2020 wanderland festival dreaming

dress, zalora basics. heels, primadonna via zalora. clutch, ninewest. chunky chain necklace, forever21. necklace as bracelet and layered bracelet, gifted by grandmum and aunt. rings, new acquisition from bagel girl at SM Downtown Premier 

This is what I imagine myself wearing to the 2020 Wanderland Music Festival in the vast collection of cities up north, NCR. I think they're holding the said event somewhere in Quezon City. Originally, I thought March 7 was the final showdown between one of my favorite local indie bands, Sansette, and the Sundown. It turns out that the competition has ended and the privilege of joining the Wanderland Festival lineup was given to the Sundown. Well, end of story, I missed to support Sansette last February 1. Oh well... Sansette is having their music video launch for Sunburn on the 28th, though! I wish I could be there but yes, if you're in Cebu City and you're going then I hope y'all have fun in there and enjoy the good music they play! Their music is sooooo fun and at the same time chill I just adopted their entry to Wanderbattle here as my personal theme song: 

It's title is Sinking and it's so chill in terms of beats and music mixing and arrangement, you won't know it actually talks about depression, sadness and/or melancholy that comes when the summer ends. Needless to say, I have this on repeat at the moment. I've put it on repeat when I do stuff at work at least. LOL. It's...addicting somehow and lyrically, it just speaks to me perfectly. Definitely a track I would keep on loop when summer ends and autumn, winter settles in, yes. I'm the quintessential summer child who just cannot live without summer, beach, the pool, sand and sea, coconuts and more. Basically...an islander for life.

Anyway, more about this dress? It's almost gone! It's now only available in medium gray. It's SUCH A MAGNIFICENT basic though. As expected of one of my favorite Zalora brands, Zalora Basics. Since it's still quite a tad bit cold tonight, I can imagine this dress shrunk in by an oversized sweater which I seem to amass in multitudes as well as of late. The french striped Forever21 purchase also from Zalora from the end of last year is the latest addition. I know I have a few of the same kind, from Uniqlo and others, thrifted randomly lying around somewhere though. Watch me wear this one as a comfy lounge piece from now on, yes. It'll be a constant thing as it's just sooo wearable despite it being bodycon and super fitted to the form. It's still adequately breathable worn in. 

Life moves on. I might really have to go down to the dentist sometime this week and next week for a quick fix on a fragmented tooth at the back of the mouth. It's causing me discomfort at the moment as it's quite inflamed? And it hurts when touched from the cheeks alone. Wanderbattle Cebu City leg is done for, since February 1, and out the window anyway. I'll just keep tabs on Sansette and my other favorite, Sepia Times, as well as Mandaue Nights, until further notice. Mandaue Nights is actually the only one of three I haven't seen live. I've seen both Sepia Times and Sansette last December 2019 at Chingkeetea. It was my first time to see Sansette and I liked them from the get-go hence why, a while ago, I was raring to go and support them at the Wanderbattle Cebu City finals thinking this was in March 7 still and not the past February 1. 

In other news, I'm still forever waiting my Zalora package to come in the mail among a few others. This...wait... I hope it'll end soon.

Speaking of music festivals...how about you? Would you attend Wanderland Festival this year? They had good lineups way back but this isn't really my thing as it's in NCR and NCR for me can be super stressful especially with traffic and all. I've been eyeing the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival for the longest time now, admittedly. It used to be in Puerto Galera which is paradise, by the way. Now it's relocated to Quezon City in NCR. Hmn...

pictures and my new kicks! yay!

photos from tumblr and fashiontoast.com and Primadonna via Zalora PH

Two new pairs of shoessss! Can you guess which ones? Kind of wish the Chloe x Doc Martens ones are still around but I guess everyone else cool has snapped them up on eBay and everywhere else otherwise. I did see one for sale eBay but way out of my budget, as per usual.

The bulk of my clothing budget goes to shoes. Yes. It rarely goes to clothes and a few others. Typical of a shoes obsessed someone. I don't really mind if they're a tad bit uncomfortable either. Hmn...yep.

