The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

(The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices plastered on lampposts and billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. 

Within these nocturnal black-and-white striped tents awaits an utterly unique, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stare in wonderment as the tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and become deliciously tipsy from the scents of caramel and cinnamon that waft through the air. 

Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves. 

Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way--a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a "game" to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters. Unbeknownst to the players, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. 

As the circus travels around the world, the feats of magic gain fantastical new heights with every stop. The game is well under way and the lvies of all those involved--the eccentric circus owner, the elusive contortionist, the mystical fortune-teller, and a pair of red-headed twins born backstage among them--are swept up in a wake of spells and charms. 

But when Celia discovers that Marco is her adversary, they begin to think of the game not as a competition but as a wonderful collaboration. With no knowledge of how the game must end, they innocently tumble headfirst into love. A deep, passionate, and magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

Their masters still pull the strings, however, and this unforeseen occurrence forces them to intervene with dangerous consequences, leaving the lives of everyone from the performers to the patrons hanging in the balance. 

Both playful and seductive, The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern's spell-casting debut, is a mesmerizing love story for the ages. - GOODREADS)

If you want to have a magical experience read this book, not only its about two magicians competing but also about the growing love between Celia and Marco. Honestly, im not ready when i read this book so when i read the first few chapters it actually blows my mind, and as i continue to read on the magic consumes me and want to continue reading it even late in the evening. The author fully describes each of their tent and thinking that you are there experiencing it. The superb opening act of the circus and that pure white tent that marco made for celia (as i remember). I think this book is underrated as not many of the people knows about this book, but it gives the "oh" vibe when you are actually there reading it. Guilty as charge this book is my sisters' and i must pick it up to past time, now i cant stop telling her that she should read this book. And it makes you think how the author will finish the book, i have a mixed feeling about it where a part of me dont want that ending but a little part of me saying that is a perfect ending for the couple and also for the circus.

Cocio A Chocolate Drink you will love

I had a love-hate realtionship to chocolates, sometimes i want to eat them all at once and sometimes there's just days that i can do it without eating for months. That is how i am, unlike my sister who is fond of chocolates and would not go without a week without eating a chocolate. I prefer the dark chocolate compared to the milky ones, they're are less sweeter and milkier. And i dont eat all dark chocolates just a couple (meiji black, godiva 70% dark and lindt dark). Yes im picky like that, I think the only neutral chocolate for me is toblerone and that is because of the nougat. Other chocolates than that i just tasted it and give it to my sister OR if my sister did not finish it and the expiration is soon we have no choice but to eat it (ugh).

So this drink is a many wonders for me, i dont try the classic ones because i dont want to spoil how good their dark chocolate are for me. Take note that i also dont drink chocolate drink because of my delicate stomach so imagine drinking this and nothing happens to me is a very good thing. I just pair it with a skyflakes and boom i have a snack already. its a little bit tad expensive but sure worth it but if im on a budget maybe once or twice a week for a reward for yourself

perfect while reading a book. look how thick the chocolate is, it can stand the paper straw on my drink

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

My Complete Series of the book!!!!! ^__^

I loved this book series, its a miracle that i saw this on a website while surfing the net, This is a Sci-fi fantasy theme book, where the protaganist is cinderella and not just an ordinary cinderella but a cyborg and the setting is in the future. i love finding new books and this is a jackpot for me 

I just happen to found it one day while surfing the net, i dont know the exact website but im thankful for her review that i found this book. The author did not deviate from the fairytale story and just circle the story around it, but to make it more entertaining and thrilling she change the setting to the future. It amaze me that the author think of their glamour as the magic in the book and how levana became evil with it. 

(Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future - GOODREADS)

The first book is Spot on for me, the author really revolves around the story of cinderella from her stepmother to the ball. But you will not get bored because the author twist the story to make it more interesting and fun and i really enjoyed this book so much that after i read the first book there is an urge for me to read the next two books that is on the bookstore (scarlett and cress). 

(Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. 

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner - GOODREADS)

The second book is all about Red Riding Hood, this book is more just like the idea of red riding hood but the story is kinda of different. Yes i know its still the farm, grandma, wolf (kind) thing but its a different story for what i usually read but i like this story. Specially when scarlet meet wolf and how their love blossom and made the tough wolf to became the wolf who cant live with scarlet. although the age difference is far from each other you still dreamed of their love. 

(Even in the future. there are damsels in distress...

In the third installment of the Lunar chronicles, Cress, having risked everything to warn Cinder of Queen Levana's evil plan, has a slight problem. She's been imprisoned on a satellite since childhood and has only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress a great hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue of Cress involving Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes as a high price. Meanwhile, Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has. - GOODREADS)

This Third book is my favorite out of all the books, and its all because of CARSWELL THORNE! His witty antics but thoughtful care for Cress is <3 . Thorne grows on me here when he became blind and find the love on cress on  a dessert island and in thorne style he literally will fall in love at first sight. But this time its different because he cant see scarlet except for the 1st comm where cress is covered in hair, he just onlt has the idea of her form that comm. And also who doesn't love a man who has no common sense and believe me when i say that thorne has  alot of wit in his system. And not to set aside Cress from the story, there is still a damsel in distress even in the future and even though she was like that she is still a bad ass if the topic is about computer (and she also showed that in Winter)  and i really in awe everytime she breach the queens comm. oh! and before i forgot this fairytale is based on rapunzel ;)

(Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? - GOODREADS)

The last book of the series and a good finish but still i want more! hehe, the story revolves around the start of the revolution to queen levana. And its just boils me every time i read about the queen how bad she really was. But i love how the story revolves around it. The only sad part for me is that the story is so pack that the story between winter and jacin is so little. even though its still a snow white story kind of but i want it more deep to their story like the first book. But to make it up for me for the book the author shows the development between thorne and cress (oh yeah!). 

