How to Survive with a Thousand Bucks

What can unemployed slackers do to pass time and earn a few bucks in the process? Why, attend an FGD of course! Since the fiance and I are still in the process of setting up our business and it won't make me any moolahs until June, I have to look for clever ways to keep the spendings at a minimum.

The Challenge: Live off for Php 1000 in a month's period.

Wedding 101: The Wedding Design

Last Thursday, the fiance and I met with our wedding stylist. I sometimes feel bad whenever I drag the fiance in one of these meetings. I know guys cannot tell the difference between dark purple and plum, so why bother right? But dear fiance is sweet, he always feign interest partly because crazy bridezilla might have one of her "O! You're not really interested naman eh!" moments.

Wedding Bells for a Friend

After a faux birthday surprise party Friday night, an actual surprise party Saturday night, dear friend finkers got the best surprise of her life when Norvino asked her to be his econo wife forever come Sunday! Awww. Everyone is getting married!! Next time instead of planning engagements and weddings we'll all be busy with baby preps. (oooh umm hopefully not in the net couple of years!)

Finks has promised that she will be blogging about all the oh-so-mushy-details so I won't preempt her. Here's wishing you guys all the best!!

Couch Potato Series: American Idol down to 10

Last night, the eleven Idol wannabes performed to the tune Dolly Parton would be proud of. It's Country night once again, time to turn those dials down a bit. Hehe. I have never understood the fascination behind country music. And I claimed to be a music lover. Maybe it's purely an American thing. Maybe I just can't fathon yawl-ing for singing. Either way the 11 Idol hopefuls gave it their all.

Short commentary:

Lil Rounds: sang Independence Day - Again something I do not get. The fanfare Lil' Rounds get from the judges. I want her out! NOW!!! She looks older than some of my aunts. Definitely not pop princess/queen material. Sure, she has some chops on her but seriously we all know that Idol is not JUST a singing contest (umm hello Justin Guarini, anyone?) Last I checked from the Eonline polls, Lil Rounds ranks as one of the bottom 3, next to Michael Sarver and Megan Joy. But you bet your a$% those judges will be saving their new judge save power on either this oldie or those other two overrated wannabes Adam or Danny. EWWW

Anoop Desai: Ahh my favorite - sang something I'm familiar with but the title's totally skipping my memory now. He is my Indian eye candy. He just exudes so much personality and a I-don't-really-care-much attitude that I sooo dig. He prolly knows he would not win Idol but that he still has his NCU degree to fall back on. Hope he last until the Top 5 though. Duh! Sanjaya, who was a loooot less talented and definitely not a looker made it past the 7th round, where's the justice in that!

Danny my-wife-died-Gokey: sang Jesus takes the wheel. Ok so he can sing. So he can belt out those high notes. So what! The fiance is giving me a hard time for giving Danny Gokey my stinker eye all the time when watching A.I. Yes I know, the powers to be at A.I. are the ones editing the whole dead wife thing, but seriously, he really is milking everything from that! Plus, A.I. producers have unfairly given him mooooore screen time in previous episodes, forcing this Robert Downey lookalike down our throats. ARGH!!

Spoiler: They eliminated Alexis Grace who sang Jolene. Ah good riddance. I felt a little dirty everytime I hear her say she will "dirty it up" for the judges. She looks barely 12 in red lipstick.


Photocred: AP

Must-Try: Be an interior designer for a day

WORLDBEX 2009

I just spent an entire afternoon roaming the halls of World Trade Center. I highly recommend for those house building to visit the on-going Worldbex at WTC from March 18-22. They have everything there from tiles to glasses, uber fantastic kitchen designs to ideal closet spaces. It also features the newest technology when it comes to contruction. That old-fashion looking screens are now a thing of the past.

Looking Forward: More Summer Getaway

Summer is definitely here. A few days ago, blogged that one of the MUST-DO this year is to continue on with the traveling. Started the year just right with a couple of out of towns and country trips and now that summer is approaching I can't wait to get on my bikini once again and hit the beach.

April 26 - 30 : Trip to Sorsogon with the gang. Whale watching/swimming. I am excited. By this time next year half of the gang will either be engaged or married so we really need this to be the last big wild hoorah for the single folks! (yours truly included!)

