beach – Page 2 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

laziness and the overcast sky

life at the call center was not only difficult due to the nocturnal and ever-changing schedules but a lot of holidays and night outs with friends have also been missed. for five years, it was either christmas or new year and not both. last year, i didn’t even get to spend christmas or new year with my family as i had to work. so this year, i was extra relieved to have had the chance to not only spend both the holidays with my family but get more than a week off from work.

imagine what more than a week off from work can do to an ex-nocturnal person like me. it sure made me lazy! and what’s worst, the skies have been overcast for several days now that it’s even more difficult to
get up from bed. so the past 2 weeks or so, all i’ve been doing is watch old romantic movies, play plants vs zombies, read books, eat and just lie in bed. getting to work has surely been a struggle for the past 3 days exercise and diet is not in my vocabulary and i’ll surely be sorry in a couple months when i can’t fit into all my clothes anymore…haha!

photos taken a pacific cebu resort and are courtesy of armand alforque

white top with lace detail – pratunam, bangkok

floral skirt – thrifted

yellow flip-flops – roxy

bowler hat – parisian, sm dept store

heart necklace – pratunam, bangkok

wooden bangles – chatuchak, bangkok

off to the next adventure!

these photos are in continuation with my weekend at my most favorite beach house in Daanbantayan. i think we might have abused the use of this beach house and i’m really thankful for my dad’s friends who have allowed us to use this place whenever available. this is the first time i’ve spent my birthday here and being at such a pivotal point in my life — turning 26, just having resigned and soon to be taking on a new career, it’s only fitting that i be in a place where i can think and just take in the silence because in the next week, i will be diving into a whole different world. more details about my new career next week. all i can say is that it will involve meeting a lot of new people.

on to what i wore here: i’ve always loved 80’s fashion and i think i can say that the cut-off shoulders are definitely 80’s. i’ve had this for years and have only worn this twice. i usually let go of clothes i have seldom used but i just love the pattern and color of this top. this is of coursed paired with my undying denim shorts and my favorite beach hat.

and by the way, i’d like to announce that the winner of the Cryst Jewelries giveaway is Gessyl of Gessyl Enchanted. Congratulations! I just sent you an e-mail so just reply to that with your contact details.

To the rest of my fabulous readers, I am nearing 300 followers and you know what that means — another giveaway! This of course will be grander as this will be my birthday blowout to you guys as well. So definitely watch out for that!

striped cut-off top – thrifted

denim shorts – thrifted

beach hat – boracay find

bangles: gun-metal and blue – props | wooden – raw materials store

necklaces: gun-metal imprinted – gifted from gelie | dogtags – custom-made

blue rhinestone bra – bench body

brown sunnies – thrifted at carbon

twenty-six candles

there really is no turning back. i am not getting any younger and the best thing to do is just to enjoy life as it comes —- making to sure to make the most out of every moment and make a fool out of myself, if needed. so for my twenty-sixth birthday, i dyed my hair to a really light shade of brown, bought myself two books — haruki murakami’s ‘norwegian wood’ and nicholas sparks’ ‘dear john’ (yes, i’m sentimental like that), spent the weekend at the beach and danced under the rain!

harry was so sweet and gave me a bouquet of lilies and three pairs of sandals. just what i asked for! after the 3 hour ride from the beach, my family and i had dinner at a filipino restaurant and ended the night eating frozen yogurt — our latest obsession.

printed boho dress – thrifted

pink headband – torn off from my fringe shirt

necklaces: round imprinted – gifted from gelie | dogtags – custom-made

bangles: gun-metal and blue – props | wooden – raw materials store

since we were 12 years old

i never get tired of this place. daanbantayan is the ultimate haven for me. not because it’s has the perfect white sands or untouched waters but because it is quiet and is really a place where i can just unwind and not think about all life’s problems. the funny thing is, the rest house is not even ours. it belongs to my dad’s kind high school friend who has always allowed us to use the place whenever we want to — save when they want to use it for themselves. so for 7 years, we’ve been coming back here as a family or with my friends. every time, always as fun as the last.

blue green printed kaftan – thrifted | yellow green bikini top – props | brown sunnies – thrifted at carbon

this memory of time spent with my long time best friends (since we were 12 years old) will remain forever in my mind. believe it or not, but this is the first time in a long time that we’ve been able to go out of town where majority of us are present. good friends, good food — really good food like grilled pork, fresh crabs and fish and yummy kinilaw, good music, hilarious and challenging game of taboo, good drinks in the name of tanduay and kool-aid, never-ending laughter — what more could i ask for?

