Posting because it’s scorching hot this summer and everyone’s been going to the beach almost every weekend. I’m going to cheat - these were taken way back December 2012, lol. My friends and I decided to get together and go swimming before Christmas… which, when I think about now, was quite an uncommon decision. Swimming in December? How many people do that, really? :D And just in a pool too!

My friends and I regularly meet up after work hours (past 6 or 7 pm) until about midnight, but rarely have we organized anything while the sun is still out. I blame it on the ratio of morning people and night owls in the group (i.e. sometimes I would text Tracy at 3 in the morning and she’d be just as wide awake as I am!). 

We haven’t really done much else except have dinner and spend hours together over coffee, ever since we graduated from college and started working. So we committed to waking up early and doing something different for a change of scenery and routine! 

Rg being his normal strange self and Kim being a cutie. Like all those who go to Sta. Rosa/West Grove/Nuvali, we stopped by Starbucks for breakfast! I didn’t bother doing my make-up so I’m hiding behind my sunnies! 8D

Old souls. Or not. I thought my friends got a copy of the newspaper for the news. Until I caught them reading the day’s horoscope, hahaha

Interestingly, 3 (including me and my boyfriend) out of 9 in our group are all Sagittarius. All my siblings are Sagittarius as well. *shoots arrows*

One of my favorite couples, Tracy and Kiks a.k.a. 2/3 of Tender Blender! 

Krissy and Drew. He’s doing the Despicable Me minions face.

Tep and Addie on their way to Yellow Cab to order pizza for lunch!

I went around Solenad 2 to take pictures. The heat was intense so I gave up after about… 2 minutes.

Everyone’s iDevices! Spot mine!

Finished ordered pizza. Off to the pool! 

Ayala West Grove. We were so lucky we were the only ones there that day! We had this giant pool all to ourselves for the whole day.

Clearly trying our very best not to take cliche group shots.

Lunch time!

Also, camwhoring time! Found a nice spot to take pictures and I couldn’t let the opportunity pass!

Top is from Yesstyle, shorts are from Bayo, sunnies are from Zara, bag is a gift from Rg.

Tracy joined in!

And then suddenly, everyone! (My legs = so landi)

After lunch and camwhoring, we decided to exchange gifts for Christmas. Kim decided to give us these pretty Forever 21 palettes! Guess which one I got!

Teptep was so happy with the gifts I gave her! Yay! 

Finally got to wear my own design for i love koi swimwear. You can wear it with the straps or without. I prefer with the straps because I don’t have enough boobage to hold the swimsuit up… T_T

Back angle because all the yummy pizza went to my abdomen area. Why can’t fat be distributed haha I wish they’d go to my butt or thighs at least!

This one is called “Slumberdoll” and obviously I made it for myself and those with similar taste and body type! Gives you a more curvy silhouette without having to show too much skin. The vertical stripes slims and elongates the torso (since I have a short torso). This particular nautical theme is now out of stock but it comes in other colors such as black x gold (which I also own and even used as a top/bodysuit), pink with white polkadots, blue with big white polkadots (one of my faves), green with small white polkadots, rusty old rose x jewel tone purple, gunmetal gray x pale purple, and teal x gold. Click here to order. :)

I’m far from having a flat stomach (thanks to my lazy ass that seems to be allergic to any kind of exercise of physical activity - I quit even before I start) so I prefer wearing high-waist bikinis and one pieces to hide all the food I eat, hohoho. Will have to find another occasion to wear my other design, “Lolita”!

After swimming it suddenly became dark! But Kim makes everything brighter as usual.

Tracy’s and Krissy’s Baby-Gs! Time Depot will be proud heehee

I played with the eyeshadow palettes and decided to do light make-up on my friends! :D 

It drizzled right when we were about to leave, so we were stuck by the pool for a while. Until this double rainbow appeared after the rain! I took it as a sign of good luck for all of us this 2013. <3

After the surprisingly quick drive back to Manila, we had ramen! Everyone didn’t seem to want the day to end. Cheers to 7 or so years of friendship! <3

Happy Easter everyone! 

While having lunch with Crissey (who gave me these adorable Tous Les Jour macarons) at La Creperie, I brought out one of my digital toy cameras for us to play with. In the end, iPhone quality is still a million times better, but once in a while it’s overly fun to do that lomo concept where you don’t get to see the pictures until you have the film developed, or in this case, until you plug the camera into your computer. This kind of photo quality reminds me of my old Kodak Easyshare from way back 2004. But at least that camera had a viewfinder, haha. Suddenly I’m extra grateful for that. 

SO I’m trying to get back into the habit of taking pictures of things other than fashion. Thankfully iPhoneography and Instagram have been constant reminders. I started my Internet presence doing something similar to this post, and I never want to let go. Just very spontaneous and candid. Nothing too contrived. It is so easy to continue with what’s popular or what sells the most, but it feels absolutely horrible when you realize that you’re losing a little bit of yourself along the way. I will not lose this personal side of my blog ever (again). I will remain steadfast.

My weekend in Kuala Lumpur was spent with this lovely lady right here:

Bobo was one of the first people who replied to me when I tweeted something about having time to meet some Malaysian readers interested to bring me around the city to kill some idle time before the MIFW (Malaysia International Fashion Week) gala nights. She was telling me how surprised she got when I tweeted her back in acknowledgement, but in all honesty I think it’s my honor to be followed by such a wonderful and stylish person such as her.

We clicked instantly like peas and carrots, and all those hours spent together proved themselves to be time very well spent.

