Plot Twins: The Plus One Pact and Holidate

The Plus One Pact by Portia Macintosh is one of the new books that I managed to finish recently. It is about Cara, who is having a hard time finding someone, not for lack of trying. With a list of events that would require a date, she agrees to an arrangement with her new friend Millsy to be each other’s date for their respective events. No commitment, just friendship, and a person to be with during the events they need to go to. Sounded simple enough until it was not.

Credit: Boldwood Books

Review: Deerma Handheld Wireless Vacuum Cleaner

This pandemic has made me obsessed with acquiring items for use around the house. I think that should not be a surprise considering that I have probably spent more time at home this year than I have ever done in my lifetime. After I purchased an air purifier and a dust mite vacuum, I decided to purchase the Deerma VC20 Handheld Wireless Vacuum Cleaner via Lazada.

I have seen several celebrities and some of my own friends showing off their purchase of a Dyson cordless vacuum. As interested as I was in purchasing it, the price of the product turned me off. I did not feel it was practical to buy something that expensive for what I needed it for. Besides, I believed I could find something that would do the same job without being that heavy on the pocket.

Pandemic Diaries: Song Club

A while back I got an email from someone from Republic Media thanking me for my review of Ronan Keating’s album 2020. In the email, several artists with new albums were shared that I might be interested in. I was curious about the album featuring various artists called Song Club (aka Chris Gilford’s Song Club), which is themed around the pandemic. Luckily, I was given a chance to listen to the album before it was released last October 23.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

Pandemic Diaries: Lasco Smart Air Purifier

Early into this pandemic, I started having rashes on my skin. I attributed this to stress initially but then started to wonder if my childhood allergies were acting up again. I had been allergic to dust when I was younger and had similar rashes when a place was dirty/dusty. I would have asthma attacks from too much dust as well. I decided with the pandemic and the respiratory issues that it brings that I should take extra precautions. This was when I decided to buy an air purifier. After searching for and comparing many brands and their features, I decided to buy Lasco’s Smart Air Purifier.

Netflix Picks: Timeless

One of the things that I find comfort in these days is looking back on tried and tested favorites. I have been re-reading books I enjoyed in the past and I have been re-watching TV shows and movies that I had previously enjoyed. 

One of the shows that I found myself re-watching recently was the 2-season TV show called Timeless, which is currently on Netflix (Philippines).

Book Review: Worth Waiting For

I have not read that many new books this year. Most of the books that I have been reading have been ones that I have read before -- which has more to do with me wanting to face something familiar under these stressful times. I have tried to read a lot of new books this year, but several of the books that I have started have unfortunately ended up on the do not finish pile. One of the few new ones that I’ve read this year (and finished) is a book called Worth Waiting For, which, if I am to guess correctly, is inspired by the story told by the song The Man Who Can’t Be Moved by The Script.

Credit: Bookotoure

Movie Review: In My Dreams

A few years ago, while I was watching TV on a now-defunct cable channel, I remember seeing this Hallmark movie that I fell in love with instantly. It was a romantic movie starring Katharine McPhee and Mike Vogel called In My Dreams. I have been a fan of Katherine since her American Idol days, so it was an easy choice to want to watch this movie. I never heard of Mike Vogel before this one, but I was later a fan because of his work on the TV series The Brave (which I wish could have lasted longer than it did).

Book Review: American Royals Series

What if the United States did not have a President, but instead had a King? What if for the first time, the country was about to have a Queen? What kind of world would that be? The book series American Royals by Katharine McGee.

Pandemic Diaries: Cherry Home Dust Mite Vacuum

The pandemic has made me so paranoid about so many things. When I had rashes during the Enhanced Community Quarantine, I had investigated every reason I was having them. One of my main suspects was my childhood allergies for which I later bought an air purifier. Before that, however, I decided to buy a vacuum cleaner for my bed because I had also suspected dust mites.

I remember buying this vacuum cleaner after my search for one that I can use exclusively for mattresses and pillows, the living room couch, and related items.  The size of the vacuum was small enough that I could hold it with one hand as I went over everything. It was also at an affordable cost that I knew I could try it and not regret the purchase in case it did not work.

Photo Credit: Cherry Home

Netflix Review: The Babysitter Movies

Haven’t you ever had those moments where you were working, and you needed to have something -- anything -- playing in the background just to carry you along? That happened to me recently. Sometimes working from home can be good but there are times when things could be too quiet that you needed something other than white noise.  I decided to pick a couple of movies on Netflix: The Babysitter and The Babysitter: Killer Queen (warning: spoilers ahead).

