Last year, I attended Designer Con, not really expecting much, but it was a really good convention. Lots of vinyl toys, art pieces, and well-known artists show up and often sell limited-edition merchandise to those who attend. I figured I’d go again this year just to see what I can get my hands on. A lot of things changed for the convention this year, but overall, it was an amazing event.

Last year, they had the big name booths like POPMart, Medicom, Lucky Emma, and Tokidoki, just to name a few. This year, it seems like they downsized a few of the booths, but the bigger booths, like Medicom and Tokidoki, were still active and on a larger scale than others. POPMart did not have a booth this year, and to be honest, I’m glad they didn’t. Last year, with POPMart headlining DCON, it was such a mess! People were running, and people were bulk buying. Their queue wasn’t even organized, so that people who were standing for hours couldn’t even get to purchase because they ended up closing the line, or things just sold out. I get it. Last year, Labubus were the main attraction, and EVERYONE wanted one. But in the end, it was just a hot mess. Unlike Medicom, which is always, AND I MEAN ALWAYS, organized.

THE MEDICOM BOOTH THIS YEAR WAS INSANE! They had a colab with The Backstreet Boys, with a chance to get a wristband to have AJ and Nick sign their BE@RBRICK. Of course, my sister and I were going to try to get a wristband so we could get AJ and Nick to sign. But within 20 minutes, all the wristbands were given out, and we were unable to attend. On the day of the signing, we still saw them from afar, and that alone is still a treat! The Chris Brown collab happened last year and this year as well, and that was also wild! If you purchased his BE@RBRICK, you were entered into a raffle for a meet and greet with Chris Brown. Unfortunately, we were all so tired from the 2 days that we didn’t go on Sunday where we could see Chris Brown at the booth. On top of that, by the end of the VIP night, his BE@RBRICK was sold out.

BUT THE BEST PART OF GOING TO THE MEDICOM BOOTH WAS….DRUMROLL!!!! I won a free BE@RBRICK!!!! If you ever go to the Medicom booth, you get a chance for a free prize (I think that’s the correct vernacular for what the experience was). They have a box where you pick out a coin, and whatever color coin you get determines your freebie. AND I GOT A LUCKY COIN! If you pull one of the Medicom’s Black coins, you get a free 400% BE@RBRICK! I was shitting myself when they opened the private vault of  BE@RBRICK. I have never seen any of the ones they had in the vault, here in the States! Needless to say, this booth was by far one of my favorites. Also, look how cool my BE@RBRICK looks!

MY SECOND FAVORITE WAS ONCH’S BOOTH! If you know, you know, and if you don’t know, I’m going to tell you. ONCH is one of the most sought-after creatives in the jewelry industry. Working with well-known artists like Rihanna, Nikki Minaj, Paris Hilton, and more. Onch made a name in the industry for thinking outside of the box and embracing everyone’s individual style and creativity. Using food as a main theme, Onch is known for collaborations with Kewpei, Tokidoki, Le Petite Prince, and Teletubies, just to name a few. Onch recently launched “Monchsters” to commemorate a few of his famous designs, such as Nikki Minaj’s Ice Cream necklace, which she wore during the MTV VMAs back in 2011. Seeing his collections up front was amazing! Onch is a gem, and if you ever meet them, you will get the biggest hug and have such an amazing time. We even talked about my nails. Word up to my nail tech, Marissa! Onch gave me a personal tour of his booth, told me all about the collections they displayed, and shopped with me too!!!!!! Onch’s keychains that I purchased were not only cute but also affordable. If you’d like to purchase something from their collection please click here. I felt the whole encounter was a fever dream. I REALLY hope to see them at the next Designer Con.

After buying all my collectibles, I decided to focus more on finding artwork that I actually loved and wanted to take home this year. Don’t get me wrong, last year had GREAT artists, both local and out of state. But I just liked them, and I didn’t fall in love with them enough to bring them home with me. But this year, I luckily stumbled upon one artist I had never heard of and another I follow on Instagram.

