why not start the new year with cupcakes?

i hope everyone had a great / fabulous / crazy / awesome / fantastic / amazing / memorable new year's eve. i still can't believe we are stepping into two thousand and nine! that's just crazy. then again, time is flying by without even us knowing it!

so here's to 2009! let it be even better than 2008.

i also would like to mention my gratitude towards the people who reads my blog. i never went into the whole blogging world thinking that i would get to meet friends and people who shares the same interest as me. let alone people liking my work!! so iyeah, i appreciate every little comment that you guys write to me, and the emails has been wonderful. i just hope i can continue to be better in the new year..

EDIT - i changed my layout again. this time only the background. i swear, i get really bored easily!! oh well. i guess the change would be nice to ring in the new year..? or am i making excuses? hmm.

thankful

i don't think i say enough of this in my life. and i may be someone who takes things for granted.. but 2008 has made me realized how blessed i am as a person. i can honestly say that i am so content with my life at the moment.. it's just at a place where i am at peace, not longing for anything and everything is just the way it should be.

nibbling away

i never liked celery sticks until i tried it. it's one of those things which i thought would taste really yucky and crap but turned out to be something i really like. we had a snack session with the triple c's: celery, carrot and cucumber. it's healthy and fresh at the same time. i think it would have been nice to pop in some corn chips, then it'll be quadriple c's..

my doodles seem to be all over the place lately. all these random ideas just come to me and i have no way to organize them.. so i guess it shows in my blog.

ps. only a day left in 2008. how freaky is that?

the sound of music

i love that song. and it gets to my head randomly.. probably because it's so catchy. i have not seen the movie for such a long time now! i think i should watch it again soon, it's becoming rather vague for me.

there were fake rail tracks and i had to take a picture of it. i thought it was so cute. and i wouldn't mind having something like that in my future house. and the shoes pictured are really old. well, not that old just a couple of years.. but i love it.

i had the yummy latte again the other day. i couldn't resist but to take a photo of it because every time there would be a heart on it.. and i don't think i'll ever get sick of taking photos of it. hmm.. i wonder if they'll ever do different shapes..?

still in the mood..

these photos were taken on christmas day. my sister cooked all of us a christmas breakfast that morning.. it was so simple but extremely yum!! i love having a sister who is a good cook cause i for one, cannot cook at all and i depend on her a lot.

this is true. i don't really like ice creams.. i don't mind gelato or frozen yogurt that aren't too milky but if i had a choice, i would definitely pick popsicles! i guess i'm not a milky person and i prefer to have something sour and tangy compared to just creamy and sweet.

ps. i bought the latest issue of teen vogue yesterday. i don't know if it's just me but the magazine went through a serious crash diet..!! as in, it has gotten so thin that it didn't even feel like a magazine?! i am guessing that they must be cutting costs because of the whole economy depresssion but wow.. it's such a big difference to their regular issues!

anyways, i did find an interesting website from the magazine though.. which made me happy! check it out for yourself. it even has a cute name to it!! and i would seriously wear all of the clothes below. loving all the coats, dresses and beanies.

brown paper packages

this is how i ended up wrapping the presents for my family. i think they liked it. and it was so easy as well! brown paper and string always works every time. plus, i've already made those tags, the pink "hello my name is" for quite a while now. and i just wrote each of their names on it. i must admit though, i love wrapping presents. i wish i can wrap every day but that would be kind of silly.

i bought a beanie for my friend today. it's going to be a late christmas present.. which reminds me, i just mailed the doodles out today for those of you who left me your addresses on my email inbox. i am so sorry that i have only sent them today.. but at the beginning, i already said it's going to be super late. and i was right! anyways, all of them has been sent.. so whoever asked for it will receive it soon, hopefully!

back to normal

you know what's weird? the period of time between the day after christmas and new year's eve. it's such a weird arrangement! i mean, we celebrate for christmas and then everything kind of goes back to normal and then we celebrate again for the end of the year. i don't know if it's just me but it's weird having celebrations in such a short period of time. then again, it's not like it will ever change.

anyways, back to my normal doodles. i hope to get more time to doodle in the next couple of weeks. i haven't been doodling much lately and i think i might change notebooks cause i am getting really bored of my moleskine cahier. i might just use plain white papers from now on, they tend to scan better i think. i don't know, i guess i'll see what i can find.

merry christmas!!!!

the last advent doodle!!

i hope everyone had a merry merry christmas!! i don't have photos for today but hopefully i shall post them up in the following days. today was a good day though.. i was reading my diary from this time last year and i was in new york watching "ps. i love you" on christmas eve. and this year, i watched "mamma mia" on dvd with my sisters. we kept singing the songs all day.

what's in your folder?

i was tagged by sprinkle and betsey to do this tag..

