My New Best Suds, "Ladies Beers" Tanduay Ice Red and Blue and San Miguel Lemon

Christmas is always a time of, how shall we put it gracefully... devouring bountifully. 


Parties here and there give everyone the tempting opportunity to binge on our favorite sumptuous treats, and for some, to try new ones.


Not only are food the plentiest, but drinks, specifically alcoholic breverages adorn the parties' tables.


This Christmas season, I was able to try new beers, and might I say that they're what I shall now call "ladies' beers." Like ladies' drinks or cocktails, they give the best sensations to the taste buds, and yet give the beer-goggle effects.

 (Ignore the yuck-San Mig Light. This was taken during our family Christmas party)

On top of the list are my new favorites (and not really beers but vodka-based spirits, hehe), Tanduay Ice Red Mirage (Cherry/Raspberry blend) and Blue Illusion (Pina Colada Mix), both still with 5% alcohol content. I got to try these during our section's Christmas party, and obssess on them during the family's.

I have to post this photo. The one on the right enjoying her Red Mirage is one of my best drinking buddies, ie, one of the strongest or the "pros," and the one on the left with her glass of Blue Illusion is my very "conservative"-imaged forever-college-seatmate and favorite RLE-partner/RLE-mate

Most like the Red one because it tastes like pure sweet carbonated juice, so the bitter taste of alcohol is really concealed. Equally many found the Blue one a peeve because the taste of alcohol's still very noticeable. Personally, I love it more. I guess I'm more of a non-virgin Pina Colada person. Heh.

My very first bottle

Just today, I was able to taste San Miguel's Lemon Flavor Malt Breverage. Although they could perfect the combination more, the blend of lemon to the bitter taste of malt beer gives a refreshing twist to come up with this "ladies' beer."

My consecutive bottles. Hehe.

Giving tons of cases of beer, San Miguel was very generous in sponsoring my mom and dad's high school reunion, so I could have drank like a whole case of Lemon San Mig all for myself. It's only 2% alcohol so it's very light and perfect for a casual, laid-back evening. They also have this is Apple, which I have yet to try.

Pop that bottle open and have a refreshing new year, everyone! (:

Green Stripes and Tomato Bangles for Christmas, and a New Year's Blog Resolution (:

A short and simple entry just 'cause I miss blogging already

/Been too busy working for our college paper. dem.

What I wore last Paskuhan 2011 @UST (:

(all taken in my dad's faculty room in the AMV Accountancy building)

The Greenhills night market is one of the best place to shop, really. That striped top only cost me a hundred bucks, and nicely-fitted Lee jeans for 350. (:

I also found those awesome specs and Toms flats there.

The bangles from Tomato were gifted. The vintage purple ring from Alessandra accessories was also a gift.

I wore the same outfit during our Christmas party at home,

but with a more "swag" flair to it.

Oo, basta may bonnet, swag na. hahaha. Here are my dad and two of my sisters
with our Christmas bestfriend, the new Red and Blue Tanduay Ice . (;

The point of this post is not really a "flash" of expensive brands and bling.

It's just self-expression, which I will be trying to focus more on this coming year in my blog. And when I say self-expression, I mean

thriftiness without having to sacrifice creativity and quality.

In other words, I will be more ~jologs and candid. In other words again, I decided to share my thrift queen expertise henceforth. Hope you enjoy! (:

New Fad Salad Header! (:

The Fad Salad
Here's the new header! Credits to the ever-awesome @RJ Naguit (boyacads)

Grad Photo Concepts

Graduation photo-taking is a little under a month away and I haven't decided on my final concepts yet.

Surely, I'll have a "fashion" shot. And I'll give all my convincing powers into having the folks pay for the package with a "creative" shot.

SO WHAT WILL I WEAR?

For the fashion, I was thinking of a more vintage look, something to this effect:

A dress like this, my dream polka dot dress with peter pan collars, would be perfect. And those adorable wedges too. (Tricia Gosingtiao @Lookbook)

High-waist shorts and a crisp vintage top would be very tasteful. (Kryz Uy @Lookbook)

And of course, Blair's in my top choices.

