and happy.


While eating lunch, Cindy (the one who invited us), gave us a VIP pass for the Crocs Megasale (happening this weekend). She told us the sale will be open to the public on Friday (which is today), but VIP card holders can already come in and purchase Crocs footwear as early as Tuesday (28 May). Unfortunately, I have to save what little money I have left because I still have a lot to buy for my upcoming holiday. I gave the pass to my sister, but because of her shift at work, she is not sure if she can use this.


I created my very first Franken nail polish. "Franken" is the term nail polish "addicts" call the nail polish created by mixing different kinds of nail polish, making it one of a kind. Well, I decided to clean my room (even if I am not really sleeping there anymore) and after creating some changes with the bookshelf, I decided to check my nail polish trays and throw out the bottles with about 1/8 of contents left for I am sure not to be using it anymore. Checking the bottles I need to throw out, I remember Effie Trinket's nail art in the movie "The Hunger Games" and because I need to dispose a bottle of dark purple, slightly dark pink, and muted metallic purple nail polish, I decided to mix them together. I wanted it to be more pink than purple, but I guess I must've put quite a lot of the purple nail polish and I couldn't add any more of pink because the bottle is already full. In the end, it looked like Barney, but I am still happy with it. I called it Berna, and tomorrow I will add some gold tips, recreating Effie Trinket's nail art.

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K already forwarded the necessary documents I need to present the hotel concierge because he now took a leave of absence at work and won't be online until he arrives here in the Philippines. He's due to arrive in a few more weeks, but he might need the time to run a few errands because he would be out of the country for three weeks. In the two times he traveled here, the bank has been the one causing him a few worries, so I guess this time he had to make sure everything is okay so he could enjoy his holiday. I miss him, though. I actually sent him a sentimental e-mail, and I forgot he won't be able to respond to it anymore. Toinks. :) I just hope he packed a small folding umbrella because it's going to be rainy season when he arrives.

Because of this, I am now going to take a leave of absence from blogging here, though I still would be updating my other blogs. Since I won't have enough time to juggle many things, I decided to take a break here for a while, so I could concentrate on my lists (things to bring, where to go, etc), but I will still continue exercising and watching my food intake until K arrives, but I am not promising at all. I might do some cardio exercises, but because this is supposed to be a weight-loss blog, I was a little guilty talking about food and more food here. It will change when I get back. Oh, I will be back in July or August, but do feel free to add me on Instagram where I will upload some images every now and then, though it would be WiFi dependent.

See you next time!

A Foodie Kind of Weekend

Hello, hello!


My weekend started last Friday when I went to Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas to attend the launch of the newest Jack & Jill Potato Chips, which they called "Shake and Roll." Very interesting kind of product as it have Japanese flavors - Salmon Sushi Wasabi and Unagi Kabayaki flavors. It was a short program, but I was glad to have attended it because I got to see several blogger pals, which I can only interact online.

My friend Vance and I walked together towards the bus station, and while walking we talked about books. Our conversation led to the recent news item about Dan Brown's latest book, "Inferno," in which he mentioned Manila (the capital city of the Philippines - where I am from) as "the gates of hell." It sparked many commentaries from different Filipinos... and Vance & I just shrugged it off, for the book is a work of fiction... although of course, me being a Filipino was hurt just a little bit. I got to read the pages of the book and somehow, I could say there's a hint of truth in it (sex trade happens in six continents, by the way... and yes traffic and pollution is bad here), but calling it "the gates of hell" was a little too heavy to take. Well, my country's not really that popular, so when one mentions it in books or tv shows or movies, it is considered a big deal, so it was a little saddening that in the little exposure the country had turned out to be negative. I just would like to show a little empathy to Sienna (the character in the book who traveled to the Philippines) - and just think that if it happened to me... regardless of which country I am at... it will be hell for me.


Anyway, my brother's girlfriend flew here in Manila to attend a conference, and of course my brother met up with her... and when brother got home, he shared with me a cupcake they bought. I only had a tiny taste of it as it was already midnight when brother got home, but it was good.

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I went to bed around 12:30am, and at 3am I was already up because I will be traveling with my sister to Makati City. Her shift at work was at 6am, so she had to leave the house at 4am, and because I have to attend a class at the Maya Kitchen at 10am and I wanted to be with my sister just to accompany her in traveling, I had to wake up very early, too. Well, she treated me to breakfast while I wait for my class, and I just used her netbook to lurk around GoodReads. I couldn't read any of my eBooks that time because my phone's battery runs out easily, I had to preserve as much battery juice as I could.


By 10am, I was already at the Maya Kitchen to attend the Thai Cooking class with chefs J. Gamboa (a famous celebrity chef here in the Philippines) and chef Malichat, a native of Thailand. They prepared five dishes that day, and I truly loved the steamed fish. This table spread was for presentation as they allow every participant to take pictures of the dishes, but we were served a taste each of the dishes.

Of course, after the class I went back to sister's workplace and waited for her to get off at work at 3pm. Together, we walked from the restaurant to EDSA Ayala, where we took the bus going to Ortigas.


From Ortigas, we walked until we reached Moonleaf Tea Shop at the Ortigas Home Depot, which was quite a long walk. Well, I am grateful for this walking because it allowed me to move and get sweaty (ooops, "glowing" I mean - K would be upset if I tell I am "sweating," he doesn't like that word). If you recall sometime ago, I received some gift certificate for this shop, and I wanted to share it with my sister, and this became the right time for us to use it.

