4 Other Things You Can Do Inside A Shoe Store In Dubai

Dubai spoiled us too much with splendid things. If you're a shopaholic, you definitely should go and visit this city because it has all the luxe and glam you'd be looking for - full package, with add ons.

Fitness First Golden Mile - The Palm Jumeirah

Meanwhile, a lot of my networks and friends reacted when they saw an IG post when I tagged Fitness First ME. Funny how people tend to stereotype photos of gym facilities. After all, being fit is not just about losing weight isn't it?

Things I Realized After A 48 Hour Digital Detox

Wearing H&M beanie, Forever 21 knitted black top, and American Eagle denim shorts

I turned 29 a few days ago and decided to go offline for 48 hours. You got that right, I was on digital detox on my birthday! :)))

The initial reaction I got from my friends are surprising. For somebody like me who breathe and live the online world (I work as a digital marketing exec), 10mins of not browsing my Instagram feels like forever.

But no, I actually connected to the world and realized that real conversation happens offline. Screw Whatsapp messages, FB posts which are always misinterpreted, and so on. Those who really care would pick up the phone and dial your number to say 'hey, you've been offline for a few hours now. everything ok with you?' or 'coffee tonight, we need to catch up' or even 'hey, happy birthday'. It's a very very simple gesture but honestly, these are the things that I treasure the most. In a city where everybody seems to be very busy, finding time and giving extra effort to communicate with people by personally meeting them only means that they really want to be included in your life.

There are many other things I was able to do when I was offline, to be honest. My laundry, fixing my things, creating more artworks, getting fit (by this I mean I get to walk in the neighbourhood), play with dogs in the park, take photographs, cook dishes I'm pretty good at, and reflect on how my year went. It's like I've been discovering myself again!

It's in the real world where you get to meet people and really talk to them. For the past months, here are some of the amazing people I met:

A photo posted by Joy© (@iamjhoysi) on Nov 19, 2015 at 10:09am PST

I met Doc Gelo, went to his book launch where he presented his second travel coffee table book called People, Places, Memories. See, the good thing about the Filipino community here in Dubai is that bloggers really support each other. The illustrations on his book was made by Ken and the layout by Yna. More photos can be seen on his post right here.

A photo posted by Joy© (@iamjhoysi) on Nov 3, 2015 at 9:12am PST

Was also able to meet The Travel Camel in a Tweet Meet at Al Ghurair Rayhaan where he shared a lot of things about social media. If you don't know anything about this person, you can check him out on Twitter. :)

A photo posted by Joy© (@iamjhoysi) on Oct 31, 2015 at 10:36am PDT

And of course, Ayang Cempaka! This lovely Indonesian Illustrator who still doesn't know how great all of her artworks are. She inspired me to pursue art.

There are many other people I've met who inspired me to do things and yes, I will be doing more meetups this year and start featuring people  and what they do. In the meantime, please please stay with me as I have lots of things coming on this blog which are pretty exciting.

See yah around Dubai! :)

Dubai Food Tour On A Bike With Tastecapade

Biking in Dubai? Why not! This is a sport that I haven't done for awhile now and with the weather getting nicer everyday, it's the perfect season to make the most out of it before it gets hot again, ha!

Al Fresco Friday Brunch at The Terrace Media Rotana

Hello y'all! The weather in Dubai is getting better and better each day don't you think? And yes, the season of Al Fresco dining has officially kicked off with most of the hotel restaurants here in the UAE so expect more of food posts here in my page. :)

How To Make Pink Truffles With TheMeatCo

Looks like a dessert made by a pro? Ha! I made them myself! If you've been following my blog, you might have came across a post I did on how to recycle your left over chocolates for Christmas. This one's a different recipe though because (obviously) it's not yet Christmas but what we are trying to do is to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Plunch Friday Brunch - Estrella's Skyline Lounge

Ola! You might have seen this on my Instagram feed and yes, this is the crowd of Melia Hotel's Plunch Friday Brunch at Estrella's Skyline Lounge. Got an invitation last October 16 when they launched their Friday Brunch at the rooftop which was attended by cool people over great food and drinks!

Foodiac Has Arrived In Dubai!

You hear that right! Foodiac, the marketplace-startup offering high-end professional private chefs, has expanded in the UAE through Turn8. It works like the AirBnB of Chefs: you find a private chef or catering of your choice in the UAE and you get a quote at once.

Classic Swing

Hola! I hope everyone's having a blast this weekend. I'm taking a rest for a few weeks of going out, geez I feel like I'm all over the city everyday! I'm a little lost for words for the week that has been but I am hopeful that things will get better in the next few days. Last week was really fun with the Instagrammers, that's for sure.

Instagram's 12th Worldwide Instameet in Dubai

It was just last September when I started joining the Instagram community here in Dubai. Like I said, finding a community with like-minded people here is easy because everyone seems to be active online. And if you are a photo enthusiast with an average post of 2 to 4 photos a day supported with a number of hashtags, there's no other platform where you can find these individuals but Instagram.

