Sa Keith

Although I was rooting for Lenox and Will, I knew deep inside that Keith would win.

I'm sure Tyra would make a male model win this cycle, and it would be better if the one who won would be someone from her own mold.

Okay, a male model won. Let's go back to the old format now.

FMM: Kala mo

Unlike Dad who owned hundreds of cassette tapes back in the 80s, I only had a few. Being a very young student back then, I spent my allowance on other things like toys and comics. But when I really liked a musical artist, I'd buy his or her cassette tape.

One of the cassette tapes I owned and was constantly being played with Kalapana. And my favorite song, "The Hurt."



Hearing this again makes me miss the 80s all over again.

Doppelganger Dad

I've made it very clear that my Dad and I are similar in a lot of ways, both physically and attitudinally.

Now, there's another item to be added in our list of similarities.

In 2014, we both celebrated our birthdays in Tokyo.

He went on a short trip to Japan with Mom, Tita Evelyn, Esther and Yoly, and their flight in was on his birthday! Thank goodness Mark was there to treat my parents to a good first meal in Japan.

Omedetou Tanjoobi Gozaimas(u), Dad!

Looks Greek to me!

Last night's Greco-Roman party was so much fun. (Despite the little hitch that happened as the night progressed.)

It's been a while since I really dressed up for a Christmas party, and I'm glad I decided to really Greek it out this year and come as Ares. I thought the costume was awesome, and apparently, a lot of people thought so, too. There were so many folks asking to have their picture taken with me that I felt like a mascot. Harhar.

I wonder where I can wear this costume again.

Party Hat

I've been organizing parties and events for quite sometime, that's why when they assigned me to organize our office Anniversary party, I was more than willing and happy. I'm always glad to wear my party organizer hat.

I was so into the process that I even made renders of the ballroom and the stage, something that no one ever did before. (At least according to our Admin person.)



I'm now in the thick of making this render a reality, and so far, everything's going as planned.

It's going to be one fun party tonight!

Simply Immaculate

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and I enjoy hearing mass on this feast day because of all the nice hymns about Mother Mary. Particularly this one:



Happy Feast Day, Mother Mary!

Fashion Force

Star Wars is such a merchandise-friendly brand that it has been reincarnated into so many things. Personally, I have mugs, mouse pads, action figures, and of course, shirts.

Most of my Star Wars shirts are from Uniqlo, and I'm very happy with them. When I found out that Folded and Hung was coming out with a capsule collection that's Star Wars themed, I was wondering what they'd bring to the table.

Then I saw this shirt:

It's so geeky that it's cool!

It looks like a regular pattern from afar, but it's actually Darth Vader and two lightsabers!

I'm going to have to fit this shirt soon.

Spanish Saturday

One of the best ways to spend Saturday is with the company of family, especially when some of the family members are people you only see once in a long time.

Tonight was one of those Saturdays. Our almost-whole family (Biboy is in the U.S.) had dinner with Tita Evelyn, Esther and Yoly, and Ricky and Jake arrived, too. Needless to stay, it was a story-filled and nostalgia-laden evening.

Next time, our family should go to Barcelona to have another get together like this.

FMM: Yo quiero!

My cousins and Tita from Barcelona are in town! We had dinner the other day, and I had a chance to practice a bit of my Spanish again.

In once conversation, we were talking about the Spanish songs we still remember, and that led me to today's Friday Magic Madness song, which is a very, very old song from Carmen Miranda.



But of course, people remember the T. Rio version, which is quite a throwback, too.



Either way, I still can't get enough of this song. Especially now.

The good godson.

Two weekends ago, Tanya told me that they'll be in town to celebrate the birthday of my godson, Diego. It's been 4 years since I last saw him, and I was excited to see him again.

Since Diego is a big fan of Ben 10, I decided to design a Ben 10 birthday cake for him. I'm glad that I did since he loved it! It went well with his Ben 10 shirt.

Diego is growing up to be a very nice and polite boy. That, aside from being very smart and a blue/green belter in Taekwondo. I'm sure that we can look forward to many, many good things from Diego in the future.

Dress up, Dress down

During Mom's birthday, Ate Bullet and Kevin posted photos of Mom with us on separate occasions.

These two photos were taken 2 years apart, and in two different locations. We're also dressed very differently in both shots. But I noticed that despite the time and location differences, we're positioned in the same spot in both photos.

This must be the official family photo pose then.

Momazing

If selflessness, generosity, devotion and amazingness were personified, it would definitely be Mom.

From the time we were born, up until now, she has shown us that there is contentment in selflessness, fulfillment in generosity, beauty in devotion, and perpetual awe in being awesome.

Happy Birthday Mom! We are truly, truly blessed to have you in our lives.

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!

If you seek Amy

Amy Poehler, that is, then you should check out the new commercials of Old Navy. She's in them, and she's hilarious in them!









Well-written, well-acted, well-edited, and Amy Poehler! What's not to like about these commercials.

This means wars!

Star Wars, that is!

They've finally released the teaser-trailer for Episode 7.



Now I'm all geeky and giddy.

FMM: That's news!

Today is Ate Bullet's birthday. And it's a Friday!

This calls for a mash-up!

The Friday Magic Madness song I chose is a song that Ate Bullet and I danced to when we were kids. (Yes, I used to dance when I was a kid. Go figure.) 



I still remember that party vividly. It was the Dela Merced's house in Morato, and each family had to prepare a dance number. First, we danced to Toni Basil's "Street Beat," and when they asked for an encore. the two of us danced to Huey Lewis and the News' "Heart and Soul."

That was fun. I'd never do it again, but it was fun.

Merchandising is everything

So I was at the Fully Booked branch in SM Megamall Fashion Hall when my eyes were drawn to a bag tag display area at one corner of the store.

I'd love to say that I was drawn to the area because of the fabulous tags on display, but I can't. 

Here's the reason why:

Seriously, what was the merchandising display person thinking?

And Makati makes three

The people behind H&M Philippines have been very busy.

They've been here for less than 2 months, and they're already opening their 3rd store. They have a faster rate of opening than HKG did back in 2007.

Christmas shopping is sure to be a lot more fun this year.

First out the gate

This year was huge for designer collaborations.

From Target's team-up with Peter Pilotto and Joseph Altuzarra, to Alexander Wang's collection with H&M, to Kate Moss' return to Topshop, to Elie Tahari's turn at Kohl's - each one was much ballyhooed, and for good reason.

All these high end designer and mass brand team-ups are now leaving fashionistas wondering: "who's next?"

Well, Kohl's already gave us one answer.

It's Milly x Kohl's!

The first time I found out Milly was when I was still living in HKG. Automatically, I found her designs to be ultra-feminine and a lot of fun. And judging by her initial snaps of her collection, there's pretty much of that going around.

One brand down, I wonder who's next?

Two times the texture

With the weather getting nippier by the day, it's actually a good time to consider more textured clothing for everyday wear. Of course, our weather will never merit wool, cashmere or angora, but you can always wear something thicker, just like this textured dress that I got Ate Lissa.

The fabric is this heavy cotton knit blend, and it has an embossed design that makes it look like jacquard. But unlike jacquard, it's lighter and moves better.

If it becomes too breezy and your exposed shoulder is leaving you cold, you can always top it off with another texture - faux leather.

For our climate, faux leather is better because it's lighter. This H&M jacket has a lot of moto details, adding texture and giving it some edge.

Together, the two textures and colors meld nicely, making for a chic and cozy ensemble for a nippy day.

It's always more chic to dress for the cold.