Separates Lives: Coral Cool

So, the Plains & Prints Purple Sale started about a week ago, and as expected, there were a lot of great finds at the sale.

Time was when I'd immediately rush off to their store, peruse and eventually buy a bevy of dresses. My blog is testament to that.

This sale, though, there was a shift in my shopping habit. Instead of the usual dresses, my eyes went for separate pieces. Whether it was a knit top, a gathered skirt or denim pants, these were the types of items that eventually ended up in my shopping bag.

Separates are more versatile. It can be styled different ways, and can be mixed and matched with different brands. Just like this ensemble.

The pants are from Plains & Prints - they're the Coral pants from last year's summer collection. I've been eyeing these pants since last year, but eventually bought the dark denim version. Now, the pants are back, and they're at 50% off to boot!

The top is from GU, and is a shirt with interesting balloon sleeves. The simplicity of the style and colour makes it a good pair to the intricate print of the skirt.

I'm living for this ensemble. As well as the other ensembles put together, thanks to separate pieces from Plains & Prints.

FMM: Keep Walking

No, this isn't a Johnny Walker post.

After all, it should be a Friday Magic Madness post.

I'm surprised that Lee Ritenour hasn't had an appearance on FMM yet.

So, let's change that today.

"Dramwalkin'" is one of her classic hits. And it's a song that's a quintessential Sunday song. Whether you're driving, doing chores, or just lounging at home, this song is the perfect accompaniment.

This song also reminds me of this very old radio ad for a jazz bar - "Limelight", if memory serves me right. It starts with the opening lines of the song, then, the FVO comes in, saying "48 steps. Stairway to the new Limelight." Or something like that.

In any case, this is a dreamy song that I'm glad to listen to again and again and again.

Night walker

There's something very soothing and calming about walking at night. Much more so when you have this cute poodle joining you.

Kuro enjoys walking out a lot. Just like me. 

We should so this more often.

Missing magazines

Back in 2018, when you visit a bookstore, you'll se racks and racks of magazines. There were so many titles, so many options, so many subsets, and so many choices. 

Fast forward to today, you walk into Fully Booked, and their magazine rack is reduced to this.

They're actually in a better place because National Bookstore has ditched magazines completely. 

Call me old, but I'm definitely missing the good old days of magazines.

Gifted designer

When you mention Lucy Torres-Gomez's name as a designer, it's Kashieca that immediately comes to mind. She's had several collaborations with the brand, and you can see a lot of pieces from that collection in Ate's closet.

During a visit to National Bookstore, a discovery happened. It turns out that she also has a collaboration with NBS, and she designed a collection of gift wrappers.

Each wrapper has an interesting story rooted on her growing up years in the Visayas. And each design had a metallic detail that makes the wrappers feel very luxe and very designer.

This is going to make gift wrapping a lot more fun. And chic!

Weave got it all for you!

No, this isn't a post about SM.

It's about Gateway. We went there last week and saw that there was a trade fair happening at the mall's atrium. It was particularly interesting because it was a showcase of different Filipino weaves.

Chanced upon one of the stalls and found a trove of pretty weaves with interesting embroidery. The pattern reminded me of aboriginal drawings of people, or cave drawings from ancient times. And the white embroidery against he colourful weave actually worked.

This pattern was from a skirt. Naturally, it went from the rack to a shopping bag that went home with me. A few hours later, it was off to The SM Store (wait a minute, so this is a post about SM) and got this white knit top with gold buttons from GTW.

And with that, the ethnic, Filipino weave can now be worn as a casually cool ensemble.

Kani get it!

As an onigiri fan, trying out the new Creamy Kani onigiri from 7-11 was on top of my to-do list.

Looks like 7-11 is really upping its food game.

My verdict: I'm missing the crunch of the seaweed, and the rice is a bit hard, unlike the usual Japanese onigiri. Flavour-wise, though, this is good. The kani and cheese balance each other out in terms of the taste and texture.

Next time, I'll buy seaweeds separately and wrap it myself. That's going to take this from a 7 to a 9!

One for the (Pala)books

Had time in between classes, so it was the opportune time to hie off to Quiapo and try all the food items that's been appearing on-line.

Actually, there was only 1 thing on my agenda, and that's the palabok.

Went to Quinta Market and saw the cluster that sold this iconic Pinoy noodle dish. The brand that usually trend on-line are Pastora's and Jolli Dada. Saw both, but eventually went with the one closer to the entrance.

Yup, it was Jolli Dada. Yes, there was a line, but it was manageable. Plus, they gave me a seat instantly, and that was a big plus. Also, their palabok was available instantly!

Overall, the palabok was good. Very flavourful. Has the right balance of flavours and textures. And for the price, it was value for money.

Was it worth the trip? It was okay. Off-hand, I'd still go for Little Quiapo's palabok.

