The Tanned Bride

I'm back from the beautiful Palawan.

The province got me speechless again. 

It is just a travel HEAVEN.

P.S. YES, I am going to wear this skin color on our BIG day.

Room Makeover: The Dresser

I moved into the mermaid's room in 2009 right after her roomie, cousin Chedy, left the house. From then on, I've transformed the room to suit my style. Some of her lovely stuff are still around though. Her book shelf is still attached on the wall. Her fairy collection is still sitting on top of our two-decade-old dresser. Her beautiful accessories still add colors and charm to a rather plain wall. Slowly, I choose to bring out some AUI changes one step at a time. It hurts to leave no sign of Tien in the room. It calms me to see her or feel her through the things she left behind.

So here's a peek of my room...the BEFORE look...the room is still undergoing a makeover...

This is the main wall inside. 

These are actually my birthday gifts for my fiancé. 

He let me hang them in my room. 

I plan to put more frames here.

You too can have your photos printed on wood, visit www.mywoodencanvas.com. 

This two-decade-old DRESSER used to have sunflower patches on. 

It was Tien's yet another brilliant idea! 

The mermaid had a knack for crafts, believe me.

Her hands could easily make scarred things look oh-so lovely.

I'm not really a sunflower gal. 

I love the vintage, classy European design. 

So, I bought this roll of sticker for wood with yellow flowers and leaves design. 

Voila! It's now looks very vintage and boho/shabby chic!

The love altar.

Me and my LOVE.

These frames aren't vintage at all! It's not Boho but rather Boo-ho! 

Okay...I'll put that on my to-buy list for my room.

My next small project is the color of my wall. I want to make it white and Tiffany blue. It is going to be my birthday gift for myself plus a beautiful couch to go with it. We'll update you soon!

A Good Night's Sleep

My brother and I had been roommates for around two years before he moved out of our home in 2005. WHY, you would ask, knowing that I had a sister. Let's just say that my brother, though older, granted the demands of his little bratty sister. 

CLEANLINESS. I'm a neat freak.

SILENCE. I don't sleep with any noise in the background. 

DARKNESS. I strictly implement a Lights Out policy. 

Rules that the MERMAID could barely agree with. Maybe, you're wondering why I moved into my brother's room. Let's just say that the MERMAID left me no choice but to migrate to the next room. She was one tough sleeping beauty from another bunkhouse to beat. 

In my college years, I got a roommate for four years. It was a big relief that she was flexible with her sleeping habits. A fast and an early sleeper...a perfect roommate!

Believe me, I'm really a difficult person to sleep with.  Even, the sound of raindrops could annoy me. To lessen the intensity of my case, I now sleep late. Perhaps, with this change, the last two items on my demand list will be ticked off effortlessly by my soon-to-be roommate.

How he will carry out the first demand will be unveiled soon. 

YES to Travels

I just can't help it. I am STILL in love with traveling. This love affair perhaps will go on until I breathe my last. 

It's a coincidental blessing to have a life partner who loves traveling as much as I do. He opened my eyes to a bigger world. Life, as I see it now, is so much more intense and deeper. Thanks to him.

We have places lined up for us before OUR DAY.

KL, Malaysia.
Coron, Palawan.
Cam Sur, Bicol.

In our book, traveling is forgetting all the small stuff. Hence, all the whitening products will come in handy AFTER seeing the Petronas Tower, treading the turquoise waters  in Palawan and riding a wakeboard at CWC.

I wish all couples could do the same thing.

Happy Love

I am getting married soon. A guy friend of mine once said upon getting this buzz from me that it was like an end of an era. I failed to ask what he meant. I would like to think though that it was something pleasant. See, this friend can be too pragmatic.

I am marrying the man who inspires me to be better. Apart from being lovers, we share the best friendship I've ever known. He pushes me up when I start to stumble down the hill. His flaws make me want to love him more. For a change, I discuss like a real adult. Fighting with him is pointless for he will just slap me with the truth. He is one smart guy. He is tough but kind. With him, I look at the cup half full. He is the very reason for my unfading happiness. 

My love for this man is constant and yet changing. It just grows stronger each beautiful sunrise. 

The Viajeros Mexican Edition

It's been a while since my last major Viajeros trip. Oh, how I missed traveling with the guys!

They, on the other hand, have continued to conquer the world -reaching the summit of Kota Kinabalu and experiencing the famed Bali nightlife, both within the first half of this year. Yes, both trips I missed. Apart from the Viajeros trips, some have visited places with their other sets of friends while some have gone on some business trips outside the country.

