Ciao: Some amore!

Despite the million things in my head right now that I just can't wait to blog about, not to mention the hundreds of back posts, here I am trying still to make it past the two-digit mark (not even)....here are my excuses:
#1: my laptop has been indisposed for a while.
 #2: I'm behind my study schedule by um...2 episodes of Cake Boss and one season of House,to be accurate.
#3: blah, blah, blah, I was just lazy.

But really, when I was just contemplating on starting a new blog, I was dreaming sooo big. In my own world,I had secret high hopes of being the next best thing. haha. Who doesn't, show of hands? As voyeuristic as we shamefully deny ourselves to be, I believe that we are more of exhibitionists. Right Mr. Zuckerburg? hmm.hmm? Who isn't tweeting his lunch of the day or posting her outfit of the 7 days a week? Raise your Blackberries!
Days of the week? Parang panty lang ha. Hehe, excuse me as I laugh 'bout my private joke.

Back to my excuses reasons...well, as a recovering agoraphobic, you'd understand that I had a lot of blog insecurities. Deciding on my blog header font alone took days, I'm really OC (boy, do I need help!). I wanted to integrate all of my favorite blogs' styles that it wasted me time starting my own. So, I just went ahead, and tried the easiest format, looked at the style that best fitted my aesthetic and figured that I'd just make many changes along the way.

Still, the green eyed monster didn't stay away. Just as I was in the process of negotiating with an artist to do my header...(say kina-career), this popped up...

 Waaahh! (butter churning moves on!) Over the moon.
Just when I was debating myself (now, I'm a schiz atop all) whether to go all the way with this blog and do the works (feeling sikat na ba?) or abandoning it, inspiration comes in the sweetest package!
I've mentioned before that I was such big big fan of Sally Shim's blog, and who better to pull me out of blogging limbo but her!

Really, this knocked me hard on the noggin', back to earth....and reminded me why I blogged in the first place. Ms. Shim put it perfectly, my blog would be a "wonderful place to connect with friends and family..."
And that it shall. I forgot that I shouldn't be conscious of what the blog paparazzi would throw at me, I had quite a few traumatic ones before (and I'm not even a blogging starlet,I'm more of in the indie category, so to speak). I didn't even listen when one of my bestfriends told me "just hella write what you want!",one even offered legal advise.hehe. 
I'll write for myself and the people who don't care if my spellings wrnog. 


After all, if some won't like what they see, it's their fault they looked.


Thank you so much Sally! You'll forever be my blog heroine.

Ciao: Au Naturel

7 posts/month? dismal. So here's making July's 8th. I've been really busy lately, work rounds, out of town jobs, hitting the (hard) books!, going back and forth to check on my sick grandma...all while trying hard to get home early to read T his Cookie Monster book. Now, as if I'm not busy enough...me and Dada signed up to be social entrepreneurs! Well, we just signed up as members of this enterprise, but really...its a cause we really support. In a small way,we're now part of the Human ♥ Nature family.
It all started with this...

...as I was cleaning out my locker from somewhere I used to train with, I unearthed my "overnight toiletries bag" -you know,the stash you leave at work just in case you can't get home to freshen up. And I found a 3-year old Human♥Nature lip balm (yeech),from where I got it? Maybe it was from that vegetarian cafe hiding inside the UP campus or maybe from my mom. All I remember is that aside from Burt's Bees, this was the only lip balm that works for me. Forgetting that there was such a thing as the internet, I asked around where I can get this again, as I was lazy to go to the mall (wasn't even sure if there were there), and heard that these were being peddled around Avon-style.
Then life happened, so I just forgot about it and finished 2 tubs of petroleum jelly for my lips.

Then, divine intervention. To my surprise, one of the blogs I followed featured Human Nature's flagship store (see here). But because I'm in the province since, and I have had many bad experiences with online shopping....it was so lucky that my mom found out that a family friend was a products dealer. Yeah! Reunited....though they don't have that Watermelon lip balm anymore, its now repackaged as Tutti Frutti.

H♥N Natural Lip Balm (see here) 

Yum, I tried Choco Fudge too and boy, it is what it is. But then,there were also the tinted ones..

