christmas – Girl Gone Cuckoo

different but it’s Christmas all the same

true, this year was a different Christmas than all the others i’ve spent. for one, i missed a whole lot of misa de gallo because of work. i shopped too late for gifts because i was waiting for additional funds — like, 3 days before Christmas and i’m not done yet. it was the first time i decorated our tree on my own because my mom got sick with flu and it was already December 20 — Christmas is not complete without an overly decorated tree in our house. we didn’t have a big noche buena like we used to but my sisters (and i helped a little) cooked yummy seafood and hungarian pasta and we had our fill of my tita’s home-made ham. lastly, we didn’t open gifts after midnight because we didn’t wrap our gifts this year. to sum it all up, my Christmas was a lot simpler than it used to but you know what? what mattered most is that i had 85% of my family complete — with my little sister back from Australia but minus Harry who was in Bohol with his family. being in the company of people who will love you unconditionally is still the best Christmas one can have. i am, indeed, lucky. ♥

merry christmas everyone! ♥

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

the people i grew up with

nothing beats the company of true friends. had our yearly christmas dinner with my elementary and high school friends — the friends i’ve grown up with. we call ourselves ‘thugs’ because we used to love bone thugs and harmony so much back in high school. it means, “trues humbly united gathering souls…” i know, i know our name sounds so gangsta and corny in a way…hahaha! but we stuck to it because that’s how we came together. we had our dinner at this cool tea house called “bubble bee” and they serve every tea flavor and asian dishes. their interiors are really cool too — with mis-matched sofas and lounges.

after some margarita with my ‘thugs’, harry and i went to vudu (one of cebu’s top bars) and partied with my sisters. vudu has this annual ‘invierno’ party where everyone should wear white. some friends there were teasing us about having a family day but what can we say, we do party together and we love our vodka too. welp, i don’t really remember what happened after the vodka so i’m stopping here…haha!

ps. my blue / polka tights is inspired by tieka in this post.

i really love this girl and always enjoy not just looking at her outfit posts but also reading her thoughts.

white dress – maek

blue tights – kate torralba

polka tights – macua street market

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

long chained watch / polka bangle – elegant tang dynasty

moose long necklace in gun metal – bubble bee gift shop

rings / teal / gun-metal bangles – props

black bag – mongkok ladies market

on my sisters:

white jumpsuit – props

white strappy heels – care

spaghetti strapped top – extra material from a long skirt (we had redone as a top)

beige belt – props

striped skirt – thrifted

cut-out heels – rosanna peña

bangles – props

got everything i wanted

i’ll soon post a photo of all the presents i received for christmas. one thing i can tell you, it’s spelled S-H-O-E-S. *wink* i got all that i wanted. and don’t think i’ll be buying any in 2 months…(oh except i am still coveting those black sandals in celine with gold studs…

i hope all of you had a great christmas! i’m sure i did.

peasant top with red polka – thrifted

denim shorts – borrowed from sis

red flats with gold chain – celine

suede boho bag – bangkok

rings – props

long chained necklace – elegant tang dynasty

angel wing necklace – sm dept store

teal bangle – props

beaded gold bangles – gifts from tita

glasses – thrifted

merry christmas!

merry christmas everyone!

it was a very different christmas for me this year. not only is it my 2nd time spending christmas eve at work but harry went home to bohol so i had to technically spend it alone. i’ve only been in my new company for 5 months so i haven’t made really good friends. all smiles, laughs and greetings were there..but not so much the comfort i have with real friends. (makes me miss my barkada and the dark angels)…

polka dress – thrifted

grey cardigan – anna sui (thrifted!)

strappy black heels – so fab!

long chained watch (peacock) – elegant tang dynasty

angel wing long necklace – sm dept store

rings – props

pearls necklaces used as bracelets – mom’s

puppy – snickers!

