TOPAZ HORIZON

... and the first correct answer gets a special prize!*

Vince and I are finally going on our honeymoon! After one year just setting up our new and beautiful home (yep, all our money went to the darn furniture), we've decided to be proper newlyweds and have sex in another land.

Now, we've always wanted to go to this place because...
1. the locals speak English so we don't need to learn another language
2. Vince spent his formative years there so it has a special place in his heart
3. I've always been fascinated with (and thoroughly studied) their history, especially their royals
4. I don't like beaches and wildlife. I'm a very urban girl. So we decided to visit a city.
5. Many of our most beloved authors, historical figures, and actors come from this land.

Well, we finally got our visas (that's another story for another day) and we bought our plane tickets yesterday and we're booking our hotel this weekend. I've been looking at many tourist sites till my eyes bleed, just planning the itinerary. We're both so so very very excited! A honeymoon!!! At last!!!

Here are the clues to where we're going:

This city is one of the oldest in the world and boasts of impressive centuries-old palaces, cathedrals and other magnificent architectural wonders.
Buckingham Palace

St. Paul's Cathedral

My wedding was featured again last night on an ETC show. Actually, they were featuring Kate Torralba as a wedding gown designer but since Kate said I was her favorite bride, the show used photos from my wedding.

Now why was I Kate's favorite? No, it wasn't because I'm her friend. She liked me best because I wasn't a bridezilla and I let her do whatever she wanted. All I told her was the color motif and that I don't want to look like the traditional bride; instead I want to look like I'm on my way to the Oscars! When Kate showed me the initial sketches, I got scared--STRIPES! I was thinking, "Good lord, we're going to look like psychedelic zebras," but aloud I said, "Well, you're the designer, Kate, so you know better." Anyway, thank goodness I didn't impose myself on Kate because she came up with gowns that were incredibly beautiful.

Anyway, I'm making this post because I noticed that a lot of readers come to this blog because they were searching "wedding", "kate torralba", "archbishop's palace", "entourage gowns" on Google. Well, here's a list of our wedding suppliers. They come highly recommended and they are so very reasonable when it comes to prices. Have a happy wedding!

Ceremony: Contrary to its name, this is a small chapel, charming and near everything.
Villa San Miguel, Archbishop's Palace
438 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City
531-7069/7034

Reception: Very classy and again, in the middle of everything. And the food is amazing.
Le Souffle at Fernando's
G/L Amorsolo Square, Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Center
890-6543/7630

Photographer: He's the lifestyle photojournalist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer so his specialty is candid shots.
Chito Vecina
Unit 4D-4E Casa Bougainvilla 3834 Mascardo St., Pasong Tamo, Makati
www.chitovecina.net
809-6190

Jeweler:
Goldenhills Jewelry
Level 3A-053 Expansion Mall, Robinsons Galleria, EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave, QC
631-8146, 299-6122

Designer: No need to add anything! =D
Kate Torralba
Greenbelt 5, Makati
0917-6221229

Tailor: He's the personal tailor of former President Erap Estrada! He charges an arm and a leg, though, but my groom (and my little pages) looked fabulous!
Napoleon Arienza
0917-5295028

Makeup was done by my old high school friend. Love him!
Jigs Mayuga, Chief Makeup Artist for L'Oreal Paris
0917-5748556

Hair was done by a friend, too. We didn't even have a trial session. Ney just made me look perfect from the get go :
Ney Guesse, Chief Hairstylist for L'Oreal Paris
0915-2089007

Hair coloring: Louis is the best when it comes to hair color. Your hair will look like it's naturally that gorgeous. Even my husband tells me that he now appreciates Louis because he can tell which ones have bottle-colored hair!
Louis Phillip Kee
Louis Phillip Kee Salon
G/F One McKinley Place,
Bonifacio Global City

Florist: From the very beginning of our relationship, Vince got me flowers from Holland Tulips. It only made sense that they do our wedding!
Holland Tulips
www.hollandtulips.com.ph
807-7854, 809-2435

