Birthday Girl

"...absence is to love, as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great..". 

I hope you do not mind, but although it will be a long post, I would like to share these events with you, my readers. I've received comments from readers who have been thanking me for inspiring them to love again. I'm no love guru, I am but a girl who shares her passion through her personal style and...a girl who loves. But, it is true that I aim to inspire through my stories, because when there is love, there is hope, and when there is hope, there is a good life ahead of us.

Recently, I celebrated my birthday.  My other half, although he's in New York and I'm all the way here in the Philippines, made sure I don't feel his absence on my special day. He messaged me at exactly midnight to greet me happy birthday and made me feel like I did not grow up old, just wiser.

That night before my birthday, he confessed to me, that he planned out surprises for my birthday, but that it won't go according to his plan. He said that he's been searching for what to give me and bought something  I can wear, and something I can't wear. These gifts were supposedly going to be delivered to me at my workplace, but there was a problem with the delivery and so I had to pick them up myself. He was so frustrated for he'd make me go on a treasure hunt, but I assured him that it didn't matter because I love that he tried so hard. My mother also called that night. I asked her if she knows where the addresses (for pick up) are, and she said she'll come over to my workplace at lunchtime to help me.

I took a half day leave that day so I could have more time looking for the gifts and also to spend time with my mother. We arranged to meet up at lunchtime. My boyfriend doesn't know I took a leave and I was going to surprise him by telling him I have the gifts already. Surprisingly, before lunchtime, a man called my workplace and said he's from "flower depot". So I asked my boyfriend if he asked to send me flowers. He laughed and said he's getting all the surprises and not me, because he thought the flowers wouldn't be delivered. He sent me beautiful roses freshly harvested from a private garden. It's cute to see flowers being delivered to a laboratory (I work as a quality assurance analyst specializing in Microbiology). The flowers came just in time. It's cute how fate works; my boyfriend not knowing I'd leave work at 12pm, yet asks the flowers to be sent to me at exactly 12pm. I got the flowers just in time.

After that I met up with my mom. As it turned out, my mom actually knows already about the other package because she knows the owner of the shoe store which my boyfriend chose to buy shoes from to give to me. Mom surprised me and my boyfriend (again. he's getting all the surprises on my birthday. haha). It really is such a small world, we thought.

After getting the package (I'll show you photos of my awesome new shoes next time! Their my favorite shoes now! :>), mom and I saw a thrift shop and decided to check it out. I bought tons of stuff! I bought a leather jacket for only around 9 US dollars, leather combat boots for only around 5 US dollars, and lots of clothes which I would be so happy to share with you after I'm done taking them our of the laundry. It was a great way to bond with my mom. I rarely get to bond with her like that because we don't really get along often. But, on that day, we did and it made my birthday even more special. I thanked my boyfriend again for that. I believe he's bringing me closer to my family.

My father came home from Pampanga to be with me that day as well. I'm not much for parties, and spending time with my loved ones is already too special for me. We ate dinner at a new restaurant in Lipa called Hermana's. It was beautiful there. We sat on the floor like Japanese and we were surrounded by such beautiful colors and lanterns. And the food, the food was......YUUUUUUUUMMY!!

(P.S. I'm wearing my favorite watch. It's from my aunt in Singapore. I love it because of the animation.)

All in all, my 22nd birthday is a birthday I would never ever forget. It's not always fancy things that make people happy. Sometimes, all a person needs is love, family, and ephemeral things most people don't notice.

My boyfriend and I may be thousands of miles apart for now, but like he said, "..absence is to love, as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great."

PPS. hihi. I did not spend money on my clothing for this one. My top is DIYed and my skirt is my mom's when she was younger. I'll show you how I made the skirt on my next post. And, here is a sneak peek of another DIY I'm working on.

"Zara-ish crop top" - DIY

skirt - mom's (vintage)

watch - Fossil

booties - MNJ Korea