Wake up!

And just like that, it's the end of September.

And as everyone likes to ask: "Gosh, where did the year go?"

And since September has ended, the question is: should we wake up already?



Last quarter of the year, here we come!

Angelic!

Today is the Feast of the Archangels.

Thank you, St Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael for always looking after us and guiding us.

Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, guide us and pray for us.

Under Wraps

Since last year, whenever I'd drop by National Bookstore, I'd browse through the racks for interesting gift wrappers and get a piece or two.

Or three, or a dozen, or 20.

The past few months, I've been browsing through my gift wrapper stash to look for possible Christmas themes. And in order to visualize whether it'll work or not, I'd often wrap up random gifts to see how the wrapper and theme will look like in its actuality.

Here are two of those wrappers, with coordinating ribbons to approximate the look. (Thanks to Michelle's online shop, of course!)

They're pretty interesting combinations. Although I don't think they'll be the wrapping theme for this year just yet.

Say Cheese! Cake!

While our Oreo selection might not be as vast nor awesome as the ones in the US, recently, we've got a pretty decent selection.

Aside from yesterday's discovery - Oreo Salted Caramel - there was another discovery today!

While browsing through Landers online supermarket, this item popped up as a suggestion.

Oreo Strawberry Cheesecake!

This went from the screen to "Add to Cart" faster than you can say cheese.

A-Salted!

Yes, that would be an accurate way to describe what happened at the supermarket yesterday.

This assaulted - nay, A-Salted - my senses the moment I saw it on the shelf.

Salted Caramel Oreos!

Take my money, please!

FMM: Michelle Sells (online!)

Around this time - or even earlier - I would often use the weekend to hie off to Tutuban Center and visit one of my haunts in that area. A haunt that's also a black hole since going inside results in me spending at least an hour just browsing every nook and cranny of the store.

That store is Michelle's Ribbon and Lace Center.

From my memory, it has always been my go-to for ribbons, notions - particularly if I'm buying in bulk. If it's just a few yards, Carolina's is my go-to. Thus, when the Christmas season comes along, I'd be at Michelle's more because my ribbon purchases are usually by rolls of 10, or more.

Michelle's is also a great place to get design implements, like YKK invisible zippers, horse hair, Swarovski Crystals, glass beads and other beads for wedding gowns and other evening wear. Being a distributor, they usually sell it much cheaper compared to places like SM and VC Trading.

My last visit to Michelle's was last February. That was pre-pandemic and people could still freely and confidently go to Divisoria. It seems like yesterday, but it's actually more than 6 months ago! And now that Christmas is just around the corner (hanging out with Jose Mari Chan), the itch to go to Michelle's and get a stockpile of ribbons is so, SO strong!

Just as I was about to wallow in the fact that my desired Christmas ribbons might be out of reach, this epiphany came:

Michelle's Lace and Ribbon Center is online! They can check stocks, take orders, then have those delivered to you at home!

With that, my instincts kicked in and wrote down all the ribbons needed for this year's theme. Then, with a few messages, one of the important Christmas accoutrements was finally delivered to our doorstep.

If you can't go to Michelle's, then Michelle's will come to you!

Woot!

And in honour of this discovery, today's Friday Magic Madness song is from the 60s, and is from the Fab 4.



"Michelle," a song - and a ribbon and lace center - that is like The Beatles.

Fab!

Throwback Thursday

Auntie Eden sent us this photo that was taken so long ago. Heck, I think this photo is at least 30 years old.

Now, we're a lot older. And a lot taller! At this age, I couldn't imagine me and Biboy growing to be as tall as Kuya Marv. (Spoiler Alert! We did!)

But just like how everyone was squeezed together in this shot, the family is still as close as ever.

So, while some things have changed, the important things haven't.

Sincerely, Truly, Perfect, Inspiring, Outstanding

St. Pio is truly all that. And today is his Feast Day.

Thank you, St. Pio, for always being there for me. My gratitude to you is boundless. You said: "Pray, Hope and Don't Worry," and those words have strengthened me for so long and so many times.

And now, more than ever, your words are what the world needs now:

"Pray, Hope and Don't Worry."

Bow Wow!

Presenting the latest addition to our family in the U.S.

Presenting Ash Morales. Biboy and Liz's adorable new Boston Terrier.

This terrier is so fly, he even has his own IG account. (He even beat me, his Tito. I don't have one!)

Wow. Just Wow!

Hey, hey, we’re the Monkis!

The good news: Monki has finally opened its first Philippine store in SM Megamall! 

