My food journal entry today is about our first date of the year, on January 4th, after the new year’s celebration has died down and things were about to get back to their normal craziness at work. My husband and I went to have lunch at Alba Restaurante Español at Westgate Alabang. It’s a recent discovery for us and we’re enjoying it a lot. Alba has been around for a while but we never really got the chance to try it until recently when we walked past it at Westgate and caught a whiff of garlic sautéing in olive oil.

That particular Sunday, I wanted to try a different main course but I was still hung up on their lengua sevillana, so that’s what I ordered along with paella valenciana. My husband ordered their steak, as usual, and I’m happy to say that they’ve consistently been really good.

The lengua was melt-in-your-mouth tender, and I love the depth of their flavors and bold use of garlic. The paella was served in a proper cast iron paellera, and everything about it was so delicious, including the socarrat at the bottom of the pan, that caramelized, crisp, layer that holds so much flavor.

I enjoyed the calm atmosphere and let myself relax while having a conversation with my husband and enjoying the good food. I sipped my frozen margarita slowly, leisurely, and felt the knots on my shoulder and neck just loosen up. I love this. I love us. I love not just the marriage but the friendship aspect of our relationship, and the fact that I look forward to our meals together and I love talking with him.

I would always remember this meal with some sadness, though, because as we were enjoying our coffee after, my husband’s aunt began having a medical crisis and had to be rushed to the emergency room. We quickly paid for our coffee and drove there. Just three days after, she passed away. I feel deeply sad about his aunt’s passing because I love his family very much. I love his titas, especially. Such is life, though. It moves on whether we’re ready for it or not. All the more reason to savor our life now and spend quality time with those that we love.

The first things I did in 2026 was just pray and write in my journal, which I have largely neglected in 2025. I had no time or energy for the things that I used to enjoy, and so I exclusively kept only a digital journal, which was okay but writing felt different to me. I rediscovered the things that I liked about writing in the first place—it forced me to slow down, to think about what I am writing, to be more present, to actually make time for myself. I actually felt relieved when I started to write. I’ve resolved to write more this year because it just won’t do when I don’t have the time and energy to take care of myself.

The year 2025 was not easy for me. My professional life has changed drastically. It was a humbling, stressful, nerve-wracking year for me. Since it took up a lot of space in my life, it also caused a big ruckus when it was disrupted. My relationships have largely been alright, but there were a number of disappointments that really broke my heart. I’ve had to come to terms with a lot of friendships cooling because sometimes the healthiest thing to do is to tap out.

There’s so much healing that has to happen in my life and I’m finding out how to do that right now. I don’t have a long prayer list. I just want to be okay. I want to survive this year, and then maybe next year I can thrive.

These past few months I’ve been struggling with hair-trigger vertigo. Any little thing can set it off, and it varies in intensity and length. I wrote about this here in my recovery journal.

One time I noticed that while suffering from a particularly bad bout of vertigo, my shoulders and neck felt very tight and hunched up. I made an effort to calm myself down and release that tension only to check again a few minutes after and find it in the same tense posture. Over the course of several months, I keep on checking on myself and never, not once have I caught myself in a relaxed posture. That was worrisome for me. One hundred percent of the time I checked on myself, my body was in this posture as if I’m anticipating something bad to happen. Whenever I have my vertigo attacks, I would consciously check on myself often and release the tension on my shoulder and neck. The effect it has on me is almost instantaneous. In most cases, it stops my vertigo from progressing.

How could I have existed for 46 years without knowing this about myself? I realized that this is exactly what it is…a posture.

When I watched that video of the late Emman Atienza’s interview where she talked about the trauma that she went through with her yaya, my heart just hurt so much for her. I went through the same thing, I was abused by somebody who should have been taking care of me while my parents were working. I was already a very quiet, introspective child, so bring targeted by an adult for abuse made me even more quiet and withdrawn.

I cannot overstate how damaging it is for a child to be left in an unsafe environment dominated by one adult who has all the power over you for that window of time until your parents come back home. Abused children often cannot verbalize the kind of torture that they are subjected to. The burden isn’t on them to let other adults know that they are being hurt, especially if the hands that hurts them is supposedly also the hands that take care of them. Children operate on a very basic level of survival. They are literally scared into silence because they understand that this is the best way to survive.

