A clubbing grandma + A lovely box from italy

I'm sorry for the lack of new posts girls! Everything is just so fast these days and plus most of the time I am extremely exhausted when I get home from school and familial duties. Today though I decided to share some personal pics (ie. not cropped, hehe) with you to make up for the absence and also because this post will not be as thought about as much as the previous ones. Please bear with me! :(

At this time, I've missed posting about the exclusive globe platinum sale I went to, about my cousin's hair make-over in basement salon (which was really nice!), about the new topshop dress I am dreaming about, my yummy sashimi merienda at kuretake in rockwell(another fave japanese date place), plus a bunch of other dinners and lunches at not-so-special places.

First, here is a picture of mine and bf's fave orders in kuretake for a quick snack:

Spicy tuna sashimi and aji sashimi. Took the pic without flash coz I was trying hard to be artsy! haha. I love the house rice tea there too.

Then last night, we brought out my cousins to prince of jaipur in the fort. I love the cosmopolitan cocktail there and had 2 glasses! heehee.

Here are some pics:

meja, hanny, me and ria

Me and my sexy cuz from L.A. gigi

Gosh, i swear I felt like such a lola inside there! (fyi: lola means grandma in filipino) hahaha! I really haven't gone clubbing in such a long time. I'm such a loser i know. hehehe! I had some reeeaally awkward moments in the dance floor. *gasp* But I was too buzzed to actually care! haha.

And for my outfit post, this one will have to do. (yes, I am the smallest amidst these long-legged ladies. hahahaha!)

Black long top with ruching and ruffles at the bottom from target, black couture shorts from topshop, red waisted belt from forever21, monogram bag from gucci. not seen on photo: nude bakers plat pumps.

Anyhow, another thing I missed posting about is this early christmas gift for little old me. The bag came all the way from italy as one of my lovely friends, carms, had a family friend coming home from rome. heehee! (thanks again carms!)


The package was wrapped with this pretty ribbon! Can you guess what it is just by looking at the box?

First peek!


I swear it was love at first sight. hahaha! Can you resist that smiling handle? hahaha. *nutcase alert*

Ta-daa! Here she is, all propped up and ready for a hug. hahaha.

In case you haven't figured out what it is. It's a damier speedy 30. This has gotten me on a high for days. *wink*

An excuse letter

Sorry for not being able to post the past few days as I've been quite the busy bee. More cousins from the U.S. have come to visit since one of our gorgeous cousins, Romina, is tying the knot with a grand wedding celebration this sunday! So the past few days have been so hectic with a variety of events- from formal wear preparations, clubbing with the balikbayans, family dinners, movies and of course, shopping!

Rant: I was given an invite to the gucci exclusive cocktail party last friday but I wasn't able to go since bf took so long in picking out a suit at the Linea Italia warehouse in Marconi street. The following day, Dyna (another fave gucci S.A. of mine), kept on telling me that I should have been there! (geez, talk about rubbing it in... haha! nah, maybe she just missed me. heehee!) oh well. I was really looking forward to it too! *sigh* But it all ends well since bf promised to buy me a "small bag" as compensation. hahaha!

Anyway, I'll be ending this post abruptly as I have exams tomorrow. But i'll make it up to you as I've lots of things I want to tell you about. Plus, I have a bachelorette party this wednesday and 2 big weddings this weekend (one is a friend's). Need I say more?

Oh, and please wish me luck tomorrow! I'm gonna need it. haha. seriously. :)

Outfit for the day :)

Went to a friend's house last night for a visit as she is about to give birth soon. (I'm excited na for you, p!) Afterwards, I took my cousins from L.A., jr and francine, along with my younger bros, to eat at embassy cafeteria (a local gimmick place in manila). Here is what I wore:

Muted pink tee with gray print and metallic applique from zara, gray skinnies from culte femme, sandals from bamboo, and cipria monogram crescent hobo from fendi

I actually took out a batch of teens which made me feel...so...old. hahaha! But I had fun though. I treated them to philly cheese steak, chili cheese fries and deluxe hamburgers plus a pitcher of illusion alcohol. hehe! wasn't able to take much pics though. It was a ruckus. haha!

To end this post, here's a cute pic of my cousin francine and my lil bro rob:



They're super going to kill me for posting this! hehe. Well, they kept on teasing me that I was "old" last night so I don't really care. bleh! :P

The stuff I passionately haggled for. hahaha!

