Vanilla with Orange and Banana in the Tropics! ♥

this is a long overdue post. met up with len david of orange and banana mondays over for lunch at bistro ecila 2 weeks ago and just had a blast chatting over just about anything. i tend to get shy with new people but both our talkativeness totally overcame any shyness or awkwardness. thanks len for meeting up with us. we should definitely get together when you visit Cebu again. 

although i love how it got back on the runway because it gave me a reason to wear one of my favorite pieces of clothing but i’ve been wearing maxi skirts or dresses more lately as a better alternative to jeans or leggings when i am super lazy to shave my legs. i mean, what girl isn’t lazy to shave her legs? or visit a waxing salon. LOL. 

current plans:

  • stay in and watch old romantic comedies or movies — sweet november, 10 things i hate about you, mad love, 500 days of summer, etc. 
  • visit a charity with my friends this january 2 using the money we earned from the garage sale we had last october
  • go thrift shopping to fill some recently vacated areas of my closet
brown maxi skirt – thrifted
crocheted pink cover-up – thrifted
white tank top – thrifted
beige suede booties – gold dot
necklaces: diamond-shaped pattern – gifted from ivy | fairy – gifted from sis
owl connector ring – carbon find
bangles – carbon finds
brown sunnies – carbon find


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the best things in life don’t come in wrapping paper

♥ merry christmas everyone! ♥ 

i hope all of you had fun and memorable christmases — whether they be with your immediate family or families you’ve found in friends. 

mine surely was different this year. for one, we were missing one family member as our little sister is in australia. our christmas decorations were put up a little late and cooking our christmas dinner was different in a sense that we were missing a few ingredients — in short, we were all over the place. it took my mom and i some time to realize that we should stop being all melodramatic and start moving our asses to make this christmas still memorable even without my baby sister. 

despite the semi-melancholic way we prepared for christmas this year, i still have a LOT to thank for and thinking about those things sure made me smile all throughout the season. 

photo taken behind our office by harry (with my blog pet, armand alforque..LOL)

black and white dress – chatuchak, bangkok
chambray top – thrifted
black tights – metro ayala dept store
black wedges – parisian, sm dept store
necklaces: round engraved – gifted by angelie | angel wings – carbon find
beaded bangle – chatuchak, bangkok
skull bracelet – carbon find
brown sunnies – it park bazaar


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the deafening silence

despite how talkative i am, i always still tend to drift off into my own space and sometimes avoid talking to other people. when my sister was out playing with the other kids in our neighborhood, i’d stay at home and watch captain planet or ghost busters while eating instant noodles and crackers. in high school, instead of spending summer out with friends, i’d while away the afternoon writing a novice novel or different short stories. i appreciated alone time and made sure to have a few hours to myself just to keep myself sane. however, on the first night alone in our house — with both my sisters having moved out, i found the time alone to be utterly sad. i finally, after 25 years have the room all to myself but it felt weird. so i succumb to the one game i avoided the most — plants vs zombies. God help me.

photo taken at banilad town center, cebu
vintage floral dress – thrifted
beige suede wedges – gold dot
braided tan belt – pratunam, bangkok
tan oversized bag – parisian, sm dept store
brass bangles – carbon finds


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we eventually have to grow up

it was said that i used to invade her crib when we were babies. we were 2 years apart but we acted like twins. we had matching clothes and my most favorites outfits were our chiffon dresses with hats that had ribbons around them and the matching sailor-inspired outfits that my mom had made for us — navy blue linen sleeveless blazer with gold buttons and red linen shorts. we’ve shared a room since we were born and fought about so many things even just over something as petty as moving the electric fan. she will always be my baby sister even when we both had to eventually grow up.

photos taken at plantation bay, cebu.
lace boho top – thrifted (thanks eden for finding this for me!)
denim shorts – thrifted
boater hat – sm department store
pink flip-flops – havaianas
heart necklace – pratunam, bangkok
bangles – chatuchak, bangkok


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too old to party?

