it’s my time – Girl Gone Cuckoo

writing my own story

pink blazer – thrifted (for P50!) | white tank top – thrifted | zebra printed shorts – bangkok find
lace-up heels – parisian, sm dept store | dog tag necklace – custom made | red sunnies – bangkok find

90% of the time, i’m that girl who doesn’t give a crap about what other people say about me. i like doing things my way, as long as i’m not hurting anyone. i dress the way i dress and i maintain a carefree and friendly demeanor wherever i am. i try to always give a piece of my mind and hardly resort to keeping things to myself when called for. it may be with this kind of attitude that people misunderstand me and it’s okay. i do not exist to make everyone understand how i am because that’s just foolish. one thing i have learned from Harry when we first got together is this: “People will always have their own version of your story. The important thing is you write your own and live it to its fullest.”

so yeah, people can make up stories about me. i’ll write my own as well. in the end, what matters is i know and LIVE it, my family knows it, harry knows it and my true friends do too.

courage + acceptance

although summer was supposed to be the time for taking breaks, i hardly had the chance to because of the back pains from my spinal disc bulges + work + nonsense questions to myself + i don’t know. so last saturday, the boyfriend and i took a much need break from everything and just disconnected ourselves from the world. i think it’s definitely healthy to have those much-deserved alone time with each other and just have fun without worrying about anything else.

now, you all know i’ve been feeling utterly disappointed at myself because i don’t know exactly i want to do with my life and have been all over the place. i’ve realized though that it’s just the fear talking and that i can take on anything i set myself to. everything happens for a reason and we just need to be courageous enough to accept it. of course, i need to make sure that i set my priorities straight.

i’ve hated waking up for a routine everyday, whether it be school or work. even as a child, there wasn’t a morning where i didn’t drag myself out of my bed. i wanted to be in control of my time and didn’t want to have to follow a certain schedule that constrained me. although i was scared as hell, i finally decided to take control of my time. i’ve decided to dedicate my full time on our wholesale business and have writing jobs on the side and that i’ll now only be working part time for the advertising agency that i’ve been working for. so far, i’m on my 2nd week of this arrangement but i am loving every minute of it. i decide what time i attend work as long as it’s 4-5 hours and i get to spend most of my day, in my room and writing or sorting out clothes, shoes and bags for my store and our wholesale business.

they say i might get bored with this arrangement. i fully understand that and recognize that someday, i might decide to find work that’s structured or even decide to be a stay at home mom. it took me a great deal of courage to admit this but life is unpredictable. i am unpredictable and i don’t know what’s going to happen to my life or how to get to what i want in life. but to hell with it, for now i’m gonna do what i enjoy and do what i want..RIGHT NOW!

printed mini-dress used as top – thrifted

white pleated skirt – thrifted

teal belt – robinson’s dept store, dumaguete

nude suede wedges – gold dot

bangles: purple wood – bangkok find | orange polka resin – gifted |

red coral – boracay find | pewter bangles – carbon finds

rings – bangkok finds

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!

maxi + stripes = answered questions

i think i’m getting bad at blogging mainly because i’ve been trying to juggle so many new things in my life and welp, because when i get home all i want to do is watch TV, ‘imortal’ to be more specific. i just can’t resist john lloyd cruz’s good looks.LOL. to those who are not from the philippines or do not follow teleseryes or local tv series, ‘imortal’ is the pinoy’s take on the vampire-wolf craze. it’s something between twilight / underworld / anne rice plus the pinoy cheesiness.

just so you guys won’t think that i’ve totally forgotten about the questions you posted on my last giveaway, i’m going to answer a few right now. here goes:

which one would you prefer most — stripes, plaid or polka dots? (27chic and tortured artist)

well, for those who have been following my blog for some time now, you would know that i have such a weakness for polka dots. although it’s weird saying this because the photos above show me wearing stripes..hehe.

have you tried wearing neon leggings? (27chic)

as much as i’d like to, no i haven’t and i don’t think i ever will. constant running and drills from my old football days have developed my legs to be most unforgiving in bright colored pants, what more leggings. but i will be wearing a pair of metallic purple leggings this halloween.*wink*

who is your fashion icon and why? (eelectroCutee and style-haus)

i normally say mary-kate olsen because i just adore her laid-back, boho-chic style but i just recently discovered carine roitfeld (yes, it took me an issue of preview two months ago to appreciate her style) and i am just blown away by her. her style is just chic, slightly disheveled but very smartly done. she dons embellishments and layers accessories without going to far. i just love how she layers and pairs her clothes.

what is the major change you had recently? (sweet)
i think most of you know this but i’m going to say it for those who don’t — 2 months ago, i resigned from a high-paying job which was making me unhappy in exchange for a job which pays only half of my last salary but is very close to my interests — the arts and marketing.

