My Japan Adventure: Day 1

I feel extremely annoyed at myself for becoming so lazy. Not really the best thing to be, especially just because the years only starting... 

Apologies aside, I'm here to talk about how I began my year with a bang! A lot of you may know that my dream really is to go around the world and one of the countries I dreamed to visit was Japan. Well, surprise surprise, guess who got to check that off her bucket list last January! 

I was so thankful to have passed the Japan airport without having to be quarantined!! A few days before our trip, I felt really ill. I had a body ache like I'd never felt before, cough and colds which I rarely even get, and a fever. Talk about BAD TIMING?! 

So because of that, I didn't get to go to the Swedish House Mafia concert. *tears* I was bedridden and was given a whole lot of medication. From antibiotics, anti-allergy medicine, and vitamins. Eeeek. 

Thankfully my fever went away the day of our departure. Albeit, my body ache and cough and colds still stayed. 

This was right outside the airport. We're all smiling yet dying for warmth on the inside. It was about -2 degrees when we arrived!! Brrr.

Meet my brother, Josh plus my two family friends Alby and Pam. I traveled with them to Japan along with our parents and baby sister, Toni. :)

We stayed at the Universal Studios hotel, which I really loved! Funny thing was, we didn't even get to go to Universal Studios because we decided to go to other places around Japan instead. We also figured it probably wouldn't suffice to the one we visited in America anyway. 

Was room mates with Josh and Alby! Only girl, again. :( #WhatsNew HAHAHA. 

I loved how the room had three beds! We all got to sleep well without having to share. Haha. Also loved how the shower and toilet had separate doors. WHICH I forgot to take a photo of, shucks. They had complete toiletries and more which we all absolutely loved and a toilet that automatically did things like flush, clean, and massage. It was amazing!

Because we arrived quite late, we decided to go to Lawsons (somewhat like their Mini Stop / 7 11) and get some dinner. 

Check it out! Ready made soft-serve. Hihi.

Lawsons food wasn't all that bad! We actually all enjoyed it very much. We all actually wished that the convenience stores here in the Philippines would serve good quality food like theirs. 

You've got NO IDEA how excited I was to wake up the next day and really start my Japan Adventure. :D 

So watch out for my next post!

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Wide Awake

Like every other girl, I have this bad habit of "impulsive shopping" when things of the like are offered at a very low price. Everything you will see below are of 350 bucks and below. Majority of these dresses were only 140 bucks can you believe! So you can see why I went bonkers. HEHE.

A few people have been requesting that I make a separate post about the things I bought in the market while I was in Taiwan. Well, here are some of the outfits I put together! 

I have a certain addiction for bows, as you can see in this other post here. I found this belt really chic so I bought it in several colours. When there's an item I know I'd wear often or love, I buy them in different colours for more variations.

The possibilities are endless when you get the hang of accessorizing! ;)

I'm actually not big on skulls, but the I fell in love with the colour of this chiffon top so bought it anyway. 

This dress stood out among the dress mountain I was going through. It's physchedelic print really caught my attenion! I love dressing up in colour. I think that's why I love this dress so much. :)

Anybody watch New Girl? Well, I personally love the show! I think it's cute and funny. This dress really reminded me of Jess for some reason. Don't you think so?

I fell in love with this bag because I found the colour so refreshing. It's just the type of bag I should be using on a typically hot day here in the Philippines. 

There's nothing I love more than chiffon and detail! This dress was a bonus for me as it had both. :)

If there would be 5 things in my closet that I can't have enough of, it would have to be:

1.) Chiffon tops

2.) Tank tops

3.) Cardigans

4.) Shorts

5.) Flats/Sandals

These tops were only 200 bucks each, including the floral tank tops! It was definitely a good buy for me.

I've always wanted to buy a crochet designed cover-up but never got to because my mum would always say: "Sweetie, you're too young to be a granny!" 

She wasn't with me during this trip so there was nobody to stop me from buying it. No regrets though! I really do love it. It gives me this sort of comfort.. I mean, I love my gramas. :)

Wedges! One of my favourite pairs at the moment. I love it for its colour and height. A lot of people don't like when I wear heels because I look gigantic. But I really love how they elongate my legs to make them look thinner! 

I don't wear heels often because I would always choose comfort vs. style. But these wedges are definitely an exception as they are very comfortable!

So, I hope you enjoyed the photos! Watch out for these outfits as I'll definitely be wearing them sometime soon. ;))

I love Katy Perry and I find this song catchy like all her other songs. I found it quite relevant to the post. As silly as this is going to sound, always shop with opened eyes! Especially in markets where they sell things at a cheap price. They usually hide the good items in between other ensembles so just be patient! It will all be worth it in the end, really. 

HAPPY SHOPPING!!! 

Comments are much loved down below. :)

For any questions or inquiries on anything, don't hesitate to e-mail me at:

alyssalopezarellano@gmail.com 

My Singapore Adventure!

Come on a ride with me as I reminisce on my Singapore adventure last February of 2012. :)

P.S. Just to warn you, this may be photo heavy. 

Traveling is one of my favourite pastimes. Part of my bucket list is to travel around the world. I love everything about it! The thrill of experiencing new things just makes me happy. :)

This trip was very memorable because it had a lot of firsts. 

