TOPAZ HORIZON

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.

Last week, Alvin passed by the office to get a bag of beauty products for his wife, my darling dearest friend Mariel. He's flying off to New York City to see her and I had to send Mariel some prettifiers. I should've included a heated blanket, too, since it'll be cold there but, hey, the newlyweds haven't seen each other in 4 months so I guess they won't need help in the heat department!

Mariel, your hubby's so cute. He's not a demonstrative kinda guy and I've never known him to be expressive, but when he was at the office, he just suddenly said, "I'm so excited. I haven't seen her in four months!"

Neighbor! I just melted for you!!!

I honestly don't know how you two do this long-distance relationship thing (remember that song I dedicated to you both?) but I know you'll be truly together one day soonest!

To my readers, see Mariel and Alvin's wedding in the current issue of Martha Stewart Weddings! And watch the beautiful video Pat Dy made for them here. Mariel's wedding is one of the loveliest weddings I've ever been to--made me cry. All the drama, the family stories, the old friends who flew in, the gorgeous weather, the romance, the style! Just the ingredients you need for a truly heartwarming wedding!  

My favorite feature in this month's InStyle is "Inside the Files of the Super Stylish." Eleven of the most chic people were asked this question: What should every woman have in her wardrobe? These were some of the answers:

"Great jewelry. It adds drama." 
Kelly Wearstler, interior designer
(I'm working on this! I think I'm turning into a jewelry girl!)

"A lightweight long-sleeve black cashmere crew-neck sweater." 
Michael Kors, fashion designer
(Though I balked at this item, a bit much especially in sweltering Manila,  sweaters like that do hide jiggly arms and make you look slimmer. A necessity indeed!)

"A black cocktail dress!" 
Nicole Richie, actress, novelist, designer
(I have half a dozen black dresses. Always chic!)

"A wrap dress!" 
Diane von Furstenberg, fashion, accessories and housewares designer
(I have one prized DVF wrap dress! I'd like more but they're so frakkin' expensive.)

"Hoop earrings in yellow gold." 
Margherita Missoni, actress, model
(Check!)

"A fabulous dress and gold shoes... Also invest in cashmere cardigans... in a rainbow of colors." 
Deborah Lloyd, co-president and creative directo of Kate Spde
(I have fabulous dresses and gold flats and sandals. I can't get myself to buy gold shoes yet. Seems matronly. I have cardigans in white, black and brown but they're not cashmere. Sigh.)

"A perfectly fitting pair of jeans."
Tory Burch, designer
(Before I got pregnant, my great love was Levi's Lady's Style jeans. Those sweethearts hugged my legs and butt lovingly. Now? I can't even squeeze into them! Weep!)

"A Burberry trench." 
Isabel Dupre celebrity stylist
(None yet. I had a Zara trench that I gave to my sister because I don't travel to cold countries so much. I don't think I'll buy a trench again. But I do have a lovely red wool coat!)

Much as I respect their suggestions, I must wonder about the absence of the style basics, like a sleek black stiletto, crisp white shirt, pearl necklace, diamond studs, sunglasses... I mean, really. Gold shoes? A trench coat? A crew-neck sweater? Nevertheless, the stylistas answered a ton of other questions about the stylish lifestyle and their answers proved to be very interesting. I'm sure my mod readers would find this article interesting, too!

Oh, and do grab this month's OK! magazine. It's our Fashion Issue! Our annual Hollywood's Best Dressed List is particularly exciting.

Got invited to the store opening of Muji at Bonifacio High Street. It opens next week and I'm curious to see what's there. I was told Muji sells everything from clothes and accessories to furniture and food.

Typical Muji store in Japan and Hong Kong. I wonder if the one here looks like this, too.

Note that the Japanese brand doesn't have branding. The name Muji is short for Mujirushi Ryohin or "no brand, quality products." Ah, so desu ne! Kinda like the Anonymous store we used to have years and years ago (does anyone remember that?). I used to buy a ton of stuff from Anonymous and then have fun personalizing them. I still have Anonymous stuff in my house actually. Then Anonymous closed down and so I am super duper looking forward to shopping at Muji.

What I find most interesting about Muji is its commitment to simplicity and quality. And I read that they only use sustainable raw materials and use minimal packaging so if you have to be a consumer (and aren't we all?), you're assured that your carbon footprint won't be gigantic when you buy from Muji.

