New GM of Pen.

The time has come. Tomorrow, David Batchelor, the General Manager of The Peninsula Hotel will be leaving for Hong Kong for good. After 6 years, he has decided that it is time to take another step in his career. Last Aug. 22, Peninsula held a small dinner to welcome the new General Manager, Vlad Reyes and to bid farewell to DB. It was an intimate gathering and an opportunity to meet our new "Daddy."

The well wishers, Janina Hoschka, your bloggerina and Stephanie Chong with DB.


DB giving his speech to say bye to the VIP guests (hint hint, I am one of them BWA HA HAHA!) and introduces VR.


VR and his wife has not lived in the Philippines for 30 years. He is a friendly chap and his wife is gracious and kind. I just hope that they don't get asthma the way I did because of our pollution.


To Mr. and Mrs. Vlad Reyes, welcome home.

Sweet as a Peach!

Worked on this one with a high school friend. She is from the States and we communicated thru emails and Facebook and occasionally, she would call me up to discuss about this particular bangle. It is fun to create pieces. First, I would have to get the requirements of a client, draw up the design, gather up materials and let your imagination do the rest.

This is how it started...with a sketch, the stones to be used and a costing for producing it.




After approving the design, my workers did their thing and this is the outcome. A bangle with pink Mother of Pearl flower, with labradorite drops with white sapphires and fresh water pearls in silver plated in rose gold.





I just hope my friend enjoys wearing it as much as I enjoyed working on it.

Bag of Diamonds.

Spending $8,000 on an Hermes Birkin bag is not really something that shocks people nowadays. Birkin bags have certainly always been the most expensive, running all the way into the 100,000s. But Japanese designer Ginza Tanaka just released this diamond-studded bag that is valued at a whopping $1.63 million. The platinum handbag is studded with 2,182 diamonds totaling 208 carats and valued at 200 million Japanese yen, or $1.63 million USD.

THUD! (I just fainted)

Another expensive bag is not something that you would take to any party. Not even if it is thrown by my family. My Royal Family, I mean. This bag's purpose is to be drenched. Something you would never do to your Birkin.

PG Tips celebrated its 75th birthday by commissioning Boodles jewellers to make the world's most expensive tea bag. The tea bag was made with 280 diamonds and took three months to put together. Total cost: $12,900! The tea bag was donated to a charity auction for Manchester Childrens' Hospital in England.

















Jul B. Dizon Jewellery's bejewelled clutch of pewter with closure of oval lacework set with 3.11 carats of brown diamonds and South Sea Pearl in the middle. P103,000 not including bag.


























Chain mail bag with dangle of white sapphires in 14 karat white gold. P130,000 not including bag.

Pucci Gang (Part 3)

Although Pucci is all about vibrant colors, his house is totally the opposite. He opted to use solid and singular color for each of his rooms. In the brown room, for example, the silk draperies and wallcovering were made at Antico Setificio Fiorentino, a silk workshop founded by the Puccis and other families in the 17th century; Emilio Pucci took it over in the 1950s.

The 17th-century bed in Emilio Pucci’s bedroom. Made in Lucca, it was among his favourite pieces. The gilt woodwork on the headboard echoes the embroidery on the canopy.

The dining room of the Palazzo Pucci. The late-18th-century fresco, by Luigi Ademollo, depicts Aenes leaving Troy. Marchesa Pucci and her husband added the Venetian chairs. The crystal glassware was made for the family in the 18th century.

The Wedgwood room was created by an English artist in the late 18th century. The palette and Neoclassical plasterwork were inspired by the signature ceramics. An 18th-century marble sculpture of the goddess Diana is at center.

Where my idol lived with his wife, Marchesa Cristina Pucci di Barsento.


Thank you to LOULLA KASSANDRA for the information and photos.

Pucci Gang (Part 2)

Emilio Pucci was born in 1914 to one of Florence’s oldest noble families, and would live and work in the Pucci Palace in Florence for much of his life. He was a versatile sportsman as he raced cars, swam, skied, fenced and played tennis. He even joined the Olympics but ended up not competing. In a 2 year span, he studied agriculture, won a skiing scholarship and received an MA in social science was awarded his doctorate in political science. The following year he joined the Italian Air Force, and served as a bomber pilot during WWII, rising to the rank of captain and decorated for valour by the time he left to pursue his fashion career.

He had an affair with Mussolini's daughter, Edda Ciano.


The affair turned complicated in 1943 when Edda’s husband, Galeazzo Ciano, helped overthrow and briefly imprison Il Duce. Mussolini was rescued by German paratroopers and restored to power; he then had Ciano executed. When Edda tried to help him, Mussolini turned on her, placing a million-lira price on her head, in part because she possessed her husband’s diaries, which incriminated Mussolini and the Germans.

Edda asked Pucci for assistance. In 1944, with the diaries hidden in her clothes, he smuggled her into Switzerland. She made it; he didn’t. Pucci was captured and tortured by the Nazis. When they finally turned him loose, he fled to Switzerland, where he waited out the war.

In 1946, Pucci rejoined the post-Mussolini Italian air force and was living on his military salary. The next year, he took a brief leave to ski in Zermatt. There he found himself dissatisfied with postwar ski apparel. So he simply designed some more ski clothing, this time for himself.

The clothes were stretch pants in novel synthetic fabrics and bright colors, all done in light, streamlined forms for speed and comfort. It happened that a photographer for Harper’s Bazaar was in Zermatt, and she asked Pucci if she could photograph the outfits.

She sent the photos to Diana Vreeland, who alerted a Lord & Taylor buyer, who ordered a collection. Pucci produced the clothes, and they started to sell.

And this is where it all began.




From dresses, pens, jewelry, kitchenware, furniture, swimwear, party sets, beach towels, sunglasses, make-up, shoes, pet accessories and perfume, Pucci has become a brand that is for me, unbeatable. Truly my idol.



















Your bloggerina is a certified Pucci Gang!

Pucci Gang! (Part 1)

When I hear Pucci, I automatically think of geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colours. There's so many things that I love about Pucci. But for now, because someone is waiting for this important information, I shall start with the shoes.

These run from $299 to $800. I know for a fact that in Florence, hometown of Emilio Pucci, there is an outlet store where I was lucky enough to buy a Pucci backpack for only 300 euros. Good deal eh? If you are a good shopper, you can surely get something great in the outlet store for half the price.

Loving all these shoes! There were so many more but I have to limit the photos because I still need this blog to be man friendly.

Florence’s outskirts (roughly 45 min from the city center) are full of factory outlets such as Prada, Gucci, Armani, Fendi, D&G, Celine, Lowe, YSL, Bottega Veneta, Max Mara, Loro Piana, Miu Miu, Sergio Rossi, etc., where you can get up to 50% discount on their goods.

The Mall,
Europa 8,
Leccio - Reggello
Tel 055 8657775
Open: Mon - Sat 1000 - 1900 and Sun 1500 - 1900