London Field rituals

I can't help, but miss, our London Fields weekend rituals!

I miss walking to Columbia road in 10 mins to visit the pretty flower market

I also miss the Broadway market breakfast/grocery shopping
(best breakfast in the area at the cat and mutton)

guess I will just have to find my new northern ritual.

1 ~ Photographer, Maria de la Iglesia captured me playing ball with my dog clementine in London fields

2 ~ Having brunch at a cafe on Broadway market

3 ~ Peeking behind a lamb made of pebbles in London Fields

We Interrupt This Program

Things are a little crazy around here right now, so I need to take a few days off. Our little guy Spencer has a torn ligament in his back leg (an injury he got at the shelter before he came to us, but which was just diagnosed), so we're dealing not only with vet visits and medication and all that, but also the herculean effort it takes to keep a rambunctious puppy from running around and doing further damage.

Those eyes! Don't they just slay you?

On top of that, I'm swamped and stressed out at work right now and have a bunch of other side projects going on at home. Oh and our refrigerator broke, because obviously things were just too calm around here. All of which means something's gotta give, and right now it's blogging. Pardon the disruption in service; I'll be back next week.

Crazy "Never-Done-Before" Deal with Imagine Nation

Madness is up high as Imagine Nation Photography brings in their 

August Madness Promo. 

Get 50% OFF on prenups booked and done in August with your favorite Imagine Nation Photographer. Yes, you can choose your own photographer based on the style that fits you. 

You can also turn your prenup photos into Imagine Nation's guestbook for only  Php2,500.00.

This promo is only for the month of August so grab it now and enjoy this half the price, twice the fun from Imagine nation photography.

For more information, call Anj De Leon at (632) 713 7189/ (63917) 563 4685 or email info@imaginenationphoto.com.

Related Links:

Glorifying God Through Wedding Photography

Wedding Opportunities at Imagine Nation Photography

The essential  Filipino Wedding Guide

Office Girl

I was happy to pull out these under-worn shoes and give them a spin; they have sort of an early 60's office girl vibe that I thought played well with the vintage-styled dress. In order to add a little color and contrast to the outfit, I used the colorful patterned scarf as a belt.

I'm hoping to finish the second installment of my San Francisco Travel Guide very soon, but as you might imagine my time and energy has been limited lately. It's coming soon though, I promise!


Dress: Red Dress Shoppe
Cardigan: Max Studio
Scarf (worn as belt): vintage
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Tsubo (a gift from Sal)

50's Style for a Wedding

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Mark and I attended a wedding last weekend atop Mt. Tamalpais (known around these parts as Mt. Tam), which is just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It presented the perfect opportunity for me to wear this beautiful vintage dress I bought a few months ago. I don't often go for 50's style dresses because I feel like they aren't ideal for my figure, but this one caught my eye because of the lovely fabric, the cute collar and neckline bow detail, and the best part, the row of giant buttons down the back:

I found this dress at Decades of Fashion on Haight Street, which is an amazing (albeit pricey) vintage store. It fit me so perfectly that I knew I had to have it, and what a perfect outfit it made for a wedding, no? To me there's something reverent about wearing vintage to a wedding; weddings have such a strong cultural significance that it makes sense to wear clothes that hearken back to eras with a greater sense of decorum.

Astoundingly, of all the dozens of hats I have lying around at the house, none exactly captured the vibe I wanted, so I made one special for the occasion. It's made of a thick, braided straw material, which has a nice shine to it that matches the black buttons of the dress. I made a matching bow out of scrap straw and edged the bow with a pale blue silk to match the striped fabric on the dress's back panel and neckline bow detail.

 

I got loads of compliments on this dress, and I felt utterly fabulous. Perhaps I need to rethink 50's dresses; they seem to suit my figure just fine.

