New Show Coming Up: !T GIRLS on E!

The other night, we were at House Manila as we got invited to the launch of #ITGirls, a reality show featuring real-life BFFs, Solenn Heussaff, Isabelle Daza, Gerogina Wilson, and Liz Uy. We were treated to great food, wine, live interview, and a viewing party of the show's pilot episode. Here are a few photos from my phone:

great wine and good company

live interview with the girls

love these girls to bits!

Raymond, SOS, Belle, Liza, and Scott

It was our group that closed the party :))

And we headed to Revel for our own GNO

Sharing with you the Press Release:

ASIA’S TOP CELEBRITY BFF SQUAD REVEAL THEIR LIVES  ON THE BRAND NEW E! ORIGINAL SERIES, !T GIRLS

Georgina Wilson, Solenn Heussaff, Isabelle Daza and Liz Uy take #SquadGoals to the next level when !T GIRLS debuts on 24 October, Mondays at 8PM on E!   

MANILA, 18 October – !T GIRLS, which critics are calling Sex and the City meets Keeping up with the Kardashians, follows four celebrity BFFs who are at the top of their game: Georgina Wilson (former Asia’s Next Top Model host), Solenn Heussaff (French-Filipina actress/artiste),
Isabelle Daza  (daughter of Miss Universe 1969) and Liz Uy (celebrity stylist). For the first time, the fabulous four give fans an all-access look at their lives in the exclusive upper echelons of the Philippines’ sensational showbiz scene.

 “Between them, the !T GIRLS have an outstanding 17 million social media followers. With this series, those fans will get to see what they are really like outside of their glamorous celebrity personas. This is a unique experience that only a pop culture powerhouse like E! can bring,” said Scott Mackenzie, Vice President, Channels, Asia, NBCUniversal International Networks and the series’ executive producer, “With the ratings success of It Takes GUTZ To Be A Gutierrez in markets like Singapore and Malaysia, we are confident that !T GIRLS will also fascinate viewers across the region.”

Georgina’s baby gender reveal, Solenn’s Snapchat scandal, Isabelle’s A-list wedding and Liz’s search for love are just some of the series’ sizzling stories. The !T GIRLS’ hunky husbands – Arthur Burnand, Nico Bolzico and Adrien Semblat; Isabelle’s mother Gloria Diaz (veteran actress and former beauty queen) and Solenn’s brother Erwan Heussaff (TV personality and food entrepreneur) will also be part of the series. Additionally, viewers can expect cameo appearances by friends from the !T GIRLS’ inner social circle: model Bea Soriano, actress Carla Humphries, creative director Martine Cajucom and blogger Nicole Andersson.

 Directed by Raymond Gutierrez, E! News Asia host and star of E!’s It Takes GUTZ To Be A Gutierrez, each episode of !T GIRLS follows the crazy and colorful lives of the squad, rotating between their different roles as public personalities and switching modes into their more personal lives as wives, sisters and daughters. Drama abounds as the pressures of being a celebrity heighten and the ultimate question is – what will these !T GIRLS compromise between life changes and their showbiz life? Will each prioritize things at home or keep up with the ever-evolving demands of their careers? Can an !T GIRL truly have it all? 

Catch the premiere of !T GIRLS on 24 October, Mondays at 8PM, only on E!  

E! is seen on SkyCable and Destiny Digital Ch. 57, Cignal Ch. 25, Cablelink  Ch. 33 and other cable operators Nationwide

Join the conversation on social media with #ItGirlsOnE

And one of my best friends was crowned Ms. Philippines Earth 2015!

I couldn't be any happier for her because I know this is her dream. I've been a witness to her struggles and to how she worked really hard to reach where she is now. I'm a proud bestfriend, and sister (from another mother), I must say.

Once again, Congratulations, Angelia Gabrena Ong, from the City of Manila, for winning the title of Miss Philippines Earth 2015! This is just the start. You have a long journey to go. Go on and prove to the Filipinos and to the rest of the world that you deserve this title. We'll be supporting you all the way. Good luck and God bless, Miss Crystal Queen!

