Oh, lympics!

Watching the Olympic games on-line reminded me of something. I was actually at a former Olympic venue a few months ago!

One place that I wandered around in GA was the Olympic park. It was downtown and was at the center of almost everything. From there, I was able to go to the World of Coca-Cola, check out the Georgia Aquarium, and see both the Philips Arena and CNN Center.

Among locals, their favorite spot is the Olympic fountain. During summer, kids gather here in their swimsuits and beat the heat. It really looked like fun! If I were dressed for it, I might have joined in!

All-in-all, I'd say the Atlanta Olympic park deserves a gold medal for providing fun.

Seeing Silver! part deux

After a 20 year wait, another Pinoy finally went up the Olympic podium!

Hidilyn Diaz won silver at the weightlifting competition after the front runner - China - messed up. She was already assured of the bronze, but this twist of sporting fate moved her a notch higher.

Seeing her shedding tears of happiness while going up the podium left me a bit teary eyed, too. I could feel her pride and joy emanating from the computer screen.

Congratulations, Hidilyn. And here's to more medals from our athletes!

Carolina in my mind

Since I only had more than a week to spend in GA, I decided to spend as much time as I could with family.

But there was one thing I knew I had to do while I was there. There was an exhibit of Carolina Herrera's work at SCAD, and who would pass up the chance to see that, right?

I'm a huge fan of Carolina Herrera. In fact, I've written about her several times on this blog. The opportunity to see her work up close and personal isn't something that happens often. And I'm glad that I had the chance to do so.

The great thing about the exhibit is that it dates back all the way to her beginnings in fashion. I wasn't familiar with her work back in the 80s, and seeing her creations from that decade was a thrill. It goes to show that she had a strong vision and aesthetic even as she was just starting.

(Some Carolina Herrera originals from the 80s)

Another thrill came from the fact that some of the gowns I saw in person were famous gowns worn by some of my favorite celebrities. Gosh, I used to just look at these gowns in magazines, and now, I was in front of the actual thing!

One of those gowns was Taylor Swift's! And it's no secret that I love me some Taylor!

(Taylor Swift wore this!)

Another memorable piece was the wedding gown worn by Bella Swan (aka Kristen Stewart) in the film "Twilight."

(When I first saw this gown in the film, my first question was "Who made that?")

For hours, I just went around and around and around the exhibit, marveling at all the gorgeous creations of Carolina Herrera. And having seen a lot of her work in magazines and photos, they're no way as awesome as the original.

This museum visit was so inspirational, I think I'll bring out my chicken scratch pad and chicken scratch something very soon.

That's news!

No visit to Atlanta is complete without dropping by the bastion of all things newsy!

Going to the CNN Headquarters rekindles that Mass Comm flame in my heart. Believe it or not, I dreamed of being a newscaster at one point in my life.

If that came true, this is definitely where I would've wanted to work.

FMM: Togetherness

There's a lot of togetherness going on in my life the past month.

From a short trip to Tokyo to spend time together with Mark, to a slightly longer trip to the U.S. to spend time with the family. Then, there's this project I'm working on, and it's also about togetherness.

So, for today's Friday Magic Madness song, I'm playing a feel good ditty on togetherness, by the 5th dimension, no less.



Togetherness. You gotta love it!

Sibling Revelry: Full House

The last time I shared a room with my brother was more than 20 years ago.

The last time my siblings and I were in the same house together was longer than that.

So, it was such a welcome change to be living with them, albeit only for a week.

We all gathered at Biboy's house in GA for a week, leading up to Jul's wedding. And during that week, it felt like we were kids again, living in Scout Gandia, doing things together.

It was so refreshing to be able to spend the whole day with them. From waking up and preparing breakfast:

to doing the groceries, and eating at mall food courts:

to hearing mass, going to far away outlet malls, and eventually, attending Jul's wedding as a family.

One thing I realized after that week was how much I missed spending that much time with my siblings. In fact, I was having a mild case of sepanx when the day of my departure was nearing.

I'm so glad that we had this opportunity, and I look forward to having another opportunity like this sometime soon.

Far but familiar

After our meeting with one of my favorite clients, I remembered the fact that I saw one of their products when I was in the U.S. a few weeks ago.

Presenting Sarap Pinoy!
 

This is a line of ready-to-prepare Filipino desserts, including maja blanca (the best!), sapin-sapin, kutsinta, ginataang bilo-bilo, among others. This is an awesome way to get a taste of Pinoy desserts when you're abroad. In fact, this is what I usually bring Mark when I go to Japan.

It was actually a pleasant surprise to see this all the way in Duluth, GA. So pleasant that I had to take a photo and show it to my client.

This is proof that great products go a long, long way.

Smells retro!

Way, way, way, way, way back in the day - the 70s, to be exact - there were 2 must-have perfumes.

If you were a girl, you should be spritzing "Charlie," and for guys, it was "Jovan Musk."

Who would've thought that more than 4 decades after, those brands still exist!

Smells like longevity to me.

InStyle called it first!

One of the things I like to do is re-read old issues of InStyle magazine. Particularly, the issue from the same month last year.

That's why this morning, I was reading the August 2015 copy with Eva Longoria on the cover.

While leafing through the features, there were 2 fashion spreads in succession. What struck me most about these 2 fashion spreads weren't the clothes, but the actresses who modeled them.

First, there was a young ingenue by the name of Alicia Vikander.

