A FEW FAVORITES

There are several bloggers out there who do a monthly favorites post and that's something I've always wanted to do. However, I don't think I have such an extreme dedication as to where I'll get something every month and love it extremely you know? So expect these posts to come and go sporadically. That and the things featured in these posts are pretty simple, if I do say so myself. 

Throughout the last days of May and the early days of June I've accumulated a few things that I've been using a whole lot. Some for art, some for daily activities. The first thing up is the Hario Ceramic Burr Grinder. 

I would never consider myself a coffee connoisseur (i still like to sometimes drown my coffee in sugar and creamer). But I can say that I've grown to appreciate coffee a lot more, so I went out and finally bought this burr grinder for myself. I got this as a present for my friend Nikki for Christmas and I fell in love with the design. My only complaint about this is that the English instructions attached don't tell you about how you can adjust the grinder to control the coarseness of the grind. You have to do it by trial and error to get the grind you want for the coffee beans. 

Next! A year ago I bought these Chiyogami Origami papers from Muji. 

Chiyogami refers to the repetitive pattern, but other than that this is like your ordinary origami paper. Like I've stated in many of my blogs before, I'm a devoted follower of Muji so when I saw the lovely designs the paper had, I went and bought it. In terms of Origami I'm so tempted to not use them to fold but for decorating my sketchbooks instead! My favorite pattern is the one I used for the Origami Lily. 

I realized that I wasn't such a kid anymore when I got really excited buying the next thing on this list, Ample Hills Creamery's recipe book. 

Ample Hills Creamery is a Brooklyn based ice cream parlor that produces some of the most interesting flavors of ice cream I've ever seen. What I love about this book so much aside from the recipes, is that the authors and owners, Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna, also write about the birth of their business and whatnot. I've made about two ice cream recipes from this book, one in particular you'll get to read about soon. My goal is that by the end of summer, I'll at least have made half of their creations! 

Music-wise, I've been loving Florence + The Machine's new album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.

This is Florence + The Machine's third studio album and the wait for it was well worth it. I was a huge fan of Florence when I was a freshman in high school but that died down when her band went on a slight hiatus. When she announced this third album I was so excited because I really did miss the sound she would put out! Long story short, I love this album. All the songs in it are like a blend of her first album, Lungs, and her second, Ceremonials. Queen of Peace, Ship to Wreck, What Kind of Man, and Delilah are some of my favorites on the album.

Lastly, my final favorite is De Vivre Magazine. De Vivre Magazine is a new independent platform that focuses on style, art, literature, and music. I also happen to be a contributor to this wonderful publication.

Issue One's theme was Being the Best You and I interviewed Nikki Maruyama and talked about how fashion helps define who she is. Aside from that, I also did a few fashion illustrations as well. The magazine also features several other articles worthy to be read, a look book, and many more. I'm so excited to be working on this magazine and to be apart of this amazing team. My intro on the about me page is so cheesy, haha.

Visit us at DE VIVRE MAGAZINE

That's it for the time being's favorites. I say time being because I'm not sure when the next favorites post is gonna be, lol. Thank you for reading, and be sure to be on the look out for that ice cream post, and De Vivre's next issue!

.x 

UPDATED WORKSPACE.

A little over a year ago, I made a post about my workspace. Like every artist out there a workspace is essentially the most important part of the whole process. A workspace can tell you so much about an artist and how they go about approaching their medium. I like the saying that goes kind of like how the organization of a place is a reflection of one's thought process. The neater my workspace is, the more productive I get. That doesn't mean that my station never gets messy though. When I'm really into my work, that's when things get a little messy, haha. The cleanup part is also kind of fun anyways. 

If you've been reading AeroDynamo for a while now, you can see how much has changed in a year. I decided to install shelves and add a bit of decoration to my area. All the tags and other stuff I had posted on my wall are still with me! I'm looking for another way to incorporate them. 

The clear containers are from Muji. Originally I had these pens in a black box and it was such a pain fishing through them to find the right one. I'm so glad that I've stumbled upon these organizers at Muji. Quite the space saver too! Ever since I decided to place my Copics up on the shelves, my desk space expanded so much. 

Heh, got these two Sonny Angel figurines from a local toy store, they are also the limited edition Ladurée figures! The Voluspa candle smells absolutely wonderful. I normally light it when I want to draw and relax. The smell is very light and not overbearing, I'm not a fan of super sweet scents. 

Another candle, lol. I got this one from Anthropologie! It's Espresso scented and like the Voluspa one, it isn't a scent that is way too strong. I light this one when I want to study, the scent of coffee makes me feel a lot more concentrated. 

This super awesome DIY marquee is from Michaels. You can actually customize it any way you want as the material is a stiff cardboard, but I'd rather leave it clean and white. 

I find that these three things basically sum up my personality. lol. The skull is actually a pen holder but I like it better as a decorative item. 

Lastly, my Copics. I got a new set earlier this year as a birthday gift to myself. 

One day, instead of a workspace tour, I'll be posting a studio tour. 

Thanks for reading!

.s

SYD IN MANILA ROUND TWO - CHRISTMAS EVE, PART ONE

I've been making it a habit to deconstruct these posts in two segments. I figured, if I kept all these pictures in one blog post it would be such a drag to read! I'm nearing the end of my Manila vacation posts, right after however, I've got a ton of my Japan trip coming up. I do hope you all don't mind reading about stuff I don't normally blog about, heh. I made myself a promise, that this coming 2015, I won't just blog about my travels and the food I eat, I'll blog more about my style, art, and whatnot. Look out for it! 

