mochacafe:

(via ohsopictures)

Would totally wear this.

New finds and old favorites

Have any of your favorite eateries ever closed down?

A number of mine already have in recent years, and I realized how old I’m getting instrumental they have been to my dietary and social needs.

I remember many merienda sessions and night-outs with college friends inMaginhawa Street. Among our most frequented chow spots were Combi, which specializes in rice toppings, and the Persian diner Alfahkr’s (if your pronunciation sounds obscene, then congratulations, you’ve pronounced it right). Both of them closed in 2011.

Backtrack to an earlier period in my life. As a child and pre-teen, I loved spending afternoons after school at the Yum Yum Tree, what was once (huhu past tense) this cozy little café in Rustans Harrison Plaza, a stone’s throw away from where Mama used to work.

At YYT, my awkward, pimply prepubescent self developed a love for milkshakes and chicken cordon bleu. That was where I swapped stories with my parents in between bites of clubhouse sandwiches and the house burger. But all that was no more when Shopwise replaced Rustans inHarrisonPlaza.

Last Sunday, Mama and I grabbed a bite at Benny’s, a bistro with Filipino roots sprinkled with Italian sensibilities. It now stands where the Rustans Makati branch of YYT used to be. Most of their menu choices are local fare, but they do have a deli section for cold cuts and an open counter for customized pasta.

The attending waiter Arnel struck up a conversation with Mama and mentioned that he used to work for Yum Yum Tree. He had recognized her as one of the many employees who whiled their lunch breaks and merienda hours in the café.

While a sudden wave of nostalgia made me miss YYT, I happily indulged in Benny’s culinary offerings.

Clockwise from the empty plate and utensils: Bam-I, Benny’s Panini, Chico Shake

We had Bam-I (sautéed sotanghon and canton noodles with meat, seafood and vegetables) and Benny’s Panini (turkey ham, prosciutto, emmenthal, cheddar and garlic-herbed cheese drizzled with cranberry dressing on wholewheat bread). For my drink, I had theirChico(Sapodilla) Shake, a sweet, earthy fruit drink with a nutty aftertaste.

That day’s outfit had a touch of the sentimental in it. I paired a white straw hat from an elementary school costume with black shorts and a ribbony-printed chiffon blouse (P65) from an ukay-ukay. My favorite black closed wedges with golden stitched curlicues are by Gibi.

I am really loving hats right now, and I hope to collect more of them in the coming months. Look out for the next outfit post, where I’ll blog about the fun in donning a straw hat to school (schizo weather and curious stares notwithstanding).

Cheers!

Cubao by night

Amid the onslaught of inclement weather this past week came a ray of good news. PinoyExchange had an online promo for Snow Patrol concert tickets, and I was among the winners.

So last August 9, Raine and I trooped to the Big Dome and sang-swayed-swooned along to songs that had been part of our lives for the past ten years.

Post-concert happy child.

Post-concert Energizer bunneh.

The afternoon before the show, I played Fallen Empires tracks on shuffle to incubate the concert mood. The sound of Snow Patrol has grown through the years, with their latest album as an epitome of a fresh musical frontier for the band. It was this spirit — a rockish vibe melding the edgy and the sentimental — I tried to channel for that night’s outfit.

Derpina fez.

The brown jacket (P200) is from a (now closed :’(( ukay in Makati. The grey tank top, khaki mini skirt and blue-brown ribbon are gifts. Almost three years ago, I bought the cassette tape necklace for P100 at the UP Fair.

I’m crazy about the footwear: a pair of Nike Lab G Series motocross booties (originally P1200, eventually sold for P600) snagged at the Sagada Ukay-Ukay in Quezon Avenue.

The concert wrapped up around 10 p.m. Raine and I spent the next hour shooting at a lamppost-lined lane a few blocks from the Araneta Coliseum. It was raining by then, so we had to shelve plans of exploring the Cubao X night scene — hopefully not for long though. Until then, I’ll be looking forward to the next Cubao detour…and maybe, just maybe, another shot at free tickets sometime somewhere.

Photos by Raine Calucag and me.

Because I can be a shy, shy demure girl…and because “Details in the Fabric” by Mraz and Morrison is stuck in my head.

Calm down
Deep breaths
And get yourself dressed instead
Of running around
And pulling all your threads saying
Breaking yourself up

If it’s a broken part, replace it
But, if it’s a broken arm then brace it
If it’s a broken heart then face it

And hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And everything will be fine
Everything will be fine
Hmm

Hang on
Help is on the way
Stay strong
I’m doing everything

And hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And everything, everything will be fine
Everything

Are the details in the fabric
Are the things that make you panic
Are your thoughts results of static cling?

