cebu – Page 3 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

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: 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

my other love

oh no, i’m not cheating on harry. meet “cooper” our beloved golden retriever. this is actually my big sister’s dog but he has grown to be the love of the family. i met cooper when he was 4 months old. he’s very playful and friendly (as all retrievers are). but because of his size, we hardly walk him outside, afraid that he’d drag us to the road. it’s sad because he’s all cooped up in the small space at the back of our apartment. he can maybe take a few turns or we can run and play a bit but the back is all concrete. it’s really difficult for us when we find a new place because we would always have to consider him and where we’d put him. (you see, my family moves every 4 years — we don’t do it on purpose but we just feel like it. but then, that’s another story.)

i have always imagined cooper running free in a green lawn…jumping at birds or maybe chickens. not on an all concrete space. in our old house 3 years ago, whenever he’d get the chance to escape out of our gate, he’d run after the chickens and we’d have to clamor to catch him. my mom found him one time holding a small chick between his paws, rushed to him, afraid he might have killed the chick only to find out that he was only playing with it and the chick was all wet with his saliva.

cooper is like our youngest baby brother. i found him really sick once and had to carry him to the vet. my sister took off from work and so did my mom and dad to be with him at the vet. cooper ate a poisonous frog and we were lucky to have found him earlier. i know though that bigger dogs have lesser human years to live compared to smaller ones. cooper was diagnosed with a heart worm last year and was predicted to have only a year to live. he’s old now but still somehow active. i love cooper as he was my silent best friend back when i got all depressed after graduating college.

i love this dog because he understands without saying anything.
do you have a pet that you love so dearly?

striped polo – thrifted

denim shorts – props

sneakers – chuck taylor’s

pink suede belt – random

pink sunnies – thrifted at manalili

gun-metal wire cuffs – props

dog-tag necklace – custom-made

dance like no one is watching

omigod, i haven’t been on a night out for months! these days, i’d choose my comfy bed over the sweaty and loud bars. but for my soon-to-be-married friend, there’s always an exception. drank an energy drink on the way out and i was good to go! (beat the hell of a hangover too the morning after…yey!) so, we all met up at my place to do our make-up and have a few drinks (white rhum and iced tea)…did a quick photoshoot with my sister’s 550ex speedlite and left my house past midnight. it’s funny because as i was looking at the photos we had of the night, i realized that we’ve all been friends since we were 10 – 13 years old but this is the first night out we had where everyone drank and everyone danced like there was no tomorrow! ordered some vodka and rhum ice…went home at almost 6:00 AM and at one point, i was already walking barefoot on the way to the car because my feet hurt so badly! nevertheless, it was one of the best times of my life!

ps. the silver top i’m wearing is a thrifted CELINE and found it 2 months ago. i’ve been itching to wear it and this was the perfect night to do so. *wink*

silver thread top – celine

black tulip skirt – props

black peep-toe booties – celine (a gift from harry!)

gun-metal chained curtain necklace – props

stone ring – props (a twin of this is on give-away!)

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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

take me back to the eighties

found this top 2 weeks ago on one of my thrifting trips with my mom and sister. my sister eyed me like she usually does which meant she’s thinking that i’m weird again. haha! the red skirt i was wearing on the volume 3 ocean series post in imperial palace was also bought on that same trip…man, did my sister think i was crazy for buying it — it was actually floor length long and i just asked my dad to trim it. she trusts that it will be good though, she’s just a bit skeptical..hehe. that’s what i love about buying unexpected things — i love the look my sister’s give when they find that the ‘weird’ item i bought actually looks good. anyway, this shirt reminds me of barbie because it’s malibu barbie pink and it gives an eighties vibe which i love more.

on another note, isn’t the quarter life crisis only supposed to happen on our early twenties? is 25, technically 26 years old, still early? because i am finding myself lost in the midst of everything again. i get intervals at work staring at my computer screen and thinking to myself, “this is not what i want to do for the rest of my life…” damn. but then the next day, when i get busy and hyped up with work, i’d realize that i can bear working in this industry, just that i am not loving having to wake up at a specific time e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y. it then becomes a cycle — staring blankly at my PC then the realization, and it goes on. what do i want to do anyway? i am in constant fear that i may be just wasting my life. do you get that same fear too? or is it just me?

printed top – thrifted

black leggings – random

black peep-toe booties – celine (a gift from harry!)

