Tiny In Toronto

May is officially here! With May’s arrival comes so much excitement, at least for me. It means I have a month until my birthday month, and I love my birthday. As I’ve said before, I’m turning 30 this year and it’s definitely bittersweet. Yes, I love a good milestone but holy crap I’m 30 – y’know? Not quite a mid-life crisis but I’m definitely aware that I’m (soon-to-be) not in my 20s anymore.

Fortunately, I have a month before I have to worry about all that! Let’s talk about what I loved in April. April went by super fast for me. I didn’t see May coming. I’ve been so busy with work and family (mine & my boyfriend’s). There was Easter, Eid, my mom’s birthday, my boyfriend’s niece’s birthday, my boyfriend’s brother’s birthday, the birth of my second nephew, and probably more. April was packed with events. However, amongst the chaos, I did manage to fall in love with quite a few things.

Here’s what I loved most during the month of April:

Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oils – I’ve talked about these so much that it shouldn’t even be a surprise that they’re a part of my monthly favourites. I’m a big fan of Selena Gomez. I loved her character in Wizards of Waverly Place. I have a lot of her Rare Beauty products (check out this review I wrote 3 years ago) but I wasn’t really expecting these to be all over my TikTok. As a loyal fan, I purchased them the day before their official release date. If you have the Sephora app, you’re able to order products a day in advance and I bought two of the Rare Beauty lip oils! Then I asked my mom if she could get me a third for Easter lol. So I have a total of 3 of these Rare Beauty Tinted Lip Oils: “Joy”, “Hope”, and “Delight”. I could still talk about them in an entirely separate blog post, but I won’t. Just know that the formula is fantastic – lightweight & not sticky at all. The packaging is so cute. They also leave a nice stain, which I love. I love it because I’m pretty low maintenance and honestly, I can’t keep up with how many times you need to reapply a regular lip product. These lip oils are everything I need. If you’re a low maintenance girly like me, I’d definitely recommend these. My favourite shade that I wear every single day is “Delight”.

“Love is Blind” Season 4 on Netflix – I feel like this is old news at this point, but still worth mentioning. This season was such a train wreck and I can’t deny and say that I didn’t enjoy watching it. This season probably had the most villains and that shocked me. I can’t tell if these people are just mean for the cameras or if they’re genuinely terrible people. It’s actually quite alarming now that I think about it – there are actually people that actually act like this out there? Are there any good people anymore? Anyways, back to reality TV. I’m such a sucker for this stuff but it’s so hard not to be. My boyfriend gets just as invested. It’s funny, that thing called human nature. Why are we so drawn to this drama? If you’re a sucker for some terrible but dramatic/captivating reality television, start Love Is Blind. You date a person without seeing their face, get proposed to without seeing their face, meet face-to-face, then go on a vacation together, then live together, then say yes or no at the altar. What’s not to love about that. If you’ve watched the 3 previous seasons and decided to skip on the 4th, maybe think again because it’s one of the craziest seasons yet.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sara J. Maas – The ACOTAR series has been haunting me for a while. It’s always been something that’s stood out to me, always something I was curious about. I purchased the first book last year and never got around to it until I got back from Cancun. The first book was okay. I feel like it was laying the groundwork, like introducing what needed to be introduced, helping you get to know the characters, etc. This second book is where I officially became an ACOTAR fan. After reading this second book I was like, “Okay, I get it”. I loved the nice little twist. I really couldn’t put it down. I had to tell my boyfriend to wait for me to finish a chapter before we watched Love Is Blind ha-ha. I find myself constantly thinking about what’s going to happen next because I decided to take a break and read a different book. I thought that reading a book that’s not part of the series would give myself a healthy little break, but the third book is all I want. I need to read it. No offence to the book that I’m currently reading, but I want to drop it and pick up “A Court Of Wings & Ruin” right this second. It really is addicting! I don’t want to give anything away to anyone that has this series on their #TBR list, but the love triangle is probably what hooked me. I love a good love triangle. Who’s she going to choose? Who really has her heart? It’s like a good “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” scenario (is my age showing?) I’m thinking that once I’ve gone through all 5 books, I might have to do a whole review on them. Or maybe I’ll just review my favourites. If this series has been on your list and you’ve been hesitating to start it, take this as your sign to start it now. I don’t think you’ll have any regrets.

“BEEF” on Netflix – Definitely didn’t see this one coming. This show was so good and it took me by surprise. It’s so relatable, and so funny. I know I’m not fully Asian (I’m half Filipino), but it means a lot to me to see an Asian cast. I loved each episode. They’re about 30 minutes long so I tried to make it last by watching a couple a night with my boyfriend. We absolutely fell in love with it and wished that it didn’t have to end. Hopefully there’s a second season. If you’re curious as to what it’s about, it’s briefly about two people involved in a road rage incident that creates “beef” between them. They basically create enemies out of each other and go out of their way to cause more grief and stress for the other person, and ultimately end up ruining each other’s lives. It’s a bit dark but insanely good. I would say that it’s the perfect show that you can binge in one day (if you’re looking for that).

ZARA Ballet Flats – This might sound a little dramatic but I feel like I’ve struggled to find ballet flats all my life. Why do they run so big?! I’ve found some gorgeous styles in a size 5 but my heels kept slipping out of them – I was at a loss. Then it dawned on me that I have purchased children’s shoes before. Ballet flats are everywhere and I’m pretty sure little girls have been wearing them for as long as I can remember. Why had I not thought of buying a children’s ballet flat? I checked Value Village but they were evidently juvenile. When I’m looking for a more fashion-forward, trendy, but affordable children’s shoe, I don’t know why I think of Zara but I do. They never fail me! I try my best to not shop at Zara often, just in terms of sustainability, but these ballet flats were $30. I got two pairs: one red and one metallic silver. They’re everything I’ve ever wanted and I’m sure I’m going to wear them now and probably straight until Fall/Winter. Here are some photos of me wearing my ballet flats this past month:

Harlow (MY NEW NEPHEW!): The cutest and most perfect newborn, ever. He’s so handsome and doesn’t cry at all. He’s just so content and sweet, and my brother has become such a perfect dad already. I’ve really had some proud sister moments these past few weeks. My brother sends pictures every day with updates of mostly Harlow sleeping in his arms – it’s so precious. Harlow was born on April 20th, 2023. It’s only been a few weeks but my family is more than obsessed and completely in love with him. I’m so excited to watch him grow. I’m happy to see my brother so happy. He’s always wanted a family and it brings tears to my eyes to see him getting what he’s always wanted. Little Harlow is going to be one spoiled boy.

That completes my list of favourite things for the month of April! Since we’re already more than a week into May, I’ve started my list for May, too! Did you have any favourites that you’d like to share? I’m always up for a new show recommendation, or a new beauty product, or a book recommendation, etc. Leave your favourites in the comment section below!

OH – and before I go, I have exciting news to share: WE OFFICIALLY BOOKED OUR FLIGHT TO EUROPE! I will probably talk about this trip a lot until the day comes, and it’ll probably be more than you’ll wanna read/hear lol. It’s just that I’ve always wanted to travel more and now I’m finally getting to do so. I have never been to Europe so that’s super exciting on its own, but we’re staying for a few days in London, England, then we’re off to Italy! I can’t wait for this experience, especially with my boyfriend. It honestly feels like a dream come true.

I hope you’re all having a great week so far.

Until next time!

– Tiny ❤