Yes you read that right! The second installment to the mega-hit The Hunger Games is ready to drop bombs on our cinemas this coming November. Seeing this final trailer has just set the excitement to full level. If I may quote Cesar Flickerman on the first movie, it made my heart stop. I can't help but be excited because 2011 was two years ago and I've seen enough reruns of the first movie that I've memorized it already so....



Hi bloggers! This week I was rummaging through my collection of books from way back. I found my very battered paperback copy of Paolo Coelho’s By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept. It’s one of my all time favorites and I cannot even tell how many times I have read it,but looking at its dog-eared current condition,I should say maybe a gazillion times. Being the nerd and hopeless romantic that I am, I never tire of it. Although I can pretty much assure you that there are no similarities between the story portrayed on the book and my own. Well, I guess it doesn't have to happen to you to be able to relate to it. It just has to be beautiful and you will appreciate it. Which brings me to the story and how Coelho always makes beautiful ones.



"Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somehere."

Cheesy title, yes?! I know you might be all pros in shopping with Zalora already. I've been buying stuff myself online for quiet some time now. However,as we all know, there is always a first time in everything. And this being my first with Zalora then I'd like to blog about it. :)

First of all, never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would get to the point where I would shop online for my father. We have been looking at online shopping sites looking for the perfect running shoes for him. He had a brand in mind: Asics. He's been eyeing different models but none of us was quiet taking him seriously. I mean, six thousand grands for a pair of running shoes? Really? Even my mother was constantly quizzing him if he was serious about it. Each time, we would just get to the point of adding the item to the cart and not closing the transaction. Well, apparently he was serious about it otherwise this baby wouldn't be at my doorstep today and I wouldn't be sharing any Zalora shopping experience. :)

And so, here she is! Or he (?!). The brand new Asics GT 2000 we got from Zalora. Lovely piece of beast isn't it? Well, at Php 6700, it should be. It boasts of the GEL Cushioning System which to me is complete gibberish since I won't be the one using it. Just kidding though! According to the little product tag that came in with the pair, the ASICS GEL Cushioning system has the ability to absorb shock by dissipating vertical impact and dispersing it into a horizontal plane so runners can run in greater comfort. Moreover, judging from the huge smile on my father's face after trying the shoes, I guess they were excellent.


Now this whole thing here wouldn't be possible if not for Zalora. My father has long been wanting to buy this brand but there was none available in the stores in our region, even in the high-end ones. So he told me that he opted to buy online but had repercussions because like  what most of us would say when we haven't tried online shopping before, the basic questions would be:"Is that legit?!" or "Would that stuff really arrive?" or "They're not fakes, are they?". I assured him though that big online shopping sites that have names already like Zalora are legitimate operating businesses. 

So, a few weeks ago I signed up with purpose of studying how the whole ordering process works. Outright I was awarded a Php 250 voucher which I could use for purchases above Php 1000 just for signing up with their Newsletter. Sadly, I wasn't able to use that voucher because it was only valid for 1 week. However, I do not regret signing up for the Newsletter early on because it has also allowed me to be in the know about the latest Promos. Through the Newsletter, I learned that there would be discounts on all shoe items and that's how we immediately decided to place our order. From the original price of Php 6,700, around a thousand was deducted, shipping fee included!!!

The whole transaction was very smooth indeed, with Zalora never failing to let us know about the status of our order. I placed my order on Monday, I settled the amount on Tuesday and by Friday, I was texting my father that the shoes are at home already. His reply of "That was fast!" pretty much encapsulated our satisfaction with the service.

So what are you waiting for guys?! Sign up for Zalora now and receive their updates on your email. They send discount codes too from time to time so keep your eyes peeled. Literally! They have a very supportive team that are there to guide you every step of the way. Their payment methods are also very much convenient. You can do bank deposits, GCash, Cebuana Lhuillier, Credit Card or Paypal. These too, came with the package: some discount codes that can be applied on our next Zalora shopping. Mother are you thrilled? We could be shopping for wedges next time. :)


Kudos Team Zalora and happy shopping, shoppers! :)
Meanwhile, I took some time out to take photo of the GT 2000 from different angles, for all the shoe enthusiasts out there who want some glimpse. Enjoy!








XO,

Carissa :)

PS. Don't forget to visit Zalora now!

Latest loot from Sample Room.

Yes! The familiar brown bag made its way to my doorstep again today. This being my second one I guess I'm a pro and I am smarter in allocating my points this time. I got 3 items using my 100 points. Amazing right?
So let's check out the stuff that Sample Room sent me today.

1. Godiva LicoWhite Whitening Lotion with SPF 15
I am well aware of the whitening effects of Licorice with my previous experience with other products. However, I also know that it takes time before you see visible effects. Well see if how this one fares.

