weekend – Page 3 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

since we were 12 years old

i never get tired of this place. daanbantayan is the ultimate haven for me. not because it’s has the perfect white sands or untouched waters but because it is quiet and is really a place where i can just unwind and not think about all life’s problems. the funny thing is, the rest house is not even ours. it belongs to my dad’s kind high school friend who has always allowed us to use the place whenever we want to — save when they want to use it for themselves. so for 7 years, we’ve been coming back here as a family or with my friends. every time, always as fun as the last.

blue green printed kaftan – thrifted | yellow green bikini top – props | brown sunnies – thrifted at carbon

this memory of time spent with my long time best friends (since we were 12 years old) will remain forever in my mind. believe it or not, but this is the first time in a long time that we’ve been able to go out of town where majority of us are present. good friends, good food — really good food like grilled pork, fresh crabs and fish and yummy kinilaw, good music, hilarious and challenging game of taboo, good drinks in the name of tanduay and kool-aid, never-ending laughter — what more could i ask for?

trash the dress

the weekend was not only a chance to spend time with long time friends but also, more importantly to have april mae and gian’s trash-the-dress post nuptial photo shoot.

so after the 3 hours drive to daanbantayan, we put on our make-up despite the very humid weather, wore the dresses we wore at wedding and made like very amateur models in our shoots. LOL. the photos posted here are done by calography. to check out rates and his portfolio, it is a must to click on the link!

my body is still aching from all the fun and sun so i will tell you more about the trip on tomorrow’s post which will definitely include all the photos my friends and i had.

have a great monday everyone!

april’s wedding dress – noelle west

bridal entourage’s dresses – partly designed by me and the wearer

ready to get hitched!

my friend, april mae got hitched last june 5, 2010! this was on the night before her wedding where we had a sleepover at the crown regency hotel — to celebrate her last night as a single lady and to help out with last minute preparations (us, being her bridesmaids). it was our 2nd wedding in the group and this being the first Catholic wedding. lemme’ just say, being one of the bridesmaids was really exhausting but very much awarding and worth-it. when our friend walked down the isle, we were all welding up with tears. if i can get a hold of the wedding photos from the wedding photographer, calography, then i’ll post some up here.

ps. do you like me in straight hair? *wink* it’s a wig that one of my gay friends wore to the wedding. this was as special request by april that she wear a dress and be one of the bridemaids. that’s ‘bufal’ — the girl on my right on the last photo.

black and white dress with feather prints – props

black platform heels – forever 21

silver bangles – thrifted at carbon

summer of one-oh! ocean series: island love

some people are allergic to the beach — some by conscious choice, while others really break out and have rashes. if i were either, i would rather die. i love and live by the beach. this is our farewell to summer.

on may 29 and 30, my family and i headed north west to the island of bantayan. while my sisters and i have been there 3 or 4 times on different occassions, it was my mom and dad’s first time there. both of them having recently reached 60, they have resolved to travel as much as they can. that was one of the big pushes for our hongkong trip last november 2009 and for our upcoming bangkok trip this august 2010.

we stayed at marlin’s resort. ironically, just a day before our trip, it was on the news that sea walls in Region 7 beaches are to be destroyed as they are badly affecting the environment. they change the course of waves. in my perspective, they ought to be destroyed too. long stretches of beach looks much better and natural for me. the destruction was taking place right when we arrived so the first day was a chillout day. aimee and i came from our night shifts (aimee being a nurse) so we were pretty tired. my big sister just simply doesn’t function well during the day…so she says she was tired too…buhu. we just stayed in, most of the afternoon, munching on chips deluxe (yum!), cheetos and popcorn, watching tv and laughing with mom and dad. swimming was only later in the afternoon when the workers left for day. for dinner, we had pizza at balikbayan restaurant — just 2 blocks away from our resort. definitely a must-try when you’re in bantayan!

more of day two on the next post!

on me:

floral bikini – props (yes, props is a store in SM)

white embroidered dress – thrifted

brown wooden bangles – raw materials from manalili

purple wooden bangle – props

faux gold bangles – a gift from india

brown sunnies – thrifted at carbon

on aimee:

white tank top – metro kids’ section

striped jumper – thrifted

yellow sunnies – thrifted at carbon

dance like no one is watching

omigod, i haven’t been on a night out for months! these days, i’d choose my comfy bed over the sweaty and loud bars. but for my soon-to-be-married friend, there’s always an exception. drank an energy drink on the way out and i was good to go! (beat the hell of a hangover too the morning after…yey!) so, we all met up at my place to do our make-up and have a few drinks (white rhum and iced tea)…did a quick photoshoot with my sister’s 550ex speedlite and left my house past midnight. it’s funny because as i was looking at the photos we had of the night, i realized that we’ve all been friends since we were 10 – 13 years old but this is the first night out we had where everyone drank and everyone danced like there was no tomorrow! ordered some vodka and rhum ice…went home at almost 6:00 AM and at one point, i was already walking barefoot on the way to the car because my feet hurt so badly! nevertheless, it was one of the best times of my life!

