Small House Design #6

Emma's 8 Square Meter Apartment In Tokyo

This house has been featured here and here. I will be repeating myself that I am not exactly advocating for people to live in such a small and cramped spaces. But then I am sharing posts like this for people out there like me. For people who are not claustrophobic. Living in a small space is way better than living on the streets or being a burden to someone else by crashing on their homes. But unfortunately for me I cannot have even a small house in the Philippines as by law which I only found out recently, the smallest land you can buy is around 40 square meters. And on that space alone you will need 600,000PHP to 1 million pesos. At my age and work how can I ever save that kind of money? Anyway here are the photos of the 8 square meters apartment in Tokyo.

The entrance. If you will see on the right side I think it is a shoe rack. It was actually a video from YouTube so getting the photos for me has taken time.

I am small so I can surely live with this. Small cooking space. Small sink. Cooking range and sink are side by side. Down of it is the fridge. While up of this is the cupboard.

The door on the right is the door to the bathroom. The stairs will lead you to the bed. Also so you can see there's a small balcony where she keeps her bike. And probably hang her clothes to dry.

This is Emma the one who posted it on Youtube. And she's showing here that she can't even stretch her arms. I am not sure if she still lives here. Haven't visited YouTube yet.

She's sitting down in front of the kitchen. I think it is the fridge in front of her.

And finally the bathroom. What else can I add to this? The older I get the more I want a space of my own that it does not matter even if it is so small like this.

That's all for now. 
Thanks for dropping by.
I am still looking around for ideas and designs. Even though I know it is no longer possible as I can't even get a land. That is also one of the reasons why as this early I am trying to ditch all my earthly possessions for what good they are to me when I don't even have  a place to put them in the first place? 

I am currently in the UAE working. I will never be a citizen here so one day I must really live. Only people with billion dollars can buy a house over here. There's no way of telling also until when will I have my job. Or where else will I be tomorrow? A part of me wants to go back home. But where is home? I am basically homeless. 

Reminder

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Goodbye #49: Headband

My cluttered space is because of the little items I accumulated through the years. Most of these little items do not even have a value in my life. And another item that I've thrown is this blue headband that I found in one of my bags. Some 5 years ago I was into headbands that I purchased a dozen or so and I believed that thing for headband lasted for less than a month. I have given away them to someone else. But I cannot remember why I kept this one.

Found it when I rearranged some of my items during my Christmas leave. It is hard to imagine how I have a thousand items inside the small space in spite of having a tight budget.  Yes thousand is my rough estimate with my current earthly possessions even thought I've already discarded a lot. I will diligently continue doing this routine until such time that I achieved my goal.

'Every time you say goodbye to something you don't need right now you will breathe a little deeper' - Anon

Korean Noodles 🇰🇷

I forgot the name and flavor of this Korean noodles. I forgot to take a photo actually. I love Korean and Japanese noodles compare to others as you can see one packet is good for two person. Noodles are moist and not dry. And tastes good. You'll know if you had been ramen all your life. Because you'll get to try them all eventually.

And also this is one of the perks of being unmarried and with no kids. There will be times that I am too lazy or too tired to cook. Noodles or ramen is the easiest to prepare. Just don't forget to add one egg though.

HM Stargazer

HM Stargazer

Made in Italy

Sale Price: 5.00AED

Bought last July 2016

From Ajman City Centre

Used Once

Hello there! Sorry but I do not have any in depth review about the product. What happened was H&M was on sale last July 2016 and so before heading on my vacation I purchased around 30 pieces of eyeshadows. Even though I am not using make up. I'm not suggesting you girls should do the same. But it is just something I want to experience below I get so old. I'm using the eyeshadow starting this January and it is one eyeshadow per day. So I will use everything only once. Then discard them.

Just took a lot of photos.

H&M Stargazer is dark blue with sparkles.

Fall off is minimal which is good. And I am applying it first before any skin care products on my face. 

The swatch: on the pan there seems to be too much sparkles but once applied the sparkles become minimal an almost non existent.

So over all no complaints from me regarding this brand. And once again I apologize for those who came to my page hoping for a complete review. This is just a personal  blog. And I am currently uncluttering my things. So in less than 2 months I will posting all those eyeshadows I purchased and used once. Then discard. While I am in a no buy ban for this year. Thanks for dropping by.

