Just Keep Looking Up

Outside your thoughts, there are a million other things going on. I have a feeling I might need a whole day to let my mind wander the way it tells me it needs to. I have a rebellious heart and it bothers me when I'm less of what people imagined me to be. Please don't tell me that others had it a lot worse. I know that already. Like you, I'm allowed to feel this way same with you and me - feeling happy and all giddy. We all have these moments. At the end of the day, I’m the one who has to live with my choices and decisions. I would want to live my life the way I want to not because of what others think. But they just get to you sometimes. This is the  never-ending story with who you want to be versus the world. Monday Blues. My least favorite day of the week. There's a need to calm the voices inside my head and the trip to the South of Cebu with the usual suspects over the weekend did just that. Indulging in momentary pleasures ain't bad. Good vibes and traveling, more of them please! 

top: Maze | skirt: Madeeni | bag: Parisian 

photo by Deejay Timbreza

Osmeña Peak - Kawasan Traverse

As of this posting, I'm currently in the south of Cebu with the usual suspects: Bal Marsius, James Tan minus Jonas B who's now somewhere in Europe. For some reason, I am always in the mood to blog but it doesn't mean I'm in the best mood to write. It's draining my brains out sometimes. Work fries my brains out of me but this is what's left of it. Not that there's really nothing inside my brain but I couldn't care less on what you think.

After climbing Osmeña Peak, we traversed all the way down to Kawasan Falls. I couldn't remember the time we left our camp site but I do remember walking for seven hours. The climb up is nothing compared to what seems to be endless walking with no destination. No pain. No gain. It was tiresome but rewarding and fun most of all. No two thousand words for this entry. Just loads of photos courtesy of James Tan.

 morning view

 after sunrise 

 we looked so small from afar and yes, it was just us four.

 i know a place where the grass is always greener. 

 we didn't leave all that trash. we <3 mother earth just like that.

that's jonas and me packing some stuff while james was busy taking photos of everything. ;p

 they say the more you climb, the more you.

 we passed by a farmer and his son harvesting crops. 

 cabbage patch kids - this looks even more better in person

 vegetable basket - he carries all that load up and down the mountains.

 how to get lost and die trying

 pretending to be cute but we're exhausted really

 there are no whale sharks here

he's not really drowning

 when we reached the falls, we took a dip. 

usual suspects

 wanderboy jonas

 okay, that's james tan. 

 not exactly feeling blue

 don't go chasing waterfalls

while on the way home

and how lousy are the captions.

kthanksbye!

Ordinary Day

Spent my after work hours with my sister Liezyl and dropped by her school before heading home. It made me realize how much I miss spending time with her. We're both really busy even if we live in the same house. Thanks to my work and her student duties. It's like we both live in the different time zones, really. When I'm home, she's out and vice-versa. Before I leave for work, she's asleep or I'm asleep when she's home. You know the drill.

I tell you, she's good with hostage taking. She's one bratty little girl but I just can't say no to that kid. This post may even be a bit too early to talk about her but who cares. She's still a kid to me even if she's turning twenty-one this Sunday. We celebrated early and being the big sister that I am, I bought some banana cue's for us to eat while waiting for the sun to settle down and take turns in outfit shots.

I miss you, Liz. Let's spend more time soon. :)

pants: oxygen | top:bench | blazer:thrifted |bag:secosana | wedges:parisian

photos by my sister liezyl

Gastadora

For sure everyone went through a phase of bad spending habits in their lifetime. If you didn't then good for you and please leave some comments and share your secret. As for the title, it's not something applicable to me right at this moment. I'm no big spender not until I would realize my wallets empty. There's no such thing as shopping ban cause the more you restrict yourself from buying, the more you end up spending. It's like skipping breakfast and doubling the amount of calorie intake for lunch. You tend to make up for what's missing and yes, the deprivation from practicing your credit card's high purchasing power. You can spend all you want as long as you don't end up drowning in bills. But who am I to say that? It's your money. You can do whatever you want with it. I don't care. 

