Ready For Summer?

Summer collections start to rise in EDSA billboards and mannequins are now wearing swimsuits in your favorite mall. Bandanas, straw hats and bags, sunscreen and tanning lotions have a bit increase in their retail prices. Can you feel the heat? It's summer! Are you ready?

The perfect season to hit the beach is fast approaching. If you plan to go out of town to beat the scorching heat of the sun, start planning it now. Planning ahead on where to go and what to prepare for a little getaway will help you save money and time! Beach resorts go up thrice in their rates during the peak season as well as bikinis, SPF and other essentials. Rewrite your summer checklist and update yourself on what you and your travel buddies need.

Let me help with this: where to go, what to wear, what to do, etc, etc! I'm not an expert but I hope you'll appreciate. : )

Diniwid Beach, Boracay Island

Where to go?  Boracay. Again? Admit it, Boracay Island is undoubtedly hailed as a top beach destination because of its highly-urbanized feel with the perfect view of nature's beauty. As much as I'd love to explore new places and discover remote islands, I'd still choose to go here for a short weekend vacation.

If you're caught between relaxing and partying, I suggest you to stay at Orinda Beach Resort. Its location is perfect if you want a piece of privacy while sunbathing. Located at Diniwid Beach (near Nami), you can take a distance from the crowd in Stations 1, 2 and 3. When the sun sets, ask the friendly resort staff to bring you to where the nightlife is. Take your time, no curfew. Party all night long! The 24-hour service will ensure you that they can safely bring you back to the resort after drinking and dancing.

Orinda Beach Resort, Diniwid Beach, Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Philippines.

If you want to skip Boracay this time, Bataan is a good choice. Guimaras Island and Bantayan Island are highly recommended too! Puerto Galera, like Boracay, is also a good place to "island party" and other places like Palawan, Bohol, Zambales, Pagudpud and La Union should also be considered.

What to wear? One of the few FAQs of my life is how many bikinis do I own and how do I manage to keep, wear, and mix and match them. Well, honestly, I don't keep track of the quantity of my shoes and swimsuits but I keep the designs, styles and types of those in my mind. Now going back to swimsuits, it's my mood who decides on what I should wear on the beach. My mood depends on the item I bought (if I purchased a bikini set, I tend not to mix and match it anymore, because some brands sell items individually). Topshop, for an instance, sells both a set and an individual swim wear but you can score a SET during their clearance sale.

Hot pink with "polka hearts" bikini set from Topshop.

Reversible, strapless bandeau bikini set also from Topshop.

For some mix-and-match techniques, which works simply the best especially when you're on a budget, looking for brands which allow buyers to purchase only an item is the easiest thing to do. Picture in your mind the colors, designs and prints of the swimsuits you already own. The best place to go is, of course, SM Department Store! Sunkissed and Coco Cabana specifically won't hurt your pocket. Keep your budget for other essentials or save it up for a bigger pocket money.

Lime green bikini bottom paired with a yellow bandeau and yellow/purple tribal bikini haltered top.

This photo above shows the original bikini bottom pair of my yellow/purple tribal bikini haltered top. I paired it with a graphic/zebra-print bikini top which I bought from SM Department Store's Sunkissed. I also paired this bottom with this:

...while the original bottom pair of the paisley top is worn with:

...a plain white haltered bikini top. :)

Now, when it comes to coverups, I have a few words for you: never cover up too much. If you want to cover your belly or cleavage, wear something like this:

Well, his is not actually a coverup. Knitted/crocheted clothes can also be worn as coverups. I tried to keep my belly here but didn't want to sweat that much so I kept the neckline open. The length is also enough to cover my upper thigh. :)

If you opt to show a sexier you without showing off your skin, chiffon bottoms are of help. Take these as an example:

Plain and printed chiffon bottoms from Betty.

Oh, by the way! Did I mention I only got these chiffon bottoms for only P150 each? I riri, riri, riri love SM Department Store! :)

What else to bring? You know what your travel essentials are, it's all up to you. My frequent hop to the beach gave me the idea to have a separate kit for the things I need when traveling, including: SPF body lotion, SPF face lotion, lip balm with sun protection, shampoo and conditioner (I recommend Sunsilk Weather Defense here), extra-moisturizing after bath lotion, and facial mist spray. These are my super top essentials aside from the toiletries and stuff.

And lastly, don't forget to bring your cameras and to keep good memories. No matter how near or far your destination is, regardless of what your face and smile looks like, the best trips remain the best when you know how to have fun! 

♥,

Marianne

Where Have I Been?

2011 has brought me to places I've been. Twice, more than twice. And some, on the places I've never been. I'm happy that despite my regular work schedule (Mondays to Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), I still have time to go out, to escape and relax to my happy place a.k.a. the beach, to shop and dine quite away from home. Ironically, I call these go-to places home as well.

