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✨ Farewell 2020, Hello 2021! ✨

We made it! To survive 2020, both physically and mentally, was not easy. Whether it’s economic, job, education, financial, and life uncertainty, it is even more important to appreciate and to take control of our lives, wellbeing, and future. We were thrown into a pandemic and told to learn to survive overnight. We have all been affected one way or another.

Thankfully, many have been available to advise, give direction, assurance, and help in navigating 2020. Whether you were grappling mentally, physically, or financially, there was something out there to lend a hand.

2020 was a tough year. It wasn’t perfect and the things that we planned didn’t always go to plan. Today, we will celebrate this holiday to remind us to keep fighting against this pandemic to celebrate the next.

Thank you to those who have been around and supportive. Rest in peace to those we have lost along the way. I send you strength and all the virtual hugs in the world. I wish you and your loved ones health and safety and love.

Let’s all hope for 2021 filled with you lovely people!

Happy New Year!

U R Not Alone

One of the most painful things about being an adult is that nobody has ever told you how lonely it is. It’s already December and I’m wondering how did I even get through this year?

I have struggled, and I have fought and I have cried more than I have ever cried in my entire life. I have fallen into the darkest pit and struggled to get out of it for so long.

But I believe everything is temporary. Whoever out there is struggling too, we got this.

Decorating Your Space to Your Advantage

After a day at work, school, or wherever you may have been – wouldn’t it be nice to come home to a welcoming space that will immediately lift your mood up?

I have always believed that a representation of how a person’s feeling – good, bad, apathetic, passionate, etc. is reflected in how their space looks like. Myself for example, if I have had a series of bad days, except that my room would be in such a mess. Meaning I wouldn’t actually care to even lift a finger to dust the shelves off. On the contrary, when I’m feeling hopeful, energetic, or full of passion, expect my space to be spot on! But as with the rest of how we deal with our lives, it will always be up to us with how things are going to turn out.

Selecting the Right Pieces

Whenever I need to clear my head, I always make an effort to first tidy up my space (usually followed by rearranging the furniture, bed), and select pieces (a trinket, a wall art, a clock even) that will instantly pop and change my view!

So as I start the year, I partnered with Photowall, a company in Sweden which aims to positively affect people’s feelings one wall (of a room) at a time. For this collaboration, I chose a piece to display in my space that will surely help with how I steer each day of this new year (and new decade) as I see it.

Photowall has a great array of products to achieve that vision through custom wallpapers, prints, and posters. Check out the variety of their products here.

Don’t forget to use my exclusive code
‘clintmamuri2021’ for 25% off sitewide at www.photowall.com.
Valid for one whole month. 🤩

Beauty of Silence

For this project, I selected a Canvas Print because I wanted to achieve a nice accent wall that will capture my attention each time I look at it. And the design I chose was Beauty of Silence– sounds peaceful? Just about right, we need some type of peace on any day!

This Canvas Print was shipped from Sweden to the Philippines, and it was rather fast! Roughly 5 days, if I’m not mistaken – so that was impressive. 

Upon shipment, I initially thought that the canvas print would be ready for hanging by the day it arrives. Only to find out, it’s a DIY assembly which for me was a project I’d love to finish!

6 Steps to Beauty

The package came in a bit heavy, but after opening it I found that it contained such high-quality materials: Canvas cloth, wooden frame sections, and metal plates, screws. Along with these come the Canvas Print Assembly Instructions which were listed in 6 achievable ways! They also have an Instruction Video link at the user’s disposal.

What I personally love about this whole DIY thing was the challenge it brought – in a good and exciting way. The guide provided visual references and easy to understand words that inexperienced individuals (in the field of craftsmanship) like myself can easily grasp and perform. The assembly also did not include any rigid tasks like sawing, punching a hole, or screwing things up (I mean by use of screwdrivers), etc. All were prepared and we’re just ready for assembly! How easy could this get!

The 6 Steps to Beauty (of Silence) was achieved in roughly 30 minutes. Not bad for a newbie, right?

Paradigm Shift

True to the company’s vision to positively affect people’s feelings – one wall (of a room) at a time, the Canvas Print I ordered and assembled did lift my spirits up in an entirely different way!

My initial thoughts and expectations of having a ready-made canvas print shipped was also a reflection of how I view things – wanting to get things instantly without putting in the work. Thus, it was a surprise and challenge when it also expected me to do the work to see the final product.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of assembling this piece, as it made me appreciate the output even more for the personal touch I gave it. Being able to start, process, and finish a project is truly rewarding and I’d like to thank Photowall Sweden for reteaching me the lesson that Beauty Takes Time and Hard Work. But it will be worth the sweat!

As the Beauty Of Silence hangs on my wall, I will always be reminded of this lesson that will surely help shift my view in life especially during trying seasons – that at the right time, a beautiful product will come out of it!

Check out more of Photowall Products here:
Wall Murals | Wallpaper | Canvas Prints | Posters
To know more about Photowall, check out their official website here.