A memory from 2006: I was living in Dubai then and one day I have an interview/hands on in one of the companies in Dubai Media City. While my cousin was already working in the said area. We were both done around 5PM I think? Unfortunately we don't have a car lift. She has a bus service though. On her bus service there was so many empty chairs so we were pleading the driver to allow me just once to go with them. But driver said rules are rules and he has to abide talk about humanity huh? So my cousin did not go to her bus service to accompany me. We waited for a public bus. Back then getting a taxi was hard. Much more a public bus service. All the buses were not stopping anymore as all of them were full. We were able to ride a bus after almost 4 hours of waiting. Plus 2 hours travel time from Dubai Media City to  Al Muraggabat.

So 2006 I do not know how will I survived in Dubai. As staying in Dubai could mean spending my time on the road walking. When I landed a job and the company has a branch in Ajman I have chosen Ajman in a heartbeat. Because the rent and other expenses are much lower as opposed to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. And if ever that I have to walk it will not be much unlike in Dubai had I tried walking from Dubai Media City to Al Muraggabat. The people now living in Dubai are quite lucky as far as public transportations are concerned. They now have choices. And who knows maybe one day there will be trains too that would connect all the emirates to one another.

Small House Design #5

Szymon Hanczar's 13 Square Meter House

I got the photos from here and here. Truth to be told I never dreamt of living in a small and limited space. As a matter of fact as a young girl I dreamt of owning my own castle somewhere in Europe. What a ridiculous dream. But here I am now an OFW for a decade and wanting to go home as soon as possible. If I cannot go back home at least stay somewhere I would truly enjoy for the remaining days of my life.

Now wherever my path will take me whether in my home country or any other country; I will never really be able to afford a housing with a normal size. But I would love to have my own space. That is why I am always checking the Google for small houses to get ideas. Others were laughing at me and even thinks I lost my marbles. Some are raising eyebrows. But then let us be practical. I do not want to loan as I want to live a loan free life. So I salute Szymon Hanczar for doing this. This kind of house will suite me well. Here take a look:

But the sad part is if ever I have to go home in the Philippines I can never buy a lot for only 13 square meters. Buying a land with title should be 40 square meters which left me scratching my head. I'm trying to buy a tiny land because that is all I can afford. If I will built this house on just anywhere then that will make me a illegal resident of the said lot. What we call 'squatter'. But don't even get me started about the price of land as per square meter. Look here and here. According to these websites the selling of land in the Philippines starts at 8,000PHP per square meter and above. And so in buying a land alone if 40 square meters is the requirement then I need more than half a million pesos. Seriously?

I am even welcoming the idea of the 8 square meter house in Tokyo that I have seen in YouTube. I will be sharing it as soon as I get the photos. Good thing is I am not claustrophobic. I understand the concerns of others about small spaces. But having a small space of your own is better than nothing. And if I were to wait for the world to be a better place then I might not see that in this lifetime anymore. And I could just end up living in the streets. Maybe now you understand why I said I could end up living in this if worst comes to worst.

Sleep Academy ☀️

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Empty Bottle 82: VS Love Addict Body Mist 🌸

Victoria's Secret Body Mist

Love Addict

Wild Orchid and Blood Orange

Old Price at VS Shop: 70.00AED

Mix and Match at VS Shop: 5 pieces for 200.00AED

Made in USA

Purchased this at Xpressions Safeer Mall

Price at Safeer Mall: 39.75AED

Promo Price: 3 pieces for 100.00AED

Purchased on March 2016

Victoria's Secret is a US brand of lingerie which also sell cosmetics. They have a line called Victoria's Secret Fantasies. Where they are offering body products in floral and fruity scents or combination of both. Love Addict is a fruity scent in spite of being a combination of flower (Wild Orchid) and fruit (Blood Orange). I used to love Sheer Love but then slowly this Love Addict grows on me. And now if I will purchase again I would definitely choose this scent.

There is no Victoria's Secret shops in Ajman. But their body mists are available in some shops in Ajman like Safeer Mall. But the bottle you are seeing in the photo is the old packaging. They repackaged sometime in 2016 which are available in Dubai. Seeing the old packaging does not mean the product is fake. Just old stocks. I hoarded it last year not because I am crazy about it nor a collector but because there was a phase that I was experimenting which one will work best against the smell in the small and closed flat. Especially when cooking. Sadly Victoria's Secret Love Addict is not the answer. And to be fair there's no other mist or perfume that can eliminate the smell that I am trying to eliminate. So I stopped purchasing and just finishing off the whatever stocks that I am having.