Godiva LicoWhite Whitening Lotion SPF 15

2. OraCare Merrymint Mouthrinse
There are lots of such products these days in the market. So,what will make this one stand out?

OraCare Merrymint

3. Inti-Mate Bra Converter
I actually chose this one because I thought it might be fun. So let's see how much fun I'll have with it. The label promises a lot.Let's see how it'll fare. 

Inti-Mate Bra Converter
Overall, I am just so glad that the amount I spent on shipping was worth all the stuff that I received today. Reviews are coming soon. I'd want to regain my points again so that I can get more products. :)

XO,

Carissa


It took me long enough before writing a review about the product that I received from Sample Room. No, I wasn't procrastinating ladies, merely taking my time in testing the effects of this product. And today, I decided that 2 weeks is long enough. :) So here it goes.

Last Saturday's family bonding trip included a little photo op at one of my region's (Eastern Visayas) most visited parks, the MacArthur Park also known as the MacArthur Landing Memorial Park in Palo, Leyte. Come see how much fun we had in this historic place.


MacArthur Park Revisited

by on Monday, September 30, 2013
Last Saturday's family bonding trip included a little photo op at one of my region's (Eastern Visayas) most visited parks, the MacA...
'You've got mail!"
I was raiding the net today for sites that offer free beauty products for review when I stumbled upon Sample Room. I ran through  the entire concept: the ways, the stuff and how it works and I was immediately moved to join the site. Golly! It didn't  take long for the package to arrive. I placed my order on Friday and by Monday, my first product for review was on my doorstep. Cool huh!

Sampling sampleroom.ph

by on Wednesday, September 25, 2013
'You've got mail!" I was raiding the net today for sites that offer free beauty products for review when I stumbled upon  ...
May Magic Lamp Kasi - National U Dethrones Maroons 
Oh diva! Sarap tumawa ng nakanganga NU lol hahaha.
 Una sa lahat, cool at napredict to kung anu ang top three: La Salle, UP at NU.

Yun nga lang duda talagang akong mag-chachampion ang UP Maroons kasi medyo may hulog fest din na konti, hindi aliw yung music na ginamit at party party yung theme pero parang hindi naman party party yung aura sakin. Wala naman akong knows sa technicalities ng mga churva steps nila so iwan nilang natin yun sa judges. Peace mga  Isko at Iska. Taga UP din ako pero ganun talaga ang peg ng performance nila kahapon.
I was looking at little knick knacks from the past today when these photos hit me right in the eye. Quiet unbelievable. But, has it really been more than six years now? Even the photo couldn't lie as it comes with the date: March 8, 2007. Phew! We're getting old. I peer at my 20-year old self and give an impish grin.I thought "Jeez! What an ugly duckling! Ha ha ha."


Welcome to the Surf Camp! c 2007. I hadn't been able to go back to the island so I'm not sure if this signage still stands on the same spot to date.

Date: March 8-ish 2007-ish
Location: The Surf Camp, Calicoan Island, part of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
How did we end up there?: Management Research for the class of Prof. Dacuyan.  Interviewed a couple of people from Guiuan LGU and The Surf Camp because of the growing popularity of Surfing in the area.

We? So who were you with? - Groupmates: Edward, Orvisa, Julie Ann & Shella Mae. Collectively known as BORDZ.

Me, with Shella, Lian and Orviza.
BORDZ! Just saying that really makes me laugh. My memory of that trip is fairly sketchy. But I do remember it was nearly summer and very very hot.

Me, standing infront of the Church of the Immaculate Concepcion, Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
I had to debate with myself if I would include this photo of mine. Why I uncharacteristically raised my arm here I don't actually remember. This photo would have been great if I wasn't in it. But anyway, for good fun and memories sake I'm posting it here.*LOL*

That trip was more like making it by all by ourselves. We haggled with a landlady so that we would be able to stay at her house overnight for P200.00 (for all five of us, yes!). We roamed the streets of Guiuan at night and ate street food. We hitched a ride from Calicoan back to Guiuan because there were no scheduled trips anymore. On a dump truck, yes. Oh! Father wouldn't have approved.




All in all, it was an amazing trip. Even if we went home with really dark skin colors, it was all worth it. Sadly I don't know where the other photos have ended up. The swells were huge. Calicoan has a really beautiful beach front and the sights inside the camp were downright amazing. I got hold of some nice seashells as souvenirs.


This was 2007 and would have been my first encounter with a white-sand beach. Who wears sneakers to the beach?

Throwback throwback. Bell-bottomed jeans may have gone out of style. But not these memories. :)


XO,

Carissa, Forever BORDZ
Even as a young girl, I have always loved reading poetry. As proof I have with me a very battered copy of an English poems and verses book that I have read over and over again. It has always been a hobby, to read lines and read between them.

