Event styling

When I was growing up, florists were always part of big events.  I love them  for they create beautiful arrangements. They dress-up the tables and aisles and give flowers to whoever has a role in an event.  Nowadays, florists in events are not just florists.  They have moved-up to a greater role - an events stylist.  They not just "prettify" the tables but the venue as a whole which includes setting up a stage,  backdrop, adding lighting, floral arrangements (which at times are not just confined with flowers), etc.  It's another form of art that in another world I might consider doing.  Just kidding! ;-)

Here in Pampanga, we have three popular event stylists - Pancho Pantig of Plumeria, Janet Garbes of Floral Garden and Badang Rueda of Victorian Blooms .  Each of them has a unique talent that I love more than the florists I came to know.  Pictures below will speak for themselves but it's interesting to note that budget is of an essence in creating more beautiful designs.

The lighting is great on this picture. It achieved the color theme of my friend, Honeylette's and Erwin's wedding which is Yellow & Pink. The flowers are also splendid.  Photo credit goes to Glenn Sarmiento.  I was the maid of honor so I was not able to capture the beauty of the reception.  By the way, the event stylist my friend chose on her wedding is Pancho Pantig. 

This set-up is from the Flower Garden.  Janet Garbes or Ms. J as she's fondly called created a beautiful damask theme for the debutante.  I especially love the rich floral arrangements and the crystals hanging everywhere. 

Here's a creation of Badang Rueda.  The theme of the wedding is Winter Wonderland.  I can say it was achieved perfectly with all the white and silvery works done.  Lighting was exceptional as well.

The Face Shop products

Aside from cooking and baking, make-up is another passion that's been in my system since my grade school years.  Having a mom who's so plain and simple as she doesn't even bother to put a lipstick or gloss when she's out is a challenge.  She would not understand the art of being beautiful and the science behind it. Hehehe! Nonetheless, that didn't stop me in studying this art and growing old with it.

Every now and then, you will be reading posts about make-up as this occupies few hours of my time on a weekly if not a daily basis. 

Today, I would share with you my latest finds. They are all from "The Face Shop" - a Korean brand of cosmetics and skin care products.

Summer in the Philippines this year meant an average temperature of 34 to 35 degrees Celsius (based on the temperature I am getting in the aircon).  I know outside is much hotter and can even reach up to 40+!  With such temperature, we need lots of sunblock.  I bought one from The Face Shop. This has an SPF of 42.  It is not just a sunblock but a make-up primer as well with a natural color.  Just like all sunblock, the sticky feeling is evident when this cream is applied.  The difference though is that when make-up is applied, it seems like the face doesn't feel any heaviness as compared when regular sunblock is applied.

When I tried the tester of The Face Shop liquid foundation and liked it, I asked for its price and was surprised.  It was only more than P300! I couldn't believe it for I find it cheap for a liquid foundation.  While checking on the components, I came to the conclusion that it's cheap because of its packaging.  Yes, the content is housed in a toothpaste-like container, has no box and was just wrapped in a clear plastic.  I prefer packaging to be this simple and not much money put into it so consumers can enjoy great products without sacrificing the quality. By the way, The Face Shop liquid foundation is for people with oily skin who want a not so heavy coverage.

The Face Shop Brightening Rice Water Lip & Eye Make-up Remover.  I love this product so much! It easily removes eye make-up specifically waterproof mascara.  It is so mild and gentle and doesn't leave an oily feeling.

The Face Shop Dual Lip Care Kit.  It has a tinted lip balm and a exfoliator.  This  product is a must-have.  I especially like the lip balm for it doesn't give a sticky feeling and it has the right gloss.  Added to that is it keeps your lips a little pinkish for it is a tinted one.  The exfoliator is also a great part of the kit since it slough off dry skin on the lips. 

 

 

Mikel and his Spanish Omelette

Two weeks ago  while at work, I got a call from my sister, Maricar telling me they are in our farm in Pampanga and her husband, Mikel is cooking omelette.  She told me I must go to the farm immediately as there's plenty of omelette to eat so I should be there. 

