This is our family dog, Bailey. You might’ve already seen her in my social networking sites where I usually gush about how cute she is and how my family was quick to love her in that short time since she’s been with us. She is my quick fix to any kind of negativity, and seeing her everyday never fails to put a smile on my face! 

A few posts back, I was talking about how I think I’m doing a good job given some milestones that I’ve achieved. Bailey’s got it on a whole different level, though.

She gets her first official endorsement / blog advert, and she’s just 3 months old. She’s still trying to properly learn social skills, tricks and polished potty training, and she gets to have a hair endorsement already? Seriously? I’ve been all about my hair ever since I started blogging, and I’ve never had proper shampoo sponsor, lol. This makes me even proud that our new baby is hopefully gonna be a star in her own right!

I wanted to take photos of her when she was still significantly smaller (and chubbier) but I couldn’t do it properly because she wasn’t fully trained yet, and like an infant ninja puppy (ninja gene probably taken from my older brothers), was just too fast for the camera. A month has passed since we got her, and she totally gets some basic commands down pat already.

She has also grown A LOT. It’s crazy. I often joke about how she was born to be a model, as her legs were the first parts that grew longer. It easily stuck and now my family refers to her as the dog who was born to be a model.

And the dog with long legs but with a fat belly that we super love to rub! <3

My mom took her out for a bath last Friday afternoon, and I decided to take pictures while they were at it! I managed to save my camera from being splashed by shampoo water. Phew.

Took this as an ideal opportunity to document Bailey properly since I’ve only used iPhone 4S camera for the past month! :D

We use Our Dog shampoos for Bailey, and they come in these adorable colors and scents. I put the cutest dog in the middle, lol. That white ball of fluff! <3 Which breed is your fave?

All Our Dog products are imported from Australia, and are now the leading and most affordable imported dog shampoo/conditioner in the market. The special Australian Tea Tree Oil component is effective against bacteria, fungi and viruses, so it’s definitely a must for all those like us that keep dogs inside the house.

We still haven’t figured out what to do when Bailey grows up into her adult model self (lol) but for now she has a little home inside the house where she can greet all those who pass through the front door! I wonder if there are any Lab owners out there who can give us any advice on what to do when she can’t fit inside the house anymore!

Our Dog is also amazingly soap-free so the products do not remove the oil/moisture from Bailey’s skin. That natural moisture protects her from irritation and other skin related diseases, so it’s always better to use shampoo made especially for dogs instead of generic human shampoo or soap. 

That blue tub of extra moisture conditioner is one of my faves because it makes Bailey’s hair so irresistibly smooth… *steals line from random shampoo commercial* 

Bath time! Labradors being labradors, Bailey ALWAYS has fun when it comes to anything related to water. If she only had a choice, she’d stay in that bath tub for good. She hasn’t seen a pool in her life yet, and I’m pretty sure that she’ll dive right in when she sees one.

Sometimes she would deliberately spill some of her drinking water just so she can get it on herself. I guess she agrees with all of us that it is just too hot in Manila! By the time this gets posted, I’m probably enjoying sweater weather in Osaka. Woot!

This time, we used the blue Shower Fresh shampoo variant, though I really prefer the Lavender scent better. Next week again!

Towel snuggle. How can you not love this giant baby? 

Biting her hairbrush, probably thinking she doesn’t need it. Because she was born a model. (OK, somebody please stop me!)

Literally. Those puppy dog eyes. Can’t say no to them!

We’re all so happy with our newest addition to the family. It’s good that there’s an extroverted energy in our house now as most of us are introverts and like to stick to indoor activities. Like, playing the latest apps on iPhone (Ahh, Alien Hive is *the* one app that’s ruining my productivity right now)… if that counts.

I’ll keep you guys posted with all sorts of cute Bailey stories in the next few weeks, months and years. <3

Our Dog products are available in Pet Express, Dogs In The City, Animal House, Doggie Land (San Juan, Mandaluyong, Tiendesitas, Cartimar), Pet Zone, ACE Hardware, SM Supermarkets, SM Hypermart, Savemore, Handyman, True Value, Unimart, Mercury Drug, S&R, Super Shopping Supermarket, Cherry Foodarama, Makati Supermarket, Cash & Carry, South Supermarket, Puregold Duty Free (Subic and Clark), Alturas Supermarket (Tagbilaran, Bohol) and Pricewise Supermarket (Zamboanga). 

Visit their website here.

Sponsored post.

P.S. My mom made Bailey an Instagram account recently, lol. Add her up: @mybebebailey

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! 

Photography by Tricia Gosingtian. Make-up by Ais Liao. Model: Lissa Kahayon.

Photography by Tricia Gosingtian. Make-up by Kaycee Lim-Santos. Model: Patricia Prieto.

The sequence of these photos tells a lot about what is going on / what has been going on.

Photography by Tricia Gosingtian. Models: Ericka Villongco and James Reid. Styling: Marita Galvez. Roses from Island Rose. Cake and cupcakes from Dolcelli Cakes. Special thanks to Trocadero Bar and Restaurant.

