My Signed Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

I just wanted to share on here how ecstatic I feel that I now have a physical signed copy of Jason Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures! One of my book club friends reached out to Jason and asked if we can directly order a book from him with personal dedications. And lo and behold, Jason never charged us for the books. He just asked us to cover the shipping from Philadelphia to Philippines because it’s quite expensive. He’s absolutely one of the most generous and thoughtful authors we came across with and we are so thankful for this.

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Special thanks to the Thrillseekers Book Club PH for making this possible! Truly, it’s the best book club I’ve ever been a part of. ❤

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High Hopes for 2021

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I’ve said it a million times this year, you all said it, too — 2020 was not our year. There were so many challenges: The Taal volcano eruption, COVID-19, typhoons, etc. We’ve been through so much this year. It wasn’t easy, heck, it’s the hardest year for all of us. Personally, the pandemic took a toll on my mental health and it has been a struggle for me to wake up every morning and find the courage to go on and face a new day. It felt like I don’t have any goals, the days were repetitive and I feel like I’m living in a loop. It’s suffocating because I don’t get to go out because of the virus — honestly, the whole year just sucked.

But, hey, we survived, didn’t we? That counts for something. Wait, scratch that — it’s the most important thing we did in 2020, we survived and continued to push forward despite everything. With that, I hope that the coming year will be better for all of us and may the whole world be COVID-free in 2021.

Despite the year being more stressful than the previous years, I would still like to allot some time listing the things that helped me stay sane:

  • Because of the pandemic, we are all advised to stay at home and follow quarantine measures so as not to catch the virus which gave me more time for reading. That being said, I was able to read 42 books (as of writing) this year which is equivalent to 13,468 pages!
  • I was also able to take care of my skin more. Since I don’t go out a lot anymore, my skin is not exposed to invisible dirt, smoke, and other stuff that may cause breakouts. So my skin is more softer!
  • I learned how to cook a little and prepare my own meals! I learned how to make lasagna, flying saucer (which bread stuffed with lots of cheese), homemade pizza, and my own guacamole recipe!
  • I was able to save more money since I didn’t get to spend it on lunch outs and impulse-buys. I did buy a lot of books, yes, but I learned how to manage my money.
  • I read outside of my comfort zone; I started to love mystery/thrillers!
  • I got a work promotion!

It’s not a lot and everything I’ve listed are probably just little things but they are important to me and they’re the ones the helped keep my head above water.

Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s all hope for the best. ❤

Christmas 2020

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Merry Christmas, everyone! It seemed like only yesterday when I was writing my Christmas 2019 post. I can’t believe the year is coming to a close already! I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything, to be honest, because I had so many plans set for 2020, but we ended up being stuck at home. Hopefully, the coming year will give us more chance to go on adventures and explore new places!

When this post is published, I will probably be at my grandparents’ house in Tagaytay where we usually spend Christmas at. This year, we’re going for another Samgyupsal-inspired feast with a touch of the classic Filipino dish called Relyenong Bangus which we ordered from a seller from Malabon before going here. My grandfather couldn’t eat properly because he recently had to of his teeth extracted, that’s why we had to mix our Samgyupsal meal with some soft food.

Anyway, I’m sharing with you guys my Christmas 2020 outfit! Haha I took a photo before we left so that I can include it in this post. The dress I’m wearing is the one I bought from Zara in November and it’s really comfy and loose! The print is also very simple yet festive. I absolutely love it.image

I will most likely write another blog post specifically for this outfit. In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and your Christmas Eve feast.

What about you? How are you spending your holidays?

What’s for Halloween #2: Eight Films to Watch Before October Ends

In my previous post, I have listed books that you can add to your to-read list or articles that you can browse through the internet on those boring hours of the day that will totally add some spook to your reading challenge for the month of October.

So in this post, I’ll share with you 8 of my favorite films that are perfect to watch during the holiday or, if you’re a student, your semestral breaks. These are in no particular order as I’ve watched some of the films listed below a long time ago.

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