TOPAZ HORIZON

Last weekend, Vince's sister and her family invited us to their fabulous new home for a housewarming party. I do want to respect their privacy so I'm just going to post a few photos here:
This is Anj and Lit Onrubia in their dining room. They now live in a spacious 3-bedroom apartment in a gated community, which will be great for raising their precocious son, the adorable Zo! While the place looks fantastic already, Lit says they're still not done. One of the things they're still looking for are good patio chairs.

The house was designed to look very Zen. Unlike what most people think, Zen doesn't mean as little furniture and as little design possible. Zen is peaceful, the sort of decor that won't invite clutter and stress. That's me and Vince's nephew Tom (who is love in a little package) and behind us is an indoor stone garden with a water feature. Quite relaxing!

We totally love the lighting! All our photos in this apartment turned out great! That's what Vince and I wish we had invested in--lighting. It really makes a ton of difference. It's just that it's soooo expensive! When we're very rich, we'll definitely plan some fab lighting!

Oops, PDA! After more than 11 years, we still can't keep our hands off each other. That's what got us pregnant!!! Sorry, Anj and Lit, for making out in your gorgeous living room!

I'm not supposed to write in Tagalog in this blog because I have an agreement with the paid blogging network I belong to to write only in English pero since wala namang paid link etong post na ito, I will exercise my freedom of speech, or at least, my freedom to speak in whatever language na feel ko. Kebs na kung kebs.

Okay, napansin ko lang na ang dami nang nang-aaway sa akin sa comments section. Heller. Reminder lang: Blog ko ito. Kung di niyo feel ang mga pinagsasabi ko, wag niyo basahin. Really. We don't need to aggravate each other. Win-win siya, mga sis (or bros, whatevs)--I don't get stressed, you don't get stressed. Masaya tayong lahat!

Kung hobby niyo ang mainis sa akin, well, thanks, that actually flatters me but ano buzz, maawa naman kayo sa akin ngayon kasi buntis ako and over sa exaj ang levels ng hormones ko so affected ako, ha, and baka affected na rin yung baby ko. If you won't do it for me, do it for my child. Please.

Anyhoot, I've tried na nga to make this blog as shallow and as silly as possible--no more controversial ek-ek from me, no more strong opinions, no more pa-smart chuva. Para masaya tayong lahat! Pero bakit meron pa rin kayong nahahanap na dahilan para mam-bwisit? Really. I am amazed. Where do you find the time? How come you can zero in on stuff to attack? Why are you so mean and nasty? How did your parents raise you?

Geez. Actually, di naman ako galit. Sabi nga ng isang friend ko, "Yan ang hirap sa mga blog-blog na yan. Samu't sari ang mga nagbabasa. Wala kang control." Well, to be honest, mas masahol pa yung mga natatanggap kong mail minsan about OK! magazine. Fans kasi get very... fanatical about their idols so let's say di nasama si RPattz dun sa Hottest Hunks list, naku, sigurado yan, hate mail to the max. So sanay na naman talaga ako. Siguro nga lang buntis ako ngayon kaya naiirita ako.

Oh well. My dear readers, put up na lang your own blogs if gusto niyo mang-away ng tao. Tulungan ko pa kayo mag-set up. And kind advice--blog because you want to do something productive. In my case, I blog because I not only like sharing my finds and fun life but also because I earn money from blogging. Pero kung puros nega stuff lang, haaaaaay. Ika nga ng mga parents natin, "Don't say anything if you have nothing nice to say."

And puh-leeeeze, wag naman anonymous comments. Attack mode na nga kayo, pero duwag naman mag-reveal ng identity. I'm nice naman. Pag-usapan na lang natin, ha?

Okay, back to regular programming.

Remember when I talked about missing my belly button?

Pinky is 34 weeks along while I'm 38 weeks!

Well, a couple of days ago, my dear old friend from Assumption, Pinky Jacob Ileto, kidnapped me so we can have a lovely mommy-to-be chat over dinner. She gave Jelly Bean a fabulous Darth Vader button-down shirt (to the immense delight of the baby daddy!) and then she dragged me around Rustan's Shang to shop for all things baby--bottles, nipples, baby clothes, etc!

Now, in our photo above, you can see that my 38-week-old pregnant belly is stretched to incredible proportions... but my belly button is nowhere to be seen.

