SIQUIJOR: I

Siquijor is definitely one of our country's secret gem. One place I vowed to return to.

La Belle Aurore Bookshop

I wrote this a year ago when I first discovered La Belle Aurore:

“I have wept with the war victims in Pakistan,have tasted forbidden love and equally sinful food in Mexico, investigated a dog’s death in the south of England, have been lost in the intricacy of life in Prague, have cowered in a burning church in Auschwitz, found home in a private library in Takamatsu, fished for Birkins in Cape Cod, took a souvenir photo in the moon, flew back to earth in my unicorn. And I did it all curled up in bed, in my pajamas or over a hot cup of Orange Mandarin coffee in a small coffee shop. 

Books, it can do so much. From evoking feelings whose names have yet to be coined to fabricating societies and dismantling institutions. It is one of the foundations of awareness and education. A tangible piece of imagination, the end product of ideas.

I love books. I find solace in the smell of newly opened books, the feel of every leaf, the sound of flipping pages; a different consciousness in every chapter. I can spend days inside a bookstore and weeks in a library, ogling at every lovely piece, immersing myself in every story.”

I can remember being so inspired and charmed by this quaint discovery of mine. I think I literally hopped, skipped and pranced from one shelf to another. I was over the moon, I really was. 

 

And just when I thought that I couldn’t be more charmed, they opened another branch. There I was, slaphappy, doe-eyed, bemused. Once again I was won over. As effortlessly as the first time. I almost forgot that there was a dinner and program set for that night as I headed straight to the shelves. What a sight, books from floor to the ceiling. Stories from different walks of life, eager to be read, yearning to be shared, desiring to be told.

The program was very, very lovely. I had goosebumps the entire duration of the program and at one point, my goosebumps had goosebumps. Scrumptious dinner, breathtaking (without exaggeration, breathtaking!) musical numbers, poetry reading, wine and cheese, laughter (a lot of it), new friends, stolen pictures, stolen kisses and books: Ahh, C'est Parfait!
 

Clinique and A Cafe

If there is one brand of make-up I kept going back to, it would be Clinique. The fact that it was the very first real (Note to 7-year-old self: The make-up of your barbie dolls doesn't count neither does that one lipstick you used for your eyes, cheeks and lips to the horrors of your baby brother.) cosmetic brand I tried and kept contributes to that fact. However, my mom was the one who really influenced me as she's been using it for years. And if you see how young she looks now, you'll understand why. Yes, other Clinique users, you are right. Whenever my mom buys a set, my sister and I get the freebies that comes in small bottles. And of course, their pretty pouches are a big, big plus.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from Mira, the marketing manager of Clinique inviting me for an intimate lunch and yes, I gave her an instant nod. We had a lovely, lovely lunch at the esteemed A Cafe of the Abaca Group.

With the Katsy Borromeo (managing editor of Zee Lifestyle Magazine), Pia Echeverria, David Cua, Shari Quimbo, Joanna Cuenco (writers of Zee Lifestyle Magazine), Sir Pepet (head manager of Rustan's Cebu) and Mira Villanueva (marketing manager of Clinique).

What I wore:

Peplum skirt from City of Vintage

For more information about the new products of Clinique visit my other blog:
http://www.stylecebu.com

MALAPASCUA I

Bantayan VB

“The sea always filled her with longing, though for what she was never sure.” ― Cornelia Funke, Inkheart This will always be one of my favorite spots in the whole wide world. My beloved Bantayan Island, I've said this before and I'll say it again. If I can marry a place, you'd go by my last name now.

Photographed by my husband.