I took a photo of the back of the bottle for those who are interested in the ingredients which I stopped caring much a long time ago. More or less they are all the same. And I am writing this Empty Bottle post as still part of my 'Pan Project' where I am trying to finish all the items I hoarded up to November 2016. I am a recovering hoarder of just about anything. So other hoarders out there who wants to change; there is still hope.

'I live in a very small house, but my windows look out on a very large world' - Confucious

Goodbye #48: Bangles

I think I received it from 3 or 4 years ago. Well since I was young I was not really into accessories. I do not feel comfortable with them. I do not think I can carry them well. But then I tried to wear some. To see if it will suite me. And I got these bangles as a gift. But since I am not really confident with it, I used it for only a couple of times. Then kept it in the drawer of my bedside table. I kept it because it was a gift. But then I'm just thanking it for the memories. Took a photo as a memento. Because whatever way I look it, it no longer serves me a purpose. If I did not wear if all those years then there's no chance that I will be using it in the near future.

 

'You home is you haven. You should feel relaxed the minute you walk through your door. If you aren't feeling that, you need to make some changes. How much time are you worried about your clutter instead of living? Free yourself. And get on with your life.' - Anon

Magulang 👊🏽

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Morning Skin Care 🌚🌝

📍Hada Labo Anti Ageing Hydrator

📍The Face Shop Green Tea Waterfull Serum

📍Skinfood Peach Sake Pore Serum

📍Shiseido Senka Mineral Water UV

Here is my morning skin care when I am in a hurry. Well to all the young girls and boys out there: I am advocating to have a minimalist and frugal lifestyle. But when it comes to your skin please as early as possible start taking care of your skin. Have a healthy lifestyle. Eat right. Exercise. Always use a sunscreen. And have a skin care regime that will suite you and your budget. Please do not be like me. I only started this skin care routine a little too late in my life. I already have sun spots and uneven skin tone which were sadly irreversible. (Plus pimples as I write this. I got sick and was not able to apply my face products for a few days).

Goodbye #47: Welloxon

Those people who went through the same stage of decluttering said that better do it all at once. And do it by category. I wish to do the same only if I have all the time in the world. But I don't and so I am back to just getting rid an item per day. And these posts and photos are sort of mementos for me as well.

Welloxon Herbal. I purchased this just because it was affordable. I got it for less than 5AED per bottle. Without even knowing what is the purpose and how to use it. All I know is it is for the hair. Sadly it does not come with any instruction. Should I use it before shower or after shower? Will it turn my white hair into black? Did not find any help from Google as well. And staff from Carrefour had no idea as well. And so it has been lying inside the drawer of my dresser for months. These are about to expire in April 2017.

In short this is totally useless to me now. That is has to go. I would hand it over to someone who might need it but none of my colleagues do even know about it. They are just clueless like me.

'Today is your day to let go of things that no longer serve you.' - Anon

Current Make Up 🌞

📍Daiso BB Cream Ocre

📍Pastel Lipstick (Turkey)

📍Missha Undereye Brightener (Korea)

📍Essence Eyeshadow Base

📍Essence Waterproof Eyeliner

📍HM Cream Eyeshadow

📍HM Eyeshadow

2017 I am using make up everyday just to finish them all. I am rotating my makeup just for the sake of again finishing them. So far I love this batch.

You learn 👊🏽

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Soon.. Decluttering Eyeshadows

July 2016 I made an impulse purchase of around 30 eyeshadows from H&M just because they were on sale. To think that I am not using make up on daily basis. And since I am aiming for a minimalist and frugal life, I am joining the bandwagon of people who owns only 100 items or less. I am continuously decluttering other items except make up. So I'm starting now. I just got excited when I purchased a lot. What I am doing now is using an eyeshadow for a day then put them in a box. And after the box will be owned by my sister. Hope it is not yet expired by then and I'll be using everything one time only.

February 2017 will be a total no buy ban not just for myself as well as for my family in the Philippines. I have enough skin care products that will last until early next year. Of course not yet expired. Clothes, shoes and bags I have enough to use for so many years. Household items? Nada. Some gadgets. And that's it. There's no turning back. 

Gourmet Bagoong

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Para sa magulang 💰

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Japan's Capsule Apartment

I do not wish to live on a place like this but the older I get the more that I do not care anymore. I mean I do not know what lies in the future for me and if ever that in the future I find myself living in a place like this, I surely will not cry. As so far I already experienced the best that I can experience. Am I making any sense? 

