Sleep deprived.

I've been looking for an effective blackheads remover but not until today have I found it. I was grocery shopping at the local mall when I spotted this on the shelf:

I tried it right away when I got home. It came in a pack of 3's in a set all taped up together. When I opened it and spread it on my face it reminded me of the consistency of Elmer's Glue! The instruction at the back said to wait 15 minutes until it hardens to be ready for removal. 15 minutes had passed, I peeled off the white mask that surrounded my face (it was tight!) but surprisingly felt good!

The mask was easy to peel and it smelled really nice. It's my first time to use a blackhead remover mask and this brand has already has made its way as my favorite!

I've tested it for a day and I can say it's truly effective! For a very affordable price of ₱51 for a set of 3's, you're getting your money's worth. My skin was smoother than ever and 95% of oil & blackheads were gone!

So in summary, the downside is the glue-like sticky feel when applying at first and the little redness of your face when you take it off but I totally I love it! It's amazing when I find great products like these! How about you? Do know any effective blackhead remover? What's your favorite? :)

** Note: This is not a sponsored post

Tyler had been sick with cough and runny nose for 2 days so I had to urge him to go to the doctor. We went to Festival Mall Alabang to have him checked and turns out it was acute bronchitis. It wasn't so bad as he expected (he didn't like going to doctors) but we ended up having Mongolian cuisine for dinner, thanks to my parents who treated us for yummy foods. 

Located at the 3rd floor in Festival Mall Alabang, The Mongolian Quick Stop is a delectable heaven for food trippers. The first time I ate here was when Papa took all four of us siblings to eat. Since then I loved the place! They prepare fresh veggies everyday, serving fresh lumpia, chopsuey and salad and they do not use monosodium glutamate or MSG to add flavor to the food. The thing that I admire the most is its wide variety of choices in their humble menu for a very affordable price. They also serve FREE soup along with your meal!

My honeyglazed chicken, egg, rice, soup & iced tea.

Deep-fried calamari with garlic & mayo dip

Thank you for the treat Mama & Papa!

They also offer food delivery via QuickDelivery.ph (or call 212-1212) and advance food order for pickup if you call the respective branch's phone line. Click here for more info. 

If you're tired of the usual fast-food and on a budget like me, I highly recommend Mongolian Quick Stop! You won't regret it!

Love is a commitment. This is what Tyler and I believed in. And this is our story. 

I am proud to say that after 6 months long distance, almost a year of engagement and 1 year of being together as a couple, we've finally tied the knot. What started as a stranger-to-stranger connection from Omegle quickly became guitar buddies and eventually... best friends and lovers.

The First Encounter

Tyler and I first met on Omegle on the night of Halloween 2010. I was bored from trying to play my guitar (coincidentally, my guitar's name is Tyler too) and looking for chords online when I decided to go on chat online around 11 or 12 AM and probably talk to somebody out of the blue just cause I couldn't sleep yet. According to Tyler, he just got off from his previous work and he got home, went on his computer and on Omegle.

I honestly couldn't remember what our first conversation is, but I ended up getting his Skype and Facebook. :D

The Chase

We shared a lot of things in common. What I liked most from him is that he knows how to carry a conversation and his neverending zest to be funny. He makes me laugh and has a lot of wit to back-up his humor. 

We mostly talked about guitars, music that we liked and recording songs. He gave me this demo mp3 of a song he made and I liked it. We swapped stuff that we wrote and sang and it became quite a habit. We talked day and night, even 8 hours on Skype! We bonded over How I Met Your Mother and both came to a conclusion that Barney Stinson and Marshall Eriksen are our favorite characters. I knew we liked each other but I knew it was impossible that there was something more to this. We live on the opposite ends of the world so it couldn't be what it should be.

He kept on asking me to approve the relationship request on Facebook, though I always tell him it shows as "sister (family) request" on mine. (Of course I was just dodging; I didn't wanna ruin a good friendship just yet). Still, he was persistent.

On November 11, 2010 he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes.

 The Long Distance Relationship

A lot of people have been skeptic as to why we were even striving hard to keep a long distance relationship working then when we haven't seen nor experienced being with each other in person.

There was even a time that breaking up crossed our minds and thought it would be better to let it go. We don't know when will be the day that he and I will finally meet and hold each other's hands.

In all honesty we were never sure of anything but one thing: we liked each other and we seemed to click. Don't get me wrong - we had our ups and downs like normal couples too but we managed to get past almost everything. Patience, trust and understanding truly pays off. We kept in contact for as long as we could and by summer he planned a trip to Philippines to visit me and my family.

 The Engagement

The first time Tyler visited Philippines was in May 2011 and he only had 3 weeks to stay. It's wonderful we didn't have any awkward moment from the first time we met each other. It's like... I have known him my whole life.

When Tyler & I first met in person (May, summer of 2011)

After fetching him from the airport with my parents and drove to my condo, he popped the question and knelt on his knees with his mom's heirloom ring in his hand.

"Will you marry me?"
"Yes," I replied with a big smile :)

"Lucky I'm in love with my best friend..."

The Decision

Two months after, he returned here. The second time was in August 2011 and he extended his tourist visa up to February 2012 so he and I could spend more time like other normal couples. We had to make up for lost time.

Tagaytay (May 2011)

Enjoying our lovely summer together (May 2011)

We both decided to get married. We were sure of it. He asked my parents for their consent and knowing that they were quite strict, I thought they'd tell Tyler to wait 5 years or more. Surprisingly, after months of knowing him and seeing him mingle with us they liked him and finally gave their blessing.