May 8 - 13 : Boracay Trip with the COT and consequently fiance and his friends. Some of my friends from work have longed planned to attend the Nestea Beach Volley at Boracay and what better time than now. I'm just so happy I found out that the fiance and his friends are also going on those same dates. Woopie! More r&r for me and the future hubby then!

Yey! I'm going to be broke after this!

Wedding 101: The Lhullier Love Affair

Because I just adore Monique Lhullier, here's her latest bridal gown collection.

Classic Bride

Wedding 101: Movie Inspiration

This one is from Bridewars. Kinda lame movie but hey this bridezilla will do just about anything for research!




From the Golden Globes. I realized recently that most of these stars gown can actually be wedding dresses. Judge for yourself guys.


Photo creds: E! online

Here's an idea from the Wedding Project. If you are in love with the idea of Marilyn Monroe, hey why not make your table settings reflective of that.

Hot pink roses with diamond centerpieces

I Spy with my Eyes

What I wore to Carol's birthday party.


Top: White wife beaters by Kamiseta, vest by Terranova
Pants: Boyfriend jeans by Armani
Accessories: Bag by Couch, Red belt bought at Greenhills bazaar
Shoes: Ilaya


When: Saturday
Where: Attica, A-venue

Another Friday Night

It started out pretty normal. Got up. Got dressed. Went to check on our house renovation. And then. KABOOM! Sigh there are soooo many anays on our walls. Boohoo. Another set back but today I am filled with optimism. This will not deter June deadline.

Changed top for a friend's party tonight. Again things started out pretty normal. There were a lot of laughter. Oooh just realized, if you once dated someone from your circle you inevitably will run into that person from time to time. Or in my case in every single party there is. Good thing the fiance is pretty nonchalant about the whole thing - even shaking hands with the ex. Awww.

Towards the end of the night there were a lot of glasses breaking, chairs crashing, doors slamming. Even got to a point of tears flowing, v sliding (don't ask!) and some face slapping. Another episode of gossip girl? Nope. Just another Friday Night I guess.

Random Musings: SWF

You all remember Bridget Fonda's character in Single White Female, right? Well, I am the far less attractive real life Alison Jones. *claps hands for self audacity*. I have this SWF-wannabe stalking my every move. And worst copying it and trying to pass it as SWF's own! I would be rolling my eyes at myself also if it wasn't all so true and all so sad. It was funny in the beginning. Friends and I have a laugh about the desperation and question the sanity behind it. But now, it's just getting old. Seriously, hope it's just a passing fancy and that SWF will move on to much much more credible and deserving people to stalk. My name is jakersfakers for gawd's sake. Where's the dignity in stalking someone with that kind of monicker?! Right!

Looking Forward: 2009 Highlights

Hmm now that I have more time on my hands, I have decided to channel my energy to something notable but definitely still a million miles to go before reaching Angelina-esque-globe-trotting ways.

1. Learning to drive - ahhh this has been part of all of my major "things to do/accomplish before 20-25-30" lists. I wonder why I keep putting it off. Hmm could it be that the thought of being mutilated to death via a painfully wretched truck ram is just not that appealing? But seriously I need to give driving another try. It sucks to do wedding and house renovating planning without a ride. I can't just wait for my mom to give me one. I'm freaking 26 already! And, yes, don't even get me started on taking the freaking mrt or any sorts of public transportation - heatwave anyone!?!

2. Setting up our business - So the lip service I tell people at work why I quit is that I will be setting up my own tutor center. And while that isn't exactly the juiciest gossip anyone wanted to hear, the truth of the matter is a tutor center is really on the works. And the fiance and I are trying to put it up before this year's June classes begin.

3. Eventscaping - The fiance has been the major backer for this. And while he prolly mistakenly thinks I am slacking off with this long ago plan with friends, he does not know is that I actually already have printed calling cards for this one. Take that fiance! Hee. Now all I need are lazy folks who do not know the difference between a 2000 and 4000 lumens screen.

