more afternoons like this please

before heading back home, we spent the night of Easter at Dipolog City as our flight was scheduled on Monday afternoon. we visited the new Dipolog boulevard which was almost 3 kilometers in length and just whiled the afternoon taking photos, watching the sunset and relishing the last hours of breathing fresh air before heading back to our slightly polluted city. we also had dinner there in the form of pork and chicken barbecue and the uber-yummy fresh water crabs in Dipolog. too bad i wasn't able to take photos of the food. i was just too hungry to remember.

it's only been a mere 5 days since i've been back and i'm now longing for more afternoons like these. i don't know, i might be unmotivated to work or am just lazy. i think i'm just lazy..haha!

photo details:

1) the Barlas (my cousin and me) in our matching crocheted beanies. these were not matched intentionally for us but i nabbed the brown one from her when she showed me that she had two beanies in her bag.

2) just a moment of vanity.

3) the extra long boulevard. if we had something like this in Cebu, i'd totally bring over our dogs and just hang out here all the time. it's the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

4) my mom and my dad. we were teasing them for still being so sweet after more than 30 years of marriage. i love them to death.

5) this was supposed to be a candid shot until my cousin and i saw our other cousin trying to take the shot.

striped top with sequined pocket - bangkok find

denim cut-offs - shopyapi.com

blue striped ballet flats - shopyapi.com

brown crocheted beanie - custom made by my aunt

white sunnies - random

church dressing in humid weather

for four days in our province of Sindangan, these were the only photos i took that were..uhhh..for the lack of a better term "presentable.." no, i'm not saying i didn't have fun nor that the other photos my relatives and i took were not fun or were ugly. by "presentable", i meant that i was fully dressed and doesn't look like melting. Sindangan is located in Mindanao, which is the southern island group in the Philippines. southern, meaning it's very near the ecuator, which means it's hotter and more humid.

photo details:

1) this what i wore on the first we attended Mass, on Holy Thursday and it is the only outfit i brought that was comfortable in the humid weather. made me regret not bringing more cotton or shift dresses. 

2 - 5) food, food, food. eating fish everyday may be daunting but not if you live just 2 blocks away from the beach and the seafood is fresh everyday. fish and other seafood is softer and creamier in your mouth. so i present to you, grilled tulingan, fish ceviche in coconut milk (kinilaw na isda in coconut milk), the fresh and delicious steamed rock lobster and my uncle's grilled steak blue marlin. YUM!

6) the sole reason that we come back to Sindangan every year --- the carro for the Resurrected Christ. this has been in our family for generations and every year, our responsibility is to dress up the carro to ready it for the re-enactment of His meeting with Mary and to serve breakfast to the church members and the little angels that sing in the re-enactment called, Sugat. 

ps. i helped decorate the carro. my mom did the top parts, i did the bottom ones. what do you think?

printed dress - thrifted | turquoise belt - robinson's dept store, dumaguete | 

multi-colored gladiator flats - khaosan road, bangkok | elephant necklace - carbon find

photo catch-up: holy week 2011

1) the propellers of our small plane to Dipolog -- scared the crap out of me. as it turns out, propeller planes are slow but are safer than jet engine ones. the flight was fun and really quick.

2) my mom's wedges and my studded flats. stole this shot while waiting for the procession after the Seven Last Words. 

3) the Barlas -- a quick shot born out of boredom.

4) the two dresses we found at the line of thrift shops in Sindangan -- will be drooling over them as they won't fit me!

5) a shot of our entrance here at the house, with the sneak peak of the flowers for our Resurrection carro.

back to the provincial life

there's a week in every year that people take to disconnect and go back to the basics. i've taken that break and am currently in our small town of Sindangan, the one place we go back to every summer for the holy week. i haven't been here for 4 years due to work and am very glad to be back. we go back here every holy week to fulfill our obligation as a family to prepare the carro for the 'Sugat' --- the re-enactment of the meeting of Mary and the resurrected Jesus Christ.  

the place is not the same as before, what with our grandma and grandpa gone (may they rest in peace) but the memories still linger. it's not an ideal summer home here, oh not not at all. our house is just the right size, we have no cable tv (no TV at all), we only have old songs played over and over (think, frank sinatra and elton john), we all sleep in the big room with our beds on the floor and this is the first summer i've brought internet over. despite the lack of modern technology and activities that are supposedly 'productive', we are definitely satisfied by simply sitting down in the living room after meals and just talking and joking with each other. 

try it. disconnect, sit down with family and just talk. you'll find more connection than expected. 