Ladies and gentlemen, please support her campaign, #wewillbecausewecan and let's all pray that she wins the international pageant in November to give the Philippines a back-to-back Miss Earth title for 2014 and 2015.

and we gave her 3 victory parties :)

Bangkok Valentine's Weekend: Day 3

It's our third day and we realized that we haven't gone to any cultural site. We haven't really had "tourist photos" for this trip so far. So we decided to finally visit some temples. I did a bit of research before going to Bangkok, and we decided to visit 2-3 cultural sites, just to have some "touristic" photos haha! It's the adjective I use to describe photos that prove we're really tourists.:))

We took a cab to the area where the tourist attractions are. There's this area where most of the temples and authentic Thai restos are situated, and they're all near each other. We're supposed to go to the Grand Palace, but it's so "grand" that we were able to see some parts of it outside that we didn't need to enter anymore haha. Well maybe we're just too lazy 'cause of the scorching heat of the sun. It's 36 to 37 degrees that time. And besides, we've heard from a friend that entrance fee was relatively high. So we had lunch at a resturant outside Wat Pho. We had really yummy and affordable lunch. I love Thai food!:)

After lunch, we finally entered Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It's the biggest Buddha in Thailand, and it's uhm yeah, reclining. Just a reminder, don't wear shorts and sleeveless, unless you wanna wear green robes as if you're inside a spa, just like us. LOL! Anyway, we paid 100 baht as an entrance fee. That's inclusive of a free bottle of water. After a few photos in and out the temple, we're done.

filling the containers with coins

don't wear shorts or you'll look like this :))

We took a tuktuk to the other side of the Chao Phraya River in order to get to Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. We paid 100 baht. It's relatively a fair price because the distance was kinda far. But be careful because some tuktuk drivers are taking advantage of tourists by charging more. Another option is to take a ferry crossing the river, which costs a lot cheaper, like 15 baht each. However, it's so hot and we we're already so tired trying to find the port. So to just get away with it, and for experience purposes, we just took the tuktuk. Anyway, entrance fee for Wat Arun is 50 baht. We had to rent sarong (long skirt) for 20 baht each since we're wearing shorts. The place was so nice, and everything's intricately designed. However, we were not able to climb really far because the steps were so steep and we're really scared of heights. So after reaching 1/4 of it (not even halfway up haha), we already went down.

Then we headed back to the hotel. While waiting for Dr. Sopon, who will be sending us to the airport, we stepped out to find something cheap to eat. Then we walked towards the direction where food stalls can be found. We tried one food cart that sells noodles. We couldn't understand anything on the photos and the vendors weren't English speakers so we just pointed the photos of our order (no idea what those were). Then it was cooked on the spot. For 30 baht, we tasted really yummy Thai noodles! It's just a cart on the side of the street, yet a lot were stopping by to grab something to it. The we got some dessert from 7-Eleven. Well it's really a cheap yet awesome dinner for us.

We went back to the hotel and Dr. Sopon finally arrived. He drove us to the airport. What a nice person, really! He's very down to earth despite all of his achievements. Anyway, we checked in kinda early so we explored Duty Free a bit. We bought some snacks that we ate right before boarding. At around midnight, we boarded the plane...and POOF! We're back to reality! Weekend's over. Time really flies so fast when you're having fun.:)

i want!!!

Here's our Day 3 expenses:

1. Transportation (including toll) - ThB 500
2. Meals (lunch, snacks, dinner) - ThB 500
3. Entrance Fees - ThB 150
TOTAL: ThB 1,150 or PhP 1,620 (Php 810 each)

Here's to sum up our INDIVIDUAL expenses in our 3-day trip to Bangkok (not including shopping expenses), with free accommodation, some friends treating us to dinner/drinks and some free rides:

1. Airfare - PhP 7,000
2. Tax/Terminal fee - PhP 2,170 
3. Arrival - Php 328
4. Day 1 - PhP 975
5. Day 2 - PhP 1,813
6. Day 3 - PhP 810
TOTAL: Php 13,096

*If we had to pay for our accommodation at PhP 1,000 per night for 2 pax, that would've cost us PhP 3,000 for 3 nights, or PhP 1,500 per pax, so it's gonna be a total of PhP 16K.