Being a good sister and sister-in-law, (Haha!) I complied and did a split-shift  on that day.  I went to the farm and reported back to work to complete the whole shift . It's a good thing that I can be very flexible with my schedule.  I work in a BPO industry and schedules are erratic.

Here's what welcomed me when I arrived. 

Maricar seated lazily in a cottage while her hubby is busy.

 Yes, Mikel was so busy cooking his favorite (now also our family's favorite Spanish dish) Spanish Omelette.  He's so proud of this and he has reason to for the omelette is delicious.  He even bought my mother a teflon pan to use in the farm so he can also use it whenever he visits and fancies to cook omelette.  Talking about win-win, huh?

While waiting for the omelette to cook, being a nature and dusk lover and with a camera on hand,  I took pictures of my surroundings.  If I am not mistaken, these are Eucalyptus trees which are believed to drag mosquitoes away. 

I love flowers!  And a plant with blossoms will never pass my sight.

 

Close-up...checking on my digital macro.  Not nicely taken though. :(  I guess I was already hungry so I went back to the table.

On the table, the Spanish Omelette was already waiting to be "savaged" by us. Hahaha! 

Mikel was writing something on top of the omelette using catsup as his ink.  Make a guess on what it is.  I'll disclose that once the word has materialized. LOL

Oh, by the way, the omelette was sooooooo good when paired with a ranch dressing and jalapeno.  That is what I did and led me to eat 1/4 of that whole potato dish. More calories added again. DARN! :p

It's Election Day today...

Just a brief post .  Today is National Election Day in our country and I'm wishing for a very peaceful and clean election.  I'm also hoping that NoyNoy Aquino and Mar Roxas will win this election. 

For all registered Filipinos, let's exercise our right to vote and choose wisely. We badly need leaders who would put us a mark in the world! :D

Happy Mother's Day, MA!

In our family, we value occasions much that pertains to our parents which means celebrating their birthdays, mother's and father's day.  My sisters and I don't care much on how we celebrate our respective birthdays but it's imperative that if it's for our parents, we should be doing something to make them feel they're special.

Today, is mother's day as we all know.  At home, we're missing three sisters. Two are already married and currently live on different sides of Luzon (an island in the Philippines) - one is Cauayan City, Isabela while another in Nasugbu, Batangas.  The other sister is working as an English instructor in a  University in Vietnam.

Nonetheless, being the eldest in the family, I still tried to make this day a little special for my mom.  I reported to work the whole day and was supposed to meet my two younger sisters (who are still living with us) and my parents after my shift  in a mall  so we can have dinner and watch a movie together.  Unfortunately, my mom begged off.  She told me she's busy in the farm and my father who's currently a Barangay Councilor is assigned to man the Barangay Hall and requested to postpone the date.

That didn't stop us to celebrate this special occasion. My youngest sister, Mye cooked spaghetti (which I forgot to take a picture) after her work .  I, on the other hand, bought some food to celebrate this day.   What did we have?

  Greenwich Pizza. I was supposed to buy pizza from my all-time favorite chain - Pizza Hut.  Unfortunately, the queue was too long. I was in a hurry so I settled with Greenwich.

Greenwich Pizza cool box was designed by Team Manila by the way.

We had Philly Cheese Steak Overload.  It's a new pizza flavor offered if I am not mistaken. It's indeed overloaded with cheese but I wish it had more roast beef.

I so like pineapple so I ordered another one box of pizza with Ham and Pineapple topping or what is commonly known as Hawaiian.

I love Nathaniel's Sio Mai so when I passed by a supermarket that sells their goods, I bought one to add to the food.

Being a sweet-tooth, dessert should never be forgotten.  So I also bought Nathaniel's Buko (Young Coconut) Pandan Salad to complete the meal. 

It's frozen so here's how it looks like. 

