Aigoo!

I've been so busy I didn't have any entries last month and I wasn't able to update that... drumroll please... our trip to Korea pushed through! I couldn't bloody believe it too but I guess, what's meant to happen will happen. I mean, I already accepted that we're not going to Korea anymore, that I'll be celebrating my birthday here but with some stroke of luck, ta-da!

busy-ness.
all pictures posted are on an as is, where is basis LOL
no time to edit or make it more visually palatable

Because we found out that we're actually going on this trip, wala kaming kaayti-itinerary. We already canceled the hotel reservation. Hindi na kami nag-research. I even spent more than I usually spend cos I thought we're not going anyway. But all the powers of the universe conspired to make this happen- ang ending, we just winged it. 

Annyeong, Seoul!

Arrived Korea around 10 in the evening. We had no idea whatsoever how to get to our hotel (which AC booked just that morning).We met a group of friendly Filipinas who, like us, were also clueless how to get to our hotels. Good thing our hotels were in the same area so we ended taking up the same bus. 

first meal in Korea
siempre na-extra pa si Nadine

We stayed at the Skypark Hotel III in the Myeongdong area on our first night. Very nice hotel and it should be as it cost around Php3,000++ a night. The room comes with complete amenities, a TV and a computer, may complimentary mask pa but this was what I missed the most

kinabog niya ang bidet!
may blower pa for your pwet, o ha! haha!
heated pa ☺

Day 1: Exploring Myeongdong

We usually start our day late in Korea, around 10 am. Dahil na rin siguro sa pagod but most definitely because our rooms don't have windows so don't have any idea if the sun's out already. 

So after checking out of our nice hotel (to transfer to an okay hostel), we explored the streets and the shops of Myeongdong. There's a Face Shop, Etude, Skin Food and Innisfree store in every street. Clothing stores are putting summer styles on sale. Traveling with the ultimate shopaholic, nabuhayan ng dugo si AC. We scoured the different alleys aimlessly, just checking out stuff. 

For lunch, we chose this small Korean restaurant because it's the cheapest in the area.

AC's rice roll

and my drenched-in-sauce katsu

Affordable, yummy meals. My katsu reminded me of Yabu. Our meals cost around 10,000 won total. Cheap na yun sa kanila. Haha! 

We transferred to our next home away from home, 24 Guesthouse in Namsan. Our cab driver didn't take us to our destination as the road going there was closed, so he just dropped off us at the corner of the street. He doesn't know English so he's giving us instructions in Korean on how to get to our hostel. Syempre wala kaming na-gets sa pinagsasabi niya. So there we were, lugging our luggage through the unfamiliar streets of Seoul.

Which could be a blessing in disguise cos we came across this

It's a traditional chuva we got to watch on our way to our hostel. Syempre wala pa rin kaming naintindihan pero it's still cool to have witnessed such.

AC and I couldn't find our hostel so we asked for directions from Ate Girl. She was very accommodating and even looked for our destination on her phone but alas, she didn't give us the correct directions. Thank God for open Wi-Fi connnections! We were able to "ninja" some signal from nearby shops and used Google maps to find our destination. Wagi. 

This is our area at night- sprawling with pop-up inuman stalls 

What's admirable is in the morning, it's as if nothing happened in the streets during the night. No evidence from office people's drinking spree the night before. Zilch. Nada. Nil. I wish we could be more disciplined in keeping our surroundings clean. 

Walked around Namsan area and looked for a place to have dinner. When in Korea, of course one has to have bibimbap

I really love walking around cities. On our walk back to our hotel, we witnessed a couple fighting as in with matching sipaan at hampasan (in fernez, si ate ang naninipa at nanghahampas), drunk Korean men talking loudly to each other, and more office people drinking. 

Day 2: Bukchon Hanok Village, Gyeongbokgung Palace at ang mailap na Myeongdong Cathedral

Took the train going to Bukchon Hanok Village which was just one stop away. We stopped by the tourist office and got our map of the place but in the end, of course, we just followed the swarm of Chinese tourists.

