Friday, June 21, 2013

Topaz Fashion: The Northern Living shoot

This was shot last April and now it's out. I'm a featured personality on Northern Living magazine! Here's a behind-the-scenes look:
Having my hair and makeup done by Lizzie Oren. We talked about the Chiz-Heart love affair. That was the hottest topic back in April haha.

Since we have no yayas, I asked my sister to look after Iñigo while I was at the photo shoot. Thanks, Jacqui! It was also very sweet of Inquirer Group to put the TV on a kiddie channel so Iñigo wasn't so bored. He did lose interest eventually so Jacqui brought him to watch me have my photos taken.

That's me dancing to entertain Iñigo. I wore my Karimadon wrap dress and Pedro gray pumps.

That's photographer Dookie Ducay telling me how to fix my angles and my smile.

That's a super bored super baby haha.

And here it is!
The photo that made it was the one of me wearing my Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and Zara pumps. My face was also Photoshopped, in case you know how I really look like haha. Hindi ko kamukha si Cristine Reyes. Sabi ng boss ko dati, "Wag ka na umangal!" Haha, I'm not complaining! I just want to look like me even if Cristine Reyes is prettier than me!

Anyway, you can read all about how I feel about blogging and writing and mommy fashion and living in the Metro North in the June issue of Northern Living.


Check out Northern Living's Facebook page on how you can get a FREE copy!

Thanks, Northern Living! I am so thrilled to be in your magazine!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Who is the Top Anchor Home Chef? I found out...in a very yummy way!

Now that I'm a stay-at-home wife and mom, I get invited to events that promote stuff like cooking, crafts-making, safety while driving, and basically stuff that are worlds away from the fashion and beauty events I used to attend.

I like this new phase. At the start, I found it very weird but now I find it fascinating! There's a whole wide world of fab events for wives and moms! And I don't need to put full-on makeup and blow dry my hair and wear excruciatingly high heels!

One such event I recently checked out was Anchor Home Chef Final Night. Yes, it was like a reality show that picked out the best recipes that reinvented ordinary food and used the Anchor product line. I didn't even know there was a contest like this! Had I known, I'd have totally joined! I'm kinda good in the kitchen so I think I have a fighting chance. Actually, I am very good in the kitchen. That's one of the reasons Vince married me!
But... after I tasted the winning recipe, I must admit the winner deserved the top Anchor Home Chef prize. But wait wait wait. I'm getting way ahead of my story! Here's the whole Anchor product showcase. I thought they only had milk, butter and cheese slices! There's cream cheese, culinary cream, and whipping cream, too!

I've known, used and loved Anchor butter for years and years. I remember my Mama singing the jingle when she'd serve sugar-sprinkled creamy butter on hot pan de sal for breakfast long, long ago. "Fresh Anchor butter!" I can hear her now and all I can think of is bright, happy mornings. Mama loved butter!

Anyway, the Anchor Home Chef campaign is all about promoting creativity in the kitchen. By using Anchor's premium products, men and women can create dishes using ordinary ingredients and make them ultra fabulous! I believe that, too!

There was wine...

... and cheese. But no one was really wining and cheesing because Anchor started the evening with a contest for all the guests. We were all asked to make a cake in a jar!

This bibingka cake was seriously amazing. At first, I thought it was going to be so-so but the sweetness of the butter cake and the saltiness of the salted egg cream cheese topped with the delicate nuttiness of the roasted coconut buttercream was divine. Divine!

Yes, Iñigo and I ate the cake. So we didn't get to participate in the contest! That bibingka cake was too good. I wanted to ask for more actually. I just got shy.

Here I am with hot mommy Jackie Go of Go! Jackie Go! and her baby Juro. He's busy munching on carrots. I don't know what my Iñigo was looking at. But this table was right beside the chefs' table so maybe Iñigo was looking at the chefs.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

The only funny r*pe joke

Watch Wanda Sykes be real funny about a really serious issue.



Actually, it's not even about rape. It's about freedom from rape. I wish my vagina was detachable as well!

