My 9-Fridays Challenge

I LOVE SHOES!!! I have to admit, I have a cabinet full of shoes, a mix of heels, boots, flats, sandals and sneakers. But with a height of barely 5’2″, I usually end up wearing heels over flats — I need the extra height boost. Haha!

My husband would constantly remind me to wear flats more often and I’m also aware that wearing heels at all times will eventually take a toll on a woman’s health, back pains and all.

So last Friday, I thought of giving in to my husband’s constant request and decided to wear one of my Chuck Taylors to work (Fridays are smart casual Fridays at work, which means, we can wear jeans and sneakers — but I still end up wearing my heels most of the time).

AND GUESS WHAT!?!? (drum roll please…)

My dear officemate, after seeing me wear my Chucks and who knows that I’ve been lusting over a pair of white Chuck Taylors for a few months now, decided to challenge me into wearing flats for 9 consecutive Fridays starting June 1! And if I get to do that, HE WILL BUY ME MY WHITE CHUCK TAYLORS! Woohoo! How cool is that!?!? Hurrah for cool friends!

It may mean nothing for girls who prefer wearing flats over heels, but not for me — but I’m definitely up for the challenge! Spamy, watch out! I CAN DO THIS and I WILL DO THIS! Lezzzzdodizzzz!!!

White Chuck Taylors, I WILL SEE YOU ON JULY 27! Now, to set an alarm on my phone every Friday morning to remind myself to wear flats! <3 <3 <3

A few REAL reasons why I decided to wear my Chuck Taylors last Friday — and ended up with a cool challenge

1. I miss wearing my Chuck Taylors. I almost forgot how comfortable they are. (see how I matched them with my floral skirt here).

2. Hidden agenda? Since I wanted a white pair of Chuck Taylors, I had to show my husband that I’m actually wearing them Teehee…

* image from weheartit.com

 

What I Wore : Florals and Chucks

My outfit for a lazy Sunday with family

White Loose Top – Forever 21

Inner Shirt – Victoria’s Secret

Floral Skirt – Forever 21

Shoes – Converse Chuck Taylors

Bracelets – Vintage, Mango, Reminder Bracelets and gifted Spike bracelet

I really need to start wearing my Chuck Taylors during weekends.  I almost forgot how comfortable they are!

 

 

 

 

And The Princess Got Her Crown

Some of my close officemates fondly call me PRINSESA (tagalog for Princess) in the office.  So when I saw this on my office desk when I got back from my long Holy Week holiday, I was sooo happy! 

My dear friend, Agnes (from the Happy Gang), got it for me when she went to Korea a couple of weeks back. She said it reminded her of me when she saw it… Totally sweet <3

It is soooo cute!  Love you Agy!

Now, the Princess (That’s me!) has her crown

Ps.  For people wondering what it is or what it is for, it’s just a cellphone accessory which you plug in to your earphone jack.   That’s it.

 

Spaaaah-rty by Orly…

Two weekends ago, I got invited to Orly‘s spa party at Posh Nails, where Orly launched their Cool Romance collection. When I got the invite, I immediately said YES! Why wouldn’t I? I’m addicted to pretty nail polish and I love pampering sessions! Teehee!

What I wore : The invite stated, "Laid-back Romantic" so attire was really open to anyone's interpretation of "romantic" -- Forever21 lace top. Coral hued blazer from Hong Kong, Bayo denim skirt and my favorite DESÙ camel wedge (Love. Love. Love).

* original photo by Grande Gusto

When I saw the collection, I swooned and immediately fell in love with the unusual pastel colors! They’re perfect for spring! — not that we really have spring here in Manila

This collection features six soft, splash of cool and romantic pastel shades — You’re Blushing (Wisteria Crème), Prelude to a Kiss (Pastel Pink Crème), Jealous Much (Mint Crème), Faint of Heart (Soft Gray Crème), Steel your Heart (Charcoal Shimmer), Artificial Sweetener (Dusty Rose Shimmer). Don’t you think the names are sooo cute?!?

I had a hard time choosing the color to put on as they were all so purr-ty! If only I could have all the colors on my nails, I would have! But I had to make a decision and ended up choosing “Prelude to a Kiss” to match my coral hued blazer for the day

* original photos by Aia

What’s not to love about this shade? It’s so dainty and girly! Personally, I think it looks more of a peachy shade with a hint of pink. The first coat was a little streaky but you should be ok with two coats for full coverage (a third one won’t hurt either).

