Goblin Wallpapers?

My current KDrama obsession, starring Gong Yoo (Train to Busan, Coffee Prince), Lee Dong Wook (My Girl), Kim Go-eun (Cheese in the Trap), and Yoon In Na (My Love from the Star).

The plot is great, the cast is awesome, the music is perfeeeect. I mean, OMG, I love love love the music I even made a piano cover of one of their BGM "The Path of the Deceased". Check it out here in my instagram. :)

I've been looking for HD wallpapers of their silhouette scene but I can't find any so I just downloaded a 720p copy of Episode 3 and screenshot the hell of that epic scene. You know what I'm talking about!

Here they are, I dunno if these would pass as wallpapers but the dimensions are around 2500 x 1300 pixels, the size of my screen hehe.

The chills this segment gave me. The menacing strides, Goblin's tear-shot eyes, the fog and lights. Aaaargh.

Today

I haven't figured out how to write a year in review post, so as usual, I'm gonna go back in time by visiting my 2016 posts to see how it has fared.

To be honest though, 2016 started out really dull and slow. 2015 was still one of the best I've had, I'm considering it a quarter-life reward lol, the so-called crisis I have yet to encounter, not that I'm looking forward to it hehe.

So what happened in 2016? The first few months I was still in the US and for the most part I dreaded coming back. Sure I missed my family, my boyfriend, my friends... but you know, life in the US (at least in Minnesota) was so chill. I mean, it's a place I wouldn't mind settling down into. Another reason I didn't want to go back (yet) was that I haven't saved enough money for my parents. I promised I would save up a certain amount for them but my overspending at Amazon took my promise away. Also, I haven't lost all the weight I gained (20lbs) since I left, and I didn't want to face anyone with my obesity. Arg.

So March 19 of 2016 I was headed home. It's not like I can extend my stay, my visa was only good for 6 months and I'm already a month (and a day) short of overstaying, so I really had to go home. In fairness I took a lot with me lol. Apart from the FOREX box I shipped to Manila, my total check-in luggage weighed 80lbs, and my hand carry luggage weighed 20 lbs haha. For someone who came in with only 28lbs of stuff, I sure packed a lot! In my defense, there were two vacuumed sealed stuffed toys in my bag, and winter coats are heavy okay?

And just like that, I was back. 

No more cold winter air, no more shoveling the driveway when it snowed, no more Amazon, no more free flowing brewed coffee in the office, no more snow, no more cheap steak, and most importantly my salary is back to Philippine peso. But it's not all bad. When I came back, I was greeted with a new car! I may not be able to save that much, but I've saved enough to get a new car for the fam so I thank God! :)

The months that came after are quite uneventful and unlucky though,

☢ I got a driver's license, and with it followed three accidents - one with a motorcycle, another with a truck, and one with a freaking parking post. Have I mentioned I'm writing as a ghost right now? Kidding. So yeah, put those three plus a couple of minor (I mean stupid) bumps here and there and I can only curse at how much I've spent on car repairs already. But still, if it weren't for insurance, I'd be dead poor right now.

☢ My US visa application got denied. I wrote about it here. I already felt greedy for wanting another US stint right when I just came back, but well, an opportunity presented itself so I'm more than free to hope for the best right? Sure.

Those were the blows, add the fact that I'm not getting my pre-US weight back, midway into 2016 and I'm all about concluding my star sign has lost alignment and I'm out of favors with the universe. I don't even subscribe to the horoscope anymore.

Until my birthday came, and my boyfriend of 5 years proposed to me with a sparkly black ring that I so love. That was the only highlight I can think of (plus the new car), and man was it fleeting.

The thought of finally living together, moving out, starting a family - oh Lord, my life has finally started moving again.

Except it's not that easy.

Weddings are a fuss. People don't really care about it unless they're the one getting wed, or they work as a coordinator. Even when Jeckie and I have been talking about getting married someday, I never really looked into what goes into a wedding and all that. It's just a ceremony, as he says, it's the marriage that's more important. I agree.