Bukchon Hanok Village is mainly an old neighborhood with very well-maintained old houses. I'm sad that we couldn't do this with our old houses here in Manila. I often see dilapidated old houses that I'm sure would be very beautiful had they've been well-taken cared of. 

360° 

We also went to the Fragrance Museum which isn't actually a museum.

it's a sign!
combination of the names of my two businesses

I want something similar to this. I want my own shop na standalone but standalone shops don't fare well especially if not inside a mall. But right now I'm perfectly happy with my pop-up thingy n Eastwood.

I really enjoyed going around the area of Bukchon- it's so Pinterest-y. Haha! I don't know if there's an area here in the Philippines that's like that. Everywhere you look there are pretty things and what-nots.

I didn't catch the name of this store but this is HOARDER'S HEAVEN
Hahahaha!!! I wanted to get all the colors but alas, my budget restricted me.

 We had lunch at Segafredo because AC didn't want to eat Korean food again plus at that time, we were very tired from walking and it was past lunch time already and it was the nearest non-Korean place we could find.

We were just exploring the area when to our surprise and delight, we saw the Museum of Modern Art and the National Folk Museum of Korea. We just went around the Modern Art Museum perimeter and the lobby, we didn't go inside anymore.

The city's so clean and I'm so inggit. Why can't we do this in our city? Hindi ba talaga natin kaya na hindi magtapon sa kalye o umihi sa tabi? Seriously, Intramuros (the most tourist-y place in Manila) smells like wiwi. Ang liit na lang ng Intramuros hindi pa natin maayos. Oh well.

So, let's go to the National Folk Museum of Korea.

Again, to our delight and surprise- the National Folk Museum is also connected to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Since everything's last minute, we weren't able to plan this vacation nor do research kaya ayan bulagaan.

Past & Present Korea in harmony 

Gyeongbokgung Palace facade which was actually taken on another day
since we didn't get to see the Changing of the Guards ceremony and had to
go back for it.

On our way out of the palace, we thought we saw the National Museum of Korea. So we planned to visit it after Gyeongbokgung. When we went out we started walking to where we thought we saw it. Hindi namin mahanap. At dahil wala kaming INTERNET(!!!!), hinulaan lang namin kung saan kami pupunta. So after thirty minutes or so of walking around, hindi pa rin namin siya nakita. We later found out that it is not the National Museum but the National Palace Museum and it is inside the palace compound. Shiyet. So anyway, that's the first time we got lost that day [we got lost thrice. THRICE!!!]

We finally found station and the line which we'll be taking going to Myeongdong since we wanted to hear mass at Myeongdong Cathedral. We were already running late for the mass but it's' Sunday so we wanted to go kahit to say a prayer lang. Umm, eh, so that was the second time we got lost- while looking for Myeongdong Cathedral. We must have went around in circles three to four times in Myeongdong looking for the cathedral. Lahat na ng building pinagkamalan na naming katedral. Haha. Basta to cut the story short, nahanap din namin siya. After 48 years uli. Good thing we were able to hear mass even if it's in Korean.

I was actually surprised to enter a packed church. I think we were able to hear part of the sermon but it's in Korean so wala din. At this time, both my phone and the camera already ran out of juice but I tried lang to power it on and it did and I was able to take these photos of the church. After that, deds na siya talaga.

After we heard mass, gallivanted around Myeongdong area and ate dinner (korean fried chicken and tteokbokki), we headed back to our hostel. AC and I had an argument as to which exit or entrance to the subway we took. Eh ayoko na ng tension so I went with what she wanted. We walked for minutes before reaching the station itself and when we reached Jongno area, we took the wrong exit and we didn't notice that until we bought two 1.5 liter bottles of water from 7-11. So that was the third time we got lost. Masakit na paa namin from walking ALL DAY plus we're lugging around heavy chorva. we tried to go around the area, kept on walking at baka sakali makarating kami ng hotel. After walking for a few minutes, we saw the Gyeongbokgung Palace and that is near Anguk station. UMABOT NA KAMI NG ANGUK SA KAKALAKAD! Que barbaridad! Thank God for some of Seoul's establishments who have open Wi-Fi because if it weren't for them, haha hindi ko alam kung ano ginawa namin. Also, we didn't notice taxis in the area and that was already 9 in the evening, wala na masyadong tao sa kalye. OMIGAAAAHD after a bazillion steps, we finally found our hotel. And we learned our lesson- alamin kung anong number ang exit namin.

