Layered Mousse

Here's another way to wear Mocha Mousse.

Dropped by Surplus Shop last week and saw this cool dress.

It had this layered effect, with an overskirt wrapping around the waist of a shirt dress. But it's just one piece, so it's not fussy to wear. 

To keep the colour story going, the shoes are chocolate brown loafers from The SM Store.

It's layers upon layers of chic!

Styled with Mousse

Not hair mousse, though.

It's all about Mocha Mousse this year.

Was digging through "the stash" during the Christmas break, and found this uber fashionable combo that has Mocha Mousse as the main colour.

The dress is from Stella, and this dress is almost a decade old. But look at how chic and classic this design is. Then, the gold accessory is from Forever 21, also almost a decade old.

True style is really timeless.

Bringing Bahru

Gosh! It's been 5 years since my last SG visit.

This year will definitely be the year I'll go back.

In the meantime, let me have my fill of SG feels.

Yup, Tiong Bahru bakery is finally open.

Delicious, lah!

Squid-ding aside

Netflix is serious about marketing.

For the launch of Squid Games 2, they turned Robinsons Galleria into a Squid Game hallway.

Well played, Netflix. Well played.

No(kia) kidding

After seeing this New Year greeting, it was clear that this had to be the one I'll be sending out to my friends.

For those who know Nokia and was part of that generation, this was the exact same way we'd send out our New Year greetings.

Those days were fun.

F&F

Nope, this isn't about the in-house fast-fashion brand of Tesco.

(Gosh, it's still a bummer that they don't have that brand in MNL anymore.)

It's about how today was spent.

Still on Christmas mode, today was a get-together day with 2 groups of people who have been part of my life - and holiday celebrations - for ages.

FRENDZ!

We were almost complete today. We gathered at Mona's house - per usual - and marvelled at how the kids have grown and how many stories we missed in the years we haven't seen each other. (This was my first time to see Rona and TinTin in 5 years!)

FACULTY!

It;s also been a while since our last get together as a Mass Comm faculty. This was actually the first time in a long time that we were able to gather this big a group. 

Of course, we all had our share of classroom stories to tell. And admittedly, the half day we were together wasn't enough to talk about all the shenanigans.

So, to sum up today, I'll also use an F word.

FANTASTIC!

FMM: Something New

How about something "new" for the New Year?

Let's bring out one of the definitive boy groups of the 80s - New Edition!

"Cool it now" is one of the biggest hits of 1984, and it was all over the place! It was on radio, being performed on TV shows, and of course, in America's Top 10.

Can't blame them, though.

This song is definitely cool.

Tapsi-Truvy

An important realisation on the 1st day of work:

Lyli hasn't tried Rodic's TapSiLog yet.

Say no more:

We went to the nearest Rodic's so Lyli can sample the restaurant that sustained me and other UP students during our Diliman days.

As expected, they did not disappoint.

This really is the taste of nostalgia.

Back at one

Today, we usher in another year.

It's day one of month one.

As we start another new year, we start more opportunities to better ourselves, be more generous, be a blessing to other people, and make 2025 the best year for us.

Happy New Year!

Style Mousse

As it is customary, the fam dresses up and welcomes the New Year with Pantone's Colour of the Year.

So, we all had different style iterations and hues of Mocha Mousse during tonight's New Year's Eve festivities.

Ready for the coming year in 3...2...

Stay foot

Some words of wisdom as we usher in the New Year.

Let's all start 2025 on the right foot, shall we?

Back to Becky's

Here's another Christmas tradition that resumed this year:

Becky's Kitchen!

We missed having their brownies, food for the gods and Swiss Chocolate Cake on our Noche Buena table. So, having it again this year made the festivities much sweeter.

What's black, white and red...

It's this year's Christmas wrapping theme!

Not that it was inspired by that popular riddle among journalists.

The theme was actually inspired by these ribbons. 

These black and white plaid ribbons have been in "the stash" for more than 5 years. Truth it, I've forgotten about these, until that fateful day that I stumbled upon them while looking for something.

With that colour in mind, I immediately knew that black and white gift wrappers were the perfect accompaniment to the ribbon. Enter these 4 designs - all discovered and purchased on -line.

To give it a pop of colour, and to keep the spirit of Christmas, enter these candy canes!

Since there's a touch of red, why not make the cards red as well?

And together, here's this year's black, white and red theme!

It's a great combination of tradition and non-traditional.

Merry Chistmas!

FMM: Season of Love

Christmas is undoubtedly a season of love.

So, it's natural that today's Friday Magic Madness song is about that.

And no, it's not "Give love on Christmas day" by Jackson 5.

It's this 1978 classic from John Paul Young.

"Love is in the air" is such an apt song to play. It really sums up all the love that's been going around.

So, aside from a "Merry Christmas," may everyone have a love-filled Christmas!

Gold Standard

Mark's Christmas gift this year is a much deserved sequel to his gift last year.

It's this gold photo album!

Just as gold is valuable, so are the contents of this album.

It's more of our shared memories - from trips to time spent with friends - each photo has a story and meaning that's a joy to review and remember.

This gift is definitely worth its weight in gold.

Celebrating all-over

Even if we're currently in different parts of the world, the family is together in celebrating everyone a Blessed Christmas season.

This is our version of "Christmas across the miles."

It's Christmas all over again!

And we're happier and more blessed for it!

I'm board

Aside from my usual fruit salad - which I amped up this year - here's another thing I made for our Christmas dinner:

A charcuterie board!

It had the Christmas classics: Excelente Ham, Marca Pato quezo de bola, red globe grapes, and some crackers on the side.

This was fun.

So fun, I'll probably include it in my Christmas traditions next year.

Taking the cake

It's always great to discover foodie gems from other parts of the country.

Through Becky, one of my former students - Maila, sent a box of pastries from a shop in Nueva Ecija called "Edna's Cakeland."

Their pastries are yummers! Their empandaditas have this yema filling that's not too sweet or overpowering. Their brownies and caramel bars have the right amount of firmness and sweetness. And they had sampaloc! 

Nest time I'm in that area (which isn't soon, boo!) I'll definitely take the cake at Edna's Cakeland.

Kaya pala!

It's official.

Ya Kun Kaya toast is now open in Gateway 2!

Now, it's going to be even easier and more convenient to satisfy my Kaya Toast cravings.

Partying day to night

That pretty much sums up today.

In the morning, we had our institutional Christmas Party at SSC. It was great to see the whole Scholastican community together. I'm always amazed at how big we are, and despite the size, it feels like an intimate family.

It was great to catch-up with co-faculty who I haven't seen in a while.

Then, it was off to Richard's house for our annual Thanksgiving toast.

Gosh! The parties just go on and on. (And I'm all for it!)