philippines part 1: on the way home

I can't believe it's taken me over two years to go through and catalog my pictures from my last trip home in 2011, but better late than never, right? 

Some pictures on the way home:

I had a 4-hour layover in Japan that turned into a 6-hour layover. Our airline gave us a voucher for 1000 yen (about $10) to buy some dinner at McDonald's as a form of apology. Mickey D's is insanely amazing overseas. In the Philippines, you can have fried chicken with rice or spaghetti in addition to the regular fare of hamburgers and fries. In Japan, they had the burgers, too, but I opted for the Shaka Shaka Chicken. It's a chicken patty that comes in a paper sachet with a packet of powdered cheese. On the back of the paper sachet are instructions (middle picture) to pour the cheese over the chicken patty, roll up the opening of the bag, and shake so the chicken is covered in cheese. The shaking sounds like "shaka shaka". Maybe it was because I had already traveled 14 hours by plane by this point, but I found the packaging super cute and amusing, and while my description might have sounded gross, trust me, it was delicious.

Six hours after my shaka shaka experience, I landed in Manila, slept a few hours at my uncle's apartment, and promptly boarded a bus heading north to my province of Ilocos Norte. 10 hours later, I opened my eyes to see the capitol in Laoag through the bus window.

A half hour later and I could finally see the ocean. The moment I can smell the sea water is the moment I really feel as though I've come home.

And another half hour after finally seeing the ocean, I enter Bangui and see the main bridge running through town.

A sign at the foot of the bridge instructs me to turn left for the windmills and travel the last kilometer home.

After thousands of miles and some 35 hours later, the tricycle comes to a rolling stop and brings me home. I don't feel tired at all. 

 

For the first time in four years, my eyes can see this. How can I be tired?

coffee is my drug of choice

polyvore set here

I love coffee. I love the way it smells as much as the way it tastes. Sure, I'm a fan of tea, as well, but coffee to me equals energy, a step towards productivity, a new start while tea for me is the drink I choose when I want to slowly ease into sleep. I found some great coffee accessories that I've put together on polyvore - loving the etsy print above, the cheeky cow creamer, and the Intelligentsia coffee (seriously great coffee plus it's from Chicago, my hometown!). 

In the fall, a perfect day would mean cuddling up in a blanket with a freshly made cup of coffee, doing nothing but reading and spending time with my boyfriend. I intend to do just that this Sunday.

Have a lovely fall weekend!

end of radio silence

Since I took 16 days to move and move-in, it's needless to say that our move was a little bit rougher than we anticipated.

The move went okay...the movers were an hour and 15 minutes late, but once they came, they had us moved out and moved in in less than 3 hours. Nothing was broken except for an unfortunate delicate IKEA table lamp that the boyfriend wasn't fond of anyway.

But then the unpacking was interminable...compounded by my chest infection (woke up having a hard time breathing to have the doctor tell me I was breathing at 60% capacity) and that our living room wall is a load-bearing one, delaying our plans to hang our art until we find proper screws and hooks.

But now, it's all done. I love my little "corner office" and my jury-rigged vanity (dresser + huge square mirror bought at Home Goods for $15). Every time I walk into our bedroom, I get a huge smile just seeing them.

Here are some snapshots of our new home:

A darling little candle holder found at TJ Maxx that's currently on our coffee table

Our living room

A little corner of my vanity. The owl and little jewelry box are from Anthro. The tray is from The Container Store.

I'm a little obsessed with fine-point pens.

My corner of our bedroom. Lamp, file organizer, shelving unit, chair, table, and art from IKEA.