the pirate eye

i was supposed to go out saturday night to have dinner with karen but my right eye got swollen that it’s pathetic to even go out with it. i don’t know what caused it. so i stayed in — again! i’m supposed to have regained my social life..haha! my little sister, who was my partner in crime years ago, says i’ve lost my place in the social scene because i always stay in. i guess it comes with age and the “been there, done that” state of mind. i just can’t find drinking and loud music blasting appealing anymore. i’d rather have long massages, peaceful dinners, movies and the occasional road trips.

this is what i wore when we hit the mall yesterday to shop for the gifts i needed to buy. we checked out celine so we can buy the sequined flats i was talking about in the previous post but they no longer had my size… uggghhh! they were supposed to be my mom’s christmas gift for me. i just chose these suede wedge round toe pumps with rhinestone accents. i love it! anyway, it was so funny when i was trying out the shoe because the sales lady looked at my tights and said, “Are you a ballerina?”

i said, “No.”

sales lady: “Oh…but did you come from dance practice?”

i said, “No”

sales lady: “Ahhh… just a trip then.”

striped top with lace detail – thrifted

white shorts – props, sm planet exchange

polka tights – kate torralba, sm dept store

black bow-tie flats – leaveland

long chained necklace – elegant tang dynasty

thin gold belt – props, sm planet exchange

beaded bangle – props, custom made

black bag – mongkok ladies market, hk

glasses – thrifted

feelin’ the holidays!

i cannot wait for christmas! even when i have to work on the eve of th 25th…bummer… at least it would still be spent with a lot of people. we work by mountain standard time so technically, it’s still a business day in canada by the 24th (which is the night of the 24th here)…it’s my 2nd year working on christmas and i can’t say i’m really loving it. here in the philippines, we have what we call “noche buena”… we attend church at 9 or 10pm…finish preparing our food — which in our family is one kind of pasta, bread, ham (my aunt’s most delicious and awaited ham!), another kind of meat that we try to experiment from a recipe we just found, and cake! right after eating, we always open gifts together. there’s just 5 of us — my mom, dad and my 2 sisters! of course, christmas is not complete without dressing up. we always do!

in this post is another version of the chained watch that i feature yesterday. this one is silver with a small aztec-like design on the front. i regret to have only bought 2 from hong kong. i so wanted the other designs. good thing i have my sisters — we always share accessories. the only thing we can’t share is shoes. we have different sizes — my little sister wears a size 5 and my big sister wears a 9…haha!

navy shirt dress – thrifted

black blazer – thrifted

sheer grey tights (underneath the polka) – sm dept store

polka tights – sm dept store

studded flats – mongkok ladies market

long chained necklace – elegant tang dynasty

square white stone ring – props

something comfortable

took the night off from work to prepare for my dizziness test at the balance, equilibrium and dizziness center. i thought the quality sleep (at night and not during the day) would make me feel better but i still felt dizzy when i woke up — like constantly being on a boat. i have my slow motion moments too. the test was quite expensive but i guess it’s worth it just as long as i’d finally know what’s wrong with me and they can give me treatment. i don’t like being to incapacitated especially since i used to be very athletic and can go on the whole day playing football. during the test, they made me follow several patterns of a laser-like red light and had me stare at a specific position while trying to avoid too much blinking. the hardest part was being sprayed on with cold then hot water on both my ears while i have to answer simple math questions — like 2+2 or 10 x 5, etc. it all the more confirms that i suck at division…and multiples of 6, 7 and 8…haha! it was quite embarrassing i tell you.

harry and i had pizza at jones brothers pizza co. right after and wolfed down about 5 slices. then went to ayala to window shop for my christmas wishlist. my sisters and i have a christmas tradition of telling each other our wishlists and buying those as gifts at a certain budget of course. now that we’re all working, the budget is slightly bigger. i know, i know it’s pathetic that we already know what we’re getting but the thought of opening lots of gifts on christmas still thrills us.

yellow printed tee – whitegold

long white tank – divisoria

black tights – bought from my mom’s friend

yellow slippers – roxy

grey bag – mongkok ladies market

dog tag necklace – custom-made

long chained watch – elegant tang dynasty

glasses – thrifted