More pressing matters at hand: the COVID 19. It's wide spread in South Korea right now as well. I hope everyone stays safe. It's still somehow well-managed here in the Philippines and the 1 death we'd had recorded here is an elderly Chinese man. I think some of our own countrymen have tested positive for the virus but there's nothing really definite about that one yet, either. But as it is important to take the necessary precautions, still, I was not really THAT surprised that SM Downtown Premier in my area have temperature checks and large containers of alcohol at the entrance. All their entrances are, I think, equipped with those. Good one, SM! What I'm more surprised about is that Ayala Centrio, the better mall I kind of prefer, do not have these measures. I haven't been to the other one, Lim Ketkai Mall, so I can't compare the three yet. Anyway, what I mean to say is that as someone who doesn't really go out as much and just prefers to do most things online and in smaller shops in the Divisoria area of the city, this hardly affects me much. One of the necessary precautions is not to go out to crowded places because you never know what you'll get there. The COVID 19 may be quite rampant there, we don't know. So it's best to be safe than sorry. 

Let's find better ways to entertain ourselves in, yes? Yes.

vfc

my scan from an old Elle back issue

I've been following her feed on Instagram lately, haven't you? Also, one of the many I admire for her style and inventiveness.

I think this one came from a 2008 or 2011 Elle with Miley Cyrus, fresh from the Hannah Montana fame, cover. I bought it when I came across it at one of two local Booksale branches because I thought Miley rocked in the cover and in its contents. It was later that I found it had Valentine too.

I, too, have some one or two back issues of the Parisian Elle where this page came from. I don't remember what year it was from but this one caught me because of all the glorious heels! Stilettos mostly. And they pair so well with jeans, pants and shorts! Let me try this kind of styling out in the near future, yes! 

I don't wear as much of this kind but this page made me want to own more of them. And thoroughly inspired by this page, I now have about a couple of pairs in both black and white in my Zalora cart, from Primadonna. The black pair is really sleek and attractive. It's a pair of boots. And it makes me super happy to score something of the sort at a price lower than the usual Php 1000+! Whoopy yay! The white one is something similar but slightly less flashy compared to the black one. Both pairs are on sale and if I bought both, I'd only be spending less than 2000 Php so yep, why not?

off duty is when all the hardware come out

bag, gifted by an aunt; top, something borrowed via zalora (old); bandage skirt, thrifted forever21; heels, zalora; bangles, a mix of random buys, etched forever21 and souvenir shop finds; socks, burlington; leaves necklace, forever21; multi-colored, beaded choker - aeropostale, gifted by aunt; earrings - random online buy from ig; vest - thrifted/vintage

You know you're slumming it when you get a random f21 item at the thrift store like this gray bandage skirt worn here. I picked this up when, randomly wandering around a row of current favorite thrift store haunts, in search of other bottoms to add to the number of those I have on rotation. I was getting tired of those in the closet and I only ever use about five or so from mondays-fridays and some saturdays and sundays. I rarely thrift nowadays but I might have to do more one day because of, well, stuff.

The vest is an old thing from eons ago, also nabbed from thrifting around the city. I don't exactly remember when. I decided to take this out, thinking it'd go well with the outfit on here. And also because it reminds me of Kate Moss' tiny vest style from around early 2000s? I don't really have a lot of vests actually. I only have this and one in denim, an ancient Old Navy piece. I was on the lookout for a few others back in Dumaguete City but when I'd found a bunch, I thought they were too big for me hence I never got any from those. Also, other than that, I felt I just had to take this one out because yesterday, I stumbled upon a Kate Moss Style instagram account and found her vest game is so on and cool there that well...as a HUMONGOUS fan of Kate Moss' effortless style, I just really had to. Some examples of how she rocks the tiny vests on here:

(photos from vogue via google)

Bantayan Island for next week is tabled for some other time. Sadly. Because none of my closest friends can make it and if I were to go, I'd be on my own and it'd then be the second solo-trip for me after last year, October's Taipei trip for Pentagon's concert.

Slightly off tangent but I'm planning to make a separate music blog and I currently have quite a lot of backlog for it in terms of East Asian (mostly South Korean music or kpop and Japanese music, Jpop) music...what do you think? Should I? 

vegetarian and vegan offerings around Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is paradise for vegans. I just had to say it and felt it appropriate to start this post with that one line for vegan and vegetarian (and sometimes, pescetarian), super picky foodies like yours truly.