The calm before the stir.

"Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:

What if my leaves are falling like its own?"

Those lines may sound all too familiar. You may read the entire poem here. It's Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind'. Those verses, along with a few others are my most favorite from that poem. A powerful line as I prefer to call it.

I will tell you how this poem makes me feel, but I hope you won't call me delusional. Or over-imaginative even.

Reading the 'Ode' makes me feel like I'm standing on the edge of a high cliff. With eyes closed I can feel the West Wind blowing, making dead leaves swirl all around me. The soft white cloth of my dress billows at its strength, my hair blown in organized disarray. And with all my hearts desire I wish I were the dead leaf, the wave or the cloud borne and blown by this untamed wind.

But I am not. I open my eyes instead and with all the strength I could muster, scream unto the invisible, everything that I keep and hold back inside me, to be spirited away to who knows where.

"Make me thy lyre..." Indeed, am I trying to flirt with you that you may play me with your gentleness?
"Even as the forest is: What if my leaves are falling like its own?..." 

Now why does this part make me sad? As  if lamenting old-age while I'm still at the prime of my youth. Do I also have that dilemma?

I will give this a fitting close, with the final lines of the said Ode. Whatever you make of these lines, just reading them gives me goosebumps.


"The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

image from www.instamoz.com

So I'm reading a book : One Day by David Nicholls.

Boom! It's probably old news for bookworms such as you because it's not even a new book. Well, I just got hold of a copy alright, alright?! And it's already been turned into a movie (starred by Anne Hathaway) so you probably already know the plot. However, nothing beats the details of the good ol' book so...I'm not even halfway through and it's looking beautiful. The book I mean and how it's written with such wit and smarts. So I've decided to take down notes about my most favorite lines. There'll be many, this being one.

It's the beginning of yet another wonderful month. And by the looks of it, it doesn't come short of challenges. Well then, I guess all it takes is for me to embrace the challenges with full confidence in myself and in my abilities. And to fight like there's no tomorrow. To give my best and let things take it's own course, knowing that in the end I would be given what I deserve.
I'm officially reminiscing about a past adventure. :)

Cagayan De Oro, Iligan and Bukidnon photo mashup circa 2007
Album and singles covers for her songs included in Red
The opening track of her album 'Red' says:

I'm walking fast through the traffic lights, Busy streets and busy lives
And all we know is touch and go
-State of Grace

And even the first line of the second song goes:

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street

Faster than the wind, Passionate as sin

Ending so suddenly

-Red
Shades and red.
And so she does it to me again. Weaving some magic spells through her songs that even in my mind I sing them quietly. Some tracks would sound great for those 'stuck-on-an-endless-road' moments and will likely make you forget about the long hours of travel. Other tracks would be great while you are *and I quote*, hanging out with your girlfriends and making fun of your exes. Other songs would put you to sleep while you're in the middle of dissecting the meaning of the lyrics. 
So what does red mean to you?


Well, were at it,  how on earth can we not discuss traffic when its all over her song? Red in traffic lights means stop for both pedestrian and driver. Different points of view but red conjures alertness in both. Don't be mindful and cross the street without paying attention and you'll be like a squashed 'red' tomato. Yikes! And then, if you are the driver, red also tells you stop or you'll turn someone or something into a dent in your fender and the police will 'see red' and catch you. Hmm.

Red means love as much as it means an overwhelming emotion (like anger, or fun) and there's enough of all those elements and more in this album. And since she's a genius with playing with words and fitting whole life stories into a four-minute song, you'll get your fill of her. Classic Taylor.

"So you were never a saint and,  I loved in all shades of wrong

We learn to live with the pain, Mosaic broken hearts

But this love is brave and wild."


"You call me up again just to break me like a promise."
I mean, you don't write and sing those lines without sounding like you're the cooolest girl on earth for saying that. Of course, there the remorse songs. You'll quickly recognize them  because the opening lines say: "Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago...". and from then on 'till the end there is "Trouble, trouble trouble." Wailing like the red siren lights. If you are still too angry at the last ex who left you, she has songs for that too. Lock your room and sing "We are never ever ever getting back together" in full blast and if he hears it he might just turn 'red'.

If you just want to be 'happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time", there is also a song for you here. Aah! Crazy feeling eh?! Sounds like a girl on her 'red days'. :)

And finally, if you just want to be a little bit laid back and all that, here's something to make you blush red.

Cause all I know is we said hello , And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door, You'll be mine and i'll be yours

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed


Aahh, bring on the red roses and stuff. :)

"Like, ever."

