Lookbook.nu Look: Thank You.

2012 is ending and, boy, has it been a fast yet memorable year. Despite the fact that I overused my credit card, made stupid mistakes in Bangkok, cried a lot over a guy who wasn't worth my tears, lost a lot of friends, did a few things that I truly regret, moved back into my parents' house, and broke off all contact with the babydaddy for good, I can say that 2012 is one of the most cherished years of my life.

The list I mentioned above may all sound negative at first glance, but I learned so many new lessons in 2012 because of them. Let me share those lessons with you throughout this outfit post (all photos by Gerd Perez):

black leather zipper bag from Jimmy Choo

I am thankful that I overused my credit card because I now have a New Year's resolution to fulfill and a goal to finish to make my dad proud and to prove to him how committed I can be.

black shimmer top from Forever 21

I am thankful that I made stupid mistakes in Bangkok and cried a lot over a guy who wasn't worth my tears because I ended up being a lot pickier in terms of relationships. Now, I am finally with a guy who is perfect for me in every way.

black ruffled pants from Penshoppe

black Prada-inspired sunglasses from House of Luxe

I am thankful that I lost a lot of friends along the way because it helped me differentiate true friends from fake friends and I am now blessed with the greatest friends in the world - ones who will never doubt me, who will never talk shit behind my back and who will never use other people for fame or recognition.

black studded headband from Supersale Bazaar

I am thankful that I did a few things that I truly regret because it made me re-evaluate my morals and my life, in general.

I am even thankful that I moved back into my parents' house and broke off all contact with the babydaddy for good because I will now be able to focus on saving more money and raising my daughter the way she deserves to be raised.

black studded boots from S&H

black 2013 planner from Starbucks

So, there you have it: proof that every dark cloud has a silver lining and that every emo girl actually has a positive side to her. :p

This 2013, let's not aim for change, but for becoming a better person overall. I'm blessed, thankful and so happy that I am starting 2013 on a good note: with great friends, supportive family members, and the best boyfriend in the world by my side.

Here's to nothing but positive vibes this 2013! :)

*clink*

Happy New Year!

Store in Focus: Sister's Act (GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!)

What girl doesn't love accessories?

I have to admit I have a bit of an accessory problem. I have six drawers and three boxes full of accessories, most of which haven't even been used. I can't help it. Accessories are sooo cute sometimes; they're hard to resist.

Although my style is more edgy-rocker-chick-ish, I don't really mind adding some pops of color to my accessory collection as long as they still represent "me".

Sister's Act is one of those accessory stores that offers both real edgy-rocker-chick-ish accessories and colorful-rocker-chick-ish accessories that are perfect for me and my personal style. Even if you are a girly girl, though, you are sure to find something to suit your wardrobe at Sister's Act.

As for me, these are the pieces of theirs that I love the most:

I tend to go through phases when it comes to accessories. There was a time where I was going through a crazy sunglasses phase (Catch will definitely remember that one! :p) and now I'm going through a headband phase.

These colorful studded headbands would therefore be a very welcome addition to my accessory collection. One in every color, please! :)

Since I am currently still on a "The Hobbit" high, as well, I would love to get my hands on this black ring that screams "The Two Towers" and this leaf bangle that has "I'm an Elven princess" written all over it.

Of course, being Wonder Woman, these cuff bracelets would be great additions to my collection, too.

As mentioned earlier, I don't really mind colorful accessories as long as they represent "me". Well, by golly, these earrings definitely do. Not only do I have an infinity tattoo, but my boyfriend Gerd has that exact same star tattooed on his wrist. What are the chances of that? Seriously.

Anyway, I am here to share my love for Sister's Act through a giveaway. So, if you want to add some awesome items to your accessory collection, this giveaway is for you. Just fill up the Rafflecopter form below to get a chance to win :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! :)

Lookbook.nu Look: Love of My Life

"I love you" means that I accept you for the person that you are and that I do not expect perfection from you. It means I will stand by you and be there for you, even through the worst of times. It means loving you when you're unhappy or cranky, not just when you're fun to be with.

"I love you" means that I know your deepest secrets and do not judge you for them. It means that I care enough to fight for what we have and that I love you enough to not let go. It means thinking of you, dreaming of you, wanting and needing you constantly, and hoping that you feel the same way for me.