If you know me, you know my two favorite Ghibli Movies are Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service. I have been trying to find artwork, whether it’s a movie poster or from an Artist who adapts their own concept, for a VERY long time. THEN! I FOUND BRYCE KHO’S BOOTH. Based out of California, Bryce is an illustrator known for his concept art and his extravagant fan art. When I say I fell for an art piece, this was it. NOT ONLY DID BRYCE’S BOOTH HAVE KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, THEY ALSO HAD HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE! Do you know how hard it is to find an artist who has both of these Ghibli movies in a collection?!? As soon as I saw both, I knew I had to get them. Bryce’s booth had other sizes for his work that were available, but I got the 24 x 36. They also had a good deal going along with the size purchase; if you get 2, you get 1 free. My sister got an Animal Crossing piece that was a Celeste theme. I believe this was their first time at Designer Con, and hopefully they’ll be back next year. If you want to see more of Bryce Kho’s work, click here.

My last stop was no other than Poohbreezy. Poohbreezy came back this year to sell a few of his pieces, and he also did a live art session while at his booth. I’ve been following him for a while now via social media and found out about him when Demon Slayer was at its peak of viewership. He did a piece with all the Hashiras and also did one of my all-time favorite characters, Shinobu (REST EASY QUEEN). I actually asked him if he was going to be at the con this year, and when he said he was, I told my sister and my boyfriend that we needed to stop by! When we did, I saw that he had Akaza for sale, and I just had to get it. I mean…. It’s Akaza; he deserved better. I also got 2 small-sized art pieces, one of the Hashiras and one of Attack on Titan. Poohbreezy is so down to earth; we talked to him like he was just one of our friends that we were meeting up with just to kiki about life, art, and everything else in between. He does auction off his work, so if you like Anime and have a love for fan art, I highly recommend checking him out here and here ! Also if you’d like to watch any of his art videos you can watch on his Youtube channel and he also has a Twitch channel where he draws LIVE!

This year’s Designer Con was absolutely amazing, just like last year’s. I honestly cannot wait for next year’s show. UNTIL MY NEXT POST! UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others… and as always, look out for yourself and one another.

–C

But pause, before you think I’m boring af, just know I have a life, but I revolved it around my hobbies. A girl’s 5pm to 10pm is also very, very important. I would give myself a time frame of when I wanted to be home from an event or a dinner so I can read, journal, or listen to my audiobooks. But let me tell you, not being a hobby, Cinderella has given me a lot of memories. I’ve been hanging out with my Atehs (a Filipino term for older female figures in one’s life), talking stories and ending up laughing about life. Oh, and I actually got back into watching K-dramas and K-variety shows. Not the new age K-variety show shit because I feel like a lot of these new gen idols are more interested in their image than making me laugh. Fight me on that! I’ve also started to take nature walks, too! In this little creative break of mine, I also figured out that it’s okay to be bored. AND BY THAT I MEAN I SAT AT MY DESK NOT KNOWING WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF. No music, no TV on, ZERO noise. Just me in my silent room with my thoughts. Is that considered meditating? At first, it was scary because I wanted to pick up my phone so bad, but when I was bored, I got the wildest ideas that had a plan rather than being scatterbrained with them.

I’m glad I actually took this break because being creatively active drains my soul at times. I would still write about my day sometimes, but I ran out of ideas when it came to weekly and monthly spreads. My attention span was also shot! I could barely focus on a page in any book or just anything I needed to read.

If you’re feeling this way, just know to say: It’s okay, let’s take a break. Take all the time you need because not everyone is on the same timeline. You’re not being lazy or unproductive because rest is needed; even your mind needs to be reenergized.

UNTIL MY NEXT POST! Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others… and as always, look out for yourself and one another.

– C

Then I picked up Throne of Glass and well…..Celeana is the second baddest. Feyre, hands down, has me in a choke hold. But! I will admit, now that I’m reading TOG, the start has been a little rocky.