long watch necklace – hongkong gift shop

pink polka bangles – DIY by my sister from scraps of cloth

blue sunnies – thrifted at manalili

summer of one-oh! ocean series: imperial palace resort

the imperial palace resort and spa at maribago, mactan island. a free ride with harry’s management in his company…woohoo! with rooms at P7,600 ($160) a night, i don’t think i can afford it very soon..LOL. this was after i got home from the island hopping, slept at 8:00 PM..woke up 6:00 AM to get ready for another day at the beach! yey to summer!

here’s a lowdown on our stay in imperial palace:

♥ all met at I.T. Park at 9:00 AM
♥ ate lunch at one of mactan’s best italian restaurant (very cheap too!) — MB’s Tavern
♥ settled in our mediterranean-inspired room complete with a comfy bed with plush sheets, a a huge LCD TV with cable, iPod dock, a bath tub with hot and cold water and a view to the whole resort
♥ was surprised to find sooo many koreans in the resort — welp, it is after all owned by a korean..hehe.
♥ swam and played all afternoon at all 3 pools of the resort BUT was too chicken to try out the towering slides…boohoo for me!hehe.
♥ had dinner at SUTUKIL — a line of restaurants in mactan island where you can choose from an array of fresh seafood (fish, crabs, shrimps, scallops..etc) and choose how to have them cooked — sugba (grilled), tuwa (to prepare it in soup) and kilaw (eat it raw usually soaked in vinegar) — so YUMMY!
♥ had drinks at cowrie cove in Shangri-la Mactan — sooo expensive…whoa!
♥ woke up to the sunrise on our window and to my period…damn! LOL.

day 1 night and day 2 going home: floral dress – thrifted | tan leather bag – thrifted at baguio

day 2 at the pool: polka halter bikini top – props | navy blue drawstring shorts – thrifted | beach bag – roxy

summer of one-oh! ocean series: island hopping!

i’m almost booked for beach trips for summer weekends! i’m starting to get tan and will get tanner as we celebrate summer. people are going to start calling me ‘chicana’ again — chinita mexicana! LOL.

after my tabuelan road trip last weekend, we had our annual island hopping trip on saturday with my sister’s closest friends. this time, it was to celebrate one friend’s birthday and most importantly to celebrate a year of gay lovin’ — our friends, the gay love birds 1st year anniversary! to sum it all up, here’s what happened:

round up closest friends + friends of friends + 50 capacity banca + potluck on food consisting of liempo, lechon manok, ngohion, pancit, humba, sisig and puso + tanduay rum with orange juice + tanduay white rum with kool-aid + sunnies + colorful bikinis + the ocean + diving and canon ball jumping + the waves + lots of craziness + gay people = fun fun fun!

of course afterward, it was hella’ exhausting. i just came from my night shift and by 6:30 PM, i’m still stuck driving through insane traffic and haven’t slept for 24 hours. i get home, wash-up and sleep to get ready for another day at the beach at a water park resort on sunday. for more of that, keep posted!

printed summer dress – thrifted | hot pink halter bikini top – props | polka-dot beach shorts – props

blue sunnies – thrifted at carbon

the city we love

the second installment of my friend’s pre-nuptial photo shoot. it was a must that i tag along — and bring my own photographer with me (harry…LOL),as the shoot was right smack in the city. there was dust, smog and sweat but it was all worth it. it was quite an immersion and very much fun. this time around, there were 2 photographers from calography and as small as the world is, the girl friend of one photographer is my old flag football teammate who tagged along that day. so in the usual cebu city garb — plain shirt, jeans and havaianas — we visited an abandoned building, white gold, fuente osmeña park, jones and the cebu city library.

here are some more photos of that day — photo credits to harry who was being a shutterbug. and if you check the photo right below this write-up, you’d see me and tisha left on the traffic island, naively reading a magazine while the rest of our friends crossed the street. they say they did call our attention but we were too busy debating who was the most beautiful among the metro cover girls. haha!

(hon, do not try to eat that plant!)

our city has a great influence on my style. I am most inspired by our culture, history and environment. I love the colors that surround me, the beach and the mountains that are both just 30 minutes away from the city. I am inspired by how our city is developing yet we still maintain this serene and chill atmosphere.

what do you love about your city?

teal cotton shirt – props

jeans – bebe jeans

green and gold flip-flops – havaianas

tan leather bag – thrifted at baguio (by sis)

hat – boracay

long necklaces: key – props | robot – APM

rings: clustered cubes | oval flat stone – props

ps. i now have formspring! so…ask away!