Latest Book Purchase: Thrive by Arianna Huffington

Bought a new book yesterday! Thrive, written by the president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington. I've been eyeing this book since a few months ago and now that I'm done with Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, I decided to finally grab a copy.

There are 3 main reasons why the book piqued my interest:

• It was written by one of the most successful and influential women of this age: Arianna Huffington. I'm very fascinated by successful women. I want to know more about their lives and this book is a great way to get to know Arianna Huffington.
• I'm very much into the self-help/memoir genre right now. I really loved The Happiness Project, a book under that genre, and it inspired me to look for similar books.
• I want to learn more about life, success, and work-life balance. As a fresh graduate currently having her first job, I want to find ways on how I could become successful in a healthy manner and avoid unrecommended habits.

 

But before I bought the book, I did a little research about it in order to have a better understanding of its topic. I watched a few of Arianna's TV guestings (Ellen De Generes, Wendy Williams, Katie Couric) which were all part of her book promotions campaign. I loved listening to Arianna because I agreed with most of what she said and she was able to clearly explain the subject of the book. I also read the preview available on Amazon and I really liked the Introduction. After all the mini-research, I considered myself convinced and I am now very excited to start reading it!

Kimchi Fried Rice with Chicken Pieces

Kimchi fried rice is one of my favorite comfort foods. It's flavorful and really easy to make since it just simply involves combining ingredients. And it's highly personalized as well because you can throw any ingredients you want while making it! As for me, I usually add egg, any meat of my choice, or tuna. I sometimes add Hoisin sauce too if I'm in the mood for something sweet and spicy. But for this afternoon, I decided to include more vegetables.

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 1/2 cup cooked rice

1/2 cup minced carrots

1/2 cup green peas

1/3 cup onion, minced

1 cup kimchi (I'll be honest and say that I don't know how to make this yet, my mom is the one who provides it)

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1. Put oil on a hot pan.

2. Sauté kimchi and chicken pieces for 5 minutes on high heat.

NOTE: Kimchi undergoes fermentation and eventually gets refrigerated, so it's recommended to place it on the pan before the other ingredients to make sure that it's cooked very thoroughly.

3. Add the vegetables all at once. Let them stay for 10 minutes on low heat.

4. Add cooked rice. Let everything stay for another 5 minutes on low heat.

5. Done! 

As I mentioned before, Kimchi fried rice is a flexible meal. You can add literally any ingredient you want, as long as the Kimchi and rice are there! 

Liebster Award Nomination By Lace & Whimsy♥

I would like to thank Kathy from http://www.laceandwhimsyvintage.blogspot.com/ for nominating me for this award! Thank you so much! :) 

Before I go straight to Kathy's questions, which I'm excited to answer because I like things like this, here are the mechanics:

• Thank and link the person's blog(s) who nominated you.

• Answer the questions given by the nominators.

• Link and nominate 11 other bloggers who have less than 200 followers. 

• Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer.

• Notify those nominees on all social media and their blogs and link them back to yours so they can answer your questions.

Here are Kathy's questions and my answers to them :)

Why did you choose your blog name?
I love milk tea with all my heart, it's my stress reliever and happy pill. So whenever I drink it, I tell myself or to whoever I'm with, "No milk tea, no life!" It's like my personal version of "Cheers!" :))

What's the best book you've read in the past year?
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, WITHOUT A DOUBT. It's a really helpful book. I've mentioned it several times in some of my blog posts. I recommend everyone to read it! It'll change your life!

Name three movies you could watch over and over.

Nothing in particular.. I guess? But I like MARVEL movies like The Avengers, Ironman, X-Men, and Spiderman. Oh! White Chicks too!

Do you have a secret talent?

I'm afraid I don't. The only talent that I'm really confident in is cooking, and pretty much everyone knows that haha.

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

In terms of ownership and interactions, I'm a dog person. Our family currently owns three dogs and we also had several ones in the past. But I'm a strong advocate against Animal Cruelty and Abandonment, so I also care about cats, especially the ones on the streets.

Do you have pets? If so, tell me their names and everything about them.

We have 3 right now: Muffin, Whitney, and Bruno. Muffin is a female Japanese Spitz who will turn 9 years old on March 1. Whitney is Muffin's niece, 2 years old. Bruno is the only male and is 4 years old. He's a mixed breed. I love all of them!!

What is your favorite place to shop?