Yep, folks, the button decided it won't become a third nipple. So despite the stretch marks, the huge bloated feet, the weird skin discolorations, and everything else happening to my body, I'm happy one part of me decided to behave itself. Thank you!

Last week, Rustan's Anna Go invited me and Nikki (and several other editors) to a lovely ladies' lunch at East Cafe. We were one of the lucky few to sample the new menu that features even more exquisite dishes inspired by the many flavors Asia has to offer. And you know how huge Asia is! So we just had to drop by and eat! These are just some of the dishes we tasted:


My favorite actually was dessert. I forget the name, though! Although it's called a maki-something, this dessert I love is very Pinoy--it's sticky rice rolled around a stick of rich chocolate and smothered in dulce de leche ice cream. It is to die for! I'm actually going to go back and order it again just before I give birth. I literally do dream about it! 

Anyway, do try out East's new offerings. I've always loved Asian fare--so rich and flavorful and every dish appeals to all our senses--sight, smell, touch, taste, emotion... So yummy! East is at the second floor of Rustan's Makati, that'll be the ladies' clothes and accessories floor. For reservations, call 812-0233. 

Thanks, Anna! I had such a lovely time with you and everyone else!

My hubby has a really fantastic tech blog called Third World Nerd and in it he writes about game, software, apps, phone and digital camera reviews, new gadget launches and events, and how to order stuff from all over the world. That's the good news.

The not-so-good news is all his followers are girls! Nothing wrong with that, of course, since technology is not strictly for the male species, but I guess I'm just being jealous, especially when this one girl commented that my hubby is so cute. Like, wow thanks, but how is his face related to anything tech?

So... I was thinking of promoting his blog to men. Problem with that is I don't really have a lot of male blogger friends. Do you? Or is your hubby/boyfriend/brother into phones, gaming, cameras and stuff like that... and are they bloggers, too? Because I was thinking of sponsoring another contest to get you girls to get your guys to follow Vince's blog. I just don't have a gadget-y prize! All I have are beauty products.

So help! If you have suggestions on how I can stop these girls from creating a Third World Nerd fan club, I'd super appreciate it!  

Nope, I haven't given birth yet. So many people have called and texted me asking about my online absence... and congratulating me at the same time!

This is why I suddenly disappeared.

I hate Globe. Super duper.

Or 24. The black hair kinda gives away the time. I was black for a year (when I was 23 to 24) before I finally decided that black hair just doesn't suit me and went red. Which suited me really well! But then I had to try blond and chocolate brown and... okay, where was I?

This photo is from the Candy website. I wrote an article for them a thousand years ago, which I promptly forgot, and then they put it online! I'm a bit embarrassed over the article--sounds really amateurish, so... young. Then again, I wrote it when I was very young. More than a decade ago actually. Sigh. It doesn't feel like any time has passed at all.  

My gosh, just a shallow comment: I was soooo thin here! No tummy! I miss my no tummy body! This was the time Vince and I just started dating. My goodness, I was, like, totally in love with him. Still am! But now it's really love; back then I think it was more of lust!

Just want to say that I'm loving where I am right now. To make room for the baby, who will stay in our bedroom for his first year, we've transferred my gorgeous Prizmic & Brill writing desk to Vince's study. In one corner, him; in the other, me! So now I actually get to spend more time with him!

This isn't a good photo of me (hair unbrushed, no makeup) or my desk (messy!) but I'll post it anyway just so you see how happy I am to be in the same room as my hubby...

Yikes, am I huge or am I huge? Looking at that photo, I can't imagine ever losing abdominal fat ever again! Omigas, must get back to fighting form by Christmas! Will possibly happen as I am hell-bent on breastfeeding and everyone tells me that that will absolutely shrink all the fat away.

Missed my breastfeeding class last weekend, though. Can't seem to wake up, get up or do anything anymore. I'm so heavy! And I really wanted to go to that class (unlike the Lamaze ones) because I hear this all the time from mommies: "I'd rather give birth again than breastfeed. Breastfeeding is so painful!" That is scaring me more than giving birth! So I resolved to go to a nursing class and--surprise! surprise!--I missed it. Thankfully, so many kind mommies have offered to be my breastfeeding coach, or just meet up so that they can support me because they say that the next few months (years!) will be tough and mommies must help each other. I almost cried because that mommy who said that to me, I haven't even met her yet!

