But I conquered my fear! On Labor Day Weekend, our group was supposed to have our mid year strategic planning. But due to stuff you never knew would happen, our plans were scrapped last minute and we had to make new ones — on the road. First stop? La Union.

We arrived San Juan, La Union around 3 AM and immediately had drinks and dipped into the waves.

San Juan Surf Resort

R, Me [wiped out of course], J and J, 5AM

The gang

La Union was pretty much a surfer’s site. Much of the people who checked in into Surf Resort were young, a lot were also foreign. I saw lots of Japanese guys who were sooo tan due to surfing and there were lots of 20-ish guests. Accomodation was at P 2,500 a night/6 people. This room is comparable to rooms in Puerto Galera with around 5-6 beds, a fridge, a bathroom and a TV. I am not sure how much they serve alcohol for, as we brought along the alkie supposedly for planning. I did read somewhere, though, that it’s presyong sari-sari store. Surfing lessons are P 400 an hour, inclusive of board rentals. Just don’t forget your rashguard.

So yeah, that’s hella cheap.

As soon as we were done with breakfast, we hit the road and went on to Ilocos Sur.

The rowdy crowd in Suso Beach [yes, I'm not kidding. In English, suso means
boob.] Thankfully, no one was nude in the area.

Inside Cafe Leona, Vigan

They have weird words

Being pressed for time, our stay in Vigan was probably less than 3 hours, thus no need for us to check in. We walked along the strip of Vigan, shopped for Chichacorn [Ps. 42.00 for a large pack], Vigan Longganisa [P 120 for 1 dozen] and Basi Wine [P 120 for the small bottle]. We bought their famous empanada as well for if I remember right, P 25.00.

After more hours [eek, like 5 hours] of driving, Taiwanese radio drama and super zigzag roads, we finally reached Saud Beach Resort in Pagudpod.

The sand was heavenly white.

The caves in Blue Lagoon.

I cant get over it.

The rooms can accomodate up to 6 people, each having 6 beds. For the price of P 5,900 ea./night, the rooms are incredibly comfy, the bath has a hot shower, bidet and are tiled nicely. Each room lead to a common area with large tables ideal for drinking and playing poker

Poker nights, woot!

Windmills, baby.

WAVES!

Bonfire at the beach while Poker-ing and Pusoy-ing.

and this, on our way home:

Chilli Crab in Matutina’s, Dagupan

Dagupan is known to have the best seafood restaurants in this island. Popular, or at least the ones we know are Dagupenya and Matutina‘s. We decided to try Matutina’s and boy, was I glad to have done so. The Chili crab was only for less than P 200 and it was so big, the 6 of us [half of the delegation] had more than enough! The Buttered Shrimps were to die for, priced at P 150 but tasted like millions. Kangkong with bagoong was priced at P 50 and it was another gastronomic delight.

And even if I felt like Eve [our vehicle] was the hotel and the hotels were just tourist spots, I’d gladly do the roadtrip again — especially if you’ve enjoyed the company. Agree?

So anyhoo, it’s been a real treat to come home to lovely packages:

About a month ago, I think, the lovely and talented Ren Ren [Filipina-American make up artist] hosted a contest and guess who and what was won:

Geo Circle Lenses in Black
Thanks so much Ren, for picking me as one of the winners.
Unfortunately, I am stupid at putting on lenses, so my photo wearing it
would have to wait

And speaking of lovely things from the US, my brother came home from a 2-month vacay with my parents, so my mom sent me stuff she knows I like and need

Iron Tabs [because I'm anemic, y'all], NYC license plate keychain with my name [I love
all things NYC], a studded Washington DC shirt from the Smithsonian store, Raspberry Jell-O [I'm seriously addicted to these]

Neutrogena minis for my toiletry kit, Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara,
Physician’s Formula Glimmer Stripes in Waikiki, Chapstick Classic,
Revlon Colorstay Liner Pen and Summer’s Eve Cleansing Cloths

More staples: Summer’s Eve Feminine Wash and Equate Baby Lotion [my HG lotion]
super cheap!