ps. the silver top i’m wearing is a thrifted CELINE and found it 2 months ago. i’ve been itching to wear it and this was the perfect night to do so. *wink*

silver thread top – celine

black tulip skirt – props

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

gun-metal chained curtain necklace – props

stone ring – props (a twin of this is on give-away!)

choosing green

before anything else, i’m wearing yellow but i am definitely going GREEN today. *wink*

here’s what happened this weekend: on saturday, i had my nails done. got so bored on saturday afternoon and just ended up listening to bon iver and up dharma down. missed my friends. couldn’t sleep because of the half cup of coffee i took on my shift earlier. decided to go on a night out with sister. woke up at 11PM, dressed up and put on make-up. on my drive to loft, my sister texted that they’re going home because of the liquor ban (elections weekend) and apparently, a few people got arrested for being caught drinking after midnight. epic fail on my attempt to have a night out again — oh well, there’s still the next weekend.

sunday: plotted a romantic sunday with harry. went to the local market downtown to shop for accessories with my little sister, aimee. ended up paying P1,200 for 2 necklaces (an owl and elephant), 4 bangles, 8 cocktail rings, 2 earrings, a notebook, pens, cellphone accessories and a few sunnies. after greeting my mom a happy mom’s day and eating the best lunch ever — roasted chicken, kinason soup and kinilaw, spent the rest of the day with harry. let’s just say he was in for a surprise which he thoroughly enjoyed..haha! had dinner at tsim tsa tsui (a dimsum and tea bar in ayala) with family where we ordered too much and had to take home lotsa’ food. we had so much fun though and it was all worth it.

and now, i am waiting for sister to get home from her shift so we can head on the voting precincts and make our votes count.

how did you weekend go?

yellow halter top – thrifted

grey pencil skirt – thrifted

grey ballet flats – so fab (a gift from big sis)

enamel bangles – hong kong and bangkok

long watch necklace – hongkong gift shop

sunnies – thrifted at manalili

black oversized bag – mom’s closet

my daddy, my hero

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

thank you for always being there for us. for being an example of hard work, perseverance and innovation for all of us. and for being the most understanding and patient dad in the world! we love you so much!

his birthday is actually on may 1st but i wouldn’t be able to post this tomorrow because every year, on my dad’s birthday, the family and i celebrate it on this beach house north of the city (just a the tip of the island). we’ve been going there for i think 5 years now and the place has always been my retreat from the city and from everything else that came with it.

summer of one-oh! ocean series: imperial palace resort

the imperial palace resort and spa at maribago, mactan island. a free ride with harry’s management in his company…woohoo! with rooms at P7,600 ($160) a night, i don’t think i can afford it very soon..LOL. this was after i got home from the island hopping, slept at 8:00 PM..woke up 6:00 AM to get ready for another day at the beach! yey to summer!

here’s a lowdown on our stay in imperial palace:

♥ all met at I.T. Park at 9:00 AM
♥ ate lunch at one of mactan’s best italian restaurant (very cheap too!) — MB’s Tavern
♥ settled in our mediterranean-inspired room complete with a comfy bed with plush sheets, a a huge LCD TV with cable, iPod dock, a bath tub with hot and cold water and a view to the whole resort
♥ was surprised to find sooo many koreans in the resort — welp, it is after all owned by a korean..hehe.
♥ swam and played all afternoon at all 3 pools of the resort BUT was too chicken to try out the towering slides…boohoo for me!hehe.
♥ had dinner at SUTUKIL — a line of restaurants in mactan island where you can choose from an array of fresh seafood (fish, crabs, shrimps, scallops..etc) and choose how to have them cooked — sugba (grilled), tuwa (to prepare it in soup) and kilaw (eat it raw usually soaked in vinegar) — so YUMMY!
♥ had drinks at cowrie cove in Shangri-la Mactan — sooo expensive…whoa!
♥ woke up to the sunrise on our window and to my period…damn! LOL.

day 1 night and day 2 going home: floral dress – thrifted | tan leather bag – thrifted at baguio

day 2 at the pool: polka halter bikini top – props | navy blue drawstring shorts – thrifted | beach bag – roxy

summer of one-oh! ocean series: island hopping!

i’m almost booked for beach trips for summer weekends! i’m starting to get tan and will get tanner as we celebrate summer. people are going to start calling me ‘chicana’ again — chinita mexicana! LOL.

