Posts

Showing posts from December, 2016

LIFESTYLE | A Christmas Carol: Appreciating The Manila Hotel's Christmas decor and its old-world glory

Image
Love how these teddy bears look so expressive. While driving home from Malabon on Christmas Day, we decided on a whim to drop by The Manila Hotel for some snacks. I haven't been to the hotel since my oath-taking as a CPA ages ago, and thought it was probably time to check it out once more. I know it's a very old hotel but I was also curious how it is today. It was chaotic the moment we pulled up at the hotel entrance. There were lots and lots of people and cars moving about. It was Christmas after all. It also took a while for a valet to come for our car. But never mind because the moment we stepped in, I realized the hotel takes Christmas decorating very seriously. A gigantic gingerbread house installation that doubled as a shop stood between the doors and the rest of the lobby. It instantly brought out the kid in me. To be fair, I think the kid in me comes alive with every Christmas installation I come across with ( like the impressive  winter castle of the Makati S

LOOKBOOK | Sampaguitas on my polo: The Collezione C2 resurgence

Image
Yup, this is how I blog. I recently scored a few polo shirts from local brand Collezione C2 , and I was pleased with their new designs. After hitting it big a few years back with their My Pilipinas (My Philippines) shirts, where they used the map of the Philippines as an embroidered logo on their polos (think Lacoste's croc logo), then later on with their  different takes on the Philippine flag , it's been relatively quiet for the brand in the last couple of years. Until now.

LOOKBOOK | A black and white evening

Image
It was a black and white theme for our department Christmas party this year. It was also a leeway of sorts for some peeps who didn't want to go through the "hassle" of finding what to where because we were given the freedom to go either formal, casual, or whatever it is that we fancied as long as it's either all-black, all-white, or a black and white combo.

LOOKBOOK | Blue, white, and silver, you say?

Image
"Hear ye, hear ye!" That's me declaiming. Or delivering an oratorical piece perhaps? What about delivering a message of good cheer to the king's constituents? Haha! Whatever, I just have to have my photo photos taken by this glorious Christmas installation. But before anything else--and even before I dressed up as a Christmas tree --my colleagues and I recently attended ISACA Manila's Christmas party at the Makati Shangri-la. The theme was winter wonderland, and they specifically stated that we follow a blue, white, and silver motif . They also said that ladies were encouraged to wear a hat and the guys, bow ties. Now that's confusing because how are bow ties and ladies's hats supposed to fit in a winter wonderland setting? But never mind, because I obliged.

LOOKBOOK | Being a Christmas tree

Image
It's already a tradition in our department to hold our Kris Kringle (Monito-Monita, Secret Santa, exchange gift, whatever you may call it) on a separate day from our Christmas party. Because we're more than forty, the whole process of guessing one's monito or "baby" and handing out gifts takes too much time away from the program already. We've also started following a theme even if we only do it at the office. Last year I wore a Christmas sweater --replete with tiny sleigh bells--in line with a preppy dress code. This time around it was something Christmassy .

DINING | A sampling of Kapitolyo Gastro Park's good and inexpensive food

Image
I love food (who doesn't?) but I'm not one who goes out of my way just to try a new happening place or resto, so finding myself in Kapitolyo Gastro Park in Pasig City is something unexpected of me. We happened to be in the area for something else and when we looked for a place to have dinner, we chanced upon this gem of a food-tripper's haunt.