If the titles were not a giveaway, the two movies are connected to each other. One was released in 2017 and the other in 2020. It is the story of a young boy who discovers that his cool babysitter made a pact with the devil and was going to make a ceremonial offering so that she and her friends could have their wishes come true.

Documentary Review: This is Paris

I always wondered if people on reality TV sometimes had some sort of public persona that they present of themselves, some sort of image they project because it sells. With her documentary, This is Paris, original influencer Paris Hilton reveals that what you see is not necessarily real, as she shares the reason for this image and the life she has behind the scenes.

Netflix Picks: Enola Holmes

Who has not heard of Sherlock Holmes, the famous fictional detective? I have never read any of the books, but I am familiar with him. One person that I was not familiar with was his sister, Enola. I did not realize that there were also books about this young woman who is depicted to be just as good a detective as her older brother. The film starring Millie Bobby Brown playing the titular character Enola Holmes was my first introduction to the rest of the Holmes family, and it was a very entertaining thing to watch!

From what I have read online this movie was supposed to be shown in the cinemas but switched to Netflix because of the COVID 19 pandemic. It was a smart move that resulted in it being one of the most successful films on Netflix to date. So much so that there have been rumors of Netflix looking into possibly more Enola Holmes movies and Sherlock Holmes films featuring Henry Cavill, who gave a memorable and different spin to the character.

Netflix Picks: She Was Pretty

My K-Drama binge-fest on Netflix during this pandemic was stalled a bit with a show that my cousin recommended, the romantic comedy titled She Was Pretty. Starring Park Seo Joon and Hwang Jung Eum, the story revolves around Kim Hye Jin, who was supposed to meet up with a childhood friend after many years of not seeing each other. When he did not recognize her when they ran into each other, she assumed it was because she was not as beautiful as she was when she was younger. As a result, she made her pretty best friend meet him in her place.  

 

Series Review: Upload

If you had the chance to extend your life by being uploaded into virtual reality would you do it? What would your afterlife be like in it? What kind of complications would that kind of existence bring? That is what is being tackled in the Amazon show called Upload.

Book Review: Shine

With the popularity of K Pop groups these days, have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of these groups and how they were formed? By now K Pop fans are familiar with the fact that South Korea’s musical groups are strictly trained before they are formed and launched. The book Shine, by Jessica Jung of the girl group Girls Generation, is about a Korean-American girl who is training to be a part of one of these K Pop groups, sharing the story of her training up to her launch in a girl group.

Movie Review: Project Power

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? If you could be given the chance to have a power of your own, would you take it? The movie Project Power shares a world where people can have their own superpowers via a pill that releases your unique powers for a limited period of time -- five minutes, to be exact.

Movie Review: Over the Moon in Love

Watching feel-good, wholesome movies has always been a guilty pleasure. There is something about watching people have their happily ever after without any violence or heavy drama that will always appeal to me. During this pandemic, movies like this have been a source of comfort for me. Stressful times call for non-stressful entertainment, especially feel-good romantic ones. When I found what seemed like a Hallmark movie called Over the Moon in Love on Amazon, I decided that it was something that I wanted to watch.

Netflix Picks: The Social Dilemma

Have you ever wondered about how much you have shared online? Have you ever thought to yourself: “How much is too much?” I have. After watching the documentary titled The Social Dilemma, I am wondering if it is time to try to pare down on the sharing or if it is too little, too late.

Book Review: A Simple Wedding

One little white lie. It seems so simple. Until it snowballs into something bigger and bigger that you end up having no control over how it tramples on everything and everyone because of it. That is the dilemma that Jenny has when she travels to the popular wedding destination Heart’s Landing to plan her movie star cousin’s secret nuptials in the book A Simple Wedding by Leigh Duncan.

Credit: Hallmark Publishing

Review: Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2

It seems just like yesterday that Rihanna was singing during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.  Now she has her own lingerie line and is having fashion shows of her own via Amazon for her Savage X Fenty line. This year she just released her second show with Amazon, and I decided to take the time to watch it.

When I saw Rihanna’s first fashion show on Amazon, I admired the fact that they showed how much input Rihanna had with the designs and the fabric and every single detail of her show. This is something that was hers creatively and not just something that she put her name on to sell. 

Netflix Picks: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Is it just me or is there nothing good to watch on TV these days? It seems like every time I watch TV it is the same shows over and over again. I know that I cannot put the blame on the TV stations/channels about this since COVID 19 has affected every industry, entertainment included, and that it is so difficult (and no doubt more expensive) to make movies and TV shows these days. Because of the lack of new things to watch, I have found myself looking for shows or movies I have not seen yet on streaming sites. That was how I discovered the three-season series called Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.