PHOTOS from Pinterest

Japanese Sunscreens from Ebay

Last quarter of 2016 I found myself looking around for the best and yet affordable sunscreens. That quest led me into Japanese sunscreens. They were not available in the UAE market. But I can get them online. And they are affordable if compared to the sunscreens I can get my hands on in the UAE market.

First I tried ordering from Desert Cart which has taken more than one month to one sunscreen to arrive. While the other one haven't reach me yet to this date. So I tried ordering from Ebay in spite of the risk that the products might never reach me as the seller is using EMS and the waiting time is one month.

All along I thought the products will never reach me on time. It turned out that the products I ordered came to UAE on time. But I had no idea that it is already in the UAE and also I was not sure if I have to pick it up from Ajman Empost or they will be delivered here. Finally yesterday I received a call from other department that indeed I have a package over there from Japan.

Here is how the top of the box looks like. Honestly I think the customs opened it. I mean the box but not the contents which makes me wonder if that is the standard procedure? Open all the boxes? Seriously? The box is very small. But anyway who am I to complain? At least I got my package on time. I didn't know that empost will deliver it to the office instead of me going to empost office.

Tada! 2 Biore sunscreens and 2 Hada Labo sunscreens. I doubt that they do not have alcohol. But even if they do better not to declare them just like in the first photo. Because declaring the alcohol content then I doubt that the package will ever reach me. Yes that is how it works. This is meant for the face and not for drinking or eating. But if ever they see the word alcohol then it is over. Crazy. But what can I do? I am just glad that finally I have it. Will share other photos as soon as I get to take them. Lastly for those who wants to order here is the seller ryushindojapan most of his items are free shipping. So I only paid for the products. 

My Buhaghag Hair

PHOTO from Google.
Honestly I do not know why and where we Filipinas got this notion that beautiful hair means slim hair like the one in the photo. But in reality nobody has really a hair like that. Maybe there are a few lucky ones. But they are rare. I grew up seeing all shampoo and conditioner commercials were featuring women with perfect hair. So I am one of those who never learned to love my own natural hair. What is my natural hair? I have a thick hair. It is straight but then it is so buhaghag (loose or frizzy) that they can cover my whole head and my whole face too.

When I landed in UAE some of my colleagues back then were spending money for hair rebonding but I did not as I find it too expensive. But then sometime in 2008 Chinese salons started appearing in Dubai with services so affordable. And so I had my first hair rebond for 300AED in 2009. For the first time ever my hair looked slim. And I was happy. But I was hesitant to do it on yearly basis as 300AED is still expensive for me. But then again since Chinese salons keep on popping up and their competition became tough that most started to lower their prices. Succeeding hair rebonding for me cost either 220AED, 200AED and even 150AED! The results would last up to one year and more.

But last February 2016 I find myself bored and with other negative emotions regarding the hair rebonding. As during that time I had to sit for 6 hours. My hair is really straight and so buhaghag is my only concern. So I went ahead and purchased a lot of hair products. Looked for my stash if I have any hair products from the past. But then NONE of the products managed to tame my hair. That in the end rebonding is the only solution. I still have some unused hair products at home which I'll get rid of soon enough. It was a lesson learned for me anyway that next time around I will never waste money anymore on hair products. That will not meet my hair goals.

This January 2017 I find myself going back to the Chinese salon again to do a hair rebond. And this time around I seriously started questioning myself if it is really worth it? A lot of people around me are sad because  of thinning hair but I am lucky enough that I will never experience this. It is in my genes that all of us in the family have extremely thick hair than usual. So I know that falling hair will never be a problem for me. But instead of being thankful I am still complaining. Just because society says buhaghag hair is ugly and I have to comply. Instead of embracing my uniqueness. I think what happened to me with my last hair rebond was a karma. Extreme heat from the hair dryer hurt my scalp so much that it managed to trigger my migraine that I spent the whole Friday night in bed with throbbing veins in my head. The whole day of Saturday until early Sunday morning I was in bed.

I am writing it as a reminder to myself in case that after a year I decide to do hair rebonding again. Having sick for days because I can't take the heat of hair dryer is not worth it. I am the type who hates getting sick and not be able to do anything. Plus the smell of chemicals in my hair adds up the pain in my head. Maybe it is a sign that I should stop hair rebond for good. 

