Since the New Year is in just three more days, I figured an end-of-the-year appreciation post was in order. And so here it is, my 2015 thank-you post. Or, to be more precise, a dump of all the photos I've taken with and of all my precious friends this past year. It's kind of funny how I planned this to be a detailed thank-you post, only to realize that my year was filled with all the same people, heheh. Not that I mind, really! ♥

Fluffy fluffy outfit~! Pretty much the same as my Kawaii PH Halloween Party outfit, only missing one layer of floof. These were actually taken late last month, for Kawaii International's Dolly Kawaii Contest. Funny thing is, because of all the preparations we've been doing for Comic Fiesta, I completely forgot to ask people to vote for me LOL _(:3 」∠)_ Oh well. As long as Risa is able to see my entry, I'll be happy (ʃƪ˘⌣˘)

This is my last outfit post of the year. I actually meant to post about the Kawaii PH Year-End Party today, but since there's still a ton of photos (meaning: selcas) that I need to edit for that one, I'll have to save it for next time.. or next year.. probably ;; Comic Fiesta is happening this weekend and I'm super excited! This is our third time attending CF, but what makes it special is that Aian will be having a booth! I'm super stoked but worried at the same time, as I also have media/blogger duties this year. I have to make sure I document everything, attend as many events and interviews as I can, plus I have to man Aian's booth when I'm free. How, exactly, I have no idea. But I'll do my best~! (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

If any of you are attending CF, do drop by our booth! It's Basic Artbooth L17. See you~!! ヾ(*≧∀≦)ﾉﾞ♪

Two weeks ago. Finally got the chance to go out after staying indoors during the whole of APEC Summit week. Aian and I went to Makati - I attended an event while he stayed behind to play at the arcade. I was really hungry after the event so we had katsucurry for lunch, which I had a hard time finishing. By the way, before this, I never really liked curry. I don't like spicy food. Or more like, my taste buds can't tolerate it at all. The only reason I tried curry is because Allysa and Aian managed to convince me that Japanese curry isn't so spicy.. so I gave in. Now I crave for it every few days or so v___v

@marco149 // marco149.com - A recent favorite, I discovered Marco's work through Yagi Arisa's Instagram. I saw her photography work for Little Sunny Bite and I liked it a lot. Marco's dreamy style was right up my alley, so I followed her Instagram right away.

@mielllsucre - I was hesitant to add this person to the list, to be honest. I meant for this post to feature only photographers, and I wasn't sure if she was actually a photographer or just a person who takes photos (there is a difference!), but I really like her photos! The only info she has on her Instagram is that her name is Marilyn/まりりん, and that she likes cute things. I think she used to take photos for Grimoire's Hitomi's Styling section, before Hitomi started doing photography as well. I tried looking around for her portfolio but I couldn't find anything. All I found that her name sometimes pops up on sites like DROPTOKYO and Grimoire. So strange and mysterious.

@ice_lace // shinhyerim.com - Shin Hyerim is the first Korean photographer I found on IG. I found out about her when I stumbled upon her photography account, where she posts her actual work. I chose to share her personal one, because I like seeing how other photographers see ordinary day-to-day things. For example, I learned that aside from photography, she enjoys hanging out at cafes, and that she does shoe design on the side. She seems to be friends with Lee SungKyung as well; I love it when she posts photos of her on her photography account.

@ninagawamika // ninamika.com - Last but not least, one of my all-time favorite photographers, Ninagawa Mika ♥ NinaMika is well-known in Japan for her signature style of photography-- vivid and richly colorful --and I love that it's reflected even in her day-to-day photos.

That's it for this month's installment of 4x4! Took me a while, I know! To be honest I had a hard time choosing photographers to feature, since I only follow less than 10 on Instagram. The reason why I follow so few photographers is because I don't like following accounts that only post official work. (I do follow a couple of photographers like that, but only because I can't find their work anywhere else.) Don't get me wrong—I think using Instagram as a platform for showing your work is great. It's just that I prefer seeing photos that show bits and pieces of the people's daily lives. I think being relatable is important, because that makes people understand you a bit more. For me, I like that I get to see what kind of environment these people live in, what they do for fun, where they get their inspiration, stuff like that.