Sunset Watching At Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Sunsets are lovely especially when you get to watch it on different places. And living here in Dubai, oh God, it probably is one of the best countries to watch the sun shrink in the sea, ha!

Preppin' Up For Winter

A few more days and we will soon wrap ourselves again on knits and sweat shirts. I've been preparing for this for a few weeks now - gathering all my long sleeves and knitted tops I kept in my luggage because I easily get the chills even for the slightest wind. It's easy to find winter clothes here in Dubai but to be completely honest, it's hard to find an ensemble that fits my size, ha!

Arabiska Restaurant and Cafe

Meanwhile in Dubai land, everybody's on holiday for Eid Al Adha. We got an invite for Eid Brunch at Arabiska, an Arabic restaurant located at The Palm, Jumeirah.

Eid Mubarak!

Hi everyone, a quick note to greet you all an Eid Mubarak! It's the Eid Al Adha holidays here in the UAE - all tourism facilities are pretty busy this weekend and as for me, I get to enjoy my city!

Dubai Instameet - #MyShoesMyCity

A long overdue post from an Instameet I attended last September 5. How I got into this event is through Instagram - how social media works here in Dubai is that, you just need to make use of the proper hashtags and viola, you'd be able to find the community you are looking for!

OOTD - White Spaces

H&M Dress and Hair Accessories | Forever 21 Necklace | River Island Wedges 

I'm trying to keep my promise so hello! I guess I already found "my studio" (inserts evil laugh here). My room mates and I discovered it last week when I was looking for a nice spot to take my outfit photos for a collaboration with a clothing brand. I'm excited for it as well!

Black and White and InstaMeets

Ola aloha! As much as I hate posting OOTDs, I promised myself to regularly update this page with outfit posts as much as I can. The little miss was out yesterday for an InstaMeet event which was attended by several IG enthusiasts in Dubai, it was super fun!

Strangers of Dubai - Dubai Mall

A random post because it touched my heart. I took a photo of these two at Dubai Mall. They were watching the fountain show together. The image was stuck in my head until three in the morning today with the question: is there such thing as forever?

Dune London - Autumn and Winter 2015 Preview

And little miss Joy C. is back to covering shoe collection previews! It's definitely not a secret that shoes are my guilty pleasures. Summer is almost coming to an end and when you are in Dubai, you'll notice that the season is changing with the sudden appearance of dundundundun ~ sandstorm.

Boracay Bliss Experience at Mandala Spa Boracay

Hey hey hey! Almost 2 months from my short vacation in the Philippines, oh my! One of my favourite part during my holiday was the post I wrote about my trip to Boracay. I guess I never really moved on from being an island girl after all, ha!

Philippines Day 7 - Charlie

I'm almost done with my instalment post of the vacation I recently had and I'm pretty sure you will recognise Keij Ejercito on the photo above if you're a reader from the Philippines. One of her post about getting DELAYED in Law School went viral on social media a few weeks back, we are teasing her for being a social media queen. 

Philippines Day 4, 5, and 6 - Boracay Island

Hello Earth! Too busy for the past few weeks and this was the only time I was able to touch my blog. A continuation of the trip I had a month ago, guess where the itchy feet took me? To my island home Boracay! 3days and 2nights yet I have crossed out a few things from my bucket list already!

Philippines Day 3 - My Cousin's Wedding

You wouldn't believe me if I say I've been extremely busy since I came back from my vacation! Hello readers, I'm updating this page and this will be one of my instalment post of the recent vacation I had in the Philippines.

Philippines Day 2 - Friends at the Green Field District

Ohai! This is a continuation of my very short stay in the Philippines. As I have written in my previous post, the first day was spent with my family. I only spent a couple of days in my home country for my cousin's wedding which I have attended on the third day.

Philippines Day 1 - Home

Woohoo! I flew out of UAE for the second time which means I'm ticking off 2 out of 3 on my list #5 from my bucket list this year!

Iftar Dinner Invitation at Liwan Restaurant (Al Ghurair Rayhaan Rotana)

A long overdue post before I hit the road. Oh, hello Dubai and say hello to my friends Tareq, Tamim, and Deanne. We call our mini-family "Ganoush Fambam". These people are the guys I consider my family because it feels like home whenever I am with them. A common thing that keeps us together is food - which I love the most!

I'm Back In Dubai!

H&M Long Floral Dress and accesories

I'm back in Dubai friends! Had a short trip to my home country for a week and believe me, it was one of the most memorable trips I had my entire life. I've crossed a lot of things from my bucket list! Can't get any more excited to share it here but let me get my things back together first and I shall update you guys shortly. 

People from my hometown have been asking if I will be back for good but no, I think Dubai is home for now. :) 

Laters baby!

xOxO,

Joy C. 

Portfolio: Marvin and Catherine

Hello hello! Just a quick one to say hi because I haven't updated this for a few weeks now. Very hectic schedule here - I almost forgot I'm blogging! Nyay!

