TOPAZ HORIZON

Dearest loyal blog readers, you've been telling me over and over again in the last three years to sell bags again. So, because you love me and I love you, meet the Topaz Clutch!

I'm so thrilled to finally show them to you!

The Topaz Clutch was born from a collaboration with local brand Ni-QUA. If you've been reading my blog recently, you'll be familiar with Ni-QUA because I super love their leather products. Genuine leather, quality craftsmanship, friendly prices. I've stopped longing for foreign brands because local ones are really amazing! That's why I just had to ask Ni-QUA to make my dream come true with this collaboration!

Look at the first two bags from my Topaz Collection:

Brown and basic. For the classic woman who doesn't want a big bag to hide her outfit.

Made of soft and smooth, buttery sheep leather. Features a tassel and gold hardware.

Fits all your essentials! (These are mine!)

The pink version is for the woman who loves a little whimsy.

The pink leather tassel adds fun and flair!

Fits an iPad and a lipstick. Two of my other essentials haha!

They're so pretty, I can't stand it! I love them both so much! Please love them, too! Buy a clutch or both from Ni-QUA! Each clutch is only Php 1,395. Pretty inexpensive for something so pretty and perfect!

Click the links to shop:
I want the brown!
I want the pink!

Thanks! Now, Ni-QUA and I are feeling generous and we'll give away two clutches. One brown and one pink! Here's all you need to do:

1. Be a fan of Ni-QUA! Like their Facebook page. Follow them on Twitter. Follow them on Instagram. I'm going to check if you liked Ni-QUA, okay?
2. Grab any photo from this blog post and share it on your social media accounts. Tell us which bag you want and why. 
3. Use these hashtags: #topazclutch and #niquashop. It's so we can see your entry!
4. You don't need to share on all your social media accounts (we don't want you to spam your friends), but it will help me a lot if you can leave a comment below telling me if you shared on FB, Twitter or on IG.  

Ni-QUA and I will pick one winner of the brown clutch and one winner of the pink clutch. Contest ends on September 15. Contest is open only to those with a Philippine address. Okay, that's it. Good luck!

Meanwhile, if you don't believe in luck, just buy straight from Ni-QUA's online shop and be one of the first with a Topaz Clutch!


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Because this soundtrack is one of the very first (I think it actually may be the first) that I bought on cassette tape! I loved this movie so much!



I just don't know how Born-Again, 10-year-old me got to watch this movie, though. First, that title. Second, the abortion sub-plot. Third, Baby (Grey) was 16 in this movie. Does that make the love scene between her and Johnny (Swayze) statutory rape?!

Thank goodness I was just 10 when I saw this movie. I didn't have to overthink it!

Found out from HuffPost today that this iconic dance pose was done just one time because Jennifer Grey was too scared to do it. One take! So that's why her face was like all thrilled and happy after the lift. It wasn't acting anymore!

One thing HuffPost forgot to mention is how Grey and Swayze absolutely hated each other. Well, I'd never have thought that!

Ok, now I'm LSS-ing on "Time of My Life." I still love that song after all these years. And now more than ever, it applies to every aspect of my life!

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I am sooo excited to share with you a look at my new clutch for Ni-QUA Bags!

Soft buttery leather

In my wedding colors!

But I'll tell you more soon. Right now, just a sneak peek! I'm soooo excited! And they're so affordable! Buy one, ha? Mwah!

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When I need dresses for work events and gowns for special occasions, my first stop is always KARIMADON. My love affair with the 34-year-old Pinoy fashion brand started on my high school graduation and grad ball way back in 1994. When I started working, I also bought my corporate attire from KARIMADON. Even when I was pregnant, it's still KARIMADON for me!

Wore a regal red KARIMADON dress to Elaine and Russell's wedding.

Now, with the launch of KARIMADON Brides, it really is the only fashion retail brand that can provide a woman with stylish options from high school prom to weddings and beyond! Speaking of weddings, my friends at KARIMADON are super excited to announce that they are working with fashion designer Eric Delos Santos for KARIMADON Brides. Eric is known for the dresses he's created for celebrities, beauty queens and other chic personalities, and now, Eric's bridal creations are available to all of us! (Well, all of you since I'm already married!) Just look at these lovely gowns!

I love this pink-hued gown. So Gwen Stefani!

Must have this!

Sooo pretty and romantic, right? KARIMADON also offers special alteration services so that every bride and her entourage will enjoy a perfect fit. Brides may also select their own colors (from available choices) to match their motifs. All collections under the KARIMADON Brides line range from P18,000 to P70,000. So there's a dress that will fit any kind of budget!

I may not be a bride or a bridesmaid but I think I'll go and buy that mauve gown anyway! See you at KARIMADON!