Okay, okay…let’s get it out of the way I only read two of the books so far. And yes, I am taking a break to read something else in between (more like taking a tiny break from reading in general). Throne of Glass is a great intro to who the main characters are. Celeana is that badass that can literally beat up a whole army. I mean, come on! The girl almost reached the wall in an Endovier Salt Mine Slave Camp before she got caught. Then she was picked to go to Rifthold to fight in a competition to be the King Champion. Spoiler, she wins. But the start of the story to the end of Throne of Glass was really slow for me. TOG set the tone of the story; it was a great intro to the whole series. I understood why certain scenes needed to happen, and to be honest, its all coming together. Especially after reading Crown of Midnight. Crown of Midnight is the reason why I will be continuing the series. Dorian and Celeana’s character development has got me hooked and wanting to know what will happen next. Especially Dorian’s story! No spoilers for Crown of Midnight, but that last line at the end. GAGGED! I didn’t ask for this life and I would like my feelings back, but alas here we are!!! Wanting a lot more than I can handle!

However, I figured out why I’m struggling so much with this series. I personally do not care for the writing style of SJM in this series. The jumps in point of view gets me lost at times and I would have to go back and re-read a few pages. I would get into a good flow of one point of view and then it jumps to another character and I would have to think back in what happened the last time I read their POV. I personally do not like that type of writing. Also, at the start of the series, I didn’t like Dorian because well….HE COULD HAVE DONE HELPED HER DURING THE FIGHT! But he didn’t and that’s fine because he is catching my attention.

Let me end it here before I get all emotional haha! UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others… and as always, look out for yourself and one another.

–C

I started using a Hobonichi planner around 2019-2020-ish. I loved it at first because I was always busy. Well, let me rephrase that: I kept myself busy. My journal ecosystem was just one journal, and it was fantastic. I had a calendar, a planner, and a journal all-in-one. I felt very organized, and it kept me writing each day. Then, after a while, I found myself just writing to write because the Hobonichi was dated. Then I found myself planning to go out or set up an appointment for this and that because it gave me something to write in my planner. Yeah, I was not about it after a while, and I found myself burnt out. All for what?! Just so I can fill pages with activities that I really didn’t want to do. But I felt like I had to do it because it was in my planner. After having this type of planner for about 4 to 5 years, I just could not do it anymore. As they say, if you know that something needs to change and you don’t change it, that is now a choice. So I switched it up, and yes, I am one happy girl!

My journal ecosystem consists of 2 journals: a common place and just a regular-degular, no-pressure journal. Both are Leuchtturm notebooks, but one is an A5 (regular journal) and the other is an A6 (common place journal). My small green Leuchtturm is my common place journal. People use their common place books for educational purposes, but I use mine for more than that. I write down things I need to remember, different types of lists, and just random quotes and thoughts that come into my mind. Recently, I’ve been using my common place journal in place of using my phone. That’s been a journey, a long one, but still a great journey to digitally detoxing.

My regular-degular journal is my go-to; I have no pressure of writing in it daily or finding ways to fill the pages. I just grab it and write whatever I feel like. I do write about my day, and I also write about the books I finish and put in my review and thoughts about said book. If I wanted to, I could do a weekly planner or a calendar. It feels SOOOOOOOOOOO good to not feel like I need to plan out anything or think of a “weekly planner spread”. I usually use my stickers from Pepper Cut Studio and Amazon, and go about my writing. If I really want to remember an event or even a moment, I’ll even scrap a journal about it. I really want to try a “Junk” journal spread one time just to see if I actually like it or not. At this point, this notebook is a free-for-all!

Writing gives me an outlet to vent and also organize my thoughts and feelings. Which is why writing is one of my favorite hobbies. I remembered back in primary school, I only used a notebook. Then, in Middle school and High School, I had a Filo and a Journal. Then in College, just a journal, and now, just a journal and a tiny notebook that holds my reminders because I tend to forget.

