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As per Marie Kondo, no.


Before I got engrossed with skin care (I blame my job hahaha), I was, and still am a sucker for discounted books. You see, it's a fusion of 2 things that I love the most namely, books and a good bargain! So when I found out that Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is coming back in our shores, it made me smile a bit, then moved on. Wonder why I did not get the initial enthusiasm? Well, coming from my experience from last year's book sale, which was also their first in The Philippines, I was quite underwhelmed with the titles. Sure, there are millions of books I can choose from, but they just don't spark joy 🤔 I felt that they were selling surplus titles, books that people clearly wouldn't buy at full price. With that, I have mediocre feels about it.

But lo and behold, I suppose fate really wants me to see Big Bad Wolf on its first day! Supposedly my boss planned to go on the VIP day on Feb. 21, after receiving a pass from one of her close friends. My boss is a crazy bookworm like me, and I know for a fact that she is looking forward to it. Unfortunately she had to attend to a family matter that day, which ended up with me having her ticket instead 😍😍😍


Given I came from work and had to wait for my friend, we braved the car park traffic (pretty wild because after exiting the steel parking you'll see Edsa doesn't even have heavy traffic!), and managed to arrive at World Trade Center in Pasay at 10 P.M. 🤘🤘🤘

The VIP day is up until 11 P.M. only, also the ticket holder can bring an extra adult friend, while you can bring as many kids as you can (hahaha field trip?).



I want this for myself!

Upon entering the glorious gates of World Trade Center, you'll be greeted by thousands of children's books. I must say Big Bad Wolf's specialty are children's books, because they offer A LOT of titles, some I was quite surprised that they actually have it available.


I did a book review of this HERE




An upgrade that I noticed in this year's Big Bad Wolf is the selection of titles, particularly for Young Adult. Sure, they still don't have the John Green & Adam Silvera titles, but hey they have Ransom Riggs, Meg Cabot, and Suzanne Collins, and that ain't bad! I was so tempted to grab Victoria Aveyard's Glass Sword, which was actually a sequel of Red Queen! But I was not sure back then if Glass Sword is the sequel because I have no internet to check, SAD. so I ended up buying a standalone novel instead *shrugs*




Another positive feat I have noticed are the increase of Fiction titles! Last year, the fiction section was so small, and I remember how people have commented online on how they were a bit underwhelmed that they weren't able to score titles from Murakami or Coelho. In all fairness, the organizer of BBW heard our pleas and added more fiction titles that are well-loved, and are available in bookstores nationwide. I was able to spot some Chuck Palahniuk, Jojo Moyes, Emma Donoghue, and Judy Picoult titles, but still no Murakami 🤣😂

I have this book!



And my most favorite part in every bookstore (aside from the stationery and useless trinkets area), the beauty and fashion section! There are around 2-3 rows jampacked with amazing titles, from styling, constructing, and even illustration, the fashion area is well-decked! It was so hard for me to resist not buying all of the majestic fashion titles available, but since I am saving up for a trip I had to let go with a heavy heart.
Ultimate WANT!!!







Anyhoo, here's the complete round-up of my Big Bad Wolf experience, plus musings that may help you if you plan to go:
📚 It's best to go to BBW with a friend, especially when you need to go to the bathroom because that person will take care of your loot.
📚 Be open in reading titles from authors you have never heard of!
📚 Expect loooong lines! You are not the only one who adores books and sales, so be patient, and enjoy passing by seas of books 😀


📚 The lowest price of books is Php 190 or roughly $4, while the most expensive ones are retailed at around Php 1,499. Usually the coffee table books are the most expensive.
📚 Don't bring too much stuff, you don't need to bring your whole 10-step skin care with you.
📚 You can pay with your PayMaya account! Aside from that, they also accept cash and credit card (either Visa or Mastercard). However they do not accept debit cards!!! I had this problema last night because I did not bring my credit card nor was I able to withdraw prior to going here, so I only had my debit card and phone with me that night!!! Good thing my friend has cash with him, so he paid for it instead-See? That's why you need to have a friend with you!!! 💁‍♀️
For the love of Class Act Ph

📚 Go early! If you can, just go early or go verrrry late in the evening, because there will definitely be a shortage when it comes to parking spaces.
📚 Eat before you go here! The only time you'll get to see food is after you have paid for your loot, and the food are a bit pricier than the usual, so better eat before going into battle.
📚 Look out for the books with 'SAMPLE' on the cover, since most books are cling wrapped, you cannot open it if you want to take a peek, that's why there's a sample book for that. 
Like this!
📚 Bring eco-bags! Let's save the environment, and say no to plastic packaging 🙋‍♀️
📚 Keep your receipt! I remember passing through 2 receipt check before being able to leave the vicinity.
📚 Have fun!

