I miss the Philippines already! Seriously though. Where else can I get a bottle of Coke for 8 pesos (keep in mind: $1 equals 43/42 pesos) oh and the best part is all I had to do was cross the street and get it from a neighbor’s sari-sari store. Not to mention, all the fresh mango shakes that were a common sight on most menus I saw in the country.

I actually really enjoyed Makati— I wish I spent more time there. I love cities and for some reason I related to that place the most. We stayed in a hotel right infront of Greenbelt (aka Topshop and other stores). It was nice! Also a nice change because I’ve been staying at my grandma’s in the middle of nowhere (really interesting though, your neighbors are this close — sometimes you can hear their conversations, haha).

I visited Tagaytay and I thought it was beautiful. It is beautiful. My photos won’t show how lovely it is there… you just have to go. We went to this creepy abandoned mansion on the highest point of the city (I guess, it was super foggy there that I couldn’t see anything). We ate bulalo and deep fried spinach. Oh so good.

I’m in love with mais con hielo (filipino traditional drink of shaved iced with sweet corn), Marks & Spencer’s Teacakes (which I discovered on my trip to England— we don’t have M&S in America), and my grandfather’s camera. I never got the chance to meet him so I like to hear as much as I can about him (finding his camera was awesome, taking photos seem to be a thing we had in common).

Besides the camera, I found family treasures like my grandma’s dress that I wanted to alter for myself (but I left it there and didn’t want to take it), a vintage Dior clutch from my mother, and this red dress I wore for my 1st birthday (in perfect condition.. meaning my child will one day wear it).

During the trip I had the best New Years Eve I’ve had in 13 years. It’s because I spent it with my family.

BANANA!!!

Brody the bunny is still alive and well. I know I haven’t been posting about him.

Etude House’s Dazzling Gold. Mhhhhhhmm. Party time.

Good morning. Starting off this beautiful day with tumblr, browsing through old magazines, and bananas in my granola cereal.

A quiet life in the country. That’s how I would describe my trip this December while I caught up with relatives I hadn’t seen in a decade. I stayed at my grandmother’s house in the country… it was a lifestyle totally different from what I am used to here in California. My days sort of went like this: woke up really early (around 6-7ish), ate breakfast (fresh pandesal with spread from the corner store), read a few pages of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, took a shower, and went to the city (to go shopping, visit other relatives, or run errands). There were some days I didn’t go anywhere too far, I just stayed at my grandma’s or a few streets down at another relative’s house. Sometimes I would go cross the street and get Coca-Cola (they give it to you in either a bottle that you can return or a plastic bag specifically for this purpose with a straw). I tagged along with my mom to go to the bayan (basically the town’s marketplace/center) and we would get there by tricycle (25 pesos per ride, I think that’s about 50 cents in America). People could get anything there… my family went there everyday to get fresh produce from the vendors, basically ingredients for that day’s lunch, merienda, and dinner. That town had basically just one road. Go straight and it will lead you to another town.. and so on.

Here are photos of the little things about my trip: first, flying over the beautiful Magadan, Russia, the marketplace, random parts of my grandmother’s house, stray cats, and religious figures I saw around one of my relatives 100+ year old home. I’m sharing photos of my family preparing food for Christmas, chatting, reminiscing, and looking at old photo albums…

ang saya talaga mag pasko at bagong taon doon sa Pinas kasi nandoon ang pamilya ko. yung isang umaga, pinicturan ko yung kapatid nang lola ko… gumagawa siya nang suman para sa pasko. hindi ako masyado nag tatype nang tagalog so kung hindi tama.. pacienca na.

Lola making suman for Christmas Day. I’m back home from the Philippines after a lovely 3 week vacation to see my family. I had an amazing time catching up with cousins and getting to know new, younger cousins. Let’s just say I miss them already. It was fantastic getting to spend Christmas and New Years with them again. I photographed my Lola Ita (my grandmother’s sister) making suman, a Filipino rice cake wrapped in banana leaves for Christmas day. She lives right next door to my grandmother (like, two steps away literally) and they go to each other’s houses randomly to chat. It’s very sweet. 

OMGCUTESTPUPPYEVER. My cousins’ dogs had puppies & I WANT THEM. Greetings from the Philippines— I didn’t have the chance to go on tumblr until now. I’ve been taking a few photos that I will eventually post. It’s been a great trip, totally enjoying being around family and having the warmest December I’ve had in a while. Happy holidays, everybody!

Knitted sweater x instagram. Comfy comfy comfy. Post finals happiness.

HELLO, FINALS WEEK. Headphones, caffeine, notes, and distractions. Need I say more?

harrods tea&sweets, the tube, brighton pier, to-die-for marks&spencer tea cakes, olympic 2012 stadium, victoria&albert museum, delicious cassis&hibiscus from marks+spencer, green park

English breakfast tastes like darjeeling… I found more England photos I forgot I had! So here they are, last ones I promise. I miss Marks + Spencer terribly and I think Brighton is so pretty. I still have to buy that TeenVogue copy with Alexa Chung the day we spotted her at the pier doing the photoshoot. My one regret: not buying enough mango black tea from Harrods because it is delicious and extremely fragrant. 

I have finals week coming up next week and if I survive, I will be taking my camera for an adventure this December. That means a brand new photodiary series for all of you and it will have nothing to do with Paris, Scotland, or London. I’m excited, this time of my life will be extremely special to me.

Buckingham Palace Ducky. This poor guy lost his other foot. After I took his picture, this little girl squirted water at him. Rude.

The world is watching us. Today on campus more than 2,000 students gathered on the quad to protest against police brutality and increasing tuition fees ($5357 6 years ago, $12,192 right now, $22,068 by 2015-16— keep in mind this is a PUBLIC university). I said to my friends: what an interesting time to be an Aggie, to be protesting with hundreds of people, to be a part of the largest assembly the quad has ever had. I’m very grateful for the education I am receiving in Davis and it is unfortunate that I’ll be graduating with an enormous amount of debt that will take me years to pay off. Anything for education right? What I’m concerned about are those who will take our place as undergraduate students after we leave and move on to the next stages of our lives. My little sister will be a freshman in college next year. She too, will accumulate tuition debt, but because of tuition increases she will have more to pay off than me. There are plenty of problems with the UC system with no easy solutions, but we have to start somewhere right? Fight on.