For clothe, I'm pretty much contented with the department store if there's nothing in particular that I want to buy. But I shop at Forever 21 sometimes and I really love H&M's corporate dresses! For shoes, I always go to Payless because their shoes are gorgeous and durable! For make-up, I go to Korean beauty shops 99% of the time. My favorite ones are The Face Shop and Nature Republic. I love them because they produce their beauty products using natural and organic elements. 

Do you like to cook or bake?

I like cooking more because I find it easier. My mom and I used to bake but our oven got damaged and we haven't bought a new one yet haha.

What's your favorite song of the moment?

Style by Taylor Swift!!

Tell me about the city where you currently live.

This is my hometown. This is where I grew up. I'm very familiar with this place because my dad always brought us with him in his nearby errands when we were kids. There are many memories here. There have been many changes as well, but I think they're all good ones. My city is getting more prosperous :) 

What's a random fact about you?

I'm a Libra.
People usually get shocked when they know about my age (22 turning 23 on September) because they think I look younger than my age.

Since this is my second Liebster Award Nomination, I'll just copy-paste my nominees and questions from the previous one.

http://www.thedailydollyblog.com/

http://littlemissfii.blogspot.com/

http://xophoebegirl.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.madelinefedmont.com/

http://www.gembolini.com/

http://www.learntheheartway.com/

http://talesfromthethrift.com/

http://katiejanecollins.com/

http://www.icantaffordmylifestyle.com/

http://thelondonwhistler.com/

http://www.styleontheside.com/

My 11 Questions:

1) What were your feelings right before you started your blog? Were you 100% certain you wanted to do it? Were you excited? Hesitant? 

2) What's the accomplishment you're so proud of?

3) What would you consider your best beauty purchase?

4) What would you consider your best fashion purchase?

5) Favorite beauty brands?

6) Favorite fashion brands?

7) Any life hack you want to share?

8) Favorite sweets?

9) The biggest goal you want to achieve for this year?

10) How would you describe 2015 so far? Great? So-so? Not so good?

11) What do you want to tell your past self? By past, it can mean your child self, or yourself last year. You can choose just as long as it's yourself from the past :)

Have fun answering my questions. Thank you!♥

Liebster Award Nomination by Lipsticks and Love Hearts X ♥

In all honesty, I never thought I would get nominated for this award. So I would like to thank Sophie @ http://www.lipsticksandloveheartsx.blogspot.co.uk/. Thank you so much sweetie!♥

Before answering Sophie's questions, I'll post the mechanics first:

• Thank and link the person's blog(s) who nominated you.

• Answer the questions given by the nominators.

• Link and nominate 11 other bloggers who have less than 200 followers. 

• Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer.

• Notify those nominees on all social media and their blogs and link them back to yours so they can answer your questions.

Here are Sophie's questions! :)

Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met?

If I only got to see the Pope last week during his visit here in my country, the Philippines, then I would have given him as my answer :)) Anyway, I would say that my favorite K-pop (Korean pop) singers are the most famous people I've ever met. I've been an avid fan of Korean pop music for the past 5 years and I really did my best to not let any of their concerts here pass without me watching it. Watching their concerts really gave me life!

If you could make any fictional character come to life, who would it be?

I've been an anime fan since I was a kid and had a crush on numerous fictional characters! But right now, I'd say I want Kise Ryota of Kuroko's Basketball to come to life so we could date lol

What was your favourite birthday?

When I turned 18 because we had lunch at my favorite Italian restaurant then went to Forever 21 afterwards to go on a shopping spree! ♥

What is one guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up?

My eating habits. I really love eating and when I'm craving for something, I won't stop until I get it. I'm a bit overweight now so I know I should seriously start dieting but I just really love food huhu

What’s your favourite dessert?

My usual go-to dessert is sweet drinks. Most of the time I go for a frappe, shake, and my beloved milk tea! I also love anything Red Velvet and cheesecake. I'm not that picky when it comes to dessert so as long as it tastes good, I'll go for it!

If someone asked you to give them a random piece of advice, what would you say?

Stay strong. I've been in a dark place myself so I know how it feels to be hopeless but what I learned from it is that everything ends ONLY when you give up. So stay strong!

If you could try out any job for a day, what would you like to try?

I wanna try being a model lol! Getting your hair and make-up done and getting dressed with gorgeous clothing pieces omg. Or a writer in a magazine company. I want to feel the stress of that job because even though it's tough, I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy it :)

Do you prefer shopping for clothes or beauty products?