Are the things that make you blow
Hell, no reason, go on and scream
If you’re shocked it’s just the fault
Of faulty manufacturing.

Yeah everything will be fine
Everything in no time at all
Everything

[Chorus]

Are the details in the fabric (Hold your own, know your name)
Are the things that make you panic
Are your thoughts results of static cling? (Go your own way)

Are the details in the fabric (Hold your own, know your name)
Are the things that make you panic (Go your own way)
Is it Mother Nature’s sewing machine?

Are the things that make you blow (Hold your own, know your name)
Hell no reason go on and scream
If you’re shocked it’s just the fault (Go your own way)
Of faulty manufacturing

Everything will be fine
Everything in no time at all
Hearts will hold

Tomorrow, my thesis partner and I — as with the rest of the graduating (must. have. conviction.) batch of journalism majors — will be submitting our concept papers for the perusal of the faculty. Deep breaths and fingers crossed for the months ahead!

It’s so easy getting caught up or overwhelmed with the big picture that the little things sometimes escape our notice. With this in mind, I’m trying a new approach in this outfit post by shifting attention to details (in the fabric or otherwise).

I wore prints on prints for the first time today, but made sure the colors were complementary to keep from looking outlandish. The paisley top (P250 on a Christmas sale) is from a Korean outlet store in Harrison Plaza, and the printed skirt is a P105 find from a Makati Cinema Square thrift store.

Topped off the look with dangling earrings (P10) from a garage sale, a gold watch borrowed from my mother, a charm bracelet given as a gift, and a ribbon ponytail (P15) from Times Plaza in UN Avenue. 🙂

Photos by Raine Calucag.

Last Friday Night: The Cheat Date

There is no state of bliss like sleeping in, especially on a weekday. It’s a privilege I’m unlikely to bask in once I trade my class readings for office memos, and my Form 5s for tax returns. That’s why every year since 2010, I strive to leave at least one whole morning free when mapping out my schedule for the semester.

This sem, Fridays are my staying-in-bed cheat days, what with a lone interpretive writing class (granted, it’s a three-hour class) at 1 p.m. Last July 27, though, I unintentionally took the lollygagging a little to the extreme. I woke up feeling ill at 10 a.m., ate breakfast, did my morning routine, and plopped back into bed an hour later. 

I woke up a second time at 2:30 p.m. In my groggy state, I read a text message from my prof: she had called off our class and required us instead to catch a forum from 1-4 p.m. that day. 

I reached school just in time for the forum’s end. YAY. Thankfully, I ran into classmates who were generous enough to fill me in on what went on during the forum.

Lesson learned: Never doze off after accomplishing morning routine. If it can’t be helped, at least set up an alarm.

That night, I was lucky enough to have enjoyed the company of my batchmate and good friend Jiru. I was up for some redundancy that night, so we trooped to Maginhawa for a double burger cheat date (no hard feelings, grad pic diet) — whetting our appetites first at the Burger Project and hopping over to The Iscreamist for dessert.

The Burger Project lets diners customize their own burger, with a range of patties, sauces, buns and add-ons to choose from. As a bonus, you can even name your creation and they’ll have the recipe recorded, allowing you to order the same thing during your next visit. 

     That night, I had a beef patty with lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions and gruyere cheese, drizzled with Burger Project’s Special Sauce and all wedged between two sesame buns. YUM. 

     Over at The Iscreamist, I tried the Burger variant of their Dragon’s Breath concoctions. The latter are basically cookies on popsicle sticks with Macaron, Bacon Popcorn, S’mores and Burger variants. It’s served in threes or fours with a cup of liquid nitrogen. 

The diner dips the cookie into the cup (effectively flash-freezing it) and pops it into his/her mouth. Then he/she sits back as smoke flares out from his/her nostrils and mouth, in a very bad-ass dragonesque fashion.

T’was my first time to try Dragon’s Breath. Jiru was kind enough to take a video as I floundered and slightly panicked as the first frozen cookie stuck to my tongue. Will upload it the next chance I get. 

And because he’s such a sweetie, Jiru capped off the night by giving me my first birthday gift this year: my own copy of The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. ❤

It rained for most of the afternoon and well into the night, something I failed to anticipate when I slipped into today’s outfit: an Express tank top (P100 from an outlet store) and a girly little skirt from the Makati Cinema Square ukay (P105). The silver ballet flats are from the Marikina Shoe Exchange, and the bright blue ribbon was a birthday gift from last year. 

I set out to try a different outfit shot last Friday, so I set my camera Sheldon on self-timer. This was the result of 561489 takes (after a time, all the futile jumping started feeling like a workout…yes, grad pic diet, I hear your evil cackle loud and clear) and a close encounter with a twisted ankle.

