TOPAZ HORIZON

Summer is definitely over because today I dusted off the leather jacket and checked twice if I brought my umbrella. I don't mourn the end of summer because I've always been a rainy kind of gal, the fatter the raindrops, the louder the thunder, the better. Of course, it's best with a really thick book!

But I can't say I didn't enjoy the sun this year, especially since we have a little boy now. And, oh, how he loved our trip to Shangri-la Mactan!

We went there with Vito's entire Sales family (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and swam and ate and slept to our hearts' content. I won't show the photos of Vito's cousins here since they're all of school age but since Vito is too young to protest, let me show off my handsome boy's pics!

Vince shows Vito the jumbo jet we're about to board.

It's Vito's first plane ticket!

Vito's first plane ride was a smooth flight.

The baby was absolutely delighted with the huge bed! He kept exploring it. Vince, I guess we need a bigger bed!

See how excited he is?!

The little guy inspects the big garden. "Green, Mama! What is all that green?!"

Vito's first beach encounter!

He hated the sand. He's like me!

Poor darling was so upset whenever his feet touched the sand! Mama had to comfort him.

Good thing the pool was a success!

Where did you go this summer?

So I was supposed to buy a few dresses, right? Well, I might as well set aside the money towards travel. Why? My friend Duni of Lovely Purses left a comment on that post:

"The style and fit is great, but the fabric is a bit flimsy - as I'm afraid most dresses from that company are. So choose wisely..."

So I decided to investigate! And the wonders of Internet sleuthing revealed these:






Sadly, the dresses do not look very good on real people. As you can tell from the photos above, the fabric is not nice, resulting to wrinkles, ill fit and a look that's generally, uh, cheap. Sad sad, but, Duni, thanks so much for warning me! I could've ended up with dresses that I'd never wear! And I hope you're recovering well and feeling better!

I'll definitely save the dress budget and use it for something really worth it. Like shoes. Or a bag. Or a trip with my family to somewhere far away. After all, with the new adorable addition, we're going to need extra moolah!

*photos from the fashion company's Facebook page.

Right now, the OK! International Conference is taking place at OK! magazine's headquarters at Northern & Shell in London. Northern & Shell owns OK! plus other magazines and newspapers. That huge blue building along the River Thames houses the entire publishing empire. It's impressive to me especially because Summit Media, where I work, has about 20 titles and the entire company occupies just two floors. 

Okay, the real official name is "football" but in these parts, if you say football, Filipinos think you mean American football so for the benefit of those who don't know any better (ehehe), we will use the term "soccer."

Vince and I spent the long Independence Day weekend at Hotel Sofitel with the Sales family to watch World Cup. That's Vince pretending he's being chased by a giant soccer ball! Cute, cute, cute.

Well, at least that was the plan. But when we sank into the famous Sofitel MyBed, soccer was the last thing on our minds. This king-sized bed is just so huge and soft and comfy, you just fall asleep! It's like the best bed I've ever slept in. Ever! In fact, Vince just slept and slept and slept. And we found out that you can actually buy the special lining of that bed but that it was out of stock but as soon as it's available, we are definitely getting one!

This is me in the spacious bathroom and I caught a Peeping Vince! Naughty Vince!

We love the bathroom--towels were fluffy, shower was huge, and there were luxe bath products from L'Occitane for our use. Love it!

We also love that each room has its own balcony and that the views of the bay and the city skyline were cool. Too bad it was raining that weekend so we didn't get to see the famous Manila Bay sunset. 

That didn't stop the kids from enjoying the pool, though! Doesn't that look so inviting? I didn't take a dip; people might think I'm a whale! When I told this reason to Vince's niece, she looked at me and with all her 9-year-old wisdom gently said, "Auntie Frances, you're not fat; you're pregnant."

Sweet girl! Well, if we ate at Spiral's amazing buffet every day, we'd need some apidexin coupons to lose weight! I didn't take a lot of photos (hungry! hungry! hungry!) but we started with...
... all sorts of sushi and ended with a bevy of yummy desserts.

If you had eaten at Spiral, you'd know those two photos above do it great injustice. There were sooo many food stations--Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean food. The grill station was groaning with sizzling meat. The seafood station was piled high with huge mussels, prawns, oysters. And here's Vince again at the dessert buffet with chocolate soccer mascot sculptures behind him!

Oh, what a lovely weekend! We're definitely doing that again. If only it wasn't so expensive! We can't stop thanking Mom and Dad for the Sofitel treat. Now we have to start saving for another weekend there!

Outfit details: I'm wearing a silk jersey Diane Von Furstenberg ladybug dress, Vince, a Threadless.com t-shirt.

For Nikki's wedding a few weeks ago, Vince and I stayed at a little boutique hotel with a quite prosaic name, 8 Suites.

We were supposed to stay in a hotel in Tagaytay Highlands (the wedding guests get discounts) but one look at the rustic-looking hotel and I looked somewhere else. Nothing against log furniture really but I prefer clean and elegant to organic and shabby.

