I can't think STRAIGHT.

Being absurd is a quite a normal characterization of me by my friends.  More so often arguing what is sometimes nonsensical and defending what is against the norms.  Again, this is not a dissertation of the numerous complexities in my life, rather this is about my new hairstyle which shows a clear parallelism to how I think, NOT straight that is.  

PERMING - a permanent wave.  Last month I've undergone the process of digital perming which is done with the help hot rods regulated by a machine.  I'm not really gifted with great hair.  My hair has a life of its own, curling naturally at unwanted places and sometimes straight at unnoticeable parts.  I grew up constantly doing a rebond and the hair iron became my instant best friend.  So now I decided to have a simpler life - not waking up and seeing Simba (from the Lion King) in my reflection and not having to panic every time my hair iron is not within reach.  

Then I met Taiky, a Korean hairstylist from Tony & Jackey.  I was really unsure about him at first, a very tall guy with strong features.  He looks like a warrior from an old Chinese action film.  He started touching my hair, asking me what I want to do with it.  Then he finally uttered the words " Half perm, half rebond."  It didn't sound that appealing to me at first, but I just said "Let's do this!"  So after what seemed like 2 million washing, ironing, curling, applying of God knows what in my hair, I survived.  I actually love how my hair turned out after (half kulot and half tuwid parang utak ko lang). =)

Super dami assistants, ganun kahirap ayusin ang buhok ko

That's Taiky!

Just like a girl from outer space

Taiky - Hairstylist
Tony and Jackey Beauty Salon
Festival Mall, Alabang
Contact no: 02-6591875
Tony and Jackey website

I did it MY WAY.

I missed my blog.  It's been a long 3 weeks since I last wrote.  Honestly, I'm not myself these days.  I call it post vacation syndrome.  I miss home, I miss my family.  Oh well, this is not an entry about my highly emotional state of mind.  This is about something fresh I caught while strolling the aisles of Festival Mall last week.  My brother, also a watch junkie, actually recommended this timepiece to me.  It was lust at first sight. I actually wanted to strip all its pieces and use it whichever way I wanted.  Sounds like a dirty plan I know but that's how stimulated I felt when I laid my eyes on this sexy watch.

Would you believe there are actually 59,049 ways to design this My Way watch?  I was actually amazed upon learning that I can actually mix and match the top ring, case, buckle strap and hole strap.  The best thing about is that it's very affordable, even the straps you can purchase at a cheap price.  

Details:

- Japan movement
- 2-year warranty
- ring and case are made of polycarbonate
- straps are made of polyurethane
- dial is made of enamel casing
- Water resistant (up to 50 meters)
- easy to assemble
- set is placed in a biodegradable carton box


Dimenions:
strap width - 1"

face width - 1.3"

face height - 2"

*set and parts come in the following colors: black, white, yellow, red, orange, purple, green, pink and blue 

I love the colors!

Happy happy shopper!

My choice: Black case, Yellow ring, Red buckle strap and Green hole strap

Ring and case - I'm a fan of huge ring watches =D

Hole and buckle straps

My Way watches are available at:

Imagere Watch (Philippines)

2nd level Festival Mall/Cinderella Glorietta 3

Online:

My Way website

Imagere website

"But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way." - FS 

Kaya Jamaica will PARTY like a ROCKSTAR!

Planning for a party was never a stressful event for me.  Now that I'm almost done preparing for my daughter's party, the feeling was the exact opposite.  One hurdle was the distance, my suppliers were mostly in the Philippines so it meant that I should double my efforts to relay what I wanted accurately.  It all started with the theme. I chose the "Rockstar" theme simply because of Kaya's love for music.  Music has always been a matter of energy to her.  Whenever we sleep together, she would always request to view Youtube videos of Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, 311, Katchafire, etc to put her to sleep.  Once when we were in a mall here in Dubai, everyone was busy shopping and she was busy playing with her DS, suddenly she called my attention when she heard a familiar song inside the store. She said "Mommy! It's Bob Marley again!"  When Michael Jackson passed away, I had to break the sad news to her, I was so surprised at her reaction.  "He's not dead mommy, I'm just watching him dance on TV now." she said while viewing her favorite DVD.  When her Titas (my friends here in Dubai) converse with her, she'd always tell them enthusiastic stories about how she loved watching Glee and would sing to them sometimes.  For the past few days she was so hooked with Apo Hiking Society's music.  She was busy rehearsing and actually memorized the lyrics of Panalangin and Di ko Malimutan.  And boy, she can sing! 


With those symptoms at hand, she undeniably deserves a Rockstar Party.  With the help of my adorable friends, my brother and my mom, little by little we were able to accomplish almost everything in this checklist.  It was an exasperating time working with a budget, a timetable and still considering the best possible outcome for her party.  It was a lot of hard work, but as they say, I'm sure it's going to be all worth it.

For some of you who are planning for a party, maybe my list can help. Check this out.