For a child who was left behind to someone so verbally and physically abusive, so emotionally manipulative, the body may not show marks but the emotional damage is definitely there.

My parents did their best to protect us, but that only goes to show that abusers can harm a child entrusted to them without the knowledge of even the most loving and caring parents.

I realized that it’s a very real possibility that I have been struggling so much with vertigo since childhood because my body feels unsafe, as if it’s under siege. It has become a posture. So any added stress can send it reeling on a runaway carousel. Can I still unlearn this?

These days I check myself often, so I can physically release the tension on my neck and shoulders. I still have not caught myself in a relaxed posture, but I am checking on myself more. I listen more closely to my internal monologue and if it is beginning to be overwhelming, I stop myself and reframe my thoughts. What a blessing it is to be married to someone who has always been a safe harbor for me. He is always gentle, never harsh. I am never afraid of him, never tense when I am home. I am very fortunate to have a husband who is sensitive to the subtle shifts of my mood and who takes very, very good care of me, but I also understand that the person who needs to take the best care of me now is *me. *

I have survived my childhood traumas, but I am realizing even more now that recovery can take a while, and it’s never a straight line. Now that I am an adult, I take time to acknowledge all that the little girl that I was before had to endure while growing up and I become that safe adult for her. I remind myself that I am safe, and I need not feel afraid anymore. I try my best to become a safe haven too for my nephews and nieces. An adult who loves them, is gentle with them, and will never harm them in any way.

I had a very rough couple of weeks. It was such a busy time at work and I was trying to shake off a bad bout of vertigo. I did my best to try and take care of myself, all things considered. I am beginning to feel better now. When I felt well enough to get in the kitchen, I steamed a couple of pompanos for me and the husband. He always loves it when I make this very simple dish.

I don’t normally measure the ingredients, I just go by feel. Normally I just wash the cleaned fishes and lightly salt the inside of the stomach. For the sauce, I mix light Kikkoman soy sauce (the one made especially for fish dishes), kabayaki sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, grated ginger, and minced garlic.

I put some of the sauce inside the stomach and then stuff it with slices of leeks, lemon, and ginger. Then I spoon some on a plate, lay the fish on top, and then smother the rest of the body. I steam it for 45 minutes or until the eye starts popping out. The husband likes lemon slices on the fish, it gives it a very distinct pop of acidity but I like it without lemon.

I like this fish because of the texture of the skin and the meatiness of the white flesh. It’s very filling. It also helps that it’s pretty easy to prepare. It’s harder to stack the steamer and wash it afterwards. 😅

We had a good weekend, just resting and spending time together. I worked a bit on Saturday, just to make sure my workload on Monday isn’t overwhelming, but I turned my laptop and notifications off and focused on rest and recuperation for the rest of the weekend.

One last food journal entry before the week ends. This one’s about a new spot that we discovered inside BF Homes called Old China. It’s along Aguirre Ave, near the intersection of Elizalde St. A and I like this spot because it’s quiet, when we visit it on our normal active hours (off peak hours for other people since we work at night), it’s not too busy. If you know what to order on the menu, it’s great value for money. Plus, the service is very friendly. We like little spots like this where we don’t feel like too guilty afterwards because it’s not super expensive, but the food and the quantity is pretty good.

Last week was rough. I struggled through one of the worst bouts of vertigo I’ve had in my entire life. Thankfully, it lasted only a day, but I felt the effects on my body for several days after. I’m still feeling shaky and a bit woozy even until now, but I am at least able to sit and read and write.

My food journal entry is about our weekend. I have some backlogs to catch up with since my vertigo slowed me down at work last week. I was super tempted to make it a working weekend, so that my work week this coming week will be more manageable. But I decided that I really needed to rest, and that will be my “investment” for the coming week, so that I will be more physically prepared for the rigors of work.

