And baby turns 1

Happy Birthday Baby Noah! You're growing up to be such an smart, active and adorable little boy!

Blow out your candles and enjoy your cake! (Obviously, you are. Harhar.)

(Shali)marred

The 70s were such a great era for dance and disco music. And not just the head banging, body slamming type of dance music. There were groups that specialized in music that you just sway your head and body to.

One such group with this type of music was Shalimar. They served hit after hit, giving the disco denizens more than enough reasons to just hold on to their drinks and chill on the dance floor.

They had a lot of hits, but one of my all-time favorites is "Second Time Around."



Obviously, I'll be listening to this FMM ditty the second, third, fourth, fifth time around.

LFLTAT: Romp and Circumstance

SM Department Store's random sales are both ugh and woot!

Ugh, because I always see something nice and end up buying things. Woot because they're usually 50% off on an already affordable price. Ergo, that's like a double deal!

Just like this LFLTAT which I put together this week.

It's a striped and embroidered romper, plus a loose red shirt. It's an outfit that screams "weekend chic!"

And the total look is less than P600!

There's even enough left for a shoe.

Wait, let me look for one.

Dog-gone elevator

The one in Makati Square must love dogs.

A particular breed, in fact.

Doggone it!

Expressing myself!

Now, I can go to the airport from the office in a faster and more convenient way!

There's a P2P to the airport from Galleria!

Now, that's another good reason to travel.

Shirt cut to style

The minimalist in me can't resist a nicely cut, beautifully crafted white shirt. And this isn't true just for me, but also for my Ates.

Uniqlo had this super chic white t-shirt dress, and I had to get it!

But white doesn't have to be too plain and boring. With the right accessories, it can be stylishly cool. Just like what I put together to dress up this white shirt dress.

The white espadrille sneakers are as casual and comfy, which makes it the perfect footwear. To add pops of color, I've added yellow tassel earrings. These 2 items were both from Parfois. Finally, a cross body bag in the same hue, which I got from SM Department Store.

And that's my shirtcut, I mean shortcut, to style.

Sunday Especial

Wait, there's more!



A reunion duet with Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, singing their iconic 80s hit! I'll admit, watching this video made me sentimental, almost to the point of being teary-eyed.

This is a good weekend for music.

You can't Hyde from this!

Stumbled upon this video of the recent Hyde Park concert featuring Kylie Minogue. And gosh, I was psyched when I saw it.

Here's why:



Kylie Minogue singing Rick Astley. Then, Rick Astley appearing on stage! Then there's the fact that they sang a mash up of "Lucky" and "Never Gonna Give you up."

I'm going to watch this over and over and over and over and over again tonight.

FMM: In Wolf's clothing

With such a busy week - and a working weekend in the offing - I'm looking for something happy and boppy to listen to this Friday.

Times like these, I gravitate towards the new wave sounds of the 80s and 90s. Just like this infectious ditty from Peter Wolf.

"Lights Out" was one of their hits and was a mainstay in a lot of discos (yes, discos) in the 90s. And given how catchy it is, I can't blame them.

Baby you're a...

Will someone please bring Firework Oreos to Manila?

I'm sure it's going to be explosive!

Noah denying it!

My grandson is one dapper, cutie-patootie and adorable little man.

Can't wait to see Noah again!

Even more Marvel-ous!

Comic book geek mode on!



I've been reading Captain Marvel even as a kid, so seeing it in real life is such a thrill!

Between this and Wonder Woman, it looks like 2019 is the year of the female superheroes!

Bring it on!

Traveling in (sando) style

So, it turns out that there's a scissor inside my backpack. They asked me to check it in, leaving me without a hand carried luggage.

After scrounging around the bag for something to use as an alternative bag, this was all I could find:

Yes, I'm the most stylish traveler in Mactan Airport. My iPad, boarding pass, book, and other travel accoutrements are inside a sando bag from Taboan Market.

Classy.

Capitol City

In all my visits to Cebu City this year, there's one place I never fail to visit:

Cebu Capitol Church, or as I know it more, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church.

I was first introduced to this church during Lu-Ann's wedding. Since then, I've been drawn to its simplicity and solemnity. And even if it's been renovated and the interiors are a bit more modern, it was still able to keep its vibe.

Good thing that some things never change.