4. More blogging. More writing - Something I would totally do for free, and have been doing so for awhile now. But not to brag or anything... (ooh, or maybe I am! :) hehe) I actually had pieces published on Philippine Star and Inquirer once upon a time. Got paid really lousy money for that but heck definitely gave the ego a massage while it lasted. My plan for this year is to join yet another stupid writing gig and hope to score some by lines at least :)

5. Travelling with the buddies - This year I have seen parts of Western Visayas (Dumaguete and Siquijor) and have finally made it states-side (if only to get my visa stamped) Hoping that as the months ensue there will be more trips ahead. Looking forward to the Boracay trip with the COTs this May. So far that's the only one in the works... Hmm wonder if it's time to start rallying the other bum-ers like me.

Wedding 101: More Designer Digs

For the first time since Monday I finally feel well enough to get out of bed. Back sores, anyone? It's also the first time that I literally do not feel the hands of a maniac squeezing life out of my throat. And, yes, I have heard it from the fiance all night and all of yesterday long, I tend to go over dramatic when I'm sick. But heck, I seriously feel like on the verge of death whenever I am having one of my death spells (Ok, that's enough death in one sentence!)

Anyway, got some time to post more wedding gowns, this time from uber femme designer, Monique Lhullier.

photocreds: project wedding.com

Wedding News Update: So I have blogged recently that I am now going with Veluz for my wedding gown (Because I just loooved what she drew for me!! So edgy, so me! hehe) but since she doesn't do entourage gowns anymore (her entire December is filled up) I have decided to go with Frankie De Leon for my bridesmaids' dresses. He comes highly recommended by the sister and her myriad of friends who have had their entourage/wedding gowns designed by him. Sigh.. I am so excited. I already have an inkling of what my bridesmaids should look like walking down the aisle. And after meeting with Frankie, I couldn't be more thrilled!


By appointments only
Veluz Reyes: www.veluzreyes.blogspot.com, 482-57-54
Frankie de leon: 0917-399-98-28

Random Musings: I am Dying!

Guys, I am suuper sick. I haven't been able to move out of my bed for two days now. And I literally get chills wrapped in two blankets with zero air in my room. Yes, I am dying. The fiance got to go up my room last night with parental consent because I literally felt like I was going to die and needed to be fed congee. Sigh. I hope tomorrow I will feel much better. I am missing out on cocktail taste testing tonight with the best friend because of this damn thing.

Couch Potato Series: The demise of Pushing Daisies

Sigh. I wanted this series to go the distance. I really love all the quirkiness that goes along each episode of Pushing Daisies. But I guess the powers that be at ABC's TV land didn't share my enthusiasm. The show got cancelled last November, but silly me only found time to blog about my Pushing Daisies devotion just now. They are still airing episodes every Tuesdays at ETC 2nd ave, but we all know that after episode 13 it's bye bye time. Sigh. Another one bites the dusts, and to think shows like 7th heaven gets to have a run for more than 6 seasons?! Where's the justice in that! I guess this show will just live on through dvd infamy. I just hope they placed all the un-aired episodes at the DVD special.

Friday Nights: Watching of Watchmen

"Why would I save a world, I no longer have a stake in?"

Being the comic book wannabe-geek that I am I had anticipated the release of Watchmen ever since good friend Jiggy brought it up over a year ago. I haven't had the chance to read through the entire graphic novel, yes that's because nobody wants to loan me the book!! (thank god i met Howie Powie :)) but from the looks of the movie, I am not sure too many people will enjoy this. Or I could be wrong. It happens.

Wedding 101: Deciding on a Designer

Yey guys! I have finally decided on who will make my wedding gown. We're going with Veluz Reyes. Because I just looove what she drew for me.

This week has been pretty hectic for me and the fiance. Finally "casted" our entourage gown designers as well. Met with our architect, shucks, construction is really about to start in a few weeks. I am sooo freaking excited.

I sometimes think that the universe really knows what it does. Imagine, if I were still working in Nestle I would have zero time to really handle all the nitty gritty details of the wedding and renovation.

Next week is going to be another busy week. Locking in the caterers, meeting with the videographer, interviewing potential 'rentees' for the business etc. etc.

Hawaiian-scapades Part 3

And finally to round up my top 5 amazing memories of Hawaii.

5. Lava Chasing – Seriously, neither words nor pictures can capture the magnanity of this sight. Lava flowing from a recently erupted Volcano makes the molten rocks all juicy still. It was freaking unbelievable. And definitely worth flying to another island for.

at the Volcanoes National Park

Hawaiian-scapades Part 2

We begin our trip with a rocky start. Unbeknownst to both of us, our luggages would fall apart 3 hours prior to our flight. We ended up searching for a new/used/old/trusted replacement luggage - rushed to repack everything, me thinks we set a new world record for this.

