Category: Free Posts

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Free Posts Hobbies Journaling

My Little NYC Stationery Haul

I was excited to go stationery store hopping in New York—especially whenever I see Raquel’s NYC posts and videos. Well, I was excited in general because it was our first time visiting the States. Being first-timers, there were a lot of things in our itinerary, but I’m glad I was able to squeeze in some time to go to stationery stores.

I managed to check out four shops, and I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular—I just went with whatever caught my interest. It might be dangerous to wander into these stores without some kind of a list, but my journaling friends tell me that I have the most restraint when it comes to stationery shopping, so I trusted myself that I won’t go overboard 😁

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Free Posts Ramblings

Ramblings #48

I’ve been writing a lot for my blog over the past few days. I don’t know why I’m so excited about it. It feels like I’m doing something important when I’m actually not. I guess I just have a lot to say to no one in particular, and I’m glad to have the space to let it out. I’m living for that moment of possibility when someone, somewhere, would read it out of curiosity. I’m aware a handful of people read the blog, but it still feels unbelievable. I don’t even care if they like it or not, I’m just thankful for their time.

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Free Posts New York Travel USA

Vacation Hangover

Today is back to work day after a week-long vacation. Work became more bearable today kasi may hangover pa ko sa bakasyon namin. Fresh pa yung memories kaya mapapangiti ako every once in a while. Easily one of the best vacations we’ve had kasi ang ganda nung mga sights (kahit crowded), ang sarap nung food (UGH), we had good company (thanks friends and cousins!) at most importantly, hindi kami nag-away ni Kenneth—except for that one instance na very mild lang naman (buti na lang andun si Nick kasi napigilan yung init ng ulo namin).

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Free Posts Ramblings

Ramblings #47

Good morning! 🤍

Aantayin ko pa dapat isulat sa next ‘happy things’ list ko but I KENAT contain my happiness. Sobrang thank you sa mga bagong nag-subscribe sa paid tier. HUHUHU (totoo ‘tong “huhuhu” kasi napaiyak talaga ko). Salamat salamat!!

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Family Free Posts Japan Osaka Travel

Day 2: Osaka Castle + Umeda Sky + Ichiran | Japan 2024 Series

Feb 21

Yung mga pinuntahan namin ngayon, ito yung mga popular na attractions. Akala ko mga napuntahan ko na pero hindi pa pala. Kaya ang saya na first time namin pare-pareho.

Morning festivities

Hindi pa sumasagot yung Airbnb host tungkol sa shower. Kasi nakalagay naman sa listing nila may hot water. Iniisip ko 8 days pa kami dito tapos ice tubig yung ipanliligo namin araw-araw?? Huhu noooo!

Continue reading “Day 2: Osaka Castle + Umeda Sky + Ichiran | Japan 2024 Series”
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Family Free Posts Japan Osaka Travel

Day 1: “Business Class” + KIX + Late Dinner at Matsuya | Japan 2024 Series

Feb 20

This trip is 8 months old pero sinipag akong i-document. Nung umuwi ako ng 2022, ang side trip namin ay Bohol. This year, excited ako kasi first time ng Mama at ni Tricia sa Japan! Winter yung visit namin kaya ang hassle, kasi mga makakapal na jackets ang dala namin. Nagkasakit rin ako dahil sa extended exposure sa lamig, plus yung pagod paglalakad. Nagkaron pa ng drama at iyakan nung huling parts ng trip. Haha!

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Free Posts Life

September Recap

Ambilis! Nabibilisan din ba kayo? Parang kelan lang nung umuwi akong Pilipinas. Di ako makapaniwala na February pa pala yun. Tapos ilang araw na lang October na. Magpapasko na! Ambilis!

Reflecting on September, I feel like this month was full of hope. Hope for my Mama’s health to get better and better, hope for my career (whatever that will be), hope that someone will subscribe to my paid newsletter (thank you ulit), and hope for better outcomes that are yet to unfold. As a recovering pessimist, I thought being an optimist was the better option—but being hopeful feels more true and grounded.

SEPTEMBER DIGEST
  • I started a paid tier here on my blog! I’ve always wanted to start a Patreon or a Substack, but why not just do it here? I am more comfortable here and it’s just easier. This idea has been building up for years, and I finally acted upon it. Aside from my friends’ encouragement, this is my why.
  • Expressed how I miss and love my younger sisters 🤍 My tall sister and my other tall sister from another mother who just turned 18. I wrote her ‘18 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 18’ as my second birthday gift and we had a cry fest!
  • Did a breakdown of my weekly expense in ‘What I Spend in a Week’ and shared my savings goal for a future trip
  • Thoughts on journaling and exclusive journal pages
  • Also made a ‘Happy Things’ list after a long while, and some life updates which include things I’m excited about and my money worries.

As always, thank you for reading.

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Family Free Posts Insights

18 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 18

Happy 18th birthday Isabellyyyy!

I am almost 36 y/o, which means I’m writing this 18 years after I turned 18. La lang. Naisip ko lang.

  1. Choose a course in college that aligns with your personality as much as possible. This will help avoid confusion in the coming years. You know this already. Don’t be like me.
  2. Be nicer to your parents and sister (and of course grandma). You never know which path you’ll choose later in the future, so make the most of your time together while you’re still close in proximity.

    Now that I’m older, I regret most of the time that I chose to hangout with friends over my family—so try to balance the two (giving more favor towards family).
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Free Posts Happy Things Ramblings

Ramblings #46

Okay, ang galing.

Nanaginip ako kagabi na may nag-subscribe daw sa paid newsletter ko. Pag gising ko kaninang 5:30 AM, naalala ko yung panaginip ko tapos for a second, nalito ako kung panaginip ba yun or totoong nangyare. Na-realize ko rin agad na panaginip lang. Napangiti pa rin ako kase ang ganda nung thought na wow, may nag-subscribe.

6 AM ngayon at pag-check ko ng e-mail ko:

WHAT??! Literal na dream come true!

6:05 AM pa lang ngayon but you already made my day. Salamat!! 🤍

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Family Free Posts Happy Things Life Wellness

Happy Things #23

It’s been a while! There have been many things to feel unhappy about recently, but there were still moments to be grateful for despite the past heavy months.

Drawing our portraits

Kenneth and I went to a community market and saw Bea, my illustrator friend, with her sister, also an artist. They were selling art prints and other cutesy artsy stuff. Aside from the prints and stickers, her sister also offers 5-minute live portraits for $5, and that’s what caught my interest. We had our portraits drawn and it was super cute!

😍

The following week while we were doing our couples deck session, we drew a wild card and it prompted us to draw each other’s portraits for only 1 minute!

🤣

Haha that was fun.

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