Product Placement

The first place I visit on this weekend trip to Cebu was a convenience store. And what do I see?

It's our product!

This is a good sign.

FMM: Cat-sing up

Since Jeremy Scott is making a line of clothes for dogs, I'm doing something cat-related for today's Friday Magic Madness.

Real Life was a big name in New Wave back in the 80s, and one of their iconic songs was "Catch me I'm falling." I remember my brothers listening to this song and watching the music video, mainly because it was the cool thing to do back then.

So, from "Cats" to "Catch," I now bring you today's Friday Magic Madness song.



No catch, just great music.

Pet-rified!

Now here's something new. Really new.

Everyone's talking about the H&M x Moschino collaboration. Now, that's not new. They have the usual men's and women's line. That's not new as well.

But get this, the collection will have something that's a first in the H&M collaboration universe:

A pet line!

Yes, you can now buy clothes for your pets! Really expensive clothes at that.

This collection is literally going to the dogs.

Doesn't take the cake

When Mark and I ate at DC Cafe last week, we both agreed that the ambience was super cool, especially for comic geeks.

We also agreed on the fact that their cakes were a major let down.

Guess you'll just have to go there for the ambience, then.

Imperial-ist

While everyone is joining the hype and getting on the Coco bandwagon, I'm going to indulge in my one of my favorite milk teas. Spoiler Alert: It's not Coco.

It's Macao Imperial Tea!

This is one of those super delish but underrated tea brands. And after seeing the snaking queues at Coco, I'd rather keep it that way.

School Scare

It's always scary when you find words spelled wrong.

What more if you find that wrongly spelled word on an educational material? Inside a school?!

Gosh. I fear for the students of this school.

Proofreader, please.

Alma mater hail to thee

The fact that we had to shoot on a Sunday was made easier by the fact that we were shooting just beside my old high school.

Of course, I had to take a few minutes off the shoot to visit LSQC.

It's changed a lot since I was last there. But surprisingly, there are some things that never changed. One example, my high school teacher was still there!

No matter how long ago I've graduated, I'll always be a Lourdesian at heart.

Mary Day

Mama Mary has a lot of significance in my life.

We have a lot of Marian devotees among family and friends. My alma mater has a devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. And she's answered a lot of my prayers.

That's why it's always a big celebration when there's a Marian day. Such as today.

Happy Birthday Mama Mary! Thank you for always being there for us.

FMM: I love it!

My sister posted this photo of my folks in Utah.

This inspired today's Friday Magic Madness post. It was inspired by this lovely photo of my parents in love.

It's one of the classic songs from Boy George and The Culture Club. And it's a song from the 80s, and it's all about love. 

Lovely indeed.

Bowled over, season 6!

Yes, it's that time of the month.

It's time for our Annual Bowling Tournament!

This will be fun!

Yeoh girl!

If Asia had a Merryl Streep, it has to be Michelle Yeoh!

She's one of the most prolific, most versatile, and most impressive actress in the region.

Right now, I'm enjoying her role in Star Trek:Discovery. It's 2 of my faves in one show. How awesome is that?

Extranjo te

Suddenly, I had this intense craving for Pinguinos and Choco Lala.

I've written about these before. These were my all-time favorite snacks when I was in Mexico. My anfitriones found it charming that these 2 were my favorite "Mexican food." After all, it made me look like a 20+ year old with the appetite of a 6 year old.

Is there a Mexican grocery store nearby? I'm in desperate need of these 2. Like, now.

Cool School

Yesterday, I visited my nephew at UST Hospital. The last time I was in UST was more than 20 years ago. And this was actually the first time I explored their school grounds.

First impression - it's smaller than I thought it would be. From the outside, UST looks like a sprawling campus. But from the inside, everything looks so compact.

Second impression - they have a lot of food choices inside! Students won't get hungry if they study here. Neither would they want to go out since everything's there anyway.

While I only stayed in the area for a few hours, it gave me a glimpse of what this school is like. And truth be told, I'm curious to see more of UST. Might just come back and explore it again soon.

Joke(r) time

It's an understatement to say that the coffee that Mark ordered was a joke.

After all, it's the Joker coffee at D.C. Cafe.

*insert laugh track here*

The Chan of a lifetime

Today is the first of September. And we all know what that means:

It's Jose Mari Chan season!

Now, more than ever, it's Christmas in our hearts.