The Goddess of Hope

I am making a wish list because its the Christmas Season, although this is not necessarily a Christmas Wish List as I want to buy these things even if its not Christmas(one day, someday all of these) and you can give these things to me even though its not Christmas. hihihi~

so here goes, in random order (None of these photos are mine):

an iPad Mini with Retina Display 32 GB White or an iPad Air 32 GB White with RED SMART COVER and preferably Wi-Fi + Cellular. I'm still deciding which but I'm already leaning towards the mini. 

iPhone  4s White. I don't know even though there is already a 5s (and I'd like the gold but the white/silver is also ok and someday I'd buy the latest models) I have a soft spot for the 4s.

a Rose Gold Watch. any brand for now, though someday I do want to own a top quality branded watch. 

BAGS. I don't know any bag I guess, though I think I'm partial to satchels or those bags with 'form' I like the super small ones and those big enough to fit my wallet and those with a lot of pockets/divisions to place all my things in order. I also like what I call 'pretty rucksacks/backpack" like this, this & this. I like earth coloured, pastel coloured,cream coloured, white, red and black, navy blue coloured bags. 

Shoes. flat sandals , platform wedges, brogues and oxfords, although I'm quite picky with the designs of these, and I'm still dreaming of a white/red/floral Doc Martens though WHITE is my best choice. I'm size 6 to size 8, it depends because I have a 'wide' feet. 

Make-up Holders / Organizers. I want everything to be organised.

Accessories Organizer and Jewelry Box. i want all my things to be organised. I don't want mess so that I can see everything easily.most pressing now i think is a jewellery box for my watches. :))

Perfumes. I want to collect different scents & fragrances. Like fragrances by Chloe, Juicy Couture, Lanvin, Elizabeth Arden, Dior, Marc Jacobs, Chanel & Clinique to name a few :D 

Charm Bracelet. I want to own one, not a fancy one but a real jewellery from I don't know any known jewellers like Morellato, Tiffany,  etc so I could buy charms for the things I like (music, books, travel etc.) or my future adventures (travelling to london, cruising etc) .

Cameras. I would really like to collect and learn how to and make a hobby of photography. I want to own dSLRS, instax and film cameras, vintage cameras and other cameras like lomo, diane etc. 

Red and Mint Green MacBook Pro Case. where the apple logo is hollow (with keyboard protector, dust plugs and wrist guard) heck even the tiffany blue (light/icy blue) and light pink is cute but no my priority is red and mint green! XD yeah, I want to spoil and beautify and accessorise my mac XD 

Mac computer (iMac and Mac Pro) and a new MacBook Pro 13". haha I wish. maybe when I'm rich, then I'll buy one and put the Mac computer in my library/study! XD 

Luggage. I want a vintage inspired luggage or that passport stamps style white luggage that I always saw at SM (can't really describe) or this luggage that I saw that has the different touristy landmarks (eiffel tower, leaning tower of pisa, big ben etc) of the world as the design.Although a RED coloured luggage is also nice. Wanting a luggage as if I'm going to travel anytime soon! hahaha

Vehicle/Car of my own. ok so as wish list goes this is too stretching it much already but it is a "wish" list right? I don't want a car car, I want a car that is a little tall with 5-8 seating capacity like Hyundai Santa Fe so more people can be seated (for friends and family and things and outings) Is it called an SUV? because I want a car that won't make me smaller or coz I'm already small. HAHA. you get me? XD when I'm on the road I want to be tall and the one looking down on people and smaller cars. XD 

Books.of course, my wish list wouldn't be complete without these. :))

Clothes. any clothes really as long as it fit me and would look good on me. Jeans. tops. skirts. shorts. jackets especially 'office'-like jackets that would also look good as casual attire or would improve a casual attire. 

Baking Supplies, Materials and Equipments. anything really that can be used in the kitchen, the most pressing thing  I need and one of the most important is a dietetic scale/weighing scale for more accurate measurement of ingredients, digitals are good but the manual are acceptable. 

I want to COLLECT these books.

John Green 

 Let it Snow (with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle)

David Levithan

Boy Meets Boy

The Realm of Possibility

Are We There Yet?

Wide Awake

Love Is The Higher Law

The Lover's Dictionary

Every You, Every Me

Everyday

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn)

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (with Rachel Cohn)

Invisibility ( with Andrea Cremer)

Two Boys Kissing

Likely Story (as David Van Etten)

All That Glitters (as David Van Etten)

Red Carpet Riot (as David Van Etten)

How They Met and Other Stories

Marley's Ghost

The Full Spectrum

Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes

City of Fallen Angels

Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Princess

Haruka Murakami 

Hear the Wind Sing

Pinball, 1973

A Wild Ship Chase

Hard-boild Wonderland and the End of the World

Norwegian Wood

South of the Boarder, West of the Sun

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Sputnik Sweetheart

Kafka on the Shore

After the Dark

1Q84

The Elephant Vanishes

After the Quake

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

David Sedaris

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Children Playing before a Statue of Hercules

When you are Engulf in Flames

Squirrels Seek Chipmunks: A Modest Bestiary

Rachel Cohn

Gingerbread

The Steps

Pop Princess

Shrimp

Two Steps Forward

Cupcake

You Know Where to Find Me

Very LeFreak

Beta

Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon

Mark Haddon

A Spot of a Brother

The Red House

Garth Stein

The Art of Dancing in the Rain

Julia Quinn

Well, all of her books UK book cover edition

Rick Riordan

Lightning Thief

Sea of Monsters

The Titan's Curse

The Battle of the Labirynth

The Last Olympian

The Lost Hero

The House of Hades

The Demigod Files

The Demigod Diaries

The Red Pyramid

The Throne of Fire

The Kane Chronicles Survival Guide

Garth Nix

Sabriel-Lirael-Abhorsen in one book

C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia in one hardbound book

Audrey Niffenegger

Her Fearful Symmetry

Laduree

The Sweet Recipes

The Savory Recipes

Entertaining:Recipes, Ideas & Inspiration

Almanac Perpetual Laduree

CookBook

Les Petits Macarons

Macarons (Pierre Herme)

