Boracay Trip 2016 with the Queens

While we were in Davao, we talked about how much we missed Boracay. Dayanna has been wanting to go there as she kept hearing good stories about it. Therefore, we decided to fly to Boracay immediately the morning after we landed in Manila. Thanks to Lady for securing our free Skyjet tickets. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to join us. Gosh, imagine how tiring our Davao-Manila-Boracay-Manila 6-day trip was! But no regrets 'cause we had so much fun! Well, it would have been more fun if the weather cooperated.

Anyway, we would like to thank the following for the quick but fun trip:

-Skyjet
-Henann Lagoon Resort
-White Sand Aquasports
-Wave Bar
-The Pig Out Bistro
-JB Alonzo Law Firm
-Caticlan Airport Officials
-Manila, Cebu, and Boracay friends

Sharing with you our post-Boracay video.

Davao Trip 2016 with the Queens

It's been a while since my last blog post. I've been really busy these days. Sharing with you one of my best trips with my girl friends, Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong, Miss Earth Air 2015 Dayanna Grageda, and Miss Casino Filipino 2013 Ladylyn Riva.

Special thanks to the following sponsors for making our trip a truly relaxing, fun, and memorable one:

-Pearl Farm Beach Resort (Samal Island)

-RC Hobbyshop and Aquasports

-Paradise Island Resort

-Department of Tourism

-House of Hope Foundation

-Pres Duterte's PSG

-JCI Davao Inc

Sharing with you our post-trip video:

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 :)

Styling Stints at Hardware Zone Magazine

After my first styling stint at Hardware Zone Magazine Philippines (HWM Philippines), I have eventually became their resident stylist. Here's the link to my blog post during my first stint with them.

After the Holiday Gift Guide 2013/2014, I also did the styling for their Summer Gift Guide 2014 with Patricia Ejercitado on the Cover, Holiday Gift Guide 2014/2015 with the celebrity couple Gretchen Ho and Robi Domingo on the cover, and the most recent one was the Summer Gift Guide 2015 with Karyn Johnston on the cover, plus  a few pages with Kyle Vergara.

Check out some of my work for HWM:

Summer Gift Guide 2014

Holiday Gift Guide 2014/2015

Summer Gift Guide 2015

And that's it so far! Will keep you posted for more. Just continue buying HWM for your to serve as your gadget guide.

More than blessed: My 27th Birthday

27 years and counting...I have been more than blessed in the past 27 years of my life and I am so ready for more! I can't thank God even more for bringing me where I am now. I got my family (though was faced with multiple challenges in the past) who has always been there to support me. I've got a lot of mentors who have taught me a lot in this life. And of course, the best set of friends anyone could have.

Looking back, it has never been an easy ride. I've been through a lot of challenges, and a lot of instances where I tried to prove myself to people. But growing up, I have learned that I shouldn't do things to please people, I should do what I want and what I think is right, with or without the approval of others. There will always be people who will judge you no matter what you do and you don't owe them any explanation for being who you are. I would always be thankful of my past experiences because they made me stronger and more knowledgeable about life.

I couldn't be any luckier because just before I turned 27, I have already graduated from my Masters Degree, I got a new job that's more than I have prayed for, and I still have my family, friends, and God on my side. My 27th so far was indeed one of the most memorable birthdays I've ever had. Here's how I spent it:

April 23 - Dinner with my girl friends in Cafe Mary Grace, Greenbelt

April 24 - Wine and cheese with a few friends in Las Flores, BGC

with Ana and Gary (my older friends :p)

April 24-25 - When the clock ticked 12, I was surprised by my friends with cake and sparklers at Privé Luxury Club. A friend even bought me bottles for my guests. Thanks to Wonderland Thursdays (Models' Night) at Privé and to their photographer, Rich Sarto for always taking nice photos of us in the club.

my sweetest girl friend, Angelia

royciepoisie (must be "i" instead of "y" haha)

Lady and Dianne

with my good friend, Lady

my beauty queen friends

girl friends forever

new friends, Lady's co-models/beauty queens

for keeps! pretty ladies :)

thanks Gary for the champagne! :)

Then at night, my bestfriend and I just had dinner at a Japanese resto in Glorietta.

I also saw Anna, my sorority sister ('cause she works with my BFF)

April 26 - My Morning Crew family (friends whom I met through CrossFit) had a get-together and they surprised me with a Starbucks cake that night.

Morning Crew at Marga's place

happy kid :)

Since my family was abroad, I didn't get to celebrate with them. That's why I've been extra thankful to my friends for making my birthday extra special. They're definitely for keeps!