It doesn't make it less expensive though. Saving for it is crazy. Looking for a cheap and nice gown is hard. Losing weight is a hassle. Flowers are expensive. Imagine spending ₱1,000.00++ per head just for food? I'm not even that generous with my close friends lol. I'm quite concerned because it's going to be my biggest expense yet, and divided into two, it's still the biggest we have to save for. Anyway... not to turn this into a rant, all my wedding blahs can be found here.

But it's all good. Life is good. My life is moving in the right order.

Becoming an adult, nobody really prepares for it, it just happens. If you told me five years ago I'd be paying for a car, a condo unit, and would soon become a wife, I would've laughed at you real hard. That's too much, then I'll cringe. But here I am, doing all the exact things a 21-year year old me wouldn't even dream of doing. Paying amortizations, saving for a wedding, buying investment plans, and for some reason, despite all my rants, it's not too daunting as what I had imagined it to be.

I don't really have a wish for this year. I just want to be able to carry on our wedding without getting stressed out of our wits (and broke). Actually, last night I dreamt of our wedding day, I was walking down the aisle and noticed that there were very few people in the venue. Then I realized, oh Lord I forgot to send out the invites.

Que horror.

Write.as

Just now I stumbled upon a new (?) writing platform called write.as and man does it look intriguing. Layout is super neat and clean, and kinda tells you to start writing, whatever it is, right now. I like it. It's free from the distraction of buttons, tags, and a whole bunch of fields you have to fill out to ensure a space at Google search results. Of course I'm thinking it's targeted at those who don't really care about SEO and stuff, which is partly me, so I gave it a shot.

Maybe you should too. 

Well, it's not like I'm moving there. I'm just saying I really like how it looks. Very minimalist. Takes me back to when the blogosphere was filled with people who just want to write about how their day went. So much has changed since then. I've lost comfort in blogging to be honest. What was once a small and close-knit community was riddled with capitalists, urbanized in no time. Now instead of personal accounts of how much our day sucked, we feature the things we have, the places we've been to, and the restaurants we ate at instead. A lot less human and a whole lot of advert. 

Is it time to move to a new town?

Of course not, I'm totally caught in this system. Have you read about my latest beauty rave? :P

Life Lately and a slur of random thoughts

❉ First of all, Happy Holidaaaays! Here's a square card for ya! The watercolor elements are part of a freebie pack at Creative Market. Font used is Trendsetter. :)

❉ Apart from that card I also made a couple of others after snagging some free design resources yey. Here you go:

Fictional couple, date, and venue.

This could be for us, I'm just experimenting with black. The date is set but the venue isn't final yet lol. What do you think? :D

❉ Most of my favorite lifestyle bloggers have not updated in weeks/months 'cos they're too busy travelling and posting snaps instead. Also, they're all kindof moving to youtube, doing this vlogging thing. Of course, I'm on to it too. Charot. But no really, I just ordered an HD webcam at Amazon via Uskoop (which is taking too long already...) so I could try vlogging too HAHA. I'll sell the thing if it doesn't work. LOL

❉ You know when you consider yourself an introvert and people think you like to be left alone in thought. And they think you're this kind of person who's really deep and shiz cos yeah, that's how quiet people are, right? Nope. I just realized I'm this kind of dumb quiet person who likes to be left alone. Just that. I don't really ponder upon things and humanity and philosophy and blah. Which makes me kindof sad. I always thought I was a thinker, turns out I can only think lol.

❉ On to the wedding preps! Thinking about my friends and family and the possible people I could ask to become our ninongs and ninangs, I realized that gooooosh am I really so withdrawn to people? Reading through my guest list I can see that oh wow I know A LOT of people, but when I ask myself if I want to see them on my wedding, I get second thoughts. Haha! Errr...

