The Royal Treatment

After last year's very muted, black and white Christmas wrapping theme, my idea for this year's theme was the complete opposite.

At the get go, my mind was veering towards something more vibrant and elegant. A thought that was further solidified after seeing this wrapper:

It was the royal blue and gold combination that sold me to it. The combo felt so luxe, yet also quiet and muted.

Because of that colour scheme, the accents and accoutrements also followed suit. Found this really nice metallic gold ribbon, and a glittered gold snowflake.

That same blue and gold theme carried on to my gift cards, which echoed both the colours and patterns of those materials.

Together, these elements created this year's Christmas wrapping theme.

Now, let me put on Lorde's "Royal" in the background.

On cue

It never fails.

When September 1 hits, all these come out.

The Christmas season has officially begun. Especially at SM.

A perfect foil

As Christmas nears and parties are starting to kick-off, the need for holiday outfits is once again upon us. Well, upon my sister, to be exact.

Since the holidays are all about sparkle and shine, those are the elements that I'm looking for when looking for a holiday outfit.

Two weeks ago, Mark and I had lunch with Patrick at Alabang Town Center. Passed through Metro Department Store and found this gold, foil skirt. 

It doesn't look like it in the photo, but it's actually gold foil. It's also light and pleated, so it moves very gracefully.

In the same store, there was this knit top in beige, which was a good pair for the skirt. The boat neckline, extended sleeves and material make it classic and muted enough to match with the brightness of the skirt.

It's a perfect outfit for a casual yet chic Christmas party.

Jouy-ful, Jouy-ful

Of course, the year 2020 can't wrap up without me showing my Christmas wrapping theme for the year. 

It was the first week of March - a week before ECQ was declared - when my eyes were drawn to this pair of wrappers at National Book Store superbranch.

What drew these to me is the "Toile du Juoy" feels that they give. Since my first encounter with this type of fabric in Paris when I was younger, I've been drawn to it. In fact, I paid good money to buy a few yards of Toile du Juoy fabric from a store near L' Tour Eiffel.

Luckily, they were well-stocked and this allowed me to get a lot of these wrappers. Enough to cover all my Christmas needs, and then some.

Aside from the pattern, the wrapper gained significance after the CQ period because it felt like life went back-to-basics. And it doesn't get more back-to-basics than black and white.

Once the wrapper was secured, it was time for the accoutrements. 

To add a hint of Christmas to the black and white wrapper, I chose the colour red for the ribbon. As an accent, both black and white ribbons were added, echoing the wrapper's hue. Of course, the personalized cards had to be there. Finally, since the wrapper had a pinecone print, it was an easy choice to make pinecones the accent to the whole thing.

Together, these elements created this Juoy-ful and timely Christmas gift-wrapping theme for 2020!

And as we wrap-up Christmas and get ready to welcome the New Year, let's all hope and pray for a Joyful 2021!

Hotdog!

I’m loving the 4th of July skin of Google for 2019.

It has the very vintage Americana vibe to it, which I love.

Good job, Google.

Celebrating freedom!

Without fail, Google reminds us of today's Philippine Independence Day and how we should cherish the freedoms we are given.

Hope other people remember that, too.

All eyes on me...

The new year has begun, and I realized I wasn't able to post about my Christmas wrapper theme for 2018.

After last year's very subdued and grown-up avian theme, I decided to tap my inner child once more.

It started with these Circus-themed gift wrapper that caught my eye during the middle of last year. (Yes, I started that early.)

The wrapper was filled with primary colors, so my ribbon followed suit. To accent the red background, my ribbon colors were blue and red.

To add a bit of child-like whimsy, I used this rocking horse pin that had some Circus-feels to it as well. That, plus a very Big-Top gift card, and we were all set.

It's funny, but some malls also had "Circus" as their theme for their Christmas decor. Looks like everyone's taking a page off the P.T. Barnum playbook.

But as for me, Britney will always be the reason why I gravitate towards the Circus.

Working state of mind

Since I've been working the past 3 weekends (including Sundays) plus holidays (including today), this song is what's playing in my head.



Good thing I love my work.

Flights of Fancy

Fact, I've always wanted to do a bird-themed wrapping for Christmas. But I've never found a wrapper that would fit the theme.

Until this year.

The moment I saw this black wrapper with bird prints, I knew it was the one. In fact, right then and there, I bought all their stocks - around 80 pieces or so.

After that, the search for the accoutrements was on. First stop, ribbons. Since the wrapper had touches of black, pink, yellow and green, I opted to choose one from that color family. The contrast between the sweetness of pink and the strength of black was tempting. And I gave in to the temptation.

Since the wrapper had bird prints, the accent had to be in theme. Enter this pink feather that was available en masse at SM. Finally, for the card, I had 4 bird themed borders printed.

