my daddy, my hero

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

thank you for always being there for us. for being an example of hard work, perseverance and innovation for all of us. and for being the most understanding and patient dad in the world! we love you so much!

his birthday is actually on may 1st but i wouldn't be able to post this tomorrow because every year, on my dad's birthday, the family and i celebrate it on this beach house north of the city (just a the tip of the island). we've been going there for i think 5 years now and the place has always been my retreat from the city and from everything else that came with it. 

my pinch of rock + ode to my shoes

i love dresses. i love vintage. i love lace and embroidered tops. i love the 40's mixed with the boho 60's. but i also love my share of rock -- just a pinch is all good for me. i love (and hate at the same time) that when people see me, they'd immediately assume that i go out, go clubbing and am super into dance hits but would be surprised and somehow confused at knowing my music choices. ever since i sang back-up for my cousin's indie rock band sheila and the insects (yes, my cousin is ian zafra), i have been hooked into new wave, punk, electronic and indie rock music. (a bit of influence came from having dated someone in a rock band too..LOL) i look for those quirky and captivating beats and the deep, sarcastic and even smart-ass lyrics. 

the smiths | the killers | kings of leon | temper trap | the national | broken social scene | band of horses | the ting tings | keane | coldplay | the cure | the honorary title | smashing pumpkins | death cab for cutie

these are just some of my favorite bands and they make sucky days bearable for me. 

now about my shoes...welp, i think it's dead. my first ever forever 21 shoes (which is a big deal for me as we don't have it here in PI) is dying. they say in fashion, we need a bit of sacrifice. it was sacrificed indeed. it didn't die in vain i assure you. it served it's purpose by being my friend's shoes in a recent photo shoot we did.  just us friends, having fun. even with my non-dslr camera. for the photos, you'd have to hold on to your seats. (or not..hehe)

(ps. and to my friend, if you do read this -- do not feel guilty. i'm gonna' miss those shoes but they are replaceable. friends are not.)

sheer knit top with shoulder studs - thrifted

skinny jeans - chillypapa

grey platform heels - forever 21

gun-metal layered necklace - props

dog-tag necklace - custom-made

bangles (bronze to gun-metal) - props

black spade enamel ring - props

planning a wedding

oopss...not my wedding though. but my friend's.LOL. mine is a gazillion days away so for now, i'm just hoping and praying not exactly planning --- at least not putting things on paper. between you and me, my wedding plans come across my mind every day. my dress, my song, my cake, the invites..etc. but don't tell harry he might freak out...haha!

i totally forgot to post these photos which were taken weeks ago when my friends and i -- together with the bride to be of course (the one smiling in polka) -- went to the dress maker to have ourselves fitted for the bridesmaids' dresses. in recession, the dresses would be our gift to our friend. so that our friend won't have to spend too much to have us in her entourage (which we're very excited about as this is our first church wedding in the group), we decided to pay for our own bridesmaid's dresses. i happily obliged to design the dresses...just a simple tulip skirt with tops that have sheer chiffon cutouts. we wanted lace but phew! lace is expensive...hehe.

on a scorching hot, all i could wear was an embroidered tunic, shorts and flip-flops. we had ice cream and shopped around a bit for accessories. then visited this place that sells vintage or used furniture from japan. that explains the photo with the cabinets.

 purple embroidered tunic - big sister's closet

braided leather belt - big sister's closet

white tank top - thrifted (i DIY-ed the gold sequins on the shoulder)

dark blue denim shorts - big sister's closet (again..haha!)

green flip-flops - havaianas

faux gold bangles - gifts from india

brown sunnies - thrifted at carbon

take me back to the eighties

found this top 2 weeks ago on one of my thrifting trips with my mom and sister. my sister eyed me like she usually does which meant she's thinking that i'm weird again. haha! the red skirt i was wearing on the volume 3 ocean series post in imperial palace was also bought on that same trip...man, did my sister think i was crazy for buying it --- it was actually floor length long and i just asked my dad to trim it. she trusts that it will be good though, she's just a bit skeptical..hehe. that's what i love about buying unexpected things -- i love the look my sister's give when they find that the 'weird' item i bought actually looks good. anyway, this shirt reminds me of barbie because it's malibu barbie pink and it gives an eighties vibe which i love more. 

on another note, isn't the quarter life crisis only supposed to happen on our early twenties? is 25, technically 26 years old, still early? because i am finding myself lost in the midst of everything again. i get intervals at work staring at my computer screen and thinking to myself, "this is not what i want to do for the rest of my life..." damn. but then the next day, when i get busy and hyped up with work, i'd realize that i can bear working in this industry, just that i am not loving having to wake up at a specific time e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y. it then becomes a cycle --- staring blankly at my PC then the realization, and it goes on. what do i want to do anyway? i am in constant fear that i may be just wasting my life. do you get that same fear too? or is it just me? 

printed top - thrifted

black leggings - random

black peep-toe booties - celine (a gift from harry!)

long watch necklace - hongkong gift shop

pink polka bangles - DIY by my sister from scraps of cloth

blue sunnies - thrifted at manalili

salt and pepper to taste

details (clockwise): my hindi bangles and other intricate bracelets on a star candle holder, collection of dangling and chandelier earrings from college, cocktail rings by my big sister's influence and our drawer full of bangles from all over. 