Mixtape Vol. 2 📼

  • Ariana Grande ; ghostin
  • Lord Huron ; The Night We Met
  • Ed Sheeran ; Happier
  • Dermot Kennedy ; Outnumbered
  • James Bay ; Bad
  • Dominic Fike ; Açaí Bowl
  • Rihanna ; Close To You
  • Billie Eilish ; i love you
  • King Princess ; 1950
  • Isaac Dunbar ; woman on the hills
  • Sody ; The Bully
  • Maisie Peters ; Favourite Ex
  • Freya Ridings ; Lost Without You
  • Rhys Lewis ; No Right To Love You – Acoustic
  • Sasha Sloan ; Dancing With Your Ghost
  • Ali Gatie ; It’s You
  • iris ; giving in (acoustic)
  • BANKS ; Crowded Places
  • Jessie Reyez ; Figures
  • GRACEY ; If You Loved Me
  • Khalid ; Saturday Nights
  • Demi Lovato ; Sober
  • Hamzaa ; Stranded Love
  • Celeste ; Coco Blood
  • Evie Irie ; The Optimist
  • Joesef ; Loverboy
  • Mabes ; America
  • Joel Baker ; Bag Of Dreams
  • TRACES ; High and Dry
  • Sigrid ; I Don’t Want To Know
  • Lewis Capaldi ; Someone You Loved
  • L Devine ; Panic
  • Oh Wonder ; All We Do
  • Delacey ; The Subway Song
  • Julia Michaels ; Hurt Again
  • Alec Benjamin ; Must Have Been The Wind
  • Lewis Capaldi ; Bruises
  • Plested ; Worthy Of You

Photo Diary: Taiwan 2019

As we grow up, life continues to move faster and faster, and sometimes, we forget to take a moment to stop what we’re doing, slow down, and decompress. Learning to slow down is such an essential process of enjoying life because it allows us to take a step back, reflect, and appreciate all the little things.

I decided to reward myself by boarding on a solo trip to Taiwan (2nd time) to break away from my everyday life. Going on this trip was one of the best decisions I had ever made. Life’s too short not to do the things you want to do, and sometimes it’s okay to do things for yourself. So I did it *claps* – and honestly, I couldn’t have been happier to have gone.

You know, there will always be times in life where you want to wait for “the right moment,” but realistically, there will never be a perfect time. So if there’s something you want – go for it. Don’t wait for things to happen; MAKE them happen! ✨

He turned 28th.

Remember when I don’t like birthdays? I think I’m liking it now.

The night of my birth date, I went on the road going straight to Sagada from Metro Manila. I booked this trip last January. Since it was my first time going to Sagada, I made sure I set everything well– booked my bus trips ahead of time, and my accommodation. I thought everything was going to go well. But I was on the brick of missing my bus trip since I woke up two hours before my scheduled trip. I was so stressed out knowing that I haven’t packed my stuff yet, and I was to buy a pair of sandals since I didn’t want to roam around Sagada on shoes.

Traveling to Sagada was no joke, for me at least. It was long hours of sitting inside the bus without WiFi, a broken TV and no sound system available. I was so bored even I have my phone and console during this trip. The trip took 10 hours. On arrival, I was clueless on where to go. Luckily, Sagada people were so helpful. I was able to go to my accommodation easily. I booked my stay at Coffee Heritage House via Agoda. This time, luck wasn’t on my side. The staff told me that my reservation wasn’t on the list. The issue was with Agoda still accepting reservations even the house was already full. What a bummer! I was so not in the mood to be mad at this moment because I was so tired and hungry. The house refunded my booking, offered me a cup of coffee and a one night stay since it was hard for visitors for get an accommodation for walk-ins.

Coffee Heritage House was priceless. Everyone was welcoming, friendly, and respectful. Even the house dogs. At first these dogs will bark at you but the second time you see them, they’ll be so friendly. Love ’em so much. Well, luck was really on my side, right? I had to wait for it and looked at the brighter side to witness it.
The house was inside the forest, I could say. You have to follow the trail if you’ll come here on foot, which I enjoyed. Or use the road if you have a vehicle. I was in Baguio upon writing this post. I booked mu stay at 3BU hostel, a new hostel near St. Louis University. It was easy to find. Most of the staff are young looking. For the time I stayed, yeah they all look young. It was my first time to stay in a hostel so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Good thing, few visitors were checked in during my stay. On the area where they assigned my bed, I was alone. It wasn’t totally quiet because I could still hear other visitors from the other area. It was co-ed, btw. Also, I have to mention their food was okay. It wasn’t special but it’s not the worst. Decent, at least.

I will not go into much details about this trip, but I want to share that there were a lot of realizations happened. My purpose of coming to Sagada and Baguio was to rest, not to think about work, rethink about life, and to found myself again. I wasn’t been feeling myself for the past weeks due to work-stress and family drama. I have been treating some people unfairly, and I know this wasn’t good. So I had to recharge and think about why this is happening. What needs to change, what can I do better? And it all boils down to self-care.

I thought I’ve been taking care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually. But I was wrong. I know I still need to figure out self-care, and what’s best for me. I am looking forward for another year God has given me. Adios!