Alonso Mateo: The Swaggest Kid

Do you know Alonso Mateo? Sounds like a hunk model right? But he’s not. He is just a 5-year old boy who is making his name in the Instagram world. While regular kids wear jerseys, stained shirts, or jumpers, this kid is already wearing Dior, Tom Ford, Gucci and All Saints. He's the youngest fashion icon being followed by 30,000 followers. His fame began when his mother, Luisa Fernanda Espinosa, a free-lance stylist, started posting photos of his looks on her own account.

The below photos are my favorite looks from his Instagram

I'm amazed that in a young age, he already has a keen eye for good style while most boys are still busy being a kid. He makes the word 'stylish' look so easy and effortless. I noticed that he poses like a pro and he was born to strut! His funny faces, smirks, pouts and his big smiles will always make you see the essence of him being a kid making him even more adorable.

 Move over JT, Ryan Gosling, Biebs, Zac Efron and David Beckham. 

I think someone's bagging the awards for best dressed male and style icon of the year =)

Photos are from his instagram account. Discovgraphies creates no claim or credit for images featured on this post unless otherwise noted. 

All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. If you own rights to any of the images, and do not wish them to appear here, please contact me and they will be promptly removed.

Tattooed in my Mind

I posted this pic in FB a long long time ago captioned "inked". It was literally ink because it was from a free stamp from Jollibee bwahaha.

I also had a henna tattoo from my 2009 Boracay trip.

And that's it. No real ink on me. I'm not really a fan of tattoos but I don't disdain it either. In fact, I already have some possible designs in mind. I also admire a lot of jaw-dropping ones and even watched several episodes of Best Ink. Besides the fact that I'm scared of needles, I just don't have the guts to do it. I also know that I have a fickle mind and erasing it is not that simple. I'm scared of how painful and permanent it would be and I believe a lot of people have that fear too. With that, I'm sure you're going to love Tattly - a shop that designs temporary tattoos created by Tina Roth Eisenberg, the brilliant mind behind one of my favorite blogs Swissmiss.
 

Here are some of my favorites.

I would place Be Happy by Lila Symons on the outer side of my arm -- a reminder for others to smile.

A pop of color on my nape would be fun - Rainbow by Jessi Arrington

A reminder that it's time to PARTY! - Party Watch by Julia Rothman

 

Isn't this fun? It's not just for kids, but for the kids-at-heart too =)
You get to change it once you're tired of it and there's zero pain.

Click here if you want to see more.

Do you dig it or you're in for the real thing? Share your experience or your dream tatts with me =)

Discovgraphies creates no claim or credit for images featured on this post unless otherwise noted. 
All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners and I have made every effort to link back to the original content whenever possible. If you own rights to any of the images, and do not wish them to appear here, please contact me and they will be promptly removed.

Do you carry a jotter?

I know it’s a petty and childish topic but I just wanted to know if I’m the only adult left in this world who still carries a jotter. Am I alone? Being in the digital world, I know most people have already thrown their notebooks and journals and switched to tablets and smartphones – but not me. Yes I’m still stuck with the classic pen and paper combo to write anything that comes to my mind. For some reason writing helps me to remember things more.
 

So what’s inside my jotter?

 

• Nice songs I hear from the radio. It's nice if it would make me dance and/or sing. (Since I wouldn’t immediately know the title and artist, I would write bits of the lyrics then Google it later)
• Interesting and Inspiring blogs that I come across. (As you all know a blog could lead to another blog and another blog and ...)
• A good quote or a joke. (There are just some quotes that hits you hard and there are quotes that make me say " THAT'S SO TRUE!". Funny quotes come in handy as ice breakers.
• Possible blog topics (Moments when the light bulb appears above my head "TING!")
• Shopping List and Wish Lists. (Things that I should buy including stuff that I want to buy but could not)
• Phone numbers and emails  (not of cute guys but of friends and business contacts)
• Some reminders (update blog, edit this, do that)
• Places I would like to visit one day. (dreams... dreams... dreams)
• Expenses (To avoid my usual question "Where did my money go?")
• Sale announcements. (I'm a thrifty queen)
• Tips (how to lose that belly fat, yoga positions, what to drink to improve digestion, remedies etc)
• Book Titles (I'm not a librarian. You know why.)
• What I remember about a previous dream (There are times when I still remember bits and pieces from my dream then after a few seconds my mind automatically goes Select All + Delete)
• Simple recipes (I don't cook but I would like to learn how to)