Wouldn't it be so nice if we didn't have to worry about rape? I think every girl lives in the shadow of rape. Have you ever experienced these: cars filled with drunken men suddenly stopping you on the road and them threatening to grab you, a neighbor touching your bare six-year-old thigh and inviting you to check out the candy in his house, your mother warning you to lock the doors when you're staying at someone else's house, enjoying a hug from a dear friend then suddenly feeling his hard on? I have.

There are more examples of my near-misses with rape. And I'm sure you have some stories to tell, too. Let me just say that I never ever let my guard down. And you know what? It's exhausting. I never get drunk (well, just once, and with Vince). I don't do drugs. I never go inside a guy's house alone. I never let a man inside the house if I'm alone. It doesn't matter if the guy is a friend or a relative—I am never ever alone with a man. I take a photo of my taxi driver and tell him, "I'm sending your photo to my husband, just in case." I walk fast and facing traffic so I can take evasive action in case a car suddenly stops me again. I automatically wear rubber shoes, jeans and shapeless shirts if I know I'll be going home late.

It's crazy but we girls have been living this way all our life. It's our normal. Wouldn't it be so nice if we can get drunk with the guys, go home late, walk the city streets alone and in the dark, wear the skimpiest outfits and not have to worry about getting raped? Alas, as long as we have a vagina, we're never safe from men.

Men, you have to be the one to change the world for us. You have to step in the role that God designed you to have: protector of women and children. Make this world a better and safer place for us!



God bless you, Mr. Stewart!


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Before he was Superman

Everybody suddenly has a crush on Henry Cavill. Get in line, girls. I've had a crush on him since 2007!

I saw him on The Tudors. Boy, that show was something. If you want to see Henry Cavill doing the deed over and over again, make sure you watch this show! He was so young and sexy (and almost always naked!), he nearly overshadowed Jonathan Rhys Meyers!

Apparently, I've seen him before. But he never made an impression. Despite his always-handsome looks. Strange! Maybe I don't like young boys haha.

2002. Here he is as Albert (silent T), the son of the Count of Monte Cristo. I loved the book, I loved the movie.

2007. Here he is as Humphrey, the fiancé of Sienna Miller's character in Stardust. Loved the book. Loved the movie!

2011. As Theseus in the awful Immortals.

Can't wait to watch Henry as the new Superman this weekend! I hope it's good! I had the biggest crush on Christopher Reeve. He was my first crush ever. I remember being 6 or 7 years old and feeling very strange after watching Superman on TV. Infatuation na pala yun. I was so disappointed when Brandon Routh took on the role. Brandon, while incredibly handsome, was so flat and boring. Let's hope Henry is worthy of the red cloak!


*images from But When a Young Lady is to be a Heroine, Fanpop, Just Jared, Geekshizzle, Perez Hilton

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Our happy L'Indochine find

A few weeks ago, my friend Leona Laviña-Panutat and her sister-in-law Char Carlos invited me to their new store, L'Indochine. It's this utterly fab and spacious space in SM Aura that sells carefully selected home finds from all over Southeast Asia.


Now I know I have this reputation as someone who loves decorating the home but that is a reputation that I don't deserve. Our home is really the project of my husband. I'm just really lazy when it comes to keeping things orderly, tinkering, browsing for home stuff, decorating. Everyone thinks that's the woman's job but happily for me, my husband loves that aspect.

I love a nice house, okay. I sniff at monoblock chairs and anything plastic, for instance hehe. Yes, I can be a big snob! I like nice things but my reason for having a beautiful house is this: Vince and I have explosive tempers. Once upon a time, when we had cheap furniture, those things would be destroyed in the wake of our fury. But when we started buying really nice things, we found that our fights just became verbal hahaha. Hello, sayang ang bahay and mga gamit naming magaganda! So investing in our home means investing in our marriage!

