Beautiful Day: Part 2

After having brunch,  we didn't want to pass up the chance to do a quick stop-over at Venice since the weather was so inviting. Upon hearing about it, my nephews gave me a puzzled look, scratched their heads and asked, " What?! Do we have to go to the airport and fly out to Venice?". You could see the true bewilderment in their faces as they thought we were going to Venice, ITALY and didn't realize that we were talking about Venice, California. This is the beauty of being a child, they can say nothing wrong and it downright amuses me.

As much as I wish to see the Venice Canals in Italy, this will have to suffice for now:
Check out the little boats docked on each side!

There are little walk ways to pass through on both sides so the home owners have easy access. It's a treat for tourists too since you can walk around and take pictures of the lovely homes situated by the canals.

Don't mind the whale, I just wanted to show you the walkways (and why not to stress-eat).

Walking by, you can literally be in someone's backyard and the residents don't seem to mind having strangers admire their homes at an extremely close distance. Of course it would still be awkward for me if they saw me snapping pictures of their homes--- I'm not that crazy, I only snap pictures of random cute guys without them knowing.

It's Spring so the flowers are all in full bloom and the residents are doing a great job in taking care of their landscapes.

If you plan to make a trip here, make sure to park closer to the canals---it's a tad cheaper vs. the parking lot next to the beach boardwalk. From there, you can visit the canals and then walk around two blocks down to Venice Beach. If I could do it walking in heels, you can easily do it in your beach-ready flip flops too.

This is the Venice Beach Boardwalk. You can find all sorts of stuff here: restaurants, bars, street performers, artists, medical marijuana dispensers,  just plain crazy people, funky souvenir shops and much more.

Venice Beach is also home of the famous Muscle Beach, where bodybuilders like our former Governor slash Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, used to work out and compete at.

Let's take a peak of the beach...

Yep, this really happened...walking in the sand...with my heels. Ha!

So what do I think of the this beach? Well... I come from a little island called Cebu, so you can't blame me for having such high standards when it comes to beaches. Just google "Cebu beaches" and be prepared to choke on your gluten-free soy burger.

It was time to head back home and this happened in the car:

Mom: Look at your daughter, she's being vain.
Dad: Why, what is she doing?

Mom: She's taking a picture of herself!
Dad to Me: Ha! Ha! Ha! You need to lose weight! (look at him chuckling in the picture below)

I guess in the end, I didn't enjoy my day because of what we did, where we ate and where we went to. It turned out to be a beautiful day because I was fortunate enough that (part of) my family was there to celebrate my day with me. Remember that family always comes first--- take care of them as they take good care of you.

P.S. I won't be doing a separate Fruit Fashion Files post for my birthday but for your reference, I am wearing:
White dress with gold shoulder rivets by Vince Camuto; leather and canvass sandals by Sam Edelman; multi-colored bag by Louis Vuitton; black wool cardigan by Zara.

I hope you have a beautiful day, too! :)

Toodles!

Feel The Heat

We've just set the clocks an hour forward here in California but it feels like summer time is already making an early appearance and we all know what this means--- excess fats and cellulite are dead men walkin' coz we aboutz to show sum skin. Now, I'm the last person to ask about the best way to shed the extra weight or what kind of healthy diet to follow 'coz we all know I'm the junk food monster. I'm probably one of the rare people that you'll ever meet who never feels even a wee bit of guilt after eating 2 huge chocolate chip muffins at 1 in the morning. I have no eating remorse--- I hear diabetes calling my name now. So, no. Don't expect this post to be about chia seeds or kale---you're on your own, kid.

What I do want to share is this random list of spring/summer tips to help you make the most out of the sunny weather. Here we go.

