Thursday, January 31, 2019

January 2019 Recap + update on no buy and savings

January saw me making a lot of choices. I had to choose between sentiments, love of things, mental space, and the need for physical space in my home office.


End of 2018, I saw that my efforts to declutter was finally yielding great results. The house was finally being rid of clutter slowly but surely and my home office finally had more space. In fact, it now has more than enough space for a carpet to be placed in the middle of it.

I've also chosen to do a no-buy year when it comes to cosmetics, skincare, and shoes. When I shopped my stash, I realized that I had too many shoes, too many cosmetics, and too many skincare. I need to stop accumulating more of these things because a lot of the cosmetics and skincare have expired and it's just wasteful.

I've also started my journey on zero-waste which I've come to realize is REALLY HARD. There's so many things that we use that has plastic on it and the fact is, I'm so used with how things are that it's been a struggle to go about things. I do worry about the state of the environment and I believe that we can all contribute even in small ways.

I've went to only 4 events this month. This was another choice that I made to put a balance in my life. I covered Smart Amazing, ONE, Crimson, and Inside Shape. It was a conscious decision on my end because going to a lot of events caused too many stress due to traffic and energy spent.

Now, my focus is mostly improving how the house looks like, the content of my blog, and finally  focusing on the content of my YouTube channel. I realized that my decision to attend less events and focus more on the things that I actually want to do has cost me some brands and PR but I am thankful. I know now who truly values me for my content and who just needed me as a warm body.


Onward to February and better things.

I was also able to upload one video on my YouTube channel so if you have time, feel free to watch it and if you like it, give it a thumbs up.


As for my no buy year, I was able to keep my spending on make up and skin care to a ZERO. YASSSSS! I did not buy any make up and skin care for January. Whoohoo!

I was also able to save up an extra 1000 from my food and transpo allowance so that's definitely a YAY ME moment.

As for family and my partner, things have been going great and I hope that it stays that way. :)

If you haven't subscribed to any of my social media, I hope you do. Links are below.

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Crimson Hotel offers Churrasco Style Sunday Brunch Buffet

Sundays are best spent in bed, waking up late, and basically lounging around without a care in the world. So, what can make Sunday better? Why, a buffet filled with grilled meat of all sizes and shapes of course!


I love meat and I love lamb meat most of all, This was the one thing that truly excited me when I was invited to attend the Churrasco Style Sunday Brunch Buffet. However, I was pleasantly surprised though when I found out that they have also updated their Sunday menu thanks to their new Head Chef who also happens to be a Filipino, thus allowing a truly Filipino touch to their food offerings. Churrasco is a Latin American-inspired way of grilling various meats on long skewers over an open fire so merging the two cuisines was an easy thing. 

Chef Dal of Crimson Hotel Alabang
Café Eight is Crimson Hotel’s all-day dining cafe located on the eight floor. Cafe Eight offers daily breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets as well as an a la carte menu for those who may not be fond of buffets. 

The restaurant is a stylish and casual urban space, with sweeping views of Filinvest’s green city landscape that is well suited for business meetings, date nights, and family gatherings. It is the Sunday brunch though that truly stand out as the best time for families to meet and celebrate over a casual and relaxing brunch.







The tables also came with markers to indicate whether you will partake of the Churrasco or not. 


I brought the boyfriend and the blogging partner with me because I knew that they will enjoy the feast and boy did they enjoy it!


I also love the fact that Crimson Hotel is now joining the zero waste program. They offer tote bags instead of plastic and they have also done away with plastic tumblers. Instead, they now use glass and there is a common water dispenser in every hallway that people can use to get water from so that they won't have to use water bottles from now on. Kudos Crimson Hotel.


The Churrasco Sunday Brunch is available at Café Eight every Sunday at 12:00nn for only P2,100 nett per person with free-flowing beers, sparkling wines, and juices.