just like food needs salt and pepper to taste, i need at least one accessory in my outfit to make it complete. ever since i can remember, i have always loved accessories -- from that small bow tie in kindergarten to the straw hat in elementary, scarves on my head in high school and huge dangling earrings in college to my bangles and rings now.

accessories for me pulls an outfit together - whether it be my layered bangles or long necklaces. i remember back in college, when my family and i discovered this street downtown selling raw materials for accessories like beads and wooden unpainted bangles. we went loco over it and bought so many as strings of beads cost only P5 - P50 per strand, depending on the quality.  we spent hours in our living room, making necklaces, bracelets or earrings and even my dad joined in on the fun. he's a dentist and is good with the pliers (as he does braces) so we'd ask him to shape us wires which we then use to hook in beads then make them as dangling or drop earrings. 

my dad was even part of our 'painted canvas bag' business in college. we asked him to sew us canvas bags and my little sister and i would paint on them by the customer's request. but -- that's another story..*wink*

how do you feel about accessories?

one thing i dearly miss

 it may just be glee's madonna episode and their rendition of 'what it feels like for a girl' or that the last time i performed was 2 years ago at outpost for a company christmas party... BUT i miss singing so much. it used to be my outlet for feelings i can't express....for desperation on unrequited love...for the confusion i felt as a teen...sometimes for the anger... the rush of standing in front of people was inexplicable. 

both my mom and dad worked when i was young. so when school was out, my dad would bring me to his clinic and just leave me beside the stereo and he would find me there all day, singing. as a kid, i'd either be singing or drawing on my sketchpad or doing both. sometimes i'm not aware of it, but i'd turn up the volume on our old boom box and just play madonna, lisa loeb or jewel all day and just sing. and yes, i used to sing a lot of jennifer love hewitt songs too.

i miss just belting out in my room.

i miss practicing songs in our house and singing renditions of songs i loved.

i miss the feeling of freedom singing gives to me.

i miss just having fun singing with people.

now if only i can find someone to play the guitar for me.

(photo details: all tanned (too tan actually..LOL) singing at kahayag in 2006)

summer of one-oh! ocean series: imperial palace resort

the imperial palace resort and spa at maribago, mactan island.  a free ride with harry's management in his company...woohoo! with rooms at P7,600 ($160) a night, i don't think i can afford it very soon..LOL. this was after i got home from the island hopping, slept at 8:00 PM..woke up 6:00 AM to get ready for another day at the beach! yey to summer!

here's a lowdown on our stay in imperial palace:

♥ all met at I.T. Park at 9:00 AM
♥ ate lunch at one of mactan's best italian restaurant (very cheap too!) -- MB's Tavern
♥ settled in our mediterranean-inspired room complete with a comfy bed with plush sheets, a a huge LCD TV with cable, iPod dock, a bath tub with hot and cold water and a view to the whole resort
♥ was surprised to find sooo many koreans in the resort -- welp, it is after all owned by a korean..hehe.
♥ swam and played all afternoon at all 3 pools of the resort BUT was too chicken to try out the towering slides...boohoo for me!hehe.
♥ had dinner at SUTUKIL -- a line of restaurants in mactan island where you can choose from an array of fresh seafood (fish, crabs, shrimps, scallops..etc) and choose how to have them cooked -- sugba (grilled), tuwa (to prepare it in soup) and kilaw (eat it raw usually soaked in vinegar) -- so YUMMY!
♥ had drinks at cowrie cove in Shangri-la Mactan -- sooo expensive...whoa!
♥ woke up to the sunrise on our window and to my period...damn! LOL.

day 1: black halter bandeau - props | red printed high-waist skirt - thrifted | woven hat - boracay | green flip-flops - havaianas | pink sunnies - thrifted at manalili | black beaded necklace - a gift | coral bracelet - boracay | faux gold bangles - a gift 

day 1 night and day 2 going home: floral dress - thrifted | tan leather bag - thrifted at baguio

day 2 at the pool: polka halter bikini top - props | navy blue drawstring shorts - thrifted | beach bag - roxy

summer of one-oh! ocean series: island hopping!

i'm almost booked for beach trips for summer weekends! i'm starting to get tan and will get tanner as we celebrate summer. people are going to start calling me 'chicana' again -- chinita mexicana! LOL. 

after my tabuelan road trip last weekend, we had our annual island hopping trip on saturday with my sister's closest friends. this time, it was to celebrate one friend's birthday and most importantly to celebrate a year of gay lovin' --- our friends, the gay love birds 1st year anniversary! to sum it all up, here's what happened:

round up closest friends + friends of friends + 50 capacity banca + potluck on food consisting of liempo, lechon manok, ngohion, pancit, humba, sisig and puso + tanduay rum with orange juice + tanduay white rum with kool-aid + sunnies + colorful bikinis + the ocean + diving and canon ball jumping + the waves + lots of craziness + gay people = fun fun fun!

of course afterward, it was hella' exhausting. i just came from my night shift and by 6:30 PM, i'm still stuck driving through insane traffic and haven't slept for 24 hours. i get home, wash-up and sleep to get ready for another day at the beach at a water park resort on sunday. for more of that, keep posted!

printed summer dress - thrifted | hot pink halter bikini top - props | polka-dot beach shorts - props

blue sunnies - thrifted at carbon