Just last weekend, Viajeros pinned down a local destination. Quezon was the place. Mexican was the experience. Annual Viajeros Ball (AVB) 2010 was the event.

Ola-land

We had an early start on Saturday at Kuya Bong's place in Makati. Everyone who attended the ball, except for Ate Van and Ron, slept over. Becksie, who unfortunately couldn't join us because of law school, was also present during the sleepover. She sent us off, how sweet of her!

We missed you fellow Youngster!

We were keen on leaving at five in the morning but ended up moving a little past six. Elch drove the REVO Sport Runner up to Barangay Turbina in Laguna where we met Kuya Bodgie, who later on became our official road master (driver).

Navarro's Family Car

The roads from Turbina to Lucena were quite swamped. We spent an hour or so in the traffic. That didn't prevent us from enjoying the road trip though. Ron's Mac Book Pro with more than one thousand songs came in to the rescue whenever we felt so sleepy. "Bawal ang lumamang ng tulog," Kuya Bong would say, err, sing. Oh, a lot of singing happened in the car -from hip hop to novelty songs. You should hear them sing with complete gusto this "Batibot" song that goes something like, "Alagang-alaga namin si Puti...bakang mataba, bakang maputi..." It was hilarious!

We had our lunch stopover somewhere in Sariaya, Quezon at Max's Restaurant. Kuya Charles said that bringing of food and drinks is not allowed at the resort. So we started to dig in the cake bought by Kuya Bodgie and Ate Vannie. Mernel's Cake in Los Banos has always been our official AVB cake. 

Yummy cake from Mernel's 

After almost 6 hours on the road (one hour of which spent crawling), we finally arrived at Pueblo Por La Playa, our AVB 2010 venue. Pueblo Por La Playa is a 12-hectare Mexican-inspired residential and country club found in Pagbilao, Quezon.

The entire place from the hard flooring, colorful walls and Spanish-tiled stairs gave us this Mexican vibe. All we needed was our Mexican hats and we're off to Ola! land. I loved the play of colors around me. Upon entering the resort, some guests might find themselves a bit disappointed because of the construction going on at the entrance gate area. However, I forgot my slightest disappointment as the shuttle from the gate drove us to the main part of the resort. Everything from thereon is wonderful. To even say it's colorful is an understatement.

Arch details

Great idea for draperies

Our purple house for the weekend

Upon opening the door of our 2-room nook, our jaws dropped. The owners of this resort were able to incorporate the Mexican interior design. It's Mexican-inspired so the interiors of the whole place felt warm and cheery. I personally loved it! I even thought of using it as the next theme of our lanai. The wall colors were bright and sunny. The floorings were natural, hard-flooring. The little tiny details were quirky. We loved our rooms. I was amazed to see a different kind of toilet and bath. I've always been a fan of non-luxurious interior designs. We got a tub! We didn't use it though. I love the shower area.

Colorful clay jars

Open shower (well, almost)

The long bench with cushion

We spent most of our time in the calming water of the huge infinity pool. Mai, who is the latest addition to our group, was all-geared up with her goggles and Australian team-designed swim cap. The cap became a hit to us non-Marthas. She's a real swimmer. According to the proud boyfie, she was a varsity member. There were a couple of swimming laps and diving tutorials here and there. I mean come on, Ron was around! The guy doesn't give up till he gets to do something new. Well, I learned how to wear a swim cap properly! We were all Martharized! Note to self: I should bring my own goggles and swim cap next beach/pool outing. Or perhaps, I should also bring a vest.

Mai's effortless dive

"We ain't stopping!"

Kuya Charles's

Before we checked out of the hotel, we saved a lot of crazy underwater shots in Kuya Dex's amazing camera.

STRUGGLING to be seen underwater

Welcome back, Tsarls!

Queen T (Turtle)

Our only General

In every trip, there's always time to check-out. I dread this part. At Puerto Por La Playa, life is colorful to just sweat the small stuff.

Our colors of FRIENDSHIP

Over all, it was a GREAT AVB weekend - awesome accommodation, fun joy ride, and the best company of friends ever. I don't mind the darker skin tone I have now. It's all worth it. Big thanks to the guys (Kuya Bong, Kuya Charles, Ron and Elch) who organized and financed this year's AVB. Till next year, Viajeros!

Holiday Ball coming up! Watch out for it!

Tanned.

....

What is happening here?

Kicking-off soon!

Later, travel lovers!