Truth be told, I want to get Oasis Manila as our venue, but it's just too expensive. I've already settled into a very simple theme, a simple gown, and a simple setup overall. But if we upgrade the venue, my gown will look too simple, my styling too weak, then suddenly we have to upgrade everything! Aaaargh. Bakit ba kasi ang gastos magpa-kasal lol. To be honest, if we weren't both paying for a car and a condo at the same time we'll be able to save up for a more bonggang wedding lol, not that I'm gunning for one but Oasis is really that lovely huhu.

❉ By the way, I started the HCG diet last week. What right timing no. I can't say if it's working yet but it does work as a fab appetite suppressant without the caffeine! I've been stocking on bags upon bags of frozen broccoli florets (from Landers!) too because part of the program is to consume a lot of greens and eat just 500 calories a day. I KNOW RIGHT. I'm killing myself again. But let me just work on this right now and see if I'll lose weight haha!

❉ I'm watching First Kiss for the Seventh Time and it's so freaking oppa overload! I hope they included Song Joong Ki though! I still don't understand how the story works and how ate girl became acquainted with all the boys but I couldn't care less 'cos it's only a short series and those men are but fantasies! Except maybe for Lee Min Ho who's not part of the cards! OMO <3 

So, if I were to pick just one of the 6... I'll probably choose Lee Joon Ki 'cos he's the one with the most realistic angle, he's a church oppa, and they (uhm, we. haha) go way back in childhood (who cares if I don't remember lol). 

• Park Hae Jin is also realistic, but he's too workaholic for me. 
• Life will be too dangerous with Chang Wook, though I'm tempted because who doesn't want instant martial arts skills? 
• I don't care about Kai at all, I don't want to learn Chinese either. 
• Hard to let Taecyon off because he seems so sincere, willing to give up everything he has, but then I didn't want him to break off with his family because of me (ang haba ng hair ko ok), and I also didn't want to get kimchi slapped. So, nope.
• Oh and finally, I love Lee Jong Suk! He's just so charming and perfect and everything but it's gonna be a pain getting caught in his showbiz affairs LOL

Lotte Duty Free must have spent a fortune producing this! Waiting for Lee Min Ho's episode!

❉ Another thing I'm watching right now is The Legend of the Blue Sea starring Lee Min Ho and the immortal Jun Ji Hyun. It's so freaking hilarious! And LOLOLOL at Jo Jung-suk appearing and all the Jealousy Incarnate references HAHAHA. ♪ ♪ ♪ No no no no noooo ♫ ♫ ♫ I swear SBS is doing well with these unsuspecting crossovers haha.

❉ I wanna go home naaaa. I just filed for a leave tomorrow and the next day (30 is PH holiday but it's not in the US so... sad) even though I don't have enough leave credits anymore huhu but I don't care lol.

❉ This snowflake bullet is super cute.

[Review] SILKYGIRL Hi-Definition Brow Liner

I've been getting nice remarks about my brows lately but no one's asking me how so ako na lang magtatanong sa sarili ko haha. HOW?!

Dasal. Dasal lang talaga. Char. Ok, let's get to the point.

SILKYGIRL Hi-Definition Brow Liner is probably the best brow pencil I've used. As in! Even after swatching the much raved upon K-Palette products, I still think Silkygirl is better! I'm no pro but this is really good.

What's nice is that it only costs ₱299!

What to love:
✓ Angled tip - so it's self sharpening. Perfect for outlining and filling-in
✓ Waxy and pigmented finish. Unlike other brow pencils, this one's smooth and waxy which is good for me because I don't have the patience to fill in my thin brows with a hundred strokes hehe.
✓ Spoolie is super soft

For me, this is already enough to keep my brows neat and visible haha 'cos I have very thin brows hehe! If you want to glam it up some more, put on some brow powder for a fuller effect, lash it with a brow gel to set, and highlight the skin around it to define it some more. In short, use a ton of other brow products lol. :) Again, I'm no pro so I love simple and easy to use products like this. And since I'm not really gearing towards fleeky, instagram brows, but just want natural looking and fuller brows, this is heaven sent!