My husband took very good care of me while I was sick and he had a long week too, so I decided we both need to have a week with no demands on us. Nowhere to be, nothing to do, nothing to accomplish. We slept in, ordered food when we woke up, and spent time leisurely having fun. I was feeling well enough to sit up and read and so yesterday I read while in bed, in between naps.

Today I woke up early so I made fried rice and ordered our favorite pork liempo. This particular roasted pork is our favorite because the skin is so crispy, the fat properly rendered, and the meat is flavorful, with hints of lemongrass, calamansi, and salt. Today we ate it with kimchi. It was amazing. Then for TV night, I ordered hawaiian pizza for him, and my favorite “spinach dip” pizza which is a pie with a sinful amount of cheese and garlic, and scoops of creamy spinach dip on top.

I realized that I need to be more mindful on resting during weekends especially now that the demands at work are increasing. I’m also beginning to write again, which is helping me unburden myself mentally and emotionally.

I am guilty of ignoring the signals that my body gives me to slow down. I am very used to just powering through whatever is in front of me, but sometimes my body breaks in ways like this, and I remember that I need to be mindful about this too. I can’t keep on ignoring my need to have a quiet mind and a rested body because like it or not, I will get to the point where my body will reset, whether I’m ready or not.

Last month, I turned 46. I wasn’t really in the mood for anything fancy so I asked my husband if I could have “nostalgia food” for my birthday. We went to The Coffee Shop at Makati Supermarket at Alabang which is in the same spot as Luk Yuen, coincidentally both are some of our favorite places to eat with my parents. When we were children, they would take us to Makati Supermarket (in Makati) to eat in their old branch there and I would always order the same thing—their burger steak. It was my ultimate comfort food, and I associated many happy memories with it. We also ordered dinuguan with rice, which was a favorite of mine and my papa’s. At Luk Yuen, I ordered the same thing papa and I normally order there, a plate of chili dumplings, and a bowl of braised beef noodles with the soup on the side, drizzled with chili oil.

I enjoyed my birthday lunch very much. I haven’t had that burger steak meal for decades! It tasted just as good as I remember it. It really took me back to a simpler time, when I felt safe and protected by my parents. I’ve been an orphan for quite some time now, I should be used to this, but I think it’s a testament to how well our parents loved us that I still miss them. I miss their presence, I miss having conversations with them, I miss being their daughter and just feeling secure about the fact that the adults at the helm are holding steady. I thought that when you reach a certain age, you stop feeling like a lost child and start being a self-assured adult, but even at my age I still miss my parents’ guidance. Perhaps now, more than ever.

It felt good to write and make art with my hands again. I have been so wrapped up with the demands of work that I have not had the mental or emotional bandwidth to handle much of anything else. I need to take better care of myself. Making art and writing has always been a part of my routine, even as a child. Whenever I am not able to do either, something’s off-kilter with my life and I just never feel right until I have my creative outlets again. I remember during my call center years when I hardly had time or energy even to read. It never felt like I was thriving, I merely felt like I was surviving day to day. Things have been overwhelming lately, and I admit that in the effort to keep up with the daily grind, my mental health has taken a back seat. I can’t function too long like this. I don’t need to make good art (good by what standards, anyway?), I need to make art that heals and helps me, and I’m going to try to do better in the coming days. I need to force myself to pause and slow down.

Today’s food journal entry is about my favorite sandwich (or one of them, at least), an egg salad croissant sandwich. I’m glad that my brother’s cafe now serves these delightful little things. Egg salad sandwiches are my comfort food, and normally if I see them being offered anywhere when we eat outside, I cannot resist ordering. They often go with regular sandwich bread or baguettes, though. So I’m happy to get my two favorite things (croissants and egg salad) in one cafe. ☺️

Yuuuuum!

I’m happy that I had some time to write today. Actually, I made an effort to try and write something during my break time. Things have been pretty hectic recently and I find that I am more stressed than usual because even when I’m not working, my mind is still thinking about work. This isn’t because the people that I work with are asking more than I can give. I need a change in attitude and be more accountable with how I spend my free time.

