Category: Life

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Free Posts Life

October Recap

I knew October would be a great month, and it did not disappoint 🤍

Halloween 🎃

The major thing that happened this month was our first US trip! I think almost all of my October entries are related to this trip. And yes, hindi pa rin kami nakakamove on ni Kenneth. We still talk about it every chance we get 😂

OCTOBER DIGEST
  • I think I might have overshared when I wrote about *toot* in my life updates. I’m trying to imagine it from a reader’s perspective and wondering if it was a bit too much. Personally, I don’t feel any shame or awkwardness—probably because I know that only 5 people will have access to it hehe. Either way, I’m just concerned about the reader’s threshold for TMI.
  • We were still in the US when I wrote my Thursday letter, so I talked a little bit about our experience going to Billie Eilish’s concert and how we were enjoying our vacation.
  • Had fun doing our quarterly expense report, especially creating the visuals for it. The most refreshing part was sharing our real numbers.

    Though a bit tedious, I also shared how much we spent on our US trip. I found myself a bit puzzled when I saw the total. Ganito ba talaga dapat? It was enlightening, to say the least. Speaking of expenses, I also shared my NYC haul. It’s mostly stationery goods.
  • I’m enjoying writing so so much right now. I talked about my commonplace book a few days ago and how I call it my ‘life notes’.

As always, thank you for reading.

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Money Diaries Secrets

What I Spend in a Week | New York Edition

You’re reading this because you are a paid subscriber. Thank you! 🤍

First, my best buy and bye-bye of the week. I am going to exclude all food items because I’m just going to list almost everything we ate.

Best Buys

I am no collector of anything. Some people are into shoes, bags, books, toys, etc. But personally, I just couldn’t relate. I feel like I’m hoarding. It seems impractical. To be clear, I don’t mean this as a badge of honor, I’m just saying what makes sense in my head. I don’t see the point in having five pairs of shoes when I only wear one pair at a time. I rotate between two pairs, one black and one white. It’s just so easy to pair with anything.

I guess I’m also too lazy to style and mix and match. If I only have two pairs, and if it’s black and white, it would only take me 2 seconds to decide which one I want to wear that day. If I were a guy, I would probably one of those annoying men who owns a stack of the same black shirt and just wear those everyday.

$26 ~ A crybaby blind box

I’m the total opposite of my mom who loves bags and has a cabinet full of decorative plates and cups on display. It’s also possible that the more I see my mother collect these bags that are taking up so much space in her already crowded room, the more I veer away from being that way. I share all of these little anecdotes about practicality only to say that, the moment I saw this crybaby things, something has shifted haha. Suddenly, I wanted to get my hands on these cute little things! I guess I just hadn’t found anything I was truly drawn to—until that evening when we were strolling around this random mall and saw a Pop Mart vending machine.

Cutesicles!

Having made a blog post of me being such a crybaby, this blind box toy spoke to me. It’s just so me! When I saw the side of the box with all the possible crybabies I could get, I’d be happy with any of them. Huhu they’re all so adorable. And those teary eyes? Ugh, too cute. I think my favorites are 01 and 06.

This is what I got. UGH. Sinong hindi makakatiis 🥹🥰

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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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Money Diaries Secrets

Quarterly Expenses | What’s Ruining our Budget

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Doing our quarterly expenses is completely new to me. I usually just compare our expenses month to month and that’s it. But every month is different, so I think calculating the quarterly average would give a more useful snapshot of our spending. I’ll provide the percentages first, then give a detailed breakdown with the numbers.

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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, 2024

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!

Continue reading “Day 1: “Business Class” + KIX + Late Dinner at Matsuya | Japan 2024 Series”
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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).
Continue reading “18 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 18”
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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!! 🤍