1. The Venue - Fun Ranch Alabang
    I chose this venue because it's close to home and Kaya's school.  Most of her friends and classmates resides in the Alabang area so it would be very convenient for the kids.  My dilemma here are MY friends residing outside Muntinlupa.  I know it would be very difficult for them to travel and endure the SLEX traffic, but I'm sure the Tita's and Tito's wouldn't mind, right guys? LOL!  My brother JM, showed me photos of the venue and how their favorable party packages and I was satisfied.  They would make my planning life a bit easier because they would take care of almost everything I need. The venue, food, decorations, entertainment - they have it.  Now all I need to worry about are my add-ons.  Here are some pictures of the venue from their Facebook page.

You may check out Fun Ranch's sites:
http://www.funranch.com.ph/
http://activefun.ph/activefun.html
Like them on Facebook
Follow them on Twitter


2. The Cake - Marta's cakes
    Because of good reviews I read online, I chose Marta's Cakes to design the sweetest highlight of Kaya's party, her cake! Below is an inspiration of the arrangement.

The final concept we agreed on: The cupcake toppers will be in 2d - 2-3” in size.  John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Axl Rose, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, an electric guitar, a drum set and a musical note will serve as the cupcake toppers.  Cupcakes in regular swirl design in white, pink and black colors only.  Her base cake on top of the cupcake tower is 6x4 round chocolate cake with butter cream icing.  On top of it a a Girl Rockstar in cookie shaped picture, 7 inches in height.  The colors are black, pink and white base only.  I know it sounds very technical but I'm pretty sure they completely understood the design I was aiming for.  I  am so excited to see this rockin' cake!


Visit Martas' Cakes website for more information.


3. Candy Bar
     A party wouldn't be complete without loads of sweets!  We carefully chose what candies and chocolates would be given away so as to make sure it's tied up with the theme.  I wouldn't want to be a spoiler so I will just post the wrappers and labels to drape the bonbons.  All these were designed by my extremely hot and foxy friend, Rachell Ann Bonanza.  

4. Rockstar Make-over
    This party wouldn't be complete without a makeover.  I wanted to make sure everyone got their best rocktar look on.  So I came up with this Junky Styling Rockstar surgery booth.  I trust airbursh painting will justify the rockstar look so I included that on my add on list.  I will also give out VIP passes and shirts to complete the package.  An instant "grunge" photo shoot awaits each kid after the makeover with my super talented best bud, Bong Malong and his friends.   

  Airbrush hair painting

Airbrush face painting

Table Label

VIP Pass

Shirt design

5. Hip Prints - Orange Segment
     Orange Segment was referred by my gorgeous friend, Tine de Leon.  Her friend, Alex Pamintuan owns the place.  His wife Roma, was kind enough to exchange emails with me to finalize everything.  As compared to other shops, they have the most affordable rates and the fastest printing service.  My invitations, shirts, tarp and bottle labels will all be printed by  them.  Invitation, tarpaulin and VIP passes were all designed by my artistic graphic designer friend, Ate Chel Malong.

Invitation

Bottle Label

Shirt Design

Tarpaulin

Orange segment: 2/F 55 Maginhawa cor. Mahusay, UP Village, Diliman, Q.C.

Facebook

Website


6. ETC
    Games, activities and the prizes will definitely spell out FUN.  I guarantee it'll be something that all kids will enjoy and all adults would completely dig.  I will not dive into the details for I wouldn't want to spoil the excitement for the party crashers.   

 Swag Bags

Pinata

Daddy Em and Grandpa's costume

Passes

Drinks

Advance gift from Grandpa

I'd like to thank a few of my generous friends here in Dubai who helped made all these possible.  I love you so much, I just wish you guys can party with us.  A few more days before her birthday, and I think I got it all covered (I sure do hope so).  I am so excited to see everything in action but most of all I can't wait to spend time with Kaya, have fun and Rock and Roll!

"If it's illegal to rock and roll, throw my ass in jail!" 

                                                                                                      -Kurt Cobain

Frances Bean Cobain gives Grunge Fashion a rehabilitated look

The daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love took Twitter world by storm.  Frances Bean Cobain, the first Grunge couple offspring will turn 19 on the 18th of August.  I can imagine the pressure she must have lived with under the public radar having rockstar parents.  I suppose it's not all bad, after all rockstars have immeasurable perks.  As for her, she had the leisure to experiment on the things she indulges in.  She has been an intern at Rolling Stones, appeared as a guest vocalist on the song My Space by Evelyn Evelyn and recently showcased an artwork collection named Scumfuck under the pseudonym "Fiddle Tim". 

Just last week, Frances modeled for acclaimed French Fashion designer Hedi Slimane. Slimane has a background in photography.  In 2004 he released "Stage", a collection of rockstar musician photography.  Cobain's stills by Slimane featured the grunge style (cropped tops, gypsy tops, leggings, baby doll dresses coupled with tattoos, cigarettes and the cross).  It's the typical emo set but I can truly say this girl can model.  I think what surfaced on these photos is that she's Kurt's spitting image combined with Courtney's natural grunge look.   

For more photos, check out the Hedi Slimane Diary. 

 

Here are the "Happy days" family photos of Kurt,  Courtney and Frances Bean.  How time flies. I feel really old.

 

Photos taken from Hedi Slimane's Diary and Kurt Cobain news website

"I'm a different person. I don't want to be titled as Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain's daughter. I want to be thought of as Frances Cobain."
                                                                                                    - Frances Bean Cobain