Looking at my journal, even my non-art journal hasn’t seen an update in many months. A lot of times I just bang out a journal entry on my journaling app, and somehow that feels very different because it doesn’t force me to slow down. I think my penmanship suffered a lot because of it, I feel like I’m getting used to writing again.

Do I feel better now that I’m trying to carve out time for reflection and writing? Yes. I’m getting there. I am at least changing the internal monologue when I am resting, and I feel that it’s plenty helpful. Anyway, I have also set aside some time to visit the cafe again this weekend. Recently I have been so mentally exhausted that I often just want to stay home, read and sleep. I suppose it’s time to venture out again and get some much-needed sunlight. 😂 I shall get me some of my favorite sandwich on Saturday!

These past few months have been tough. There’s been a lot of transitions that I had to deal with and I hardly had any time to process any of it, much less write about my feelings. Yesterday I just thought I’d take a few quick minutes to make a journal entry in my recovery journal because I felt like I couldn’t afford to not fight for this pause anymore.

It’s times like this when I do not know whether being high-functioning despite my anxiety and depression is a good thing. It takes a lot for me to even begin to consider slowing down. My quick journal entry did help, though. It felt a lot like opening a pressure valve for a few seconds.

I had just finished a big project at work and I was finally able to take out my Hirono x Le Petit Prince collection to play! I wanted to take proper photos of them in a well-lit space because I think they’re really cute. The husband and I went to the cafe early and I was able to play a little. ☺️

I haven’t completed the series yet, there are still quite a few figures that I don’t have, but I did manage to get all the figures that I put on my top 5 list. I rarely collect toys except for my Bulbasaur figures because, let’s be honest, Bulbasaur is the cutest Pokemon ever. ☺️ I liked this series right away because I enjoyed The Little Prince when I was a child. It’s one of the few books that you could read at different points in your life and take away something new from it each time. Another such book is Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus, and I would definitely collect that too if someone will come up with toy versions of Stripe and Yellow.

I am definitely one of those adults who had several beloved toys while growing up and I was given the space and permission to continue loving them. I wasn’t shamed into “growing up” and letting go of my toys. My father in particular, would often buy me stuffed animals for my birthday, even when I was already working. These things are delightful to me. I find them to be wonderful expressions of the purest, childlike joy.

I realize that my parents, especially my mom who was a book-lover, made a lot of effort to provide not just books but a safe space for me to have a vibrant inner life. Before I learned how to read, my mama would come home from work and make the time to read us bedtime stories. I always looked forward to hearing those stories, and she read the books to us even when she was tired or sleepy.

When I learned how to read, she would often bring home books for me, and I didn’t realize until much later how challenging that must have been on a secretary’s salary. She made a gift of all these stories that took me to different, wonderful places in my childhood imagination. As an extremely introverted child who struggled so much with social interactions, having a rich interior life to retreat to any time I wanted saved me in more ways than I can articulate. One can never underestimate the power of stories.

A few days ago, A and I dropped by a nearby mall to buy groceries. I planned to cook more and eat out less this year and so far we’re doing pretty good in that area. I saw some good white shrimp being sold and bought two batches—one for a simple shrimp pasta and another for butter garlic shrimp.

I cut off the pointy bits of the head and then removed the shell and deveined the shrimps. I know that a lot of people prefer to cook shrimp with their shells on but I have a food sensitivity to shrimp and I find that my allergies don’t flare up when the shrimps are shelled and deveined properly.

I marinated the shrimp in lemon juice while I prepared the sauce. I wanted a simple tomato-based sauce so I sautéed thin slices of garlic and onion in butter and some olive oil. I added a bit of passata and tossed the shrimp in it until it’s cooked. I removed the shrimp and set it aside, then added the rest of the passata to the pan, added torn up basil leaves, a bit of sugar, salt and pepper and then simmered on low heat for about 20 minutes. Then in a separate pan, I sautéed pasta (which I cooked a few minutes earlier) in thin slices of garlic, butter, and olive oil. I added the sauce and some pasta water and some grated fresh parmesan cheese.