Now I'm ready for another awesome year! Bring it on! :)

December 2013: A Weekend in Tokyo

Tokyo is probably my second favorite Asian city (next to Seoul). It's a place I'll keep coming back to because of my love for fashion and the city life. I've been to Tokyo for a couple of times in the past years with my family, but I haven't experienced it with a friend yet. So when I heard that my friend who's based in Singapore would be on a business trip in Tokyo, I felt the need to travel almost 3 hours by bus from Suwa to Tokyo just so I could spend time in the city with my friend.

At around 8am of December 8, I took the highway bus from Suwa City, Nagano to Shinjuku, Tokyo. From the bus station in Shinjuku, I took the train to Royal Park Hotel Shiodome Tower where my friend was staying. Good thing my cousin lent me beforehand her preloaded Passmo card (the subway card in Tokyo). Anyway, the hotel is pretty nice but quite pricey.

inside the bus

My friend, Pam and I started our Sunday with ramen for lunch. It's just a small ramen place at the subway connected to the hotel. We shared in one miso ramen and a plate of gyoza. I think our bill was around 1,500 yen.

lunch

Then we proceeded to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Entrance was free but apparently, almost nothing's left in that area. When we went out of the gates and walked towards the nearest subway station, we got a view of the Edo Castle from afar.

garden at the Imperial Palace

autumn leaves

old Japanese house inside the Imperial Palace

Edo Castle

We headed to Asakusa where we had a view of Tokyo Sky Tree from afar. It's the tallest tower in the world. We followed some groups of tourists following a tour guide and it led us to the Senso-ji Temple. There were a lot of both tourists and locals there.

Asakusa (Tokyo Sky Tree right there!)

Senso-ji Temple

We're too tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit. At the subway, we found a kiosk of Almond Cafe and we bought and eclair and a croughnut. So far, those were the best I have tasted. We also got some hot chocolate and coffee from the nearby vendo, which were so perfect for the freezing weather.

Christmas illumination at Shiodome

super yummy!:)

Pam enjoying the bed

Sunset was kind of early, like around 4:30 to 5pm. When the sun set, we headed to Harajuku, supposedly to go shopping but when we got there, we're too budget conscious so we were only able to shop at Daiso. haha! From Harajuku, we walked towards Omotesando Hills where we found Heiroku, a "kaiten" (conveyor belt sushi) sushi place. We paid around 3,000 yen for dinner.

sushi dinner

We walked from Omotesando Hills to Shibuya crossing. That popular crossing is one of my favorite spots in Tokyo. I like seeing how organized it is for a bunch of people to cross the street. We went window shopping at Shibuya 109. It's the center of Japanese fashion. However, those local brands were kind of expensive.

Shibuya crossing

Day 1 OOTD without the coat

We're supposed to go out and have some drinks somewhere in Roponggi but we're too tired for it so we headed back to the hotel instead. It's so relaxing in our room at 37th floor, overlooking the city lights.

no filter!

That night I found out that another Singapore-based friend was in Tokyo as well. We got to communicate via Facebook and Viber and we agreed to spend the next day at Roponggi. The next day, I woke up early and met with my friend, Kidjie at the Roponggi Station. We went to the Suntory Museum of Art at Tokyo Midtown, which is connected to the station. We paid a discounted admission fee since we presented our student IDs. After a quick look at the museum, we walked towards Roponggi Hills. We reached Mori Tower but we didn't go up. From there, we got to see the Tokyo Tower, but I still prefer seeing it at night. We headed back to the station and passed by Almond Cafe so I bought eclairs and croughnuts again so I would have something to take home to Suwa.

Day 2 OOTD without the coat :)

not all stations here have gates like these

Tokyo Midtown

BMW i8!!!

Kidjie buying postcards at the museum

the view outside the museum

some random zen garden in Roponggi

From Roponggi Hills, we took a train to Harajuku where we had lunch at my favorite western  restaurant, Wolfgang Puck Express. We paid around 2,000 yen for our meals.

Then we headed to Meiji Shrine, which was just next to Harajuku Station. After a fun half day tour, we headed to the Shinjuku station where we parted ways. Kidjie went back to his hotel while I walked to the bus terminal where I took the highway bus back to Suwa.

entrance going to the Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine

drinking fountain

It's been a fun overnight trip. I got to explore Tokyo with my friends and it made me realize that Tokyo could be a fun city to live in. However, the lifestyle would really cost a lot. but who cares, I love Tokyo!:)



xoxo,

city girl