where do you go thrifting here in Cebu? (alexa luna)
cebu freedom market or carbon is a fail-safe way to thrift although it may be a bit chaotic. you can find vintage dresses, cool shirts, frayed or washed out denim shorts, beautiful scarves from P10 – P70. for a more comfortable environment though, walk around the areas nearing cebu doctor’s hospital. they have several air-conditioned spots that sell ukay-ukay from P50 – P280. and when you do plan to go on an ukay trip, tell me so i can go with you.hehe.

chic in the tropics is holding a CSN giveaway exclusively for US and Canadian readers. go check it out!

grey striped top – thrifted

grey maxi skirt – thrifted

grey flats – gifted from charm

red studded belt – pratunam, bangkok

cross necklace – borrowed from aimee

rings: studded owl – carbon find | orange howlite – dane’s giveaway

gun-metal scales bracelet – tseng accessories

we’re supposed to be in color

remember when david and mary-sue fought over the remote and they got warped into the black and white world of pleasantville? that movie has got to be one of my most favorites. not only are the era costumes amazing and fun to look at but i also loved the plot and message of the movie. i was and will always be amazed at how pleasantville slowly turned technicolor as they discovered and loved incredible things about themselves. fiona apple’s rendition of ‘across the universe’ made the movie even more memorable.

on to another awesome subject, i want to thank everyone who joined my 300 followers giveaway. it was really fun reading your questions and challanges and since i got so many interesting questions, i’ll answer them 5 at a time. here goes:

where do you see yourself in 5 years? (holly koochitt) whoa! just my first question and i all of a sudden feel i’m in a job interview! well, although it hurts to think, i’ll be 31 by then. if things go according to plan, i will have had successfully established a ready-to-wear clothing line while raising a 2 year old. i plan to still continue to maintain this blog and yes, i’d still do outfit posts in maternity clothes.

do you wanna go back to bangkok with me? (aisa ipac) yes! i would love to go back to bangkok with you…it would be amazing to have such an awesome shopping buddy especially since we have similar style choices and love finding cheap stuff!

how much did you spend in your bangkok vacation? (penny ilagan and ladawan) since we booked our flight 5 months prior to our trip and with a seat sale promotion at that, we got our round-trip tickets for only P6,700 ($149). with the help of my sister planning our trip to the tee, our hotel accommodations + tours (elephant tour, elephant ride, floating market, safari world and temple tours) + food and travel expenses cost us only P14,000 ($311). shopping expenses were only around P6000 ($111) and yes, i shopped til’ my feet hurt like hell that i had to give up walking to the street corner to taste these awesome, humongous crepes (biggest trip regret..hehe).

can you name top 5 cities you want to travel? (elle gomez) can i name non-cities too?hehe. if i had all the money in the world, i would love to visit ho chi minh city in vietnam (or all of vietnam for that matter), go back to hongkong and just enjoy the buzz, the food and the street fashion, lounge in santorini, greece because ever since i was a little girl i have always found that place to be so enchanting, be in constant awe in paris, france because who wouldn’t right? and of course, visit the most famous city in the world, new york city!

if you were to raid one’s closet, whose closet would it be (eunice) this is without a doubt mary-kate and ashley olsen’s closets! okay, okay, the question asks me to choose only one so i would have to say mary-kate olsen. here style is just amazing —- vintage and bohemian with a pinch of rock and she has this effortless bed-head look that i wish i can attain (but then sadly, i’d look like a dog who just got dried off from the rain). i love her shoes, her clothes, her oversized bags, her unexpected accessories (ie rhinestone curtain necklace over a worn-out vintage tee), i love her in the lace alexander mcqueen dress and that she and ashley have established such incredible clothing lines.

this is it for now. don’t want to bore you with more stuff about me. *wink*

polka dot fifties skirt – thrifted

sheer top – linea italia

beige camisole – borrowed from sis

braided camel belt – pratunam, bangkok

camel military booties – forever 21 courtesy of karla bautista

bangles: orange with splattered print – DIY | yellow wooden bangle – chatuchak, bangkok

necklaces: charmed + vintage car – carbon find

brown sunnies – carbon find

one thing i dearly miss

it may just be glee’s madonna episode and their rendition of ‘what it feels like for a girl’ or that the last time i performed was 2 years ago at outpost for a company christmas party… BUT i miss singing so much. it used to be my outlet for feelings i can’t express….for desperation on unrequited love…for the confusion i felt as a teen…sometimes for the anger… the rush of standing in front of people was inexplicable.

both my mom and dad worked when i was young. so when school was out, my dad would bring me to his clinic and just leave me beside the stereo and he would find me there all day, singing. as a kid, i’d either be singing or drawing on my sketchpad or doing both. sometimes i’m not aware of it, but i’d turn up the volume on our old boom box and just play madonna, lisa loeb or jewel all day and just sing. and yes, i used to sing a lot of jennifer love hewitt songs too.

i miss just belting out in my room.

i miss practicing songs in our house and singing renditions of songs i loved.

i miss the feeling of freedom singing gives to me.

i miss just having fun singing with people.

now if only i can find someone to play the guitar for me.