I put the pasta in a bowl, put the shrimp on top, added some chopped parsley and some more grated, fresh parmesan cheese. It was so simple and so delightful and so easy to prepare.

A was very happy. ☺️ We really should visit the wet market next month. Everything there would be fresher and cheaper. Hopefully we can make time to do that.

Journal entry: plate of sizzling sisig at Ero’s

Today’s food journal entry is about the humble carinderia (a roadside eatery). As adventurous as A and I are with food, we’re always up for a nice, simple meal in friendly neighborhood carinderias. We’ve had our share of hungry years and these neighborhood food stalls were instrumental in our survival. Much better than eating fast-food fare, carinderia food is an affordable way to eat home cooked food for a low price. Granted that the carinderias of today are a bit different from the ones we enjoyed while growing up (portions have become smaller, the quality of meat used has degraded) but still, it’s real food instead of super-processed fast food fare. Plus, you can have veggies and fish too.

I remember my favorite carinderias at UP Diliman during my college days. One carinderia-on-wheels in particular called “Aristocart” would tide me over whenever my allowance is almost used up. With just P20, I can buy a piece of fried chicken and pancit bihon. During my call center days, we had our favorite Jollijeeps near our offices. Sometimes you’ll find carinderias that had relatively better food than others, cooked with more effort. I always like buying ginisang monggo on Fridays. I’ve never figured out why almost all carinderias have that every Friday.

When we moved here in the south permanently after my mama passed away, Aljude and I found some village carinderias. Inside our village, there were carinderias that made good home cooked meals. Inside BF Homes there’s Ero’s and a whole lot of other smaller carinderias all over the village. In BF Resort, there’s Vibang’s. I like these little food spots because it’s still reminiscent of the kind of food that I enjoyed at home while growing up. A lot of my happy food memories with A also involved finding these little spots where we could have simple food, preferably with some inihaw na isaw on the side, while sharing a big bottle of Coke and great conversation.

The illustration in my journal entry above is the crispy sizzling sisig at Ero’s. I like sisig that is crispy, almost like chopped Lechon kawali with lots of onions and spicy green peppers. ☺️ It’s one of the best sizzling sisig we tried here in the south.

Bulbasaur making sure I stay on track.

I’m really happy because last week I was able to restart my coding classes. I stopped last year because a family member fell very ill, and then passed away early this year. It wasn’t because I became very busy during that time, but I think it’s more because I did not have the emotional bandwidth to learn. Even a few months ago, I tried to restart my classes and promptly fizzled and could not build any sort of momentum. I had to finally accept that I was still grieving and I was treading water. I accepted that I could not do much aside from what was needful for my job, my family, and the cafe. Still, I just waited for a better time because I really wanted to finish this course.

Last week, when I started my classes again, it felt different. I was more focused and receptive. Before starting my classes, I reviewed my notes from last year and added my new annotations. I feel that it prepared me better for class, and I’m glad that I took pretty great notes last year.

My notes from last year was a combination of typewritten texts, handwritten notes, and screenshots from the lectures. I realized that I could not do away with handwritten notes. Oddly enough, I remember those better than typewritten ones. My notes are synced across multiple devices and platforms and, depending on where I am, I can just pick up where I left off seamlessly. What a wild time to be a student.

I came from a generation when we still used card catalogues in libraries and floppy disks were considered new technology. You can store a whopping 1.44 MB of data on it lol. Now there’s cloud storage with TERABYTES of data you can buy so you can access your files from anywhere, any time, on any device and platform. That’s about 728,000 floppy disks on a 1 terabyte drive, readily available whenever you need it.

Like I said, wild.

I’ve made a lot of progress in the last few days alone. Hopefully I’ll be back where I stopped last year by the end of November, or probably earlier.

2024 iPad Air M2 13 inches Apple Pencil Pro

It’s been over a year since I purchased a used iPad Pro (1st Gen). It was super cheap and I really wanted to try out Procreate. I’ve been curious about that app for a while and I thought I would buy an old iPad that wouldn’t cost me too much because I’ve never been an Apple fan and all my devices are powered by Windows and Android. I really had no intention of using it for more than reading on Flipboard and using Procreate.