If only I can find that stunning dress... And that to-die-for cape...

And yes, I'm also thinking of posing as the Constance queen B!

Those dresses would also be perfect!

And this look by Serena in the GG pilot is also in my choices. It's a basic sailor look, and I already have the shirt. Minus the jacket idonlikeit.

And I'm also considering an old Hollywood concept!

A Manilyn Monroe look with those gorgeous locks would be fabulous.

And definitely, an Audrey Hepburn look would be soooo epic.

The classiness would just be so gorg...

Sooo... What do you think? (:

He Wears, She Wears

The universe may have conspired for the two of my friends to have worn almost the same outfit during the same day during our retreat. They were so cute! You be the judge. (:

*Photo credits to Miggo Mejico (Vitto) and RJ Naguit, as labelled. The blurred and unlabelled photos were my epic fail shots. Saarrreeehh!

This is Miggo (Vitto), the official photographer of the shoot.

Monica, one of the main model of the shoot. The bag adds the nicest touch of color to the white and blue.

Here's a better view of her shirt and shoes.

Their outfits were comprised of a striped crisp shirt, tailor-folded acid wash jeans and red shoes. The whole look's just very hip, trendy and casual. It's very, err, "nondrogenous" (unisex) as I henceforth shall call it. Hah!

Photos taken from the back. Don't their outfits just look SOOO identical?

Their red shoes were a bold, dramatic touch to the almost monochrome outfit and really made the whole look stand out.

I just loved how they looked together! Another fun, fresh feast for the fashion eyes!

Plain Pastels

I just loved the colors during our instant photo shoot during our retreat in Caleruega. This is a short tribute to the lovely pastel plains two of my friends wore.

*Photo credits to Miggo Vittorio Mejico (Vitto), another friend of ours.

This is my lovely friend, Kariza Naguit, sporting a perfectly fitted beautiful red tee. The necklace breaks the dullness and adds the subtlest yet glam touch. Of course the acid wash jeans and flats compliment the plainness of the tee. Notice the nails? They're "MnM blue" Faceshop polish, again, a nice touch to the whole look.

(BTW, that's a cameo of myself in the monochrome stripes and the rest of our friends in the background. Teehee! )

Coincidentally, this dashing guy and co-blogger, RJ Naguit or BoyAcads/The R, sported this soft blue fitted shirt. Perfectly suiting his body type, this shirt is surely a staple in the wardrobe. It's fun, fresh and very versatile for casual occasions.

And this is a photo of them together. Don't they just go lovely? (Fun fact though, however lovely they go together, they're cousins; hence, the same last names. But the on-screen chemistry's definitely there. Haha!) They were definitely a refreshing feast for the eyes. Kudos! (:

More on our hilltop fashion soon! (:

Family Sunday (Old Post-Edited)

Out of the blue, my mom and dad decided to take us to Luneta. Both of which didn't go "technically." We were about to get to Luneta Park, but to our dismay, it was very crowded and polluted - unlike how beautiful they remembered it in their prime. When we got to Fort Bonifacio, we found out there was a fee just to enter the park, and the eight of us (seven in the family and my nephew) was just too costly. So we decided to head for MOA. But before we were to leave the beautiful sights around Fort Bonifacio, we loaded up on batteries for the camera and took advantage of the photo opportunities.


Here's our one and only complete family portrait. The rest of the photos were either missing my dad or missing me, the main photographer.


And I'm afraid this is the closest I got to Philippine Fashion Week. Though the L'oreal Paris show was literally right around the corner when we were in MOA around 9:30, I couldn't drag the whole family there. So I settled for these photos.
This is my summer Sunday out ensemble. And oh yeah, those are the thrifted navy Marella pants I mentioned awhile back. That top is one of my favorites. I found it in the middle of the teens section of SM Dept. Pays to hunt for what to shop!

Ahoy, Mates!

One trend that’s really been hot and happening this summer is one very apt for the main star of the summer that is the ocean – the sailor look. This look is mainly characterized by navy blue hues, mainly in cropped pants partnered with bright-colored plains or prints. I’ve incorporated pieces for this look in my wardrobe with classic stylish pieces you can wear comfortably in casual occasions. Here’s one I wore in our college’s summer-themed year-ender party last March, and again last holy week vacation with the family last April.