The bulk of the cost is attributed to the airfare, which at that time was already on seat sale. If it wasn't, original price would've been Php 12K + tax for a roundtrip flight.

Anyway, it was a fun weekend. It's quite short but I don't think there's much to see there. It's really shopping and my Thai friends that would keep me coming back to BKK. Next time, we'll try Pattaya and Phuket for the beach. :)

Bangkok Valentine's Weekend: Day 2

It's our 2nd day in Bangkok and we haven't been to any historical place. But then again, we'll never go wrong with shopping. So we headed to the Chatuchak weekend market. The place was extremely huge, just like Divisoria. Everything's sold in really low prices. When I say, everything, I meant it! From food, to clothes, to kitchenware, to pets! Name it and it's definitely there.

cute!!!

I really wanted to take one home...

Street food are cheap but are good, plus the Thai iced tea is to die for. Pad Thai is just a street food there, and it's really yummy. Got to taste all of those for less than 200 baht. Then we're back to shopping. We bought tops for just 100 baht, souvenirs that cost around 40-70 baht, and dresses for 200 baht. I don't wanna recall how much I've spent there, but I was so happy. What I brought home as pasalubong for my friends were accessories, tops, and spicy tamarind! Oh, I can't get enough of spicy tamarind haha!

time for lunch!

Thai iced tea :)

street food

Anyway, after Chatuchak, we headed to Siam Square to shop at H&M. I got a nice aztec dress for just 500 baht. We had a light dinner at the food court of Siam Paragon, then we headed back to the hotel.

so we're back!

Thai crepe ;)

Oh, that Beckham TVC! :))

At the ground floor of our hotel is a massage service. We experienced 1 hour of real Thai massage! Oh my God, it's really good. I felt relaxed and energized at the same time.  

Anyway, after the massage, we fixed up and headed out. We're supposed to meet a friend somewhere, but she kinda ditched us. The worst part was, we've spent around 300 baht for 3 different cabs just to get us where we had to go. The first one was a really rude driver. He dropped us at the red light district when it's actually not where we're headed. The second one was really nice but we we're on our way to a different place with the same name, so we had to go back. When we finally arrived to the club where we're supposed to meet my friend, the place was kinda dumpy and it looked like nothing's happening there, so we just left and headed to Sukhumvit 11, where the nice clubs were at. I used the Guidepal Bangkok app to choose which club to go. So we went to Levels. It's on the 6th floor of ALoft Hotel. There were a lot of tourists, locals, and expats there; and it looked kinda upscale. No door charge, yey! But an average drink would cost around 250 baht. The drinks might be a bit pricey but they're quite strong. I was able to make my Long Island last for 2 hours but managed to be a bit tipsy LOL! So there's a reason why it's called Levels. There were different rooms in the place playing different music genres. Outside was a sky lounge with lounge music. Inside, there were a couple of tables on the sides, there's a bar and a dance floor at the center. Hiphop/RnB and Pop were being played. Then in another room, house and techno music were being played. Upstairs were the restrooms and VIP rooms.

classy

perfect!

Aztec dress, Snake-skin Clutch all by H&M

what a crazy photo bomber! LOL

our dinner/breakfast haha

After a few hours at the club, we headed to Angel Diner, just beside ALoft. It's quite pricey though, but we liked the food. Our second day was definitely a cosmo day! Shopping, food tripping, and clubbing/drinking were a must every time I travel. Well, that's how a city girl like me does it! :)

Ok, here's our estimated expense for the day, considering all the misfortunes that we encountered that bloated our transportation expense (shopping not included):

1. Food (lunch, snacks, dinner) - ThB 1,000

2. Transportation - ThB 700

3. Massage for 2pax - ThB 300 

3. Drinks/Party - ThB 600

TOTAL: ThB 2,600 = PhP 3,625 (Php 1,813 each)

xoxo,

city girl :)