cebuana style – Page 3 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

close your eyes and dive

…i’ve always been a risk-taker of some sort. although i’m ironically afraid of failure but i’ve had so many instances in my life where i’ve leaned on my instincts, followed my emotions and jumped the gun. usually these instances turn out for the best. sometimes, they don’t but they never come with utter regrets because regrets hurt most when you didn’t take chance, don’t you think?

i am about to embark on another chapter in my life. a scary yet exciting venture that draws on my passion and the love of arts. this seems familiar but this time i somehow know where i’m going. only a few more days to go and i’ll be living the boho life.

P.S. i promise to tell you guys more about this venture — for now, i’m making sure technicalities are set and i still have enough to pay the bills. that’s life for you right there — the arts doesn’t necessarily pay the bills. at least not at the beginning. i hope that you guys pray for our success though. we badly need all the prayers we can get. ♥

the bloggerhood of the traveling scarf

polka dress with duo collars – primal rave (there’s a salmon version of this – let me know if interested) | mustard platform heels – zalora.ph by centropelle | green braided belt – thrifted | black bowler hat – metro ayala | elephant tust necklace – bangkok find | oversized stone ring – downtown find | claw cuff – borrowed from mom | studded bag – primal rave | silk scarf – bloggerhood of the travelling scard

…finally, after 4 months I am able to do a post of the traveling scarf. it’s this beautiful silk scarf that’s being passed around by bloggers around the world and the project is the brainchild of sweet, madison and yvonne. i was so excited when i received the scarf but work (and illness) got in the way of things and time flew by in a blur. the moment i chose a stress-free life, my first order of business was to make up for all the back log i had on my blog. the beautiful traveling scarf needed my attention asap. i wore the scarf as a turban — my favorite way to don them. i love how the straight lines and color of the scarf provided a cool contrast to the quirky polka dress, don’t you think? ♥

the scarf is headed over to rabsin of finlust by rabsin. can’t wait to see what he’ll do next with the scarf!

can too much excitement kill you?

bird-printed top with ruffled back detail – primal rave | black electro-pleated midi-skirt – thrifted | cobalt blue wedge sandals – gifted by Aimee | blue with yellow and peach accent satchel – primal rave | black wide-brimmed hat – cotton on | necklaces – downtown finds | rings: multi-colored bird – bangkok find, gifted by mom, turquoise connector – downtown find | cutout cuff – downtown find | studded green belt – primal rave

i’ve been feeling rather inspired and weirdly optimistic lately. my friend and i are starting a passion project and we couldn’t be any more excited about it. take out the fact that we’re both giddy type of people and you’ll still find us overly excited. unlike 2 years ago when i ventured on a project because i thought it was what i was passionate about, this one feels different. it’s not forced. it’s not frustrating. it just feels natural and true. i pray this is it. will definitely tell you guys more — soon! ♥

and ooh, here’s a sneak peak of my accidental obsession. my dad built this shelf for me — which was so sweet of him (or maybe because him and my mom could no longer stand my shoes strewn across the floor). i bought these shoes with my own hard-earned money from work and these pairs came with both sweat and tears. but you know what? a stress-free, full of passion life is something a wall of shoes can never compensate.

dreaming of fall

the one good and bad thing about living in a tropical country is the tropical weather. ironically, we use the tropical weather as an excuse to wear as little clothing as possible all year round but also need to do so otherwise we die of dehydration. our weather can be bipolar and would be sunny in the morning and be rainy in the afternoon. take for example the day these photos were taken. an hour before leaving the house, the sky was grey and seemed to incessantly pour rain. the moment we got out of the house though, the sun came out and it got so humid, it got hard to breathe. two hours later, it started drizzling again.

oh how i wish we can experience fall, at least one month in a year. just a month in a year where the breeze is a little colder despite the sunny atmosphere and the colors of the rest of the world are lovelier and more surreal. unfortunately, we only get to experience sunny – rainy – sunny – rainy – and so on every year. just like how i do with elephants, i’ll just experience fall in my dreams.

to feeling lighter

…and saying no to cancer. my friend told me last night that stress is the number 1 cause of cancer. i knew stress caused several people to die due to heart problems but i never knew it could be much worse. good thing though i’ve decided to let go of the stress. disconnect from it before i end up getting sicker than i was over the last 3 months. only a few days after my official decision to get off the roller coaster, i feel lighter in so many ways. for one, Harry is happy that i’m singing light and happy songs again. cheers to a stress-free life! ♥

p.s. if it’s not yet obvious, most of the items in my outfit are from primal rave — the wholesale business my mom, sister and i own. we still have a lot of chic items up for grabs. 10 items or more get wholesale price — it’s never too early for Christmas shopping! *wink*

catching up: choosing sanity

polka / ruffled top – thrifted | printed chiffon shorts – props | black faux snake skin wedges – pill at the ramp | faux ostrich red satchel – shopyapi.com | leopard fringe earrings – downtown find | rings: armor ring – downtown find, oversized black ring – forever 2, gifted by sweet | black studded belt – props

the last of the catching up posts before i get back on track (or at least not have any posts due 2 months ago as i still have ones taken in the last 2 weeks). my cheeks being chubbier definitely indicates i was not as stressed with work then as i am now. i guess the decreasing size of my cheeks is the only upside i’ve gained from the toxicity of work. mental warfare and an emotional roller coaster were definitely not part of the contract when i signed it last year.

