The Things I Do for Love

As 2013 comes to end, let me recount the major happenings in my online life over the course of this year, starting from the start to the most recent. (^_^) 1. Being always in my own kind of beautiful. Belle de Jour Power Planner has always reiterated that every girl should be her best self! Taking part in the BDJ Rendezvous ,  the first and the second BDJ Box Beauty Social  helped me improve on my confidence and my knowledge with regards to cosmetics. Furthermore, I am continuing my pursuit of excellence by getting my very own 2014 Belle de Jour Power Planner. Getting my makeup done at the BDJ Fair 2013 The 2014 BDJ Planners 2. Learning how to make videos. Hahahaha ~ Ever since I became Rain’s fan, a Cloud , I did a lot of things that I never thought I could do. One of them was making videos. I saw some creative fan videos hat I got inspired to make one, too. The first video was We Miss You, Rain because he was in the army back then. After a lot of videos, my favorite

Every December, I see to it that I visit a Starbucks store to order my favorite Toffee Nut Frappuccino. Last year while I was having a cup , I told myself that I would dedicate a post to it once a year. It is my favorite beverage of all. I crave for it the whole year ‘round.  This 2013, I went to Starbucks Glorietta. And yes, being in Makati, they didn't use plastic cups as it was prohibited. So no snowflake printed plastic cups this time.  As usual, I had my customized Toffee Nut Frappuccino with Java Chips and extra Chocolate Drizzle. Yum! I usually order it Grande size but this year, I only got the Tall size. Woah! Talk about price inflation. The whole thing costs PhP200 now. When before, it was PhP170 for the Grande. Woosh! My Toffee Nut is different from the normal Toffee Nut.  The java chips give the beverage that extra caffeine buzz. The chocolate drizzle gives it that slightly bitter aftertaste which complements the sweetness of the toffee nut syrup. When mixed toge

I'm just going to do a quick mobile post to greet you all a very merry Christmas! May you be showered with more blessings in life!  And oh! Don't forget to go to the church too. Today, December 25 is a Holy Day of Obligation. (^_^) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

It was a year ago when I discovered the man called Rain . Actually, I know of Rain years before. He is very popular in the entertainment scene. But I haven't seen him perform on stage until last year. And man! He blew me away with an amazing performance!  To see someone doing his best and loving every second of it. That sincere smile from someone who is living his Personal Legend. He has fulfilled his dream and shares it with others by just simply being himself. Amazing!  That smile! (^_^) At that time, someone told me, "You choose to become his fan now that he is in the army?" I pondered on the answer to that, and now I finally have one. The caption of RTT-1175  is perfect for it. We didn't choose you, our hearts did. Yep. Becoming a Cloud does not choose any time or place. Rain comes, you see him, you hear him, and then everything falls into place.  I don't know much about the entertainment industry. I was not very interested with sho

There are a lot of 2014 planners available out there. For this post, let me share with you the 2014 Starbucks Planner. Every December, people are talking about it! The cover and the layouts are something to look forward to, as well. For this year, it came in four colors: yellow, magenta, brown, and black. The black one is the Philippine edition ( hmmm, tempting! ). I'm very much impressed because the cover feels like leather.  I will feature the magenta one. My friend owns this. I already have a planner for 2014, owning another doesn't make sense at all. Hehehe ~ So, I decided to take some photos of it and share what's inside. (^_^) Left: the box, Right: the planner.  The cover is embossed with coffee icons and Starbucks coffee blend logos. I noticed the symbol for their coffee Sumatra and the elephant icon for Kenya. The 2014 Starbucks Planner in magenta I saw the symbol of the Starbucks coffee blend Sumatra embossed on it. Here is a really cute featur

What is Ravioli? That is the question. I only heard about this once during the Twilight movie. In one scene, where Edward and Bella went on a date in a restaurant, Bella ordered mushroom ravioli. So what about all this? Well, being on a strict diet is really hard. I have come to realize that going to a mall is a lot harder now. What to eat, man? McDonald's, Jollibee, Burger King, all those fast food chains just lining up and what's a girl to eat?  I was in Glorietta and I really looked for healthier choices, suddenly realizing that they're much more expensive than fast food ones. Ugh. But I have sacrificed a lot already and eating fast food in half an hour can throw away all my hardwork for a week. Now, that is cruel, man.  So looking around further, I found Kenny Rogers. I know that they're serving healthy food so I thought of eating there. But then, there was a long queue. And I'm very impatient on an empty stomach. Haha~  Looking just at the opposite sid

