| Wanderings by alli

Well, CommonRoomPH just invaded South again recently in Alabang Town Center, last February 10 to 14. And I got the chance to visit their pop-up store! :) And of course, since  Valentine's, there's no better way to show love by arts and crafts of different local artists and makers by supporting them and also to buy gifts for your special someone.

They organized a white board where people can write on papers and clip their messages for their crushes! *LOL* If you went there, care to share what you wrote? :) They also offered free workshops, my friend and I, were a part of the lucky ones who enjoyed one of their workshops, Leather Stamping by @punchcrafts Here are some photos! :)




Can't wait for more pop-up stores from Common Room here in the South, and if you haven't checked it out yet, I hope you guys will. Their store is in Katipunan, Quezon City. *wink*

Themed cafes and restaurant has been a hit these past few years and I've been happy to come across with a theme cafe inside a mall! Well, I'm pretty hyped up with it being in a mall since most of the time, these cafes or restaurants are located outside establishments (or so I thought) but, it felt so near! And I think I finally found my new to-go place besides the mainstream coffee shops. 

Buku Buku Kafe is book-themed cafe with a homey vibe, and definitely instagram-worthy. When I googled the meaning of Buku, I found out that its a Vietnamese word meaning, "a lot of" and another meaning is from Indonesian which means "books". Besides books and coffee, the cafe also offers a full dining experience that really made my bestfriend and I think that we would come back to this place. 

Pork Barbecue Satay & Sisig Nachos

Besides a place for individuals to read books and dine-in. This cafe welcomes indie singers where they can play cover songs and even their originals, such a creative place to be! And if you're not anywhere near the South, its worth the travel!

Buku Buku Kafe is located at the G/F SM Southmall, Las Piñas and another branch at the G/F Promenade Wing in The District, Imus, Cavite. 

Check out Buku-Buku Kafe on Facebook (facebook.com/BukuBukucafe) and on Instagram (@buku.bukukafe). 

If people ask me if I’m good at something, I’d probably say that I’m great with getting into trouble with my parents, and that sums up all the struggles I’ve caused my family. But, we’re getting along just fine.

I had my Mae when I just turned 16 years old, almost out of highschool, 5 months before graduation, I was nothing but a mess. And at that time, I think my family had this internal chaos inside their heads, no one was talking about it except my mother, of course, who immediately took care of everything without even shouting at me when I finally acknowledged that fact.

It was deafening silence, I tell you, after being in a family who just had all the loud voices, the quietness didn’t settle anywhere right. But despite all of that, my parents took care of me and my family accepted me, drowning all the possible judgments that others might say.

And those moments, almost 7 years ago, not just changed me but my family for the better. The struggles didn’t stop there, my ‘katigasan-ng-ulo’ stage hasn’t stopped yet, according to my mom, but I think I’m changing, well since I’m almost out of college, too! Hahaha! My parents never grew tired of supporting me in everything that I wanted and also my daughter’s needs and wants, too.

After all the emotional baggage, the physical pain I experienced from different people that came into my life, only God, my family and all the people who love me, that endured those struggles with me, helped me to be the person that I am today. (Hindi parin ako okay, guys.) But as long as I’m happy and I’m trying my best every single day especially for Mae, pwede na. 

I’m not that good in school, I just love studying, sometimes, I’m not the 100% hands on mother to my daughter, because that’s my mom, haha, sometimes, we’re like sisters fighting for each other’s side in bed, the television channel and even with crayons, but she will always be mine, no matter what. Like what I remind her most of the time, “pag dating ng panahon, tayong dalawa nalang, kaya tiisin moko, kasi ako lang mama mo.”

And after all those things, I realized that it’s not just happening to me, I may be the main character of my story, but the people who care for me have struggled with me all throughout and I can’t thank them enough for making it easier for me, because I know I had it easy. And for those who are struggling, just pray and always trust God.

To my mama and papa, who might never read this because she’s not techy like that, it’s not your fault. It’s mine, but thank you for not getting tired. Thank you for taking care of Mae and letting me enjoy life despite my responsibilities, you are the best.