PS: There is upcoming another epilogue (??) for the lunar chronicles name "stars above and will be coming out this feb 2016

Bullet Journalling and Midori Travelers Notebook

When i first step in college ive become fond of notebooks, i dont know why but when i found a cute notebook i literally want to buy it and say to myself that i can use it one day or in one of my just subjects in my curriculum might need it. But it never came and it just stock up in my cabinet to dust. Sometimes i use it for recipe, or just jot-down noted when browsing the internet. That is when i read about  SpellSaab Bullet Journalling i think that its cool to have a journal and why not try it. I don't know if it gonna last for me but had to try it. Lucky that my sister gave me a mini moleskine for my birthday and that is what i firs use as my first journal for bullet journal.

my first journal (moleskine) in 2014 and use it for a year

My first journal is a mess that even my index is total mess, but i thought about that my journal is personal and only i can read it so just let it be but later on it become difficult to look what i was looking for. i first write with it with pencil so if i get wrong i would just have to erase it.its a free notebook. but sometimes i want to write something that i cannot write because its too small, like writing a diary/journal

That is when i became obsessed to journal type books and found out about Midori Travelers Notebook, the price is expensive for my budgeted notebooks but i have decided that i will only use this kind of notebook all-through out (planner, journal, list, to-do, vocabulary,quotes, etc ). And good thing is that there is a store who is selling it here in the Phillippines. I literally think this through because spending PHP3000 and not using it is a waste of money, and decided that if i still want it after a year i will buy it. All those months i just browse about MTN their ideas on how they use it and shops where i can buy it a little cheaply.  

My First bought Midori Travelers Notebook

Then after a year i decided to buy the original MTN cover and just make the inserts or buy them on IG. Because i noticed the difference of the original MTN cover to a fauxdori in websites and loved the softness and how it easily bends to the inserts and its one time use. Unlike the insert which i had to buy several times for a new paper, so that is why i decided to just bought it somewhere cheap or just do it like any craftees out there. 

after i bought it i don't use it right away, i think what i want to write it on and where (inserts) will i put it. i watched youtube several times and look in pinterest for ideas. So my MTN is just based on ideas i have found in the websites and just compiled it as to one. Im not an  artsy type of gal and have NO creativity in me so that is why this Review: Midori Traveler's Notebook (A Man's Perspective) is is the right kind for me.

Right now i am loving my MTN, its big compared to my notebook before but it holds everything and i dont have to own several notebooks all at once. Just one notebook is enough, im holding 5 inserts in my MTN (monthly planning, journal, to-do list, book list, ds games list, words, commonplace book, ) Here are my inserts.

My first insert the zipper insert by midori, This is where i put all my stickers, ruler and sticky notes. so if i need to write outside i dont have to carry all the craft things with me. I dont put my washi tapes here because i dont like to bend them in  a carton paper. On the other side of the insert are the printed journal challenge i found on pinteresr, ideas on journalling if im unable to write or choose a topic on that day.  

The second insert is a Yearly / Monthly planner, this is the inserts which i will be needing a lot and renewing everytime. 

i put the month before (right) and distribute it day by day if i did something (left)

I also keep track of my water intake (because 5-8 glasses a day is good for your health) and my monthly visits, as you can see in the legend

Vocabulary words i dont know

On My Next insert i combine the words that i searched on the dictionary and a commonplace book, a page where passages, quotes, poem, etc that i found interesting and worth meaning.

Commonplace Book

on my another insert is my journal where i write as a diary or if i dont have anything i write i just take a journal challenge that i take on pinterest. And on my last insert is my list, to do list and anyhting i want to write in out of the blue,

My Books to Read (i think its a 10-15 pages reserved for this list). 

Websites or blogs i visit and surf and my DS Games list which is also important to me 

How my Index page looks like in each of the inserts, this is far more organized compared to the index i have before

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I first bought this book way back when i am still in high school, it intrigues me why people like it. I like reading books and comics before so why not try it. But maybe because im not into those kind of theme i dont like it and did not finish the book.

Several years later, today, i re-read the book. At first it was a challenge to me. Because im still not into those genre type of books, im more on the chick lit or romance kind of type. So, is kind of difficult to understand on the authors point of view . But moving along the story i loosen up a bit and tried to understand it little by little and really like the story.

On my understanding its about people finding what they are dreaming of and finding to reach for their dreams. Not all of them can achieve that dream because of fear of failures, so we just forget about it and go on our lives like its not a big of a deal. But once we strive for it, we can find the total happiness within  us. 

Its a good book to those people who wants to finds themselves. To wake them up to realize that fear of failure is a normal thing to experience in finding your happiness or dreams. Just like Santiago who almost forget his personal legend but the omens keep telling him to find it and continue his journey. He experience many failures, obstacle and love, but upon continuing the journey he found the pyramids, treasure, fatima and happiness. And it makes him a better or whole man.