The Dancing Prisoners

Who would have thought that we would see a group of prisoners in my humble hometown, Cebu, become a hit sensation all over the world? Being a prisoner is definitely something not to be proud of but it's amazing how the human spirit can turn things around and make something funny and creative out of the worst case scenario. In a way, these prisoners are showing their vulnerable side, something that we rarely capture on film since people who go to prison are usually stamped as an undesirable forever.

This really goes to show that it's an innate behavior for Filipinos to want to entertain. It just really runs in our blood, we love hosting joyous occasions and we certainly love a good laugh. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The inmates do these dance stints as part of a rehabilitation program as well, which I think is an excellent choice. You combine discipline through choreography, exercise through rapid dance movements, and it (hopefully) promotes camaraderie among fellow inmates and the facility's employees.

I believe this was the first video that went viral and it was even featured on a segment on CNN. Check out the muscles on that guy in the pink halter top.

Here's a newer video of them doing a dance number of Gangnam Style. Talk about not letting anyone rain on their parade...they performed flawlessly even in the heavy pouring rain, and everyone knows that this ain't no California drizzle!

If it weren't for the flashy "P" on the back of their shirts, you'd forget that they are actually prisoners!

Yup, this is where I grew up. CEBU... where we have pristine white sand beaches, cheap eats and dancing prisoners! And you wonder why I'm always smiling =)

Toodles! =)

Fruit Fashion Files: Fruit In Boots

Winter is coming. At least probably around the east, since this side of the west coast is still having some identity crisis as regards to the climate. We are inching towards October and my darling coats and boots are still in the dog house. But when I learned that my bestestestestest friend in the world is experiencing some kind of a boot dry spell, I am happy to suggest these styles for her and to all you lucky ones who're not having the same climate identity crisis in your side of the world.

These boots are made for walkin' and that's just what they'll do...

Belstaff
- belted around shaft and ankle , platform rubber sole... you can run in them! Wuhoo!

via neimanmarcus.com

McQ Alexander McQueen
- flat stacked heel, chain-halter riding boot....I actually have a similar pair, but I got mine from Stuart Weitzman ages ago and the chain in the back makes me sound all cowboy-ish. It gives off that little clinking sound while walking, as if you have spurs on your boots!

via neimanmarcus.com

Alexander Wang
-motorcycle boots (yep, I'm such a dude!) These would be perfect on days when you just don't give a hoo-ha! I could be on the couch just wearing my teddy pj's with these boots on, while eating Krispy Kreme and watching some B-rated movie on HBO.

via saks.com

Giuseppe Zanotti
- fold over, zip ankle boot...for those not-freezing-your-runny-nose days.

via neimanmarcus.com

Alexander McQueen
-suede ankle boot with removable leather buckled harness. It's like having two different pairs of boots in one! Just remove the harness when you want a cleaner, minimalist look.

Christian Louboutin
- gold heel plate, ankle wrap with adjustable buckle, 6" covered heel...meant to be worn when you don't have to walk around or when you have someone designated to carry you around wherever you go. You just need to smile and look pretty =)

via neimanmarcus.com

Giuseppe Zanotti

- studded, crystal-covered no-heel bootie....I'm sorry but I just have to sing it... ra, ra, ra, ra, raaa, ...rama, ramamaaa....Got beef with someone? No problem, not only are these pair of booties a show-stoppin' piece of art, it can double as a spiked weapon as well. Just aim and throw this directly at your undesirable "frenemy" and do the Bad Romance dance.

via neimanmarcus.com

Just a friendly reminder to my readers out there, make sure to balance your silhouette while wearing any kind of boots. If you are on the petite side, you may still wear tall boots but make sure your coat or jacket falls right on your hip or higher so it won't entirely overwhelm your legs. Also, I personally don't recommend ankle boots if you have thicker legs, it may magnify this by cutting off the ankles and exposing your calf and thighs only. If you are as stubborn as I am still want to give it a shot, try wearing your ankle boots with a pair of nice dark tights and a pleated skirt or with your favorite skinny jeans.

One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over....

Toodles! =)

Model Watch: Bianca Balti

High cheek bones, full lips, dreamy eyes and a gorgeous body... sigh, there are just people who are born with it! Ever wonder who's that perfect babe kill me now gracing the ads of Dolce and Gabbana? It's none other the Italian goddess...

BIANCA BALTI

For Dolce & Gabbana Jewelry F/W 2011

Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2012 with fellow hot italian, Monica Belucci (yes, the hot girl from The Matrix)

Whoa! Check out that crazy jaw line matched with those beautiful cheekbones! 

Even with unruly locks and minimal make-up, she's still sizzling.