here are the rules:
1. go to the fourth folder on your computer where you store your pictures
2. pick the fourth picture in that folder
3. explain the picture
4. tag four people to do the same

it's a photo of my collection of rings that i posted awhile ago. no story behind the photo actually. i was just bored and i decided to take photos of the rings i have and i realized that i have quite a lot that i don't really use.

so now i am tagging: natsumi, alice, summer and hrose

christmas eve 2008

advent doodle #23 and #24. i can't believe i did it. even though i got quite bored and restless about the whole advent doodle idea half way through the month.. i'm glad i was able to stick through it!!

now for some regular doodle.. i love this song. it's called "in this diary" by the ataris and i knew about it ever since high school so the lyrics just seem to always hit me hard.

hundreds and thousands. i wish they would make the biscuits softer and chew-ier. i spent last night wrapping presents and iyeas, i am that sort of person who does things at the very last minute. it's all done now though.. i'll post a photo of it later, or maybe tomorrow.

ps. i thought i was having chicken pox but it turned out not to be chicken pox. thank goodness!! can you imagine spending christmas and new years with chicken pox?!! pheww.. such a relief!!

incognito

advent doodle #22. eeeek!! three more days till christmas. honestly, i am getting kind of bored with these advent doodles. oh well.. most of the people who comes and visit my blog must be bored of them too. hmm, i kind of miss my normal doodles.. i'll be posting them up again as soon as christmas is over, i guess.

a photo of me taken by my sister while i was at that cafe with that great tasting latte from a couple of posts ago. i think i need a new bag. prefably the proenza schouler bag.. cause i seriously think i've used mine [pictured on the left] to it's extent already. and i am getting terribly bored by it too!! i need something less structured and something a little bigger..

advent doodle #21

i realize that i take heaps of food photos with my camera and i'm always posting it up on this blog. what can i say? i love food. and i especially love it when it's good food. there's just something so satisfying when a meal is good and you end up feeling happy because of it. for example, i had the best cobb salad the other day [pictured above] and i can't wait to eat it again. and i love seeing the food translate as a photo with all these vibrant colors. gosh.. i don't know what i'm rambling about.. i think it's cause i'm hungry at the moment!

anyways, only 4 more advent doodles to go. i can't believe it's going by so fast!

no longer at full speed

sigh.. i'm so glad it's the weekend!! it just feels like i need to slow down a little and take a break. so much has been going on and i just need a breather..

advent doodle #20.
five more days till christmas.
what?!!

the last friday before christmas!

advent doodle #19.

i've never tried eggnog in my whole entire life and honestly, i don't think i'd ever want to.. it just seem kind of wrong for me to be drinking it..? i'm not a big fan of milk either so iyeah, i guess eggnog is out of the question for me.

anyways, i love venti starbucks christmas cups. i know they have been around for a while now but i always anticipate it every year.. i always get excited to see their design year after year cause it just keeps getting better and better. just look at this year's one.. i love how it has the knitted texture!!

so here's a doodle from a quote which i thought was very true. most of the time, the best things in life are moments.. but i'm not saying that things can't make you happy cause they do. then again, i'd rather have moments than things.

anyone interested?

advent doodle #18.

i think most of us loooove presents.. i mean, who doesn't, right?? well, i was thinking of giving away some of my prints of my doodles [small, tiny ones] and maybe a christmas card along with it.. and if anyone is reading this, and is interested.. please leave me your name and address on an email at notebookdoodles@ymail.com but i must stress that it would most probably arrive after christmas.. so if you don't mind that, drop me an email and i'll be sure to send something your way!!

IMPORTANT: i have changed my email address to notebookdoodlesblog@gmail.com and i'm so sorry for any confusion but i've really had it with ymail this time.. junk gets through to inbox while the real emails go through to spam!! this is why i decided to use gmail from now on, it is so much more reliable!! i've already replied to the people who emailed me regarding my free doodles but if i have missed out on anyone, please email me again on the new one: notebookdoodlesblog@gmail.com!! thank you =)

i can't believe we only have 7 more days until christmas! that's just one week!

the 280th post

this was by far the yummiest latte i have ever drank!! seriously.. not only it was pretty but it was super yum as well!! i don't normally drink lattes but now i know what i have been missing out on. and it was perfect with macaroons.. i edited the photos on photoshop and i think i may have gone a little far with it.. in fact, i know i did but there's no turning back now so it is what it is.

oh.. i forgot to mention, i bought a new ring the other day. i have been eyeing on it for a few weeks now and since it was on sale, i decided to get it. and normally i don't use any gold jewelery.. i prefer silver cause it looks better on me since i am so pale and gold would just look retarded on me. but this ring was an exception. i love it to bits. you can see it in the photos above. i also painted my nails red-ish cause i was feeling festive.

