Green thumbs up!

Yesterday's rocking horse pin was actually just a detour during my Divisoria trip.

The main event, this gorgeous gaggle of greens!

Once these get the thumbs up, I'm turning these into something beautiful.

Rocking it!

Found these rocking horse pins when I went to Divisoria this morning.

I think I know what I'll do with these.

Getting some more Zzzzs

Zalora, that is.

Time was when I'd go to Zalora pop-up store and website often, and would always end up with a virtual cart full of stuff. The past years, though, their selection weren't as awesome. In fact, I was checking my account, and my last order there was in 2016.

Last week, thought of checking out the Zalora website, and was surprised that there was a lot of really uber pretty dresses in really vibrant prints. And everyone knows that I'm a sucker for a good print. Ergo:

I ended up ordering 4 pieces! And they were on sale!

Looks like I'll be hanging out the Zalora website more often this time around.

FMM: The river runs through it

Still on that Audrey Hepburn high.

So, today's Friday Magic Madness song is an homage to her. Particularly, her rendition of "Moon River" from the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's."



Just like Audrey, this is definitely a classic.

Sketchy Stories: The Grace of Audrey

When we found out that Kris was getting married and that she needed some help in her preps, I immediately raised my hand and volunteered. And when I asked her where I could help, the first thing she mentioned was her wedding trousseau.

She asked if I could help design her wedding gown. And as a creative person looking for creative things to do, this was an exciting prospect. Long story short, the answer was "heck yeah!"

For people who know my aesthetic (more of just one person, Ate Bullet. Harhar) I'm the type who doesn't like trends. Now, there are a lot of trends in wedding gowns today - the illusion neckline, Lesage embroidery, etc. - and these were the items I struck off my list of design considerations.

Then, the personality of the bride. Kris is very cool and carefree. She's funny, easy breezy, and this innate joie de vivre. She's also someone with a classic sense of style, which is great because we're on the same wavelength.

Those taken into consideration, I imagined her wedding gown as a combination of the classic simplicity of Audry Hepburn and the unabashed femininity of Grace Kelley. And after presenting her with 4 sketches, she eventually went with this:

It's an embroidered lace gown with a mikado silk skirt. The silhouette is a classic mermaid, but the skirt has a full bias cut to make it more circular and voluminous. Since Kris is very slim and petite, this silhouette is perfect for highlighting her assets.

Speaking of slim, during our 2nd fitting, her waistline whittled down to 23 inches! That's supermodel-esque. I thought it would be great to highlight that, so there was a last minute addition of a bejeweled belt.

After the design was completed, it was time to look for the materials. It actually took me a couple of months and several back-and-forths at my fabric haunts before I found the perfect fabrics. I wanted the lace to be dainty yet textured. The appliques had to have that 3D effect. The stones had to be matte and had to blend with the embroidery. And the Swarovski shouldn't be too flashy.

Once everything was gathered, it was off to Joy who made sure that the sketch came to life accurately and as I envisioned it. After about 4 months, the wedding gown was done, and it was just as I saw it in my mind.

Kris was a vision of classic glamour, as well as delicate femininity. Her hairstyle was very apt for the gown since it had that Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley classicism to it.

It also fit her personality a lot - particularly her joie de vivre. It was something that she radiated with during the entire wedding.

I definitely don't sketch that well and don't do it often. But when you work with friends like Kris and see the result, it makes me both glad and gratified that I do.

Mena girl

It's been a while since I last saw Mena Suvari in a film or in a magazine. And I've been wondering where she went.

So, it's nice to see her looking all chic and earth-friendly in the H&M Conscious collection.

Now, can we see her again in a film. Please?

Tuesday blues

We've been trying to schedule a lunch together for almost a year now. But it never materialized.

And today, we found out that we were all wearing blue. So, it was a sign for this lunch to happen.

Hopefully, we won't have to wait for another coordinated outfit to have that next lunch date.

