Books I Read – Page 4

#BLOGMEETSG: TRAVEL EDITION

May 6, 2016 by Little Miss Honey 4,088 Comments

I am always excited when there is another #BlogMeetSg. Every #BlogMeetSg is always different. I may meet some familiar faces which I am delighted to see again but there will always be new acquaintances in every #blogmeetsg I go to. Let me tell you more about #BlogMeetSg.

BlogMeetSg was started by Lucy of Lulabelle Lifestyle to give opportunities for bloggers in Singapore and local brands to network and create a harmonious relationship in and out of the blogosphere. This latest #BlogMeetSg channels my wanderlust and my innate desire for travel. I am excited to be invited to the #BlogMeetSg: Travel Edition. The venue was at the hip Haji Lane in the showroom of August Society, one of the brand sponsors for gathering.

We were greeted by colorful healthy juices of Daily Juice to quench our thirst. The juice shots were refreshing and it was great that it is preservative free.

We were also served with a beautiful and yummy canapes from Fine Palate. Fine Palate is a leading gourmet catering company in Singapore. They have been impressing their clients with their high standard and one-of-a-kind menu list. I am stopping myself from grabbing a few more of their tidbits so others can try them also. I love every canapes that I tasted. I was happy to chat with the owner of Fine Palate who told me that she makes sure that their food are perfectly-made with high quality ingredients. They do catering for big and small parties. I love that they come in brown pretty boxes. It is a good gift to take to a party and the host would be so grateful for such a wonderful treat. No need for catering plates, the box is perfect for serving the canapés already.

I entered the main hallway of August Society’s showroom. On my left, I saw colorful bathing suits hanging. August Society offers swimwear for every women using high-end fabrics and functional designs with great attention to details. Singapore has been having quite a hot weather lately that I am imagining myself in one of these pretty maillots near the pool, maybe with a Daily Juice drink on left hand and a Fine Palate canape on right hand. There are bikinis, maillots, one pieces and tankinis. There is a bathing suits for everyones’ own preference. August Society was founded by Toni Chan who is also the creative director of the brand. She is also gorgeously pregnant. I wish I could look like her when I am pregnant. Sigh! Since I just gave birth two months ago, I was searching for a swimwear that will hide my ‘still-protruding” belly and my vertical caesarean scar. I am happy that Toni showed me some pretty maillots and one pieces for me. The great thing about August Society is that $5 SGD from every swimsuit sold are donated to help clean waters in communities in need.

On a table near the door, there are the display of lovely stuff from one of my favorite brands, Typo. I am not surprised that Typo has joined the travel edition of BlogMeetSg because they have great stuff for travel. As a matter of fact, my travel wallet where I placed our family’s passports, tickets and travelling documents is from Typo. They got eye masks for airplane rides, luggage tags, travel journals and different travel pouches. I love that their stuff are unique, fun and quirky. And I enjoyed meeting the people behind Typo who are equally fun and quirky too. Typo is my go-to place when I want to buy greeting cards (FYI: their cards are so funny!) and gifts.

On the ride side of the room, I found a pile of Lost Guides Bali books that was nicely arranged in a shell tray. I love the cover of the book. I love green color! Lost Guides is a different type of travel guide because it offers you options of places you don’t often see in other travel guides. It is written by the delightful Anna Chittenden. I can’t wait to check out Lost Guides Bali in my next trip there and I would happily recommend it to my sister who will be spending her birthday this September in Bali.

Photo Credit: Lulabelle Lifestyle

On the same table, I saw a display of espadrilles from Cote & Badt. Code & Badt was started by two Spanish bellas, Sandra and Samira. The shoes are handmade with high quality materials all the way from Spain. I love espadrilles particularly the high wedges. It is easy to dress up or dress down your outfit with a pair of espadrilles. The sparkly flats were just as lovely. They are light and comfy, great for travels.

On the far end of the room was set up for bloggers to do a flat-lay contests with all the products on sponsors plus some props, a lights and a small bench. I am not sure if my flat lay skills are at par with the other bloggers but I think mine needs A LOT of improvement still. However, we all had a lovely time honing our flat-lay techniques.

One of the sponsors is the L Hotels & Resorts. L stands for Live Life which provides their guest a wonderful luxurious personal experience in their hotels & resorts. I haven’t been to one of their hotels but I am hoping that I can get to review the hotel one of these days.

Another sponsor for that night was House of Sheens, a luxury lifetsyle brand for stylish women. They can be found in Amoy Street. I have seen their colorful elegant collection of bags, clutches and accessories in their website and I am in love! Their stuff are just perfect for a working mom like me. I cant wait to check out their showroom next week.

We went home with a goody bag from products and vouchers from the sponsors. Check out what is in our goody bags below. It was another successful BlogMeetSg. Thank you Lucy for this amazing get-together with brands and fellow bloggers. It fueled my love for travel even more and I am looking forward for my next get-away with my family.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: ANG DIARY NG LEGAL WIFE

April 26, 2016 by Little Miss Honey 1,555 Comments

I have to clarify first for those who would readily jump into conclusion that I am having trouble with my marriage. Haha! Nope, I am not in a hopeless marriage but this book caught my eye in a Christian bookstore that I believe some of my friends would benefit from. But before I give them this book as a gift, I have to check first if it would give value to their lives.