So do I recommend this to my fellow bookworms? 🤘🤘🤘 

Let's go-again! Hahaha!


Love Always,
Nicole  🍒

P.S. 
Thanks for the tix Ms. Van! 
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I miss Japan, and that must be the biggest understatement of mine this year, to the point that, yes I am strongly considering starting a life there in the future. For now, I enjoy what Manila has to offer, while I yearn and look back to the amazing trip I had in Tokyo and Fukuoka! 


The lively arcade at the Sensoji temple area
For the 2nd day of our Tokyo trip, it has been quite a sensory overload. Of course, it comes to no surprise that every thing I see is a feast for the eyes, which definitely overwhelmed me -in a good way, of course 😍😍😍


Photoshoot?
Our Airbnb is in Sumida which I think is quite near to Asakusa, and by near I meant around 2 kilometers worth of walking. The neighbourhood we stayed at was very... quiet, which is a big contrast to the main city proper that is just a few kilometers away.


Hi... umm, Asahi?

Hi Skytree!

Happy Place 5Ever!

As I have mentioned, Asakusa is a couple of kilometers away from our Airbnb, which means the first- and well, the only temple we've been to, was the Sensoji temple where you can see the vibrant arcade.



Plushy wallets!🦊🐕🐶



My face whenever people offer sweets while I am on Keto diet.


Hi temple!

Given that Sensoji Temple is a popular tourist attraction, all the stuff you can see at the arcade are pasalubong worthy. From kitschy keychains to cool shirts with The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, you'll definitely be able to find something amazing to bring back home to people you love- or even just for yourself, given that there are also stalls that sell amazingly fresh mochis and melon pans amongst the myriad of merch. My personal favorite would be the watercolor post cards of Sensoji temple that are sold at around 100+ yen a piece, but if only I have enough spare cash I would have bought the mask above hahaha!

By the way, a quick note, given that Sensoji is a popular tourist attraction, you might as well expect that some items sold in the arcade tend to be pricier than in lesser known places around the area, so it's best for you to look around first before you hand over your Yens💴💴💴


Amazing subway art





Since we really had no clear itinerary at that time, we have somehow stumbled upon a Sega in Akihabara. Given that I am in the company of 3 boys who love gaming, we gave in to the crane games, and even the Initial D racing game-which we had a bit of "lost in translation" moment. You see, arcade games in Sega don't have English translations, so you can just imagine how lost we have been- but good thing, Imman's sister, Julz can speak Japanese, so we were able to make sense of things HAHA!

After spending as much as 3,000 yen on trying to get Lufi from the crane game, we have finally gave in to our hunger and gave in to this nice Tonkatsu resto within the area.
Pretty manhole covers everywhere!

Ultimate regret of the trip: Not buying this!



Hi Julz!
From Akihabara we headed over to Ikebukuro to visit Julz's humble abode. I find it enjoyable to visit houses in other countries, given majority of the time we either stay at hotels or Airbnbs. Majority of Japanese homes are small, and very quaint, which I really find weirdly endearing! I have always been a fan of tiny homes, so being in a little Japanese home brings joy to my kokoro- I know, I am weird.



 After a quick visit to Julz's home, we head out to the malls in Ikebukuro, and end up eating sushi, complete with the conveyor belt! Here's something I realized while I was enjoying a plate of sushi🍣🍣🍣:
1. All sushis have wasabi in it. I'm not sure if this is a common knowledge already HAHAHA, but every plate of sushi has wasabi inside the sushi itself, so if you are not a fan of wasabi you better learn appreciating them prior to your trip hahaha!
2. The best way to eat sushi is by hand. I have seen quite a handful of people popping a sushi, as if  they are just eating fries.
3. Eat the full piece of sushi. Noooow, this one is a common sense, given that if you tried biting only the half, it'll disintegrate - DUH!
4. Not sure if it applies to ALL sushi places, but the most convenient way for the restaurant to know how much sushi and how much you'll be paying for your plates without checking the menu is via RFID. The waiter in this sushi place placed this pokedex-like device, then scanned the sides of each plate, and before we know it the price of all the plates are shown in the monitor. They probably put chips under the plates which made it easy to be read by the pokedex-like device.






After finishing our dinner, we decided to go home already, and visit the nearest grocery to buy food for breakfast- in my case, to buy all the icecreams and cheese that will keep me snug inside the toilets the next day HAHAHA! OH WELLZZZ🍦🍧🍦🍧🍦🍧🍦

And that's it! Day 2 of our Tokyo trip! 7 more blogposts to go hahaha!


Cheers~🙃🙃🙃

Love Always!

Nicole
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Hola! Nicole Alejandro here with her random musings about travel, arts, and life- all for the benefit of her future kid ;)

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