Crimson Hotel Filinvest City
Entrata Urban Complex, 2609 Civic Drive, Filinvest City, Alabang
863-2222 / (0998) 595-3769
www.crimsonhotel.com/manila
www.facebook.com/CrimsonFilinvestCity

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

3 Ways to be more Productive when you are a Mom


Becoming distracted can be so easy these days. We have our smart phones, Spotify, Netflix, along with so many ads at the tip of our hands that one has to wonder at times how anyone can get things done. To be honest, I have days like these.

I have days where I have so many things that needs to be done and yet, there I am, watching my 5th video on YouTube. Procrastination at it's finest if I may say so. So, how can we be more productive?

ME TIME

You may be saying "what? Isn't that what I have been doing when I procrastinate?"

When I say set aside time for yourself, I meant, wake up 15 minutes early so you can have time with just yourself. If you are a Mom like me, this is a rare moment and one that we need the most. You may think, I'd rather sleep 15 minutes more and if that works for you, then well and good but you can also try doing my recommendation and see how it benefits you.

15 minutes for yourself improves your mental health. A little peace and quiet that helps remind you of who you are helps your mind become more organized and adds a boost of productivity. When you set aside time for yourself, you are actually setting aside time for your mind to reset and get back on track.

DUMP EVERYTHING 

When I say dump everything, I mean that put everything that is in your head on a note or list. It can be in digital form (better so that we can save more trees) or paper form if you are old school. What matters is that you list down everything and then you start to sort things out.

You can categorize everything into things you need to accomplish ASAP, things that can be done tomorrow, then weekly, then bi-weekly, and finally monthly. This way, you can have a look and see how much time each task need and to clump together everything that you can accomplish together in one go.

As a Mom, this is very important because you can forecast your schedule as well as that of your kids. 

BLOCK EVERYTHING 

When I say block everything, I mean that you need to block time for things in your life and you need to honor that blocked time. When you set specific time for yourself, for the people around you, and then you enforce it, people will learn to respect your time which will leave you to be more productive because there will be less disruption especially when you are a Mom.

Block time for your kids and let them know that this blocked time for them is meant just for them. Work will not disrupt it. When you have blocked time for work, your kids also need to know that unless it's really important or an emergency, they need to respect that time for work and not disrupt you.

The same can be applied for time with family, your partner, friends, as well as yourself. When you learn to practice time blocking, you will increase your productivity tenfold. 

Do you have any productivity tips? Let me know. I'd love to hear about it.

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Sunday, January 27, 2019

Anker Products you need in your Life

Now that I am all about using only quality products in my life, I have become more choosy of what I buy and what I use. I've been dabbling with gadget reviews for the past two years so by now, I have a fair idea of what is a good investment and what is just hype.

Anker Products, just like ASUS, is what I would call a good investment. Here are 5 items that I recommend you have to make your digital life easier.

ANKER SLIM HUB

This is important to have if you have multiple hard drives or USB that you use all at the same time which is the case with me. Sometimes, I need to transfer files between two hard drives and a USB as well as my phone.This saves a lot of time when transferring files between hard drives and phone.

POWER CORE LITE


This slim powerbank is made of dreams. It's powerful but light and can easily ng a huge fit into the back pocket without causing a huge bulge. It's fashionable and functional. It can also charge 4x which makes it really useful when I am out the whole day and can't charge my phone in wall sockets.

POWERDRIVE SPEED 2


This is one car charger that is a definite must. It's quick charge and can charge two phones at the same time. It can also be used to charge the dashcam and a phone when needed. It also looks very stylish which adds to the aesthetics of a car.

PowerPort+ 5 USB-C with Power Delivery



This is a definite must have especially when you travel abroad. You can't bring all of your plugs with you because of luggage limitations as well as the fact that if you are staying inside a hotel, there's a limited number of sockets. This allows you to charge several gadgets while using up only one socket. Compact, functional, and definitely a must have.