Here are some awesome jotters that would suit each personality:

For artists and nature-lovers

1. Journal pocket notebook from Maotu from Etsy

 

2. Owl pocket notebook from PaperTuli from Etsy

For the kikay, and fashionistas

3. Jordi Labanda notebooks

For the writers and those who love classics.

4. Moleskine

I think this is the most used jotter. Moleskine now has smaller versions which are more handy. A lot of people now use this as a jotter instead of a formal journal. Speaking of, I can't help but admire Mike Rohde's notes and Kouji Hayateno’s analog blog. Check them out! I was also pretty amazed by the idea of an analog blog.

As they say, change is always a good thing -- but not for my jotter. Call me old-fashioned but I'm keeping it. Besides, where's the fun in typing your random ramblings? Writing it down makes it more personal and makes it more you. The doodles and handwriting can't be captured by our gadgets.

If you're planning to get one, there are nice, adorable and affordable jotter notebooks at your favorite bookstore, at Landmark, and at Saizen. If you already have one, I hope you could share with us what's inside yours =) Get a jotter and capture your ideas now. It would be fun I promise.
Who knows? Your next idea could change the world!

Have a great week ahead! =)

Shopaholic's Cheat Sheet

Half of the year is over. It only means a lot of shops will be having their semi-annual or end of season sale. Yey for shopaholics! My FB feed is loaded with Sale Alerts and a lot of blogs that I've been following have been posting sale announcements. To make it easier for my dear shopaholic friends and readers (if there's any) here's a compiled list shops on sale that you could and should check out =P

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Girbaud - until July 14, 2013

Regatta - until July 31, 2013

MUJI - until July 31, 2013

GAP - until July 25, 2013

Charles and Keith - until July 21, 2013

True Value Sale - until July 31, 2013

SM Dept Store Clearance - until July 7, 2013

Topman, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins - until July 28, 2013

Forever 21 - until July 14, 2013

SM Megamall - until July 7, 2013

Zara - until July 26, 2013

Promod - until July 31, 2013 (except SM North Edsa)

Marks and Spencer's - until July 17, 2013

PUMA - until July 15, 2013

Greenbelt Sale - until July 14, 2013

Debenhams - until August 1, 2013

Yishion - until July 21, 2013

La Senza - until July 31, 2013

Original Penguin - until July 31, 2013

Unica Hija - until July 31, 2013

Mothercare - until July 31, 2013

SuperSale Bazaar at World Trade Center: July 12-14, 2013

Big & Small Company/ Orange Juice, Spin - until July 31, 2013

Miss Selfridge - until July 28, 2013

SM Mall of Asia End of Season Sale - until July 7, 2013

Trinoma Stylephile - until July 7, 2013

SM City North Edsa End of Season Sale - until July 7, 2013

Wade Shoes & Accessories - until July 21, 2013

Mango, H.E. by Mango - until July 31, 2013

So! FAB Sale - until July 31, 2013

CMG - until July 31, 2013

Tomato - July 15, 2013

Payless Shoesource - until July 13, 2013

The Ramp Crossings & Crossings Home - until July 21, 2013

Gourdo's, Living Well, Sleepcare - until July 31, 2013

Mossimo - until July 21, 2013

Aloha Boardsports South Swell Sale - until July 31, 2013

I'm Shoe in Love Year 3 - July 20 and July 21, 2013

Howards Storage - N/A
Banana Republic - until July 31, 2013
Metro Department Store - July 5-31, 2013

Compiled from different sources:
Official Facebook Page of the Stores Mentioned
manilaonsale.com
manilashopper.com

Disclaimer: up to 10-70% off on selected items depending on store and specified dates may not be 100% accurate. 