Well as promised, I will now post the stuff I got this weekend from the bazaars. They're not much but I really had a great time shopping for these things. hahaha!

As I have mentioned, I went to the Lifestyle Network ("In the Limelight") Bazaar last saturday. The first thing I bought there was this unique waist cinch belt from carioca:



It is made of faux leather in dark brown, black and camel which makes it very easy to mix and match with different outfits. I love love love the slight v shape in the center front as it gives this piece an eclectic vintage vibe. Plus the three-hole adjuster allows me to use this cutie low in the hip which makes it all the more versatile! But the best part is, only 5 pieces of this belt were made. Yup, exclusivity at its finest with a very affordable price! hehe. It was really such a steal at P500 ($10). :D

Next, I got this white, pink and yellow floral khaftan with braided rope waist tie also from the same store:



The pic really does not do it justice and it looks so much better when worn. It is made of a polyester type satin fabric which has a very floaty cruise vibe. Perfect for wearing at a resort or in a yacht with white couture shorts and a cute floppy strawhat. This piece is also the only one there is of its kind since the owner sells self-designed stuff. Original tag price was P750 ($15) but I was able to get it at P600 ($12). (Thanks mica! hehe).

Lastly, I got these chic leather cuff bracelets:



I got dark brown, cobalt blue and tan brown since they were the ones that caught my eye. They are locally made in mandaluyong according to the stall proprietor and are made of 100% real leather. These would look so stylin' with a lot of ensembles! The thicker one was only P100 ($2) while the thinner ones were P70 ($1.40). Not bad! :)

Moving on to the Assumption bazaar last sunday, I first got these woven rattan room organizers with black pleather trims:



I'm planning to put my headbands and scarves in one while belts will be put inside the other. The smaller box is for other trinkets such as my watches etc. They are going inside my walk-in closet obviously. hehe! Super steal at P250 ($5) each.

Next, I got 2 pretty dolls for my godchild.



They are very kawaii and I just had to get them. I can't say the price though as her pretty mom G might read it. hahaha!

Lastly, I got this cute cosmetic pouch from rina albert.



Sorry for the blurry pic! I had to take the pic without flash since the pouch is plastic covered canvas and the flash reflects all over it. This one was P165 ($3.25). So cute, noh?

So there you have it! See, told you I didn't buy much but I did get some great stuff at super great deals. You should try going to different bazaars girls, you're missing a lot if you don't go! heehee!

To end this post is my outfit last sunday. Sorry for the crappy pic as I just took this with my vintage celphone haha.

White button-down top from kamiseta, brown tweed couture shorts from forever21, brown leather pointed flats from steve madden, and moss green and brown stripe medium hobo from prada

A happy bazaar shopping weekend

One of the things that I really look forward once the calendar hits november and december are the bazaars in manila! They just pop up everywhere -in hotel ballrooms, church parking lots, inside malls, humongous tents outside malls, and village centers. Each weekend, at least 3-5 big bazaars are happening at the same time and you just have got to choose which ones you want to check out. What's fun with these bazaars is that you usually haggle with the proprietors of the stalls themselves instead of SA's. This of course means better negotiations, which ultimately means better bargains! hehehe. One more thing is that you usually find unique stuff (articles you won't find in other stores) in such bazaars since people who are still in thoughts of starting a business out of a certain product (be it homemade food, handcrafted jewelry, self-designed clothes or accessories) usually join them to test the market. *nods head*

Well, bf and I decided to make this weekend a bazaar scouting weekend and I ended up with some great finds! But I'll be posting about the stuff I bought tomorrow as I haven't taken pictures of them yet. We only went to 2 bazaars though, one on saturday and one on sunday. (We got lazy, heehee) The first one we went to was the "In The Limelight" bazaar (organized by the lifestyle network) held at the rockwell tent outside powerplant mall.



The bazaar had a glitz and glamour theme and it was pretty nicely set-up. There was even a fashion show at 9pm (I'm not sure if this was every night for 3 days), an hourly raffle, plus a lot of freebies from sponsors such as oil of olay etc.

Here are some pics I randomly took at the bazaar:


A shot of the bazaar entrance. Its not evident here but a lot of people went and it was a bit crowded inside. A ticket to go inside costed P100 ($2).

On the right is Carioca, my fave booth in the bazaar. I bought 2 items there! Can you guess what I got? haha. The owner gave me great discounts too. hehe.


