99cents only... pretty good deals.

Many of my Mom's friends have been telling her to go and visit a 99cents only store to check out what they have. My Mom (and basically the rest of the family) has this typical thinking that if it's sold at a 99cents store it's probably not any good. While it may be true for some of their products (like their lotion, body wash, and other stuff like that), it is also true that other products they sell are in pretty good shape and quality.

*image from Google*

What I've noticed here in Los Angeles is that the 99cents store reflects the place where it is located. So we always go to the ones in nicer areas because you can be sure that their products are in pretty good shape. And often, their branches are bigger, therefore, they most probably have more items in their inventory.

The one we go to has the softest and best tasting bread ever! I love it. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it. But here are some of the items I got from the last time we went to a 99cents store:

Air fresheners-- same as those we get from Walmart

Cotton-- great for everyday use (500 cotton puffs for 99cents?!)

Sunsilk hair treatment-- The pump is broken, but the important thing is what's inside the bottle, right?

Softsoap antibacterial handsoap-- I love buying these from 99cents. They are exactly the same as the ones sold in groceries and other stores. Why pay $2-$3 for one when you can get them for 99cents each?

Hair elastics and ouchless hair ties-- You can never have enough elastics, and those ouchless hair ties come in handy all the time.

I was also able to buy Snickers bars. I've noticed that the wrapper is kinda flimsy, it opens at a single tug, but the actual chocolate bar is like any other Snickers bar. Yummy. :)

I've learned that you'll find great deals at places like 99cents. I now look at 99cents stores as bargain heaven as opposed to what I thought of it before. If you learn how to look carefully, you'll really see great buys like the ones I found. I can't wait to go back and look for other great items they have on stock. :D

Have you ever bought anything from a 99cents store?

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! :D

Polyvore: out and about this summer. :D

The weather is starting to hit the 90s. Eventhough it is not yet officially summer, summer is definitely in the air! :D

This is something I will wear while out these days. Light scarves are a favorite this season. You can never go wrong with LV. And I want one of those watches. :D

It's sooo hot, it's time to bust out those shorts and dresses. :)

I love checking the mail! :D

I love checking the mail even if I'm really not waiting for anything in particular. I don't know why, but I like looking through junk mail-- because maybe there are coupons or something like that. Haha.

Yesterday, something special came in the mail. I received a package -- Kelly's giveaway that I won. :D

Here are pictures:

the package... I was soo excited!

a note from Kelly :)

the items I got :)

Thanks again, Kelly! :D

Some other exciting items I got in the mail these past few weeks are a free magazine and a catalog.

I was so happy when I finally received my free trial copy of Bridal Guide. It's a perfect resource for my event planning course. I am definitely going to be subscribing. :)

I also got a catalog from a company called Free People:

I haven't really tried ordering anything from them, but they do have some cute items on their catalog. Here are the ones that caught my eye:

Have you tried buying clothes, shoes, or accessories from Free People?

Have a lovely rest of the week! :D

Tagged by Candid Phobic :)

I was tagged by the lovely Candid Phobic to do this tag. She gave me 8 questions to answer. I will then make up my own 8 questions to be answered by 8 bloggers whom I will tag. Pretty fun huh? :D

Here are my answers to Candid Phobic's questions:

1. What do you do for a living?

- I actually don't and have never worked a day in my entire life. But I am studying to be an event planner and I hope to eventually open a business with my sisters.

2. Aside from blogging, what is it that you do during your spare time?

- During my spare time, when I am not studying, I read, watch my favorite TV shows/ movies, go on Facebook to catch up with friends, and spend time with my family (we go to the beach or the mall and other fun stuff like that).

3. How often do you wear make-up?

- Whenever I have time before I leave the house to go out.

4. Do you have a favorite book?

- Hmmm, I love to read so I have a lot of favorites. But just to name some, I love Sarah Dessen books, the Shopaholic Series, Harry Potter...

