The Life Aquatic

Aquaman was one of my top 3 favorite DC characters. The other 2 were Red Tornado and Hawkman.

I've seen Red Tornado and Hawkman in the series "Legends of Tomorrow," and I've always wanted to see Aquaman in a live action film.

The fact that he appeared in Justice League was already a thrill. And now, it's a much bigger thrill to see the trailer of the full Aquaman film!



And Nicole Kidman is there, too!

This film is so, SO sold!

Le Sheikh

It's always a good surprise when you run into a collegemate.

And an even better surprise when you end up working with them.

Just like how I was surprised when Sheikh was the AD for one of the videos I did.

It's a small world after all.

Let sleeping cats lie

Here's a little dose of cat cuteness on a Sunday.

Wouldn't it be great to sleep like this?

Hotness!

On our last day in CDO this week, we stopped by a pasalubong place, and this immediately caught my eye.

It's such a beautifully hot sight.

FMM: Ross' Wizardry

The old song "Home" has been sung by so many artists in so many ways.

But in my personal opinion, Diana Ross still sung it best.



Her rendition for "The Wiz" is so raw and heartfelt that your eyes can't help but moisten while listening to it.

Such is her wizardry.

Heaven scent

Because I'm a scent geek, I was totally thrilled when I got this package that Gary s(c)ent from the U.S.

What's in the box?

It's a load of Bath and Body Works Scents!

Thanks, Gary!

Leafing through the past

The reason why the anahaw print pieces from the Plains & Prints x Mark Bumgarner resonate with me is that it reminds me of my Christmas wrapping theme in 2016.

That was the year of the Dolce & Gabbana banana leaf print. This was then carried over to a gift wrapper from Hallmark. The same gift wrapper I had to pick-up in Cebu!

Aside from the look-alike prints, I also liked how Bumgarner accented it with a black ribbon. This was the same thing I did in 2016.

And because of that, I'm definitely getting this anahaw ensemble.

Now this is what I call the "gift" of fashion.

Mark's Money Pieces

With bated breath, I waited for them to reveal the Plains and Prints x Mark Bumgarner on-line.

By the time 8pm hit, they already showed the full collection via a live video. And as expected, the pieces were super gorgeous!

The cuts were classic, feminine yet modern. And the prints, beautifully inspired by local flora.

But if I were to single out which are the most covetable pieces that the Ates would gravitate to, it has to be this dress:

And this top:

And this skirt (with the top):

(The print looks familiar, eh?)

Okay, time to head on to a Plains and Prints store next week.

Got it from my Mamma

I've been hearing a lot of good reviews about "Mamma Mia: Here we go again."

Frankly, the first time I saw the trailer, I found it a bit shady. But after hearing all the good things my friends have been saying about it, looks like I'm going to watch it and give it a chance.

Here we go again!

You do the Matt

Here's the reason why we're in Cebu this weekend!

Our new campaign for Uratex is finally launching. It a campaign that was built of feels, fun and a really cool endorser:

I've worked with many endorsers in my career, and Matteo is one of the best. He's easy to work with, collaborative, and really makes it a point to know his brand well. No wonder the team had such an easy and fun time working with him.

Here's to the start of a great partnership with an equally great guy.

Sweet Cebu

The last time I was in Cebu, I heard of Abaca Baking Company.

Talk is that they've got awesome cakes and pastries. But I was never able to try any of them.

Since I'm back in Cebu this weekend, I made sure not to make the same mistake.

My eyes immediately went to the Whoopie Pie and the Daily Cupcake. Which I bought of course.

The talk is real. Very real.

FMM: Me, Tarzan. You, sing.

From left field, this song suddenly popped up from the car that I was riding.



My gosh! It's "Tarzan Boy" from Baltimora!

If this song was played in a disco in the 80s, people would immediately swarm the dance floor and start doing the "Tarzan scream action" while the refrain is playing. Yes, 80s people are cheesy like that.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhhhhhhhhh, I really like this song!

Mark your territory

And just like that, Plains & Prints has another collaboration!

Just by looking at the typography, I know this is Mark Bumgarner!

Knowing his aesthetic and eye for detail, I'm sure this collection will be a stunner.

Sold!

G.V.

This was an iconic brand back in the 70s and 80s. In fact, her jeans were the must-have-jeans and her name was the epitome of stylish cool.

And look, the brand is still around after all these decades!

A pleasant, fashionable surprise.

From Gofer to Goldmine

Who wouldathunk?!

The favorite gofer boy of Senora Santibanez:

Turns out to be a rum baron IRL!

How's that for a telenovela plot twist?

Great Scots!

Here's another Royal film worth looking forward to:



I think this Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan film is the Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow of this decade.

LFLTAT: SG is So Good!

For this particular post, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

These goodies from Zalora in SG cost me less than SG$20! That's less than P800 for a knockout dress and a fabulous, fabulous pair of slides!