The hotel sits on the edge of a steep hill that slopes down to Taal Lake. We can see the lake from our room but you have to climb down to the garden if you want to see the volcano.


And here's our room--all done up in chocolate hues. The rooms are large, with big beds and really fabulous pillows that I wanted to stuff into my suitcase and bring home. No worries--I'm no thief! I never could bring anything from the hotels I've stayed in. And I always fix the room before I leave--fluff up the pillows, fix the sheets, wipe down the bathroom. I know the staff cleans up after every guest leaves but I just can't bear the thought of people thinking, "What a messy bitch!" while I'm on my way home!

Here's breakfast! Quite good but nothing special. What made it great was the fact that we ate it just outside our room, with the fresh breeze and sunshine seasoning our food with extra yumminess. When you live in the middle of Manila, fresh air and sunshine are pure luxury.

I wanted to show you a photo of Vince enjoying his breakfast but the background was bad—the room next to ours had an extremely loud party the night before and they left an awful mess outside their room (you can just see the soda can past Vince's left thumb). So I had to crop out most of the mess.

Aside from the fact you share balconies with other guests, what I didn't like about the hotel was the noise level. You can hear everything--doors slamming, people walking by, the staff talking to each other, and, worse, people partying! I was so angry, I called the front desk to complain only to be told that the offending party was the owner's kid and his/her friends. This, of course, made me angrier! As the owner's kid, he/she should be even more considerate of the hotel's guests. I definitely gave them a piece of my mind and soon enough, the party toned down. Yup, I'm a huge killjoy, folks.

So. much as I liked 8 Suites (the design, the food and the view, although the last isn't their doing), I think that's the last time I'll stay there. They really should fix the noise problem!

So many cute photos from Mariel's wedding so here are more!

The night before the wedding, maid of honor Kai Morales and matron of honor me trooped to Mariel's suite to go over the details of the big day.

Then all of Mariel's friends came by to help with the souvenirs. We all had to fold boxes for the candy bar and guests can just scoop all the candy and chocolate they want into the boxes!

Next morning was bright and sunshiny! Vince and me at the hotel lobby, gathering with all the other guests to board our coasters that will take us to the church.

Outside the church, we wait with Kai. It's breezy in the shadow of the cathedral but inside, ooh wow, it was hot!

The reception was held on the beach. This is my first beach wedding! It's very relaxed and happy. What I really like about Mariel's wedding was it still looked so fabulous! A lot of beach weddings I see in magazines are so... blah. 

Gorgeous guests: photographer Monica Barretto, Martha Stewart Weddings Philippines editor-in-chief Tata Mapa and makeup artist Marie Calica.

I really should put all these nice pics in a USB stick and plug it into our unused digital frame that we got for free when Vince bought his computer monitor last year. Yep, we have a really nice digital frame that we aren't using! But with all the pics I have now, I think it's time to fire it up.

Oh, for more on Mariel's wedding, click here and here.

Photos by Monica Barretto.

When Vince and I went to London for our honeymoon, my biggest regret was not setting aside an entire three days for the National Gallery. We spent just three hours instead and then we had to catch the plane to Manila. We missed our plane but you can read more about London here (although back then, my posts were mostly written in Taglish).

Anyway, I took a few courses in Renaissance Art in college since I've always been fascinated with it when I was a kid. So when we entered the National Gallery and I saw the works of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Titian, Holbein, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Monet... I completely lost it. I just cried! Seeing those paintings has got to be one of the most amazing things in my life and I will go back. And I will spend an entire hour staring at this:


This is a huge painting. It's bigger than my house, I think. This depicts the tragic conclusion of the life of Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for a mere nine days. She was the grandniece of that notorious Henry VIII (he of the six wives) and though she was royalty and had the best life had to offer, she didn't have her parents' love. Their ambition was her undoing.

I won't do a history lesson here but I just wanted to say that this was my favorite painting in the precious few hours we spent at the National Gallery. Vince and I stood before this painting transfixed. It is absolutely stunning--the alabaster of her skin, the satin of her gown, the way she fumbled about for the chopping block, the gentle way she was assisted to her death, the distress of her maids, the calm of her executioner. And she was but 19 years old. Poor thing.

The painting is magnificent and Lady Jane truly does inspire some of the most remarkable art. WendyB, my gorgeous blogger friend who I admire and adore, has created a pendant inspired by the tragic Lady Jane.

Within the rock crystal teardrop are rubies, symbolizing blood and tears. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. And I want it! I'll have to earn tons of money to afford it, however, but I've already put that photo on my dream board and whatever I put on that board, I get!

UPDATES:
1. Interested in Jane's story? WendyB has a fun and easy post about her. Click here!
2. The necklace is about PHP 300,000.

*painting photo from Wikipedia, pendant photo from Wendy Brandes

I haven't been to Boracay since 2004. Don't feel bad for me, folks, I'm not a beach person. But 6 years away from the most famous beach in the Philippines is starting to feel wrong. My days these days have been filled with work, clinic appointments, inquiring after medical and life insurance quotes, reading pregnancy books, hugging the toilet as I vomit my meal yet again... So, before Jelly Bean takes over our lives, I think it's time for more getaways (yes, more trips aside from Tagaytay and Cebu!). And if I'm lucky, I can go have an all-expense-paid trip to the island!