Which reminds me... You know, this past weekend, I was feeling very sad because something happened that made me realize that this world is filled with mean, nasty, evil people. And here I am bringing a kid into this awful place. It's insanity really, on my part, to bring an innocent life into this evil world. And then I looked at my mommy blog and my Facebook wall and my emails and text messages, and I was reminded of the kindness of friends and even strangers who send me and my family lovely gifts and good will. People all over the world are sending my little family so much love!

So I really should have faith in the goodness of mankind and the beauty of life. Thank you for reminding me of that. God bless you all! 

A blog reader corrected a couple of posts I wrote. Upon review, yep, I did make some grammatical mistakes. Tee hee. Thanks, Darce, for spotting the errors!

Remember when I said that I'm so grateful I hired staff who are better than me? Well, that's why OK! magazine is fabulous. My features editor Joanna Mendoza is such a grammarian! She's taught me and the rest of the staff a lot! Yesterday, over merienda, she whipped out a style guide for all of us to refer to (yes, while we were eating and gossiping!). For example, did you know that it's always an 's when you refer to a singular possessive even if the noun ends in s? So in my last post, when I said, "photo from Chuvaness' blog," that is incorrect! It should be "Chuvaness's blog."

There's a host of other rules that I won't bore you with. I will confess that I did get bored at yesterday's grammar session and just flippantly told Joanna, "Well, my rule is if I like how it sounds, then that's what's correct!" Oh, such a beeyatch I can be! It's a good thing Joanna and my staff have taken to treating me like a spoiled brat (meaning they ignore me when I throw tantrums like that)!

To be fair to me, I'm quite a fabulous editor. I'm a better editor than writer actually. That means when I look over other people's work, I can spot very quickly what's wrong and what's right. But when it comes to my own work... well, let's just say I don't like looking at it too much! That's why I love having Joanna, Elaine and Lana on the OK! team.

So, to my dear readers, if you spot an error--spelling, grammar, fact, usage--do alert me. Truth is, this is my blog and I usually just type away without thinking, unlike when it's for work where I really focus. Why? Well, aside from the fact that it's work, our editorial director Jo-Ann Maglipon once barked at us, "If you have more than three mistakes in your magazine, just go kill yourself!" Since I don't plan to take my life anytime soon or ever, I do take extra care with my work!

My husband edits me sometimes when he deigns to drop by this blog of shallowness. He's also forever correcting my pronunciation. I'm Bisaya so my spoken English and Tagalog can be, uh, weird. For the longest time, for example, I thought it was blah-tant (blatant), jew-dorant (deodorant) and picha (pizza). Oh, the humiliation! I'm so glad Vince is so patient with me. I'm much better now!

Chuvaness is holding a contest over at her blog and the prizes for this particular one are outright spectacular!
She's giving away these Kamiseta suitcases packed full with the most amazing goodies: from beauty products and fashion finds to computers! There's bags and jewelry, too. And thousands of pesos worth of gift certificates and discounts to restaurants. And if that makes you fat, you also win weight loss supplements and a gym membership. How crazy is that???

Man, I wish I could give away prizes as insane as those in this blog. I will be giving away some beauty products over at my beauty blog and I've been giving away stuff at my Facebook page but nothing approaching the prizes of Chuvaness! Sigh. I wish I can make my readers just as excited. I'll have to make this blog bigger and more popular then so I can attract contest sponsors! Wish me luck!

*photo from Chuvaness' blog.

Last week, I went to the 75th anniversary party of Lancome. It was a very chi-chi affair, lots of French people, French wine, French food, French music... Too bad I'd forgotten my French! All I know now is "Bonjour!" and "Bonsoir!"

I'll talk more about the event in my beauty blog--that's where I usually put my beauty news and reviews on everything from lip balms and face creams to fashion events. But I just wanted to show you all the lovely Hollywood celebs that Lancome has signed up to endorse their luxe products:

What I love about Lancome's image models is they're not conventionally pretty--Julia's mouth is too wide and her nose is too narrow or Anne's eyes and mouth are huge--but they are still astonishingly beautiful because they believe they're beautiful. That's a great truth we women must all embrace!

I also wanted to show off my gorgeous friends, Nicole Delos Angeles and Nikki Mercado.

These two girls are always dolled up. Always so fab! Me, I try harder now (I explain here why!) and it's really much harder now--what with all the swelling going on, the heat my pregnant body generates, and just how exhausted I feel all the time. But let me tell ya, when you really put an effort into your looks, you really do feel better! So be pretty!

