Ramblings of a Princess

Tonight, I tried something I didn’t think I’d try any time soon: Hand and Foot Paraffin Treatment.

Okay, let’s get this straight: I know that the heat can relax our muslces and nerves—I know this well; I like having hot baths—but I couldn’t quite get how hot, molten WAX can be relaxing. To be honest, it sounded a bit scary to me.

But, there I was at Beauty and Butter, trying out the Hand and Foot Paraffin. I mean, other people have done it, so it couldn’t be that bad, right? But down to the last second, after the buttercups attending to me have cleaned my feet and were holding my foot above the wax, I was skeptical. After all, if I wanted to relax my hands, I could just shake them loose, or someone to massage them, and I could always just put my feet up if I wanted to relax my feet.

But all that disappeared from my mind when my feet touched, and eventually got dipped, in the mint wax. The only thought in my head was, “Oh, wow, that feels gooooooooooood.”

Mint wax for the win!

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The Breakups fans, celebrate! The official single for “I Don’t Want to Know” came out on iTunes June 22! The single includes “I Don’t Want to Know”, “The Casualty”, and a brilliant cover of Michael Penn’s “Mary Lynn”. Check it out in the iTunes store.

Psych fans can also recognize this song as the one playing at the end of A Very Juliet Episode, Psych Season 4 episode 12.

The Breakups hail from Hollywoodland, California. Their classic pop sensibility and adventurous arrangements have them working in the same musical milieu as other modern pop staples like The Shins, Fountains of Wayne, Elliott Smith, Nada Surf, Wilco, and Michael Penn. Combine those modern ideas with a love for the classic sound of Emitt Rhodes, The Clash, The Zombies, and a certain “B” band from Liverpool and you have the breakups special brand of “powerless pop.”

If you’re like me and grew up on Disney movies, and/or if you love musical theater, then I’m pretty sure that you’ll love The Lion King Musical (if you don’t yet). I’ve had this album for years now, and every time I take it from my shelves and put it on my player, it almost always stays there for weeks.

The Lion King musical debuted 1997, and is faithful to the 1994 animated Disney film of the same name, save for a few new scenes. Which is awesome. I’ve seen movie-to-musical adaptations that were not executed well at all. Unfortunately, Disney’s The Little Mermaid musical is one of those. This, however, is spectacular. Read the rest of this entry »

Sarah vs. the Pink
If you’re like me and you pass by Guadalupe along EDSA everyday, then you cannot miss that huge pink—or white… or both—billboard by Flawless. Because it’s so…PINK!!! (And white, too. And PINK.)

To be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to Flawless before, since I never really was one to look into beauty services very much, unless that beauty service was the basic haircut, manicure and pedicure, leg wax, or massages. I used to have facials, but I stopped getting those when I started on Mary Kay. Paraffin treatments? Peeling? Nope, never tried them. Medical cosmetic procedures? Ohoho ABSOLUTELY NOT. Except that keloid removal procedure I got when I was 11, but that’s a completely different matter altogether.

But, recently, Flawless invited several bloggers to join a writing contest about their services. So I said, “Hey, why not?” Read the rest of this entry »

For years, thought I would never get to watch Andrew Lloyd Weber’s classic Broadway musical, CATS. But check it out, check it out: Cats is coming to Manila this July, with Lea Salonga as Grizabella! This is enough to send me into a giddy fit, since (1) I love musicals, (2) I absolutely love Lea in theater, and (3) I have a special attachment to Memory, since it was one of my recital pieces before.

But I still thought I wasn’t going to be able to watch because of…*ahem* budget constraints. BUT awesome people have put up several ways for us to get a chance to watch Cats Now and Forever for free! There’s one by Citibank, one by McDonald’s and CatsInManila itself, just to name a few. Yeah, I think I’m gonna go and join one of these. Haha! There might be other contests going on, so check out the official Facebook page or the official Tumblr page.

Cats Now and Forever opens July 24, 2010 and will run until August 15, 2010 at CCP Main Theater. For the complete list, check out Cats in Manila on Tumblr

Ticket Prices

* inclusive of 3% service charge

For tickets, call Ticketworld at (+632) 891.9999 or visit their website www.ticketworld.com.ph

Four days. Ten tracks. One family on one awesome vacation. Oh yeah!

Day 1
And it’s you and me in the summertime
And all the sunshine banishes the dark

Track 1: Summertime – The Sundays

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My brain was a mess. The day of our flight out and I hadn’t packed my bag—although I’d already planned out what I was going to bring, so that was a good thing, right?— and I still needed a couple of new shorts—all the shorts I owned were for use indoors only— and I wasn’t sure if I had any sunblock left and I really needed hair clips, too, and omgomgOMG I’M GOING TO PALAWAN!!! my brain kept repeating.

Therefore, a steady beat was necessary to calm my giddy self. I usually reserve Summertime for travel on the road during afternoons, but, as we flew in the clouds, the orange remnants of the sunset streaking the horizon, this song just felt right.

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True, I’m not studying anymore, but with the opening of the school year on first week of June comes a spike in the road traffic volume. Everyone feels it, even non-students like me. Therefore, in an attempt to have happy thoughts as students get back on the school groove, let’s make a playlist!

Listen to my Back to School  playlist

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Back to School from Billy Madison
From one of Adam Sandler’s classic comedies! In several decades, I might eventually forget everything about this movie—or not—but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this little song. This be the perfect prologue to our playlist.

School Days – Chuck Berry
“Up in the morning and out to school”
It’s an oldie, but it still rocks. (And rolls.) This was remade by the Simpsons with Bart quipping adlibs in between lines.

Amarillion – Datarock
“I wanna take you out tonight / I wanna take you home from school”
‘Nuff said.

Campus – Vampire Weekend
“Drag my feet along the floor / Then I see you, you walking ‘cross the campus”
And yet another school crush song. Interpret the lyrics however you like, but there’s no doubt that the beat and tune are so…happy. Haha!

Speeding Cars – Imogen Heap
“Now, now, darling, don’t lose your head”
Let’s slow things down with a little Imogen Heap. Not at all about school, I believe, but there are some lines about textbooks and ABCs. Also, it’s a good, comforting song who dread going back to school. Sort of.

Three is a Magic Number – Blind Melon
“And three times one is three, of course”
Schoolhouse Rock, anyone? Haha! I so wish I learned this song when I was having trouble with my 3′s table.

High School – Superchic[k]
“High school could be a mini me of society”
True, that.

School of Rock from School of Rock
“You better get me to school on time”
At first I thought this song was about slacking off, but when I read the lyrics more, I think it’s more about just having fun in school and not be the kid who “got good grades and got no soul”. Yes, yes?

Math is a Wonderful Thing from School of Rock
“Math, math, math, math, math!”
Because School of Rock is so much fun. And so is math, as Jack Black says.

No Such Thing – John Mayer
“I wanna run throught the halls of my high school”
Question: which was more awesome for you? College or high school? Personally, my answer is and will probably always be high school. (College is fun, too, but high school still takes the cake.)

Welcome All Again – Collective Soul
Has nothing to do with school, but has everything to do with coming back. A fitting way to end this playlist, methinks. It’s also a good way to start the playlist, too, but that sound clip from Billy Madison is just TOO PERFECT. Haha!

Welcome back to school, everyone!