A conscious effort

Aside from their designer collaborations, the H&M Conscious Exclusive is the collection I'm most excited about.

Apart from being earth-friendly and made with recycled materials, the designs are uber chic and classy!

Ate Bullet has pieces from the last 2 or 3 collections, and looking at the items on the 2018 catalog, there's definitely going to be another addition this year.

I've got my eye on that green dress.

It's a 160!

That's what happens when you put 2 of the biggest 80s icons together.

To watch, or not to watch...

First day dressing

Here in Manila, it's rare that I buy items from shops on the day of their launch.

But the Plains & Prints x Aranaz collaboration was an exception.

The pieces were just too pretty to pass up, especially this blush dress with a flamingo print in front.

And the back was as spectacular, with its cascade of ruffles.

One down. Can another be far behind?

FMM: Horsefly

Back in 1997, Mariah was ruling the charts, churning out hit after hit after hit after hit. And her newly-launched album "Butterfly" was doing just that.

Just like the song, the music video was hotly anticipated. For good reason. Mariah had a way of coming up with visually stunning MTVs.

I still remember the first time I saw this video. It was in the studio of SMC, and we were editing the latest episode of SMC Newsbreak. One of the television sets was on the MTV channel, and the VJ announced the debut of Mariah's latest hit.

So, we stopped and watched.



Our first reaction was: "So, it's a song about a butterfly but the story is about a horse."

Mysteries never cease.

This I gotta Z!

There's a Mazinger Z film in theaters this week!



The 80s kid in me is fanboy-ing!

Up and Anderson

You can never go wrong with a nice shirt dress. It's a piece of clothing that every woman should have at least one of in her wardrobe.

The Ates are big fans of the shirt dress. Specially the ones from Uniqlo. And it's really no wonder why. Uniqlo shirt dresses are easy breezy, and the fabrics are often top notch.

Another nice thing about Uniqlo is that they always find ways to update their shirt dresses. Whenever they come up with new collections, there's always a design element that makes it distinct from their last one.

For this season, they launched the SS2018 collection of J.W. Anderson, and the ubiquitous shirt dress is part of it.

And, as expected, it's a winner!

I'll be up and about - and buying this - the moment it comes out.

Dua-lity

Three weekends ago, there was a family day in SSC. Of course, the atmosphere was festive! Complete with games, colorful booths, and blaring music.

On the subject of blaring music, one song that they were playing caught my attention. Why? Because in the middle of a Catholic School field filled with kids, the song that was playing said:

"Boy, I don't give a f**k!"

Yes, for some strange reason, they played Dua Lipa's "IDGAF" at the Family Day.

What the F?

Aranaz for your money

The prints keep on coming. Nay, the Plains & Prints keep on coming.

After their collaborations with Vania Romoff and Barbie, here's another collection that's covet-worthy. And it's done by one of my favorite female designers, Amina Aranaz!

While she's more known for her accessories, I know she dabbles in resort wear. That's the vibe I'm getting from the prints and silhouettes in this collaboration.

It's a combination of clothes and bags, but there are actually more bags than clothes. But each piece from her clothing collection is a knock-out.

For me, this shift dress with an awesome print is the money piece:

And these 2 dresses come a very close second and third.

Sold!

Club Wed

Sometime last year, Mark, Kris and I were in Nakano - IH2 in particular - talking about Kris' recent engagement and her wedding plans.

And yesterday, all the months of preparation led to Narra Hill in Tagaytay for the wedding day. It was one of the most heartfelt and genuine weddings I've been to.

It was a fitting culmination to a journey that started in Japan more than a year ago.

Greens and blue

In Tagaytay with Mark for a wedding this weekend, and this place never ceases to refresh and recharge me.

It must be the cool, crisp air, or the richness of the greenery, or it might even be the blue skies.

Or it may be all 3!

Yup, Tagaytay always does it for me.