trash the dress

the weekend was not only a chance to spend time with long time friends but also, more importantly to have april mae and gian’s trash-the-dress post nuptial photo shoot.

so after the 3 hours drive to daanbantayan, we put on our make-up despite the very humid weather, wore the dresses we wore at wedding and made like very amateur models in our shoots. LOL. the photos posted here are done by calography. to check out rates and his portfolio, it is a must to click on the link!

my body is still aching from all the fun and sun so i will tell you more about the trip on tomorrow’s post which will definitely include all the photos my friends and i had.

have a great monday everyone!

april’s wedding dress – noelle west

bridal entourage’s dresses – partly designed by me and the wearer

summer of one-oh! ocean series: farewell summer!

it was hot, scorching hot. it was filled with laughter. it was cramped with road trips and trips to the beach. it was filled with shopping sprees. but it was quick, so damn quick that i haven’t gotten enough of it.

goodbye summer!

i’ll see you in 2011…

on charm (my big sister):

blue embroidered kaftan – from bangkok

aviator sunnies – from hongkong

on me:

blue floral tube dress – a gift from goring

floral scarf as bandana – thrifted in sindangan

brown sunnies – thrifted in carbon

bangles – props | random | gifted

on aimee (my lil’ sister):

floral dress – thrifted

yellow sunnies – thrifted in carbon

summer of one-oh! ocean series: dry and salty

the beach was too beautiful to pass up. it was sunday and the workers were not there destroying the sea wall with their loud drills. it was peaceful. the water was blue and the sand as white and fine as ever (yeah yeah, not as fine as boracay’s sugary sand but still beautiful). but before hitting the waters, my mom, dad, his friends and i decided to ride up to the main town of bantayan to buy some of the island’s famous dried fish. i don’t know in other countries, but here in the Philippines, we can live off on dried fish and rice, matched with tomatoes and maybe, onions. bantayan had a separate market for dried fishes alone and they even had dried squid. we also bought a bottle of ‘ginamos’ which is salted, fermented fish and guess what, some caviar for only P60 a pack. woah! couldn’t wait to try it when we get back home.

upon getting back, we had lunch at a small ‘carenderia’ — a very small eatery by local people, bringing along the crabs and rock lobsters my dad bought early in the morning. eating at a ‘carenderia’ is the best and cheapest way to get good local food when you’re in places like this. no etiquette to observe and no utensils needed either. we dug our hands into the crabs and lobsters, paired with native noodles (pancit) and some tomatoes and onions. yum! the best lunch ever!

ps. those are aimee’s yellow polka dotted toenails. insane! LOL.

floral maxi dress – thrifted

black and white bikini – props

tan leather bag – thrifted at baguio

blue and brown flip-flops – havaianas

blue polka scarf as bandana – thrifted at sindangan

bangles – props | gifted | random

summer of one-oh! ocean series: island love

some people are allergic to the beach — some by conscious choice, while others really break out and have rashes. if i were either, i would rather die. i love and live by the beach. this is our farewell to summer.

on may 29 and 30, my family and i headed north west to the island of bantayan. while my sisters and i have been there 3 or 4 times on different occassions, it was my mom and dad’s first time there. both of them having recently reached 60, they have resolved to travel as much as they can. that was one of the big pushes for our hongkong trip last november 2009 and for our upcoming bangkok trip this august 2010.

we stayed at marlin’s resort. ironically, just a day before our trip, it was on the news that sea walls in Region 7 beaches are to be destroyed as they are badly affecting the environment. they change the course of waves. in my perspective, they ought to be destroyed too. long stretches of beach looks much better and natural for me. the destruction was taking place right when we arrived so the first day was a chillout day. aimee and i came from our night shifts (aimee being a nurse) so we were pretty tired. my big sister just simply doesn’t function well during the day…so she says she was tired too…buhu. we just stayed in, most of the afternoon, munching on chips deluxe (yum!), cheetos and popcorn, watching tv and laughing with mom and dad. swimming was only later in the afternoon when the workers left for day. for dinner, we had pizza at balikbayan restaurant — just 2 blocks away from our resort. definitely a must-try when you’re in bantayan!

more of day two on the next post!

on me:

floral bikini – props (yes, props is a store in SM)

white embroidered dress – thrifted

brown wooden bangles – raw materials from manalili

purple wooden bangle – props

faux gold bangles – a gift from india

brown sunnies – thrifted at carbon

on aimee:

white tank top – metro kids’ section

striped jumper – thrifted

yellow sunnies – thrifted at carbon

summer of one-oh! ocean series: waking up to waves

oh how i wanted to have a fourth post so i could put up the fun photos my cousins and i took. but i promised you guys i would only do this in three posts…besides, i think i need to get back to my life in the city. getting too caught up in my daydreaming is not good for me.