No one was more surprised than I am to find that I actually enjoyed using the device. I brought it with me more than my regular laptop, and I was often working overtime outside last year. I appreciated how light it is and how useful the big screen was, and how everything just…worked. Everything was just simple and user-friendly and beautifully designed.

Aside from my regular work (email, CRM, excel, etc), I did also use the iPad extensively (and exclusively) for graphic design and photo editing. I could say I got a lot of productivity out of it, more than I thought I would. Plus, Procreate exceeded my expectations and I really enjoyed learning it.

I don’t always buy new devices, oftentimes I just use hand-me-downs or buy used gadgets that are several generations behind the most current one. I typically use my devices until they cannot be fixed anymore, but this is one of the few times when I thought I could really use an upgrade of my tools. I wanted to buy the 13” iPad Pro but I honestly could not justify the price when there’s a 13” iPad Air which could do what I needed it to do just fine. I felt that I couldn’t go back to a smaller screen so I needed the 13 inches of display, and I’m glad that they offered that option for the 2024 iPad Air M2. I tried out the smaller versions but the drawing and browsing experience just wasn’t the same. I got the Logi Combo Touch keyboard to go with it.

I hemmed and hawed a bit about the pencil, but I decided that I would just get one now. I liked the new features, especially the squeeze and barrel roll. My old iPad Pro only worked with the 1st generation Apple pencil, which needed to be plugged into the iPad to charge it. It was a bit awkward because it protrudes from the charging port whenever it’s plugged in. The pencil also gave up the ghost and stopped working after I neglected charging it for a few months. Also, it might be a small thing for others, but I like that the new pencil has a matte texture now, as opposed to the glossy texture of previous pencils.

The iPad, keyboard, and pencil, when used together, is really such a productivity powerhouse for me. So far I am enjoying it a lot. I think I will look into getting a Macbook Air too.

I recently bought my first Montblanc, a Meisterstück 146. I haven’t really bought new pens in a while. After the initial excitement of being introduced to using fountain pens again, my desire to acquire fizzled and I rested in a comfortable spot of having curated the pens I currently own. Majority of these pens were given as gifts or acquired from friends under memorable circumstances. I’ve offloaded nearly everything that I bought for myself and kept only those with sentimental value. This is why I do not sell off my pens either, unless it’s for a very good cause. I also don’t buy new pens unless it’s for a good cause. ☺️

Having crossed this particular pen off my wishlist, I think I can safely say that I don’t have any more pens on it. Ten years ago, an empty pen wishlist would have been a quaint thing.

I’m pretty happy just using the pens that I have now. I’m more of a user than a collector, and I’m content with that.

That being said, this pen is really nice. It’s hefty without being uncomfortable in my hand and the material does feel luxurious. I like that it looks simple and elegant, a classic beauty. ❤️

Made with Sennelier watercolors on Sennelier cold press watercolor paper

Our cookie supplier liked the cookies I made in my journal so they asked if they could have a photocopy of the page. I said I would just make them a painting on watercolor paper instead. I dug up my Sennelier cold press watercolor block and made this.

I realized that I haven’t used actual watercolor paper for a while already. I think it’s been years. It was quite an adjustment because painting on Tomoe River paper and cold press watercolor paper is very different. Water moves very differently on these papers, and so the strokes, the amount of pigmented water you load on the brush, even the lightness of your hand when layering pigment would be very different. I missed the texture of cold press watercolor paper, though. If you work with it, it can give your paintings really nice depth and texture. If you like to make food drawings like I do, it makes painting realistic-looing layers a bit easier.

I hope I have more time to practice on wc paper. Maybe next month.

Today’s food journal entry is about cookies. Guess what’s coming to the cafe today? 🍪 Lotsa cookies!

I was hanging out at my brother’s cafe last weekend when a nice lady (a regular) dropped by and happily ordered cheesy fries. She had been dreaming about it since the night before, she said, and she had that adorable, happy look of someone finally eating what she had been craving. She ordered coffee to go with the fries and settled two tables in front of where I was sitting. She brought out a book and started to read.