Here is a pic of the Ilaya Couture booth. Each booth had that pink film strip with the name of the stall.

After shopping in the bazaar, we went back inside the powerplant mall and ate at Mongkok, a popular dimsum and dumplings resto here in the Philippines.

We had salted fish rice, shark's fin siomai, mongkok siomai and brocolli in oyster sauce. Bf had a can of beer and I had fresh mango shake. *yum*

The second bazaar we went to was the assumption bazaar. We actually got free tickets to this one from bf's mom, which was great since entrance was P150 ($3) per person. The bazaar was held in a ballroom at Hotel Intercon and was much more comfy since it was not as crowded. This bazaar, though, did not have as much "gimmicks" as the lifestyle network bazaar except for the raffle. I was actually able to buy some pretty useful things here but more on that tomorrow. *wink* (don't expect too much though as I just bought cheap stuff haha!)

Here is a shot of the area near the entrance.

To end this post is my outfit last saturday at the rockwell bazaar. ;)

H&M couture vest, sleeveless top and couture shorts from topshop, yellow/saffron patent leather shoes from autinori HK, bronzey gold bouvier guccissima bag from gucci (one of my fave bags of all time haha)

Clearer pics of the bag and shoes.



Hope you had a happy weekend as well! mwah!

UNIQLO global flagship store opens: I have got to go to New York asap!

Good news for us girls who have more than justifiable reasons to visit New York soon. *beams* Another international fashion giant has decided to open a humongous flagship store (36,000 sq. ft.) in the streets of SoHo! And what's more, the brand hails from fashion-upbeat Japan. Here is an article quoted from uniqlo.com:

"The fabric of modern Japan is being woven into the streets of New York! With the autumn opening of UNIQLO's highly anticipated new global flagship store, SoHo will finally get to experience the contemporary Japanese style that has long been missing from this hot, international fashion mecca. UNIQLO is Japan's most popular apparel retailer and a worldwide leader in casual wear. The brand's mission is to empower all individuals through the clothing they choose to wear. Rather than become characterized by a brand, UNIQLO encourages its customers to integrate its pieces into their own unique style.

Uniqlo's english and japanese brand logos

Uniqlo flagship as it was being constructed.

UNIQLO's SoHo global flagship will be the brand's largest retail store anywhere in the world, featuring unique products and styles that will only be found there and a dynamic, cutting-edge store environment to make the shopping experience personal and fun. To ensure its success UNIQLO has recruited many of the industry's top talents, stars and arbiters of style to design and manage the huge SoHo flagship.

A shot from one of Uniqlo's container stores that were put up in scattered areas in NY a month prior to the Nov. 9 opening of the SoHo store. They were made to announce news of the brand's arrival in US land. :)

Bringing UNIQLO to SoHo is about more than just introducing Japan's favorite clothing brand to the rest of the world it's also an opportunity to express UNIQLO's essence as a unique, distinctly modern Japanese brand. UNIQLO's SoHo global flagship will be the most significant example of Japanese retail culture outside of Japan and a model for the future of UNIQLO's global expansion."

Here are some eye candy images from their free paper/ online zine:











Plus some looks in their fall/winter lookbook:



Oh my gosh, I definitely need to fix my sched before clerkship begins and give my beautiful mom a visit. hahaha! In the meantime though, you and I can watch the store on live video streaming here. Through the four cameras placed around the store, you can actually check out what's happening at this very minute in New York's Soho any time you wish.

All I can say is sh*t, just how cool is that?

Skull prints in the mainstream + Topshop glorietta re-opens

Thanks to Alexander Mcqueen, the skull design has made its way into a form of print seasonally reinterpreted into all sorts of fabrics - from cotton, to silk, to viscose, to canvas! It really is now up there with plaid, polka dots, houndstooth and stripes and is now not only reserved for the punkista or rockista (or pirate hehe). Sweet trendy girls can also wear the print by mixing them with girly details such as lace and bright colors (or teddy bear pendants ala mischa barton). *wink*

You see, I adore prints and always incorporate them into my ensemble (from my monogram bags to my printed couture shorts haha) and I find this relatively "new" (in a mainstream sense) print very hot because of its element of whimsy and odd.

Avril Lavigne, Ashley Olsen, and a Topshop model all in skull prints

Moving on, Topshop Glorietta has re-opened and I was there yesterday. (I didn't get anything though! *beams*)



I'm quite happy about the renovation as the place became more spacious and clean-looking. Now it's time to bring on the end-of-season sale! haha.

