Recent Portraits

Enjoying Bloom

Repost from a previous entry.

This is his politiko look. Or his good student face in class. *snicker, snicker*

I LOVE that smile.

I like the vintage colors.  I might be using this treatment more often.

North Park

 

Today's late lunch was at North Park.

 

 

YUM.

Retail Therapy

To be honest, the only thing Nards and I had planned for today was to go to The Reading Room (TRR) today at Cubao X to check out the antique secretary's desk that was on sale.   Then last night, Rome and I chatted and we agreed to meet before lunch so I can get the garments for the shoot.  Also, I got word from Nix that: 1) the hero shirts designer asked me to go to his shop to get the ones I got exchanged for the right size; and 2) there's a chocolate tasting at Heavenly Chocolates (but she begged off from joining us because ra-rakstar daw si Jazz).

This morning, when my alarm went off at 8AM, we had four things on our agenda: antique desk, meet Rome, exchange the shirts and go to the chocolate tasting.

 

We went to TRR, and sadly, someone beat me to the desk.  No sweat, I figured it wasn't meant for me, and that I'm sure we'll find another good deal in other antique stores.  We walked around and looked at the other stores that were open that early.  We wanted to grab brunch, but Nards refused to eat at Bellini's.  Our choice was limited to walking to KFC or Gateway.  We started walking towards KFC, realized the distance (quite far and quite disagreeable to two hungry tummies), and went back to the car.  Gateway it is.

We were about to pull out of the parking lot when we saw this.  Isn't that a lovely fabric?  Nards and I were hoping to talk to the store owner to ask where they got it.  But it was closed.  Next time.

Of course, I forgot about Rome.  After a hastily eaten brunch, Nards and I were browsing at Marks & Spencer's when I got an SMS from her, apologizing that she was still on the road.  A minute of panic there.  Luckily, she was also in Gateway when I called.  Hooray!  Nards immediately took off for Fully Booked, while Rome and I headed to Rustan's to pick up some Christmas presents for a handful of cousins on Nards' side.   We completed our purchases in half an hour, and as I was fishing for my cellphone to call Nards, Rome and I spied Beauty Bar at the same time.  Our feet were faster than our brains and we were entering the store in a blink.  Sale!  Brilliant!   Rome bought an eyeshadow palette from Smashbox (I think), and a cream blush from Bloom, while I picked up a gloss from Red Earth and a multi-purpose cream tint from Bloom. I refused to buy more no matter how tempting it was, because I still have the Urban Decay and Pixi items arriving at the end of the month. 

We met up with Nards, and left Gateway.  Rome was headed to her Tita's place near Boni Serrano, and she invited us up at the shop.  Her Tita designs and manufactures clothes for a few of the well known local boutiques, and she has an entire rack of samples that she was selling at giveaway prices.  Rome pulled me to the rack that was literally bursting with different fabrics, and asked me what style I wore.  I told her classy with a bit of boho.  She started pulling off items from the rack.  A lot of it.  Nards nearly panicked when he saw a huge pile of garments that nearly obscured me.  I tried on everything, and it kind of reminded me when my Mom and I used to go to her seamstress to get dresses fitted.  And the three of us divided the clothes into yeses, noes and unsures.   (Took this photo of Rome before we started fitting.)

Got five garments all in all: one little black dress and four tops.  All for the price of one dress in the mall.  I was amazed at how much I got for so little.

I wasn't the only one who found good deals today.  When Nards and I had the shirts exchanged, we stumbled on an outlet store that was selling sports apparel.   Nards bought three shirts from Nike for the price of one and a dry fit one from Adidas for half the price.  Not bad.  Not bad, at all.

So.  We got were able to do everything in our agenda for today, yey!  Except for the chocolate tasting.  We were so exhausted from spending money, that we just wanted to get home and unwind.  (And to do laundry.  And to get some work done for the website because Noah's coming over tomorrow.)

Surprise!

Last Sunday, Nards had a nice surprise for me after our wedding gig: a new toy.

 

It was really sweet and thoughtful of him.  He says it looks like the one I'm (ab)using was on its last prayers, so he got me a new one.   It's an upgrade with a bigger LCD, because he says he always sees me struggling with the small LCD of my old one.   I feel so blessed.  Isn't it a coincidence that it's the same model that Claire has?

I met with friends this afternoon and took it out for a spin.