 Puppy update: Our puppy finally has a name! After struggling with it all through the weekend, we finally narrowed it down to the last 3 choices, wrote them on slips of paper, folded them up and threw them on the floor in front of the puppy for him to choose from. He sniffed the first two and then enthusiastically grabbed the third, thus selecting Spencer as his new name. And yes, he's only a few months old and he's almost as big as Georgie. Perhaps Goliath would've been more accurate...

Intimacy, Modernity, Artistry in an Antipolo Wedding Venue

Velada Estate's Wedding Venue

The sprout of many garden wedding venues both in and out of Manila provided soon-to-weds with an alternative wedding setting away from the traditional and the ordinary.

Mrs. Cynthia Picones, the owner of a wedding venue in Antipolo, Rizal, aims to take couples much further – by marrying intimacy, world-class amenities, and artistry in one wedding setting that is Velada Estate. 

Read more on what Velada Estate has in store for their wedding clients...

The 1st Mindanao Fashion Summit

The Oro Fashion Designers Guild (OFDG) is inviting everyone to witness the 1st Mindanao Fashion Summit from August 1 to August 6 this year at Limketkai Center in Cagayan De Oro City.

Gil Macaibay's Creation

This weeklong event will showcase different fashion designers from all over Mindanao as well as some designers from Manila such as Frederick Peralta, Christian Espiritu, Renee Salud, Raoul Cheoke, Bo Parcon and Julius Tarog.

The intent of this event is to broaden fashion and brand awareness of all affiliated companies and organizations amongst the chic urban professional consumer community. It is designed and appealed to the tastemakers that take active roles in setting the mold for style in Mindanao and the hottest trends and over all ingenuity of Mindanaoan designers.

 The program of activities is as follows:

1^st Mindanao Fashion Summit Calendar of Activities

August 1 – Monday

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Peripheral Forum

FIP (Fashion Institute of the Philippines)

 Nature’s Spring

 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

EVERBEST presents:

Miss Kagayan 2011 (In Mindanaoan Inspired Red Carpet)

 OFDG Designers

Menswear

Featured Designers

 Alma Mae Roa

Alquin Cap-Atan

Benjie Manuel

Celeste Magsalay

Gil Macaibay III

Joshua Guibone

Mark Yaranon

Villa Go

Odelon Simpao

Premier Show

Roel Rosal

Show Director: Glenn Cabaral

August 2 – Tuesday

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Peripheral Forum

FIP

Nature’s Spring

 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Chic Rage

Featured Designers

Joshua Guibone

Sunshine Casiño

Jeffrey Garde

Oscar Carlos Flores

Joey Sendico

Dionesio Tarepe

Premier Show

Frederick Peralta

Director: Vince Aranas

August 3 – Wednesday

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Peripheral Forum

FIP

Nature’s Spring

 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

STYLE and MOTION Hair Show

Featured Designers

CeeJay Ponpon

Guela Ampong

Gwen Asuncion

Jonnie Navarro

Juniel Doring

Angela Soriano

Boogie Musni Rivera

John Mark Magallanes

Xerxes Maghanoy

Director: Eric “Mamu” Cruz

August 4 – Thursday

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Peripheral Forum

COSMETICS

 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

ORORAMA

Posh Glam

Featured Designers

Alquin Cap-Atan

Mark Yaranon

Jinky Petalcurin

Ruvil Neri

Villa Go

Director: Dennis Alamazan

August 5 – Friday

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Peripheral Forum

COSMETICS

4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Premier A

 Featured Designers:

Albert dela Cerna

Dominic Bautista

Fragel Galarrita

Jugger Oñate

Darwin Buo

Royal Flair

Featured Designers:

Alma Mae Roa

Celeste Magsalay

Premier B

Featured Designers:

Emi Englis

Bo Parcon

Jacky Peñalosa

Director: Art Elfante

August 6 – Saturday

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Peripheral Forum

OFW Display/Exhibit

 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Scent J Perfume Launching

Premier Show

Featured Designers:

Aries Lagat

Benjie S. Manuel

Dodjie Batu

Gil Macaibay III

Dong Omaga-Diaz

Director: Glenn Cabaral