As you all know, I went to Fukuoka again last December with my family. This time, we skipped the touring part, shopped til our hearts couldn’t take it anymore, and stuffed ourselves with the best ramen in the world. Well, not exactly. Being history geeks and travelers at heart, we dedicated one day of our trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. We’ve already been to Nagasaki, so naturally Hiroshima was a clear choice for our next destination. 

It only takes about an hour to go to Hiroshima from Hakata Station via Shinkansen, which surprised me a bit since it took us longer to go to Nagasaki despite it being geographically nearer Fukuoka. Apparently the train from Fukuoka to Hiroshima is so much faster than the one we took before. 

Where I spent an hour sleeping like a baby. It was exceptionally wet and cold the day we decided to go out of Fukuoka. Just our luck! I’m starting to think I have the worst luck when it comes to traveling because the weather was just as bad in London and Paris when I was there. The weather was perfect the day before and the day after, but we couldn’t schedule this later because of the year-end holidays. Most places would be closed, and of course Shinkansen tickets would be impossible to get because a lot of people would be going home to their respective homes (if outside Fukuoka, or even Kyushu) in time for New Year’s.

Passed by these factories while on the train.

Finally arrived at Hiroshima and headed straight to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, or the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Dome.

This building is what remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and at present, is one of Japan’s most important landmarks. Since the bomb came from almost directly above the building, it wasn’t completely destroyed. Now it serves as a reminder of the nation’s hope to rid the world of war and nuclear weapons.

The 1983 replica of the T-shaped Aioi bridge, the aiming point for the bomb. The shape was easily recognized from the air, so it was an easy target. The fact that they had the clearest weather the day of the bombing pretty much sealed the city’s fate. 

After the years of struggle after the atomic bomb, Hiroshima has successfully rebuilt itself. It looks so peaceful, you wouldn’t even expect that something so intense hit them at one point in history.

Sadako (not of Ringu fame) on top of the Children’s Peace Monument. I already mentioned her being *the* post-atomic bomb Japanese icon of hope in my Nagasaki post last year, but she is actually originally from Hiroshima. 

She was two years old when the bomb hit. She was only able to live until age 12 because she heavily suffered from the after effects of the atomic bomb. It wasn’t all that bad though. She persevered and kept a positive outlook until her death. So inspiring!

Also one of the symbols of Hiroshima advocating world peace. Every 6th of August, they hold a ceremony here to memorialize the victims of the bombing. 

An old watch that was found after the atomic bomb. The Peace Memorial Museum was packed with tourists from all over the world, wanting to know the whole story behind this very dark part of history. I won’t spoil it for those who have plans to visit this place in the future. The experience is quite inexplicable, especially the part where they interview the survivors about the tragedy that they witnessed with their own eyes. Not only were their homes destroyed, but most of their loved ones were also killed by the bomb and its radioactive effects.

A model showing how the area around the T-shaped bridge looked like before the bomb.

A model showing how Hiroshima looked like after the bomb. Everything was completely wiped out save for some structures that were near the epicenter.

In the museum, there were very graphic pictures and videos relaying Hiroshima’s story to those who went there to hear it.

A shadow of a person was imprinted on these steps as the bomb fell on the city.

Some survivors lived up to see the city rebuilt, but suffered from the most grueling sicknesses brought by a lot of factors, this black rain included. I couldn’t take pictures of the pictures of the victims because they were too graphic. :(

Depressing stuff aside, the Japanese are really something. Sadako was a wonderful example of how they continued on living despite what happened to them. As the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima, one school boy encountered a rescuer and asked him to give his notebook to his family as he already knew he was dying. Some of the personal effects of those who died are still displayed in the museum. Not primarily for the tourists, but for the owners’ descendants to be able to claim them one day. 

The rain made the visit to the museum and the park so much more saddening. T_T

To lift our spirits up, our tour guide Hiro (also the same tour guide from last time ‘cause we absolutely love her) brought us to a special restaurant.

The walk was long and difficult because it was raining like no tomorrow, but it was all worth it.

BECAUSE IT WAS OKONOMIYAKI TIME! All caps because I love okonomiyaki. 

My friends would laugh at me and say that I love all Japanese food anyway, lol. I can’t help it if everything is just so good, and I surprisingly feel like I lose weight in Japan even if I eat a lot. This sorcery, I don’t even

Concert stickers as restaurant decoration. Not a fan of KAT-TUN’s music as much as Arashi’s, but hey, still Johnny’s! \o/

Just a few days after this one, Kanjani8 performed in Kouhaku for the first time. Congrats Eito!

My brother Chase. And a ton of wall scribbles. People from all over the world have written messages here, so it was fun to make out what they all probably meant. There were some familiar band names written too, but I’m not so sure if they were legit written by the artists themselves or just by fans haha hopefully the former

Kinoshita Yukina, Gekidan Hitori, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Tamori-san! No English subtitles, I promise! I’m afraid I love Japan too much that I recognized them instantly lolol much thanks to Arashi no Shukudai-kun and Music Station from years ago :D

Best okonomiyaki ever! <3 We ordered two different kinds - one that used soba noodles and one that used udon noodles.