HAPPY SHOPPING! =)

It's Sa-Wrap! =)

I may already have shared with you my love for bread, and sandwiches but I think I may have forgotten to add wraps. Who would not love wraps? It's a perfect meal if you're on the go and if you are not in the mood for rice.  

I have recently discovered Kebab Turki Baba Rafi at Dela Rosa 1 Carpark thanks to my friend Chin. I ordered cheese beef kebab (P 90.00) which I absolutely loved because the beef inside was tender and the tortilla wrap was perfectly heated. I also ordered their Sweet Tamarind juice, which I know sounds a little bit odd but it was actually good. You will taste a lot of sourness in your first sip but you'll get the hang of it and will eventually taste like iced tea as you finish your big cup. I also loved the packaging which has a pull-out string at the back to help you 'eject' the wrap from the box without the mess.  

  

Next is Wrap Battle's Chicken Pesto Wrap P100 at Cucina Andare (Glorietta 3 Carpark). I've never seen a wrap this huge and stuffed. Definitely worth it! It's a bit messy to eat because the ingredients are falling all over the place and the olive oil from the pesto sauce started to leak on the bottom. But when you get to taste it, you wouldn't care how messy it would be because it's so good. Plus, it's also healthy! If you only want a light snack, you could share it with someone because I was already full half-way through the wrap =) I can't wait to try their other best-seller - the beef nacho wrap.

 I'm sure I got you hungry again. Try them out and get addicted to wraps like me. Happy Sunday! =)

Book Wish: Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown

I'm not a Star Wars fan but when I saw the preview for this book, I absolutely loved it! This could have been a perfect father's day gift, especially for the fans of the trilogy or as gifts for a daddy's girl. This would surely bring back a lot of childhood memories for the grown up 'princesses'.  =)

Vader’s Little Princess © Chronicle Books, 2013

Here are some funny snippets:

 Vader’s Little Princess © Chronicle Books, 2013

Also check out J Brown's first book "Darth Vader and Son".

 Just the thought of the Dark Lord succumbing to his kids is already funny.Can't wait to read more!

Unfortunately I don't think it's already available in the Phil but I would surely check it out in bookstores this weekend. If anyone has a copy let me know what you think! =)

A Touch from Above

June 02, 2013 – My Sunday rituals were put into a halt when we got a call from my uncle that Father Joey A. Faller, who is known for his gift of healing, will be back to visit my Lola. As some of you might know, my lola has been in the hospital for almost 5 months now. If you don’t know who Fr. Faller is, check out his life story here: http://www.joeyfaller.org/

I know a lot of people would have to line up for hours just to see Father Faller, so without any second thoughts, I dropped everything and went straight to the hospital where my lola was.

He started to pray over lola who was very sleepy due to the strong meds, then he also prayed over my aunt, my mom and my cousin.

After giving me his blessing, he asked if he could see my hand. According to him, sudden “glitters” would appear if the Virgin Mary was making her presence felt. He did the same thing to my mom, my aunt and my cousin. Unfortunately, there were no signs or “glitters” on mine which made me a bit sad. As I asked him how come there were no "glitters" (pic below) he answered “parating palang”.

He only stayed for a few minutes and went on his way. He left us feeling blessed and spiritually healed. My encounter with Fr. Faller also created a big question in my mind, of what could “parating palang” mean? It has been days since he said those words and until now I'm still thinking about it. I'm not sure if I'll see him again but hopefully I will. Could it be God's plan to leave me hanging so I could figure it out for myself? 

I’m ending this post with a short prayer because I believe only He alone can help me find the answer “Lord please clear my mind and enlighten me so that I may follow your path. Mama Mary, come into my heart so that I may see what it is that I should do.”

I know that one day it will be revealed.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

I just realized today is his birthday -- Happy Birthday Fr. Joey! Thank you for touching our hearts =)