KARIMADON Brides Wedding Gowns are now available in Glorietta 1, Ayala Fairview Terraces, SM Megamall, Robinsons Galleria and Ermita stores. The Collaboration Collection of Eric Delos Santos Wedding Gowns for KARIMADON Brides will be available starting September 2014 in Glorietta 1, Ayala Fairview Terraces, SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, Robinsons Galleria and Ermita stores.

Appebon Kid partnered with Topaz Horizon for Nutrition Month, which was July, if you didn't know. I didn't know but now I do! At a special brunch at Italianni's Bonifacio High Street, Appebon Kid invited pediatrician Dr. Florianne Feliza-Valdez to talk to mom bloggers about the importance of good nutrition for our kids.

• Once our kids turn a year old, milk should stop being his only source of nutrition. This isn't a real problem since we give our kids solid food (hopefully meat, fruits and veggies and not junk food!) at 6 months old. But some kids are given so much milk, they don't eat real food anymore!
• Formula milk can be considered junk food if it takes up the majority of what our kids eat. Formula milk has lots of sugar, which attracts bacteria. 
• Other junk food culprit is instant noodles. Some families think it's okay to give their kids lots of instant noodles because it seems like real food. It's actually just carbs and salt.
• There are two types of malnutrition: undernourished (child is not getting enough nutrients) and overnourished (a.k.a. chubby kids).
• Ask your pediatrician for a nutritional assessment if you're worried about your child (too skinny, too fat, too short, etc.). Every child is different and growth is affected by non-nutritional factors like genetics (short mommy and daddy will most likely have short children, for example).

Appebon Kid is a daily nutritional supplement that can help parents meet their children's nutritional needs. Packed with Vitamins B1, B6 and B12, Iron and Lysine, it's in a yummy strawberry flavor that even picky eaters from 2-12 years old will like.

So we give the kids vitamins to ensure they're not undernourished. Still, I would love it if they, especially Iñigo, would eat good food at meal times regularly.

To prove it, let me share with you a few photos of his 2nd birthday party:

I will always remember World Cup 2014 fondly. For one thing, this was a really exciting World Cup. But I'll remember it most because in the sleepless, uncomfortable nights caused by the last few weeks of my pregnancy, the insomnia was made more bearable (even fantastic, depending on the game) with the World Cup. The speed of the players, the great coverage using drones, the funny shoes, the hotness of the players, the drama, the melodrama, the star players, the shock injuries, the humiliation of Brazil, the defeat of champions and the surprise triumph of underdogs, oh, and the fact that my team won! Hooray Germany!

Fashion brand HUGO BOSS sent me photos showing how they proudly outfitted the national football team of Germany in BOSS suits. Very dapper!


Grabe. Ang hot lang naman!

The players wore luxury, custom-made dark-blue BOSS suits to their official engagements. This super fine three-piece suit was paired with a denim shirt and a knit tie, for a modern edge. On their not-so official appearances (like flying and traveling), the team was still super sharp donning casual outfits of comfortable grey knitted cardigans and dark-blue trousers from BOSS. Everything they wore actually—from t-shirts and jackets to bags and luggage—was HUGO BOSS!


Germany's coach and managers Joachim Löw, Hansi Flick, Oliver Bierhoff and Andreas Köpke, meanwhile, also wore bespoke three-piece suits by BOSS MADE TO MEASURE to official engagements. The dark-blue suit was combined with a checked shirt, polka dot tie and a pocket square to match the shirt, which is also from the BOSS MADE TO MEASURE collection. A brown suede belt and shoes completed the look.
Actually, all of the Mannschaft team was outfitted in the designer label, not just the players and managers, but all 130 personnel, even staff! My goodness, is there an opening for duffel bag carrier in the Germany team? I will apply!


If you miss World Cup the way I do, here is an amazing video of it. Enjoy!




*photos courtesy of Hugo Boss and Visions & Expressions


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I have a lot of stories for you, my dear readers, but my hands are full of babies right now. Three little boys to be exact, with the littlest one literally in my arms all the time.

Well, sometimes I get to put him down for Instagram pics haha!

Yes, I've finally given birth! Hence, the lack of blog updates. Please be patient while I get my bearings. I'm kinda madly in love right now. Please check out my new little man and how I met him. The story is written by my husband over at my mommy blog. Mwah!

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Last night, I blogged about listening to sleepy, sad music. What I forgot to share (and it's really worth sharing!) is how I listen to my music.

In style!

But of course. Thanks so much to my absolutely luxe Molami Bight earphones.
You might think that an earphone is an earphone is an earphone. Like, it's all the same. Nope. These earphones not only make listening to music look sophisticated, the sound quality that comes out of its tiny, gold-plated earbuds is also actually sophisticated.

