Hello, folks! If you have been hankering for a book to read and you're looking to laugh, cry, gush, and fall in love, then have I got the book for you: Raya & Grayson's Guide to Saving the World by Catherine Dellosa. It's short and compelling enough that you can read it in one sitting, funny in all the right places, charming and relatable, and tear-inducing without being too sappy.

“If I don’t break your heart, the world is going to end.”
When Grayson posts about his girlfriend breaking up with him with that line in an anonymous “Breakup Confessions” thread, Raya recognizes the references and knows that it’s him.
Raya has been dealing with a deeply personal loss, with only her comic books to give her quiet comfort. But thanks to her forum-lurking, she now knows that the guy she’s been crushing on for years is single again. What’s that called, when she might actually have a chance with him but senior high school just ended and they’re heading off on separate paths forever and ever? It’s called a long shot. Right. Only heroes take a risk with those odds and still win.
But when Grayson walks into the hobby shop she works for and asks Raya for a comic book recommendation, Raya realizes that superheroes can come in all shapes and sizes. And as they bond over the summer on all things caped and geeky, Raya discovers that maybe—just maybe—she deserves a chance at a super-powered love story of her own.

Content warnings for readers include grief, off-page death of a parent, accidental death of young person told in flashback, cancer, illness of elderly person, characters kissing and considering having sex.

I feel like if I were part of their universe, I would have totally fit right in and in fact Raya and Grayson feel like my long-lost friends; I would've been a lurker at their online forum who is also a regular customer at Cowls at the Door, Please, the comic book shop Raya works in. I would've bumped into them at Cons. I would've been one of the many who saw Raya's inadvertent confessions and cheered them on from the safety of my keyboard.

Look, I don't want to reveal too many details because you deserve to read it with fresh eyes, in the same way that I didn't pay special attention to the content warnings so one of the twists surprised me. (That's not an invitation to go read the content warnings again, mind you.)

I loved this quote mostly because I related so much:

"There's nothing more exhilarating than having your significant other share the same weird interests with you, and when you find someone like that, well... he's a keeper."

My boyfriend got a long and cheesy text message from myself after I read that line, heh.

Don't mind us, we're just a couple of NPCs in Raya and Grayson's world.

ToyCon 2016

AsiaPOP Comicon 2016

Oreo's Spider-Man: Far From Home Event, 2019

But enough about inserting myself in what was supposedly a book review. If it wasn't clear before, I loved this book and if I could hire someone to write my and J's love story, then it would be Catherine Dellosa.

Can I also say that it's so refreshing to read about people celebrating their fandoms and not being mocked for it. I've had my fair share of this when I was a little younger because I am very excitable when it comes to things I like and I refuse to apologize for it. It's great that being a geek is considered cool now and we have a lot of businesses investing in hosting different types of Cons.

If there's anything that I had a little bit of a problem suspending my disbelief for, it's that a college student can own a comic book shop located inside a mall. Rent for even a kiosk at a mall can rack up to hundred thousands of pesos, and their store is even big enough to host events! I mean, not to say it is impossible, but it could be difficult and very expensive. That, and how there's no other staff aside from the owner Grace and Raya. What if they both need to be somewhere else? What if it's just Grace or Raya there and she need to pee?

That aside, I hope you can let Raya and Grayson into your bookshelves and/ or Kindle Libraries. The ebook is available on Amazon, while you can get physical copies of the book from #romanceclass, or you may contact the author directly on Twitter or Instagram.

One more thing! If you would like to read more romances written by Filipino authors, definitely check out the #romanceclass community! Feels Fest 2019 is happening next week, October 5, and we're having a Slumber Party! Listen to live readings, interact with romance authors and fellow readers, and purchase your next great read/s! Register here. I will be there and I would love to meet you! 

I can survive with just groomed eyebrows, face powder, and lipstick combo any other day, but for special occasions I do like experimenting with more creative makeup looks.

For Batman Day 2019 I decided on a bold lip and lots of glow.

Here are the products I used:

Only the ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* glowiest golden glow *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ for my favorite Caped Crusader.

And you guys, I'd like to thank my lucky stars as I really hit the jackpot with this set of products because save for one Stunna touchup after lunch, my makeup did not budge at all! I really need to hit my blogging stride again because I'd like to post more makeup reviews here.

This is what I looked like hours later, while waiting for our xiao long bao to be served.

My makeup survived hours of going around the huge Fully Booked store in Bonifacio High Street, movie screenings, and walking around BGC lugging heavy bags to take photos of my boyfriend J in Batman Beyond cosplay.


Did you know that the first time we met, one of the first things we found out we had in common is that we're both BatFans? Look how spiffy he looks here. ^_^ Batman Beyond suit from Spandex Hero Philippines! Contact the Page if you're still looking for your Halloween costume!

Because it's Batman Day, all Batman titles and graphic novels are being sold at 20% off. I made a bee line for the Sandman volumes and got these:


This morning, while checking Facebook, this appeared on my Memories:


I wore the same lip color last year and even got the prequel and first volume of Sandman! I also have the same arm candy with me but he wasn't wearing a costume then, heh.

Cheers to spending more Batman Days with my favorite BatFan, and cheers to posting more makeup looks here!

Weeks and even days leading up to MIBF (Manila International Book Fair), the biggest and longest running book fair happening in the Philippines annually, I was completely convinced that I wouldn't go. My pile of unread books is taller than me as it is, and my Kindle is filled with books I have yet to read. My number one reason for not feeling the need to go? I still haven't read all the books I got from the past MIBFs I went to!

