Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Off shopping today!

Halloo, dear neglected readers!

It's been very cold in this neck of the woods--a season which is rare in the tropical paradise that is the Philippines and even rarer in the noisy, smelly, polluted jungle that is Manila. On one hand, my skin is parched and dry; on the other hand, my scarves, coats, thick stockings and cardigans have been dug out of the closet and seen the light of the watery sun.

December to February, being the cool months, is also the season for weddings and parties. In the past few weeks alone, we've gotten so many party and wedding invitations. Hence, I've been away from y'all. And now I just discovered I've nothing to wear anymore to the next round of parties so my sister Jacqui and I are off to get some brand new threads! Will update with a real nice post soonest!

Take care!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Hello!

I am still alive. Spent the last 13 days...

... having a wonderful party with my high school friends Tatin, Stephanie and May
... exploring the walkways in Makati with Vince and resolving to exercise more because, dammit, those stairs took our breath away!
... paying for overdue bills!!!
... opening a checking account because I will no longer use credit cards and will instead pay with checks! NO TO HSBC CREDIT CARDS! The damn bank refused to reverse the charges.
... cleaning the house for the Real Living photo shoot
... having a great time at the Real Living shoot, the staff of which taught me how to arrange flowers and how to arrange our shoe collection
... going to my stylist Louis Kee at his fantabulous uber posh new salon and getting a sexy haircut, great new color and highlights, a terrific hair treatment, and an hour-long massage... bliss!
... buying new bedsheets at SM Makati with Vince
... and trying to avoid all the malls (unsuccessfully, too) because of all the sales! Imagine that--pretty dresses, fab shoes, great books, discount furniture, and a lot more!

That's it. Just checking in while I catch my breath!

Friday, January 02, 2009

Worried about how the house looks...

... because in a few days, our home will be the subject of a photoshoot for Real Living magazine! I've always said that I live in a beautiful home, and the editors seem to agree because they've scheduled the home feature already. But over the long holiday, as I've been busy tidying up, I worry that my house isn't ready yet. For one thing, I don't have lamps. The walls need more pictures. The living room needs a statement chair. The foyer needs a console table. The bedroom needs a slipper chair, side tables and new sheets. I need to buy flowers and fruits. And I'm thinking my bathroom needs new faucets. Vince's bathroom has these cute ceramic faucets. Mine, well I chose my bath fixtures to be simple and functional, not for any design merit.


My shocking pink Christmas tree! Here it's fresh out of the box and with no decorations yet. The red, green, and gold balls don't match it. So I bought white lights and silver glittery balls! Then I have to take down the Christmas tree. Have I told you about my fantabulous vivid pink tree? I don't think so. It was Vince's birthday gift to me so it's been up since November. I've wanted this tree for a looooong time but he kept saying, "Christmas trees are green. Maybe white once in a while but never pink." So I was just about screaming my head off when I opened the huge box on my birthday and saw the shocking pink peeking through the box!
 

Fluffing it up a few days later. So very happy I have a husband generous enough to indulge my silliness. And each time I felt sad because this was our first holidays without Mama, I looked at my pink tree and remembered how Mama decorated her tree with strange pink poinsettia flowers and I got really happy, knowing she'd have approved of my pink tree.
 
 
Mama always got teased for the big pink flowers on her tree. Now I'm the one getting all the strange looks with my tree! I'm so happy with it, I want to keep it up the entire year! I was thinking I'll put pale pink cherry blossoms for spring, big white daisies for summer, ripe fruits for fall, then the silver balls again for Christmas! But Real Living's editor took one look at it and said, "You have to take down that crazy tree." Boo!

 

 

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Finally, the Hong Kong Disneyland post!

I promised I'd blog about it so before 2008 is done and I forget entirely... here it is!


The fabulous hotel
The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is marvelous. Absolutely the best hotel I've stayed in in my entire life (see my TripAdvisor review). My darling husband and his sister, Lizelle, were bemused. Liz said, "Vince, you have to take her to Vegas!" And Vince teased me: "You're so easily impressed." Grrr.
The architecture and decor are Victorian Era-inspired.

The maze behind the hotel features a Hidden Mickey in the very center.

I kinda got lost actually. So pathetic!

Our romantic bedroom with a fabulous view--the hills and the sea!

Strolling around the vast hotel grounds...