1. Sunscreen - I cannot stress this enough. We all need to wear sunscreen, even if you want to get a little tan. When you're at the beach, make sure to slather on an extra layer and wait for 15 minutes to make sure that the lotion has been completely absorbed. Out of all the other products that I've tried, Neutrogena has both of what I want in a sunscreen--- full sun protection without the typical greasy feel. I use SPF 100+ but there are different levels of SPF that you can choose from. The lower the SPF, the more chance that you'll get your skin tanned (minus the hideous sunburn). Oh, and there's even a body mist version if you're too lazy to use the lotion!

neutrogena.com

If you're just going to be commuting from your home to your office and you need some make-up coverage, a tinted moisturizer or BB cream will do. I hear the best BB creams are from Korea but the more notable tinted moisturizers are conveniently available here in US. Just make sure to get the closest color to match your skin tone and use minimal make-up, unless you want moms to hire you as a clown for their kid's birthday party. Hey I don't judge. A job is a job.

lauramercier.com

2. Water - Duh right? But what a lot of us fail to realize is that while we enjoy sipping our mimosas, mojitos and iced teas by the beach or in the garden, we might actually be forgetting to hydrate properly. And yes, it means we gotta drink the boring stuff. Just plain ol' water. Bottled, tap, spring...it doesn't matter. Just drink enough of it.

fijiwater.com

3. Pedicures- Before you go sashey shante-ing out with your flip flops and sandals, make sure that your feet and toes are well-groomed and presentable. No crusty little piggies, please! You don't have to go to a salon to achieve this, although going to one is undeniably a more relaxing experience. Trim your toenails, make sure you scrub off the dead skin by using any kind of foot scrub with a foot file. To save time, I usually do a quick foot scrub while in the shower since my feet get naturally soaked with warm water. Any foot scrub is fine but the smoothing foot scrub from Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa collection is something you might want to try.

bathandbodyworks.com

4. Dress appropriately- If you're at the beach and dining out on the patio, make it a point to bring a good cover-up. I don't care how casual and care-free the joint is, think of it as common courtesy. Resto's are there for eating not for barfing, and we want to make sure that the food stays in. Do you want to stare at someone's hairy, black forest of a back while you're sinking your teeth on a juicy burger? I think not. Boys, put a shirt on. Girls, don't steal your boyfriend's shirt and bring your own cover-up like this Flora Bella tunic below:

neimanmarcus.com

If you're at the mall or any tight, confined spaces, make sure to cover whatever is necessary to cover. I don't want to accidentally brush against your vajayjay or pimple-infested hiney while I'm at the check-out line at H&M. Mmmmk? Mmmk.

5. Smile- It may sound kinda lame but Spring and Summer are seasons that are meant to help us take a pause and find our center. This is a good time to declutter, reorganize, reconcile, get your shhh together, invite your family and friends to catch up and enjoy each other's company. Go outside and take a breather...well, maybe not when it's like 1 in the afternoon 'coz all you're going to get is a heat stroke.

Take a lesson from Sky, look at his big smile. Check out the photobomber flip flop in the back.

Life is too short---make yourself smile, make others smile. =)

Spring and Summer is coming...are you ready?

Toodles!

Conde Nast Readers' Choice Awards: Cebu & Visayan Islands

Nothing makes me even prouder about my little spunky island of Cebu than getting a mention from one of the most reputable travel publications companies in the world such as Condé Nast. The travel mag usually holds a reader's choice poll every year to have discerning travelers select their fave travel spots in the world, with one of the categories being "TOP 5 ISLANDS IN ASIA". Asia is a beautiful continent in itself but having my island of Cebu and the rest of the Visayan Islands being rated side by side with Bali and Phuket just gives me an exhilarating thought---that finally, people are beginning to notice our side of the world and they likey...they likey alot!

Here's a screenshot of the page...sorry I had to re-size the photo to fit into my blog page but here is the original link: Top 5 Islands in Asia

To those of you who are not yet familiar with my hometown (Cebu, Philippines) or Asia for that matter, skip your usual vacation haunts and head out to Cebu and the rest of the Visayan islands to sample mouthwatering food fares (cheap eats!), explore our gorgeous beaches and experience warm hospitality from the locals---find out why we are so laid back and friendly!

I miss you Cebu! 

Toodles!