Pastries (Pierre Herme)

The Betty Crocker The Big Book of Cupcakes

and other cookbooks please, I want to collect cookbooks

I just recently found out that my trusted MacBook Pro was bought 2009 before the release of the OS Snow Leopard. All this time I've been using Leopard and I haven't even realized it. (Yeah, I'm not that knowledgeable on Macs and OS and updates back then as long as I'm using a Mac I'm contented and happy! lol)

Anyway, all this has come to my knowledge because I started noticing that my battery life is not as long as it used to be and I found out that the latest apple products (iPhone 5, iPad mini etc) can no longer be read by my mac/itunes. So I started researching how to update my mac and if I can replace my batteries. Plus if possible increase the processor/memory/hard disc because its getting slower and I need a lot of GB/hard disc space (see I don't know the terms used for these things) because I am a hoarder and collector of movies, ebooks, photos, songs etc and other application that I deem necessary to fully use my laptop in downloading etc. (yeah, even if I have an external HD I would still need extra space, for the speed and my "favorites" you know, so that I can use it without connecting my mac to a device and yeah I'm a bit OC in terms of free space). I also noticed that my charger is no longer functioning properly so I have to replace that as well and just recently the sound for the speaker that my mac is producing is not as it should be, here in the Philippines we would call it "basag".  I would also need to update my OS for better overall performance plus I like the new features of the OS Mavericks especially the iBooks for Mac part (I'm a bookworm). unfortunately there are a lot of updated OS already Leopard --> Snow Leopard --> Lion --> Mountain Lion. I have to at least have a Snow Leopard before I can update to Mountain Lion, unfortunately again, Snow Leopard these days are hard to come by. They said that Mac is still selling it but not all Mac Center here in the country still has it. 

So problems that I encountered with my Mac:

battery

charger

speaker sound

OS upgrade

processor

RAM

HD

I have not yet gone to one of the Mac Centers here to inquire if they do hardware upgrades and replacements and how much it costs. But I would do it as soon as possible. It's terribly important. I do not want my laptop problems to worsen until it would be irreparable. The most important things I need to get fixed are of course the first four I listed in bullet the other three I can manage without but of course I prefer if there would be an improvement. 

why not just buy a new MacBook Pro? well because I don't have enough funds to buy one. not yet anyway. I will have to see if the total cost of the upgrades and replacements costs as much or nearly the same as a new mac then I'll probably just save money to buy a new one. But I still think its a big waste to buy a new one especially if I can still use this one with just a little bit of fixing. Later on, I can give it to my youngest sister when I finally have enough money to buy myself a new one. And what good would that do her if she can't use this laptop properly right? right. and yeah, i think its just a waste coz its not totally broken and we can still use it so why not  try to fix it right? XD I really am hoping that it will not cost loads and I would be able to afford to have it fixed when I got a job and a little bit of saving some money. 

the thing that made me so happy today:

✓found a SNOW LEOPARD OS installer my aunt sent us and I was able to update my MacBook Pro (I just noticed that it got a tiny bit slower... see it really needed an upgrade. hahaha). Now I just have to worry if I need to update to MOUNTAIN LION before I can install MAVERICKS or I can immediately install mavericks from snow leopard once its out. hopefully its the later so i wont need to buy mountain lion just so I can install mavericks *crossfingers*  I wont be waiting long though, its already october and apple would be having an big announcement again! XD 

I've been seeing posts and reading a lot about the Korean bakeshop Tous Les Jours (don't be mislead for it's French sounding name, the brand is Korean) for quite some time and during my Foodservice Practicum/OJT at Banana Leaf, Greenbelt 3, Makati, I had a chance to taste one or two of their pastries. 

The ambiance in the room is simple but you can really feel the "bakeshop" vibe. I'm not sure if all their branches look the same as I've only been on one. Their website is here if anyone wants to learn more about the store.

I was most especially curious about their macarons de paris and that was the main reason I sought them out. 

they only have five flavors: Chocolate, Strawberry, Green Tea, Vanilla and Mango. And out of all the French Macarons I've seen and tasted so far in the Philippines these are the cheapest at Php28.00 each. And if I remember correctly, if you buy a set of five you only pay Php120.00

They have a simple container for their macarons which I like. At that point in time, I have only tasted French Baker's macarons and I say that this one is better,s (although I think that depends on the branch, or it was only that batch or they had improved their macarons, I can't say for sure because it got better, but more on that later, probably my next blog) though I'm not saying I'm an expert on macarons, in my humble opinion I still need to taste a lot, try different stores, study its recipes etc. before I can say I'm an expert. Its chewy and you can taste the flavors of the macarons and its not too sweet. I'd like to taste some more flavors in the future and I hope they do have more flavors in the future, because I wanna eat more of their macarons.

I also want to taste some of their pastries and their cakes because it looked delectable and some have said that they tasted good. I hope thought that their cakes tastes as good as they look. I'm not really an expert on prices of cakes nowadays but just based from their looks and if those cakes really taste good then I think their prices are reasonable.