Okay, Vince doesn't agree with me. He says his reason for loving home decorating is simple: He loves beautiful things. He loves living in a comfortable home. He loves creating little spaces for entertainment, for work, for sleep, for play. He's always fussing about the house, wiping, dusting, polishing, vacuuming, rearranging the furniture, changing linens, plumping up the pillows. He's repairing broken appliances, hammering at the walls, installing, tinkering. Right now, he's puttering about. He just rearranged the study-and-play room so that it's now more spacious and kid-friendly. He's so happy!

I am the luckiest wife in the world.

Back to L'Indochine. So anyway! When Leona and Char invited me to drop by their new exotic home store, I immediately knew Vince would love to check it out. The home accessories are from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Indochina nga! Most of the items are handmade by artisans, craftsmen so they're very unique pieces. These are what caught my eye:
Hand-painted Banjarong jars and bowls from Thailand. These are so exquisite! I love the vivid colors and the vibrant patterns!

Oil on canvas painting of a mommy and baby elephant from Thailand. I like elephants because my husband thinks he's an elephant (big ears and big nose!). This painting is especially beautiful.

Golden tulips for luck! We like flowers and we like luck. But my boys liked these just a wee bit too much. We figured these tulips won't be safe in our home!

Hand-embroidered Oriental Garden pillow from Thailand. Vito couldn't stop playing with the pompoms! It's so brightly colored! So pretty and alive! But then he wanted this next:
"I want this, Mama."
I test it.
Iñigo tests it.
"I like it, Kuya Vito!"

Oh, we liked it. We really did. But Vito, who is just like his father, went around the store one more time. Vito likes nice things, too. I remember, when he was littler, that I was scared to bring him to a furniture shop because he might break things. Nope. He toddled around going "ooh" and "ahh" and nodding in approval. He also likes nice hotels. He likes nice houses. He runs his hands on fabrics and surfaces. He explores the rooms and tests the beds and if he likes it, he laughs. If he doesn't, he'll say... Okay, I won't say what he says haha. He's really very much like his father!

So anyway, my almost-three-year-old boy went around L'Indochine one more time and he found this:
It's a pumpkin pouf from Thailand. He LOVED it. He went crazy about it. Vince loved it, too! I didn't love the price tag haha but it was two against one haha so... I dragged Vito around the store again and asked him to pick out something else! But he went back to the pumpkin pouf and so we decided to buy it.

At the cashier with Vito's new exuberant friend, Berry. She's the daughter of Manila Fashion Observer's Tin Dychiao, who happened to be shopping at L'Indochine, too. In fact, we bumped into a lot of people we know. Looks like L'Indochine is the hottest home store these days!

Here we are as soon as we got home:

And here are the boys enjoying it every single day:

Maybe we shoulda gotten two poufs. Double adorableness!

L'Indochine is at the 3rd level of SM Aura. Shop shop shop!

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Mad Men cast dance to Daft Punk



Notes:
Joannie sure can move that luscious body!
Pete and Trudy. Sigh! Stupid Pete. You had the perfect wife!
I've totally forgotten about Pete and Peggy.
They all look so young!
Don Draper. You didn't dance but you were still unforgettable.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Topaz Fashion: Sperry Top-siders for Vince

Vince's favorite new shoes is his Sperry Top-siders. He was waxing nostalgic about his old Top-siders when he was a kid and he said he wanted a pair again. So he's been browsing Zalora for weeks and we finally bought him new shoes. Here's the unboxing:

I shoulda taken pictures of the giddy Vince hehe. His face was much more interesting!

Anyway, Vince absolutely loves his new Top-siders. He wears them all the time! They're so soft and comfy. He's always saying, "My shoes are so comfy!" He's so cute! Now soft and comfy, those are words mommy me loves! So I checked Zalora if they had Sperrys for girls and, nope, they don't. Too bad!

I was especially interested in the Katama espadrilles.
The Katama espadrilles feature breathable canvas (I'm loving the anchors-on-navy print!), padded heel and adjustable rawhide laces with gold and silver eyelets (I love that touch of posh!). Must visit a Sperry shop this weekend! I'm really liking the blue one. It will look perfect with my mommy uniform of shirts and shorts! I kinda need a new kind of footwear since I'm in ballet flats all the time. They're not actually very good for chasing after little boys!