Anyhow, if you journal, what notebooks or planners are you using? It’s almost 2026, which planners are you going to get for the New Year?!?! UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others… and as always look out for yourself and one another.

– C

Our main protagonist, Keila, is a Librarian in the Great Library of Alyssium, along with her faithful assistant, a spider plant named Caz. During an uprising to overthrow the Emperor, the library burns in the flames! Good thing they prepared for this; with a few crates of spell books inside a small boat, both Keila and Caz flee with no hesitation. With nowhere else to go, Keila travels to a place all too familiar: her childhood Home in Caltrey. There, Keila and Caz both find out who they truly are and what they are capable of. A story of survival, love, courage, and a little bit of magic; The Spellshop brings a new meaning to the word home.

This was an easy 5 out of 5 for me because of three reasons:

1. The character development of our girl Keila. From the start, her character set the tone of “we gotta survive”. But by the end of the book, she found more than that! In Keila’s mind, she said that the situation with Clatrey is temporary. They were to stay there until they got word of what was happening in Alyssium. Then they would go back to the city and live happily ever after in whatever new library was put up after the fire. But then, as the book goes on, she starts to see the effects of the Emperor’s ruling and why her being a librarian is going to help cultivate the dying island of Caltrey. On top of that! Keila knew nothing but the library and Caz. She wasn’t used to people or being social, but now that she’s on this island, she has to develop a whole new personality. By the end of this book, Keila came out of her shell, and it was so beautiful to see. She walked with so much courage, and on top of that, she fell in love. Her life on the island gave not only the townspeople hope of a new start but also gave her the courage to move forward with her new life and home.

2. Larran and Keila’s love story was a slow burn, but I did not mind. Although a subplot, I feel like it was an important part of the book. Larren is one of the helpful townspeople who helps just about anyone, but is also a merhorse caretaker. Their story was forced proximity-ish. I had to keep in mind that Keila only knew the walls of the library, and whenever Larran did something nice and she was skiddish, I wanted to scream. I actually did at one point. He is a bit nosy, but in a good way. I had to give it to Keila; she knew her boundaries, she set them, and HE LISTENED! He remembered Keila when she was a little girl because she did something nice to one of his merhorses. So a part of him felt like he owed her for that kind gesture. As time went on, Larran became a big part of Keila’s character development because she ultimately lets her walls down and accepts the fact that she is also in love with him. HE DOES SOMETHING SUPER CUTE WHILE THEY’RE IN BRYN’S BAKERY! AND YES I DID LITERALLY SQUEAL WHEN I READ IT! Who doesn’t love a good love story along with some magic!

3. The theme of community and having a village. I 100% believe that everyone should have a village. It doesn’t have to be big, let it be 3 to 5 people, to me that’s enough. I feel like Keila going back to Caltrey made her realize that there was so much more to the library. Let’s just be real, this girl and Caz had a lot of social anxiety going on. As I read through the book, the sub characters help her feel that human interaction and she learned that having someone’s mental support is so important. She was there to seek refuge and was so headstrung to think that her situation was temporary. After opening the Jam Shop with the help of Bryn, the Bakery owner, and using her knowledge of research and the illegal books, she turned what was supposed to be a temporary plan into a plan to help her dying town. One by one, people in town needed her. In turn, she became close to everyone and slowly started to let he guard down and saw that she also needed them. You can see this big change in her spirit when she meets Radane. How she helped Radane was the way the townspeople helped her when she first landed on the island. In the last few chapters of the book, you can see that they came together as one to help each other out of a sticky situation. Keila was so thankful for what happened during this time that she couldn’t imagine where she would be if she had to leave.

Not going to lie, having to not write what I truly feel without spoiling the book is hard! This book was a very easy read and it took me out of my book slump. I am glad that I picked this up to get out of it. NOW ON TO THE NEXT BOOK!!!

UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others… and as always, look out for yourself and one another. – C

Other than wanting to visit a pumpkin patch and going on a hayride, there are other things that I want to do this season. I made a list of movies, TV shows, and activities I want to partake in. It’s wishful thinking if I do everything on this list, but it’s worth a shot. As one of my friends told me yesterday, “It’s an outline!”

The movie list was simple. If there is a tiny hint of Fall, I just might watch it! Movies like Hocus Pocus, Remember the Titans, and Legally Blonde are a must for me to watch. I know there is a lot of other movies that I missed, but I also have a spooky movie list that I need to get through. Can you imagine how long this list is!? I already watched Hocus Pocus the other day, so that is one less movie from the list. But who am I kidding. I’m going to watch it again. Also, fight me about Legally Blonde and I will let you know why this the best chick flick to watch during the Fall!

Believe it or not there’s a lot of television shows that have a lot of Fall themes in them. Don’t hate me, but I will not be watching Gilmore Girls. I narrowed my television watch list to Halloween themed and anything that has to deal with Thanksgiving. Halloween episodes are so fun to watch. I’m such a fan of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes and Family Matters Halloween episodes. If you have never watched the Family Matters Halloween episodes, please go and watch them. They’re so good; that Steve Urkel doll still scares me to this day. Oh and how dare I! I forgot to write down Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Also known as the BEST 90s witchy show. Again, come fight me for that!

What is Fall without its lovely activities to do both indoor and outdoor! Of course, I will be visiting a pumpkin patch and make time to go to Gilcrease Orchard. If ever you are in Vegas, I highly recommend going. Gilcrease has a whole pumpkin patch, a wagon ride, a corn maze, amazing apple cider donuts, and more! It’s only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 7 am to 2 pm and an advanced ticket is needed. Another thing I am looking forward to is the Bellagio’s Conservatory display. Which is FOR FREE! They always have a beautiful display up during the Fall. In the desert, we don’t have trees that change color (we do, but its in Mount Charleston). So when this is up, this is as close as I can get.

What Fall things are you all looking forward to? What shows and movies would be on your list? If you have any cozy recommendations feel free to share!

UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others… and as always look out for yourself and one another.

– C

I am a millennial and I absolutely love being one! I will do the side part in my hair and I will always reminisce of a time where smartphones did not exist and the internet was so new that people were scared of it. I will also say that we had one of the best eras of music. I had the awesome pleasure of seeing the Backstreet Boys live at The Sphere for their Millennium 2.0 show. Shoutout to Ateh Joy for letting me tag along, because no lie watching this show flipped my mood for the better.

The size of the Sphere up close is really wild because its huge and then you go inside and it seems a bit cramped but its not. My sister: Ateh Camille, Ateh Joy, Ateh Mylene, and myself had to separate tickets. Ateh My and Ateh Joy were in the 101 seating section and Ateh Camille and I were in the pit, for standing only. From the start, I was a bit nervous because when we walked into the standing area, there was a sea of people. I’m 4’11” and I couldn’t see the stage from the entrance. Lucky for me and Ateh Cams, this isn’t our first standing concert. We knew to either go left or right of the stage and we got a really good view of the stage from the left. BUT! If you do this it’s going to be really hard to see the graphics of to the left of the globe. And let me tell you! The Graphics is the whole globe and it’s like a second show. Very worth it. I got a great view of the boys and I got to experience the 2000s all over again because it felt like I was also watching a music video to every song.

Now how did this show flip my mood you ask?! Well being an adult is weird. I refuse to loose my whimsical-ness of my childhood and teenage years. As I say it, I didn’t really grow up I just added on to my responsibilities. Living is all about experiences, both new and old. This concert literally did just that. The nostalgic feeling of listening to the Backstreet Boys sing songs like I Want It That Way, The One, The Call, and Drowning brough back so many good memories of my Atehs and I just hanging out and not having care in the world. It was honestly such a good feeling and to experience that with other Millennials who know that feeling is something special. It sounds really cliche to say this but this show is a healing experience. Just to relive a familiar freedom in the music of the Backstreet Boys made the concert one of the best moments in my life time. And the fact that I got to experience it with 3 wonderful women who have shaped my up brining in this world was incomparable. This show made me want to make more memories with the people who matter. Life is so uncertain and this concert showed me that I need to be more present and experience more of what the world has to offer.