Taipei has vegetarian and vegan restaurants that host buffets on an almost daily basis. Their meat-heavy restaurants now carry some vegetarian and vegan options in their menus. They also have a grocery store that carries only vegan and vegetarian items called iVegan. Needless to say, I'm itching to go back there so much and explore more of their vegetarian and vegan offerings. One day SOON again, yes.

I promised a post of everything vegan and vegetarian I got to eat around Taipei way back October 2019 so here's a rundown of 'em. They may not totally vegan or vegetarian but at least they're places you can bring even non-vegan friends in and eat and hang out in. Well, ain't that really cool now?

1. Universe Cafe at Taipei City Hall Station

The ones on the pictures are those you can get from here. Sorry, I wasn't able to take a better photo of this humble food stall. Universe Cafe is in the Taipei City Hall station. They mostly serve fresh-pressed juices and some coffee (cold brews, I think?) and raw vegan and ketogenic cakes to-go.
Story time: I abused Google as much as I could while in the hotel room to look for vegan and vegetarian restaurants to eat in and Universe Cafe was one that kept cropping up because it was nearest my homebase. So I kept looking for this one but could not find it anywhere. I lived on Family Mart's fruit slices for dinner and lunch because of this handicap. So, hmn... Stupid me found it later, when I was on my way to Taipei Main Station for a last bout of shopping for food and souvenirs to bring home. Universe Cafe was just there, waiting for me to pounce right after the last of the staircase down the Taipei City Hall station. It's literally right beside the staircase, yes. Also, Taipei City Hall train station was literally just steps away from my accommodation. End of story, still? I gleefully made my way to their stall to get I could get a slice of their raw vegan chocolate and strawberries cake and a bottle of their G5---fresh pressed juice comprising of 5 greens and more---to go to take with me on the sojourn to Taipei Main Station. I ate the cake much later, when I was already at the Taoyuan Airport, waiting for the check-in counter to open for my flight home.
Anyway, I found on some posts that some of their products have meat produces on there so they're not entirely vegan. This post here says so and it takes a more disappointing tone. Not so disappointing for me who's used to some organic restaurants and marts here that offer a combination of produces that still are fresh from the local farms here. Instead, for me who had been living on Family Mart's fruit slices, this was such a GOOD FIND already. Definitely such a relief to find a food stall that offers healthy options that allows me to practice my chosen diet and lifestyle. It's actually only natural for some stalls like this to offer some products with meat produces in them like milk or ghee and some other. They aren't a fully vegan, vegetarian only stall. They also offer some items for those that follow the keto diet. Keto diet is protein heavy and therefore relies a lot on meat and other meat produces.
Still though, advice to vegans especially? Always read labels and ask if you're not sure whether these are vegan or not. One can never be too sure, still, especially when all you see is the presentation, pictures and more of the said products they offer. 

2. Vegan options at Taipei Main Station

This stall offers vegan options. Their two kinds of vegan buns are seriously good and they look pretty too!

I bought one of each and only ate them when I made it to NAIA, the Manila airport, because I had found a restaurant at the second floor the place, Taipei Main Station that had some vegan offerings on their menu for a super late lunch-early dinner meal. I actually left Taipei City Hall area hungry. Haha.
This same stall is featured on this post here. The first one. I didn't know they had mushroom and radish cakes that were vegan too. I should've checked. Ugh. Next time then...

This restaurant a few steps from the elevator I went up to the second floor to had some decent vegan and vegetarian offerings. I think the dumplings weren't entirely vegan but close. The fillings are vegetables though. Their menu says which are vegan, which are vegetarian and which aren't both. The faux beef in tomato noodle soup is definitely vegan. The lady that served me this one warned me it doesn't taste as good because there isn't any umami in it but I'm vegetarian, borderline vegan so, well, this was IT and more than good enough for me.

Ah, I didn't catch the name of the restaurant, sorry. But the bottom line is, vegan and vegetarian restaurants are everywhere in Taipei and where one can only find meat options, one can also find vegan and vegetarian ones. Living as a vegan is quite easy in Taipei. Even easier as a vegetarian.

