🔖 Recent Reads: Cadaver Exquisito

Sometimes when I watch book videos I listen to people saying the have read a very disturbing book, that they had to stop reading for a while cuz it was too much, that they don't recommend reading them before bed cuz they'll give you nightmares and, I kinda wanted to find something like that. 

Two of my students recommended this one, actually, one of those students was the one who lent me the book. And I also watched 2 videos including it in their "most disturbing books" so, that was my sign, I had to read it. 

Cadaver Exquisito (Tender Is the Flesh) is a book written by the Argentinian author, Agustina Bazterrica, the story is set in Buenos Aires in a distopian world in which cannibalism became legal after this kind of pandemic affected all animals and made it dangerous for humans to eat their meat.

"The sudden appearance of a lethal virus that attacks animals irreversibly alters the world: from wild beasts to pets, all must be systematically slaughtered, and their meat can no longer be consumed. Governments confront the situation with a drastic decision: legalizing the breeding, reproduction, slaughter, and processing of human flesh.

Cannibalism is the law, and society has been divided into two groups: those who eat and those who are eaten.

Marcos Tejo, general manager of the Krieg meatpacking plant, is an obscure bureaucrat. The day he receives a woman raised for consumption as a gift, temptations transform him into a dangerous conscience with sinister undertones that will lead him to transgress the rules to limits unknown to society.

In this ruthless dystopia, as brutal as it is subtle, as allegorical as it is realistic, Bazterrica inspires, with the explosive power of fiction, highly relevant debates."

I finished this book in 2 weeks, which is really fast for me, it is not a thick book and chapters are short so, it was easy to read more and more but still, it's a record! Haha. 

It's a very raw and explicit book that talks about topics that could be triggering for many people like sex, loss, gore, animal and human abuse and, of course, cannibalism so, I'd suggest checking the trigger warnings if you feel like reading it.

Even tho it shows an imaginary reality, and how difficult it could be for some to adapt to it, it perfectly captures how humans can take advantage of any situation, no matter how bad or twisted it is to fulfill their own desires. Even Marco, the main character, gives us a big plot twist that makes you change the way you see him.

I wanna take a moment to appreciate my cool bookmark. I think I showed it in another post when I got it, but I wasn't using it as what it is until now. I got it at a Japanese event and it's 3D printed. I love it!

I don't know if I'm just very desensitized to many things now or if something is very wrong with me (lol) but, I didn't find it difficult to read and it didn't traumatize me. The only two things that got me were the animal abuse part, I can't stand it, thankfully wasn't that expicit or long and, of course, loss. I'm still very emotional when it comes to people losing a parent so, yeah. That almost made me cry.

I honestly loved this book, I think it'd make a difficult to watch, but great movie. The end felt a little incomplete tho. Personally, I wanted to know what happened later. Plus there were other things I wish had a closure somehow but, it's defo one of the best books I've read so far. It was really good in the worst way possible. 

See you next time~!💋

My Birthday pressies 2026 🎂

And just like that, I celebrated another birthday! It really is scary how fast time goes by~ But, like every year, I am going to share a bit of how I celebrated and, what I received this year. You guys know, I love making this posts, hehe.

Since my birthday was on a weekday, I started celebrating the weekend before with a yummy lunch date at Cheescake Factory on Friday and a birthday brunch on Sunday.

On my actual birthday (June 03rd) I got a surprise breakfast delivery from my mom and sister and my boss suprised me with a cake at work, later that day. Even tho it was a busy day, it was a nice one.

The next day, wine night was bday edition, we had dinner, delish matcha-chocolate cupcakes and I opened my pressies. On Friday, my friends came over with ramyeon and flowers and that weekend I continued celebrating with family and friends.

Celebrations were great, I ate and drank A LOT and I just love spending time with people I love. I'm spoiled, hehe.

Now, we are going to move to the pressies, they are in no particular order but, I did try to separate them into groups to make this post a little shorter. 

We'll start with the clothes, they are all winkly tho, cuz of course, I couldn't be bothered to iron them for the pics. Plus, I had already worn some of them before.