We even walked inside a tunnel and I know we have pictures but I think they're in AC's phone.

Day 3: Jongmyo Shrine, Cheonggyecheon Stream, King Sejong and Dongdaemun

Aka walkathon day 3. Haha. When we got lost on our way back home, we were intrigued what was the palace-like structure that blocked could've-been-short-way back to our hostel. It was the Jongmyo Shrine and it was just a ten-minute walk away.

You can't enter the shrine without a guide and the English guided tour is still an hour away so we looked for another place to explore that's just nearby, We decided to take a look at the Cheonggyecheon Stream. Going there, we passed by a Raon-like area where they sell electronics chuva. At first medyo nagdalawang-isip pa kami ni AC if we're really taking the correct way- yes we did.

Ang linis DIBA??? Nakakinggit.

The walk to the stream and back took around 30-40 minutes. When we got back to Jongmyo Shrine, we waited, more or less, 20 more minutes. Turned out that the shrine is sacred to the Koreans kaya they can't let people just go inside without guides.

These structures are divided into rooms and each room houses the memorial tables of the kings and their queens.

After Jongmyo Shrine, we went back to Gyeongbokgung Palace to witness the changing of the guards. We were just in time.

hangtangkad ni koya

Then off to King Sejong's monument

We almost missed this cos we didn't know this monument is near Gyeongbokgung Palace (again, lack of research and planning).

From there, we headed to Dongdaemun for some shopping.

traffic na yan sa kanila

ang linis

Dongdaemun Design Plaza at night
from Holly's Coffee

AC wanted to find kasi "cheap" finds. Yung cheap nila eh mahal na actually sa atin, but we want the big shirts na maganda yung cut. Pagakatapos namin maikot ang malls and finally decided what we want to buy, hindi na namin sila makita. Haha. Such is life. Although I was able to buy a dress you can wear above a shirt (yung porma nung Grade 7 ako).

On our way back home, we watched a girl group gyrate on stage

and we passed by a part of Cheonggyecheon Stream and at night, it's beautiful~

and the Heunginjimun Gate.

We didn't get lost that day. Hindi lang namin naabutan na bukas ang Dongdaemun Market.

Days 4 and 5 on my next post. My bed is calling me. 

For Everything, There Is A Season

Sa totoo lang wala na sa isip ko yang Korea trip na yan, but visiting this dear ol' blog of mine, I am again reminded that the supposed trip is only 4 days away. Bwiset.

But actually, things are looking up. Business is better. I just closed a deal with a hotel in Boracay. Aaaaand if I were going on that Korea trip next week, paano ko gagawin yung order? Plus, all my resources are otherwise engaged, hehe. Or at least, I think they will be. I have tons of work to do so yeah, I'm pretty much preoccupied these days. Thank You Lord! :-)

At maisingit lang, I need to bookmark this site because I want to read everything on this list ☺
Buzzfeed's 53 Books You Won't Be Able To Put Down. So far, I've only read four out of the 53 titles. I've seen Never Let You Go's movie version... does that count? Haha. Oh well. Now that it's production crunch time, I don't know how am I going to catch up on my reading. I'm 14 books behind. Reading is good but I guess I need to focus more on making money so after all this Christmas rush (yes, preparations start this early) I could go to my coffee shop of choice, read a book leisurely without any regard for time nor money. In other words, maging landlady of leisure. Hahaha. Ojalá!