Of course, Orly sessions won’t be complete without their ever reliable top and base coats. Can I just say I swear by Orly’s Glosser (top coat) and Orly’s Bonder (base coat)? They really protect my fingernails from turning icky yellow! So I’m close-to-sureness, their Top2Bottom top and base coat will give similiar resuts… We’ll see…

It was indeed a fun and relaxing event. Having your nails pampered by Posh Nails, nail polish c/o Orly, while being served yummy calorie-filled snacks and drinks, is THE LIFE! And don’t forget the loot bag we received after the event! What more can you ask for?

It was made more fun because I was with my fellow blogger friends from The Breakfast Club, Aia and Elaine. Everything is always more fun when done with these friends

* top, top right and bottom right photos by Grande Gusto; bottom left photo by Aia — THANKS!

I can’t wait for the next Orly gathering! Next shade to try out — Artificial Sweetener!

Orly is available at Purebeauty Store I Marionnaud | First Aid Greenbelt | PCX (Rockwell, Ermita, Alabang Town Center) | Watsons (Greenbelt 5, Ayala Cebu) | Beauty by SM (Makati, Megamall, Fairview) | Landmark-Trinoma | Beauty Cocktails | Robinsons Department Store Ermita.

Posh Nails are all over the Metro! Find one nearest you! Click here.

You may read my other Orly posts here, here, and here.

 

Day 16 : What I Ate

Oh my! I fell asleep due to overeating yesterday! I think I gained 2lbs on a single day (which took me like 1 month to lose! Pfft!).

Here’s what I ate…

LUNCH :

Burp! Excuse me.

Can I just say that this was one of the yummiest children’s party I’ve ever attended?

There were yummy food carts all over! Starbucks, Pot Dog, Waffle Time, Selecta, Candy Corner, Fruit Magic, Potato Corner and more! And to top it all off, buffet by Florabel! So yummy!

DINNER :

After hearing mass, my husband and I decided to have another yummy dinner at my happy resto, Chili’s!

We consumed the coupon they sent me for my birthday — FREE buffalo wings! Yehey!

So this is what we ended up having for dinner…

Cream of clam chowder, buffalo wings and queso skillet with tortilla chips! So yummy!!!

Don’t you think they have a good marketing strategy in having you eat in their restaurant?

Now, gotta get back to my diet! *PANIC*

 

Day 13 : From A Distance

Funny how true friendship continues to grow despite the distance…

Tonight, my office friends and I decided to converge at Fat Michael’s in Ortigas to have a night filled with laughter and food (5 taco bowls plus others to be exact). Some came from Mandaluyong, while others came from Makati and Commonwealth. Wow!

*don’t you just love how homey the restaurant looks? I LOVE IT!

Here are my office friends whom I call the “Happy Gang”. Whenever I’m with these guys, I laugh, I rant, I laugh, I laugh, I laugh. Get the picture?

These friends can definitely lighten every burden I encounter at work and makes sure that they make the sun shine brighter. We can even argue at work but when it’s time for lunch or a quick coffee break, our friendship emerges and we just have fun

More fun photos with my PopBooth

Eventhough some have already moved on and changed employers, I believe that there is no distance too far between friends

 

A Super Early Birthday Gift :)

My birthday is still 13 days away and I have already received a super duper early gift last week!  Yehey!  Happiness!

As you may already know, I love books and my favorite “destressing” place is Fully Booked.  So last week, when Spam and I dropped by Fully Booked, the second book of Gabriella Pierce caught my eye (her first book was given to me by my team. Yey!).  I immediately picked it up and to my surprise, Spam grabbed it from me and told me, “That’ll be my birthday gift for you!”

Haaay…  Thank God for such great friends!  Love you Spamy!

Book Summary (from Amazon.com):

Jane Boyle married her prince charming and moved into his upper east side castle—but she didn’t get her fairy-tale ending

It’s hard to live happily ever after when you discover your demanding and controlling mother-in-law is literally a witch, determined to steal the magical powers you didn’t even know you had. Jane narrowly avoided Lynne Doran’s clutches when she escaped on her wedding day, and has been hiding out in New York City. But she can’t hide forever.