Okay so I have a question, if I stare at her for a long period of time, can I magically morph into looking exactly like her? Forget thinspiration, she's my face-spiration! Mama Mia, Mama Mia! Pizza, Pizza! 

Toodles!

Chill Pill : My Rock

I think I was really meant to be born as a dude. Back then, I remember I used to mimic my brother (yep, the big guy who used to stand outside my house, waiting for me to come home from bar-hopping with friends ), even his taste in music. The fact that the boyfriend and I share a similar appreciation of music, especially alternative rock, made me all giddy when we were just barely starting to date each other. He even took advantage of the moment and eagerly showed me that he was quite an experienced drummer...touche, Miguel, touche. 

Anyway, here are some of my fave rock bands from back in the 90's...

Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

Live - I Alone ...Miguel's fave band of all time =)

Stone Temple Pilots - Plush

Foo Fighters - The Best Of You...This one's a newer song but I've loved this band since back then. I honestly raise the volume up to this song, especially when I'm having a bad day hehehe.

Blind Melon - No Rain....Imagine if I wore that little girl's costume this Halloween, pudgy and all =)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away

Radiohead - Creep... You're so effin' specciiiaaallllll ! =)

Wow, sorry I bet this post was a pain to load!

Ever wonder what would happen if these guys all ganged up on Justin Bieber and his freakishly school girl features? Yeesh.

Toodles!

Fruit Fashion Files : Children's Party

Guess who ate some Filipino food last Saturday? =) Oh yes, it was break time for me from the take-outs and junk food! I went to a double birthday celebration for a family friend and her nephew so it was kind of a full house at their place. Two things that I realized while I was at the party is that:

1. I cannot have kids right now, I am definitely NOT ready. I love kids, I really do! But having my own right now is a different story. At the party, my ears were bleeding to death from all the kids yelling and I kind of wanted to trip some of them just to stop 'em from running amok like a herd of wild horses. Now I know how having a migraine feels like.

Photo Credits: Stuck in Customs

2. I miss Filipino food. I had empanada, Jollibee spaghetti, chicken adobo, lumpia shanghai (spring rolls), leche flan, buko pandan (dessert made from young coconut and screwpine leaves) and...other stuff. I don't want to enumerate all the food I consumed that day because then you're going to tease me. *blush* I have feelings, you know. Ha!
Anyways, it was too darn HOT that day that it felt like a bikini outfit was a must, but of course... it was a children's birthday party so Auntie Pears needed to stay cool but couldn't totally bring a lot of sexy back =)

Collared hi-lo top by H&M; Distressed denim shorts bought at a market in HK; Gladiator sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti

I love the print of my top, at first glance I thought it had leopard prints but if you look closer, it looks like fully-bloomed flowers..can you make out the petals? =)

On my face: 

Make Up For Ever HD powder

Lipstick Dior Addict Extreme 639 Riviera; Dior Eye Pencil  594 Intense Brown

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette ( I usually just use one of the lighter colors all over my lids)

How was your weekend? Hope it didn't involve any wild horses.

Toodles!

Eat, Pray, Love

*Cheese Alert!*

I was strolling with my dog, Skyler last night as we enjoyed the breeze of a seemingly mild weather, considering it's been scorching hot out here in Southern California, when something just came to me. I don't know what it was but it felt like an overwhelming jolt and it got me thinking about where I am right now in my life as well as contemplating on scenarios on how my life could have been had I done this or had I met that person. It also got me thinking on some of my decisions in life such as my career, or lack thereof (tee-hee). I graduated with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations, which was supposed to be my path towards law school. But in the end, I decided that the world of great debates was not for me. I initially had my heart set on law school since God knows when but I realized that if I'm not going to be as great as my dad, I might as well do something equally as great but in a different tune, my own tune.

I'm going to be celebrating my 30th year of existence on earth next year and I don't know if it's just me but I've been having trouble with these ideas getting into my head, flashbacks of events in the past and I admit, sometimes I embarrass myself by thinking how much better everyone else's lives are than mine. It's just a bad habit to break. I'm proud to say that a lot of people in my circle have turned out really well in their lives as a whole. I've got friends who are now CEO's of their own companies, some have flourished and blossomed with great artistic abilities, some are well-respected figures in their professions, some are world travelers and some..well, they're just happy =)

So I thought long and hard on what to do to prepare myself in this transition that I'm about to experience, this huge milestone of getting to live on earth for 30 years. What to do, what to do?  Eat, Pray, Love.

Uhm, yea. Obviously I'm not going to be able to do exactly what Julia Roberts did since:

A. I am not a successful writer who can just fly off and try to "find" myself in exotic places. What about Skyler? Who's going to watch over him? What if he'll burn down the apartment while trying to get to the tuna that's left over on the stove?