oh well, i choose sanity so let’s see how this goes.

catching up: running errands

i wish running errands in real life were as stylish as how Andrea Sachs ran errands for Miranda Priestly in the Devil Wears Prada. of course, Andrea Sachs had a team of stylists and make-up artists in the background and i don’t. haha.

my days are now divided between working my ass off for 9 – 13 hours during the weekdays, salvaging what little weekend Harry and i have and of course, planning the wedding. every thing is almost a blur now and ice cream is the best way to get us back to our senses.

catching up: ketchup and mustard

art deco black top – props | red multi-striped skirt – thrifted | cerulean blue belt – props | mustard platform shoes – centropell c/o zalora | faux ostrich red satchel – shopyapi.com | bangles: red wooden bangle – bangkok find, brass bangles – downtown finds | rings: cross connector, leopard connector – downtown finds, orange howlite ring – dane’s giveaway | peacock feather earrings – downtown find

another catch-up outfit post taken almost 2 months ago. i have 3 more to go until i’m up to date. *crossing fingers*

i scored these awesome platform shoes at zalora.ph. i was at a bind because it came in orange, red and mustard and ultimately my decision had to be based on what color i’d most likely be able to pair with most of my clothes. mustard is definitely more of a classic subdued color. i have to admit the first time i wore these, i was limping on the way home. it needed breaking into — the cross-straps needed adjustment to my chubby feet and the sole was a bit hard. i was ready to sell this pair or park it on my shelf solely as an eye candy. thankfully, i didn’t find time to sell it because the second (and the third and fourth) time i wore it, it was already broken into and is now one of my favorite pairs. you could say, this pair is on the top shelf of my shoe rack.

catching up: tagaytay in june

okay so my last post in july was apologetic for not being able to blog for a month and it contained a promise that i will blog sporadically. it’s already september and i’m as sorry as ever.

not just sorry to my readers (whom i hope are still around) but to myself as well. over the last 2 months, i’ve let work take over my life. i finally understood why my former manager was always frantic and seemingly all over the place because i’ve just become her. i’ve lost any grace and is constantly overwhelmed with things to do, it’s no longer humorous. i started blogging to take a break from work and i should’ve kept going. this is me, moving forward.

CATCHING UP: this was the day after bloggers united when my relatives, mildred and i visited tagaytay. it was my first time and i fell completely in love with the place. i wish we didn’t have to leave. i imagined myself living the laid back life — opening up a small cafe with a small collection of my favorite books to read and a little corner where i can sell clothes. oh tagaytay, i hope to see you soon. ♥ ♥ ♥

the bloggers united three

i know, i know, this a super overdue post — i bet some are even over it. i’m not and never will be. ♥ it was hella fun and is always a pleasure to be a part of blogger united. ♥

the preparation

my sister came with me this time — not that i forced her and texted her all morning about it prior to getting the tickets — but because she wanted to help out and we wanted to bring lots of items to sell. we were late for the prep though. we got lost and didn’t have any GPS to guide us and our driver (thanks to my tita) from marikina to makati. thanks to kuya randy, we managed to get our 2 suitcases and 2 balikbayan boxes from the first floor to the 3rd floor where the event was held — there were no elevators! mildred and eden were already there and we immediately began prepping once we arrived. our plan, which we found effective last year, was to place all the pre-loved clothes on the table — we managed to steal 1 more even though we were only allotted one. the rest were on the clothes racks. (note: check out the aftermath of the shoes below)

the fab shoppers

the place was smaller (but a lot sophisticated with the chandeliers and carpeted floor) so it was easily packed. i wish i could have taken a photo of the line outside because it went from the 3rd floor down to the first and it was raining really hard. the fabulous shoppers were as stylish as the bloggers — i could say, even way more stylish than me. they were young and passionate about fashion and shopping. i could say, i was jealous — i wish i’m still as young as they are.

the last photo is not a shopper but my sister who kept avoiding the camera. a shopper even asked to have a photo with her which she awkwardly & laughingly declined because she said “she’s not a blogger” LOL.

stylish friends: old and new

it’s not just being able to sell and live through the bloggers united shopping experience that i look forward to, it’s being with stylish friends whom we’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the blogosphere.

with the kookie buhain of death by platforms — her velvet bell-bottoms are to die for and i was super jealous that she pulled it off like a rock star!