The Loved One.

   

 

 

 

Posing with my book. :)

Craving Isaw.

 

Getting Isaw from Mang Larry's is so organized.  They have a queuing system now.

 

Surprised how much the isaw shrank

No goodies from Mang Larry's for this vegetarian.

 

It was great catching up with the girls and indulging in food that was part of our college life.

And thank you so much for the lovely surprise Sweetheart!

Engagement Party

Last night, Nards, Joey and I covered an engagement party.  It was a very intimate affair attended by immediate family and a handful of close friends.  We took the usual photos.  Good thing that Nards brought the Brolly.  He set up a studio of sorts and took portraits. 

I'm unable to post photos of the event, but here are a few snapshots.

Very romantic centerpiece.  The bride and her mother made all the floral arrangements.

I think they're lovely.

The ring that started it all. :)

Thanks for recommending us and helping us out Joey! :)

Meet Sexi

Phanie, Beng and I, with a huge help from Rome (and a lot of cheering from Nards) are cooking up a new project.  Will unveil it soon!

Here's a hint. 

Back to Regular Programming

And we're back to blogging about the mundane. 

Posted some entries too, that I wasn't able to publish before.

Purple Packet

My five pice Ecotools finally arrived today.

I don't like using brushes that use animal hair, and I very much prefer the vegan ones (recycled and animal-cruelty free).  It's so soft and perfect for mineral make up.

Guilty Pleasure of the (Past Two) Months: Tutti Frutti

I tried all sorts of yogurt places looking for the perfect one.  I tried Fro-Yo, FYI, Yogurbud, Red Mango, but not one of them could compare to Tutti Frutti.

The only outlet they have is on the fourth floor of the Megamall Atrium.

Price is not bad, considering what you get.

Step One: Choose the size of the cup.

 

Step Two: Pick your flavor.  You can stick to one, or make a combination. 

My favorite is almond and the original tart one. 

(In my opinion, everything tastes better with Almond.)

Step Three: Fill 'er up.

Step Four: Pick your toppings.  (The toppings vary depending on what's available.)

I normally would go with caramel syrup and almonds or walnuts.

Step Five: Have it weighed.

 

Step Six: Attack!

Trivia: one visit to Tutti Frutti, a couple of weeks ago, I showed my yogurt filled cup to Nards and asked him how much does he think it weighs.  He looked at it and said, "eleven ounces."  After putting it on the scale, the digital display said 10.96 oz. 

I laughed when I saw it, and all he said, "I'm getting a bit rusty."

"Rusty?"  I laughed some more.  "You should be in a circus!"

Trivia aside, Tutti Frutti is a definite must! 

Right, Mamee Sheila?  Kelan tayo punta?

Silence

With all the deaths and losses that a lot of our brothers and sisters have experienced because of the two recent typhoons, I'm unable to blog. 

I don't have words to describe the devastation that Ondoy and Pepeng brought to our country, nor do I have words to write about other people's sufferings.  And going back to normal particularly blogging about the mundane seem to be gravely insensitive.

For the past couple of weeks, Nards and I have been helping our friends who've been badly hit by the flash floods, and praying for those we cannot help and for those that did not survive.

I hope you're all doing well, and God keep you safe at all times.

From China With Love

Look what Cissy got us from her three month study tour in China.

 

I asked for chopsticks longer than the regular one, so she got me ones that were designed for a distant relative of Paul Bunyan.  I love it!

Thanks Cissy!!

Cosplay Mania 2009

From 10AM til 8PM, Nards and I (mostly Nards) took photos of cosplayers at Cosplay Mania 2009.  We're quite happy with how it turned out.   Some of the costumes were okay, but there were a few that knocked our socks off.

Here's a compilation of our favorites.



For the rest of the photos, click here.

A Stitch In Time...

... saves me from utter disgrace.

My dress strap snapped as Nards and I were on our way to Padre Faura for Mike and Anna's wedding.  My ever boy scout of a husband, bought a pocket sewing kit from a 7-11 across the street from the reception venue.

While the other guests trickled in to the venue, Nards and I stayed in the car, while he stitched my strap back to my dress.  He also reinforced the other strap to avoid anymore wardrobe failure.   I must say, he did an awesome job.  The strap remained intact all through the night.

Best wishes Mike and Anna!

Last two photos taken by PhotoBot Manila.