When Jane learns of the one thing Lynne wants most, she sets out to provide it, hoping her good turn will persuade her mother-in-law to stop hunting her. Unfortunately, Jane’s daring plan will send her right back into the witches’ den—the Doran clan’s multistory town house on Park Avenue. But thanks to a tricky spell, blond architect Jane will be transformed into Ella, a dark beauty with a whole new look . . . and all of Jane’s budding powers. Though the stakes are life or death, nobody said “Ella” couldn’t have a little fun along the way, too.

You may get this book from Amazon.com as well   Click the image below.

 

Snail Mail from Seatmate :)

With the advancement in technology, sending someone a letter via snail mail is almost not an option nowadays…

… but there is only one person in my life today who still takes time to send me snail mails…  she’s no other than my Seatmate! 

Today, I got this in my mailbox… 

I smiled seeing Seatmate's name on the return address... I smiled even more seeing the photos of the little boy

You're welcome, Seatmate!

Here are more photos of this cute little boy, as well as my fabulously looking Seatmate

First photo I received of Rocco. Definitely good news!

Look at that big smile!

YAWN!

My fabulous Seatmate whom I miss sooo much!

Don’t you think he’s the cutest newborn ever?  Look at that nose!  Look at those eyes!  I can’t believe a newborn can look this goooood! He’s definitely heaven sent!

Welcome to our crazy world, Rocco!  I’m one proud Tita!    Tight hugz and kisses!

 

My Team…

I have to say, I really love these guys (same way as I have loved and still love my past teams).  I’m one proud Mommy if I can put it that way.  They’re all experts in their own roles and really reliable.

Last August 25, my team and I went out for lunch.  It was ‘sort of’ my last team lunch with them.   It is what we fondly call “HAPPY LUNCH” wherein we just pig-out.

We took the Araneta shuttle going to Ali Mall.  It was my first time to take the shuttle.  It was quite slow (I almost fell asleep, haha!) but it was a fun experience!

Hungry!!!

Lunch was at Savory and we ordered a lot of food!  I would like to believe that the food we ordered filled up their growling tummies!  Ang tatakaw ng mga ito eh! :p

Then as we were about to end our happy lunch, these kids of mine surprised me with a bag filled with loot!

I love surprises!

First, a charm bracelet which is sooo perfect for me.  I have a feeling with prayers and this lucky charm bracelet, my ultimate wish will be granted… SOON! *happiness*

I pray that my ultimate wish comes true

Second, a book which I’ve been eyeing for the longest time.  Gabriella Pierce’s 666 Park Avenue.  Each time we’ll drop by Fully Booked to destress, I’ll pick up this book and read the summary (even if I’ve already read it a million times!) *happiness again!*

Aside from the nice cover design and interesting summary, this is what caught my eye…  Interesting…

Interesting huh?

And last, but definitely not the least… a notebook filled with short messages from each one of them…  deeply touching *happiness again and again plus tears of joy*

I was deeply touched with the messages...

I will definitely miss working with these guys.  I may have moved out from the team but they’ll always be my ‘kids’ whom I’ll always be proud of

FY11 ERP Team

To my ERP team, you guys ROCK! Continue to make me proud!  Thank you for a great FY11!

You may also get 666 Park Avenue from Amazon.com.  Click the image below

 

What Time Is It?

Knowing that you have a friend whom you can rely on is one of the best things life could offer…

…but when distance comes between the two of you, you have to admit, things will never be the same again.

You know what I’m talking about.  It’s the time difference that makes it more complicated. Send your friend a message now, expect an answer after a few hours — not that she ignored your message but it’s because she’s just about to start her day.

That’s the reason why I usually find myself asking this question whenever I miss my friends (which is ALWAYS!)… What time is it?

LA for Angel ; Vancouver for Seatmate ; Winnipeg for Brattypotter ; Melbourne for Twinnie

* Thanks to Blackberry Travel for my world clock!

This way, if I have something really important to tell them (shopping and good finds are important!), I can either wake up early or stay up late… Or at least, I’ll know around what time I’ll be expecting a reply

I really miss you guys!  Mwah!