Meanwhile, the other one featured a relatively new actress named Brie Larson.

Fast forward to a few months later, these 2 actresses brought home an Oscar each.

Looks like InStyle knows how to spot - and pair - award winning talents.

Caught red handed!

The cookie and snack makers in the U.S. must've known I was coming.

After all, I'm a huge fan of anything red velvet. And when I got there, these 3 products were available:

Red Velvet galore!

Hostess' Red Velvet cupcakes have been there for a while. In fact, Fiesta was able to get me a box the last time she went to NYC.

Red Velvet Oreos - this one is relatively new. But I've seen it on the Target website, so it was really on my radar.

But Red Velvet Chips Ahoy, now that's really, really new. In fact, they just launched it during the week I arrived. How lucky is that!

I'm red-dy to snack on all these!

Get dressed

Because my MNL to ATL flight was a total of 22 hours, you can just imagine the amount of inflight films I devoured.  Fortunately, the plane had an awesome selection of entertainment options.

In the plethora of films available, I discovered this fashionable gem:

"The Dressmaker" is a period film set in Australia. Having no knowledge of the film, I also had no expectations. But by the time the credits rolled, I was just in awe!

The film was superb. The acting, flawless. And the ending was so unexpected, it blew my socks off.

I'm going to look for a DVD of this and ask my students to watch it.

FMM: Bridging generations

The great thing about hanging out with my niece and nephew in the U.S. is finding out more about them. One thing I learned about Kai is that she has great taste in music.

During one of our drives, she played this song from 1991. It's from Red Hot Chili Peppers, and is one of my favorite songs:



After listening to the song, I asked her whether she's familiar with the other version of the song.

Yup, there's a remake. It was done in 1997 by the all-girl British group, All Saints. (aka the anti-Spice Girls.)



I actually like both versions, and can listen to them on repeat.

Apparently, Kai doesn't know this other version. So technically, she learned something new from me. Just like I learned something new about her.

Sketchy Stories: Purple Reign

Last January, my nephew got engaged and announced that he was getting married in Atlanta in July.

THAT WAS HUGE, HUGE, HUGE NEWS!

Especially since he's the first from his generation to get married. Plus his Mom - Ate Lissa - is my Ate.

So, when Ate Lissa asked me what she should wear to the wedding, I knew I had to come up with something uber special.

Ate had a few guidelines:
- The color had to be purple
- She didn't want anything too form fitting
- It was a summer wedding

First, I went to "the stash" to check if I had purple fabric. Thankfully, there were a few yards of embroidered lace which I was supposed to use for Kai's party a few years back. After examining it, and taking the guidelines into consideration, this was the chicken scratch I came up with:

It was a sheath silhouette with a blouson top. The back was fully open to let the air in. The skirt had inserts, and the accent was a thin belt with gemstones.

Ate liked the design, particularly how the top was a blouson-type of top. She said that it will allow her to eat and she won't be conscious about her mid-section. (What mid-section?)

So, it was off to our trusted dressmaker to have the sketch brought to life. And as expected, she did a wonderful job with it.

Ate said that the moment she wore the dress, the make-up artist told her how lovely it was and how she looked in it.

Jen's aunt said that Ate looked like a gorgeous 25-year old.

And that was just one of the many praises that Ate received that evening.

(Then, there's Mom's dress. But that's another story.)

The Philippine (and Italian-American) contingent

"I'm impressed at how you all flew in for the wedding. Your family is very close."

That's what Jen's aunt told me after finding out that family members from Manila and California flew in to Georgia to attend the wedding.

While the Philippine contingent was small, we definitely were the most gregarious of the bunch. Add Lou (Jul's Italian-American father figure) into the mix, and it was definitely a happy and noisy table.

I'm so glad I flew in for this wedding.

It's a Wonder!

The first trailer of "Wonder Woman" is out!



Geek mode on!

Sweet cherry pie!

Before I flew back to Manila, I made sure to eat as many things on my wishlist as I possibly could.

And this was one item on the list:

Cherry Pie from Little Debbies! This is so divine!

I also bought the classic Hostess Cherry Pie. But that was so good, I ate it before I could even take a snap.

Treats like these made my short visit (and the many pounds I've gained) so much worthwhile.

Raise the red (white, blue and yellow) flag!

Here's one gesture that made us smile during the wedding.

The bride's family placed the flags of the U.S. and the Philippines together as part of the centerpieces. Stephen - the bride's Dad - said that it symbolizes how our families from both sides of the world are now united as one in marriage.

Such a nice family!

Bliss!

Presenting the reason why I went on a short and sweet trip to Atlanta.

My eldest nephew, Jul, got married to the love of his life, Jen.

It was a beautiful ceremony that left a lot of the people in Rose Hall teary eyed. Including us. Gosh, someone must've been peeling onions in the vicinity.

Congratulations, Jul and Jen! I'm elated to have been part of your special day, and we look forward to seeing you again (and our new grandchildren) soon.

FMM: Oh, Carolina!

Yesterday, I was able to check out this exhibit at the Savannah College of Arts and Design:

Needless to say, it inspired today's Friday Magic Madness song.



This song was huge in the 90s, and almost everyone danced to it.

But apart from the name, these 2 Carolinas have no similarity whatsoever.

We meet again Panda...

Panda Express that is.

It's still yummy as always. Orange Chicken rocks!!!