For next month's 4x4, I'll feature some of my favorite LARME girls! I know a lot of people are interested in LARME-kei and girly style these days, so I'll try and choose 4 of my favorite LARME girls next. Happy Wednesday! ♥

Life lately, birthday edition! I turned 26 just last week, on the 16th. I spent the day itself with Aian, the next couple of days with family, and the rest of the week with my babycats. My birthday week was celebrated with food - lots of it. Ramen, burgers, donuts, samgyeopsal, parfait.. By just the third day I already felt like I gained 5kg, haha. I've probably eaten enough food this past week to last me til the end of 2015 _(:3 」∠)_

Lately I've been into very feminine things. Chalk it up to age, I guess?


I had Korean BBQ twice this month. The first time was with family, the second with friends. And I finally know what kimchi tastes like!


I've been using these two Lush items a lot recently: Mask of Magnaminty and Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar. I like them a lot! The truth is, I've had Magnaminty for quite some time.. way past its.. best before date, yikes. I've read on some Lush forums that it's still okay unless it starts smelling bad and stuff.. so I'm still using it. But I think I might have to throw it out soon, since it's getting too dry to spread on my face (and I'm scared I might get allergies or something). I'll do a proper review of both items soon!



I haven't been able to post a lot of kitty updates recently, but I'm happy to say that all three of them are doing well ♥




Last Saturday I attended Cosmania at SMX, my third (?) ACG event for this year. I haven't been attending a lot of local events recently, but I just had to attend this one because I really missed my Kawaii PH family! Also, because my favorite revolutionary girls, Seishun Kakumei, were performing! You can watch their perfs here and here!




With my LARME girls - Ashley, Mica, Kaye, ChiChi, and Nona ♥


..aaand with the two girls I was most surprised to see at the event: Anne, because she's usually busy, and Kaila, because Kaila!!!! None of us had any idea that she was in Manila. I actually thought it was someone who looked exactly like her, haha! So glad to see her, even if it was just for a while!


Went home with free potato chips from Calbee + my Maki Nendo from Hubbyte Toy Store!! Isn't she the cutest thing? So happy (♡´艸`♡)

Hello October, hello birth month! I wanted to continue from last month's blogging streak and keep going strong with the posts, but I was way too excited at the thought of seeing all my friends at Cosmania again, so everything just flew out of the window. (I have a very low EQ, I'm sorry!) But anyway, since October is my birth month, I'll try my best to keep posting! For now, here's my monthly check-in of what I've been up to and into recently. Happy weekend, everyone ✿

Super comfy pink and black outfit from almost three months ago! (It's been so long since these photos were taken that I'd forgotten what we did that day!) I've already said this before, but one of the Japanese street fashion trends that I really like is the underwear-as-outerwear trend. I know this trend has long been around even before Tokyo's It girls picked it up, but the thing is I only started liking it when I discovered cult party kei. I've always seen photos of cult party girls wearing some sort of lingerie as outerwear, like corsets and negligee, and I became really enamored by them. These days I still see a lot of this trend, but I'm guessing that it's because of the influence that LARME has had this past year. Almost every LARME model I know owns at least one item made entirely out of lace. Lucky for me, lacy nightwear is easy to come by where I live (thank God for Divisoria and thrift stores!). But wearing lingerie as outerwear outside the house.. that's a different story. If you're like me and live in a country with a lot of not-so-open-minded people, then prepare to walk amidst judging eyes. Remember: walk with confidence. Cuteness gives you courage!

Aside from LARME, CUTiE has been one of my favorite magazines to look at for inspiration recently. In September 2014, CUTiE did a major overhaul* of their branding. I picked up a copy of their November 2014 issue while I was in KL, and I fell in love. The content of CUTiE is a lot more whimsical now than before. A lot more girly and a lot more playful, which is just my style. This month's issue had a lot of autumn coordinates, but this was what caught my eye immediately. I already knew most of these brands, so I was happy to see more brands that had a similar feel to them. I also liked that they had a lot of black, grey, and muted pink items -- colors that I don't mind wearing all year round, haha! My favorite coordinates would have to be the ones from Virginis and Honey Salon. Katie's and Candy Stripper's are really cute too, for a more laid-back look. I love Swankiss as a brand, but sometimes I can't imagine myself wearing their items because they can be too over-the-top cute, so I was glad to see how they put a more wearable outfit on the model. What about you, which one do you like? (*˘︶˘*)

* Sadly though, right before they released their September 2015 issue, they announced the suspension of the beloved magazine. I don't think they'll be discontinuing CUTiE entirely, since they only said they'd be "taking a break", but I'm not sure if they'll return with this version of the magazine either. We can only wish! (╯•﹏•╰)