Shopping on-line has never been so good!

Zalora-mpage

As I told Mark, my luggage is already full even before leaving MNL for SG.

Jo and I were talking about the Great Singapore Sale, or GSS for locals and frequent travelers. She sent me an article that stated that GSS isn't as Great as it was before, and good deals were few and far between. Jo seconded the article, and that made me think that I might not be able to do much shopping while in SG.

Then, while browsing the Zalora PH site, I thought of checking out the Zalora SG site.

And they were on sale.

AND THEY WERE ON SALE!

Things were super duper cheap, and super duper nice!

So, I ordered stuff from Zalora SG. Had them sent to Jo, and told her that I'll pick it up when I got there.

Then I ordered some more.

Then I ordered some more.

Until I ended up with these:

All these!

And that's why even before I left MNL, my luggage was already full.

But it was so, so worth it!

FMM: The other Donna

You aren't a 90s kid if you don't know this classic song from 1996.



Yes! Donna Lewis' ditty "I love you always forever" was on everyone's playlist during that time. And when we say playlist, it meant the radio or the CD man.

It's hard to believe that this song is already 22 years old! It's as nice to listen to now as it was then.

Go, Donna!

Black to basics

Yes, black is the default outfit color of choice within the advertising community.

Witness...

We didn't talk about it, but we ended up wearing practically the same thing! (Except for Logie who was in gray.)

How's that for blacking out.

Meals with Mark: Not chickening out!

Another SG staple we tried was 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken! I've tried this several times before and wanted Mark to experience the crispy goodness of this popular joint.

Gosh! It was an all-poultry diet during our SG trip.

Meals with Mark: Tian Tian Tian Tian...

Food is one of our priorities whenever we travel, and SG was no exception.

Thanks to Jo who acted as our foodie guide, we were able to visit places that even I haven't tried before!

Last Saturday, Jo brought us to this super duper popular Hainanese Chicken hawker stall in the Maxwell Hawker Center. The nondescript place was called, drumroll please...

Tian Tian! *spirit fingers*

The queue was a good indication that this was an excellent choice. Even if it was quite long, we only waited for about 10-15 minutes. But it was worth it!

This place won the Hawker Hero contest against Gordon Ramsay. And it was also got good reviews from Anthony Bourdain!(+)

We all tried it, and it was really good!

This deserves an encore!

Singa-four

Thanks to this quick SG weekend getaway, Mark and I have now visited 4 countries!

This is his first SG visit, while I can't count mine. But, we actually agreed last year that we should try to visit a new country every year. And this trip ticks off the box for 2018.

The only thing is that this trip was too short. We should come back to SG again soon.

Durian for your money

Since it was out of stock in 2 of the McDonald's stores I visited, I thought I wouldn't be able to try the Durian McFlurry here in SG.

Thankfully, they had it in the airport!

Ugh! It's SO good! But I can only have so much durian in a day.

Don't call me chicken!

McDonald's Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich. We meet again.

First time I tried this was in HKG. Now, it's in SG.

Two different countries, but it's the same great chicken sandwich.

Carl's Jr. is in for major competition this SG visit.

FMM: Rain, man!

Our flight is 3 hours delayed because of the rain. Apparently, the airport is on red-alert, meaning that all ground activity and flights are at a halt. Too much thunder, lighting and rain.

What best to do in a situation like this? Just laugh it off.



Count on Neil Sedaka to be apt and relevant this Friday Magic Madness day.

Like a fourth of July!

Yes, it's American Independence day! And this is the first time Ate Lissa and family will celebrate it together in Utah.

Plus, it's the first 4th of July celebration for our adorable Baby Noah!

This occasion does deserve fireworks!

Two adorable

This photo is one of those that paints a thousand words. Heck, I'd like to "caption this" photo over and over again.

BABY NOAH: Uncle, uncle, I think these beads are the key to another intergalactic dimension.

JAVIER: Uhm... no...

And that's just the beginning.

Brown-ie points!

A Murphy Brown reboot!



I'm in!

Givenchy Given-chic

The House of Givenchy has been in the spotlight in 2018.

First, their founder, Hubert de Givenchy passed away in March this year.

A few months after, a Royal Bride, Meghan Markle, wore Givenchy to her wedding. And everyone was enamored by the simplicity of Clare Waight Keller's design for the bride.

That made me curious to see their F/W 2018/2019 collection. Luckily, it was already on-line.



This collection hits the mark in more ways than one. It's a fitting ode to Hubert as the designs hark back to his early years. And it kept that chic minimalism that made Meghan's bridal gown stand out.

It's nice to see chic back on the runway.

Bravo, Givenchy!

Same, same, but different

Just caught Christina Aguilera's new MTV, "Fall In Line."



And yes, Demi Lovato is there, too.

Strangely, Christina looks very different. But her voice is undeniably the same.

Oh well, thing change, right?