But still, I'm glad to have had this experience.

FMM: A different Sensation

Sampling from songs isn't a new thing. There are a lot of hit songs that get bits and pieces from earlier - sometimes not overly popular - songs.

In 1980, this hit song came out from Loleatta Holloway.

"Love Sensation" was a hit on its own. I'm sure this was played and re-played in many discos back in the day.

If the song sounds familiar, because it was also sampled in 2 hits songs.

First is the 1989 Black Box hit, "Ride on Time."

Second is Marky Mark's (aka Mark Wahlberg) 1991 hit, "Good Vibrations." Incidentally, Loleatta really appeared and was credited for this song.

So, today's Friday Magic Madness is a triple treat! Now that's a first!

Meals with Mark: Join the Cue

Of course, a trip to Korea won't be complete without authentic Korean Barbecue.

Mark and I decided to eat at this Samgyupsal restaurant near the hotel. It was very local, to the point that it had no English menu and we had to rely on pictures. 

And yes, everything we ordered was great! 

We're in the land of Korean Barbecue, after all.

LFLTAT: Distressed call

And the denim on denim saga continues.

Was just passing through The SM Store (yeah, right) and saw this denim ensemble that caught my eye. 

It's a denim skirt and vest combo in dark denim. What made this pair interesting were the distressed details on both pieces. For the vest, the hem was distressed, exposing the pocket. For the pants, the side slit had distressed touches, too.

What's even more interesting is that both items were on sale. So, this ensemble was less than P1000.

You did it again, SM. You did it again.

Meals with Mark: You can Canton me

It's been ages since Mark and I were last at HKIA. In fact, it was during our last layover there that we ran into Claire and Oboy.

We were looking for a place to have lunch, and we were debating if we should do our usual McDonald's, or try something else.

Eventually, our decision was to have Cantonese cuisine.

We both had dumplings with soup. Mark had the chive dumpling, and my order was the pumpkin  dumpling.

Trust HKIA to have top notch food. This meal was so good!

We should fly through HKG more often.

20 Vision

And just like that, my blog is 20 years old!

This is one of the 2 posts I made on May 19, 2025. 

So much has happened since then, and I'm glad that this blog is around to let me go back, relive and learn from 2 decades worth of experiences.

Happy Birthday Blog!

Wood you?

We walked this trail in Seogwipo, and it was interesting how a waterfall could be found within the city, just beside the main highway! We weren't able to take a shot of that falls, though.

What we were able to take photos of are the sculptures that line the forest area.

They're animals made of wood that fell from the trees in the forest. It's so clever because it repurposed wood into something both visually stunning and useful.

Meals with Mark: Hot and Cold

No, this isn't a Katy Perry song post.

It's about this Japanese restaurant that Mark and I saw outside the Seogwipo Maeil Ollie market.

The Japanese restaurant was called "Gold Finger" and they serve different types of sushi and maki. But what caught our eye was the cold noodles - a go-to order whenever we're in Japan. 

What made their version interesting was the broth. In Japan, the broth is usually warm, or room temperature. Here, it's cold. And not just cold, it had ice in the broth!

It was odd at first, but it turned out to be really good! And the sides and accompaniments also made this meal a joy to eat.

Eating something cool has never been this hot.

FMM: The blues

Today's Friday Magic Madness song is another one of those ditties that I'd hear a lot as a kid.

We had a big turntable in our old house in Morato, and it had a cabinet below where the records were stored. One of the records that was there was an LP of Dean Martin. And the song that was often played from that record is "Blue Moon."

This song from 1934 is one of his most iconic hits. Listening to it now, it's easy to understand why it's such a fave. The lyrics are poetic and beautifully written, and Dean Martin's voice is perfect for it.

We shouldn't wait for another blue moon to play this.

Street eats

Whenever you watch K-drama, one of the things they show a lot of is street food.

Because of that, we Pinoys became aware of, and started craving for Tteokbokki, fish cakes, gimbap, and such.

So, our first order of business in Jeju was to try out their street food. Well, street food-ish since these were from the Seogwipo Maeil Olie Market.

Mark and I had the mandu, a black pork bun - black pork is the other most popular produce of Jeju - and we washed it down with tangerine juice, of course.

The market was huge and there was so much to try. But we had to start somewhere, and this is where we stareted.

And yes, it was a good start.

That's what life gives you

You learn something new everyday.

The reason why "When life gives you Tangerines," is titled as such is because the drama was set in Jeju. And apparently, one of the things Jeju is known for is, of course, tangerines!

Gosh! There are tangerine stores everywhere! Sometimes, there would be 5 or more in a row.

There are tangerine chocolates, tangerine soft serve, tangerine cakes, dried tangerines, tangerine pies, tangerine juice - you name it, they've tangerine-d it!