Personally though, just looking at her shade of red lips makes my heart leap. I bet it's Covergirl. In Hot. And as a girl I dream of wearing Louboutin's devil red soles. However, I see signs of red lights probably telling me to shut up now. Well, not until I say, I bet that Maserati is also red. 

PS.
All lines boldfaced and italicized are taken from her songs namely: State of Grace, Red, I Knew You Were Trouble, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, 22 and Everything Has Changed. And I wish again for the nth time that I'd written every single one of those but I am bot as cool as her. :)

XO,

Cassie Swiftie :) 


*All images belong to Taylor Swift and Big Machine Records



Blood-addicted, in hues of Blues, of course! 
It seems like ages ago when I randomly picked up the first book in the series and immediately  got hooked. Vampire themes were everywhere back then but it seemed like something set this story apart. Vampires in this book were not the savage bloodsuckers we know but classy A-listers living in Manhattan or the Hamptons and vacayed in places like the Swiss Alps or St.Tropez. They rode limousines, owned TV Networks and other lucrative businesses and carried last names that appear bold-faced in buildings. The sun didn't scare them. Of course they were also very beautiful and very powerful, but also fragile at the same time.

Masquerade and Revelations are the 2nd and 3rd books in this series. It's where things start to heat up as the love-angles between the character become muddled.
They were fallen angels: supporters of the Dark Prince (Lucifer) who were punished when they dared take over Heaven. As a punishment, they were bound to live on earth as Vampyres finding ways and working towards regaining the lost Paradise (Heaven). I've always longed for a nice back story of the origins of vampires and that's exactly what I found in Blue Bloods. I mean, they couldn't have just popped out of nowhere, could they? 

These parts broke some hearts.
The story is set among the new breed of the Blue Bloods in a prep school, in NYC and there's so much to love about pretty young things who are just in the cusp of discovering their powers. The adventures took off, spanning eight books to regain Paradise and go back to the Heavens where they belong. Not an easy task when your enemy is Lucifer himself, who apparently has not gotten over with the idea of taking Heaven for himself and his supporters.

And this is where we fight back and win!
The story is very current yet it has the perfect blend of lore that we've always known as little kids. It tugs the heart and yet never fails short of kick-ass female leads. Of course, I hope the talks of turning this into a TV series would come to reality. For now, the books will suffice. and yes, rereading. :)



XO,

Cassie

Ever heard of the first commoner to marry into the royal family of England?
Lay down that weapon Lady! Elizabeth Woodville threatens the Edward IV of England that she will cut herown throat if he forces himself on her. 

A tasteful serving for all historical-fiction nuts such as myself : Our favorite part in English history comes to life with the screen adaptation of Philippa Gregory's bestselling series - The Cousin's War, a histo-fiction account of the Wars of the Roses from the point of view of women who played important roles in its midst.  The series is set in the 1400's when England plunges into a civil war : the supporters of the two opposing houses of the Plantagenet Dynasty symbolized by roses- White for York and Red for Lancaster battle it out for the crown.

The Women of the Wars of Roses: Queen Elizabeth, Anne Neville and Margaret Beaufort
King Edward IV of the House of York defends the throne that was once occupied by his cousin Henry VI of the House of Lancaster. The battles are endless however, as no side is willing to give up. In the midst of

Meet The White Queen

by on Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Ever heard of the first commoner to marry into the royal family of England? Lay down that weapon Lady! Elizabeth Woodville threatens the...
Welcome to Mommie Cassie's Blog, where you'll discover an eclectic mix of topics covering beauty, books, food, motherhood, and more.
 
 
Hey there! I'm Cassie, the brains and heart behind this cozy online space. As an enthusiastic writer and someone who finds joy in life's various dimensions, I've set out to share my journey, insights, and reflections with fellow moms, beauty aficionados, book lovers, food enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a little inspiration.
 

Here at Mommie Cassie's Blog, you'll encounter a diverse range of content that mirrors my wide-ranging interests and experiences. From exploring the latest skincare gems to whipping up delicious recipes, delving into the highs and lows of parenting, and immersing ourselves in captivating reads, each post is crafted with genuine care and authenticity.

 

Come along as I navigate life's rollercoaster ride, cherishing the beauty of everyday moments and reveling in the magic of shared narratives. Whether you're in search of practical advice, heartfelt tales, or simply a moment of relaxation, you'll find it all right here at Mommie Cassie's Blog.

 

Thank you for dropping by, and I invite you to linger a while and uncover the treasures of this vibrant community.

 

Warmest regards, 

Cassie


About This Blog

by on Saturday, June 01, 2013
Welcome to Mommie Cassie's Blog, where you'll discover an eclectic mix of topics covering beauty, books, food, motherhood, and more...

Thanks for visiting my blog! Don't forget to follow or drop some comments!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Don't forget to  follow or drop some comments!