With all the materials in place, it was time to wrap the gift.

First, the wrapper:

Then, the ribbon and accents:

And voila!

I love it when the concept in my mind really takes flight.

Apocalyptic!

Going to and being inside Divisoria on a holiday be like...

And that's the truth!

Holidazed

Today is the Eid ul Fitr holiday! And it's the first holiday under the Duterte administration.

Despite that, we have work this afternoon.

Oh well, that's advertising.

Mega-merry

The Christmas decoration at the Mega Fashion Hall is up, and it's uber chic and impressive!

It's a Christmas tree atop a fashionable carousel. I reminds me of the carousel that Chanel had in one of their fashion shows.

The color palette is Tiffany blue and gold, which is such a classy combination.

When I was still living in HKG, I looked forward to seeing the Christmas decorations at IFC and Elements. They were really well-thought of wonderfully executed.

Seeing this today, I was suddenly transported back to that time. Mega Fashion Hall's Christmas decor is definitely at par with the ones in HKG.

A banner day

Today, in the U.S., they're celebrating the 4th of July.

I still remember back in grade school, we'd celebrate the 4th of July in the Philippines. It was called "Fil-Am Friendship day," and it was even a holiday. (Methinks.)

And to celebrate their independence, I think it's fitting that we play their national anthem. Sung by an American legend, Aretha Franklin.



Happy 4th of July!

Feeling Sheepish

It's official! (For the Chinese, at least.) It's the New Year!

This year is the year of the Sheep. So I hope everyone has a baaaaanging good year!

It's time!

Yes, when you're in the Philippines, Christmas unofficially starts in September. But in my book, the holidays really kick in when December 1 arrives.

And since today is December 1, hit it Andy Williams!



Yes, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

State of Independence

It's the country's 116th Independence day!

Three cheers to freedom!

(More importantly, three cheers to non-working holidays!)

Labor of love

While everyone was enjoying the labor day holiday, some members of the Mass Comm faculty saw this as an opportunity to meet and talk about the upcoming school year.

Some people might think that we're nerds for thinking of school when we're supposed to be out watching Spiderman or hitting the mall or the beach.

But hey, we love our students so much that we don't mind setting aside this holiday for them.

(Wrapping) Paper Trail

It's almost the end of October and I still haven't found a wrapper for Christmas!

Truth is, I've been on the lookout for a wrapper since March this year. In fact, I found one that I really, really, really liked at Fully Booked. It was a white wrapper with blue and white prints, similar to the Ming vase print that I've always obsessed over. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough of the paper to meet my requirements.

Recently, I found two wrappers that are very promising. The first is a pair of plaid print wrappers which could be an homage to punk. (Which is enjoying a resurgence.) The other has these Paul Smith-esque stripes which I've always wanted to use.

I think I need to find matching ribbons first before I decide on which one to go with. And hopefully I can do that in a few weeks so I can get my wrapping underway.

No free ride

The past few years, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the MRT gave away free rides during Independence Day. It happened last year, in 2008, in 2009, and I remember writing about the  pleasant experience.

Yesterday was Independence day, and I took an MRT ride from Shangri-La Plaza to Cubao. I thought there would be free rides just like the previous years, but no. There were no surprise freebies from our train system this year.

It must be some cost-cutting initiative.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

September 1 is a one of the dates I look forward to. I'd wake up and excitedly prepare for work. Board the Cubao jeep going to the MRT station, whip out my stored value ticket, go through the security check, and go up to the platform. There, i'd hear it. The sound that never fails to lift my spirits high:

"We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas. And a Happy New Year!"

Today marks the official start of the Christmas season in Manila. Radio stations would start playing all the cheesy and not-so-cheesy holiday ditties. People will start greeting you "Merry Christmas" in half-jest. National Book Store will start bringing out their cards and wrappers. And people will start taking out their naughty/nice list and start shopping.



I love, love, LOVE the fact that we have THE longest Christmas season in the world. It begins September and ends on the Feast of the Magi. I guess it reflects our innate love for parties and joyous occasions. Being 101% Filipino, I always try to find an excuse to party, or organize a party. There's something about friends, food and funky music that really gives me an adrenaline rush. The season gives us the excuse to party as much as we want, as long as we want.



I'm going to miss that this year. When I rode the MTR this morning, it was the usual tri-lingual PA system asking everyone to "Please mind the gap between train and the platform," and "Please stand back from the door." When I was walking to the office, I had the same "it's business as usual" feeling. No one's there to greet me "Merry Christmas" or "Uy, Ber months na! Pasko na!"

Maybe I should just run off to HMV, buy a Christmas CD and pop it in my iBook. It won't be the same, but it's a start.

MERRY CHRISTMAS WORLD!