A Blondie for my Birthday.

I know, I know....for the 12 readers of my blog, you are tired of checking for something new but disappointed to find my last post still to be the party of LT. I apologize for not posting anything new but to tell you honestly, I have been really sick of 4 things.

1. I have a bad cough that takes up a lot of my energy.


2. I have a cold that made my nose red and irritated.


3. I am tired, exhausted, breathless.


4. Lastly, I am sick of my camera that takes nothing but icky pictures lately. It has been good to me though for all these years but despite the way I take care of it, it still somewhat losing its spunk. I took this photo with my old camera (Cybershot 5.1) and check out the results.

I mean, what is that? What is with the snow effect? The red eyes and the blurry faces? ARGH....

But it is the end of icky photos. Why? Because as a birthday gift, PH gave me a brand new, shiny, sleek, sexy and gorgeous camera. Oh what JOY!!! YIIIPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present you.....BLONDIE.


Thanks to PH for this super wonderful gift.

And for the rest of you out there, dude, do your share and send me those nicely wrapped gifts.

Cash would do and credit cards accepted.


Be prepared folks. Lots of photos, good ones, to come up soon.

A Year Older in Old Manila.

It is always a sweet gesture when your honey throws a surprise party for you. I think that the effort to choose the menu, invite all your dearest friends and make sure that no one spills the beans is a tough job.

In this case, my hero is CYT who organized the birthday party for LT last Saturday at Old Manila. It was dark and cozy when I arrived. The lights were dimmed and people were sort of whispering. It was fun and exciting while waiting for the celebrant to arrive.

And when he finally did, how shocked he was that all his close friends were there to celebrate his birthday. He looked so happy and grateful to everyone that was present, especially to his wife who handled it all for him.

The food was taken cared of by Stephanie Chong, events manager of the Peninsula and everyone was very vocal about how good it was. I liked the desserts most. (wink wink)

To LT, thank you for being born and for marrying CYT. If you hadn't, we would have missed a truly great evening of good company, plenty laughs and delicious food.

The real reason to party.

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y!!!!!!

Slumber Party Gone Tame!

You are never too old to have slumber parties. This is what we proved when had a party for Rose and Eric who are to be wed this August. Initially, we were faced with many options as to what the theme should be. Since it is a merger between a Korean (Eric) and a Fil-Chinese (Rose), I was thinking of a United Nations Party. But that was turned down as being too conservative.

Jasmin was leaning towards the Hollywood Glam look but majority of my Joy Luck Club hates dressing up so that was thrown out the window. The bride to be, Rose then suggested S and M costumes which got a violent reaction from a few saying that they were not going to attend if they have to wear black patent boots and bra to match it with. I for one had to research something so wild! In the end, I told Rose that I just do not see myself wearing this...


So it was back to the drawing board until finally, Rose decided that we have a PAJAMA Party. Everyone sighed with relief especially since this is a dress down to the max event.

Well, pleased as we were with the theme, we were even more pleased when Minena agreed to do our dinner!!! YIPPPPEEE!!!! Not only did we have it in her house, we were going to eat the finest dishes that our version of Martha Stewart is known for.

To Rose and Eric, are you sure about this? Rose, you still have time to back out. But you know....nothing bad about having an endless supply of Bulgogi! YUM! BWA HA HAH HA! Just kidding Eric.

Till our next food trip. Enjoy the pics.

The sleeping quarters.





The tummy fillers.








The Sleepers.

A Match Made Thru Food.

SIGH.........

The couple met during a photo shoot for the coffee table book done by Bench. There was one page where they featured three chefs...Rob, Sunshine and Baba Ibazeta. After a few weeks of dating, he was already mentioning marriage.


SIGH....



What more can I say? A fairy tale has once again come true....I wonder when my turn will be. I have always wanted a real wedding. One that takes almost a year to prepare. I want to feel the stress and anxiety that soon to be brides always tell me they are having. I want to plan the flowers, the venue, the food and the guest list.

To tell you honestly, I already have the list of all the Godmothers and Godfathers, the bridesmaid, the flower girls...the whole HULABALOO! I have it planned and ready to go.I don't have a dress yet though. I have so many friends in the fashion industry that I think I will have a dress made for every hour of the wedding. Hmmm, Puey Quinones for my wedding ceremony, Dennis Lustico for the reception and Rajo Laurel for the after party. I plan to get married somewhere in Europe so the celebration will surely be more than just 1 week. I want to take the party to a cruise so I will need an outfit for that too. So many plans....

Sigh.........

So when I get a visit from one of my favorite clients, Ms. B. Y. to design a pair of earrings for her daughter, S.P, a pang of envy hit me. Hey, dont blame me, I have many reasons to envy this family.

Firstly, have you seen the groom? He is a hotsie patootsie celebrity chef! That alone will already make you want to faint. Secondly, have you met the family? Super close and oh so nice. Very happy and successful. Maybe they are happy because they are successful. BWA HA HA. God knows that I would have a happier life if I had a fatter bank account. Third, they all cook soooo darn well. I mean, not the good adobo, kare-kare kind of well. THE SUPER DARN SO WELL kind. Please click on the link below to see what I mean.

http://candifier.blogspot.com/2008/05/nobody-does-it-like-bella.html

And of course, the groom is one heck of a lucky guy because his wife is a rare breed of a sweet, good, kind, smart, successful and polite girl that you can't find anymore anywhere today. The two of us are the last ones on this Earth. Finished. No more. Done.


Seriously, I have to thank S.P. for wearing the earrings that I designed for her so PERFECTLY. She exudes so much class and elegance that even a simple diamond stud would have been great. But of course, you know me, I have to create something more than just a stud.



The dress of SP is breathtakingly beautiful. Dennis, you did an amazing job. I want a dress similar to her reception gown for my cocktail party at Schonbrunn.


The happy family.





Just to amaze you even more, there were 3 caterers that night. The couple did the canapes for the cocktails, Myrna Segismundo did the appetizer buffet and the main course buffet (she has a resto at Abs-Cbn and she also did the engagement dinner). Baba Ibazeta was in charge of the dessert buffet. During dinner, the organizers set up a giveaway buffet beside the elevator where guests could pick whatever giveaway they wanted and as much as they wanted. Amazed yet? Wait, there's more.....

Baba did the almond roca, russian, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies (they had loot bags from tokyo to stuff the cookies in) and meringue candies. there were also items from Bacolod...mini barquillos, banana chips, butterscotch tarts, piyaya, mango tarts, mango cookies, and boat tars. Lastly, they also had colored sugar cubes hanging on branches as giveaways.

SIGH.........what can I have in my wedding that will beat all that???

To B.Y. you are a wonderful mother and friend. I have said this to you before but I want to say it again...I feel so blessed having you as a part of my life. Thank you.