best gift ever

love.

10 fun things to do with a lenovo laptop

10 do "fun work" (ie, facebook and blog-hopping)

9 update my blog (which you've been "forced" to visit because of this contest, thanks!)

8 store and photo-edit the vanity shots i take using my bf's phone camera (he doesn't get FOTDs and i bet neither do you)

7 play PVZ (still addicted, even after the platinum trophy, cos the Endless levels are awesome)

6 keep in touch with long-distance friendships via email and YM

5 organize all my media (even though they may never quite make it to my Zune)

4 find new recipes on the internet then file them in OneNote

3 do "real work" (the earning part is fun, at least)

2 look "sosyal" while sipping coffee at starbucks

1 read the YugaTech blog for the hottest gadgets i want/need/hope to afford

this is, of course, assuming i win the Lenovo-YugaTech Laptop Giveaway. :)

disclaimer: all photos sourced from the internet using Google Images.

misconceptions

umm, that's not me.

when asked about my height, i prefer to dodge specifics and simply reply that i'm "cute-sized". even now, i'm often mistaken for a high school kid and i expect to look in my 20s by the time i hit 40 (but that's mostly due to good genes, my aversion to sun exposure, and a ton of moisturizer). i don't mind; it's actually kind of flattering sometimes, particularly when my much younger sister was asked where she was working and what course she'd taken in college while she was in high school.

what DOES bother me (and makes my blood boil) is when people almost literally size me up and decide that i'm too young or inexperienced or incapable of doing something just because i'm tiny. unless i'm trying to become a circus giant, size shouldn't and doesn't matter. besides, i'm like a multi-tool: multifunctional AND portable!

i guess this is why i'm immediately drawn to the Lenovo IdeaPad U160. it's unimposing with an 11.6" display, barely there 2.75 lbs and playfully designed exterior. you can almost mistake it for a slim purse, until its specs blow you away: Intel Core i5-470UM processor, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HM55 HD and 500GB hard drive for the 08945KU model, which i'm eyeing. in red, of course!

the tag says: beneath that thin, sleek exterior awaits a speedy, powerful mini-entertainment machine. i really love the "speedy" part; god knows i have the patience of a three-year old, and it sucks when you want to work faster than your laptop can keep up with. and a "powerful" system is necessary for a multitasker like me.

looks can be deceiving, and it seems that this baby delivers beyond expectations. after all, good great things come in small packages. ahem! this is my official entry to Pinoy Tech Blog's Great Laptop Giveaway, the details of which you can find here.

contest alert: makeup talk's guerlain giveaway

~pretty!~

Makeup Talk is giving away this gorgeous Guerlain Beauty Coffret palette which includes: a Fard A Joues Blush, four Fard A Paupieres Eyeshadowz, a Lengthening and Curving Mascara, Poudre Pour Le Visage Face Powder, and two Rouge A Levres Lipstick. the contest runs until 27 December 2010. click here for details!

contest alert: goodies from all made up & emerald sparkled

the goodness never ends. :)

do you know what these are?

until recently, my concept of nail art only involved drops of polish swirled with a toothpick to create flowers. when i rediscovered the blogging world, i found more than a couple of blogs written by nail polish addicts. :) one of them, Deniz of Emerald Sparkled, has been sharing many fabulously designed nail art creations on her blog and now she's offering her readers the chance to try them out themselves. online nail art supply store Born Pretty is sponsoring her christmas giveaway: five $20 coupon codes that'll let you enjoy these goodies for cheap! see the details here.

do we even have these here?

the cold weather has made my lips into a dry, chafed mess. as much as i love the human nature lip balm i got from lizz, it doesn't seem to moisturize my lips enough (and my boyfriend is wary about borrowing tinted lip balm). hopefully, these sticks from All Made Up's giveaway will do the trick. :)

i ate at: cafe juanita and dome cafe

my friend has been scarce in manila for the past few months (or year) so when she asked to have dinner with us, the boy and i quickly said yes. i had a major-major (hehe) craving for Cafe Juanita's corned beef so we ended up at its new, swankier digs in pasig. we were too hungry to take pictures of the well-lit, rather eccentrically decorated interiors but at least C remembered to shoot the food before we gobbled them down. :)

Tom Yum soup

contest alert: christmas goodies from skysenshi and click & make up!

i find it so difficult to believe that christmas (and the new year!) is just around the corner. tempus fugit, time flies. 2010 has definitely been an exciting year for me: moving out, living on my own, exploring the metropolis with my bf, rediscovering the blog world, and being the lucky recipient of some pretty cool giveaways, including this little beauty here:

Missha BB cream and the lip palette i was lusting for!

i'm looking forward to continuously improving myself, physically and career-wise, come 2011 so i'm hoping that this treat of a planner will help keep me in track and on the move. :)

the BDJ 2011: the cover sure looks familiar...

like so?

Bea, the Skysenshi, is giving away a Belle de Jour planner and a Navi planner to two fortunate souls who will then have to waive all rights to making excuses for forgotten birthdays and running late to appointments. seems like a good deal to me (i'm a sucker for the coupons alone), so if you feel like joining, head over to this link for details.

meanwhile, Kat of Click and Make Up is having another giveaway: the Urban Decay Book of Shadows, Vol. III! that was cool enough by itself but look, the palette lights up!

i love NYC!

as ever, the palette has a whimsical design involving skyscraper pop-ups and lights from the city that never sleeps. i visited New York when i was 11 and even after i did the whole themepark thing in Orlando, NY is still my most favorite. back to the palette, i really like the bright blue eyeshadow (Radium) at the bottom left. glad it comes with a primer; i'm not confident about foiling and i'd love to try the much-raved about UD Primer Potion. hop over to her site for details.

wear do you work?

i was traipsing around makati this morning, where i had an interview with some nice ladies at the lepanto building. because the traffic has swelled horrendously since december arrived, i slept over at my folks' and took a short jeepney ride to paseo de roxas. no biggie, except i was wearing something that hugged all my curves, even in the wrong places. :p

no, i refuse to post a full body photo. this alone is incriminating enough.

disclaimers: i have never used a butcher's knife in my life. not because i'm scared to but because i have my bf do the dirty work for me (ie, chopping up crispy pata into dainty, bite-sized bits). also, the belt was pilfered from my sister's closet.

this piggy went to market

i forced myself to wake up early yesterday. a friend we hadn't seen for a while asked to meet up with me and the boyfriend for a long overdue food trip at the Salcedo Weekend Market in makati. the things i do for a good meal! <grumblegrumble>

wouldn't you believe it? traffic was heavy on EDSA despite it being an early saturday morning, stalling us for almost an hour. we were starving by the time we reached the market--and our friend had already left to take her mom home. :( fortunately we were able to find parking almost immediately, and i made a beeline for this:

Wagyu beef shawarma