(photo credit here)

polka red for Japan

although news gets old the following day, the tragedy that has struck Japan will forever remain in our minds. the images of a community being washed away by that strong force of a Tsunami was devastating and heart-breaking. Japan still continues to get strong after shocks from the earthquake, up until last week. so i am wearing red to honor Japan. if you have a Chictopia account, you can upload your own photo wearing red and/or donate a minimum amount of $10 to Red Cross  here. this week, postpone your craving for that most coveted blouse or your need for a daily dose of a venti from Starbucks. give a little as a small sacrifice goes a long way.

feeling the pain | health karma

i feel bad for having been a terrible blogger the past few days. i've failed to get back on your comments and post new outfit shots too. the goal when i started this blog more than a year a go was not just to share my personal style but also to connect with other stylistas in the world. of course, i've achieved that having met amazing people over time but communication is a two-way street and i wouldn't want to be the one to start disconnecting. 

but aside from being busy with my day job and with my shop (www.shopyapi.com), i've been sick -- again! i feel like the most incompetent employee right now because i've missed two days of work. my herniated disc is acting up again, causing pain on my neck and head. i can't support my head for too long without leaning on the chair or lying down. two weeks ago, i experienced terrible stomach pains due to something i ate and with succeeding illnesses i've gotten, my mom commented that she feels like she's taking care of an old lady. AN OLD LADY? oh my. i look back over the 26 years of my life and realized that i have abused my body severely over the years -- since high school, i've only had an average of 4-5 hours of sleep everyday then there's heavy drinking in college, working and going to school a year before graduation, working night shifts for 5 years while playing flag football every weekend then drinking till dawn every after practice or game. i've pushed myself to the limits and this is what i get. a seemingly strong and muscular body on the outside but so fragile on the inside. 

i may sound like an old lady when i say this but WE SHOULD ALL TAKE BETTER CARE OF OURSELVES. seriously. ♥

take care everyone! have a great weekend!

sheer printed chiffon skirt - thrifted

white tank top - random

peach cardigan - mom's closet

beige suede wedges - gold dot

yellow braided belt - shopyapi.com

angel wings necklace - carbon find

a small step to color blocking

the amazing stuff that i find in the local market never fails to astound me. this skirt came with my PHP 10  dress and this one only cost me PHP 70. although you may notice that i love colors in my outfits but i'm actually still slowly succumbing to the color blocking trend that is so big this season. i guess this skirt is my step 1. tomorrow or next week, i might pair completely contrasting colors in my outfit, you never know. fashion or personal style to be more specific is that unpredictable. 

on another note, if you are a shoe addict like me, then you'd certainly go bonkers for this shop owned by Denise of Denise Katipunera. the shop is aptly called, Shoe Etiquette and it offers shoes from the U.S. but are at really low prices. Denise has taken the responsibility of selling us those coveted shoes from U.S. so we don't have to worry about the exaggerated shipping costs. with her amazing instinct for beautiful shoes (as seen in her blog), i'm sure pairs will be selling like pancakes. 

there's no place like home

i must have watched 'Wizard of Oz' a hundred times as a kid especially when my mom left for a vacation in Hongkong in 1991 and i had to watch over my little sister, Aimee who had really high fever from separation anxiety. we must have replayed the movie a dozen times over the course of 3 days because it's the only movie that could calm her down and stop her from crying. of course, right now, she can't recall the memory because she was just 5 years old at that time. i miss taking care of my little sister and ironically, i hate doing it too. we spoil her too much.

printed pleated chiffon dress - props

turquoise belt - robinson's department store, dumaguete

black studded wedges - ebay find

stacks of bangles - gifted from Sweet | carbon finds

skull ring - carbon finds

black stone ring - props

turquoise ring - www.shopyapi.com

no to dress codes

one of the perks of working in a design company is the freedom to dress in what we're comfortable in, the freedom to express ourselves. of course, partial nudity is not allowed --- that would be insane as we have to meet clients..haha! but still, we don't have to wear rigid business casual clothes like blazers, non-denim trousers but can wear clothes with breathable materials and even shorts. breathable clothes are really important these days because as summer arrives, so does the scorching heat. scorching meaning there is not a cold moment inside my air-conditioned car in the 15-minute drive i make to work to every morning. the heat is ridiculous and it will become more insane as summer deepens. 

printed tunic - mom's closet (thrifted)

denim shorts - props

studded wedge booties - shopyapi.com

layered necklaces - carbon finds

brass oversized carved cuff - shopyapi.com

rings: armor ring | oversized blue stone - carbon finds

i want to thank everyone for checking out my shop: www.shopyapi.com especially to the ones who've already purchased a few items. the shop can be overwhelming but deciding on what to purchase isn't too difficult as the shop has a 'shop outfits' page where you can check out how an item can be styled. every item also has a styling suggestion -- just to give you a picture of how you can rock that Yapi item.


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Now Open: www.shopyapi.com

Visit: www.shopyapi.com NOW to get your hands on personally hand-picked chic and casual style. 

Models: Toni Pino and Phoebe Adani

Photography by: Russel Capatoy

Styling by: Gizelle Faye Sembrano

MUA by: Armand Alforque

Shot on location at: Cebu Advent Center

Production Assistants:

John Harry Bunagan

Philip Lapinid

Derrick Garces

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