1.) It was my first time to travel alone (well, with my brother) to a different country that is.

2.) It was my first time visiting what is known to be the cleanest country in the world, Singapore. 

3.) It was my first time to watch Wicked!!

My mum even made us step-by-step note cards to follow as we embarked on our little journey. 

My brother and I were extremely scared traveling without a parent, but afterwards loved the experience and asked to travel without a parent again. HAHA.

We stayed at The Fairmont Hotel. It was pretty awesome because it was connected to a mall! So Josh and I went around while waiting for our mum.

We were both famished. We wanted to try Skinny Pizza, and our meal consisted of this...

We ordered their best selling pizza, which was "The English Breakfast". It was pretty good! We really enjoyed it. The crust was crisp and the toppings were really fresh.

As we were reading the menu, we couldn't help but order this. It was a pretty safe choice, but it was a good choice too. I'm a big pasta lover and mozzarella is one of my favourite cheeses'. 

We were surprised with assorted macarons from Canele in our hotel room. I personally love macarons. I've tasted quite a number of them already and I would have to say that this is one of my favourites. The shell is crisp but moist and it is generously filled with buttercream or ganache. I was very satisfied. :)

On our first night, we took a stroll down the most popular shopping enclave in the city of Singapore, Orchard Road. 

Visited a few stores and did a bit of shopping but had to go because they were preparing to close.

When traveling, I try to bring ensembles that I can pair with several outfits like this denim jacket and my brown sandals that go with mostly everything.

Outfit of the day: 

Grey dress: Topshop - Braided belt & Denim jacket: F21

Sandals: H&M - Peace necklace: Bazaar

 

Being the Ice Cream lover that I am, I was very excited for the Ben 'n Jerry's scoopery! 

Taking the train is the most common source of transportation in Singapore. I wasn't as stressed because unlike the Philippines, it was very clean and organized. 

For lunch on our second day, we decided to eat in Din Tai Fung. It was awarded one Michelin star as one of the world's Top 10 Best Restaurants in the New York Times. 

If you guys haven't tried it, I highly recommend that you do! It seriously was the best Xiao Long Bao I've tasted. We ordered 30 pieces and had 10 each. HAHAHA the little fatties inside of us came out. 

Couldn't help but have my photo taken with the Abercrombie floor models because I found their polaroids so cute. 

Had an early dinner at Mozza. Mario Batali's restaurant! Everything we ordered was good. The margarita pizza infused with truffle oil was my personal favourite. :)

Wicked, the reason why we went to Singapore in the first place. I was at a loss for words as it was definitely the best broadway play I've seen so far! 

 I love musical theatre! As I myself, loved to perform as a child. 

Wicked was too amazing for words. I was getting "goosies" as they were opening the curtains. The cast was from Australia and not New York, but they did exceptionally well! I seriously couldn't find anything wrong with the performance. Usually, there's someone that isn't so great vocally, or the costumes are tacky, or the set was just so-so. But this show was perfect! 

Got to have our photo taken with the actor that played Fiyero!

It was inevitable that I would love Singapore because of it's utter cleanliness, but I also really fell in love with the city's architecture. It was all so refreshingly modern. 

Being a kid at heart, I couldn't pass on not visiting Universal Studios! It's much smaller compared to the one we visited in LA but it was still fun. :)

I'm not much of an adventurous person when it comes to rides. I'm terrified of roller coasters that have loops because I had a very traumatizing experience as a kid, but rides like these I can do. 

We waited in line for about an hour with no exaggeration. I almost wanted to leave because I was really hungry. (What's new. HAHA!) But I'm glad we didn't because it was really awesome! It was a 4D stimulation ride, and I didn't want it to end. 

I actually liked how this shot turned out! I didn't even have to edit it because the natural light was good enough. 

I couldn't help but buy this at the candy store! I love Kinder Bueno and I absolutely love white chocolate. 

To be honest, it wasn't all that great. The original is still so much better! 

We had a chinese dinner at the Fullerton Hotel over looking the beautiful Marina Bay Sands.

We ordered the usual Sweet 'n Sour Pork because it's our ultimate chinese favourite! It was good, but we weren't really used to eating it because it wasn't boneless. 

Being the tourists that we are, we took the Singapore Flyer. The world's largest giant observation wheel!

Our experience was so much more memorable on the giant wheel because somebody proposed in the same chamber as us. With 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri, A bouquet of flowers, and a ring in his hand. It was just so sweet, I couldn't help but smile. :)

The infamous Merlion, which is used as the mascot of Singapore. Definitely one of the tourist-y places when visiting.

My outfit for the day: 

Striped top: F21 - High waisted pants: Zara - 

Flats: H&M - Necklace : Bazaar

Forgive us for my mum wanted to take a cheesy tourist shot. HAHA.

The book I was reading on the way back. It's entitled The Best Of Me by Nicholas Sparks, as cliché as it may sound he is one of my favorite authors. :")

Thanks for coming with me on this journey to Singapore! I know it was really photo heavy and quite long but I hope you did enjoy reading it. 

So what do YOU love doing in Singapore? :)