I know I say these often but, I'm really bad at taking clothes pics. With that being said, let's do this!

My Geto outfit! Haha.
These pieces came in a set and, I love them! It's the most comfortable outfit ever. 

I've been obsessed with the jeans! I always thought that cut wouldn't look good on me cuz I'm pretty short but, I was wrong. They are my favs atm.

Next, we have alcohol! I really love it when people give me alcohol, they just know. Hehe.

Last year, I decided to start reading more and, I've been recieving books and things to read ever since. I haven't had to buy many books really. And, I recieved some for my birthday too! I think I'm covered for a while, hehe.

I've been wanting a Derpy plushie for a while cuz he's my favorite ever and, I got him as a gift. He's the cutest and I love him so much.

I guess these were more like... celebration favors but I'm including them here cuz, they were super thoughtful and special considering this girl loves Halloween.

Does it make sense to put these goodies together? Idk

Cuz yeah, I'm still obsessed with everything sakura~

Love me some skincare!

And, with that, we close this pressies posts. June is still a bit of an emotional month cuz my dad's birthday was only a couple of days after mine, and I just miss him. But, it felt really good to be surrounded by people I love, it made it easier. 

Thanks to everyone who made my bday a special one, I'm very lucky to have you all ♡

As I usually do, I might write separate posts about some of the things in here, especially the books and products as I start using them.

See you next time~!💋

More Easy Meals I've Had For Lunch Lately

                          

My last meals post motivated me to prep different things and make another post sharing them. Of course you might see some ingredients here again but, prepared in a diffent way or paired with something else.

I don't remember exactly when I made them but, I know it was not what I ate in a week. I've been saving these pics for some weeks now so, yeah. 

Remember that, I'm no expert here and I just play with that sounds good to me so, don't expect fancy, super nutritious and balanced meals. And, with that being said, let's start!

Breaded tilapia fish with ketchup and some potato tots. I love breaded stuff, especially fish but, I try not to eat it too often cuz I know it isn't exactly the healthiest option. I usually like to fry my breaded stuff in butter and didn't really add anything else to it cuz of the ketchup.

How fun are these bear potato tots? I seasoned them with salt, tomato powder, tajin and some herbs.

Meanced meat with tomato sauce and veggies with heart shaped pasta. Yes, I like fun-looking food, hehe. Meanced meat is something I make often, it's easy, you can make it for a couple of days and it goes well with many things. 

I'm not the best at making pasta and, even tho it wasn't the most delicious one, it was decent. Plus, it's cute. This was from a Valentine's Day special edition my mom gave me a while ago.

Smoked salmon with sriracha-mayo and sweet corn "sushi cups"
My mom sent me this idea on instagram and it turned out pretty good, next time I'll add some nori to the cups.

We ate the sushi cups with some chicken gyoza. I didn't make them, of course. They were delish! I could eat gyoza everyday.

Fish cubes and broccoli with kewpie. I'm obsessed with the broccoli-kewpie combo, one of my fav things to snack on.
To the fish, I only added a fish seasoning and, that was it.

Chicken breast and veggies. No, I didn't burn my chicken, I like it that way, hehe. There's nothing too special about this one but, it was pretty good, and healthy. Hehe.

This last dish sounded good in my head but it didn't turn out as good. 
Sardines in tomato sauce with pasta. My mom used to make cold pasta with tuna and it was yummy so, I thought this would be something like that. Fresh and delish for the hot days. But, like I mentioned before, I'm not good at making pasta. Idk what it is but, must of the time, it ends up being all mushy and gross. This was the case. I hated it but, it was still part of my menu, haha. 

And, that'll be it for this foddie post. I'm always open to suggestions of other things I could make and try so, feel free to recommend!

See you next time~!💋

Bonnyhill | Strawberry Collagen Toner Pad 🍓 |

 Today I'm gonna show you one of the products that are part of my skincare routine atm and, that I've been loving. It's the Bonnyhill Strawberry Collagen Toner Pad🍓which is a Korean skincare brand I recently discovered. It caught my attention because of their cute presentation and, good prices.