advent doodle #17. i remember having to go to "carol service" back in high school during this time of the year. it was a compulsory thing and i used to hate it so much but i kind of miss it now cause i guess i didn't appreciate it back then. we would be wearing our school uniforms and going to church to sing carols.. it was a pretty nice tradition, actually.

i spent some time browsing online again to find a few things that i might like.. and this was what i came up with. 1. fujifilm polaroid camera: i already have this but an older version and this one is just prettier. 2. indie publishing book: it would be quite useful for me, i think. 3. cynthia vincent patent flats: cute.. i wouldn't mind it. 4. colorful masking tape: i don't know where to get these but they are really pretty! i found it on a korean website. 5. a rolleiflex mini digital camera: one word, damn.

sigh.. even though i compiled that list, i don't know what's wrong with me. it seems like i don't want anything or need anything at the moment. and it feels kind of weird?

toodles.

sometimes we just need reassurance

advent doodle #16. i saw christmas cookies being sold the other day. i didn't buy any though cause i thought i could always make some on my own.. but i am guessing that would never happen. unless there are such things are no bake cookies.. then i guess i can be bothered to make them. i wish i was the type of girl who cooks and bakes, but seriously.. i'm just not that type. maybe when i'll get older i will be that type but for now.. i'm just a girl who makes sandwiches.

i had this for breakfast the other day. yummiest thing ever!! smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers on slightly toasted wheat bread. i can eat this all day, every day. it'll actually be even better with bagels but i didn't have any at the time so i had to make do with plain old wheat bread. but still, it was delicious!

i used to write on my hands a lot when i was in high school.. when i was bored in class, i would decorate my school diary.. and then decorate my hands, my friends' hands.. and even the table i was sitting on. i guess i was never one who could pay attention without getting distracted by doodling on something. it's kind of funny to think about it now..

EDIT: new blog layout!

i changed my layout today cause i was getting bored with the previous one. gosh.. it took me ages to get everything perfectly in order. i have this obsessive compulsive disorder where i can never leave the layout as it is when it's not exactly the way i want it to be. but now, thankfully.. it is exactly how i want it to be. so what do you guys think? i think i might stick with it for a while. i just have to work on my banner/header now.

advent doodle #14 and 15

i realized that i haven't been posting much photos ever since the advent doodles have taken over the blog.. but no worries, i took some over the weekend and here are the results.. a snow white doll which was given to me from my uncle when i was still such a young girl. ever since then, my sisters always refer to me as snow white.. probably cause i have the fairest skin compared to them. i think this is the only doll that i've saved from my childhood..

i also bought a new pair of glasses a few weeks ago. it's super comfortable and so much better than my old one. probably because i spent quite a lot on this one.. considering it's dior homme. and iyeas iyeas, it's meant for guys but hey.. i thought it looks nice on me, so why the hell not? i also edited this photo on photoshop to give it that light and magical look.. and i kind of like it.

so many awards, so little time

i don't know if it's just me who is feeling this way.. but there has been so many awards going around in the blogsphere lately!! don't get me wrong, i am not complaining at all!! infact, i am quite happy as i have been given quite a few from different blogs, some are the same awards while others are different awards.


first of all, i was given the proximity award by: lily-sage, sprinkle, micaela and betsey.
and i also received the excellent award from: hrose.
and the premio and butterfly award from: mila.

so now, instead of passing along the same awards again and again [which i think everyone already has by now] i thought i might make my own award for my fellow bloggers!! i guess it can be something from me directly to you.. so here is the award.. and my list of award winners are as follows:

* betsey of una bella vita
* barbara of bfr magazine
* mila of loveology
* alice of fifikoussout
* lily-sage of pixie dust and rose petals
* charlotte of the tea drinking english rose
* melanie of you are my fave
* natsumi of natsumi nishizumi
* angela of rags and scribbles
* hrose of capture the castle
* debo of daily decadence
* summer of source of winsome
* jess of wild keiki
* micaela of the drifter and the gypsy

i guess there are no rules for this award, if you have received it then you can just pass it along to whichever blogs you like.. afterall, sharing is caring!

advent doodle #11, 12 and 13

yay! i am up to date with my advent doodles. it's just important for me to stick through something that i have already said i would do. i think that will be my new year's resolution actually.. sticking through what i say i would do.

can you feel christmas is coming..? it is so very near!!

it's the season to tag!

i was tagged by sprinkle and hrose quite a while ago and i'm so sorry that i am so slow with these things.. i've only had time to catch up with it now. so here is my tag list:

1. debo
2. natsumi
3. dara
4. betsey
5. mila
6. carrie

life in pictures and words

i have not used my watercolors for the longest time. i think i should get back on it soon. i kind of miss it. they make my doodles look more alive instead of static like the ones i color with the computer. what do you think? watercolor or computercolor?

