LBD, Neon and Denim

My addiction to denim is slowly coming back, blame it to my all-time favorite Hollywood star, Leighton Meester, who's recently caught sporting denim dresses, button-downs and tops. You know how much I adore her and that she's the ultimate inspiration of my entire wardrobe. :)

So this is what I wore last week during the Cosplay Mania 2012:

And I'm so happy that Monica knows how to take photos valid for OOTD posts. I miss fashion styling. I need to find time for this.

Whenever I feel a bit lazy to dress up, I always put on a dress. And an LBD is the safest way to conceal that laziness. You can always wear something on top of it, pair it with any kind of shoes and accessories.

Of course I didn't want to look boring in a world where Sailormoon and Cardcaptor Sakura exists. And since I'm loving neon, I decided to put two basics together (denim and LBD) and finished them with a pop of color. 

My Japanese blood runs through my... legs! SAKANG. 

I Superlove my super spiky neon necklace! <3

LBD: Betty from SM GTW | Denim vest: Dorothy Perkins | 

Snakeskin shoulder bag: Parisian | Black flats: H&M 

Until my next fashion-feeler blog post!

♥,

Marianne

Save Baguio Trees

Pine trees. For million times I've told myself that someday, when I get to have my own house built I will plant numerous pine trees around it. I love trees and pine trees will always be on my top list. They are so beautiful in my eyes. The countryside feeling of seeing it planted near you, its fine leaves and the "cold" vibe it sends may be one of the few things why I adore this heavenly creature. I used to wonder why most pine trees are only found in Tagaytay and Baguio. I thought low temperature has something to do with it, and I was both right and wrong. First, they can grow anywhere but they do grow well in cold areas because its leaves are highly concentrated and resistant to cold. They are frequently found on mountain forests due to their tolerance on cold weather, but I was told it's still possible for me to have pine trees around my future home. We have one here at the TV5 Complex in Nova and asked our gardener about it. Confirmed!

Pine trees at The Baguio Country Club

I always make it a point to have photos taken beside or behind pine trees whether I'm in Tagaytay or Baguio. While other girls prefer to capture memories with beautiful flowers as their backdrop, I choose trees.

Tagaytay (huuu I miss my Gucci bag!)

Baguio City

These are some of the photos I keep here in my drive. I even remember one time I used pine trees as my background photo for my Multiply site. My love for pine trees is I guess eternal, it's when I need to decide between a garden full of roses or a backyard filled with pine trees, I'll choose the latter.

SAVE BAGUIO TREES

The reason why I'm posting this? It's not only me who loves trees. When I found out that SM plans to cut down pine trees in replacement of a bigger parking lot, my heart broke into pieces. I've been to SM Baguio and I must say that it's quite crowded and bringing your own car isn't a good idea since the parking slots are always full. But cutting down trees to pave way for this chaotic parking issue is not the answer.

Just in case we need a fresh reminder on why trees are important to us (not just in Baguio alone): the roots of the trees anchor the soil to keep the land stable thus prevent landslide. The trees also absorb water thus prevent flood. As the tree grows, it needs more water. The greater its need for water, more roots will grow. The more trees the lesser chances of landslide and flood we'll have.

You don't want these to happen again, do you?

Landslides

Garbage landslides

Nightmares do come true. Wake up, SM. You say, "We've got it all for you!" but please do not get disasters for us too! Otherwise, change your tagline to "We'll cut it all for you!" If the photos still aren't enough to warn you, click here for more.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the world, and loses his own soul? --Matthew 16:26

I love SM. This is where I buy most of my stuff, 80% of my stuff. But when the expansion takes place, I don't know.

Marianne

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

Good Stuff

New additions to my growing collection! I got good stuff to add to my shoe, accessories, bags and lippies family.

I have bombarded my Instagram with these finds I truly heart. I love them even better because I got them for such a low price and some were just given to me by my ever supportive Mom and Dad. They are all kikay, they really define me.

Flat shoes.

I love colors, I love shoes. My savings always go down because of shoes. And when my eyes find a good pair, believe me, I won't sleep peacefully or I will dream about it constantly until I get my hands (and feet) on it and call them MINE. It may sound selfish but I bet a lot of girls can totally relate. It works with everything, not just on shoes alone. But in my case, it happens most of the time only with shoes. And last week, I got these red, yellow and blue Solemate flats! Exclusively available at SM Department Stores nationwide, these babies are sold for only Php 299. I got five colors now and I can't wait to have pairs in black, pink, green and brown!

