Anywaaaay, I’m so glad I had two shoots this week (the source of these photos!). Here we go!

Photo 29: Black and White

Gorgeousness even in B&W!

Can you make out who that is? It’s YouTube sensation-turned-recording artist Marié Digby! We were lucky enough to book her for a beauty shoot for OK! Philippines and OMG, she’s the sweetest girl ever. No airs, no diva attitude, nothing—just a super down-to-earth girl who’s sooo easy to work with. On top of that, she’s beyond pretty! I can’t wait for you guys to see the final photos in the magazine—in the January 2012 issue pa, though. Hehe (which is why I can’t post more pics!). But I promise to do a detailed behind-the-scenes entry once the issue hits the stands.

While waiting for that, though, do grab a copy of her latest CD called Your Love. It features new singles (and a duet with Sam Milby!) plus my fave Marié song, “Say It Again.”

Loooove her!

Photo 30: Self-portrait

This week, we also had our annual Christmas staff shoot!

The theme: Harry Potter (meets Gossip Girl meets Glee? Haha!)

Sinong chumu-chubs? Haha! Photo by Mitch Mauricio (shot on location at Café 1771, El Pueblo), makeup by Cherry Pacheco-Uy, hair by Marie Tan, styling by Kabbie Rodriguez (outfit from Forever 21). This is just a ‘just-for-fun-solo-shot’ that’s not coming out in the mag so might as well post it here! What’s coming out in the mag is our super cute group photo a la Team Gryffindor (which explains the color combinations!). Watch for it on Frances‘s ed’s note in the December issue, which comes out in two weeks!

Call me biased but methinks it’s our best staff photo yet—and most memorable, too, since during our shoot, something magical happened: Our associate fashion editor Kabbie got a movie-like proposal from her longtime boyfriend Mitor! Aaah, I love happy endings!

You can read all about that adorable proposal here on Kabbie’s blog. I swear, suuuuuper kilig! =) Congrats again to the lovely lovely couple!

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And speaking of congratuleyshens, aren’t you gonna congratulate me for finally finishing this blog challenge? Haha, FAIL man when it comes to sticking to the “30-day” requirement, SUCCESS naman in making it to the finish line. So I guess this makes it a… SEMI-SUCCESS?! Regardless, I’m still happy I took on this project. Hirap but fun!

Happy Sunday! =)

Didn't take me long to figure out which two words I wanted!

The second word’s pretty self-explanatory (that’s been my label since my skinny schoolgirl days) while the first can be best explained by taking one look at me. Ha! If you don’t get what I mean, let’s just pretend the word describes my totally mischievous personality. =P

Back view: Gotta love these snaps!

I love that they come with automatic snaps which make them super easy to wear and remove (read: no buckles!).

There were a lot of different styles with all sorts of words available but I wanted my own labels so I had to wait for three days for customized versions. For these, I paid around P295 a piece—that includes the additional charge for having the metal plate personalized (around P50, if I remember correctly). You can also choose the colors of the bands, the font (only two choices though: all caps or small letters) and even the size of the band and the metal plate.

My friend Ade got the thicker versions (click here), which are cute, too! I think hers are among the ready-made styles.

I think I need one more. Or MORE! =)

Now I’m hooked and I want to get some more, in all sorts of fun words and colors! I’m thinking these would make pretty awesome gifts, too, yes? If only there’s a cheaper supplier. Heehee. I have a pretty good idea about where I can get the bands, the problem is finding someone who does engraved plates like these.

If you have any ideas, please do share!

Rainy Sunday today but that didn’t stop me from taking my youngest but biggest dog Chloe (who loves  puddles, as I’ve discovered) out for a walk. Snapped this on the way out!

Looks like a gumamela flower but I’m pretty sure it’s not a gumamela—it’s missing that thingy in the middle which holds the pollen grains (Suddenly I’m reminded of sexual and asexual reproduction amongst flowers. Nyayks. ).

Well anyway, taking this photo made me realize that we had actual flowers growing outside our house. Funny because I pass by our gate every single day (twice, too!) but I never really noticed before.

Don’t worry, though. I’m not about to segue into a li’l speech about how we should appreciate the beautiful things around us and other cheesy stuff like that.

I’m just saying na may bulaklak pala outside our house. Haha!