Boracay Packages is having a fabulous contest open to everyone in the entire world! In celebration of its 5th anniversary (hey, it's the 5th anniversary of OK! Philippines, too!), the site is treating 2 people to a 5-day stay at the lovely Le Soleil de Boracay! Here are the details:


WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating its 5th year in business on July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us. We decided to give away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5-Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package:

Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5-Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash


Oh, I want to win this! To be honest, it was the Philippine Airlines aspect that won me over. Really don't want to fly on Cebu Pacific anymore. But that's another story for another day! Let me just look for my ancient Boracay photos so you can see how much I enjoyed Boracay. And that's coming from a girl who hates sun and sand!

If you want to join the contest yourself, click here!

Last night, our friend Neil had a few beers with Vince here at home. Neil has three fabulous kids and he was telling us that kids are a great joy... and a great pain in the neck! Harhar. So he was urging us to go and have adventures now, while Jelly Bean is still not around to take over our lives.

Well, that's been exactly how we're feeling so I've booked a nice weekend at 8 Suites, this lovely new boutique hotel in Tagaytay.

We're also spending another weekend in Cebu at Be Hotel, which is a lovely place but I think they went overboard with the pastel colors.

Then I want to go see Disneyland in California (regular readers know I love Disneyland!) but Vince wants to go to Vegas. And we also want to go to Singapore to buy that camera I was telling you about, the one Vince now wants to buy for the baby. It isn't available here (boo!) but Singapore has it so we're thinking of flying there to check. Then I also want to visit my friend Kat in NYC but I'm waiting for summer to decide since I hate the cold.

While we have our nice matching Echolac luggage (we bought them for our London honeymoon), I've started browsing travel accessories sites for Samsonite luggage. I really like my little attache case and I was wondering if there was a matching suitcase.

I think it would be sooooo cool to have pink bags. For one thing, they'd really pop out on that conveyor belt. But don't worry, Vince (I know you're reading this!), I won't buy new luggage. It's enough you agreed to go on a travel spree with me!  

I am feeling slightly better. Been down with a nasty cold bug that I am finally finally shaking off. So we continue with the Singapore series...

The morning after the Nuffnang blog awards, the Singapore Tourism Board scheduled a city tour... at 8 in the morning. Now I am not a morning person. Never have been. My mother used to tell me I would never be a successful person because successful people wake up with the sun. I'd always reply I'd find a night job and my father would always retort that women who work at night are... well, I am digressing.

So the bus leaves at 8. I woke up at 8:30. My roommate, Jen Juan, woke up at about the same time. The next 10 minutes were a flurry of panic. But to our relief, we weren't so late. True, we were the very last to climb aboard the bus at about 8:45 but there were also a few stragglers and everybody hid their groggy eyes behind dark glasses. Except me. I'm stuck with my eyeglasses, which didn't hide how sleepy I was.

While we went to several places, today I'll talk about my favorite one. The Royal Selangor. It's a pewter shop. What's pewter? See the background of my photo above? That's pewter. Despite the entire wall of it behind me, it's not used for metal buildings. Pewter is like silver but it's really tin and in olden times, pewter was used chiefly for tableware so if you watch all those Middle Ages movies and people are eating and drinking from metal plates and glasses, well, that's pewter they're eating and drinking from. The Royal Selangor is world famous for their pewter products and I really wanted to buy these rabbits but they were way over my budget:
However, we didn't leave empty-handed since we all had a chance to make our own pewter bowl! Pewter is a malleable alloy so we were given wooden hammers, a flat pewter disc and a set of letters and numerals and told to hammer away!
This was my design:
Obviously I was thinking of only one person the entire time. Anyway, after hammering my disc into a perfect bowl, I felt really satisfied and rediscovered something about myself: I like working with my hands. Aside from cooking and housework, I've never really done anything with my hands. Sewing and knitting were hard on my eyes. I used to be able to draw well but my parents didn't encourage us kids to take up the arts because artists starve (funny then that my brother is a musician, I'm a writer and my sister is an actress--something wonderful does come out of disobedience).
When I was 17, I made the bookshelves for my tiny bedroom, measuring, sawing the plywood, hammering in the nails... I felt a great sense of accomplishment with carpentry but of course, my parents didn't raise me to be a carpenter or to be anyone who worked with their hands. I was supposed to be a rich housewife and a doting mother to at least 4 kids. I remember telling Papa I wanted to be a writer because I can create stories, he said, "Create? The only thing a woman should be creating is babies!" Now, I have nothing against women who embrace this creative aspect but I think, in this aspect, I will continue to be a happy disappointment.

So lately, I've been drawn to shoe and jewelry design. It's something I think I'd like to do. When I see and touch my little pewter bowl, which Vince now uses as the house keys container, I believe I've found another thing to do. And I'm really really excited about this!

I would like to thank Nuffnang and the Singapore Tourism Board for this Uniquely Singapore Series.