It is a small thin book but contains a lot of gems to consider for wives. What is interesting about this book is that it is written by Malou Tiongson-Ortiz who is separated but not annulled to her husband. It is hard to follow the advice of a person who doesn’t have a successful marriage of her own. But then as you read on, you realize that she used her experiences to become a lesson for sharing and inspite of her troubled marriage, she is blessed with wisdom & fortitude. She is a graduate of Fine Arts in University of Santo Tomas and currently pursing the Masters of Arts in Pastoral Counselling at the Asian Theological Seminary. She also is the former Vice President of the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines. She has written several inspirational books. She is also a mother of 2 boys and one girl.

Malou started her book saying that ‘Marriage is not a joke.’ (Magasawa’y di biro). That is true. Marriage is not a fairytale story. It can be bloody and messy. It is a lot of hardwork. But it is also a source of joy, inspiration, contentment, support and of course, love. She recounted a bit of her unsuccessful marriage and justified why she is writing this book. Her book is anchored heavily on the Christian view and the Bible. She emphasize the biblical approach of marriage which is very hard to swallow for the modern women of today that ‘Wife should submit to their husband.’ She explored on the meaning of love. She gave an example of Agape Love, how God love us unconditionally which we try our very best to emulate with our husbands. We must love them, warts and all because we have to face it, wives, too, aren’t always the Disney princesses they aspire to be. She emphasized that “Love is a decision, not a feeling.”

Malou has a chapter on the Legal Wife – You and a chapter on the Other Woman – Her. She gave an example of an ideal legal wife through the bible – the Proverbs 31 woman. We can try our best to be a good wife to our husband according to God’s plan. However, there are circumstances that inspite of the wife’s unfailing love, broken marriages still happen. Then the question is ‘Martyr ka ba?’ .

Then there is the Other Woman. Husband take on another woman whether the wife has shortcomings or not. How a woman become the Other Woman could be due to a deeper psychological need that hasn’t been addressed.

Of course, there is the option of annulment (divorce is not an option in the Philippines). Is that the solution? Annulment is the dissolution of marriage but in the biblical perspective, there is no such thing as annulment. You may annul your marriage but in the eyes of God, you are still marriage. So that may be the premise of the author why she remained married in name to her husband even though they are not living together.

If I will have a take-away for this book is that you should offer your marriage to God, do the best that you can in your marriage, don’t burden your husband by forcing him to be the only source of love and happiness and no matter what happens, life goes on. It is nice touch in every end of chapter is a prayer.

I recommend this to all marriages may it be hopeless or not.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: #GIRLBOSS

March 30, 2016 by Little Miss Honey 1,188 Comments

I been looking for this book for the longest time. After a long search, I finally found the book, #GirlBoss. I didn’t know what to expect when I bought this book. It is a mix of an autobiography, self-impowerment/motivational book and book for starting entrepreneurs.

Sophie Amoruso is the author of the book and founder & CEO of Nasty Gal. Honestly, I have never heard of Nasty Girl before. I learned that Nasty Gal is an American-based online retailer of hip clothes, shoes ad accessories for young women. It was started by Sophie in 2006 and soon became a fastest growing retailer.

Sophie started the book by giving a chronology which lead her to being a #GirlBoss. Then she had a chapter of why women should be #GirlBosses. She, then, narrated how from jumping from different jobs lead her to start an ebay store selling vintage clothing. She used her innate good instinct in fashion and photography to her advantage. She realize that this is where her true passion lies. She worked hard to give her customers the best products and soon her ebay store gained so many customers and following. She eventually shifted to her own website and got an assistant. Her online store became such a success in a matter of time. Their sales were impressive at a short period of time. Soon, she needed more employees and a bigger office space. I have an inkling that the movie, “The Intern” starring Anne Hathaway got a bit of their story from Sophie Amoruso’s story.

Sophie reminds me of that rebelious classmate of yours that are just too cool. I would be too scared to go near her because I am sure I will either get bullied or insulted and I am sure she would find me too boring. She is the type of classmate that I would admire and fear at the same time. But as she progressed to became the #GirlBoss that she is today, I couldn’t help but idolize this woman. She is the real deal. She is authentic, hardworking, cool and just amazing. She unbashfully mentioned her previous shitty (pardon the language) jobs, even her stint as a shoplifter.

Sophie gives great advice for starting entrepreneurs. She values hard work, treating her customers right and pride in her products. She asks and learn along the way. She also take good care of her money. She doesn’t live lavishly even when her bank account is getting abundant. She believes in the power of magical thinking but with her feet on the ground. She gives excellent advice in taking good care of business.I am not sure if the older generation of entrepreneurs would appreciate her struggle & method or understand the business in this technology-advanced world. In every end of each chapters, there are pages for other #GirlBosses with their advice.

“Money looks better in the bank than on our feet”

“Take care of the little things – even the little things that you hate – and treat them as promises to your own future”

“Treat your thoughts like your dollar bills: Don’t Waste ‘Em”

” Learn how to take cream of yourself so that the man you marry is the man you choose to be with and to just a man who will take care of you.”

I am officially a fan of Nasty Gal and Sophie Amoruso. I am literally stalking her in instagram. She is awesome! I recommend this book for younger entrepreneurs, fashion addicts and strong women. This book shouts girl power, loud and clear!

Website: www.nastygal.com