... and seeing marvelous topiary like this sea serpent

Admiring the hotel (wearily) from the pier


This made me really happy
My favorite book of all time is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I'm not as fond of the Disney film adaptation but, hey, when I saw Alice and other beloved characters in our quilt, I drifted off quite happily to Wonderland...

The delight is in the details
These crystal chandeliers hide an exquisite secret...

There are glass slippers everywhere!

Even the marble tiles on the floor of the grand staircase did not fail to delight the keen observer.

Then again, some details are scary
I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and as I washed my hands, I can't help but feel a shiver at the mirror-mirror-on-the-wall and its eight faces. I'm not posting all their carved faces here but can you name all Seven Dwarfs?

Meeting the citizens of Disneyland
This will sound silly but when I saw Cinderella (my favorite Disney character when I was a kid), I kinda melted. Vince told me to get a picture but I got shy. Argh.
Cinderella and Princess Aurora sandwich Elizabeth and Zo

Daisy was a doll!

The King of Disneyland graces us with his presence

Family made the fun even better
We totally enjoyed the trip because we were all complete. Actually, we were all kinda dreading the trip. Imagine 6 young and very excited kids, a huge park... But we all had an amazing time! I loved how the kids loved it. Their excitement really rubbed off on me.
Here we all are at the huge HK airport. My husband's so pogi (right)!

Mommy Di and Daddy Mon picked up the tab for this fantastic trip. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
(Doesn't Vince look like his dad?)

Adorable Zo inspected our room as soon as we arrived. He said, "Wow, it looks exactly like ours!"
Zo and Elizabeth check out Anj's slide show for Mom and Dad.

And here's my favorite member of the Sales family!

Find the Hidden Mickey!
There were more than these three, I assure you. I took a lot of photos, squealing each time I found a Hidden Mickey. Finally Vince said, "You have more photos of those than of us!"
The tiles on the hallway

The hotel park fences

The manhole covers

All aboard!
A lot of people complain that HK Disneyland, being on Lantau Island, is in the middle of nowhere. While it is indeed in the middle of nowhere, it's very easy to get there. A special MTR will get you from the city to la-la land in no time at all.
The charming old-world station

Another Hidden Mickey! Hold on tight!

These sculptures are all over the train (oh, look, another Hidden Mickey!)

Oh, and before I forget... Hong Kong Disneyland!
Ooops! Funnily enough, I don't have enough pictures of the park itself! I was wondering about that until I remembered I didn't like lugging about a big camera while on the rides so we left it in our room. The ones here are on the last day of our trip.
This cute train goes around and around the park.

On the drawbridge of Sleeping Beauty's castle

Vince wanted a picture in Tomorrowland.

Me behind the wheel at Autopia scared the hell out of Vince! I kid. The car can't even go beyond 20kph, we think.
We got bored within a minute!

Oh, I had so much fun, I still can't believe it. Vince says HK Disneyland is nothing compared to the one in California, for example. I don't care! I'm planning to go back in the summer!

There you have it! Whew, this post tired me out, and I didn't even put up all the pictures! Anyway, this should be enough for you, dear readers, till after the New Year's celebrations! From our home to yours, we wish you a 2009 filled with joy, peace, love, friendship, wisdom, adventure... and magic!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

A December wedding!

My magazine's associate features editor Joanna Tuazon recently wed T3's deputy managing editor Elijah Mendoza. Since Vince and I are the editors of these wonderful magazines, of course we both had to go! It was a lovely day--the afternoon was cool and crisp, the beautiful bride was stunning, the groom looked like he can't believe his luck (click on the photo to see what I mean).

To Joanna and Elijah (or, in the tradition of Brangelina, the newly dubbed Elijo), congratulations and best wishes!
My gorgeous staff, Lana, Nikki, Elaine and Jay. Oh, the girl in the middle is Coni from Real Living.

Me and Vince, inside the church. I need to wear more makeup--I look so washed out!

Outside the church. The hubby doesn't like this photo sincehe thinks it makes him look fat. 
I love that comment! It's so Vince.Honey, you are not fat! Anyway, I am wearing 
a dress inyellow shantung silk designed by Vince, my fabulousgold brocade BCBG heels, 
and my topaz jewelry.

I wish I have more photos of Elijo but the couple was surrounded by soooo many people that it was kinda hard to take pictures of them. Nevertheless, we all had a lovely time at their wedding. Cheers to marriage and to that new adventure!