sisters – Girl Gone Cuckoo

my sister blogs too!

my older sister has finally jumped the gun. after accompanying me to bloggers united 3, she saw what the commotion was about and what a wonderful community the philippine fashion bloggers had. we joked and convinced her to try blogging but she was hesitant because she said she wouldn’t know what to say. i think it was after collaborating with various bloggers for PROPS did she finally decide to start her own blog. meet my sister, Charm and head on over to her blog: One Semi-Charmed Life.

oh yeah, i know you’re thinking it — my sister is TALL. she’s 5’7″ while i stand just a mere 5’2″. LOL. i don’t know what happened but she’s the tallest in our family. my mom must have eaten a growth bean, or something.

for those who have not read previous posts in my blog, i do have a little sister too. tres marias, is what they call us. all three of us love fashion and at one point, shared one whole continuous closet in our house when all 3 of us used to live together. my little sister is now in Sydney, Charm has left the nest after she got married and i’ve stayed back with the parents — so we can say our closets are now strictly our own.

the three of us have a project coming soon. *wink*

cheers to 2012!

Good morning 2012!

the Sembrano tres marias — meeting 2012’s first sunrise! (forgive my sister Aimee, she doesn’t realize Cebu pavements are not as clean as Aussie’s..LOL!)

Mr. and Mrs. B’s first new year as a married couple! ♥ ♥ ♥

Harry, me and my kulit sister, Aimee!

Sam, Kate, Armand, Aimee, Me and Harry

i miss Armand!

family’s night out? LOL.
Mr. and Mrs. B ~ Harry & Gizelle + Aimee + Mr. and Mrs. Tan ~ Warren & Charm

with the super hilarious Mary Ty, one of the amazing designers of MEGA YDC. our jaws hurt from laughing!

now, on to the outfit…

polka tent blouse – primal rave | bandage skirt – primal rave | black strappy heels – people are people
brass cuff – shopyapi.com | feather necklace & brass layered necklace – downtown finds | rings – downtown finds

Aimee’s outfit: pink bandage dress with sleeve cutouts – primal rave | chain bag – vintage
leopard heels – people are people | necklace and bangles – downtown finds

can you guess what those things are beside the lion?

the polka dressing tradition continues! this is my 4th new year wearing polka — they say it’s good luck and brings in more money for the year! here’s to not just more money but more love, guidance from God, opportunities to seize and risks to take…

2011 was definitely a roller coaster ride for me. half the year were mornings where i didn’t know whether i wanted to wake up or just sleep through the day but i was blessed enough to realize life is too short and took mine back. 2011 blessed me with a job that i loved [all this time], a promotion, a fiance, a family reunion and fiinally, a husband.

to 2012, may you bring as many opportunities and adventures as you’ve given in 2011 — only less confusion, heartache and drama. ♥ ♥ ♥

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

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

teenage excitement

although this has caused a little argument with harry (which has been resolved so don’t worry), i miss my teen years — the ‘kilig’ and excitement that came with it. i am not specifically talking about my love life as there are other important aspects of life other than that. i am talking about the general feeling of being a teen. being filled with hopes and aspirations. being all set to conquer the world. having this determination to be the best that we can be. reality takes a huge bite out of these things and certain dreams have to be set aside. i was never in denial that growing up is easy but i also never thought that there are times that it would be really hard, like having to accept that people i love would eventually have to live separate lives from me. it’s inevitable and i should have had this wisdom now that i’m 26 but it’s still hard.

in my usual way of dealing with things, i am looking at the bright side after wallowing in the confusion. immediate plans for the last 2 months of 2010 are: canvass and window shop for a bigger bed for my room and a new shelf for all of my books (and the books that i have yet to buy), search for interior design inspirations for the room that will now be all for myself, plan a family getaway and finally, learn how to control the waterworks when we do have to be at the airport come december.

ps. thanks to everyone for all your thoughts, wisdom and opinions on my last post. fashion is indeed a tricky business and if we’re not careful, it can draw us into a world of materialism and vanity instead of art and self-expression.

cotton printed dress – chatuchak, bangkok

green tunic used as cover-up – mom’s closet

brown peep-toe platforms – CMG

necklaces: charms – carbon find | fairy – props

bangles: wooden green and blue – props | brass ones – carbon finds

rings: brass skull, burnt orange stone – carbon finds | oval blue stone and green stone – props

zebra-striped fedora hat – sm dept store

halloween 2010: harajuku twins!

for Aimee’s last halloween in Cebu, we decided to dress up as Harajuku Twins. the zombie school girl is our third Japanese sister who died, thus the gore. nothing much to say as i’m just enjoying my long weekend so here are the photos of the night where i ended up getting too many free vodka from the bartender, i woke up at 3PM the following day.

on both of us:

top with studded pocket – props

ruffled tulle shorts – props

colored tights – metro ayala

blue wigs – manalili finds

dogtag necklaces – custom-made

sneakers – vans and chuck taylors

DIY turban and pink bow

bangles: gun-metal stacks – props & carbon finds | colored bangles – DIY

i love you like i love reese’s

after the crazy night we had, my sister and i unconsciously just decided to stay home all day friday and lock ourselves in our room. what with the really painful headache and hangover, we couldn’t really move around. so we spent the whole day watching How I Met Your Mother or taking turns using the computer. we did get bored by 7:00 PM and at one point decided to go to SM and go shopping but we were too lazy to take a shower and dress up. it wasn’t until 10:00 PM that we felt that we needed to go out and since watching How I Met Your Mother always makes me hungry, i convinced Aimee to grab some pizza and hot wings.

