26th Birthday

My birthday was over a month ago, and I really meant to do this post earlier, but here goes! I just turned 26. Do I feel any different? Not really. Well, I do feel signs of aging like getting tired easily. LOL! But aside from that, I feel like I'm in the best time of my life. I'll just recount the blessings I've received, so many years from now, I can backread and remember what I did and what I had for my birthday. How OC of me to document it all! :D

My Panda and I share the same birth month, and since we're part of Yabu's VIP List, they treated us both to a free katsu sets to celebrate! We both love Japanese food. :3

Cream Dory Katsu Set

Rosu Katsu Set

That was an amazing start of the month! (Thanks, Yabu!)

On the day of my birthday, my Panda surprised me early in the morning with the loveliest, most precious cake ever. He has a shot me with a "just woke up, no kilay, no makeup at all, in all pambahay glory" look holding this cake, but that one is private. Haha!

It's the first time someone ever baked me a cake, so this one is very special. He made it from scratch - cake flour and all! :o In case you're wondering, the green ones are bamboo, and the brown ones are paw prints and stones.

My birthday felt a lot like Valentine's Day. The mums were unbelievable strong - they lasted over a week inside my room! Other flowers would wilt in 3 days tops. We share the same love for anything with peppermint in it, hence the chocolates. And the cylinder you see at the back is a pretty purple yoga mat, for my ab workout at home. (Yes, I'm getting fat.)

For lunch, we drove all the way to Vikings at MOA, even if there's one at SM North. Everyone was saying it's better there, and so we went. You get to eat for free if it's your birthday! :D Initially, we were seated on a dark corner, so a mosquito feasted on my legs minutes within getting seated, but the kind manager Allan made up for it by getting us a nicer spot, and went the extra mile serving us tea, asking us how the food was, and cleared our plates (even if he didn't have to). And I didn't get dengue so all is well. Haha! The food selection was good, and we'd go back for special occasions.

Rustic Chocolate Torte by Purple Oven

For dinner, my family had dinner at Nomnomnom Happy Food at Tomas Morato. I chose this restaurant since I wanted a healthier restaurant for my Dad who had food restrictions. Wrong move though; the food wasn't bad, it was just okay but kind of pricey. The dishes didn't blow us away, and the serving size for some were small. The final thing that ticked me off was when we asked them to bring out the cakes, and the waitress told me I'll be charged P80 for corkage - even if I spent over P3,000+ to treat my family, even if it was my birthday. (No photo because I was pissed and they totally killed the mood.)

Verdict: Never going back. Ever. The owner was nice enough to invite me to a free lunch or dinner, but I don't like special treatment just because I'm a blogger. I want to experience a restaurant for what it really is.

We went home instead to slice the cakes. This one is from my friend Tope of #TopeTravelandTours. (Purple Oven FTW!)

The next photos were the other gifts I received.

Meiji chocolates from my boss

Terranova Floral Clutch from my friend, Kyra

Landmark Linens from my sister, Cindy

This one has a deep purple color; my camera went loco hence this shade of bright purple. I have yet to wash this, but I've never been this excited to change my sheets. LOL

My birthday gift for myself is a Lenovo laptop. This one's a good investment; I bought it with the main purpose of blogging. You see, my posts decreased in quantity this year since I was dealing with a faulty computer at home which would turn off mid-upload or as I'm doing my posts, which made me lose motivation. Now, I don't have to settle for a bulok computer, since I have a sleek, sexy, and precious laptop! Unboxing post soon, yes? 

At church, my small group family Tuesday Diversity surprised the August celebrants with cake, too! :3

Last but not the least are these rainbows I saw just last Friday morning as I was going to work. The brighter one is the biggest and closest I've seen in my life. So beautiful! It's like God telling me, "Everything's gonna be alright." At this moment, I was thankful for my gift of sight.

So those basically sums up my day. I have yet to reply to the greetings on my FB timeline though. Help... Haha :D Thanks to all who remembered! :3

Love,

Helen

Lenovo A8-50 and S850 x Forever 21

Lenovo has launched two new additions to its PC Plus lineup - the Lenovo A8-50, a portable multimedia tablet with the latest processor, enhanced sound, and a large screen; and the Lenovo S850, a savvy and highly responsive smartphone encased in a classy, colorful all-glass exterior.