B. I am not a divorcée with issues, in fact, I am very much in love with the boyfriend. And I heard from my jet-setter friends that if I attempt to travel alone to Italy, I should expect to be propositioned by random Italian men, getting chased down the alley. It has nothing to do with being attractive or anything, seducing girls is just their favorite past time. Pi-pi-di-pa-pa-da-poo-po-do.

C. I'm not a trust fund baby. I can't just up and leave unless I want to get evicted for not being able to pay the rent and end up having to sell Skyler to the highest bidder. He is potty-trained, anyone? anyone?

I'm thinking of a cheaper sensible version of that idea and I'm going to try to follow it through. I simply interpret the concept of Eat, Pray, Love as an experience to be able to feed your mind, body and soul. What does that mean? It means that you shouldn't concentrate on de-stressing nor fussing over details. Instead, you should have faith in what you do. I think having faith is one of the greatest things that a person could have. From faith stems out other feel-good experiences such as love, hope and courage and all those other mushy stuff. It doesn't mean you have to travel all around the world just to find it because it's something that you have to look for inside of you. Is it  just me or did that last part sound like I copied it from an animation like Beauty and the Beast? Aladdin? Little Mermaid?

Hmm..on the other hand, this doesn't look so bad to me either..

Portofino, Italy

via club monaco

Amalfi Coast, Italy

via villasamalficoast.com

Santorini, Greece

via trulia.com

Machu Picchu, Peru

via famouswonders.com

And no, after such deep contemplation, still can't figure out what I want to do with my life! Ha! =)

Amazing what a stroll with an American Akita can do to you, ey?

Toodles! =)

The Filipino Box

What's in a box? A box could be filled with trinkets, it could be filled with something sparkly or if you're unlucky, it could even just be plain empty (attitude adjustment wouldn't hurt, ey?). But this box that I have is no ordinary box... it's a Filipino box! If you're not a fellow Filipino, you've probably been wondering what's inside those huge boxes that Filipino travelers have in tow at the airport. Sorry to disappoint you, we stopped smuggling an entire village through those boxes so we managed to fill them with other things instead. Ha! You see... when Filipinos travel, we either go big or go home. And going big means nothing short of goodies and treats that make my heart skip a beat and brings me to a place of rainbows, unicorns and Carebears!

Carebear, starreeeee!

So you can just imagine my excitement when my sister, Kiwi, finally came back here in the U.S. from her 3-month vacation in our hometown, Cebu! Lucky brat. Forget the low-fat, low-sodium snacks! There's nothing better than having some yummy in my tummy that brings back awesome memories of the good ol' days in the Philippines =)

Mine! Mine! Mine! My heavenly box of goodies :) Can you spot Skyler in this picture?

Now there's one delicacy that us, Filipinos really enjoy despite the fact that it does seem like such a simple no-fuss kinda treat. This was the one that I especially pestered my sister about... and this simple sugary treat is called "Polvoron", derived from the Spanish word "polvo" which means powder or dust, but I prefer to think of the former since eating dust doesn't sound as appetizing. The most popular one in the Philippines is sold by the major restaurant chain, Goldilocks.

The Filipino version of polvoron mainly consists of powdered milk, sugar and nuts but this sweet piece of heaven is so delicate that it could actually break apart and crumble even before it plummets to its death in your mouth.

Back when I was a kid, I remember having loads of those polvoron contests among classmates and cousins, pretty much the goal is to speak or whistle while having an entire polvoron stuffed in your mouth. Whoever doesn't have polvoron spurting out of their mouth while speaking or whistling wins and of course, no one ever wins... except that you don't lose either because after all, you do have an entire piece of that yummy polvoron in your mouth!

 Food games are always the best, non?

Toodles!

Fruit Fashion Files

I haven't been really going out and I've been feelin' a little lazy for some time now, so when I got a phone call from my brother early this afternoon about last minute dinner plans, all I could think of was Crap, do I really have to change out of my pajama's? But then I thought hey, maybe it's a good thing that I go and do this dinner thing with the sibs and other relatives so I can actually have a real conversation with human beings and give Skyler the day off from listening to my rants.

"Mom, you're boring me with your first-world problems.."

Anyway, I've decided to try out this new thing on my blog where I can post some of my practical styling tips through outfits that I actually wear. If you ask me to describe my fashion style, I would tell you to get back to me everyday because that's how constant my style changes. One day, I could be sporting the laid back, approachable, girl-next-door kinda look and the next, I want to be in a ball gown. Sashey, Shante!

I didn't feel like wearing jeans but I didn't want to totally dress up to the nines as well, so I took a basic royal blue tank top, a pair of belted pink linen cropped trousers and threw in a cream shawl collar linen blazer over it. The key here is to know how far you can go to play with vibrant colors without looking like something that came out of a Skittles commercial. Since I have both top and bottom oozing with playful colors, I simply topped off the whole ensemble with a neutral color (cream blazer) and medium brown strappy sandals.