Accessories.

My Mom surprised me with an overload of earrings, necklaces and bracelets last Friday night. She was planning to give it to me on a Saturday but since I got home earlier than the usual on a weekend, she rewarded the good girl in me. No sibling rivalry here, my Ate is not into girly stuff and my youngest sis has skin asthma, she's only allowed to use pure golds and silvers. And Mom knows me too much she knows how to spoil me! She has an eye for fashion! Check out her choices above: elephants, owls, and studs. Truly, mommies know best! 

 Bags.

If there's something cool from Mom, then there must be something cute from Dad. My Dad and I always enjoy grocery shopping and when I'm with him, I check out stuff for little girls. I don't know why but it has become a habit (I think it's clearly because I'm a forever daddy's girl, I always feel I'm just a 7-year old when I'm with him ♥). We check out Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses and Barbie, like, all the time! And these bags caught my attention on the day I forgot to bring my wallet to the mall... OK, I did not bring my wallet because I didn't want to spend a single centavo on that very same day and I know I'm financially safe because I'm with my Daddy! Hahahaha! So yes, he bought those two bags (the third bag was given to me by Dad last Christmas) of the same design but of different styles. My father has the sweetest heart!

 Lip balms.

Matryoshka dolls, Kimi dolls, Barbie dolls, I like dolls! But these dolls hurt our pockets like yeah. But what are you going to do if you see these pretties above? And what would your reaction be knowing that these are not just "dolls" but these dolls are lip balms and these lip balms are sold for only Php 35 each? I almost freaked out and instantly haggled for a lower price (insert a big hehe here). Bulk buying is cheaper and I wanted to take them all home. The seller is too kind to give it to me for only Php 25 each. I have no plans of using them because I have extra sensitive lips but I love seeing them now in my lipstick case. Oh tiangges, what am I gonna do without you? :)

My new stuff occupied another space in the room. Good thing I had a general cleaning last week and gave away clothes, shoes and other things I no longer use to those in need. For whichever taken away from you or for anything you have given away wholeheartedly, come blessings with a greater value on the time you least expect!

♥,

Marianne

Puerto G!

It was my first time at Puerto Galera. I've been hearing good stories about it, especially how fun the night life is there. The long weekend we recently had was perfect, it's like destiny tapped me at my back and said, "Go ahead, see how beautiful the island is." Plus, I'm really thankful that we chose to be here instead of having our vacation in Bolinao. Typhoon Mina badly hit Northern Luzon and my entire long weekend would have been a mess if we did not decide to go to Puerto Galera.

It was raining cats and dogs when we left for Batangas and my parents tried to avoid talking to me the night before because they were convincing me not to go at all. Of course I got scared but I was so damn excited for this trip that I told them we've made up our minds and assured them instead that if the rain won't stop the moment we arrive at the port, we'll go back home.

We rode a bus bound to Batangas City in Cubao and the trip took us almost 4 hours because of the rain. We did not notice the long travel because Paolo and I talked about stuff the entire trip and enjoyed the video on board--FPJ's movie with Charlene Gonzales, circa 1993. I love watching old films especially if it's action! We arrived at Batangas port by 1:00 PM and by that time, all boat transfers were cancelled due to storm waves and porters said it might resume after an hour or two. A group of porters offered us an alternative way to get to Puerto Galera--by land and shorter boat ride (from 1 1/2 hour down to 20 minutes) for Php 700 per head. We said yes, together with 4 other groups of Filipinos, Japanese, Korean and Danish. To quote myself, "Ano naman yung 700 kapalit ng safer trip?" Therefore, we went up and down the mountains for an hour and when we finally got to the other side of the island, the waves were smaller but my heart was throbbing real fast. Ironically, I'm scared of waves despite my recent beach travels, and I really wanted to step back. I faced it with courage knowing that we'll be at the middle of the ocean for only 20 minutes and that Paolo's a good swimmer and that he'll save me and that I see neon orange vests all over the boat so I gave in. The first few minutes of the ride was fine but when the island where we came from disappeared from my sight, I almost cried. It was literally the feeling of riding Anchors Away + Jungle Log Jam and if only I've tried riding the Space Shuttle, I'll include this one, and it's in REAL LIFE, no safety belts or whatever, I thought I was going to die. The other groups in the boat did not mind the waves, they still laughed and took photos but I know they're a bit scared. I only did two things the entire trip: pray and puke. I puked three times and puked big time upon arrival in Sabang Beach. From Sabang Beach, we rode another jeep for 30 minutes going to White Beach.

