It's V-day soon, God help us one and all.

Yes, it's Valentine's Day soon. God help us one and all. Every year, Jake and I find ourselves stressed out during this very lovely day because: (1) we don't like to mix with the rest of the lovesick couples in fully booked restaurants just to celebrate this overrated holiday, and (2) we always had to resort to dining in at our places--either his den or my balcony, and just order in our favorite food or attempt home-cooked meals. Trust me, trying to make home-made lemon iced tea from scratch and then having your boyfriend spill the whole pitcher you painstakingly brewed is not my idea of a romantic night. Nor is planning a lovely surprise for a gift just to see him snickering away while you were busy setting up the place because, it turns out, he already opened it behind your back. Lovely, lovely, yes? But all sarcasm aside, we actually somehow manage to look beyond the irony of our efforts and enjoy each other's company on Valentine's. Last year, it was my turn to host dinner so I festooned my balcony with fairy lights, votive candles, the works. We ordered all our yummy favorite things to eat and had a nice time eating and talking on a breezy night. V-day 2009 was Jake's turn so he set up a romantic dinner date (which actually surprised me) at his den. Every year, I always expect a bouquet of daisies or sunflowers but my boyfriend's too lazy to actually get me one. "Flowers wilt and die anyway." Eh, it's actually true so I guess I really can't complain. He does get me a huge rose every year, though. So, there you go. Hehe. Make me swoon this year, Joaquin! 

So what's the plan this year? I'm clueless. I'll leave it to my boyfriend whose favorite line every February is: "every day is Valentine's day!" so he can get away with not making a huge production out of the whole thing. I'm actually starting to agree with him on the whole overrated comment, but I'm only a girl so yes I'm still expecting my daisies.

It's bikini season soon. You know what that means..

Noooooooooo :(

Because I'm hitting the beach again in less than two months from now, I'm attempting starting another diet plan to get my body in bikini-ready shape. You know, the kind where you don't look fat from ANY angle. I'm tired of constantly being on high alert every time someone takes a picture of me in a bikini. So, for the lovely month of February, I shall attempt to track my food intake again for the sake of vanity (and shallowness). Goodbye weekly Charlie's, Ristras, pizzas, and one too many cheat days. Well, I might allow myself cheat days every now and then.

Wish me luck!

Hello, August 2010 version of myself, can you get your ass over here so I won't have to endure this crazy diet/exercise regimen again?

Screw NY resolutions

I'm always restless lately. I keep flitting from one thought to another and then I end up not doing anything at all. Random thoughts and insane plans have kept me going for the past week, always coupled with procrastination. I need to step up if I want to actually accomplish what I've been planning to do with my life. On that sad note, I don't think I'm on another quarter-life crisis. How many of those can a 22-year-old handle anyway? Still, it's either I'm way over-caffeinated or I'm just really bored and acting out. January does that to me a lot. There's always something about the first month of the year where I feel compelled to do something different. I say let's just get January over with and move on because I don't think I can handle anymore of my scheming and plotting on how to be a better me,or how to be different this year. Because let's face it, I'm perfectly fine with the 2010 version of myself.  I'm actually really proud of my 2010 self, I did a pretty good job last year. So why am I so hell bent on being a new me this year? I'm all for constantly improving yourself and all that shiz but  right now I just can't take the pressure. I want to relax and feel contented with my life. I feel like yelling "I'm only 22 leave me alone!!!" every time I'm reminded of the grand plans I have to do this year. I'm grateful for the little things that kept me sane so far this month: drinks and senseless talks with people I love. It's the small things that matter.

One too many dinners at Ristras and beers with Jake, Cantina with the boys, countless dates at Charlie's, spur of the moment beers with the girls on a breezy night.

At the end of the day, I still end up with a nagging feeling that I have to do this for myself. I hate situations when there are "what-ifs" involved. So yes, I'm begging for my overachiever self to pop out of nowhere and deal with this crap--I'm too absorbed re-reading Fabulous Things to care right now.

I have the weirdest boyfriend ever.

Jake called me just to ask if I recently checked my Chictopia account. For a while there I felt happy 'cause he's finally taking an interest in my hobby but then he started snickering and I knew it was too good to be true. Still sounding oddly suspicious, he kept telling me to check my account because he finally joined daw. Since I'm naive and I always like to give him the benefit of the doubt, I logged in and this is what greeted me:

 

He created a Chictopia account just to leave funny, weird comments on my entries! Who does that?!

"Oh dear that outfit is fantabulous! I think I know you, I'm from Manila also, studies at DLSU, you're the one with the hot boyfriend if I am not mistaken. Hihi."

"Awwww the white one is soooo cute! I love the outfit as always honey. Hihi."

"Gorgeous dear! Oh the memories in this university. Hihi."

I swear. Fantabulous? Hihi?  Honey? Where did he learn these things? I was laughing the whole time! He's such a weirdo. I love him, though. :-)

Warm sunny days, anyone?