 

Lenovo A8-50: Colorful In and Out

With 30% larger screen than seven-inch tablets, the Lenovo A8-50 offers a more efficient on-the-go entertainment, gaming, and multimedia experience. Weighing 360g, the Lenovo A8-50’s svelte eight-inch frame easily fits into the user’s hand.

Its sharp, colourful 8-inch display produces bright HD images. The front-facing, Dolby® Audio speakers make it an excellent choice for playing games, watching videos, listening to music, and interacting with friends online.

Lenovo A8-50 supports Lenovo’s SHAREit and SYNCit apps for sharing photos, apps and other files across Android devices without network charges or Wi-Fi connection. The tablet  also  comes in midnight blue, pearly white, flamenco red, and canary yellow for users to express their sense of individuality.

Price: P13,999

Available through authorized dealers of Open Communications, Lenovo Philippines’ exclusive smartphone distributor

Lenovo S850: Delightfully Fun and Fashion Forward

The beautifully-crafted Lenovo S850 features a classy all-glass exterior that encases smooth and responsive quad-core processor. The S850’s brilliant 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras capture crisp and sharp photos effortlessly. The 5MP wide-angle front camera takes awesome selfies and project better images in voice chats.

Thin and light at 140g, the Lenovo S850 features a five-inch screen for users to enjoy multimedia content in HD. A dual SIM smartphone, users can use different two numbers to take advantage of two data plans simultaneously.

Lenovo S850 also supports Lenovo’s range of DOit apps, allowing users to share content with friends rapidly without network charges or Wi-Fi connection, improve speed and protect their device against viruses, spam and malware, back up and restore contacts, SMS messages and call logs, and use multiple shooting modes to when snapping photos.

Price: P10,499

Available through Lenovo’s authorized resellers

To celebrate the release of the latest stylish gadget offers, Lenovo is offering two promos that are sure to delight fashionistas:

1. For every purchase of the Lenovo S850 or A8-50, consumers will get a P250 Forever 21 discount voucher for a minimum purchase of P2,500 worth of regular priced items. The offer is valid from July 21-August 15, 2014 at all Forever 21 Metro Manila branches.
2. Two lucky consumers can also get the chance to win P5,000 pesos worth of gift certificates for a shopping spree at Forever 21 by simply uploading a mirror selfie of themselves with their brand new S850. The complete details of this contest can be found on Lenovo Mobile Philippines Facebook.

Lenovo A8-50 and Lenovo S850 both offer productivity in compact and extremely portable form to support our diverse mobility needs. Packed with cameras, powerful processors, high-definition displays, and connectivity features, they allow us to handle multiple tasks in style!

For the latest Lenovo smartphones and tablets news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo Mobile on Twitter and Facebook.

Love,

Helen

What's Your Love Vibe?

May I ask, how was your Valentine's Day?

Well, mine was extraordinary. I planned on going home from work as soon as the clock struck 5:00PM to avoid the Valentine's Day/Friday/payday traffic. But still, my usual 30-minute trip home got stretched to 2 hours! o_o

But when you know you're going home to someone you love, that won't matter at all! I'd like you all to meet the love of my life, Daphne! (No, she's not my daughter. Haha)

Daphne is my cute little 3-year old niece, and I am so blessed to have her. Since we live in the same house, I get to see her in the morning before going to the office, and I get to play with her at night for when I come home! On the nights that I am hooked to the computer, typing away on my blog, it's only Daphne who can move me off my spot with three simple words (plus a lot of pulling my hand on her part), "Auntie Helen, come!" We love bonding over tea parties, doll houses, and makeovers. Best part is, she loves saying "Ang ganda!" (in a baklang bakla way). Oh yes, her auntie taught her well.

Oh, I'd love to take more playtime selfies with Daphne with the new Lenovo Vibe X from Lenovo Philippines! How about you, what's your love vibe? ♥

Love,

Helen