To my sister, despite our differences, you are awesome, I love you and thank you for being the sister that I can always count on, not just because I have no other choice but because I love you.

To my Kuya Jay, you are my biggest inspiration, thank you for always listening to me despite our differences, thank you for always believing in me and thinking about my future, for loving Maemae unconditionally.

To my Kuya JB, we might not be close, but thank you for always taking care of me and Maemae and always thinking about us. I love you.

To Marvin, I love you. You are my best friend, kahit hindi moko bestfriend, thank you for always listening to my ‘uyyy, alam mo ba’ stories, I will never get tired of talking to you about those irrelevant things.

Since I didn't attend any workshop regarding pointed pen calligraphy ever since I started, I indulged myself in a trial and error phase where I just bought a lot of stuff, which wasn't a good idea ever since because first, its expensive and second, I don't know what to with the stuff after I bought it and won't be able to use it.

And even after I found the right papers for my pointed pen calligraphy, I still find myself experimenting on which papers to use for those ink hobby.

I'll start off with papers I'm using now and I won't go into details about the technical parts of the paper like sizing the texture because I don't know how to explain those stuff properly, yet.

First option is any paper/boards that has a weight of 100gsm and above. (300gsm is the heaviest that I've tried) It holds the ink more and bleeding is so unlikely. You can buy brands like PaperOne with the fuchsia pink package.

With boards, tend to choose the ones that has no or little texture because it might break your nibs!

Second type of paper that I'm using write now is the calligrapads. Its my all time favorite and it comes in different sizes and colors! It has two types of pad for the lined and unlined ones. Its very handy and easy to write onto. And if you're really into calligraphy, both brush and pointed pen, these pads are good investments! check out @calligrapads for more information about the pads.




And the third one, I just bought last night! And you can buy it on National Bookstore. Its the calligraphy pads by @inkscribble produced by IFEX and I'm in love with it already. These pads comes in three weights and sizes Depending on the color of the cover of the pads.









Please note that these are just some options of what calligraphy paper to use and what's good for practice and for pointed pen calligraphy projects. Below are the links or account where you can find some of these papers.

PaperOne 100gsm - National Bookstore
Calligrapads - IG: @calligrapads
Calligraphy pad by inkscribbler - National Bookstore and thecraftcentral.com

Something to try during your weekends! Flow House Manila is located at Molino, Cavite. 10 minutes after Daang Hari. Where you can enjoy food, beverage and especially flow boarding! Whether you're with your family or friends, everyone will really have fun!
Flowboarding is considered to be one of the most extreme sports of today and if you're having a hard time going on a road trip for the real surf off at the beach, this is the place for you. Not only your adventurous side will be fulfilled but also your taste buds because of stuff they're serving.
But don't worry first timers! There are people to teach you what to do and to make your experience more exciting!


First, they'll ask you to be "wiped out" for you to know the proper position when you fall out of the board!

Last Sunday, April 12, I went to my friend and her partner's first ever basic calligraphy workshop. If you scrolled in my previous entries, I've been to pointed nib calligraphy for the past few months and I'm growing in love with it each day. So I was so excited for my friends that they managed to plan a workshop and it was nothing but successful! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sign up for their workshop because I am nothing but broke at the moment. I just went there to support them and took some pictures as well.  Here are some of the photos I took during their the workshop! :)





If anyone of you is interested to sign up for their workshops, you will be so happy with the kits and the gorgeous venue. There workshops are specifically for those people from the south who wants to learn pointed nib calligraphy so hello south people!



The workshop fee is only around P1,500 which includes pointed nibs, inks, holders and a complete module that will guide you throughout learning the basics of calligraphy.



Since it is their first workshop, as a debut, @calligrapads, @nib_junkie, @thecraftcentral, some of the online shops where you can get the best tools for your calligraphy needs, provided some of the freebies and prizes for the contest. (Best photo on instagram and the best card layout at the end of the workshop.)














Here's the card layouts by the students! Which all turned out to be very good for first timers!


And of course, the class picture! Thank you for attending the workshop guys! :)