after my tabuelan road trip last weekend, we had our annual island hopping trip on saturday with my sister’s closest friends. this time, it was to celebrate one friend’s birthday and most importantly to celebrate a year of gay lovin’ — our friends, the gay love birds 1st year anniversary! to sum it all up, here’s what happened:

round up closest friends + friends of friends + 50 capacity banca + potluck on food consisting of liempo, lechon manok, ngohion, pancit, humba, sisig and puso + tanduay rum with orange juice + tanduay white rum with kool-aid + sunnies + colorful bikinis + the ocean + diving and canon ball jumping + the waves + lots of craziness + gay people = fun fun fun!

of course afterward, it was hella’ exhausting. i just came from my night shift and by 6:30 PM, i’m still stuck driving through insane traffic and haven’t slept for 24 hours. i get home, wash-up and sleep to get ready for another day at the beach at a water park resort on sunday. for more of that, keep posted!

printed summer dress – thrifted | hot pink halter bikini top – props | polka-dot beach shorts – props

blue sunnies – thrifted at carbon

thank you katie holmes

if katie holmes didn’t wear tom cruise’s jeans last year, we wouldn’t be able to feel so damn comfortable and fashionable in these pants. i have to wear boyfriend jeans at least once a week, to relax from the skinny jeans or leggings that i usually wear to work. just makes sense. plus, i hate shaving my legs on weekday…i’m just lazy like that. LOL. so thank you katie holmes!

as i am writing this, my sister and i are waiting for friends to come over so we can head over to the beach and go island hopping! if you don’t know by now, philippines is a group of islands and so strategically arranged that one can never miss it on the map because our geography looks like a sitting horse — at least that’s what i think! we are surrounded by amazing islands and beaches. and in cebu alone, all we need to do is hop on a banca (mini boat) and we can enjoy the marine life — at just 30 minutes away from the city!

it’s funny because other people make sure to step foot on the islands and actually visit them. my friends and i are very much satisfied with watching the island from afar, on the banca and just dive off unto the blue waters! we’d even whine to the driver if he stirs us near to an island — we just can’t stand the crowd.LOL.

red floral top – thrifted

jeans – vintage abercrombie

grey platform heels – forever 21

grey oversized bag – lil’ sisters

grey ombre pashmina scarf – hongkok street

long watch necklace – hk gift shop

rings: blue plastic and pink stone – props

have i really?

my mom gave me this dress from a recent thrifting trip she had. this is a nod to summer. ironically, even when i really loved this dress, i am so not in love with this shoot.

it was funny because harry and i were on our usual sunday night date and well, he just wasn’t so adept in photography that night and couldn’t take any good photos. and for that, i apologize. it was a nice night turned a bit awkward. he told me, i have lost my conversant skills because i am always online all the time. LOL. and i admit, we were at roma mia (with free wifi) and while waiting for the food, i had to take a quick view at your comments on my blog. just out of curiosity and ignorance to wifi…ooops!

but when if you really think about, have we really lost our conversant skills because of the internet and technology?

green bohemian beaded dress – thrifted

tan cut-out heels – le donne (a gift from harry!)

tan fringe boho bag – lil’ sister’s

layered bangles – hk gift shop | gifts

ps. the bags of love give-away is officially closed. winners will be announced on saturday.

the beach that’s a block away

this is only one of a few things that i’ll miss this holy week. this holy week, aside from attending church, i’d rather be:

in sindangan zamboanga del norte, in my mom’s hometown, to enjoy the provincial life — eating diwit and mangoes with bagoong (spicy shrimp paste), binignit. listening to michael buble, diana krall and nora jones while reading a book. walking to the beach to watch the most beautiful sunset. thrifting on the plaza (town park) displays and in the local market. eating grilled oysters while decorating the carro for jesus’ resurrection. laughing my heart out with mom, aunts, uncles and cousins. taking a side-trip to dumaguete and walk in the boulevard for a bit while eating street food — tempura and balot.

watch a tele-marathon with my little sister while munching on popcorn and ngohiong. this is from days of watching seventh heaven marathons from holy thursday to black saturday with my little sister. waking up whenever i want to. visiting 7 churches with my sister and dad on holy thursday or good friday.

or be in bantayan island and be a beach bum for four whole days. sleep in a tent amidst all the other beach bums. line up for an outdoor shower and brush my teeth on a deep well. sleep with sand on our toes. eat chicken as hard to eat as rubber. stare at the stars in the darkness after dinner. wash my hands with seawater. rent a motorcycle and tour the island. apply henna tattoo due to boredom in the afternoons. go home unrecognizable by my dad because i have gone too dark with extreme sunburn. LOL.

instead

i am working my ass off this black saturday. working on a weekend. and holy week at that. damn.

black star-printed dress – thrifted

thin white belt – props

white studded flats – so fab (a gift from lil’ sis)

black over-sized bag – mom’s

black star twined necklace – props

blue sunnies – thrifted at carbon