5. What is your purpose for starting a blog?

- I wanted to expand my horizon, and this is one way to do it. I learn a lot from my fellow bloggers from all over the world. I also have a lot of ideas/topics that I would like to share with other people. :)

6. If you could have the power to be invisible for just one hour, where would you like to be?

- This is a bit hard to answer... I was gonna say on a plane to somewhere nice, but one hour wouldn't be enough. Haha. So, I don't really know, the movie theater, maybe, so I can watch a free movie?

7. If asked, "how will you describe a rainbow to a person who's blind since birth?" what will your

response be?

- I would say that a rainbow is something that brings a smile to anyone who sees it, so whatever makes him/her smile, that would be comparable to a rainbow.

8. What is/are the best thing about blogging? What is/are the worst?

- The best thing about blogging is being able to share your ideas and thoughts, and learning new things from other bloggers in return. The worst? Hmmm, it gets addicting? Haha.

I tag these 8 wonderful ladies:

Marie
A La Moda
Emily
AnnaMoon
Suyinsays
Charlotte
Emilyanne
Kelly Lauren

Here are my 8 questions:

1. If you were stuck on an island or an elevator or something like that, what are the top 5 beauty items that are sure to be inside your bag?

2. Which female celebrity's style do you admire the most and why?

3. Do you think it is possible for one single person to change the world?

4. What is/are your favorite movie/s?

5. Have you seen the movie Avatar? If yes, do you think it should've won the Oscar for best picture and best director?

6. What do you look forward to the most this coming summer?

7. If you were to choose, computer or cellphone?

8. If you were given an all expense paid vacation to one place only, where would you go?

Don't forget to check out my previous post! :D

Have a lovely week!

Letters to Juliet: A Review

It's kinda sad that the day is basically over. It's time to go back to school and/or work, time to face another week. Well, it's June 1st tomorrow, as I always say, crazy how time flies! On the bright side though, summer is almost here! :D

Being that it was a long weekend for us over here, I had some free time yesterday, and I was finally able to watch Letters to Juliet. I watched it by myself because my sister was too lazy to come with me. I must say, it's a bit weird to watch a movie alone... I didn't have someone to turn to and say things like "Awww, that's soo cute" or "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!". But it's all good, I enjoyed the movie. And now she wants to watch it too. :D

Here is the trailer:

As seen from the movie's trailer, the main events of the story start when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) finds a 50-year old letter from a woman named Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) to Juliet. She then decides to write back. Claire and her grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan), show up, and from there they go around Italy looking for Claire's long lost true love, Lorenzo. And yup, they find him.

It seems like a typical chick flick, doesn't it? Well, I gotta say that while yes, it is a chick flick, there is also some depth into it. There's more to know about the story of Sophie's and Charlie's life. And then there's Sophie's fiance, Victor (played by Gael Garcia Bernal)... there's some stuff about their relationship to know as well. And for a chick flick/ romantic comedy, it's not as predictable as I thought it'd be. Towards the end, you'd think it is (somewhat like most movies of that genre), but you'd be surprised. Then you'd laugh and you'd start to be happy for Sophie. It's not that serious of a twist, but it's pretty clever. Okay, I'm going to stop now, I don't want to give it away. ;)

Movie critics give it about a C, but those who watched it give it an A, and I think I understand why. While admittedly, it is not of Oscar caliber, I have to say, it will really bring your spirits up. How can it not, with the idea of true love surpassing many years, of true love not needing a right place and time? Haha, see, it got to me. :D

Some also say it's not worth the 10 or so bucks you have to pay to see it. I say it is. You get to tour the Italian countryside, learn some cultural and culinary info, and watch the refreshing face of Christopher Egan for a good hour and something minutes... all just for 10 bucks. :)

Amanda Seyfried looked beautiful in the movie. I think she's a good actress, and I'm happy she's finally getting noticed.

She and Christopher Egan had great chemistry in the movie. In my opinion, even more so than with Dominic Cooper in Mamma Mia (eventhough he is her real-life boyfriend).

Vanessa Redgrave delivered a great performance as well. She made me miss my Grandma.