Upon arrival in Hawaii International Airport, we were greeted by Will, hereby dubbed as the bug that won't go away. Zeroing on 2 Asians with no parents in tow, he immediately launched into a monologue on which tours are the MUST DO to take while in Hawaii... Leach much.

Anyways, with the memory of the BTWGA now slowly fading here are my top 5 fondest experiences in this vacation:

1. Upgrade!!! - Disaster # 1 (you know with the luggage) out of the way, we both headed towards the airport to meet with impending Disaster # 2. Huff! They have apparently run out of seats next to each other. What?$* A freaking 10 hour and so flight with a stranger beside you? Me thinks the universe is totally playing us. So what's a girl to do? Hmm... Smile. Pose. Name drop. And get ourselves upgraded to Business Class of course. We drank wine. Ordered our hearts out and basically didn't noticed it was already the 10th hour. Thank gaawd!

2. Surfing - Nothing screams more Hawaiian than their # 1 sport. We took up a group class, although it might as well have been a private one as our oh-so-hot-I-have-to-remind-myself-I’m-engage surf instructor paid us extra attention. Heehee...pays to be the only 2 girls who speak English then. In between trying to catch a good wave, oh-so-hot instructor alternately flirts, smiles, chats and shares just about anything there is. Silly me even got kilig over hi-fiving when we discovered our favorite Pinoy food is the same, Adobo.

Back to surfing, fortunately we were able to stand up albeit for just a few seconds on those damn long boards. Surf gods there mentioned that you apparently stand up on the board only when you feel the waves catching you hence even if it's behind you already; you still have to do some paddling. Paddling is what killed Happy Feet and me. It was just for too long long and for too much effort.

On the way back to shore OSHI had to paddle for the both of us, because we pretty much were useless at that point. Yes! That's how effing hot he is; with just a toe on each of our board, in a superman effort, he was able to "carry" us back to shore.

His partner gave him flack about it cause he brought in four already and was coming back for more whereas OSHI just has 2 under his name - me and Jean.

Ooooh forgot to mention, OSHI eventually invited us to a party at his place. But it turned out he lives a good 40 to 60 minutes away from our hotel, all the way to the next mountain. Yeah, no guy no matter how hot is worth crossing a mountain over!!!

Surfing costs about $50 along Waikiki Beach.  This includes board rental, rash guard, surfing instruction and most importantly professional pictures from instructors.

3. Sight Seeing - So many sights to see.  So little time to do.  Since we wanted our trip to be relaxed an schedule-free majority of the time, we only participated in one tour.  We took a one day tour that brought us all the way to the North Shore mountains.  We got to see gigantic turtles at Turtle Bay

.... We got to see gigantic pineapples at Dole Plantation.  Hawaii is very famous for its pineapple.  In fact it's one of top their export products.

.... We got to see gigantic mountains over at Kualoa Park :) it's actually where they shot the very first Jurassic Park movie.

.... We got to go to to the Iolani Palace, where history says, then Hawaiian king and queen got beheaded.

.... We got to see gigantic temples + wishing bell.  Hmm seems a tad more appropriate for a Japan-travel but what the heck.

...And of course, we got to not only see but lounge around at the world-famous Waikiki beach.

4. Hawaiian Culture - Hula dancing originated in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians.  And who are we to say no to centuries-old of tradition.

at the Polynesian Cultural Center 

A huge part of the history of Hawaii is what happened to Pearl Harbor during World War 2.  We payed our respect to the fallen men and women (some of whom were civilians) at Pearl Harbor and over at the USS Arizona Memorial

At Pearl Harbor

I Spy with My Eyes

Random Outfit Post.... Hmm haven't done this in awhile. I have been so busy what with the wedding planning and house fixing. And I thought quitting work would have given me so much free time. Oh well..

what I wore outlet hunting

Top: Black tank by Zara; layered by a Puey Quinones creation (the back of it is really interesting unfortunately I don't have any photos right now:( )
Jeans and shoes: Umm same hehe
Accessories: Long chain necklace, gift from a friend and vintage head piece