If you’re thinking about getting a ticket, go and get one, just spend the money. Relive all the feels of the 2000s! Bring your friends, have fun, and dance the night away! Its 100% worth it no matter what section you are at. Treat yourself you deserve it! And thank you to the Backstreet Boys for giving me a new perspective in life.

UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others…and as always look out for yourself and one another.

– C

I haven’t really had the chance to write in my blog in a whole year because life be life-ing! Sometimes good and sometimes bad-ish. I feel like I do owe it to myself to continue with this blog. One, because deep down inside I’d like to keep it as a memento for myself. I would like to remember things that make me feel alive. I don’t know if you all know this but writing helps me cope a lot; I have a problem with smiling a lot around people when deep down inside, your girl is going through it. I feel a lot more and I feel a lot harder. It’s a blessing and a curse because it taught me to see myself outside of myself and it makes me understand people a lot more. It also helps me bring peace to my thoughts and feelings. I tend to write after I have certain experiences or conversations just so that I can preserve those thoughts and emotions. Then I read back and realize a lesson I have learned or relive a feeling all over again.

Lastly, I want to keep this blog going because I still want to find a way to be consistent with my creativity outside of my 9 to 5. I’m learning to balance both my work life with self expression and creativity on the side. I started this blog when I ended college in hopes to share life experiences. I have changed a lot. After collage, I wanted to do all the things in relation to what I studied for. But then things changed; I grew up (ish, grew up-ish), made some scarifies, learned that it’s okay to start over, and I lived life by just being in the moment. Yes, activities were there, but they were never consistent. The only consistent hobby I really had was my love for music, books, and writing. Does that mean that’s all I’ll be ever doing? No! Does that mean that’s all I will ever be writing about in this blog? No. At some point, I’ll have other post also. I’m still learning how important it is to focus on your 5 to 9. Especially when you find yourself loving where your career is at. BUT WE’RE LEARNING!!!!

UNTIL MY NEXT POST!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others…and as always look out for yourself and one another.

– C

Where do I even start with this series?! It was good, then meh, then the last one made me question A LOT OF THINGS but was good. I didn’t really know what I was getting into at first. The Housemaid was my first Frida McFadden book and I picked it up because of Instagram. The book influence during that time had a really good choke hold on me. Are you ready for this long review?!?!?!

The Housemaid 5/5
Millie Calloway is an ex-con who lands a live-in maid job with Nina and Andrew Winchester. After being hired Millie is introduced to Enzo, the landscaper who warns her to leave before its too late. As well as her living quarters: an attic that has a door that only locks from the outside and a window that can’t be open. During the interview, Nina was kind and very straight forward of her expectations of housework, and how to take care of her daughter Cecelia. After a few weeks of being at the house, Millie noticed that Nina has several mood swings and she really doesn’t know when Nina will get mad or when she will lash out and accuse her of doing something she has never done. Millie finds out later that Nina is mentally unstable and takes antipsychotic medication to regulate these mood swings. Andrew Winchester is the complete opposite; a successful businessman who is kind and caring towards Millie. Whenever Nina has an “episode” Andrew is right there to comfort Millie but somehow still stands up for his wife. Later in the book find out the real truth to Enzo’s warning and Millie is caught in fire.