Thanks Mom <3

Oh and my swimsuit from Soak and my dress from Amour‘s Cheena came the same day!

All photos by Karen Villar.

And of course yours truly, unprepared. :/

Gawd, I’m fat.Dress: Amour Manila
Purse: Chloe Vintage [bought from Multiply]

Mac’s Bridesmaids P, M, and L

Now Showing:

The bride:
The garter toss was a beer-drinking contest. The slowest to finish gets the garter…
and the girls have to sit on the guy to get out of the game.

Err.. Camwhoring at the ladies’ room.

Anyhoo, last weekend, I was off to the North and attended my friend’s beautiful wedding at the Nativity Church in Marikina. I was one of the liturgical sponsors, which meant I had to wear teal.

Naturally, I was crying during the ceremony. Reception followed at the Glass Garden, Maj. Dizon St. Marikina.

The bride followed by the groom, Jordan

Vintage memorabilia from the couple

Movie posters starring Jordan and Mac

The reception was this beautiful.

Their pre-nup photo, placed on frames and mounted on tables at the reception

With the girls: Marga, Lean, Clai and Me

And as for my FOTD:

Dress: Amour

Face:
Artdeco Camouflage Cream 02
Sally Hansen Liquid Foundation
MAC Studio Fix Foundation
Sally Hansen Loose Powder in Medium

Eyes:

The Body Shop Sea Palette
Prestige Liquid Eyeliner
Maybelline Volum Express Cat Eyes Mascara
TFS Freshian Volumizing Mascara

Cheeks:

NARS Oasis blended with
Physician’s Formula Glimmer Strips in Waikiki

Lips:

Sally Hansen Moisturizing Lip Balm
Revlon Lipstick in Ice Queen

You see, I’m due for some tooth extraction today. But because of unexpected circumstances, I am forced to delay it till Tuesday. Now, my head is spinning and apparently, Mefenamic Acid can only do so much. Cripes.

Thank goodness, though, I stumbled this via Le Love:

“I want to be a lost poem in a stranger’s coat pocket, that conveys the importance of you.
To assure you of my desire, to assure you of dreams. I want all the possibilities of you in writing.
I want to give you your reflection, I want your eyes on me, I want to travel to the lightness with you and stay there, and I want everything before you…
…everything before you to follow us like a trail behind me.
I want never to say goodbye to you, even on the street corner or the phone.
I want, I want so much… I’m breathless.
I want to put my power into a poem to burn a hole in your pocket so I can sew it.
I want my words to scream through you. I want the poem not to mean that much.
And I want to contradict myself by accident, and for you to know what I mean.
I want you to be distant and for me to feel you close, I want endless days when it’s day and… nighttime never to end when it’s night.
I want all the seasons in one day. I want the sun to set before us and come up in front of us.
I want water up to our waists and to be drenched by the rain, up to our ankles with holes in our shoes.
…with holes in our shoes. I want to think your thoughts because they’re mine.
I want only what’s urgent with you.
I want to get in the way of the barriers and I want you to be a tough guy when you’re supposed to,
like you do already.
…when you’re supposed to. And I want you to be tender, like you do already.
And I want us to have met for a reason and I want that reason to be important.
And I want it to be bigger than us, I want it to take over us.
I want to forget. I want to remember us.
And when you say you love me I don’t want to think you really mean New York City, and all the fun
we have in it.
And I want your smile always, and your grimaces too.
I want your scar on my lips, and I want your disappointments in my heart.
I want your strength in my soul and I want your soul in my eyes.
I want to believe everything you say, and I do.
And I want you to tell me what’s best when I don’t know.
And when you’re lost I want to find you.
And when you’re weary I want to give you steeples and cathedral thoughts and coliseum dreams.
I want to drag you from the darkness and kneel with you exhausted with the blinding light blaring on us… and…”

-Chelsea Walls
Sigh. I can go to sleep now.

Happy Triangle 2: Victorian Printed / Purple / Zebra
arrived from Soak Swimwear.