To me, whenever I think of Christmas as a whole, I think of the Philippines. This is coming from an extremely biased point of view so don't take my word for it. Spending Christmas in the US is fun and all, but it's pretty lonesome. I don't feel the Christmas spirit there as much as I do whenever I'm back in the motherland. As much as I'd like to spend Christmas in the US, I'd rather be back in Manila. 

One thing I always remember growing up is that as soon as September hits, all news stations in the Philippines have a countdown for Christmas, you can really feel the spirit of the season when you go out in public. 

We headed out to Rockwell in Makati which essentially, is the business district. I love being in this particular area because of the bustling city life and the gigantic sky scrapers. As a kid I had always loved tall buildings. A few posts back I talked about the extremely unpredictable weather in Manila, today was one of those days. It was raining a bunch when we drove to Makati, but as soon as we got there it stopped, then started again, lol. Lunch was the first thing on the agenda, my aunts took us to Mamou. 

It was my first time eating at Mamou, quite interesting seeing the fusion dishes on the menu. I wish I could've tried the Kurubota Sinigang though. I think for the weather, that dish would have been perfect. 

There's something about placemats with writing that I really do like. Both aesthetic wise and functionality wise. I remember always getting bored waiting for my food, so it was nice to sit down and read some stuff. I sound so boring, reading menus to pass time, ha. 

We sat outside. Normally, sitting outside is a no-no for me because of the heat and all the pollution, but the cool weather the Philippines had been experiencing then, coupled with the rain made it a lot more bearable. 

Tita, Ninang, Mom, and my Sister. 

One thing I took a mental note on was that the city of Makati is home to a whole ton of expats. I think that's why I like the city so much, there are so many westerners that I feel as if I'm back in the US. 

Rare photo of AeroDynamo, LOL. I wouldn't be surprised if my readers forget what I look like sometimes. 

To start things off, we ordered I think a Dalandan shake? I don't know what the English name of the Dalandan fruit is, but it's got green skin with an orangey-yellow pulp inside. Super refreshing!

 Afterwards our main courses came. First was this amazing Truffle Cream Pasta that I still dream about to this day. I know my sister can easily make it at home *hint, if you're reading, make me some.*

I think a person's diet should always include a dash of truffle. Truffle makes the world go round. 

Cooked to perfection. Vegetarians/Vegans, I'm sorry. (no i'm not). 

If there's one thing that bothers me when people eat their steak it is when they slather an unnecessary amount of steak sauce on it? I think it attributes to the fact that I'm not a fan of steak sauce myself and even if I do decide to use some, I only ever do use a little, and on the side. Don't let a perfectly good steak be ruined by sauce!

They also served us mashed potatoes and creamed corn on the side, but it wasn't at all spectacular so they didn't deserve to be photographed. 

After lunch we went inside the mall to do some shopping. I blogged about Rockwell before on my initial Syd in Manila posts from last year. Upon entering, I was greeted again by the same old kitschy Christmas decor I love. The animatronic polar bears that I wanted to take home were right up front. 

I actually like how the decorations strayed from the traditional white/red/green lights. Orange gives off the warm colour, but at the same time I feel like if it's abused it can come off as Halloween decorations. Rockwell did it right though. 

 I saw the little fruit market again! You all know that I upgraded to a Canon 6D so it was nice to zoom all the way from the upper floor and get a detail shot of the fruits. 

So my aunt and I separated from the rest of the group because we had to do some last minute shopping. We went to Toys R Us to get a few toys, I only snagged this photo. I thought of Nikki and Mac, who love One Piece. 

I love how at Toys R Us they have a bunch of Anime figurines. Is it only in Asian branches of Toys R Us that they have this, or have I not been to a toy store in so long? lol. 

After getting the gifts we went inside my favorite store, and it's the nth time I'm blogging about it so do forgive. Muji will always be my favorite store because of many many reasons, that of which is too staggering to write and blog about. 

I promised myself that when I do get a flat/apartment of my own most if not all my furnishings would come from Muji. Also Muji Coffee? Really good. I just wish they sold it on their website. 

There's just something so visually appealing about Muji's simplicity that I fawn over. If I could, which I probably would, I'd go ahead and just stare at the contents of the store and pretend to be furnishing my own place, lol. 

I can see my friends Keita, Sabrina, and Nikki rocking all these outfits. 

I was just bummed that after searching for the elusive Muji brush pen, they didn't have it. 

And of course, a little something for myself. 

After Muji we went to  Marks & Spencer. The English department store is strict with photos, so I only took an ootd before scurrying away. 

Top from Urban Outfitters, shoes from Converse, pants from who knows where. lol 

See this is why I need to do more ootd posts/lookbooks. I need to learn how to go and write about clothes!

After our escapade to Rockwell we drove down to Greenbelt to have a quick look-see. 

I thought the giant pinecones were a great type of Christmas decor. 

The only reason we went down to Greenbelt was to check out this store called Typo. They recently opened, or so I've heard. 

In a nutshell, Typo is a store with various do dads to fill up your home. Think of it as if all of the apartment decorations and books from Urban Outfitters were put in one store. I was a big fan of the ceramic sculptures. 

I wanted to buy the ram skull(?) on the left and the skull on the right. Kinda regret not buying it, what stopped me was that it could've shattered in my luggage on the trip going back home. 

Some diy stuff. 

The store itself was very cramped, so as they shopped I stood outside and waited. I took that amount of time to go to Bleach, another favorite store of mine and do some browsing. 

Scratch that, if I were to furnish my home it would be 75% Muji, 25% Bleach. 

Thank you for reading this edition of Syd in Manila! Stay tuned for Christmas Eve Part 2, and the Japan posts. 

.x