my sister blogs too!

my older sister has finally jumped the gun. after accompanying me to bloggers united 3, she saw what the commotion was about and what a wonderful community the philippine fashion bloggers had. we joked and convinced her to try blogging but she was hesitant because she said she wouldn't know what to say. i think it was after collaborating with various bloggers for PROPS did she finally decide to start her own blog. meet my sister, Charm and head on over to her blog: One Semi-Charmed Life.

oh yeah, i know you're thinking it --- my sister is TALL. she's 5'7" while i stand just a mere 5'2". LOL. i don't know what happened but she's the tallest in our family. my mom must have eaten a growth bean, or something. 

for those who have not read previous posts in my blog, i do have a little sister too. tres marias, is what they call us. all three of us love fashion and at one point, shared one whole continuous closet in our house when all 3 of us used to live together. my little sister is now in Sydney, Charm has left the nest after she got married and i've stayed back with the parents -- so we can say our closets are now strictly our own. 

the three of us have a project coming soon. *wink*

cheers to 2012!

Good morning 2012!

the Sembrano tres marias -- meeting 2012's first sunrise! (forgive my sister Aimee, she doesn't realize Cebu pavements are not as clean as Aussie's..LOL!)

Mr. and Mrs. B's first new year as a married couple! ♥ ♥ ♥

Harry, me and my kulit sister, Aimee!

Sam, Kate, Armand, Aimee, Me and Harry

i miss Armand! 

family's night out? LOL.
Mr. and Mrs. B ~ Harry & Gizelle + Aimee + Mr. and Mrs. Tan ~ Warren & Charm

with the super hilarious Mary Ty, one of the amazing designers of MEGA YDC. our jaws hurt from laughing!

now, on to the outfit...

polka tent blouse - primal rave | bandage skirt - primal rave | black strappy heels - people are people
brass cuff - shopyapi.com | feather necklace & brass layered necklace - downtown finds | rings - downtown finds

Aimee's outfit: pink bandage dress with sleeve cutouts - primal rave | chain bag - vintage
leopard heels - people are people | necklace and bangles - downtown finds

can you guess what those things are beside the lion?

the polka dressing tradition continues! this is my 4th new year wearing polka -- they say it's good luck and brings in more money for the year! here's to not just more money but more love, guidance from God, opportunities to seize and risks to take...

2011 was definitely a roller coaster ride for me. half the year were mornings where i didn't know whether i wanted to wake up or just sleep through the day but i was blessed enough to realize life is too short and took mine back. 2011 blessed me with a job that i loved [all this time], a promotion, a fiance, a family reunion and fiinally, a husband. 

to 2012, may you bring as many opportunities and adventures as you've given in 2011 -- only less confusion, heartache and drama. ♥ ♥ ♥

we eventually have to grow up

it was said that i used to invade her crib when we were babies. we were 2 years apart but we acted like twins. we had matching clothes and my most favorites outfits were our chiffon dresses with hats that had ribbons around them and the matching sailor-inspired outfits that my mom had made for us --- navy blue linen sleeveless blazer with gold buttons and red linen shorts. we've shared a room since we were born and fought about so many things even just over something as petty as moving the electric fan. she will always be my baby sister even when we both had to eventually grow up.

photos taken at plantation bay, cebu.

lace boho top - thrifted (thanks eden for finding this for me!)

denim shorts - thrifted

boater hat - sm department store

pink flip-flops - havaianas

heart necklace - pratunam, bangkok

bangles - chatuchak, bangkok

should we even celebrate farewell?

i promised i wouldn't cry until we get to the airport so i didn't. probably th last get together with friends before my little sister parts with the city she was born in. these are just some behind the scene snapshots of another amazing photoshoot with armand alforque. this photoshoot and paying half of the hotel room is what he called his christmas gift to us.

ps. i might not be around to blog much these days. last week, my big sister's wedding and work has taken over my life. the next couple of weeks, i'll be busy preparing for my little sister's departure. a lot to deal with, i know. after all, there's just 3 of us and after two weeks, there will be only me left at home. so please bear with me and i do hope you still continue to look forward to my post.

floral maxi dress - thrifted

orange scarf as turban - gifted from sister

photoshoot details: 

make-up and styling by armand and me

photography by armand alforque

teenage excitement

although this has caused a little argument with harry (which has been resolved so don't worry), i miss my teen years --- the 'kilig' and excitement that came with it. i am not specifically talking about my love life as there are other important aspects of life other than that. i am talking about the general feeling of being a teen. being filled with hopes and aspirations. being all set to conquer the world. having this determination to be the best that we can be. reality takes a huge bite out of these things and certain dreams have to be set aside. i was never in denial that growing up is easy but i also never thought that there are times that it would be really hard, like having to accept that people i love would eventually have to live separate lives from me. it's inevitable and i should have had this wisdom now that i'm 26 but it's still hard. 

in my usual way of dealing with things, i am looking at the bright side after wallowing in the confusion. immediate plans for the last 2 months of 2010 are: canvass and window shop for a bigger bed for my room and a new shelf for all of my books (and the books that i have yet to buy), search for interior design inspirations for the room that will now be all for myself, plan a family getaway and finally, learn how to control the waterworks when we do have to be at the airport come december.

ps. thanks to everyone for all your thoughts, wisdom and opinions on my last post. fashion is indeed a tricky business and if we're not careful, it can draw us into a world of materialism and vanity instead of art and self-expression.

cotton printed dress - chatuchak, bangkok

green tunic used as cover-up - mom's closet

brown peep-toe platforms - CMG

necklaces: charms - carbon find | fairy - props

bangles: wooden green and blue - props | brass ones - carbon finds

rings: brass skull, burnt orange stone - carbon finds | oval blue stone and green stone - props

zebra-striped fedora hat - sm dept store

halloween 2010: harajuku twins!

for Aimee's last halloween in Cebu, we decided to dress up as Harajuku Twins. the zombie school girl is our third Japanese sister who died, thus the gore. nothing much to say as i'm just enjoying my long weekend so here are the photos of the night where i ended up getting too many free vodka from the bartender, i woke up at 3PM the following day.

on both of us:

top with studded pocket - props

ruffled tulle shorts - props

colored tights - metro ayala

blue wigs - manalili finds

dogtag necklaces - custom-made

sneakers - vans and chuck taylors

DIY turban and pink bow

bangles: gun-metal stacks - props & carbon finds | colored bangles - DIY