Walked around the city again after lunch so we can burn all the yumminess that we ate and get to our next destination!

The ferry station from Hiroshima to Miyajima. 

Was greeted by this deer as soon as I landed in Miyajima! OMG, MEMORIES OF NARA! Ugh, bring me back to 2009 when I went on a Tokyo-Kyoto-Nara-Osaka tour. Back then I didn’t shoot in RAW because I didn’t have enough memory space so now I need to take more pictures hahaha EXCUSES T_T

Miyajima means “Shrine Island” so it’s the more popular term, but it’s originally called Itsukushima. By this time the rain had gotten so much worse so I don’t have any pictures of my outfit that day for Lookbook. I am not going to sacrifice my camera for some outfit pictures, haha

Something that never changes every time I go to Japan: transparent umbrellas. 

I could totally imagine how much prettier this place would be in autumn with all the fall foliage! Or spring with all the sakura!

The famous Miyajima floating torii, which is one of Japan’s three best sceneries. One down, two to go. I’m not totally sad that I didn’t catch it on high tide, when the water makes it look like it’s floating, because it only gives me more reason to come back here one day.

Foggy mountains and the Itsukushima shrine from afar.

The Itsukushima Shrine is built on stilts because it’s built so close to ocean that it can get covered by the water at high tide if it weren’t.

The floating torii view from the shrine.

Father and son.

One of the streets near the exit of the shrine. Looks straight out of a movie. Looove!

Japan’s “it” girl! Takei Emi endorsing Maquillage. She is so pretty I doubt she even needs to use all that make-up lol

Dropped by Oyster ‘Kakiya’ 牡蠣屋 which is supposedly one of the best oyster bars in the island. TEARS! Because these were sooo good it puts all the oysters that I’ve eaten in the past to shame. 

Oyster overload at a random stall. Don’t forget to try out the oysters in Hiroshima!

Late afternoon-almost evening in the shopping street in Miyajima. So pretty even if it was freezing! I didn’t buy anything (was saving my money for some shopping at Tenjin Core) but I enjoyed just looking around for nifty souvenirs and street food.

HELLO KITTY DESSERTS! SO ADORBS

Aww, time to go back to Fukuoka. I would say that one day in Hiroshima and Miyajima is enough, but I wish I could’ve stayed an extra day to explore more places. I checked out their Facebook page, and OMG GOOD JOB PROMOTING HIROSHIMA! I would totally go back based on the pictures and write-ups they regularly post there. Or maybe I’m just biased. <3 If it were only possible, I’d fly to Japan once every quarter. 

Fukuoka post and My Own Fashion Week (MOFW) featuring Japanese brands coming up next! Posting the second travel entry after all the look posts!

Photography, hair and styling by Tricia Gosingtian. Styling by Cat de Jesus.

Make-up by Ais Liao. Model: Patricia Prieto.

Photography and hair by Tricia Gosingtian. Make-up by Kaycee Lim.

Styling by Catherine de Jesus. Models: Krissy and Ericka Villongco.

Did something totally different from my usual. Hope you guys like it!

Photography by Tricia Gosingtian. Styling by Tricia Gosingtian and Evanthe Lemi. Make-up by Kaycee Lim. Model: Joanna Kennedy 

For Heir Clothing’s summer collection that will be released very soon. <3

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

(Credits: 1, 6, 7, 8 - Gold Dot wedges, 1 - Topman necklace, 2, 7 - Elle Poupee ribbon hairpin and bracelet, 3 - Mia Casa necklace, 4, 7, 11 - Forever 21 hat, flower hairpin and bracelet, 6 - Wi Accessories necklace, 8 - Mauve bracelet, 9 - The Style Machine Hello Kitty glasses, 10 - Extreme Finds necklace, 10-11 Quirkypedia headbands, 12 - Ferreted necklace)

(Photography by Tricia Gosingtian, styling and clothes by Catherine de Jesus, make-up by Kaycee Lim, hair by Ash Kagami, model: Tori Rosso)

Cat is one of the most talented, most hard-working designers I know. It was such a pleasure being able to collaborate with her differently this time. She used to model and style for me before, but I’ve always wanted to spread the beauty that is her fashion design work ever since. 

This is part of her latest collection, Skin Changer. Inspired by no other than the characters from Game of Thrones. 

By the way, Cat is currently searching for an intern based in Paranaque/Manila. Drop her a message on her website if you’re interested!

Photographed by Tricia Gosingtian; Model: Joanna Ladrido of Glitterati

(Photography by Tricia Gosingtian; Make-up by Marj Sia; Wigs and make-up from Catwalk Cosmetics; Models: Stacy and Danah Gutierrez of The Plump Pinay)

Love these girls forever. Their blog is just amazingly beautiful and inspiring in so many ways.