Sadly, it's only available in two shades: dark brown and black. Not a problem for me though 'cos I only use dark brown. :) Right now I've only seen it at Landmark Trinoma, and just recently, at Robinson's Supermarket (Regalado, Fairview at least)! Sooo happy I don't have to go all the way to Trinoma to restock! I've finished three of these already. I even had a hard time getting my second 'cos I kept asking 'Do you have Sky Girl?' Haha.

Anyway, to make it much much easier for you to do your brows, have it groomed hehe. ;)

Venue hunt: Oasis Manila

Located along Aurora Blvd., Oasis Manila is definitely a delight to see coming from the dirty roads of Quezon City. It definitely looked like a hidden oasis, tucked amidst the hustle and bustle of metro manila. Sooo muuuuch greeeeen! I love it! If you're eyeing for a garden wedding, you might want to check this place out.

Here's a pic spam of the venue, their available function rooms, and a look at their rates. Enjoy!

View of the garden and the roundabout driveway. Everything is well landscaped, the plants are blooming too. :D

Walkway bridge to the building.

All amenities can be used for free if you book. Perfect for prenups and photo-ops.

Koi pond under the bridge.

Now to their function halls. The biggest they have, which can accommodate up to 350 guests, is the Pavilion. It's the standalone complex on the right side when you enter.

Pavilion

Nice and spacious, glass-walled, fully air-conditioned, and with a stage on one side.

Ceilings are adorned with full white drapings, Japanese lanterns, and crystal drops.

The side of the Pavilion has direct access to the garden

Next up,

Verandah

The Verandah sits on the second floor of the Oasis building and has a maximum capacity of 300 guests.

Lovely ceiling! The end of the hallway is where the actual veranda is hehe. You can use it as a cocktail ground, or a photo booth station, whatever hehe.

One side of the hall is fully walled with floor to ceiling glass, and overlooks bamboo shoots and trees. Super ganda.

Honestly, I prefer the Verandah over the Pavilion 'cos it's also big enough, you can even use the space before the entrance as a lobby for registration AAAAAND it's across the bridal suites as well. So convenient :)

Lastly,

Orchard

Located at the third floor, Orchard hall has a maximum capacity of 150 guests. During the time we visited they were setting up for a Christmas party. If I remember correctly, it was Verleo who catered this one.

No round lanterns, but fully draped ceiling with crystal drops and pin lights, check!

Cute setup!

Bridal Suites

Free for use if you availed any of their wedding packages. They have three rooms, this one below is the biggest one,

The two other rooms are similar in layout and have floor to ceiling windows overlooking the garden and Pavilion. It's smaller than the previous room but it's definitely better because of the view!

Catering

Oasis Manila has wedding packages with Hizon's, Verleo, and Josiah's. Other accredited caterers include Bizu, K by Cunanan, and Tamayo's, but you have to book them separately from the venue. If you wish to get other suppliers aside from the mentioned, you'll have to pay a corkage fee.

Parking

They have a two-storey parking building with valet service so yey!

Rates (2017)

Their venue rates range from ₱55,000 to ₱90,000. Wedding packages range from ₱168,000 to ₱259,000. Pretty hefty for us but the inclusions are quite good. :)

Location and Contact

If you want to get a more tailored quote, you may reach them here

Address: 
169 Aurora Boulevard , San Juan City, Metro Manila

Phone:
(02)726-6832
(02)721-4585
(02)724-5016

Email:
oasismanila@gmail.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheOasisManila

That's it! I would love to get this place but it's too expensive for us right now, considering we just started saving haha. :) I've read and heard a lot of good reviews for this venue so I think this is one of the good ones! :)

Read more of my wedding blabber here!