The Housemaid is a great intro, I didn’t expect the ending to be jaw dropping. Andrew’s mom had me gagging!!!! One liner, but gagging! Millie, Nina, Andrew, and Enzo were grade A characters. The character development of Nina was absolutely amazing! She was such a little snoot and I thought she was crazy. By the end of that book my thoughts were: she is a survivor, she is a warrior, SHE IS MOTHER!! Let’s also not forget that Enzo knocked some sense into her after what she did. Andrew was super crazy! But not as crazy as Millie. Andrew met his match, his karma, when he got with Millie. This book had me on a choke hold during the build up as to who Andrew truly was. I didn’t even see that coming! If I needed to describe Nina and Andrew’s relationship its: “what you see is not what you get”. I felt Nina’s desperation and the fire in her building up to just find a way out (especially when she was hospitalized by Andrew). Again, its sad that Millie did have to be involved in the situation. But Nina had to do what she had to do.

The Housemaid’s Secret 3/5
In the Housemaid’s Secret, we find Millie in the busy city of New York as a housemaid. Her life is going great! Millie has a loving boyfriend named Brock who is a very successful lawyer. She is also in school to become a social worker to help women who are in need of finding a way out of their situations. After book one, Enzo was also a big part of Millie’s life but later had to go back to his home country due to a family emergency. Millie gets hired to work for Douglas Garrick’s penthouse and notices that Wendy Garrick is very strange. Millie later finds out that Wendy Garrick is being abused by Douglas and later helps her escape. But nothing gets base the Coinstock CEO and Douglas finds Wendy and brings her back to the Penthouse. This prompts Douglas to let Millie go, on her last day she sees Douglas choking Wendy. In attempts to save her Millie finds herself caught in the line of fire and is accused of a murder she didn’t commit.

The Housemaid’s Secret was mid. Brock was unnecessary for Millie’s growth. (TLDR: also that one part where that one guy in her apartment complex tries to SA Millie, could have done with out that. Why that sub plot was there? I don’t know…). Also Brock was an asshole for leaving Millie when she needed him the most. I knew from the start he was a coward and that he was so far up his butt because he was a lawyer. Never ever trust a man who is all about his career because he will always pick his job title over his love. PERIOD. Again! Thank goodness Enzo was there when Millie needed the support; especially when she was constantly in and out of the police station during questioning. Let’s just address the elephant in the room though: WENDY. Sister is the definition of crazy!!!!!!!!! I felt bad for her and I thought okay another Nina. Millie is going to save her and do her best to figure it out. NOPE! Don’t think so! Really great plot twist! The ending is very unrealistic, wild, but very unrealistic. Majority of what Wendy did is absolutely absurd and very unrealistic. If people have those kind of thoughts…best of luck to you.

The Housemaid is Watching 4/5
The last book of the series: The Housemaid is Watching brings us a very happy family! Millie and Enzo are married and have two children Ada and Nico. A successful social worker, Millie and her family are officially out of the city and managed to land a house in a cul-de-sac on Long Island. Next door to them is Suzette and Jonathan Lowell and their maid Martha; Suzuette a gosspie realtor is not shy when meeting Enzo. In fact she made a move on him right in front of Millie. Suzette offers to help Enzo with his landscaping business by offering to find clients for him on the island. Enzo is excited and offers to help the Lowell’s with their backyard. As Millie gets to know the neighborhood, she finds out that the town is fairly safe but there was a missing boy case a few year back. No body has been found and the boys family is still waiting for him to come home. As time passes and the family gets acclimated to their new surroundings, Millie finds that Enzo is constantly over Suzette’s house. Claiming to help the Lowell’s with their lawn, Enzo eases her mind and blood pressure and tells here nothing is happening between he and Suzette. This eases her mind, until she finds an empty house and walks next door looking for her husband. Instead, she found a dead body with it’s throat slash. After the cops arrive, Enzo is pinned for the murder because their nosey neighbor, Janice, saw Enzo walking into the house but never out. Millie doesn’t see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel and now has to find way to get her innocent husband out of jail.