(photo details: all tanned (too tan actually..LOL) singing at kahayag in 2006)

what dreams may come

if i have too many pictures, that means harry is taking the photos and he tends to just click away. if i’m too happy in them, that means he made me laugh and there is also a possibility that i got annoyed at him right after the shoot (or vice versa) — this explains the last photo. LOL.

as a kid, i’ve always had bizarre dreams. not really nightmares (i do get them sometimes) but dreams that are beyond my imagination if i’m wide awake. most of my dreams growing up would entail me flying, swinging or being chased by someone i don’t know. sometimes my dreams would include people in my lives in the most unusual setting (like my family and i getting chased by a humongous gorilla and i have big black wings). at times, my dream would be of strangers i haven’t met before in my life. often times, i’d wake up feeling bothered or shaken but could not remember a thing. the worst dreams are those where a loved one is hurt and i wake up catching my breath, with tears in my eyes.

it has been suggested that i should write a story about my dreams as most great stories come from them. but i don’t know if i want to solidify them in paper. as of now, i don’t sleep with the lights off and i have learned to avoid movies or books with horror, bizarre suspense or violence. i am, however, still drawn to children’s fiction, gothic fiction, absurdist fiction or steampunk genre. so i guess my bizarre dreams will never end.

how about you? how have you been sleeping?

floral top – thrifted

mauve blazer – linea italia

skinny jeans – chillypapa

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

dog tag necklace – custom-made

work watch – swatch

sunnies – thrifted at carbon

what is normal anyway?

the other day, i posted on facebook that i’m weirded out and i don’t know why. somebody joked, “it’s because you’re a little weird…” which should have been an insult for somebody else but really a compliment for me. you see, i don’t mind being weird just as long as i stand out and am not the same as anyone else. i was born a middle child — 8 years apart from my older sister, charm and 2 years apart from my little sister, aimee. being expected to obey my a-te (big sister) and give chances to aimee, i was forced to think on my own and think of ways to be different from them. so while charm was enjoying her high school life and aimee was outside playing with the kids, i read books and played with my stuffed toys. after school, when i didn’t like to stay and play with friends, i’d go home directly and watch ‘captain planet’ and ‘johnny quest’ on cartoon network. i’d write on my diary and draw clothes. my bed and my room was basically a haven for me. and since i didn’t have anyone else to look up to but my a-te, i listened to the same music she listened to as well. so in 4th grade, while everyone else was into disney songs, i was listening to madonna’s bedtime stories and watching reality bites with winona ryder and ethan hawke (loved that movie!). don’t get me wrong, i was still a typical kid most of the time, but i have always loved to be wrapped up in my own world. so now, everywhere i go, i can plug into my ipod and just while the world away with my music.

gizelle is weird. thank you. normal is ~~boring~~.

striped tee – big sister’s closet

grey pencil skirt – thrifted for only P15 ($0.03)

black strappy heels – so fab

long watch necklace – hk gift shop

work watch – swatch

sunnies – thrifted at carbon

it’s:my:time

i don’t have the typical features of a Cebuana which is mostly a mix of Spanish and native blood — a mestiza as what we call it. i have chinky eyes, that of a chinese though am not fair but have almost caramel skin. i have curly hair and have never had it straightened. i don’t have the typical body type too — while my big sister is model tall at 5’7″ and my little sister is petite and can fit into anything, i have an athletic body with round legs and wide shoulders. and although i played with dolls as a kid, i’ve been into sports growing up (swimming and flag football) and am never afraid to get my hands dirty or my fingernails chipped. i dress up according to my mood and i have never been an avid follower of style rules — i don’t mix and match to the tee. although i prefer hanging out with the boys due to their uncomplicated outlook and am always mistaken for being one of them due to my sarcasm and humor, i hang out with them in my daintiest dress and red lips.

this is me. it’s my time…

and yours too. join benetton’s

it’s:my:time global casting competition

they’re looking for something different, something unconventional, something surprising, something real. It’s not just how you look but how you are

(and no they did not pay me to post this…LOL. i just believe it’s a great contest!)

linen zipper up top – thrifted

brown leggings – ???

brown peep-toe platforms – matthews at CMG

tan fringe bag – lil’ sister’s

bangles: brown – props | gold ones – from india

rings: animal print – props | white & wooden – from chai

long watch necklace – hk gift shop

sunnies – thrifted at carbon