the last one for the year

i know i have been posting quite a lot about gossip girl lately but what can i say..? i simply love it. unfortunately the last episode of the year has aired and we will all have to wait until next year for it to come back [january 5th to be precise].


anyways, i was browsing around to compile a "wish list" for what i want for christmas this year.. and i went everywhere but didn't really find anything that i really really want. of course, there are lots and lots of pretty headbands around.. and clothes here and there. but i realized that i only wanted one thing and one thing only..

a proenza schouler bag.

i think it will end up being a classic in its own way. it just has that signature look. kind of like balenciaga's motorcycle bag, which apparently is now called "arena" ?? oh santa.. please send one my way. thanks lots!

eeeek!!

i am behind on my advent doodles!! everything else seems to be taking over my time these days. everyone in my house is sick and i think they may have already passed the germs to me. so it might be a while until i post more advent doodles but i promise to have it up as soon as possible!

anyways, to make up for the advent doodles.. here are some angry/heartbroken/i-am-at-rage-with-a-boy doodles. to which i might add that, i think most of us feel this way at one point or another but once you get over the whole phase, you just realize that it's silly and continue to move on with your life.

advent doodle #10

my mind shouldn't be pre-occupied with things that don't make sense.

will you please..?

advent doodle #9. i've always wanted to have one of these. never owned one though. there's just something magical about snow globes. the way you shake it and all these glitter and "snow" falling down like a whirlwind. i will eventually find my own snow globe some day but for now, this doodle will have to do.

yummy cookie. i think it was 60 or 70% chocolate. i love the shape of it too. anyways, below is lyrics from a song my friend recommended to me. it's becoming one of my favorite songs.

planning ahead

advent doodle #8. probably a little early.. but hey, there is no harm in planning ahead right..? or having some sort of plan. i always tend to like plans.. they keep things in order. anyways, i said in my previous posts that i was going overseas for a holiday during the christmas/new year's break but apparently that is no longer the plan.... which kind of suck since it's always the tradition to travel and go somewhere foreign at the end of the year. but that is not happening this year.

photos from top to bottom: a little cabinet i bought to place my rings and earrings in. they don't fit much but i still like it anyways. three flavors of wafers and white tights with pink flats.

just an update

advent doodle #7

sorry for the lack of posts. i have been super busy lately and i need to catch up on a lot of school work. i'll be sure to post normally again soon!

i have a question for you

let's play musical chairs

advent doodle #5. who doesn't like candy canes? i mean seriously. i love it. i used to buy one huge packet from the supermarket and give them away while i was still in high school. fun times. and everyone would just be sucking away during class. it's really cute when they have super mini ones or super large ones..

anyways, i'm still on the whole gossip girl mood.. that quote above is from a song that rufus sang ages ago in one of the episodes. i have been trying to find the full version of the song but have failed miserably. but i did find a youtube version and that's good enough as it is.

also, those are my current favorite pj pants. they are the softest and most comfortable thing ever!! i guess it's kind of like leggings but not really, since it's pyjamas.. and i have about like 3 pairs of them. i should get more.. and maybe in different colors if they have it.

every inch of his soul

advent doodle #4. i don't know if it's too early to be jingle-ing now but oh well. it's a festive month so it wouldn't matter, i guess. i want to buy bells. i don't know where to put them or use them for but i think bells are kind cute.. and i love the sounds that comes out from it.

anyways, i have been snacking on these for a while now. i can finish a whole packet in less than two days. so addictive and yum! actually, i don't think i have any left.. i should go and buy some more. they are perfect with just iced water. it's soo good for when hunger strikes!

so i just finished watching gossip girl season 2, episode 12. aah.. i love it. blair and chuck is just the best. but i must say, blair's wardrobe was quite dissapointing.. i was expecting more out of her clothes since there was an event and all. but other than that.. i found it hilarious. i don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it but iyeah.. good episode. can't wait for the next one! apparently the next one will be the last one for this year.

letters and traditions

the third advent doodle. honestly.. i've never written a letter to santa before. not even when i was super young. my parents didn't really encourage us to do it.. all we were asked to do was to stuff our shoes with grass so that the reindeers can eat them.. and in the morning there'll be presents inside our shoes. sadly enough, i found a brand new toothpaste and a brand new toothbrush one christmas morning and i got over the whole santa phase.

i think we are the only family who puts grass in our shoes. do you have any weird christmas traditions in your family?

always and every time

my second advent doodle. i'm so glad to get such positive feedback about this idea! it makes me even more excited and encouraged to draw more.

so i heard news that we might be going overseas for the christmas/new year break. kind of excited but we'll see what happens. if that is the case, i better draw the advent doodles in advance, just in case i won't have my laptop with me while i'm away.