If there's any regret that I had for this trip, it's not being able to go around some more and explore more restaurants and food stalls that offer vegan and vegetarian options. I want to go back there so bad now. I'm even down to explore iVegan for stuff to bring home and cook for myself and others. Sadly, not a lot of my folks here yet appreciate vegan food. They're too hooked on anything with meat and I'm avoiding those now. And yes! I do cook some vegan stuff now, too! Especially when I get inspired by some recipes I see on instagram---I follow @veganmamaph on there and a few others---and on back issues of Vegan and Gluten-Free magazines I randomly get from the Booksale branches here! The kitchen can be a happy place for me, yes, apart from my room and a few others. So...hmn...I'd especially go back for vegan milk tea. I'm very curious about Nuttea at this time.

I'm quite envious that Taipei has a wide array of vegan and vegetarian food to choose from while Philippines, especially my city of Cagayan de Oro, only has so few joints to get these from yet. Hmn...I'll post more on vegan and vegetarian options in my locale on here one day soon. I found a few more recently which is good. There are about two restaurants, one doubles also as a mart of sorts, that offer some decent vegan stuff on their menu. One of these restaurants I'm very thrilled to talk about here serves a mix of Middle Eastern and Filipino and Italian (they serve some pizza now?) food. Their falafels are good. They may come off dry but I haven't had a lot of these so I can't really tell. Haha. Anyway, so yay! Yes, watch out for those incoming posts. There'll also be a few others, yes!

overdue since last friday

skirt, zalora; heels, sofab via zalora; clutch, ninewest; ribbed tank, terranova; rings, and heart shaped necklace, from a random shop called Aizilim; necklace as bracelet and choker (from aeropostale, iirc), gifted by aunts

Bought this skirt last year because one day, I'd come to realize I've been putting the same skirts on repeat to work. Needless to say, the wrap around detail and the buckle made me get it aside from the fact that it was on sale at Zalora. Also, did anyone get the memo they're carrying Forever21 stuff now? I just got a sweater that's about one or two sizes larger than I am from there last year. Cool stuff! 

As for the tank...this was a quick purchase from Terranova in Lim Ket Kai Mall. It's my favorite of all Cagayan de Oro malls, I guess? They often have sales but because my budget is often not enough for clothes that my closet is begging me for, I just thank the heavens they are often on sale. Best time to go? End of the year sales or so. I was there last year, a few times, and this in two colors, black and the white one worn here and 2 spaghetti strapped tanks in white and the lightest of grays were bought at near 200 Php each. I basically spent around just 700 Php or so max for four pieces there at the time. That said Terranova has fun things from time to time. I love Forever21 and some of H&M but Terranova has just as good, if not better deals locally so it's worth going there, too? If one doesn't want to buy thrifted clothes for the cold for an overseas winter trip to a cold country here, you can easily count on Terranova to supply you with wintry needs here instead! It's convenient and quite, pocket or budget friendly.

This was supposed to be posted yesterday among a few others but yesterday, I was:

• streaming a concert of my current favorite idol (an understatement because I'm utterly insane about/for him rn?), Infinite's Kim Sunggy...all the while live tweeting at the same time
• gorging on an 11" vegetarian pizza from my current favorite pizza joint that sells a large variety of pizza (most being meaty so they're not entirely vegetarian friendly and not even THAT vegan friendly...I doubt they accept customized orders as I haven't tried to ask cheese taken off of my orders...yet), Alberto's. They deliver! It makes pizza nights in with just music and working away on the computer all the more peaceful and smooth, no hitches at all! Also, their pizzas aren't really expensive either, just good for the local Kagay-anon budget, yay!

Fandom got me preoccupied as usual, of course. I gotta lay low on spending so much on fandom because I still have so much to do this year and money is kind of something I'll need until I get to finally change/switch employments...err...yeah. 

Aside from that, I should really quit hanging out, OUT too much after work. I have blog posts and other things to catch up on, too. Usually, by the time I'm done and home from random hangouts in the afternoon after work, I get too tired to work anything and just lurk online (on the bird app, no less). I should be more productive...hmn...

So how are valentines' day plans coming? All I know is I direly NEED that trip to Bantayan Island in Cebu City on the 21st, with or without friends because the last one standing, my best friend since our last year of high school just bailed on me a few days ago on this one. Also, yes, Taipei food post coming up in a few. I just had to get this one off for now.