As always, she had the Wintermelon Milk Tea, while I went for the Passionfruit Yakult (I love, love, love Yakult). We also decided to have early dinner that time and we shared Tuna Alfredo Pasta, a slice of Double Fudge Brownie (though I only had a taste and my sister ate all of it), and a piece of Butter Sambos. I received 4 gift certificates - good for 4 cups of drink, so the other two we took with us - I had the Honey Aloe Vera (first time for me to taste aloe vera and it was delicious) and she had the Hakka Milk Tea.

Again, we walked from Ortigas Home Depot 'til we reached the bus station in Ortigas EDSA where she took the van going to Marikina (she's sleeping over her friend's house) and I took the bus going home. Surprise, surprise... I saw my friend (and neighbor) Ria at the bus stop, so we traveled together... sharing stories.

Today, my sister and I ate lunch together, and while at Booksale, I received a call inviting me for a Japanese food tasting tomorrow lunch... so no exercise again, but on Wednesday, I will. I am having Aunt Flo in the house again, so it's dizzy, dizzy days for me again... when I go out tomorrow, I'd make sure I have some candies in my bag.

May we all have a great week ahead!

Caress Nail Polish | Christmas Polka

Wow... no updating the blog for one week? Last week has been very hectic that neither Jessie nor I can find the chance to blog! Hopefully this week will be much lighter.


When I used OMG Nail Polish (First Date), I remembered this Christmas Polka glitter nail polish by Caress and thought it would look good over pink because it had red and purple mini hex glitters, that would really stand out on pink.

I bought this last year during Christmastime because I wanted to have a Christmas manicure with glitters. I wasn't able to use it that time, though.



The nail polish has a grayish base, which I feared would affect the color of the pink base color (because when I first tested this over white it changed the base color into gray), but I was glad it didn't. The glitters were very loose, so applying this, you need to dab the brush. What I did was dip the brush into the bottle then dab the whole length of the brush to my nail from one corner to the other (three dabs). Doing so made the glitters stick on the nails then after the three dabs, I lightly evened out the lacquer.

For my nails, I used two coats - the first one using the dabbing method, the second just brushing it like a regular top coat. Just two coats were enough for me, I preferred having scattered glitters compared to the very compact one.

Thursday's Highs and Lows

Yesterday, I went to Bonifacio High Street in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig to attend the 1st Anniversary dinner party set by Village Tavern. It was attended by different bloggers from the Metro, and I was really touched to be invited to this event. Since I will be taking a month-long blog break soon, I decided to take the latest event invitations - I was at the dinner yesterday, later this afternoon I will be at the launch of a potato chips brand, and tomorrow I will attend at culinary class. That doesn't mean I am taking a break on diet and exercise, though I admit there might be a few skips. I still have to make many things balance.

I arrived at the restaurant early and got to spend time with two bloggers - Dencio and Cha. Dencio, I consider one of my blogger pals... Cha, I met personally for the first time (though I already know her by name and face). Later on, as bloggers arrive, Jonel (my cousin Marge's husband) sat with us.


We were served a lot for this dinner:
Appetizers - Crispy Clams with Spicy Lemon Dip :: Roasted Bone Marrow
Salad - Fully Loaded Romaine Heart
Main Course - Cod Fish :: Tomahawk 35oz Steak :: Lamb Rac
Dessert - Frozen Lime Souffle

Well, us four shared all the food and the picture of the steak was just a picture... in the end we were served a strip each of the steak cut, although if you happen to order the Tomahawk 35oz Steak, that's what you'll get. To cap off our dinner, all of us ordered tea.

Yesterday's Highs -

1. Having lots of laugh with Dencio, Jonel, and Cha. It felt as if we've been very close friends for many, many years. Well, I've known Jonel since 2008, but we weren't really that close.
2. Tasting awesome dishes that I never thought I'd eat. Well, my location sometimes hinders me (and my family) to try different restaurants, sometimes it's a matter of cost (I am a very thrifty person)... so being here, eating for free was truly a very big blessing. Aside from that, I got to taste a foreign branded beer - Hoegaarden (a beer from Belgium).
3. From the restaurant, Dencio, Jonel, and I took the cab going to Ayala... and Dencio paid for the fare. Thank you, Dencio! 
4. My sister's shift at work ended at 9pm, so I asked her to wait for me, and she did. We went home together, and before we took the bus, I treated her to a piece of Boston Creme donut, which she loved. 
5. K's email saying, "Getting near..." Oh yes, indeed!

However, as great as my Thursday was, there were a few lows, too -

1. I got to see a hardbound copy of the book "Silence" by Becca Fitzpatrick for only 80 pesos (2usd), but... the spine had a damage, so I didn't buy it. So sad... it was so cheap, but then, I just won't buy a book with that condition.
2. While at the restaurant, I got to have a chat with Leirs, a pal I met through scrapbooking. After the initial hi, hello, how are you stuff, she asked me if I already heard about what happened to Ria's husband. I found out Ria's husband has cancer and is also gong through dialysis. It was such a sad news, but I know their family is very strong.
3. I have an online friend who's from Oklahoma. I got a little worried when he didn't respond to my message and then news came about the tornado. He is fine, although of course his message saying, "so messy here" made me really sad about the situation.
4. I finished reading "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but... I don't know why I didn't like it that much. The writing was very awesome, but the story I didn't like. Hopefully, I will get to like the movie, too.
5. Obviously, I wasn't able to exercise yesterday.

May is slowly closing, and I have to say my weight is still on a yo-yo. Why is it difficult to find equilibrium?