Stationery: I think they're the cheapest quality stationer in the country. Emphasis on quality.
QP Designs
www.qpdesigns.com
733-2339/2307

Cake Artist: People talked about the wedding cake for weeks! They forgot everything else. That's how good the cake was.
Gel Colet
0917-5367829

String Quartet: He's my brother, yes, but he's very very talented and will make any wedding special.
The Manila String Machine
http://manilastringmachine.blogspot.com/
Theodore Amper
0918-9066377

If you didn't understand all that then I'm sure you'll agree with Vince who swears I've gone absolutely crazy. He thinks that I'm a little too old for the Twilight books, but he patiently went with me to bookstores as I put myself on several reservation lists for the fourth (and last?) book, Breaking Dawn. And I've also convinced about five people to read Twilight, and I hope through this blog, many many more will read the series (Hey, Stephenie, I ought to get a commission here!).

Now I'm not going to talk about the books at all. Suffice it to say that the plot goes a little something like this: simple city girl moves to a tiny town where she's strangely attracted to a ravishingly good-looking boy who happens to be a vampire who is dangerously attracted to her blood but because they fall in love he won't eat her up and so both of them have a seriously life-or-death relationship that I can't stand because the sexual tension is driving me crazy but they can't do it because she might end up as dinner! And that's just the start!!!

Darn. I can't wait for Breaking Dawn. I think I'll really go insane by the time August rolls around.

On a side note, because of Twilight, I really really want a Volvo. Then I watched Iron Man yesterday and now I desperately want an Audi. Okay, so I dream crazy, too, but you never know!

*images from Stephenie Meyer's official website

I absolutely loved Iron Man. Watched it today with Vince at Power Plant. He wanted to watch it because it was "one huge gadget fest." Being editor in chief of T3 Philippines, he must have thought that's it's a job requirement. I figured, since I'm an entertainment magazine editor myself, I should start watching movies while they're hot and not wait till there's a DVD out (I go to the bathroom often so I hate going to the movie theater--you can't push the pause button. True enough, I missed a few minutes of the movie because I had to run out and pee!).

Now before anyone thinks I thought that would be torture, let me assure you that I adore movies like that. I absolutely am a fan of X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, and the like. I love fantasy films, too, like the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars 5-6 trilogies, and the Harry Potter series. And I just watched Indiana Jones for the nth time, so I can be ready for the fourth one this month. I also like murder thrillers. I can passionately recite the dialog of Red Dragon and sing the Silence of the Lambs-inspired "It Rubs the Lotion on its Skin" in the shower-- to Vince's alarmed amusement. Meanwhile, you'll have to drag me to watch romantic comedies and any movie that addresses the inane issues of love (though I find that I like My Best Friend's Wedding and Love Actually very much). So, because I'm a big nerd and I married an even bigger nerd, today's movie date was happily anticipated.

I loved everything about Iron Man. I loved the action sequences. I loved the bass-heavy music. I loved the gadgets (yep, it was one huge gadget fest and a big commercial for Audi). I loved Robert Downey Jr! He really owned the role of Tony Stark. He made it believable, his performance was so naturally done. The actors were all very good, except I thought that Gwyneth Paltrow's role was a little too small for her stature. Pepper Potts is something for an up-and-comer to relish, although I must admit it was refreshing to see Gwyneth on the big screen again.

While I enjoyed the movie a lot, I was surprised at its message. The movie was obviously saying that weapons of mass destruction are evil. But I found myself startled when I teared up a bit at the scenes where the terrorists were killing villagers, bombing their homes, dragging women and children from each other, destroying lives. As a rule, I don't watch the news; selfish little me gets too disturbed. So to be suddenly confronted with images of war in a movie that I expected to be just fun, I was a bit overwhelmed. And I'm now thinking a lot about these refugees and what I can do to help them... Something Angelina Jolie and George Clooney failed to make me care about, a comic-book hero in an action movie did.

That's the magic of movies for you.