FMM: On the upside

Someone has been playing Diana Ross in our department for the past few days. While the classics and favorites are there - including "The Boss" and "Theme from Mahogany," there were other ditties that I like but haven't heard in a while.

It was great to be reacquainted with her other songs, particularly this one:



"Upside Down" is a song that had massive airplay in the 80s. But it got lost in the din of other Diana Ross hits. Now that it's Friday, it's a good time to play it again.

That's the upside of Friday Magic Madness.

Fits like a Glover

As an unabashed fan of floral prints, and wallpaper, I'm definitely on board with H&M's latest designer collaboration.

For a change, they're teaming up with Anna Glover, a wallpaper designer. And her big, bold, floral prints are a winner!

Looks like Marimekko x Uniqlo has a big competitor in the bold print category.

Baby... Baby... Ohhhh...

Here are my 2 babies in one photo.

(Check out those faces! Cuteness overload!)

Javier is my youngest nephew and he will always be my baby no matter how grown up he gets. And Noah is the family's youngest member and the first grandson.

Too much adorbzness in one photo!

Insane In sale

So, what happens when H&M suddenly has a flash sale and puts all their sale items at P200, P300 and P500?

This is what happens:

Insane!

But that's how the word "sale" transforms people.

Heck, I was transformed, too.

Much ado about Camachile

During this Zambales trip, I learned, saw and tasted something new.

This:

It's called Camachile. And it grew abundantly it Magalawa Island that my colleagues kept of picking them from the tree.

The taste and texture are both interesting, although it's not something I'll go out of my way looking for.

You're such a beach!

This is my view for the next 2 days.

I like it!

Egg-xactly!

The past few weeks have been spent hunting down the elusive Oishi Salted Egg potato chips. And luckily, I've been successful each time.

This is so addicting! It can't be good.

But, but, but, it tastes soooo good!

FMM: Feeling Crazy

It's been a while since I've listened, and wrote, about Kim Carnes. The last one was about her famous song: "Bette Davis Eyes."

Suddenly, I missed her rich and textured voice, with that rasp that gives it depth and character.

So, since it's a Friday, I'm bringing back Kim and her other famous song, "Crazy in the Night."



Don't you just love her voice? I know I do.

First job high

During the last Holy Week holidays, I was able to fix my shelves and found so many old photos - some as far back as college.

Since today is a #throwbackthursday, it's a good time to unearth one of those photos. Particularly, a photo of D' Frendz.

I think we were all on our first jobs when this was taken. And my theory why Mona isn't in the photo is that this might be the time when she was studying in Michigan.

Ah, the good times.

Details... Details...

Something that I've been working on for more than 6 months is finally almost complete. It's something I conceptualized and watched over until the last detail.

Can't wait to see it all come together.

Sleeve and let live

There's this really old joke about swimsuits, and it goes like this:

A: May for sale na swimsuit, mura lang.
B: Talaga?
A: Oo, kaya lang long-sleeved siya.

What made it funny back then was the fact that it was almost incredulous to have a swimsuit with sleeves, much more with long sleeves.

But times have changed. As you can see in this latest swimsuit collection from SM Department Store.

Long sleeve the swimsuit!

Get on the Express!

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

Dropped by SM North EDSA yesterday, and was floored by this board up on the ground floor.

Pizza Express is here!

It was one of my favorite pizza joints in HKG. I'd eat there a lot, and I've been to their branches in Central, TST and even in Stanley.

Now, I can finally relive that experience again. Without having to go to HKG.

It never fails!

Last night, I heard Easter Vigil Mass at St. Francis Church in LSM. It felt like continuing a tradition because from the Franciscan Chapel, I'm now in a Franciscan Church. Plus, I graduated from a Franciscan school. If Francis Mark were here, then it would be uber complete.

And just as it did many Easter masses ago, the singing of the Gloria and lighting of the Church took my breath away.

It never fails to do that. And some things never change.