Baguio, I'm Back!

I'm back to the place that scared me the most! Oh well, Baguio City will always be Baguio City!

This time, we stayed at the  Baguio Country Club. Luckily, it was my first birthday leave ever so leaving for the City of Pines on a Friday afternoon isn't a bad idea at all. At first, I hesitated to join them but since Paolo insisted, I said yes ON the day itself. That's how impulsive I am especially when it comes to traveling. :)

The Baguio Country Club

Ohhh myyyy I love this place--very relaxing, quiet and very Pinoy. The wooden floors, the furniture, everything, spell comfort. And what I really love about this place is its cafe.

Welcome to the Raisin Bread cafe!

The Raisin Bread cafe sells delish cakes, breads and pastries. From its simple strawberry shortcake to raisin bread, chocolate chip cookies and pralines, I'm 100% sure that you will never leave the country club without eating here. It's a little piece of heaven in Baguio if you're a sweet tooth like me.

With Paolo.

The boyfriend and I strolled around the place and we found a mini butterfly haven, a small garden for a flock of hens (and a peacock), a swimming pool and a lot more. I really like the exclusivity of the place, you can have peaceful talks while walking and stuff. Really cool!

 All black.

Black lace top from Landmark Department Store | Black jeans from Topshop | Black patent t-strap shoes from The Shoe Gallery

Tea ceremony.

I also loved the fact that I was able to spend my entire afternoon in the veranda while sipping a hot cup of coffee and tea with mouthwatering desserts like cheesecake and molten chocolate cake. I forgot about diet!

With my soon-to-be sister-in-law.

Paolo's only sister, Patrish, and I have a lot of things in common. Top three are: 1.) We love makeups; 2.) We love to take pictures; 3.) We love animal prints. And these three are clearly shown in the photos above. I also lent her my pair of Aldo oxfords. If you take a closer look, you'll notice her white socks. Haha! That's because my shoe size is bigger than hers and the country club does not allow rubber slippers (regardless of the brand) so Patrish had no choice but to wear my shoes.

I really, really, really love this candid photo of ours! It reminds me of an Ayala ad with the background song "I love you more today than yesterday..." playing. Thanks to Janbie who patiently took our photos. 

And before I forgot, let me show you the Longchamp-inspired bag I thrifted a couple of weeks ago! Yes, you may find it odd but believe me, I got this bag at an ukay-ukay (vintage/thrift shop) for only a hundred pesos! Unbelievable? Believe it. :) And yes, it's in good condition and is made of good materials! Very Longchamp-ish!

This bag is mine.

Black + animal prints = class. Photo + black/white = classic.

On our way back to Manila, the in-laws(!!!) decided to have a dinner at Matutina's. I was so damn happy because Matutina's is one of my favorite local seafood restaurants and the last time I ate there was 4 years ago. So imagine me jumping like a frog because of excitement.

My seatmate, as usual, is Patricia.

We miss you, Deedee!

Julianna (in orange) and Paula (in black/pink) never leave my side whenever they see me. They call me "Mommy Marianne" and kiss and hug me all the time. I love taking care of them! I really feel like a young mom.

Paula sat beside me since her mom was not able to join us in our trip (while Julianna joined his real mom, Ate May). Notice how much she looks like his Tito Paolo! Her name is derived from him because of her chinky eyes, ergo the name Paula. Hehe.

Well if you're not convinced, here are our faux family portrait.

It was a short out-of-town trip but this has got to be very unforgettable. I became an action star, a drama princess and a thriller queen on our way back. Pangasinan and Tarlac are my witnesses!

Til the next Baguio adventure,

LXX

It's Friday and I'm on my 70th blog post. I can't let the week end without writing something but... oh my, I can't squeeze my creative juice as of this moment. I want to post my Baguio weekend getaway but I don't have the complete photos yet so let's scratch that. What should I blog about?

But since it's raining, let me show you what I wore a couple of weeks ago when typhoon Falcon hit the country:

 All covered up! My little booties soared higher! Double purpose.

I was waiting for Pao to finish his work at his Mom's office. We were doing some sorts of errands there for my birthday party so we took some pics first to kill time. Forgive the grainy resolution! Btw, sorry for that awkward smile. I hate myself when I smile like that. Meh!

Brown tank top from Topshop | Checkered scarf from Aldo | Knit jeans from Herbench | Brown suede shoes from Janylyn

 Finally! My smiling face, that's it! I chose these iPhone photos over the few ones taken using my boyfriend's DSLR. All not good, except for this one:

CLOSE UP! I'm loving my facial skin now, it's glowing! You know my secret (HIHI)? It's Pond's White Beauty Naturals with Camellia Leaf Extract Day Cream. I'm giving it an A+! I am an avid Pond's user, so I'm not scared of trying all their (new) products for I know my skin won't be harmed. It's my greatest alternative to Shu Uemura most especially when I'm financially handicapped.