Cheers!

Designed by Guel Karaan for UPJC

Prof. Mikee Inton at the UPJC IF

Org buddy Flo and I doing a Charmee ad

With Alex, my baby shark Ate >:)

Because vintage

Because still vintage

Out and About

Among the most unique facets of studying in a liberal institution is the diversity of learning experiences inside and outside the classroom. It’s only in UP, for example, where one would find courses like Queer Theory, Philosophy of Love and Sex and LGBT Psychology.

I took the latter subject in 2010 under Prof. Eric Manalastas. One lesson I will never forget is his comparison of the LGBT community to other minorities, particularly those based on race and economic status.

The key difference, he said, was that if someone were African-American or poor, at least one of their parents would belong to the same minority group. The same can very rarely be said for LGBTs – even within one’s own family, support systems can be hard to come by.

As a minority, and especially in the context of a dominantly Catholic country like thePhilippines, there is propensity for the LGBT movement to be sensationalized, misrepresented, or worst, underrepresented in the media.

Last July 26, the UP Journalism Club launched the Issue Forum (IF), a series of monthly dialogues anchored on the most pressing issues in Philippine media and society. This July’s IF delved on the current dynamics between the LGBT community and media. Talk points included media coverage and treatment of LGBT-related stories, LGBT media practitioners and the media consumption habits of LGBT individuals.

The University Student Council’s Vice Chairperson Alex Castro, Reverend Ceejay Agbayani of the Metropolitan Community Church-Q.C., Prof. Mikee Inton of theCollegeofMass Communication, and TV5’s Research Head Danton Remoto facilitated the discussion.

After the forum, we JCers feasted on palabok, pichi-pichi, communal Coke and Chupa Chups for my pre-birthday treat.

Today’s look was inspired by the white trapo (cloth rag) used by drivers to clean up their taxis, jeepneys and what-have-you.

Of course I kid. But admit it, the resemblance is uncanny. Haha!

I couldn’t resist playing around with filters for a few vintage-esque shots (last photos in the set), because the hie-thee-hither hem of the dress reminds me of playful swimsuits from the 1950s.

This ruffled, floral and flitty little number cost P130 from a thrift store in Buendia. The gold ribbon is recycled from last year’s birthday gift, and the gold ribboned shoes are from Landmark.

Photo credits to Jodesz Gavilan, whose prodding and encouragement propelled this blog’s creation.

Squarepants and Goody Blue Shoes

A week shy of my first year in college, I bought a pencil case with SpongeBob’s googly eyes as its design. That first purchase launched a humble collection of anything yellow, square, buck-toothed and porous.

We moved to a new home when I was a sophomore. After 16 years, I could finally enjoy the independence that came with having my own room. When I opened the door for the first time, I beheld my mother’s thoughtful little surprise — a fluffy comforter featuring numerous pajama-clad SpongeBobs. So much for feeling like a grown-up. 

I haven’t watched a single episode of SpongeBob since 2009, and it’s been ages since I’ve added any new memorabilia. In fact, I’ve given away some of the items as gifts to fellow enthusiasts, mostly kids. But there are some things in my erstwhile collection that I simply cannot dispense with.

This bright yellow jacket is one of them. We’ve been together three years; it’s among those articles of clothing I’m unlikely to give up, unless it gives up on me first. 

I love how the jacket adds instant cheer to any outfit, especially during the rainy season. It also makes the more formal pieces in my wardrobe, like this Vera Wang dress (P350) from an export overruns store, a little more dressed down for a school day. 

The fresh take on the Mary Jane is from one of my favorite shoemakers, the Marikina-based Landi & Nuti. 

Ribbons of all colors and sizes are a staple in my wardrobe. The one featured here was a birthday gift from last year, along with the teal bangle. 

Every girl weaned on pop culture must have grown up having a favorite Disney princess. Mine was Snow White. I even had a Snow White-themed seventh birthday party, complete with costume and boy friends who doubled as well-wishing seven dwarves.

My reason for liking her was simple. As a child, I felt that pale Snow White with her apple cut (heh) bob and high propensity for breaking into song was the most relatable in a gaggle of long-haired, mostly Caucasian girl royals. Besides, I had (and still have) a relatively bigger shoe size than most girls, and was horrified to realize that my feet resembled the evil stepsisters’ more than it did Cinderella’s.

Last Tuesday’s outfit took inspiration from my favorite apple-munching princess. The top is from Samlin, the skirt an ukay find from Philcoa (P35), and the shoes from Grendha. The whole look is topped with a ribbon recycled from a birthday package I received last year.

Photos credits to the owzum Raine Calucag.