It is a 3 in 1 product that gently exfoliates, tones and hydrates the skin. This one has strawberry extract, collagen and hyaluronic acid that help you with uneven skin texture, dullness, and signs of aging, also giving your sking a boost of moisture.

Apparently, these ingredients are good for fighting acne, anti aging, all skin types, brightening skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better skin texture.

How cute is this packaging?

My favorite part about this product (aside from it being a great one) is the smell. It smells like real strawberries and it's SO good!

It comes with 60 pads soakes in the product. One side is textured and the other one is softer, you can choose which side to use depending on if you want some soft exfoliation or not.

I also really like the fact that it comes with transparent tweezers to make their use more hygienic.

These pads are super gentle and refreshing. I use them in the morning and at night and, I especially enjoy how fresh they feel after a long day.

Almost right after I started using them, I noticed my skin looked anf felt fresher, glowier and helthier in general. My makeup applies and looks better and I always wake up with healthy looking skin. I love, love, love them.

They had a vitamin C version too that I might want to try next. And of course, I'd like to try other products from this line or brand in the future.

See you next time~💋

May Recap. Not My Fav Month TBH~

Trying this cover for the monthly recap posts... I'm not sure if I like or not but, we'll keep it for now. Hehe.

I'm SO glad this month is over cuz, it felt super long, difficult and just... ugly. It wasn't my best month. And I mean, I'm at a good place in my life right now but, we all have our ups and downs and since late April, some things have been just very stressful, I didn't feel physically well for like... 2 weeks and my enegy levels were soooooo low. 

Part of that stress was my car (that's so not a surprise for those who know me). I know I've been neglecting it a little and, after getting a flat tire, everything went downhill, some things needed to be replaced and it wasn't exactly cheap. It's still not 100% done but, we're getting there and I'm less paranoid and hysterical now. These things just make me miss having my dad with me and his help so, so much. 

I'm slowly getting back on track and I know that things won't magically change once the month is over but, I'll be patient with things and, especially, with myself.

But! Not everything has been bad; this month we celebrated Mother's Day starting on Saturday with lunch at this pizza place we just found that was pretty good (I forgot the name tho...lol) and a shopping sesh after that and a chill movie day at home with yummy food and snacks on the actual day. It was a good Mother's Day weekend. 

I actually have a short and cute story from that weekend. On mother's day I decided to wear my old Cowboy Bebop bomber jacket, there was this young guy who worked at a clothing store, he complimented it and made small talk about anime cuz I also had an Uchiha pin on my bag. Before I left the store he gave me enamel pin and told me I had really good taste in anime. In a way, it kinda made my day. Even tho he was way younger than me, he found a good way to approach me and say smart things, something that many older guys just never do. Hehe. 

Five days after mother's day, it was Teacher's day. Honestly, I had a lot going on that week and I really didn't feel like celebrating much but, it felt really nice to receive some messages from my students and even some chocolate from students I've only worked with a couple of times. 

My sister and I wanted to go to a fair since March I think and, we finally did. First, we went to a fancy fair we went to a couple of times years ago but, this time it was a little bit disappointing. We remembered it bigger and with more attractions. We did have a good time walking around, checking some stands and eating gaspacho. We even pet a baby goat, I fell in love! It defo wasn't what we expected tho. And then, last week we randomly found a town fair that was noisy, with lots of street foods and, it was just a lot of fun. Defo worth it.

After that life yap, let's move to TV, books and my favs~

Starting with TV, I recently felt like watching some k-dramas again and started Sold Out On You starring Ahn Hyo-seop, which is a romantic comedy. I'm only a few episodes in but, it's been entertaining and heartwarming so far.

Another thing I've been watching at night lately is Who The (Bleep!) Did I Marry?, this was a show I used to watch on Investigation Discovery years ago and it's has become my go-to show to watch at night before sleeping, hehe. I'm not really following seasons or episodes in order, I'm just watching random ones. And, of course I'm still watching Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, I'm taking my sweet time with it, even tho in my head, I wanted to finish it this month. Hehe.