Korya-got to be Kidding Me

I'm so beeezeee! Or at least, I think I am. Haha. Ang bilis bilis bilis ng mga araw. 2016 just flew by. I'm currently in production mode and I feel I should be mixing everyday now since I'm joining more bazaars this year and I'm torn between making lots and lots of inventory so I'm ready for these bazaars and being scared of having leftover inventory if sales won't be as good as I expected it to be. But I think I'm going with being prepared- sayang ang opportunity 'no. Sabi nga ni Mareng Oprah,

via

We don't want lost sales now, do we?

So anyway, here's an update of what I've been up to recently aside from working my ass off (even if people think I'm just lying on my bed all day).

First and foremost, I was denied a Korean visa. So that frakkin' countdown ekek has to go. I'm not sad. I am disappointed. We're still trying to see if we can appeal my case kasi sayang din yung 10K (5K for me and 5K for AC). I sort of know what I did wrong but I was just trying to be honest. So yuuh, I'm disappointed because all these time I thought I was going to spend my birthday in Seoul. I really thought it was easy to secure a Korean visa. Well, I was wrong. They don't want my money, eh di huwag. And even if after appealing eh I don't get a visa still, I WILL NEVER GO TO KOREA. Itaga niyo 'yan sa bato. Of course I can't give up my Korean drama fixation, haha.

Aside from that one heartache, everything's good. So my crystal bracelet addiction is still ongoing. Even after vowing that the citrine and ultimate protection bracelets were going to be my last purchase, I still purchased a garnet bracelet. So here's my stash now

Let me introduce you to my babies ☺
From top to bottom: Amazonite, Citrine, Fire Agate, Garnet
and Ultimate Protection bracelets

These were all from one supplier only. I didn't include the jades from AC, plus the not-so-effective rose quartz we got from another shop.

Last month, we went to this Thai restaurant in Marikina, daddy's treat ☺

HEAVEN! I love love love Thai food ♥♥♥ If Korea doesn't want my money, I'm going back to Thailand and drown myself in scrumptious authentic Thai cuisine. Ni hindi ko nga gusto masyado ang Korean food. Haha sorry ang ka-bitteran lumalabas. But gaaaahd, how I love pad thai and tom yum :-) Yum yum YUUUUUM!

And because I've been feeling sorry for myself because of the Korean visa ekek, medyo nagse-self pity ako and splurged a little on stuff and food. Haha. I mean, if I wasn't going there on my birthday, might as well enjoy my money. Ayaw niyo, pues leche kayo.

But of course I feel that God has a reason why I didn't get a visa. I may not understand it right now but eventually, I'll know why. Maybe instead of spending it on expensive Korean food and whatnots and accommodation, God said I should use the money instead on my business. Use travel money to buy more supplies, use the time to make more products. That's what I keep telling myself so next year when I go to Japan or the States (wow confident), I'll have more funds. Sorry Korea, you just got bumped off my bucket list.

I also got into Pokemon Go. I really didn't want to get into the bandwagon kasi nga busy ako diba and I never really got myself into the "in" stuff because I'm a rebel like that, uh-huh. Haha. But this cousin said she's going to my house so we can download the game and play while she's here. I downloaded the game. She didn't come. And before I knew it, I was hooked. Kiber nang bumalik sa Eastwood ng tatlong beses basta makahuli ng rare Pokemons. I don't know until when I'm going to keep up with this madness.

GV GV Lang

Hola! It's me, trying to update this blog as often as I can ☺ Done with the first week of July and I have to say it was pretty eventful and I was productive. I'm so proud of myself, nyahaha!

Last Saturday was our cousin's church wedding and we all had to don red outfits. Well, buti na lang Mommy bought me a red dress to wear (because I refuse to shell out moolah to buy something I wouldn't wear often- I'd rather buy that blouse in Uniqlo I've been eyeing and waiting to go on sale!), or else I would've worn the fuchsia dress we have. Everyone was game so everyone wore red (except the male members of the entourage who wore barongs) and I would've stood out like a sore thumb. Pero may naka-black pala. I guess she was not informed. Hehe.

Crystal shopping last Sunday with AC.