Blog Overhaul

Yes, you see that right! I've done a complete overhaul of thy online diary. Found a pretty cool template which I could work on especially on the design aspect, then I tweaked a few things on the pages. Was actually trembling before I hit save button because I know that there might be a few bugs around this template.

Doha,Qatar in 4 Days and 4 nights

My 4-day visit to Doha Qatar wasn't enough for me to go to all of the touristy places. I got some good photos of Souq Waqif and Corniche that I'd like to share, both places are must-see (even my cousins who were there for more than a year liked it too much). I will definitely come back for winter!

Here are the photos I took. It was another moving experience like the one I had when I had a visa run in Kish Island Iran. Is it just me or I always tend to see the beauty of the simplest things?

5 Reasons Why Choose Doha and Why Not

Holla! The bouncing chopstick (that's me) is back in DXB from my recent trip to Doha, Qatar. Went there to shoot my dear cousin's pre-wedding photos. If you've been following my instagram account, you might have seen a preview of the shoot and tons of photos of me and my niece messing around. I'm missing her a lot as I write this post.


I'm always excited to share stories of my not-so-random trips (see, I'm half a jet-setter!). A few people know the purpose of my travel and I was surprised to I hear other people say "You're the first to tell me that Doha is nice". What's not to love about it?

BBC Goodfood ME and Al Ghurair Rotana - Bloggers' Master Class

Just before I hopped on the plane last Wednesday night, got invited to a blogging event from Al Ghurair Rotana where three blogger stars cooked a three course meal for BBC Good Food Middle East Food Club Members.

Bye Dubai, Hello Doha!

I'm boarding the plane and waiting for it to take off as I place this on my blog. I'm bound to Doha for a couple of nights. Another Middle Eastern country indeed, but I think it's gonna be fun. :) 

Stay tuned guys!

Xoxo, 

Joy C.

Excited for June - Home Bound Baby!

Excuse my random photo above, I'm getting a bit hyped for the next days to come despite a very busy schedule. There are things that unexpectedly happened this year and although some came unplanned, there's one thing I am definitely sure of - I'm bound to visit my home country this June! Yeheeey!

StreetCon - Dubai's Street Art Convention at Al Ghurair Centre

People asked if I'm an artist and my answer have always been no. I simply appreciate anything that appeals to color and beauty, I'm a very visual person.

Smokey - The Cat Of Dubai

How often do you find a cat for a friend?

Back in the Philippines when I was still in my younger days (Grade school), we had a family cat. I remember my dad rubbing her neck and she rolls over like crazy. We called her Muning.

JLT Food Finds I'd Recommend for Delivery

Hello from Dubai!

I'm starting to document all my foodie adventures here in the sandpit - I came across the photos on my mobile and believe it or not, I have tons (like a hundred)  of pics to share. Some of them are on my Instagram and some weren't published yet.

Lifestyle - Call It A Party

Ohai from Dubai!

You know the season in between winter and summer? We call it spring and this is my favorite time of the year in the UAE - the weather is so nice that all I want to do is go out and have some fun under the sun.

Of Food, Celebrations, and Festivals

Hello Spring! This is an overdue update of the blog. How's everyone?

Soul Searching at Old Dubai

Those random walks are the ones that ease the troubled soul. 

Calligraphy Materials - Where To Get It When In Dubai

Hello world!

Haven't seen any updates here lately? It's because the midget is working on so many things everything seems to be awesome (I got this phrase from a song we kept on singing last month). So, how are you?

Black and White

I have often wondered if I should go pursue a fashion blog. I mean I'm in Dubai, the luxe and glam of fashion and bling bling is quite a thing. Plus, I got a lot of stash from the bargains I got from DSF. 

Hmmm. Still considering, maybe write something about spend or save and where to get fashion bargains? Maybe. 

About the outfit today, kinda casual but you can never go wrong if you have a black blazer on top. And on days in between winter and summer, it's perfectly fine to dress up with something comfy like a light dress paired with comfy shoes.

PS: Mobile blogging is fun, have just recently joined the cult of "iposers" (iphone users). Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them. I just find technology boring sometimes. But who am I to disagree, these uberly expensive mobile phones allow me to get connected to my social networks. So yeah, thank you technology for enlightening me. Lol.

Teaser Post - Cool Bargains On DSF

 

Found a few cool items before the Dubai Shopping Festival ends. I'm also trying on iPhone's Blogger app to see how mobile blogging would work for me. 

February is sweet, I'm excited to do a lot of things this month. Never felt any better. ;)

Safari Lovin'

Ohai from Dubai!

I found a USB stick that I haven't opened for months and saw a few photos from my travel agency life. If you've been following my posts about my life in the Middle East and Dubai, I used to work in a travel agency and just recently, I moved back to digital marketing. Geez, I didn't realize have so many backlogs, sorry!

Abu Dhabi by Public Transport

Hello! Just a quick post to say hi. This a long over due post from a day trip we had last November with my ever reliable thrift travel buddy Jason The Roomie. We sort of like going places by public transport when in UAE so we took a quick day trip to Abu Dhabi.