We checked in at Dreamwave Beach Hotel by 4:30 PM. All the boat and jeep transfers were stressful, I have to thank Dreamwave's staff for relieving it. I have to post another blog entry for their superb hospitality to acknowledge and gratify their kindness! Again, we really got so exhausted that we opted to stay in the hotel on our first night after our quick dinner at Manalo's Restaurant and slept early.

 Good morning, Puerto Galera!

The following day, we got up so early and prepared ourselves for a whole day of Puerto Galera discovery. Gladly, Mr. Sunshine shone his bright rays on us as we enjoyed our Filipino and American breakfast served in the hotel.

My pick: American breakfast. Sunny side up eggs, ham, toasted bread and butter.

First morning: Bright and sunny yet so windy!

Paolo and I enjoying the 8:00 feeling.

After our heavy duty breakfast, I changed my clothes to actually feel that we're in the beach. I craved for some fruit shakes so we went to Puerto Galera's version of Johna's, Mikko's, owned by a friend of a friend. Small world!

At Mikko's Bar.

After finishing this mango shake, I ordered strawberry shake.

While Paolo enjoyed his beer with Kong at 3:00 PM, I had a very relaxing back and foot massage by the bay! It only costs Php 100 per hour and if you want a whole body massage, it's Php 250. It's the best one hour of my life, thank you to my attending masseuse, Ate Tessie.

I'm a massage freak just like my Mom.

I decided to take a dip into the ocean after the massage but Paolo and Kong were still drinking beer so I sunbathed instead, and the waves were a bit huge, again I got scared.

Paolo forgot to bring our sunblock so we used my Shu Uemura UV Armour.

Paolo fooled me and said that there's a huge wave behind me.

Graphic bikini top and purple bikini from Sunkissed by SM Department Store.

I got my bikini top last summer. Remember my Shoppergasm post last April? I paired it with another bottom to balance the plain and prints look. It's my 29th set of bikini! You'll see my 30th on my next post.

Paolo already knows how to please me. Paparazzi shots. ☺

More Lindsay Lohan-inspired photos. ♥

I love these photos of us. Super, duper, super, duper!

Paolo's funny face!

Red Horse Beer and Rum Coke at 4:00 PM. We bumped into the group of friends that we met during the boat transfer, offered them drinks and enjoyed the Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the rain started to fall by 6, the waves gone mad again and I've seen the most frightening wave in my entire life. They started to make tsunami pranks and began mentioning Japan and Thailand, I wanted to throw bottles in their heads! We urgently went back to the hotel and waited for the rain and wind to stop.

When it finally stopped, we looked for a place to have our dinner and guess who we bumped into? Two happy couples Pia and Dave and Tin and Soyti!

At Puerto Galera's worst restaurant, Aurio's Food Garden and Bar.

I don't want to tell the entire story why I call this the worst but blame it to their super bad service and very unprofessional service supervisor. They let us wait for our orders for more than 30 minutes! Bad idea to dine here. I know how to run a restaurant, definitely the supervisor needs to be fired. Boo!

Me, Pia and Tin.

Soyti, David and Paolo.

Paolo and I met the other couples at The Outrigger Bar right after our bad dinner at Aurio's to drink our second night away. It was my second time to try Mindoro Sling, the island's most famous alcoholic drink made from fruit juice (apple, mango and sometimes, guava), grenadine and Tanduay Rhum. We also met wonderful and uber-friendly service crew of bar. LJ, Ehla, Airah and Madonna are the beckies we love!

Us girls with beckies Airah, I-forgot-this-becky's-name, and LJ.

Pia and I got so well in Puerto Galera!

Sober no more!

Finished drinking at 3:00 in the morning and had my worst-est-est-est hangover. I puked once again, three times and saw planets moving and birds flying around me. No regrets in having a good time but never in my life I will drink and party hard again.

Story of my last two days in Puerto Galera coming up next!

♥,