Bought a Himalayan salt lamp for the nail spa
+ an Amazonite bracelet

Now I have lotsa crystals ❤️ I have rose quartz I bought from a stall in Galle (doubting its effectiveness, actually), tiger eye, fire agate and jade bracelets, Amazonite and Aventurine stones- all from AC. Bought myself an Amazonite bracelet. Pikit-mata kong inabot ang bayad ko. Haha. And guess what? I just got myself an Ultimate Protection Bracelet and Citrine bracelets. Gaaahd this is so addicting. Last na 'to for the year, okay?

Also got to try three new restaurants just this month ☺

Reunion dinner with A and with M who's back from London. We ate at Wholesome Table in Estancia Mall. Yummy food. Gaaahd, that cheese! Although I have to say it wasn't really filling. I had to eat pa pansit when I got home.

The second new eats haven I've tried was The Brgr Project with AC after we went crystal shopping. These were what we ordered:

No photo of the buffalo wings. Yummeh food ☺ AC found it expensive- our bill was almost 700. But we ordered a lot so I guess sakto lang. Plus, I remember paying almost the same amount in Sweet Ecstasy for fewer items. Also, I got a little overwhelmed when ordering our burger. Andaming choices at palabok. We settled for the classic cheeseburger.

Eats haven #3 was also located along Maginhawa street- Caution Hot! AC and I noticed the long line outside the shop when we went crystal shopping a few days before. It was AD who suggested we eat lunch (at 3pm!!!) there. And... ahlavet! Eh wala naman ata akong hindi nagustuhan haha

AC and I split a bowl of beef asam laksa. We also had pork dumplings and Oolong Milk Tea. It was bliss, I tell you ☺ I actually preferred AD's order of pork classic broth but the laksa was scrumptious as well. I'll definitely be back.

Had an Alabang trip with V last Friday to deliver a rush order. It was fun at first, but then I had this debilitating headache. I was asleep almost the entire time on our way home. Nagising na lang ako malapit na sa bahay, we were along Floodway actually when V said in a surprised manner, 'Ay nahulog!' We saw a man who got up from the pavement with blood running down the sides of his mouth. Akala ko naka-motor eh wala ako nakitang motor. The man fell from a moving jeep. I doubt he's drunk cos I guess an intoxicated person can't get up that fast from the floor. I just wish he's in good condition, walang broken bones whatsoever.

I made another delivery yesterday ☺ I scheduled the said delivery in Glorietta because my IC friends and I were supposed to have brunch in Benny's. Eh na-postpone. So I just went supplies shopping. Eh di productive ☺Which reminds me to remind J if I should ship her order tomorrow.

I feel so blessed and I'm ever so grateful! Kung payat lang sana ako, perfect life na! Haha :P Anyhoo, here's my latest...

GRATITUDE LIST:

• Crystals Alongside prayers, I am also harnessing the power of the crystals to make the odds more favorable. Happy to have found a trustworthy supplier of effective crystals. 
• Holidays Cos I got to spend time with my sisters and my nephews, albeit short- quality naman. Quezon Memorial Circle with C and the 2 boys came here last Monday. 
• Eats Haven New discoveries to make my bilbil happier 
• Orders It really is fulfilling when people I don't know tell me they love my products ☺ One customer told me my soy candles are at par with the ones she bought in Rockwell and another customer said she looooves my peppermint alcosprays. 
• Being accepted in that bazaar Well, every year I pray I get in (I'm around 95% sure they'll accept me, but of course there's still this nagging feeling na, 'what if hindi?' 
• And joining four bazaars this year ☺ Mejo mahal cos I have to pay in advance the space rental. I just pray that I can recover these costs and I hope and pray even with a lot of competition sa tabi-tabi, I still get to sell a lot of my stuff. Sana ako pa rin ang favorite nila.

So life is good right now, maybe except for the nail spa who's not doing too good these days. May dark forces at work daw, but I hope the salt lamp will do it's work. It's supposed to be anti-evil, for protection and can cleanse the energy of a space. Also, someone advised I should light incense sticks in every corner. Gagawin ko yan. Hindi ako susuko. 