As for the blog title, it's Spanish in origin according to Wikipedia. Thank goodness there's no more black out in the virtual world and we're back to our social network crazed world. Gastadora means BIG spender or extravagant when translated in English. My friend Mathea opened her own online shop today and yep, you got it. Shops name is Gastadora. I find it pretty ironic and witty. Don't you think? If you have time, please visit her shop and part of the proceeds will go to the Augustinian Children in Cavite, Philippines. Fashion for a cause, yes! Happy Shopping! :)

wedge and bag: Parisian | pants:bench | top:Madeeni

how awfully awkward are my toes in these photos

snapped by Deejay Timbreza

Coffee Dreaming

No more Starbucks near our office and I'm not so sure if it's a good thing or not. For the first time, I stopped collecting their yearly planner cause it's difficult to collect stickers and drink them minimum wage coffee. It was getting too expensive for me after nearly four years of drinking the mermaid's cup. There's always late realizations for some people, I know. If you've also noticed there's always a coffee shop near any office or anything that drives these corporate bitches some money. Well, it's also given cause people like me need more caffeine than the average person. There's no more Starbucks but we got Coffee Dream. The good thing with them aside from being purely Cebuano owned is they also serve REAL food. Cholesterol wins over pastries sometimes. 

RED

Finally gave in to the trend and bought myself some red pants. Now I'm no longer the last person on earth who doesn't have any bright colored pants in their closet. Well, I did have them in purple, blue and even yellow on my growing up years but I gave them all away. Sad. RED is my favorite color. Red it was love at first sight. Point and shoots don't really capture the details of an outfit cause the top looked like a white button down shirt but it's actually a chambray - something I have worn over and over. That's how I am. If I like something too much I tend to wear them A LOT.  

Sometimes, I don't want to be the girl who stands out, more like someone who doesn't care too much about what she's wearing, but who looks good anyway. But with these red pants, it's so hard not to get noticed.

Here's some photos of my outfit when I met up with Aisa Ipac on my previous post. 

wedge: call it spring | bag:parisian | pants:july | chambray: sm  | sidewalk shades

photo by deejay

Meeting Paxieness

This happened December of '11 and I know this is so last year. Aisa Ipac of Drowning Equilibriums traveled to Cebu last month and I was more than glad to meet her in person. I couldn't find the right words to say but she's just the most down-to-earth person I have ever met. I mean she's one of Manila's top bloggers, a Chictopia style icon, just to name a few. I was literally starstruck and tongue-tied. Before I started with fashion blogging, I was sort of stalking her blog along with the rest of my style crushes. Not that it matters but I have this habit of being a silent reader. There are times I get too intimidated with the blog owner but my impression on these amazing people changed when you get to meet them in the flesh! I wonder if others feel that way with me. But this isn't just about me but it's about meeting one of my online style crush. Like, finally! 

Okay, I have to admit. One reason why I got to meet her aside from being who she is  in the online fashion blogging community is also because of her shop. I scored a few good buys way way back last year and I haven't even used them, yet. She's got a closet full of vintage clothes and shoes to die for. There's still so much to say about that night and meet-up but I'll just keep some to myself. Some of the photos are lifted from Aisa's blog. :)

 Aisa, Me and Vanessa

 photo taken by Mich and surprisingly we all wore RED that night 

 Dining in Bistro Ecila

 fashion commuters

 us girls with the Rabsin and Marco of Philippine Street Fashion

tea party of five at la marea, the walk, it park :) 

 trying la marea's mochi ice cream

Aisa had warm brownie cup, la marea's best-seller :) 

Take Two

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wearing the same outfit twice. Instead of shopping for more clothes, I've resulted into rummaging through my closet and wear some items I have not worn. Reunited and it feels so good. Oh yeah! Me and my clothes are getting to know each other more. I stayed away from the actual shopping malls but there's always online shops which are a bit hard to resist knowing we're always online before and after sleeping. It's like a prayer. Don't deny. 