H♥N Natural  Tinted Lip Balm (see here)

I don't want to wear lipstick anymore...wait, that's a lie. But it makes you want to. My Flame Tree is always in my pocket. And being so OC, I have one for my bag, one for the car, and one for emergency! Its a quick go-to when you rush out of the house without make-up, instant pickerupper!

Much has been said about Human Nature, and I'm so sorry to notice this so late. Mere fact that its 100% organic, I can't say no to this. You see, the Dada has always been a staunch believer in going all green. Before everyone was into being fit,and before milk teas replaced our mochaccinos, he already was into the healthier choice. So before T popped out of me, I knew that he'd remind me to make the same conscious effort to start him out on organic products. Of course I said yes, because I too believe in being as natural as possible-food,makeup, (even with milk-breastfeeding!- don't get me started)...lifestyle. Its a bit hard maintaining it though because there's a limited 100% organic market. You must know where to look and I believe it would would only work if you know how to strike a balance between whats available and not. Organic products are not cheap, as ironic as it is.

Aside from being organic & healthy, as the tag says: Human♥Nature is also pro-poor and pro-Philippines. From the couple organizations who deduct monthly from my bank account (not more than 100PHP naman, hehe, I have a family!) we have already been supporting Gawad Kalinga, Human♥ Nature's patriarchal organization. As I said, a hundred articles are already in print, and it won't take a rocket scientist to see that as their motto says: "only the good", it is really. Read about it here (and support!).

If you don't believe me, here's a very private peek into our sanctuary. And even more, a glimpse of our comfort room, so you'll see that we really try to integrate green into our dailies.

Don't judge a book by its moisturizer! Its just that my mom gets a lot of swag from work. So if you can see the Human♥Nature purifying facial scrub on the bottom left, this is an attempt to integrate organic into the cabinet. So far, its been great! Strawberries on your face, luxurious! Confession: my sisters, mom and many of my female relatives are now swapping products to test them all out..so you'll just see 1 face product/person now. But I've tried this already...

H ♥N Balancing Facial Wash (see here)

The magalogue reads: "What does Human Nature face care have in common with Chanel, Dior, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs? These top luxury brands all use manila elemi from the sap of the pili tree. This prized ingredient revered by the world's beauty industry is found only in the Philippines!"

Sold! Having a mom in the "beauty" business, I was constantly reminded since puberty to cleanse, tone and moisturize....to my mom's dismay, I was too lazy to. When I had a zit, mom will know what to do..really, I just relied on her to take care of my own face! But now, a late bloomer as I am, I now truly deeply appreciate her wisdom. And me trying this out, didn't disappoint. It was a refreshing wash and afterwards I felt so clean already!   But more of the beauty reviews later, I still have a week left to test everything...but know what, I ordered everything in advance already!

Of course, there's something for T.

To prove what I've said, here's Human♥Nature's Shampoo & Body wash next to Nature's Gate's-which we got at Healthy Options before, it did its purpose and I'd recommend it to anybody, but beside from H♥N's being cheaper, hehe, and more available, it smells great! It also comes in Pineapple Pawikan (original!), but I like this better. A little secret: I use it for my evening shower too (when I don't mind all my hair standing up)! I got to order a bigger one. If only H♥N would come up with toothpaste,I'm down to T's last tube of Earth's Best yummy Strawberry & Banana-flavored one (pictured above), he's kinda picky with toothpaste. This is the only one he'd gladly use, and brush his teeth with, on his own! Pagbigyan. And its also safe for kids to swallow. 

And of course,not just for kids but for you too! To get rid of those dengue fears...

Cheapest,most safe and effective bug repellant! Here are Human♥ Nature's against our former brand.
All Terrain's is less smelly, but I really don't mind the Citronella scent, and less greasy..it does its job too but its 600+ bucks! So long, farewell!

...super long story, so back to being members. We chanced upon their flagship store one fine day last week after bringing T to his former pediatrician for a social visit. After reading into the enterprise and researching thoroughly, we signed up without hesitation. Honestly, we figured that we believed in the products anyway, so why not? Pro-poor, pro-Rp and pro-environment, and with just 799 pesos with included bestselling products, sold,sold, sold! To learn about it more, send me a message or check it out. You can order directly or because we love you...you can use our members' discounts!