BLANC'S STYLEFILE

Thank you BLANC Magazine for the feature! ♥ Read their anniversary issue with Mercedes Cabral on the cover - http://issuu.com/blancmagonline/docs/theanniversaryissue

ALCOY

This was our impromptu trip to Alcoy a few months back. It was just one of those mornings when I was feeling down and I couldn't pinpoint as to why. For an instant remedy -- pulled the first swimsuit I saw in my closet, a change of clothes, towel, a good book, camera, sunglasses, my husband and off to the beach we went. 

See, this is why I love you so much, Cebu. Look how beautiful your public beaches are.

FLEUR

CITY OF VINTAGE'S NEW COLLECTION ALREADY POSTED!
Like us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/cityofvintageph

What a Girl Wants Flagship Store Opening

What A Girl Wants, every fashionista’s haven, revealed the Young Ambassadors of Style campaign during the official opening of their newly renovated flagship store at the Ayala Center Cebu last Monday, December 10, 2012. The Young Ambassadors of Style is an annual selection of the city’s fresh new faces and stunning style setters, individuals who epitomize the brand’s image of style, substance and youthful exuberance. Featured in the campaign’s debut are Cebu’s fun-loving athlete Mark Lotzof, spontaneous collegiate Jessika Knight and passionate fashion designer Mia Arcenas.

For more details about the opening visit my other blog:
http://www.stylecebu.com

Our Kikoy

Refusing to sleep in the small basket we bought for you. Hating that Santa Clause costume we make you wear during the holidays. Disliking any sort of dog food. Cowering in one corner because three cats were ganging up on you. Knocking on my door endlessly during my first heartbreak. Wiggling your tails eagerly as if telling me to cheer up when I opened the door. Barking at the pillow cases mom would use during Christmas - those imprinted with dogs at least. Watching your every move around Joma when he was still a little baby. All 15 years of beautiful memories. You will always be the Kix to our Ninx, Mac and Chok. The Kikoy to our Ningkoy, Macoy and Bochokoy. We love you so much, Kix! Rest in peace. Have a lot of fun in dog heaven :"(

Life in Little Squares I

Life has been crazy. Crazy good. Crazy beautiful.

I vowed to write more for 2012 and I believe I did. I wanted to promise the same thing for 2013 however, as taught by firsthand experience, I end up being pressured and end up doing the exact opposite. And the last quarter of this coming year would be all about that. However, I want to promise myself one thing, I want to top whatever kind of fun I had last year. And that would not be easy. 2012 was THE best year of my life to date. I would not have it any other way.

I have many, many beautiful photographs to share. But while my schedule is stopping me from doing that. Let my Instagram photos do the storytelling for now.

1. It is already our family tradition that we go out of the country every Christmas. However, we did not do so this time as traveling with a baby is quite a task. So, my whole family in Manila flew here in Cebu so we could spend the holidays together and it was perfect. Yeap, we spent Christmas in the beach. Then my mom cooked all of her specialties for dinner and had my in-laws and our closest friends over.

2. My sister wearing a swimsuit from City of Vintage. One of my favorites :)

3. With my (not-so) little brother.

4. Quoting my Instagram caption: "Screw you, allergies. I am stuffing my face with this." This is what welcomes me in Bulacan, every single time.

5. My boys' new puppy! She's the most adorable little fluffy thing in the face of the planet! So tiny!

6. I'd wear this everyday if I can. French side braids.

7. Clear blue skies.

8. The view in our Bulacan home :)

9. My monthly trip home is always something I look forward to.

DELUSION

“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” ― Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata

SUNRISE

New collection already posted! Limited edition one-piece swimsuits over at CITY OF VINTAGE. Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cityofvintageph

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!