P.S. If you watched Silence of the Lambs, you really really ought to view the music video of "It Rubs the Lotion on Its Skin." So freakily fabulous! Sing with me now, "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again!"

Three facts about me:
1. I'm an editor of an entertainment mag.
2. I'm a blogger.
3. I'm a huge Britney Spears fan.

Now bear with me a bit while I tie those things together.

This week, Britney appeared in a small role in How I Met Your Mother. And for such a tiny stint in an American sitcom, it made headlines and was talked about in blogs. Well, Britney can just chew gum and it still gets real estate on any news outfit. She's in every issue of the magazine I edit. I always get letters from readers asking me to feature her, and I do. And it's not just because I'm a huge fan so I'm glad to oblige but because, one, her life is so bigger than life that I can't not put her there and, two, she sells the mag.

So since I mentioned it already, let's talk about her life. From the romance with Justin to its ugly breakup, the quickie marriage to Jason Alexander, the whirlwind romance and short-lived chaotic marriage with Kevin Federline, the pregnancies and the cute sons, the wild partying, the panty-less excursions, the nervous breakdowns, the rehab stints, the custody dramas, the humiliating VMA performance, et al... Britney's life is one magnetic theater that's better than any soap opera out there.

Many people wonder why everyone's still so fascinated with the fallen pop star. Well, beyond the tabloids, we have to realize that in her nine-year career, she did sell over 83 million records worldwide. She's the only female in music history who can boast that her first four studio albums debuted at number one in the U.S. charts. She's an amazing dancer and choreographer. She's extremely pretty but not in a scary way. She's sexy. She's always controversial. And she's so popular that anything she endorses--from pop music to soda pop--sells. She is, quite simply, a star. Honestly, I think the superstars of this world are Elvis, The Beatles, Madonna, Michael Jackson--then a host of upstarts came along--and then there was Britney. No one has really replaced her yet.

But what makes her most appealing, at least in my book, is actually what she's best at: her music. Yes, her music is always catchy, has mass appeal, very marketable. But the most special thing about her music is its diary-like feel. Her songs are always so personal, revealing her most intimate thoughts to the world. She opens up to her fans like no other star ever has and always in the realm of her music. To this generation of tabloid lovers and bloggers who are always too willing to expose their thoughts and lap up others, Britney is a gift from the gods of gossip. Before stars had MySpace, there was Britney's music.

Though she was a superstar, we were surprised when she sang this: "If there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?" - Lucky

After she and Justin broke up, Britney wrote this heartbreaking song: "Every time I try to fly, I fall. Without my wings I feel so small. I guess I need you, baby." - Everytime

And with the insanity that's happening in her life, I'm sure this is what she has to say: "They say I'm crazy, I really don't care. That's my prerogative... Some ask me questions: Why am I so real? But they don't understand me... Everybody's talking all this stuff about me. Why don't they just let me live? I don't need permission, make my own decisions. That's my prerogative." - Prerogative

Yup, Britney doesn't seem to care that she's living her life in front of all us: "Cameras are flashing my way... and they keep watchin'... I just can't control myself... They want more... Well, I'll give 'em more." - Gimme More

But she's shrewd. She knows exactly how we see her: "I'm Mrs. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous... I'm Mrs. "Oh my god, that Britney's shameless"... I'm Mrs. "Extra! Extra! This just in!"... I'm Mrs. "She's too big, now she's too thin" (you want a piece of me)." - Piece of Me

And yet she confesses that "I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am and I don't wanna be so damn protected. There must be another way cause I believe in taking chances but who am I to say what a girl is to do? God, I need some answers." - Overprotected

But what I really want her to be thinking right now is this: "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman. All I need is time, a moment that is mine while I'm in between... But if you look at me closely, you will see it in my eyes, this girl will always find her way." - Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman

Indeed, in this age of ravenous voyeurism, Britney is the ultimate star.

Find your way, Britney. We'll still be here waiting for you to come back to the top where you always belonged.