Soundcore Mini 2


This bluetooth speaker may be small but it can produce big sounds. It's also water resistant. IPX7-rated water resistance ensures that a splash, spray, shower, and even complete submersion are not a problem. Since most phones now are water resistant, your speaker should be too.

This is definitely something that you can bring when you go on vacation and when you hang out with friends or family on an awesome staycation.

I don't plan on buying things that do not add value to my life but these things definitely do so it's a definite yes for me. All of these are functional, durable, and stylish too. What more can I ask for?

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Friday, January 25, 2019

4 Simple Ways to try and Stay Healthy


Sometimes, it's just really hard to stay healthy. Too many temptations are around us and if you belong in the creative industry like I do, chances are, you also sleep late, drink too much coffee, and don't get to exercise often enough.

So, how can one stay healthy?

I've come up with some simple steps to help keep you healthy. Now following these steps does not guarantee that you will be healthy but it will help to keep you healthy and these "hacks" are simply based on my own experiences.

You see, everyone in my house got hit with fever, cough, and cold. For some reason (and thank God for that) I wasn't. I figured, I must be doing something right in the middle of so many wrong things. I figured, might as well share it here with you guys.

Drink water 

Trust me, I don't like drinking water but I've realized that the more I drink, the less I actually crave rice and sweets. Also, drinking 8 glasses of water has always been the most recommended. Now, I personally have a hard time drinking 8 glasses so now, my goal is to just drink as much as I can.

I no longer feel bad when I don't reach the 8 glasses. What I do instead is cheer myself on when I get to drink 5 glasses coz that's still 4 more than what I'm used to drinking. You need to celebrate the small wins so that eventually, you get to reach the goal.

Walk as much as you can 

I've had bad days. I've had really bad days where I barely made 100 steps. THAT BAD. So now, what I've learned to do is to go up and down the stairs as much as I can and then I clean my room as much as I can. Those little steps can add up to a lot and 1000 steps is better than 100.

You see, I work mostly from the house so I rarely go out. This means that the only movement I get is when I go down to get water or coffee, eat, or if I clean my room and house. Since I don't really have the chance to walk inside the village, I walk around the house and do the chores. Upside is I get to hit two birds with one stone.

Eat your greens

I cannot stress this enough. I know that a lot of people hate veggies but veggies really help you when fighting off a lot of sickness. If you eat veggies on a frequent basis, it helps your immune system and at the same time, it makes your skin brighter and smoother.

Drink your fruits 

For some people, eating healthy can be quite hard. I suggest drinking your fruits. It's easier and faster to consume Fruits provide great benefits to our body and helps us fight off sickness and diseases. Fruits like apples, avocado, and banana give us a lot of vitamins which is necessary to fight off colds and coughs.


There are so many tips given out there and a lot of them feel unattainable which can discourage people. This has been the case for me until I decided that I will do what I can and take the baby steps needed before I can do the plunge.

I'm not the healthiest person on Earth and I still need to work on a lot of things but at least I'm doing something about my state. It's better than nothing and as I would always say, it's better to do something no matter how small it is rather than to completely do nothing.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2019

VORASHE, Asian Dining and Coffee - INCONSISTENT SERVICE


We passed by this place a couple of times and have been curious about it. A nipa hut that boasts of coffee and Asian dining, my interest is definitely piqued.


It even has a parking lot which is impressive.


The interiors of Vorashe is a mixture of old and new. It is a nipa hut with pretty modern interiors. It is also air conditioned which is good because our city can be pretty hot especially at noon. 


This is the menu. The price point is reasonable especially because the serving is pretty good.



M took this photo of me while we were waiting for our food to be served.


I had the malunggay pesto pasta which was amazing. It was really, really good. I ate every last piece of the malunggay pesto.


This was M's order. He ordered a clubhouse and I had to say that it was also good. The sandwich was crispy and the lettuce was fresh as well as the tomatoes. This clubhouse sandwich can only be described as being FRESH to a T.