Vince cooked his super special spaghetti with tomato meat sauce last weekend. Yes, if you've been following this blog, you know my husband can cook! Anyway, whenever he prepares that, he asks only that I make garlic bread, and I'm going to share with you my super duper easy way of doing it!


YUM! Now this is such an easy way to make garlic bread! This recipe sure beats my Papa's way of making garlic bread. When I was a kid, he'd make me chop up tons of garlic and then mix the smelly mess into a tub of margarine, which I'd have to spread very quickly on hot bread. The garlic almost always falls off and then I'd get scolded for not chopping the garlic finely enough!

Enjoy making and eating this!

Last weekend, Vince and I turned the house upside down, cleaning, fixing, weeding out junk and basically making space for our baby boy, who's due next month. While cleaning, I found these in my cluttery mess:

Yep, these are thank you cards I made myself. In another lifetime, I used to start Christmas shopping by July (I took advantage of the mid-year sales), wrap all the gifts with carefully picked out wrappers by October, and send them out by November to early December.

December is when I start creating the thank you cards. I'd spend a week just designing the card, choosing the right heavy paper, finding new craft materials, slicing up the paper with a sharp cutter, then putting everything together. The glue takes a day to dry (which means we'll have to eat meals in the living room as the dining table is temporarily the drying table) and then I'd spend a a couple of days before New Year's Eve writing personalized thank you's and addressing each card. I'd usually make about 50 cards this way.

Looking at the cards I unearthed, I marveled at all the effort I put into them and remarked to Vince, "My goodness, look at these cards!" And Vince said, "Yes, you used to make them. I loved that about you." And I said, "I used to have more time..."

No, I don't make cards anymore. In fact, I don't even write thank you cards anymore. I just send a text message now, or leave my appreciation on Facebook walls. I just don't have the time anymore! I'm just too busy. But that's how I like it.

When I was 13 years old, I picked up my very first copy of Cosmopolitan US edition. I had read magazines before--Time, National Geographic, Reader's Digest were piled up abundantly in our home--but Cosmo was the title that made me go, "I want to be an editor-in-chief of a magazine one day!"

I became just that 16 years later. By then I had outgrown Cosmo and had developed a fascination with all things Hollywood so OK! magazine was just a dream come true. What I didn't realize was dreams can eat up so much of your life, whether you're making them come true or they already are true. It's actually better now--in the early days of OK!, there were times we didn't go home, we didn't eat, we didn't sleep. Putting together a magazine is a lot of hard work. People just see the glamour; they don't see the stress.

The great thing about dreams that have come true is you love and enjoy them anyway. The work is worth it. I know that Vince prefers those days when I had more time for him--I'd cook dinner every night, we'd go out often alone or with friends. But because he knows I've had this dream since I was a kid, he respects what I do and even encourages and pushes me to do better. He understands me.

But now a baby's coming, and a baby won't understand why his mommy isn't there 24/7. While a lot of women will easily give up their careers for their family, that thought just gives me a drowning feeling. I can't imagine not working. Of course, no one said I have to give up my job, but I'm scared that if I'm successful at my work, I won't be a great mom. And vice versa. Well, it's been said, "You can have everything, just not all at the same time." I want to be good at everything I do! And I want to do a lot! Good luck to me then because the next 20 years will definitely be a challenge!

Last week, I attended the launch of Real Living magazine's fifth book, Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions. The event was held at SM Megamall's Atrium and you all know why I had to go: My house is on the cover!

There are much better photos at Real Living's official blog and even more details like designers present and the home exhibits they did featuring stuff from SM Homeworld. Anyway, I'm glad to report that it was a very successful event. How did I know? Well, first, it was well attended.

Second, everyone lined up to have their books signed by RL's editor-in-chief, the fabulous Rachelle Medina!

Third, there were celebrities (like Rica Peralejo, TinTin Bersola and Issa Litton), which meant that...
Fourth, there'd be tons of media coverage (I cropped out the cameramen and photographers from above photo, though).

This is RL's super design-savvy staff. I can't imagine creating a book (and the fifth one, no less!) while creating a monthly magazine at the same time. Sounds like suicide to me actually, so congratulations for a job well done, guys!