The Housemaid is Watching made me happy because Millie is officially getting her happy ever after that she deserves. It shows because she has two beautiful kids and her Husband Enzo who loves her so much. But I knew that it wasn’t going to last long, especially when Suzette was introduced I knew she was going to be a that character. In the end I was right; always worried about her image and didn’t care about doing what was right. What’s wrong with people! Surprisingly, I liked their neighbor Janice. Yes, she was a control freak over her child. But it’s justified! And if it wasn’t for her Millies family would have found out the cul-de-sac secret! I will say that the last book in the series had one of the most random plot lines that I just didn’t understand: Millies blood pressure. Why? How? I…nothing in the end had anything to do with that. She didn’t die or pass out or had anything major happen to her because of her blood pressure. Even when she went to confront Suzette, nothing related to her blood pressure. Again, why? Her coworkers in the hospital made such a fuss about her high blood pressure, I was waiting for Millie to have a mini stroke and have it come together with the plot line. But, nothing! The medical person in me is questioning why it was included…and I just don’t know why. I can look past that mini subplot because the ended was just amazing. I had a little hunch of who the murderer was, but then I was wrong and was surprised.

It was really hard for me not to spoil anything!!! But my ratings are justified! The Housemaid was a great intro to the series. I loved Millie’s character from the start because at the end of the day she just wanted to change her life. Let’s face it, always doing good doesn’t mean it is going to be good for us in the long run, (if you know you know). Enzo is also a gem and wanted to help Millie out in book two and for literally sticking by her when she was accused (once again) for something she didn’t do. Also good for them for getting married in the last book and I’m so glad they have two kids. I will say they do get their happy ending.

Over all experience was a 4/5. I recommend reading it in order to get the best effect of character development. Also please do not expect a lot from The Housemaid’s Secret; it may have middle child syndrome.

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others. Look out for yourself and one another.

Until my next post. – C

At the start of 2024, I really wanted to try something new. Honestly, I was getting tired of the Hobonichi. I found it more of a hassle to find ways to make a weekly ‘layout’. I felt really weird that I needed to do a weekly and then a daily all at the same time. It was super tedious to duplicate my daily life on two sperate areas in one planner. I love having a planner; I’ve always had one since elementary school. This year, I wanted to try something new.

The Hibino also had three of the wants for my 2024 planner: A monthly and a daily section that gave me the freedom to write. Also the daily section also had an hourly planner to the side. It felt like a two for one special. Perfect fit for 2024… or so I thought.

My first month with my Hibino was okay, it was something I needed to get used to. Then after 2 months of using it, I found many flaws of this planner. The Hibino only comes in one size, A6. That is small, and I mean small compared to the Hobonichi A5 I am so used to. I found myself not being able to use the monthly section the way I would like to. My handwriting is small, but I couldn’t write out my daily gratitude onto the monthly section along with an event on the day. I tried but it didn’t work, the boxes were just too small.

Size also became an issue with the daily section as well. I tried so hard to write as tiny as possible but the lines, in the daily section of this planner were just too tiny for me. I tried to write using two lines, but it just wasn’t cute. On top of that because of the size I was unable to use stickers and my washi tapes. It just didn’t look right; it looked super busy and that wasn’t what I was going for.

By the time it was May I had photos and memories to write down but I also had to pick and choose what to do. Either photos or written memories; I like to do both. But again, I couldn’t do that with this journal.

Now, I’m back to my old habits and went back to the Hobonichi. Am I excited? Yeah, I am. I gotta admit I did miss using this planner. I now have a plan for 2025; I’m pretty sure I’ll continue to use the Hobonichi Avec. As much as I love the whole year; sister girl got thick by the time it was June. I’m glad I’ll be proud to share my spreads with you all now that I’m back to my old ways. I hope everyone is doing well. Now that my start of the year has calmed down, I am now going to be posting a lot more regularly! Yey for me!!!

Don’t forget that happiness is in the little things you do to make this world a better place. Be kind to yourself and be kind to others. Look out for yourself and one another.

Until my next post. – C