Molami is the baby of industrial designer Maria von Euler. While developing Molami, Maria wanted headphones for women—nope, she didn't mean cute and pink. She wanted a marriage of fashion and beauty, a stylish accessory for us women that also flatters our face and neck, and complements our hairstyles. Yes, headphones that complement our fab hairstyles! A big reason why I never used headphones, for example, is because they're ugly. Seriously. They either look juvenile, clunky, plastic, boring, obvious. Ugly. I have never met a headphone that I liked.

Until I met Molami. Just look at their headphones:

The Pleat. Light, sleek and made to flatter our jaw.

Made of napa leather and gold. Covers ears for complete sound isolation.

The Twine. It's designed to mimic a scarf/headband for a sound-surround experience.

Bandeau design is made of silk, satin and chiffon.

The Bight. For discrete style.

The Bight is the one I own. At first glance, it's all black napa leather and cord with gold. The earphones are designed to attach to the ear at two points. All other earphones just plug into the ear canal. After a while, the ear canal tires of the pressure.
The Bight has the EarClick System. The gold lace part goes into your ear canal while the soft nub (removable and washable) goes into the groove above the ear canal. Two support points! This way, my ears never get tired to listen to my music!

My earphones are made of black napa leather and gold. Other versions are white napa and gold, black stingray and silver, and black napa and black hardware.

Woven black cord and gold hardware. So simple, so classic, so luxe!

My earphones pack into a canvas pouch. Can't keep them in plastic because plastic deteriorates leather and I have to also protect the gold parts from getting scratched when I put it in my tote bag.

The Bight is meant for commuters so it doesn't completely block out the environment. In my case, I work from home but I need to keep an ear out for my little kids and the doorbell and all the house stuff that can't be ignored. And yet the sound that comes out of my tiny Bight speakers is strong, clear and whole. Not tinny or scratchy or hollow.

I especially like the Bight because it makes voices sound so distinct—very important to me when I'm transcribing interviews. In fact, when I posted this on Facebook, it's my writer friends (not my music-lover friends) who got really curious!

Thanks to my son, Vito, for taking these photos of me and my Molamis!

Molami headphones are exclusively available at Rustans. For more information, like Digits Trading on Facebook.

Product photos from Molami website's press page.
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I'm 38 weeks pregnant. That means I'm exhausted and excited and sleepy and can't sleep. So I'm listening to Bread to relax me before I go to sleep.


The sadness of the surprise at the end. So heartbreaking!


The longing and wistfulness of his voice and the devoted love when he sings, "If I can't have the one I want, I'd do without the best." That's selflessness. That's real love.


Right after my Mama died, this played in a taxi I was riding and I wept, yes, wept right in that taxi. The driver just looked at me and asked, "Ma'am, boyfriend?" I said, "Hindi po. Namatay nanay ko." And he nodded and said, "Masakit talaga yan."


"And when my love for life is running dry, you come and pour yourself on me." I always think of Vince when I hear this line. Always.

Good night!

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Remember when I tried out the eyewear online shopping site, Four Eyes, last week? Well, my glasses are finally here!

I picked the Cat Whisperer frames because I looked really good in them! Or they looked really good on me.

After trying out the three frames I picked, I asked for the glasses to be picked up on June 13. They were picked up by courier service Xend on June 17. Again, there's a wait. I finally got my glasses on June 24. So from the time I ordered on June 2 to the time I got my glasses on June 24, it's 22 days. Three weeks. That could've been shorter since I really kept the trial frames for 5 days before I scheduled a pick up.

To be fair to Four Eyes, they never said they'll deliver or pick up the next day. So the process does take time, but if you're in no hurry, I think Four Eyes is much better than going to the optical shop. A big reason why I dislike optical shops intensely is the fact that they hide price tags. So you go around the shop, you pick your frames, you try them on. The sales person says, "Bagay! Bagay lahat!!!" Which really doesn't help. Finally, you pick your frame and then realize it's out of your budget range and then the salesperson looks at you with a sigh, and then you feel small and sad and poor, and then you just hurry out or pick something else that you don't like. Haha, I'm so melodramatic! But I think you know what I mean!

With Four Eyes, I had the convenience of picking out frames at my leisure (it took me an entire afternoon doing the virtual try-out, then a whole five days trying them on at home), and all of that in the privacy of my own home. Then my new gorgeous glasses just cost P3,495! I mean, look at them. They look so chic, not cheap!

THE GOOD CAUSE
Here's another reason why you should totally buy your glasses and sunnies from Four Eyes: The eyewear shopping site has partnered with the charity organization, World Vision Philippines. For every pair you buy from Four Eyes, they will donate another pair to someone in need of prescription glasses.

Buy yourself glasses for just P1,495 and another person benefits from your shopping!

Top right photo shows host, teacher and blogger Patty Laurel-Filart helping distribute the glasses.

New glasses for all! What a happy day!

The World Vision and Four Eyes team with the happy Caviteños!

THE GIVEAWAY!
Four Eyes would love to extend their services to one lucky Topaz Horizon reader!