so there i was, all made up and ready to rock my new studded wedge booties at 10PM. aimee and i were planning to drop by the opening of vudu or party at our usual hangout, the penthouse; psyched up and ready to go make the most of aimee’s last weekend here in Cebu. that is until we sat around in our room for 2 hours waiting for our friend to come over, watched an episode of Vampire Diaries and surfed ourselves to boredom that i became really sleepy, left knee wobbling a bit and a decided to stay home. yes, i stayed home! i can’t believe that i used to party all night and stay up until 6am and i’ve now come to a point that i am too sleepy to go out…LOL.

of course, i can’t waste my outfit and had to take photos of it. *wink*
don’t forgot to enter the ‘Fashion to Figure’ giveaway     

ps. THREE more awesome giveaway coming up! i’m totally feeling the holidays!


leopard chiffon dress – platinum mall, bangkok
black leggings – random find
grey puffed cardigan – thrifted
layered coin necklace – platinum mall, bangkok
bangles – carbon finds
rings: geometric – platinum mall, bangkok | skull – carbon find
studded wedge booties -ebay find


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should we even celebrate farewell?

i promised i wouldn’t cry until we get to the airport so i didn’t. probably th last get together with friends before my little sister parts with the city she was born in. these are just some behind the scene snapshots of another amazing photoshoot with armand alforque. this photoshoot and paying half of the hotel room is what he called his christmas gift to us.

ps. i might not be around to blog much these days. last week, my big sister’s wedding and work has taken over my life. the next couple of weeks, i’ll be busy preparing for my little sister’s departure. a lot to deal with, i know. after all, there’s just 3 of us and after two weeks, there will be only me left at home. so please bear with me and i do hope you still continue to look forward to my post.

floral maxi dress – thrifted
orange scarf as turban – gifted from sister
photoshoot details: 
make-up and styling by armand and me
photography by armand alforque


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‘Say What You Want’…by What A Girl Wants

i don’t think i’ve ever made such a tremendous effort to go on a girls’ night out until last weekend. the What A Girl Wants event at Shangri-la’s Cowrie Cove was aptly named ‘Girls’ Night Out’ and my blogger friends and i decided to grace it. WAGW was launching their current collection ‘Say What You Want’ and we had to drive through the craziest rain just to get there. risking the slippery roads was worth it though because the show was definitely a success. i was definitely obsessed with that knitted fringe vest. *wink*

(1) what i wore: vintage green polka dress – thrifted | crocheted sweater – thrifted | nude booties – parisian, sm dept store | bangles and rings – carbon finds | green clutch bag – borrowed from sis
(2) our shoes! i am still head over heels over toni’s black wedge booties…*sigh* eden rocked her lace-up heels too!
(3) with toni of perfumed red shoes and eden of chic in the tropics
(4-5) some of the awesome muses of what a girl wants
(6) the girls behind WAGW — Jacklyn Uy, Krystle Uy, Diane Uy-Ang


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a YEAR ago from today…

…Vanilla Ice Cream did its first post as a style blog. the outfit was from the the first day of our family trip in Hongkong where amid the sea of black and grey in the streets, i stayed true to myself and wore a bohemian-inspired color palette. Vanilla Ice Cream has surely come a long way since that day. with so much inspiration from Karla de Rass and Alice Point, i pushed myself to embark on a style rollercoaster. everyday was and is still a challenge but i am still completely loving the way style blogging has continued to push me out of my boundaries and explore styles that can express myself. here are some of my favorite looks over the past year:

to all the readers who have followed vanilla ice cream since day one, thank you with all my heart. to the new readers, i hope you like what you find here. all of you continue to encourage me to dress and be my best everyday.

yes, a giveaway is not far along. i’ll be posting one soon once i finalize the items to be given away. stay tuned for that one!


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head over heels

as kids, we grew up watching cinderella getting help from mice, birds and her fairy godmother. we watched how ariel and eric were serenaded “kiss the girl” by frogs and how a candelabra and a teapot were singing to belle and the beast. these fairytales amazed me and instilled in me an optimism that had carried on till’ now.

having grown up, we now believe in different kinds of fairytales. aside from the usual soulmate-fate-take the risk movies, there is one kind of fairytale that i constantly long for. the fairytale of a place where all ladies can wear heels without strain. i watch how Carrie Bradshaw, Serena Van Der Woodsen and Andrea Sachs walk, romp and run in heels that i can’t help but wonder how it is possible. my shoes and theirs may differ in price by the thousands so theirs might have the extra comfort but it certainly can’t be denied that the constant tiptoe form of the feet would still eventually hurt.

so i may own all those heels above but the longest time i can tolerate the pain is 5 hours (12 hours if i’m in a carpeted room). running around in heels on hard pavement will always be a fantasy.