At Rack's Mall Of Asia; (L-R) Me, Tyler, Tito Bing, my 2nd youngest sister Ia Mae, Mama & Papa

The Preparation

We ditched our plan to get married by November 11, 2011 because we knew a lot of people would get married then. And plus, we wanted a new date to celebrate.

We gathered most of what we needed before Christmas. We went to the US Embassy, the city hall in the town I live in, seminars and everything. By end of January all of it was done.

 The Wedding

We got married January 25, 2012. It was a lovely Wednesday. We decided on that date because it was also my late grandfather's birthday. It was a simple celebration - just my parents (my siblings were aware of but they were at school so they couldn't attend) and a handful of close friends.

I couldn't ask for more. I'm glad to have him in my life now.
This is where our new life begins.

Follow my shop on Tumblr! http://tavolozza.tumblr.com

Cute embossed dress stickers from my youngest sister.

A journal I randomly bought for only PHP 35. I like the postcard cover very much.

When the spark and smoke had died from the air after midnight, everybody knew it was a signal of a fresh new start. A brave new take on life. January 2 was ours.

My Christmas gift for Tyler not only ended with the English-Tagalog books I gave him because after the ceasefire from New Year's fireworks, we went to Festival Mall to claim his PHP 600 voucher I got from Ensogo (worth PHP 1339) for Jethro Shooting Range. It was 50 rounds of pure fun and ammunition.

When we got there it turns out he can't use the voucher cause he's a foreigner & they said only a local can use it (even though it wasn't stated in the Ensogo voucher terms & conditions; it only said it could be transferable as a gift). He had to avail of the PHP 3k package. I was sad because it was supposed to be my gift to him. Anyway, he said it's okay and that it was fate that maybe we were meant to go shoot some bullets together so he just told me to use the voucher myself. I was hesitant at first, but after Tyler's great persuasion skills I gave in to his request. We actually got 30% off according to the lady so he only had to pay PHP 2100 instead compared to this other shooting range we saw in Quezon City which was like PHP 1600 for each person, bullets not yet included.

He held a .45 mm caliber gun and I took the .9 mm caliber. His gun was louder than mine but when I was shooting he told me that mine was louder. I don't know, probably we went deaf! After getting used to the explosion and the recoil, everything was fine. It was actually fun! :P

We left the shooting range trigger-happy and as a deal for making me go shooting with him, he treated me to our favorite, New York Fries & Dip (NYFD) and a heap of Blizzard from Dairy Queen.

We bore with the liquid cheese dip because I only had one honey mustard & yep I used it up all.

Bullseye.

It was fulfilling to see Tyler happy, especially cause he was really into guns and skill-shooting. I practically shot the whole guy's body (see photo: left) - sorry black guy; but Tyler really hollowed out the guts on his (right)! 

I had fun too I must admit, even though gun shooting wasn't my thing. But hey! At least Tyler and I now have another thing in common! And plus, I kinda conquered the gun there. I might actually shoot again!

x Iris

Christmas Day. Supposed to be attending my 1st godchild's christening at Quezon City but was stuck in traffic at Baclaran 'round high noon. My cousin Dianne (from my mother's side) gave birth to a baby boy named Yuan Dominick & I was chosen to be the godmother (no, I am not that old!) Didn't get there on time so I just paid them a visit and gave my "pamasko" (Christmas gift).

We then left to visit Papa's relatives who also live in the same city. I got to visit my lovely Tiya Weng (tiya in Filipino is aunt; she's my paternal grandmother's sister) and the kins in the compound. This is Tyler's 1st grand meeting with them.

Me, Mama and Tiya Weng

With my youngest sister at the farthest left.

Tyler & Tiya Weng

Playing my aunt's guitar

It was 10pm when we were on the road back home when Papa asked to stop by at The Seaside near CCP Complex.

I took the cam so I didn't have a shot with them here. .___.

A day before the New Year.

Parents invited Tyler and me to SM Mall of Asia; Papa was going to have his reunion with his college batchmates. I took this opportunity to take Tyler out for a date. 

By the Bay

Seaside Boulevard

Mama, Irylle, Tyler and I were supposed to eat at Gerry's Grill but it was so full during lunch that we had to relocate. Tyler saw a Mediterranean restaurant back from where we entered so he suggested the place.

It was Cafe Mediterranean: Flavors Of The Sun.

Mama ordering something from the menu

They have neat authentic interiors which makes it more appealing to eat in!

Table mosaic.

...he ordered Kofta Burger. I ordered a Moussaka.

The foods were really delectable, I was already full when I ate 1/2 or 3/4 of my Moussaka. Cafe Mediterranean is a much affordable resto than it seems (large dishes are around PHP 250 per person; tall refillable iced teas are PHP 75) but it's not something you could eat every day of the week. It'd probably good to check in once or twice a month - reserve it on special occasions.

By the end of the day, we found ourselves being tugged to this swinging Galleon that Irylle asked us to ride in. Tyler and I obliged knowing it would make my youngest sister happy.

We had boxed cheesecakes as take-home desserts too. Too bad I didn't get a hold of pictures of those.

New Year's Eve.

Two things were abundant that night: food and fireworks.  

Empty street outside the house.

Watermelon balls.

Skitty, our cat of 5 years.

Rainbow puto (puto is a Filipino delicacy; it's cupcake made of rice flour)

Tyler's favorite: Mama's homestyle spaghetti.

My plate!

The chef who cooked everything that is delicious. My mama.

More spaghetti and chicken & beef frankfurts.

Hope you're all having a good start this 2012!

x Iris