So what trivial discovery did you make today?

Sincerely, my pride.

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Day 20: Bokeh (I skipped this earlier; refer to previous post for explanation =p)

Here's a sneak peek at my first beauty ed shoot for OK!

According to Wikipedia, bokeh is is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image… Ergo, this shot! Perfect, too, since I can’t exactly post more revealing photos from this shoot as it’s for a still unreleased issue (Watch for it in OK!’s December ish! My first beauty editorial! =])

By the way, that’s our Art Director Red in the foreground, supervising as fab photog Ash Castro takes pics of our gorgeous model Tanja. I’ll tell you more about this shoot once the issue’s out (so I can post more outtakes, too!). Stay tuned!

Day 23: Sunflare

K, me and R on a flight home from Bohol in June. We're smiling here but we're crying on the inside. Puritas!

Had to scour through my albums for a sunflare shot after realizing that (1) It’s NOT easy to capture the sun’s flare (er, ray?) intentionally; and (2) I always forget. Lagi ako nauubusan ng araw!

Thankfully, I found this shot in one of my travel albums for this year. Keri na!

Day 24: Animal. 

Er, animals.

Chika time! Here’s Chloe (left) and Andy making chika outside. These two don’t usually get along so this is a postcard moment for me! *tears*

Day  25: Pink.

This is why I have chubby cheeks!

Been fattening up this long weekend with cheese balls, chocolates and strawberry ice cream (my fave!). So far, kasya pa naman ako sa XS and S-size clothes ko. Pwede pa.

Day 26: Close-up

Food ulit? Haha. Here’s a close-up of my current fave salad, Sicilian Express’s Sicilian Salad (introduced to me by Kabbie!). It’s unbelievably good—especially the mystery dressing—you’ll forget that it’s salad! Ordered this while I was at Shine Girls Salon last Saturday (Digiperm again! Another story for another post!), which was just a few skips away from Sicilian’s Makati branch. Nomnomnom!

Day 27: From a Distance

My fave photo from this bunch! My long-distance friend Rose came to visit for a few days and we just had to get together with the girls. Nakaka-misssssss! :[ (From left: Grace, Lhen, then Rose and me). We’re missing two members, though. Michelle (where art thou?) and Grasha, who’s also Singapore-based. I wonder when we’ll ever be complete again?

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Three photos to go and I’m done with this challenge (which is seriously kicking my ass!). With that, I promise to make my last three count!

Life’s been extra full lately with me celebrating my birthday just last week (twenty-six, yo!) and exciting new developments at work (let’s just say I’m taking my writing towards a new direction!). =)

But enough about me and my excuses. On with this! (Konteeee na lang!)

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Day 21: Faceless Self-portrait (I’m skipping Day 20 for now—Kuya has the camera with my Bokeh photo! Pft.)

I’m letting my shirt—one of le boyf”s awesome birthday gifts, BTW—express my current sentiment: smiley (and sparkly!).

October’s always been my favorite month (for obvious reasons!) but this month’s been extra good to me and I just can’t help but feel so grateful for all that’s been happening lately, both big and small ( i.e. receiving Starbucks GCs from a good friend when you’ve vowed to limit spending on designer coffee! Ha!).

So thank you, my lucky stars. The blessings—material and otherwise—are much appreciated!

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Day 22: Hands (Er, Hand lang pala)

Since it’s a stay-at-home Saturday for me, I marathoned The Walking Dead Season 1 (I knooow, I’m so huli!) on Fox. And can I just say, EEEEEW!?! Haha!

Saw the first ep of the second season, too. BIGAT that ending! Watcheeet.

These year, my friends and I developed an unhealthy obsession with these babies from Buffalo Wings & Things at Ortigas Home Depot. Actually, it was my best bud Lhen’s fault (fault talaga?), as she’d been raving endlessly about BW&T earlier this year. Naturally, the always-hungry Kaye, Dong and I got curious and so we set out to try it out ourselves.

And so began our fattening wing fetish (eep!) as well as our search for Manila’s best buffalo wings!