Whenever I feel down, sad or if life just gets a little harder, and I need some me-time to reflect and relax, I turn to food. Haha ~ So all of us have this one thing that gives us instant happiness. And from all my favorite food out there, nothing can beat yogurt's effect on me. Among all brands and varieties, I crown The Baker's Hat as my ultimate comfort food. Yay!  This one is from The White Hat . I like it because the sour yogurt is complemented by sweet toppings like candy, chocolate, cereal, and some fruits, too. So it's like revisiting your childhood once again with every serving of healthy yogurt.  The Baker's Hat, large size (P155) plus added chocolate syrup (P20, total of P175) The Baker's Hat is a serving of yogurt with cheesecake, almond cluster, or your choice of Blueberries or Red Cherries. My large cup always comes with Blueberries. But wait, the original recipe doesn't include chocolate sauce. I just added it because I am a sweet tooth

I started blogging in the year 2007 (November 24, to be exact).   But I wasn't a serious blogger back then, nor did I knew of what blogging was all about. For me, I started it just to express and make it an online diary to share to the world.  My first blog post was in Live Journal. It was to document my adventures as I played various video games. It was about my gamer side, hence the title Pure Mental and the domain is  http://ultigamerside.livejournal.com/  Hey, it still exists, but it's not updated anymore.  My first blog ever!  Looking back, I noticed that I have an inclination to the color green. Haha ~ Pure Mental also has a green background and this blog also. But green is not my favorite color. I don't have a favorite color, I just go for what complements my current mood.  I also wrote in various websites: Friendster, Multiply , and Facebook Notes. But Blogger was the most popular host back in my time. I think Wordpress was not around yet.  Haha ~ So I de

It has been quite some time since I posted any updates or reviews about hair. I did promise myself to try out more hair care products but truth be told, skin care products get the better of me. Hehehe ~  It was my 8th Sample Room haul when I grabbed the chance for some Vidal Sassoon hair care samples, in full sized bottles My Vidal Sassoon samples First stop: the packaging is such a beauty! Diamond shaped top with a small round bottom and those classy prints make these products a really chic eye candy. It comes in my favorite color, too!  The packaging is formal and chic. Both the shampoo and conditioner have the same mild scent. It is the common fragrance found on women’s shampoo.  The Base Care shampoo has a creamy consistency. The cleansing power is good but it doesn't  dry the hair.  VS Premium Base Care Shampoo The Base Care conditioner is the one that did the magic for me. It is so viscous that only a small amount is needed for it to fully cover my ent

Today, December 8, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Let us honor our Blessed Mother today through prayer and going to the Church. Don't forget, this day is a Holy Day of Obligation. (^_^)  So what is the Immaculate Conception?  Photo source In other words, the Immaculate Conception means that Mary was conceived free from Original Sin.  Original sin  the sin committed by the fall of man, the rebellion of Adam and Eve. All of man inherited this stain of sin from our ancestors, except Mary.  The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic Church, and it requires the highest intelligence of faith to fully know and understand it.  Our Blessed Mother confirmed it herself in her apparition to St. Bernadette in Lourdes. When St. Bernadette asked who she was, Mary replied, " Yo soy la Inmaculada Concepcion " (I am the Immaculate Conception).  So bye for now, guys, I'm off to the Church. (^_^) Have a blessed Sunday! (^_^) 

I recently started on a diet and it has been difficult. This is where change takes its toll. Adjusting and changing routines is very tiring and difficult to begin with. There are times when I just wanted to give up.  Sigh. Can a food blogger really go on a diet?  You know, it's like saying, I love you so much I don't want to let go. Noooo! I love food so much that I don't want to give up on it. Even if I'm on a strict program, I just couldn't help but eat because it makes me happy. Oh! Why am I not a shoes and bags girl? It could have been easier that way. Dig in! My comfort food of all!  But then, whenever I see my latest photos and seeing how my body has improved, I get encouraged to continue with the diet.  Latest photo. Taken November 30, 2013 So how can this be resolved?  I have thought of still eating but choosing healthier choices. Yeah I know delicious food are seldom 100% healthy AND yummy at the same time. But at least, you can reduce

It's been quite some time since I went to one of my favorite Korean cosmetic store, Etude House. I love everything in there. The pink motifs, chandeliers, doll house theme, and most especially, the greeting "Welcome, Princess!" as I enter the store.  It was last weekend when I went there. All I wanted to buy was some wet tissues and a facial wash. I use those regularly in my skin care routine. But you know, a knowledgeable sales assistant do help in the increase of sales.  Hehehe~  Agree?  It's not bad thing, really. Truth is, I was impressed at the Etude House girl, Cindi, who assisted me in my shopping. Most of Etude House's packaging is still written in Korean and I was really impressed how she explained the products to me. Cindi was quite knowledgeable about the products. I know because she kept on talking skin care or cosmetology terms. Well, she did not need to elaborate because I understood her. And yeah, I didn't ask for details, too.  I bought