Something I'm super excited about is: The new and last Bleach arc coming this July. I have mixed feelings because, I'm dying to watch it but, I don't want it to be over yet. I'm not ready! The teaser trailer gave me the chills. 

For books, this month I read Will You Walk With Me? I won't go into it too much cuz I already have a separate post about it but, I can say I really enjoyed it! It felt like reading a slice of life anime (that I love) and, even tho I didn't have that much time to read it every single day, I did try to read at least one chapter everyday, since they were short.

Moving on to music, I’ve been listening to some (old) K-pop again, mostly the songs I used to love years ago but, I also became a Stray Kids fan. I knew they existed but I recently started listening to their songs a lot more this month and, yeah, they’re really good. I didn’t think I’d become a big K-pop fan again but, here I am, obsessing over a group. And we know that, when I obsess over something, I obsess hard. Haha.

Makeup wise, I've been obsessed with my Essence What the Fake! Plumping Lip Filler. It's such a pretty everyday shade that gives my lips a my lips but better kind of look with a light plump. It works very well and, it's been my go-to lippie since I got it.

Lastly, I want to share a coffee shop I’ve been loving since December last year, and that’s ザ•コーヒー. It has replaced Starbucks, hehe. They don’t have a super big menu or seasonal drinks but, what they have is really good, strong coffee and you can also customize your drinks. I go there at least once a week, hehe. I’m slowly trying to try all the drinks they have.

And, I think that’s it for this month. June is my birthday month and I don’t know if part of how I’ve been feeling was pre-birthday blues (if that’s a thing) or what, I know that I like the idea of celebrating but, I don’t like turninga year older. Oh well, we’ll see how everything goes. All I want is for it to be a better, more gentle month with me.

See you next time~ 💋

🔖 Recent Reads: Will You Walk With Me?

We’re back to reading! On my last monthly recap I shared how I started reading a book called Unsolved Mysteries and received a new book at that same time. Once I started the new book, I stopped reading the other one, at least for now. 

That book was Will You Walk With Me? by Oniisanbomber and illustrated by Misekiss. It’s a light novel about two students who decide to start dating right before graduation and how much their lives change after that. To me it's a bit of a right person, wrong time kind of story.

"A story of youth, heartbreak and haunting ghosts.

Yamato Haruto and Aoi Chisato start dating at the end of their second year of high school.

Just one year before graduation.

They live in a small town in the mountains, a place where the snow falls every year—a place that students leave after graduating.

These two childhood friends decide to become lovers, knowing that they only have one year together. They are confident that they can figure things out after graduation. But time and space are vast obstacles to overcome. Their relationship eventually breaks, but...

Their fates are interwoven—even as one of them dies.

What could be bigger than life and death?"

Even tho this novel doesn’t have illustrations inside, the cover is really pretty. It shows Aoi Chisato walking on a snowy day, which plays a big role in the story.

I loved it because it felt like one of those slice of life stories with a bit of a paranormal twist. At first I forgot about the fact that Chisato was dead because I got too involved in their story told from Haruto's perspective, I got to care for the characters and suffer when their love story ended. 

Once I got to Chisato's death part and how her ghost started contacting Haruto to try and make things right, I got super emotional and even cried out of the blue. After losing my dad, I cry whenever I watch or read something reales to dead people contacting their loved ones.

Even tho the ending was kinda sad, it was also beautiful in a way, you can’t help but want to root for Haruto and wish him a happy life. I’m a way, the story shows how much time can change things, feelings and relationships, not always for the best, which is a little bittersweet.

Doing some research I found that there are two other light novels that are kinda connected to this one, one that can work as a prequel and well, a sequel but, apparently you don’t have to read them to understand the others. I kinda wanna read them now.

It’s funny cuz I didn’t think I’d like to read these type of sorties and I always end up enjoying them a lot.

I already have the book I’ll start reading next month so, hopefully I’ll see you with another bookish post in June.

See you next time~ 💋