Scarlet Sunday

Now that we're on the topic of catching up on my backlogs, here's another one from not-so-long-ago.

It's no big secret that my family and I love spending our weekends in Tagaytay (it's just 20 minutes away from our home). So, on my dad's last weekend with us (before he flew out for work), we had our usual prospects - mass and breakfast at Mile Hi Diner.

I've been browsing through a lot of hipster and bohemian blogs and mood board inspirations, hence my style sensibilities lately.

You've probably seen these boots a couple of times here. Well, they're my only pair of boots and I adore them to death! I wish I'd gotten them in gray and black, but since they're phased out, I'm left in shambles. :(

 

The Batik top came from Zamboanga, my dad's hometown. It's been stuck in my closet for a while and haven't quite found the right day and weather to don it out. Luckily, one sunny Sunday, it had a chance to show itself to the rest of the world!

 

Batik Dress from Zamboanga

Boots: Payless

Bangles: Luxe and Luster

Belt: Genevieve Gozum

I wonder where this Sunday will take me. ;)

Madayaw, Davao!

HOLA! I'm so glad to be back to blogging! Oh my! You have no idea how long it's been since I last wrote something not in an e-mail. 

Anyway, I'm almost into my first month at work (who would have thought?!) and I'm loving it! Despite the stress and workload I'm starting to incur, there's just so much more about my job that cancels out all the cons in the book.

Just recently, I flew to Davao for the first time, for Kadayawan Festival. One of our brands sponsored and held special events there. Davao has always been on my to-visit list and I'm more than ecstatic to finally cross it off my seemingly blank travel slate. Needless to say, it was love at first sight.

The trip itself was quite intense. I flew in on the 17th, flew back to Manila on the 18th, and went back again to Davao on the 19th. Whew! Glad to be back home in one piece! If you're wondering why I treated Davao as if it's only two blocks away, I had to go back to Manila in time for our company's general assembly, wherein the new hires (including me) had a special participation. ;) The party that followed in Distillery was definitely an event to remember too. :)

Here's a photo diary of what went down in Davao:

**Please pardon the low quality of the shots. Took them with my phone's camera on a low-res setting.

Working while waiting for my flight to board.

The view outside my window. I could've easily jumped out and
skipped from one puffy cloud to another...
 but then there's gravity. So I scrapped the initial plan.

The push girls and boys are being briefed about what's going to happen next.

Kuya Alex is showing them how it's done...

Barrio Fiesta! < 3

With Ms. Phine and Rae. :)
Mga galing party last night, diretsong Kadayawan!

My response to "Life is here in Davao because..."

This response on the freedom wall really made my day. :)

Indeed! Davao is the best city in the country I've ever been to, no doubt!

Of course, the trip won't be complete without shopping! I strolled around Abreeza and was able to score a new dress from Terranova (P395), a L'Oreal Hydrafresh Anti-Shine Icy Gel (P100 off!), and a new batik wallet, as my old big-ass wallet is already ailing and is ready to burst. Anyway, I love Davao not only for its peaceful aura and very friendly citizens, but for the great bargains as well! Oh, and my super quick visit to Aldevinco was a lot of fun too!

I have so much to tell you guys about Davao, unfortunately, I have to rest for another jam-packed day tomorrow at work. (Yes, I can't seem to define holidays and long weekends anymore.) Maybe we can chat about my adventures in my upcoming posts. ;)

Here I am at the airport, squeezing in some last-minute purchases from Aldevinco. Rae captures this shot of me packing quite sporadically amid the mayhem in the background. :)

Right before we took off! We can't just not pose for one last photo! Oh, did I mention we were running late for our flight? Haha!

Aaaand here's my turista shot a few steps away from the plane that will take me back home to Manila. I even saw Bjorn Bedayo at the airport but I was too shy to say hi! :">

I'm looking forward to coming back to Davao. I love it there! The food, the fashion, the serenity of the place, the discipline of the citizens, the honesty of taxi drivers, the colorful culture, and most of all, its over-all allure. To this, I scream, "Madayaw, Davao! Daghang salamat!"

Love,

SGT :)

Batik Interlude

It's the second day of the week and I am already feeling the pressure! But I'm not complaining because I always remind myself that I'm blessed, and not stressed! ;)

So today, I was out and about in the city for my training. As I was telling you guys and girls, I landed a part-time gig. Okay, so it's a teaching post. That's all I'm gonna say. Can you imagine me as a teacher?! I can barely keep a straight face whenever I think about it, but it has to be done. I have to do my best at it because that's what I try to always do. 

I was given a set of modules to study, as well as sample Powerpoint lectures that I can pattern my lessons after. I'm still quite overwhelmed by how fast everything is going but I'm very much excited to start teaching! My demo is on Monday and I'm feeling quite nervous. I have a lot of studying to do!

I was also at my mom's office and in Robinson's Galleria (as I always am). The training ended earlier than expected so I had time to spare for a lunch date with my mom and time to do some errands on my own. I really tried my best to resist shopping but I ended up with a big bottle of cologne from Bench that I really love. I'm really into clean, fresh-out-of-the-shower scents! Teehee. Plus, I'm running out of cologne! Sometimes body sprays or perfumes are way too much, especially during erratic weather! 

Okay, enough of the rambling, here's my chosen outfit for the day:

P.S. I tinkered with Photoshop a little bit, tried to post-process and whatnot. The pictures came out different and I kind of like their cool, eccentric edge. They look so vintage. Shout-out to my mom who took these photos! <3

Dress: Custom-made
Shoes: MSE
Accessories: from Quiapo
Watch: Swiss Army

Pa-cute much? :P

I officially have the world's weirdest eyes.
Why am I banlag in this shot? T_____T

I fell in love with the print on this fabric! It screams ethnic and it
represents the heart and soul of Zamboanga culture. :)

Here's a practical tip (also, this is the story behind this dress): if you happen to see a fabric that you like, for example, you happen to visit Zamboanga and you went to shopper-happy with the batik, you can look for inspirations online and have your seamstress copy the design of your desired dress/top/pants/shorts/skirt for you. It will definitely help you save up! The production of this particular dress cost me around Php 300 (including the fabric). Had I bought it from Forever 21, this prolly would've cut me back Php 1000 or more! You can also check out the nearest fabric warehouse for one-of-a-kind fabrics that will surely produce a one-of-a-kind dress for so much less! ;)

Check out the criss-cross detail in the back!
The front is super modest and proper, but the back is where the action is!
A dress from the Forever 21 website inspired this style.

I just pulled these accessories from my display wall.
The red bracelets add the element of surprise
to the entire palette of this outfit.

Woops, bra is showing. :| Sorry about that. :P

All sun and smiles today! :)
I toned down the entire look with toffee-colored flats to let the
loud print of the dress speak for itself.

These shoes give me paltos despite its really soft material.
I've worn this pair thrice already and I still end up with
battle scars. :(

Here's to showcasing the beautiful colors of the Philippines! I love batik and I'm going back to Zamboanga (my father's hometown) for all that and more! Oh, before I go on daydreaming about beautiful things, please remind me to prepare for my teaching demo on Monday? :P

Love,

SGT <3