Before summer started, I had this thinking that my body was okay and I'm not fat in any way. Yes, I wasn't THAT fat but I was definitely unhealthy. To make things worse, I committed myself to the GM diet program without prior preparation nor was I fully educated about the whole thing.  I did lose a lot of weight but I think it only made my body's state worse!

A couple of months after that, I realized that I'm not getting any younger and therefore should be living and eating healthier. I started engaging in physical activities, from Zumba to Boing to the Ab Ripper workout. Eventually, I changed my eating habits too and it involved less fast food and more home-cooked/prepared meals. Yay!

And that's what I'll be sharing today, my go-to weekday salad recipe!

While the other side of the world is enjoying the heat of summer sunshine, we, the people of the Philippines, have been quite under the weather for a few days now. I've learned my lesson, 3 yrs in Manila has taught me that preparing for the rainy days is not a joke AND will never be a joke when you're in Manila. Before the rainy days started ruining our weekends, I made sure that I'm prepared hence my recent purchases.

I wasn't wrong. The other day, we had this terrible rain that would leave you not wanting to get out of bed. I'm also a "dress" kind of person but the rain just wouldn't let me wear my pretty dresses that day. I thought, it was the perfect time to use le new boots. Yay!

I promised myself that 2013 was supposed to be my year for financial wellness, I guess I'd have to move it to 2014. Ugh! Not because of all the unnecessary purchases, but, well, uhm, yeah. The unnecessary purchases are part of it too, but I also moved to a different apartment so that's another thing. If you also follow me on Twitter/Instagram, I got myself a new phone last week. So, with all of those, I don't think I'm on my way to financial wellness. I promise to do better next year!

Back to these lovely babies I got here! While waiting for my phone to be activated last week, we were walking around the mall and my impulses got the best of me. 

Ola! I'm not Spanish in any way, I just love using that greeting. Meh. For today's post, I'd like to formally introduce a new category on my blog, 'Kitchen Chronicles'! I'll be sharing recipes and my kitchen adventures! I just want to over share and go all out, the boyf and I not so formally moved together (This I will share in another blog post!) 2 weeks ago. And can I just say, I love love love our Kitchen! I don't know what's been up with me lately but I've been addicted to cooking! By the way, just a disclaimer, I'm not really a good cook, I'm just a normal person who loves to cook. The good thing about this new category is that I'll be sharing my boo-boo's too so you can avoid them in the future. Yay!

Sorry for the text overload, let's proceed with the recipe! For today, I'll be sharing my recipe for Spicy Tuyo Pasta! Yummmmm!

Ingredients:

Quick post before I head to the kitchen to cook dinner! Here's my cheat entry for the week, I've been quite obsessed with home cooking since I moved to a different unit and I love my kitchen so much! It has been rather easy to resist temptation with the new set up, but of course, I still cheated. LOL. 

For those who know me, Baguio being my safe haven doesn't come as a surprise. Even my agents talk to me about the slightest Baguio-related stuff that they know about simply because they know I love the place. After college, I've mad it a point to visit the place once a month if my schedule permits, or every two months. The boyfriend also hails from Baguio so it's not really a hassle, we get to visit family when we go there. 

During the summer, Baguio was the perfect place to be for Manila was starting to become a hell hole or burning citizens. The heat was scorching and one can just wish they were in Baguio, so did we. We then decided to spend a few days of staycation, and the occasional visits to the best food places in Baguio--of course.

When I was in College, my makeup staples were baby powder (I know, not even pressed powder!) and my good 'ol trusty Nivea Lip Balm and/or my Born Lippy Lip Balm. This set hasn't changed a lot, I still use baby power (you must be laughing right now.), lip gloss, cheek tint and lipstick! I evolved, you see. I now welcome color into my face with the addition of cheek tint and lip stains to my daily beauty must-haves. 

I must say since my evolution was a bit late, I've just been enjoying the seemingly endless world of colors. I am true and loyal to just 1 brand of cheek tint but my lipstick collection is a combination of cheap and expensive stuff that have impressed me over time. 

A current favorite is Avon's Ultra Moisture Rich Rose Lipstick in Carmen Rose. And no, I won't be be reviewing the product, there are already a lot of reviews out there. Plus, I have fugly lips sooo..

..this is more of a Carmen Rose appreciation post. Lol. 

When in Baguio, I don't know why I choose dresses over jeans, an over-sized top and a beanie. Aside from making it easier for me to pack, it also doesn't add too much weight on my luggage. I hate to be travelling with a heavy bag, I bet you would too.

Before everyone starts transforming into some sort of Fashion Police or someone of that sort, I'll post a photo of an outfit I wore in Baguio some weeks ago. I prefer the feeling of the cold Baguio air against my arms hence the sleeveless dress. I'll also prefer to stick to that reason rather than saying it's fashion over function. (Which it truly is. Lol.)

Summer's over but continuing the diet plan I started isn't. Over a month ago, I remember dropping by the clinic to get me some Advil and I decided to hop on the scale. I was surprised while looking at where the arrow was pointing at--55kls. The last time I hopped on a scale I was at 45kls, during our last physical exam I was at 48kls--at this rate, I couldn't believe I didn't notice how much I've gained weight over the years! 

I wanted to workout rigorously but my schedule at work wouldn't let me, so I opted for the next best thing--a diet plan! I started with the GM Diet plan, it was very difficult since I had to cut down on rice.The succeeding weeks were easier. I don't follow the diet plan anymore but I decided to totally remove rice from my daily meals, I would slip back in every now and then during cheat weekends, but I try to avoid anything white and sweet as much as I can. 

I'll also try to post more entries into my food diary, I know I haven't been religious in posting lately. A lot of things happening in the real world!

A couple of weeks ago, I was shopping for bikinis and other beach necessities when I passed by Wade and saw a lovely pair of wedges! My normal self would probably ignore the urge to buy something I don't really need, as I'm trying to manage my finances this year, but they looked back at me I just had to do something about it. 

Oh, and no. I'm not delusional nor is this a scene out of Confessions of a Shopaholic! Lol. I don't know if you've had that experience where you feel that the item was displayed for you. Haha! I'm going to stop describing how this feels like, you might think I'm cray.