Life and Love Celebrations

Leona Gabrielle’s Baptism
Location: St. Alphonsus Chapel, Magallanes

December 15, 2012 - Leona Gabrielle Caluag Espanola joined the Christian world. I finally met my high school friend's little girl and cutie patootey and her big bro Athan (who became my new best friend) last weekend. I attended her baptismal ceremony with my other high school friend Mo and her beau Marco. I also saw a batchmate from college who recognized me because of the black bedazzled shoes I was wearing (same shoes in my previous post -- hi Sandra!). After the ceremony we all had lunch at Amalia’s (Paseo de Magallanes) which served the best Spanish food like Paella and Lengua. Hopefully I can go back to blog it =)

Meet my new playmate Athan =)

Blessy Uy and Brice Godfried’s Wedding  

Location: Oasis, San Juan

December 14, 2012 – The date when my friend Blessy Uy finally became Mrs. Blessy Godfried.  The day I cried buckets seeing the gorgeous bride walk the aisle, listening to their heartwarming testimonials, watching their on-site photos and videos and just seeing the couple hug their parents. I know I’m such a cry baby. It was a lovely ceremony and I was also happy that I also got to be with my friends from my previous work.   

To Brice and Blessy, this is the beginning of forever... Best Wishes! =)

Photo Credit: grabbed from Blessy's FB page, from ImagineNation

Photo credit: From Pose & Print

Sharing this wonderful quote from Mark twain’s letter to Olivia Langdon (Sept 8 1869)

This 4th of February will be the mightiest day in the history of our lives, the holiest, & the most generous toward us both -- for it makes of two fractional lives a whole; it gives to two purposeless lives a work, & doubles the strength of each whereby to perform it; it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, & something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, a new mystery to life; & Livy it will give a new revelation to love, a new depth to sorrow, a new impulse to worship. In that day the scales will fall from our eyes & we shall look upon a new world. Speed it!

Two back to back events celebrating life and love =)

On the First Day of Xmas

On the first of December, before we all get busy with the holiday season, my college friends and I decided to have our annual Christmas get together at Vic's house and we all brought good food to share.

A xmas party would not be complete without gift-giving. Special thanks to drawnames.com for helping us with the 'bunutan' for our exchange gift =) 

Thanks to my mommy Steph for the lovely gift =)

I was so happy to get Kai as my baby because we share the same interests including my gift for her - 2013 Filed Doodle Planner =)

and more more gifts =)

It was a fun-filled night as usual. Too bad we forgot to have our complete group pic with the xmas tree. I hope next year, we'll be complete (paging Lhiz Espinosa-Manalese, Cathy Aquino and Jello Andrada) haha. Merry Christmas guys and I'm looking forward to make more memories in 2013. =)

Weekend Eye Candy: Dash of Colors & Lights

A bag of purple-shaded M&Ms =)

Dancing Christmas lights at Ayala Triangle

Coffee - More fun in the Philippines?

After having lunch, I was so full that I was craving coffee to melt everything that I ate. On my way to SBC, I passed by the trade fair happening at the carousel court at festival mall hoping to buy Tantamco's Ube. Unfortunately, there was no ube for me but instead, there was coffee! Who would have thought I'll find coffee there? I have to admit seeing the price convinced me to try it (P10.00/ cup). The sales lady even opened the dispenser to show that it was really brewed. It was Kalinga Brew ground coffee which is a combination of different coffee beans: arabica, robusta and excelsa and is proudly from the Cordillera region.

I have to say Pinoy coffee can match those imported coffee shops. If I'm not mistaken you can buy it for P200.00 (500g pack). In other places that amount would only bring you 2 cups. As for the taste, it had the right mix - not too strong and not too mild. Next on my list will be to try the famous Alamid or "Civet" coffee.  

Eventhough I already have my coffee, I decided to push through with my SBC plan (hehe I sneaked my coffee in) to buy something that would go well with my hot drink (probably a pastry or a cake). I ended up buying cinnamon which I did not really enjoy so I didn't include it in the pic.=P What caught my attention is the beautiful photo wall gallery in the dining area. I really wish I could create something like that for my room. I enjoyed my quiet time sipping my favorite drink, browsing magazines and admiring the view. What a way to cap off my Saturday afternoon!

