Yosemite, California is one of my favorite places. I went this weekend, had an awesome time hiking and taking it all in. This place is beautiful, seriously… no photos can really show it— you just have to go and experience Yosemite for yourself. I went 4 months ago during winter but had a better time this time around because of its springtime beauty and the company of my amazing friends. It was a little overcast and rainy yesterday but still wonderful. Hope all of you get to go someday.

This is one of the reasons why I love living in California. We have the beach down south, but I really love Nor Cal for having San Francisco, Yosemite, Tahoe, and other parks 2-4 hours away. I’m extremely grateful that I got to grow up here.

— “How’s life?”
 Oh, it’s going. Yeah… there’s only so much I would write in a blog post.

Just spending the last few weeks left with my college friends and trying to make the best of it. It’s amazing how I’m still good friends with people I met during my first year here, at the dorms. If I had decided not to come to Davis or if I were placed in another set of dorms… my life today, without these people, wouldn’t be the same. I don’t think a lot of people could say they had the dorm experience I had. Though we’re all still in contact/hang out most of the time, we have our different set of friends… I decided to have one last ‘floor’ get together at my apartment before we graduate and move on to the rest of our lives. Champagne jello shots with mango and berries… bruschetta made by my roommate… brie & crackers… bottles of wine brought by my guests… it was definitely a celebration of our friendship. It was great catching up with them.

Besides that, I’m taking a web design class (which I find useful) & a commercial interiors class (which is out of my comfort zone, but they weren’t offering other graphic design classes). I’m learning though. My side projects and jobs have been slowing down. I did some graphic work for TEDxUCDavis (and that passed) and my term is almost over with the Entertainment Council. I’m probably going to take a break from working at my student assistant job until I go back in September and focus more on school and doing whatever makes me happy (cherish days with friends and taking a mental break). I have to look for housing in New York because in less than a month I’ll be moving there to take on an internship. New things are coming up. I hope to like what comes along, but for now I’m embracing the norm, familiar grounds, and the people that are close to me while they’re still around.

Warning: your clothes will smell like onions… if you decide to make French Onion soup. That’s what happened to me (but the soup turned out fine). Thank you, Julia Child for the delicious recipe.

College. And we’re making the best of it.

Blind samples turned into party garlands! What an easy (and cheap) project… you can buy these samples for 1¢ each at the Aggie ReStore.

This necklace charm cost me less than 10¢. But seriously! I volunteer for the Aggie ReStore and I got the materials from there.

My Red Velvet attempt. I made cupcakes a few days ago and here’s one of them. I rarely bake. I would do this more often if I had all the money in the world. When I say I “bake” anything, I don’t mean making baked goods using boxed ingredients and slapping store bought icing on it… I honestly feel like that’s hardly baking. Yeah, you put yellow cake/funfetti/whatever batter in the oven to “bake” but a real baking process to me is to bake from scratch: gather separate ingredients and mix them together to create something. I’m not implying that baking from scratch means you’ll create something delicious either.. No. Not at all. The point is, “baking”, to me is just the effort that goes into it— experimenting, playing with recipes, and all the work that goes beyond premixed/premade ingredients.

So… Was I happy with the way this Red Velvet cupcake turned out? Ehh. Meeh. Not so much. I sifted the flour just fine, unlike the last two times I made red velvet. Next time I’m adding more cocoa powder and using actual red dye (I only had pink for this one). I’ve made better cream cheese frosting in the past… this one tasted too buttery, and really off. But who cares? I ate most of it (and I suspect my roommates did too… unless I’m eating sleepwalking & sleepeating these days).

Ending the baking topic now. My sinuses have been acting up since last night, my headphones have disappeared, and I just burnt my tongue while drinking Thai tea. But it doesn’t really bother me. My mother visited me here in Davis yesterday & figured I was too lazy/busy to wash my sheets, so she brought me extra ones from home. Now I’m lying here in the dark on my freshly washed sheets and I’m about to go to bed with warm fuzzy feelings in my heart. The little things in life make up for things that bother me. Life’s alright! (but really though, this allergy/sinus thing is secretly and slowly killing me, I’m just pretending it doesn’t bother me :{ ).

nyc: farmers market at union square, philadelphia: navy yard/urbn inc., a sleepy bay area at 6 AM

Last month, for three days, I found myself in the East Coast. It was a very brief trip, but I’m glad I at least got to have brunch in New York (Café Orlin at St. Marks Place, I’m dreaming about it right this second) and explore for a few hours. I really wanted to hit up a flea market like last time & find a faux-fur winter coat. I didn’t have time!

Can I be in two places at once? I love California, I love San Francisco, but I really like the New York City vibe. Oh well… Til we meet again!

WIWYYNBD (whatiworeyesterdayyeahnobigdeal). Because it’s been a while. I’m in love with these pair of socks I “borrowed” from my ex-roommate Alli one cold winter night (btw if you’re reading this I love it so much you may never get it back.) Bahahahaa.

Oh wait, one random thing: Today at the CoHo (coffee house) I asked for a sampler of the Tofu Tikka Masala & I actually really liked it but the guy infront of me took the last servings… GAAAA. I just remembered this sad part of my day, but other than that this has been one of the best winter yet (weather-wise & I guess life-wise). So happy it’s the 3 day weekend, hope everyone makes the best of it!

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.