We headed straight to our favorite mall, The Pavilion, supposedly to go shopping.

But before we got to do anything, the glutton in me got fooled by these lovely bunny and turtle pastries at Ginza Cafe, found in Tokyo Street. Bobo was kind enough to accompany the bottomless pit that is my stomach - yay!

(Side note: Tokyo Street is also where you can find freshly made Japanese ice cream - I got to try their wasabi ice cream and it was glorious!)

Some foreigners from the other table gave us this humongous pink macaroon with all sorts of fruits in it. Sugar overload prevented us from finishing all of it but it was so good, it definitely kept me going the whole day despite lack of sleep.

Headed to Zara and Topshop afterwards. Same taste in stores! <3

Camwhoring in the bathroom at Starhill. It was such a relief to be with someone who doesn’t get weirded out by things like this! Apparently, she does this a lot too!

Gel nail polish. Had our nails done at this awesome place called Bmic, which can be found at the Pamper Zone at Starhill Gallery. I haven’t tried any UV gel polish until now. I’m hooked! They’re a pain to remove on your own (I think you should have them removed by a professional~) but if you’re not tired of your nail color yet, they can last you up to 3 weeks.

And we ended up choosing the same nail color because it was the perfect kind of glittery pink that we both really liked.

It was so perfect that Bobo’s best friend Zoe got the same nail color too! :)

Ended the day at this indulgent Spanish restaurant with Bobo and her boyfriend Jo. We ordered A LOT of yummy dishes. So much that I was still full even until the next day. A million thanks for the feast, you guys!

Met Cheesie’s charming best friend Audrey later that day too. She and Bobo go to the same office, coincidentally. She reminds me so much of my own petite best friend Crissey… whom I sorely miss! Normally we would be the ones having our own girly adventures together but because of clashing schedules we haven’t had any lulzy stories together recently. Soon, hopefully!

Anyhow, after dinner, we got stuck in traffic on the way to Zebra Square for the MIFA Gala. I made it just in time, but our conversations inside the car were so hilarious I definitely wouldn’t mind if the worst scenario had to arrive and I had to stay with them in the car until midnight or something. Good times!

And this marks the end of my non-MIFW posts. I’ve been experiencing all sorts of sicknesses lately so I haven’t had time to sort and edit the gazillion photos I took for fashion week… but I’ll definitely finish them before I leave Manila again this Christmas. Fukuoka, get ready!

(Photos by Juju. Love and Bravery little black dress - “simply key in “LOVETRICIA” on checkout to get 5% off”, Soule Phenomenon Finsk-inspired wedges, Gold Dot mustard bag c/o Sundae, Forever 21 necklace and connector ring) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Shot these after a photoshoot for Cosmo. The make-up artist and hairstylist Cherry Pacheco parted my hair in the middle since my bangs are at an immensely awkward length right now. Such a fresh change. I was like, “Can we try Victoria’s Secret model goddess hair?” and she was just as excited as I was to try it on my insanely long and straight hair. Raise your hands if you like this better than my side part!

Aren’t LBDs so effortlessly chic?

No amount of fame or fortune can replace friends you can keep forever.

Shai/Seph / Jurgen / Crissey / Marj / Tricia / Domz / Val / Feanne

Everyone’s just so incredibly kind, talented and gorgeous. Too amazing.

(self-portraits; Topshop knit cardigan, random brand white top, Zara leggings, Forever 21 cross necklace and black connector ring, Bijoux de Lou connector ring, Five By Five leopard-print wedges) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Yesterday, these pretty leopard-print wedges were sent to me by an up and coming online store (along with a pair of 4.5” buckled suede slingback clogs). These are a little different from what I usually wear, but this is probably the start of my being more open-minded towards non-black shoes. Leopard-print shoes are tres cute (and a must-have this season too)!

(self-portraits; random brand cut-out top, Topshop bodycon skirt, custom-made peeptoe wedges, F&H spike headband, wrist accessories from Sweet Pitaya, By Margaret and Quirkypedia) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

I’ve always wanted a spikey headband ever since I saw some people on Lookbook wearing Topshop ones. Unfortunately, I never got to see it here, and I eventually lost hope when it disappeared from their website. Luckily, I found this one by accident last weekend, for less than 300 pesos.

On another note, I have this button-down top in both black and white. The back part never fails to surprise people - it’s a perfect mix of classy (love the collar) and sexy. I totes need more of these in my life.

It’s a little loose on me, but I was never fond of extremely tight clothing in the first place.

With JMAUPM people and Zack, one of the speakers. (Also… I see you photobombing there.)

Thank you so much to everyone who went to UP Manila earlier for my talk on Contemporary Marketing Strategy (a.k.a. how to market yourself online a.k.a. blogging tips a.k.a. me just blurting out random things). Wasn’t able to blog about the details here unlike my previous talk for UP AdCore, so I didn’t expect so many people to attend and have their photos taken with me. Much love, UPM!

(Topshop cardigan and top, Mimi shorts, Soule Phenomenon boots, m)phosis bag, Forever 21 necklace, Quirkypedia connector ring, Bijoux de Lou rolleiflex ring)

Finally got to visit CSB’s new SDA building for the first time for Ryan’s class’ photography finals as part of a panel of sorts with Rev, and Ryan himself. Played with the 10-22mm lens on my 350D… because everyone dreams of having insanely long legs minus the hassle of post-processing.

I wish people took photography (and studying, in general) more seriously though, especially if you have the privilege to study somewhere costly and even in such a pretty building with all the equipment you can use. :)