Boracay - the beach capital of the Philippines

Uhhmm, my 3 week-holiday is over and now back on my desk in Sydney. The 3 weeks went pretty fast, too fast to gain weight from all those hotel buffet breakfasts. It also covered 2 important holidays (Christmas and New Year) where feasting was the whole idea and fasting was not encouraged, at least in my family tradition. More importantly, it was spent with family and friends so merrimint was in the air no negativity allowed. We flew in via Cebu Pacific and had a connecting flight to Cebu. Spent 4 nights in my old queen city of the south where I saw my young generation of family (hello nieces and nephews) and bonded well with my dear friends. We then flew to Boracay for another 3 nights in which I decided to write a blog first (Cebu next) only because I have all the pictures needed :)

The wave pool in the resort.

Happiest New Year to y'all!

I'm still in the Philippines and currently in Manila preparing for the New Year's celebration. The wi-fi here is more stable unlike back in the islands so there is no more excuse to skip a week in blogosphere. We stayed in Discovery Primea hotel in Makati and just exactly did the things that we'd like to do. What to do when in Makati? Shopping and more shopping of course. Well, our hotel was adjacent to the Glorietta mall and we shopped 'til we dropped.

We found ourselves in Rustan's Department Store where they had this winter wonderland corner which was nice for photo op.

Merry Christmas from Australia and the Philippines!

I'm sorry for the delay of my post, I'm currently island hopping in the Philippines. As of the time of writing, I've already been to my 10th island in my 10th day here since arriving from Australia. The weather was not so great having experienced lots of turbulence during our flights. But the upside of that was the sun was not blazing, the air was cool and I enjoyed walking in the beach and swimming without being burned. Today was the only scorcher but I managed to climb to the top of Mt. Tapyas in Coron, Palawan which is really not that high, only 700 steps. But hey, it's an achievement for me, I conquered the heights and the scorching sun. I will have a lot of adventure posts later to share with you as soon I am back in my desk in Sydney. 

In the meantime, I am greeting you all a very Merry Christmas. May you have a great time celebrating Christmas with your families and friends. I have photos of the big Christmas trees, one from the Customs House in Sydney and the other from Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu, Philippines.

Warm greetings from summery Sydney, Australia.

Lace in Cream

It’s insanely warm now in the Southern Hemisphere having summer finally kicked in and took hold of the season. So when it comes to the clothing department, the shops have been flooded with lace, crochet, chiffon and light fabrics in dominantly white and cream colours. From the local brands Sportsgirl and Glassons to the International fashion houses like Zara and H&M, shoppers are frolicking to fill in their summer wardrobe. There are also nautical themes which maybe encouraging people to go to the beach and chill. Oh well, wherever you go and whatever you do, don’t forget to slip, slop and slap. That is, Slip on a shirt, Slop on the 30+ sunscreen, Slap on a hat. Wait there’s more…  Seek shade or shelter, Slide on some sunnies.  As Wiki defined, “Slip-Slop-Slap is the iconic and internationally recognised sun protection campaign prominent in Australia during the 1980s.” It is still now and that’s what I do not only on summer but the whole year through :)

Mesh It Up

One of the reasons why I like warm weather is that I can wear mesh clothing, the feel of the wind just gushing to the skin and keeping me cool. Or is it the way around? I like to wear perforated clothes on warm weather because it's keeping me cool and fresh. Either way, warm weather and mesh outfit work well together like ice cream and sprinkles or churros and chocolate dip. You don't have to but it's just so great together.

Hair Extensions

While shoes can make or break an outfit, I think that the hair can seal the deal. Honestly, nothing can beat somebody who pays attention on styling her hair when arriving on an event. But what to do when you are stuck with a hair that is too short to work on? Or when you are sick of your hair colour or hair style and can't be bothered going to a salon. Or your hair is too thin and you just want a little bit of volume into it. Because women are a very complicated creatures, an answer to these tricky questions has come in a form of hair extensions.

Clip-In Hair Extension                                      16 inch Hair Weave                                  18 inch Hair Weave                             

Jac Who?

This would be the first flowering tree you'll notice if you come to Australia in late Spring and early summer which is from October to December. At this time the street vegetation would definitely be either green or purple coloured. But it's a lovely sight to behold I promise you. You will be asking what is the name of this tree and hope to remember so there's just something to tell to others who don't know about it :)

Spring Colours

Spring is almost over in Oz but I still get a lot of spring inspired stories to tell. Aside from crazy weather where you can experience different seasons in one day (see similar post here), different blooms are visible wherever there is soil found. Honestly, even if you've left a little dirt unintentionally in a pot, after a few weeks you can see a little weed with a flower blooming happily. Must be a happy time for both gardeners and the plants because of the abundant sunshine in the morning then watered by the rain in the afternoon. Too little maintenance needed indeed. This post features two common plants in my street, the Azalea and the Dandelion. 

Prom Times

A-line Strapless Knee-length Tulle

Being young is one of the most intriguing phases of life I reckon. Some people at that age don’t realise they are in the most exciting stage and in a hurry to outgrow it. And when they are out of it they wish they could go back and enjoy every moment.  Ahhhh… few realisations don’t happen until later, do you agree? So I am up for chasing the moment, savour every second kind of person. What I regret most in life are those things I wish I have done especially when it is good for my well-being physically or socially. In case you still don’t get it, I am talking about being sociable on my teens including events like school formals. In my time, part of my woes of not attending night balls was the what-will-I-wear moments. Nevertheless, I braved that bit and showed up on my school’s Prom night. Proms are undeniably the most anticipated event for the young girl's life and to help them look forward to it, PROMTIMES.CO.UK is here to the rescue.

Chanel Medallion

Don't you love those lazy afternoons with nothing to fuss about but sitting pretty with a good food and company? This post is just about that, got invited one arvo for a barbeque and chatted over a delectable dishes and fizzy drinks. Someone had done early dinner for my family so what was there to think about. It was a warm day as well, a very good time for a backless pink leopard print dress. I actually reserve this kind of outfit for a laid-back event on a cosy warm weather. It is flowy and made of cotton which helps me against sweating easily from running after my toddler who moved so much like an energiser bunny.

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