The year is ending in a few weeks and to note, I can say that I'm glad to revisit and discover the Philippines. I'll be flying back to Boracay next week and before bombarding my blog with my new beach (and swimsuit) photos, I invite you to take a trip down memory lane with me. Come on, it's just a few kilometers away! :)

1. Iloilo/Guimaras. For our seventh year anniversary, Paolo and I flew to a usual yet unusual city called Iloilo and island called Guimaras. Mark my word, this is one of the country's best and most quiet, serene beaches! For our eighth anniversary (three months to go!!!) we're again planning to go somewhere new and farther!

2. Baguio, Part 1. Definitely the most unforgettable out-of-town trip ever happened in my life. Forgot why? Read here. In a different light, my family and I remained safe physically. Nobody was injured, hurt. But I do miss my Gucci bag.

3. Bataan. For Holy Week, I had an impromptu trip to Morong, Bataan with my siblings and some of my cousins. I was in awe with the beauty and simplicity of Bataan, I can't believe it's as beautiful as Laiya, Batangas! 

4. Baguio, Part 2. Went back to Baguio for the second time around this year with Paolo's family. I was truly, madly scared and decided not to go back there until I recover fully but when I found out that we'll be staying at the Baguio Country Club, I gave the boyfriend a nod!

5. Puerto Galera. Second part of the story here. They were right. This island is a beauty, is wild and extreme! It's a version of Boracay, only smaller, people simpler, and beckys are almost everywhere and uber friendly! Definitely coming back on 2012, when there's no rain.

Now the next question is, where am I heading to next year? :)

♥,

All the photos they tag me..

I don't want to sound harsh because I don't intend to offend anyone's feelings and I have very close friends who sell stuff online. I really admire and patronize their items, designs, even their websites and models but I know there's no need to tag EVERYONE with all the products for sale. Bravo to those who promote their online stores with LINKS because it makes people curious about their products, instead of tagging people that can only cause irritation or distraction.

Moving on.. Here are some of the most recent photos of mine, that give "tagged you in a photo" justice, tagged by real people, not by online stores. :p

I've introduced these people in my blog once when I was still on a high about Guimaras. Weeks after our trip there, our Ilonggo friends tagged me with these photos that bring memories about the beauty of their island and the hospitality of these awesome, newfound friends.

One February weekend, my college friends and I drove all our way up north to celebrate a friend's birthday party in Pozzorubio, Pangasinan! Oha, we left Manila 7:40 AM (despite the 5:00 AM plan) and left Pangasinan 8:30 PM! It was really indeed a long (road) trip but we're all glad to see Ey and her very warm family members plus the yummy, yummy food! We decided not to have an overnight stay there because my family had made plans for the next day.

 

From north, we traveled down south the following day. An Enchanted Kingdom magical experience charmed us and played its trick on me to ride Anchors Away! I am so proud of myself!!! *:)

If you're thinking I'm a gimikera, then you're wrong! I've never been to the Embassy! Hahaha! College life = night outs = so not me. I've only been to some bars because of BIRTHDAY PARTIES! I'd rather sleep, or at least grab a cup of Starbucks coffee when I'm out at night. If drinking alcohol is a choice, I'd choose the "chillax" type like 77 Cafe, Laiya Bar or Off the Grill. Or Central (Pasong Tamo, BF Homes or Madison Square).

Surprise not, it was my first time at Gerardo's! Hehe. I am a beer drinker. I am a "hard" drinker. I drink all kinds of beer, rhum, tequila, scotch, brandy, so on and so forth. But it was my first time there, who cares?

We went to Gerardo's because our papa-ble friend JC introduced us his girlfriend (WHEW), Mau. It was a planned drinking sesh but we're just quite surprised that out of 15 who said yes, only 7 came. Same, old story. :p

PHOTO BY JC CORDEL. I leally, leally like this! A picture says a thousand words. Behind the tattoo, the cig and the lipstick mark lies.. lies! Chos. If you need an event photographer, send him a message HERE. (JC, may bayad 'to ha!)

And lastly, our Baguio trip gave us a lot of photos to be notified for. My sister's the first one to upload on Facebook so I'm expecting more from my cousins and titas.The first photo of me and Pao together, entitled Ra-Ra Couple, is a good shot. I want to use it as my FB profile picture but since we're on an LQ mode, never mind! HAHAHAHA. #OverSharing

So taggers, beware! Dapat ganito 'yung mga tina-tag nyo. Parang sinabi nyo na mukha akong sapatos kapag sapatos yung naka-tag sa akin. I bet you can all think of a great marketing campaign. Believe me, your sales/income will grow higher if you stop tagging everyone!

Happy selling! And world peace! :)