Before, I had to fly to HKG to get my Monki fix. But now, it's just a stone's throw away from where I live, and much closer to where I work.

The not-so-good news: we're still not going to the malls.

Well, at least I know that Monki will just be there when we need it.

S & M

Nope, it's not about that S&M.

Nor is it about Rihanna's hit, "S&M."

This is about this dress from the Zalora website.

"Asymmetric" seems like an easy word to spell, right? One "s" and two "m"s?

But apparently, they thought it was the other way around.

Proofreader, please.

Coming up roses

Obviously, we just discovered the fun and joys of filters.

Life is definitely more fun with rose colored glasses.

(Better yet, roses and colored glasses.)

FMM: Two for the road

Sesame Street has a lot of classic songs.

Even if these songs are decades old, and even if I first heard them when I was 4 or 5 years old, they still play in my mind today as vividly.

I've written about a couple of them already, and today, there's a new addition to this Sesame Street Friday Magic Madness.

The "two" song.



Both the song and the visuals make this a classic. The way it was written, visualized and acted are top notch. Plus, the two little cats made it such a fun sketch to watch. After 4 decades, that line still plays on loop in my mind:

"What's that, small pitter-pat. One, two! Two little cats!"

Ah yes! The joys of Sesame Street.

Happy Virt(ual)day!

When Mark still living in Tokyo, we'd always make it a point to spend his birthday together. That's why when the 2nd week of September comes around, I'd clear my schedules to spend at least 3 days in order to be with him on his big day.

So it's sorta comical (how very Miranda Priestly) that now that we're both in Manila, it's actually the time that we're spending his birthday virtually.

But thanks to technology, it still feels like we're together even though we're physically apart. And even if the greeting and celebration is virtual, the essence and emotion remains the same.

Happy Birthday, Francis Mark!

Oh, Love Ya! part 2

My pretty grandniece is getting prettier by the minute!

Look at that adorable smile and equally adorable pose!

Oh, I can’t wait to see this beautiful baby girl in person!

A feather on H&M's cap

Cool kids in the 90s and 00s will definitely know this.

"Kangol Caps."

These iconic caps were a mainstay during those decades, and a lot of hip-hop artists had this brand on their heads. That's why a lot of the cool kids followed.

But like many "cool" brands, it eventually went "cold." Then, it pretty much dropped out of the scene.

Until now.

In a bid to be cool and relevant again, Kangol is now the latest collaboration partner of H&M! Plus, to up it's cool-cred, they're teaming up with award-winning singer and songwriter - Mabel!

Sounds interesting, though I haven't seen any of the products in this collaboration. So, let's wait and see before we put a cap on this collaboration.

Fairy Dishwasher

There are certain brands that have different names in different countries.

This is one thing I learned during my stint in the region. For example, in certain countries, "Palmolive" exists as "Softsoap." What's "Selecta" here is "Wall's" in other countries.

Shopping (online) at Lander's made me discover other brands that have this peculiarity. One of the country's most famous dishwashing liquid - Joy - actually doesn't exist in a lot of Western countries. But if you look at their supermarkets, you'll see that very familiar Joy-esque packaging, but with a different name.

A magical one at that.

Yup, "Joy" is "Fairy" in different markets.

So, if there's a "Fairy" godmother, there's a "Fairy" dishwasher.

And yes, that "Fairy" is actually helping us in dishwashing at home now.

Harvest Buddies

It was a belated birthday virtual celebration for Irene!

Since she's Melrose's resident vegan, our celebration was veggie themed. Everyone harvested vegetable-based snacks and decided to wear veggie colours.

Needless to say, it was a very healthy celebration.

Happy Birthday Irene!

Cat-urday

Saturday was spent busily and efficiently working inside the studio our shoot, but in reality, we'd rather be this cat that was unmindfully and comfortably sleeping outside the studio.

Mind you, he was just sleeping there for more than 6 hours! And it brought me great joy just watching him spend Saturday as lazily as possible.

Ah, to live like this comfy cat.

FMM: Proud of Mary

Since this week has been a very Marian-kind of week.

First, Mama Mary celebrated her birthday last September 8. Then, Rona - a great friend who's a devout Marian - celebrated her birthday last September 10. So, it's fitting that today's Friday Magic Madness song have a "Mary" theme as well.

Enter Tina Turner, and one of her earliest and biggest hits, "Proud Mary."



The title "Proud Mary" takes a deeper meaning for me. Aside from being a proud product of a Marian School (Lourdes School), I'm also a proud and firm believer of Mama Mary as well.

This song is a great way to celebrate Friday.