I casually asked if she was enjoying her book, and she said that it was tolerable enough. I saw that it was a book by Ann Rule and commented that she wrote a book about her friend, the prolific serial killer, Ted Bundy. The two had met while they were working the phones of a crisis center’s suicide hotline. Of course the lady already knew this but that set off a conversation about books which branched off to a lot of other things. I politely said that I’ll go back to my table and let her enjoy her book and cheesy fries, but she continued the conversation and we ended up talking while we were seated at opposite ends of the cafe.

I love striking up conversations about the books that people bring with them and read in cafes because readers are almost always very excited to talk about what they’re reading. More often than not, it’s something that I haven’t read myself, and so I’ve received a lot of really great book recommendations this way. When people stop to ask about what I’m reading, I happily talk to them about it too. That happens a lot, and I don’t mind the intrusion, as long as I’m able to go back to my book at some point 😂.

The lady I talked to at the cafe has been retired for over a decade and she taught English in schools both here and abroad. She definitely lived an interesting life. I can say that a lot of readers are also lifelong learners, and they’re very intresting people to talk to.

Excuse the latte “art” lol, the cup of coffee is delicious, if not pretty.

My art journal entry is about the coffee plant. I was actually just trying out my new Holbein half pans that my husband got me as a gift, they’re super fun to use. I especially love the travel brush that came with it because it’s super soft and yet it retains its point really well. I haven’t tried it yet on watercolor paper but on lightweight paper, the watercolor feels smooth and buttery.

I’ve been trying to use gouache recently and so there was some adjustment transitioning back to watercolor at first. They’re really different in terms of user experience. I have to say that I enjoy working with watercolor more.

I added details with the reverse nib of a fine Pilot Kakuno, and Kuretake brush pen. I enjoyed it a lot.

Coffee cherries. 😍

I decided not to add more text to the page. I kinda like the page this way.

Purrty box!

On a side note, I love the cover of this watercolor set. It’s so shiny and looks like lacquer. On the literature that came with it, it’s called “Japanware Urushi”. It looks gorgeous in person. I wouldn’t be able to just throw this in my bag without the box 😂, it’s too pretty.

Today’s food journal entry is about good cafe food. We recently helped a family member open their own cafe called Cup O’ Culture, and it’s been quite an adventure. I have to say that here in the south of Manila, we’re blessed with a lot of cafes that are pretty good spots for coffee and food, and it’s been a unique experience helping create our own spot. One that I would love to visit even if I’m not related to the owner. ☺️

Of course, good coffee is a non-negotiable. I would never go back to a cafe that has great ambiance if the coffee is undrinkable. I’m glad that our cafe took great care in crafting each cup, even those that aren’t coffee-based.

I’ve never been involved in helping put up a business before, and I had no idea there was this much creative effort involved in everything, not just the branding. The food, in particular, took a lot of effort to implement in a cafe setting. I would say that Cup O’ Culture’s food is standard cafe fare made well. Personally I don’t really like overly fancy food in cafes. One time we went to a cafe where we were served tapsilog in a small mason jar, topped with a bit of micro greens. It’s not filling, and it’s pretentious. Not to mention that when something comes in a tiny mason jar, you somehow know that it’s gonna cost a lot. 😂

Cup O’ Culture’s food is more accessible, but the portions are big and everything tastes great. The menu is still evolving, but I’m pretty proud of where it is right now. To witness this place take shape from an idea to a fully functioning cafe is quite wild.

There’s a lot of challenges involved, and it reminded me once again that getting into business (especially in the food industry) is not for the faint of heart, but to create something so beautiful and to carve out a great coffee spot in the south of Manila is quite an accomplishment.

I used gouache on this illustration and I gotta say that it’s easier to use on lightweight paper. It’s still pretty hard to layer colors when you’re using wet medium on such smooth and thin paper, but gouache is a lot easier to manage than watercolor. Just remember to go easy on the water and minimize your brush strokes to avoid picking up pigment that you’ve already laid down on the page. That wonderful crinkly sound and texture when it’s completely dry is worth all the effort.

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