I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to buy Soak and since most of my beach travel plans for the past few months were often made last minute, I wasn’t able to buy a pair from them. But now that my KK plans with D and C are months away, I made sure I didn’t pass the chance before they get sold out [as of this minute, they are].

And speaking of deliveries, another online purchase came today, another proof that being on self-mandated bed rest can’t keep you from breaking your wallet. My acid wash jean lust has overpowered the little discipline I managed to keep, thus, this:

Acid Wash Jeans in Gray
From Stylebreak

* They have nice stuff. It’s a sin not to check them out.

via lookbook

It’s been raining in Manila for a few days now and while it makes me want to just lie down and snooze, it’s also giving me a sad and wild case of ADD. I’ve become so restless that I tend to do one thing, stop halfway, do something else and go back. It makes me want to leave all the structured things in life, everything that makes sense and just be carefree. If only it was THAT easy.

Zina D. via lookbook, she is THAT worth checking out, I tell ya.
Her outfits are insanely to die for.

Choosing to accentuate your eyes with eye make up every day entails a responsibility — that is to remove it at the end of the day no matter how tired/drunk/lazy you may be. I’d have to admit though, there are times that I purposefully forget to remove my makeup. Those are the times that I almost crawled home from fatigue and sleepiness which brought me to the search for a new eye makeup remover.

I used to use a makeup remover from Fasio. It was only an accidental buy that seemed to work so I didn’t replace it. The thing with it though was that the after-feel of it was rather oily that I have to work up a lather after I use it.

When my boss returned from the US, it was extremely fortunate that he gave me this as one of his pasalubong.

Clinique’s Rinse Off Eye Makeup Solvent
$16.50 for 4.2 fl. oz [approx. PhP 792]

Clinique says:

Unique formula quickly removes all eye makeup, from lashes to brows. Perfect for quick makeup changes, touchups, repairs. Cleans eye area easily without disturbing other makeup. No rubbing necessary. Oil-free, blur-free, sting-free. Ophthalmologist Tested.

What I liked about it:

Eye makeup quickly dissolves in this product. I’ve been using Maybelline Volum’ Express Cat Eyes and Cover Girl Lash Blast simultaneously, both waterproof but are removed in 15 seconds or less with this.

• Does not sting at all!
• Scent is the same as other Clinique products. If you’ve tried their clarifying lotion, they smell the same.
• It’s true! No rubbing needed!
• Works well when I poke my eye with a mascara wand and mess up the whole eye area. I just dip a Q-tip onto it and clean the mess in 5 seconds.

What I didn’t like about it:

• The packaging! Just like the other liquid products of Clinique, the bottles have no stoppers. If I was a little more careless, I would have spilled everything by now.

I give this product 4 out of five stars

Not that they apply to me

I found a bunch of ‘quotable quotes’ in my email and they are such a good laugh, especially over beer. The officemates and I have been quoting these for two days already, quite incessantly I must say. [The ones in boldface are personal favorites, I can quote them by numbers]:

1. I can see your point, but I still think you’re full of shit.
2. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.
3. How about never? Is never good for you?
4. I see you’ve set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
5. I’m really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.
6. I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.
7. I’m out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message…
8. I don’t work here. I’m a consultant.
9. It sounds like English, but I can’t understand a word you’re saying.
10. Ahhh… I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again…
11. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
13. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don’t give a damn.
14. I’m already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
16. Thank you. We’re all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
17. The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you’re an artist.
18. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?
20. I’m not being rude. You’re just insignificant.
21. It’s a thankless job, but I’ve got a lot of Karma to burn off.
22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
23. And your crybaby whiny-butt opinion would be…?
24. Do I look like a people person?
25. This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.
26. I started out with nothing & still have most of it left.
27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.
28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?
29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.
31. I’m trying to imagine you with a personality.
32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
33. Can I trade this job for what’s behind door #1?
34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
35. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?
36. Chaos, panic and disorder – my work here is done.
37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?
38. I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted paychecks.