For starters, I'll have to buy some gifts. Lots of birthdays coming up. OK!'s associate features editor Elaine says she wants some pens for her 18th birthday (hehe. Happy birthday, E!). Well, I'll get her Muji pens then!

No need to throw away your pens when you finish the ink. You can also buy gel pen refills!

I'm a sucker for pens, too, actually. I have drawers full of them. In my bag, I am never without a pen and pencil and notebook. Oh yes, notebooks. Vince and I have love affairs with notebooks (Moleskine especially! Remember my giveaway last year?) but any notebook with nice paper is heaven for me. So you can bet I'm making a bee line for Muji's stationery section next week!  

My fashion designer friend Kate will appreciate coloring pencils.

Who doesn't love notebooks? I'll definitely grab a few!

I'm hoping the prices are not too expensive. Well, the store opens on pay day, October 15, so we're bound to have a bit of cash. So I'll see y'all next week at Muji!

Aha! My search for the perfect rain boot just ended today, thanks to shoe designer Loeffler Randall.

Sleek

Understated

Sexy

I walk to work so this is a necessity. Just yesterday, on my first day back to work (huhuhu), my feet and Kenneth Coles got wet. So I need rain boots. This pair is just beautiful. And it's only $195! It's utter perfection!

Mariel, if I buy this and have it sent to your New York apartment, do you think Alvin will find space in his suitcase for this? I'm guessing it's going to come in a big box!

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, so now that I'm back to my pre-preggy body (except for my jiggly belly and skin discolorations, yuck), I now have the online shopping itch... and I seriously need to scratch the credit card it. Regular readers know I love online shopping, the anticipation and--finally!--the delivery. I love ripping apart the plastic or stabbing at packages with a box cutter and then finally loving my new shoes/dresses/books/gadgets! It's much better than hours walking in the mall really. For lazy me, at least.

Now, thanks to an ad on Perez Hilton, I discovered ModCloth. The dresses there are to die for! Very Mad Men (anyone watching the current season? This show just gets better and better!). And since I know my readers are super stylish women, please help me choose from the following adorable dresses:

Soda Fountain (Ginger)

Soda Fountain (Grape)

Deuce Coupe Darling

Hepcat (Lemon Cream)

Hepcat (Black Licorice)

Well Red

Temporary Secretary (Summer)

Avocado Orchard

Periwinkle Prance

Red-y or Not

Black by Popular Demand

I only have budget for 4 dresses. Well, for maybe 2 or 3 really since I also still want a bag and a ring as a breezing-through-labor reward. So help me choose my new dresses please!

3 days old. Vito is still looking bashed up from the birth--cone head, puffy eyes--but he's still so adorable!

2 weeks and 3 days old. Vince and Vito getting some sun.

3 weeks old. Vito is attacked by infant acne. You know what cured it? Breast milk applied 3x a day. Doctor said so!

3 weeks and 3 days old. See? Infant acne reduced dramatically just 3 days after the breast milk application. Vito always sleeps with the iPad playing his sleepy music.  The iPad also saves me from boredom while I breastfeed him!

3 weeks and 3 days old. My little bobblehead's awake! Vito wears Tushy Wushy cloth diapers. Fantastic invention! Sometimes it lasts longer on him than disposables!

1 month and 1 day old. When Vito wakes from his afternoon nap, he's all happy, then fussy, then hungry, then sleepy. This is obviously the happy part!

1 month and 4 days old. Love that smile! Many thanks to Auntie Anj and Cousin Zo for all the nice clothes little Vito has!

Seriously, I grew up a sickly girl but these past 10 months, I've seen too many doctors and too much hospital (and handed over too much money!) for my taste. So we've finally given birth but that only means even more face time with another kind of doctor: the pediatrician. This is my family at the pediatrician two weeks ago:

Vito is one month old here! I'm still trying to lose the preggy belly!

Well, time to shop for a good health plan. I actually have health insurance courtesy of my employ but it's not the same as the one I grew up with. It's a huge shock to me since I had amazing health care growing up as the beneficiary of my Mama (she used to work in Meralco)--All medical conditions covered. All dental work covered. If the procedure is cosmetic, 25% covered. I used to go in and out of hospitals with not a peso on me and the insurance paid for absolutely everything. So when Mama died and I had to avail of the health plan at work... well, let's just say it's not the same.

So now that we have this fascinating young man in our lives, Vince and I need to get a good, solid, reliable Medicare plan. Soon. Do you have a health plan? What is it? Are you happy with it? Help!