I have no idea who wrote this, but it is so relevant.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the cheese. Blame it on the skirt that I wore on our second day in Baguio:

black beanie from the New Glorietta bit

grey studded sweater from Mango

black tights from SM Department Store

blue flats from Manels

black skirt with red heart pockets from ASOS

What do you think of the skirt? Cute, no? :)

Anyway, I hope you guys have been filled with love, laughter and good vibes this holiday season. Merry Christmas! :)

Baguio Chronicles 2012: Day Two

After our first day in Baguio, which started pretty late due to the fact that Gerd and I love to sleep in :p we woke up earlier the following day to make the most out of our last day there.

Initially, Gerd wanted to take his first outfit shot on the roof of Royal Residences, but it turns out someone was living there (I know. WTF, right?), so this test shot is the only photo we have of being on the roof... Epic fail!

Gotta love my bagong gising face and wet hair!

Since the boys were still greatly overwhelmed by the cheapness of the 50's Diner and I was still literally daydreaming about the pancakes that Dave had had there the day before, we ended up having breakfast there again. :p

It was much emptier this time around, so we practically had the whole place to ourselves. Yayuhhh!

Still in bagong gising mode with no caffeine in my system.

Dave doing the twist by the jukebox :p

Camwhoring with our milkshakes while waiting for the food.

How much is that doggy in the window? Arf! Arf!

Major food overload!!! Yummehhh!!!

After that, we decided to explore and do as the tourists do in the city of pines. Stop number one: boating at Burnham Park!

Dave was clearly a noob. He tried to pay the dude Php100 per head for the boat ride when it was actually Php100 per boat. :p Reminded me of his pa-English vibes at the ukay place. :p

Since the pedal boats cost more than the row boats and since we were being very adventurous that morning, we got a row boat. Unfortunately, I had no idea that the boys didn't know how to row yet. LOL. This fact turned our boat ride into the most epic 30 minutes of our trip. Seriously. You had to be there.

Another reason for the epic-ness: Swan the Babe. #insidejoke

After that, we decided to see what else Burnham Park had to offer, which brought us to stop number two: biking at Burnham Park!

Gotta love our pink bikes!

I was also a very happy kid coz I ended up finding cheese-flavored dirty ice cream there! My ultimate fave! :D

After that, it was outfit shot time, so we headed to the best place for pretty green backgrounds: Camp John Hay.

When I was pregnant and living in Baguio, I used to hide out at Camp John Hay to just stare at the trees and breathe. Everything was so serene there, which is partly the reason why I decided to name my daughter Syrena.

So, imagine my surprise when I found out that Ayala had built a mini-mall there a couple of years ago. I wanted to piss on all of the buildings!!! So annoying!!!

My company for the trip: Dave and Gerd :)

Will post my outfit shot and our couple shots of this day next!

Since we were already in Camp John Hay and still in adventurous mode, we walked all the way to Choco-Late de Batirol, which was the most expensive part of our trip.

I was a bit sad that they didn't have any iced beverages when we went, but their classic hot drinks didn't disappoint:

We also met a ton of Dave's readers there. It was "quite overwhelming". Lol. #anotherinsidejoke

And then it was time for the boys' second outfit shots... Again, I was too lazy to bring a second outfit with me :p so I didn't have a second one this time around.

(left) Gerd looking for a place to pee. HAHAHA.

(right) Alejandro taking Dave's outfit shots.

We met Alejandro at Cafe de Batirol and he so kindly took the following photos for us:

Telenovela vibes.

The seriousness didn't really work out for us, though, coz this is what we're truly like:

Gotta love these boys!

Laughter and good vibes all around!

And now for some epic jump shots (pay close attention to Mr. David Guison in these :p):

Haha! Epic!

Thank you so much for taking these, Alejandro! We wouldn't have had any group shots if it weren't for you! :) Check out his awesome blog post on our trip here.

And my favorite picture of the trip:

LOL.

Despite the fact that I missed my fitting for Meg and the chance to be part of the New Glorietta Vibe, I wouldn't trade this Baguio trip for the world. It was definitely full of the kind of good vibes that I wanted to end 2012 with. Thanks, boys! I love you both :) 'Til next time!!! :)

Movie Review: The Hobbit

I have an Elvish tattoo.

I think that statement in itself tells you what kind of person I am and why I simply couldn't wait for "The Hobbit" to show on the big screen.

When it did... OH. MY. GOD.

via The One Ring

I watched "The Hobbit" in IMAX 3D, courtesy of my ever-supportive and understanding boyfriend, and despite the fact that it was almost three hours long, I loved it to bits.