Beauty products definitely!!! I like buying clothes but I only do it when I really need to. Like when I'm running out of it haha. But for beauty products, it's like I want to learn about each of them and how it can help beautify my face :)) Whenever I'm in a mall, I make sure to pass by my favorite beauty shops, which are all Korean (The Face Shop, Nature Republic, Tony Moly, etc.) Even though I'm not going to buy something, I visit the stores just so I would be updated about their products :)

Would you ever sky dive or bungee jump?

Nope.

What is the last thing you watched on TV?

Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' music video which was played on our local music channel :)) 

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

"What time is it? *Looks at cellphone clock* Do I have enough time to get to the office without being late? Whatever. I just need to hurry up!" That's exactly my thought every morning :)) But in a serious note, I always tell myself to start every new day with enthusiasm, it instantly makes you feel better :)

That's all! :)

As for my own nominees, whom I chose because I love their blogs, are the following:

http://www.thedailydollyblog.com/

http://littlemissfii.blogspot.com/

http://xophoebegirl.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.madelinefedmont.com/

http://www.gembolini.com/

http://www.learntheheartway.com/

http://talesfromthethrift.com/

http://katiejanecollins.com/

http://www.icantaffordmylifestyle.com/

http://thelondonwhistler.com/

http://www.styleontheside.com/

My 11 Questions:

1) What were your feelings right before you started your blog? Were you 100% certain you wanted to do it? Were you excited? Hesitant? 

2) What's the accomplishment you're so proud of?

3) What would you consider your best beauty purchase?

4) What would you consider your best fashion purchase?

5) Favorite beauty brands?

6) Favorite fashion brands?

7) Any life hack you want to share?

8) Favorite sweets?

9) The biggest goal you want to achieve for this year?

10) How would you describe 2015 so far? Great? So-so? Not so good?

11) What do you want to tell your past self? By past, it can mean your child self, or yourself last year. You can choose just as long as it's yourself from the past :)

Have fun answering my questions. Thank you!♥

Yay! Got my First Pay!

I started working last January 5 as a Marketing/Client Service Assistant for the Corporate Banking Department of one of the Philippines' leading banks. And I got my first pay yesterday! So what did I do? Went on a shopping splurge of course! Shown above are the things I bought for myself: Starbucks tumbler, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, NYX lipstick, and a new phone case.

I bought the tumbler at the Starbucks across my office right after I got my salary because I needed it so badly! I've been getting really sleepy during work hours for the past few days and I didn't have my own tumbler to drink my coffee from. Plus, the design is really cute I couldn't help but grab it right away!

As for the coconut and castor oils, I learned from this video that mixing them together would make an effective eyebrow growth serum. I want to thicken my eyebrows so I'm giving that beauty tip a try.

Another beauty essential I bought is a matte lipstick from NYX, "Couture Mode". It's nude-toned with a hint of light pink. I love it and I'm sure I'll be wearing it everyday! I'll make a more detailed review about it in another post.

I bought that white translucent phone case because my current one is already dirty. In addition to that new case, I also had a new screen protector placed on my phone since the old one had several scratches already. Now that I think about it, I feel like I just gave my phone a makeover because a few days ago, I also bought a new memory card for it haha.

Well, those are the things I bought for myself last night using my first salary. For today, I treated my mom and brother to a lunch date! We ate at a popular Korean restaurant here in the Philippines, BonChon. They specialize in chicken dishes and their foods taste great! They also have quite a wide range of offerings. After eating, we went to the department store to shop for new clothes. I bought a new pink blazer...

and 2 bras. My mom saw a cute yellow blouse and omg she looked like a kid asking me to buy it for her. And for my brother, I got him 3 pairs of socks. Then we went to the grocery where my brother and I munched on our favorite Korean ice creams while our mom was buying food supplies.

I'm really proud of myself for earning my first salary from my first ever job. With it, I was able to treat my family out to lunch and buy them what they wanted. And of course I was able to splurge myself by buying some of the things on my to-buy list! I'm pretty contented with all the things I bought for now. Next time, I'm going to buy shoes from Payless and H&M clothes for sure! But before that, I made a short and important note to self, "BUYING NEEDS AND WANTS IS GREAT, BUT DON'T FORGET TO SAVE!"