with the down-to-earth and friendly bloggers united organizers, aisa ipac and sarah tirona.

with fellow bisaya-speaking fashionistas from mindanao: mariel of wicked ying and stephanie of fashion bandwagon (stupid me for being so star struck — i was in awe of stephanie’s hair and her chic outfit. i asked her if i could have a photo with her because “my friend loves her blog…” which was awkward & idiotic because i do too. *peace*)

the asian blogger sensation, anastasia siantar of brown platform, who was flown in by the BU team. oh so envious of her hat and her shoes and her hair and oh well, her outfit — gah!

one of our shoppers, lia delfin of wear is mela, who sent me a photo she took of us — it was so embarrassing because i looked really haggard and had money tucked in my skirt like a palengkera. LOL.

of course, with my lovely stylish friends from cebu who’s there with me — vanessa of one frozen margarita, mildred of dred reveris and eden of chic in the tropics

the aftermath

we tried to re-arrange everything every once in a while but gave up by the 3rd hoard of shoppers. as long as everything is sold, they can stay that way. of course, we had to get the clothes that fell to the floor. the ruckus that was in our booth was both delightful, exhausting and funny. for the first 2 hours, all four of us were standing up and dancing along “starships” while we entertained customers. by 1PM (and by the nth replay of “starships”), we took turns sitting down and looked so haggard, it wasn’t funny. LOL. at the end of the day, we had a price drop — we sorted items in 2 boxes, P50 and P100. we were the last of the sellers to leave. *bow*

the outfit

i just realized — i am not creative at all because for two BU events, i wore a simple top and a maxi skirt. boo! nevertheless, i wanted to be comfortable because i knew it was going to be chaotic.

tribal-printed top – props | jersey maxi skirt – props | neon pink thin belt – props | turquoise bohemian necklace – zalora.ph | wooden bangles – borrowed from sister | studded booties – jeffrey campbell ticks (a steal from divine lee’s booth! a dream come true — long have i swooned over these babies ♥♥♥)

rings: turquoise connector ring – downtown find | white armor ring – oasap.com

a special note to my readers: it’s been a month, i know! work was (and still is) hella crazy, i underwent another round of physical therapy for my neck and all i wanted to do when i get home from work is lie down or eat magnum or brownies to inject enough endorphine to my system and forget my aching neck. the neck brace is still on — more frequently than i hoped for it to be. i promise though to get back on track and not post sporadically. *scout’s honor* (only i was never a girl scout…LOL).

shopping by the ocean

sharing with you guys the awesome and laid-back shopping experience that was during Zalora‘s press launch in Cebu. when i got the invite for its press launch, i pictured a presentation with the usual question and answer segment and i’d be out of there in just an hour. to my delight, i got there to an intimate and chill environment, greeted by Zalora’s marketing manager and immediately given a brief that we are each given shopping coupons to use and actually get to know the Zalora shopping experience.

long tables were lined with Zalora laptops — all ready for us to scour the shopping site. fellow Cebu Fashion Bloggers — Eden, Vanessa, Alex, Jeemah, Rabsin, Marco and Kristine were already there, making the event more fun. (mind you i missed my appointment with the designer for wedding gown and was super late for the photo shoot my sister and i planned for Props.)

thank you Zalora PH for inviting us! i now live in Zalora‘s website and go through it everyday. my hands are itching to get your new heels from centropelle. *self-control faltering*

my apologies for the hiatus ~ after the trip to Manille for the much-anticipated Bloggers United 3 event, i got back drowned with backlogs at work and my stupid back started acting up again. boo! i had to wear the very un-fashionable neck brace while typing away at my work computer. tried to cover it with a leopard print scarf and someone actually asked if what i’m wearing is really a neck brace or a fashion statement. LOL. oh and a photo of me in a neck brace is something you guys won’t see soon. *peace*

contrast bonanza | zalora at bloggers united 3

i found this violet pleated skirt on one of the thrifting trips Harry and i have been on — yes he’s hooked too! this was specifically on a Black Saturday and we had nothing else to do. we just walked around Jones area and looked for open shops. there was one thrift store who was on 50% off and to my delight i found all their skirts on their 2nd floor despite how hot the day was and how dusty it was in the store. i also managed to score a mullet tulle skirt and ruffled shorts together with this skirt. i’m still trying to figure out when and how to wear them.♥

on to exciting news: my boxes of clothes to sell have been shipped and just arrived in manila. my bags have been packed and i am so ready ~ Bloggers United 3, here we come! i am so looking forward to seeing Manila fashion blogger friends again and of course, meeting readers — assuming i have readers who want to meet me. LOL.

speaking of Bloggers United 3, Zalora will be one of the co-presenters of this event and they are giving a special treat to all shoppers who check out their orders at the Z-Lounge on the event.