Cheers to the first ten days on July! Hoping for a more productive and for more lucrative days ahead of us ☺ 

Ayayay, It's July!

I can't bloody believe we're done with June already. Sabi ko pa naman mas dadalasan ko posts ko but alas, there were a lot of adult stuff that had to be done. I joined a bazaar, had to do three orders plus some online retail selling ☺

Anyway, let me bore you with some of the stuff I was "busy" with last month.

I rearranged my work space.

I placed my working table in the corner so I have more space in the middle of the room. The reason why the working table was in the middle of the room because my WiFi signal couldn't reach that far into the other end of the room but I figured I needed a wall where I can stick my sticky notes on so I get reminded of the things I need to do. This arrangement is much better- more space plus I don't get distracted as much. It's still a work-in-progress. Malayo pa sa pagiging Pinterest- worthy.

The boys stayed with us for a week. With their respective yayas, but still it's different when you sleep with them in one room. But I've learned the magical power of Lights Out, haha. It was fun playing with them pero nakakapagod din mag-saway. Pasyal with the grandparents in the coolest mall in the East, nyahaha.

Fake winter wonderland which the boys enjoyed tremendously

I Uber-ed a lot which was necessary but my-oh-my I am scared to even look at my credit card bill. I want to save on transportation expenses but I tell myself this is why I work hard- so I can live comfortably. Although I don't mind riding the jeep or the bus or the LRT ( Line 2 is the bomb!) if I'm not lugging stuff around the metro. 

Took the kids to the Philippine Science Centrum in Marikina Riverbanks. We arrived around 4pm so medyo hurried yung tour. The kids enjoyed it albeit I feel they'll enjoy it more in a few more years. Of course the science geek in me enjoyed it a lot! I'm gonna join the kids when they go to Mind Museum- feeling ko lang mas mag-eenjoy ako kesa sa mga bagets. 

spinning contraption to test if you have what it takes to be an astronaut

ano ang nasa dako pa roon?

ba be bi bo bu

I LOVE THIS ♥

So hindi siya kasing ganda. Kung baga, entry level ng mga science museums haha. But I hope the government will improve this facility cos honestly, not everyone can afford to get into Mind Museum. It's nice if we have something that's more abot-kaya when it comes to educational venues. 

I started watching Oh Hae-young Again and Brilliant Legacy but I can't get myself to finish watching said dramas because I do not agree with the female protagonists' choice of jowakels. I'm starting with Mirror of the Witch today because of good reviews from Dramabeans; I'm giving it a try even though I am not a fan of period dramas (their costumes bore me). 

I feel a jampacked month this July and I see good times ahead ☺  Oh I forgot to mention, my roster of manicuristas is complete again. Thank God! ☺ I hope they're in it for the long haul which also reminds me I need to rake in the customers. Basta I feel optimistic. 

Attending a cousin's wedding tomorrow- they required all their guests to wear red because the husband is a big fan of the Game of Thrones and wants to have a 'red wedding.' Umm... hindi ba all the wedding guests were murdered in that episode. Lakas makapraning. Hindi daw kakain si ate. Haha. 

I still feel optimistic ☺

June Ka Magaling!

It's the start of a new month and as usual I am still trying to avoid manning duties or facing my to-dos head on. He he. To hell with adulting. Blech. Can I just read books for the rest of my life? I guess that is possible but first, I need to become a landlady of leisure before I can just read books day in, day out sans guilt.

So my still-in-denial-millenial-mind, I'm excited because it's bazaar season and Christmas is near ☺ I also can't wait to watch these movies:

I'm going to keep my expectations at bay so as not to disappoint myself in the event that it's not at par with the book. However, here I am getting teary-eyed over that trailer. For people who haven't read the book nor have an inkling as the ending, get your tissues ready.

Another movie I'm excited for is the live-action Beauty & the Beast 

But alas, it's still 10 months away. I hope it's a musical because I can't imagine Beauty & the Beast without the original songs ☺ 

So far 'yan pa lang ang kinae-excitan ko.