So, all in all, I enjoyed Letters to Juliet. If you're looking for a movie that will make you leave the theaters with a smile, this is definitely one that will do that.

Some bad things I have to say about this movie? None really... well, it did get Taylor Swift's song stuck in my head for a whole 24 hours (to be honest, until now, actually). It made me want to eat some good, authentic Italian food. And it made me want to go pack my bag and go on an Italian roadtrip and go look for someone's long lost love. Haha.

*all images from Google*

Have you seen it? What can you say about the movie?

Cookies! :)

Happy Memorial Day weekend and a Happy Sunday, everyone! It's a long weekend, and everyone here in the U.S. is probably enjoying this well-deserved break. :)

I baked chocolate crackles (also called chocolate crinkles) for a day at the beach, and I thought it'd be nice to share photos of some of the cookies I've made in the past few months. :D

Chocolate crackles/ crinkles

Chocolate sugar cookies


Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies


Snickerdoodle


Sugar cookies

What is your favorite kind of cookie? Do you have a favorite recipe? :D

TV show: FlashForward

FlashForward is one of my absolute favorite TV shows. That is why my heart broke when it was officially cancelled, and also because tonight is the series' last episode.

*breaking down in tears*

But eventhough ABC didn't pick it up for another season, I will still blog about it because it's such a great show. :D

It started airing on September 24, 2009.

It would be really hard to explain the whole concept of the show in my own words because it's so complex, but here is a synopsis from http://www.wikipedia.com/:

A mysterious event causes nearly everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for 137 seconds, during which people see what appear to be visions of their lives approximately six months in the future—a global “flashforward”. A team of Los Angeles FBI agents, led by Stanford Wedeck and spearheaded by Mark Benford and his partner Demetri Noh, begin the process of determining what happened, why, and whether it will happen again. Benford contributes a unique perspective on the investigation; in his flashforward, he saw the results of six months of investigation that he had done on the flashforward event, and he and his team use those clues to recreate the investigation.

The team investigates a number of events related to the flashforward, including "Suspect Zero", who did not lose consciousness during the event, the sinister "D. Gibbons/Dyson Frost", and a similar mass loss of consciousness in Somalia in 1991. Meanwhile, personal revelations contained within the flashforwards occupy the personal lives of the principal characters. Mark Benford sees himself relapsing into alcoholism; his wife sees herself with another man; Demetri Noh sees nothing, which could mean that he will not be alive to see the day everyone else has glimpsed or, perhaps, that his future wasn't set on the day of the flashforward. Other characters grapple with similarly unexpected or surprising revelations in their flashforwards.

(from left to right):

Jack Davenport --Dr. Lloyd Simcoe

Peyton List-- Nicole Kirby

Sonya Walger-- Dr. Olivia Benford

Zachary Knighton-- Dr. Bryce Varley

Joseph Fiennes-- FBI Special Agent Mark Benford

John Cho-- FBI Special Agent Demetri Noh

Courtney B. Vance-- FBI Assistant Director Stanford Wedeck

Brian F. O'Byrne-- Aaron Stark

Christine Woods-- FBI Special Agent Janis Hawk

Dominic Monaghan (from Lord of the Rings and Lost) plays Dr. Simon Campos

Here are some stills from the TV show:

I am amazed by how well the British actors who play American characters in this show speak with an American accent. They are sooo good! :D

Besides Joseph Fiennes' character, Mark Benford, I would have to say that John Cho as Demetri Noh is one of my favorite characters in FlashForward. I can honestly say that he is a good actor. He, as Demetri, is very very different from Harold in the movie franchise Harold & Kumar. While his character is somewhat serious, I love that he shows his goofy side in some episodes. *like the Somalia episode where he and Janis had a thing going on (but I won't go any further for those of you who might want to watch this show).* :D

So, yup. I am excited to watch tonight's season (or should I say, series? *sigh*) finale. If only it was picked up for another season... Why not, ABC, why not??? :(

But still, check out their website if you're interested. And you would only have about 21 episodes to watch if you want something to do this summer. :)

*all images from Google*