Asian Unity in Diversity Exhibit

A photo contest was organized by Asia Society Philippine Foundation Inc. together with Shangri-La Plaza, AirAsia, Inc., Metrobank and Smart Infinity Business group. I dropped by Edsa Shangri-la last November 3 to check it out. There were selected judges who will have the final say but viewers can vote for their favorite entry to win the People's Choice Award. So I grabbed the pen got a ballot and voted. The photos were all beautiful and inspiring but I could only vote for one so I chose the photo entitled "Unity in Anonymity" by Michael Steven Ibarra.

I'm not an artist nor an expert or anything but I liked the against-the-light effect which shadowed the faces of the children. In unity, there's really no selection nor judgment. It happens when the people are all overpowered by the will to be as one. You don't look at one's race, gender, religion or background. In the picture you will just see the silhouette of the children hand-in-hand but not knowing their identity. For me this perfectly matched the theme.

[Note: Dear Mr Ibarra, I hope I'm not violating anything by sharing this.] 

I would also like to congratulate all those who joined as they were all deserving to win. =)

MSCI Halloween 2012

Our office had our first official Halloween party wherein teams were grouped by different themes (rhyming pa). Let's have a short tour and check out what used to be our workspace =P 

Theme: The Addams Family (I'm proud to say that this was our team's creative work)

Hands down to my colleagues who created the door.

The family portrait of the Addams Family fronting our living room.

Our spooky dining room

and ofcourse the bedroom

As for the creepy lady, I'll tell you about that later.

Meet the Addams Family

Theme: Nightmare Before Christmas

Theme: Plants vs Zombies

Theme: Shake, Rattle and Roll

Someone is back from the dead

"Manananggal"

 

Remember the alien-looking monster who comes out in the toilet? Thats the "Undin" and the manananggal's other half (literally)

The creepy voodoo altar 

Theme: Scooby Doo

Too bad I wasn't able to capture all the themes.=( (Ghostbusters, Monsters Inc, Hellboy etc)

There were also fun games for the kids c/o Mcdonalds, face painting for everyone and endless treats =)

 The cute kids wearing their costumes.

 As for my costume, I dressed up as a lady in a funeral being a relative of the Addams family.

I just wore a sheer black top c/o grandma, a black long skirt c/o auntie belle, bought a headdress (P45) and a half yard black tulle fabric (P95) as veil at Carolina's and an old black headband. I only had to put baby powder on my face to make me extra white and a dark red lipstick. 

After the snacks, we just went crazy taking photos:

It was a super fun event and it was even more fun for the kids because they took home a lot of candies (inggit?) Til our next halloween party. =)

Photo Credits:

Pics grabbed from Sir Chris Garcia, Sir Lloyd of SCAS, Cheryl Tiu and Julie Borlongan.

Sole Slam Manila 10.14.12

My gig last weekend: Sole Slam Manila @ Ronac Art Center.

My posh best friend was the one who told me about this event and surprisingly all my bros were also planning to go. We bought VIP tickets for P600 but thanks to Resorts World, we got it at 50% off =P

My sneaky siblings. Guess who's wearing what =P

Welcome to sneakers heaven! Well there were all kinds of kicks. Mostly hard-to-find ones and limited editions. No wonder the prices are way beyond my budget.=P There were re-sellers and traders as well.

This would have to be my favorite trio =)

There were also cool shirts and other street wear.

To complete the look, they also had some accessories for the big boys - G-Shock watches, caps and Casio Retro watches =)

Some boys could be OC too (especially when it comes to their expensive kicks). There were some stuff to clean your shoes, as well as some protective gear to maintain the shape and even zip lock bags.

Since this was sneaker heaven, there were also angels haha. I first saw Aubrey Miles with Troy Montero but I was going down the stairs and my cam and I were not ready. FHM covergirl Ellen Adarna dropped by.

another FHM babe Abby Poblador

Me and my bro got to take a pic with model Paloma Esmeria who was really friendly. 

and it's me again with my favorite Magic DJ:Suzy

There were raffle prizes that were given away like Blackberry Phones, Resorts World accommodations and the grand prize (and the one I was drooling for), a white Meister watch. They also awarded this year's winner of the Sneaker Battle Competition who showcased his limited edition 'Eminem Sneaks'.

Overall it was a fun event. I felt like I was inside a candy store and I just wanted everything. 

I was just a bit disappointed not bringing home anything because they ran out of loot bags for the VIPs =( The prices were also quite high compared to some shops. If you're a shoe collector or if you just have the hots for kicks, it was an event that you should not have missed. Add them in facebook to get the latest news and events and get updated on their latest happenings.  Til next year! =)