Pond's got the best endorser for its new product--Angelica Panganiban! She fits the role, and this one's perfect for her Pantene Nature Care shampoo TVC. Mother nature ang peg!

And while we're at TVCs, I want to share you guys one of the best commercials in local TV! The agency behind Sky Broadband's TVC deserves a highhhhhh five!!!

"Delivery"

"Wedding"

"Pregnant"

From boots to Pond's to TV commercial, let me say thank you! Thank you for reading my 70 kikay blog posts! Thanks for the support, the praises and the time you spend reading it! Much appreciated! Expect much more exciting entries from Superloved. :)

Cheers,

 

PS: LXX is 70 in Roman numerals, hence the title. :)

All Grown-Up

I'm all grown-up now. I earn my own money, I pay tax, I pay bills and buy my own things. I'm all grown-up now because I can go anywhere, stay outdoors until the next day and I'm all grown-up now because I know the value of hard-earned money and the importance of free time. 

And most of all, I'm all grown-up now because I have half-nude photos taken.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, half-nude photos. But don't take it seriously or don't think that I'm a sex bomb or a bold star or something. I just wanted to achieve this kind of peg without maliciousness playing at the back of your mind. It's nothing but a pure desire of doing or getting something you want. :)

And no need to guess who's the right person to take the photos for me. My boyfriend did it. I told him if it's alright for him to take shots of me "almost" topless, in bed, without makeup. He didn't hesitate to say yes, because he knows what I want.

This one was also on the top of my list of "10 Things To Do Before I Turn 23". I'm so glad we did it exactly a day before I turned a year older and I'm also happy to share that I fulfilled the other 9! Yes to life!

Over all we had 13 photos taken and these three are my top favorites. I also watermarked the boyfriend's name for reasons that you already know, and edited them in black and white for a more classic look (plus I wanted to keep the original ones only for us two).

I really find the outputs cool and still wholesome! I felt like a model in a bath soap TV commercial or an endorser of an anti-bacne (back acne) cream. Anne Curtis, Marian Rivera and Kim Chiu did it in Palmolive, MaxiPeel and Olay ads respectively, I did it for myself. Leveling? No, confidence and determination. And besides, anyone can do this! Not a big deal!

Be Happy!

My birth month passed by so fast and I have more than a couple of overdue posts. I need to start posting them because if not, my recent Baguio trip might be blogged on August. I planned to blog over the weekend but since I was dragged to go to the Baguio Country Club last Friday, I missed the chance.

Now let me share you one celebration we had before the night I turned 23. Rhys Nathaniel, my HS friend Roan's first son, turned 1 last June 25 and aside from his birthday, we celebrated the baby boy's Christening and Dedication. I was not able to attend the baptism rites because Paolo and I got struck in traffic due to typhoon Falcon's aftermath. We arrived at the Edsa Shrine a few minutes before they left for Jollibee-Pioneer (where the birthday party was held). I got off the car wearing only Havainas, took two photos with Baby Nate and immediately went to Jollibee.  

The only pictures I had at the Church! Meet Nate and her sexy Momma Roan.

Floral dress (used as skirt) from Landmark Department Store | Black knitted top from Banana Republic | Shoes from Aldo

 Here's the only decent shot of my entire outfit.

With Ninong (or Ninang) Toto, Nate, Roan. The baby is such a cutie patootie!

L-R: Jessica, Aiza, me, Roan and Nate, Irene, Une and Toto.

The rest went straight to the party since they did not need to attend the dedication that's why they're all so lucky to wear short shorts. Still I'm happy to get that "Church-appropriate" look. But goofing around with Jollibee in a dress and high heels was funny. I looked like a young mother missing her childhood:

 Jessica and Toto are pro-Ronald McDonald.

I grew up attending parties at fast food chains so I'm not scared with mascots...

...I even dance with them!

We took more photos outside the venue. Paolo is slowly becoming a good photographer and taking photos of me every single day is a hobby. I always tell him that practice makes perfect!

But most of the time, whenever I pose fiercely, he reacts differently! Nahihiya tuloy ako bigla so he always snaps my usual face with my regular smile like this one. :P

Shyness at its best! Plus, no full body shot! Just when I learned how to cross my legs while posing...

After the party, Paolo and I dropped off my friends somewhere in Edsa Ortigas and went to Discovery Suites to prepare for my birthday bash. Until now, I can't get over it so forgive me for mentioning it most of the time.

♥,