so we drove over to Banilad Town Center and visited Yellow Cab Pizza what we needed to cure our hangover was an oily and cheesy pizza and the super yummy Yellow Cab hot wings. and since we were already there, we had ourselves some frozen yogurt from Yo-Go Boy too. if you’re asking what those round toppings on the fro-yo are, those are the awesomely yummy reese’s puffs. the puff just melts in your mouth and the peanut butter and chocolate just explodes in your mouth! perfect combination to the blueberry and cashew nuts! the pig-out was definitely worth the 20 minute drive from our house!

white graphic tee – borrowed from boyfriend (props)

black leggings – random

black beaded sandals – people are people

bangles: gold and pink rhinestones – gifted from india | enamel bangles – HK find

fairy long necklace – props

black handbag – nine west

on aimee:

multi-colored top – marc jacobs (from my manager’s garage sale)

white shorts – props

white oversized bag – celine (gifted from her bf)

borrowing policies

if you have a sister or in my case, sisters then you would know what i mean about borrowing policies. i have 3 closets because i have two sisters — charm, who is older than me by 8 years and aimee, who is younger than me by 2 years. we get to borrow clothes, bags and accessories except jeans and shoes because we each have different sizes — charm is 5’7″ so her jeans are too long for me, her shoe size is 39 which is too big for me as i am a 37 and aimee is a size 0 (yes, she’s a zero..is that even a size?LOL) so her jeans will not fit me at all, her shoe size is a 35 or 36 which is too small for me. our clothes go on rotation. it’s like shopping everyday as we get to visit each other’s closets. but there are rules — rather strict rules with borrowing stuff:

first dibs always goes to the owner — meaning, the clothes you borrow should have already been worn by the owner
always take care of the stuff you borrow — no stains, no scratches, no tears.
the clothes or stuff have to be returned to the original place we found them — or at least, it has to make an appearance in the owner’s room or closet once a week.

aimee is a bit harder to borrow clothes from because she’s always possessive and hardly wears her clothes because she wears a uniform to work. i sometimes ban her from our thrifting trips and disregard any thoughtfulness we have when we see clothes she might like when my mom and i are out thrifting because she has too many stuff she hasn’t worn yet. so now i am patiently waiting for her to wear the striped dress she bought a month ago, this studded, leopard print off shoulder top, a military jacket (that i might secretly wear to work when she’s asleep…LOL) and this pale blue plaid chiffon dress. last week, i insisted on wearing her grey apron-like top to work and she allowed me to (which is a miracle!) but here’s the catch, i cannot take photos of it…haha!

ps. my mom’s the easiest to borrow clothes from and she has lots of boho tops that i wear all the time. her closet is my favorite. *wink*

how about you, do you have ‘borrowing policies’ with your sister/s? how about with your mom or roommate?

striped top – random

black and white floral skirt with cutouts – lil’ sister’s (yey!)

black blazer – thrifted

braided belt – props

silver cuffs – thrifted at carbon

summer of one-oh! ocean series: farewell summer!

it was hot, scorching hot. it was filled with laughter. it was cramped with road trips and trips to the beach. it was filled with shopping sprees. but it was quick, so damn quick that i haven’t gotten enough of it.

goodbye summer!

i’ll see you in 2011…

on charm (my big sister):

blue embroidered kaftan – from bangkok

aviator sunnies – from hongkong

on me:

blue floral tube dress – a gift from goring

floral scarf as bandana – thrifted in sindangan

brown sunnies – thrifted in carbon

bangles – props | random | gifted

on aimee (my lil’ sister):

floral dress – thrifted

yellow sunnies – thrifted in carbon

lace on my pocket

got this oversized shirt from my last thrifting trip with my mom and sister. i just fell in love with the lace pocket and the dalmatian print. my sister, once again eyed me and said, “it’s so you. weird.” i had to smile because it’s true. we had so much fun trying out the outfits in the dressing room. our voices were so loud that the other shoppers might have been wondering what we’re up to. i miss moments like this with my sister. we’re inseparable and used to spend so much time together that strangers would ask us if we’re twins. here are some photos of my sis and i, being just camwhores and enjoying each other’s company:

aims, though you’re a spoiled brat, a big dramaqueen and a pain in my ass, i still love you to pieces.

dalmation print oversized top – thrifted

black leggings – random

navy blue flats with rhinestones – parisian

white oversized bag – celine (my li’l sister’s)

dog-tag necklace – custom-made

gun-metal bangles – props

black layered beaded bracelet – random

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

hush now

this is me trying to be quiet since my sister is sleeping. i’m on her bed as it is near the window (better light, better pictures). she got mad at me for this because i eventually woke her up…haha! and yes, at 25 i still share a room with my sister. here in our country, it is not necessary to move out of the house after turning 18. we stay with our parents yet we do pay the bills..hehe. they took care of us and bore with our craziness, so it’s our time to take care of them. of course, i’ll soon get married and have a home of my own but i’ll always stay close. i am one those lucky people who not only are close to their parents, but we share a real friendship too.

i had to make do with a shoot inside our room as i was too lazy to find a good spot outside or ask our ‘manang’ (our house maid who has been with us for 10 years — i love her so!) to take a photo of me..i just got home from a 4-hour OT at work because we had to close a lot of work queues. it was the least i can do to support my team as they have been working their asses off. i hope we get through this week. so far, this has been the longest week ever..and i can’t wait for the weekend!

printed top – props

black blazer – thrifted

jeans – chillypapa

black studded flats – mongkok ladies market, hk

long chained watch – hk souvenir shop

dog tags – custom-made

ring – props