Another reason to visit japan...

Among the countries I really wish I could explore soon is Japan. (The closest I've been to visiting this place are numerous stop-overs in kansai and nagoya airports, hehe) Why, you ask? Well first and foremost, bf and I are really into japanese food. And I'm talking about the whole nine yards. We eat all kinds of sushi, all kinds of sashimi, japanese okonomiyaki, yakisoba, (actually) all kinds of ramen, teppanyaki, teriyaki, tonkatsu, tempura - anything! *stomach rumble* heehee! Secondly, I adore all their cutesey stuff. From sanrio (my fave was tuxedo sam and hello kitty) to anime (they're so hilarious) to my favorite meiji candy called poifull (grapefruit flavor). hahaha. Third reason would be to see all the selections of shiseido, shu uemura, sk-II and other jap cosmetics. Then fourth would be to simply explore such a freakishly organized yet exagerratedly vain country! hehehe. I actually want to see tokyo, shibuya, osaka, kyoto, and mt. fuji, watch a sumo match, visit a traditional shrine and take a dip in a hot spring. hahaha. I know, what an itinerary that would be right?

Well, gucci just gave me another reason to want to go there.



*Sigh* These are moments when I wish I was some sort of heiress. But of course not a slutty one. hahaha!

My quirky pretty newest dress!

I just received new stuff from my mom which had a lot of beautiful things. *giggle* Too bad though that some aren't actually for me but are gifts for other people so I can't make a "package post" like before when I took a pic of the loot right after opening it. hehehe! Still I was more than happy after opening the box because it had one very special item for me and that is... *drum roll please* my newest dress! (duh) hahaha!

I'm a bit exhausted from doing some paperwork so I won't be able to take pics whilst trying it on. I took a pic of it in the hanger though:



Its a turtleneck black and red printed jersey dress that fits perfectly! I know this hanged pic doesn't do it justice so here's another shot of the dress from forever21.com:

The itty bitty tie-up vest and hat are a little too much for me so I'll be wearing the dress plain thank you. haha. I'm loving that faux onyx ring though. :)

I really can't wait to wear it once the holiday parties begin! :) Thanks mom! love you! *mwah*

Gucci gives back + my fave shot from cruise '07 ad campaign

I have been meaning to post this but it totally slipped my mind the past weeks. *slaps head* You all know that I've always been a gucci girl right? Yup, this designer brand is my first love (and as they say, first love never dies, haha!). Well, its just that gucci has never disappointed me and I've always identified with the brand.

Well, this holiday season is sure to be a good one for us gucci lovers as our fashion house has decided to give back to charity. The following news were out in Fashion Wire Daily since Oct. 20, 2006:

From November 21st to December 31st, Gucci will donate 20 percent of the sales from a luxurious collection of items designed by Gucci’s Creative Director, Frida Giannini. The proceeds will specifically benefit education and health services to children in Mozambique, where nearly three-quarters of a million children are directly affected by HIV/AIDS.

“The 2006 holiday campaign is part of the most extensive philanthropic program in Gucci’s history,” said Mark Lee, Gucci CEO and President, in an earlier statement. “We are committed to supporting important humanitarian efforts through UNICEF.”

Now here is a picture of some irresistable items from the said collection:


Gorgeous platinum guccissima, and its for a good cause too!

In addition, "helping to spread AIDS awareness and the Gucci and UNICEF partnership is actress Jennifer Connelly, who will act as honorary global representative of this year’s campaign. Connelly, who has spent considerable time in Mozambique and other affected regions in Africa, is just one of many famous faces that have stepped forth to help fight the global epidemic."

Wow, jennifer connelly is such a good choice for this campaign. I super adored her in labyrinth! I do understand that some of my readers may be too young to even have heard of labyrinth hehe! So I thought of posting this pic:


Jennifer in Labyrinth (google it if you still don't know or remember! haha.)

Well, I also liked her in A Beautiful Mind, so here's a more recent pic:




Back to the topic, items from Gucci’s 2006 Holiday collection for UNICEF will be available at 200 Gucci boutiques worldwide on November 21st (exactly a week from now). So rush over on that day if you've been looking for an excuse to buy pretty little things from gucci. Come on, you know you want to! hahaha.

On a lighter note, I am so loving this particular shot from the gucci cruise collecton '07 ad campaign:





Can you guess why? haha!