Sure, it was a bit too long, as usual (they should have ended it when they all got out of the Misty Mountains, in my opinion), but there is nothing about it that I would change. But then again, this is coming from someone who watched the extended versions of all three LOTR movies, so maybe I'm just a geek who would never find fault in it either way. :p

What I Loved about the Movie

via Comic Book Movie

Yes, that is Peter Jackson.

Yes, he lost a ton of weight.

Yes, he looks pretty darned good.

As much as I love Guillermo del Toro and his work, I love that Peter Jackson ended up directing "The Hobbit" in the end. I think this is what ensured that the movie had the same look, feel and vibe as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. :)

via Sci-Fi

As much as I love Elijah Wood as a hobbit, Martin Freeman really stole my heart as young Bilbo Baggins. I loved him in Sherlock Holmes, but I love him even more because of this. He is the perfect Bilbo Baggins and he is the ultimate highlight of the movie, even putting Gollum himself to shame.

via Digital Spy

My favorite part of "The Hobbit" book was the classic riddle sequence between Bilbo and Gollum and I am so happy that the movie did that bit justice. Gollum is always fun to watch, so this scene in itself was well worth the movie money!

via The One Ring

The changes that they made to the movie were good, as well. I love that Frodo was in it and that Radagast actually made an appearance. I even loved the Pale Orc, Azog the Defiler and how they changed the story to (spoilers - highlight to read:) make it seem like Azog killed Thrain, even though it was Sauron who killed Thrain in the book. Azog was also killed in the book.

What I wasn't Too Sure about:

via Paper Blog

I'm not too sure how I feel about Thorin, though. He seems more like a human than a dwarf with his good looks reminiscent to Aragorn and Boromir. Hmm.

via Blu-Ray Forum

I'm also not too sure how I feel about the Goblin King. Is it me or does his chin look like... well... testicles? Watching it in 3D had me laughing in fits every time he showed up. You won't understand 'til you see it, so go see it. :p

True fans of "The Lord of the Rings" definitely shouldn't miss this movie. I actually think it's the best Middle Earth movie since "The Fellowship of the Ring". Non-fans may want to skip it. 4.5 stars out of 5... for geeky-me, anyway. Remember: I have an Elvish tattoo. *cough* biased *cough* :p

Have you seen it? What did you think of it? Do share! :)

Lookbook.nu Look: Stop.

I used to be a jetsetter, thanks to my dad's line of work. I was born in the US, grew up mostly in Germany and made Thailand my home, but traveled in-between to places all over the world. In fact, I hardly had time to breathe and unpack my things before we packed and moved again.

As such, you'd think that, like my twin, I would cry and whine because my life had suddenly stopped after going full speed for so long, like running into the wall at Platform 9 3/4 and getting the wind knocked out of me. But I didn't.

In fact, I am breathing more freely than ever after that sudden halt and I am enjoying my peaceful and "boring" life today more than ever.

Of course, the hidden jetsetter in me still feels very much at home when traveling, though, so I didn't hesitate to accompany David and Gerd to Baguio last month. Here's my second set of outfit shots from our first day in the city of pines:

Black triangle necklace from Crave More

Excuse me while I plug my boyfriend's designs for Crave More for a sec... CHECK OUT THE NEW AMBER COLLECTION HERE!!! :p

Black beanie from the New Glorietta bit

Gerd bought me this beanie :) I've decided to stock up on them coz he likes me wearing them, for some reason; so if you know any good places to get cute beanies, let me know, please. :D

Red sweater from Forever 21

And the "dynamite smile" that only my boyfriend can bring out of me. :)

Unlike the boys, I was too lazy to bring a second set of clothes with me, so I borrowed Gerd's sweater for my second set instead, which he wore in our couple shots here.

Black boots from S&H

Black ruffled pants from Penshoppe

Growing up with my dad's line of work, I also grew accustomed to people always expecting things from me. Daughter of the Philippine Ambassador? She must be smart/talented/multi-lingual/elegant/polite/insert-adjective-that-I-am-so-not-here.

It isn't until my dad retired and we moved to Manila that I was finally able to come out of my shell and just be me: the geeky rocker chick with the loud laugh who slouches and doesn't really care very much whether she's using the right fork for her salad or not.

Don't get me wrong. I loved the life of a jetsetter and am extremely thankful for all of the things I was able to experience because of it, but I love my simple and low maintenance life now much more. I guess was just born for simplicity. What about you? :)