Pasalubong Diaries : Japan

My parents returned last night from their trip to Japan.  They signed up for a cruise that would take them to different cities along Southern Japan, but thanks to Typhoon Vhongfong they spent more than half their time out at sea.  Their captain did his best to keep them safe, so instead of stopping at the different ports like they were supposed to, they ended up spending 5 days hiding out near west Korea.  They’re a little disappointed to not have seen the places they wanted to see, but we’re all just really glad that they’re safe.  Besides, they still enjoyed themselves despite being stuck on the ship for 5 days.  They lounged around, watched some great shows, ate plenty of good food and got a lot of relaxation time.

Naturally, they weren’t able to do much shopping, but they still managed to pick up some goodies for Ezra and me.

Green tea and strawberry cream daifuku, some strawberry pretzel sticks and onigiri.

Rice crackers, furikake and melonpan

We also asked my mom to pick up a magazine that has Satoh Takeru on the cover.  Since Rurouni Kenshin just came out, we figured it would be easy for her to find a magazine that featured him.  Unfortunately, my mom is still not that skilled when it comes to differentiating Japanese faces.  This is what she ended up getting:

Hello Ryo-chan~

It’s not Satoh Takeru, but Ezra and I are still happy.  After all, we were huge NEWS fans back in the day.  Ryo and Yamapi were our favorites.  (The next issue of Anan will have Yamapi on the cover.  It’s already been released but unfortunately my mom wasn’t able to get it for us T__T)

Thanks Mom and Dad for the gifts!  We’re glad you enjoyed your trip despite the change in plans.

Pasalubong Diaries : Korea III

My parents go on trips a lot and I usually post their pasalubongs here on my blog, so I decided to make a separate little section called “Pasalubong Diaries” where I can stash these kinds of entries.  Some people may see it as simply showing off, but I like doing it to show my gratitude to my parents 🙂  Believe it or not, they actually read my blog, and seeing posts like this makes them happy.

Anyway, a few weeks ago my mom attended a conference in Korea.  Normally Ezra and I aren’t picky about our pasalubong – we’re more than happy to accept anything from my parents’ trips, but Korea is a different matter.  We love Korean cosmetics so we usually provide our parents a short list of certain items we want 🙂   Here are some of the things Ezra and I asked our mom to pick up for us while she was there:

Etude House goodies!

Wonder Pore Freshner and Brush – I’ve been hearing great things about the Wonder Pore line so I decided to give it a try.  My skin’s been breaking out horribly due to many sleepless nights, so hopefully this will fix it

Week 25/52 : Learn to appreciate what you have, before time makes you appreciate what you had.

Shot and edited this weeks ago. Again I’m not sure why it took so long for me to upload it.

The little strawberry “plushie” is actually a bag/pouch which Ezra got for me when she went to Baguio around the end of May. She saw it and thought of my deviantArt/Flickr/youtube username (“ilovestrawberries”) so she decided to get it as pasalubong for me. Thanks Ez!

I really need to catch up on my 52-week project! I’m 3 weeks behind again. I’ve been so busy these past few weeks. I barely have time to sleep, let alone take pictures~

Early birthday loot : Korean Makeup (Tony Moly, Etude House, Missha)

I was originally going to call this entry “Pasalubong from Korea III”, but since most of these are birthday presents, I decided to just call it my birthday loot XD

My parents went to Korea again for another workshop and they asked Ezra and me what we wanted for pasalubong.  We normally ask for just one of two items (one from each of them), but my mom told me that since my birthday was coming up, I might as well make a list of all the stuff I want.  Booyakah!  It just so happened that I was at Tony Moly for the first time a few weeks ago and I found a bunch of stuff I liked.  I didn’t have that much cash to spare at the time so I walked out without buying anything.  This turned out to be a good thing after all because I ended up getting these items without having to pay for them.  I love birthdays XD

Pasalubong Diaries : Korea II

Gifts from my parents who arrived this morning from a 3-day workshop in Korea:

My sister and I asked for some Korean make up products but my parents couldn’t find a mall near the workshop venue,  so they ended up having to get them from the Duty Free  at the airport.

Ezra got the Precious Mineral BB Cream from Etude house and some samples of the Collagen Moistfull Massage (whatever that is).

Pasalubong Diaries : Korea (More Etude House goodies!)

My parents arrived home yesterday from their 4-day trip to Korea, where they attended a conference for work.  Ezra and I wanted to go with them, but we couldn’t afford to miss any of our classes.  Anyway, the presents they got us show how much they really know us.  We didn’t ask for any of these when they left, they found them all on their own (well, mostly).

My mom got me this Dear Darling Lip Tint from Etude House, yaaaay~  I tried it today and its pretty similar to the Lip and Cheek Stain from the Body Shop.  The only thing I don’t like about it is the smell.  It sorta reminds me of cough syrup.

She got this Dear Darling Lip Gloss for Ezra.  This one smells really good.

My dad didn’t really know what to get us, so he texted me that night to ask if we needed more BB creams since they were cheaper over there, LOL.  (I was surprised he knew what BB creams were and how much they normally cost).  I told him we still have some left, so I asked him to look for other Etude House products that we’ve been meaning to buy.  They went back to the shop the next day to get them for us.

He got me this Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Finish Pact.  I saw this on my last visit to Etude House about a month ago.  I haven’t read that much reviews about it since it’s still fairly new (I think), but I wanted to try it.  The words “oil solution” caught my attention (I have oily skin), hehe.

Pasalubong Diaries : Thailand

My parents went to Myanmar last week for work.  On their way back to the Philippines, they stopped by Thailand to do some shopping.  They arrived today with presents for me and Ezra 🙂

My mom got me two new skirts:

Blue school uniform skirt, hehe.  She got me one exactly like this two years ago, but in black.

And a gray plaid one.  I love it!  The little bows are so cute~

I don’t really wear skirts that much, but my mom keeps buying them for me whenever they go to Thailand.

Ezra asked my mom to buy her one in every color (that she doesn’t already have).

Thanks Mama~ 🙂

My parents also got us some of our favorite Thai treats:

Jelly fruit thingies(?)  Ezra loves them.

Yummm~ Marshmallows with chocolate filling (the one on top has other flavors – banana, lychee, melon and strawberry)

Giant bottle of Yakult or whatever it’s called over there (my dad drank half of it already)

Plus some noodles, desserts and other stuff I wasn’t able to take pictures of.   So much for my diet, haha.

Anyway I’m glad they’re are back.  I was a bit worried because of all the riot that was going on in Bangkok last month.   I’m happy my parents got home safely 🙂