Monday, May 27, 2013

Shoe Love: Nike Dunk Sky Hi Mesh in Total Crimson/Bright Mango


I got me some Nike Dunk Sky Hi Mesh wedge sneakers in Total Crimson/Bright Mango! I love them to bits. They were a completely unexpected find, but in a way, this purchase was expected too. Here's why.

I've always been a sneaker girl. When I was a kid, my favorite shoes were blue Mighty Kids, white World Balance high-tops, and Converse dinosaur Chuck Taylors. When I grew up, I got into flats, heels, wedges, boots, and other kinds of shoes, but I still had sneakers. I would troop to the annual Converse sale every year with friends just because it was fun to snag something from there (like these blue lace-less slip-ons and these white rainbow low-tops. Some really pretty Pony sneakers once served as a bonding moment for me and my close friend Emz. And my then-boyfriend now husband and I once gave each other classic black high-top Chucks for our anniversary. I also have a pair of pretty pink Keds that I wear very rarely and cannot find a pic of because of reasons.





What I am not though, is a collector. I'm way into other aspects of fashion - like clothes and shoes and accessories and makeup and bags to - to commit to just sneakers. This is why, aside from the Nike Sister One trainers that I use for the gym, I don't have other Nike sneakers - or Adidas, New Balance, Reebok, etc. for that matter. I figured that had to change, but my rock sensibilities always drew me to Chucks. 

One night however, the husband and I were walking aimlessly around Mall of Asia killing time before the Aerosmith concert when we happened upon the Nike store. He always checks it when he can (like me he is also a sneaker lover but not a collector) so that night was no exception. He didn't find anything he liked though, but I saw these really bright wedge sneakers! 

Now, I really like wedge sneakers. I thought original Isabel Marant ones were fabulous, and back during my stint as the editorial director of a fashion website, I wrote about them tremendously, as well as the first alternatives that popped up. Check out the articles after the jump.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Game On: Lego Lord of the Rings for the DS Lite



Finished Lego Lord of the Rings yesterday! Got it last weekend at DataBlitz Paseo Sta. Rosa. I saw a lot of reviews online that rated it low but I also saw a lot of forums where players discussed how they disagreed with the reviews. 

I loved it. Of course I love anything Lord of the Rings and I even have the Gandalf Arrives Lego Set, so I must admit that I'm severely biased about this. It is simply such a fun game to play! It's fairly easy, though I did have to look up a couple of hints online for some areas where I couldn't figure out what to do. When it gets hard it can get quite annoying, but I've tried games where I could barely finish the game due to the level of difficulty and I hate those. This game only took me three days to finish, and I didn't even go on addict mode and lost sleep and time over it. I like that it wasn't that kind of game.

In story mode, you get to play as everyone in the Fellowship of the Ring. Each character has a specific skill set that you need to utilize to get through certain areas. The character switching can be pretty irritating at times especially on boss levels (watch out for the one of Legolas and Aragorn vs. the Watcher in the Water at the Mines of Moria) but I got the hang of it eventually. Disclaimer: I'm not the best gamer ever so I do think someone with better skills can have an easier time of it. Of course there was Lego-building action throughout the game, which added a totally different dimension to it so it isn't just straightforward RPG.

I also really enjoyed the humor! Lord of the Rings has a real serious story, but the game creators inserted some fun snippets in the cut-scenes in between all the serious stuff from the movie. [Spoiler alert!] The opening scene alone where Galadriel was talking about the nine rings of power was funny - one of the kings dropped the ring and tried to get it back with his foot! The characters also show off their newly leveled-up skills with a bit of comedy -- Aragorn got nicked by his sword Anduril, Gandalf couldn't get his staff out of the ground, etc. 

I do wish the game was a little bit longer, and that there was more stuff to do to get through levels. I've seen the YouTube walkthroughs for the PC/Playstation/Xbox versions and they look a lot more awesome. But hey, this is a DS game, and it did manage to entertain me from start to finish.