Oh, and look at me! When the event was over, I just had to get up on that stage and pose beside the super duper blown up cover. I imagine that it's a doorway to my house! I must admit that I did wish that were true. I wanted to go home just looking at that cover...

Then here's the RL version of my sitting area using stuff from SM Homeworld. Not bad, not bad. But I must say that I quite prefer the setup Vince and I have at home! Not RL's fault actually, more like SM's har har!

Oh, and here's a pleasant surprise! I met a blog reader, Joanna. She approached me and told me she's been reading Topaz Horizon for quite a while now. Well, that was just the cherry on top of the icing on the cake that was such a happy day! Thanks for reading, Joanna!

Grab your copy of Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions at your nearest bookstore, magazine stand, supermarket and department store for only P195.

Oh, and you can also WIN YOUR OWN COPY! 

Outfit details: I'm wearing a Collezione dress. This was originally quite long--its hem ended at that spot between your calf and the ankle, which means it wasn't a very flattering length. So I had it shortened to the knee. I liked it before (I like how I look like a pregnant zebra!) but now I find the top part annoying. My shoulders are supposed to be exposed, but every time I move my arms, it rolls up so I have to constantly adjust it. That's poor design.

This is what I wore to my doctor's appointment today and to the Forever 21 VIP opening party.

Such a pretty dress, right? I bought it from Kamiseta. Yep, I'm 8 months pregnant and still no maternity clothes! You just really have to spot which normal dresses can accommodate a big belly.

I try to look pretty because if I don't try, I will just get depressed. I know to most people, I'm not a fat pregnant woman but to me, 100 lbs average, I am huge! And when I say that, I get a rolling of the eyes but it really is very strange to be buying clothes in large sizes and underwear in XXL. I've been XS or S for the past 32 years, for crying out loud!

I also feel so heavy--130 lbs is not easy to carry. I walk slowly and with a most ungraceful duck-like gait. My back hurts like hell. Stretch marks are now very visible on my abdomen and thighs. Cellulite is everywhere. There's milia on my cheeks. My armpits have turned black. My toes and fingers look like sausages.

I'm not complaining, though. Everything will go back to normal (or so I hope!) in a few weeks' time and I'll have a beautiful baby boy to erase all the ugliness in my body away.

I'm so glad that even when my husband pointed out the cellulite on my thighs and the stretch marks on my tummy, he did so ever so gently and with a tender rueful smile. He understands. And for that, I'm definitely booking a laser appointment for those nasty stretch marks, a deep cleansing and whitening facial for the milia and acne scars, more whitening treatments for the armpits, and hitting the gym for the cellulite! Because Vince deserves a gorgeous wife just for being so nice to me!

Was invited to an exclusive sneak peek at a soon-to-open store. It's so frikkin' exciting!

I tried on the sunglasses...

I tried on the shoes...

Fellow blogger Shen's Addiction was just as excited!

But we can't shop yet till this long-awaited brand from L.A. opens this Friday. Yes, this Friday!

I have so many more photos and updates and even price points but I'll be too busy this week with my magazine deadlines to post them all. But I can tell you that a few select bloggers are already posting about this store launch so if you go around Pinoy fashion cyberspace (or join the brand's Facebook page), I'm sure you already know what store I'm talking about!

Ack! So exciting! Ladies, get your wallets ready and make sure you wear comfy shoes and leggings and tank tops (so that it's easy for you to just try on stuff without needing to go to the dressing room)! This coming weekend is all about serious shopping!

UPDATE!
Click to see fun details of where I am (Part 1 and Part 2).
Click for the VIP private party.

Hi readers! Just doing a quick drop by before I drag my pregnant ass out of the house today. In just a few weeks, I'm going to pop out a baby boy and I'm not really ready yet! So today we're off to see the OBG for the bi-weekly checkups, then I'm off to the mall for an exclusive bloggers sneak peek at a soon-to-open store. While I'm there, I guess I'll check out the baby section to see what a newborn baby needs. One of the things I'm hoping to find is some good allergy bedding--Vince and I are highly allergic people so maybe the baby might be the same so need to check that out. What else? What else? Oh, and we'll visit my in-laws, too, because my sister-in-law has tons of baby stuff to hand-me-down to the little Jelly Bean. So that's it! I'll update again soon!

Meanwhile, my mommy blog and my beauty blog are updated, and you can join my Topaz Horizon Facebook page whilst I'm away. And now I am off and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

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.