Photos on this post are still by Roland Icban and how amazing are those 80mm lenses? Wore this entire outfit from August of last year as seen here. And I couldn't help notice on how fat I was. I'm not so sure if I have a body dysmorphic disorder or if this is borderline anorexia cause I still see myself as fat and people tell me I'm skinny. I do eat a lot and I still do my evening runs. But you know, everybody goes through this kind of thing. We all have our own share of bottled insecurities. No one is perfect and if someone says they are - they're perfectly wrong. Darn it! These are just one of those days. This won't last. I hate dwelling on the negative things when I know for sure I have so many things to be happy for. 

  

stiff neck

shoes:F21 MJ pumps bought from Eden | skirt:f21 | top:Madeeni | bag:Parisian | tights:topshop

Humanized

Photos on this entry are taken last year by my incredible photographer friend Roland Icban aka The Humanizer. I was happily tagging along when he had a photo-shoot with a client and the blogger in me took the opportunity to be shot using his 80mm lens. The second photo doesn't have the same quality as the original since I had to resize it myself to fit the blog. Why am I explaining? From what I've noticed, point and shoots are good when taking outfit shots but slr's are better for outfit details. The colors of my outfit never  looked this vibrant. Yes, I just noticed it like I'm someone who lived from the pre-historic age. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Canon G12 from my Sony Cybershot HD-70 but not until I assemble my own bike. I'm even selling some of my clothes for my Mountain Bike Fund. But that's a different story. I like bringing my point and shoot cause it's very much handy compared to an SLR and besides, I enjoy being photographed than taking photos, sometimes. 

On a more serious note, my friend Roland bid goodbye two days ago and that means I'm seeing one less stylish person in the office. It's not like he is dying cause I know for sure we will still see each other but things are definitely different. I have issues with letting go and I'm never good with goodbyes. Who doesn't? I just couldn't help but feel sad and suddenly the office feels like Autumn. Autumn leaves falling one by one. Wearing my happy colors but I wish it were true now.

Sooner or later in life, the things we love we lose.

top:WAGW  pants:Thriftgasm Shop bag:Parisian shoes:F21 MJ pumps bought from Eden

Blanc Magazine Online

BLANC is an online fashion and art magazine dedicated to the underground youth, the vague and the implicit. Put up together by Cebu’s most artistic and experimental young minds, BLANC is the unconventional probe of the Queen City’s distinct chronicles on the latest in fashion, androgyny, art culture and streetstyle. It is the uncovering of Cebu’s rusty side.

Let me start by thanking Phil and Ryan for allowing me to grab their photos from the launching of Cebu's first online fashion magazine, Blanc Magazine Online. This event happened last week in YO.U restobar just before the City went crazy with the Sinulog festivities. I skipped the Sinulog frenzy but it's totally unforgivable if I missed this event. There's not another 1.12.2012 in this lifetime. The night was a culmination of fashion and the arts. Leave it to the geniuses behind the Blanc team who gathered 17 of Cebu's up and coming designers with their Muse and lovely works. It was not only the designs that left everyone's jaw dropped but it's also the crowd - dressed in high street fashion. Cebu just looked so different and marvelous that night! It's also one of the rare times where everyone from CFB is present. Big thank you to the entire Blanc team for the invite and congrats for being the pioneer online fashion magazine in the dirty south. Bold and beautiful! 

Flipping through the online magazine made me want to be a part of the Blanc team. No kidding. Words don't suffice on how good it is. It's amazing! 

 Marie Dinolan hosted the event wearing a dress by Mike Yapching

 The wickedly talented people behind the Blanc team.

 photo by Ryan Reyes :) 

 love this gown by Jerrick, one of my favorite looks from the show.

monstrous heel-less shoes by Aia Tupas

 the designer and his muse :) 

 walk, walk, fashion, baby

 that's my sister liezyl, me, eden and my good friend roland aka the humanizer

 the oslob crew unite! <3

 ah, finally! that's ryan, btw.  =)

 i love this photo of yves. 

 another favorite from my officemate designer Edward James Yap

faux-fur cape by WAGW, pants by penshoppe, bustier by SM, shoes by PRP 

Queen of Cebu's Bee Urgello for Blanc's maiden issue.