i woke up to the sound of birds and the waves. the tide was coming in and all of us couldn’t wait for it go high by around 9:00 AM. harry and i took a little walk, checking out weird sea creatures (there were bubble or balloon-like stuff on the sand…it was jelly and when you picked it up, it would break and spew out water). right after breakfast, my cousins, together with my sisters and i, took some photos by the water and again, by the house. the goofy photo was just us and the self-timer in my camera. we had a blast just dancing and jumping around.

and look what my mom asked my dad to do! she had a tent brought to the beach so she could bathe without getting directly hit by the sun! LOL. crazy mom…i think you can see one of the locales scratching his head thinking, “wtf?” haha!

outfit details:

just woke up: graphic tee – maek | polka shorts – props |

at the beach: green floral dress – maek | pink bikini top – justyne |

going home: blue printed dress – thrifted

accessories: yellow floral scarf – thrifted | bangles – props | sunnies – thrifted at carbon

| bangles – props | sunnies – thrifted at carbon | dog-tag necklace – custom made

summer of one-oh! ocean series: i love talisay trees!

it’s been 3 days since our weekend at the beach but my mind is still there. have you ever had those days where you just decide out of the blue that you’re not going to do anything productive at work? welp, i decided to do so for almost half the day at work until i was called by the boss for some issues and received successive e-mails from clients about urgent concerns…buhu.

so right after changing out of my dusty shirt and shorts, harry and i took some photos by the beach and walked around a bit. what’s great with daanbantayan is that it’s inhabited only by locals and you will never find a flock of tourists here. not that i have anything against tourists — just that i need my break from the crowd to be sane. i just love how the beach house is built like a dollhouse with no walls facing the beach. yes, it’s just folding doors and iron gates. the green lawn is the extension to the kitchen and living room. and the front of the house is lined with talisay trees. these are trees with huge leaves on branches that extend to any available space. the trees just give the perfect amount of shade.

filipinos love to eat. so aside from lunch, we take big snacks in between. the food for the afternoon: steamed oysters dipped in vinegar, lime and salt + green mangoes with shrimp paste.

sheer studded dress – thrifted

mix and matched bikini: printed top and pink bottom – props

yellow and silver flip-flops – havaianas

sunnies – thrifted at carbon

summer of one-oh! ocean series: daanbantayan heaven!

i’m back from our annual beach trip to the northern most part of the island and i am definitely tan…ooops, wait brown from all the fun! mind you, my sun block is literally squeezed to death..haha! i just can’t get enough of the water — my mom even asked my dad to set up a tent on the water so we can frolic all day without getting sun burnt (to know more about that, stick around for a future post and photos). my cousins from my dad’s side came along so you can guess what happened — we took so many photos that it’s impossible to post everything in just one post. this beach trip will be done in 3 posts. part one begins now.

the lady goofing off with me is my little sister, aimee. if she wasn’t too lazy, she can start her own fashion blog because she is as crazy about fashion and personal style as me. i’m more spontaneous in style though, she on the other hand tends to plan her outfit and accessories in accordance to everything she’s wearing. i should have posted something about her on her birthday last march but we got into an argument days later and i intentionally forgot to post it. haha! sibling banters — that’s one thing my sister and i will always have.

on to the outfit: if you take a non-airconditioned bus to anywhere in cebu, here are a few essentials — a comfortable shirt and shorts, a scarf to protect your hair from dust, sunblock, sunnies and some bangles (welp, i don’t have a significant explanation for that…haha!)

the food: lechon baboy (roasted pig), ngohiong (fried ubod spring rolls in batter) and puso (rice wrapped in banana leaves) and lots of cold water and coke!

on aimee: floral dress – props | yellow polka bikini top – props | green flip-flops – havaianas | bangles – all from props | pink sunnies – thrifted at manalili

my daddy, my hero

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

thank you for always being there for us. for being an example of hard work, perseverance and innovation for all of us. and for being the most understanding and patient dad in the world! we love you so much!

his birthday is actually on may 1st but i wouldn’t be able to post this tomorrow because every year, on my dad’s birthday, the family and i celebrate it on this beach house north of the city (just a the tip of the island). we’ve been going there for i think 5 years now and the place has always been my retreat from the city and from everything else that came with it.