I apologize for the less appealing hair and bare-faced look. Picking out this outfit took me about 3 minutes and that was all the effort that I was going to put in today. Tee-hee!

Toodles!

Best of NY Fashion Week Spring 2013

Alas, one of the most prestigious events in New York has finally come to a close today but everyone is still abuzz on the fantastic line-up of live, poppy spring colors and intricate floral designs showcased by the creme de la creme of the fashion empire. I've picked out some of my faves...from simple soft feminine silhouettes to cinched waists, full brocade skirts as well as dramatic and sheer lace!

Oscar de la Renta

Marchesa

Zac Posen

Rodarte

J. Mendel

Image source via vogue.com

And let's not forget the best highlight of the week...

The ever handsome Nathan Adrian at the Tommy Hilfiger show

Image via zimbio.com

I know you saw that comin'....tee-hee!

Toodles! =)

Battle Of The Bulge

So you want to lose weight just like every single person in this world who owns a less-forgiving mirror. You've tried all sorts of crazy quick-fix diets that make you end up either losing the weight but looking like an old, frail prune or worse, gain even more weight than what you originally started with.

I've got friends who praise me for not ballooning up from my highschool/college years, asking me what's the secret to maintaining a healthy weight. The thing is, there is not secret. No such thing at all. Infact, all the information you need is right in front of you and it's simple.

I'm a little plump right now but that's by choice, I'm just being lazy. As long as I'm maintaining my weight and not gaining more than that then I'm alright. Right now I weigh 117 lbs, I stand 5'5 tall and my jean (I base it on my Diesel's) size is 26. On my fit days, I usually weigh 112 lbs, so I'm 5 pounds heavier right now than my healthier self.

My little sister, Kiwi and I during my 29th birthday last April

The key is just to be aware of things that you do and don't do. Don't make simple things complicated. Here is a list of things that I do when I really want to lose weight, and it has never failed me.

1. Eat more vegetables. Don't like vegetables? Get over it. You're not a kid anymore, so quit whining. I don't see the reason for me to enumerate all the countless benefits of adding veggies to your diet, unless you were totally copying assignments from your nerdy seatmate all throughout your nutrition and science classes.

Not only are vegetables less in fat, they'll make your skin lookin' all glowing like Cate Blanchett's.

2. Don't drink soda's. They're high in sugar. Too much sugar is bad for you because it'll make your body store more fat, it doesn't get any more simple than that. Paradox: Diet sodas. Who are you kidding? If you're really on a diet, you shouldn't drink sodas at all. Steer clear from sweetened iced tea's, energy drinks and juices as well, those may seem harmless but they pack a lot of sugar in there too.

Here's a chart that I grabbed from the net that simply shows how much sugar is in your drink:

3. Get your lazy, fat hiney off the couch. I'm not an outdoorsy kinda person but I move around as much as I can. Unfortunately, I am too tired to go to the gym after work but I do some easy exercises at home like crunches, bending, squats, etc. I also walk my dog for 30-40 minutes twice a day. If you have kids, run around with them. If you have a hot crush on someone like Nathan Adrian, go chase after him. Whatever it is, just keep moving!

Don't be like this lazy bum..

4. Don't do groceries when you're hungry. You're going to end up having lots of junk food or just excess food at home that you don't normally consume. I remember I was once hungry doing the groceries and the check-out lady asked if I was getting ready for Halloween because I just spent $80 bucks on those candy & chocolate mega packs. It was still September, go figure.

5. Remember, do everything in MODERATION. Don't starve yourself or over-exercise. Don't over think things. Who really cares how much calories this or that food has? Do yourself a favor and throw away that book you have about counting calories, you're only going to look stupid whipping that book out every time you're about to eat. If you're hungry, eat. Right when you're full, stop eating. If you overdid it over the weekend, go work out. Otherwise, are you really going to let a paperback tell you what to do?

Most of all, don't lose weight for anyone but yourself. Do it for your health, do it for your future. Don't give up so easily, being healthy doesn't necessarily mean you get to look like your supermodel friends but it'll definitely make you feel better, inside and out. If you do have a serious weight problem, consult your doctor or a nutritionist. Don't be delusional by telling yourself that being that heavy and severely overweight is okay because it's NOT. You are only setting yourself up for more health problems in the future. 

So enjoy your food...it's a blessing, and not your enemy. Be mindful of what you eat and work up a sweat even for just half an hour a day and you will be fine.

Krispy Kreme, anyone? Don't you dare pull out that calorie-counting book or I will disown you.

Toodles!