Related:

Venue hunt: Don Jose Heights Clubhouse

Venue hunt: The Village Patio

Q&A with Doc Pao: On maintaining a healthy heart this coming year

With Christmas just being around the corner, we felt like it was time to touch base with our favorite doctor and ask how 2016 has been for him. Doctor Paolo Bellosillo, our favorite nature therapy doctor answers a few questions for us this season of giving. Read on and learn more about what he has to say.

It's Xmas season once again, how has 2016 treated you in terms of health and spreading the word about your advocacy?

The Mission of helping people Live A Legacy this 2016 has been a blast. Starting of the year of 2016, many came for the need to detoxify and lose weight. Towards the middle, chronic and degenerative diseases of the heart and kidneys started piling with comorbidities existing in every individual. The third quarter received much need to address cancer patients while cascading various preventive medicine techniques to senior citizens and the youth. Lastly the fourth quarter starting with October became a preparation period for those who have chronic stress and fatigue who are usually exposed to much pain due to inflammation, mostly professionals who experience pain in the areas of the head, spine both cervical and lumbar and lastly of the chest which is usually circulation based. You can say that a lot of people are indeed in need for some healthy ageing.

What is the one thing you wish people would make as part of their NY resolution?

Knowing we only have one life, it is so valuable that in hope, I pray others would reduce all practices that will prove to be a threat to life. An example is smoking, drinking alcohol and eating beyond one’s capacity of unfriendly fats and too much salt and sweets. Perhaps being mindful of one’s gift, Intellect Will and Soul, sound decisions can be made. So think of yourself and others too.

Do you think there will be more heart related sickness in the future and how can people avoid it?

Well policies exist as well as institutions to help mold the awareness of people about what’s good and what’s not but certainly there are big factors that are at play, personal decisions and dispositions, societal norms, product and activity fads created by media cascade dependent on the period and season, ways and means to cope with stress, urban and regional existing interplays of land uses and activities which actually affect the movements and living of people; there may be more but these certainly are factors that will dictate how much heart related sickness would occur.

What's one thing that people need to do to make sure they maintain a healthy heart?

Know who you are. You are God's child and have been given one heart. Once it stops beating you are gone forever. Know your role, you’re a team player in your family and community. Others need you. Know your limits. Master yourself. You can’t manage something you can’t measure. If it’s about health, see your holistic medicine or integrative medicine specialist who will view your health as a whole system and not by parts. Commit to good sound and safe change in your lifestyle, be it nutrition, fitness, sleep, relationships and of course spirituality. Talk to your specialist for a customized program. Believe the truth that while stem cell therapy can help repair and regenerate tissues even that of the heart, on an acute episode or attack, stem cell may not right away regenerate the infarct part of the heart, that part of the heart will die and its function will be diminished to an extent that you might lose your life hence knives and scissors would be the only way to help you- surgery. If you can stay away from knives and scissors, do so, although it may help on emergency cases much uncertainty is also present when one is opened.

What's one thing that people need to avoid to make sure they don't trigger a heart attack?

Stress brought about by lack of appropriate sleep, diet and exercises. When you sleep, sleep without the phone the noise and the lights which hamper proper sleep. When you feel like celebrating this season with cheese, protein preservatives like ham and sweets like cakes, pastries and ice cream, making these part of your daily diet is a no no, it will just cause more problems for your heart as these substances will eventually cause the hardening and stiffening of your arteries. Lack of proper coping with stress can cause surge in stress hormones which eventually may cause rise in sugar and lipid levels which further increase your cardiovascular disease risk, due to the inflammation they bring. Going out on a daily high consumption of pro inflammatory food without exercising at least for 30 minutes may cause build up in plaque within your arteries and other blood vessels. All these things mentioned put your heart at risk, because you failed to live a healthy lifestyle- live to the fullest by making sound and calculated decisions that increase your life expectancy and longevity.