Do not mind the stupid expression on my face in my mom’s candid shot of me. Focus on the clothes. Hehe. Here I paired my high-waist Petite navy shorts with a top of bright white and pink stripes. For the shoes, I wore white studded flats to complete a whole clean, casual, stylish look.

Fun, fun photo-op with my sisters and my mom

You can also pair the navy hues with white, bright yellow or cherry red tops and shoes. Play with accessories like belts and ribbons. This look can be pulled off by basically anybody with the right, suiting pieces. Of course, just keep it casual and DO NOT overdo it. It’s a fun, cool, trendy look yet classic and worthy of investment. Anchors away, girls!

My Balls of Fame

Tipidums Recipe No.2: Microwave-Baked Buttered Meatballs

One exhausting, fateful day, I get home and was tasked to cook up some dinner. We had some meatballs in the freezer and I was supposed to steam them. I thought, what would that taste like? I mean, it had no added flavor or anything. And so, I decided to bake them, with what little ingredients we had lying around at home. And the finished product was quite exquisite.

*I'm very sorry for the lack of a high-res photo. This was taken using my age-old phone cam.

I put the meatballs in an oven-safe bowl, topped it with some crushed garlic, diced red onions, some salt and pepper and covered the whole dish with lots of butter. To add a more gourmet feel, I also topped it with the grated Parmesan cheese lying around the house. I popped it in the microwave on medium high for 5 minutes, then on high for 3 minutes, or until the meatballs are golden brown. Voila! These microwave-baked buttered meatballs were a big hit with my siblings, mom and dad. It was very gourmet yet very inexpensive and easy to make. Try it for yourself!

The meatballs may be bought in your deli market if any are available. Or you can choose to make your own by balling a mixture of ground beef and/or pork (yes, you can combine them), salt and pepper and an egg. You can also incorporate some veggies like tiny diced carrots and your chosen greens or other spices.

Tipidums Score: a perfect 5

2 Firsts Last 2nd of May

One is my very first bloggers event! It was a scorching hot World Bloggers Day in the metro last Monday. My dear friend, Boyacads, tagged me along a bloggers’ general assembly in SM Cubao Cyberzone. The gathering proved to be an occasion of learning from each other and making new, and awesome, very accommodating friends. Some of them were lifestyle blogger Azrael of Azrael's Merryland (who actually presided the event) Kuya John or Kumagcow, Justin of justinbreathes.com, Kuya Alexei of technoclast.com and some of the PMC moms. To top it all off, we got to feast in meals generously provided for by that Mang Inasal branch. Interestingly enough (well, at least for me), I was invited to visit one of the bloggers’ friend who recently opened a salon and check out the whole hairstyle scene in the middle of Q.C. I’m not sure it will push through but I am hoping it would. More on that soon. It was a day surely well spent celebrating a date dedicated to the “online press.”

"Bloggers Area" @ SM Cubao Cyberzone (photo by Azrael)

BoyAcads and I @ Mang Inasal (photo by Kumagcow)

Next, on my way home, I stumbled upon a thrift store along the corner of Monumento and EDSA. Though I was very tired, parched and blazed, I decided to reward myself to some shopping. I remembered a conversation with Boyacads on our way home about pants, about how few we have to be enough for the many casual-wear days of summer. And so, I was determined to acquire new pants for myself, and I did – I even got two!

They’re both high-waisted sailor skinny pants (resembling those sported gorgeously by Ping of allaboutfashionstuff.blogspot.com above; actual photos soon, after I triple washed them already), one is of a dark navy blue dye and one is almost black. The former is a Marella denim number while the latter’s a piece from Bossini jeans. With almost similar hues, why buy both? Well it all lies in the fabric. The Marella denims can be a go-to piece for any casual occasion. However, when the legs are craving for extra comfort and ease of movement, the Bossini pants do the trick since it’s made 100% stretchy cotton. These two new pairs of pants are truly great additions to my closet. At 35 bucks a piece, haggled at 60 for both, they’ll never EVER be regrettable!