We’ve tried many others—I like the ones from Charlie’s Grill in Kapitolyo, Sunrise Buckets in Greenhills, Shakey’s (yep, they have wings, too!), Brooklyn Pizza, Conti’s (they’re tiny but yummy), Chef D’Angelo’s and, of course, Don Henrico’s (theirs are actually the first wings I’ve ever tasted in my life, and I love that they’re HUGE!). In the end, though, BW&T remains a favorite. I recommend the New York’s Finest, the Firework and the Garlic Parmesan wings! And oh, don’t forget the bleu cheese and dirty rice. Aak, now I’m getting hungry!

For those in the QC area, you gotta try this newly opened wings place (owner is a friend, so please help spread the word! =) in Panay Ave. cor Timog called Buffalo Wild Wings. Yum, too! And they have an ongoing promo: Only P199 for wings-all-you-can. Awesome deal, yes?

I’m seriously in love with this brand (Thanks, Aia, for introducing them to me!). They have the cutest, most comfy flats ever—and coming from a girl who lives in flats, that’s MAJOR! This particular style, the “Brides,” also come in gorgeous beige and silver, both of which I’ve yet to own. *cough cough* =)

In other news, it’s 12:26 a.m. and I’ve only got less than 24 hours before I officially turn the big 2-6. Gah! I’m determined to make the most of my last day as a 25-year-old so I shall begin by doing one of my favorite things: Sleep!

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for my iPod. And thanks, too (or, er, screw you?), to whoever created Mega Jump.

Sincerely,
Puyat

I gotta admit, I’m feeling extra pressure now because my two friends Ade and Aia have started on their own blog challenges and I’m afraid if I don’t resume this thing now, they’ll finish even before I do! Haha! Soooooo here we go.

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Day 16: Long exposure

Okay, I’m not really sure if this counts as a “long exposure photo” but we don’t have time to be picky. Hihi. I just wanted an excuse to share this really blurry shot I took while in Eastwood last Saturday night.

Taken in between the Citywalk and the new Eastwood mall

See that blurry strip of light under the overpass? That’s actually an electronic billboard (or lightbox? whaddya call those things?) flashing a strip of text which, unfortunately, you can’t read from this photo.

When we passed by this street at around 8 p.m., the billboard read: “I love you Carmela Doria. Will you be my forever?”

I literally went ‘AWWW’ right then and there. KAKILIIIIIG!

It was the first proposal of its kind (er, any kind) that I got to witness personally, so I was blown away. Haha. I didn’t get to see the couple up close, though. We were crossing the street when we realized what was happening and I just heard a group of people shouting, “Yes! Yes!” I think she said yes, because soon enough, people were cheering.

I seriously wanted to go back and get a closer look but the boyfriend didn’t want to go usi. Boys talaga. =P

Anyhoo, congrats to the happy couple, whoever you are! You made my night! <3

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Speaking of sweet gestures, I got kilig again today, Monday. The birthday kilig, though!

Found this on my Mac when I got to the office:

In fairness to me, medyo 10 minutes na ako in front of my computer before I noticed the post-it (Sinong bulag? Haha!) So I followed my nose and found this inside the ref:

An early birthday gift from the team! Yuuuummy strawberry cheesecake from Sweet Inspirations in Katipunan! Love love love.

Thank you, thank you, Frances, Red, Lana, Kabbie and Joanna! =)

Now you all know why I love OK!. <3

Day 11: Something Blue

The skies were a beautiful blue over UST when I visited last Wednesday for a quick check-up (I’m doing better now, don’t ya worry). I think I looked like a crazy girl walking around campus, taking pictures and feeling nostalgic. Oh how I miss my college days!

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Days 12 and 15: Sunset and Silhouette (Okay, I’m kinda cheating with this one. Haha! Two birds with one stone!)

That’s me and le boyf in Boracay, taken last year. I sorely miss the island! I’m hoping I can squeeze in another Boracay trip before the year ends (Hear that, my kaladkarin friends? =). I’m in serious need of sun, sand and sea!

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Day 13: Me with 13 things

Thirteen makeup brushes! I took them out for a wash today, something I haven’t done in a week. Eep. I know I should wash them every day but… life happens!

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Day 14: Eyes

I’m currently obsessing about the winged liner look. Here’s me trying it out with a blue shade (NARS’s Larger Than Life eyeliner in Abbey Road). Methinks I need to practice more, though. Hirap pantayin!

Thatzeeet for now!