Mystery of Shiseido Senka Anti Ageing UV Sunscreen 🇯🇵

Last quarter of 2016 I was lamenting about the sunscreens available in the UAE market. Because we don't have too many choices and most are expensive. You go to pharmacies and you will find European brands. They are okay except one would cost 100AED plus. And because I'm attempting to live a minimalist and frugal life that I can no longer  spend a fortune to a product. I mean my salary is low and anytime soon I could lose my job, and who says that taking care of yourself should be that expensive right? Okay fine there are some affordable brands in Carrefour but mostly they are American brands. Come on, American brands are not so popular for a reason. So that is out of the picture.

I have done some reading about good and affordable sunscreens and it led me to Japanese sunscreens. People were saying that Japanese made it right. But then the concern is Japanese beauty products are not available in the UAE market. Then that again led me into ordering online. One the photo is Shiseido Senka Anti Ageing UV Sunscreen. Shiseido is a Japanese brand. Shiseido Senka is their affordable line of skin care products.
Then that again, led me into ordering online. Shiseido is available in UAE but the prices are something I can never afford in this life time. We are talking about a product that would cost 1,000AED and more. Anyway I am interested in Shiseido Senka Anti Ageing UV sunscreen as it is the only Japanese sunscreen that promises to be anti ageing. You know I'm not getting any younger.

So first I ordered it from Desert Cart. Placed an order last November 06, 2016. Promised delivery date was November 21, 2016. But the item has been shipped by seller only last November 15, 2016 so right then I was not sure that my item will reach me on time. But then again it was fine. I can understand. But alas up to this date I haven't received it. I tried ordering it from Amazon directly but funny thing was it can't be shipped to UAE as well as the other brands of Japanese sunscreens. Then because of that issue I tried ordering Japanese sunscreens from Ebay. Now the issue for me with Ebay is I don't know when my items will reach me. I made those orders just to try out ordering from Ebay. I ordered Biore and Hada Labo sunscreens to do trial and error as to which brand will suit me best. Finally this year I checked Amazon Japan again. I was too excited when I have seen Shiseido Senka Anti Ageing UV sunscreen and without thinking twice I placed an order for 2 tubes. But my orders never came. Items has been returned to the seller.

I made an email to Amazon Japan to inquire. Because as you can see my first order from Amazon Japan has taken only 3 working days. So them being so slow is quite unusual. I immediately got a reply but a shocking one. My orders were cancelled because they can't send Shiseido Senka Anti Ageing UV sunscreen to UAE as it contains ALCOHOL. I haven't reply yet to Amazon Japan. I did not make a fuss about it anymore even though I find the reason so retarded. And how can I blame them when they are just following the policy of this country? But yeah it is stupid as who in his right mind would think that I am going to drink it? And even if it's written in Japanese it's obvious that this is cosmetic due to the words SPF50. No choice but to just scratch my head in disbelief. I turned to online shopping because everything around me are so expensive. Alcohol was the reason why they can't send it here as if alcohol doesn't exist here. In face I have a few Korean soju and Japanese sake at home. But an item as small as this is being restricted to be sent here?

For now I will stop chasing after Shiseido Senka Anti Ageing UV sunscreen. I will buy if ever my plans of going to Japan push through. Or if I ever go to Hongkong. As I was planning to spend my vacation in Japan or any other place in Asia this year. That would depend if they will grant me a visa. Or if someone will go home in the Philippines and will see it in the Philippine market. Maybe all the other Japanese sunscreens have alcohol on them that's why I can't them also from Amazon international or Amazon Japan. Like Biore. Anyway I will have my Biore sunscreens in all variants before the month ends. Because it is available in the Philippines through Watson. So I asked a colleague to bring them for me. I asked enough stick that would last up to a year. So maybe that's one of the reasons why Japanese cosmetics don't make it to UAE. Because they believe in adding up sake in their cosmetics. And sake is alcoholic drink. But never mind because if they do bring Japanese cosmetics here maybe the 15AED would become 100AED.

That will be all today. Once I get all my Biore sunscreens I will update it over here. And compare it with my non Japanese sunscreens.

'Beautiful make up starts with beautiful skin'

Pala asa sa magulang 👊🏽

PHOTO Credits to the owner

Bottled Balut

I got this photo from Google years ago and I tried searching for it but failed. I think the person who invented it stopped producing this one. Maybe it was not a big hit. But how I wish it is still available. I love Balut but since moving to UAE a decade ago there was no chance for my to have it.

PHOTO Credits to the owner