Seven Things: May Favorites (so far)

Little pockets of joy this month

Hello! Seven Things is back. Here are my seven favorite things so far for the month of May:

• Muji’s salt bread

  I love bread. Bread makes me happy! Whether it’s a piece of butter croissant, Marby’s Mini Monay, a slice of wheat bread, or pain au chocolat, I will eat it with glee. While waiting for the election results to arrive, I spent some time at the newest Muji Cafe branch in Glorietta and ordered their salt bread.

  

  @sugoimartPOV MUJI is just as obsessed with Japanese salt bread as u are 😜🥐 Try MUJI's Shio Pan Baumkuchen and more snacks from the link in our bio 🇯🇵 #saltbread #MUJI #lifeinjapan #mujilover

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  I know the salt bread craze has been popular for quite some time now, but trying it for the first time brought out a lot of happy feels. It’s light, fluffy, and has a crisp butter croissant-like quality to it, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m still thinking about it. Maybe I’ll head to my nearest Muji Cafe to get my fix.
  

• Revlon’s Super Lustrous Lipstick in Sassy Mauve
  
  If you’re missing Happy Skin’s old formulation of their lipstick in The Morning After, this is a close alternative. It has a stronger white base compared to the original, but it’s sheer enough to be flattering on my medium-tan neutral warm olive skin tone. While this shade is widely available here in the Philippines, I ended up getting this lipstick in Thailand because of its cheap price (I got mine for 113 THB, which is around 180-190 PHP, plus Beautrium has promo bundles. If you buy Revlon lip products in the Philippines, you can get 1 lipstick for 425 PHP). I got carried away by the promo that Beautrium was doing for their Revlon lipsticks, I ended up buying 4. Haha.
  

• Watching lots of track and field.
  

  
  Track season is picking up momentum right now with meets left and right. For the past three weekends, I’ve been glued to my laptop, watching a meet or two. At the start of May, I spent my weekend watching the Miami installment of Grand Slam Track and the Shanghai Diamond League. Last week, I tried to catch up on the World Relays. This afternoon, I was trying to stay updated with the Seiko Golden Grand Prix.
  
  Out of all the track meets/leagues that I’m following right now, I like Grand Slam Track the most. It’s such an engaging, high-octane league, with solid storytelling, attractive prize offerings, and clean marketing and branding efforts. However, it’s not as complete as the Diamond League or the World Athletics Continental Tour, which offer field events. I turn to the Diamond League and the Continental Tour if I need to watch them, especially pole vault meets (Go EJ Obiena! UY PILIPINS). On top of watching these meets, I find video essays from track & field analysts extremely compelling. My favorite one is The Final Leg by Anderson Emerole.

  
  I guess I’m now one of those fans who watch their favorite sports regularly and use it as some form of positive fuel. I just enjoy watching track and field so much!
  

• The Pavi Studio Mini Knot Bag

  pavistudio

  

  A post shared by @pavistudio

  When it comes to bags, I always go for styles that are versatile and reliable. When I saw this tiny bag from Pavi Studio, I immediately fell in love with it. This bag is tiny, yet roomy enough to fit so many things. I’ve been getting a lot of use out of this, especially during errand days because I can access my essentials immediately.
  

• Jo Malone’s Sunlit Cherimoya perfume

  

  
  I have to be honest here: I’m not a big fan of fruity scents. But Jow got me interested in Jo Malone’s Sunlit Cherimoya perfume because she kept raving about it.
  
  When I smelled it for the first time, it immediately reminded me of a cherry blossom scent that I liked. Since then, it has become a Roman Empire of sorts for me. A scent so comforting, yet so elusive.
  
  During my trip to Bangkok, I stumbled upon stocks of this perfume at the outlet mall that we visited. I initially wanted to buy a pair of Adidas SL72s during that visit, but I ended up getting this perfume instead. At first, I thought of this perfume as a “consolation purchase,” but it ended up becoming one of my best buys from the trip since it smelled really good.
  

• The election results.
  Last week, the Philippines held their midterm elections. Even though I expressed my dissatisfaction about the results in my city, I’m happy that my favorite public servants are going to serve the Philippines again with honor, excellence, and dignity. I’m starting to feel hopeful about our country again, especially with how millennials and Gen Zs voted. There’s still a long way to go though.

  
  Anyway, Senator Risa Hontiveros’ social media posts are popping.
  
  

  hontiverosrisa

  

  A post shared by @hontiverosrisa

• Designers Don’t Read by Austin Howe
  I have a confession to make: I don’t normally read stuff related to my line of work. Maybe it’s because my brain has been filled with work-related thoughts, so I try to steer clear of it. But as I’ve immersed myself longer in the industry, I feel compelled to learn more about the nature of my work. After all, it pays to learn.
  
  This book is a fun and engaging read so far. The essays are short, yet, filled with depth and lived experience. I’ll get back to you on my full thoughts, but so far, it’s a crash course on relearning the industry.
  
  And that’s it for my Seven Things this month! I still have a lot of books and hobbies to navigate, but I’ve come to realize the importance of pursuing hobbies and balance outside of work. After all, we exist to enjoy.
  
  See you around,
  Lea