Lo and behold! Meet our vector versions! Jake's on a creative high and has produced these amazing digitized versions of ourselves. I still can't get over the fact that he made these from scratch. I can't remember how to do vector (read: never really paid attention and mostly relied on Jake during class) but I do know how hard it is to draw faces using lines and shit. I'm so proud of my boyfriend.

On another note, I've got something to cheer myself up in anticipation of summer. I really don't fare well in cold weather and have been enduring these cold nights and early mornings for the past few weeks. When I'm down and shivering, I tend to look at things that perk me up: cupcakes, unicorns, clothes, and dogs. Since I'm on a diet and I have yet to install the Robot Unicorn app on my phone, I'm consoling myself with these instead:

Looks like Forever 21's off to a good start this year. I'm loving their lookbook for SS11 Heritage 1981 line. Almost all my F21 clothes are from Heritage so this is really perking me up. I'm broke and saving up right now but it won't hurt to look at and salivate over the prospective clothes for my warm, sunny days.

And here's something cheery from Topshop: sneak peak of their SS11 collection! I'm already feeling so summery, where are my bikinis?

What to wear, what to wear for SS11

This year, I'm planning to revamp my wardrobe into something more mature and lady-like to go with my mature and lady-like image for 2011. Yes, believe me. So I browsed through Zara and Topshop's lookbooks for SS11 and I am loving what I'm seeing. 

I especially love Zara's black and white ensemble and I'm looking forward to wearing more skirts, cardis, and trousers for work. It's all mix and match and I think I can pull it off if I add a dash of color for every outfit. I don't remember seeing these pieces last Sunday but I really wasn't paying attention because I was broke and thus only window-shopping. I got major shopping withdrawal from that fiasco, I've been dreaming of Zara for two nights now. I need to do something.

Then there's Topshop's take for Spring/Summer 2011 and it makes me want to never change my style at all. Playful, girly pieces with dainty details can never ever let me down. I'm also more comfortable with wearing these styles but I think it's about time I leave my comfort zone and try something new. After all, it's a new year. But whatever, never say never.

P.S. Something to look forward to this month: MNG & Zara sales! Well, it's mostly autumn/winter pieces but it's always freezing cold in the office anyway so I'll take it!

NYE 2011: Sparkly, happy people

Just like we did last year, rang in the new year with my family and Jake--minus the flashy fireworks. We settled for sparklers this year 'cause everyone was too tamad to set up (or even buy) fireworks. Excellent Media Noche courtesy of my mother and grandmutti--yummy pastas, baby back ribs, morcon, tacos, tomato soup, chicken, and too many desserts. 

For 2011, I want to finally grow up and revert to my serious, nerd mode. Well, I'll try. REALLY TRY for my own good. Anyhoots, it was a funny (yes, funny instead of fun) night with Modern Family, three rounds of Taboo, and pigging out.

Behold, my boyfriend has finally snapped and thinks he's a boxer. Jake's recently started boxing sessions and is so into it that he is prone to demonstrating punches and jabs every once in a while. Yes, even with people around. He's so cute and funny with his game face on that it's so hard to take him seriously. He even bought boxing gloves to prove his point. I personally support him, as I'm really hoping he'll do so well in the sport that I'll soon be living the Jinkee life. Hehe.

I also got my family to finally pose for an updated holiday photo, and this time we included all the dogs. Also wore our torotot hats for that festive look but Jake refused to wear the one I got for him, what's a new year picture without the torotot? So yes, with a bit of nagging and whining..tada!

 

He was defiant about it, though. He managed to sneak in a dirty finger 'cause I made him wear the feathery one. This was our HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOOLS! greeting on Facebook. Really suits us, yes.

 

 wearing Topshop see-through lace top, inner Forever 21 nude top, vintage denim shorts, Mango woven belt, Promod necklace, Kickers loafers

At the stroke of 12, we all went out to light up our sparklers. Jake celebrated with his smoke rings while we were waving our sparklers about. Awesome way to start the year with a view of our neighbors' fireworks and, amazingly, only a few ear-splitting firecrackers. I had a blast playing with the sparklers (while keeping a safe distance from Jake's kicks, of course) and was disappointed I couldn't figure out my camera settings so I could take pictures with lit-up words. Boo. Still, felt good to welcome the new year surrounded by my loved ones!

Happiest part of the night--our 3 rounds of Taboo! We played with each other for the first two rounds, before and after midnight and had our third round with my sister and Marla. Yes, we know it's meant for at least 4 players but we were having too much fun instantly guessing each other's clues that we didn't care anymore if we failed to follow the rules. Jake and I only had to say two or three clues, not even remotely related sometimes to the word, before guessing it right. I guess we know each other too well by now. I love our inside jokes and quirks. 

So far, so good, 2011!