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i’ve been electri-pleated!

one of the perks of rummaging through thrift or vintage shops is finding a good number of good quality pleated skirts and dresses and every time i score one, i immediately sift through the folds and am just amazed at how it flows. i’ve been lucky enough to score 3 electric pleated skirts in the last 3 weeks on our recent thrifting trips and i can’t wait to wear all of them. meet the first one: a black double-layered electric pleated skirt. and i can’t help swaying with it when i walk.

printed tee – thrifted
black pleated skirt – thrifted
black wedge sandals – parisian, sm dept store
stacks of bangles – carbon finds
rings – carbon finds
faux snake skin belt – pratunam, bangkok


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oops, i thought this was a dress!

growing up in a catholic school, strict rules about dressing up and grooming were enforced. we were always to wear sandos or undershirts underneath our white cotton uniform (which became more excruciating when we reached high school because our blouses became long sleeved). we were not supposed to wear any manicure, pluck our eyebrows nor dye our hair. to be more conservative, we were to wear undershorts beneath our skirts. well, on regular days unless we had to wear our white skirts, most girls in our school wore undershorts that is, except me. our uniforms were warm enough what with the long sleeved blouse and the below-the-knee thick skirt that wearing shorts was excruciating for me. so now, i’ve carried on the non-undershort wearing habit unless absolutely necessary like wearing this dress.

actually, this dress, as it turns out required more than undershorts but really a pair of denim ones. when i was dressing up this morning, the dress felt like a dress until i was moving about the whole day and was rummaging at lower bag racks in the department store, did i realize that this dress is actually a blouse. LOL.

cotton printed dress – thrifted
multi-colored gladiator sandals – khaosan road, bangkok
stacks of brass bangles – carbon finds
necklaces: fairy – props | diamond-shaped oriental pattern – gifted from ivy
rings – carbon finds
aviator sunnies – mongkok, hongkong

and oh, before i forget, i’d like to ask for a little favor from you guys. PensandLens is holding a ‘Fashion Stylist’ photo contest in her Facebook page and the winner gets to win a complete Forever21 ensemble. it may not be a big deal to some outside the Philippines, but i am such a sucker for Forever21. so the little favor you can do for me is to like the photo i entered by clicking on that image on the above. here are two simple steps:

        1. ‘Like’ the PensandLens Facebook page.
        2. ‘Like’ my photo entry.
your votes would certainly make my day if i am announced the winner on november 21, 2010. 
thanks a lot for your support! ♥ ♥ 


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honey, we can talk about anything

as a kid, i remember my mom asking me to stay silent for even just 5 minutes. yes, it was that impossible for me to stop talking. i was infamous for blabbering about anything that was on my mind. ironically though, despite how talkative i am, i also enjoyed being alone. but i did talk to my stuffed rabbits or dolls or sometimes to myself, as i attempted to write an amateur novel. 
years later, i never thought i could my meet my match and in my soulmate at that. harry talks more than me. his brain is filled with so many ideas and information, i am rendered speechless. so on our usual saturday night date over pasta and cheesecake, while listening to harry talk about one of the authors he spoke to at work, i realized that one thing i should always be thankful for is how harry and i never run out of things to talk about. after 34 months of being together, you would thing our conversations would go in circles and would grow duller by the moment. we will never have that and i’m thankful because not everyone can have that.

“I cannot wait for | I will not wait forever | It’s such a drag | Nobody knows me better | I’m heavy like Sunday | I wanna be your reason why…” — Leona Naess
printed maxi dress – thrifted
long black cardigan – thrifted
beaded sandals – gifted from harry (people are people)
black belt with gold studs – pratunam, bangkok
necklaces: fairy – props | watch – hongkong
bangles – props and carbon finds
rings: blue stone and skull – carbon finds


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