Ergo, when life gave Jeju tangerines, they made a whole industry out of it.

Triple threat

It's always good to check out Kashieca since they occasionally come up with pleasant surprises.

Just like this pair of belted wide pants.

Saw it in the 70% sale rack, and gosh! This pair was less than P400!

What's great about this is the versatility. You can style this pair in a myriad of ways.

Let's start with a classic:

Keeping the colour story, a light beige knit top - also from Kashieca - gives this ensemble a very light, very casual and very polished look.

Second, let's go a bit more preppy. The pants look great with a knit polo shirt - also from Kashieca - and the light blue hue plays nicely on the khaki.

Third, let's have a vested interest. This Plains & Prints knit vest automatically caught my eye upon seeing it. The pattern gives that Navajo vibe, and the colour echoes the colour of the paints.

So much chicness in one pair of pants!

Make a point

By voting in today's elections, that's what I did.

Here's to a better Philippines!

All grown up

Gsoh! Kendra is all grown up. 

And she's one of the faces of Penshoppe!

It's kind of surreal to see her this grown up. After all, we've seen her as a baby, as a toddler, as a little girl, and now this.

But one thing is consistent. Even as a kid, she's always been a stunner.

Habemus Papam!

After much anticipation, we have a new Pope.

By God's guidance and grace, we now have Pope Leo XIV.

Apparently, he's visited the Philippines several times before as a Cardinal. And I'm certain the Filipinos are all anticipating when we'll visit again. This time as Pope.

That's something to look forward to.

FMM: Teri take two

With so many great songs that are part of my playlist and LSS list, it's quite surprising that there's only 1 Teri Desario song featured in my Friday Magic Madness posts.

Let's change that today.

"It takes a man and a woman," was a monster hit back in 1978. It's such a hit that it's been remade, including a local version sometime in 2013. And while that version was good, it's nothing like the original.

Because it only takes Teri Desario to sing a Teri Desario song.

This means war!

During last week's 4As meeting, there was an interesting discussion on using AI for design, with some of the best Filipino graphic designers as speakers.

This is definitely a hot topic these days since a lot of creative processes are being taken over by AI. From finding visuals, to creating layouts, to manipulating images - things that Art Directors and Graphic Designers usually do. 

So, the burning question is, will machines replace people in design?

The consensus is "no." Because good design needs soul and culture - things that machines can't replicate. Right now, at least.

So, we're safe. 

For now, at least.

Cream of the Crop

Personally, I'm not a fan of crop tops. 

But sometimes, there are pieces that you find that make you re-think your fashion decisions.

For me, it was this cotton pique crop top from Straightforward.

It's a polo shirt style that's very classic - sans the sleeves and the full coverage.

And how do you wear something like this? Is it just for the Gen Zs of this world?

Absolutely not!

First, you can pair it with high-waited jeans - also from Straightforward. The height of the waist band will compensate for the crop, and it will eventually just show a sliver of skin - which is very chic.

Second, you can wear it inside a denim dress - also from Straightforward. It's the preppy look, but elevated.

Whilst I"m not a complete fan of crop tops yet, this is a good start.

Hush now

These pair of Mary Janes from Hush Puppies caught my eye immediately after spotting it.

It's a classic in many aspects - from the colour, to the material, to the style - it's quintessential Mary Janes.

And according to Ate Bullet, they'r e extremely comfortable, too.

Then and now, Hush Puppies really knows how to make good shoes.

Siniguel-uel-uel-as

You know it's summer when siniguelas is back in season.

This fruit really takes me back to my childhood. Particularly eating it while sitting on a tree branch in Lolo's place in Bicol.

Ah yes, the fruits of my childhood.

A Star-ry day

It's that time of the year, yet again.

This is a happy day for Star Wars geeks like me.

Coming up roses

That would best describe H&M's spring designer collaboration.

Magda Butrym is a Polish fashion designer known for her ultra-feminine aesthetic and her love for roses. And that love is evident in her capsule collection for H&M. 

This dress actually says it all.

After poring through the look book, my reaction was: "Someone rose to the occasion."

FMM: May it be

Today's Friday Magic Madness song is inspired by yesterday.

Confused?

"First of May" is one of the iconic hits of the Bee Gees. Released in 1969. It has this very soothing melody, and very visually vivid lyrics. It's also a song that's a karaoke staple. (Richard loves to sing this during our parties.)

This song May be the most appropriate FMM yet.

What's the Occasion?

It's Old Navy Occasion!

Yup, Zac Posen is also injecting his fashionable, feminine-chic DNA in Old Navy. 

There are elegant dresses and separates, both in printed and plain fabrics. As the name implies, their designs are good for any occasion, whether it's a Sunday brunch or a stylish dinner out, you can count on Old Navy to give you the right ensemble.

Again, I'm hoping they'll carry this line in MNL.