The coffee we ordered was the least impressive. Maybe because we ordered it cold but it just felt blah.


Overall, I'd still recommend Vorashe. It's a new concept, service was great, and the food was good too. Maybe I'll go and try the coffee hot next time then let you guys know if still blah or it's finally redeemed itself.

UPDATE:

I ate here last February 7, 2019 and IT WAS A COMPLETE FLOP.

Service was awful. There were 4 tables occupied including my friend and I but our food took 43 minutes to get to our table. We followed up 3x and it was only when we had the owner called that they told us they accidentally placed our food on another table.

The sisig was TASTELESS and the calamare was crispy to a fault. IT WAS DISAPPOINTING.

On this note, I AM NO LONGER RECOMMENDING this place. Ugh.

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Diamond Painting Projects

I've been doing diamond painting for a couple of years now. I've even gotten my son to do it as well and he has proven to be better at it than I am. In fact, I believe he's finished more than I have or if  not, it's almost head to head between us now.

The first two diamond painting projects are mine. I made both for my Mom.



 The next 4 are all made by my son.





Diamond painting is soothing and calming. If you feel stressed and needs something to calm you down, I'd suggest this. It takes a little bit of concentration but the finished product will surely take your breath away.

UPDATE as of August 2019



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ONE Championship: Hero's Ascent

USE CODE MSKATHYKENNY for 10% OFF WHEN YOU BUY FROM THE ONE CHAMPIONSHIP SHOP

The first Manila bout of ONE Championship will be happening this Friday, January 25, 2019 at SM MOA Arena. The main bout will feature Geje Eustaquio, Danny Kingad, and Honorio Banario of Team Lakay.

Now we all know that last week, Team Lakay suffered losses back to back with Edward Kelly and Joshua Pascio. This should drive Eustaquio, Kingad, and Banario to do better and make up for the losses that Team Lakay suffered but the question is, will they be able to turn things around?

KINGAD vs WADA

BANARIO vs TYNANES

EUSTAQUIO vs MORAES
 This will be the third time that these two top Fly Weight martial artists will be going head to head. The last match they had was a classic 5 round fight which was so close but the Filipino Geje Eustaquio came up victorious with a razor-thin split decision.

Here's the complete list of fights for January 25, 2019 for ONE Hero's Ascent.


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Tuesday, January 22, 2019

mark. by AVON Liquid Lippies

I just detashed 3/4 of my lippies but the ones that remained are the ones that I love. One of the brands has the most number of lippies left with me are the ones from AVON. I was left with 70pcs.

Imagine my happiness and surprise when I received this from the mail.


This is the complete collection of the mark. by AVON liquid lipstick from AVON. It comes in two different finish: MATTE and SHINE. The shade range is also wide because it goes from NUDE to BURGUNDY RED which is one of the darkest reds out there.


Here are 4 shades that I tried on.

DARK and STORMY, IT GIRL, HEAD TURNER, and ROSY FLUSH

These are the shade that I decided to keep for myself.


PROS: It's easy to apply and it's flexible. You can put on one coat if you want something light and two coats if you want something more intense.

It does not have an overpowering smell.

The shade range is amazing.

It's easy to take off and does not dry your lips.

It's not expensive. 

CONS: It's not stay proof. It does not easily transfer but it does transfer. 

1 con against the many pros has made me a fan which is why instead of just keeping one, I chose 4 to be part of my collection. Now since I've been in a sharing mood, I would like to share this happiness with one person.

12 LIQUID LIPPIES
This is how it looks on me.

HEAD TURNER

NUDE TUDE

FLUSHED

ROSY FLUSH
Go ahead and click on this link, watch the video, and join the giveaway. I am going to be giving away 12 liquid lippies to ONE SUBSCRIBER!!!



Would I recommend this? Definitely yes. Watch the video to find out why.

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