I was supposed to spend the weekend at home, but it wasn't to be. Heh. My boyfriend J asked if I wanted to go to MIBF, and I was like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  and then (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

Determined not to spend too much and wearing comfortable shoes, I went to SMX with J and I. Felt. Old. Crowds always flock to MIBF but I used to be able to tolerate and even elbow my way through them, but I didn't have the energy to do that now. The huge halls of SMX were filled with cheap books, pens, and stationery, and my eyes almost watered with want, but of course my wallet won the argument and I only ended up with these:

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and Dear Evan Hansen (The Novel) by Val Emmich with Steven Levenson, Ben Pasek, and Justin Paul

I am not exaggerating: Eat Pray Love changed my life, and I have followed Elizabeth Gilbert's works since. The blurb of City of Girls intrigued me and I have been wanting to get a copy but as I mentioned, I still have too many unread books collecting dust on my shelves so I didn't. Well, I figured a 20% discount is a good enough reason to finally get one, so I made a beeline for this the moment I entered the huge hall.

As for Dear Evan Hansen, I am a fan of Ben Platt and the Original Broadway Cast Recording that you may listen to below if you haven't yet, and I would like to read the novelization of the musical.

The original price of the two books is Php 1,704 but I only paid Php 1,363.20 after the discount.


I also got a bunch of stickers, mostly because I wanted the Dunder Mifflin, Inc. Paper Company sticker, hee.

Love love love

After hanging out a bit with Mina and Layla and dropping by the #romanceclass and Viviamo's booths, J and I trooped to Megamall to get his Spandex Hero masks from consignment at Collecticon. We walked around a bit while the sellers were closing shop, and were even able to score a couple of items.


I.. I don't know what this is called but I AM SO AMUSED! It's like a squish ball that looks gross but really I can't stop squeezing it! It's my stress reliever in the office now.


If you don't know yet, the Alien from Pizza Planet featured prominently in the Toy Story movies is one of my top favorite animated characters, and J got me this big plushie. He knows the way to my heart, that guy.

And thus ends my weekend that was supposedly spent without incident, but ended up being well-spent. I love my MIBF + Collecticon haul.

Did you go to any of these events? I like checking out other people's hauls so I'm usually found hanging out on Instagram just visiting whatever event's hashtag, and right now I'm checking #MIBF2019.  See you at MIBF 2020, I guess?

Did you know that September is Self-Care Awareness Month? I was today years old when I learned about it. Perfect timing, too, as I have been ruminating on this post for days now.

Self-care is underrated, but there has recently been a surge advocating it. More than slapping on face masks and lighting some candles though, self-care is any activity that we do deliberately to focus on taking care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. It's a simple concept in theory, yes, but it is something we very often overlook. 

It is important to carve time from our daily hustle and bustle and smell the flowers, so to speak, because good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety.  The weekend before last was one of the most restful weekends I've had: rain pitter pattered outside and I was so cozy on the a sofa reading my Kindle while nestling a mug of freshly brewed coffee and listening to Taylor Swift's Lover album. Definitely a Pinterest-worthy day. Here are some of the other things I do to practice self-care:


Write
My current favorite journal is my customized medium Quest Journal in Canary that I got from I Love BDJ. It's such a happy color! There are two fillers: the monthly and weekly undated filler and filler with blank pages. The monthly view gives me an easy view on the important events for each month, and the weekly view has more than enough space for my to do lists. I jot down my daily tasks here every day, and I get immense satisfaction from crossing out each item. The blank filler is for my notes and things I am thankful for.

I feel like I have become rusty as I don't get to write nor blog as much as I want, but I'm hoping this exercise will help me get back to my writing groove.


Look at pretty little things
The newest addition to my desk is my Alice in Wonderland Nendoroid Doll which is a gift from my boyfriend. She's completely poseable and has replaceable hands! I want to get her cute outfits and face plates with various expressions, too! Ughhh so cute!


Eat healthy food
I am so happy that my former boss RJ opened a Saranglayap branch in Metro Manila to add to their first branch in Baler (that J and I tried to visit but was closed when we went there for our anniversary). It's in Maginhawa, Quezon City though and it's still too far from me so I'm hoping they can open another store in Makati or Taguig. Shown here is the Vitality Classic Smoothie Bowl with sugar beets, mango, pittaya, and acai. Yum! So good!



I don't wander beverages sections of supermarkets that much so I'm happy to have discovered the new Alaska Yoghurt in the office. They're made of milk, yoghurt, and real fruit juice and THEY'RE SO GOOD! I keep on switching between Blueberry and Strawberry as my favorite, heh. And look at them matching my laptop case, makes me go heart eyes emoji.


Read
I get lost in mindless scrolling on social media sometimes and I don't get to read as much as I used to, but I try to read at least one chapter before bedtime. I like anthologies because I get bite-sized stories that make me feel like I'm reading more than I really am. My last read was Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg's collection of short stories, Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory. I really liked most of the stories and it's a book I won't forget for a long while.


Look at pretty colors
Makeup especially eyeshadow palettes, and watercolor pots, and crayons, and book spines, and flowers...the list will never end.


Put makeup on.
Whenever I feel like I'm not myself, I just put a little color on my face and watch myself transform. On my eyes are Ellana Loose Mineral Pigments in Bluebell, a shade given to me by Ellana owner/ founder Theresa herself when I visited their office for an event around two weeks ago, and on my lips is Avon Mark. Prism Lipstick in Energy Flash.


When all else fails, I lie and ignore the world.
Just kidding. My job actually doesn't allow me to do that. But I do have deep pockets that I have stashed with little moments and memories that bring me joy so that I have something to pull out any time I need to. And that, my friends, is-what I think-the most important thing to do.