To the most beautiful (She never wears make-up but still manages to look good), most industrious  and flexible ( She never gets tired of being a domesticated person who gave up a promising career just to take care of all six of us while managing a store on top of teaching and guiding us in our younger years.) and with most unique personality (I won't disclose why I said that. Hahah! You really have to know her to figure that out. ) MOTHER in the world that I have known, I hope you enjoyed this little celebration with us.  We may not be complete on this day but all of your daughters have thought of this occasion and each of us I know would like to say THANK YOU for bringing us to this world and for taking care of us even up to now that we've all grown up and some have married but still nothing has changed since you are still having sleepless nights when one is still not at home safely.  I know that we are not vocal in expressing our feelings for we have a connection that we understand each other. Still, let me say that on behalf of my sisters we want you know that WE LOVE YOU and may we have more Mother's day to celebrate with you.  :D

Happy Mother's Day, MA!   

Mom with L-R (Mylene, Marjorie, Marinel & Maricar...not on the pic are Maureen & Maritza)

It's a Saturday but I am thinking of "Friday's"!

The title of my post says it all. :-p  Kidding aside, I am currently alone at home on a very hot summer day and all I think of  is food especially cold ones and  it's funny that I have been in and out of the kitchen just to get a spoonful of  Selecta's Vanilla Almond Ice Cream to relieve me  from the heat even just for a second.  Let's  forget  about the calories piling up for the meantime, okay? LOL 

Vanilla Ice Cream is one of my favorite flavors.  That's why I love Mc Donald's Coke Float, Rootbeer Float of A&W, Sundae Ice Cream in Jollibee & Mc Do.  This just shows what a sweet-tooth person I am. Haha!

Now, it's Friday's (T.G.I Friday's) that I really want to talk about. I have been dreaming of their French Onion Soup for the past weeks now.  Summer season is not a reason (rhyming, huh) not to crave for this.  I can imagine how the gooey mozzarella cheese is fighting for my spoon while I ladle it from the bowl.  Yummy!What I could not understand though is why they have "Skyflakes" served on it.  Although I have nothing against the crackers, coz I love them, I just don't think why it's served with the soup that way. Heheh!

 

At this moment too, I want to eat their baby back ribs paired with Java Rice. Can you see how enticing the pictures are? 

Sigh! I just have to dream for now as I am in Pampanga and there's no Friday's open yet.  I am still waiting  for the one in Marquee Mall to open soon.  Hopefully, very soon so I can ask my family or my girlfriends to join me in another food trip at Friday's. :D

 

What's in the box?

 

Looking at the box below, what do you think is/are the content/s inside?

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It looks like a shoe box, right?

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So, if it just looks like a shoe box, definitely, shoes are not the ones inside.  Already getting curious?! 

I felt giddy while opening the box when I arrived home after a whole day of food tripping and shopping with Nikki.  My mom even laughed at me and told me I look like a kid being excited in opening a present for she heard me giggling just like a teenager actually. LOL. 

Well, you can't blame me. A lover of fashion and a bookworm at times, seeing this 1st beautiful cover of the book made me smile.  The Devil Wears Prada.  I love that movie and watched it 3x!  I guess I'll watch again for who knows how many times more.  Hahaha!  This will be the last book from the box that  I'll read though as I know the story already. I have this thing for reading the book first before watching the movie, but in this case, I already watched it so excitement has subsided. 

What's the second surprise?   It's another book with a sexy, gorgeous embellishments and perfect blue shoe as a cover that made me giggle.   

There's more!  Another sexy shoe in my favorite color. Oh and a diamond ring!  A perfect combi gift  for a lady. Haha!  Yes, my giggle turned to laughter for this is when my mom already commented on my excitement. Haha again!

I couldn't agree more.  These are perfect accessories.  How I wish though they are real shoes. 

 By the way, I was searching for books at  National Bookstore when I found this box.  A week before I went there,  I received a newsletter from Powerbooks informing me of sale items for summer and two books caught my attention. I was searching for those two at National Bookstore but couldn't remember the title and author.  So, I settled to buy the box instead.  Two days after the purchase, I was surprised to find out when I checked on the e-mail again from Powerbooks that  the  two books I was looking for are actually the two inside the box - Everyone Worth Knowing and Chasing Harry Winston!  Isnt' that cool?!  Well, I guess "we're just meant to be together".  Hahaha!  I can't wait to finish reading them which reminds me I have to turn off my computer now and start reading.  :D