P.S. Sperry Top-Sider stores are at Bonifacio High Street, Trinoma Mall, Glorietta 3, Harbor Point Subic, SM North EDSA The Block, Robinsons Place Manila, Centrio Mall Cagayan de Oro, SM cebu Northwing. Also available at Complex Lifestyle Stores in Eastwood Mall, Alabang Town Center, Festival Mall; Shoe Salon outlets. Hide Out in Greenbelt 5 and select deoartment stores, like Rustan's. Check out their Facebook page if you'd rather stay home today hehe.

P.P.S. Father's Day is coming up! Shop at Zalora for great gift ideas!

*Katama photos courtesy of Castro PR

Monday, May 27, 2013

First love

A friend and I were chatting one day. She was about to get married. I teased her, "Is he your first?" And at our age, we all know what "first" means!

"Yes," she replied. "As far as I'm concerned, he is. He's my first love because he's my true love. All the other so-called loves before him don't count."

And I laughed, long and loud. "You're so silly!"

But I know what she means. I've had boyfriends before Vince. But it was only with him I felt completely alive. Only with him, I saw my future. Only with him that I wanted to have children.

I've been kissed before but when Vince and I kissed the first time, I thought my soul opened up and soared and my skin tingled like it was hot and cold at the same time and and my heart, I thought it actually stopped. And after we kissed, I looked at him and said breathlessly, "You're my first kiss!"

And Vince laughed, since he knew I've been kissed before. But I knew in my heart—and my body knew it, too—that that kiss wiped all other kisses off the face of the earth and I was reborn. I knew then and there that I was gone.

He knew it, too. He asked me to marry him about a month later. I said no because his eyes scared me. His eyes said forever. I've never seen that in a guy's eyes before. So I knew I was his first love, too, because he may have had many girls before me but forever only happens once and his forever happened with me.

1999, Baguio. We didn't really know each other when this photo was taken. We just happened to be sitting together.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Topaz Fashion: My summer tote is Cole Haan

Remember when I said that this year my word is simplify? Then remember when, as a result of this simplification, I went through my stuff and gave away tons of stuff to my sister and niece? Well, under all my stuff, I found my brand new, unused and still redolent of leather Cole Haan tote.

Yes, I had forgotten about it. So yes, I really should simplify my life! Who forgets bags they just bought?! Crazy wasteful woman.

I'm so glad I found it again. It's no longer available in stores now because I think this was from the 2011 summer collection. My friend Dada bought it abroad for me some time ago because it's a lot more expensive if you buy it here.

It's so cuuuuute! So bright and happy and so Pinoy! It's like a coño bayong haha. It's very roomy, too. It's now my diaper bag. I like how the coated canvas resists dirt and the wet. So perfect for my busy mommy lifestyle!

Sorry no real photos of the bag. I find the boy in the photos much much cuter. Sooo adorable! He and his brother and their father are making my weekend happy. Hope yours is bright and happy, too!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

My Top 10 Favorite Things (a.k.a. Buy this month's Real Living!)

I'm in this month's Real Living. Like, as me and not as a contributing writer. Like, my face and not as a byline haha.

I talk about my favorite things at my home. The font is tiny so you can't click on the photo and try to read. You'll have to get a copy! I promise you it's a good read—I have a story for each piece. Yep, that's why the font is so small. The artist was forced to do that to make all my words fit!


It's also a great issue filled with beautiful, airy, sun-filled homes. One day, Vince and I will build a house with huge windows to let sun and fresh air in. And it will have a large garden for the kids to run around in and where Vince can plant a garden and where I can nap under the trees. Sigh! I'm so inspired to work for our dream house now. That's what I love about shelter magazines!

Thanks, Real Living! Thanks to the editor-in-chief, my friend Rachelle! And thanks so very much to the writer Kaye for being patient with me!